Blackwater was at Katrina, and they bragged about it!

Um, so, yeah. for those who want to look at the source, check http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2005/archive/090505btw.html. Some people in the state of Louisiana don't even know that Blackwater was there, in New Orleans, for Katrina. Their web site may have flown the flag, but our media surely did not. The media has covered Blackwater's presence in Iraq because of the bloody wake they leave, but it's hard to find anything talking about people's reactions to the private contractors being in New Orleans during September of 2005, or of their assignment to confiscate weapons from citizens at that time, and herd them into the Super Dome.

Please visit http://www.alternet.org/katrina/25858/ for a full account.

Mood: disgusted.

GMO's may increase production, but not quality, and not livelihood

Monsanto Bio-Pirating Indian Wheat

Monsanto's chapati patent raises Indian ire

Randeep Ramesh in New Delhi

The Guardian

Monsanto, the world's largest genetically modified seed company, has been awarded patents on the wheat used for making chapati - the flat bread staple of northern India.
The patents give the US multinational exclusive ownership over Nap Hal, a strain of wheat whose gene sequence makes it particularly suited to producing crisp breads.

Another patent, filed in Europe, gives Monsanto rights over the use of Nap Hal wheat to make chapatis, which consist of flour, water and salt.

Environmentalists say Nap Hal's qualities are the result of generations of farmers in India who spent years crossbreeding crops and collective, not corporate, efforts should be recognised.

Monsanto, activists claim, is simply out to make "monopoly profits" from food on which millions depend. Monsanto inherited a patent application when it bought the cereals division of the Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever in 1998, and the patent has been granted to the new owner.

Unilever acquired Nap Hal seeds from a publicly funded British plant gene bank. Its scientists identified the wheat's combination of genes and patented them as an "invention".
Greenpeace is attempting to block Monsanto's patent, accusing the company of "bio-piracy".

"It is theft of the results of the work in cultivation made by Indian farmers," said Dr Christoph Then, Greenpeace's patent expert after a meeting with the European Commission in Delhi.

"We want the European Patent Office to reverse its decision. Under European law patents cannot be issued on plants that are normally cultivated, but there are loopholes in the legislation."

A spokesperson for Monsanto in India denied that the company had any plan to exploit the patent, saying that it was in fact pulling out of cereals in some markets. "This patent was Unilever's. We got it when we bought the company. Really this is all academic as we are exiting from the cereal business in the UK and Europe," said Ranjana Smetacek, Monsanto's public affairs director in India. Campaigners in India say that there are concerns that people might end up paying royalties to Monsanto for making or selling chapatis.

"The commercial interest is that Monsanto can charge people for using the wheat or take a cut from its sale," said Devinder Sharma, who runs the Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security in Delhi. The potential market in developing countries is huge. Rice production in India alone exceeds that of the American maize market.

The number of patents relating to rice issued every year in the US has risen from less than 100 in the mid-1990s to more than 600 in 2000. Mr Sharma says there is little hope of the Indian government intervening to prevent the chapati being patented by Monsanto. It simply cannot afford the legal fees, having spent hundreds of thousands of dollars fighting a US decision to grant a Texan company a patent on basmati rice in 1997. That case became a cause celebre for the anti-globalisation protests of the 1990s, and was only settled when the patent was watered down. "The ministry of commerce sent a circular out last year which said that there is no money to fund these cases any more," said Mr Sharma.

Offshore Drilling Bans - Coastal Areas at Risk

reposted from Bloomberg.com

Bush Will Urge End to Offshore Oil Drilling Ban (Update3)

By Holly Rosenkrantz and Roger Runningen

June 18 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush today will urge Congress to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that is in line with a similar call from Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

``With gasoline now over $4 a gallon,'' Bush ``wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur,'' and have ``the federal government to share revenues with the states,'' White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said yesterday.

Democrats have long opposed Republican efforts to end the ban on offshore drilling that has existed in some areas since 1981. Expanded offshore exploration also has faced opposition in the coastal state of Florida, which will be a battleground in the presidential campaign between McCain and Democrat Barack Obama.

``I don't see how either house of Congress passes this,'' said Pete Davis, president of Davis Capital Investment in Washington. ``This has been a long-standing issue and the lines are very hardened.''

Still, rising oil prices are creating a drag on the U.S. economy and energy costs have become a top political issue.

Bush ``is under a lot of pressure to show that he can still be effective on an issue that matters to voters, so this is one they've pulled out of the closet,'' Davis said.

Arizona Senator McCain, 71, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, yesterday called for letting states open up more territory to offshore oil drilling, even as he promised a break from the energy policies of the Bush administration.

Obama Disagrees

Obama, 46, an Illinois senator who the presumptive Democratic nominee, said there is no evidence that lifting the ban on oil drilling would provide relief to consumers.

``This is not something that is going to give relief now, and it's not a long-term solution,'' Obama said yesterday.

Bush's push for offshore oil drilling is a one of several steps he wants Congress to take to boost the U.S. energy supply, Perino said. Bush, 61, wants Congress to open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling as well. McCain opposes drilling in the refuge.

Perino said Bush will make his statement at 10:35 a.m. at the White House. The statement will include no presidential directives, she said.

The proposal may touch off a political firestorm between energy companies and environmental groups, between members of Congress from coastal states such as New Jersey, Florida, Virginia or California, and draw a contrast between Republican governors.

Crist, Schwarzenegger

Florida Governor Charlie Crist joined Bush and McCain in seeking an end to the ban. Crist reversed his longstanding opposition to drilling off the shores of his state hours after McCain made his call and administration officials said Bush will ask Congress to allow ``environmentally friendly'' drilling, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Crist had opposed offshore drilling on concern it would damage Florida's beaches and drive away tourists. ``We must be pragmatic in protecting both our beaches and our economy,'' Crist said in a written response to the newspaper.

A telephone call to Thomas Philpot, a spokesman for Crist, wasn't immediately returned.

In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger opposes lifting the moratorium but ``still absolutely supports'' McCain, said Aaron McLear, a spokesman for the Republican governor, the Los Angeles Times reported. ``They're going to disagree from time to time, and this is one of those cases.''

Reserve Estimates

The nation's Outer Continental Shelf, including areas in the Gulf of Mexico that are already being drilled, has an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of gas, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service. Of that, almost 18 billion barrels* of oil and more than 76 trillion cubic feet of gas are off states where drilling isn't allowed, agency spokesman David Smith said.

Estimates for offshore areas where drilling is prohibited are likely low because there has been no exploration since the 1970s, Smith said. Advances in deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico revealed deposits that increased reserves in areas that are open to drilling, he said

The U.S. had proved oil reserves of 29.4 billion barrels at the end of 2007, according to an estimate by BP Plc.

Republicans in the House plan to use Bush's remarks to prod the Appropriations Committee to ease energy restrictions as the panel considers a $27.9 billion spending bill for the Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency.

Oil Shale

With oil prices up about double what they were a year ago and up about 40 percent this year, Republicans want to focus on domestic energy production, including removal of the current offshore drilling moratorium.** They also may offer amendments to permit the Interior Department to lease land in some western states for oil-shale extraction and open the refuge in Alaska for to drilling.

Oil futures in New York have surged fourfold since the end of 2003, including a 40 percent jump this year, and touched a record this week at $139.89 a barrel.

Crude's rise pushed gasoline and diesel prices above $4 a gallon in the U.S., dragging down profits for businesses ranging from shipping services to department stores and contributing to a drop in truck sales by Ford Motor Co. and other manufacturers. Record jet-fuel prices forced U.S. Airways and other carriers to cut more than 10,000 jobs and ground more than 400 aircraft.

To contact the reporter on this story: Holly Rosenkrantz in Washington at hrosenkrantz@bloomberg.netRoger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 18, 2008 10:24 EDT

* Blog author's note: A 2004 estimate placed US daily oil consumption at 20.73 million barrels per day (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/us.html). Based on that estimate, the 18 billion barrels that are estimated to be in water where offshore drilling is permitted, would last the US for approximately two years. The effects of offshore drilling on the environment would last for way, way longer than that. So basically, once again, the president wants to take actions w/long term consequences for a short term benefit.
**BA's note: this apparently does not include putting further $$ towards research of alternative energy sources: wind, solar, etc. Biofuel is another short term solution, but even it has shorter term effects on the environment than offshore drilling.

I found this on a truth site dedicated to an unidentified flying object site around the towers which may or may not be a plane. See more images here.

On another note, I am starting to wonder if all this alien presence business is real. Supposedly 14% of people surveyed said they have had encounters w/UFOs. I have, too. How many of us are out there who never admit it?

I'll have to post my own encounter at some point, a memorate for whoever reads this. Apparently some 11/13 year olds (wtf, mate?) do. But luckily so do intelligent people w/a sharp sense of humo(u)r. Or is anything as it seems on the web?

My cat's really sick. I've been kind of preoccupied with it. I don't want to lose her - she's a year and a half old - I feel like she deserves a chance, and guilty as hell that something we've done has made her sick. Keeping chemicals under the sink? Not catering to her taste for wet food soon enough? It seems like she's just turned down everything. Searching through all this shit that's on the web for wedding plan ideas at the same time, I just see all these high society bull shit blogs about Faye and Greer (whoever the fuck they are), and it just makes me feel anonymous. Kind of lost. Disconnected? Sure.

Yeah, I rant. But that's my news for today. Oh, yeah. And I was hit by a car. I've spilled on my bike before, but this is the first time I have been hit. By a car. The car wasn't going very fast, and neither was I, too bad for me, but he just went 'tap' and I went 'whoomp' *crash* What's going on in the stars? Is life telling me to hurry up, or slow down? I have to be poised for action at just the right moment.

Not so fun. Join us for the next installation in Faustina's Freaky Fun House!

Is Old News Still News if You've Never Heard it Before?

(reposted from commondreams.org):

Published on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 by Inter Press Service

Hundreds of U.S. Soldiers Emerge as Conscientious Objectors

by Gabriel Packard

NEW YORK - Although only a handful of them have gone public, at least several hundred U.S. soldiers have applied for conscientious objector (CO) status since January, says a rights group. The Center on Conscience and War (CCW), which advises military personnel on CO discharges, reports that since the start of 2003--when many soldiers realized they might have to fight in the Iraq war--there has been a massive increase in the number of enlisted soldiers who have applied for CO status. "The bare minimum is several hundred, and this number only includes the ones that have come to my group and to groups we're associated with," CCW official J.E. McNeil told IPS. "There will be others who will have gone through different channels, and some people do it on their own," she added. Generally, COs possess a sincere conviction that forbids them from taking part in organized killing. This objection may apply to all or to only particular aspects of war. Only a small percentage of people who apply receive a CO discharge. But military statistics lag about one year behind, and the decisions on CO applications take on average six months to one year--sometimes as long as two years--so the exact number of COs in the present war will not be known for some time. Also, military figures do not count applications from servicemen who are absent without leave, so they will not include Stephen Funk, a marine reserve who was on unauthorized leave before he publicly declared himself a conscientious objector and reported back to his military base in San Jose, California, April 1. Funk, 20, realized that he was against all war during his training, which including having to bayonet human-shaped dummies while shouting, ”kill, kill.” Since publicly declaring his opposition to war, he has become a symbol of resistance both in the United States and around the world. "Since Stephen went public," says Aimee Allison, a CO from the first Gulf War who has been supporting Funk, "some people from Yesh Gvul (a group of Israeli soldiers who have refused to fight in the occupied territories in Palestine) have contacted me to pledge their support for Stephen and to show solidarity and to thank him for making a stand." "People in other countries are proud that an American can stand up to the hegemony and the violence of the war in Iraq," she adds. Soldiers in other countries, including Turkey, have refused to fight in the current war sparked by last month's U.S.-led attack. Three British servicemen were sent home from the Persian Gulf after objecting to the conduct of the invasion and a member of the British Parliament, George Galloway, says he "is calling on British forces to refuse to obey the illegal orders" involved in the war. As it is in the British army, CO discharge is a long-established practice in the U.S. armed forces and always peaks in wartime. CCW says there were an estimated 200,000 COs in the Vietnam War, 4,300 in the Korean War, 37,000 in World War II and 3,500 in World War I. The military granted 111 COs from the army in the first Gulf War before putting a stop to the practice, resulting in 2,500 soldiers being sent to prison, says Bill Gavlin from the Center on Conscience and War, quoting a report from the Boston Globe newspaper. During that war, a number of U.S. COs in Camp LeJeune in North Carolina state were "beaten, harassed and treated horribly," Gavlin says. In some cases, COs were put on planes bound for Kuwait, told that they could not apply for CO status or that they could only apply after they'd already gone to war. As far as Gavlin knows, that type of treatment has not happened this time. But he has counseled service members who were harassed. For example, one woman was told that if she applied for CO status she would be court marshaled. It is not an offence to apply, and her superiors did it, Gavlin says, "to intimidate her." Allison says she was both supported and condemned when she became a CO. "Privately I received overwhelming personal support from the other members of my unit," she says. "But publicly I was isolated by my unit." "I was a senior at Stanford at the time, and again, in private I got lots of support - for example anti-war groups on campus asked me to speak at events," she adds. "But there were also detractors on campus and in the broader community." Even though conscientious objection is well established, Funk--like many others--found it difficult to find information about it within the military system. "It took him six or seven months,” says Allison. ”And eventually he was searching the Internet...and found the G.I. Rights website." G.I. Rights is a network of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that give advice and information to service members about military discharges and about complaint procedures. CCW belongs to this network. The NGOs advise soldiers on whether they meet the criteria for CO status, and help them complete a CO application. The process involves filling in a 22-question form, being interviewed by a military chaplain, a psychologist and an investigating officer. To succeed in getting CO status, soldiers must demonstrate that their beliefs about war have changed since they enlisted. Soldiers that have this change of heart fall into three main groups, says McNeil. The first group contains "those who go into the military understanding war and are willing to accept it," she says. "But then something happens during their service and they are no longer OK with war." The second group contains people who have "sought out spiritual growth and have come to believe that God doesn't want them to participate in war." The third, and biggest, group, she says, is made up of young, often naive, people who join the military in their late teens. They are often poor whites, blacks or Hispanics, who either have limited employment opportunities, or are looking for a way to fund their college education. Because military recruiters target poor youth in urban centers--the so-called "poverty draft"--this is probably the fastest-growing group of COs as well as the biggest, added McNeil. Copyright 2003 IPS

Did anyone hear about this on Fox News? No, of course not. And if they would have reported on it, they probably would have described conscientious objectivity with words like 'cowardice' and 'un-American'.


If people object to a war by boycotting it and staging massive protests, shouldn't that send a message to others that war is wrong?

If you're Christian, do you really think Jesus would approve of war? Take out the Old Testament, just a second, and take into account only Jesus' teachings. Think about it.

For that matter, I would keep in mind that no major religion actually encourages war and violence against others. The leaders who encourage war are misinterpreting their own scriptures. The leaders who say that some wars are necessary are probably the ones getting some sort of a profit over war.

If you boil it down, there are people making money off of people killing other people.

There can't be anything ethically or morally correct about this, can there?

Heat Ray

So, yeah, this has been developed for use in Iraq, but can anyone else see this being used for crowd control?

Does anyone else see a problem with this? I mean, even if there isn't a significant cancer risk, why do we have to add to the shit that contributes? And couldn't they turn this up just a little bit to get it to really cook someone?

Sorry. I just don't trust this government....