Friday, January 10, 2014

Fantasyland Media:

Fantasyland Media:
http://www.fantasylandmedia.org

Each week, we cover the stories that are just left out of the US propaganda machine. News that the people in charge, the corporations and your government want to keep from the public eye.

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The NY Times:
The recent article on genetically modified food (A Lonely Quest for Facts on Genetically Modified Crops) printed in The NY Times is so bad that it deserves special attention. This front page story goes on for two full pages, portraying opponents of GMO as long haired hippies with no scientific knowledge. A careful reading of this article reveals that our newspaper of record never even cites the massive evidence against GMO agriculture. 

GMO critic Dr. Vandana Shiva describes the GMO movement as "a war against nature. Think about it. Companies genetically modify food crops to be resistant to chemicals (like 2,4-D, glufosinate, Roundup, dicamba, imidazolines, and so forth). They then sell the seeds to farmers, and also supply them with the chemicals needed to wipe out everything else except that GMO crop."

What does The NY Times leave out? Soil erosion, the health dangers of Roundup (a former GMO lobbyist now heads the Food and Drug Administration), economic loss by farmers, development of "superweeds," the destruction of bees and other pollinators for starters. The story is one big commercial for Dow Chemical. Disgusting journalism because the story only includes facts that corporations decide are "fit to print."

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Common Dreams:
"Despite widespread opposition from food safety, environmental and watchdog groups, as well as health professionals and concerned consumers, the USDA has paved the way for the commercial use of genetically engineered crops dubbed 'Agent Orange' corn and soybeans. ...

2,4-D, the third most widely used herbicide in the U.S., is made by Dow Chemical, and was a component of Agent Orange. The herbicide has been linked to Parkinson's, birth defects, reproductive problems, and endocrine disruption.

Critics say that green-lighting these two genetically engineered crops will expand the use of toxic herbicides at the expense of public and environmental health, while padding the coffers of he pesticide industry. ...

'When Dow Chemical and Monsanto first brought out GE crops, they assured us their new, expensive seeds would clean up our environment and reduce pesticide use. That didn’t happen,' said Iowa corn and soybean farmer George Naylor. 'Today weeds are resistant to Roundup and many farmers are using older, more deadly pesticides to kill them. 2,4-D corn and soybeans just keep us on the same old pesticide treadmill; it’s a terrible idea.' "

-->This is the story that The NY Times should have printed, that is if it wasn't tied to Dow Chemical.

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The Independent:
"An Israeli human rights organization has accused the government of torturing Palestinian children after it emerged some were kept in outdoor cages during winter.

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) published a report which claimed children suspected of minor crimes were subjected to 'public caging,' threats and acts of sexual violence and military trials without representation.
It came as the government’s Public Petitions Committee held a hearing to discuss the issue, which the PCATI said must be addressed with a change to the law.

The country’s Public Defender’s Office (PDO) recently released details of one particularly shocking visit by its lawyers to a detention facility. 'During our visit, held during a fierce storm that hit the state, attorneys met detainees who described to them a shocking picture: in the middle of the night dozens of detainees were transferred to the external iron cages built outside the IPS transition facility in Ramla,' the PDO wrote on its website."

-->The NYT regularly whitewashes Israel's human rights abuses. It didn't print this story.

ClassWars Commentary:
"This month, Senator Menendez's war with Iran bill was cosponsored by our two New York Senators. The bill attempts to dramatically increase sanctions on Iran to disrupt the peace talks now in progress. 

What in the world would make Schumer and Gillibrand cosponsor such legislation? They are going against the views of a vast majority of their constituents. They are opposing their own President, who has repeatedly warned that a new Middle East war would be extremely dangerous.

There is only one thing more important to our two senators than the voters, the president or the fear of a nuclear standoff with Russia. When push comes to shove, both Schumer and Gillibrand take their orders from the Israeli Lobby. In fact, Israel is the most dangerous country in the world, not so much because it is a nuclear power, but because it controls the US Congress."

->The NY Times printed a one line admission that our two NY Senators are cosponsoring this bill. Trying to keep this a secret from voters is more important than freedom of information.