China Bye-Bye’s GMO Corn

China Destroys Three US Shipments of GM Corn

Breaking News: China Destroys 3 US Shipments of GM Corn

30th May 2013

By Sayer Ji

Contributing Writer for Wake Up World

Could the global tide in support of GMO’s be turning? A new report reveals that the formerly pro-GMO Chinese government, one of the largest consumers of GMO food crops in the world, is beginning to crack down on GM corn shipments from the US that have not followed appropriate biosafety regulations.

According to a news brief released by GMWatch.org, China destroyed three shipments of GM corn imported from the US. GMWatch.org reported:

“The law says that the [Chinese] Ministry of Agriculture must require environmental and food safety tests to be carried out by Chinese institutions, in order to verify data provided by the seed developer. All these documents must be reviewed by the National Biosafety Committee before the MOA can issue a safety certificate. Yet these shipments of US corn did not have the relevant safety certificates and approval documents, according to the news reports below.”

The first two shipments are referenced on the website of the Zhuhai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, confirming that two illegal GM corn shipments entered Wanzai Port in Zhuhai City on May 7th, and were subsequently destroyed:

“Recently, during inspection and quarantine of imported food from USA by a certain company, the Wanzai Office of Zhuhai Inspection and Quarantine Bureau (in Guangdong Province in the south of China) detected two shipments containing GM corn products, which are not in compliance with China’s “Entry and Exit of Genetically Modified Products Inspection and Quarantine Management Approach“. The Office destroyed the two shipments of corn according to the provisions.*”

The existence of a third shipment was confirmed in a May 19th article appearing on news.china.com.cn titled, “Harbin intercepted a total of 115 kgs of GM corn seeds, which will be destroyed“:

Recently, the Harbin Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau intercepted inbound mail of 21 cartons of corn seeds from USA, totaling 115 kgs, which were detected as GM seeds. This is the first time that the Heilongjiang Provincial Inspection and Quarantine System has intercepted inbound corn seeds containing GM ingredients. These corn seeds will be destroyed. *

Surprisingly, despite these seemingly drastic steps by Chinese authorities to destroy GM seeds, an article in China Daily from last year explains that the consumption of GM soybeans is already universal in China, even despite widespread public concerns that they have not been adequately safety tested:

Summary: Imported RR soybeans (Roundup herbicide resistant GM soybeans) has already accounted to over 80% of total consumption of soybeans in China, but the assessment and approval procedures for the initial imported GM soybeans, has been oppugned that it’s examination procedures exists with defects. According to news reports, on Feb. 20, 2012, Gu Xiu-lin and other three citizens upon application were approved to check the “certification documents for the GM soybeans obtaining safety certificates”.

The China Daily article goes on to quote Shi Yan-quan, Deputy Director, Agricultural Finance and Education Dept., who stated on April 20, 2012, that over 50 million tons of GMO soybeans were imported to China in 2011 alone. The article also refers to the fact that for eight years, 1.3 billion Chinese consumers have been consuming Monsanto‘s GM food crops, relying entirely on biotech-funded safety evaluations, without any independent safety testing carried out by the Chinese government. Additionally, a revealing study published in 2012 found that the Chinese print media is completely co-opted by biotech industry influence. They revealed that “48.1% of articles were largely supportive of the GM technology research and development programs and the adoption of GM cottons, while 51.9% of articles were neutral on the subject of GMOs. Risks associated with GMOs were mentioned in the newspaper articles, but none of the articles expressed negative tones in regards to GMOs.” The authors concluded: “Chinese print media is largely supportive of GMOs. It also indicates that the print media describes the Chinese government as actively pursuing national GMO research and development programs and the promotion of GM cotton usage.”

Are these latest incidents a sign that the Chinese government is beginning to take more seriously the health threats associated with the consumption of genetically modified food? According to the GMWatch.org report’s primary informant, who for purposes of anonymity goes by the pseudonym “Mr. Li”:

[T]he new government’s decisive move to destroy the illegal GMOs “progressive, encouraging, and satisfying”. He regards it as a sign that it is keeping its promise to work for the people and the nation.

Mr Li said: “The deeply pro-GMO old government would not have made such a thing public. It would have secretly returned the shipments, or in most cases it would not even have inspected shipments that could contain GM ingredients.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2013/05/30/china-destroys-three-us-shipments-of-gm-corn/

Solar Coronal Hole

CORONAL HOLE: A hole in the sun’s atmosphere–a “coronal hole”–has opened up and it is spewing solar wind into space. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory photographed the UV-dark gap during the early hours of May 29th:

Coronal holes are places where the sun’s magnetic field spreads apart and allows solar wind to escape. A windy stream of plasma flowing from this particular hole should reach Earth on June 2-3. The impact could spark geomagnetic storms and auroras around the poles

fr/spaceweather.com

Santa Barbara, CA Area Earthquake

Update 20:19 UTC :
– Another M2.5 aftershock was almost unnoticed by people.
– We hate to say it, but social media are again rumoring that a stronger earthquake will occur later today. Such rumors are TOTALLY NONSENSE. Even when such a stronger earthquake would occur, NOBODY in the world can predict such events today (hopefully in the future). You should be prepared for an earthquake at all times. DROP, COVER and HOLD until it is over.
– The authorities and local press are still maintaining that there was NO damage or injuries.
Our ER team continued to search for signs of damage and came up with the following felt reports :
– Goleta: dishes on counter broke after hit by something falling off shelves.
– Goleta : Clock almost fell off wall but nothing broken. Small crack in wall.
– Undefined location in the area : “Running at the beach and saw some big chunks come off the cliffs. Good time to be especially careful near the tops and bottoms of the bluffs!”
– earthquake related or not : A major natural gas leak in Thousand Oaks prompted evacuations on a half-mile radius, Thousand Oaks is just south of Oxnard (MMI of III was felt there) they don’t know what caused this. The gas leak was reported 3 hours after the earthquake.

MMI radius map

MMI radius map

Update 17:25 UTC : Don’t be blind for the always appearing standard text “There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries” who are published soon after an earthquake from this type. Although the text is right at the time of writing, people often do not report fallen objects, fissures in walls, etc. Based on our experience, it would really surprise us that no minor damage was inflicted. We will continue following up local reports and will bring them to you if we find them.
The current status is still : The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, Office of Emergency Management and Fire Department said they had no initial reports of injuries or damage.

Update 17:06 UTC : The local press is still writing that USGS did decrease the Magnitude from 4.9 to 4.6 which was indeed the case BUT after a new update USGS has now reported a magnitude of 4.8. if you are a journalist reading this, please adapt your content. A M4.8 earthquake at a depth of 8 km is a rather strong event for California.
The M2.6 aftershock which occurred 12 minutes after the mainshock will not have been felt by many people.

Update 17:03 UTC : News Channel 3 Santa Barbara is receiving reports of minor damage such as glass breaking and small objects falling from walls, exactly what we wrote a few minutes after it happened.

Update 16:52 UTC : The seismograph at ABC7 KABC-TV LOS ANGELES, CA has been building the seismogram of this event.

Update 16:31 UTC : USGS has updated his values to M4.8 at a depth of 8 km.
Shaking values at the following locations :
Moderate MMI V shaking : Isla Vista  23,000 and  Goleta 30,000
Light shaking MMI IV : Santa Ynez 4,000, Buellton 5,000, Solvang 5,000 and Mission Canyon 2,000
The Human impact map has been changed as follows :

Screen Shot 2013-05-29 at 18.29.34

Update 16:09 UTC : Below the Focal Mechanism of this earthquake (reverse faulting mechanism). Today’s earthquake was right on the coastal fault. The stress comes from the Oceanic plate pushing towards the North American plate (South-West – North-East direction.  As you can see on the fault map below, the whole area is very complex.
On our map below, you can see that the strongest earthquake in the area was a M6.2 earthquake in 1925 followed by a M5.8 in 1978, both in the direct vicinity of Santa Barbara.

Screen Shot 2013-05-29 at 18.08.50

Fault map courtesy http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/

Fault map courtesy http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/

Update 15:09 UTC : No reports of damage so far (far to early to bu sure about that). Based on our California experience incoming MMI’s are higher than normal, so minor damage is still possible.

Update 15:06 UTC : Maximum shaking as expected by USGS MMI VI (this is also the maximum we are getting from our readers).

Screen Shot 2013-05-29 at 17.07.21

Based on the many I Have Felt It reports we are receiving, people have been really scared by the shaking. In average we get a moderate MMI V shaking. Goleta , closest to the epicenter has the strongest incoming MMI’s
We expect at least some minor damage in Goleta (minor damge like fallen objects, cracks in walls, fallen rooftiles, etc).

Screen Shot 2013-05-29 at 16.51.23

5km (3mi) W of Isla Vista, California
8km (5mi) WSW of Goleta, California
20km (12mi) W of Santa Barbara, California
36km (22mi) W of Carpinteria, California
484km (301mi) SSE of Sacramento, California

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 4.6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-05-29 07:38:02

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-29 14:38:02

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 2 km

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/05/29/moderate-earthquake-santa-barbara-channel-calif-on-may-29-2013/

Alaska – Underwater Volcano

Underwater volcano mapped in Southeast Alaska

Sean Doogan

May 26, 2013

The yet-to-be-named volcano in Southeast Alaska differs from many on the ocean floor. Its top was likely above the water when it last erupted some 10,000 years ago. Courtesy: NOAA

Jim Baichtal has a habit of cruising the website of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration looking for new hydrographic surveys of Alaska.

“I was just checking the website before I headed out one day,” he said, “and when I saw the survey results of an area near Ketchikan, all I can remember saying is, ‘Oh, my gosh!’” Buried inside the NOAA data were 3D renderings of a previously unknown volcano, beneath the depths of Behm Canal inside Misty Fjords National Monument.

The yet-to-be-named volcano differs from many on the ocean floor. Baichtal, a U.S. Forest Service geologist, says its top was likely above the water when it last erupted some 10,000 years ago. NOAA imaging and new underwater video of the area shows what appears to be leftovers of ash or cinder near the volcano crater.

“If it erupted entirely underwater, we would see quenched magma, a completely different type of rock,” Baichtal said. Upcoming tests on rocks taken during a recent dive there should tell the ultimate tale.

New mapping technology

Before NOAA began its hydrographic survey, using the latest 3D multi-beam sonar, the only maps of sea floor in the vicinity were created in the early 1900s using a technique called “lead lining.” Until the 1940s scientists used ropes with lead weights attached to them to determine the sea floor’s depth in any given location. With enough readings, a crude hydrographic map could be created.

But the maps were not detailed enough to show the features of the volcano under Behm Canal. That changed when NOAA began its survey of Southeast waters. The agency’s ships now bounce sound waves off the ocean floor and measure the time it takes for them to return to the surface.

The technique gives a detailed 3D view of the seafloor. NOAA says the vastness of Alaska means it will likely have plenty of new areas to survey in the coming decades. “We follow the weather,” said Commander David Zezula, with NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. Typically, in the fall at least one NOAA survey ship plies the waters of Southeast Alaska. They move north with better summer weather. The Raineer, a NOAA survey ship is expected to head to the Bering Sea later this year.

After seeing the outline of the volcano, near Eddy Rock in Behm Canal, on the new NOAA maps, Baichtal decided to take a look under water for himself. He joined Gary Freitag, a Ketchikan-based professor of oceanography with the University of Alaska. Freitag has a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) capable of diving to 800 feet. Together they took video and rock samples from the volcano’s slope as well as its crest. But the trip was cut short.

“We just had a little bit of time for the ROV dive because when we went to the area, we had a group of students from Ketchikan with us,” said Freitag. Another trip is planned for the summer, and Freitag hopes to get more video of the structure of the newly discovered volcano.

“It is a very interesting feature,” said Freitag. “When I took some samples, I had to look hard for a clean place to use the ROV’s pinchers because the volcano is covered in sponges.”

Ice makes fire?

Baichtal says the volcano, like many in southeast Alaska was once pushed above the surface during an eruption.  But its climb from the depths may have been the result of crustal response – when the ground “bounces back” after a large weight is lifted.  If you go back 10,000 years, much of Alaska was covered by ice up to 4 miles thick.  That is a lot of weight on the land beneath – pushing it down as much as 400 feet, Baichtal said. When the ice melted, the land rebounded, actually rising because the great weight of the ice had been removed.  “The new volcano is in an area where these de-glaciation events often precede an eruption,” Baichtal says.  When the ground rebounds, it opens up vents along fault lines, releasing magma. That is likely what happened at Behm Canal, and Baichtal said it is probably the cause of a lot of eruptions in Southeast Alaska just after the last great ice age.

New studies are beginning to show the effects of ice-age climates and volcanoes. “We frequently see eruptive episodes about 3,600 to 4,000 years after de-glaciation,” Baichtal said. The newly discovered volcano seems to follow that pattern, last erupting a few thousand years after a massive glacier that once covered its peak, melted away.

The underwater Southeast volcanoes can also tell scientists a lot about the glaciers that once covered them. Many glaciers form, melt and reform over thousands or millions of years, but for the most part geologists can only see the evidence of the last glacier in any area; it’s usually stripped the land of any clues about its predecessors.

That’s where volcanoes come into play. By looking at the shape, size and orientation of the vent from an old eruption, as well as examining the cooling pattern and quenched area around the volcano, geologists can learn a lot about ancient glaciers.

Baichtal says he plans to study the new volcano as much as he can, and he’ll examine new NOAA underwater maps to see if he can find others. Despite containing half the US coastline, much of Alaska is still unmapped by modern techniques. Baichtal is confident he’ll find something that piques his interest, whether a volcano, new shoreline, or glacial moraine.

from:    http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20130526/underwater-volcano-mapped-southeast-alaska

Argentine Capahue VOlcano Alert

Wordwide volcano activity – Argentine province of Neuquen at highest alert for a possible eruption of Copahue volcano

Last update: May 28, 2013 at 10:59 pm by By

Copahue volcano, Chile Update (May 28 – 22:42 UTC)

No change in activity
The Government of the Argentine province of Neuquén (Argentina side of the border) ordered by decree a “high alert” for the town of Caviahue and surrounding areas that could be affected by the possible eruption of Copahue, the government said. 800 people will be asked to evacuate at the Argentina side of the border. The evacuated people will be lodged in hotels at approx. 70 km from Caviahue.
The Argentina side of the border and more specifically Caviahue will probably get the big ash shower when Copahue would erupt ast Easterly winds are the main wind direction in the Andes.

The village of Caviahue, east of the Copahue volcano - Image courtesy a60

The village of Caviahue, east of the Copahue volcano – Image courtesy a60

Copahue volcano, Chile Update (May 28 – 16:00 UTC)

Webcam COPAHUE to follow the eventsSernageomin1
Nothing to see at the moment of writing because of very bad weather.
The evacuation of the 400 families living under treat of lahars (hot mud flows – in part generated by melting snow) and pyroclastic flows (extremely hot ash avalanches that burn everything on their way) is being effectuated orderly.
Nothing special going on so far and nothing serious expected as far as VAAC Buenos Aires is reporting. (NO VA EXP (text on map) is of course NO Volcanic Ash expected). This map is a precision of 19:30 UTC on May 28 (today).

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/05/27/wordwide-volcano-activity-copahue-volcano-chile-alert-raised-to-red/

Wales — Unusual earthquake

Unusual earthquake along the coast of Wales, United Kingdom

Last update: May 29, 2013 at 10:29 am by By

Update 09:10 UTC : In a statement BGS reports:

The earthquake of the 29 May 2013 occurred at 03:16 UTC (04:16 BST), with an epicentre approximately 13 km NW of Abersoch, Gwynedd. The instrumental magnitude was determined at 3.8 ML, and the earthquake was located approximately 21 km WSW of the magnitude 5.4 earthquake that occurred on 19 July 1984 (a magnitude of 3.8 is approximately 256 times smaller than 5.4). The estimated area over which an earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8, and depth of 8 km, would be felt was calculated to be a distance of up to 75-100 km from the epicentre (at intensity 3 EMS). Analysis of the results from an automatic online questionnaire survey agrees with this. Almost 100 felt reports have been received. Of those, almost all of them came from within a 50 km radius, from Abersoch, Caernarfon, Bangor, Holyhead and their surrounding hamlets. Reports generated in a north-easterly direction from the epicentre. A little further afield, reports were received from Conwy and Rhyl area (75-100 km to NE of epicentre), whilst single reports were received from Southport, Merseyside (140 km to NE of epicentre), the Isle of Man (140 km to north of epicentre). There are also reports of the earthquake having been felt on the east coast of Ireland (110 km east of epicentre).

Most people described having been awoken from their sleep by the moderate shaking strength of the earthquake, which had a trembling effect. The sound strength was also described as moderate. Many of the reports stated that windows and crockery rattled. Reports described “the bed was shaking too scared to look at anything else”, “loud rumbling sound woke me, then noticed s sound of mirror rattling on bedside cabinet”, “gradually grew louder. Classic underground train passing sensation“ and “woke the household any many neighbours”

Screen Shot 2013-05-29 at 12.31.00

Update 08:42 UTC : This great image goes viral on twitter as being the damage triggered by the Wales earthquake. Welsh great humor ! :)

Damage in Wales :) - Twitter image courtesy @Leighsheps

Damage in Wales :) – Twitter image courtesy @Leighsheps

Update 07:55 UTC : As expected we have not found 1 single report of damage so far, a report which we like a lot :) . If you have any knowledge of damage near the epicenter, even cracks in walls, please let us know.
– Geofon Germany just comes up with a Magnitude of 4.3.
– Seismology is a very difficult science and data may differ a lot according to the reporting seismological agency. Earthquake-Report.com values to local data always as “probably” the most accurate simply because the local agencies have the most instruments closest to the epicenter. The world press seems to think that USGS is the God of seismology. We favor more USGS as one of the Gods and a very good one :) .

Update 04:55 UTC : We have now a report from BGS (British Geological Survey) mentioning a Ml Magnitude of 3.8 at a depth of 8 km. As earthquake location is mentioned Lleyn peninsula (epicenter is the green arrow).  The villages of Pennlech and Porth Colmon are closest to the epicenter. Based on these (to be trusted) data, the chance of even minor damage has been decreased.

Screen Shot 2013-05-29 at 06.55.29

Update 04:42 UTC : We assume that most Welsh journalists haven’t felt it as there are NO reports so far in the local press (at least not the many we have consulted).

Update 04:35 UTC : Based on what we are reading from the many I Have Felt It reports below, we expect some minor damage on the nearby Wales peninsula. Minor damage means in this case fallen objects, cracks in older walls, fissures or even collapsing chimneys, fallen roof tiles, etc. We do not expect injuries. The damage, if any, would have been proportionally bigger with an epicenter below land.

Update 04:28 UTC : Only EMSC has reported this earthquake. The local British Geological Survey hasn’t even mentioned it in his website. The last significant earthquake in the United Kingdom happened in Market Rasen, Lincs, on February 27 2008. That one was more powerful at M5.2.

Update 04:12 UTC : EMSC has shifted the location of the epicenter more into the Irish Sea, weakening that way the impact of this earthquake.
As you can see on our bottom map, nothing important occurred in the area since 1900.

This earthquake was initially reported by EMSC as a M5.5 earthquake, which would surely have been damaging. But even at the current still preliminary value of M4.3, we can speak of an unusual strong earthquake for the United Kingdom.

The coastal area of Nefyn Bay, closest to the epicenter - Image courtesy John Goodall

The coastal area of Nefyn Bay, closest to the epicenter – Image courtesy John Goodall

90 km SE of Dublin, Ireland / pop: 1,024,027 / local time: 04:16:26.0 2013-05-29
59 km SW of Caernarfon, United Kingdom / pop: 9,836 / local time: 04:16:26.0 2013-05-29
44 km W of Pwllheli, United Kingdom / pop: 3,904 / local time: 04:16:26.0 2013-05-29

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 4

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-05-29 04:16:29

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-29 03:16:29

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/05/29/strong-earthquake-wales-united-kingdom-on-may-29-2013/

Putin Says NO to GMO

Russia Warns Obama: Monsanto

Posted: May 28th, 2013 ˑ Filled under: Opinion ˑ  88 Comments

The shocking minutes relating to President Putin’s meeting this past week with US Secretary of State John Kerry reveal the Russian leaders “extreme outrage” over the Obama regimes continued protection of global seed and plant bio-genetic giants Syngenta and Monsanto in the face of a growing “bee apocalypse” that the Kremlin warns “will most certainly” lead to world war.

According to these minutes, released in the Kremlin today by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation (MNRE), Putin was so incensed over the Obama regimes refusal to discuss this grave matter that he refused for three hours to even meet with Kerry, who had traveled to Moscow on a scheduled diplomatic mission, but then relented so as to not cause an even greater rift between these two nations.

At the center of this dispute between Russia and the US, this MNRE report says, is the “undisputed evidence” that a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically related to nicotine, known as neonicotinoids, are destroying our planets bee population, and which if left unchecked could destroy our world’s ability to grow enough food to feed its population.

So grave has this situation become, the MNRE reports, the full European Commission (EC) this past week instituted a two-year precautionary ban (set to begin on 1 December 2013) on these “bee killing” pesticides following the lead of Switzerland, France, Italy, Russia, Slovenia and Ukraine, all of whom had previously banned these most dangerous of genetically altered organisms from being used on the continent.

Two of the most feared neonicotinoids being banned are Actara and Cruiser made by the Swiss global bio-tech seed and pesticide giant Syngenta AG which employs over 26,000 people in over 90 countries and ranks third in total global sales in the commercial agricultural seeds market.

Important to note, this report says, is that Syngenta, along with bio-tech giants Monsanto, Bayer, Dow and DuPont, now control nearly 100% of the global market for genetically modified pesticides, plants and seeds.

Also to note about Syngenta, this report continues, is that in 2012 it was criminally charged in Germany for concealing the fact that its genetically modified corn killed cattle, and settled a class-action lawsuit in the US for $105 million after it was discovered they had contaminated the drinking supply of some 52 million Americans in more than 2,000 water districts with its “gender-bending” herbicide Atrazine.

To how staggeringly frightful this situation is, the MNRE says, can be seen in the report issued this past March by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) wherein they warned our whole planet is in danger, and as we can, in part, read:

“As part of a study on impacts from the world’s most widely used class of insecticides, nicotine-like chemicals called neonicotinoids, American Bird Conservancy (ABC) has called for a ban on their use as seed treatments and for the suspension of all applications pending an independent review of the products’ effects on birds, terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates, and other wildlife.

“It is clear that these chemicals have the potential to affect entire food chains. The environmental persistence of the neonicotinoids, their propensity for runoff and for groundwater infiltration, and their cumulative and largely irreversible mode of action in invertebrates raise significant environmental concerns,” said Cynthia Palmer, co-author of the report and Pesticides Program Manager for ABC, one of the nation’s leading bird conservation organizations.

ABC commissioned world renowned environmental toxicologist Dr. Pierre Mineau to conduct the research. The 100-page report, “The Impact of the Nation’s Most Widely Used Insecticides on Birds,” reviews 200 studies on neonicotinoids including industry research obtained through the US Freedom of Information Act. The report evaluates the toxicological risk to birds and aquatic systems and includes extensive comparisons with the older pesticides that the neonicotinoids have replaced. The assessment concludes that the neonicotinoids are lethal to birds and to the aquatic systems on which they depend.

“A single corn kernel coated with a neonicotinoid can kill a songbird,” Palmer said. “Even a tiny grain of wheat or canola treated with the oldest neonicotinoid — called imidacloprid — can fatally poison a bird. And as little as 1/10th of a neonicotinoid-coated corn seed per day during egg-laying season is all that is needed to affect reproduction.”

The new report concludes that neonicotinoid contamination levels in both surface- and ground water in the United States and around the world are already beyond the threshold found to kill many aquatic invertebrates.”

Quickly following this damning report, the MRNE says, a large group of group of American beekeepers and environmentalists sued the Obama regime over the continued use of these neonicotinoids stating: “We are taking the EPA to court for its failure to protect bees from pesticides. Despite our best efforts to warn the agency about the problems posed by neonicotinoids, the EPA continued to ignore the clear warning signs of an agricultural system in trouble.”

And to how bad the world’s agricultural system has really become due to these genetically modified plants, pesticides and seeds, this report continues, can be seen by the EC’s proposal this past week, following their ban on neonicotinoids, in which they plan to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with the European Union, and as we can, in part, read:

“Europe is rushing towards the good ol days circa 1939, 40… A new law proposed by the European Commission would make it illegal to “grow, reproduce or trade” any vegetable seeds that have not been “tested, approved and accepted” by a new EU bureaucracy named the “EU Plant Variety Agency.”

It’s called the Plant Reproductive Material Law, and it attempts to put the government in charge of virtually all plants and seeds. Home gardeners who grow their own plants from non-regulated seeds would be considered criminals under this law.”

This MRNE report points out that even though this EC action may appear draconian, it is nevertheless necessary in order to purge the continent from continued contamination of these genetically bred “seed monstrosities.”

Most perplexing in all of this, the MRNE says, and which led to Putin’s anger at the US, has been the Obama regimes efforts to protect pesticide-producer profits over the catastrophic damaging being done to the environment, and as the Guardian News Service detailed in their 2 May article titled “US rejects EU claim of insecticide as prime reason for bee colony collapse” and which, in part, says:

“The European Union voted this week for a two-year ban on a class of pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, that has been associated with the bees’ collapse. The US government report, in contrast, found multiple causes for the collapse of the honeybees.”

To the “truer” reason for the Obama regimes protection of these bio-tech giants destroying our world, the MRNE says, can be viewed in the report titled “How did Barack Obama become Monsanto’s man in Washington?” and which, in part, says:

“After his victory in the 2008 election, Obama filled key posts with Monsanto people, in federal agencies that wield tremendous force in food issues, the USDA and the FDA: At the USDA, as the director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Roger Beachy, former director of the Monsanto Danforth Center. As deputy commissioner of the FDA, the new food-safety-issues czar, the infamous Michael Taylor, former vice-president for public policy for Monsanto. Taylor had been instrumental in getting approval for Monsanto’s genetically engineered bovine growth hormone.”

Even worse, after Russia suspended the import and use of an Monsanto genetically modified corn following a study suggesting a link to breast cancer and organ damage this past September, the Russia Today News Service reported on the Obama regimes response:

“The US House of Representatives quietly passed a last-minute addition to the Agricultural Appropriations Bill for 2013 last week – including a provision protecting genetically modified seeds from litigation in the face of health risks.

The rider, which is officially known as the Farmer Assurance Provision, has been derided by opponents of biotech lobbying as the “Monsanto Protection Act,” as it would strip federal courts of the authority to immediately halt the planting and sale of genetically modified (GMO) seed crop regardless of any consumer health concerns.

The provision, also decried as a “biotech rider,” should have gone through the Agricultural or Judiciary Committees for review. Instead, no hearings were held, and the piece was evidently unknown to most Democrats (who hold the majority in the Senate) prior to its approval as part of HR 993, the short-term funding bill that was approved to avoid a federal government shutdown.”

On 26 March, Obama quietly signed this “Monsanto Protection Act” into law thus ensuring the American people have no recourse against this bio-tech giant as they fall ill by the tens of millions, and many millions will surely end up dying in what this MRNE report calls the greatest agricultural apocalypse in human history as over 90% of feral (wild) bee population in the US has already died out, and up to 80% of domestic bees have died out too.

 

http://topinfopost.com/2013/05/28/russia-warns-obama-monsanto

App Tells you What is in Food

Two Free Smartphone Apps That Will Eliminate Monsanto, Aspartame, HFCS And Processed Foods

Last updated on May 25, 2013 at 12:00 am EDT by in5d Alternative News

by Gregg Prescott, M.S.
www.in5d.com
www.HolisticCancerResearch.com

Despite numerous outcries for GMO labeling, no one really knows if the food they are buying contains GMO’s or not… until now.

Two Free Smartphone Apps That Will Eliminate Monsanto, Aspartame, HFCS And Processed Foods | in5d.comA new app called ‘Buycott” was unleashed in May of 2013 but was temporarily taken off the market because their server could not handle the traffic to their website.  At one point, the Buycott app was being downloaded at a rate of up to 10 downloads per second!

The app is once again available for all smartphones but as of this date of publication, I am receiving the following message:

“We’re experiencing an unexpected influx of users. No activity yet.”

That being said, I was still able to scan products.

Developer Ivan Pardo stated on the company’s Facebook page that they were working on moving to a new server that can handle the traffic.

Buycott is a free smartphone app that allows you to scan any given product at the grocery store and not only tells you which foods are ultimately linked to Monsanto and their GMO’s but also companies who are engaging in cruelty to animals or other negative behaviors.

Buycott is a free smartphone app that allows you to scan any given product at the grocery store and not only tells you which foods are ultimately linked to Monsanto and their GMO's but also companies who are engaging in cruelty to animals or other negative behaviors.

You can also view the “Family Tree” of any given product to see which companies are tied into corporate conglomerates who have a record of unethical testing and practices.

Additionally, you can start user created campaigns to either support or boycott specific products.  Two Free Smartphone Apps That Will Eliminate Monsanto, Aspartame, HFCS And Processed Foods | in5d.comFor example, you could start a campaign against any given company who did not support GMO labeling or Prop 37 in California.

Another beneficial app is called “Fooducate”.  While this app does not tell you if a product contains GMO’s or not, it does tell you the many negative ingredients in any given product, such as nitrates, aspartame, high fructose corn sugar, etc… and gives you nutritional advice on why certain ingredients are not beneficial to your health.

Fooducate will also recommend “Better Options” for any product you scan, but keep in mind that these products may contain GMO’s.

Two Free Smartphone Apps That Will Eliminate Monsanto, Aspartame, HFCS And Processed Foods | in5d.com

Official Buycott Website
Official Fooducate Website

It has become apparent that the FDA is as corrupt as the Monsanto officials who have been promoted to various government positions, such as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was a corporate lawyer for Monsanto in the 1970’s.

According to OpenSecretsBlog, Monsanto has plenty of other ties to Washington. Eight lawmakers own stock in Monsanto, including Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Reps. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.).

At one point in time, aspartame was banned by the FDA.  According to an article on Rense,

In 1985 Monsanto purchased G.D. Searle, the chemical company that held the patent to aspartame, the active ingredient in NutraSweet. Monsanto was apparently untroubled by aspartame’s clouded past, including a 1980 FDA Board of Inquiry, comprised of three independent scientists, which confirmed that it “might induce brain tumors.”

The FDA had actually banned aspartame based on this finding, only to have Searle Chairman Donald Rumsfeld (former Secretary of Defense) vow to “call in his markers,” to get it approved.

On January 21, 1981, the day after Ronald Reagan’s inauguration, Searle re-applied to the FDA for approval to use aspartame in food sweetener, and Reagan’s new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hayes Hull, Jr., appointed a 5-person Scientific Commission to review the board of inquiry’s decision.

It soon became clear that the panel would uphold the ban by a 3-2 decision, but Hull then installed a sixth member on the commission, and the vote became deadlocked. He then personally broke the tie in aspartame’s favor. Hull later left the FDA under allegations of impropriety, served briefly as Provost at New York Medical College, and then took a position with Burston-Marsteller, the chief public relations firm for both Monsanto and GD Searle. Since that time he has never spoken publicly about aspartame.

The FDA never approved of fluoride in our drinking water, either.

The FluorideDebate reports:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that fluoride is not a mineral nutrient; it is a prescription drug. Every prescription drug has side-effects, including fluoride. Fluoride has never received FDA approval and does not meet the legal requirements of safety and effectiveness necessary for such approval. Once this drug is put in the water there is no control over individual dosage.

If the government and the FDA will not protect the people against bioterrorism and eugenics through genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) then it is up to the people to take a stand against Monsanto.  For anybody who has a smartphone, I highly suggest that you upload these apps and make a statement against Monsanto by boycotting ALL of their products.

Your body will thank you as well.

 

from:    http://in5d.com/2-free-smartphone-apps-you-need-today.html

Tibetan Perspective on Mankind

The Brotherhood of Man: A Tibetan Perspective

Brotherhood 329th May 2013

By Ethan Indigo Smith

Guest Writer for Wake Up World

The value of all that you know and all that you’ve been taught can be quickly be outweighed and forgot by your belief in and support for man-made national, racial, religious and cultural institutions. All wars root themselves in a bed of belief in and support for institutions, and in contrast, the hatred for and stigmatization of individuals within varying alternative institutions. All zealotry and loyalty begins in the feeling of being involved in an institutional family. People are convinced that they are part of an institutional family, an institution that presents itself as immortal.

In Tibet and the region, Buddhist lamas are known to reincarnate and return to their monasteries variously proving they are toddler reincarnates and the Dalai Lama is found through reincarnation tests.

To the profoundly compassionate Buddhists, heritage and family lineage is unimportant next to the compassionate brotherhood, at the monastery or wherever. Seeking to solve suffering with compassion is much more important than any other community, more important than your family, your friends, your neighborhood, your state, your country and whatever institution you might put before compassion.

The Buddha posited love and into four parts; love of self, love of others, love for the happiness of others and love for all beings in equanimity. You cannot love others without love of self and you cannot love at the higher level unless you love at the level preceding it. Loving compassion is true wisdom and the brotherhood of man is the only family one should be loyal to. All else is tribal impulses played by controlling institutions. The institutional apparatuses and apparitions which seek to inspire your enlistment are bogus. There is only the brotherhood of man.

You can see the disturbances caused by people within themselves and outside of themselves when their love is covered up by beliefs in alternatives to the brotherhood of man. Some people hate themselves, many people hate other people, many people hate the happiness of others… and some people just hate everything. Loving compassion elevates all whereas hatred of others, used by institutions, degrades all.

Our love, which can be equated to childlike innocence, gets covered up by traditions and training mechanisms, often through instigation of feelings of guilt. We do not lose our love it simply gets covered up by ignorance. We tend to think of ignorance as lack of knowledge, however normally ignorance stems from being full of incorrect ideas and misguided beliefs. Ignorance is usually full, not empty. Let go of your pride for your family and country and whatever institution gained your loyalty and share love for humanity.

Calculate which stage of love your heart stops at and push forward through the installed ignorance with a flaming sword of a peaceful warrior.

In Tibet and India the flaming sword signifies the weapon of the mind, yielded by the heart. The flaming sword cuts through layers of ignorance, through the training and institutionally supportive traditions layered on us. The flaming sword cuts away the extraneous and superfluous ignorance preventing us from loving ourselves, others, the happiness of others all things equally. Let go of your beliefs and false pride, grab your flaming sword and be a peaceful warrior.

If not now, when? Stop make believing.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2013/05/29/the-brotherhood-of-man-a-tibetan-perspective/

Caucasus Earthquake

Strong earthquake in the Caucasus (150 km from Sochi, Russia)

Last update: May 28, 2013 at 8:20 am by By

Update : The same area had very strong earthquakes in 1905 (M6.4) and in 1963 (M6.7). the current earthquake may have the benefit to have released a lot of the culminated stress. The location of the epicenter is close to Dombay, a tourist village with approx. 700 inhabitants. The village is popular with skiers and hikers.

Image courtesy Wikipedia - Dombai, village close to the epicenter (USGS location)

Image courtesy Wikipedia – Dombai, village close to the epicenter (USGS location)

Update : The earthquake and some aftershocks were clearly felt in Sochi, the location of the next Winter Olympics. Some Sochi residents left their homes and spent some time in the open air out of fear for aftershocks.The Russian Academy of Sciences, said that the epicenter of the earthquake was located 8 km north of the Lower Arkhyz (Karachay-Cherkessia).

A strong shallow earthquake occurred 150 km to the east of Sochi in the Russian Caucasus

27km (17mi) SSW of Teberda, Russia
42km (26mi) N of Tqvarch’eli, Georgia
55km (34mi) ENE of Sokhumi, Georgia
57km (35mi) NNE of Och’amch’ire, Georgia
315km (196mi) NW of Tbilisi, Georgia

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 5.2

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-05-28 04:09:56

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-05-28 00:09:56

Depth (Hypocenter)  : 10 km

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2013/05/28/moderate-earthquake-northwestern-caucasus-on-may-28-2013/