http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/15/my-hero-noam-chomsky-charles-glass

My hero: Noam Chomsky

By Charles Glass
The Guardian, Friday 15 March 2013 12.00 EDT

"My heroes have always been cowboys," Willie Nelson sang, a sentiment I shared when I was a child in California. My hero in my teenage years, while most of my contemporaries were demonstrating against the US war in Vietnam, was the greatest cowboy star of them all, John Wayne. When I was 16, he gave me a job. I admired him, and I still do.

Things changed when I moved to Beirut in 1972 and saw the devastation wreaked by US weaponry on Palestinian refugee camps and Lebanese villages. The connections to other places, such as Vietnam and Chile, became clearer. In 1974, I read a book on US policy in the Middle East, which made sharp criticisms of the western press that I had by then joined. It was Peace in the Middle East by Noam Chomsky, whose books on language I had studied as a philosophy student.

I wrote to Chomsky, citing my reports on Israeli actions in south Lebanon, including the sinking of Lebanese fishing boats whose crews had to swim long distances to shore, that my editors either refused to publish or rewrote to change facts unflattering to the Israelis or critical of US policies. He wrote back, beginning a correspondence that continues to this day.

A year later, while I was visiting Cambridge, Massachusetts, we arranged to meet. He picked me up at my friends' place in a battered old car for lunch at his house in Lexington with his wife, Carol. We became friends. When you know some people better, you see their flaws. With Noam, it was the opposite. The closer I came to knowing him, the more I saw his heroic qualities. A scholar who has more or less defined contemporary linguistic analysis, he nonetheless engaged with the world, always on the side of the oppressed. The US establishment treats him as a pariah. Yet, at the age of 84, Noam produces books, essays and lectures (he will give the Edward Said Lecture in London on 18 March) at a rate that should shame the rest of us.

• Charles Glass's Deserter: The Last Untold Story of World War II is published this month by Harper Press

http://action.fooddemocracynow.org/sign/tell_hersheys_to_kiss_monsanto_goodbye

Tell Hershey's to Kiss Monsanto Goodbye!

Last fall, while Californians were working to support their basic right to label genetically engineered foods through Prop 37, the Hershey Company, the nation’s largest chocolate-maker, contributed $519,000 to defeat them and your Right to Know what’s in your food. Rather than stand with Californians, Hershey's joined with Monsanto, the world's largest biotech seed company, who dumped in $8.1 million to stifle democracy and transparency.

If you’re uncertain why Hershey’s chose to climb into bed with Monsanto to defeat GMO labeling, consider the fact that Hershey’s Kisses are chock full of GMOs! Unfortunately, Hershey's is caught in a huge pile of chocolate hypocrisy since Hershey’s sells GMO free chocolate in Europe, but keeps peddling GMOs in America.

This Valentine’s day, join Food Democracy Now! and say Goodbye to Hershey’s chocolate until they agree to sell GMO free chocolates in America.

Tell Hershey to Kiss Monsanto Goodbye!

Click here to download our Hershey's Valentine's Day graphic to remind you who supports GMOs and Monsanto and who's against your right to know!

(Right click and select 'save file as' to save the file and download the graphic)

http://fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2013/mar/12/labeling_of_gmo_baby_food_and_baby_formula/

Labeling of Genetically Engineered Baby Food and Baby Formula
Posted by Dave on March 12, 2013


Hartford CT – The labeling of genetically engineered foods is one step closer to being a reality in Connecticut.  Today the Committee on Children voted 11 to 1 in favor of House Bill 6527,“An Act Concerning Genetically Engineered Baby Food”, that would require the labeling of foods fed to infants that contain genetically engineered ingredients.

Amanda Wendt, the social media director of GMO Free CT, the grass roots organization advocating for GMO labeling in CT, stated that: “We are thrilled that HB 6527 bill has passed the committee. We are firm believers in the consumer's right to know and we love that parents are one step closer to having the information they need to feed their babies food or formula without genetically modified ingredients.  This gives us great momentum moving into Friday's Public Health Committee hearing.”

Connecticut is the first state to introduce a labeling bill that specifically targets GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in baby food and infant formula.

The bill to label genetically engineered baby food was introduced by Representative Diana Urban, Chair of the Children’s Committee and a Democrat from North Stonington, CT, who has one child of her own.  Urban shared that she knew about GMOs from the start and never fed them to her son and that she feels for all the mothers out there who are first learning about GMOs and are now devastated about what they fed their babies.  Vice chair of the Children’s Committee, Kim Fawcett, a Democrat from Fairfield stated that “More and more we are coming to realize that GMOs represent a possible human health concern for adults and our children. With the real potential threat to human health, we must make sure to provide basic information to mothers trying to make healthy choices for their families.  The work we’re doing here in Connecticut is just part of the voice of a national movement that is demanding more information and transparency about what’s in our food.”

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http://on.aol.com/video/obama-signs-violence-against-women-act-517693856

VIDEO: President Barack Obama renewed the Violence Against Women Act during a signing ceremony in Washington. New provisions strengthen protections for victims attacked on tribal lands and gays and lesbians. (March 7)

Washington DC - March 7, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama:

"One of the great legacies of this law is that it didn't just change the rules. It changes our culture. It empowered people to start speaking out. It made it okay for us as a society to talk about domestic abuse. It made it possible for us as a country to address the problem in a real and meaningful way, and it made clear to victims that they were not alone, that they always had a place to go and they always had people on their side. And today, because members of both parties worked together, we're able to renew that commitment. Today is about the millions of women, the victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault who are out there right now looking for a lifeline, looking for support. Because of this bill, they'll continue to have access to all the services that Joe first helped to establish 19 years ago - national hotline, network of shelters, protection orders that carry across state lines. We've made incredible progress since 1994, but we cannot let up, not when domestic violence still kills three women a day, not when one in five women will be a victim of rape in their lifetime, not when one in three women is abused by a partner. So, I promise you, not just as your president, but as a son and a husband and a father, I'm going to keep at this."

http://sundial.csun.edu/2013/03/obamas-revised-violence-against-women-act-to-protect-more-groups/

Obama’s revised Violence Against Women Act to protect more groups
By ReAnne Rogers
March 12th, 2013

President Obama made a move to protect more victims of violence by announcing on March 7 that he would sign the Violence Against Women Act, which would add coverage for gays, lesbians, transgender people, immigrants and Native Americans who were previously not included in its protections.

The act received bipartisan support from The House of Representatives Feb. 28, when 87 republicans and 199 democrats voted to pass the bill, which sent it to Obama.

“I was pleased to see the House of Representatives come together and vote to reauthorize and strengthen the Violence Against Women Act,” Obama said in a statement. “Over more than two decades, this law has saved countless lives and transformed the way we treat victims of abuse.”

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This is not the first time that VAWA has been passed. Vice President Joe Biden drafted the GOP bill in 1994 while he was senator of Delaware. The act was passed with bipartisan support then as well, according to ABC News.

“The urgent need for this bill cannot be more obvious,” Biden said in a statement. “Consider just one fact—that 40 percent of all mass shootings started with the murderer targeting their girlfriend, or their wife, or their ex-wife.”

The act of 1994 provided funding toward the investigation and prosecution of violence crimes against women. It also demanded automatic and mandatory restitution for those convicted, as well as established the Office on Violence Against Women in the Department of Justice according to www.whitehouse.gov. When the act was on the verge of expiration in 2000, President Bill Clinton reauthorized the bill in October of that year.

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http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_27166.cfm

Organic Consumers Assoc. Responds to Whole Foods Plan to Label GMOs by 2018

Food Retailer's Plan to Label GMOs a Victory for Grassroots Food Activists and Consumers, but Five-year Timetable not Comprehensive or Aggressive Enough

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2013    

FINLAND, Minn. - The million-strong Organic Consumers Association (OCA), North America's leading watchdog over organic and fair trade standards, said today that it is encouraged by Whole Foods Markets' plan, announced last week, to support consumers' right to know by requiring labeling of all foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in its U.S. and Canadian stores by 2018.

However, the OCA called on Whole Foods, the nation's largest national organic foods retailer, to move up its labeling deadline to July 2015, and to take the lead in the organic industry to end deceptive labeling practices by requiring all the stores' products that include the word "natural" in their labeling or packaging to be GMO-free.

"We are pleased that Whole Foods has finally recognized consumers' right to know about GMOs," said Ronnie Cummins, National Director of the OCA. "This is a major victory for U.S. consumers who have for far too long been denied basic information which would enable them to make safe, healthy food choices. This also represents a major defeat for Monsanto and the rest of the biotech industry who have been deceiving consumers since they first conspired more than 20 years ago with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration to falsely convince consumers that genetically modified foods are no different than foods that don't contain organisms created by manipulating DNA in laboratories or by injecting seeds with bacteria and pesticides."

But the Whole Foods plan does not go far enough, Cummins said. "We ask that Whole Foods step up its timetable for GMO labeling, to coincide with the July 2015 deadline prescribed by I-522, the citizens' initiative for GMO labeling in Washington State. We also call on Whole Foods to stop selling products that contain GMOs under the misleading "natural" label, and to require any product in its store called "natural" be GMO-free."

Washington's I-522 is expected to pass in November 2013, becoming the first statewide mandatory GMO labeling law. The law establishes July 2015 as the deadline for compliance. Whole Foods Markets already complies with the U.K.'s mandatory GMO labeling law in its seven stores in that country.

Whole Foods came under fire last year when the company dragged its feet in supporting Proposition 37, California's Right to Know GMO Labeling citizens' initiative. In October, CEO John Mackey confirmed in a blog post that Whole Foods stores knowingly sell Monsanto's genetically modified corn, without labeling it.

Last week, the OCA launched a new nationwide campaign: Organic Retail and Consumer Alliance (ORCA). The new alliance will aggressively promote organic food and products, and expose and eliminate the rampant "natural" labeling and marketing fraud that has slowed the growth of America's $30-billion dollar organic sector.

"Routine mislabeling and marketing fraud has confused millions of U.S. consumers, and enabled the so-called "natural" foods and products sector to grow into a $60-billion- a-year powerhouse, garnering twice as many sales in 2012 as certified organic products," said Cummins. "It's time we stopped allowing food companies to market unhealthy food products, containing GMOs, pesticides, and synthetic and chemical compounds, as "natural," and we call on Whole Foods Market to take the first step."

  The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) is an online and grassroots non-profit 501(c)3 public interest organization campaigning for health, justice, and sustainability. The Organic Consumers Fund is a 501(c)4 allied organization of the Organic Consumers Association, focused on grassroots lobbying and legislative action.

http://spoonsenergymatters.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/a-lasting-legacy-of-the-fukushima-rescue-mission-part-1-radioactive-contamination-of-american-sailors/

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission
Part 1: Radioactive Contamination of Americans

Thursday, 31 January 2013

By Roger Witherspoon

http://spoonsenergymatters.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/a-lasting-legacy-of-the-fukushima-rescue-mission-part-2-the-navy-life-into-the-abyss/

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission
Part 2: The Navy Life – Into the Abyss

February 11, 2013

By Roger Witherspoon
Winifred Bird contributed reporting from Japan

(includes link to NRC’s Operation Center Fukushima Transcript and analysis)

http://spoonsenergymatters.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/404/

A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission
Part 3: Cat and Mouse with a Nuclear Ghost

March 3, 2013

By Roger Witherspoon

http://www.rogerwitherspoon.com/bio.html

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Wm. Roger Witherspoon has spent more than 40 years working in all forms of the media as a journalist, author, educator, and public relations specialist. Along the way, he has written extensively on state and national politics, foreign affairs, finance, defense, civil rights, constitutional law, health, the environment, and energy.

Most of his career has been in the news business, working as a full time reporter, editor, columnist, or producer for a variety of media companies including newspapers (The Record, N.J.; Star Ledger, N.J.; NY Daily News; Atlanta Constitution; Dallas Times Herald; and Journal News (N.Y.); television ( CNN, KNBC and NBC Network); and radio (WCBN, MI.).

As a free lance writer, he has written for several publications, including Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Essence, Black Enterprise, The Economist, and US Black Engineer & IT.

As an educator, he assembled and led a team of journalists charged with the complete restructuring of the print and broadcast curriculum and staff in the Department of Mass Communications at Clark-Atlanta University; and he has lectured on ethics and technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology; and nanotechnology in the environment, and racism in the media at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

In public affairs, he was responsible for managing millions of dollars in health and environmental grant programs globally for Exxon Corp. That included development of the global Save the Tiger program; the Center for the Study of Human Factors in Complex Systems at the University of Wisconsin; and the Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Climate Change at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He is the author of "Martin Luther King, Jr. to the Mountaintop," Doubleday, 1985; and co-author of "Feats and Wisdom of the Ancients," Time-Life Books, 1989; "Engineering 101: A Text Manual," Hampton University College of Science and Engineering, 1997; and the extended essay "African Americans and the Technological Society," Microsoft Encarta Africana, 1999.

He is a founder of the Association of Black Journalists, which grew into the present National Association of Black Journalists; and a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, the International Motor Press Association, and the Automotive Press Association.

Detailed Resume Link (133KB PDF)