A sobering first hand account of eviction night, from a personal friend and attorney who was onsite as a volunteer legal observer.

“My premonition became reality not that weekend but a month later. I reread the text message and then consulted Twitter, debating whether to go downtown. Could I even get there? As Twitter relayed the situation on the ground, the genius of police commissioner Ray Kelly (again) became apparent. Downtown was inaccessible by subway, the inbound Brooklyn Bridge was closed (I think it regularly is these days though), and most importantly, a moat of inaccessibility was created effectively isolating Zuccotti Park—rendering it near impossible to get there. There was also a rumor that the NYPD prohibited news helicopters from covering the eviction from above. I traveled light; shorts, sneakers, hooded sweatshirt, and camera. I’d regret not grabbing my sunglasses later—who leaves the apartment with sunglasses at 2 am?”

>> Read the Full Story

Thanks to the report we now know not only that PG&E negligence caused the blast, but also that regulators bear some responsibility.  The report makes it abundantly clear that change is needed not only at PG&E but at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) as well. Governor Brown has begun to make that change with his recent appointments, and now can complete the task by appointing a new President.  >> Read the Full Story

Related links:
> Santa Cruz Board Questions PG&E – SmartMeter

The FDA, FTC, USDA and EPA all favor big business and let ‘em get away with murder, it seems. The latest example is the FDA refusing to follow the law regarding antibiotics used in animal feed.

“Instead of adhering to its mission to protect consumers, the FDA is waiting for the drug companies to voluntarily do what the agency is legally mandated to do,” said FACT’s Public Health Program Director Steven Roach. ”

Earlier in the year, several concerned groups sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for failing to address the issue of antibiotic use in animal feed (http://www.naturalnews.com/032824_a…). Though numerous studies have found that adding antibiotics to animal feed undeniably causes antibiotic resistance, including an FDA study from 1977, the agency insists that banning the practice is too difficult.

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the Food Animal Concerns Trust (FACT), and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) all agree that using penicillin and tetracyclines (antibiotics used to treat humans) in animal feed to bulk animals up and cause them grow faster is an unacceptable threat to public health. But the FDA apparently does not agree, as it claims that implementing any sort of ban will be “too expensive and resource intensive,” according to a FACT press release.