Frac Sand Mine Proposed Near School Sparks Battle In Small Wisconsin Town

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air pollution, cancer, Crystalline Silica, dirty politics, environment, Frac Sand, Frac Sand Mining, fracking, Glenwood City, greed, Health, health hazards, Health Problems, Jim Tittle, lobbyists, Mining, money, opposition, politicians, residents, Sand Fracking, Sand mining, Silica or Sand Fracking, silica sand, Silicosis, tourism, U.S, United States, Vista Sand, water pollution, Wisconsin

More than 100 frac sand mines and processing facilities, like this one outside of Bloomer, Wis., have cropped up across the state over the last few years. (photo – Jim Tittle)

After winning just one game the previous year, the Glenwood City Hilltoppers football team reveled in taking home the Wisconsin Division 7 state championship last season.

And in typical small-town fashion, the whole community rallied behind them, recalled Chris Schone, whose son quarterbacked the junior varsity squad.

But now, Schone said, something is “tearing the community apart.” A nearly 400-acre open-pit frac sand mine has been proposed for a site less than half a mile from the school, and now those residents who welcome the mine’s promises of wealth and prosperity have squared off against those who fear its consequences to their health, way of life and property values.

“Our home is also about a half-mile from the mine,” added Schone, who grew up in Glenwood City and owns a nearby gas station and restaurant. “Our four children would be exposed 24 hours a day.”

Read more important information on this here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/01/frac-sand-mining-wisconsin-glenwood-city_n_3364963.html?utm_hp_ref=green

Greed is the motivating factor for residents and farmers who are willing to sell or lease their land to Sand Fracking companies, and the consequences are deadly Silicosis and cancer caused by Frac Sand Mining!  That and the destruction of a beautiful and unique environment here in Wisconsin in towns that count on tourism for their livelihoods! – John Loeffler, Fountain City, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

 

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Politicians Paid Off By Monsanto! (Full Congressional List)

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Agent Orange, Congress, dark money, Democrats, dirty politics, GMO labeling, GMOs, greed, laws, lobbyists, money, Monsanto, Monsanto Protection Act, politicians, public health hazards, Republicans, Roy Blunt, Senate, slavery, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate

Democrat, Republican, it doesn’t matter. As long as you can help Monsanto slide its icy tentacles into the food chain, then there’s some financial tip available to you. Thankfully, many such ties can be exposed through some data digging, and thanks to diligent readers who send comprehensive news tips and other researchers out there, we now have an extensive list of politicians getting paid cold hard cash from GMO juggernaut Monsanto.

Keep in mind these are the figures we know, which means that behind the scenes expect these numbers to multiply extensively. But what is most amazing is that these politicians just don’t care that you know they’re receiving thousands of dollars from Monsanto! They sweep it under the carpet, but they are openly taking money from this corporation that has been caught running ‘slave-like’ rings and disregarding public health. We’re talking about a corporation that primarily aided in the creation of Agent Orange — the Vietnam-era chemical weapon that killed over 400,000 people and led to 500,000 plus birth defects.

Looking at these figures, over $260,000 was openly pumped into the House, and $122,000 was pumped into the Senate. And again, this is openly. I’m speculating, but I would imagine the real number to easily be in the millions. Can you imagine how much they must pay these politicians to shoot down GMO labeling bills that 90 plus percent of the entire country wants?

Or how about the nice chunk of cash that Monsanto paid Senator Roy Blunt to ‘help write’ the Monsanto Protection Act that grants Monsanto immunity from federal courts? Roy’s cash payment is not included in this list, however RT reports he received $64,250 towards his campaign (*It turned out to be more than double that at about $168,000!) from the company. Surely they expected nothing in return.

Politicians Paid By Monsanto

House of Representatives:

Total paid by Monsanto to Democrats: $72,000
Total paid by Monsanto to Republicans: $190,500

Barrow, John (D-GA) $2,500

Bishop, Sanford (D-GA) $5,000

Boehner, John (R-OH) $10,000

Braley, Bruce (D-IA) $5,000

Camp, Dave (R-MI) $5,000

Cantor, Eric (R-VA) $10,000

Clay, William L Jr (D-MO)$10,000

Cleaver, Emanuel (D-MO) $5,000

Conaway, Mike (R-TX) $2,000

Courtney, Joe (D-CT) $4,500

Crawford, Rick (R-AR) $2,500

Fincher, Steve (R-TN) $8,000

Gardner, Cory (R-CO) $7,500

Goodlatte, Bob (R-VA) $4,500

Graves, Sam (R-MO) $5,000

Griffin, Tim (R-AR) $1,000

Guthrie, Brett (R-KY) $1,000

Hanabusa, Colleen (D-HI)$5,000

Hannemann, Mufi (D-HI) $1,000

Hartzler, Vicky (R-MO) $3,000

Holden, Tim (D-PA) $1,000

Huelskamp, Tim (R-KS) $2,500

Hultgren, Randy (R-IL) $2,500

Jenkins, Lynn (R-KS) $2,500

Johnson, Timothy (R-IL) $3,000

King, Steven A (R-IA) $2,500

Kingston, Jack (R-GA) $7,000

Kinzinger, Adam (R-IL) $3,500

Kissell, Larry (D-NC) $5,000

Labrador, Raul (R-ID) $2,000

LaMalfa, Doug (R-CA) $1,000

Landry, Jeff (R-LA) $1,000

Latham, Tom (R-IA) $10,000

Loebsack, David (D-IA) $5,000

Long, Billy (R-MO) $2,500

Lucas, Frank D (R-OK) $10,000

Luetkemeyer, Blaine (R-MO)$5,000

Lungren, Dan (R-CA) $1,000

McIntyre, Mike (D-NC) $1,000

Neugebauer, Randy (R-TX)$1,000

Noem, Kristi (R-SD) $1,000

Nunes, Devin (R-CA) $3,500

Owens, Bill (D-NY) $2,000

Peterson, Collin (D-MN) $10,000

Rogers, Hal (R-KY) $7,500

Rokita, Todd (R-IN) $5,000

Roskam, Peter (R-IL) $1,000

Schilling, Bobby (R-IL) $3,000

Schock, Aaron (R-IL) $5,000

Shimkus, John M (R-IL) $5,000

Simpson, Mike (R-ID) $10,000

Smith, Adrian (R-NE) $5,000

Stutzman, Marlin (R-IN) $5,000

Thompson, Bennie G (D-MS)$10,000

Thompson, Glenn (R-PA) $1,000

Upton, Fred (R-MI) $5,000

Valadao, David (R-CA) $2,500

Wagner, Ann L (R-MO) $10,000

Walden, Greg (R-OR) $1,000

Walorski, Jackie (R-IN) $2,500

Womack, Steve (R-AR) $1,000

Senate:

Total paid by Monsanto to Democrats: $37,500
Total  paid by Monsanto to Republicans: $85,000

Akin, Todd (R-MO) $3,500

Baucus, Max (D-MT) $1,000

Berg, Rick (R-ND) $10,000

Blunt, Roy (R-MO) $10,000

Boozman, John (R-AR) $5,000

Casey, Bob (D-PA) $2,500

Chambliss, Saxby (R-GA) $5,000

Fischer, Deb (R-NE) $5,000

Gillibrand, Kirsten (D-NY)$1,000

Grassley, Chuck (R-IA) $2,000

Hirono, Mazie K (D-HI) $1,000

Johanns, Mike (R-NE) $1,000

Klobuchar, Amy (D-MN) $5,000

Landrieu, Mary L (D-LA) $1,000

McCaskill, Claire (D-MO)$5,000

McConnell, Mitch (R-KY) $10,000

Moran, Jerry (R-KS) $2,500

Nelson, Ben (D-NE) $13,000

Rehberg, Denny (R-MT) $2,000

Risch, James E (R-ID) $3,500

Roberts, Pat (R-KS) $9,000

Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI) $8,000

Thompson, Tommy G (R-WI)$5,000

Wicker, Roger (R-MS) $1,000

Wilson, Heather A (R-NM)$2,500

Source:  http://naturalsociety.com/list-politicians-paid-off-by-monsanto/?utm_source=Natural+Society&utm_campaign=89f19637e9-Email+168%3A+5%2F28%2F2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f20e6f9c84-89f19637e9-323137773

 

Petroleum Coke: The Coal Hiding in the Tar Sands

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air pollution, Alberta, Atmosphere, bitumen, Canada, Canadian Tar Sands, carbon dioxide, China, climate change, coal, destruction, environmental catastrophe, environmental disaster, EU, European Union, exports, forests, GOP, increase, Keystone XL, Keystone XL Pipeline, Koch Brothers, lobbyists, oil, Oxbow Carbon, Oxbow Corporation, Petcoke, PetKoch, Petroleum Coke, Republicans, Super-PACS, tar sands oil, U.S, U.S. State Department, United States

The Canadian tar sands have been called the “most environmentally destructive project on earth”, with good reason. Extracting tar sands bitumen from under the boreal forests of Alberta, Canada requires huge amounts of energy and water. It has cleared vast tracts of forest, left scars on the land that are visible from space and threatened the health and livelihoods of indigenous First Nations communities across the region.

It is a well established fact that full exploitation of the tar sands is a grave threat to the climate. Emissions from tar sands extraction and upgrading are between 3.2 and 4.5 times higher than the equivalent emissions from conventional oil produced in North America.On a lifecycle basis, the average gallon of tar sands bitumen derived fuel has between 14 and 37 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than the average gallon of fuel from conventional oil.

But as bad as these impacts already are, existing analyses of the impacts of tar sands fail to account for a byproduct of the process that is a major source of climate change causing carbon emissions: petroleum coke – known as petcoke. Petcoke is the coal hiding in North America’s tar sands oil boom.

Petcoke is like coal, but dirtier. Petcoke looks and acts like coal, but it has even higher carbon emissions than already carbon-intensive coal.

• On a per-unit of energy basis petcoke emits 5 to 10 percent more carbon dioxide than coal.
• A ton of petcoke yields on average 53.6 percent more CO2 than a ton of coal.
• The proven tar sands reserves of Canada will yield roughly 5 billion tons of petcoke – enough to fully fuel 111 U.S. coal plants to 2050.
• Because it is considered a refinery byproduct, petcoke emissions are not included in most assessments of the climate impact of tar sands or conventional oil production and consumption. Thus the climate impact of oil production is being consistently undercounted.

Petcoke in the tar sands is turning American refineries into coal factories.

• There is 24 percent more CO2 embedded in a barrel of tar sands bitumen than in a barrel of light oil.
• 15 to 30 percent of a barrel of tar sands bitumen can end up as petcoke, depending on the upgrading and refining process used.
• Of 134 operating U.S. refineries in 2012, 59 are equipped to produce petcoke.
• U.S. refineries produced over 61.5 million tons of petcoke in 2011 – enough to fuel 50 average U.S. coal plants each year.
• In 2011, over 60 percent of U.S petcoke production was exported.

Keystone XL will fuel five coal plants and thus emit 13% more CO2 than the U.S. State Department has previously considered.

• Nine of the refineries close to the southern terminus of Keystone XL have nearly 30 percent of U.S. petcoke production capacity, over 50,000 tons a day.
• The petcoke produced from the Keystone XL pipeline would fuel 5 coal plants and produce 16.6 million metric tons of CO2 each year.
• These petcoke emissions have been excluded from State Department emissions estimates for the Keystone XL pipeline.
• Including these emissions raises the total annual emissions of the pipeline by 13% above the State Department’s calculations.

Cheap petcoke helps the coal industry.

• As a refinery byproduct, petcoke is “priced to move”, selling at roughly a 25 percent discount to conventional coal.
• Rising petcoke production associated with tar sands and heavy oil production is helping to make coal fired power generation dirtier and cheaper – globally.
• From January 2011 to September 2012, the United States exported over 8.6 million tons of petcoke to China, most of which was likely burnt in coal-fired power plants.

“PetKoch”: The largest global petcoke trader in the world is Florida based Oxbow Corporation, owned by William Koch – the brother of Charles and David Koch.

• Oxbow Carbon has donated $4.25 million to GOP super PACs, making it the one of the largest corporate donors to super PACs.
• Oxbow also spent over $1.3 million on lobbyists in 2012.

To date, the impacts of petcoke on the local and global environment have not been considered by regulatory bodies in assessing the impacts of the tar sands. Petcoke’s full impacts must be considered by the European Union in its debate on the Fuel Quality Directive, by the U.S. State Department in its consideration of the climate impacts of the Keystone XL pipeline, and by Canadian, American, and European governments in tar sands policies across the board.

Increasing petcoke use is a clear result of the increasing production of tar sands bitumen. Petcoke is a seldom discussed yet highly important aspect of the full impacts of tar sands production. Factored into the equation, petcoke puts another strong nail in the coffin of any rational argument for the further exploitation of the tar sands.

Source:  http://priceofoil.org/2013/01/17/petroleum-coke-the-coal-hiding-in-the-tar-sands/

 

How Much Monsanto Spends On Congress!

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Congress, corruption, GMOs, greed, Lobbying, lobbyists, Monsanto, power-hungry, U.S. Government

LOBBYING

Monsanto Co

A special interest’s lobbying activity may go up or down over time, depending on how much attention the federal government is giving their issues. Particularly active clients often retain multiple lobbying firms, each with a team of lobbyists, to press their case for them.
Year:  2013

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $1,590,000
Subtotal for Parent Monsanto Co: $1,590,000

Monsanto Co Lobbying by Industry

Industry	Total
Agricultural Services/Products	$1,590,000

Itemized Lobbying Expenses for Monsanto Co

Firms Hired	Total Reported by Filer	Reported Contract Expenses (included in Total Reported by Filer)
Monsanto Co	$1,590,000	–
Monsanto Co	–	$1,590,000

Source:  http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000055&year=2013

This is only one REPORTED source.  I am sure the total figure so far this year is actually much higher!  Maybe it is time to cut lobbyist spending down to $0, and get rid of the bastards in Congress and throughout our federal government who value greed over their own voters’ needs!  Congress only listens to the sound of lobbyist $money$ getting stuffed into their pockets!  Monsanto is relentless in their pursuit of global dominance, and the most evil corporation on the earth will not stop until they have either bought out your elected leaders or killed off the competition…WE ARE THEIR COMPETITION!  Let’s permanently ban Monsanto’s toxic, cancerous GMOs and Roundup (Glyphosate)!    Cut off the head of the giant, and the rest will fall much easier! – John Loeffler, Fountain City, Wisconsin, U.S.A.

READER ALERT! Monsanto and Congress Move to Stomp on States’ GMO Labeling Rights!

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2013, Agent Orange, agriculture, Amendments, Americans, Biotech Rider, California, Civil Rights, Congress, consumers, corruption, cover-ups, covert operations, crops, Deadly, dirty politics, Dow Chemical, EPA, EU, European Union, farm bill, farmers, food supply, Genetically modified food, Genetically Modified Organisms, GMO, GMO Ban, GMOs, greed, Grocery Manufacturers Association, Health Problems, herbicides, Human Rights, human rights violations, I-522, Iowa, King Amendment, lobbyists, Monsanto, Monsanto Protection Act, Occupy Monsanto, Organic Consumers Association, poison, power grab, Proposition 37, Rep. Steve King, Roundup, scientific evidence, scientists, Toxic, U.S. citizens, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Unconstitutional, United States Environmental Protection Agency, violations, Washington, Washington D.C.

Reliable sources in Washington D.C. have informed the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) that Monsanto has begun secretly lobbying its Congressional allies to attach one or more “Monsanto Riders” or amendments to the 2013 Farm Bill that would preempt or prohibit states from requiring labels on genetically engineered (GE) foods.

Let’s put every member of Congress on notice: If you support any Farm Bill amendment that would nullify states’ rights to label genetically modified organisms (GMOs), we’ll vote – or throw – you out of office!

On Wednesday, May 15, an amendment to the House version of the Farm Bill, inserted under the guise of protecting interstate commerce, passed out of the House Agricultural Committee. If the King Amendment makes it into the final Farm Bill, it would take away states’ rights to pass laws governing the production or manufacture of any agricultural product, including food and animals raised for food, that is involved in interstate commerce. The amendment was proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), largely in response to a California law stating that by 2015, California will allow only eggs to be sold from hens housed in cages specified by California.  But policy analysts emphasize that the amendment, broadly and ambiguously written, could be used to prohibit or preempt any state GMO labeling or food safety law.

Will the King Amendment survive the Senate? No one can be sure, say analysts. However few doubt that Monsanto will give up. We can expect that more amendments and riders will be introduced into the Farm Bill–even if the King Amendment fails—over the next month in an attempt to stop the wave of state GMO labeling laws and initiatives moving forward in states like Washington, Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and others.

Monsanto and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) have admitted privately that they’ve “lost the battle” to stop GE food labeling at the state level, now that states are aggressively moving forward on labeling laws. On May 14, Maine’s House Ag Committee passed a GMO labeling law. On May 10, the Vermont House passed a labeling bill, 99-42, despite massive lobbying by Monsanto and threats to sue the state. And though Monsanto won a razor-thin victory (51 percent to 49 percent) in a costly, hard fought California GMO labeling ballot initiative last November, biotech and Big Food now realize that Washington State voters will likely pass I-522, an upcoming ballot initiative to label GE foods, on November 5.

If Monsanto can’t stop states from passing laws, then the next step is a national preemptive measure.  And all signs point to just such a power grab.  Earlier this year, Monsanto slipped its extremely unpopular “Monsanto Protection Act,” an act that gives biotech immunity from federal prosecution for planting illegally approved GE crops, into the 2013 Federal Appropriations Bill.  During the June 2012 Farm Bill debate, 73 U.S. Senators voted against the right of states to pass mandatory GE food labeling laws. Emboldened by these votes, and now the House Ag Committee’s vote on the King Amendment, Monsanto has every reason to believe Congress would support a potential nullification of states’ rights to label.

The million-strong OCA and its allies in the organic and natural health movement are warning incumbent Senators and House members, Democrats and Republicans alike, that thousands of health and environmental-minded constituents in their Congressional districts or states will work to recall them or drive them out of office if they fail to heed the will of the people and to respect the time-honored traditions of shared state sovereignty over food labels, food safety laws, and consumers’ right to know.

Trouble in Monsanto Nation.
Over the past 20 years Monsanto and the biotech industry, aided and abetted by indentured politicians and corporate agribusiness, have begun seizing control over the global food and farming system, including the legislative, patent, trade, judicial and regulatory bodies that are supposed to safeguard the public interest.

In the U.S., despite mounting evidence of the damage GE crops inflict on human health and the environment, approximately 170 million acres of GE crops, including corn, soybeans, cotton, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa, papaya, and squash, are currently under cultivation. These crops, untested and unlabeled, comprise 41 percent of all cultivated cropland, or 17 percent of all cropland and pastureland combined. According to the GMA, at least 70 percent of non-organic grocery store processed foods contain GMOs. And GE grains and mill byproducts now supply the overwhelming majority of animal feed on the factory farms that supply 90 percent to 95 percent of the meat, eggs and dairy products that Americans consume.

Yet despite their marketplace dominance, record profits and enormous political clout in Washington D.C., Monsanto and the biotech industry are in deep trouble. Evidence is mounting that Monsanto’s top-selling herbicide, Roundup, is a deadly poison, destroying important human gut bacteria and likely contributing to the rapid increase of food allergies and serious human diseases including cancer, autism, neurological disorders , Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), dementia, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Those most susceptible to poisoning by Monsanto’s Roundup are children and the elderly.

Scientists aren’t the only ones raising new questions about Roundup. Farmers are complaining that they’re being forced to spray more and more chemicals on crops increasingly under siege from a growing army of herbicide-resistant weeds.  The situation is so bad that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just raised the limits of Roundup residue allowed on grains and vegetables to even more dangerous levels. But just in case the EPA someday stops raising the limits, Monsanto, Dow and the biotech industry are working on a new “solution” to the onslaught of herbicide-resistant Superweeds: They’ve applied  for approval of a new and highly controversial generation of super toxic herbicide-resistant GE crops, including “Agent Orange”  (2,4-D and dicamba-resistant) corn, soybeans and cotton.

As a recent widely-circulated article points out,

• “The use of 2,4-D is not new; it’s actually one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. What is new is that farmers will now ‘carpet bomb’ staple food crops like soy and corn with this chemical at a previously unprecedented scale—just the way glyphosate has been indiscriminately applied as a result of Roundup Ready crops. In fact, if 2,4-D resistant crops receive approval and eventually come to replace Monsanto’s failing Roundup-resistant crops as Dow intends, it is likely that billions of pounds will be needed, on top of the already insane levels of Roundup being used (1.6 billion lbs were used in 2007 in the US alone).”

In addition to these Agent Orange crops, an expanded menu of genetically engineered organisms are awaiting approval. Next on the menu?  GE apples, trees, and salmon.

State Labeling Laws: The ‘skull and crossbones’ that terrify Monsanto
Monsanto’s greatest fear isn’t a federal government charged with protecting the health and safety of its citizens.  Congress and the White House seem only too happy to oblige the biotech industry’s unquenchable thirst for growth, power and dominance. No, it’s the massive, unstoppable (so far) grassroots movement of Millions Against Monsanto that strikes fear in the heart of the Biotech Bully. U.S. citizens are waking up. They’re demanding labels on genetically engineered foods, similar to those already required in the European Union. They’re calling for serious independent safety-testing of GE crops and animals, both those already approved (especially Monsanto’s Roundup-resistant crops) and those awaiting approval.

The anti-GMO movement has finally figured out, after 20 years of fruitlessly lobbying Congress, the FDA and the White House, that the federal government is not going to require labels on GE foods. Instead the movement has shifted the battleground on GMO labeling from Monsanto and Big Food’s turf in Washington D.C. to the more favorable terrain of state ballot initiatives and state legislative action—publicizing the fact that a state GMO labeling law will have the same marketplace impact as a national labeling law.

State laws spell doom for Monsanto. Companies like Kellogg’s, General Mills, Coca-Cola, Pepsi/Frito-Lay, Dean Foods, Unilever, Con-Agra, Safeway, Wal-Mart and Smuckers are not going to label in just one or two states.  Monsanto knows that U.S. food companies will go GMO-free in the entire U.S., rather than admit to consumers that their products contain GMOs.

As Monsanto itself has pointed out, labels on genetically engineered foods are like putting a “skull and crossbones” on food packages. This is why Monsanto and their allies poured $46 million into defeating a California ballot initiative last year that would have required labels on GMO foods. This is why Monsanto has lobbied strenuously in 30 states this year to prevent, or at least delay, state mandatory labeling laws from being passed. This is why Monsanto has threatened to file federal lawsuits against Vermont, Connecticut, Maine and Washington if they dare grant citizens the right to know whether or not their food has been genetically engineered or not.

And this is why Monsanto’s minions are trying to insert amendments or riders into the Farm Bill that will make it nearly impossible, even illegal, for states to pass GMO labeling laws. And there’s nothing to stop them when Congress is filled with pro-biotech cheerleaders who could care less that 90 percent of U.S. consumers want mandatory labels and proper safety testing of genetically engineered crops and foods.

Countering Monsanto’s Final Offensive: Throw the Bums Out!
Only a massive grassroots resistance will deter the U.S. Senate and House from stomping on our rights. Only an unprecedented campaign of public education, petition-gathering and grassroots pressure will be able to convince the ever-more corrupt and indentured politicians in Washington D.C. to back off.

Eighteen state constitutions have century-old provisions for state registered voters to collect petitions and recall state and local officials, forcing them to either resign or stand for reelection. But what very few Americans, and even members of Congress, realize is that 11 states have constitutional provisions to recall U.S. Senators and House of Representative members, as well as state elected officials.

It’s time we exercise the full power of direct democracy, not just state and municipal ballot initiatives. We must continue to support efforts like the current state ballot initiative to label GMOs in Washington state, and county ballot initiatives to ban GMOs, factory farms and other corporate crimes, in the 24 states and hundreds of counties and municipalities where these are allowed.  But we also need to use the power we have to recall and throw out of office our out-of-control Congressional Senators and Representatives as well.

If our elected officials in Congress continue to represent Monsanto and big corporations, rather than their constituents, then let’s throw the bums out! If the Washington political Establishment, both Democrats and Republicans, continue to trample on our inalienable constitutional rights and contemptuously disregard the 225-year principle of a shared balance of power between the federal government, the states and local government, then we have no choice but to recall them or throw them out of office.

Please join the nation’s organic consumers and natural health advocates in this strategic battle, the Food Fight of Our Lives. Please join this campaign to save, not only our right to choose what’s in our food, but our basic right to democratic representation and self-determination as well.

Tell your Congressmen and women, especially the 73 incumbents who voted last year to eliminate states rights’ to legislate on GMO labels, and those in the House this week who voted to support the King Amendment that “enough is enough!”  Power to the People!

Find Your Representative:  http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Find Your Senator:  http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Sign OCA’s & MoveOn.org’s petition here:  http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/congress-dont-pass-a?source=c.url&r_by=5382364

Source:  http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27540.cfm

 

BP’s Annual $Lobbying$ From 1998-2013

Tags

Big Oil, BP, BP America, bribery, British Petroleum, Center for Responsive Politics, Congress, corruption, dirty politics, Energy, greed, Lobbying, lobbyists, natural gas, oil, oil industry, Senate Office of Public Records, U.S. Government

BP

Client Profile: Summary, 2013
Major Political Contributor

Lobbying by related organizations:

• Atlantic Richfield

A special interest’s lobbying activity may go up or down over time, depending on how much attention the federal government is giving their issues. Particularly active clients often retain multiple lobbying firms, each with a team of lobbyists, to press their case for them.
Year:  2013″)2012″)2011″)2010″)2009″)2008″)2007″)2006″)2005″)2004″)2003″)2002″)2001″)2000″)1999″)1998″)

Total Lobbying Expenditures: $2,040,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary BP America: $1,980,000
Subtotal for Subsidiary BP Wind Energy North America: $60,000

BP Lobbying by Industry

Industry	Total
Oil & Gas	$1,980,000
Misc Energy	$60,000

Lobbying Expenses Reported by Subsidiary BP America

Firms Hired	Total Reported by Filer	Reported Contract Expenses (included in Total Reported by Filer)
BP America	$1,980,000
Alpine Group		$80,000
DC Legislative & Regulatory Services		$30,000
Duberstein Group		$75,000
Fierce, Isakowitz & Blalock		$60,000
Podesta Group		$80,000
Stuntz, Davis & Staffier		$40,000

Lobbying Expenses Reported by Subsidiary BP Wind Energy North America

Firms Hired	Total Reported by Filer	Reported Contract Expenses (included in Total Reported by Filer)
Cassidy & Assoc		$60,000

NOTE: All lobbying expenditures on this page come from the Senate Office of Public Records. Data for the most recent year was downloaded on April 29, 2013.

Source:  Center for Responsive Politics:  http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000000091

 

U.S. Tax Dollars Promote Monsanto’s GMO Crops Overseas!

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agriculture, biotech crops, Biotechnology, bribery, cancer, Cancerous, Congress, corruption, cover-ups, crime, D.C., Deadly, dirty politics, environmental disaster, Food & Water Watch, food supply, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, foreign countries, fraud, Genetic engineering, Genetically Modified Organisms, GMO seeds, GMOs, greed, Health Problems, lobbyists, Monopolies, Monsanto, Monsanto Protection Act, Obama Administration, Organic Consumers Association, patents, poisonous, Roundup, support, Tax Dollars, taxpayer-funded, Toxic, U.S, U.S. diplomats, U.S. Government, U.S. State Department, U.S. taxpayers, United States, Washington D.C., Wikileaks

U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill for overseas lobbying that promotes controversial biotech crops developed by U.S.-based Monsanto Co and other seed makers, a report issued on Tuesday said.

A review of 926 diplomatic cables of correspondence to and from the U.S. State Department and embassies in more than 100 countries found that State Department officials actively promoted the commercialization of specific biotech seeds, according to the report issued by Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer protection group.

The officials tried to quash public criticism of particular companies and facilitated negotiations between foreign governments and seed companies such as Monsanto over issues like patents and intellectual property, the report said.

The cables show U.S. diplomats supporting Monsanto, the world’s largest seed company, in foreign countries even after it paid $1.5 million in fines after being charged with bribing an Indonesian official and violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 2005.

One 2009 cable shows the embassy in Spain seeking “high-level U.S. government intervention” at the “urgent request” of Monsanto to combat biotech crop opponents there, according to the Food & Water Watch report.

The report covered cables from 2005-2009 that were released by Wikileaks in 2010 as part of a much larger release by Wikileaks of a range of diplomatic cables it obtained.

Monsanto spokesman Tom Helscher said Monsanto believes it is critical to maintain an open dialogue with government authorities and trade groups in other countries.

“We remain committed to sharing information so that individuals can better understand our business and our commitments to support farmers throughout the world as they work to meet the agriculture demands of our world’s growing population,” he said.

State Department officials had no immediate comment when contacted about the report.

Food & Water Watch said the cables it examined provide a detailed account of how far the State Department goes to support and promote the interests of the agricultural biotech industry, which has had a hard time gaining acceptance in many foreign markets.

“It really goes beyond promoting the U.S.’s biotech industry and agriculture,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. “It really gets down to twisting the arms of countries and working to undermine local democratic movements that may be opposed to biotech crops, and pressuring foreign governments to also reduce the oversight of biotech crops.”

But U.S. officials, Monsanto and many other companies and industry experts routinely say that biotech crops are needed around the world to increase global food production as population expands. They maintain that the crops are safe and make farming easier and more environmentally sustainable.

PROMOTION THROUGH PAMPHLETS, DVDs?

The cables show that State Department officials directed embassies to “troubleshoot problematic legislation” that might hinder biotech crop development and to “encourage the development and commercialization of ag-biotech products”.

The State Department also produced pamphlets in Slovenia promoting biotech crops, sent pro-biotech DVDs to high schools in Hong Kong and helped bring foreign officials and media from 17 countries to the United States to promote biotech agriculture, Food & Water Watch said.

Genetically altered crops are widely used in the United States. Crops spliced with DNA from other species are designed to resist pests and tolerate chemical applications, and since their introduction in the mid 1990s have come to dominate millions of acres of U.S. farmland.

The biotech crops are controversial with some groups and in many countries because some studies have shown harmful health impacts for humans and animals, and the crops have been associated with some environmental problems.

They also generally are more expensive than conventional crops, and the biotech seed developers patent the high-tech seeds so farmers using them have to buy new seed every season, a factor that makes them unappealing in some developing nations.

Many countries ban planting of biotech crops or have strict labeling requirements.

“It’s appalling that the State Department is complicit in supporting their (the biotech seed industry’s) goals despite public and government opposition in several countries,” said Ronnie Cummins, executive director of nonprofit organization Organic Consumers Association.

“American taxpayer’s money should not be spent advancing the goals of a few giant biotech companies.”

Source:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-usa-gmo-reportbre94d0il-20130514,0,1211876.story

 

U.S. EPA Approves Bee Death Pesticide as EU Bans It!

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agriculture, Approval, aquatic life, ban, bees, birds, CCD, Colony Collapse Disorder, corporate politics, corruption, crops, deaths, dirty politics, environmental catastrophe, environmental disaster, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, EU, European Union, food supply, honeybees, Industry, lobbyists, Monsanto, Neonicotinoid, pesticides, poison, Roundup, scientific evidence, scientists, U.S, U.S. Government, United States, USDA

Corporate politics is business as usual inside the United States, as I am once again shocked to report the EPA has sided with industry lobbyists over public health in approving a highly dangerous pesticide that the European Union recently decided to ban over fears of environmental devastation. Not only have neonicotinoid pesticides been linked repeatedly to mass bee deaths, also known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), but the continued use of such pesticides threatens other aspects of nature (and humans) as well.

What’s even more amazing is that the decision not only comes after the EU publicly discussed the major dangers surrounding the use of the pesticides, but after the USDA released a report surrounding the continued honeybee deaths and the related effects — a report in which they detailed pesticides to be a contributing factor. Just the impact on the honeybees alone, and we now know that these pesticides are killing aquatic life and subsequently the birds that feed upon them, amounts to a potential $200 billion in global damages per year. We’re talking about the devastation of over 100 crops, from apples to avocados and plums.

And there’s countless scientists and a large number of environmental science groups speaking out on this. The EPA has no lack of information the subject. And sure, there are other contributing factors to bee deaths, there’s no question about that. We have an environment right now being hit with Monsanto’s Roundup even in residential areas, we have chemical rain, we have insane amounts of EMF — but it’s pretty clear that neonicotinoid pesticides are at least a major contributing factor. And beyond that, they have no place in the food supply to begin with.

The Pesticide Action Network (PAN) details the EU ban that came right before the EPA acceptance of the death-linked  pesticide:

“The EU vote comes after significant findings by the European Food Safety Agency that these pesticides pose an unacceptable risk to bees and their use should be restricted. Along with habitat loss and pathogens, a growing body of science points to neonicotinoid pesticides as a key factor in drastically declining bee populations.”

So why are they approving this pesticide to now pollute the United States in what potentially amounts to an even larger capacity than the EU? A move that will ultimately escalate the price of food worldwide due to the likely nature of continued bee deaths and subsequent crop impact? That’s the power of phony corporate science.

Source:  http://naturalsociety.com/us-approves-bee-deathpesticide-as-eu-bans/?utm_source=Natural+Society&utm_campaign=456eb919ee-Email+156%3A+5%2F14%2F2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f20e6f9c84-456eb919ee-323137773

 

Vaccine Danger: Merck is Big Pharma’s Monsanto

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Big Pharma, bribery, cancer, cervical cancer, children, Congress, corruption, cover-ups, Deadly, deception, Doctors, false advertising, fines, fraud, Gardasil, heart attacks, HPV, HPV vaccine, Human papillomavirus, laws, lies, lobbyists, Merck, Monsanto, politicians, profits, safety violations, U.S, U.S. Government, United States, vaccines, Vioxx

The pharmaceutical giant Merck enjoys vast revenues if they’re able to advertise and “lobby” politicians to pass laws promoting their vaccinations, even while still paying huge fines and settlements for the toxic aftermath of their other medicinal drugs.

Merck has paid out a total of almost $5 billion to settle nearly 27,000 Vioxx civil law suits. This drug, intended for arthritic pain relief, created 27,000 cases of heart attacks and many deaths before Merck recalled it in 2004. Most of the suits occurred after the recall, which had raised a red flag for many Vioxx users and their surviving relatives.

Another $950 million was levied against Merck to pay for fines and civil settlements involving false advertising claims and fraudulent drug trial results for Vioxx. This hasn’t deterred Merck from promoting Gardasil and lobbying for governmental support to vaccinate minors without parental consent.

Vaccine manufacturing is a good business for sociopaths. Drug companies are exempt from direct liability for adverse results from vaccines. Vaccines require less testing than drugs for diseases, and they’re cheaper to manufacture. So they have a huge profit margin without financial liability risks.

Pushing a Dangerous Vaccine for a Non-Existent Threat

The scare tactic being used to promote Gardasil is cervical cancer protection. The human papilloma virus (HPV) has over 100 strains; Gardasil targets two that cause the most genital warts, while ignoring another 11 that can also lead to cancer. But ninety percent of HPV warts tend to heal on their own within two years. And they can be treated topically before then.

Bottom line, though inconvenient, HPV is not the death-warrant they are spinning it as. It usually goes away on its own or at worst is remedied by mild medical intervention. Even after young women get their three Gardasil-HPV shots, they still need to undergo Pap tests for early cervical cancer detection.

So Gardasil doesn’t even guarantee protection against cervical cancer. This data is knowingly omitted from Merck’s media press releases, doctor bribes, and political “lobbying” efforts.

VAERS reports 41 cases of cervical cancer following vaccinations with Gardasil. And VAERS (vaccine adverse event reporting service) is voluntary for doctors and mostly unknown to parents and vaccinated adults. It’s estimated that perhaps only five percent of vaccine injuries get reported to VAERS. So these reports are a fraction of actual events.

Gardasil’s mounting known death toll is almost 75 since 2009, at last count (2012). This is in addition to the serious adverse effects of thousands, of which over 10% are permanent, painful disabilities such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome or other neurological and autoimmune maladies.

Read more here:  http://naturalsociety.com/vaccine-dangers-merck-big-pharmas-vaccine-monsanto/?utm_source=Natural+Society&utm_campaign=6c3190ed17-Email+155%3A+5%2F13%2F2013&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f20e6f9c84-6c3190ed17-323137773

41 State Legislatures Sell Out to Merck’s HPV Deadly Gardasil Vaccine

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Big Pharma, bribery, CDC, cervical cancer, Congress, corruption, cover-ups, Deadly, Death, deception, dirty politics, fraud, Gardasil, girls, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, HPV, HPV vaccine, Human papillomavirus, legislators, lies, lobbyists, Merck, New York, U.S, U.S. Government, United States, vaccines, women

Since 2006, 41 states have introduced legislation to support the HPV vaccine industry, despite the danger of death and injury. Shockingly, Dr. Diane Harper, a lead developer of Merck’s Gardasil HPV vaccine, warns against Gardasil vaccine deaths and she advocates complete disclosure about the risk of death and adverse reactions (including Guillian-Barre syndrome) to parents and patients. Dr. Harper also acknowledges that the CDC’s death rate data is skewed.

95% of infections from HPV resolve on their own with zero government intervention. Cervical cancer is rare, and only 10% of adverse reactions to vaccines are reported. Merck and GSK are the top 2 HPV vaccine makers.

The HPV vaccine legislation in 41 states includes mandatory vaccination, funding Merck and GSK’s HPV vaccines, removing parental rights by removing parental consent for the HPV vaccine, or educating the public about the HPV virus. Currently, New York is considering legislation making vaccines mandatory.

Read more here:  http://naturalsociety.com/41-states-sell-out-to-mercks-hpv-shot-gardasil-vaccine-lobbyists/