Agriculture Leaders Convene to Strenthen the Organic Seed Systems in the Southeast

By Kristina Hubbard
Agricultural leaders from the Southeast recently convened to lay the groundwork for strengthening the region's organic seed systems.

Organic Seed Alliance's advisory services director Dan Hobbs, along with board members Tony Kleese and Ira Wallace, hosted an exploratory meeting in April 2011 with university personnel, extension agents, NGOs, and farmers. Five states were represented in this meeting. Hobbs shared OSA's past success in supporting the development of regional seed systems that provide for the diverse needs of organic farmers. A brainstorming session followed, where the group identified and discussed the following objectives for this project:

- Building infrastructure to facilitate commercial-scale organic seed production - Developing new and improved vegetable varieties - Encouraging better coordination among growers and buyers

Special interest was expressed in breeding for vegetables and cover crops adapted to agricultural conditions of the Southeast, cooperative seed development, and educational opportunities.


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Labor-Funded Progressive Leaders Cross Huffington Post Picket Line

By Mike Elk
Last week was a milestone in journalism, as the Huffington Post exceeded the New York Times in Web traffic and cemented its role as a main rival to the Gray Lady.  It was also noted that the combined AOL-Huffington Post newsroom staff of 1,300 people is now bigger than the Times' 1,200 person newsroom staff. While much of the debate about the rivalry has focused on Huffington Post's adoption of savvy Internet tactics versus the much more old-school New York Times, very little of the discussion has focused on where the two newsroom differ the most: their labor practices.

The Times' newsroom staff is entirely unionized, while the AOL-Huffington Post staff is entirely nonunionized. Also unlike the Times, which insists on paying every professional writer (even op-ed contributors), the Huffington Post has relied on a network of over 8,000 unpaid bloggers to establish itself and drive traffic to its site. In a Forbes magazine article, AOL executives were quoted as saying that AOL CEO Tim Armstrong "talked a lot about the importance of recruiting hordes of free bloggers . "It was always, 'Arianna does it. That's what she's built her business on. Why don't we do it, too?'" says a former AOL editor-in-chief."

Labor leaders claim that with 11,000 journalists having lost their jobs due to newsrooms cutbacks in the last three years, AOL-Huffington Post has risen to its stature by exploiting journalists desperate to establish names for themselves as writers, and thus willing to work for free in the hopes that they may someday find paid work. They say that the fact the Huffington Post doesn't pay its writers is an unfair business advantage that is sure to lower the standards of journalists.

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European Leaders Don't Want Cell Phones and WiFi in Schools

By Dr.Mercola

A Council of Europe committee examined evidence that the cell phones and wireless internet connections have "potentially harmful" effects on humans, and decided that immediate action was required to protect children. They ruled that the technologies pose a health risk and should be banned from schools.

The committee report argued that it was crucial to avoid repeating the mistakes made when public health officials failed to recognize the dangers of asbestos, tobacco smoking and lead.

According to the Telegraph:

 "The report also highlighted the potential health risks of cordless telephones and baby monitors, which rely on similar technology ...  The Council of Europe ... is highly influential in policy-making and has often seen its decisions enacted through conventions and treaties."


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