"Ban lifted on funding horse meat inspections; Could open door to slaughterhouses" December 03, 2011|By Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. - Horses could soon be butchered in the United States for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a five-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up and running in as little as a month.
Now my tax dollars are going to be used to butcher horses for meat? Bad enough the wars, Wall Street bailouts, and Israeli aid while social services are cut, but now this?!
WTF is WRONG with THIS GOVERNMENT?
Slaughter opponents pushed a measure cutting off funding for horse meat inspections through Congress in 2006 after other efforts to pass outright bans on horse slaughter failed in previous years.
Congress lifted the ban in a spending bill President Obama signed into law Nov. 18 to keep the government afloat until mid-December.
Snuck it in there, huh?
It did not, however, allocate new money to pay for horse meat inspections, which opponents say could cost taxpayers $3 million to $5 million a year.
(The anger is causing the blog editor to rapidly lose his appetite)
The US Department of Agriculture would have to find the money in its existing budget, which is expected to see more cuts this year as Congress and the White House aim to trim federal spending.
The USDA has issued a statement saying there are no slaughterhouses in the United States that butcher horses for human consumption now, but if one were to open, it would conduct inspections to make sure federal laws were being followed. USDA spokesman Neil Gaffney declined to answer questions beyond what was in the statement.
The last US slaughterhouse that butchered horses closed in 2007 in Illinois, and animal welfare activists warned of massive public outcry in any town where a slaughterhouse may open.
“If plants open up in Oklahoma or Nebraska, you’ll see controversy, litigation, legislative action, and basically a very inhospitable environment to operate,’’ predicted Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive of The Humane Society of the United States. “Local opposition will emerge and you’ll have tremendous controversy over slaughtering Trigger and Mr. Ed.’’
Maybe we should all be vegetarian.
But proslaughter activists say the ban had unintended consequences, including an increase in neglect and the abandonment of horses, and that they are scrambling to get a plant going - possibly in Wyoming, North Dakota, Nebraska, or Missouri.
So let's kill 'em instead? Must that be the answer to everything?
They estimate a slaughterhouse could open in 30 to 90 days with state approval and eventually as many as 200,000 horses a year could be slaughtered for human consumption.
Most of the meat would be shipped to countries in Europe and Asia, including France and Japan.
Or so you are being told, American.
--more--"
So what's on the menu tonight?
"Mustang mistreatment called not inhumane; But review finds problems with Nevada roundup" by Scott Sonner | Associated Press, December 10, 2011
RENO - The Bureau of Land Management’s internal review of a wild horse roundup in Nevada found some mustangs were whipped in the face, kicked in the head, dragged by a rope around the neck, and repeatedly shocked with electrical prods, but the agency concluded none of the mistreatment rose to the level of being inhumane.
That is TORTURE -- except the TORTURERS say NO!!
The bureau’s director, Bob Abbey said the roundup this summer near the Utah line was done correctly for the most part. But he said the review cited some incidents of inappropriate practices, including helicopters jeopardizing the health and safety of horses by following too closely or chasing small bands or individual animals for too long.
I'm sorry, I do NOT SEE ANY BUT here!!!
“Aggressive and rough handling of wild horses is not acceptable, and we are actively taking steps to ensure that such behavior is not repeated,’’ Abbey said in a statement announcing a number of procedures intended to improve and further review the bureau’s standard operating procedures for roundups....
This f***ing government is making me sick.
--more--"
Want some candy?
"Las Vegas trick-or-treater struck and killed" November 04, 2011|Associated Press
LAS VEGAS - A 12-year-old girl dressed up for a night of trick-or-treating was struck and killed by a suspected drunk driver as she crossed a Las Vegas street on Halloween night.
Faith Love’s death, the third auto-pedestrian fatality in recent days in the Las Vegas Valley, served as a reminder of the potential dangers of sending children off into the night to collect treats....
--more--"
And where the horses run?
"Massive Nevada wildfire leaves 1 dead, 20 homes destroyed" November 19, 2011|Associated Press
RENO - Authorities said the worst was likely over but warned a change in the furious northern winds could refuel the sprawling fire that sent thousands of families fleeing from their homes in the middle of the night and blanketed the region’s mountain roads in amber flames....
Growing snow flurries late yesterday afternoon stroked hopes that the remaining showers of ember and ash would die down quickly....
Snow in Nevada in November?
--more--"
"32 homes lost as crews focus on lingering Nev. wildfire hot spots" November 21, 2011|By Associated Press
RENO, Nev. - Thirty-two houses have been destroyed by an unusual, out-of-season wildfire that was spread by gale force winds and ripped through the Sierra foothills, southwest of Reno.
The fire was 95 percent contained by midday yesterday, and fire crews from throughout the region were focusing on a few lingering hot spots, Sierra Fire Protection District Mike Brown said. They were also repairing areas where vegetation was burned and hillsides damaged by bulldozers in an effort to prevent mudslides.
Austin and Sarah Hardage’s home is burned to its foundations - the sad aftermath of the conflagration. But in a twist that played out time and time again across the 2,000-acre fire, neighboring houses on either side were untouched by flames.
“It’s just amazing - Murphy’s Law,’’ Austin Hardage said Saturday. “It didn’t even touch either house on either side. It doesn’t make any sense.’’
Governor Brian Sandoval was among a number of leaders who opined on Saturday that it was a miracle that many more homes were not lost. There are about 4,000 homes in the area.
“When you see something like that, you can’t help but be struck by the awesome and random power of nature,’’ Sandoval said about the blackened path of the fire that snaked along the edge of the foothills.
At times, the fire was moving 20 to 30 miles per hour, and embers were jumping more than a mile, said Reno Fire Chief Mike Hernandez.
Although no official cause has been determined, Hernandez said all signs point to arcing power lines.
--more--"
Getting full yet?
"Federal crash investigators returned by all-terrain vehicle yesterday to the scene of a Las Vegas tour helicopter crash near Lake Mead that killed five people, while friends and family members in several states mourned the dead....
--more--"
Next Day Update:
"Sundance and other helicopter operators have tried to move forward from the crash with normal flight schedules as passengers with tickets have called to ask about safety....
--more--"
Another kind of crash:
"Nevada AG is latest to balk at foreclosure deal; Concerns raised over protections for lenders" August 17, 2011|By David McLaughlin, Bloomberg News
NEW YORK - A possible settlement of a 50-state probe of foreclosure practices drew more state scrutiny as Nevada’s attorney general joined three other states in voicing concern about a deal that protects banks from continuing mortgage investigations.
Catherine Cortez Masto, whose office sued Bank of America and is conducting civil and criminal foreclosure investigations, said she will be “very cautious’’ about agreeing to a settlement that hinders those inquiries.
“If it’s impacting my ongoing litigation and any other future litigation or current investigation, I’m going to be cautious about whether to sign on or not,’’ the Nevada attorney general said by phone Monday.
State and federal officials are negotiating a settlement with the five largest mortgage servicers, including Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., and JPMorgan Chase in New York, over their servicing and foreclosure practices.
A person familiar with the matter said last month that banks want liability releases that cover other areas of their mortgage operations besides servicing, including the bundling of loans into securities.
In other words, they want immunity from the mortgage-backed securities fraud they used to become fabulously wealthy while crashing the world economy.
Dan Frahm, a spokesman for Bank of America, said the bank shares Masto’s goal of helping homeowners.
“Bank of America has been a cooperative partner with the attorney general, and has worked with state leaders to evolve programs and resources to broaden assistance to distressed customers,’’ he said in a statement....
They are so disgusting its beyond words. F***ing liars!
Masto joined New York, Delaware, and Massachusetts in resisting broad releases for the banks in any settlement. Those states are conducting their own investigations into mortgage practices of banks.
Attorney General Martha Coakley of Massachusetts said in a letter last month that she will not sign on to an agreement if it includes “a comprehensive liability release’’ for mortgage securitization or conduct related to a mortgage database called MERS....
It's a brave stand and you deserve credit for it, Marty. I've often been harsh on you because of the Brown loss; however, now that looks like a blessing in disguise.
In its lawsuit against Bank of America, the state accused the bank of misleading homeowners about modifying their mortgage loans to reduce their payments. The case was filed in December in state court in Las Vegas and moved to federal court in Reno.
Nevada claimed that the bank violated the state’s deceptive trade practices act by misleading consumers with false assurances that their homes would not be foreclosed on while requests for modifications were pending, inaccurate and deceptive reasons for denying modifications, and false promises that modifications would be made permanent if homeowners successfully completed trial modification periods.
Masto said she wants to continue to investigate her claims and pursue the lawsuit.
“At the end of the day, whether we’ll be part of it or not will be based on what’s in the best interests of the people here in Nevada,’’ she said about a nationwide settlement over foreclosure practices.
I applaud the woman!
Like Masto, Eric Schneiderman, New York attorney general, and Beau Biden, Delaware attorney general, are investigating mortgage securitization.
Someone already did: Inside Job
Biden said in an interview last month that he has strong reservations about a deal that provides releases beyond servicing because servicing is the focus of the nationwide settlement talks.
“I hesitate to release those claims and those potential liabilities mostly because we’re still in the midst of investigating many of the other related issues,’’ he said.
--more--"
