The Minuteman Chronicles

So Much for 'Mother' Earth
According to radical environmentalists, the biggest threat to the earth isn't CO2 emissions or climate change--it's children. A new paper by Optimum Population Trust (OPT) contends that kids are "bad for the planet" and if couples had one less child, they could "cut their family's carbon dioxide output by the equivalent of 620 [cross-Atlantic flights]." Rather than follow their own dreams of having a family, John Guillebaud, co-chairman of OPT, said that potential parents should first consider the environmental consequences. Another eco-militant, Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is calling for a green genocide. In a May 4 editorial, Watson says mankind "is acting like a virus" and appeals for the world to decrease its population by more than five billion. In the past, Watson has come under fire for claiming that humans are "the AIDS of the earth." Rhetoric like this, fueled by profound pessimism about human possibility, is driving demographic collapse in much of the West, where sub-replacement level fertility is on a collision course with pension liabilities, especially in Europe. Even Al Gore, who this weekend spoke to the American Institute of Architects, resorted to calling the alleged bio-threat a "spiritual crisis." In this he is half-right as the key to this eco-pessimism is despair. The "green" campaign, elevated to a fever pitch by Gore and others who advocate a stronger hand for government, is paving the way for the dire messages of organizations like OPT and Sea Shepherd. I have to ask, if we take their advice and quit having children, just who exactly would we be saving the earth for?

Altered Corn
Thursday, April 12, 2007
A variety of genetically modified corn that was approved for human consumption in 2006 caused signs of liver and kidney toxicity as well as hormonal changes in rats in a study performed by researchers from the independent Committee for Independent Research and Genetic Engineering at the University of Caen in France.

• The corn in question, MON863, is made by the Monsanto Company and approved for use in Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, and the United States. It has had a gene inserted from the bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which causes the plant's cells to produce a pesticide.

• Researchers fed rats either unmodified corn or diets containing 11 or 30 percent MON863 for 90 days. The rats who ate modified corn were found to exhibit signs of liver and kidney toxicity, as well as signs of hormonal changes.

• Male rats lost an average of 3.3 percent of their body weight, and their excretion of phosphorus and sodium decreased. Female rats gained an average of 3.7 percent of their body weight, while their triglyceride levels increased by 24 to 40 percent.

• The mechanism that causes the toxicity is not yet known, but the researchers say there is evidence that the Bt toxin may cause the perforation of blood cells. They expressed concern that the methods used by Monsanto in initial tests of the corn were statistically flawed and called their own tests "the best mammalian toxicity tests available."

• Greenpeace responded to the study by calling for an immediate recall of all MON863 corn and the reassessment of all genetically modified foods currently approved for the market.

• Quote: "Our counter-evaluation shows that there are signs of toxicity, and nobody can say scientifically and seriously the consumption of the transgenic maize MON863 is safe and good for health." - Lead Author Gilles Eric SeraliniWhat you need to know -

• It seems that the more these GM foods are tested, the more frightening the implications seem to be for human health. When companies like Monsanto do their own in-house testing, results are mysteriously favorable in nearly all cases, but when independent labs run their own tests, the results are downright shocking.

• I find it interesting that the FDA believes U.S. consumers should not be allowed to know which foods are genetically modified and which aren't. The push for honest labeling of GM foods has been blockaded by corporate interests and corrupt federal regulators.

Venezuela criticizes DEA as 'new cartel'
Venezuela on Monday said it will not allow U.S. agents to carry out counter-drug operations in the country, accusing the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of being a "new cartel" that aids traffickers.

Justice Minister Pedro Carreno said the South American nation suspended cooperation with the agency in 2005 after determining that "they were moving a large amount of drugs." President Hugo Chavez at the time also accused the DEA of spying.

"The United States with its DEA monopolizes the shipping of drugs like a cartel," Carreno told reporters. "We determined that we were evidently in the presence of a new cartel." He did not elaborate.

Spokesman Brian Penn said the U.S. Embassy categorically denies the accusation and called the DEA "the leading agency combating drug trafficking around the world."

"We'd like to cooperate with Venezuela to not only increase the number of seizures in Venezuela but also to help them to prosecute narcotraffickers who are operating in Venezuelan territory. We think sharing of information can aid Venezuela in this," Penn said.

Washington has repeatedly accused Venezuela of not cooperating in counter-drug efforts and says cocaine shipments are increasingly passing through the country from neighboring Colombia.

U.S. officials say about 10 DEA agents have remained in Venezuela working with law enforcement contacts even after the Chavez government suspended formal cooperation
Carreno was responding to comments by John Walters, the U.S. director of National Drug Control Policy, who told the Colombian magazine Semana in an interview published last week: "Chavez has refused to cooperate. It's a shame. Venezuela is gaining in importance for the drug traffickers."

Carreno said Venezuela is making important strides in fighting drug trafficking.
"The Venezuelan government doesn't accept blackmail," Carreno said. Security agencies are willing to follow up on any information provided to track down traffickers, he added, but "what we will not permit them to do is carry out operations in our territory."

6 Charged With Plot to Attack N.J. Base

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- Six nationals of the former Yugoslavia were arrested on charges they plotted to attack the Fort Dix Army base and "kill as many soldiers as possible," federal authorities said Tuesday.

The six were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Camden later Tuesday to face charges of conspiracy to kill U.S. servicemen, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey.

Five of them lived in Cherry Hill, about 10 miles east of Philadelphia and 20 miles southwest of Fort Dix, he said.

A law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because documents in the case remain sealed, said the attack was stopped in the planning stages. The men were arrested while trying to buy automatic weapons in a sale set-up by law enforcement authorities, the officials said.

The official said that the men had lived in the United States for some time and were arrested as part of a joint federal and local investigation.

The Star-Ledger of Newark reported on its Web site that the men had agreed to buy AK-47 assault rifles from an arms dealer who was secretly cooperating with the FBI. It cited a law enforcement person who spoke on condition of anonymity because the source was not authorized to speak about the arrests.

FBI spokeswoman Jerri Williams said U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and J.P. Weis, special agent in charge of the FBI in Philadelphia, planned a 2:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the arrests.

Fort Dix is used to train soldiers, particularly reservists. It also housed refugees from Kosovo in 1999.

Other Stuffs

Brace yourself for this one. Your tax dollars are being called upon to pay for reparations to the people of Guam for the Japanese's actions in WWII. That's right. You read it correctly! Americans will pay for what Japanese did in a war that was fought over 50 years ago.

The Kansas City airport has added foot-washing basins for Muslim cabbies. How far is this nonsense going to go? Last year we learned that the TSA was providing Muslim sensitivity training to 45,000 airport workers.

The postal service of Canada supports my wussification theory. One worker refuses to deliver mail to a house because of a "threatening cat." And I thought my mail pixie was a wimp.

The global warming cultists are in the news again ... and that's not news. This time the story is about "binge flying." It's killing the planet, you know.

The native-born are leaving "hip" cities for the heartland. Apparently, Americans are fleeing the illegal immigrant invasion.


NEWS
The New Orleans Police Department asked lawmakers Monday for nearly $7 million in equipment and recruitment costs to increase its crime-fighting tactics after Hurricane Katrina and to end state police and National Guard assistance in the city.
The police department is seeking dollars for bulletproof vests for incoming police recruits, armored vehicles, mobile command units and buses for large deployments of officers.
Police Superintendent Warren Riley told the House Appropriations Committee that the department needs money to replace equipment flooded and damaged by Katrina and to improve its policing efforts.

He also asked for dollars to pay for $7,000 signing bonuses for officers recruited from other states and to cover the costs of a large recruiting push to attract new officers.

Violent crime in the city has risen since Katrina though New Orleans has fewer residents than it did before the storm.

A study by a Tulane University demographer said New Orleans' per capita murder rate was 96 per 100,000 people last year, the highest in the nation.

Lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee, which is considering how to construct the state's budget for the upcoming year that begins July 1, were sympathetic to Riley's request for aid, saying they wanted to improve safety for New Orleans' residents and tourists.