William Shannon
Thu, 26 Aug 1999 14:57:13 -0700
UNDERNEWS Sam Smith August 26, 1999 The Progressive Review 1739 Conn. Ave. NW Washington DC 20009 202-232-5544 Fax: 202-234-6222 E-MAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] INDEX: http://prorev.com RECENT UNDERNEWS: http://prorev.com/indexa.htm TODAY'S HEADLINE NEWS: http://prorev.com/altnews.htm THE REVIEW FORUM: http://prorev.com/letters.com DONATIONS AND ORDER FORM: http://prorev.com/order3.htm UNSUBSCRIBE: Reply with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line. For a free subscription to our e-mail updates send your postal address with zip code. Copyright 1999, The Progressive Review. Matter not independently copyrighted may be reprinted provided TPR is paid your normal reprint fees, if any, and is given proper credit. Because of its quantity, TPR's mail is not always answered, but it is always read. The editor is cheered or remorseful as appropriate and posts some of the more interesting messages at http://prorev.com/letters.htm ---------------------------------------------------------- WE ARE NOT MAKING THIS UP Your editor is still in the land of nine-foot-plus tides where a lobsterman friend swears a tourist stood on the Maine shore when the tide was out and remarked, "Boy, the drought really has hit you hard here." A LITTLE LATE FOR THAT, ISN'T IT? Steve Roberts of USN&WR on a Sunday talk show: "I think that we in the press have an enormous obligation to help the voters understand the judgment and the temperament, and the morality and the character of the people who want to be president and I think there's only one way we can do that, and that is to explore the judgments that they have made in the past." WACO MASSACRE LEE HANCOCK, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: The chairman of the Department of Public Safety said that federal authorities also need to investigate and fully explain why members of the U.S. Army's secret Delta Force anti-terrorist unit were present on the day the compound burned. "Everyone involved knows they were there ...." said James B. Francis Jr. of Dallas. "Some of the evidence that I have reviewed and been made aware of is very problematical as to the role of Delta Force at the siege. However, I think it's only fair that real independent experts look into that highly sensitive issue." A Department of Defense document released under the federal Freedom of Information Act confirmed that members of a classified Army special forces unit were in the area when the FBI's hostage rescue team used tanks to assault the compound with tear gas. DALLAS MORNING NEWS http://www.dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/0826tsw1davidians.htm FOOD NEWS I Agribusiness Examiner MAC ATTACK: French farmers, with the apparent support of the French people, have launched an aggressive campaign to not only protest U.S. trade sanctions against their country, but also to show their opposition to the increasing domination of multinational U.S. food and agricultural corporations. Their latest protest came last Saturday in southern France where angry farmers driving tractors dumped peaches and six tons of manure in front of McDonald's outlets .... 100 farmers in the southwestern town of Montauban dumped peaches in front of a McDonald's and a large supermarket. 400 fruit and vegetable growers blocked access to a supermarket and a McDonald's in Martigues. ORGANIC TEACHING: The Berkeley, California school board recently unanimously passed a measure designed to encourage students not only to eat their organic vegetables, but to grow them. With this new policy, Berkeley schools will have gardens and will incorporate eating, gardening and nutrition into the curriculum, i.e., a garden planning session might be a math exercise calculating the area of vegetable plots. "We want the cafeteria to be a learning experience," said Tom Bates, a former state assemblyman who now heads the Berkeley Food Systems Project, which has been working with the district on the new food policy. Reviewing current food serve in the schools, Bates notes that "calling it airplane food would be a compliment. School kitchens and cooks are disappearing, and instead you're seeing cafeterias with warmers to heat prepackaged food. We want to break that." AGRIBUSINESS EXAMINER [EMAIL PROTECTED] CITY DESK UPI: Black religious leaders in Boston plan to sit down with state health officials and members of the AIDS Action Committee to find ways of combating the high number of AIDS cases and HIV infections among African Americans .... Health officials think the churches could be a valuable tool in fighting the disease. In Massachusetts, blacks account for 26 percent of all AIDS cases, but make up just 6 percent of the population CORRECTION An errant sentence caused yesterday's item about 21 homeless congressmen to be undecipherable. The 21 are not living on the street but in their offices. According to columnists Jack Anderson and Douglas Cohn, Rep. Ray LaHood, who has been in charge of congressional retreats the past few years, said the issue of sleeping in the offices to save money has come up at the retreats, but he has dismissed it as "a silly lifestyle. Whenever I talk to members, I encourage them to get away from the office. I don't know of anyone back home who does this. It's not healthy." PRESIDENTIAL DRUG ADDICTS LIBERTARIAN PARTY: Here's how to end the controversy over Governor George W. Bush's alleged cocaine use: Simply give every suspected drug user the same right to "privacy" the GOP presidential front-runner demands. "Let's treat every American like a presidential candidate: If you've ever used drugs, you shouldn't have to answer questions about it," proposed Steve Dasbach, the party's national director. "Not only would such a don't-ask/don't-tell policy save the $17 billion the federal government currently spends on drug prohibition, but it would also let hundreds of thousands of non-violent drug offenders out of prison so they could lead productive lives -- and maybe even run for president themselves as hypocritical Republicans." LIBERTARIAN PARTY: http://www.lp.org/ Meanwhile, Jay Leno has pointed out that nobody thought Marion Barry, Jr., would become a trendsetter. Leno described the difference between a black elected official and a white one: one gets his head slammed by the FBI, the other gets his party's nomination. FOOD NEWS II The American Corn Growers Association is proposing that farmers should consider planting non-GMO crops if certain questions are not answered. "GMOs have become the albatross around the neck of farmers on issues of trade, labeling, testing, certification, segregation, market availability and agribusiness concentration. Until all these issues are answered, it is best for production agriculture to examine alternatives to planting GMOs," said Gary Goldberg, Chief Executive Officer of the ACGA. The ACGA is calling on the following questions to be addressed: -- How do we export GMO grains to unwilling foreign customers and will the USDA encourage the sale of GMO free crops? -- Who will be responsible for maintaining separate channels for GMO crops and assuring the integrity of non-GMO crops? Will farmers who plant traditional varieties be burdened with testing and other costs associated with segregation or identity preservation? -- How far do GMO and GMO free grains have to be planted from each other to prevent cross-pollination? -- Since GMO fields can cross-pollinate with non-GMO fields, will GMO growers be required to plant buffer zones? How large should the buffer zones be? -- Will biotech companies be liable for contamination of non-GMO crops caused by cross-pollination? -- Will there be the need for liability waivers between neighbors to prevent legal ramifications in the event of one neighbor not knowing what another neighbor is planting? -- How does a grain elevator plan to segregate GMO from GMO free and will there be a price differential? -- What kind of certification procedure will be needed for the elevator and will each elevator have its own certification form? -- Are the supposedly higher yields of GMOs marketable in a climate that already has overproduction and oversupply? FOOD NEWS III Consumer Reports' tests of everyday groceries show that genetically engineered foods are already on the shelves of American supermarkets in products ranging from baby formulas and tortilla chips to drink mixes, taco shells, veggie burgers and muffin mix. The findings, reported in the September issue, indicate that American consumers are eating genetically engineered food without knowing it, because unlike Europe, the U.S. does not require labeling. Consumer Reports went grocery shopping and bought a variety of processed foods containing corn or soybeans, since those crops are the most likely to be genetically engineered. Though none of the foods in the tests were labeled as genetically engineered, DNA analysis showed genetically engineered ingredients in: -- Three powdered infant formulas: Enfamil ProSobee Soy Formula, Similac Isomil Soy Formula, and Nestle Carnation Alsoy -- Several soy burger products, including Boca Burger Chef, Max's Favorite, Morningstar Farms Better 'n Burgers, and Green Giant Harvest Burgers (now called Morningstar Farms Harvest Burgers). McDonald's McVeggie Burgers also showed GE ingredients. -- Ovaltine Malt powdered beverage mix -- Bac-Os Bacon Flavor bits -- Bravos Tortilla Chips Nacho Nacho! -- Old El Paso 12 Taco Shells -- Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix FOOD NEWS IV GUARDIAN (LONDON): The government has suspended large scale planting of genetically modified oilseed rape due to start today because it fears the High Court may order they are dug up again. The decision was made by the treasury solicitor yesterday after studying papers which claim that civil servants used administrative short cuts to rush through licenses for large new releases of oilseed rape. 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