I will be the first to admit that I am not entirely opposed to the idea of genetically modified food-crops or agriculture. I think that, if techniques can be developed to bioengineer foods safely, then it represents an opportunity that should not be passed up. However, I will concede that there has been far too little emphasis on safety and far too much of one on economics from both regulatory agencies and the corporations themselves…
Which is why this story caught me entirely off-guard.
A federal judge ruled yesterday that the Agriculture Department violated the law by failing to adequately assess possible environmental impacts before approving Monsanto’s genetically engineered alfalfa.
Judge Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court in San Francisco said the agency had been “cavalier” in deciding that a full environmental impact statement was not needed because the potential environmental and economic effects of the crop were not significant.
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The sometimes-brilliant Zerbisias had an interesting column today, although not necessarily the most original one. Pay close attention to the following paragraph:
Anybody want to bet against me that, over the next few days, the U.S. media will be more consumed with the sudden death of DDD-list blond bombshell Anna Nicole Smith than with Tuesday’s report by a U.S. congressional committee that an estimated $12 billion (U.S.) – 360 tons of shrink-wrapped C-notes – were flown to Iraq between May 2003 and June 2004?
She is of course right; but what’s interesting is this $12 Billion (with a B) story. It was the first I’d heard of it, so I went out and did a bunch google news searches, and couldn’t find a single major daily with the story; which goes something like this:
Towards the end of the Occupation Authority’s ‘reign’ the Finance Ministry said that it didn’t have enough cash to keep things running when it was in charge, so Bremer arranged to have billions of dollars flown over to Iraq, and the cash was just handed over to the ministry without any oversight or control.
Scary stuff eh? But apparently a drug-addict dying “prematurely” is somehow news in this part of world, and billions of dollars disappearing down the Iraq hole isn’t.
I have a couple of hardcore, classical liberal friends in the United States, and there’s no subject that we argue about more than “government inefficiency.” I am not an advocate of “big” government, nor do I believe that the government does “business” better than business… however, growing up in Ontario I am intimately aware of the fact that government outsourcing does not work. Despite the overabundance of evidence to the contrary, you just cannot convince some liberals, and pretty much every neoliberal (read Harper Conservative) out there that corporations do not do ‘government business’ better than the government itself…. even the Americans are starting to catch on. I wonder if our Fearless Leader will do the same?
Contractors still build ships and satellites, but they also collect income taxes and work up agency budgets, fly pilotless spy aircraft and take the minutes at policy meetings on the war. They sit next to federal employees at nearly every agency; far more people work under contracts than are directly employed by the government. Even the government’s online database for tracking contracts, the Federal Procurement Data System, has been outsourced (and is famously difficult to use).
The contracting explosion raises questions about propriety, cost and accountability that have long troubled watchdog groups and are coming under scrutiny from the Democratic majority in Congress.
You know the expression life imitates art? Here’s an example that would be hilarious if it weren’t so frightening.
Life:
In the first 2 1/2 months of random bag searches on the MBTA, police found no weapons, made no arrests, but had nearly two-dozen false alarms for explosives…
Still, MBTA officials said the searches have been effective at thwarting potential terrorists and have been supported by passengers.
Art:
Homer: Not a bear in sight. The Bear Patrol must be working like a charm.
Lisa: That’s specious reasoning, Dad.
Homer: Thank you, dear.
Lisa: By your logic I could claim that this rock keeps tigers away.
Homer: Oh, how does it work?
Lisa: It doesn’t work.
Homer: Uh-huh.
Lisa: It’s just a stupid rock.
Homer: Uh-huh.
Lisa: But I don’t see any tigers around, do you?
[Homer thinks of this, then pulls out some money]
Homer: Lisa, I want to buy your rock.
It’s official. The “War on Terror” has reduced us to sub-human idiot status, like Homer Simpson.
Here’s a trick question: What do Maher Arar and 13 CIA agents have in common? They’re both getting ass-tickled by the glorious new “War on Terror” international regime.
Prosecutors in the southern German city of Munich today obtained warrants for 13 CIA agents they say were involved in the kidnapping of a German citizen, Khaled el Masri.
…
The 13 C.I.A. agents have been charged with kidnapping and inflicting bodily harm on Mr. el Masri, who was abducted in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia in December 2003.
He has charged that he was drugged, beaten and then flown by the C.I.A. to a detention center in Afghanistan. Mr. Masri says he was held there for five months before the American government flew him to Albania and left him there.
I’m tickled by this scenario because ten years ago it would have been entirely unthinkable. While the “West” has always been characterized as realm shifting alliances and agreements, America never openly flaunted her hegemony over the group, although it would occasionally use it as justification for an international incident. Now, things are different. The War on Terror is so serious (at least to those in the White House) that America has entirely abandoned the principle of international cooperation. Sure, the United States will be glad to work with other nations when it suits American security concerns, but this “work” in no way obliges the U.S. to respect that nation’s sovereignty or security. Basically, the international community is expected to play by one set of rules (international law and the doctrine of national sovereignty), while the U.S. is entitled to play by another.
Some may think that this is nothing new, but it in fact marks a fundamental shift. The U.S. has always occupied a “first among equals” position in the international community. Now it cannot even claim that dubious distinction…
I’ve said it before, every life has intrinsic value. It doesn’t matter how that particular life is used, when you cheapen anyone’s life, you cheapen everyone’s. I mention this because the story of a planned “death party” is making the rounds.
The City of Miami is planning an official celebration at the Orange Bowl whenever Cuban President Fidel Castro dies.
Discussions by a committee appointed earlier this month by the city commission to plan the event have even covered issues such as a theme to be printed on T-shirts, what musicians would perform, the cost and how long the celebration would last.
I find this appalling. Yes, many people suffered under Castro’s regime, and yes they have a legitimate reason to feel joy at his passing (even if I find the thought distasteful.) But for the city to stand up and say in an official capacity that his death is a cause for celebration revolts me to the core. This is what I wrote about Saddam’s execution, and it applies here as well:
When you devalue the life of anyone, you devalue life for everyone… By killing a man who was universally hated, mocking him at the gallows and then making-fun after the fact you’re not going to offend him. You’re not delivering justice or correcting any wrong. What you are doing is saying that you don’t consider all human life sacred; and once you place a qualifier on the sanctity of life, you have sold a piece of your soul.
The City of Miami is going to stand up and applaud the death of another human being, and in doing so earn both my undying contempt and another reason to appreciate the 
tag on FARK that it so richly deserves.
I picked this up over at Lemon Chicken, and it is definitely worth a read. They sure know how to sling mud down there in the States. This site is a good resource if anyone ever suggests to you that Obama has skeletons in his closet.
It seems that everyone is linking to the Blame Canada post over at the Slacktivist blog, and given my apparently dwindling readership, I might as well too. I’m linking to it for a slightly different reason however. I read through the post, and to be completely frank, I hated it.
Let me explain. As I started reading I found it amusing and insightful, and I thought the entire post had a wonderful cadence and style, but when I was finished and I reflected on it, I came to the conclusion that it contributes nothing to the discourse. Why you ask? Because it is the same sort of vacuous, self-justifying editorializing that we are so willing to pillory when it comes from a right-wing talk show host, or smug presidential secretary. (more…)