It took only 40,000 Facebook posts on General Mills Facebook page to get them to respond. Cheerios, the top selling cereal in the United States, is GMO free. The company says that original Cheerios are made using only non-GMO corn and that the sugar is from pure, non-GMO cane sugar. The primary grain in Cherrios is oats and there are no GMO oats being grown. What corn involved has been corn starch.
The big deal here is that this giant food company responded publicly to calls from consumers for non-GMO products. The voices in the market are getting louder. People first want to know if GMO’s are in foods they buy and, secondly, when they know foods are GMO free, they prefer them.
The dam has, indeed, been broken with this announcement from General Mills. Watch, there will be movement toward other foods being touted as “GMO-Free”. Ultimately, the big chemical/seed companies will not win this battle.
Political War
Is it any surprise that we have political leaders that conduct wars for political gain as Robert Gates, former Secretary of Defense, says in his new book! This is not exclusive to one political party or another. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty. The last war to really save our freedoms was World War II. Since then, none.
Korea in the 1950’s. That was one for the books. Thousands of lives later, we have a “truce” at the 48th parallel. During the fighting, our political leaders would not let the military fight for a win. Their hands were tied. We were afraid of China coming into the conflict. One wonders why we were there in the first place and what, ultimately, was accomplished. There was nothing there that threatened our national security.
Then came Viet Nam. Another one for the books. The “Domino Theory” at work. Our wise political leaders concluded that if we let Viet Nam go to communism, there would be a march of communism on across the globe. The French got out. We were there for years and years with great loss of life and no win. Ultimately, our country decided it was not worth it and left. I can see photos of the last helicopters leaving the US Embassy in my mind. Again, nothing there that really threatened our national security.
Then 9/11 and the Twin Towers came down. This gave George H.W. Bush the excuse to attack Saddam Hussein and Iraq. Admittedly, Hussein was a tyrant over the country and the people therein, but Iraq had nothing to do with the attack on the twin towers. Bush and Cheney used that tragedy as an excuse. The reason is contained in one word, “oil”. Otherwise, we had and have no interest in that country. And Hussein sure was no threat to our national security. He had no “weapons of mass destruction” and even if he did, no means to deliver them. We lost or maimed hundreds of troops in Iraq. Look what is happening there now: civil war between the Sunnis and Shiites. Was the cost to us in lives and money worth it? Our focus should have been on the capturing or killing of Osama Bin Laden who was no where near Iraq. Shame on Bush and Cheney.
Now we are still bogged down in Afghanistan. The Russians were there for ten years before us. They went home with some help to the Afgans from us. Then we decided to “save” the country from the Taliban. We have been there now for over ten years with no end in sight. Again, nothing to gain and only to lose or maim hundreds of our troops. Afghanistan is no threat to our national security. They have no air force and no navy capable of reaching North America. What are we doing there? Afghanistan issues should be the concern of and cost for Pakistan and India and maybe even Japan, not us. Shame on Bush, Cheney, and now President Barack Obama.
I have adopted the attitude of Pat Buchanan, a political conservative. He thinks we stick our nose into way too many places around the globe. We act like the global “policeman” and “savior”. We are neither. Buchanan believes more in a fortress America philosophy. Yes, attack our enemies world wide when they are identified and are true threats, but stay out of local conflicts and do not get engaged in lengthy ground wars or conflicts. Makes perfect sense to me. We need to tend to business at home.
Our position should be to have a military so superior in capability that no other nation on earth would ever challenge it. It is to carry the biggest sword and not have to use it. Beyond that, to mind our own business and let other nations work out their own destinies. In case no one has noticed, we are broke. We need to concentrate on getting this country back to health monetarily, economically, scientifically, and politically. Nothing short of this will do. Otherwise, our time in the sun is limited.
Wind Farm and Birds
Duke Energy, the company that serves millions with electric energy, has agreed to pay $1,000,000 in fines after its wind turbines killed 14 golden eagles and dozens of other birds at a Wyoming wind farm. The money goes to several conservation groups.
Wind farms are high risk for birds and bats. Yes, we need to move away from burning fossil fuel to feed our ever growing thirst for more and more electric energy. In the process, we do not need to be causing additional environmental problems. Surely engineers can come up with ways to design wind energy systems that do not pose such high risk to birds and bats. Maybe the rotating blade design is not the best.
North Central Indiana currently faces the consequences of a hasty acceptance of wind farms. Tipton County is at the center of these issues. Wildlife has not been the primary complaint but rather potential effects on property values and human health have come into question. More careful steps are justified.
Cap CEO pay?
Here is something to chew on. Are Chief Executive Officers of large corporations and financial institutions really worth the tens of millions of dollars they pay themselves each year? Or are they raping the public and economy? Are they just a bunch of good-ole-boys feeding their own greed?
Years ago Japan had a formula in place by which a CEO could earn a cap of some multiplier of the lowest paid person in a company. I don’t know if this is still the case. There are some current data for Germany. Twenty five years ago the ratio of top earner to bottom was about 20 to 1. So a person earning, say, $25,000, per year could expect the company CEO to earn no more than about $500,000 a year. But something has changed. In Germany now, the ratio is more like 200 to 1; so the $500,000 cap has become $5,000,000 a year.
Frankly, I do not believe anyone is worth 10 or 15 or 20 million dollars a year. I don’t care what company they head. It is my opinion that the CEO’s and Boards of Directors in this country have become so inbred that they have lost touch with ordinary people. They serve only themselves, really.
Mass Immigration in Britain
Unless we wake up, the USA could go the way of Britain.
There is an article in the December 6th issue of The Week magazine that tells the tale. In less than 20 years, the foreign-born population in Great Britain has nearly doubled. This change was never predicted, explained, planned for , or voted on by its politicians according to the article. In January 2014, Bulgarians and Romanians will be allowed to settle freely in the GB. No one knows how many will come.
When Poland joined the EU in 2004, the government predicted 13,000 immigrants per year from there. That would be about 117,000 in total to date, but within only five years the number was a half a million.
The big bite to swallow in Great Britain is that after arrival and settlement of only three months, all immigrants are eligible for unemployment and subsidized housing….. and other government, taxpayer benefits. Sound familiar?
The current allowed level of legal immigration into the United States is running about 110,000 per month. That is 1,320,000 per year. With economic conditions as they are here, that is not needed for sure; if ever. Before 1965, the level of legal immigration was a couple of hundred thousand per year. Action needs to be taken by our government to stabilize our population, not encourage growth in numbers forever.
GMO's Continued
Last week I had the opportunity to present a talk to a group in West Lafayette, IN. They were interested in knowing about the risks of genetically engineered crops. This is a pet subject of mine. I have concluded that the only benefits that come from GM crops are additions to the bottom line profit of the giant companies that both provide the seed and then sell the herbicide for weed control. The crop is “engineered” to withstand normally lethal doses of the herbicide. Until recently, weeds were killed and corn or soy beans or cotton plants survived to harvest. Now, superweeds are becoming a major problem. The answer: the chemical companies want to offer more potent toxins to kill weeds and engineer the crops to be able to take the more lethal poisons and survive. The wheel turns, ever escalating to more and more environmental damage with no end in sight.
Elements of the genetically engineered crops and harvest from them are finding their way directly or indirectly into the human food system. Genes can transfer and pesticides are chemicals that can bioaccumulate or screw around with human hormones causing damage. The effects can be acute or chronic. They can come on quickly or may take years. Kind of reminds one of the story of tobacco, doesn’t it? The industry denies any harm, only good. Time will tell. Then it may be too late because calling back engineered genes from our environment is simply not possible.
The 19
There were 19 firefighters lost fighting a fire in Arizona this week. They were consumed by smoke and fire as they attempted to prevent fire from destroying homes in a small subdivision. No home is worth 19 lives.
These firefighters were among the most highly trained in the nation. Many had come from a military background. All were trained to the highest level possible and were dedicated to their work. They were not just a team but a family that looked after each others’ backs. They were cautious and safety conscious, but nature got the best of them. The perfect storm came in the form of a huge fire combined with the winds of a thunderstorm. They became trapped with no escape. Aircraft water drops were made where the pilots thought the firefighters might be, but even that was in vain given visibility was zero.
This tragedy was in fact brought on by years of government policy of preventing forest fires. One report said that no burn had occurred in this area for over 40 years. The policy of the US Forest Service for decades was zero tolerance for forest fires. This was incredibly stupid in that it allowed debris to accumulate on the forest floors just waiting for the big one. The policy has changed in recent years to one of controlled burns. But this policy obviously did not make it to this part of Arizona. Nineteen brave and dedicated souls lost their lives.
Two points occur to me. The first is that humans don’t seem to get that building of homes should not occur in some areas where fire or flood or landslide or other high risks of serious natural events might occur is wise. Those that do build should be on their own. Secondly, safety policies should be reviewed continuously. Again, no home or subdivision is worth even one life.
Snowden and Snow Jobs
Edward Snowden has sure caused a stir. Where is he? China or Russia? You know darned well he does not want to be found by any agent of the United States or surrogate thereof and in his lifetime, never will. You know, you gotta think, what was Edward thinking?
Here is a guy that says he did not like what he was seeing. It bothered him that the United States government was spying on its own citizens…. not a little but a lot….. without court approval. Here is a guy that had a high clearance level to the secrets of our government and who worked for some independent contractor charged with managing those secrets.
Think about it. What did Snowden have to gain from going public with what he has? It sure has not made him safer and as far as we know now, it sure has not made him richer. What we do know is that he has drawn the curtain back on practices of our federal government that likely violate the Constitution. And all this from a guy who worked for an independent contractor.
The insanity of the situation starts first with the fact that Edward Snowden was in a place to know what he does. Are we nuts! The most closely guarded secrets of government are left to independent contractors. Incredible. And Snowden was not even a long time trusted employee. Smart choice.
It has been speculated that Snowden is a spy for China or Russia. If so, why would he go public? That makes no sense whatsoever. If a spy, he likely would have just faded into the woodwork and taken what he knows to aid countries not particularly friendly to us. By going public, he diminished the value of what he knows. By going public, our security agencies now know how vulnerable they are and can institute remedies. By going public, Snowden has informed the people of the United States that their government is spying on them in the name of making us safe from terrorists.
Those in Congress who are incensed over what Edward Snowden has revealed and want him caught and tried for espionage should step back. Snowden has done a service for those of us who believe in government for the people, not over the people.
Immigration and You
The US Senate is about to debate amendments to the proposed immigration reform bill. Even the amendment is hundreds of pages with much of it designed to negate language in the original bill promoted by the “Gang of Eight”. Conservatives and Liberals have gone nuts over this bill. All are betting on the outcome being more voters for their respective parties. Time for them to step back and do what is right.
Current law that has been in place for decades says that if you are in the United States without going through established legal procedures, you are here illegally. The law refers to those as “illegal aliens”. No matter how you massage the language to be politically correct, the operative term is “illegal”. This means against the law. This means being in the United States without legal permission. What about that is not clear? Those here illegally have not been deported only because they have not been caught and local or state law enforcement has been hog-tied and are unable to do anything about it.
Now the Gang of Eight wants to enact a law that provides a pathway to citizenship for about 11 million people who are in the United States illegally. This should not happen. For humanitarian reasons, there is a case for children of illegal aliens who were born in the United States to be legal citizens. Even this is bending the case for “anchor babies”, but it was no decision made by the baby. However, the parents should never have a path to full citizenship. Permanent residency, maybe under certain circumstances, but not full citizenship, ever. They should never have voting rights or be able to collect financial benefits paid for by legal citizen taxpayers. If they want citizenship, they should have to return to their country of origin and make application in line with all others who have followed the legal pathway.
The border with Mexico must be secured. If this means fences and armed outposts, that is what it means. If this means drones, airplanes, and boots on the ground; that is what it means. We do no less for protection of our ocean coasts and the border with Canada is a totally different matter. For an example of border control, take a look at how Mexico manages its southern border. The border between Mexico and the US should be nothing less and probably more. The goal is total stopping of illegal crossings, period.
We will see if the Congress has the guts to do what is right and lawful.
GMOs and your right to know
The countryside has been filled with tractors plowing and planting crops for this year. About all that can be seen from horizon to horizon are fields dedicated to growing genetically modified, or genetically engineered, corn and soybeans. This is Indiana. The final destinations for these crops following harvest this fall will be livestock feed and, in one form or another, food for our tables. No one will know though because none will be labeled, “GMO”, or genetically modified.
Labeling is required for GMO’s in about 65 countries worldwide. These include all of Europe, Australia, Japan, Russia, South Africa and dozens of others. Some countries ban genetically modified foods altogether. One must wonder if other countries know something the United States does not. The big seed and chemical corporations do not want labels. So far, they have successfully stopped labeling in this country. They do not want people to know GMOs are in the food they eat. It is a secret to be kept by them only.
There are many questions about genetically modified foods and their long term safety for people and the environment. More and more evidence is accumulating saying all is not well. All is not well for people and animals that eat these foods. All is not well for the natural environment and the genetic contamination GMOs bring. All is not well with the use of the toxic chemical poisons, herbicides and pesticides, used on crops or in the case of GMO corn with the pesticide that each cell of the plant produces on its own in every plant cell and corn kernel. All is not well with the pesticide residues on harvested crops. All is not well. But all that is to be kept secret, too.
The historical record shows that even the scientists in the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) were concerned about the safety of genetically modified crops over 20 years ago. That did not matter because those who approved GMOs were political appointees. One key appointee at the FDA was an attorney for a firm that did legal work for Monsanto before coming to the FDA. Although he has been in and out of the FDA and Monsanto more than once, he is now in a key food safety position at the FDA
Many states have had GMO labeling legislation introduced, including Indiana. The most visible one was California. Big agriculture and food corporations spent about $45 million on a publicity campaign to narrowly defeat Proposition 37 there. Private Citizens who believe they have a right to know what is in their food could not match that kind of steamrolling propaganda effort. One wonders what there is to hide if millions are spent to defeat a law that would openly tell people what is in their food.
The controversy about GMOs and poisons, pesticides, is reminiscent of the tobacco companies that kept people in the dark for decades about the bad or even catastrophic long term health effects of smoking. Tobacco corporate executives lied to Congress. The largest GMO seed and chemical corporation that wants us to trust it is the one that gave us DDT, Dioxin, PCBs, and Agent Orange.