“March Against Monsanto” protesters say they want to call attention to the dangers posed by genetically modified food and the food giants that produce it. Marches are planned for more than 250 cities around the globe, according to organizers.
Genetically modified plants are grown from seeds that are engineered to resist insecticides and herbicides, add nutritional benefits or otherwise improve crop yields and increase the global food supply. Most corn, soybean and cotton crops grown in the United States today have been genetically modified. But some say genetically modified organisms can lead to serious health conditions and harm the environment.
Monsanto Co., based in St. Louis, said Saturday that it respects people’s rights to express their opinion on the topic, but maintains that its seeds improve agriculture by helping farmers produce more from their land while conserving resources such as water and energy.
The use of GMOs has been a growing issue of contention in recent years, with health advocates pushing for mandatory labeling of genetically modified products even though the federal government and many scientists say the technology is safe.
The Food and Drug Administration does not require the labeling, but organic food companies and some consumer groups have intensified their push for labels, arguing that the modified seeds are floating from field to field and contaminating traditional crops. The groups have been bolstered by a growing network of consumers who are wary of processed and modified foods.
The Senate this week overwhelmingly rejected a bill that would allow states to require labeling of genetically modified foods.
The Biotechnology Industry Organization, a lobbying group that represents Monsanto, DuPont Co. and other makers of
]]>Then thousands of mine workers and their huge machines moved in, building a road alongside the river that reaches all the way up to Pascua-Lama, a gold mine being built along both sides of the Chile-Argentine border at a lung-busting 16,400-feet (5,000 meters) above sea level.
The crews moved mountaintops in preparation for 25 years of gold and silver production, breaking rocks and allowing mineral acids that include arsenic, aluminum and sulfates to flow into the headwaters feeding Atacama desert communities down below.
River levels dropped, the water is murky in places and the Indians now complain of cancerous growths and aching stomachs. There’s no way to prove or disprove it, but villagers are convinced Barrick Gold Corp. is to blame for their health problems.
“We don’t know how much contamination the fruit and vegetables we eat may have,” complained Diaguita leader Yovana Paredes Paez. “They’re drying up the river, our farms aren’t the same. The animals are dying of hunger. Now there’s no cheese or meat. It’s changed completely.”
Acting independently, Chile’s newly empowered environmental regulator on Friday confirmed nearly two dozen violations of Barrick‘s environmental impact agreement, blocking construction on the $8.5 billion project until the Canadian company keeps its promises to prevent water contamination.
The Environmental Superintendent, Juan Carlos Monckeberg, also fined Barrick $16.4 million, the highest environmental fine in Chile’s history, saying agency inspectors found the company hadn’t told the full truth when it reported failures.
“We found that the acts described weren’t correct, truthful or provable. And
]]>German auction house Breker said Saturday an Asian client, who asked not to be named, bought the so-called Apple 1, which the tech company’s founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak built in a family garage.
Breker claims it is one of only six known remaining functioning models in the world. Breker already sold one last year for 492,000 euros.
It says the computer bears Wozniak’s signature. An old business transaction letter from the late Jobs also was included.
The Apple 1, which was sold for $666 in 1976, consisted of only the circuit board. A case, a keyboard and a screen had to be bought separately.
]]>By Matthew Goldstein
(Reuters) – Billionaire hedge fund manager Steven A. Cohen is losing the financial support of Blackstone Group Inc, the largest outside investor in his embattled SAC Capital Advisors, which is yanking much of its client money, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.
A pension consultant, in a May 21 letter to clients, said Blackstone has notified Cohen that it intends to “fully redeem” a significant portion of the roughly $550 million the investment firm has invested with the $15 billion hedge fund. The letter from pension consulting firm Russell Investments said Blackstone submitted its redemption notice to SAC Capital sometime before May 15 because of ongoing concerns about the insider trading investigation that continues to engulf Cohen’s fund.
Blackstone’s investment with SAC Capital is through several investment funds known as hedge fund of funds and also through separately managed accounts it maintains for clients. The decision to redeem from SAC Capital impacts only client money invested in its hedge fund of funds, according to the letter. It’s not clear how much of the $550 million is in those hedge fund of funds and it is not clear what Blackstone is advising clients who have money in separately managed accounts that is invested with SAC Capital.
Russell did say in the address to its pension clients that Blackstone “expects to receive 100 percent of investors’ capital by year-end.” Russell, which manages $173 billion in
]]>The New York Democrat sent letters Friday to the Treasury Department and Federal Communications Commission, both of which are reviewing Softbank Corp.‘s offer to buy 70 percent of Sprint Nextel Corp. for $20.1 billion.
“I have real concerns that this deal, if approved, could make American industry and government agencies far more susceptible to cyber attacks from China and the People’s Liberation Army,” Schumer said in a statement.
Satellite TV broadcaster Dish Network Corp. has a competing, $25.5 billion offer for all of Sprint, and has raised the security issue as one reason Sprint shareholders should prefer its bid.
Softbank has offered to remove the Chinese-made equipment that’s already in Sprint’s network to assuage security concerns.
“SoftBank’s proposal, therefore, enhances U.S. national security. Dish has made no such commitment to remove this network equipment,” said Megan Bouchier, a spokeswoman for Softbank.
The Pentagon said this month that China appeared to be engaged in cyberspying against the U.S. government, the first time it has made such an assertion in its annual report on Chinese military power. Chinese authorities dismiss the allegations. There have been no reports of Chinese-made networking equipment helping the hackers.
China’s Huawei Technologies has in recent years become one of the world’s largest makers of telecommunications equipment. Its products are widely deployed except in the U.S., where security concerns have kept it out of the running for most contracts.
Huawei wasn’t mentioned by Schumer or Softbank by name. Bill Plummer, a Washington-based spokesman for Huawei, said Schumer’s concerns are misdirected.
]]>The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a watchdog agency for the accounting industry, announced the agreement with China on Friday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused about a dozen Chinese companies of accounting fraud and has been investigating others. The SEC has said it had been hampered by the refusal of the Chinese government to permit the regulator to have access to the firms’ accounting records.
The agreement allows the accounting board to share the records with the SEC, which says it needs access to the documents to protect U.S. investors from fraud.
]]>The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a watchdog agency for the accounting industry, announced the agreement with China on Friday.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused about a dozen Chinese companies of accounting fraud and has been investigating others. The SEC has said it had been hampered by the refusal of the Chinese government to permit the regulator to have access to the firms’ accounting records.
The agreement allows the accounting board to share the records with the SEC, which says it needs access to the documents to protect U.S. investors from fraud.
]]>After a four-month investigation, the Environmental Superintendent said all other construction work on Pascua-Lama must stop until Barrick builds the systems it promised to put in place beforehand for containing contaminated water.
The fines add up to 8 billion pesos — about $16 million — the highest possible under Chilean law.
Chile’s regulator noted that while Barrick itself reported failures, a separate and intensive investigation already begun by the agency’s own inspectors found that the company wasn’t telling the full truth.
“We found that the acts described weren’t correct, truthful or provable. And there were other failures of Pascua Lama‘s environmental permit as well,” said the superintendent, Juan Carlos Monckeberg. “This the first sanction taken by this superintendency and it is the biggest one taken in the environmental history of this country.”
Barrick said it accepts all aspects of the resolution.
“We deeply regret that Pascua Lama has suffered inconveniences in its construction and we’ll do our best efforts to straighten the road ahead and meet the conditions stipulated in the approved project,” said Eduardo Flores Zelaya, president of Barrick South America and Senior Vice President of Pascua Lama. “We respect the institutions of the countries where we operate therefore we will act according to the resolution.”
Argentine authorities have insisted that Lama, their side of the bi-national project, will proceed with or without Chile, taking advantage of the infrastructure already in place for its Veladero mine, which is already producing ore just downhill.
But most of
]]>After a four-month investigation, the Environmental Superintendent said all other construction work on Pascua-Lama must stop until Barrick builds the systems it promised to put in place beforehand for containing contaminated water.
The fines add up to 8 billion pesos — about $16 million — the highest possible under Chilean law.
Chile’s regulator noted that while Barrick itself reported failures, a separate and intensive investigation already begun by the agency’s own inspectors found that the company wasn’t telling the full truth.
“We found that the acts described weren’t correct, truthful or provable. And there were other failures of Pascua Lama‘s environmental permit as well,” said the superintendent, Juan Carlos Monckeberg. “This the first sanction taken by this superintendency and it is the biggest one taken in the environmental history of this country.”
Barrick said it accepts all aspects of the resolution.
“We deeply regret that Pascua Lama has suffered inconveniences in its construction and we’ll do our best efforts to straighten the road ahead and meet the conditions stipulated in the approved project,” said Eduardo Flores Zelaya, president of Barrick South America and Senior Vice President of Pascua Lama. “We respect the institutions of the countries where we operate therefore we will act according to the resolution.”
Argentine authorities have insisted that Lama, their side of the bi-national project, will proceed with or without Chile, taking advantage of the infrastructure already in place for its Veladero mine, which is already producing ore just downhill.
But most of
]]>Union leaders warn that unless the problem is fixed, there could be consequences for Democrats facing re-election next year.
“It makes an untruth out of what the president said — that if you like your insurance, you could keep it,” said Joe Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. “That is not going to be true for millions of workers now.”
The problem lies in the unique multiemployer health plans that cover unionized workers in retail, construction, transportation and other industries with seasonal or temporary employment. Known as Taft-Hartley plans, they are jointly administered by unions and smaller employers that pool resources to offer more than 20 million workers and family members continuous coverage, even during times of unemployment.
The union plans were already more costly to run than traditional single-employer health plans.
But Obama’s Affordable Care Act has added to that cost — for the unions’ and other plans — by requiring health plans to cover dependents up to age 26, eliminate annual or lifetime coverage limits and extend coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.
“We’re concerned that employers will be increasingly tempted to drop coverage through our plans and let our members fend for themselves on the health exchanges,” said David Treanor, director of health care initiatives at the Operating Engineers union.
Workers seeking coverage in the state-based marketplaces, known as exchanges, can qualify for subsidies, determined by a sliding scale based on income. By contrast, the new law does not allow workers in the union plans to receive similar subsidies.
Bob Laszewski, a health care industry consultant, said the real fear among unions
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