illumitorium

#Selfie with Medea Benjamin!

#Selfie with Harry Belafonte! Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. One of the most successful African-American pop stars in history, he was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s.

Belafonte was an early supporter of the civil rights movement in the 1950s, and one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. Throughout his career he has been an advocate for humanitarian causes, such as the anti-apartheid movement and USA for Africa. Since 1987 he has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In recent years he has been a vocal critic of the policies of both the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations.

Belafonte has won three Grammy Awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Emmy Award,[2] and a Tony Award. In 1989 he received the Kennedy Center Honors. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994.

David versus Goliath

Like hundreds of other North American farmers, Schmeiser ended up being sued by Monsanto for 'patent infringement' when more than 320 hectares were found to be contaminated with Roundup Ready canola—the biotech giant's patented canola, genetically engineered to tolerate otherwise lethal doses of glyphosate.

The Dangerous Contamination Propagating All Around Americans

Despite the scientific evidence (in addition to the common knowledge of every traditional farmer out there) that GE contamination is an absolute given. You simply cannot contain it within a given area. What's worse, we now have proof that GE crops not only spread outside the boundaries of any given field, they're also combining into brand new, completely unintended forms in the wild!

Patented Seeds Turn Ancient Agricultural Practices into a Crime

Farmers are not the only ones getting sued. Mo Parr, a 74-year old seed cleaner was also sued by Monsanto for "aiding and abetting" farmers in violating the company's patent. Seed cleaners are hired by farmers to separate debris from the seed to be replanted. "There's no way that I could be held responsible. There's no way that I could look at a soy bean and tell you if it's Round-up Ready," Parr told CBS4. Amazingly, Monsanto won its case against Parr.

Should Genetically Engineered Foods Be Labeled?

"Here is my argument on the whole deal. When you read the seed catalogs, the licensing agreements for genetically engineered corn say you can't feed animals any of the corn husks, corn stock or any byproduct off those seeds. "So what the hell am I eating the corn for?

Shocking Report: Americans Eat Their Weight and More in GE Foods Each Year

To put the findings of this animal feeding study into human perspective, if the average lifespan of a person is 80 years, these health problems would start rearing their ugly head somewhere during the 43rd year of life, provided your diet contained just over 10 percent GE foods and you began eating them in early childhood.

Well, guess what?

Any child in the US who eats processed foods on a regular basis consumes at least 10 percent GE ingredients. The actual percentage is in fact likely to be FAR higher than that. According to a shocking report released by the Environmental Working Group6 on October 15, Americans are eating their weight and more in genetically engineered food every year—an average of 193 pounds of GE foods annually!

Keep Fighting for Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods

While California Prop. 37 failed to pass last November, by a very narrow margin, the fight for GMO labeling is far from over. The field-of-play has now moved to the state of Washington, where the people's initiative 522, "The People's Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act," will require food sold in retail outlets to be labeled if it contains genetically engineered ingredients. 

Remember, as with CA Prop. 37, they need support of people like YOU to succeed. Prop. 37 failed with a very narrow margin simply because we didn't have the funds to counter the massive ad campaigns created by the No on 37 camp, led by Monsanto and other major food companies. Let's not allow Monsanto and its allies to confuse and mislead the people of Washington and Vermont as they did in California. So please, I urge you to get involved and help in any way you can.

Question: How do you feel about this?  "For two months, federal prosecutors portrayed Miami imam Hafiz Khan in the worst possible light: terrorist sympathizer, Taliban supporter and pathological liar.

“His whole defense is a lie,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley told 12 jurors last week during closing arguments.

The 77-year-old Khan, with his hunched shoulders and flowing white beard, testified that he sent about $50,000 to Pakistan to help a religious school, the poor and his extended family overseas — not to arm Taliban militants bent on killing Americans and Pakistanis.

“This is America, folks,” his attorney, Khurrum Wahid, said during closings. “You don’t have to accept what the government tells you.”

Read more here. I don't want to assume that I know the whole story. I do not personally know this Imam nor do I know much of this case. But I do feel an uncomfortable feeling that this may be another tainted case in the corrupt world of our militaristic police state/country.  These instances of Islamaphobia remind me of how far and deep hatred can run. The film Zero Dark Thirty is another example of how content Amercian people are becoming with ideas of torture, accusations and instances of pure hatred for another being (btw, ZDT made $105,101,044. It's like, we'll fall for anything that looks brand new and shiny.) So, because we are "American" we have to now assume Muslims intentions are inherently tied to terrorism?

It's an insane and scary thought to think that, the police, the FBI, the CIA, and basically any power structure that have the capital to get away with it, can implant any sort of evidence that can later be used against you in court. Or that entrapment is practiced as regularly as routine calls, makes me think..."WTF?!" The fear that is cultivated around these cases enables the masses to act as if these are justified acts that SHOULD be taken by law. There's an inherent fear towards Islam because we still fear that we actually have something to lose. 

In my honest opinion, I think this is the least American thing to do. The definition of what is truly patriotic has changed completely because of this cultivated fear factor. To me, this is not America. To me, being American means questioning everything. Especially your governement (because the government only has as much power as the people who dish it) It means taking action through demonstrating your right as a worldly citizen, with human rights that can never be touched by government super structures. What do will we do when there is no more integrity left to defend our people?