Monday, February 21, 2011
Badger Country—Unite!
I'm from Wisconsin, the Badger State, so listen up to one of our Congressmen, angered by the GOP-led antics... Have you read the Walker Bill? —crafted by minions and corporate creeps, whose numbers far out-strip the paltry staff left to aide each legislator. For such are the rules laid down in GOPher holes. Rep. Hintz's points go far beyond 144 pages! To them who oppose I say Friend, what words has your Drudge Report told you to say of the illegal vote, the pre-release, the silencing of discussion, the unsportsman-like conduct in our Capitol's Halls? If this Game Plan sent from K-Street Corporate lobbyists and billionaire Kochs, is this the way you play fair upon being given a seat at the table in our Badger State—then Friend, you and your GOPhers go find another hole in which to crawl, for if its GOPher games you like, this is Badger Country and we Badgers have begun to Unite! So listen up cuz over the weekend the thunder and lightning did strike!— twas the Night Watchman a givin thunda in da rotunda yesterday— Mess with our rights and watch us Unite!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Vanishing Bees, Vanishing Freedoms
Today we face a new problem threatening life on our planet. It's not aliens, end-times or islamo-socialist uprisings... its Bees or rather lack of them.
Just in time for Spring Planting, Transnational Agribusiness Corporations have been granted unconditional permits to expand the use of Systemic Insecticides. These water-soluble products initially were sprayed on plants, but moreso now they are absorbed to directly to the seed, expressing themselves genetically in every part of the plant. The sub-lethal neuro-toxins attack the insect's nervous and immune systems after merely eating into the stalk or leaf. However, these poisons are also expressed in the nectar and pollen (and one would surmise fruit). Now Bees and other pollinator insects are suffering similar symptoms. Catastrophic losses are resulting in disruptions further up the food chain into birds and bats.
These Neonicinatoids, particularly Clothianidin, linger and accumulate in the soil long after the plants have been harvested. Studies show a soil toxicity half-life of 19 years after a single application and they accumulate with subsequent plantings.
Honey Bees Colonies have been dying at an alarming rate. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was discovered by pollinator beekeepers in 2006, the same year neonicinatoids were given Conditional Permits for use in Corn. The US has 88 million acres of corn growing within its border. Most of it is laced in neonicinatoids. Even though corn is wind-pollinated, bees are still attracted to the abundant pollen stores regardless of whether they help with pollination. Several EU nations have banned the use of neonicinatoids because their research showed the direct correlation to CCD.
In the US we have several agencies, mandated to protect citizens through regulation and supervision, but nowadays they seem to serve their Corporate citizen's interests rather than constituents. Our newly elected, corporate-sponsored legislature is poised to execute marching orders to finally kill or neuter these agencies, offering instead, self-regulation and supervision by the manufacturers and provider. This would effectively place the wolf in charge of tending the chicken coup. They've begun a two-pronged assault on the EPA, FDA & USDA to either close them down or severely cut their funding. For years these same Corporate giants have employed a revolving-door "if ya can't beat em, infiltrate em" agenda placing execs an insiders in positions of power to systematically dilute or disable their Agency's ability to function, only to return home to lucrative positions following their term in office—and this practice happens regardless of political party affiliation.
With tactics involving media pundits, think tanks, programming, and newly consolidated journalistic and political groups such as the Tea Party Movement, they have not only been successful at focusing attention on how the Agencies are ineffective or broken, but also have forged ways to divide the population against each other over how and why rather than what was responsible. It appears they think a divided population's dissent and polarized ideology will prevent any groundswell from gaining traction to demand reform and restructure, and instead allow them to simply abolish these Agencies.
But to abolish them is to end the only means our citizens have to exercise collective protections, safety and regulations of these products practices, toxins and genetically manipulated flora and fauna by transnational petrochemical and agribusiness corporations who's track record on self-governance stands, in shambles, for itself.
Please listen to this interview with a longtime Beekeeper, UW-Madison grad and ex IBM exec, Tom Theobald. He's the whistle-blower who uncovered much of the information we now know about the agency testing confirming a problem, and subsequent denial, obfuscation and deception by the revolving-door department heads... this is important information.
The American Bee Federation is requesting people call Congress to urge that the small honey bee research program be left intact and remain at least at current spending levels:
—Point out the urgent need for a solution to CCD and other conditions affecting honey bee health.
—Point out the importance of honey bees to agriculture crops $17.9 billion by the latest estimate.
—Point out that USDA honey bee research's program is too important to receive cuts
—Point out how important good honey bee health is to your own beekeeping business.
— But most important Point out that you demand reform and restructure rather than abolishing the agencies.
Call today! The debate is scheduled to begin in the House on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2011.
Capital switchboard: 202.225.3121 (House); 202.224.3121 (Senate). Ask for the individual handling agricultural issues. Or, send a message via the Congressmens Web sites. You can find them at www.senate.gov or www.house.gov.
For more information about the pesticides, laws and real-world accounts of bee colony survival please look over these websites:
http://www.bouldercountybeekeepers.org/
http://beyondpesticides.org/
Just in time for Spring Planting, Transnational Agribusiness Corporations have been granted unconditional permits to expand the use of Systemic Insecticides. These water-soluble products initially were sprayed on plants, but moreso now they are absorbed to directly to the seed, expressing themselves genetically in every part of the plant. The sub-lethal neuro-toxins attack the insect's nervous and immune systems after merely eating into the stalk or leaf. However, these poisons are also expressed in the nectar and pollen (and one would surmise fruit). Now Bees and other pollinator insects are suffering similar symptoms. Catastrophic losses are resulting in disruptions further up the food chain into birds and bats.
These Neonicinatoids, particularly Clothianidin, linger and accumulate in the soil long after the plants have been harvested. Studies show a soil toxicity half-life of 19 years after a single application and they accumulate with subsequent plantings.
Honey Bees Colonies have been dying at an alarming rate. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was discovered by pollinator beekeepers in 2006, the same year neonicinatoids were given Conditional Permits for use in Corn. The US has 88 million acres of corn growing within its border. Most of it is laced in neonicinatoids. Even though corn is wind-pollinated, bees are still attracted to the abundant pollen stores regardless of whether they help with pollination. Several EU nations have banned the use of neonicinatoids because their research showed the direct correlation to CCD.
In the US we have several agencies, mandated to protect citizens through regulation and supervision, but nowadays they seem to serve their Corporate citizen's interests rather than constituents. Our newly elected, corporate-sponsored legislature is poised to execute marching orders to finally kill or neuter these agencies, offering instead, self-regulation and supervision by the manufacturers and provider. This would effectively place the wolf in charge of tending the chicken coup. They've begun a two-pronged assault on the EPA, FDA & USDA to either close them down or severely cut their funding. For years these same Corporate giants have employed a revolving-door "if ya can't beat em, infiltrate em" agenda placing execs an insiders in positions of power to systematically dilute or disable their Agency's ability to function, only to return home to lucrative positions following their term in office—and this practice happens regardless of political party affiliation.
With tactics involving media pundits, think tanks, programming, and newly consolidated journalistic and political groups such as the Tea Party Movement, they have not only been successful at focusing attention on how the Agencies are ineffective or broken, but also have forged ways to divide the population against each other over how and why rather than what was responsible. It appears they think a divided population's dissent and polarized ideology will prevent any groundswell from gaining traction to demand reform and restructure, and instead allow them to simply abolish these Agencies.
But to abolish them is to end the only means our citizens have to exercise collective protections, safety and regulations of these products practices, toxins and genetically manipulated flora and fauna by transnational petrochemical and agribusiness corporations who's track record on self-governance stands, in shambles, for itself.
Please listen to this interview with a longtime Beekeeper, UW-Madison grad and ex IBM exec, Tom Theobald. He's the whistle-blower who uncovered much of the information we now know about the agency testing confirming a problem, and subsequent denial, obfuscation and deception by the revolving-door department heads... this is important information.
The American Bee Federation is requesting people call Congress to urge that the small honey bee research program be left intact and remain at least at current spending levels:
—Point out the urgent need for a solution to CCD and other conditions affecting honey bee health.
—Point out the importance of honey bees to agriculture crops $17.9 billion by the latest estimate.
—Point out that USDA honey bee research's program is too important to receive cuts
—Point out how important good honey bee health is to your own beekeeping business.
— But most important Point out that you demand reform and restructure rather than abolishing the agencies.
Call today! The debate is scheduled to begin in the House on Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2011.
Capital switchboard: 202.225.3121 (House); 202.224.3121 (Senate). Ask for the individual handling agricultural issues. Or, send a message via the Congressmens Web sites. You can find them at www.senate.gov or www.house.gov.
For more information about the pesticides, laws and real-world accounts of bee colony survival please look over these websites:
http://www.bouldercountybeekeepers.org/
http://beyondpesticides.org/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
