Monsanto Chemical: Buys Government, Scares Press, and Sells Out Public!

Where is the hue and cry from all the government agencies that "protect" us, or from the so-called independent press, that supposedly is "looking out" for us.  Monsanto (previously Monsanto Chemical) - the folks that brought us the unforgettable Agent Orange, among others - like the relatively innocuous Roundup weed killer.  However, what happens when you start manipulating the market to eliminate the competition?  How do they do that?

First you start by genetically modifying produce - like corn, soybeans, or wheat - to make them resistant to Roundup and similar products.  Next you back-engineer one of your other products - like fertilizer - to include Roundup in it.  Something like Monsanto's "Asgrow Roundup Ready" or "Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans."  From the Monsanto website: "This is a new proprietary seed treatment from Monsanto which will be commercialized in conjunction with the launch of Asgrow Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans."  Monsanto offers "Simple, flexible and dependable weed control you expect from the Roundup Ready system.", and "Powerful genetic trait combinations created through our advanced breeding process deliver higher yield potential than other brands."  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, what we're talking about is Frankenfood!  And it's not just soybeans ... Monsanto has genetically modified corn, wheat, and God only knows what else to resist Roundup.  Can you see where this is going?  Modify the seeds to resist a weed poison, then include the poison in either the pod or the fertilizer, to kill those pesky weeds.  So far, so good!

But, there's an unanswered question here too - How does the Roundup not get absorbed into the produce it's protecting from weeds?  It doesn't!  We are unknowingly and trustingly ingesting toxic materials with almost every item we are being sold as food!  Have you eaten a nice steak, or enjoyed a good hamburger recently?  If so, then you should familiarize yourself with the acronym BGH - Bovine Growth Hormone.  Have you wondered why your 10 year old daughter is sprouting breasts already?  There's your answer - BGH!  Monsanto's Bovine somatotropin (abbreviated bST and BST) is also called bovine growth hormone, or BGH.  BST can be produced synthetically, using recombinant DNA technology. The resulting product is called recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH), or artificial growth hormone. It is administered to the cow by injection and used to increase milk production. Currently Monsanto is the only company that markets recombinant bovine somatotropin, under the trade name Posilac.  According to Monsanto, approximately one-third of dairy cattle in the U.S. are treated with Posilac; approximately 8,000 dairy producers use the product. It is now the top-selling dairy cattle pharmaceutical product in the U.S.  Use of the recombinant supplement has been controversial. While it is used in the United States (though not without reaction), it is banned in Canada, parts of the European Union, Australia and New Zealand.  Is there a reason for this ban?  Are they perhaps more concerned with the welfare of their citizens, than our government is for OUR personal well-being?

Monsanto's lawyers scared Fox television affiliate, WTVT/Fox-13 in Tampa, Florida so badly, the station manager fired two staff members who had done an investigative reporting piece after they refused to modify the story to appease Monsanto.

Monsanto is running roughshod over our citizenry in their (thus-far successful) attempt to bribe, intimidate, threaten and otherwise leverage those who would question the negative human health factors of Monsanto-produced  Frankenfoods.  Our complacency as a nation will be our undoing.  I could be wrong ... but, I'm NOT!

Automotive Industry Bailout? The UAW Should Bail Out!

We have the UAW to thank for the decreasing revenues of the Big 3 U.S. automakers. Some illiterate Bozo pushing a broom in a Detroit auto plant is making $20+ per hour! Here's a breakdown of actual labor costs per hour at the Big 3, this is for hourly workers only, and does not include extremely overcompensated white-collar salaries -

Labor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers, 2006. (Correction to the below information: I have just discovered on Nov 19, 2008 that, since 2006, the average laborer's compensation package for American owned automobile manufacturers has increased to slightly over $81 per hour! Therefore the following figures for the "Big 3" are about 12% low.)


Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)


GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)


Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year)


Toyota, Honda, Nissan (in U.S.): $48.00 ($96,000 per year)
(source: Forbes)

Is it any wonder that American auto manufacturers cannot compete in the open market? They're being strangled by labor costs! That, coupled with the fact that, across the board, Chrysler, Ford and GM produce an inferior product, when compared to the quality and durability of competing Japanese imports.


As credit availability has tightened - to the point that it should always have maintained - consumer spending has slowed to a crawl. As a result, major U.S. automakers have seen their profits fall. Severe adjustments must be made in order to bring this industry back from the brink of extinction.

1. American auto manufacturers must return to the business of building a durable product. It seems that competitors in foreign countries produce products that can last for years with little need for maintenance. Many American made vehicles often have major mechanical problems within the first year or two of usage. In order to remain competitive in an emerging global market, the auto industry must produce vehicles that are more reliable and can attain optimum gas mileage.

2. Our auto industry must not continue to give in to the crushing demands of the auto workers union. A key advantage that foreign auto makers have is they do not have to pay outlandish wages and benefits when they can simply expand or relocate to areas that do not bow to union pressures. Foreign auto makers have consistently surpassed their American counterparts in production and profitability. It is now time that the auto behemoths stand up to the unions and demand their employees work for a fair wage and competitive benefits without jeopardizing the life of the company. How does it profit the unemployed worker to say, "I used to work for Chrysler (or Ford, or GM) when they were in business." Or the underemployed worker to ask, "Would you like fries with that, sir?"

3. They need to control spending at all levels of the corporation. Many auto executives revel in lavish luxury compensation packages, fail-safe "Golden Parachutes," and outlandish bonus incentives. The only people deserving of a Golden Parachute are those who save a failing corporation, not those who failed to save it! This is true for ALL industries, not just automotive.

The average UAW worker with a high school diploma earns 57.6% more total compensation than the average university professor with a PhD (who earns about $93,000 per year), and 52.6% more than the average worker at Toyota, Honda or Nissan.

The true bailout won't come about until the UAW either renegotiates the contracts to a reasonable level of compensation, or the UAW is eliminated as the bargaining entity for those employed within the automotive manufacturing industry.

I could be wrong .............................. but I'm NOT!

FreddieMac and FannieMae, Doodah, Doodah ...

Why is it, that corporate CEO's who (mis)manage the corporation for which they are ultimately responsible into bankruptcy or government bailout, always get a multi-million dollar departure gift? This is especially true when the product being managed is MONEY!

Let me see if I can figure this process out ...

1. I have been appointed as the CEO of XYZ Financial Management Group. The "job" pays me $22M simoleans per year.
2. In return for that outrageous sum of money, I am responsible for insuring that the corporate assets are invested in such a fashion that the corporation receives a statistically reasonable return on said investments.
3. I achieve the above by managing the human resources immediately below me in the Corporate Senior Management hierarchy - the Chief Financial Officer; the Chief Operating Officer; the Chief Administrative Officer, etc. - and I am responsible directly to the Chairman of the Board of Directors (or I may, in fact, BE him ... in which case I am responsible to the stockholders).
4. I play golf Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, drop by the office about 11:30am, then have a "business lunch" with my corporate cronies at "The Club" from around 1:00pm until ... oh, 2:30-ish. After such a sumptuous meal, a good massage is always in order, and I get back to the office around 4pm and waste the next 15 minutes waiting for my chauffeur to arrive so he can drive me home.
5. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the only change to my routine is that I play racquet ball in the mornings.

As you can plainly see, my job is one of responsibility, as opposed to effort. I get paid for accepting responsibility for those beneath me, who have a more realistic level of responsibility. Their jobs require that their respective divisions actually accomplish something! Using a stagecoach analogy; they are the horses that pull the coach ... I am the coachman who chooses the direction in which they travel. I do proportionately little, but then, I don't work for hay. However, if the stagecoach doesn't reach the appropriate destination, can I blame the horses?

How many of us have held jobs where we were rewarded for our failures? Let's have a show of hands ... just one hand! (Okay Barack, you can put your hand down now.) These "Golden Parachutes" are ridiculous. (Basically, a A golden parachute is a contractual agreement between a company and an employee (usually an upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. Sometimes, certain conditions, typically a change in company ownership, must be met, but often the cause of termination is unspecified. These benefits may include severance pay, cash bonuses, stock options, or other benefits. They are designed to reduce negative incentives should the company change hands, not to protect some corporate Phoenix who burns his company nest! There should be federal regulations allowing corporations or receivers to negate a Golden Parachute clause when the company fails due to the action/inaction of any, several, or all executive officers. If XYZ Financial Management Group can't file criminal charges against me, and/or my subordinates, they should at least be able to refuse any further compensation. I have destroyed their company through my own mismanagement/non- management of available resources!

But, that's just the way I see things ... am I wrong?