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Amish Dairy Farmer Selling Raw Milk Won’t Be Cowed by FDA

http://thenewamerican.com/usnews/constitution/10300-amish-dairy-farmer-selling-raw-milk-wont-be-cowed-by-fda

Written by Michael Tennant   
Thursday, 22 December 2011 17:20

may do a body good, but selling it without the government’s stamp of approval does not. Dan Allgyer, an Amish dairy farmer, is finding that out the hard way. The federal government is trying to slap a permanent injunction on him preventing him from selling his cows’ product to willing customers in other states — all because Allgyer and his customers prefer to trade in milk that has not been pasteurized.

The sale of unpasteurized, or raw, milk is legal in Pennsylvania, where Allgyer lives. In Maryland, where some of his customers live, it is not. The Food and Drug Administration has decided that interstate sales of raw milk, particularly when the state for which the milk is destined bans its sale, are illegal; and that is why Allgyer now finds himself in hot moo juice with the feds.

Currently a food-buying club in Maryland called Grassfed on the Hill sends a truck to Allgyer’s farm to purchase and pick up his milk. They then transport it back to their home state, where it is distributed to club members in private homes. Allgyer is not personally selling the milk in Maryland at all.

The FDA, whose headquarters are in Silver Spring, Maryland, apparently got wind of this arrangement and launched an investigation. The agency spent over a year and countless tax dollars on an undercover infiltration of Grassfed on the Hill. Its agents joined the club under assumed names, placed orders for milk, and went into private residences to pick up their purchases. Then the FDA conducted an armed, pre-dawn raid on Allgyer’s farm in April 2010, during which agents found raw milk coolers marked for various destinations in Maryland. Now it had all the evidence it needed to prove that Allgyer was engaged in the dastardly act of selling raw milk across state lines.

The Department of Justice is asking U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Stengel for summary judgment to impose the injunction on Allgyer. All the judge has to do is sign the government’s ready-made form, and Allgyer will be banned from ever selling his milk to folks from out of state again, at which point he will be “essentially … out of business,” according to raw-milk advocate David Gumpert.

Actually, he doesn’t just get to be put out of business. The proposed injunction provides for the added privilege of having his farm inspected whenever FDA agents are bored or just have the urge, AND he gets to pay big time for the privilege (at rates of $87.57 or $104.96 per hour, plus 51 cents a mile for their travel, plus the regular government “per diem” for meals and hotels). One inspection that lasts a day or two, and involves two or three agents, who, of course, have to write up a detailed report afterwards, could cost $10,000. Maybe they decide to do it once a year, maybe once a month, maybe once a week. Whatever their pleasure.

At the end of five years, Allgyer can tell the court he’s been a good boy, and appeal to have the injunction lifted, and maybe it will be and maybe it won’t. If not, the inspection arrangement continues.

Gumpert takes issue with a number of the “undisputed facts” in the government’s case. For one thing, the government asserts that Allgyer’s arrangement with the food club amounts to interstate commerce; yet the food was purchased in Pennsylvania and driven to Maryland by the organization that had purchased it, where it was then distributed to members. The commerce took place entirely within the bounds of the Keystone State.

In addition, the government leaves out some crucial information. It points out that “a few state courts have addressed” the matters of private food clubs and cow-share arrangements (in which individuals purchase shares in cows and receive the cows’ raw milk in return) but cites only the case in which Wisconsin ruled against such arrangements, conveniently omitting another case in which Ohio ruled in favor of them. Furthermore, while the FDA says that it tested 12 samples of Allgyer’s milk to confirm that it was unpasteurized, it neglects to mention that those tests, whose results Gumpert obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, also showed that the milk was safe to drink, undercutting the FDA’s argument that “drinking raw milk is dangerous and [it] shouldn’t be consumed under any circumstances.”

Allgyer is fighting back with what Gumpert calls “a credible and cogent response” to the FDA’s motion for summary judgment.

Allgyer makes several arguments as to why summary judgment should be denied and he be given his day in court. First he argues that his arrangement with Grassfed on the Hill is a private agreement not subject to the FDA, citing some Supreme Court decisions to buttress his case. Allgyer also contends that the case is not “a civil matter” but “a quasi-criminal matter because of the severe sanctions and consequences that could occur as a result.” Therefore, he maintains, he is entitled to due process of law, especially since “there was no probable cause to even file a complaint in this instant case.” As Gumpert summarized the argument, “trying to stamp out a small enterprise should require more careful judicial consideration than just signing a pre-printed FDA order form.”

Allgyer further argues that the FDA has not answered Privacy Act questions as required by law, which means that “the information and excessive data [the FDA has] obtained to date from [its] inspections are tainted and cannot be used against us in any matter.” He states that under FDA laws and regulations the warning letters he received from the FDA are not permitted as part of an investigation and should thus be “rescinded, cancelled, abated, and voided.” Finally, he writes that he “requested the oaths of office of the agents involved and did not receive them,” but such oaths must by law be taken and filed or else those agents have no authority to investigate anyone.

Claiming that the FDA’s actions have “created a serious dilemma” for him by violating his rights to due process and equal protection under the law, Allgyer makes one final plea for denial of summary judgment, concluding, “The Defendant is prepared to proceed with a public court forum, if necessary.” This, Gumpert notes, is a step most Amish take very reluctantly; but he also believes that Allgyer has good reason to take it:

The FDA obviously wants to avoid a public confrontation with an Amish farmer, which is why it filed a written motion for summary judgement [sic] in the first place. It hoped the judge would simply sign its pre-printed Permanent Injunction, allowing the big-shot Justice Department lawyers to walk away without having to confront their prey. No, a public hearing, with a humble dairy farmer making his own defense, in front of a courtroom full of buying club supporters, is not what the FDA had in mind when it launched this case last April.

With any luck, however, that is exactly what it is going to get. Then maybe Allgyer and others who in one form or another defy the FDA’s unconstitutional ban on interstate raw milk sales will be vindicated as well.

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes to be Released in the US for the First Time

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Mike Barrett
Activist Post

To those of you who have been eager to hear the latest news concerning the potential release of genetically modified mosquitoes – here it is.

It turns out that the genetically modified mosquitoes could be released into the U.S. environment as early as January of 2012.

A private firm plans to initiate the release of the GE mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. Florida will be the first beta testing grounds to determine whether or not the mosquitoes lead to detrimental environmental and genetic impact. Residents in this area will also be subjected — without choice — to these genetically manipulated insects, unless the private firm decides to seek permission.

Genetically Modified Mosquitoes -- An Unknown Dangerous Experiment

The first mosquito release took place in the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean in 2009. On Sunday, October 27, the release was discussed in a scientific paper by the journal of Nature Biotechnology with the report concluding the release's success.

A second trial occurred in 2010, where 6,000 mosquitoes were released in Malaysia for further experiments. The mosquitoes are genetically modified with a gene designed to kill them unless given an antibiotic known as tetracycline. Offspring of the GM mosquitoes will receive this same lethal gene which will kill the offspring before it can ever reach adulthood. As more genetically modified mosquitoes mate with wild mosquitoes, the idea is that more and more offspring will be produced with the lethal gene, thereby reducing the mosquito population.

Of course the risks these mosquitoes pose both on the environment, as well as the health of all living creatures are highly unknown, leaving everyone with many more questions than answers. We have already seen how terribly genetic modification can threaten the environment and human health, yet people are still moving toward a genetically modified world.

With the release of genetically modified insects could come the downfall of both local and global ecosystems as well as negative consequences concerning the food chain. There is simply no way of knowing what could happen by replacing the naturally born life forms on planet earth with genetically modified creations.

Some questions that still remain unanswered:

  • Will Oxitec, the creator of the insects, need to acquire the free and informed consent of residents in Key West for the release of the GM mosquitoes? With the previous release of the mosquitoes in the Cayman Islands there was no public consultation taken on potential risks and informed consent was not given from locals.
  • With 0.5 percent of the released insects being female (the gender which bites humans), what happens to humans if bitten by the female mosquitoes?
  • What could happen to the ecosystem and local food chain with the major decrease in the Aedes aegypti mosquito population?
  • Who will regulate the release, and who will be responsible in the event of complications – to any degree?

If Florida and the US approves Oxitec’s planned release of these genetically modified mosquitoes, we will become that much closer to future genetic modification of living creatures as well as the potential collapse of environmental and human health.

Luckily, judging by the widespread opposition of genetically modified foods, it is likely that this experiment won’t turn into a reality without a fight.

Sources:
Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes in the U.S.

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Seafood 10,000 Times Over Safe Limit for Carcinogenic Contamination, FDA Says to Eat it Anyway

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Mike Barrett
Activist Post

Despite seafood showing extremely high levels of contamination, the FDA still deems the food safe for consumption.

The FDA not only falsely softened the risk of seafood consumption due to carcinogenic contaminants such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the seafood supply, but also ignored individual FDA staff members who called for higher levels of contamination protection.

The oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 was one of the largest offshore oil spills in history. One recent study conducted by researchers at the Natural Resources Defense Council found that FDA Gulf seafood “safe levels” actually allowed 100 to 10,000 times more carcinogenic PAHs in seafood than what is safe. This move by the FDA is not only only irresponsible for environmental and human safety, but puts those who are more vulnerable at a higher risk, such as pregnant women and children. 

FDA Says Yo Don’t Need to Remove Your Overly-Contaminated Seafood

Researchers who conducted the study, which was published in the top peer-reviewed environmental health journal Environmental Health Perspectives, found the information from snatched internal emails and unreleased assessments from the FDA under the Freedom of Information Act. The FDA argues that the reason they downplayed the risk is biased on the side of safety.

The director of the FDA has been reported stating “overly conservative estimates would lead you [to] remove a great deal of food from our refrigerators and pantries than is needed”.

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Mysterious Metal Ball From Space Falls In Nambia

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http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/12/22/mysterious-metal-ball-from-space-falls-in-namibia/

"A large metal ball that fell from space into the Namibian grasslands last month is not alien, officials say...."

"... is made of a "sophisticated" metal alloy that is known to man, but he said it has no markings that would identify it. No international space agency has claimed ownership, he said."

{But it's not alien!?}

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SaLuSa 23-December-2011

You want to see evidence of the progress we have made, and that is understandable after patiently waiting for quite a long time for something that indicates the stage that events have reached. That type of proof is only known by those actively involved who are of course our allies, that you will find in many different countries. They are however principally in the U.S. that is the home of many of the covert operations that have taken place. It is also where the Illuminati are to be found and for that reason, where you may expect the first news of their apprehension. Clearly nothing of this nature and of such importance can go ahead without information being leaked to the outside world. So what you can do is keep in touch with reliable contacts on the Internet who are privy to such news. This way those who are issuing disinformation will be sidelined and unable to confuse people.

As the weeks pass by you will need to be vigilant, and bear in mind that the dark Forces are being pursued regardless of which country they are in. Depending on the outcome it will determine when we can take our plan to a higher level, and get the desired results that will allow us to go ahead with Disclosure. Everything is so near to being resolved, and we wait with keen anticipation. All the players in the game of duality have to abide by the rules, and none more so than us who have to be seen to do so. We of the Light must maintain high standards within the Love and Light that we operate. The main thrust comes from the allowance of freewill choice, which ultimately dictates the reality that Humans create for themselves. Having done so we cannot interfere, albeit that we may see you have taken an undesirable path. The truth has to be discovered through experience, and we cannot deny you what you have chosen.

However, we do not mean to infer that you are still held in the depths of the lower energies. In fact the awakening progresses very well, and with the revelations that are soon to follow we expect it to occur even faster. There is nothing like the truth to spur people into action, and bring them onto a different path that is going to lead to Ascension. It is a road to the future that holds all that you could ever desire, as you try and envisage what it would be like to permanently move into the Light. Bear in mind that the material level that you have been used to, is only a pale reflection of what life can really be. The higher level will still appear quite solid but energy will be more refined, and what you perceive as matter will have a higher level of consciousness and respond accordingly. For example some people already talk to their plants, but how would you like to be able register their response and "talk" with all forms of life. That will all come in good time, but after you have ascended.

We know that many people simply cannot comprehend how the changes can take place, in the comparatively short time that is left before the end of the year 2012. With the closing of the cycle of duality and the quantum leap in consciousness levels, you will through your own powers of creation and having the advantage of advanced technologies, quickly move into the New Age. Ascension as such is not unique, and it is a natural conclusion to the movement upwards from one level to another. It is why every soul that chooses to remain in the present dimension, will have yet another opportunity to ascend when the next cycle ends. We must add however that each soul can of its own endeavors, ascend at any time providing it reaches the necessary level of consciousness.

Dear Ones, you have not come this far to be let down, and the promises made to you will be fulfilled. You are to experience abundance and know what it is like to become as One and live in peace and happiness, before you ascend. It will be a large step up from where you are now and take place very quickly. Indeed once the dark Ones and their interference are out of the way, it will be a most exciting time in your lives. Truth shall abound and life will take on a new hue of the rosy red of love that will permeate everything around you. Even those remaining that are of the lower vibrations will feel the changes, and any aggressive tendencies will be calmed. No one can remain in such times without feeling the affect, and it will help those who are late awakening.

The world will remain in a turmoil for quite a while where financial problems are concerned, and the Euro problems are far from settled. You may find that the outcome will have a big bearing on what happens in other parts of the world. Some currencies will die, and others victims of the move for Gold backed currency that will return. There will be warnings of the outcome, and mixed advice by those who have a vested interest in it. Clearly they cannot all be right, but be assured our allies are involved and the correct decisions will be made.

This message will be our last one until a week today, so we wish you every happiness according to how you celebrate this period, when many are taking a break for Christmas. You may ask do we celebrate special occasions, and our answer is yes, but usually for Cosmic events that we can participate in and give of our energy. We naturally have great love and reverence for the Creator, and never forget that our life force is one and the same. You could say that our lives are one continual meditation in honor of the Creator. You too will undoubtedly eventually acknowledge the Creator as the Source of All That Is. Such a realization is going to bring all souls much closer together, and gone will be the attempts to elevate one God over another. Understand that each Universe has its own God within whom you have your being, so the quarrels you have about whose God is supreme are irrelevant and totally unnecessary. Let us also make it clear once again, that God is all Love, and it is only lesser gods that promote war and indulge in punishment.

I am SaLuSa from Sirius, and trust you can understand that it is necessary for everyone to be prepared to carefully look at any firmly held beliefs, in case they are challenged by the truth that shall soon be given to you. We who come from the Galactic Federation together with the Masters, have no intention to mislead you but desire to lift you up to our level where only Love and Truth exists, and that is your real home.

Thank you SaLuSa.

Mike Quinsey.

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http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-be.html THESE DAYS THE LAWS OF NATURE ARE BEING TAMPERED AT ALL LEVELS, HAS ANYONE EVER ASKED YOU IF IT IS OK WITH YOU? NOOOOOOOOOOO.  GOD ONLY KNOWS WHAT THESE MOSQUITOS WILL GIVE TO MANKIND. WE ALREADY HAVE MALARIA DENGUE FEVER AND WEST NILE VIRUS ALL ARE DEADLY. A NEW MANMADE DISEASE WAS MADE RECENTLY BIRD FLU THAT SPREADS IN THE AIR, NOW THE DEBATE BEGINS TO RELEASE IT OR NOT TO OTHER PSYCHOPATHS AROUND THE WORLD WHILE IT IS HELD IN AN UNGUARDED BASEMENT IN SWITZERLAND AND IF RELEASED WILL KILL HALF OF THE WORLD. HELL-O IS ANYONE HOME ??? 

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http://www.activistpost.com/2011/12/is-this-humble-plant-capable-of.html  I started reading about TUMERIC over a year ago and passed it by,but now I am going to use it on a regular basis. Big pharma has taken us so far away from the simple cures that were always there and fed us poison to make us sicker. TUMERIC will be in my bug out bag.

Read more…

Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Friday, December 23, 2011

Congress is set to give the green light on funding for a massive expansion of TSA checkpoints, with the federal agency already responsible for over 9,000 such checkpoints in the last year amidst increased fears America is turning into a police state following the passage of the ‘indefinite detention’ bill.


The increase in funding has nothing to do with the TSA’s role in airports – this is about creating 12 more VIPR teams to add the federal agency’s 25 units that are already scattered across the country and responsible for manning checkpoints on highways, in bus and train terminals, at sports events and even high school prom nights.

“The TSA’s 25 “viper” teams — for Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response — have run more than 9,300 unannounced checkpoints and other search operations in the last year. Department of Homeland Security officials have asked Congress for funding to add 12 more teams next year,” reports the L.A. Times.

The demand for $24 million in extra funding is in addition to the $110 million spent in fiscal year 2011. The figures are completely independent from the federal agency’s role inside the nation’s airports, which costs taxpayers $5 billion a year.

The extra money is being demanded despite the fact that there is “no proof that the roving viper teams have foiled any terrorist plots or thwarted any major threat to public safety,” according to the L.A. Times report, which also highlights how the TSA’s sniffer dogs are used to single out people for questioning if the dog smells the scent of the owner’s pets on their clothing.

The appearance of thousands more checkpoints on America’s highways and at key transport hubs will only heighten concerns that the country is headed towards a Soviet-style police state.

Such fears were again expressed last week following the passage of the National Authorization Defense Act, a provision of which empowers the government to arrest Americans and hold them in a detention camp with no legal recourse.

With the federal government now seeking contractors to provide staff and supplies for “emergency camps” located around the country, the possibility of innocent Americans being swept up in a dragnet following a declaration of a national emergency has never been more of a threat.

The TSA is being used as a literal occupying army to ensure Americans who travel anywhere are constantly under the scrutiny of Big Brother.

Back in October we reported on how Tennessee’s Homeland Security Commissioner announced that a raft of new “security checkpoints” would be in place over the Halloween period to “keep roadways safe for trick-or-treaters”.

Earlier that same month it was announced that Transportation Security Administration officials would be manning highway checkpoints in Tennessee targeting truck drivers.

After public outrage, the TSA attempted to neutralize the controversy by claiming that the inspections were carried out by State Troopers (the TSA agents were there to try to recruit truck drivers into becoming snitches for the ‘See Something, Say Something’ campaign), and that the checkpoints were merely temporary.

In reality, the program was the latest phase of the TSA’s rapidly expanding VIPR program, under which TSA agents have been deployed to shake down Americans at everywhere from bus depots, to ferry terminals, to train stations, in one instance conducting pat downs of passengers, including children, who had already completed their journey when arriving in Savannah.

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Makes  you  wonder  how they  are  acquiring  these missiles ,  huh  ?????

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Finland intercepts clandestine shipment of U.S. Patriot missiles bound for China

December 22, 2011FINLAND - The Finnish authorities have impounded an Isle of Man-flagged ship bound for China with undeclared missiles and explosives, officials say. Police are questioning the crew of the MS Thor Liberty after what were described as 69 Patriot anti-missile missiles were found aboard. Interior Minister Paivi Rasanen said the missiles were marked “fireworks.” The MS Thor Liberty had docked in the Finnish port of Kotka after leaving Germany last week. Dock workers became suspicious after finding explosives poorly stored on open pallets, and the missiles were then found in containers marked “fireworks.” The MS Thor Liberty left port in Emden, northern Germany, on 13 December and docked two days later in Kotka, southern Finland, to pick up a cargo of anchor chains, said Finnish Customs spokesman Petri Lounatmaa. Patriot missile systems are supplied to U.S. allies. The ship was bound for the Chinese port of Shanghai but there was no indication for whom the military cargo was destined. Patriot missiles, designed by the US company Raytheon, are supplied to “US and allied forces,” according to the company's website. South Korea is among states which deploy them. Raytheon received a $1.1 billion order from Taiwan for Patriot missile systems in 2009. China has thousands of missiles pointed at Taiwan. The Taiwan missile sale left China fuming and obviously determined to use espionage to capture the missiles to unlock their secrets and develop effective countermeasures. –BBC


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16292244


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