The “NAFTA Flu”: Critics Say Swine Flu Has Roots in Forcing Poor Countries to Accept Western Agribusiness

We really have to go back to the livestock revolution. Before World War II, poultry and pigs were basically farmed in backyard operations across this country. So we’re talking about poultry flocks of the size of seventy chickens. After the World War II, all those independent farming operations were—many of them were basically put under one roof and increasingly put under the control of particular corporations—Holly Farms, Tyson, Perdue. And the geography of the poultry and pork change. So, while previously pork and poultry were grown across the country, it was now grown, or they’re now raised within only a few southeastern states here in the United States. After the livestock revolution, poultry and pigs were now being grown and raised in much larger populations, so we go from seventy poultry now up to populations of 30,000 at a time. So we have cities of pigs and poultry.

That model was subsequently spread around the world.

Listen and read Amy Goodman's interview with by Robert Wallace.

He blogs at farmingpathogens.wordpress.com.

Related Article

• How NAFTA Helped Spread Swine Flu

Mexico has long been considered the laboratory of globalization. Now a potentially deadly virus has germinated in that laboratory, finding ideal conditions to move quickly along a path toward global pandemic.

Those conditions include: a rapid transition from small livestock production to industrial meat farms after NAFTA established incentives for foreign investment, the failed decentralization of Mexico’s health system along lines established by multilateral lending banks, lax and non-enforced environmental and health regulations as the Mexican government was forced to downsize, the increased flow of goods and persons across borders, and restricted access to life-saving medicines due to NAFTA intellectual property monopolies for pharmaceutical companies.

New swine flu feared to be weaponized strain

By Wayne Madsen

Our Mexico City source said a top scientist for the United Nations, who has examined the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, as well as HIV/AIDS victims, concluded that H1N1 possesses certain transmission “vectors” that suggest that the new flu strain has been genetically-manufactured as a military biological warfare weapon. The UN expert believes that Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and the current A-H1N1 swine flu virus are biological warfare agents.

Past swine flu outbreaks have been spread from pigs to humans, who then passed the flu on to other humans. However, with A-H1N1, there have been no reported infections of pigs. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), A-H1N1 has gene segments from North American swine, bird and human flu strains and a segment from Eurasian swine flu. Costa Rica, Brazil, and Peru have issued alerts to check all incoming passengers from Mexico at border crossings, airports, and seaports for symptoms of the swine flu.  Read more…

Experts Debate Pandemic Potential of Swine Flu

By DAN CHILDS and AUDREY GRAYSON

Eighth U.S. Case Confirmed; Top CDC Official Said Concern Has Grown

A top federal health official said the government's concern over the swine flu outbreaks in the United States and Mexico has grown since Thursday -- and a handful of influenza experts worry the deadly, never-before-seen hybrid strain may spur a pandemic. Read more...

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• Mexico swine flu deaths spur global epidemic fears (AP)
• Deadly new flu breaks out in Mexico, U.S.
• Experts probe deadly Mexico flu
• Mexico Swine Flu Epidemic Worries World

• CDC Says Too Late to Contain U.S. Swine Flu Outbreak

  Swine Flu Is Deadly Mix Of Never-Before-Seen Viruses Swine flu panic is spreading in Mexico and soldiers are patrolling the streets after it was confirmed that human to human transmission is occurring and that the virus is a brand new strain which is seemingly affecting young, healthy people the worst, and that the bug is a never-before-seen intercontinental mixture of human, avian and pig viruses from America, Europe and Asia.

Proof of Jesus' Black Heritage Comes From Surprising Source: Two Black Mormons

Two Black Mormons -- yes, that's not a typo -- two Black Mormons, have recently launched a groundbreaking DVD series that answers the questions we've been asking in regards to their religion's teachings on race, but have to this point gone unanswered. The real prize and surprise in this effort, has been the uncovering of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, demonstrating that Jesus was indeed Black. This is truly remarkable! For the first time, you can trace with incredible detail, from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the family tree from which Jesus came. Put away the "wooly hair" argument, we now have real proof and can literally see the African heritage in the Savior. Read more...

The Blacks in the Scriptures DVD series

Africa’s First Ladies Gather In Los Angeles

The first ladies of 15 African nations held a rare gathering Tuesday to talk about dealing with HIV/AIDS, infectious disease and gender inequity on their continent.

Though many of the women have seen each other socially, often on the arms of their husbands in Washington or at the United Nations, it was the first time they gathered in the United States to candidly discuss the problems faced by women and children in Africa. Read more...

14-Year-Old Tony Hansberry II Develops New Surgery Technique

By Casey Gane-McCalla

A Jacksonville researcher has developed a way of sewing up patients after hysterectomies that stands to reduce the risk of complications and simplify the tricky procedure for less-seasoned surgeons.

Oh, and he’s 14 years old.

Feel free to read that again. Read more...

Lobbyist Money + Right-Wing Extremists = Tea Party

By David Love

Republican politicians tried to hitch onto the mean-spirited tea party bandwagon, replete with anti-Obama and racist protest signs. That the GOP wants to associate itself with extremist groups tells you the political party has officially fallen off the deep end. White supremacists, militias, secessionists, conspiracy theorists and wingnuts—the subjects of a new Department of Homeland Security report— apparently have a seat at the table of the Republican Party. With the moderates and even the reasonable, book learning-oriented conservatives driven from the GOP, the extremists are now the base, the mainstream conservatives. They are all that is left of a party in tatters, of what is now a regional political organization— Southern, Christian and almost exclusively white. Read more...

Also read:

Napolitano Apologizes, But Why?

by Liz Halloran

NPR.org, April 16, 2009 · Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano apologized Thursday for references to the potential recruitment of military veterans by extremists that appeared in a recent assessment of the threat of domestic right-wing groups. But was her mea culpa really necessary?

Department of Broken Promises: Obama Closes Door on NAFTA Renegotiation

Bruce A. Dixon

During the campaign Barack Obama's campaign deliberately led supporters to imagine he favored the reopening of the wildly unpopular North American Free Trade Agreement, which most agree has cost millions of jobs, driven down wages in the U.S. and Mexico, increased the gap between rich and poor and driven millions of Mexican farmers off the land, into cities and to the U.S. But reports from the Canadian press were confirmed by the White House yesterday. Obama has no intention of renegotiating NAFTA. Read more

Obama Breaks Promises to Black Farmers

As a senator, Barack Obama led the charge last year to pass a bill allowing black farmers to seek new discrimination claims against the Agriculture Department. Now he is president, and his administration so far is acting like it wants the potentially budget-busting lawsuits to go away.

The change isn't sitting well with black farmers who thought they'd get a friendlier reception from Obama after years of resistance from President George W. Bush. Read more...

AP

Obama Boycott of U.N. Racism Conference Disappoints African Diaspora

Roberto Lovato

“It is regrettable that in the process of negotiations leading to this conference no flexibility was found to enable the participation of states that have stayed out of this conference,” she declared.

Sebudandi especially lamented the absence of the United States, a country she said had much to teach the world because it has a democratic government, resources and experience in dealing with issues of racism.

“And you have a president who himself comes from a minority,” she said. “I’m sure he has his reasons for not coming, but we would have liked his country to be here.” Read more...

China calls up its first black athlete

By Malcolm Moore

A 19-year-old volleyball player from the eastern city of Hangzhou has become the first black athlete to be called up to represent China, triggering fierce curiosity among his compatriots.

Ding Hui, who is affectionately nicknamed Xiao Hei, or Little Black, by his team mates, was included in the national team's new 18-man training squad.

The son of a South African father and a Chinese mother, Ding is expected to play a key role in China's push for gold at the London Olympics in 2012. Read more...

Blog Interview: The Final Call's Ashahed Muhammad on the grounds in Geneva, Switzerland for the UN's Durban Review Conference

Brother Jesse: Why is it important for The Final Call to be in attendance at this conference along with other media outlets from throughout the world?

AM: Clearly, in a world where media is controlled and most newspapers and programs are formulaic and only give coverage to viewpoints that reinforce a decidedly slanted worldview, it is important for The Final Call, as the widest circulating independent Black weekly in the United States to be present--with boots on the ground-- to tell the story firsthand in order to counteract the spin and propaganda that is sure to come. We know that the negative spin and propaganda is forthcoming because it was prevalent in shaping the view of the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001. It is always interesting to interact with members of the press from across the globe, share stories, information, and make contacts. There is a world out there beyond North America and there are many who want to help achieve justice for the oppressed. Many, once they know better will do better, and that is our job, to get the word out and bring truth to the people. Read more...

FBI targets religious groups?

Demands for answers from the FBI regarding reports that it sent a paid informant into Muslim mosques have reached beyond a national coalition of Muslim organizations and civil liberties groups and into the U.S. Congress.

Advocates warn the activity is another sign of troubling government intrusion into the lives and violations of the rights of Americans. Read more...

Pay up or your car engine will stop

With consumer credit ratings plummeting, more American car owners could soon be driving around with an electronic Big Brother on board.

Shut-off devices give audio and flashing light warnings before the vehicle's power is cut.

Business is booming for makers of shut-off devices, which turn engines off when car payments are late. Sales at one manufacturer, Littleton, Colorado-based Passtime, are up 33 percent over last year. CEO Stan Schwarz says the company is cranking up production to meet the demand.

"Right now, we are moving about 2,000 units a month into the marketplace," Schwarz says. "I fully expect by the end of the year we will be up to 14,000 to 15,000 a month,"

While the devices have mostly been used in the subprime auto loan market (i.e. Black and Hispanic neighborhoods)... Read more...

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• Late on a Car Loan? Meet the Disabler

Smart Grid

A smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability. Such a modernized electricity network is being promoted by many governments as a way of addressing energy independence or global warming issues.

In 2009, SmartGrid companies may represent one of the biggest and fastest growing sectors in the GreenTech market.

President Barack Obama asked the United States Congress "to act without delay" to pass legislation that included doubling alternative energy production in the next three years and building a new electricity "smart grid". Europe is also following a similar "vision". Read more...

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Miami's Smart Grid: A Blueprint for the Nation's Power Future

That's the good news: It means that we can make enormous advances in national energy efficiency — and controlling carbon emissions — simply by improving the grid, before we even begin to clean up our energy sources. The key is to add 21st-century speed and intelligence (i.e., the Internet) to the 20th-century infrastructure of the power grid — voilà, a "smart grid." The result would be a system that allows power utilities to remotely detect and respond to outages; that lets consumers program their appliances to use electricity when it's most abundant, allowing power companies to reduce waste; and through which new sources of alternative power could be channeled into the towns and cities that need it. (Read "Solar Power: Eco-Friendly or Environmental Blight?")

A Smart Grid for Intelligent Energy Use

The Real Story Behind "Tent City"

By Rose Aguilar

Kraintz and so many other homeless people like him have been living in scattered Sacramento encampments for years, but they've been largely ignored and hidden from public view. That is, until Lisa Ling, a reporter with the Oprah show, came to town in late February to focus on what Oprah Winfrey called the "new faces" of homelessness.

The show reported -- inaccurately -- that an estimated 1,200 people in Sacramento are living in tent cities after losing their jobs and homes. According to Loaves & Fishes, a privately funded group that has been feeding the hungry and sheltering the homeless in Sacramento for 25 years, 1,226 people live on the streets of the city. Between 100 and 200 temporarily call tent city home.

Like Oprah, several national and international articles and TV pieces have falsely portrayed everyone in tent city as once-middle-class people driven to homelessness because of the economic meltdown. Read more...

How Do People End Up In Tent City?

Tent cities spring up in LA

Schools Slipping Back to Segregation, New Book Finds

Urban school districts across the country have shifted back to managing segregated schools following the recent lifting of court-ordered desgregation plans, a new book finds.

The book, "From the Courtroom to the Classroom: The Shifting Landscape of School Desegregation," was edited by Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development faculty Claire Smrekar and Ellen Goldring and published by Harvard University Press.

"As the return to neighborhood schools accelerates, schools resegregate, and magnet programs assume new roles, this book provides timely information on critical social and academic outcomes for children," Smrekar said.

School desegregation, once a central piece of social and educational policy, has been ended by an increasing number of federal courts in recent years in urban school districts. When desegration polices are removed, schools are designated as "unitary," which means they are expected to implement a variety of policies focusing on school improvement, school choice and neighborhood schools, among other alternatives. Racial balancing of schools is no longer a priority. Read more....

Salute to Miss California for standing for what she believes

I have to salute Miss California for standing for what she believes.

In a world that is pushing the Gay agenda, Gay marriage and the Gay lifestyle, many are finding it hard to not conform, compromise, and give in to pressure and not be labeled as homophobic or worst.

Her answer may not have been the politically correct but in my book it was the right answer.

She did not win the Miss America crown, but she did win in the eyes of God and that is the greatest victory of all.

Miss California Carrie Prejean, stand on what she believes

Below is an example of the Gay agenda, how they disrespect, defame and seek to destroy anyone who objects to the Homosexual lifestyle.

Where is the Christian Right? Why are they so silent? Religion is this country is purely political despite the calls for separation of church and state. That only applies when other religions have a political agenda, namely Islam. What hypocrite the religious Rights are.

Breastfeeding 'protects mother'

Women who breastfeed their babies may be lowering their own risk of a heart attack, heart disease or stroke, research suggests.

A US study found women who breastfed for more than a year were 10% less likely to develop the conditions than those who never breastfed.

Even breastfeeding for at least a month may cut the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Read more...

Ahmadinejad: What befell freedom of speech?

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned the advocates of "freedom of speech" about the sincerity of their conviction.

After Israeli advocates staged a walkout in the midst of the Iranian president's speech at the UN anti-racism summit, President Ahmadinejad criticized the "so-called advocates of freedom of information."

"Why is it that the so-called advocates of freedom of information fear hearing other people's opinions," the Iranian president asked. Read more...

Avoiding World Conference on Racism Shows Obama's Disrespect For Blacks

by Glen Ford

President Obama’s “fawning, damn near servile behavior when accommodating Zionist demands” to boycott and sabotage the Durban II conference on racism “should have been a deal breaker” in his relations with African Americans. But what passes for Black leadership accepts any and all insults from Obama, who naturally treats them like the spineless creatures they are. Meanwhile, the White House keeps “Jewish leaders” up to date with conference calls on how Obama is protecting Israel from charges that it is an apartheid state, and also ensuring that the United States is not compelled to make amends for its racist past and present. Read more...

Tom Joyner, Steve Harvey, Tavis Smiley, and the Impoverishment of Black Media

by Bruce A. Dixon

When the Tom Joyner Morning Show was pulled first from Chicago, and then from other markets early this month, Joyner counseled listeners that "...black radio will never be what it once was, and there is absolutely nothing we can do about it." This message of powerlessness and permanent defeat, of resignation to someone else owning and controlling the black conversation may be all we can expect from Joyner and the rest of the black elite. But is it the real answer? Does it even address the crucial question of how we might have and our own black civic conversation?

Read more...

Israel Stands Ready to Bomb Iran's Nuclear Sites

by Sheera Frenkel

The Israeli military is preparing itself to launch a massive aerial assault on Iran's nuclear facilities within days of being given the go-ahead by its new government.

Among the steps taken to ready Israeli forces for what would be a risky raid requiring pinpoint aerial strikes are the acquisition of three Airborne Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft and regional missions to simulate the attack. Read more...

Black Men on Death Row, Evidence of Amerikkka's Racist (In)Justice System

Federal court rejects Troy Davis' appeal

The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Thursday rejected death-row inmate Troy Anthony Davis' bid for a new trial on claims he did not kill a Savannah police officer in 1989. In a 2-1 opinion, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Davis could not establish by clear and convincing evidence a jury would not have found him guilty.

Mumia Abu-Jamal Speaks from Death Row about His Case, Prison Reform and “Jailhouse Lawyers”

Last week, the Supreme Court denied his appeal to overturn his conviction for the 1981 killing of a white police officer following a controversial trial before a predominantly white jury. Abu-Jamal contends, as well as a number of [inaudible], that the case was marred with racial bias, including the deliberate exclusion of African Americans from the jury. The decision leaves in place a federal appeals court ruling upholding Abu-Jamal’s conviction. Prosecutors, meanwhile, are now trying to appeal a separate ruling for a new sentencing hearing because of flawed jury instructions. If re-sentenced, Abu-Jamal will face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Gov. Rick Perry: Texas Could Secede, Leave Union, more states could follow

"There's a lot of different scenarios," Perry said. "We've got a great union. There's absolutely no reason to dissolve it. But if
Washington continues to thumb their nose at the American people, you know, who knows what might come out of that. But Texas is a very unique place, and we're a pretty independent lot to boot."  Read more...

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Keith Olbermann Vs Texas Governor's "Secede" Comments

Terror memos authorized harsh interrogation techniques

By Warren Richey

Obama releases four secret memos detailing detainee treatment under Bush. Human rights groups slam his promise not to prosecute intelligence officials.

The Obama administration will not prosecute US intelligence officials involved in harsh interrogations of terror suspects, the president pledged on Thursday.

The assurance came as the Justice Department released four secret memos used during the Bush presidency offering legal justification for interrogation techniques that human rights experts classify as torture, such as waterboarding.  Read more...

KO Countdown : Bush 090410 : CIA Off Hook

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