Common Dreams:
"In a determination that could have far-reaching implications for the agro-chemical giants like Dow Chemical and Monsanto, the research arm of the World Health Organization has declared that glyphosate—the key ingredient of widely-used herbicides such as Roundup—should now be categorized as a 'probable carcinogen' for humans.
In a report published on Friday in The Lancet Oncology medical journal, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), based in France, announced its findings after a meeting of 17 oncology experts from 11 countries met to review the available scientific research exploring the connection between glyphosate, as well as several organophosphate insecticides, and various human cancers.
According to IARC, glyphosate is used in more than 750 different herbicide products and its use has been detected in the air during spraying, in water and in food. The panel of experts concluded that 'limited evidence' exists to show the herbicide can cause non-Hodgkins lymphoma in humans and additional 'convincing evidence' that it can cause other forms of cancer in both rats and mice. ..."
-->The NY Times covered this story in its usual way, by diminishing the findings as based on "that same mouse study," while printing numerous denials by Monsanto. Our newspaper of record followed up by an op-ed peace by Monsanto entitled, "A View From Monsanto on Herbicide Safety." An opinion peace entitled "Stop Making Us Guinea Pigs," while better, still insisted that "more research must be done."
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Common Dreams:
"Exclusive: Upset by Warren, U.S. Banks Debate Halting Some Campaign Donations.
What could she possibly be doing right? According to exlusive reporting by Reuters on Friday, big Wall Street banks are so upset with Elizabeth Warren’s call to 'un-rig' the economy and proposals for stronger financial regulations that discussions are underway about withholding campaign contributions to Senate Democrats as a form of 'symbolic' protest against the freshman senator from Massachusetts.
Citing sources familiar with the situation, representatives of some of the nation's largest banks—including Citigroup, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America—have actively considered putting pressure on the Democratic establishment by making a coordinated threat to withhold campaign contributions unless the populist rhetoric coming from Sen. Warren and her colleague from Ohio, Sen. Sherrod Brown, is toned down."
-->The story can be read as a Reuters report on-line, but didn't make it into The NYT print edition. Big banks blackmailing the Democratic Party not newsworthy?
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Green Shadow Cabinet:
"Over fourteen hundred international election experts gathered data last year and pronounced the United States last in election integrity among long-standing democracies. On a 100-point scale, the U.S. received an integrity rating of 69.3 percent -- one notch ahead of the narco-drug state Colombia at 69.1 percent and just behind the nearly-narco-drug state of Mexico at 69.8 percent, neither country with a long-standing democracy.
'The November 2014 Congressional elections got poor grades because experts were concerned about the electoral laws, voter registration, the process of drawing district boundaries, as well as regulation of campaign finances,' according to the Electoral Integrity Project report.
The experts particularly found U.S. voting registration problematic. So let me summarize that for you. We have 50 different state election laws -- some quite fair, others authoritarian in nature. With the elimination of the Voter's Rights Act of 1965, Republicans have declared open season on Black, Latino, elderly and young voters. Over 90 percent of the U.S. House districts are rigged to be non-competitive. Corporations can secretly launder money into political campaigns.
And our Supreme Court has declared corporations are people and spending money is free speech."
-->Our mainstream media avoids comparing our electoral process to other democracies. In that way, our media serves as propaganda for the state, always hiding deficiencies in our electoral system.
