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As of February 6, 2009, the Senate had confirmed 11 of the 14 cabinet members requiring Senate review (new hearings were not required for Robert Gates who was confirmed as Bush's Defense Secretary in 2006 and will stay in Obama's cabinet). The Senate is still reviewing the nomination of Hilda Solis for Labor Secretary. On February 3, 2009, President Obama nominated Judd Gregg for Commerce Secretary, but he has not yet appointed Read More
by Alexis Baden-Mayer, Organic Consumers Association
Hello, my name is Alexis Baden-Mayer and I work here in Washington, DC, with the Organic Consumers Association. I'd like to talk about grower groups, aquaculture, the 100% organic claim, and methionine. I want to thank all of you for your hard work. I am encouraged by the National Organic Program's several new hires in compliance and enforcement and the plans to make trainings more accessible. I'm very impressed by the work of the Board, especially the improvements made to the grower group Read More
First the bad, or shall we say the really bad, news. Not since the Great Depression have Americans been Read More
Today, for the first time in my life, I had guns pointed at me. One of the police officers told me over a loud-speaker: "Get out of the line of fire or we will shoot!" I can't believe the cops said they'd shoot me! In Minneapolis!
The photo above shows me standing in the line of fire at a gun-point raid on a van of suspected anti-Republican Read More
So far, seven candidates running for US Congress in Washington have completed the Grassroots Netroots Alliance survey. Of the 7, 4 are Democrats, one’s a Republican, one’s a Green, and one’s an Independent. Only one of these candidates isn’t with us 100% on drug policy. And it’s not the Republican. Keith Arnold, a Democrat running for Congress in the 8th district says he supports industrial hemp farming, but he says he “would need details supporting approval.” And, he’s not for legal marijuana, or harm reduction instead of incarceration. The six other candidates who have responded so far ( Read More
If you thought you could avoid the ills of food industrialization by eating only certified organic food, think again. A new report by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week revealed that some products labeled "organic" may not meet organic criteria. The USDA's National Organic Program announced on August 5th that 15 of the 30 Accredited Certifying Agencies with whom they contract failed USDA organic audits. If the certifiers do not meet the standards within one year, they will lose their accreditation. Among the agencies in question is the French company Ecocert, which certified Read More
Dear Friends,
We the undersigned, call on ethically responsible people across the world to “Break the Chains” of self-destructive consumerism by boycotting Wal-Mart and other national and international chain stores, fast food restaurants, corporate coffeehouses, and products bearing the logos of the multinational Brand Name Bullies.
Wal-Mart and the multinational chains are colonizing
Read MoreSaturday morning, July 19. Sitting here at the Netroots Nation conference in Austin, Texas with several thousand other online activists. Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Party Speaker of the House, the third most powerful politician in the United States, is up on the podium, doing her best to damp down the mounting criticism of the Democratic Party's shameful collaboration in funding the war and aiding and abetting the Bush administration's shredding of the Constitution. Before Pelosi speaks, an announcement is made from the podium that disruptions will not be tolerated--if we express our Read More
"MoveOn is not a movement although it wants to be perceived as one. It is a brilliant and effective fundraising and marketing machine, but 95% or more of their so-called members ignore any particular email appeal. These 3.2 million people on the MoveOn email list are the object of marketing and fundraising campaigns, but they have absolutely no meaningful or democratic control over the decisions of organization, there is no accountability from the leadership to the MoveOn list members, and those of us on the list are unable to organize and communicate amongst ourselves within the list Read More
Rising food prices and shortages have joined the energy and climate crisis, economic recession, and the war in Iraq, as headline news. While consumers struggle to pay their bills and put food on the table, Monsanto, Cargill, and Archer Daniels Midland rake in billions from taxpayer-subsidized biofuels. Monopolizing markets, polluting the environment with genetically modified organisms, and hoarding future reserves of crop seeds, wheat, rice, soy, corn, and other grains, the food and gene giants profit from global crisis and misery. Adding fuel to the fire, Wall Street speculators have Read More
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