Thursday, November 17, 2011

Share & Voice - Video: Monsanto and FOX News


This is a video about a court case we studied in my philosophy class. I didn't realize it was the same story right away. it is about the two reporters who were hired at FOX to be investigative reporters. They did their job uncovering the fact that bovine growth hormone was in much of the milk in the United Sates, and the effects that weren't being stated. FOX was threatened by Monsanto and suggested that FOX not run the story but that the reporters keep quite for which they didn't agree.  There were no disputes on the claim the reporter made, just the concern of running the story.


The interesting thing that also comes with this, and is very concerning when it comes to getting the truth on environmental as well as every other issue, is the court case that ruled...


The court did not dispute the heart of Akre’s claim, that Fox pressured her to broadcast a false story to protect the broadcaster from having to defend the truth in court, as well as suffer the ire of irate advertisers. Fox argued from the first, and failed on three separate occasions, in front of three different judges, to have the case tossed out on the grounds there is no hard, fast, and written rule against deliberate distortion of the news.

The attorneys for Fox, owned by media baron Rupert Murdoch, argued the First Amendment gives broadcasters the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on the public airwaves.
In its six-page written decision, the Court of Appeals held that the Federal Communications Commission position against news distortion is only a “policy,” not a promulgated law, rule, or regulation. Fox aired a report after the ruling saying it was “totally vindicated” by the verdict.


Another link to another story about this same case
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/11-the-media-can-legally-lie/

Where I actually found the video was in this story, Why are Genetically Modified Foods not Labeled?

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Advocacy Project: Healthy People/THOMAS

Choose 1 HealthyPeople 2020 environmental objective (or sub-objective) in which you are interested. Give its definition, its target, and its baseline.

2020 ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OBJECTIVE: 
Surface and ground water quality
OBJECTIVE:   EH-4  Increase the proportion of persons served by community water systems who receive a supply of drinking water that meets the regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act
BASELINE:  89 percent of persons served by community water systems received a supply of drinking water that meets the regulations of the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005
TARGET:   91 percent


Find a related bill in THOMAS or the state legislation/bill search. Report the following information as shown in the example. (Be sure to link to where you found this information). As shown in the last two lines, include what action you recommend and the appropriate political representative you would contact to share your opinion.

BILL:
 H.R.425 
LATEST TITLE: Great Lakes Water Protection Act
OFFICIAL TITLE AS INTRODUCED: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to establish a deadline for restricting sewage dumping into the Great Lakes and to fund programs and activities for improving wastewater discharges into the Great Lakes.
SPONSOR: Rep Dold, Robert J. [IL-10] (introduced 1/25/2011)  
Cosponsors (1)
LATEST MAJOR ACTION: 1/26/2011 Referred to House subcommittee. Status: Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
RECOMMENDATION: Vote YES for H.R.425 Great Lakes Water Protection Act
MY POLITICAL REPRESENTATIVE: Congressman Chip Cravaack