Monthly Archives: September 2017

Racio-cultural hubris among poison peddling academia

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We know some of the root causes behind the avalanche of toxic chemicals that has gotten into the food system and environment in the west in general and in North America in particular, is rooted in possible extreme penetration within and corruption of our political institutions, and through it into our media, healthcare system, judiciary, economic systems and scientific institutions, by the poison peddling agro-industries. The corruption is not unique to Canada, and originates from the US but has now permeated the global scenario, enveloping much of the known world.

In my view, the fault for this sorry state of affairs where every decision is one-sided and tilted to favour anti-people policies, lies at the feet of the citizenry. In a functioning democracy, if we still have it, the responsibility of ensuring that the political process remains balanced and policies are driven primarily by the will of the people and not by a handful of foreign corporations, lies at the feet of the citizenry, and citizenry alone.

But, in a fast paced world where the controlled media constantly bombards you with manufactured or tinted news, where you are being programmed to think it might be the right thing to do to use your tax dollars to bomb some third world country that has never attacked you, just because the leader of that country is unilaterally and without court trial projected as a bad guy, therefore justifying the military industrial complex to obliterate their towns and villages and turn their cities into rubble, all in the name of international peacekeeping.

In this scenario, a whole group of people get employed in scientific institutions whose pay check may be coming from sources that mandate them to speak in favour of pesticide dependent agriculture. They are trained to look at select science, deny existence of alternative views that cast doubt on chemical dependent agriculture, to the extent that they often are either in denial or totally ignorant of a world outside of controlled junk science of glyphosate or other biocides in food and nature.

People of this kind have infiltrated into major scientific institutions in most countries, but particularly in the west. They are programmed to believe that the west is the best, and are taught to challenge any opposing view by a few standard tactics. One of them is to stay away from the topic, and attack the messenger, trying to imply that the person having the opposing view is mentally challenged, is scientifically illiterate, or is a fear mongered, or is trying to make a buck or has some personal motive. Therefore, he or she is not worth  paying attention to, and whatever they say, does not need to be answered.

If such anti-pesticide person remains in the sidelines, he or she may be ignored. But should he-she gain prominence somehow, then these pesticide peddling trolls begin to emerge out of the wood work.

My point here is – it may be worthwhile for the citizens to identify such junk scientists and demand that the institutions fire them. Perhaps these myopic poison pushers need to be encouraged to find an alternative profession – leave science and take up selling newspapers.

There is this person by the name of Chandre Dharma-wardana. He apparently objects to my petition to the Agriculture Minister Lana Popham of British Columbia, asking her to consider banning of glyphosate from BC agriculture. And so, he wrote me a long email, which is separately put up on the web (click here for the pdf sample), so as not to clutter this blog.

The long letter has lots of selective junk science I shall not go into right now. The main issues that prompted me to single this person out, considering him to qualify being included in a blog are:

  • His writing to me without identifying himself, as if he is as important as Lord Buddha and I should revere him immediately.
  • His extreme prejudice and racial/cultural hubris, implying that people from the Indian subcontinent might be mentally unfit to decide on glyphosate due to extreme proximity of human excreta.

If this person was just an ordinary man on the street, I’d have ignored him. But he apparently is part of the national academia and in the body of research scientists – the same group that we believe may have been penetrated and corrupted by the poison peddling corporations through political corruption in Canada.

And, he displays an extreme case of racial and cultural arrogance, prejudice and hubris, about people of the south-Asian subcontinent.

So I decided to record both the email received as well as this blog.

To me, this person is still too small a fish, and I have more important tasks at hand, such as trying to convince local governments to push back at the practice of using glyphosate in agriculture and environment.

But perhaps someone else might like to take this up with the authorities such as the University of Montreal, or the Research Council of Canada, and ask them if their policy allows employing people with people that display extreme racial and cultural bigotry.

I am likely to include a video later on, on this issue, that can be included here as well as in an update on the petition itself.

Spraying glyphosate around the Turtle Creek Reservoir in NB

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Someone from New Brunswick asked for my opinion of the CBC audio interview with Mr. Len Ritter. The interview was about the issue of the town of Moncton, NB objecting to the practice of spraying glyphosate around the Turtle Creek Reservoir that supplies water to over 100,000 people. The province of New Brunswick overrode the objection and claims that Glyphosate is safe.

I have a lot to say about it all, including:

  • My opinion of CBC’s neutrality and our responsibility in this regard
  • The value of science today and the qualification of Len Ritter
  • Non-disclosure of safety data on glyphosate & possible illegality about its continued use.
  • The need for glyphosate to be at all sprayed

My views are in the above 20 minute video.

To start with, I do not consider Len Ritter to be qualified to talk on the issue from neutral standpoint. He has made a career of allowing toxic chemicals in our environment – in my judgement.

I do not consider science to be neutral and objective any more, thanks to removal of public funding in science.

Questions directed to Mr. Ritter did not mention the fact that the government has hidden the safety data based on which it approved the use of glyphosate, which is, in my judgment, illegal. And my idea of safety data involves subjecting a group of test animals to the herbicide and their health parameters compared with another identical group subjected to clean food. This comparison, and analysis, constitutes actual safety test – and not someone else’s opinion on if glyphosate is safe or unsafe.

Canada should demand such tests be done specifically for registration of glyphosate in Canada and the promoter should be asked to pay for these tests, but the tests should be done by competent neutral institutions outside of control of either the industry or the government. The cost of this should be borne by whoever wants to register it in Canada.

This is just one area where we have junk approval of glyphosate. Without disclosure of their safety data, its use is illegal in my view.

Why spraying was at all necessary near Turtle Creek was not asked bY CBC.

We have junk science, junk scientists and junk media, covering this issue of life and death importance to the people of Moncton.

Question for Robert Kennedy Jr, about Vaccine

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Hello Mr. Robert Kennedy Jr,

I am a Canadian citizen that lived in the US before moving to Canada. I am a food security activists that wrote the book ‘Poison Foods of North America‘ covering high toxicity in Canadian and US grown foods with glyphosate contamination.

I have studied issues with vaccines too and am aware of their possible link to a cascade of diseases for all sorts of reasons including presence of Glyphosate.

Since you are appointed by the US president to be part of a team to study vaccine safety, your involvement in this field has caught the attention of many, including people in Canada.

I have been advised by some folks that attended your recent visit to Ontario in some public event where you were there with Vandana Shiva and others. These attendees were concerned that your opposition to vaccines appeared to be very limited, only on the presence of mercury and not other things that are also considered as much if not more damaging to the people. In particular, about the presence of possible GMO and glyphosate and the extent of damage that these ingredients children that receive these vaccines.

In other words, there was a nagging suspicion in some of their minds that you gave the corporations such as Monsanto a pass, by failing to identify their products as potentially dangerous ingredients in vaccines.

I would like you to clarify your position in this regard.

My second concern is the difficulty in finding your email address, so this question could be asked to you directly, instead of through a public blog or an youtube. It is my view that people involved in serving the public should not hide their emails from the people. I wonder if you have anything to say on this.

Thanking you

Tony Mitra

10891 Cherry Lane, Delta, BC, V4E 3L7, Canada
604-649 7535
tony.mitra@gmail.com

Letter to Thomas Mulcair – about Carla Qualtrough voting against labelling GMO

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To: Thomas Mulcair

MP, Leader of the opposition, New Democratic Party, Ottawa
Dated: Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Subject – My duty about my liberal MP voting against Bill C-291 without checking with us first
==============================================================
 
Mr. Mulcair
 
I know you are a busy man, so I shall go straight to the point.
 
I write about Bill C-291 regarding mandatory labelling of GMOs, which was defeated at the parliament. My liberal MP and minister, Ms Carla Qualtrough, voted against it without checking with her constituents which includes me. IN my book, she violated her duty as an MP and therefore prompts me to fulfil my duty of alerting the people that she has corrupted Canadian democracy and deserves to become an unemployed politician come next election.
 
I have a picture of myself with her, as attached, which I have blown up, in order to turn it into a poster.

 
I aim to place it on my front lawn, but am also considering placing it in front of her constituency office on some working days, and try to attract public and media attention on how my MP has degraded our democracy.
 
I write to you to see if any local NDP politician or volunteer is willing to join and assist me. I believe we might have a common interest here, since NDP universally voted in favour or C-291.
 
I am not a member of NDP or of any other political party, but I take democracy and politics very seriously, and have had a positive view of the NDP.
 
If you are able to assists, please do.
If this email should be forwarded to someone else, please help.
 
Thanking you
Tony Mitra
10891 Cherry Lane, Delta, BC, V4E 3L7, Canada

MLA Sonia Furstenau – ban glyphosate from BC

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To: MLA Sonia Furstenau
cc: Lana Popham, Minister of Agriculture, BC
Dated: September 9th, 2017
Subject: Ban glyphosate from British Columbia
Dear member or legislative assembly Sonia Furstenau,
I am a Canadian citizen and a resident of Delta, British Columbia. Although I am not from your riding, I write this letter of great concern for all British Columbians, hoping to get your support in the BC legislative assembly. The issue is about banning the use of glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in pervasive week killer Roundup as well as many other lesser known brands of killer chemical concoctions.
I have been involved for a number of years in coaxing the Ottawa government to first set up labs to test foods for glyphosate, since Canada did not have such labs a few years ago, and then to engage in broad based mass testing of foods collected in Canada for glyphosate, then to give me a copy of all those test results. I finally analyzed them all to discover the shocking truth that Canada and the US produces the most toxic foods in the planet, when it comes to glyphosate contamination, and that foods collected in western Canada, that includes all land west of Ontario and includes the prairies, to have measurably more toxic foods in stores than in any other place on earth.  We in short are living in the global epicentre of poisonous foods. My findings are there for all to see in a 400 page ebook on Amazon titled Poison Foods of North America.
I write this letter for the specific reason. I seek your assistance in getting the newly formed Green partnered BC government, in working to ban the use of glyphosate from British Columbia, in agriculture, over forests and from every other area.
I have learned that it is legally possible and within rights of the provincial government to ban glyphosate outright, despite the fact that it is approved federally, and that the BC government cannot be sued by Monsanto or any other commercial entity for hurting their business interest, because it involves concerns of health and sustainability.
We know Lana Popham is the minister of Agriculture and that this issue might be within her jurisdiction. We know she had been a strong promoter of organic agriculture. I have written to her already, and a petition is created about this. However, we also realize that once one is in the government, and in the driving seat, one often comes under commercial pressure to compromise on their core principles. I do not know if Lana is under such pressure. But we decided to strengthen her hand any way by broad scale public support.
This letter is copied to her since she is referred here.
Apart from creating the petition, I have written to my MP, MLA and Mayor to also consider writing to Lana Popham to ban glyphosate from BC. I believe such letters would further bolster her hand. My municipality has circulated my letter to the all councillors and senior staff and decided to discuss it in their general meeting shortly.
I write to you because you have a track record of fighting to protect the land from ecological degradation driven by commercial interest. Many of us believe you might be the most committed person in the BC government to turn the issue of banning glyphosate, from a talking point, into a crusade. And at this point, we do need a crusade, and a crusader.
That is the main goal of my letter to you. British Columbia might show the path for the rest of the world to follow.

I am an activist that tries to encourage others by example. So this letter will be circulated on social media, and in blogs and perhaps video.
I shall be very happy to receive a note of acknowledgement and a pledge to look into this grave matter. I do not ask and never will ask, for any personal favour. I only ask you to consider saving the world.

Thanking you
Tony Mitra
10891 Cherry Lane, Delta, BC, V4E 3L7, Canada
tony.mitra@gmail.com
604-649 7535

Glyphosate brainstorming Sept 8, 2017

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Some of us had our first brainstorming session yesterday, September 8th, 2017, at Richard Miller’s place, the iconic old railway powerhouse at Abbotsford.

Folks that attended in person were: Richard Miller, Tracie Caterole, Justin Cawker and Tony Mitra. Person that joined in long distance by phone, was Larry Wartels. Person that narrowly missed out finding us, was Gina Lipford.

This is an exploratory day, with brainstorming without a specific agenda. Each of us spoke on record, for very short durations on who we are and what we feel.

Tracie came before the camera for the first time, speaking about clean food as the first item to ensure clean health, from her own perspective and experience.

Justin, an 18 year old British Columbian college student of political science that is remarkably articulate, speaks about the issues surrounding food and health. Off the record he said a lot of things about the problems of the younger generation, many of whom have little social skills and even less awareness because they are raised and groomed by their phone. He recognizes some of the root issues that affects his and his family’s health as well as affects the future of his generation.

Justin is also an exceptional person because he not only loves cooking, but bought organic flour from the US to make organic bread for the family. How many of us can do what Justin does for his family?

Richard spoke about writing to Lana Popham to ban glyphosate. he repeated what Larry Wartels already mentioned over the phone, that the province of British Columbia absolutely can ban Glyphosate legally from agriculture, forests and everywhere else, despite the fact that it has been approved in Ottawa.

He warns people to try to eat organic food to avoid glyphosate, and those that cannot buy organic bread, should at least avoid ordinary bread that contain wheat bran, because conventional American and Canadian grown wheat that is almost always desiccated with glyphosate, has been found (by me from the CFIA test results), to contain astronomical levels of glyphosate in wheat bran.

Last to speak was myself. I identified the the root problem as political corruption in Canada, and identified the citizens, that is you and me, as the guilty party responsible for bringing our nation and our future to such a pitiful state.

While all this was going on, we also were shown how to roast seeds of organic pumpkins for eating. They are delicious.

Larry Wartels was a reservoir of important information. To start with, he lives in the riding of Lana Popham in the provincial map and Eizabeth May on the federal map. He provided the “Resolution FAQs”  of the NDP party – which could be used for registered members of the NDP, for raising a resolution, for example on banning glyphosate in BC.

Larry also gave us some good leads. We discussed the issue of the record breaking trio of green party MLAs that were sworn into not only the legislative assembly of British Columbia, but also in the ruling coalition that came to power. The party is expected to bring groundbreaking legislative agenda to greatly improve British Columbia’s ecology, health and environment. Toxic food and pesticides in our environment aught to be one of the high priorities. Larry singled out one of the three Green MLAs – Sonia Furstenau.

She has been a tireless and forceful warrior to protect local areas in the island from commercially induced degradation. I had a bit of difficulty figuring out how to remember or pronounce her last name correctly, and decided to call it first-to-know, thus turning her name as Sonia First-To-Know.

Sonia might be among the best candidate to write to, to transform the issue of banning glyphosate in BC from a talking point, into a crusade. So, I was going to write to her, and encourage everyone else to consider doing so as well, apart from writing to Lana Popham, to your Mayor, MLA and MP and apart from supporting the petition.

MLA Sonia (First-to-know) Furstenau’s contacts are:

Office:

Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC  V8V 1X4

Phone: (250) 387-8347
Email : sonia.furstenau.MLA@leg.bc.ca
 Decision was to make this brainstorming a regular monthly feature for those interested. Perhaps one of the Fridays every month. Details to be sorted out.
Thats all for today. Thanks for the visit. Feel free to pen your views in comments.

 

Tired of detractors like Martin Carlina

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Tired of two bit pseudo activists with little knowledge trying to badmouth me at my own wall. I used the choice word “fuck off” for the first time, out of anger, at them.

I got pretty upset with whole horde of people coming to my own wall on Facebook to badmouth me because I said I was going to talk about why I am disappointed with Vandana Shiva and the like.

It started a few days ago, when I also said why I am disappointed by the GMOs Revealed series.

Some years ago, I had a major fallout with some of my long term associates in anti-GMO fights, because I had publicly criticized Steve Drukers book “Altered Genes, twisted Truth”.

I bought an original copy of the printed book, read through all the twenty odd chapters and was appalled to note how little the menace of glyphosate was mentioned, by someone that claims to research high degree of Government collusion in approval of GMOs. Someone that has researched it so long, to have missed the big picture of glyphosate and the degree of ravages it can cause, was extremely disappointing for me. I could not fathom how a person could spend years on GMO and miss glyphosate.

I criticized him for it on my blog. The news reached Steve Druker, through some US scientists. Steve Druker sent me a long email accusing me of doing him a deserve. he claimed that the book had two additional chapters on glyphosate but he dropped it because the publisher suggested it.

I found it unacceptable that he wrote only two chapters out of 23 to cover glyphosate, and the fact that he had to drop those two chapters just because the publisher might have though the book was getting long. He could have dropped something else. Anyhow, I am a reader and I have a right to review a book and I told Druker if he wishes to discuss, we can talk on phone but I am not budging from my view that this book is greatly disappointing because it imparts half the truth to the people and gives no clue on what to do and keeps them under near total darkness about glyphosate.

Druker did not agree to speak on phone and I remain greatly disappointed about the book and about Druker, till date. A few scientists like liked Druker tried to mediate and make me soften my view. But I did not. I am who I am, Druker or no Druker. I hope he learned a lesson and if he wants to write something again, he will not sidestep glyphosate and he will not sidestep the issue of the American citizens more than Monsanto or FDA being the most responsible groups of people for this shit coming down on the planet.

Anyhow, forget Druker. This blog is not about him o this book. This book is about my annoyance at the so called anti-GMO useless groupies for restricting my freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom of action, because I refuse to be a lemming.

I am having an incremental positive action, not much, but tell tale signs are there, both at the political level and also at the grassroots level, that things are moving, even if too slowly, it is at least producing some measurable results.

This is about who I am, where I come from, where I am going, and why I am so stubborn and am unwilling to run with the pack.

This is me. And all you folks, Martin Carlina and the rest – can go fly a kite.

Book Price – Poison Foods of North America

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I am making this video and this blog to settle the issue of the price of the book I wrote.

It has multiple level prices

  • Free for kindle members
  • Low (around $8 US and under $10 Canadian)
  • Quite high for case by case printed copy from Amazon – USD 82 or so as of now.

The first two are for private citizens and general public. The last price is for institutions, libraries etc. Around 90% of that high cost goes to cost of printing and commission for Amazon. That is how the system works.

I also read out the review of the book as penned by US scientist Stephanie Seneff.

 

Why I am disappointed with Vandana Shiva

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I make this video to speak my mind why I am disappointed with Vandana Shiva and in general many of the career spokespersons against GMO and glyphosate.

Vandana is not the first north only one, but I needed to say it, and explain why I think the way I do.

The second part is me rambling on why I chose to walk a lonely path, not wanting to create a cult behind me, or make an NGO or organization, and be a lone walker.

 

 

I believe it is my duty as a citizen of the world to say what I genuinely feel, which is, the famous people of the world on the anti-GMO (they are thick on the ground) and anti-Glyphosate (thin on the ground) are not only not solving anything, but their combined efforts is producing less than zero percent result.

I believe the world does not need these talking heads gurus, and well intentioned people need to step outside the box and think through the issue themselves and make a million fold parallel efforts, first identifying one of the root problems and then trying to address it within their capacity. Stop following any guru, and you might find the solution was already within you  – you were looking for it in all the wrong places.

This is my opinion and I stick by it, talking into a defective camera, sort of barefoot in the park (backyard).

I know my comment will offend many people. Regrettable as that is, I am prepared to pay that price. Those that feel I am wrong – just ignore me and do whatever you were doing.

Those that believe me, also do not need to follow me per se. I would suggest do some introspection yourself and see what you come up with.

I am available to speak with folks, but I am no guru. Just an ordinary guy speaking what I think needed to be said.

My disappointment with GMOs Revealed set of videos

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I am disappointed. Not because GMOs are good – they are not good at all. Not because Glyphosate is good. Quite the opposite – glyphosate is killing the planet more than GMOs are in my honest opinion. So, between two bad things, I would fight glyphosate first, and with it, vast majority of GMOs too would die because they were created specifically for use with glyphosate.

But, I am thoroughly disappointed with the 9 episodes not because what the folks say in them, but because what they do not say, or hide.

I do not consider myself expert on the issue and do not any more bother in “raising awareness”. I believe this “raising awareness” and “badmouthing GMO and Monsanto” has in itself become a lucrative profession for a host of people that milk the system and feed on human misery. They do not seem to want to actually solve the problem and rid the world of this toxic soup. Instead, they keep tap-dancing around the root causes and keep doling out fringe solutions, so that the root problem remains and continues to devastate the planet, and these so called anti-GMO hordes can continue to milk the system.

I do not know the people who created this series of videos or what their actual goal is, but I find it outrageous that they are only half educating the people about GMO and in particular glyphosate, and wanting to charge the people for this stunted view of the problem without offering any real solution to eradicate this menace from the root.

They don’t offer real solutions because they cannot even identify real problems.

There are many very important factors relating to the Glyphosate poisoning of the planet issue and none of them were mentioned or analyzed properly in this series. This is why I am disappointed. I made this 14 minute video to rant about just two of those missing root causes. I do not have the time to elaborate the rest. I am not in the business any more on educating the masses about glyphosate. It has been with us for forty goddam years already and causing wholesale ecocide across the planet. How many more years do folks need to continue to “raise awareness”? Another 500 years ?

I am outta here.