I doubt this very much; I heard on Fox that the leading cause of bee death is actually bee on bee violence, but it's not pollenitically correct to admit that. Instead of trying to drum up chemical guilt, these liberal insecticide-baiters should be talking about the thug culture of bee life that we know goes on out in the colonies (many of which are single queen households).

Are we supposed to believe that Bee Lives Matter is all about ending colony collapse, when the majority of the nuts who participate in this “movement” are demanding whole groups of chemicals be banned just because they happen to demonstrate neoconicotinoid values? We need a ticket of Trump/Thiamethoxam in 2016 to show these honey-sucking gangsters where we stand.

additionally anybody who thinks a plant that is planted in massive monoculture fields and produces INSECTICIDE is not harmful to the environment or to us is a fucking moron.

Ah, but there was followup to the story and it looks like the trees were innocent:

But a local conservation society concluded that the tree was inadvertently sprayed with a pesticide that killed the bees.

Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, said he has confirmed the thousands of dead bees found Monday in a Wilsonville parking lot died from pesticide poisoning.

Black said the Oregon Department of Agriculture talked with a landscaping company that recently sprayed an insecticide called Safari on the European linden trees in the parking lot.

“They made a huge mistake, but unfortunately this is not that uncommon,” said Black. “Evidently they didn’t follow the label instructions. This should not have been applied to the trees while they’re in bloom.”

You're right. I stand corrected. At first I thought this might be an example of an improper usage that is so common it becomes accepted but according to the EPA at

http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/about/

"Though often misunderstood to refer only to insecticides, the term pesticide also applies to herbicides, fungicides, and various other substances used to control pests."

I'm not a politician or lawyer. The patent infringement stuff you mentioned sounds bad, but I don't know enough to make an educated comment.

As far as RoundUp Ready soybeans, what I know about it is that it inhibits an enzyme required for RoundUp (the sprayed pesticide) to work, thus rendering certain crops "immune" to the spray. From a bioengineering perspective it is ingenious and allows developed nations to have plentiful and cheap crops year round. GMO is a product of our (humanity's) need for cheap, plentiful and calorie-dense foods. Sure, we can complain about the fact that we don't want to eat pesticides/insecticides/whatever, but we complain far more when the food we eat is expensive, scarce and calorie-sparse. Before GM (I'll include selective breeding in this category), our food supply was predicated on the vagaries of the weather, insects, viruses, fungi and bacteria. We now enjoy a plentiful bounty year round and still we complain. We cannot have it both ways.

I realize that there is a gut reaction to GM (and irradiated) foods, but people need to educate themselves and ask if they would rather have massive price swings for staple foods or (relatively) cheap food year round that is inherently not the product of evolutionary changes.

>> ^xxovercastxx:

>> ^marbles:
Ok pal. Gardasil contains aluminum, polysorbate 80 and sodium borate. [...] According to VAERS – the following reports have been listed for HPV, HPV2 & HPV 4 and "mental disorders." [...] But hey, the government and big business says it's perfectly safe, so all those victims are probably just full of shit.
Aluminum: Exceptionally low toxicity. The LD50 for aluminum is 6.207 g/kg. That comes out to over a pound for a 175lb person.
Polysorbate 80: Not found to be a carcinogen according to this study and this study. Here (PDF) is yet another study that finds no evidence of carcinogenicity. Also noteworthy is that the Gardasil vaccine contains 0.00005g of Polysorbate 80. The average daily intake from food is 2000x that.
Sodium Borate ("Borax"): The LD50 of Borax is 2.66 g/kg. That comes out to .46lbs to kill a 175lb person. This is probably the most "dangerous" chemical of the three but, again, we're talking about 0.000035g. Borax is used as an insecticide specifically because it's virtually harmless to humans. It kills insects via severe dehydration.
Now then... The problem with your VAERS statistics is that they're unverified, self-reported, and potentially self-diagnosed. Even if all the diagnosis were correct, they are correlation only with no research into causation. They are useless as evidence on their own.


I how the evil government is trying to poison us with vaccines! How do I know this? I looked it up on a government website! While entirely failing to understand how methodological research works! Yay!

Look there are plenty of legitimate problems with the pharmaceutical industry that don't rely on ridiculous notions. Read up on patent ever greening for a start. It's the same with that 9/11 bullshit. When you focus on the ridiculous, you make it harder for people with legitimate grievances to be taken seriously.

>> ^marbles:

Ok pal. Gardasil contains aluminum, polysorbate 80 and sodium borate. [...] According to VAERS – the following reports have been listed for HPV, HPV2 & HPV 4 and "mental disorders." [...] But hey, the government and big business says it's perfectly safe, so all those victims are probably just full of shit.

Aluminum: Exceptionally low toxicity. The LD50 for aluminum is 6.207 g/kg. That comes out to over a pound for a 175lb person.

Polysorbate 80: Not found to be a carcinogen according to this study and this study. Here (PDF) is yet another study that finds no evidence of carcinogenicity. Also noteworthy is that the Gardasil vaccine contains 0.00005g of Polysorbate 80. The average daily intake from food is 2000x that.

Sodium Borate ("Borax"): The LD50 of Borax is 2.66 g/kg. That comes out to .46lbs to kill a 175lb person. This is probably the most "dangerous" chemical of the three but, again, we're talking about 0.000035g. Borax is used as an insecticide specifically because it's virtually harmless to humans. It kills insects via severe dehydration.

Now then... The problem with your VAERS statistics is that they're unverified, self-reported, and potentially self-diagnosed. Even if all the diagnosis were correct, they are correlation only with no research into causation. They are useless as evidence on their own.

I wasn't busting your chops, I just didn't know what the black flag stood for, so I wikied it and posted it on your page.

I support your switch to pure anarchism, but don't most anarchists reject 'free-market'-y type stuff?

In reply to this comment by blankfist:
What can I say? Minarchism was proving to be a specious hold out while debating statists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_symbolism#Black_flag

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Black Flag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Flag may refer to:

* A flag that is black: see List of black flags
* The black flag, an international symbol in anarchist symbolism
o An alternative translation for the name of the anarchist Russian group Chernoe Znamia
o Black Flag (newspaper), an anarchist newspaper
o Czarny Sztandar (1903), a Białystok anarchist organisation
o Chernoe Znamia (1905), a Geneva anarchist newspaper
* Black Flag (insecticide), a brand of insecticide
* Black Flag (band), American hardcore punk band
* Black Flag, a ghost town in the Goldfields of Western Australia
* Black Flag Army, a militia operating around Hanoi in the late 19th century
* Black flag, one of the racing flags used to summon drivers to the pits
* Black Flag Wing Chun, a Chinese martial arts style from the province of Fujian
* A common name for the weed, Ferraria crispa
* A Black Flag Disqualification, which is when a black flag is raised at the start, anybody over the line when there is less than one minute until the start is disqualified.

What can I say? Minarchism was proving to be a specious hold out while debating statists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_symbolism#Black_flag

In reply to this comment by dystopianfuturetoday:
Black Flag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Flag may refer to:

* A flag that is black: see List of black flags
* The black flag, an international symbol in anarchist symbolism
o An alternative translation for the name of the anarchist Russian group Chernoe Znamia
o Black Flag (newspaper), an anarchist newspaper
o Czarny Sztandar (1903), a Białystok anarchist organisation
o Chernoe Znamia (1905), a Geneva anarchist newspaper
* Black Flag (insecticide), a brand of insecticide
* Black Flag (band), American hardcore punk band
* Black Flag, a ghost town in the Goldfields of Western Australia
* Black Flag Army, a militia operating around Hanoi in the late 19th century
* Black flag, one of the racing flags used to summon drivers to the pits
* Black Flag Wing Chun, a Chinese martial arts style from the province of Fujian
* A common name for the weed, Ferraria crispa
* A Black Flag Disqualification, which is when a black flag is raised at the start, anybody over the line when there is less than one minute until the start is disqualified.

Black Flag
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Flag may refer to:

* A flag that is black: see List of black flags
* The black flag, an international symbol in anarchist symbolism
o An alternative translation for the name of the anarchist Russian group Chernoe Znamia
o Black Flag (newspaper), an anarchist newspaper
o Czarny Sztandar (1903), a Białystok anarchist organisation
o Chernoe Znamia (1905), a Geneva anarchist newspaper
* Black Flag (insecticide), a brand of insecticide
* Black Flag (band), American hardcore punk band
* Black Flag, a ghost town in the Goldfields of Western Australia
* Black Flag Army, a militia operating around Hanoi in the late 19th century
* Black flag, one of the racing flags used to summon drivers to the pits
* Black Flag Wing Chun, a Chinese martial arts style from the province of Fujian
* A common name for the weed, Ferraria crispa
* A Black Flag Disqualification, which is when a black flag is raised at the start, anybody over the line when there is less than one minute until the start is disqualified.

Reminds me of the time I got a face full of insecticide. After 3 hours of nonstop sneezing, I was breathing better than I ever have before or since, though. I've been tempted to shoot myself again a few times.

VideoSift's newest channel brought to you by Endall . . .

Your screen name sounds like some kind of brand of something . . .

Oh, wait it's an insecticide:

http://naturalalternatives.ca/store//catalog/images/WS-ENDALL_400.jpg

here's are some things to consider (taken from http://www.fluoridealert.org/f-pesticides.htm)

• Dec 4, 2007: Hawaii's Department of Agriculture says fipronil killed bees in Moloa's, Kauai. http://www.fluoridealert.org/pesticides/fipronil.bees.dec.04.2007.htm

• July 11, 2007 - EPA failed to consider the "high" toxicity to bees by contact (not dietary) exposure to the insecticide Indoxacarb when it approved approximately 130 new food tolerances. (See EPA's Fact sheet on Indoxacarb for toxicity to bees, pp 14-15). Indoxacarb is a potent neurotoxiicant. http://www.fluorideaction.org/pesticides/indoxacarb-page.htm

• Catastrophic Bee Colongy Collapse may not be affecting organic hives. Researchers are struggling to find the causes of this mysterious collapse. A crucial element of this story, missing from reports in the mainstream media, is the fact that organic beekeepers across North America are not experiencing devastating colony collapses.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_5194.cfm

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Wow - these guys really do sound like they are shilling for Monsanto.

Monsanto's big product is "Round Up Ready™" seeds. These have been genetically modified to be resistant to the Monsanto pantented chemical herbicide RoundUp™. If you buy these seeds off of Monsanto, you can spray the shit out of your soybean crop- and it will kill everything except your RoundUp Ready™ soybeans.

Oh, and if as a farmer, you would like to save seeds from your crop to replant. Be prepared to be sued for theft. You see, they own the patent on the seed- and keeping your seeds is a no-no. They want you to buy the seeds from them every year. You can imagine how well this works in 3rd world countries.

If you are on an adjoining non-Monsanto farm, and some of that Roundup Ready™ seed blows into your farm ... prepare to be sued.

This is the reality of GM. It's big agribusiness and monoculture farming that displaces family and traditional farms. They dress it up as saving the planet - but I'm calling bullshit.

Mexicans that were self-sufficient and able to grow hundreds of varieties of native corn, now import from the US because they were encouraged to move towards a single monoculture corn strain that was hit by blight. Monsanto to the rescue - now they are paying twice as much for GM corn from the US - and going hungry.

I'm also calling bullshit on the claim that organic farming can only feed 2/3 of the world. Although it's true that organic farms have a lower yield than massive mono-culture farms- the cost to produce is significantly cheaper when you're not shelling for herbicides, insecticides and other chemicals - and that 2/3 becomes 3/3.

In closing, Penn and Teller are full of shit - and can go piss up a rope.