Monsanto buys leading Bee Research Firm

Pat Macpherson, Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Anthony Gucciardi (NaturalSociety); Cryptogon.com via Collapsenet.com; HuffingtonPost.com

The cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, the great bee die off, seems to be neonicotinoids, a deadly new ingredient in pesticidal chemicals brought to market by genetic-manipulation giant and future owner of all the world's seeds, Monsanto Inc. (wikimedia.org).

  

(Irene Lainika/flickr.com)

Monsanto -- the massive biotechnology [poison, seed manipulating] company being blamed for contributing to the dwindling bee population -- has bought up one of the leading bee collapse research organizations.

Recently banned from Poland with one of the primary reasons being that the company’s genetically modified corn may be devastating the dying bee population, it is evident that Monsanto is under serious fire for their role in the downfall of the vital insects.

It is therefore quite apparent why Monsanto bought one of the largest bee research firms on the planet.

 

It can be found in public company reports hosted on mainstream media that Monsanto scooped up the Beeologics firm back in September 2011.

During this time the correlation between Monsanto’s GM crops and the bee decline was not explored in the mainstream, and in fact it was hardly touched upon until Polish officials... More

• THE MONSANTO PROTECTION ACT (HuffPost Live) Does the newly signed Farmer Assurance Provision, aka the "Monsanto Protection Act," mean that GMO crops can evade any serious scientific or regulatory review? More

COMMENTARY

Wisdom Quarterly

Non-genetically modified organism seeds

Monsanto's corporate irresponsibility has a new ally -- Pres. Obama. He recently ignored liberals, progressives, and independents by signing the Newspeak/Orwellian "Farmer Assurance Provision" to ensure that Monsanto, Inc. is immune from the harm it is doing to bees (crucial to the farming of many valuable plants dependent on them as their pollinators), the environment, human health, and small farmers. When the government gets into bed with corporations, former Dictator Mussolini called that "fascism." Business with the support of politicians and the military, becomes an unstoppable force.

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Socially Engaged Buddhism Newsletter

Not personal practice, "whole practice" (Buddhist Channel)

14 Guidelines of Engaged Buddhism

Engaged Buddhism: organ-izations such as the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists are devoted to building the movement of environmentally active Buddhists engaged in the world. Other groups include the Zen Peacemaker Order, Tzu Chi, Fo Guang Shan, the Benevolent Organisation for Development, Health, and Insight, and Gaden Relief Projects. Prominent figures in the movement include Thich Nhat Hanh, Robert Aitken Roshi, Joanna Macy, Gary Snyder, Alan Senauke, Sulak Sivaraksa, Maha Ghosananda, Sylvia Wetzel, Diana Winston, Fleet Maull, Joan Halifax, Tara Brach, Roshi Bernard Glassman, and Ken Jones.

1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.
2. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice non-attachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.
4. Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.
5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.
7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.
8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.
12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.
13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
14. Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns:) Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment. In sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings. Source

From Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism (revised ed., Thich Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press, Berkeley, CA).

Alchemy Conference: Los Angeles, Oct. 23-25, 2009. 15% of ticket fee to be donated to Yoga Health Foundation to support yoga health education in schools. Use code: yogamonth Click here

Nepal facing hunger as climate changes

Binaj Gurubacharya (AP)

Boudhanath Buddhist temple complex featuring Buddha's Eyes, Katmandu, Nepal.

The Himalayas used to be covered in thick snow that remained year around.

Due to global warming, the environment is detiorating. This photo shows actual conditions on a trek in the Himalayan foothills, Dunge Valley.

KATMANDU, Nepal — Millions of people in Nepal face severe food shortages because global climate change has disrupted weather patterns and slashed crop yields in the Himalayan nation, an international aid agency warned Friday.

Changing weather patterns have dramatically affected crop production in Nepal, leaving farmers unable to properly feed themselves and pushing them into debt, Oxfam International said in a report released in Katmandu. The British aid agency described the situation as "deeply worrying."

Nepalese beggar eats donated food at roadside temple in Katmandu on 8/26/09. Large pockets of extreme poverty and hunger persist in Asia, where the global downturn makes it more difficult to achieve U.N. goals to reduce poverty. Nepal is the worst off with 55.1 percent of its population surviving on less than $1.25 a day (AP/Binod Joshi).

"Communities told us crop production is roughly half that of previous years... Last year many could only grow enough (food) for one month's consumption," said Oxfam's Wayne Gum, adding that less precipitation has been forecast this winter, which will make the situation worse. More extreme temperatures, drier winters, and delays in summer monsoons have all compounded the situation, the report said.

Boys play with a soccer ball on ground overgrown with weeds as Monsoon clouds hover over, Kathmandu, 8/27/09 (AP/Gemunu Amarasinghe).

More than 3.4 million people in Nepal are estimated to require food assistance, and food stocks in farming communities will last only a few months, it warned. Oxfam said Nepal will likely suffer more frequent droughts because of climate change. River levels will decline due to the reduced rainfall and glacial retreat, making it harder to irrigate crops and provide water for livestock. More>>

Seals to Save Environment

The environment is in need of saving, for humans as well as the amazing creatures that inhabit planet Earth. Now Norwegian elephant seals may save not only the Antarctic but the entire planet and its creatures like this tiny European tree frog (Nuremberg Zoo, Germany).

TROLL RESEARCH STATION, Antarctica – Into the Antarctic enigma, the puzzle of a place with too few researchers chasing too many climate mysteries, waddles the elephant seal.

The fat-snouted pinniped, two tons of blubber and roar, is plunging to its usual frigid depths these days in the service of climate science, and of scientists' budgets.

"It would take years and millions and millions of dollars for a research ship to do what they're doing," Norwegian scientist Kim Holmen said of the instrument-equipped seals... More>>