Get A Clue

Even the rich try to stop each other more than the average American does. In 2011 Oscar Mayer and Ball Park hotdogs were suing one another over their advertising. On January 4, 2012 AT&T paid TIVO $215 million to settle a patent suit. January 6 a former top Scientologist (Debbie Cook) was accusing the Church of Scientology of spending too much donation money on opulent (lavish) buildings instead of promoting the faith; the church responded with it is building around the world which is a way to promote the religion. January 24 Macy’s was suing Martha Stewart’s house-ware company, Martha Stewart Living, for breach of contract in order to block a licensing deal with JC Penney to sell her products. January 29 a California firm was suing Walgreens on coupon fraud allegations.

Americans did get upset in December 2011 and had Coke Cola change its white can back to red; they even stopped  Verizon from charging customers $2 for paying bills online or over the phone (in an effort to get them to use the automatic payment system). In April 2012 because of public outcry the Miss Universe Organization reversed its decision not to allow a transgender to participate in the Canadian pageant (she didn’t win but at least got to participate). May 7 a manufacturer of pink slime closed plants in 3 states; 650 lost their jobs.

We had Salmonella outbreaks - December 31, 2011 in an Arizona iceberg lettuce field that affected 7 states, a Sushi outbreak in 19 states on April 4 and a Tuna outbreak in 20 states on April 14. On October 28, 2011 ABC News started telling you about the fish industry that does an $80 billion a year business. They found 19 of the 22 restaurants (in 3 cities) tested were selling Escobar which can cause stomach cramps and intestinal problems instead of white tuna. ABC saw the shrimp coming from Thailand being picked up along the side of the road. Consumer Reports did their own test of 190 pieces of seafood from supermarkets and restaurants; they sent them to a lab for DNA testing and found that 22% was not what it was sold as (Red Snapper was Ocean Perch, Sole was Sutchi Catfish from Vietnam, and Grouper was Tilefish with a high mercury content). They found widespread fraud. Per Ocean, 84% of our fish comes from overseas and only 2% is inspected and less than 0.001% is tested for fraud because a fish chart and DNA scanner is necessary to be sure. On March 16 it was reported that scallops are being injected with a chemical to take on water and thus weigh more (dry scallops from the sea are being swapped out); a fish inspector said he sees this happening 40% of the time and the stores get fooled (it was suggested that you look for whiteness and water sitting around; if they shrink in half – look for another source.) On May 18 we learned that 90% of the shrimp we buy at the grocery store comes from overseas’ shrimp farms and 10% contained antibiotics that are illegal in the US. In January because of the Dr. Oz show regarding arsenic in orange juice (OJ) the FDA said it would increase tests for low level fungicides. And, an unnamed OJ company called the FDA to report an unauthorized chemical found in their (and a competitor’s) juice coming from overseas; low levels of a pesticide called Carbendazim was found (animals studies found high levels to cause hormonal and reproductive problems); 26% of our OJ comes from overseas mostly from Brazil and Mexico; 100% of limes, 75% of apple juice, asparagus and processed mushroom are all imported and only 2% are inspected by the FDA. On February 3 the FDA found low levels of the pesticide in juice manufactured in Florida because the company mixed Brazil’s juice with our home grown OJ. We can’t afford to have regulators one on one with a business so manufacturers and importers are supposed to be responsible and police themselves. But this costs money and companies don’t want to eat into their profits.  

It’s not just food products that are harmful. On January 13 metal tissue holders were pulled from Bed, Bath and Beyond due to low-levels of Cobalt 60 (radioactive material used in medical devices). The internet folks like Craig’s List and dating services should be responsible for what’s on their sights. Craig’s List not only allows for brutal rapes and murders but the hijacking of people’s property and the death of 3 Detroit women were linked to Escort ads. On April 26 we heard that MissTravel.com launched a few weeks before is a dating service that hooks up pretty women with generous male partners for travelling and the EstablishMen website does the same thing – which makes me wonder if sites like these and others are a type of legalized prostitution and we know child pornography is also on the web. People are getting rich off these sites. 

On March 14 the Executive Director of Goldman Sachs resigned saying the environment is as toxic and destructive as he’s ever seen it. We should get a clue from this – we need the regulations that the Republicans want to do away with.