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Rogue Corn On the Loose
Risking Corn, Risking Culture
If genetically modified corn spreads around the planet, one of humanity's greatest creations-a highly diversified and reliable food source-could be severely weakened or even destroyed. So could many of the human communities that depend on it.Capulalpam, Sierra Madre de Oaxaca, Mexico
Here in the remote mountains of Oaxaca, one of the oldest stories on earth-the vital relationship between people and plants-is taking a dramatic turn. Corn was first domesticated here and in nearby areas of Mesoamerica, from wild grasses about 8,000 years ago. Native varieties of corn are still grown here by the descendants of those first farmers. Now, this place, the center of origin of corn, and the center of its genetic heritage and diversity, has also become the center of a welling controversy over the finding of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the native corn.
The land itself helps tell the story. The road from the valley city of Oaxaca to the small mountain village of Capulalpam weaves through a rich mosaic of ecosystems. It climbs through evergreen pine-oak forests, crosses the Continental Divide as it transects the Sierra Juarez, drops down through a semi-arid zone of manzanita and shrub, and overlooks the Mexican Rio Grande, which winds along a sandy riverbed studded with agave and nopal. The profuse flora, the abundant wildlife, and the clear water that flows through these mountains, known locally as the Sierra Norte, support some of the world's most treasured biodiversity.
As the road turns towards the mountain range, small towns carved out of the deep green forest glisten in the sun like jewels strung along the mountainsides. Most of the people who live here are Zapotec. They place a high value on cleanliness and beauty. Their villages fit harmoniously into the topography and feature colonial-style churches and scattered houses made of wood from their forests. Household gardens and milpa growing corn, beans, and squash are nearby. Each town is surrounded by communal fields, which are in turn surrounded by communal forests. These concentric circles of resource use and cultivation are collectively managed. The Zapotec call themselves the "people of the clouds," and for the entire day, even under a bright blue sky, a thick mantle of white fog clings to the wooded ridge tops.
Dr. Ignacio Chapela is one of two scientists from the University of California, Berkeley who documented the discovery of transgenes in the Mexican native, or criollo, corn grown here. Chapela and his colleague, David Quist, took their samples from Capulalpam, so this remote village is getting more than its fair share of visitors these days. Chapela has worked with the communities in the Sierra Norte for years, but he had not returned to Capulalpam since November 2001, when his report was published in the prestigious journal Nature. I went back to Capulalpam with Dr. Chapela, to talk with farmers and village officials about the impact that transgenic corn is having on their lives, and to explore what it might mean for the rich biodiversity and indigenous cultures of the region.
The Chapela/Quist discovery is the first report of GMO contamination of a major crop at its center of origin. A center of origin contains the early forms of a crop and its wild relatives. It is the gene bank the world depends on to improve and refresh a crop's genetics. Mexico's native corn varieties are a treasure chest of genes useful for breeding plants that can adjust to changing climate, agricultural, and nutritional needs. Scientists worry that if these plants become infected with GMOs, and if the artificial genes persist, they could dangerously contaminate, and possibly wipe out, the natural genetic basis of the world's most important crops. Although they are manufactured, GMOs are living organisms, capable of reproduction. Once released, they are beyond human control. They are a new form of pollution, one that is difficult to detect and completely invisible. Because so little is known, their release is an uncontrolled experiment, which the biochemist Erwin Chargaff, known as the father of molecular biology, has said would constitute "an irreversible attack on the biosphere."
For years, scientists and environmental activists have been warning the Mexican government that GMOs in imported corn could harm Mexico's exceptionally rich biological and cultural diversity. The known risks of GMOs include the creation of hard-to-control weedy relatives of crops through "crop-to-wild hybridization," the development of insect pests or weeds that are resistant to the chemicals used with GMO crops, and the unintentional poisoning of beneficial insects and non-target species (see ∂).
No one knows how GMOs got to Capulalpam. It's suspected that they arrived, courtesy of the Mexican government and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in shipments of imported corn sold here for human consumption. Corn samples taken from the government-subsidized Diconsa store in Capulalpam tested positive for GMOs. A few local farmers, who were not aware that the imported corn contained GMOs, may have used the store-bought corn for seed.
Mexico, which banned the commercial planting of transgenic corn in 1998, imports about 6.2 million tons of corn a year, mostly from the United States. About a quarter of the U.S. commercial corn crop is GMO, and after harvest it is mixed with conventional corn. As a result, all conventional U.S. corn is now considered to contain at least a low level of "background" GMOs. And unlike Japan, Mexico does not require that GMO corn from the United States be segregated and labeled.
It was entirely predictable that GMOs in imported corn would find their way into Mexico's own cornfields. Corn is, after all, practically promiscuous in the way it spreads its pollen around, and corn farmers love to experiment with corn seed. What we call corn today owes its very existence to the intentional and accidental recombination of varieties by corn farmers. So it was only a matter of time before the foreign genes in the imported corn would get out and mix with the locals. If there was any surprise in this finding, it was how rapidly the GMOs had traveled to such a remote region. What is most alarming about this finding is that such rapid dissemination is occurring at a time when so little is known about how these transgenes will affect the ancestral ecosystems and the genetic heritage of the world's major crops.
Corn is the world's second most important food crop, after rice. It is practically miraculous in the way it converts sunlight into food. Corn plants can grow 11 centimeters or more a day, which may explain why Midwest farmers claim to be able to hear their corn growing (see ∑). But corn's productive and adaptable nature also makes it particularly susceptible to GMO contamination. The corn plant reproduces through "open pollination" and it is in constant communication with its surroundings. As it grows, it evaluates its environment, senses the available light, moisture, nutrients, and competition, and then adjusts its height, length of cob, and time of ripening accordingly. Boone Hallberg, one of the world's experts on corn varieties, says that because of corn's adaptability, the Oaxaca region alone boasts up to 85,000 unique strains, or "sub-varieties" of criollo corn, that have conformed to specific local conditions.
Hallberg is a deeply tanned, and still spry, transplanted Californian, who has lived near Capulalpam for over 50 years. He teaches and conducts research on native corn varieties at the Instituto Technologica in Oaxaca. Sitting behind a desk piled deep with papers that are weighed down with colorful ears of corn, he talks at length about how these local "landraces" developed as corn fine-tuned itself to the diverse "agro-ecological niches" of the Sierra Norte. These landraces have developed dozens of useful characteristics. Some have improved nutritional qualities or agronomic values such as tolerance to acid, alkaline, or saline soils. Some are drought or frost resistant; others are able to withstand strong winds, or resist pests and plant diseases. One remarkable variety can even fix its own nitrogen.
How GMOs will affect these specialized landraces, and thereby impact the world's agricultural genetic diversity, can only be understood in the context of how perilous the state of the world's crop diversity currently is. As the late University of Illinois botanist and plant geneticist Jack Harlan (author of Crops and Man) famously said, the world's genetic diversity is all that "stands between us and catastrophic starvation on a scale we cannot imagine. In a very real sense, the future of the human race rides on these materials." Modern plant breeding programs focus on only a very few improved crops. The patenting of seeds and the privatization of agricultural research, which is part and parcel of the development of transgenic crops, further narrows the genetic basis of our food system. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 75 percent of the world's crop genetic diversity has already been lost just in the last century (see ∏).
Chapela and Quist not only found GMOs in Capulalpam's criollo corn; they also asked how those genes would behave once they "introgressed" into the new plants. But just raising this question created an enormous controversy over their research (see π). Their inquiry challenges one of the basic assumptions underlying biotechnology: that transgenes are stable. Although the industry immediately attacked their findings in letters to the journal Nature, Quist and Chapela stand by their conclusion that the transgenes they found did not behave predictably. The scientific jury is still out on this issue, but as a result of this and other controversies, researchers are increasingly reluctant to conduct studies that might shed light on how transgenes behave once they are released into the environment.
Norman Ellstrand, Professor of Genetics at the University of California, Riverside, says that we still do not know how GMOs will behave; they may be benign, but there is great risk in releasing GMOs prior to investigating their potential effects. Both Ellstrand and Chapela point out that the GMOs found in Capulalpam may not be the ones to worry about. While this discovery indicates that transgenes are not easily contained, both scientists say the GMOs to watch out for are the ones now being developed for what is called the "bio-pharming"of crops, such as the use of corn to grow industrial and medical materials like plastics and pharmaceuticals. There is a GMO corn, grown in the open, that contains a human contraceptive, (see ∫) and the U.S. government recently issued a permit to grow corn spliced with a human gene, used to fight herpes. No one knows the long-term environmental and health impacts of these GMOs, because the regulatory framework currently in place does not require industry to find out.
In 1995, Mexico's agricultural research centers convened a seminar to assess the environmental threats posed by transgenic corn. Participants included the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), which is the world's most important repository of corn germplasm; the National Institute of Forestry, Agriculture, and Livestock Research, which is Mexico's national seed bank; and the National Agricultural Biosafety Committee. One of the questions discussed was how transgenic corn could cross with teosinte, the wild relative of corn that grows in Mexico. If GMO corn and teosinte crossed, it could create a new, transgenic wild-crop hybrid. And if that new plant had some biological advantage, such as insect resistance from Bt corn, it could wipe out the wild, natural form that was not resistant, and even lead to the extinction of natural teosinte. Known as the "lord of corn," teosinte is already in danger of extinction due to loss of habitat.
Bt corn is a patented hybrid corn variety that has been engineered to express a genetically modified form of a natural insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis, or "Bt." The GMOs Chapela and Quist found in Capulalpam are known as "transgenic constructs"-easily identified synthetic vectors, such as a genetically modified form of the cauliflower mosaic virus, used in making almost all GMO plants. Most likely, these GMOs came from Bt corn, because most transgenic corn is Bt corn. And if that were the case, one likely environmental impact would be harm to Mexico's insect populations. Bt is commonly used as a conventional insecticidal spray. In its natural form, it stays inactive until it reaches the gut of a susceptible insect. But transgenic Bt has been genetically altered to be always active, constantly exuding its poison throughout the life cycle of the Bt plant. Transgenic Bt is known to injure susceptible beneficial insects and "non-target species" such as green lacewings, insects that are highly regarded as a natural pest control. And, when pollen from Bt corn, which contains active Bt, falls on nearby milkweed plants in the U.S. Midwest, it can kill or harm any insects or butterflies that feed on it-including the majestic Monarch butterfly that migrates between the Midwest and Mexico.
Corn reproduces in a marvelous, messy, affair that dusts everything around it with pollen (see ª). The tassels at the top of the giant stalk, the male parts, can produce as many as 25 million grains of pollen. The ears, usually located midway on the stalk, are the female parts, and the silky hairs that protrude from the ears collect any pollen that lands on them. Fertilization takes place when a tiny speck of pollen falls on the silk and then flows along the strand to a single kernel, which is created from a tiny embryo at the end of the strand. An ordinary ear of field corn growing in the Midwest can contain 800 to 1,000 silks, and as many kernels.
Because Bt corn is constantly expressing an insecticide, everything around it is exposed to Bt. As a result of this overexposure, insects will eventually develop resistance to Bt. When that happens even the natural forms of Bt will lose their effectiveness, causing serious economic losses to organic and conventional farmers worldwide. And transgenic Bt, being always active, continually affects its surroundings, including the soil. The countless microorganisms living in the soil are affected both by the Bt in the plant's roots while it is alive and by any plant residues that remain in the soil after harvest. Characteristically, farmers in Capulalpam leave their dried corn stalks standing in their fields after harvest, so any transgenic Bt in their corn would be available to their insect populations, and their soil environment, for most of the year.
Whether or not the GMOs found in Capulalpam will have these effects is still unknown. But the farmers I spoke to there said they'd heard that GMO corn could harm butterflies, and they worried about how it would affect their land, and their criollo corn. I met Señora Olga Toro Maldonado, one of the farmers in Capulalpam whose fields tested positive for GMOs. She stood in a field of dried corn stalks, dressed in a starched white shirt, blue denim pants, and straw fedora. Her skin matched the color of the golden leaves behind her. She gestured with her strong hands as she asked: how were they supposed to know, since the government said people could eat the corn sold in the Diconsa stores, that it should not be planted? She expressed dismay about the lack of information the village was getting. For now, she said, she was mostly concerned about feeding this transgenic corn to her six children.
Maldonado's neighbor, Señor Naum Sanchez Santiago, carefully saves his best corn from each harvest to use as seed. He farms without using chemicals and says he saves seed because that way he isn't dependent on outside sources. It's like "tucking away savings" every year, he said. He noted, proudly, that these practices keep his community independent. He pointed out that, so far, his cornfields were still free of GMOs. But he and his neighbors were worried. Señor Javier Cosmes Perez, the mayor of Capulalpam, and also a farmer, said that the situation here is very grave. "Our customs are being violated," he said. "It upsets us because it has to do with our traditions, the very essence of our people and our lives, our corn."
The farmers and village officials I talked to were especially anxious about the economic consequences of GMO corn. Santiago said corn in the village Diconsa store sold for four or five pesos a kilogram, while it cost him six to seven pesos a kilogram to grow his own varieties. These farmers are among Mexico's 3 million family farmers who feed 15 million of the country's rural poor. But they simply can't compete with the heavily subsidized price of U.S. corn. Under NAFTA, Mexico ended price supports and subsidies for its farmers. TheUnited States, however, under the most recent farm bill, will be paying its commodity producers $180 billion over the next 6 years. GMOs are part of this subsidized commodity system. The resulting overproduction means that farmers in the United States get rock-bottom prices, while poor farmers in other countries get cut out of the market. Santiago and Maldonado pointed to some bare patches of ground on the hillsides behind them. They said those fields were abandoned because of the rising costs of growing their local criollo corn.
Still, millions of rural Mexican farmers continue to grow criollo corn varieties. While providing for themselves and their communities, these farmers also act as efficient custodians of corn's genetic diversity. But their contribution to the world's agricultural heritage is not being recognized, or rewarded. And no government action has been taken to protect them. Since NAFTA took effect, imports of corn from the United States have increased 18-fold. Mexico's agribusinesses, mostly transnational corporations, support these imports because they provide them with cheap corn for animal feed and food processing. They either turn a blind eye to the implications of the GMOs in their imports or they are outright supporters of biotechnology because it is part of the industrial agricultural system that keeps their prices low (see º).
When NAFTA took effect, instead of helping traditional farmers convert to its terms, which provided for a 15-year transition, Mexico accelerated that into a 3-year period. The reaction of the rural Mexican farmers, according to NAFTA expert Alejandro Nadal, was not what the government had expected. In areas already deeply scarred by poverty, local farmers suddenly had to sell their crops at a buyer's market, flooded with cheap imports. If they stayed and tried to subsist, they were forced to grow more crops on increasingly marginal land, with fewer resources. Nadal says that without some effort to strengthen their social institutions, and outside assistance to maintain a more sustainable livelihood, these communities will only deteriorate and the harm to the environment from soil erosion and deforestation will only worsen.
When these poor rural farmers can no longer farm, they leave their communities to find work in overcrowded urban areas like Mexico City or at a maquiladora factory (see Ω). Or they join the "migrant trail" to find work in the United States, sending money home to support their families. Many rural Mexican communities, including some in the Sierra Norte, are becoming dependent on this income. Remittances back to Mexico from migrant workers in the United States amounted to more than $9 billion last year, second only to oil, and surpassing tourism in earnings that support Mexico's economy. But as traditional farming collapses in rural Mexico, native corn varieties, and the world's corn diversity, also disappear.
Village officials in the Sierra Norte are concerned that, because of their precarious economic condition, imported GMO corn may well be what brings an end to their self-sustaining land-based traditions. Señor Miguel Ramirel Dominguez, the local agrarian authority, feels that outside interests want to control them, because if they lose their local criollo corn varieties, they lose their independence. These communities have withstood successive invasions over time as outsiders repeatedly exploited their hard working labor force and their rich natural resources. But after the extractive industries exhausted their mines, and their forests, at least the local people could return to farming. Now the question is, will they be able to continue to work the land in the face of the economic and environmental impacts of imported GMO corn?
Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture has responded to the crisis by continuing to encourage corn imports, without restrictions. Mexico's Assistant Secretary of Agriculture at the time of the Nature publication, Dr. Victor Manuel Villalobos, was quoted as saying that GMOs are not a threat to Mexico's corn because they are "just another hybrid." Mexico's Minister of Agriculture, Javier Usabiaga, has been even more cavalier, saying that 'a farmer who cannot survive in the 21st century is simply 'going to have to find another job."
The plight of the farmers in the Sierra Norte was discussed during a meeting held in February 2002 at Oaxaca's Ethnobotanical Garden. The Garden, located in a renovated convent behind Oaxaca's Santo Domingo Cultural Center, invited scientists, representatives of NGOs, government officials, and academics, including Dr. Chapela, to discuss the impacts of transgenic corn on Mexico's rich biological heritage and its genetic and cultural diversity. Representatives of Mexico's Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) began the meeting with a report that confirmed and expanded on the Chapela/Quist study. Their results, from cornfields in the states of Oaxaca and nearby Puebla, indicated that GMO contamination of corn in Mexico was extensive and growing.
Raul Benet, Executive Director of Greenpeace Mexico, repeated his organization's demand for a ban on GMO imports, for completely eradicating the contamination from rural areas, for protecting the natural genetic diversity of corn, and for supporting the livelihood of the peasant farmers who grow it. One scientist said GMOs should be stopped at the border. Another proposed tracing GMOs by putting genetic identification tags on them. The National Commission on Biodiversity (CONABIO), whose mandate is to protect Mexico's biodiversity, proposed a system for monitoring and assessing the contamination.
The international seed banks, which are responsible for preserving the world's endangered genetic resources, were not at the meeting. So far, CIMMYT has reacted somewhat defensively to the GMO contamination, issuing press releases assuring that its seed banks are not contaminated. However, CIMMYT conducts biotechnology research on corn and wheat, and an increasing amount of its funding comes from biotechnology related companies and their foundations. I visited their laboratories outside Mexico City and was able to see the biohazard bags that covered GMO corn tassels through the glass of their secure biotech greenhouses. The building that houses their invaluable seed collection is right next-door. I asked CIMMYT about their bio-safety protocols and was assured that they were "state of the art," but I was unable to obtain a copy of them because, their spokesperson said, they were currently being revised.
While CIMMYT appears to be taking every known precaution at their Mexico facility, they have not addressed some basic questions, such as what will happen when they grow their seed collections out in the field. This is a necessary part of maintaining any seed collection that is held apart from the place where it was grown and collected. Such "ex-situ" collections are held by CIMMYT and its Mexican counterpart, INIFAP. Seed collections that are preserved in place, and cared for where they are traditionally grown, are called "in situ" collections. They have the added advantage of protecting local ecosystems, the traditional knowledge systems, and the cultural practices that maintain these local varieties.
The culture of corn is the key to its nature. During my trip, I came to understand that corn, more than any other crop, embodies the life-giving and ancient relationship between people, plants, and place. Certainly, corn has brought great wealth to both ancient and modern societies. At the same time, corn depends on people to care for it and release its densely packed kernels from the cob so it can reproduce. After the meeting at Oaxaca's Ethnobotanical Garden ended, I walked around the specimen collection with the Garden's Director, Alejandro de Avila, and asked him about the cultural meaning of corn. "Corn," he said, "is the living mediator between land and people."
Traditional native peoples of the Americas, past and present, view corn as a regenerative force that constantly reconnects them to the cycle of life and death, to their land, and to their communities. The ancient Maya considered themselves-as do their descendants today-to be a people who are made of corn. Corn is central to many contemporary native cultures in the Americas, and their corn creation myths offer some intriguing stories about its origins. Some of these stories are strikingly similar, with various versions telling how corn was given to humans as a gift from a divine source, usually in response to some need or severe hunger. But always, the gift of corn came with strict instructions about the human responsibilities and the reciprocal efforts that would be required to ensure its constant replenishment.
In the Sierra Norte the farmers take their reciprocal responsibility to corn seriously. Roberto Gonzalez, an anthropologist and author of Zapotec Science: Farming and Food in the Northern Sierra of Oaxaca, says it's common for people here to say, "Maize has a heart." (Maize is the word most of the world uses to refer to corn.) This saying has some biological accuracy. Corn kernels do have a nucleus, or heart, from which the seeds germinate. But, Gonzalez says, the villagers use the term "heart" in the moral sense, as they view corn as "a wonderful plant-person with a long memory, a strict moral code, and an unshakable will." He is emphatic that corn always "prescribes reciprocity." In areas where there are constant land conflicts, for instance, this reciprocity provides a means of binding communities together through market transactions, cultural traditions, and seed exchanges. "Thus maize is not only an economic good but a medium through which certain social and moral obligations and responsibilities, particularly reciprocity (toward kin, neighbors, poorer villagers, and people in neighboring villages) must be met."
The Zapotec communities in the Sierra Norte understand that if they maintain corn, it will maintain them. To the Zapotec, the concept of mantenimiento, or maintenance, which includes responsibility and reciprocity, is crucial. The Zapotec have a system of community work responsibility, or tequio, that keeps their roads free of trash and their communities immaculate. Reciprocity is also part of the practice of gozona, a mutual aid arrangement whereby favors and services are freely exchanged. This system underlies the practice of saving and exchanging corn seed, which is essential to preserving corn's genetic diversity. But that will end when biotechnology companies forbid these farmers from saving any seed contaminated with their patented GMOs. Mexican corn farmers will have to buy their seeds from agrochemical companies every year, just as corn farmers in the United States now do. The coming of GMO corn, then, brings with it the potential for a profound cultural transformation, as well as an end to the conservation of local varieties.
The more than 20,000 distinct varieties of corn still being grown in Mexico and Central America are the legacy of these ancient and sophisticated traditions. Gonzalez says that corn's remarkable diversity can be attributed to the intense emotional and cultural significance that corn has for indigenous farmers. Because they love and respect this "plant-person," he says, they spend more time caring for it, helping it adapt to special ecological niches. Not surprisingly, corn has been called "the most remarkable plant breeding accomplishment of all time." When Columbus arrived in the Americas, says Walton Galinat in Maize: Gift from America's First Peoples, he failed to recognize that "this plant, developed by peoples he judged poor and uncivilized, far outstripped in productivity any of the cereals bred by Old World farmers-wheat, rice, sorghum, barley, and rye." And, he said, "Columbus did not realize that the gift of maize was far more valuable than the spices or gold he hoped to find."
In this current clash of cultures, what could industrialized agriculture learn from traditional corn cultures? The answer lies in the fact that corn reflects the values of the peoples who grow it. Because corn is so adaptable, it becomes what farmers want it to be. In the United States, commodity farmers want corn to be extremely productive and uniform, and so it is. In 1921 the average U.S. yield was about 28 bushels an acre. By 2001, the average yield was 138 bushels an acre. Some top producers could boast yields of over 300 bushels, although this kind of productivity is only achieved by adding enormous amounts of energy in the form of fertilizers and other chemicals. It could be said, then, that GMOs, with their commercial utility, uniformity, and privatized genes, are simply a product of an industrial culture that sees corn as little more than a biological machine, reflecting a culture that values efficient productivity and profitability while fostering farmer dependence on a handful of commercial hybrids.
The traditional farmers of the Sierra Norte, on the other hand, value genetic diversity and independence. They see corn in its ecological context, as a living thing, linked to the environment and to the health of all who depend on it for food. They need corn to grow productively under various stressful conditions. And so it does. These farmers may get lower yields than industrial farmers do, but they do not use vast amounts of chemical inputs, and they are free to save and freely exchange their seed. As a result, they have been able to maintain a high degree of autonomy while sustaining their land-based cultures. That, the village officials in Capulalpam said, is their highest value. And for them, that has been corn's greatest gift. And, Señora Maldonado said, that was why, despite all of her worries, she was going to keep on planting criollo corn.
Science supports both the industrial and the traditional views. Unfortunately, in the case of agricultural biotechnology, science has been hijacked by technology, a commercial technology that does not take into consideration the social, environmental or cultural impacts of its products. The biotechnology industry says the GMOs found in the Sierra Norte pose no threat. This opinion is based on their belief, codified into the regulations governing GMOs by industry lobbyists, that transgenes are "substantially equivalent" to conventional genes. This highly reductionist-and widely questioned-view of molecular biology holds that a transgene is just like any other gene.
This uncritical acceptance of GMOs has now opened the door for the transgenic contamination of all the world's major crops at their centers of origin. Next it may be rice or soybeans in Asia, cotton or potatoes in South America, or other cereals, like wheat, in Europe. Then there may be genetically engineered fish, trees, insects, and other organisms now being developed. All of this is supposedly the best of what American industrial agriculture has to offer the world, but many countries outside the United States are beginning to oppose the onslaught of GMOs. As we drove through the Sierra Norte, I asked Dr. Chapela what he thought about the proliferation of GMOs. He said part of the answer could be found in the place where transgenes were first found-here, in the nearby village of Trinidad.
We arrived in Trinidad late in the day, just as the last rays of light were slipping off the treetops. The sound of church bells and a choir singing drifted out over the tiny valley. Twinkling lights appeared, giving Trinidad a magical feeling. This little slice of heaven is the last place on Earth you'd expect to find a genetics laboratory. But upstairs in Trinidad's small municipal building, which is painted a persimmon color, is a small, tidy laboratory run by an indigenous organization, called the Union of Zapatecos and Chiantecos (UZACHI.)
Trinidad, a former mining town, has been struggling to find sustainable ways to live, while preserving local forests. Chapela, who is Mexican, started the lab in the mid-1990s when he was working for the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Sandoz, now Syngenta. At the time, Sandoz was prospecting for medicinal plants, a practice Chapela now rejects as "bio-piracy." Chapela later helped convert the lab into a locally managed operation that produced mushrooms as a community development project. It was here that the first evidence of the GMO contamination of criollo corn was discovered when Chapela's colleague, David Quist, used a local corn variety for testing some DNA equipment and got a positive result. They thought it was a mistake, and the lab asked Quist and Chapela to take some samples back to Berkeley with them for further testing. Confirmation of the results led to the study published later in Nature.
Lilia Perez, a Zapotec who is now in charge of the UZACHI lab, showed me around. She described what it was like when she first found out that transgenic corn had arrived in her tiny town. As she told a friend, John Ross, author of The War Against Oblivion - eight years with the Zapatista rebellion in Chiapas, "it felt like an attack on my communities, my people. Trans-nationals are selling hunger in the Sierra." What is being imported, she said, along with their transgenics, is "cultural genocide."
Indigenous resistance movements like UZACHI and the Union of Organizations of the Sierra de Juarez of Oaxaca (UNOSJO) are still a powerful force in Mexico. They are extremely worried about the arrival of transgenics in their communities. In Chiapas, Ross says, the reaction to the news of GMO corn has been "tantamount to panic." The indigenous communities in Mexico are doing what they can, given their limited resources. They are establishing seed banks, holding conferences, and working with international NGOs that support their cause. They want a moratorium on the release of GMOs for any purpose, rigorous studies of their impacts, and support for safeguarding their traditional varieties and the farmers who grow them. These ancient corn cultures see GMOs as nothing less than a threat to their cultural survival.
Before leaving Trinidad I walked down a steep cobblestone street toward a tiny plaza out in front of the only commercial presence in town, a sparsely stocked Diconsa store. I was following the smell of something delicious cooking. Under a single light bulb dangling from a wire temporarily strung through the store window, members of the commune were cooking tacos al pastor for a small clutch of families out in the cool evening air.
As I waited behind them, I watched a thin crescent moon and a few stars appear in the deepening sky. I was thinking about how some of the best food I ever had, smoky salsas and sweet grilled peppers, had been served by the gracious Zapotec hosts here in the Sierra Norte. I was hungry. When my turn came, I handed over a few pesos. A smiling woman then handed me a soft taco on a small paper napkin.
I could feel the weight of it, warm and oily on my hand. I took a bite. The first flavor was the sharp green of the chopped cilantro on top, then the fresh sweet onions, and under that, the salty hot meat. And finally, I tasted the tortilla. It was a deep earthy color, grainy with nubs of hand-ground corn. It was the taste of life itself in the Sierra Norte-the soil where the corn had grown, the work of the hands that did the grinding, and the faith of the countless farmers who have cared for that corn for so many generations.
Claire Hope Cummings is a Food and Society Policy Fellow, and food and farming editor at KPFK-FM radio in Berkeley, California. She has practiced environmental law and has farmed in both California and Vietnam.


text: September 18, 2008 Silver Spring, Maryland Richard Garriott, W5KWQ, to communicate with Students and Ham Radio Operators World-wide through the Amateur Radio Station on-board the International Space Station (ISS) Through multiple agreements with NASA, the Russian Space Agency, RSC Energia, Space Adventures Ltd, and ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station), Richard Garriott will fly to ISS and will communicate with students, ham radio operators, friends, and family world-wide using the ARISS amateur radio station on-board the ISS. Richard Garriott, with the amateur radio callsign, W5KWQ is the sixth private citizen to be flown by the Russian space agency to the ISS. A legendary video game programmer and designer, Garriott will be traveling to orbit this October and will speak with hundreds of students while thousands more listen in during a series of ten-minute ham radio contacts. His on-orbit stay on Soyuz and ISS is planned for October 12 22, 2008. The locales for the worldwide student contacts include eight Challenger Learning Centers in the U.S., the Austin Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy in Austin, Texas, the Pinehurst School in Ashland, Oregon, the Budbrooke School in the U.K., and the National Space Challenge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Garriott also plans to have random chats with scouts world-wide as part of the amateur radio Jamboree on the Air which is planned for October 18-19. An important aspect of Richard Garriotts mission is to encourage students interest in science and technology through the amateur radio contacts, said Rosalie White, ARISS International Secretary-Treasurer and ARISS Program Manager for ARRL (American Radio Relay League). ARISS team members from all over the world volunteer their time every day so that students receive opportunities that we hope will cause them to study harder and learn more about any educational subject. The connection from the ISS to individual student locations will be established through an amateur radio station set up directly at the school or through the ARISS network of worldwide amateur radio ground stations utilized to link Garriott directly with students. The amateur radio system works similar to the way mission control centers in the United States and Russia talk to their space explorers. To date, the ARISS international working group volunteer team has conducted over 360 school contacts with crew members using ham radio on the ISS. The team has also set up radio contacts for family members of space explorers via ham radio. And have enabled countless contacts between the ISS crew members and hams on the ground. All previous Space Adventures private citizens who have flown to ISS have used the ARISS equipment to talk to school students, ham radio operators and friends and family. As part of Richard Garriotts science investigations, he will be taking high definition photographs of many parts of the Earth and comparing them to photos taken on previous space missions. In conjunction with his Earth science investigation, Mr. Garriott is flying special amateur radio electronics that will enable him to send and receive low resolution images from space, comparable to cell phone images. Through this ham radio system, called Slow-Scan Television (SSTV), Garriott will beam down images of the Earth to schools and ham radio operators on the ground so that they can actively participate in his mission. Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, ARISS International Chairman and AMSAT Vice President for Human Spaceflight Programs, states: The ARISS team is quite excited about Richards flight. He is very interested in bringing the wonders of space to those of us on Earth and he sees amateur radio as a great mechanism to make that happen. Through his school and scout voice contacts, his SSTV image downlinks and his communications with the world-wide amateur radio community, we see his mission as being action packed from an amateur radio perspective. Bauer continues, What is extra special is that Richard Garriotts flight coincides almost 25 years from when his father, Owen Garriott, made history as the first ham radio operator to communicate with radio amateurs from space on the STS-9 Space Shuttle mission. Owen Garriotts call sign is W5LFL. Richard also hopes to link up with his father via amateur radio during his flight. Currently, Mr. Garriott is finishing his final spaceflight preparations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC) located in Star City, Russia. His launch date is scheduled for October 12, 2008, with ISS docking planned for October 14 and undocking planned for October 22. Mr. Garriott was trained thoroughly to be a member of the Soyuz TMA-13/17S crew. Since its first flight with Owen Garriott, in November 1983, Ham Radio has flown on more than two-dozen space shuttle missions, on the Mir Space Station and on the ISS. ARISS is the first and longest continuous operating educational outreach program to fly on the ISS. ARISS is an internationally-based working group, sponsored by the national amateur radio organizations and the international AMSAT (Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation) organizations from each country as well as the ISS space agency partners. In the United States, ARISS is sponsored by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation-North America (AMSAT-NA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASAs education office provides support to ARISS and guidance in the development of ARISS educational objectives. The primary purpose of ARISS is to allow students engaged in a science and technology curriculum to speak with an astronaut orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station. Using amateur radio, students ask questions about life in space or other space-related topics. Students fully participate in the ARISS contact by helping set up an amateur radio ground station at the school and then using that station to talk directly with the on-board crew member. Preparation for the experience motivates the children to learn about radio waves, space technology, science, geography and the space environment. In many cases, the students help write press releases and give presentations on the contact to their fellow students and to the local community. Through this hands-on experience, students are engaged and educated in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and are inspired to pursue STEM-related careers. For more information about amateur radio on the ISS and Richard Garriotts flight, go to: http://www.ariss.org http://richardinspace.com http://spaceadventures.com http://www.arrl.org http://www.amsat.org http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/station/reference/radio/index.html http://dln.nasa.gov/dln/content/catalog/details/?cid=634 http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/science/experiments/ARISS.html Scout Jamboree on the Air: http://www.scout.org/jota ---------------------------- Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO AMSAT-NA V.P. for Human Spaceflight Programs ARISS International Chairman

subset: commoncrawl


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In his January 9 State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a 10-point plan for so-called "women's equality," a front-and-center element of which is an abortion expansion scheme that champions of the unborn warn will open the door to late-term abortion on demand.
While Cuomo declined to offer specifics of the proposal, "he is expected to push for provisions similar to those in a bill introduced by Democratic state Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins," reported Fox News. "That bill contains language that would allow abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy if it is 'necessary to protect a woman's health" — a stipulation that critics explain is far different than protecting a woman's life and could be interpreted to allow the abortion of a viable baby late into a pregnancy.
Stewart-Cousins is pressuring her fellow state lawmakers to move quickly on the "crucial legislation," emphasizing that it would "ensure that regardless of what takes place on the national level, a woman's right to choose will always be protected in New York State."
The proposal prompted a letter to Cuomo from New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who called the legislation "radical" and told the governor that he was "hard pressed to think of a piece of legislation that is less needed or more harmful than this one."
Kathleen M. Gallagher, director of pro-life activities for the New York State Catholic Conference, said that Cuomo's abortion push entrenched in his so-called "women's agenda" is little more than a warmed over six-year-old proposal first fronted by disgraced former Governor Eliot Spitzer. She said the proposal, that has been repeatedly rejected as a stand alone bill, "is radical and far out of the mainstream, even by the standards of New York, a state with an abortion rate twice the national average."
She noted that Stewart-Cousin's bill would "permit more late-term abortions, allow non-doctors to perform abortions, and would preclude any reasonable restrictions on abortion like parental notification. Moreover it would permit the state to pull the operating certificate of Catholic hospitals and agencies that 'discriminate' by not performing or referring women for abortions."
Gallagher pointed out that the bill's extreme nature has prevented it from getting traction in the legislature. "So now the governor is attempting to tie it to important initiatives such as helping victims of domestic violence and human trafficking, and ending pregnancy discrimination in the workplace," she said, referring to a few of the points in Cuomo's so-called "Women's Equality Act."
The governor "believes the 'all-in' strategy will make it harder to oppose," Gallagher continued. "The public and lawmakers should not be fooled. We must not let victims of abuse and discrimination be held hostage to Governor Cuomo's ideologically driven political agenda, an agenda that is extremely harmful to mothers, infants, and religious liberty."
Gallagher emphasized to reporters that the whole ten-point women's equality agenda "is nine tenths about abortion. This is just a vehicle that he's creating to push through a bill that didn't have any traction or any legs for six years." She said that if the abortion element of Cuomo's plan — previously known as the "Reproductive Health Act" — were introduced in the legislature as a stand-alone bill, it would fail miserably. "People don't want abortion expansion in New York State," she said. "It's really unnecessary in a state with the highest abortion rate in the country."
Pro-life leaders noted that Cuomo is attempting to grab a piece of President Obama's Planned Parenthood pro-abortion banner. On the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court's infamous Roe v. Wade decision, as hundreds of thousands of Americans tearfully remembered the over 50 million babies who have been slaughtered in America through abortion, Obama issued a smug statement reaffirming his commitment "to protect the health and reproductive freedom of women across this country and stand by [Roe v. Wade's] guiding principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters, and women should be able to make their own choices about their bodies and their health care."
Similarly, hijacking the serious occasion of the State of the State speech, Cuomo raised an enthusiastic cheer from the audience's liberal-left faction over his extreme abortion measure as he repeatedly chanted, "Because it's her body, it's her choice!"
Among those who have come out in opposition to Cuomo's plan is the group Democrats for Life of New York. Leslie Diaz, the group's spokesperson, warned that the Cuomo/Stewart-Cousins tag-team plan "would legalize abortion through all nine months of pregnancy for virtually any reason and make abortion immune from any reasonable state regulation such as parental notification or informed consent."
Noting that present New York law make most abortions illegal after 24 weeks of pregnancy, Diaz said the Cuomo measure "would make legal late-term abortions that are now a criminal offense under current penal law."
She added that "we know the billion-dollar abortion industry preys upon Black and Hispanic families and we know that the Reproductive Health Act will sacrifice more of our children on the government's altar of convenience. The Reproductive Health Act will result in more abortions in Black and Hispanic communities."
Democrats for Life claimed that the abortion proposal is even "out of touch with the views of most Democrats," citing a recent Gallup poll showing a moderate view about abortion among rank-and-file Democrats, compared to the ultra-radical agenda of Obama, Cuomo, and other current Democrat leaders.
Overall Gallup found that only 27 percent of Americans backed legalized abortion under all circumstances. By contrast, the national pollster found that 61 percent of Americans believe abortion should either be more strictly limited or banned altogether.
Photo of Gov. Andrew Cuomo: AP Images


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How to make felt. Wet felting, nuno felting, and felting around a resist are covered in this site.
Felting supplies lists and written instructions go hand in hand with the video tutorials.
The video segments are divided into small chunks so you can watch just the ones that you need, without sitting through long portions of those you don't.
Use the navigations links on top to get other helpful info on felting, and the links on the left to view the actual videos.
Feltinglessons.com videos are free of charge and a donation is not required, but very much appreciated!
You can also help by purchasing my digital
eBook Nuno Felting Start to Finish for a
detailed how-to guide on nuno felting.
The cost is $15.99, and it will be an invaluable
reference to you in your nuno felting adventures!
Enjoy the creative and rewarding process of making felt!
- Terri


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Health and fitness facilities in the spotlight
* The second location of Newtone Health & Fitness (Lafayette, Ind.) is scheduled to open Dec. 1. The site, Newtone South, will offer cardiovascular machines, strength-training equipment, aerobics classes, massage and nutrition services, and tanning. The original Newtone has been in operation for more than a decade.
* Lakeshore Medical Fitness, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lakeshore Management (Chicago), an owner and operator of fitness facilities, signed its first contract with Rush Copley Healthplex. The Chicago facility is an affiliate of Rush Copley Medical Center. Lakeshore now manages the 195,000-square-foot facility.
* Houston Metropolitan Racquet Club signed a 15-year lease and launched a $4 million redevelopment project with its landlords, the TrizecHahn Co. of Canada, which will reposition the club as "The MET," an upscale business and sports club catering to senior and middle management professionals in downtown Houston. Renovations will include an expanded fitness center, upgraded locker rooms, dining and sports deli-bar area expansion, full-size basketball court addition, urban day spa, children's center and five international squash courts.
* Australian Body Works (Atlanta) recently opened its largest and first free-standing health club in Kennesaw, Ga. The site becomes the 22nd greater Atlanta location for the company. The 22,000-square-foot facility will include two separate cardiovascular entertainment systems, three aerobic rooms, game room for kids ages 7 to 14, childcare area, certified personal training, towel service, fully equipped locker rooms with dry saunas and lounge areas, massage therapy, chiropractic services, tanning, free video-checkouts and more.
* Capital City Club and Spa, (Washington, D.C.), an 11,000-square-foot fitness center and spa, is expected to open this month on the lobby level of the city's Capital Hilton. The three-level club will feature cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, wireless cardio entertainment system, group exercise room, yoga, kickboxing, Pilates, tai chi, group cycling, locker and steam rooms, massage and skin-care services, and personal training.
* Bally Total Fitness (Chicago) officials said they expect net revenues to grow 10 to 16 percent for the year, in line with analysts' forecasts. Second quarter results showed that its operating margin rose from 13 percent to 16 percent in the same period last year. Net revenues grew 16 percent to $209.8 million. In addition the chain said earnings rose to $9.1 million, from $2 million in the same quarter a year ago.


text: Germa denim brand Mustang has recently turned all of its attention back onto its Künzelsau headquarters. The Frankfurt-based office that once ran the product management, distribution, retail management and marketing departments has closed and as a result, all of the label's processes including product development and sourcing and the inhouse denim laundry and sewing department now operate under one roof. CEO Dietmar Axt explained: "This step is a milestone for the brand. We can now ensure better decisions and interactions among all departments while strengthening our Künzelsau location."


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We´re delighted to announce the launch today of our fantastic new Golden Lane Sport & Fitness website. The new site offers you a significantly improved online experience, including:
- New, modern design with improved navigation - fewer clicks to find what you want
- Richer online experience with more imagery and video
- Faster browsing and page loading
- Seamless online experience across all your devices (mobiles, tablets and desktops)
With the launch of the new site, we have also simplified online bookings. This means you will now log-in to book using your email address and your own password. Simply visit the `Book Now´ page and either log-in to set up your password, or if we don´t already have your email address hit the `Register´ tab and it´ll only take a couple of minutes to complete your registration.
Let us know your feedback about the site!


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There are many ways to define evangelicalism, whether it's sociologically, politically, or theologically. The best-known and most widely used definition comes from David Bebbington's 1989 Evangelicalism in Modern Britain. Known as the Bebbington quadrilateral, it lists four emphases used to identify evangelicalism: the importance of the Bible, Christ's redemptive work on the cross, the need for conversion, and activism.
Browse our Full Library of online archives, including past issues of CT magazine. Access the Archives
To unlock this article for your friends, use any of the social share buttons on our site, or simply copy the link below.


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Ed Lover, Stephen Smith & Skip Bayless On ESPN First Take Talking Manti Te'o Hoax Story
Ed Lover, Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith
discuss the latest in the Manti Te'o
girlfriend hoax story.
Posted by Andrew
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Awards include 47 We the People projects in U.S. history and culture
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) today announced that 65 successful applicants will receive a total of $10.1 million in grants or offers of matching funds for public programs offered by state humanities councils, national historic sites, museums, libraries, and documentary media projects in television and radio.
Successful grants announced today include 47 designated as We the People projects, a special recognition by the NEH for model projects that advance the study, teaching, and understanding of American history and culture.
"The humanities offer a path toward helping us understand our world, and NEH grant recipients will conduct a variety of public programs that can provide guidance along the way," said NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. "NEH supports projects that are rigorous, wide-ranging, and substantial in their examination and illumination of the great ideas and great events of the past in our own nation and throughout the world."
In this award cycle, institutions in 34 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories received support from the NEH. A complete state-by-state listing of grants is available as an Adobe PDF file. The 65 new NEH grants and matching offers are in two of the Endowment's program areas-federal/state partnership and public programs, with examples of each:
- We the People Grants for State Humanities Councils support a variety of public programming sponsored by the state councils, including teacher seminars and institutes, public lectures, Chautauqua programs, speakers' bureaus, student essay contests, reading and discussion groups, and media projects for radio and television: "Alaska's March to Statehood" (Alaska Humanities Forum, Anchorage); "Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams: Florida in the 20th Century" (Florida Humanities Council, St. Petersburg); and "Citizenship and Democracy" (Nevada Humanities, Reno);
- Interpreting America's Historic Places grants support public humanities projects that exploit the evocative power of historic places to address themes and issues central to American history and culture with interpretations of significant historic sites, neighborhoods, towns, communities, or larger geographical regions: "The Captain John Smith Four Hundred Project: Retracing John Smith's Chesapeake Voyages" (Sultana Projects, Inc., Chestertown, Md.); "From Pursuit to Preservation: The Global Story of Whales and Whaling" (New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Mass.); "Back to Our Roots: A New Vision of New England Farming and Rural Life" (Old Sturbridge Village, Sturbridge, Vt.); "Mississippi Blues Commission Blues Trail" (Mississippi Blues Commission, Indianola, Miss.); and "Underground Railroad in Vermont" (Rokeby Museum, Ferrisburgh, Vt.);
- Museum and library grants support interpretive exhibitions, the interpretation of historic sites, interpretive projects (such as publications and public symposia), public programming, and websites: "El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III" (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.); "Impressionism and the Art of the Past" (Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colo.); and "Ben Franklin: In Search of a Better World-A Traveling Exhibition for Libraries" (American Library Association, Chicago, Ill.);
- Media grants support development and production of humanities programs for radio and television, including these radio projects: "Shakespeare in American Life" (Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C.); "American Routes: Routes to Creativity, a Sense of Place" (University of New Orleans, New Orleans, La.); and "Evolving Attitudes toward the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi, 1954-1970" (Minnesota Public Radio, St. Paul, Minn.); and
- Special Projects grants support programs at diverse venues for public or non-academic groups, such as senior citizens, youth, members of civic organizations, professional groups, history and heritage tourists, hobbyists, and local citizens: "Footprints of the Ancestors: Intergenerational Learning of Hopi History and Culture" (Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Ariz.); and "Shays' Rebellion and the Making of a Nation: From Revolution to Constitution" (Springfield Technical Community College, Springfield, Mass.).
The list below indicates programs, total number of projects, and total dollar amounts for grants and matching funds included in this announcement:
We the People Grants for State Humanities Councils (32) $2,856,300 (plus $480,000 in matching offers)
Public Programs (33) $ 5,030,543
- Humanities Projects in Libraries: Implementation grants (3) $801,180
- Humanities Projects in Libraries: Planning grants (2) $80,000
- Humanities Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations: Implementation grants (11) $2,509,419 (plus $465,000 in matching offers)
- Humanities Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations: Planning grants (1) $40,000
- Interpreting America's Historic Places: Implementation grants (5) $1,150,000 (plus $130,000 in matching offers)
- Radio Projects: Production (4) $579,944
- Television Projects: Consultation (2) $20,000
- Special Projects: Implementation (5) $1,000,000
NEH grants are awarded on a competitive basis. Throughout the year, humanities experts outside of the Endowment and members of the National Council on the Humanities consider all applications and advise NEH on the quality and significance of each proposed project.


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Dog Walking in Arvada
Find a loving dog walker to walk your dog.
Rover also offers dog walking in:
|Applewood, CO
|Berkley, CO
|Edgewater, CO
|Lakeside, CO
|Lakewood, CO
|Mountain View, CO
|Sherrelwood, CO
|Twin Lakes, CO
|Westminster, CO
|Wheat Ridge, CO
When you book dog walking services on Rover, you'll be able to connect with a dog walker who's a good fit for you, your dog, and your lifestyle. Your walker can provide dog walking updates with start and stop times, a map of their walk with total distance, info about pee, poo, food and water breaks, and photos of your dog in action. Every walk booked through Rover also includes premium pet insurance, 24/7 support, and a reservation guarantee.
Looking for a quick solution to your dog walking needs when you're short on time? Then you'll love the Rover dog walking app. The Rover app features hundreds of highly rated, trusted dog walkers, and you can scroll through the options or simply rebook your regular dog walker in seconds. Your dog walker can share real-time photo updates via the Rover dog walking app, and with the app's cashless payment feature you'll be able to compensate your dog walker quickly and safely - no need for cash, checks or tips.
And even better: the price of dog walking in Arvada, CO might not be as much as you thought. Whatever your price range, you'll find a dog walker on Rover for almost any budget. Interested in finding out what the typical Rover dog walker expects as a dog walking fee? Visit our average dog walking rates to see the general fees before checking out an individual dog walker's rates.
Need to find a dog walker near Arvada, CO? Rover.com is the easy, effective way to discover and book reliable dog walking services. The Arvada walkers on Rover love dogs, and 95% of reviewed stays and walks have received a perfect five-star rating. We also offer background checks to all Rover dog walkers in Arvada, CO to ensure that you have total peace of mind - just look for the background check badge on your walker's profile.
In short, when you book Arvada dog walking on Rover, your dog gets the loving care they deserve, and you get to relax knowing that your pet is in good hands.
Are you a dog lover who wants to know more about how to turn your passion into profit? There's lots of opportunity to earn money as a dog walker in Arvada, CO. If you're not sure where to start, visit our page about how to become a dog walker. We're always happy to include new dog walkers in our dog walking service listings, and the simple review process means you can start your own dog walking business in no time. We also take the hassle out when it comes to paperwork, because all our Rover dog walkers have access to premium pet insurance, a third-party background check, and cashless payment feature, so you don't have to worry. Join our pack today!


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Department of Energy (DOE) denied requests for rehearing of the Mid-Atlantic and the Southwest Area National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (National Corridors) designated by DOE in October of last year as areas of significant electricity congestion and constraint.The designation of national corridors was made in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct).
In affirming the National Corridor designations, DOE dismissed as being without merit challenges raised by the applicants for rehearing, citing extensive data analysis conducted in its 2006 National Interest Electric Transmission study, ample opportunity for public review and comment, and several other key reasons.
DOE reviewed the specific issues raised by applicants for rehearing and cited reasons for denying the requests in an Order sent to the Federal Register. DOE noted that the findings of congestion in the designated areas are well-founded and based on data and studies as required by statute, and were based on analysis demonstrating that persistent transmission congestion that adversely affects consumers exists in these two areas. DOE also highlighted that its approach to defining the geographic boundaries of the affected areas is consistent with the statutory requirements.
The corridor designation process provided all interested parties with fair and ample opportunities to provide input and comments, including a 60-day public comment period and over 60 hours of public meetings across the country. Additionally, after issuing the draft National Corridors in April 2007, DOE consulted extensively with State officials and local agencies, regional entities, and the public.
In addition, while DOE encourages diversification of our nations energy sources, DOE is not required by statute to analyze non-transmission alternatives for relief of congestion prior to issuing a National Corridor designation.
Finally, Federal statutes such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act are not applicable to DOEs designation of national corridors. Rather, reviews under these statutes would be conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before Federal approval could be granted under the Federal Power Act for the construction of a transmission project.


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With us being in the middle of the holiday season, there is likely much concern about charitable giving.
With us being in the middle of the holiday season, there is likely much concern about charitable giving. The former CEO of Lenox China, Richard Stearns, wrote a book titled �The Hole In Our Gospel.� In it, he describes his wilderness experience of lengthy unemployment, despite the people he knew.
Stearns quotes the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. as saying, �In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.�
But the crown jewel is his explanation of Isaiah 58:6-11 from the Bible. In summary, it says to loose the chains of injustice and share your food with the hungry; then, you will call upon the Lord and He will answer.
A picture is worth thousands of words, ergo, here is a snapshot of a few Eastern Standard Version Bible scripture references to jump-start conversations, invite opinions, and ignite actions about holiday giving:
n Acts 20:35 � In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, �It is more blessed to give than to receive.�
- Hebrews 13:16 � Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
- 1 John 3:17 � But if anyone has the world�s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God�s love abide in him?
- Luke 12:33 � Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
- Hebrews 13:2 � Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
- Deuteronomy 15:7-11 � If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, The seventh year, the year of release is near, and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the Lord against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.
- Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.
Compare different Bible translations, and add more scriptures to this list. Also, consider the tax code provisions for deductions for charitable contributions made before the end of the year.
Include me in your conversations by writing firstname.lastname@example.com or Pathchoice Ministry, 539 Briary Run, Kinston, NC 28501.
Peace be with you.


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Olga Gutman
When Olga Gutman was just 14 years old and living in Minsk in the former Soviet Union, she wanted to become a lawyer, but was told by her parents that it wouldn't be possible. "They said I had an obviously Jewish last name and I would never be accepted into the law department in the university there," she recalled.
Today, against all odds, Gutman is a partner at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York City where she specializes in hedge funds, private equity funds and other investment management matters. Because of the chances that Yeshiva University gave her and some of her friends from the former Soviet Union nearly 20 years ago, many of them recently decided to return the favor.
"I came here on a student visa in 1990 at first to attend a Lubavitch high school in Crown Heights," she said. "And when it was time to decide on college, Yeshiva offered me a very good scholarship that covered almost all of my costs." Olga graduated from Stern College for Women in 1994 magna cum laude, received the Wall Street Journal Award for Excellence in Economics and went on to get a JD degree and an LLM from Cornell Law School.
"I had always thought that there would come a point where I would help Yeshiva because I was so thankful for the opportunity it gave me," she said. "After being approached by the University last year about ways to reconnect, I said, I am glad you called, because I've been thinking about doing something." Later, at a reunion meeting in the spring of 2008 that she hosted for her friends who had attended YU with her, and who were all members of the Russian Club, they decided to create a scholarship that would support a student attending YU in 2009 who came from the former Soviet Union. "I received my scholarship from YU as a foreign student as well," said Alina Minkin, one of those classmates. "Now it seems like the right time to pay it back. I hope those who get it today will pass this sponsorship to the next generation of foreign students when their time comes."


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Aperiens Umbrae
I like this photo because remind me how the light "open" the shadows and make life appears. This was taken during a sunrise.
Metallicis Reflexionem
Aurantiaco Aurorae
Sunrise at Maunabo Puerto Rico
Influence illuminatae
El Chorro
Exposure: 300.0 sec at ƒ / 18
Focal Lenght: 31 mm
Stuck in a sea of possibilities
Sunk in a sea of possibilities
2014 Last Full Moon
La Agonía
Apricis in arbore mare
A unique and beautiful view of one of the most popular mangrove trees among the photographers of Puerto Rico
Las Croabas
Hourse Head
A little known place in the south of the Island of Puerto Rico called mares point by the rock formations similar to the head of horses
Sun & Tree II
Sun & Tree I
Palm and Sunrise
Dancing with Sun
V Sunrise
Blue Sky


text: This handout provided by the Pima County Sheriff's Forensic Unit shows Jared Lee Loghner. Handout/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Handout/Getty Images The Two-Way Jared Loughner Pleads Guilty To Arizona Shootings August 7, 2012 Under the plea agreement, Loughner avoids the death penalty. A judge found that Loughner was competent enough to understand the gravity of the charges against him. Loughner targeted former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords during the mass shooting.


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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- A judge on Thursday granted a request by former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky that the court return to his wife the $50,000 she put up for his bail before he was convicted this summer of sexually abusing nearly a dozen boys.
Judge John Cleland signed the order that refunded the bail to Dottie Sandusky and released the court's hold on the couple's home, as a promissory note against the home had been put up as $200,000 collateral.
Jerry Sandusky, 68, has been in a county jail since his June conviction on 45 counts of child sexual abuse against 10 boys, some on campus. He is expected to get a lengthy state prison term when sentenced next week, but he maintains his innocence, and defense attorney Joe Amendola has said he will appeal.
Before the conviction, Sandusky had been confined to his suburban State College home. As an inmate at the Centre County Correctional Facility, he has been isolated from the general population of inmates.
Sandusky was convicted of a range of abuse of the boys, from grooming and fondling to oral and anal sex. Prosecutors say he met most of the boys, if not all of them, through The Second Mile, a charity he founded in 1977 for at-risk youths.
One young man testified that when he was a boy his muffled screams from the basement of the Sandusky home went unanswered as Sandusky attacked him.
Sandusky didn't testify at his trial, but his wife testified that she never saw him doing anything inappropriate with boys he took to their home.
Two Penn State administrators were charged with failing to properly report suspected abuse and lying to a grand jury that investigated Sandusky. Athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz are scheduled to go to trial in Harrisburg in January.
Curley, who is on leave, and Schultz, who has retired, deny the charges against them.
Judge's order: http://bit.ly/T6E8RZ


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Sure, Disney's Planes animated movie - manufactured by the direct-to-video entertainment specialist DisneyToon Studios - was an obvious attempt to cash-in on the popularity of the Cars franchise with toddlers (and kids going through the vehicle craze stage of puberty), but did it pay off? Quite handsomely, in fact, as it brought in $207 million worldwide ($89 million within the U.S.) against a $50 million cost.
Good thing, too, because the first installment concluded with an Avengers movie-style end credits tag, stating that protagonist Dusty Cropphopper (voiced by Dane Cook) would return in a sequel in Summer 2014, titled Planes: Fire and Rescue. Planes director Klay Hall was replaced by Roberts Gannaway - director on the House of Mouse cartoon series and two of the Lilo & Stitch direct-to-DVD spinoffs (Stitch! The Movie, Leroy & Stitch) - on Fire & Rescue, probably in large part because pre-production on the latter would've needed to have gotten underway well before the animation process was done on Planes number uno (in order for the sequel to reach theaters a year afterwards).
Fire and Rescue picks up with Dusty, as engine problems force him to leave the world of air racing (until further notice, anyway), in favor of helping to fight the battle against raging wildfires. (If there's not a Smokey the Bearcat vehicle character in the sequel, I'll be deeply disappointed.) As the trailer shows, Dusty meets new bright-eyed anthropomorphized flying/driving vehicles along the way, giving rise to many a one-note character and bad pun that the juice box crowd will appreciate - even as parents/adult guardians bemoan the fact that there's no new Pixar movie in theaters in 2014 that they could've taken their kids to see instead (and, unfortunately, the Despicable Me spinoff, Minions, doesn't arrive until 2015 either).
Complaints about Planes aside, the sequel does have a reasonable chance of improving ever so slightly on its predecessor. For instance, its craftsmanship ought to be more on par with a full-blooded theatrical release and not the cheap home release look of the first movie (with more sophisticated 3D shots added as a spicing). Faint hope, for sure, but when it comes to this 'toon franchise, we'll take whatever good omens we can get.
Planes: Fire & Rescue flies into U.S. theaters on July 18th, 2014.
Source: Moviefone


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Mirror Stage Announces THE ANATOMY OF PAIN, 5/19 & 20
Mirror Stage continues reflecting the diversity of the community on stage in high quality, progressive productions that play it smart without always playing it safe with West Coast premiere reading of The Anatomy of Pain on Saturday, May 19 at 8pm and Sunday, May 20 at 2pm at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre in Seattle. Feed Your Mind: The Anatomy of Pain will be directed by Suzanne M. Cohen and feature McKenzie Clifford (Maty), Ryan Dominguez (Detective Gutierrez), Macall Gordon (Grace), TRoy Johnson (Lt. Burch/Bruce), Eleanor Moseley (Nancy) and Kevin Tighe (Fredrik).A retired surgeon who is sometimes wheelchair-bound by severe arthritis. A 15 year old professional cellist squirming under the thumb of her domineering mother. An undercover cop sidelined by a back injury assigned to investigate their online chess games. When Maty ends up in Fredrik's living room, all the skeletons come tumbling out of the closet. A moderated discussion with the artists follows every performance.A darkly layered drama shrouded in mystery and intrigue, The Anatomy of Pain explores the delicate balance between the emotional, intellectual and physical way we experience of the world around us, while also examining how paranoia and obsessive work ethics can tear apart family bonds. The Anatomy of Pain is the fourth script by Ms. McCullough to be presented in the Feed Your Mind series following Chagrin Falls in 2005, Echoes of Another Man in 2006 and Spare Change in 2007. Mia McCullough's plays have been produced in Chicago at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Stage Left Theatre, and Chicago Dramatists; and around the country at theatres such as Actors' Express in Atlanta, InterAct in Philadelphia, Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego, the Victory Theatre in Los Angeles, and Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival. Her break-through play Chagrin Falls garnered many awards including the American Theatre Critics Association Osborn Award, first prize in the Julie Harris Playwriting Competition, and a Joseph Jefferson Citation for New Work. Since Africa was commissioned by the Cincinnati Shakespeare Festival and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, and a nominee for a Joseph Jefferson Award for Best New Play. Ms. McCullough is currently adjunct faculty at Northwestern University, a resident playwright at Chicago Dramatists and a member of the Dramatists Guild.Theatre That Gets People Talking, Feed Your Mind is Mirror Stage's ongoing series of staged readings that examine topical issues from different perspectives, featuring 100 percent local professional actors. The plays are presented simply: no costumes or sets—just the actors and the text. Following every performance, a discussion with the audience and artists further explores the relevance of issues raised in more depth. 50% of tickets sales from both performances will be donated to the Primeau Fund to help defray the expense of former Mirror Stage board member John Primeau's battle against cancer.Feed Your Mind: The Anatomy of Pain by Mia McCullough runs May 19-20, 2012 at the Ethnic Cultural Theatre, located at 3940 Brooklyn Ave NE in Seattle. Saturday evening admission is $10. Sunday matinee admission is $8. Half-price tickets are available for Senior Citizens and students, and every performance has ten Pay-What-You-Can rush tickets ($1 minimum) for purchase at the door. Free parking is available in University of Washington's lot W12, located at just south of the Ethnic Cultural Theater on Brooklyn Ave NE. For more information, visit http://www.mirrorstage.org/ground or call the Mirror Stage box office at 206-686-1280.


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"My Nude Year Day 301" 12 X 18 Unmounted/unmatted print
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- Standard Archival Value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage
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DNAFoil Vegetal
A ring to rule them all
The world's first portable, rapid DNA solution to prevent food adulteration with vegetal ingredients and to detect the presence of plant-derived allergens after the cleaning process.
Imported milk
Screening of raw materials
In some countries milk fraud is a risk factor. Milk can be diluted with vegetal material (i.e. soy proteins, vegetal fat, flour thickeners) to increase its price. During the transformation processes, the final product may not achieve the desired quality standards.
Release by process
DNAFoil is an operational risk mitigator
Contaminations happen. DNAFoil provides the power to divert raw materials into processes where potential contaminants are not affecting final product quality and compliance.
A food safety facet
Hygiene is critical as the last baby-milk recall shows.
In case of adulteration, the origin, traceability, integrity and safety certificate of the milk adulterants are unknown. Undeclared soy proteins may be a trojan horse for more subtle hazards.
Allergic consumers deserve pure milk
With clean labels comes clean responsibility
If both white and fruit yogurts are produced in the same manufacturing line, potential allergens must be tested. DNAFoil Vegetal is a 'ring to rule them all' that can be used immediately after the washing steps to verify the cleaning.
General Terms and Conditions of Sale – DNAFoil® These general terms and conditions (Terms and Conditions) relate to products and services in connection with the DNAFoil® provided by SwissDeCode SàrL, a Swiss company, with registration number CH-522.214.171.1240-4 and with its registered office at Chemin du Crêt 6, Chavannes-de-Bogis, 1279 Vaud, Switzerland (SwissDeCode). Any order for any product and/or service in connection with the DNAFoil® to be provided by SwissDeCode (Product and/or Service) will only be accepted by SwissDeCode, if it has been correctly submitted through the SwissDeCode web-site, at http://www.swissdecode.com (SwissDeCode Website). Each and every order placed through the SwissDeCode Website for a Product and/or a Service is subject to these Terms and Conditions: any person making an order (you) for a Product and/or Service from SwissDeCode agrees that, if such (your) order is accepted, it is exclusively governed by these Terms and Conditions. ARTICLE 1: Version Control, Language: 1.1 If there is any amendment or variation to these Terms and Conditions, the version in effect at the conclusion of the contract between you and SwissDeCode shall be the version that governs the contract and shall supersede all previous versions. 1.2 No amendment or variation to the Terms and Conditions shall be binding on SwissDeCode unless explicitly approved in writing by SwissDeCode. 1.3 These Terms and Conditions are in the English language: while they may be translated into other languages, if there is any difference in the interpretation of such translated version, the English language version shall prevail. 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In the event that such replacement Product may vary in quality or quantity, has any fault or has a hidden defect you may demand the return of your purchase price, together with any shipping costs. 6.4 The obligations of SwissDeCode pursuant to Article 6.3 of these Terms and Conditions shall not arise if you have failed to handle or to use the Product correctly. 6.5 No claim may be made against SwissDeCode for any mis-representation or any breach of any warranty by SwissDeCode after one calendar year and seven calendar days have passed following the delivery of the Product to you. 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Oven-poached salmon with fennel and beetroot
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You can also add it to one of your existing cookbooks
A side of salmon makes an impressive centrepiece for Boxing Day and is the perfect antidote to overindulging at Christmas.
Serves: 8 with leftovers
100g butter, softened
1 whole salmon, about 3kg
2 limes
20g pack fresh tarragon
25g pack fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra to garnish
300ml dry white wine
700g raw beetroot, thinly sliced
2 fennel bulb (about 700g)
1½ tbsp capers
170ml tub essential Waitrose Double Cream
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Smear half the butter over the base of a large, shallow roasting tin (a large turkey roasting tin with sloping sides is ideal).
2. Place the salmon in the tin. You might need to cut the head and tail off the salmon to make it fit. Make sure you've spread butter under the whole fish, particularly at the tail end, otherwise it will stick.
3. Thinly slice one of the limes. Tuck into the cavity with half the tarragon, half the parsley sprigs and plenty of seasoning.
4. Pour the wine into the tin and cover with buttered foil, sealing the edges well.
5. Scatter the beetroot into a large, shallow ovenproof dish. Cut the fennel into thin wedges, discarding any tough outer layers. Squeeze the juice from the second lime into a bowl. Dip the fennel in the juice and scatter over the beetroot. Dot with a further 25g of butter and season. Place on the top shelf of the oven, cook for 20 minutes, then remove.
6. Dot the fennel with the remaining butter and return to the oven. Place the salmon on the lower shelf. Cook both for 40-45 minutes until the salmon is cooked through. To test, gently pull the dorsal fin – it will come away easily once the salmon is cooked. Peel off the skin and discard it.
7. Transfer the salmon to a platter, cover and keep warm. Check the fennel and beetroot are cooked through. Cook for a little longer if necessary. Strain the salmon cooking juices through a sieve into a small pan and boil until reduced by about half.
8. Finely chop the remaining tarragon and parsley and mix with the capers. Add half of this herby mixture to the pan with the cream. Cook until heated through. Check the seasoning and serve with the salmon, sprinkled with the remainder of the herb and caper mix, and the vegetables.
Typical values per serving:
|Saturated Fat
32.4g protein, 3.8g fibre


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Home State: Pennsylvania
Branch of Service: Infantry
Before Antietam
He was in Company C, 12th Pennsylvania Reserves.
On the Campaign
He was wounded in action at Antietam on 17 September 1862.
References & notes
Casualty information from Nelson1.
1 Nelson, John H., As Grain Falls Before the Reaper, Hagerstown: John H. Nelson, 2004, pg. 130 [AotW citation 16404]


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The above figure compares long term survival in a subgroup of a trial that was published in Circulation in 1980. This was a randomized controlled trial of just over 1000 patients with known cardiovascular disease who were treated with medical therapy alone. The patients were randomized to two treatment groups and were followed for 5 years. In the primary analysis, there was no statistically significant difference in survival between the two groups. However, a subgroup analysis that compared only patients with 3-vessel disease and LV dysfunction at baseline (~200 patients in each group) found that the outcomes were significantly better in group B (p=0.025).
So what was this treatment that was so successful in reducing mortality in group B? There was no treatment. The patients were randomized to the two groups and then simply followed with usual therapy. This study was designed to show the danger of subgroup analyses and why they should be taken with a grain of salt. When the authors looked deeper into the data, it became apparent that the patients in group B were not as sick as those in group A and that the survival difference was non-significant in a multivariable analysis. However, when they further stratified the patients by only including those with no history of congestive heart failure, the difference between the groups became more significant and remained significant in the multivariable analysis (p=0.01).
We are often confronted by negative clinical trials in nephrology and other disciplines and there is a natural tendency to try and find something useful when these trials are completed. Like any multiple comparison, if you do enough subgroup analyses, you will eventually find one that is significant. Any good statistician will tell you that this needs to be accounted for in the final analysis but this is not necessarily always done. Think about this trial when you are reading about the wonderful effects of a treatment that was negative for most but efficacious for a small group of patients with very specific attributes.