Genetically-Engineered Salmon Headed for Our Plate?

The Food and Drug Administration recently completed three days of hearings and public comment on the effort by AquaBounty Technologies to market farm-raised salmon that’s been genetically modified to grow twice as fast as normal salmon. These fish have a growth hormone from a close relative, the Chinook salmon, inserted into them.

The hearings, conducted by an independent panel, ended without the FDA reaching a decision on whether the Massachusetts company can proceed with sales of the “frankenfish,” which it calls AquaAdvantage salmon. Next steps include an Environmental Assessment of the salmon, followed by a mandated 30-day comment period. The agency says it has not set a timeline for making a decision on whether to allow AquaBounty to move forward with sales.

If the FDA were to give its approval, it would be about two years before these AquaAdvantage salmon would reach the market. It would be the first such scientifically altered animal food product to reach our dinner plates.

The two primary issues are whether the salmon would be safe to eat, and would it be safe for the environment.

FDA staff had previously issued a report, finding the genetically-engineered salmon to be as safe to eat as normal salmon.

But some critics of the report felt the safety tests should have included more data. One of the chief concerns is what would happen if these fast-growing fish were to somehow escape into the ocean and breed with other “natural” salmon.

The words “genetically modified” or “genetically engineered” raise red flags for many people—and when hormones are mentioned in connection with foods like meat and dairy products, additional alarm bells go off for many.

On the other hand, we’ve all heard about the dwindling numbers of Atlantic salmon and other species in the ocean today. Salmon that grow to maturity in half the time would likely help ease some of these overfishing issues.

Take the nutrition quiz on frankenfish and other GMOs (genetically modified organisms):http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/10/08/1658714/nutrition-quiz-frankenfish-and.html

JAMEY JOHNSON’S MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY-DIRECTED VIDEO PREMIERES THIS WEEK

JOHNSON TO PERFORM ON THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO OCTOBER 26

Nashville, TN (October 19, 2010) -- Jamey Johnson’s highly-anticipated music video for “Playing the Part,” directed by Matthew McConaughey, premieres this week.
 Entertainment Tonight will feature the world premiere on Wednesday, October 20. VEVO will premiere the full-length director’s cut on Friday, October 22 starting at 8 a.m. ET at www.vevo.com and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage will be available online at www.people.com.

The video, shot in Los Angeles in late September, marks two important firsts. It is the first music video ever directed by McConaughey and the first video from Johnson’s critically acclaimed 25-song double album, The Guitar Song, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200.

“Jamey and this song both have a great sense of humor, so I wanted the video to have a 'wink' to it,” says McConaughey. “For any video, if you like the song, you should like it even more after you see the video. I wanted this video to support the lyrics, and elevate the song.”

With his extensive film background, he wanted his first foray into video directing to feature a compelling narrative so that it wouldn’t be an ordinary music video.  “This is a story with a beginning, middle and a surprise at the end,” he says. “I started out with a 250-pound stripper leaving work in the morning, and ended up with a man in a gorilla suit getting fired from used tire store."

When McConaughey told Johnson that the video would be pretty “carney,” Johnson said, “Get as carney as you want.”

About working with his friend, Johnson says, “I don’t think I could have dreamed anything better.”

McConaughey first heard Johnson’s music about 2-1/2 years ago on an AM radio in his brother Rooster’s barn. “We’re in this little barn and it was echoing from this tiny radio,” McConaughey says. “I said, ‘Damn, this is a good song, Rooster.’ And Rooster said, ‘It’s called ‘In Color.’ We didn’t know what artist it was, so we looked it up and it was Jamey. I went immediately and bought Jamey’s album and said, ‘This album is an instant classic.’”

McConaughey met Johnson during the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, where Johnson received the Song of the Year award for “In Color.” McConaughey presented the award for album of the year, for which Johnson was also nominated. “I thought That Lonesome Song was the best album that year, but he did win best song,” McConaughey notes.

“I met Jamey backstage, he hit on Camila, we shared a few laughs, and we stayed in touch.”

A few months later, McConaughey’s girlfriend, Camila Alves, secretly asked Johnson to perform at McConaughey’s 40th birthday party.

During one of their conversations, McConaughey, a Texas native, invited Alabama-native Johnson to the Texas-Alabama national championship football game. The men made a bet:  the loser would donate money to the winner’s favorite charity.

“When Jamey won, he said, ‘You can donate my winnings to Gamblers Anonymous,’” McConaughey says. But McConaughey discovered that the organization didn’t accept donations, so Johnson told him that the bet would be settled if McConaughey would publicly announce that he lost the bet, which he did in a magazine.

After Johnson completed his album, he called McConaughey and said, “I’ve got a new single and I want you to direct the video for it.” McConaughey responded, "Sure, let me listen to it and find an angle."

"I had a few initial ideas,” recalls McConaughey. “But after Jamey and I talked about why he wrote it and where the song came from, it was clear that I needed a man in a monkey suit."

“Playing the Part” was one of two Los Angeles-inspired songs Johnson penned for The Guitar Song. 

Johnson, who is currently on tour, will perform on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Tuesday, October 26.

A Lot of SHAKING going on in Michigan

UP Has a Long History of Earthquakes

UP author Lisa A. Shiel has researched the hidden history of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and reveals the surprising facts about earthquakes. The recent quake that tore open a crevice in Menominee County is just one of many temblors that have shaken the region throughout its history.

Lake Linden, MI— On October 4, 2010, residents of Stephenson in Menominee County heard a loud boom and felt their houses tremble. The next day, a large crevice was discovered. A week later, geologist Wayne Pennington of Michigan Technological University in Houghton announced the results of his examination of the evidence. An earthquake had caused the shaking and the crevice. As a local author has discovered, however, earthquakes in the UP are nothing new. In the years 1902 to 1909 alone, more than 20 earthquakes rattled the UP. Lisa A. Shiel documents the UP's shaky history in her new book Forgotten Tales of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Based chiefly on historical newspaper accounts, the book relates little-known stories from the 1800s through the 1920s, with an entire chapter devoted to earthquakes. In 1905 a swarm of quakes crisscrossed the UP. A temblor struck Menominee County on March 13 of that year. Today, scientists estimate the strength of that quake to have been approximately 3.8 on the Richter scale. Newspaper stories blamed the shaking on "air blasts" inside mines. "The problem with that idea," Shiel says, "is that nobody had a clue what air blasts were. So this was hardly a solution to the mystery."

The worst quake hit the Keweenaw Peninsula on July 26, 1905. A tremendous boom heard as far away as Marquette heralded the start of the quake. The shaking lasted for about ten seconds and rattled everything in the vicinity of the towns of Calumet, Lake Linden, and Hancock. A house was knocked an inch off its foundation, windows were shattered, and chimneys tumbled to the ground. Miners as far down as the 49th level of the Quincy Mine felt the tremors. The July quake was the last straw for some residents of the Keweenaw, who fled the region.

"After three years of earthquakes," Shiel says, "people were terrified. They had no idea what was happening."

At the time, geologists thought the quakes were natural, though perhaps exacerbated by the presence of deep mines. Fred W. McNair, president of the Michigan College of Mines (now Michigan Technological University), told Houghton's Daily Mining Gazette the quakes stemmed from "an uplift of the land." In 1911, in a report issued for the Michigan Geological and Biological Survey, noted geologist William Herbert Hobbs agreed with McNair's opinion. Today, however, the earthquakes of the early 20th century are generally dismissed as mine collapses.

"Who should we believe?" Shiel asks. "It's impossible to look back now and say for certain what happened then. The mystery is part of the fun of these old stories."

Forgotten Tales of Michigan's Upper Peninsula is Shiel's sixth book. A resident of Michigan’s UP, Shiel researches and writes about everything strange, from Bigfoot and UFOs to alternative history. To contact her, e-mail lisa@backyardphenomena.com or call (906) 523-6101.

'Obama! A Modern U.S. President (musical spoof)'

State Farm Data Shows That October Remains Most Dangerous Month for Teen Crashes

Teens Are Conflicted; State Farm Survey Shows 70% of New Drivers Are Nervous About Being in a Crash or Hurting Someone, Yet 57% Say They Text While Driving

Kalamazoo, Mich., October 15, 2010 - Newly analyzed State Farm® claims data shows teen crashes spike by 15 percent in October compared to other months of the year.   State Farm evaluated its extensive claims database from 2003 – 2009, and in every year, October continues to register the most claims across the United States and portions of Canada.  

At a state level, about 1 in 4 states show this month as the most dangerous time of the year for teen crashes.  About 70 percent of states show October as being among its top three months for teen accident claims.  In Michigan, 9.8 percent of teen car crashes occur in October.

“Car crashes remain the number one killer of teens and October continues to be our single biggest battleground month,” said Ann Baughan, Vice President of Operations at State Farm. “While promoting teen driver safety requires a year-round commitment, the fall time frame is critically important.  As teens return to school, attend homecoming and begin managing very busy schedules, we want them to keep safe driving practices at the top of their minds because our data shows this is one of the most dangerous times of year for teens to be on the road.”

Teens Remain Conflicted

A recent State Farm survey by Harris Interactive shows that despite concerns about getting into an accident, most teen drivers still lack awareness about the true ramifications of dangerous driving practices.  In the survey, of 14- to 17 year olds who intend to have or already have a driver’s license, 70 percent of teen drivers admitted to being nervous about being in a crash or hurting someone.  But despite these concerns, 57percent of teens admit to reading or sending text messages while driving.

When we asked teens why their peers text while driving even though they know it is dangerous, the general response is that staying connected is more important than ever to Generation Y.  

“Kids my age want to stay in touch,” said 17-year-old Danish Hasan of Algonquin, IL.  “We like instant communication, and many kids worry what their friends will think if they don’t answer text messages immediately.”  Danish nearly drove onto a sidewalk while sending a short text message, recovering control of the vehicle just in time to avoid hitting several pedestrians. Danish said this close-call taught him a lesson about how quickly one can become distracted, and now he’s an advocate for putting the phone away while driving.  

Parents can play a major role in closing the awareness gap with their teens.  According to the survey, those teens whose parents frequently talked with them about safe driving practices have the clearest understanding of what represents risky driving behavior.  

National Teen Driver Safety Week

Given the prevalence of teen car crashes in October, beginning in 2007, State Farm and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia worked with Congress to designate the third week of October as National Teen Driver Safety Week.  Having a dedicated week provides a unique opportunity to focus attention on this national problem.  The week serves as a time set aside for parents, teens, educators and legislators to shine a spotlight on teen driver safety and ramp up conversations about solutions for the high rate of car crashes involving teens.  Across the country this week, hundreds of State Farm agents and employees will be participating in teen driver safety activities in their local communities. In Michigan, State Farm agents, law enforcement and non-profit are joining forces to bring an auto driving simulator to schools across the state, so teens can see first-hand the dangers  and consequences of distracted driving.

State Farm and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have produced a social media announcement (SMA), “Not Now, I’m Driving,”  to help spread the world about teen driver safety and the importance of refraining from texting while driving.  For more information about teen driver safety and National Teen Driver Safety Week, please go to  www. statefarm.com/teendriving.
About the Survey
For this State Farm survey, Harris Interactive conducted the survey within the United States on July 22-26, 2010 among 697 U.S. 14- to 17-year-olds, including 694 who intend to have or already have a driver’s license. Figures for age, sex, geographic region, and race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population.  The margin of error is +/- 3.7 percent.

Legion to President: Appeal DADT court decision

 

        INDIANAPOLIS (Oct. 14, 2010) – As the board of directors of The American Legion met in Indianapolis, its national commander called on President Obama to immediately appeal the ruling from U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips in Riverside, Calif., that would “immediately suspend and discontinue any investigation, or discharge, separation or other proceeding that may have been commenced” under Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell.

        “Consistent with our long-standing policy of allowing the military to police its own requirements and standards for service, The American Legion requests you appeal this decision and seek a stay on the current injunction,” National Commander Jimmie L. Foster wrote in a letter to the White House.  “No action by a single federal judge should obviate the policy of Don’t Ask; Don’t Tell before the Department of Defense completes its review.”

        In meetings held in May, the organization passed a resolution urging Congress not to take any action that would alter the Department of Defense policy of DADT before it had a chance to complete the review.  

“For an unelected judge with lifetime tenure to issue such a ruling while the military was in the process of surveying its troops on the impact of such a policy change is outrageous,” Foster said. “She is basically saying that she knows more than our military leadership, our Congress and our elected commander in chief.”

        The Dept. of Defense has always established fitness for duty criteria and standards of conduct consistent with the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

        “Our military is engaged in two wars,” he added. “Military commanders have much more important issues to deal with. This is not about politics. It’s about doing what’s best for our troops and not distracting from the war effort. Our military should not be micro-managed by judicial edicts.”

This is too close to home