Song in my head: I said, young man, you can make real your dreams.......Village People

BUMPERSTICKER SITING

~Speak Your Mind, Even with a Shaky Voice~

~Hook'd on fonics, phuck'd me up~


MAD COW UPDATE

Suspect animal tests negative for mad cow – USDA

For the second time this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture was cited as announcing on Friday that an inconclusive test for mad cow disease ended up being negative after more exhaustive laboratory testing.
A related story says that USDA will continue to publicize inconclusive mad cow test results, despite industry complaints that it does more harm than good. (via FSnet Listserv, by subscription).


Tyson meat workers at Wallula, Wash., plant protest testing

Union workers at the Tyson Fresh Meats Inc. beefpacking plant in Wallula, Washington state, were cited as joining the Japanese public in calling for testing of all U.S. cattle for mad cow disease Tuesday, rallying to accuse the U.S. government and Tyson of putting profit and trade before food safety.
Teamsters Local 556 President Melquiadez Pereyra was quoted as telling about 50 union protesters outside the plant that, "Japanese consumers want every cow to be tested. We want Tyson to listen to the Japanese people."
The protest, coming in the midst of contentious labor-management relations and ongoing contract negotiations, was dismissed by Tyson spokesman Gary Mickelson as "twisting the truth" about Tyson's operations and the science behind the U.S. Department of Agriculture's response to mad cow disease.(via FSnet Listserv, by subscription).

And if you think you are being protected by your federal food safety program acivities......

Mad cow safeguards not yet enacted

The FDA promised protections after the disease was found in Washington six months ago, and another cow is now being tested

In the winter weeks following the discovery of a lone infected cow in Washington state, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration calmed nervous consumers by announcing new safeguards against the spread of mad cow disease. Now, nearly six months later, none of the safeguards is in place, and the agency declined this week to say why or when they will be.

The measures -- among them a call to stop calves from being fed cow's blood -- were announced Jan. 26 by Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and then-FDA Commissioner Mark B. McClellan. They included:

Restricting brains, spinal cords and other tissues known to harbor the highest concentrations of brain-destroying agents from FDA-regulated foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics.

Prohibiting materials taken from dead or so-called "downer cattle" from FDA-regulated foods, dietary supplements and cosmetics.

Ending the use of poultry litter collected in hen houses -- typically comprising feces and contaminated feed -- in cattle feed.

Prohibiting the use of mammalian blood as a protein booster for young cattle.

At the time, the FDA said the rules would take effect upon publication in the Federal Register. But publication never happened.

FDA officials this week confirmed the rules had not taken effect. And a call Thursday to acting FDA Administrator Lester Crawford was referred to an agency spokeswoman who said she could not say when the new rules might be instituted. |Link|



ALTER-ABLED NEWS

A medical professional shows true compassion, here.

We have an unnecessary prohibition on marijuana. Just ask any policeman whether he/she would rather encounter someone stoned or drunk. Just ask any physician which drug causes more problems for their patients.

Somehow we have lumped marijuana into a general category of which it does not have membership. Crack cocaine causes many problems. It is very different from marijuana.

Marijuana is not harmless. Many users lose motivation for success. Smoking marijuana can cause pulmonary damage over time. But - and this is the key I think - the damage is minor compared to alcohol.

The case for medical marijuana is even more compelling. Marijuana does seem to help many patients. It can decrease pain, nausea and increase appetite. Many patients find it a useful adjunct to their therapeutic regimens.

As a social libertarian, all laws against marijuana astonish me. We have criminalized a behavior with modest harm, and done harm to many citizens. Our laws create distrust in most adolescents and young adults, because they understand the issue. They know peers who have been “busted” for marijuana.

The money we spend trying enforce these stupid laws should rather be used to treat more serious drug problems - cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, alcohol, and even tobacco!!!!


From Marijuana Policy Project:

Montel Williams Pushing Medical Marijuana

Fresh off the set of the upcoming reality series "American Candidate," TV host Montel Williams was pushing a more personal cause Thursday at the U.S. Capitol: medical marijuana.

The erstwhile host of the "Montel Williams Show" beseeched young congressional staffers and interns to pester their bosses to make marijuana more widely available to chronic pain sufferers.

"Go back and start looking it up yourself and understand why it is your bosses are voting against something that will do nothing but help people," pleaded Williams, who has taken marijuana to ease pain since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999. |Link|