the Sugar Conspiracy 

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Friday, June 20, 2003 Ronald makes changes In response to increasingly dire warnings that widespread use of antibiotics on U.S. farms is making the drugs less effective for treating people, the fast-food chain McDonald's today directed some meat suppliers to stop using antibiotic growth promoters altogether and encouraging others to cut back. The new policy, the broadest in the United States, focuses on the use of antibiotics in animal feed to speed the development of livestock -- a practice widely seen by researchers as the least important and most expendable use of important antibiotics. Because McDonald's is the nation's largest purchaser of beef and among the largest for chicken and pork, its action will noticeably reduce the amount of antibiotics being used as growth promoters. Beyond that, consumer and public health advocates as well as McDonald's executives said they hope today's announcement will mark a turning point in the way U.S. farmers raise animals. I'm not so sure how I feel about this. It's a good step, although a really tiny one. It seems like it's the least they can possbily do to get the most publicity out of it and not upset their bottom line too much. It certainly doesn't affect any of the real issues at hand with America's meat processing industry - the way the animals are "stored" in their cages, the crulety of the slaughterhouses, the poor treatment of the workers, etc. The article is also typically human-centric - the only reason feeding antibiotics to animals to fatten them up for the slaughter is wrong is becuase it increases our resistance to antibiotics. There are deeper issues at stake here. posted by chris at 4:01 PM   Africans speak for themselves As the transatlantic dispute over the future of genetically modified (GM) food heats up, African activists say it is time to publicly challenge the image that the Bush administration is presenting on the issue. Washington, they say, is not entitled to speak on behalf of African states on the matter. ”How can one country decide for another country without taking into account the opinion of the other country's people?” Amadou C. Kanoute, regional director of the African office of Consumers International said at a conference here Tuesday organized by Public Citizen. -clip- ”We do not believe that agro-companies or gene technologies will help our farmers to produce the food that is needed in the 21st century,'' said the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference in a statement. ''On the contrary, we think it will destroy the diversity, the local knowledge and the sustainable agricultural systems that our farmers have developed for millennia and that it will thus undermine our capacity to feed ourselves.” More here. posted by chris at 3:35 PM   Maybe common sense will win out after all A Senate panel yesterday voted to overturn the FCC's decision to loosen restrictuions on US media ownership. It still has to go to the full Senate and the House before the decision can be fully overturned though. Details here. posted by chris at 3:27 PM   ------------------ Thursday, June 19, 2003 Global warming is just a myth, right? The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to publish a draft report next week on the state of the environment, but after editing by the White House, a long section describing risks from rising global temperatures has been whittled to a few noncommittal paragraphs. The report, commissioned in 2001 by the agency's administrator, Christie Whitman, was intended to provide the first comprehensive review of what is known about various environmental problems, where gaps in understanding exist and how to fill them. The editing eliminated references to many studies concluding that warming is at least partly caused by rising concentrations of smokestack and tail-pipe emissions and could threaten health and ecosystems. -clip- Among the deletions were conclusions about the likely human contribution to warming from a 2001 report on climate by the National Research Council that the White House had commissioned and that President Bush had endorsed in speeches that year. White House officials also deleted a reference to a 1999 study showing that global temperatures had risen sharply in the previous decade compared with the last 1,000 years. In its place, administration officials added a reference to a new study, partly financed by the American Petroleum Institute, questioning that conclusion. Article here. posted by chris at 3:08 PM   A grassroots primary MoveOn.org, who drummed up significant opposition to the attack on Iraq via their web campaigns, is sponsoring a grassroots political primary months ahead of the lumbering political machine. It's a way to see which Democratic candidate has more popular support and then try and help that candidate get elected. It's also a way to circumvent the traditional method of choosing a candidate that focuses too much on special interest monies and rich friends while bypassing the people. A more detailed explanation can be found here. Once you register, you'll be given a unique one person/one vote link that will allow you to place your vote. But register soon, as voting will take place Tuesday, June 24th 12:00 am to Wednesday, June 25th 11:59 pm. posted by chris at 2:51 PM   If you don't play fair, I'm taking my toys home and blowing yours up The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he favors developing new technology to remotely destroy the computers of people who illegally download music from the Internet. The surprise remarks by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, during a hearing on copyright abuses represent a dramatic escalation in the frustrating battle by industry executives and lawmakers in Washington against illegal music downloads. During a discussion on methods to frustrate computer users who illegally exchange music and movie files over the Internet, Hatch asked technology executives about ways to damage computers involved in such file trading. Legal experts have said any such attack would violate federal anti-hacking laws. Full article here. Also, thanks to August, we can see what kind of music Orrin would have you buy instead. posted by chris at 2:32 PM   ------------------ Tuesday, June 17, 2003 "No reliable information" In October 2002, a classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared jointly by U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons. But one month later, the Defense Intelligence Agency issued a report stating that there was "no reliable information" showing that Iraq was actually producing or stockpiling chemical weapons, U.S. News has learned. Full article here. And those mobile germ warfare labs were actually for the production of hydrogen gas. posted by chris at 6:27 PM   Bringing "light" to all the dark corners of the globe And that light is fueled by none other than . . . OIL!!! The Guardian reports on the scramble to stake claims on Africa's numerous oil resources. Washington's determination to find an alternative energy source to the Middle East is leading to a new oil rush in sub-Saharan Africa which threatens to launch a fresh cycle of conflict, corruption and environmental degradation in the region, campaigners warn today. The new scramble for Africa risks bringing more misery to the continent's impoverished citizens as western oil companies pour billions of dollars in secret payments into government coffers throughout the continent. Much of the money ends up in the hands of ruling elites or is squandered on grandiose projects and the military. Not that this is a particularly new phenomenon, but maybe it's just getting a bit more desperate. As if Africa didn't have enough problems without the imperialist powers and the coporations cutting even more of her up. Update: Another more personal account here about how the push for an oil pipeline from Chad thru Cameroon didn't quite yield the enhanced social benefits that were promised. posted by chris at 5:04 PM   He's ba-a-a-a-a-ck! After 10 days of intense classes, discussions, lectures, and mild sleep deprivation, I have returned from the ZMI conference ready to change the world. It was a fantastic experience filled with fascinating people doing simply incredible things with their lives. We kept a hectic schedule of classes and lectures punctuated with cafeteria food that was about as bad as I remember from my childhood, with the exception of the massive dessert buffet that lent all kinds of credence to the sugar conspiracy. (I guess you can't have one of those in an elementary school or the place would explode). We explored topics such as radical theory, mainstream and alternative media, participatory economics, global organizing, research and reporting, political science, economics, foreign policy, institutional racism, organizing, and a little pop culture. We also participated in 3 lectures/Q&A's with the man himself, Noam Chomsky. I discovered a whole host of new websites and organizations as well as a slew of alternative media projects that are doing some good in the world, so as soon as I can get the time, I'll update those on the website. In the meantime, I'm back at it, blogging my little fingers away. Hope you enjoy. posted by chris at 5:03 PM   ------------------

    

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