WikiLeaks: US wants Military-Style Trade War Against EU Over GM Crops

More buried news from early January (and something you should be thinking about every time you eat):

The US embassy in Paris advised Washington to start a military-style trade war against any European Union country which opposed genetically modified (GM) crops, newly released WikiLeaks cables show.

In response to moves by France to ban a Monsanto GM corn variety in late 2007, the ambassador, Craig Stapleton, a friend and business partner of former US president George Bush, asked Washington to penalise the EU and particularly countries which did not support the use of GM crops.

"Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits."

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UFO Fleet Appears over Connecticut

From the individual who had done the filming:

20 to 25 unidentified flying lights over Newtown, CT. These silent, glowing orange lights were flying at several hundred feet. They came in waves of five. 911 confirmed numerous calls. Newtown police responded and told witnesses they had "no idea" what the lights were. Police checked with local airports that reported nothing on their radar and nothing scheduled to be in the area. The officer said "aircraft comes up as red or green - but these are orange. They are silent, so cannot be helicopters. Maybe it's a military operation?" When a witness called Newtown Police the next day they did not answer.

Some things to think about:

It's been proposed that what is seen in this video is a series of lanterns. Please keep in mind perspective when seeing things in the sky - if it's big enough to be able to discern shape even though it's high in the air, it will be even larger if brought back own to Earth level. These lights could very well be beach-ball sized if brought down to where the observer is. Ask questions!

20 Harp Seals Wash Ashore Dead as the Animal Genocide Drags Onward

Boat Harbour — As many as 20 dead harp seals have washed ashore in Boat Harbour over the past couple of weeks, leaving perplexed locals scratching their heads as to the reasons why.

Wallace Woodward, who has lived in the small community northwest of St. Anthony for most of his 52 years, says no one can remember such a thing happening before.

Last week, the carcasses of several seals lolled about in the breakwater; some had been pushed ashore by strong waves and others were buried under three feet of seaweed.

And it’s not just harp seals that have been swept into the harbour — hundreds of dead catfish have washed onto land, becoming entangled with the seaweed strewn along the shore.

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1 in 4 Americans Now Unemployed: Welcome to the Great Depression II

Today, just as then, almost one in four working-age Americans (or non-citizens, who also must be counted since they are part of the available work force) are unemployed. This 25% estimate includes those who previously were not in the workforce but who are looking now, presumably out of hardship. Tending to confirm this, a recent household survey found 22% unemployed. Conversely, the latest United States Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS) report puts the number at 9.9%. The disparity arises because the BLS number counts individuals receiving unemployment checks. No check? Not counted.

From what I can tell, the total number of unemployed in America today is at least 37.5 million, rising to over 65 million if the underemployed are included. These numbers sound too big to be true but can be pieced together from a variety of sources, including the BLS.

37.5 million unemployed out of 150 million potential workers -- one in four. If this is correct, then where are the bread lines? First, Americans entered the current downturn far wealthier than ever before. Many survive today on fast-depleting retirement accounts and strained credit. Second, massive security nets -- welfare, extensive unemployment benefits, disability payments, and school loans -- have disguised or deferred the physical presence of otherwise visible hardship and deprivation. Government-backed programs, many themselves insolvent, are the "bread lines" of today.

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Your Money Well Spent: Domino's Pizza Receives $12,000,000 Bailout

While food riots have begun emerging across the globe as a result of surging food prices, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has decided to funnel 12 million dollars into the popular pizza chain Domino’s Pizza, in what has become known as a secret government bailout. The bailout came from an organization known as Dairy Management, a marketing creation of the USDA. What was the result of the millions funneled into the troubled business? A large-scale marketing revolving around pizzas being made made with 40% more cheese, an attempt to re-design the Domino’s Pizza brand name in partnership with the United States government.

With food prices at an all time high, violent protests have arisen in parts of the Middle East and South Asia. In 2008, similar protests were held across the world in response to the high cost of basic living. The difference, however, is that food prices are even higher than they were in 2008. Graphs, provided by the Food and Agricultural Organizations of the United Nations (FAO), show the spiking cost of food commodities. The food index count, which is an overall score reflecting the total price of the top 6 food commodities, rose to 215 in December of 2010 — up from 90 in the year 2000. Sugar spearheaded the spike, hitting only 2 points away from the 400 mark in December of 2010.

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Important Update:

As you can see from the comments below, Domino's had a PR Bot of some sort post a comment (and we assume it's a Bot because the nature of the posting caused Blogger to block it as "Spam", but for the sake of letting you know what's going on, we allowed it to go through). The comment explains how this is a great misunderstanding, and backs this up with various articles about how the USDA had no involvement.

Yet, interestingly, one of the articles contains this information about the USDA:

Funding for Dairy Management's domestic marketing campaign does not come from the USDA, but rather from private producers who tax themselves to pay for the organization's marketing strategies. The funds that result are called "checkoff" funds.

The USDA's job with respect to Dairy Management—a job defined by the Dairy Production and Stabilization Act of 1983—is to make sure all producers pay the tax, that nobody freeloads, and that marketing campaigns are legal. Occasionally, the USDA will choose board members for Dairy Management, but the vast majority of the board is comprised of dairymen.

That's a whole lot of involvement for a department that apparently has little connection with DM's inner workings. Are we supposed to believe what "Phil" is telling us? Does it matter if the board is comprised of "dairymen" (or even firemen) if the USDA is involved in the picking? And in all the closeness of this relationship, no money changes hands, especially at a time when bailouts for struggling industries is the norm? We'll need more proof than that, Domino's - a handful of 3rd party advertorials won't cut it.

And next time, could we please talk with a real person?

Footage of UFO activity over Powhatan in Virgina 17th Jan 2011

Latest UFO sightings 2011 - This interesting footage of 3 UFOs (or maybe one triangle-shaped craft) being followed by a craft with a flashing light was recorded in Powhatan in Virginia on Monday, 17th January 2011 around 3:30 am.



Witness report: Military craft following 3 UFO's
This is my first UFO sighting in the 30 years of living here. I noticed 3 faint red lights in front of a blinking craft. At first I thought it was a single object until they flew overhead. You can barely see the red lights half way through the clip when I take the night vision away. Luckily I had just been out spotting deer with the night vision and camera. The red light in the middle is very dim at the start of the clip.Towards the end of the clip the middle light is much brighter. Sorry for the strong language but that was my natural reaction. This happened near Powhatan. Read More...

Dead birds puzzle Yankton residents Monday 17th Jan 2011

YANKTON, S.D. - More than 200 starlings found dead in downtown Yankton caused widespread speculation, but officials say it was the federal government, not the weather or the apocalypse, that likely caused the birds to drop dead.

The feathered corpses were found Monday by an animal control officer around trees on the north side of Riverside Park and the north side of Second Street. Some of the dead birds were still being picked up Tuesday.

Charmel Neal, manager of the downtown Pump N' Stuff, said she was shocked when she heard the news.

"It just kind of makes me wonder why they didn't go where they needed to go," she said.

Vicki Galvan, a sales associate at Ace Hardware, who often encounters customers seeking to get rid of pigeons and starlings, said she thought the cold weather did the birds in. She was glad, saying the birds were a "nuisance" downtown. Read More....

Jervis Bay fish kill being investigated - Cause Unknown

19th Jan 2011 - INVESTIGATIONS are continuing into the deaths of thousands of fish in Jervis Bay.

The dead fish have been found washed up on beaches from Callala Bay to Hare Bay.

The fish kill is being investigated by NSW Fisheries in conjunction with the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water and the Marine Parks Authority.

A Fisheries spokesperson said on-site testing had found the presence of no obvious pollutants or water quality issues.

However prior to the fish kill, she said, there had been a large amount of rain and algal blooms had been observed in the area.

Fish species affected by the kill have included flathead, whiting, mullet, luderick, catfish and an angel shark. Read More ...

And the mass Fish deaths continue.

During Jan 2011 the experts and scientist have not been shy of coming forward with their views on these cases of mass fish, cow, octopuses, birds, pelicans, bats and seal deaths. The conclusions range from fireworks to these events being very normal, this may well be in some cases but I am sure that many are wondering now.

We as a whole assume that experts know what they are talking about and listen when they explain, well I for one have a question or 2.

1. Why would 1 expert proclaim that these cases are absolutly normal while another expert proclaims cases like these do happen but there is ussually a underlying cause like a illness or poisening, and finds the amount of cases and numbers involved since January puzzling?
2. Why have many scientists come forward claiming that the waters were poluted, while other scientist have said they tested the waters onsite and found NO obvious pollutants or water quality issues in the water and are baffled.
3. In many of these cases experts as well as scientist have informed the public there is no safety issue to humans, if this is so, why have experts and scientist in 3 countries issued a warning not to comsume any of the fish found dead or dying?
4. Regarding the 200 cows found dead from the IBR/BVD virus, they reported that there was no danger to humans and other livestock even though many vets will tell you this virus is highly contatious. And were these cows not vaccinated? if not why not?
   

Dr. Terry Whiting, Veterinary Disease Control and Epidemiology, Livestock Knowledge Centre - Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives
Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR)

IBR is a highly contagious virus disease and may cause several different clinical symptoms which include:

1. Respiratory disease of varying severity
2. Abortion
3. Nervous form
4. Genital infections
5. Conjunctivitis (eye inflammation)
6. Infection of newborn calves

In adults, IBR may cause only mild clinical signs or reduced milk production; however, it often results in abortions. These abortions can occur up to 2-3 months after the initial infection making the diagnosis somewhat difficult. Animals less than one year of age that become IBR infected commonly have secondary bacterial pneumonia. Studies have shown that the virus can persist in cattle without causing clinical signs for up to 17 months. Shedding of the virus may be induced periodically by stress from inclement weather, transportation and overcrowding of animals.

Both modified live and killed vaccines are available.


Bovine Virus Diarrhea (BVD)

A number of recent on-farm outbreaks of a more severe form of BVD caused by BVD virus type II has prompted producers and veterinarians to place higher priority on prevention of this disease in cattle herds. The introduction of the type II virus to a susceptible herd will result in abortions (regardless of gestational age), high fevers, severe depression, and respiratory distress. Infected animals are not responsive to treatment and a large number die. The BVD virus type I, considered to be a milder form, can circulate in the herd almost unknowingly; however, it may cause abortions

Read more..
One thing is for sure there are many contradictions regarding all these cases with experts and scientists clashing in fabrication and truth, it would be refreshing to be told the truth rather than this chaos created by journalist that print what they are told rather then investigate and ask questions.