Why is a Monsanto lobbyist serving as the FDA's Food Safety Czar?

Why is a former Monsanto lobbyist currently serving as the FDA's food safety czar waging war on small dairy farms that produce fresh milk?

While factory farm operators are getting away with serious food safety violations, raw milk dairy farmers and distributors across the country have been subjected to armed raids and hauled away in handcuffs.

The Food and Drug Administration is running sting operations followed by "guns-drawn raids usually reserved for terrorists and drug lords" as part of a crackdown on unpasteurized milk.¹ Meanwhile, the FDA is letting the highly consolidated industrial meat and factory farm industry off the hook despite growing problems.

Not surprisingly, the person responsible for prioritizing armed raids on small dairies over holding agribusiness accountable is a former Monsanto attorney and chief super lobbyist. Monsanto's Michael Taylor is the second highest-ranking official at the FDA, and as Food Safety Czar is responsible for implementing the day-to-day policies that govern the food safety laws for the U.S. ²

Tell President Obama to fire Monsanto's Michael Taylor from his job as Food Czar at the FDA.

Whether or not you think unpasteurized milk is a good idea, it's clear that the FDA under Michael Taylor has its priorities wrong. When industrial agribusiness sickens thousands of people, it's absurd for the FDA to target Amish farmers producing fresh milk, much less to engage in "guns drawn" enforcement raids.

CREDO is joining our allies at Food Democracy Now! in calling on the president to fire Monsanto's Michael Taylor from the FDA. Midwestern farmers will play an important symbolic role in President Obama's reelection campaign. We need to let the president know that we stand with small farmers and not Monsanto!

Michael Taylor seems focused on entirely the wrong aspects of food safety enforcement. Rather than making sure that food safety inspections are done properly at our nation's largest factory farms, where antibiotic resistance has run amuck, Taylor has been leading a departmental crusade against small raw milk dairy producers. So far several dairy farmers have been subject to a year-long undercover sting operation from the East Coast to California.

Incredibly, Michael Taylor and FDA inspectors have not arrested or fined the Iowa agribusinessman -- Jack DeCoster -- who was wholly responsible for the more than 500 million eggs that were recalled in 2010 salmonella-tainted egg recall. ³Though this industrial agribusinessman endangered the health of millions, Michael Taylor thinks Amish farmers producing fresh milk are more deserving targets of his FDA enforcement raids with guns drawn.

While CREDO recognizes the inherent risks that are involved in food production, it's time that the U.S. government start responsibly looking into the real origins of our nation's largest food safety recalls and stop harassing family farmers trying to survive in the excessively consolidated food and agricultural sectors.http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/fire_michael_taylor/?rc=fb_share1

Why Microsoft’s So-Called ‘Avoid Ghetto’ App Is Really American

Microsoft has recently been at the center of a whirlwind of controversy over a new app that critics allege is downright racist. On January 3, the company was granted a patent for technology related to its “Pedestrian Route Production” application, a tool that that the company says would navigate the user “safely through neighborhoods with violent crime statistics below a certain threshold.”

While the patent makes no explicit references to race, the project has been unofficially dubbed the “Avoid Ghetto App” by various online news sites. Microsoft, for its part, has been silent throughout the ordeal, and declined to comment on the matter to Colorlines.com. But intentions aside, the fact that the app was so quickly racialized begs the larger question of how and why technology perpetuates systemic racism, and why consumers should care.

“Almost the moment this patent got granted, [this app] got racialized so that ‘violent crime’ became ‘mugging’, which became ‘black and Latino people’, which became ‘ghetto,’ ” says Sarah Chinn, a professor of English at the City University of New York and author of the book “Technology and the Logic of American Racism.” Chinn has been among Microsoft’s most vocal critics.

Microsoft’s app has stirred so much discussion, Chinn says, because the United States is a “very racist country. When you say the words ‘violent crime’, in the public imagination that turns into ‘dangerous urban black man or Latino man.’ “

Others disagree. Industry analyst Rob Enderline told NPR last week that Microsoft’s project is just a matter of technology trying to make life easier for users. “It’s part of an overall effort to make navigation systems more intelligent so they keep you out of danger, whether you’re driving or you’re on foot,” Enderle told NPR.

Yet even if that’s the case, it’s based on the widely held misconception that violent crime is more likely to hit random strangers. In fact, the opposite is true. The vast majority of violent crime happens to people who know each other. For instance, 75 percent of rapes are committed by someone the survivor already knows, according to statistics provided by San Francisco Women Against Rape. The majority of murders are committed by members of ones own racial group. Missouri has the nation’s highest black homicide rate, and when the Violent Prevention Center looked at statistics from 2009, it found that—whenever the relationship could be identified—76 percent of black murder victims were killed by someone they knew.

In Washington, D.C. and New York City, robberies are on the decline.

Huffington Post’s Black Voices points out that the FBI’s 2010 crime report revealed that whites were arrested more often for violent crimes that year than any other race.

But, according to Chinn, the myth that black men in particular are more likely to perpetrate violent crime against white strangers resonates so strongly because it’s become an indelible part of America’s racial identity.

“This is a myth that’s been with us since the days of Reconstruction,” Chinn told Colorlines.com, calling the period an era of “terrorism against black people.” Chinn noted that whites unconsciously knew that they were the perpetrators of violence against black people, particularly sexual violence against black women. Thus the myth of dangerous black men evolved as way to justify racist violence against black communities.

The logic, Chinn says, was “you’re violent so we have to criminalize you, we have to put you in jail, we have to stop-and-frisk you, and we have to move out of your neighborhoods.”

Microsoft’s new technology is just the latest in a series of scientific parallels with the past. 

The problem isn’t the technology itself, but what people imagine the technology will do. So while DNA and finger printing may on the surface be seemingly race-neutral technologies that only offer specific information about someone’s body, they’re quickly used to reinforce people’s preconceived ideas about race. “Once they enter the public discourse in the United States it’s all about how can we identify [people of color] and prove that they are not as good as white people, or prove that segregation is justified,” says Chinn.

Chinn does not expect that Microsoft will market the app as it is now, but will fold it into its next generation of mapping technology. ”It’s really about why we should be afraid of certain neighborhoods and certain kinds of people. People take these technologies and they use them to ‘prove’ things that they actually already believe about people of various racialized groups.”

http://colorlines.com/archives/2012/01/why_microsofts_so-called_avoid_ghetto_app_is_really_american.html

Whole Foods Market Caves to Monsanto

After 12 years of battling to stop Monsanto's genetically-engineered (GE) crops from contaminating the nation's organic farmland, the biggest retailers of "natural" and "organic" foods in the U.S., including Whole Foods Market (WFM), Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm, have agreed to stop opposing mass commercialization of GE crops, like Monsanto's controversial Roundup Ready alfalfa. In exchange for dropping their opposition, WFM has asked for "compensation" to be paid to organic farmers for "any losses related to the contamination of his crop." Under current laws, Genetically-Modified Organisms (GMOs) are not subject to any pre-market safety testing or labeling. WFM is abandoning its fight with biotech companies in part because two thirds of the products they sell are not certified organic anyway, but are really conventional, chemical-intensive and foods that may contain GMOs and that they market as "natural" despite this. Most consumers don't know the difference between "natural" and "certified organic" products. "Natural" products can come from crops and animals fed nutrients containing GMOs. "Certified Organic" products are GMO-free. WFM and their main distributor, United Natural Foods, maximize profits by selling products labeled "natural" at premium organic prices
http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2011/01/9903/whole-foods-market-caves-monsanto

El FBI busca controlar las comunicaciones en redes sociales

McShit

Ustedes necesitan leer la verdad! COMPARTIR! Después de que el chef y la campaña de Jamie Oliver para descubrir - y la propagación en el televisor - que McDonalds usa hidróxido de amonio para convertir la grasa sobrante de la carne en el relleno de sus hamburguesas en Estados Unidos, la marca ha anunciado que va a cambiar la ingresos, de acuerdo con la línea de correo diario. "Estamos comiendo un producto que debe ser vendido como carne barata para los perros y, después de este proceso de dar el producto a los seres humanos", dijo Oliver. "¿Por qué un ser humano sensato sería poner la carne con el amoníaco en la boca de tus hijos?" Preguntas. amonio hidróxido SIGNIFICADO hidróxido de amonio, la fórmula química NH4OH es una base débil soluble y sólo existe en solución acuosa cuando se hace . el burbujeo de amoníaco (NH3) en agua hidróxido de amonio no es considerado cancerígeno por la OSHA. Resumen de los riesgos: Nocivo por ingestión, inhalación y absorción por la piel. . Extremadamente irritante para las membranas mucosas, tracto respiratorio superior, ojos y piel Efectos agudos: La inhalación puede causar dificultades en la víctima como resultado:. espasmos, inflamación e hinchazón de la garganta, neumonitis química y edema pulmonar Efectos crónicos: La exposición repetida puede causar que el producto tos, jadeo y jadeo, laringitis, dolor de cabeza, náuseas, vómitos y dolor abdominal. Jamie Oliver ha denunciado el uso de hidróxido de amonio por McDonald para convertir restos de carne relleno de grasa en sus hamburguesas en Estados Unidos. La compañía dijo que va a cambiar su receta de la hamburguesa. [3] los órganos afectados: el estómago y los pulmones.

Defend Your Territory

Nurse In

Occupy Wall St. what the media does not show!

Words that Hurt and Why!

Republican or Democrat = Same Shit. Police State to Protect Capital

Tahrir Square Jan 25, 2012 around 4:00 PM

Obelisk set up in Tahrir Square with Martyrs names engraved on it.

Millions in Tahrir Square now. Probably more than any other time including the first 18 days of the revolution

By: Egyptians in the US

LA Police State

"Organize against the repression- what are they afraid of? The resistance against the capitalist crisis being organized in the working class. To take away civil liberties and to attempt to make us pay for their crisis!"

Special Forces and L.A.P.D. Urban Terror Training downtown Los Angeles CA 01-25-12

Cops In Florida Beat Up 66-Year-Old Man With Dementia

"A Melbourne police officer reprimanded for deliberately disabling the dashboard camera in his patrol car, before confronting a 66-year-old man suffering from dementia, could face additional scrutiny as the city prepares for a potential lawsuit. Officer Derek Middendorf’s actions — captured on video later salvaged by technicians — are at the center of calls for his dismissal as a lawyer for Albert Flowers says he plans to file suit against the city for false arrest, false imprisonment and malicious prosecution. “He should be fired. Anyone who’s being pulled over by this officer should be terrified,” said attorney Paul Bross, who formally notified the city Tuesday of his intent to sue. “It’s clear (Officer Middendorf) tried to destroy all the video in this case. He thought he had turned off the camera, and that’s why he acted the way he did.”" - FloridaToday.COm

Occupy Monsanto

Occupy Monsanto World Headquarters Protest at Monsanto's Annual Shareholders Meeting Make Monsanto Pay! Tuesday, January 24, 2012 12:00pm until 4:00pm Monsanto, World HQ; 800 N. Lindbergh, Creve Coeur, MO (The protest is at the entrance on Olive, just West of Lindbergh) Please join OCA, Pesticide Action Network, and Harrington Investments (a socially responsible investor’s group) in St. Louis to support a shareholder resolution to study the financial risks associated with genetically engineered crops. While an OCA representative is speaking inside the shareholders meeting, another group of us will be outside, peacefully picketing. - Housing & Ride Share: For questions about Housing & Ride Share, please email: mikedvegan@gmail.com - Spread The Word; Please, INVITE OTHERs! Forward this email, talk to your friends, Use this Face-Book Event page;http://www.facebook.com/events/340545799304131/ https://www.facebook.com/events/219569998128817/ - Contact: Mike N. Durschmid OCA Organizer mikedvegan@gmail.com Organic Consumers Association http://www.organicconsumers.org/ Millions Against Monsanto (OCA) Support the California GMO Labeling Ballot Initiative http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/ AGM Protest - FB Event Page; (this page) http://www.facebook.com/events/create/?eid=340545799304131 ---- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------- ------ ----- ----- Protest at Monsanto's Annual Shareholders Meeting; Make Monsanto Pay! January 24th Monsanto is consistently ranked among the most evil of all corporations on Earth, wreaking havoc on public health and the environment with its deadly chemicals, but under U.S. law, people and living things don't matter to a corporation, only profits for its shareholders. So, we've teamed up with a group of ethical shareholders led by Harrington Investments, a socially responsible investment advisory firm, that wants to change how Monsanto operates. What if Monsanto had to pay for its corporate crimes? If it were to be held liable for costs associated with its products, shareholders would see their accounts dramatically reduced. We intend to inform them of this. Come to St. Louis to Make Monsanto Pay! Contact OCA Organizer Mike Durschmid [mikedvegan@gmail.com] to join in. -------------------------- ---------------------- ------------------- ------------------- Article: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_24632.cfm ) Patently Offensive: Trouble with Transgenic Drift

LA Artwalk - Jan. 12th: LAPD officer violently assaults pedestrian just off the curb!

المجد للشهداء - جمعة رد الإعتبار - Martyrs of the Egyptian Revolution

Opium Trade Booming In Afghanistan

"The British are and in the past have been one of the largest drug dealers on the globe. There were wars fought in China over the Brits drug dealing. Yes! Government work in the drug business and let's not forget the banks"

LA Cop Punches Homeless Woman In The Face Then Threatens Iraq

War Vet That Videoed Him

Police Procedure=Police Violence

To some of the people watching this seems more like a game. It's obvious they have never experienced police brutality. 

NEW CHARGES FILES IN ALLEGED POLICE BRUTALITY ARREST

Respect existence or Expect Resistance

Wall Street : Follow the Money

LA Sheriff Punches Special Needs Woman In The Face On A Bus

LA Sheriff Punches Special Needs Woman In The Face On A Bus

A Metro passenger used his cell phone's video camera to capture a confrontation between a woman and two LA County sheriff's deputies on a bus in Bellflower. The over aggressive sheriff's punch to a young woman's face wasn't even necessary!!! Damn shame! Then the dirty sheriff, wants to take the cell phone of the soldier who recorded it!! Just imagine how much other dirt is hidden, and covered up by dirty cops!!! The world will never know!!

U.S.A. Police Nation 2012

Obama's Сhange: From kidnapping & torture to assassination

Old Footage of a Young Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture)

Punks In Turkey Raid to the Indonesian Embassy For Free The Indonesian Punks

LAPD officers involved in 2 shootings new year's morning

If this is supposed to be a news article why aren't they able to confirm details about the "suspects" condition or identity?

LAPD officers involved in 2 shootings new year's morning 

Los Angeles police are investigating two officer-involved shootings that were reported New Year's Day morning, department officials said Sunday.

The first incident took place in the opening minutes of 2012 when a sergeant driving his patrol car through the intersection of Florence and McKinley avenues was shot at.

The sergeant, who was uninjured and was not immediately identified, returned fire. The suspect, also not identified by police, also escaped injury and was arrested without further incident at the scene.

The second shooting was reported just after 7 a.m. in the 500 block of South Kenmore Avenue, said LAPD spokesman Gus Villanueva. In that incident, LAPD officers were responding to a disturbance call when they got into a confrontation with a suspect.

Both officers fired an unknown number of rounds at the suspect, who was struck several times. The condition of the suspect and his identity were not immediately available.

Neither of the officers involved in the second incident was injured, police said.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/lapd-officer-involved-shootings.html

Words of wisdom from Native American Elders

Do you give up the right to live by shoplifting a shirt?

Capitalism= Private Property Before Human Life


Police Brutality: Cops Kills 18 Year Old Female For Stolen Shirt While Handcuffed!!! 


Embedding was disabled follow link below to Video.


"The cop's claims that they have Footage. Of this Young Eighteen year old. Trying to kill
herself In the back of the cops Car while Handcuffed. When they were called. To arrested
this Shop lifter to a stolen shirt. They will Not release the tape to the family members.

The mother Is to believe that the cop's should have handled the situation properly. In the first
place. When they asked to see the Footage of the tape they will not release It. All though
The sister Is Upset and distraught by the whole thing, Because this family didn't get the answers that they were looking for."

http://youtu.be/http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ImcKlc1lfpI

http://youtu.be/ImcKlc1lfpI