cannabisnews.com: Call for Biowar on Drugs Call for Biowar on Drugs Posted by CN Staff on May 06, 2006 at 06:49:06 PT From New Scientist Print Edition Source: New Scientist UK -- Congressman Mark Souder has been busy in his personal war on drugs. As well as fighting against the legalisation of cannabis for medical use, the Indiana Republican has slipped a provision into a bill calling for the fungus Fusarium oxysporum to be used as a biological control agent against drug crops in foreign countries.The CIA, however, has had moral doubts about using the fungus. In 2000, a CIA official told The New York Times that it was unsafe both for humans and for the environment: "I don't support using a product on a bunch of Colombian peasants that you wouldn't use against a bunch of rednecks growing marijuana in Kentucky." The Department of Agriculture and the Drug Enforcement Agency agree. Fusarium species are highly prone to mutation, so they can readily change hosts and infect plants they were not supposed to. This was the main reason Florida's Department of Environmental Protection rejected the fungus in 1999 as a biocontrol agent for use on outdoor marijuana crops.The House of Representatives proposal to use F. oxysporum in biocontrol is not included in the Senate version of the bill, which concerns the office of the US "drug czar", and a committee will now meet to decide on the final version.Meanwhile, Bausch & Lomb recalled a contact-lens solution last week amid fears that it is associated with the spread of an eye disease across the US. The disease is caused by F. oxysporum.From issue 2549 of New Scientist magazine, 29 April 2006, page 6Newshawk: JR Bob DobbsSource: New Scientist (UK)Published: April 29, 2006 Copyright: New Scientist, RBI Limited 2006Contact: letters newscientist.comWebsite: http://www.newscientist.com/Related Articles: Mycoherbicide Reduxhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20958.shtmlThe Temptation of Dr. Weedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15210.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #14 posted by FoM on May 07, 2006 at 11:20:53 PT Toker00 More on Obama Sen. Obama, Rocker Young Are Mutual Fans The Associated PressMay 7, 2006OMAHA, Neb. — Rocker Neil Young may want Sen. Barack Obama to run for president, but the freshman Democratic senator from Illinois isn't having any of it _ at least not yet.In his latest album, "Living With War," Young mentions Obama in the song "Lookin' for a Leader." In it, Young sings of the nation's need for a new leader, singing, "Yeah maybe it's Obama, but he thinks that he's too young."The 44-year-old Obama said at a news conference before a fundraiser Saturday that he had read the lyrics. But despite being name-checked by a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Obama said he has no intention of running for president in two years.That doesn't mean Obama is dissing Young completely: "I'm a big Neil Young fan," Obama said.He and Young met in Chicago at last year's Farm Aid concert. Obama said he sat in a trailer while Young rehearsed the song "Southern Man.""The acoustics in a trailer are terrific. It was unbelievable. ... It was one of the best times that we've had since I was a senator," Obama said.For his part, Young doesn't pin all his hopes on the Illinois senator. In the same song, Young says the needed leader may also be a woman, possibly a reference to Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York.___On the Net:Neil Young: http://www.neilyoung.comBarack Obama: http://obama.senate.gov/Copyright: 2005 Associated Press Neil Young: Living With War [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by John Tyler on May 07, 2006 at 07:53:40 PT Biological weapons, what? Mark Souder has totally lost his mind. He has driven himself insane with his drug war. Does he realize he is advocating Biological warefare? Don't we have international treaties against that sort of thing? Totally shocking. Nobody knows how this stuff will behave if it is let loose or where it will endup. This is ripe with unintended consequences, or blowback as they say at the CIA. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on May 06, 2006 at 19:09:17 PT Toker00 I have a list of candidates. I can't remember their names but they all begin with a D. LOL! That way I might help in bringing change in the powers that be.That's about my depth of politics but that is what I will do. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by ekim on May 06, 2006 at 18:49:39 PT vote Nall"Y-AL That's our candidate http://lastonespeaks.blogspot.com/ Our gal Loretta Nall is hotter than a New York sidewalk in August. Not only is she now in the top ten of Technorati searches, she is also going to be a guest on Fox radio's Alan Colmes show this Monday, May 8, 2006 at 10 pm CDT. Meanwhile, Melinda Pillsbury-Foster writes a fabulous op-ed on Loretta's candidacy. Here's a couple of the money quotes. Loretta Nall is not your typical gubernatorial candidate in any way. Along with being well endowed she is articulate, focused, dedicated, and honest. George W. Bush is not what the Founders had in mind when they created the office of President of the United States. Loretta Nall,is the mother of two; her husband stays home and she works to support them. Her formal education ended with a GED; she married when she was 16. She is a long time activist for individual rights. She is as different from the power elite now infesting government, especially Washington D. C., as is possible and nothing about her is as different from the D. C. Elite as her values. ...If the electoral system in Alabama is as honest as it should be, and the people speak, then the people may well choose a very different exemplar of American values to lead them. Loretta could be Governor of Alabama. Loretta understands the problems that the people of Alabama face today as no other candidate could. Amen to that. And if you have a couple of bucks to spare, go play Flash for Cash, Loretta's newest fundraiser launched in response to the pundit's preoccupation with her natural assets. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Toker00 on May 06, 2006 at 18:16:36 PT Thanks, ekim. It's getting closer and closer to Republican Replacement time. Has anyone started a list of candidates we could review? I'm lazy when it comes to making lists like that. Sorry. We have to make ending cannabis prohibition an askable question in these Congressional elections. We CAN'T let them hide any longer.Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by ekim on May 06, 2006 at 18:02:18 PT Illinois Senator ----------toke The New Yorker: Fact... a raucous primary as the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate. ... Obama was actually born in Hawaii. His father, also named Barack Obama, ... www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040531fa_fact1 - 81k - Cached - Similar pages http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040531fa_fact1 [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Toker00 on May 06, 2006 at 17:46:44 PT Obama "Human health cannot be considered “collateral damage” in the war on drugs, and I can assure you that I will not support any measure that takes such a position."Good. A definite stand by a... Dem, isn't he? He would HAVE to be, if he is standing for the people. What state is he from? Witholding cannabis from the sick people creates "collateral damage". I want to see how he votes when it comes to medical cannabis. I've heard him speak. A politician with a FUTURE?Toke. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by mayan on May 06, 2006 at 16:43:43 PT Souder = Terrorist Mark Souder is a terrorist. There is no other way around it. If even the CIA has moral doubts about using Fusarium oxysporum, Souder has lost all of his marbles! God, help us all.We are ruled by a madman...Bush says fight against terror is 'World War III': http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060505/pl_afp/usattacksbushwwiii_060505220719THE ONLY WAY OUT..."United 93": What Happened on the Planes? http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20060501&articleId=2356Flight 93 Secondary Debris Field: http://www.flight93crash.com/flight93_secondary_debris_field.html"Flight 93" the movie, why? http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/printer_752.shtmlThe Hidden Story of Building #7: http://www.wtc7.net/9/11 International Education & Strategy Conference - June 2nd-4th - Chicago: http://www.911truth.org/ChicagoConference.htmAMERICAN SCHOLARS SYMPOSIUM - JUNE 24th-25th - L.A. http://www.americanscholarssymposium.org/Scholars for 9/11 Truth: http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/index.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on May 06, 2006 at 12:38:38 PT: Ecocide Not to mention possible suicide for humanity. Assume for a moment that F. Oxysporum is used according to Souder's wet-dream. True to its' nature, it mutates and attacks food crops. Travelers from nations where it has been used innocently carry the spores with them on their shoes while flying on airliners. The fungus is spread throughout the world within a month. Successive generations mutate further, and attack other food crops. The damage becomes obvious...as does the source. The mainstream media denies it, the Web is on fire with the news. Mass exoduses of populations begin. Refugees overburden already taxed-to-the-limit capacities of nations to look after their own. Frustration leads to anger, anger to action. Nations possessing weapons of mass destruction, seeing the possibility of their populations dying of starvation, initiate hostilities with their neighbors in genocidal warfare intent on literally wiping out their competition for the last areas of uncontaminated land left. Warfare that would almost certainly include the nuking of several Western capitols. Nothing written above hasn't already been produced in some part by some think-tank and is probably gathering dust on a shelf in the Pentagon's contingency plan library. Marky is barking mad if he thinks he can 'safely' use oxysporum. Wasn't DDT and dioxin enough of a warning? [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 06, 2006 at 12:13:37 PT JR Bob Dobbs That is great to read. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on May 06, 2006 at 12:07:17 PT A response from Senator Obama I wrote both of my senators back when this issue first appeared on Drug War Rant, and coincidentally just now I got a reply. And this isn't the usual reply from an elected official - "Thanks for letting me know how you feel on this issue" and a noncommital promise to keep my views in mind when a vote comes around - this one actually dealt with the topic at hand. Take a look:Thank you for contacting me regarding your opposition to the mycoherbicide provisions in H.R. 2829, the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006. I appreciate hearing from you.As you know, the House version of the bill, which passed in March, would require the Director's Office to report to Congress on a plan for research on the use of mycoherbicides to destroy illicit drug crops. The report must be conducted with complete and thorough peer review, and also must include an evaluation of any health/environmental impacts. Although the inclusion of these reporting requirements are meant to satisfy concerns like yours, many argue that the health/environmental impact portion of the study is unnecessary because decisive conclusions on the issue have already been reached. As you note, several federal agencies have rejected its use already. As the relevant Senate committees begin their work on this chamber’s version of the bill, I am confident that your concerns will be raised. Human health cannot be considered “collateral damage” in the war on drugs, and I can assure you that I will not support any measure that takes such a position.Thank you again for writing.Sincerely,Barack Obama, United States Senator [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by VitaminT on May 06, 2006 at 09:49:17 PT How would the farmers feel? How would the farmers in Indiana feel if a mutated strain of Fusarium wiped out the corn crop?Would that be an acceptable trade-off to achieve Mr. Souder's "Drug Free" Neverland?This guy is an obsessive wierdo playing with dangerous biological agents. May they infest his life until he dies! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by freewillks on May 06, 2006 at 09:33:03 PT WoW! This country has gone mad. Did we not invade Iraq becouse they used Biological weapons? I'm speachless. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by whig on May 06, 2006 at 08:01:51 PT Agent Green http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusarium_oxysporum [ Post Comment ] Post Comment