Guest guest Posted May 12, 2004 Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 Well one for the good guys (and it ain't Monsanto) Monsanto Backs Off Bio-Wheat Reuters Page 1 of 1 11:42 AM May. 10, 2004 PT KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Monsanto on Monday said it was suspending plans to introduce what would be the world's first biotech wheat, a product that has generated concerns around the world about scientific tinkering with a key food crop. Monsanto, whose shares moved lower Monday morning, said it had reached the decision after "extensive consultation" with customers in the wheat industry, and would continue to monitor the desire for crop improvements to determine "if and when" it might be practical to move forward. St. Louis-based Monsanto has been doing field tests of Roundup Ready wheat for six years. It has already commercialised Roundup Ready corn and soybeans, and had hoped to spread the technology into the vast wheat-growing industry, starting in the United States and Canadian markets. The company has been under fire from environmentalists, farmer groups and some export trade experts for its plans to introduce a spring wheat variety called Roundup Ready, which is tolerant of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Opponents said the biotech crop would be moderately beneficial to only a small segment of the wheat-growing industry, but could devastate exports of all U.S. and Canadian wheat. Survey after survey done by export officials has shown that foreign buyers were unwilling to risk alienating their own customers by accepting biotech wheat supplies. U.S. Wheat Associates, which markets American wheat abroad, warned Monsanto that foreign opposition was strong. Its president, Alan Tracy, said he was both disappointed and relieved by Monsanto's move. "It's a shame when a promising scientific trait is deferred because of non-scientific concerns," Tracy said. "Monsanto is obviously responding to the same concerns that we've seen in the marketplace, and we want to give them credit ... for recognizing the problems we would face." Just two weeks ago, a group of grain industry players, including the North American Millers' Association, sent a letter to Monsanto CEO Hugh Grant expressing industry concerns and asking that Monsanto tread carefully in its introduction. Several groups have sought moratoriums on a biotech wheat introduction, and some foreign buyers have threatened to avoid purchasing U.S. wheat if Monsanto's biotech wheat was introduced. "I think it is a very wise decision," said Louis Kuster, a North Dakota wheat farmer, referring to Monsanto's decision. "Our foreign markets overwhelmingly did not want it and repeatedly had told us they would seek other sources of supply. That would mean ruination of the wheat market." Monsanto said that so far in fiscal 2004 it had spent less than $5 million on the Roundup Ready wheat project, and the plans to shelve it would not change its forecast for fiscal-year 2004 earnings. The company said it would stop breeding and field research of Roundup Ready wheat and focus instead on work on Roundup Ready cotton and an improved soybean oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 20, 2005 Report Share Posted January 20, 2005 - " List Server " <arviews-owner Thursday, January 20, 2005 2:16 PM [PERIODIC arviews DIGEST POSTING] > ------------------------ > > Wed, 19 Jan 2005 01:35:11 -0500 > Dietrich von Haugwitz <dvh > Re: Animal advocacy > --=====================_4474968==_.ALT > Content-Type: text/plain; charset= " us-ascii " ; format=flowed > > Hello, > > just a couple of thoughts: > > You may want to look at thise web sites: > > http://www.petaindia.com/ > http://www.bwcindia.org/home.htm > > > The HSI (the international arm of HSUS) has this partner in India: > Help in Suffering > Maharani Farm, Durgapura > Jaipur-203 018 > Rajasthan, India > 91-141-760-803 > Fax: 91-141-761-544 > E-mail: hisjpr > > Good luck - feel free to get back to us with further thoughts or inquiries > > Dietrich von Haugwitz > > > > At 01:12 AM 1/19/2005 +0530, Arpan Sharma wrote: >>I am involved with an Indian organisation that is implementing a rigorous >>spay/neuter programme in the Indian capital, New Delhi. We are however, >>also >>quite >>keen to address a number of other core animal rights issues in India. I am >>looking for assistance with identifying successful animal rights advocacy >>movements in the west, whose lessons we can take on board . I also wonder >>if >>organisations like the HSUS (or others) run training programmes in animal >>rights advocacy? >> >>I would be grateful if list members could guide me on these points. >> >>Thanks, >>Arpan Sharma >>New Delhi > > --=====================_4474968==_.ALT > Content-Type: text/html; charset= " us-ascii " > > <html> > Hello,<br><br> > just a couple of thoughts:<br><br> > You may want to look at thise web sites:<br><br> > <a href= " http://www.petaindia.com/ " > eudora= " autourl " >http://www.petaindia.com/</a><br> > <a href= " http://www.bwcindia.org/home.htm " > eudora= " autourl " >http://www.bwcindia.org/home.htm</a><br><br> > <br> > The HSI (the international arm of HSUS) & nbsp; has this partner in > India:<br> > <b>Help in Suffering<br> > </b>Maharani Farm, Durgapura<br> > Jaipur-203 018<br> > Rajasthan, India<br> > 91-141-760-803<br> > Fax: 91-141-761-544<br> > E-mail: <font color= " #0000FF " ><u>hisjpr<br><br> > </u></font>Good luck - feel free to get back to us with further thoughts > or inquiries<br><br> > Dietrich von Haugwitz<br><br> > <br><br> > At 01:12 AM 1/19/2005 +0530, Arpan Sharma wrote:<br> > <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite>I am involved with an Indian > organisation that is implementing a rigorous<br> > spay/neuter programme in the Indian capital, New Delhi. We are however, > also<br> > quite<br> > keen to address a number of other core animal rights issues in India. I > am<br> > looking for assistance with identifying successful animal rights > advocacy<br> > movements in the west, whose lessons we can take on board . I also wonder > if<br> > organisations like the HSUS (or others) run training programmes in > animal<br> > rights advocacy?<br><br> > I would be grateful if list members could guide me on these > points.<br><br> > Thanks,<br> > Arpan Sharma<br> > New Delhi</blockquote></html> > > --=====================_4474968==_.ALT-- > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 I took this off the internet and if it was not so true, it would be really funny Mary What would happen if doctors were car mechanics An interesting thing happened to me today. My car was experiencing some trouble, but I couldn't find any local mechanics that were available, so I decided to take it to an MD. That's right, I took it to a doctor, figuring, " Well, gee, if they can figure out human anatomy, they can probably figure out what's wrong with my car, too. " So, I took it in, and it was amazing. I learned some astounding things about vehicle health I never knew before; a whole new vocabulary. When I arrived at the doctor's office, I said, " You know, Doc, the engine's making a lot of noise, the oil light is on and I think maybe it doesn't have any lubricants. It doesn't have any oil. " He said, " Oh no, no, no. " He took a look at it, listened to it with a stethoscope and he said, " You have engine hyperpingia. " It was a disease I've never heard of before, apparently characterized by a lot of excess noise and friction in the engine. This is some disease that's becoming more and more common. The doctor said, " Mike, the only thing you can do -- we don't know what causes this, we're working on a cure -- but until we know what causes this, you'll have to put this little pill in the gas tank every day, once a day. It’s a noise-softener. So, it will absorb some of the engine noise, and that way you won't have this engine hyperpingia any more. " I said, " Okay, well how much is that going to cost? " And he said, " Oh, it's only $10 or $15 a day. " I said, " Oh, gee. That's going to add up over time. " He replied, " Well, maybe your auto insurance will pay for it. " He wasn't sure. I said, " This pill I'm supposed to put in the gas tank that suppresses the noise; won't this gum up the works? Won't this have some other negative effects on the car? " He said, " No, no, not at all. It's all been approved by the federal regulatory agencies. Tens of thousands of people are using this, it's no problem. We've been assured by the company that makes this that it's perfectly safe. " Electro-degeneration disease So, I said, " Well, alright. Let me tell you about the next problem. Look, Doc, some of the taillights are out on this car and one of the headlights has gone out too. Now, you know, I'm driving around at night and I don't have the lights I'm supposed to have. This is a safety issue and I think something's wrong with the electrical system. Maybe a fuse has blown. " He took a look at that and said, " Oh, no, no, no. That's not what it is at all. You have electro-degeneration disease in this vehicle. " I was blown away, because I had never heard of electro-degeneration disease. EDD is what he called it. Apparently, they don’t have a cure for electro-degeneration disease either. All they have is some stuff that will slow the progression of the electro-degeneration disease. He gave me some more pills to put into the gas tank that were supposed to slow this down a little bit. I said, " But what about this? Is this safe? " And he said, " Oh yeah, it's perfectly safe, lots of people are using it. It's been clinically proven to slow the progression of EDD. Go ahead and use it, you'll be just fine. " I said, " How much is that? " And he said, " It's $25 a day, no big deal. Maybe your car insurance will pay for that too. " He also added that I should watch out for side effects of the EDD auto-medication, which could include uncontrolled lane switching and other vehicle behavioral disorders. ..continued... By this time, I'm absolutely amazed. I'm learning all this new stuff about cars and automobile health I never knew before. This is getting pretty exciting, right? I decided to tell him about another problem I'm having. I told him that, to save some money, I'd been putting some diesel fuel into the car, and then every once in a while, I'd be driving by the airport and I would just put in some jet fuel because I was able to get it at a volume discount thanks to some friends in that industry. I told him that basically I just put in whatever fuel I had, you know; I might put some kerosene in it, some lamp oil if I have that. Sometimes I just throw in some diesel, sometimes I'll pour rubbing alcohol in the gas tank... just whatever I can find. It's the most economical way, it's more convenient for me to just sort of throw anything in there that I have around. I told my doc, " I'm concerned this is causing some of these engine noise problems and we're getting some performance issues; it refuses to start sometimes. The engine's overheating sometimes, and at other times it just won't do anything; it's like it's exhausted or something. " The doctor replied, " Mike, let me stop you right there. There is no correlation whatsoever between the fuels you put in the car and the performance you get out of the car. That's completely unproven. There's no scientific evidence whatsoever to support that notion at all. Just fill it up three times a week with any fuel you can get. That's all you need to do. Just three balanced fuel fillings a week, you'll be fine. " I felt good knowing that, because I thought that maybe the car had to have a certain kind of fuel, you know, something that would be built for that engine. Something the car, the vehicle, could " metabolize " in the way that it's designed to. It’s a good thing I learned you can put anything in that car you want. So, I decided to just stop by some of these fast-food restaurants and get some grease and put that in the fuel tank. That'll save me some money over the long term. Good thing I ran into this doctor, because I could have spent a fortune trying to fill it with a specific fuel. Now, I can really save some bucks by just filling it with anything I can find. Lastly, right before I was about to leave, I said to the doctor, " You know, next week I was going to take my car down the road here to a mechanic. He was going to do some preventative maintenance on the car. He was going to go in and clean the engine and replace all the oil, put in some new oil, add lubricant and grease to all the joints and bearings in the car, flush out the transmission fluid and basically just do some prevention. " The doctor said, " Don't waste your money doing that. It's a complete waste, " he told me. " Those mechanics are just running this big scam, charging people for oil and making them come back and keep taking that oil over and over again. It's just a big scam. " I was not aware of that. I guess I'd been falling for that scam all these years, not realizing the answers were right there at the doctor's office; anything my car had wrong with it; I could just go to the doctor and he would give me something to put in the gas tank that would take care of it. So, this is a warning to everybody out there: If you have been taking care of your car in terms of changing the oil, transmission fluid and coolants, and lubricating it, you've been scammed. These car mechanics are scamming you just to take your money. Your doctor knows better. If you don't get those car diseases diagnosed, they might get worse. You don't want them to get worse, because then your car might need some kind of engine transplant or something. That would be very, very expensive. Don't let it happen to you. You don't want your car insurance rates to go up or anything. You need to go to your doctor today and get your car diagnosed as soon as possible. Make sure you find out what diseases it really has, early on. It's better to do it early than to wait around. Also, don't be taken in by those alternative car mechanic con shops that claim to be preventing these car diseases. Like they have some " cure " for engine noise, like they have a " cure " for break noise or things like that. There's no such cure, I now know, because I've been told by a doctor. Thankfully, we live in a country that's trying to regulate this a little bit more, because it's a " wild west " out there. I mean, a guy can go set up a car mechanic shop anywhere and can just start selling oil. Can you believe that? It's completely unregulated. Do you know how dangerous engine oil can be? Fortunately, some of the doctors are getting together with the American Automobile Health Association and some federal regulators, and cracking down on this kind of con-artist activity. Thankfully, for our protection, they're seeking out these companies selling these cons; these so-called " oil changes, " and they're cracking down on them, and putting some of them behind bars where, frankly, they belong. You need people who are certified to be working on your car. They need to have a valid degree in automobile health from a recognized school, because otherwise you just don't know whom you can trust. The government is always looking out for our best interests, we know that. Why would they want to hurt the public? They're just looking out for our good, and we should really listen to them so they can protect us from these unscrupulous " car mechanics " or whatever they want to call themselves. I just wanted to share this with you. I hope you'll tell your friends about this, because this is apparently a nationwide scam. It's happening all over the world. Be sure to spread the world and help people get the right information: They should take their cars to their doctors, get the right diagnosis of the right diseases and get some medications for their cars. Anything else is just wasting your money, believe me. In fact, I'm so impressed by this, I think next week I'm going to go back to that doctor and ask him about the health of my lawn, because, if he knew about cars, I bet he knows something about lawn care. I have this lawn-care company that's been charging me a fortune just to keep my yard watered. So, I'm going to go to the doctor with my lawn issues next week and I'll report back to you what he tells me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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