Saturday, December 14, 2013

Pro-Muslim Regulations Threaten Capitalism as Pork Producers Worry About New FDA Suggestions

December 14, 2013

Local farmers are worried about a new suggestion from the Food and Drug Administration

The agency recently announced a plan aimed at stopping the usage of antibiotics in animal feed.
The agency went straight to the animal pharmaceutical companies asking them to voluntarily remove labels that say the food is FDA approved.
If that happens, it would be illegal for pork producers to use the feed unless prescribed by a veterinarian.
Iowa Pork Producers Association president Greg Lear weighed in on the issue, "major concern is that it will be a step in elimination of antibiotics being used in our industry. We're judicially using those antibiotics. We're using them when we need them"
The antibiotics are used in the feed to prevent disease in animals like pigs, cows and chickens. They also help the animals gain fat which promotes better taste.
But the FDA says the drugs are actually hurting humans.
The concern is that the heavy use of these antibiotics could create anti microbial-resistant bacteria.
That's something that kills thousands of people each year.
But Lear says the real issue is humans taking too many of the antibiotics.
"We've got some people that feel that our antibiotics are becoming resistant for human health, butIi think we've got a bigger battle on the human health side from the over-prescribing of drugs that we do on the animal health side."
The animal pharmaceutical companies have 90 days to let the FDA know if they'll comply.
Though it's voluntary there will be regulatory action taken against those that choose not to participate.

After Returning to the Basement, OWL's Flunkies Donate Sleeping Bags

December 14, 2013

After Homeless Deaths, UC Berkeley and San Jose State Students Launch Sleeping Bag Drive

Over the past two weeks, seven homeless people have died in the Bay Area, all most likely a result of the cold weather. The deaths prompted students from UC Berkeley and San Jose State to join together and raise funds for hundreds of sleeping bags, which they will deliver next week before Christmas.

"Who knows how many have died that haven't been reported?" said Taliah Mirmalek, a UC Berkeley student who is helping to coordinate the drive. "It's very upsetting news. The sadness led to wanting to take action. ... This is everybody recognizing that every community has homeless community members."
The students have well surpassed their original fundraising goals. Details on how to donate below.
As of this writing, the students have raised $9,373 from 269 backers — more than three times their target.
The coordinators have already put in an order for 300 sleeping bags as well as 300 pairs of socks and 300 beanies, all of which they plan to distribute on December 20. Mirmalek said she hopes to purchase 300 more sleeping bags with the steady stream of donations that have continued to pour in.
You can donate for the next two days through the GoGetFunding page here, and you can follow progress of the purchases and distribution at the group's Facebook page.
One hundred percent of the money collected will go to sleeping bags, socks, and beanies.

MoveOn.org Petition seeks labeling of GMOs in Ingles Markets

December 14, 2013

While I certainly prefer to know what I am injesting into my body, the thought of moveon.org using ordinary people's concern as a catalyst to promote the communism agenda will certainly keep me monitoring my own  caloric intake because I won't be one of them!


Protestors gathered in Pack Square last May to rally against Monsanto Company as part of a growing national interest in genetically modified foods. Now a petition launched in Asheville will ask Ingles Markets to label GMOs. (Jordan Foltz/ Mountain Xpress)


A group of citizens is collecting signatures for a petition to regional supermarket chain Ingles Markets asking the store to label genetically modified food products, commonly known as GMOs, and to promote the labeling of these products to Monsanto Company and the Grocery Manufactures Association. 

“If the grocery chains start speaking up about GMOs like they’ve done in other countries, that’s when you’ll begin to see an effect,” said Deb Criss, who organized the petition through MoveOn.org.

The petition, titled “You Can Do It Ingles!,” went live shortly after Thanksgiving and has gained over 2,000 signatures at this time, according to organizers. Though Criss and her organization are based in Asheville and the signatures will eventually be presented to the Ingles corporate office in Black Mountain, the petition is open to anyone in the Ingles service area to sign.

Criss said Ingles has been accepting literature and listening to arguments from both sides of the GMO labeling argument and credits the grocery chain with being receptive to community input.

Ingles Markets has not returned requests for comment at this time. 

Criss said it is likely that future petitions to other regional grocery stores will be made based on this petition's model, which emphasizes public education about GMOs, not removal of the products from stores.

“It’s about allowing for choices,” Criss said. “Removing all GMOS would require a major shift in how food is produced and that could take years. This campaign is about educating the public.”

More information about the petition is available at MoveOn.org

Update: In a statement to petition organizers and area press, Ingles Markets Chief Financial Officer Ron Freeman writes:

We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns about items containing genetically engineered (GMO) ingredients and would like to assure you that we are committed to the following:

1. Supporting efforts of our food industry association, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), towards national legislation that enables the FDA to call for manufacturers and farmers to identify products and ingredients that are “GMO-free” or “Non-GMO”.

2. Abiding by all product labeling guidelines currently set forth by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as well as by state and local regulations.

3. Continuing to monitor the conversation nationally and among manufacturers and retailers on the topic of genetically engineered crops and ingredients as well as relevant scientific studies and research.

4. Continuing to provide our customers with a wide variety of options and choices including USDA Certified Organic products (which by definition are “non-GMO” – not genetically engineered).

5. Continuing to source products that bear the certified “Non-GMO project” seal.

Recounts: Eustace re-elected to NJ Assembly, results stand in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield

December 14, 2013


Final recount results Thursday from a tight race in Legislative District 38 confirmed that Assemblyman Tim Eustace, D-Maywood, has won election to a second term.

And in council races in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield, election results that showed Republicans unseating Democratic incumbents were confirmed by recounts.

Results in Hawthorne, the last remaining town in the 38th District to be recounted, showed Joseph Scarpa, the closest Republican challenger, picking up just one additional vote, said Keith Furlong, a spokesman for the Passaic County Board of Elections.

That left Scarpa, the mayor of Rochelle Park, trailing Eustace by a total of 35 votes based on recount results from earlier this week in the district’s 12 Bergen County towns.

Scarpa said he had called Eustace after the recount concluded and left him a voice mail.

“I called to congratulate him and wish him well on his next term,” said Scarpa, a former Emerson borough administrator.

“It was a close election. It certainly one of the most competitive districts,” Scarpa added. “I just think it shows that the voters are very evenly divided.”

Scarpa said he plans to continue as mayor and run for reelection in Rochelle Park, where has served on the council for 24 years, including 11 as mayor.

Eustace said he is looking forward to another term with a focus on the district’s flood problems, as well as education and jobs.

“I’ve always been cautiously optimistic and today I’m thrilled,” said Eustace, a chiropractor and former Maywood mayor.
“It’s been stressful,” he added. “But we did a really good job of campaigning.”

The District 38 battle was one of the most competitive and most expensive in the state’s history with a total of $5.8 million being spent by both sides.

Democrats managed to hold on to all three seats in the district despite a landslide reelection victory in Bergen County for Governor Christie at the top of the GOP ticket.

State Sen. Bob Gordon, DFair Lawn, won reelection and Paramus councilman Joseph Lagana won the Assembly seat formerly held by Connie Wagner, who resigned in October.

But results in the race for the other Assembly seat were razor-thin. Eustace’s 35-vote margin over Scarpa represented less than 0.00067 percent of the total votes cast.

The recount was the most extensive in Bergen County since a 1996 freeholder race in which ballots from all 70 towns were retallied.

Meanwhile, recounts in council races in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield left the outcome of the Nov. 5 election unchanged.

Eileen DeBari, chairwoman of the Bergen County Board of Elections, said results in Englewood Cliffs showed Republican Nunzio Consalvo defeating Democratic incumbent Melanie Simon. Consalvo’s victory leaves the council split 3-3 with Democratic Mayor Joseph Parisi Jr. casting any tie-breaking votes.

d his closest Democratic challenger, Lauren Larkin. But the wrangling over the process continued even after the recount concluded.

In Ridgefield, the recount showed Republican Warren Vincentz defeated his closest Democratic challenger, Lauren Larkin. But the wrangling over the process continued even after the recount concluded.


Stephen Pellino, the Ridgefield borough attorney and Democratic municipal committee chairman, attended the recount, which brought protests from Vincentz, who called it improper.

Vincentz said he expressed his opposition to Pellino’s presence to officials who were counting the ballots.

“That is unethical and unacceptable,” Vincentz said. “He is a seated attorney for the borough and it’s unethical to have him representing a seated Democrat councilman.”

Councilman Hugo Jimenez, a Democrat, said that Pellino attended the recount as the Democratic municipal committee chairman to review the results.

“He was not there in his capacity as borough attorney,” Jimenez said.

The recount was requested by Larkin, who had trailed Vincentz by 45 votes in the initial count. Jimenez stressed that the recount was paid for by the Democratic campaign account, not taxpayers.

source

The Better Life in America Myth: Jury finds man guilty of young Harlingen woman's murder

December 14, 2013


Aroldo Cadirel gets life in prison for the murder of Brisna Mireles
A Cameron County jury sentenced a 67-year-old man to life in prison for killing his 20-year-old lover.
After hearing several days of testimony, jurors in the 404th State District Court found Aroldo Humbero Cadriel guilty of murder late Friday morning.
Cadriel killed 20-year-old Brisna Mireles back in March 2012.
Combes police found the young Harlingen woman's body along Highway 77 where a hotel room key and other clues lead investigators back to Cadriel.
The Brownsville man denied the charges but jurors sided with prosecutors after hearing testimony that Cadriel and Mireles were lovers and were with each other the night of her murder.
Surveillance video also put Cadriel in the Harlingen area around the time of Mireles was killed.
Cadriel is asking that visiting Judge Marisela Saldaña sentence him instead of the jury.
Judge Saldaña denied the request asking the jury to sentenced Cadriel.
Under state law, the elderly Brownsville man faces 5 to 99 years in prison.
Prosecutors asked jurors for the maximum sentencing saying that they believed Cadriel was "evil" and a "predator."
Defense attorneys asked jurors to consider Cadriel's age and give him 25 years in prison adding that anything past that is already a death sentence.
Prosecutors replied that Mireles never even made it to 25 years of age.
In the end, jurors decided to sentence Cadriel to life in prison for the crime.


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The Unspoken War Update: Gunbattle reported in Reynosa, 3 gunmen dead

December 14, 2013


Deadly violence has been reported in a Mexican border town celebrating the Dia de la Virgin de Guadaulpe.
Tamaulipas State Police report that three gunmen were killed in a gunbattle with Mexican solders in Reynosa.
It all happened in the Colonias Puertas del Sol and Puertas del Sur neighborhoods in the city's southside early Thursday afternoon.
Investiagtors reported the gunbattle started when the soldiers saw the suspects and tried to approach them.
Of the three gunmen killed, only Oscar Amet Rivadeneira-Hernández of Veracruz has been identified.
The identies of the other two gunmen killed are not known but the case remains under investigation.

Friday, December 13, 2013

NBC NEWS: Obama health care promise named 'Lie of the Year'

December 13, 2013


Fact-checking organization Politifact has named their “Lie of the Year,” and it’s bad news for the White House and the Affordable Care Act.
President Barack Obama’s often-repeated assertion that “If you like your health care plan, you can keep it,” won the ignominious honor for 2013, the group announced.
In a blog post, Politifact– which is affiliated with the Tampa Bay Times – said Obama’s promise was “impossible to keep” and has resulted in a “real hit to his credibility.”
“So this fall, as cancellation letters were going out to approximately 4 million Americans, the public realized Obama’s breezy assurances were wrong,” editor Angie Drobnic Holan wrote. “Boiling down the complicated health care law to a soundbite proved treacherous, even for its promoter-in-chief.  Obama and his team made matters worse, suggesting they had been misunderstood all along.”
She added that readers in an online poll “overwhelmingly” agreed with the decision.

Parents stunned that union is seeking a $10K severance for teacher who molested their son

December 13, 2013


WEST BRANCH, Mich. – The Michigan Education Association is going to arbitration to try to force the West Branch-Rose City school district to pay a former teacher who was convicted of molesting a student a $10,000 severance buyout.

Neil Erickson coverThe father of the victim is outraged, calling the union’s efforts on behalf of the sex criminal “ludicrous” and saying any school money due to the teacher should go to his son, who is “out there trying to make it in this world all messed up.”
Neal Erickson, a former math teacher at Rose City Middle School, was convicted this summer of raping a young student over three years, from 2006 to 2009, and sentenced to 15-30 years in prison.
The case sparked community outrage when several of the district’s teachers wrote letters of support for Erickson, pleading for a lenient sentence. A school board member, Mike Eagan, also drew the public’s ire when he sat with the Erickson family at the pedophile’s sentencing.
The community rallied by the victim’s parents, John and Lori Janczewski, to urge the school board to terminate Erickson’s supporters, but officials ultimately decided to keep the teachers out of fear of legal retaliation.
Erickson pleaded guilty of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor May 8.
Erickson was placed on paid administrative leave when state police launched an investigation in October 2012. Erickson was arrested and charged with criminal sexual conduct in December 2012.
On March 26, 2013 WB-RC officials offered a $10,000 buyout for any qualifying teacher who left the school district that year, an incentive superintendent Dan Cwayna said the district had used in the past to encourage needed staff reductions.
While its not clear when Erickson’s employment was terminated, the union’s action suggests he was still on the payroll when the buyout was offered and accepted it.
The school district declined to pay him the money, prompting the union’s action.
“You had to qualify for the buyout, depending on your years in the district,” Cwayna said. “We’ve done it in the past. It was a little different this last year in that we offered the buyout in two $5,000 payments.
“When the first payment was sent out … and the union discovered we did not make the payment to Mr. Erickson, they filed a grievance on his behalf.”
Cwayna said he was the one who decided not to authorize the special severance for the child molester, but declined to elaborate on why, though the reason seems pretty obvious.
“That was something I as superintendent, with some consultation with the president of the board,” decided, Cwayna said. “That was a decision the superintendent makes and at this point … I prefer not to get into the reasons.”
MEA UniServ Director Ron Parkinson acknowledged that the union is taking the case to arbitration on behalf of Erickson, but declined to discuss the case further.
“We don’t make a practice of discussing any case. It’s based on contractual compliance, and that’s really all I can say,” Parkinson told EAGnews Friday. “We filed for arbitration today.”
The union’s silence is understandable. There is no morally justifiable reason for pursuing public tax dollars for a teacher who committed one of the most heinous crimes against the public trust.
Cwayna wouldn’t discuss whether he expected the union to fight his decision, or his thoughts on the union grievance, which was filed Oct. 8.
“I don’t put a value judgment on a grievance,” he said.
The union’s decision to file for arbitration in the case is step two in the resolution process. Regardless of what the arbitrator decides, both the school district and the union have the right to appeal it through the court system.
Victim’s family vows to continue fight
John Janczewski, father of Erickson’s victim, said his family can hardly believe the MEA is pursuing the special severance for a convicted child molester.
“It’s completely ludicrous!” Janczewski told EAGnews. “Are they nuts in the head? How can the union file a grievance and back a child molester? We’re very upset about it.”
Janczewski wasn’t surprised Parkinson didn’t want to discuss the severance grievance.
“What are you going to say when you’re backing a child molester? I mean, this starts it all over again. It just sickens us,” he said. “If anything, that money should go to my son, who is out there trying to make it in this world all messed up.”
The Janczewskis and their supporters have spent the last several months collecting signatures for a ballot proposal to recall school board member Mike Eagan, who sat with Erickson’s family at his sentencing this summer. Janczewski said he’s confident they’ll collect enough signatures to put the recall on the ballot next year.
“The recall is really going good,” he said. “I’m not exact on the total (number of signatures) yet, because we have so many papers out there. I expect to hit our total in the next three weeks.”
Janczewski said he’s now committed to doing anything he can to prevent Erickson from receiving the special severance.
“We as a family in no way is going to let this happen. I mean, a child molester paid to molest a student?” Janczewski said. “He doesn’t deserve it.”
“I don’t think the union wants the publicity we’ll bring on this,” he added.

Hagel: We Still Support 'Moderate' Syrian Rebels

December 13, 2013

Hagel says his country will withhold non-lethal assistance to the rebels until it can assess who is in control of arms depots.


United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday that his country would continue to support "moderate" rebel forces in Syria, but will withhold non-lethal assistance to the rebels until it can assess who is in control of arms depots and border crossings.

According to AFP, Hagel told reporters that setbacks for Syria's Western-backed opposition are a "big problem" and the United States is assessing the damage.

"I think what has occurred here in the last couple of days is a clear reflection on how complicated and dangerous this situation is and how unpredictable it is," Hagel said at a joint press conference with Singapore's defense minister.

The comments came a day after the United States and Britain both announced that they have rescinded funding for Syrian rebel groups. This was done because more extreme Islamist groups took over a base run by the Western-backed groups.

According to AFP, a powerful rebel faction, the Islamic Front, last week seized the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Turkish border and weapons warehouses from the Free Syrian Army, which is led by General Selim Idriss.

A U.S. official confirmed to the news agency that the Islamic Front seized a compound near the Turkish border belonging to the Free Syrian Army, or the Supreme Military Council (SMC).

"Following that, SMC officials fled other compounds out of fear that they could be attacked as well," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The initial incident occurred at a single compound but there were ripple effects," the official said.
Some media reports claimed Idriss had fled Syria, but a spokesman said he was on a working trip to Turkey.

"We continue to support General Idriss and the moderate opposition," Hagel said.

"But this is a problem, I mean, what has occurred here, a big problem. And we're going to have to work through it and manage through it with General Idriss and the moderate opposition," he added, according to AFP.

Asked who was in control of the arms depots, Hagel said, "We're evaluating right now. We're assessing what has happened, where we are."

He said there were "very dangerous elements" in the opposition that "complicates our support" for the rebels.
Delivery of non-lethal assistance would be withheld "until, first of all, we can get a clear assessment of what has happened," Hagel said.

The West has been weary of arming the Syrian rebels because of the presence of jihadist groups among them, such as the Al-Nusra Front, which has pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Al-Nusra is one of 13 factions in the radical Islamist rebel council thatannounced its secession from the main opposition force and declared its own Islamic state in Aleppo. Members of the group have performedatrocities during the ongoing civil war, including publicly beheading a Catholic priest who was accused of collaborating with the Assad regime.

source

Multiple Stabbings Near Chargers vs. Broncos Game

December 13, 2013


Multiple Stabbings Near Chargers vs. Broncos Game
Courtesy of KUSA



At least three people were stabbed outside Sports Authority Field in Denver just after the end of the San Diego Chargers' 27-20 victory over the Denver Broncos, according to KUSA, the NBC affiliate in Denver, Colo.

Three males were stabbed, and a fourth may have also been stabbed, but that person left the scene, police spokesman Steve Warneke said, according to The Associated Press.

Warneke said one person was initially in critical condition, but all are conscious and talking, The Associated Press reported.
Denver police have multiple people in custody.
The stabbing happened around 8:30 p.m. PT in a parking lot adjacent to the stadium.
Identities of the victims and suspects have not been released. Authorities would not comment on whether or not team affiliation had anything to do with the stabbings.
In another incident earlier this month, a man died following an altercation that took place in the Arrowhead Stadium parking lot Kansas City's game against Denver, The Associated Press noted.


Source