[Biofuel] McDonald's Hamburger from 1996 (still fresh)
http://www.foodfacts.info/blog/2008/09/mcdonald-hamburger-from-1996.html WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2008 McDonald's Hamburger from 1996 http://foodfacts.info/blog/uploaded_images/mcdonalds-1996-hamburger.jpg I've always wanted to do this, but never got around to it. Morgan Spurlock did it in Super Size Me, but for only about a year as I recall. But Karen Hanrahan has kept a McDonald's hamburger since 1996. Yup, she's had this burger for 12 years! And it still looks ready to eat. That's frightening! McDonald's (and presumably other fast food joints) use a lot of preservatives to keep their food fresh-looking (note that I say 'fresh-looking,' not 'fresh') during it's production, transportation, and storage. This keeps their food looking fresh a lot longer than is natural. (See the end of this post for the current ingredients in a McDonald's Hamburger bun.) Trust me, if you grilled a burger and put it on a bun and put it in a container for a month, you'd have to scrape the mold off just to see it. As Karen says, Ladies, Gentleman, and children alike - this is a chemical food. There is absolutely no nutrition here. Karen is a wellness consultant and uses the 12 year old burger as a prop in her talks. See all the photos and read Karen's description on her blog, Best of Mother Earth ~ Creating Healthier Lives. UPDATE: Regarding the hamburger wrapper in the photo that is clearly a more current wrapper with the I'm lovin' it slogan, Karen explains this in her post: The paper and bag in the backround is circa 2008 - to add decor to the photo. My friend Robyn's idea. - McDonald's Hamburger Bun ingredients (as of 2008): Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, soybean oil, canola oil, contains 2% or less of each of the following: salt, wheat gluten, calcium sulfate, soy flour, ammonium sulfate, calcium carbonate, calcium phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium chloride, baking soda, sorbic acid, deactivated dry yeast, dough conditioners (may contain one or more the following: distilled monoglycerides, DATEM, sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium peroxide, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, enzymes, guar gum), calcium propionate sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin. Note: Calcium and Sodium Propionate are 'mold inhibitors,' hence the fresh looking 12 year old bun! http://bestwellnessconsultant.com/2008/09/23/1996-mcdonalds-hamburger-karen-hanrahan-best-of-mother-earth.aspx 1996 McDonalds Hamburger I teach a workshop titled Healthy Choices for Children. It's a class for parents seeking solutions to how to improve the way they eat. It's about the alternative food market, organics, and the top ten food additives to avoid and why, menu planning and more. It's a 3 session fabulously informative interactive class. Below is my absolutely favorite prop. People are always astounded when I share this. I have used this as show and tell for a very long time. http://images.quickblogcast.com/84869-74217/Burger1996.jpg This is a hamburger from McDonalds that I purchased in 1996. That was 12 years ago. Note that it looks exactly like it did the very day I bought it. The flecks on the burger are crumbs from the bun. The burger is starting to crumble a bit. It has the oddest smell. The paper and bag in the backround is circa 2008 - to add decor to the photo. My friend Robyn's idea. http://images.quickblogcast.com/84869-74217/Burgerkeeper.jpg This is the retro welch's grape juice plastic container I have always kept it in. People always ask me - what did you do to preserve it ? Nothing - it preserved itself. Ladies, Gentleman, and children alike - this is a chemical food. There is absolutely no nutrition here. Not one ounce of food value. Or at least value for why we are eating in the first place. http://images.quickblogcast.com/84869-74217/Burger2008.jpg The burger on the right, off the paper is a 2008 burger. I had to buy it to get the groovy paper and bag. The meat is a tad darker, the bun a little less golden but in 12 years it will look exactly like that too. Do you find this horrifying? McDonalds fills an empty space in your belly. It does nothing to nourish the cell, it is not a nutritious food. It is not a treat. I marvel at how McDonalds has infiltrated our entire world. A hamburger here tastes exactly the same in China or some around the world place. It's cloned. Makes you wonder doesn't it? Do me a favor and share this. K a r e n H a n r a h a n Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant Mentoring YOU to Health Success 708.482.0678 Websites: Nutrition http://www.shaklee.net/karen_hanrahan Weight Loss http://www.cinchplan.com/karen_hanrahan Member of BNI - West Suburban BNI: Chapter Mentor Member of West Suburban Women
[Biofuel] USA Today Dietitian Recommends Eating McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell And Burger King On The Today Show
Aarghh!!! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/13/usa-today-dietitian-recom_n_258691.html USA Today Dietitian Recommends Eating McDonalds, KFC, Taco Bell And Burger King On The Today Show (VIDEO) Huffington Post | Katherine Goldstein First Posted: 08-13-09 On The Today Show, Matt Lauer hosted dietitian Elizabeth Ward to discuss how to make healthy food choices on a road trip. Virtually the only measure Ward used to evaluate what was healthy was how many calories is in it. She started out with breakfast at McDonalds, stating she was a big proponent of eating eggs. She recommended scrambled eggs and an English muffin. (This item doesn't actually appear on the menu, but these ingredients are served at McDonalds -- maybe she was suggesting making a special order, or throwing out the rest?) For the record, scrambled eggs at McDonalds, which one could easily mistake for being comprised of well, eggs, actually contain the following: Pasteurized whole eggs with sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid and monosodium phosphate (added to preserve color), nisin (preservative). Prepared with Liquid Margarine: Liquid soybean oil, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil, soy lecithin, mono-and diglycerides, sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (preservatives), artificial flavor, citric acid, vitamin A palmitate, beta carotene (color). She goes on to recommend Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC Grilled Chicken (HuffPost bloggers have had a field day with this healthy alternative) and processed and packaged snacks. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-crossfield/oprah-gives-out-free-kfc_b_198058.html While Ward and Lauer tout the value of eating fruit as a healthy snack, for the most part this dietitian throws her support behind the idea that processed fast food, filled with additives, preservatives and factory farmed meat is good for us, as long as it doesn't exceed a certain number of calories. My favorite thing to eat while traveling, food I made at home and bring with me, was not mentioned as an option. For a full list of what Ward thinks is healthy to eat, check out her USA Today article. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-08-12-diet-travel_N.htm Steer toward healthy road food By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY Hungry highway travelers often stop at convenience stores, gas station snack shops or fast-food restaurants and hit high-calorie potholes. They end up grabbing giant candy bars, big bags of chips, fries, hamburgers, fried chicken, hot dogs, doughnuts and humongous sugary drinks. But you don't have to throw your good nutrition intentions out the window when you're on the road, says registered dietitian Elizabeth Ward of Reading, Mass., a nutrition blogger for USA TODAY. Ward visited convenience stores and other typical highway food stops in search of better eating options for a joint project between USA TODAY and NBC's Today show. Yes, most of these stores feature high-calorie, high-fat foods that are best left on the shelf, but Ward found plenty of foods that could be combined to make good meals, not meal wreckers. The most satisfying snacks and meals deliver protein and fiber - nutrients that have staying power. They help you feel full longer and will keep you from pulling off the road in a hour or so to fill up your belly, says Ward, who is the author of several nutrition books including Expect the Best: Your Guide to Healthy Eating Before, During and After Pregnancy. How much you should eat each day varies depending on your age, gender and activity level, she says. Most adults need about 2,000 calories a day, so you should probably try to stick with meals that are about 550 calories or less and two daily snacks with no more than 250 calories each. With that in mind, she created a list of recommendations. Ward gives hungry travelers some smart snack and meal ideas: Snacks that are 250 calories or less from convenience stores or gas station marts: *Two small Fig Newtons, 8 ounces low-fat milk, one small apple. *3-ounce can of Fritos Bean Dip, 1-1/2-ounce-bag of Baked Lay's Potato Crisps. *8-ounce carton of 1% milk or container of low-fat yogurt and single serving of Cheerios. *3/4 ounce cheddar cheese and 5 cups popped light microwave popcorn. That's about a mini-bag or half of a regular bag. Some brands are lower in calories than others. Some stores have a microwave so you can pop it there. *12-ounce container of V8 Vegetable Juice and 1 ounce of peanuts (about 25 nuts). *Single serving (7.5 ounces) of Chef Boyardee Beefaroni and small apple. *1 ounce string cheese and half an 8-ounce can of pineapple. *Hard-cooked egg, medium banana. Meals that are under 550 calories from fast-food restaurants and convenience stores: Breakfast McDonald's: * Egg McMuffin, small orange juice. * Fruit and yogurt parfait with granola, English muffin with two packets
[Biofuel] 15 Horrifying Reasons to Never Let Anyone You Love Near a McDonald's
http://www.alternet.org/story/141959/ 15 Horrifying Reasons to Never Let Anyone You Love Near a McDonald's By Sarah Irani, EcoSalon Posted on August 15, 2009, Printed on August 16, 2009 The Golden Arches: the ultimate American icon. Super Size Me taught us that fast food culture brings obesity, heart disease, hypertension and a whole slew of other problems. How bad do you really want that Big Mac? Here are 15 reasons you'll never let anyone you love get near those Golden Arches. 1. Real food is perishable. With time, it begins to decay. It's a natural process, it just happens. Beef will rot, bread will mold. But what about a McDonald's burger? Karen Hanrahan saved a McDonald's burger from 1996 http://bestwellnessconsultant.com/2008/09/23/1996-mcdonalds-hamburger-karen-hanrahan-best-of-mother-earth.aspx and, oddly enough, it looks just as appetizing and fresh as a burger you might buy today. Is this real food? 2. You would have to walk 7 hours straight http://www.vivavegie.org/101book/text/nolink/social/supersizeme.htm to burn off a Super Sized Coke, fries and Big Mac. Even indulging in fast food as an occasional treat is a recipe for weight gainunless you're planning to hit each treadmill in the treadmill bay afterwards. 3. Containing less fat, salt and sugar, your pet's food may be healthier than what they serve at McDonald's. http://www.slashfood.com/2006/03/31/pet-food-is-healthier-than-fast-food/ 4. In 2007, the employees of an Orlando-area McDonald's were caught on camera http://www.foodfacts.info/blog/2007/09/mcdonalds-towel-water-milkshakes.html pouring milk into the milkshake machine out of a bucket labeled Soiled Towels Only. That particular restaurant had already been cited for 12 different sanitary violations. Though McDonald's proudly stands by its safety standards, and not every restaurant has such notorious incidents, the setting of a fast food restaurant staffed with low-paid employees at a high turnover rate arguably encourages bending the rules. (McDonald's isn't alone in this, of course - Burger King is actually ranked as the dirtiest of all the fast food chains http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3473728/.) 5. McDonald's supports the destruction of the Amazon rainforest http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0406-greenpeace.html. Much of the soy-based animal feed used to fatten fast-food chickens is grown in the Amazon. Are those chicken nuggets really worth acres of irreplaceable trees? (Especially considering how important carbon sinks like the rainforest are to halt global warming!) Fast food supports a completely unsustainable system of agriculture http://www.ecosalon.com/A_Conversation_with_Aaron_Woolf_Director_of_King_Corn. It's cruel to animals http://meatrix.com/, unhealthy for humans, and bad for the planet http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/eat-safe/factory-farms-report-050208?click=main_sr. 6. Even Prince Charles, while touring a diabetes center in the United Arab Emirates, commented that banning McDonald's http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6401223.stm is key to health and nutrition. Don't let the salads and chicken breasts fool you. The chicken at McDonald's, by the way, comes with a whole lot more than chicken http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/bagamcmeal/nutrition_ingredients.html#2 [Not Found]. 7. As if feeding children high-fat, high-sodium, low-nutrition food weren't bad enough, some Happy Meals in 2006 contained toy Hummers http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/10/business/media/10adco.html?_r=1ref=businessoref=slogin. It's as if McDonald's was encouraging a whole generation of kids not only to guzzle food, but to guzzle gas as well. Would you like a few barrels of petroleum with that? 8. The processed fat in McDonald's food (and other fast food) promotes endothelial dysfunction http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2005/03/01/4242.html for up to 5 hours after eating the meal. Endothelial tissue is what lines the inside of blood vessels. 9. For those who enjoy sex, take note: erectile dysfunction is connected to endothelial dysfunction. Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me commented that his normally healthy sexual function deteriorated in just one month when he ate only food from McDonald's. Even his girlfriend commented on camera that he's having a hard time, you know, getting it up. http://www.slangcity.com/movie_quote/super_size_me.htm 10. How many cows does it take to keep the world loaded with Big Macs? I had to do a some research and a little math, but according to a brief video inside one of McDonald's 6 meat processing plants, about 500,000 pounds of beef is processed per day, per plant. If an average beef cow weighs 1,150 pounds, that means 2609 cows a day are turned into burgers. That's 952,285 cows per year. And that's just in the United States. Eating a hamburger may not be worse than driving a Hummer
Re: [Biofuel] They've already got uniforms...
Hi Bob Thanks for this. The Real Grand Chessboard and the Profiteers of War by Prof. Peter Dale Scott Global Research, August 11, 2009 I'll post the whole thing below, the archives will like it. Fascism/Schmashism, if it walks like a duck... :-) But you don't want to believe that if you're in the US during the hunting season and you happen to be a duck. Well, okay, decoy ducks don't walk, they float and look contented. Unless it's a newfangled military-industrial-counterterrorism complex-style nanotech walking killer robot decoy duck, of course. http://crnano.typepad.com/crnblog/2009/02/the-ethics-of-killer-robots.html But crypto-fascists don't walk like a duck, and no uniforms as such, they're whiteshirts. http://www.ctshirts.co.uk/CTArticle1C.aspx?ID=about-white-shirts Hints for a modern gentleman - The 10 things you really should know about white shirts, Charles Tyrwhitt, tailors of Jermyn Street, London. Sales of white shirts are soaring... Proving its resilience and classic trustworthiness, the white shirt is once again at the front of city boys' wardrobes in these credit crunching times. Gordon Gekko-style ostentatiousness, loud colours and eye-catching ties are out and a new sober seriousness in - and nothing says 'let's get down to business' like the rolled-up sleeves of a white shirt. Oh, is that what it says like nothing else. I thought rolled-up sleeves meant you were actually doing it already, not just talking about it. But maybe in Jermyn Street... However, yes, perfect for cryptos. The Real Grand Chessboard and the Profiteers of War http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102669375847s=15367e=001jRYnp6KrgJKOK2z5tncjkMb 6PALv4xVdRFvmWc_pH_TsNHvtpdjixYYXqbr1UNsIoN9J_xucqTAKXNruemHifWIOMkjeSeVhM0U z8td8AmTTnRBi7EtC61xlSGxzb7nqsMPOOFGIQYdRmD8mCq0esimW6twpxQkptdz0rYEjrKw= Informative, as ever with Peter Dale Scott, but he's also not a one-stop-shop for BS debunking, you have to pick and choose. Eg, he looks at the maxims of control-freak empires heading for a fall, starting with the British Empire: ... Sir Halford Mackinder in 1919: 'Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World', and then updates it, quoting Brzezinski: To put it in a terminology that harkens back to the more brutal age of ancient empires, the three grand imperatives of imperial geostrategy are to prevent collusion and maintain security dependence among the vassals, to keep tributaries pliant and protected, and to keep the barbarians from coming together. But I don't think he gets it quite right. He writes: Kissinger for one appears to have learned this lesson, when he wrote that: 'By geopolitical, I mean an approach that pays attention to the requirements of equilibrium.'[6] But (largely because of his commitment to equilibrium in world order) Kissinger was swept aside by events in the mid-1970s, leading to the triumph of the global dominance mindset, as expressed by thinkers like Zbigniew Brzezinski.[7] I wouldn't say Kissinger learned that lesson. I suspect he saw equilibrium as something it took the overwhelming power of empire to maintain. That's what Rockefeller seems to think too, among other things. Kissinger is also a scion of Rockefeller, as is Brzezinski, as Scott notes: As I have argued elsewhere, Brzezinski (though he no doubt thinks to himself in terms of strategy) thus promotes a policy that very much suits the needs of the oil industry and its backers. These last include his patrons the Rockefellers, who first launched him into national prominence.[16] Kissinger rose to power after working for the Rockefeller Brothers Fund as director of their Special Studies Project on future US national policy, and then as advisor to Nelson Rockefeller in his three bids for the Presidency: Kissinger owed his political career since the late 1950's to his stint as a researcher for the Rockefeller family, and owed his rise to power to their backing. The Rockefeller family had been at the center of US oil and raw materials geopolitics since early in the 1900's, when the Standard Oil Trust was built. Kissinger was well aware of the importance of food and energy to US national interests. - Seeds of Destruction: The Geopolitics of GM Food, William Engdahl, Current Concerns (Zurich) n.5, 6mar2005 http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/msg72348.html Once a Rockefeller man always a Rockefeller man, and it has continuity. How did Scott miss this classic Great Game quote from Kissinger? Control oil and you control nations; control food and you control the people; control money and you control the world (Henry Kissinger in 1970, when he was Nixon's National Security Advisor). I don't think Kissinger was swept aside: Thank you for that wonderful tribute to Henry Kissinger yesterday. Congratulations. As the most recent National Security Advisor of the United States, I
Re: [Biofuel] Chilling stuff...
Hi Chris Quite so. snip i think what keith really meant re holding obama's feet to the fire, was mass action. Yes. For instance, Israel's assault on Gaza at the end of last year probably outraged Americans about as much as everyone else. FRIDAY, JANUARY 02, 2009 First Poll on US Opinion on Gaza: Democratic Politicians Ignore Public Opinion http://www.kabobfest.com/2009/01/first-poll-on-us-opinion-on-gaza.html What would Obama do about it? With the American political establishment firmly behind Israel's attack, and Obama's foreign policy team heavily weighted with pro-Israel insiders like Dennis Ross and Hillary Clinton, any efforts to hold Israel accountable in the United States will depend upon American citizens mobilizing a major grassroots effort behind a new foreign policy that will not tolerate any violations of international law, including those by Israel, and will immediately work towards ending Israel's siege of Gaza and ending Israel's occupation. -- War of Choice: How Israel Manufactured the Gaza Escalation Steve Niva | January 7, 2009 http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/5776 Also: Obama Won't Have to Kiss AIPAC's Ring -- Progressive Alternative to Hawkish Mideast Policies Emerges By Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet Posted on January 12, 2009, Printed on January 12, 2009 http://www.alternet.org/story/119050/ He'll kiss it anyway though... :-( there has been a remarkable lack of it. did obama's campaign machinery just chew up all the different grass roots groups that gravitated to him? imho the only way there will be even a slim hope of seeing anything that resembles the kind of change obama spoke of while campaigning, is a sustained campaign of mass action. on a scale similar to the marches against the second iraq war, but much more drawn out. like from now until the mid-term elections at least. and obama has to be constantly reminded that these throngs of marchers represent the votes he will lose next time around if he doesn't deliver. The Noam Chomsky piece I mentioned (other email) puts it in context, IMHO. http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/24/noam_chomsky_what_next_the_elections I'll post it in full. Best Keith just another step in the maturation of human affairs. Maybe it will get bad. . .but we will persist. . . . don't be so sure. there are two very crucial things we mustn't forget. firstly, that neither germany nor japan were undisputed hegemonic superpowers with global reach, nor had they nuclear arsenals. secondly, the only reason the nazis lost their grip on power was because they were utterly defeated militarily. if the day of righteous tyrrany comes to this country, it will not just run its course. it could very well be the end of all of us. many people nowadays have this notion about fascist germany along the lines of well, it was unfortunate, but we survived it, and we learned from it. but did we really? does the grotesque history of carnage of the past 60 years tell you so? does this butchery, much of it perpretated either directly by our own government, or at its behest by our client states, honor those tens of millions who died so that we could learn? there's no reason every war or bloody conflict shouldn't be the last, but we just keep right on going. of course, on one level we isn't really we, us, you and me. it's the puppetmasters. and they're really good at what they do. but on another level, we really does mean all of us. as long as we fail to effectively oppose the kinds of policies which use and perpetuate war and violence as a means (and for some, like the military industrial complex, war in itself is not the means, but the end), then we too are responsible. don't misunderstand me, i think the ability to view things from a philosophically detached perspective is a good thing. but it can also be a hindrance. i started writing this earlier today but had to set it aside for a few hours. i have since read your last contribution and it seems pretty clear you understand this. i think what keith really meant re holding obama's feet to the fire, was mass action. there has been a remarkable lack of it. did obama's campaign machinery just chew up all the different grass roots groups that gravitated to him? imho the only way there will be even a slim hope of seeing anything that resembles the kind of change obama spoke of while campaigning, is a sustained campaign of mass action. on a scale similar to the marches against the second iraq war, but much more drawn out. like from now until the mid-term elections at least. and obama has to be constantly reminded that these throngs of marchers represent the votes he will lose next time around if he doesn't deliver. you said you've been doing some things locally. i'd love to hear more about it. feel free to contact me offlist. ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org
[Biofuel] Noam Chomsky: What Next? The Elections, the Economy, and the World
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/24/noam_chomsky_what_next_the_elections Noam Chomsky: What Next? The Elections, the Economy, and the World November 24, 2008 World-renowned public intellectual Noam Chomsky discussed the meaning of President-elect Barack Obama's victory and the possibilities ahead for real democratic change at a speech last week in Boston. It was his first public appearance since the election. Chomsky has been a professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over a half-century and is the author of dozens of influential books. [includes rush transcript] Noam Chomsky, professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over a half-century and is the author of dozens of influential books on US foreign policy, the role of intellectuals and the function of mass media. AMY GOODMAN: President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden are holding a news conference in Chicago today to formally announce their team of economic advisers and their plans to rebuild the faltering economy. But as Obama assembles his cabinet and prepares to take over the reins from President Bush, more questions are being raised about the kind of change he'll bring to Washington and the world. Progressives who supported Obama's candidacy, celebrated his historic victory, are dismayed by his consideration of Clinton-era figures as his key advisers, many of whom championed financial deregulation and are hawkish on foreign policy. World-renowned public intellectual Noam Chomsky discussed the meaning of Obama's victory and the possibilities ahead for real democratic change at a recent address in Boston. He's been a professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over a half-century and written over a hundred books. In his first public appearance since the election, Professor Chomsky spoke last week to a packed audience in Boston at an event organized by Encuentro 5. His talk was called What Next? The Elections, the Economy, and the World. NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, let's begin with the elections. The word that rolls off everyone's tongue is historic-historic election-and I agree with that. It was a historic election. To have a black family in the White House is a momentous achievement. In fact, it's historic in a broader sense. The two Democratic candidates were an African American and a woman, both remarkable achievements. If we go back, say, forty years, it would have been unthinkable. So something's happened to the country in forty years. And what's happened to the country, which we're not supposed to mention, is that there was extensive and very constructive activism in the 1960s, which had an aftermath, so the feminist movement, mostly developed in the '70s, the solidarity movements in the '80s, and on 'til today. And the activism did civilize the country. It's an important achievement. The country is a lot more civilized than it was forty years ago, and the historic achievements illustrate it. And that's also a lesson for what's next. What's next will depend on whether the same thing happens. Changes and progress very rarely are gifts from above. They come out of struggles from below. And it's up to-the answer to what's next depends on people like you. Nobody else can answer it. It's not predictable. In some ways, the election-the election was surprising in some respects. Going back to my bad prediction, if the financial crisis hadn't taken place at the moment that it did, if it had been delayed a couple of months, I suspect that prediction would have been correct. But not speculating, one thing surprising about the election is that it wasn't a landslide. By the usual criteria, you would expect the opposition party to win in a landslide under conditions like the ones that exist today. The incumbent president for eight years was so unpopular that his own party couldn't mention his name and had to pretend to be opposing his policies. He presided over maybe the worst record for ordinary people in post-war history, in terms of job growth, real wealth and so on. Just about everything the administration has touched has turned into a disaster. The country has reached the lowest level of standing in the world that it's ever had, and the economy was tanking. Several recessions are going on, not just the one on the front pages, the financial recession, but there's also a recession in the real economy, the productive economy, under circumstances-and people know it. So 80 percent of the population say the country's going in the wrong direction. About 80 percent say the government does not work for the benefit of the people, it works for the few and the special interests. A startling 94 percent complain that the government doesn't pay any attention to the public will. And on like that. Under conditions like that, you'd expect a landslide for the opposition, almost whoever they are.
Re: [Biofuel] Chilling stuff...
Hi Jim Keith, Take it personally? Of course I do, but not in an offended sense. :-) That's cool. Not to be disparaging, but are you holding his feet to the fire? Are you getting any results? Yes, I did and so did many others I know personally if by that you mean did we take the next step and voice our opinion on appointments and policy after the election. Not that it had much impact. Some, but not much. The Democrats think we are safe votes if the alternative is neocon psychopathy. The nettlesome thing is that we live in a republic, not a democracy. We vote for candidates and only in rare occasions on policy and never at the Federal level. Once voted in, they have an annoying habit of doing what they want and if one doesn't like it then the fires of retribution are pretty feeble at that point. If you're disgruntled that means you're awake now, excellent, but were you awake then? Yes, I think so. I grew up in Mississippi during the civil rights movement in the fifties and sixties. I am white but I saw first hand the brutal divide between the ideal rule of law and the fascist, crypto or otherwise, behavior that is possible on the street. That has a way of wrenching one's paradigm permanently. Indeed it does. I can also testify to that. Vietnam and Nixon cemented the deal. The financial collapse and bailouts confirmed it. In the Obama campaign, I never bought into the 'here comes the promised land level of rapture some seem to think we all campaigned under. Obama wasn't my first choice, Kucinich was, because I, and others, aren't content to accept the status quo on Military Commissions, gun violence, assassination as a foreign policy (we must kill Osama Bin laden to stop terrorism), preventive detentions, 'clean coal, or a host of other policy positions. But again, we vote for candidates, not policy, and there is little question he was better than McCain. So, you are right when you say that that is only half the job. And we've been doing the other half for years. But I, for one, haven't found the magic bullet that forces the White House to do what we want. If we mobilized like the Iranians, we might scare them enough to at least take notice Yes, but you'd (plural) have to keep it up. Constant vigilance! Noam Chomsky: What Next? The Elections, the Economy, and the World November 24, 2008 http://www.democracynow.org/2008/11/24/noam_chomsky_what_next_the_elections You say like the Iranians, why not like the 60s? Or like Seattle in 1999? Or the war protests? but I can tell you from personal experience that visits to Congressmen, rallies, petitions, emails, phone calls, letters to the editor, ad nauseum (starting immediately after the election, at Obama's invitation), are like flea bites on elephant hide. The only thing left is to continue to build it ourselves and lead from behind. You certainly weren't offered either of those. Maybe not, but she should have stopped hitting the snooze button 8 or 10 (or 15 or 20) years ago at least. sure sounds condescending to me. I don't know if she voted for Obama. Chris wrote while i commend sarah for finally waking up, she should have stopped hitting the snooze button 8 or 10 (or 15 or 20) years ago at least, referring to Sara Robinson, author of one of the links I posted in the original message: Fascist America: Are We There Yet? August 9, 2009 by Sara Robinson http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/08/09-5 She doesn't even mention Obama. I may be babbling somewhere on the fringe on this topic but creating a social fabric wholecloth or a gestalt seems to be no easy task, regardless of one's will or intentions. I don't know what it is like in other political systems but steering a new course with the US ship of state is ponderous. The civic id is powerful and the predators well entrenched. I would love to accelerate the pax Americana but can't seem to lay my hands on the fairy dust at the moment. In the meantime, we will keep creating what beauty we can in our sphere of influence and stoking our ambitions. If someone has a better plan, let's hear it. I reckon the only better plan is for everybody to do that. I think most of them would be doing it, but for the consent manufacturing industry - of course it's not the only obstacle, but I think it's the most important one. The Chomsky piece is worth a read. Thanks Jim, I think we share a lot of things. All best Keith Jim On Sat, Aug 15, 2009 at 5:21 AM, Keith Addison [EMAIL PROTECTED]wrote: Hi Jim ...but I think if a disgruntled Obama voter had a read of Paxton and took another look at the election and since, it might wake him up a bit. Speaking as one of those disgruntled Obama voters, I think I am more or less awake. And also not sitting on my ass, either. Some of us are discouraged, yes, but not so much so that we are not doing anything about it. Not to be disparaging, but are you holding his feet to the fire? Are you getting any results? So many people were
[Biofuel] Depopulation? In their own words
who survives, he will have to bury nine” —Dr. Eric Pianka University of Texas evolutionary ecologist and lizard expert, showed solutions for reducing the world's population to an audience on population control No one will enter the New World Order unless he or she will make a pledge to worship Lucifer. No one will enter the New Age unless he will take a Luciferian Initiation. —David Spangler, Director of Planetary Initiative, United Nations The present vast overpopulation, now far beyond the world carrying capacity, cannot be answered by future reductions in the birth rate due to contraception, sterilization and abortion, but must be met in the present by the reduction of numbers presently existing. This must be done by whatever means necessary. —Initiative for the United Nations ECO-92 EARTH CHARTER “In South America, the government of Peru goes door to door pressuring women to be sterilized and they are funded by American tax dollars to do this.” —Mark Earley in The Wrong Kind of Party Christian Post 10/27 2008 —Maintain humanity under 500,000,000 in perpetual balance with nature Anonymously commissioned Georgia Guidestones If I were reincarnated I would wish to be returned to earth as a killer virus to lower human population levels. —Prince Phillip, Queen Elizabeth's husband, Duke of Edinburgh, leader of the World Wildlife Fund Childbearing should be a punishable crime against society, unless the parents hold a government license. All potential parents should be required to use contraceptive chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to citizens chosen for childbearing. —David Brower, first Executive Director of the Sierra Club “The principle that sustains compulsory vaccination is broad enough to cover cutting the Fallopian tubes. —Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. —Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “The Planetary Regime might be given responsibility for determining the optimum population for the world and for each region and for arbitrating various countries’ shares within their regional limits. Control of population size might remain the responsibility of each government, but the Regime would have some power to enforce the agreed limits.” —Obama's science czar John P. Holdren: From a book he helped write 'Ecoscience' The drive of the Rockefellers and their allies is to create a one-world government combining supercapitalism and Communism under the same tent, all under their control Do I mean conspiracy? Yes I do. I am convinced there is such a plot, international in scope, generations old in planning, and incredibly evil in intent. —Congressman Larry P. McDonald, 1976, killed in the Korean Airlines 747 that was shot down by the Soviet Union -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/attachments/20090816/1f9cd6eb/attachment.html ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
Re: [Biofuel] Chilling stuff...
of stuff. :-( i think the only way the fascist dynamic in this country will switch from the crypto to the full-on, jack-booted mass rallies variety, is either in response to a major existential crisis such as a major, truly lethal pandemic, or if they (the powers that be) decide that war with china is simply unavoidable. You're probably right (unless you get both of them at once, each a cover for the other). Regards Keith ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/ -- Regards, Jim -- next part -- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: /pipermail/attachments/20090816/db6d1eef/attachment.html ___ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (70,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
