Eat Shit

A Luxembourg-based scandal over mislabeled horsemeat lasagna is growing at a gallop.

As the story gets fleshed-out, we're told the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) demanded companies test their meat products for adulteration. But according to the FSA website (link): "Tests will be for the presence of significant levels of horse meat." Note the key weasel-words "significant levels"...  And what of significance testing for other creatures & critters?  They should also inform the meat-eating public about levels of phenylbutazone ("bute"), an anti-inflammatory drug no longer approved for human use, but still prescribed for horses & dogs.


We're also told of today's (Sat. 9 Feb) "urgent" emergency DEFRA Summit (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) discussing adulteration of the food chain and rising public concerns. The BBC reports those attending included:

• Environment Secretary Owen Patterson
• Food and Drink Federation (Findus is a member)
• Federation of Wholesale Distributors
• British Retail Consortium
• Tesco
• Sainsbury's
• Asda
• Institute of Grocery Directors
• British Meat Processors Association
• Co-operative Food 

The Independent notes "Major supermarket chains are at the talks, as well as retail, distribution and consumer groups. Marks & Spencer, Waitrose and Lidl were all invited but did not turn up."

In past food scandals, the UK government has reassured consumers about safety when in fact government officials did not know shit. Because this stance supports producer interest, it's important we ask which consumer groups were at today's DEFRA summit? Remember well the broken trust when the UK Agriculture Minister (John Gummer, now the ennobled Baron Deben of Winston) tried to reassure a public scared about vCJD BSE. He sought to feed a beefburger to his four-year old daughter Cordelia in front of the press, asserting we had "no need to be worried" though in fact there was danger.

If supplies do threaten safety - will we ever hear about it?
What if meat products contain something worse than horse ?   
Animal shelters and mortuaries can also supply cheap meat.

A Mare Trifle?

The Swedish firm Findus recalled it's "Beef Lasagne" (link) after the product was found to contain mislabeled horsemeat instead of beef. The corporation notified Livsmedelsverket (Sweden's National Food Agency) and sought to assure consumers there was no health danger if eating the bogus product.

The news threatens to saddle the firm with serious problems. The BBC reports the Findus supplier Comigel of France supplied the bad meat. Comigel made the meals in Luxembourg with meat sourced in Romania by the French company Spanghero. The UK Food Standards Agency ordered testing for the dangerous veterinary drug phenylbutazone as it became clear Findus had lost control over product ingredients. Many people suddenly are enraged about adulteration and illegal mislabeling of food supplies.

More firms & foods are being questioned, drawing attention to complex supply chains of variously labeled products. Axfood has recalled their Eldorado Lasagna Bolognese, Willys Lasagna Bolognese & Hemköp Lasagna Bolognese. McAdam Foods, Silvercrest & Rangeland Foods of Ireland, and UK-based Freeza Meats have also been tainted by the scandal.   Supermarket chains Tesco and Aldi in the UK, and ICA & Coop in Sweden are also involved. Retailers who stock mislabeled goods mistakenly are unfortunate, but those selling trash under their own-label should be severely prosecuted. By putting their brand name on a product, they assure us of its quality. It's now not enough to claim surprise after profiting from our gullibility; these corporate outlaws must be reined in.

Earlier this year in Sweden it was found that over 95.5 tons of bogus imported pork had been dyed, mislabeled, and sold as beef. An estimated 320,000 "beef tenderloin steaks" (200g) were trustingly eaten by consumers throughout the country before the scandal came to light.

These are prime examples of how corporations need oversight and hefty fines from government. Right-wing corporate interests encourage us to dismantle "too expensive" government -- but we need stricter checks & balances on overgrown, gluttonous corporations. Profit maximization makes businesses prone to cut corners at everyone's expense.

Assassinating Children

.
People in the US government are allowed to kill indiscriminately.

They give themselves a now semi-official "targeted killing" power.

Most authorization details are secret.

But any "senior operational leader of al-Qa’ida" may be killed.

Enemies marked to die include US citizens.

Two assassination events under Obama are known to have killed Americans.

One killed an American boy born in Denver. A separate attack killed his US-born father and an American journalist.

Anonymous clerks now decide who'll die, with no independent review. 

Nobody is required to assert the 16-year old was a "senior operational leader" of a banned group. In fact, we've a history of butchering family members of enemies (link), starting with squaws & whelps of redskin savages. This kid's assassination, outside Constitutionally-guaranteed due process, is inelegantly classed as "tough shit"

Poem de Tear

In memory of Johan Ludvig Runeberg

Quick Vigorous the baby's Leap
Refocuses Attention
We share so much, the bright & trite
Live goals exceeding mention.

Friends vs Clients

Who are the client states of the USA?
Many so-called "banana Republics" now enjoy unparalleled freedoms. In my opinion, such possibilities are the chief positive legacies to presidents George W. Bush & Barack Obama: US-led adventurism from the Middle East to Afghanistan and into Pakistan is so costly it's required a focus of energies, allowing freedom to others. But this may not continue... The Philippines, Turkey, South & Central America, Somalia, etc. should strengthen their anti-imperialist defenses before the bully resurrects & returns... think of The Evil Dead.

Puppet regimes of US client states murder their people, rob the national economy, and cripple the community for decades. Their crimes are only possible with coordinated help from predator banks & corrupt media. Let's be clear: it's not a docile media, it's a cheerleading media aimed at us -- creating imperialist opportunity.

Tinpot dictators are never really "friends" of the USA. Ruthless thugs-for-hire such as Mubarak, Suharto, Somoza, Diệm (Vietnam), Trujillo, Marcos, the House of Pahlavi (Iran), Pinochet, etc. are made wealthy but ridiculed, and ultimately deeply threatened. When tyrants fall, their resources & secrets can damage US interests. Big capital is as likely to sell their client's safety - death is always near.

Super Bowl

Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the just-concluded Super Bowl XLVII was actually Baltimore Ravens defensive cornerback Jimmy Smith. At a critical junction in the final moments, he seemed to impede receiver Michael Crabtree, thwarted a go-ahead touchdown, likely saving the game for his winning team.

Should the officials have called a penalty for holding? Anyway, they did not.

Some football fans will be distraught at the outcome. Surely that key play defined the result. Some will feel pass interference & cheating determined the game, overshadowing everything else. Others will overlook the incident. "The Winner Takes It All" -- though a few feel shame amidst celebrations -- the shadow of cheating to win.

"Ravens hold on to Win"
"Baltimore held off a San Francisco comeback"
"Ravens are Champions after holding off SF"
(actual headlines)

Let's consider this along with Lance Armstrong's doping. Armstrong - an example of America to the world - amassed a fortune through cheating.

The wider impressions of America's world sporting activities differ from the impact inside the country. Domestically (within the USA), sport throws out many impressions per day. But in the wider world, US sport provides very few impressions each decade:
 -- Lance Armstrong: stripped of all titles for 14 years, banned for life; admitting to doping & lying
 -- Tiger Woods & his women
 -- Marion Jones cheating in track (surrendering five Olympic medals & two World Champion medals in athletics)
 -- Super Bowl scandal ??... more of the same sleaze.

Forget Asia

Narcissistic chauvinism in the USA is never in short supply, but it's artificially boosted as Zionists hijack the American political process (link) -- we're told "It's All About Israel".

Witness the still-ongoing confirmation of  former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as US Secretary of Defense (properly Secretary of the Military, truly a Secretary of War). Last week's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing overwhelmingly focused on whether Hagel was politically correct and properly pro-Israel.

Evidence that pro-Israeli forces dominate discussions is detailed by Jim Lobe's analysis of the Senate confirmation dialog: Israel was brought up 178 times. China was mentioned 5 times. Suicide problems among US troops? ... noted twice; Japan and South Korea rated one mention each. Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, any of the Nordic nations, India ... - not worth a mention at all.

Voting Out Corruption

This month could have been much worse. Fortunately, the American people shut down Mitt Romney and his bankrupt party from the Presidency & US Senate. Sadly, far too many elitist corrupted scum still flourish like killer-bacteria in American public life. They are the 1%. Vote 'em out.

These weasels own big media. They use their power to confuse & corrupt. They are not simple opponents - they are a dangerous enemy, an enslaving influence. Too many people around the world suffer under the heel of these chauffeured-limousine assholes and their hired thugs.

The Republican leadership & Senator John McCain cripple the American people.

The tragedy of American deaths at the Benghazi consulate has become a symbol of cheap political opportunism orchestrated by well-manicured white Republicans & Rupert Murdoch. Let's be clear, this was Benghazi, Libya - a highly dangerous place emerging from civil war and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. It's a place of rogue militias, sectarian violence & anarchy. Oil companies push frantically for billions in wealth beneath the sand. Foreign intelligence operatives from around the world (including our own) are doing who knows what, seeking strategic resource-rich opportunities. Libya has not been safe for many years, and won't be "safe" for the foreseeable future. Americans in Libya work under no illusions - they serve (served) in dangerous circumstances. Republican political-opportunists John McCain, Rand Paul, Mitt Romney, Lindsay Graham, Kelly Ayotte and Ron Johnson should be deeply ashamed of themselves. Hopefully the ghosts of the dead can somehow reach their bony fingers around the necks of these bastards, infiltrate their airways, haunt their dreams & worse.

Kids + Guns = Pain

Hooligan Builds Gun in School

Joseph "Baby Face" Cardosa was officially reprimanded and reportedly faces suspension (link) for building a pistol & using it to threaten other students during an after-school program in Hyannis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (USA).

Some weeks ago, a school official witnessed Cardosa brandishing his pointed finger as a gun. That threatening incident elicited a verbal reprimand.

Barnstable schools Superintendent Mary Czajkowski noted in an interview with the Cape Cod Times that Cardosa (age 5) was given "at least five verbal reminders" and that such inappropriate behavior demands a prompt & proper response. "You need to educate students, and you need to educate parents."

Joseph was punished for using his imagination, said George MacKoul, Cardosa's attorney.

Joseph Cardosa has no known relationship to the late Joseph Barboza, also of Massachusetts (right), a reputed contract killer for the Patriarca crime family.

While the original gun crafted by Cardosa was apparently destroyed, the Cape Cod Times published a photo of Cardosa brandishing another homemade replica, and posing familiarly with "Ma" Cruz.

At what age does gunplay stop being cute? Is it reasonable Joseph's family & their lawyer made this affair public, parading the mini-miscreant in front of TV, radio & newspaper reporters? By adding even more excitement & attention to guns, have those around Joseph done him harm? Will we be hearing more of Joseph "Baby Face" Cardosa as an antisocial element? Perhaps this is the start of a long & costly criminal career (Massachusetts is one of the 17 US states without capital punishment).

Thanks to photographer Christine Hochkeppel let's contemplate the brazen face of delinquency:

Congratulations CELAC

CELAC hasn't generated much reporting by the Anglo-US corporate press. Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños, CELAC (link) is a joint effort by Latin America & the Caribbean states to build new synergies. The European Union is a key model. The CELAC group seeks to build a more independent regionalism & end imperial interference, working to strengthen peace, security and economic opportunity for the nearly 600 million people of the region.


Good Luck CELAC !

Why We Fight

Why is America at War?

I remember during the Vietnam war, we were told Communism threatened America via Vietnam, and without our support & sacrifice that Southeast Asian nations would fall to the red scourge like dominoes. More than 100,000 American parents suffered their child killed in Vietnam. How many doubt their sacrifice was essential?

Many who waged war feel misguided. Many who lost loved ones in war feel abused.

We fight because we choose to.

Our military is cheered onward by global defense contractors. Our deployment is directed by businessmen positioned to exploit vanquished lands & new markets. We've setup corrupt scum overseas as "leaders" while raping their populations. We need to withdraw our troops, stop the carnage, and spend our resources at home. Bankrupt leaders won't voluntarily change direction - they've killed too many and wasted too much.

Execution Without Trial

Execution Without Trial

John Kipling remembered, d. 1915

Our mechanized assassin
Brought down the Paki hive
We murdered teenage Izabel
No fiend was left alive.

Who made our drone of terror?
Who steered it from our base?
Who calmly watched our weapon burst?
And rip-off half her face...

We cheaply kill without a trial
With orders from on high
Till Fatima retaliates...
Then who'll be next to die?

Fear Government

Governed by Fear ?
     -- raw power breeds distrust
     -- corrupt politicians are undisguised
     -- so we exchange political masters for corporate enslavement
     -- Happy 2013 !

Spotlight on Assassin States

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is conducting an inquiry into state-sponsored assassination programs. The focus is on drone attacks.

Ben Emmerson QC, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism (link) leads the investigation.

Drone assassinations are increasing around the world. The attacks are typically covert; death & destruction inflicted from far away; nobody admitting responsibility. Over 50 nations reportedly have the technology for drone attacks (link), but presently the most active assassin-state is the USA.

Many hundreds of people have been targeted & terminated by these operations, often outside war zones. Perhaps the UN-led investigation will officially declare some numbers of innocent bystanders have been unjustly murdered, but it's unlikely those responsible will be held accountable.

The assassin teams continue killing with impunity. But assassination activities are unsustainable, promising eventual withering blowback with lethal consequences. State-sponsored extra-judicial assassination must stop !!

Avoid Qatar Airways

I recently made the bad decision to fly with Qatar Airways, attracted to their promise of "5 Star" Service -- but service on Qatar Airways is 5 on a scale of 15.  Frankly, they sucked.

There were assorted shortcomings, but a key problem stemmed from a breakdown in their electrical system; I had to sit in the dark for my eight hour forty minute flight (8hr 40min). This was a business trip, and I'd planned to read & work, which was impossible. Worse, the flight crew could not assist, seemed unconcerned, and subsequent email to corporate complaints were shunted or belittled. (I was told they'd try to make sure the equipment worked on my return).

But what causes such an electrical fault? (My bank of seats and that in front of me were inoperable). Perhaps a rat inside the plane is gnawing at the equipment - next to go will be hydraulics and key avionics... Is this a major safety issue? The staff & service personnel of Qatar Airways seem not to care.

Add to this Doha Airport is one of the world's ugliest. The long bus ride from aircraft to terminal drives along a fortified perimeter fence. Welcome to Doha prison camp! We're finally released to a boxy crowded transit terminal with no character other than being noisy, disordered and unfriendly.

Qatar Airways offers 2 Star Service, 3 Star Marketing

Avoid !

Idle Threat?

Idle No More is a grass-roots effort by indigenous people to assert their sovereignty. The movement was begun in Canada in response to provocation by corporate & foreign efforts to destabilize indigenous communities. Robber interests continue generations of abuse, neglect & outsider-directed exploitation, colonization & genocide.

It's difficult to ascertain how far the effort will carry, but indigenous people worldwide are inspired and moved to action.

And of course these efforts will systematically be demonized by corporate media...

Broken Time Warner Cable

The recent sale of Current TV shows American corporate media weakness. Time Warner Cable decided to censor the new owners immediately, and dropped the channel from those offered subscribers.

It seems Time Warner Cable carries only mainstream programming. Dumb customers are billed forever by the huge corporation. The corporate businessmen impose a "great firewall" and media censorship. Do you need their force-fed bullshit? 

Time Warner Cable is broken. Their many commercials depict friendly community-oriented diversity, while programming is corporate & fascist. Time Warner Cable is not a provider but a censor. If you can switch providers, do it now.

I Don't Support the Troops

Click to read a great essay -- if you dare:

I Do Not Support the Troops

Why those who say "I Support the Troops" really don't

by Michael Moore

 

Happy 2013

Another year finished, a new one begun.

Perhaps this year we can enjoy development of more progressive communities. It may be too much to expect the huge nations to suddenly improve, but hopefully we can generate more dynamic networks & neighborhoods, even if small...

Happy New Year!

Tyrant John Kerry

John Kerry and a sinister gang of American politicians have trashed the US Constitution they swore to defend. The FISA Amendments Act allows almost unlimited government spying with no oversight or accountability. The US government and a handful of subordinate regimes are detaining people indefinitely without charge or trial. Torture & summary execution threaten everyone anywhere at any time. These acts are wrong.

John Kerry survived the horrors of the illegal war waged in Vietnam & surrounding nations. His antiwar activism helped end the killing. But he's now befriended the tyrant class. Judas John Kerry enjoys a fancy payoff...

Votes for & against America

The FISA Amendments Act allows almost unlimited  government spying with no oversight or accountability. The government also continues to detain people without charge or trial. These acts are wrong.

Many chances to better balance FISA were all defeated in the US Senate. The YEAs vote for totalitarian powers -- Fascist USA.

-----------------------------------------
H.R. 5949 - FISA Amendments Act Reauthorization Act of 2012
A bill to extend the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 for five years.

YEAs ---73
Alexander (R-TN) Ayotte (R-NH) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennet (D-CO) Blumenthal (D-CT) Blunt (R-MO) Boozman (R-AR) Brown (R-MA) Burr (R-NC) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Chambliss (R-GA) Coats (R-IN) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID) Enzi (R-WY) Feinstein (D-CA) Gillibrand (D-NY) Graham (R-SC)	Grassley (R-IA) Hagan (D-NC) Hatch (R-UT) Heller (R-NV) Hoeven (R-ND) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Johnson (D-SD) Johnson (R-WI) Kerry (D-MA) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Kyl (R-AZ) Landrieu (D-LA) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lugar (R-IN) Manchin (D-WV) McCain (R-AZ) McCaskill (D-MO) McConnell (R-KY) Mikulski (D-MD) Moran (R-KS)	Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Portman (R-OH) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Rockefeller (D-WV) Rubio (R-FL) Schumer (D-NY) Sessions (R-AL) Shaheen (D-NH) Shelby (R-AL) Snowe (R-ME) Stabenow (D-MI) Thune (R-SD) Toomey (R-PA) Vitter (R-LA) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wicker (R-MS)

NAYs ---23
Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Begich (D-AK) Bingaman (D-NM) Brown (D-OH) Cantwell (D-WA) Coons (D-DE) Durbin (D-IL)	Franken (D-MN) Harkin (D-IA) Leahy (D-VT) Lee (R-UT) Menendez (D-NJ) Merkley (D-OR) Murkowski (R-AK) Murray (D-WA)	Paul (R-KY) Sanders (I-VT) Schatz (D-HI) Tester (D-MT) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Wyden (D-OR)

Not Voting - 4
Boxer (D-CA) DeMint (R-SC)	Kirk (R-IL) Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Senior Power

As President Obama and the Republican Party conspire to cut Social Security payments, America's senior citizens should pledge never to vote a Democrat or Republican into national office.

Those who aspire to retired life might make a similar vow.

Professional politicians have ruined countless lives, swindled their constituencies, sold-out the nation. These lying scheming scum should be held accountable.

TEPCO Trouble

The Japanese people are being held to ransom by TEPCO, Tokyo Electric Power Company -- the mismanagers responsible for the Fukushima nuclear meltdown.

The firm paid dividends until the accident, and refused to clawback previous dividend outlays when it was clear TEPCO could not pay disaster costs. Typical of the worst scummy big business, they've forced the public to pay.

In addition their operations have poisoned land & sea. Both the natural world and human lives are damaged, in some cases beyond repair. Jerks. Others elsewhere must learn from Japan's disaster and hold developers responsible for their operations.
 

Idle Death

Canada is embroiled by controversy over Federal efforts to change key environmental & property rights. Indigenous peoples are fighting back via a campaign named "Idle No More" -- while Atiwapiskat First Nation Chief Theresa Spence's hunger strike continues (since 11th Dec 2012).

Hawaiian people join in solidarity with others who must fight to preserve their homelands. Chief Spence's sacrifice for sovereignty -- starving -- is a stark reminder of dispossession & occupation. Pray during Christmas for the little guy, outmaneuvered by larger forces but retaining zest for life.

Profit from Meltdown USA

The USA has entered a meltdown. I'm sad about it. But what can be done? We're locked in decline -- by a corrupt corporatist system.

Can individual Americans profit during this meltdown?

Sure. It's best to protect yourself & your loved ones - and money may not be the best path to protection.

Breakdown is likely because of hopelessness. What opportunities or trends promise a better life ahead? Far too few...

Education & public health are in decline. Security and 'correctional' services are major growth industries. Police & military hog increasing chunks of all public spending.

As with programmed trading, the poor get squeezed to become poorer & poorer. They're also demonized. As these dispossessed grow in number, they threaten & endanger America's elite, and destabilize the shrinking middle class who serve them.

If civil unrest leads to widespread looting, or insurrectionary "redistribution" of wealth, fortified buildings & neighborhoods may be quickly targeted - perhaps by their own security guards.

The government has already instituted changes circumventing the US Constitution. They now hold US citizens indefinitely without charge or trial in military detention centers under Section 1021(b) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Torture is called "enhanced interrogation" but used as punishment. Banks & media drive oppression, and they profit from the churn.

This topic needs more analysis. Send your comments.

New Tax on Banks

The looming grim "fiscal cliff" can be easily avoided, in a way most Americans would find painless: add a new financial transaction tax.

The financial industries do not adequately pay their way. It's past time for The New Financial Transaction Tax. Or call it The Money Market Tax.

At less than a tenth of one percent, such a tiny tax will not bring doom & gloom to the world (though big bankers & financiers might say so. Major economists favor the tax). We might thus escape mechanized corruption.

In a culture of greed and payoffs, self-regulation is clearly insufficient. We must build safeguards into our systems. Tumbling the conspiracies years later is too little, too late. But the oversight bodies need resources - thus the Money Market Tax.

Recognize both Bohner & Obama are in the pockets of big bankers. Remember the bailout gifts & TARP? Instead of "hiring" the losers who'd caused the meltdown (at millions of dollars per financier) they could have directly helped the people. They've given immunity to hundreds of bankers & finance scum whose frauds cost trillions, and who remain personally wealthy. The bailout was dirty and irresponsible.

Look in the news for big banks paying huge fines - they've criminally stolen our future, and now pay pennies on the dollar without admitting guilt.

Ask your national lawmakers, left right & center, for The New Financial Transaction Tax.

Call it something catchy, and make the system work. With a Money Market Tax, our world will be a better place.

Transaction Tax Fences Cliff

It is long past time the USA should institute a financial transaction tax (sometimes called "Tobin Tax"). Many American people have been burned by mechanical speculation and robo-signing. A small financial transaction tax will be a step forward for the public. Financiers need to be fenced-in, not bailed-out. They take pride in holding the nation hostage; we must clearly say  - No More.

A Bagel for Hagel ?

Former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, Chairperson of the President's Intelligence Advisory Board, is being considered for the post of US Secretary of Defence, and the rightwing lobby for the State of Israel is reportedly against him.

I don't know Chuck Hagel, and I'm unfamiliar with his policies. But Cabinet officials follow Presidential directives. Given Hagel's long public service, and being twice wounded in action serving in the US military, I assume he's patriotic.

Israeli patriotism is not American patriotism. If the Israelis don't like American leaders, too bad. American policies must focus on what's best for America. Israel is not our Master - and shouldn't dictate America's path.

AIPAC flirts with treason.

Insane McCain

John McCain, the 76-year old US senator from Arizona, should retire. Hard living has taken a horrible toll on body & mind. He's served well, and is a great example of a warrior who should honorably retire. Sure he's reluctant, and hesitates to admit weakness & decline, but he must be encouraged to depart.

Public life is rough & bitter. Hang it up Senator.

So sad for his legacy... if faltering & doddering lead to him being labeled "insane McCain"...