Category: Culture

Impact Lab > Culture
Analysis, Business, Corporate Manipulation, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Food, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News

Did the “Organic Elite” Sell Out to Monsanto?

milk Aug8thNLMansanto

In corporate America, avoiding litigation with Monsanto is infinitely more important than consumer safety.

By now, most of us have read the miscellaneous (numerous) statements from companies like Whole Foods, Organic Valley, Stonyfield, and the Non-GMO Project in defense of their participation in the so-called “coexistence” talks with the USDA and proponents of GE alfalfa.

These companies have claimed that they had no choice but to get in there and fight for safeguards against contamination and restitution for farmers whose fields are contaminated. Neither of which ended up happening.

They’ve said that they had a choice between staying to fight for protections, and walking away and letting Monsanto have their way. Monsanto, as we’ve seen time and time again, has had their way anyway…

Continue reading… “Did the “Organic Elite” Sell Out to Monsanto?”

Crazy Stuff, Culture, Food, government, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues

The Amish Raw Milk Black Market

raw-milk-raw-deal

Raw Milk Is A Hot Commodity

Two people have died in the last 10 years from drinking unpasteurized milk. Twelve states have banned it. (By comparison, between two and twelve children die every year playing high school football. When will high school football be banned?)

In today’s edition of The Daily, Jordan Heller writes about the Amish and Mennonite dairy farmers who smuggle unpasteurized milk into New York to serve a market of raw milk devotees…

Continue reading… “The Amish Raw Milk Black Market”

Analysis, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, Latest News, Latest Trend, New Discoveries, New Viewpoints

25% of British Children Don’t Play Outside

british childeren 234

British children enjoying the great indoors.

What happens when you survey 1,000 British parents and 500 children on their leisure activities? You might find out that a quarter of the kids don’t play outside. Or that 12% of adults admit to having ‘no interest’ in the outdoors and 5% thought that trees which don’t lose their leaves during winter are called Carnivores. But wait, it doesn’t stop there. 6% of British adults thought strawberries grew on trees, so it should come as no surprise that 25% of British kids did not know what a mouse looked like.

Yet, oddly, the same surveyed parents do recognise the benefits of outdoor play. The report revealed that 71% of parents think their children are happier when they play outdoors and 92% believe outdoor play is good for their children’s health. So why are they spending twice as much time glued to a computer or TV screen, than being outdoors?

Continue reading… “25% of British Children Don’t Play Outside”

Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, government, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior

Guns, Guns For Everyone: Bill Would Require All Citizens to Buy a Gun

crazy_gun1111

Guns are good, unless you don’t have one, right?

Five South Dakota lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require any adult 21 or older to buy a firearm “sufficient to provide for their ordinary self-defence.”

The bill, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012, would give people six months to acquire a firearm after turning 21. The provision does not apply to people who are barred from owning a firearm. Nor does the measure specify what type of firearm. Instead, residents would pick one “suitable to their temperament, physical capacity, and preference.”

Continue reading… “Guns, Guns For Everyone: Bill Would Require All Citizens to Buy a Gun”

Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, People Making a Difference

WikiLeaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Wikileaks_-logo

Another boost for the controversial WikiLeaks

A member of the Parliament of Norway says he has nominatedWikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

Snorre Valen, a member of the Socialist Left party, announced his decision to nominate the whistle-blowing organization on his blog.

“WikiLeaks have contributed to the struggle for [human rights, democracy and freedom of speech] globally, by exposing (among many other things) corruption, war crimes and torture — some times even conducted by allies of Norway,” he wrote…

Continue reading… “WikiLeaks Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize”

Breakthrough Thinking, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Human Behavior, Latest News

Maine to Legalize Switchblades for One-Armed People

switchblade234567

May be legalized in Maine if you have only one arm.

A Maine legislator has introduced a bill to make it legal for people with one arm to own and carry a switchblade (because you need two hands to operate a regular clasp knife). I actually quite like this idea, but think it’s too narrow, I’d have worded it more like “lawful for people who, due to infirmity, disability or amputation find it difficult to operate a clasp-knife…” so people with arthritis, one-side paralysis, etc, could have and use that most useful of tools: a knife…

Continue reading… “Maine to Legalize Switchblades for One-Armed People”

Culture, Historical Perspectives, Latest Trend

Membership Decline is a Worrying Trend Among Service Groups Like the Masons

masonic lodge

Inside a Masonic lodge.

Despite the impression given by books such as author Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol, and movies like National Treasure, the Masons are not a clandestine group.

“We’re not a secret society,” Bennett says. “We’re a society with a few secrets.” 

Big Problems, Crazy Stuff, Culture, Current Events, Globalism, Health & Fitness, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Human Behavior, Latest News, Latest Trend

HIV Street Drug ‘Whoonga’ is South Africa’s Latest High

whoongawoohoo

Whoonga is developing into a huge multi faceted problem.

South Africa is in the grip of a dangerous new drug craze that could threaten the country’s battle against AIDS. The street drug called “whoonga” is a cocktail that includes the anti retroviral (ARV) medication prescribed to people with HIV. Demand for the substance has prompted a wave of thefts of AIDS drugs across the country.

Continue reading… “HIV Street Drug ‘Whoonga’ is South Africa’s Latest High”

Analysis, Big Problems, Culture, Globalism, government, Historical Perspectives, Hot Issues, Latest News, New Discoveries

EFF: FBI May Have Committed More Than 40K Intelligence Violations Since 9/11

FBI2345678

The FBI committed massive civil liberties violations since 9/11.  Are you surprised?

A new report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation analyzes more than 2,500 pages’ worth of FBI documents extracted using Freedom of Information Act litigation and finds disturbing, system-wide violations of civil liberties on a scale that is far beyond anything reported to date…

Continue reading… “EFF: FBI May Have Committed More Than 40K Intelligence Violations Since 9/11”

Analysis, Culture, New Viewpoints, Science & Technology News

‘Religiosity Gene’ Predicted to Dominate Society in the Future

amish-kids

A  study has investigated how the differing fertility rates between religious and secular individuals might affect the genetic evolution of society overall.

In the past 20 years, the Amish population in the US has doubled, increasing from 123,000 in 1991 to 249,000 in 2010. The huge growth stems almost entirely from the religious culture’s high fertility rate, which is about 6 children per woman, on average. At this rate, the Amish population will reach 7 million by 2100 and 44 million by 2150. On the other hand, the growth may not continue if future generations of Amish choose to defect from the religion and if secular influences reduce the birth rate. In a new study, Robert Rowthorn, emeritus professor of economics at Cambridge University, has looked at the broader picture underlying this particular example: how will the high fertility rates of religious people throughout the world affect the future of human genetic evolution, and therefore the biological makeup of society?

Discover the Hidden Patterns of Tomorrow with Futurist Thomas Frey
Unlock Your Potential, Ignite Your Success.

By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.

Learn More about this exciting program.