~ FDA/USDA ~~ Alerts & Safety, ~ politics petitions pollution &pop culture

U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)

03/01/2013 Nativegrl77

United Pet Group Inc., Voluntarily Withdraws “Ultra Blend Gourmet Food for Parakeets,” “eCotrition Grains & Greens Nutritional Supplement for Parakeets,” “eCotrition Grains & Greens Nutritional Supplement for Canaries and Finches,” and “eCotrition Grains & Greens Nutritional Supplement for Cockatiels” Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination

02/27/2013 04:22 PM EST

United Pet Group, Inc., announces that it has voluntarily withdrawn a limited quantity of the products “Ultra Blend Gourmet Food for Parakeets,” “eCotrition Grains and Greens Nutritional Supplement for Parakeets,” “eCotrition Grains and Greens Nutritional Supplement for Canaries and Finches,” and “eCotrition Grains and Greens Nutritional Supplement for Cockatiels.” These products contain small quantities of dried parsley flakes supplied to United Pet Group by Specialty Commodities, Inc. On February 11, 2013, Specialty Commodities, Inc. initiated a voluntary product recall of parsley flakes distributed to United Pet Group and other pet food suppliers because the products may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Zachary Confections, Inc. Announces Recall of Zachary Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs due to Possible Contamination and Possible Health Risk

02/27/2013 06:50 PM EST

Zachary Confections, Inc., today announced a voluntary recall of certain production lots of its Zachary Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Eggs because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Ad-Tech Medical Instrument Corporation Issues Global Recall of Macro Micro Subdural Electrodes

02/28/2013 12:55 PM EST

On December 18,2012 Ad-Tech Medical Instrument Corporation initiated a recall of 115 Macro Micro Subdural Electrodes. There is a concern the microelectrodes are not flush with the silastic surface.

~ politics petitions pollution &pop culture

Relocating endangered deer

03/01/2013 Nativegrl77

http://bcove.me/2uuwr3po

click on link above for the video

Crews have been working to relocate the endangered Columbian white-tailed deer from the Julia Butler Reserve. A dike built in the 1920s is eroding and the area may soon flood daily.

~ politics petitions pollution &pop culture

thinkprogress … VAWA

03/01/2013 Nativegrl77

Evening Brief: Important Stories That You Might’ve Missed

Justice Scalia is worse than you already thought.

Washington doesn’t have to be broken.

Yes, the vast majority of our long-term debt is because of Bush-era policies.

GOP congressman says the debt is just as “immoral” as slavery.

Obama administration calls for marriage equality in upcoming Proposition 8 Supreme Court case.

Shocking but true: top GOP senator wants to give the NRA veto power over judges.

Another day, another extreme anti-abortion law enacted by the GOP.

FACT: low tax states have lower economic growth.

**Violence Against Women Act Finally Passes**

A year and a half after the landmark law expired, House Republicans finally relented and allowed the updated and expanded reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to pass. The bill had already passed the Senate with overwhelming, bipartisan majorities not once, but twice.

We say House Republicans allowed it to pass because they’ve done nearly everything in their power to block it from doing so, including:

refusing to even take up the Senate bill last year
passing a watered-down, partisan version that had no chance of passing the Senate
attempting to block a vote on the Senate bill as recently as this week
trying to remove protections for LGBT people and Native Americans from the Senate bill earlier today
voting against the Senate bill en masse today

Last time VAWA was reauthorized, in 2005, just two House Republicans voted against the measure. Sadly, 138 House Republicans voted against VAWA today. Even more shamefully, 27 House Republicans voted against both the Senate bill and the watered-down version Republicans themselves had proposed.

Take a look at these 27 Republicans. Notice a pattern?

BOTTOM LINE: Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act is a huge victory for women and their families — a victory that came in spite of the GOP’s best efforts to prevent it.

Climate change and the Arab Spring.

~ politics petitions pollution &pop culture

Intro Reality Drop !

03/01/2013 Nativegrl77

Dear friends,

Way too often I hear and read blatantly false statements about climate change, namely that it doesn’t exist. It’s very frustrating — and it makes me want to fight back and make sure we all hear the truth.

There’s a new online tool called Reality Drop from The Climate Reality Project, along with Arnold Worldwide, built to spread the truth and destroy denial around climate change. This is the REAL information from scientists’ decades of research, not government or corporations. Give it a try.

Visit Reality Drop and get started!

There are two things I’m passionate about: my music and nature. Therefore, I’m passionate we get it right about climate change so we may continue to enjoy music and our precious environment. Reality Drop is a way to respond to those who deny climate change and make sure our friends have access to the truth — and have fun while we’re at it.

click on link below for more information …

Visit Reality Drop!

Thanks,

Jason Mraz