Alternative Voice: Article

Planetary Transitioning

by Alternative Voice Staff

A $338 billion budget bill was passed by Congress recently that has a fishy stench from the extras snuck in, such as: $2 million allocated for the government to buy back the presidential yacht which President Carter had sold to demonstrate frugality; $1 million for a world birding center in Texas; $225,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation in South Carolina; and $1.1 million for research into the development of baby food and other products made from salmon, to name just a few. "I feel like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day", said Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz. "Every year, it's the same thing: Congress passes spending bills loaded with pork projects." Among the items in the bill was also $1 million for a program to convert pig poop into energy.¹
Private farmers of the world need to unite in protest against the new law the U.S. has imposed upon Iraq. The farmers are being forced to grow crop varieties brought in by transnational corporations like Monsanto, which are completely owned from generation to generation of seed. It basically makes it illegal for farmers to save their seeds, freely plant or save for re-planting seeds of any plant variety registered under the new patent law, enslaving them to subservience to the control of the corporations, destroying a nation's basic right of food sovereignty, while undermining the integrity of the food chain with genetically modified plants.²
I just read that SECTION 102 of the new Patriot Act II states that the gathering of any information, regardless of whether done legally or illegally, can be considered clandestine intelligence activities for a foreign power. Does that mean a news columnist could be conducting an illegal activity in their data gathering? In SECTION 403 there is an expanded definition of weapons of mass destruction to include any activity that affects interstate or foreign commerce. Does that mean that the grandmother peacefully protesting outside the latest WTO meeting could be charged with participating with a Weapons of Mass Destruc-tion (WMD) if the meeting is disrupted?³
According to a report released by Reuters, the numbers of poor Amer-icans has risen to 36 million. This is according to a poverty line of annual income set at $9,573 or less for an individual or $18,660 for a family of four with two children. The rates for African-Americans and Hispanics are close to 25%. Add up the figures yourself to see the hourly wage it takes to be in this club. How many earn more than that and still barely get by?⁴
Last November 16,000 people gathered to continue the ongoing protests against the School of Americas (SOA), the notorious military institution for training Latin Americans. The SOA has been the alma mater of many Latin American soldiers, police, and government officials involved in human rights abuses over the past decades.⁵
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has again voiced his disapproval of the military actions taken on Iraq. In a letter to U.S., British, and Iraqi leaders, he stated that further invasions of Fallouja "not only risks deepening the sense of alienation of certain communities, but would also reinforce perceptions among the Iraqi population of a continued military occupation."⁶
When people wallow in their own self-centered woes, they should be told about the plight of the Haitians. The island once described as "fertile and beautiful" by Columbus, is now "one of the most devastated places on earth." 99% of its trees have been cut down, and two-thirds of its farmland has been destroyed, while its population has quadrupled. Life expectancy, access to clean water, and sanitation are among the world's lowest, while levels of hunger and infant mortality are among the highest. How do you move a whole island of people?⁷
List of countries that USA has bombed since WWII: China ('45-46, '50-53), Korea ('50-53), Guatemala ('54, 60, 64, 67-69), Indonesia ('58), Cuba ('59-60), the Belgian Congo ('64), Dominican Republic ('65-66), Peru ('65), Laos ('64-73), Vietnam ('61-73), Cambodia ('69-70), Lebanon ('82-84), Grenada ('83-84), Libya ('86), Iran ('87, '98: airliner), El Salvador ('81-92), Nicaragua ('81-90), Panama ('89-90), Iraq ('91-99, '03-?), Kuwait ('91), Somalia ('92-94), Croatia ('94. Of Serbs at Krajina), Bosnia ('95), Sudan ('98), Afghanistan ('98, '01-?), and Yugoslavia ('99)⁸
A lot of data is available on the melting of Greenland's ice sheet. There is research that says the oceans could rise by 23 feet, which means London, Los Angeles, New York City, and many others would be submerged.⁹
Last year's ranking of worldwide best-selling prescription drugs: 3) antidepressants, 2) anti-ulcer, 1) cholesterol-lowering.¹⁰
In Kiev, the capital of the Ukraine, hundreds of thousands of protestors turned out to voice their dissent regarding the recent elections that placed the Russian-backed candidate as winner. There was wide-spread agreement, internally and internationally, that the elections were fraudulent and much concern voiced worldwide that this is another chess move of Putin to tighten his reign of political control.
In January of this year, Saudi Arabia experienced the climax of the annual hajj, the "fifth pillar" of Islam, where pilgrims find their way to Mecca, to where the Kabba, the ancient shrine built to God by Abraham, is. This year more than 1.5 million Muslims made the journey, seeking purification of sins and forgiveness from Allah.
In a recent BBC World Service global opinion poll a large majority within the twenty one countries surveyed are of the opinion that the president of the U.S.A. has made the world more dangerous. Even amongst traditional allies and close geographical neighbors, the feelings are predominantly negative, according to the poll.¹¹
France continues to experience the discontent of its people with massive strikes occurring across the nation. Rail, gas, electricity, and postal workers, along with surgeons and teachers are some of the latest to "lay down their tools" in expression of their feelings towards the government's "economic liberalization" policies, which many feel is a creeping privatization of the public sector.
The Tsunami's global death toll has reached well over 300,000, according to the latest reports from Indonesia.¹²
Recently the U.S.A.'s dollar has hit a record low against the Euro, and according to many analysts, they predict the plunge to continue, not only in relation to the Euro, but to many currencies worldwide. Since the dollar has the central role in global economy, just how will the waves crash from this?
Imagine leaving your bathroom light on for 30 years. That's the amount of energy you'd waste in a year if you traded in an average car for a 13 mpg SUV.¹³
From Harper's Index:¹⁴

Number of U.S. terrorism trials brought before a jury since September 11, 2001: 1 [U.S. Department of Justice ]
Revenue generated by Halliburton under CEO Dick Cheney from business deals with Iraq under Saddam Hussein: $30,000,000 [Colum Lynch, Washington Post (N.Y.C.)]
Number of companies in which Tom Ridge holds stock that have a contract with the Department of Homeland Security: 7 [U.S. Department of Homeland Security]
Minimum number of countries with a greater capacity to produce nuclear weapons than Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion: 35 [International Atomic Energy Agency (Vienna)]
The Bush administration has been carrying out secret reconnaissance missions to learn about nuclear, chemical, and missile sites in Iran in preparation for possible airstrikes there. The effort has been under way at least since last summer, according to journalist Seymour Hersh.15 However, Britain is none-too-eager to get involved in a new conflict-adventure with the United States. British foreign secretary Jack Sraw has produced a 200-page dossier that rules out military action and makes the case for a "negotiated solution" to curb Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions.¹⁶

¹From the USA TODAY, 11/22/04
² The Agribusiness Examiner, 11/15/04: "New Iraq Patent Law Will Make Traditional Farmers Seed Saving Illegal."
³ See "News Gathering Is Illegal Under New Patriot Act II" by Alex Jones, at www.Rense.com, or www.InfoWars.com
⁴ See www.rense.com article "Nearly 35 Million Americans Live in Poverty"
⁵ See www.soa.org for more information.
⁶ Published 11/5/04 in the Los Angeles Times
⁷ See www.bbc.co.uk for more information
⁸ There are slight variations in lists. Search the web for more information.
⁹ Search Greenland+melting on the web for lots of scientific data.
¹⁰ www.human-net.org IMS Health (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania.)
¹¹ search "global+poll" at "www.BBC.co.uk"
¹² according to various news reports
¹³ www.sierraclub.org/globalwarming/SUVreport/
¹⁴ see www.Harpers.org
¹⁵ “The Coming Wars,” by Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker, January 17, 2005
¹⁶ “Straw snubs U.S. Hawks on Iran,” The Sunday Times, January 23, 2005