This past weekend in Philadelphia we had a huge demonstration,I did not attend the March Against Monsanto Philadelphia that happened this week end. I simply was not feeling well and these days I have to really pay attention to that. Many of my friends were there. One old friend from my days in the Co-op business is David Woo, a long time activist who many people may recognize from his days at WHYY. Apparently there is an Asian person who works for Monsanto and sometimes shows up at these things ..sort a spy or a Shill if you will. My friend David is Asian ..apparently there were not many Asian persons in this crowd because one “full of himself..arrogant” White guy ..sort of the self appointed savior among recent Philly activist picks out David ..calls him the Shill and fanned the flames of what could have become a mob attack….David was shouted down and not really allowed to defend him self…The Arrogant “prick” responsible for all this is called David Mauriello..at least that what he calls himself now..Days later on the FB page for “March Against Monsanto” this guy posted a supposed apology ..his excuse ..The other guy looked just like David..now let me add that David Woo is a particularly gracious person and with some reluctance accepted the “apology” ..I don’t… it’s racist and almost says that it was Mr. Woos fault for looking Asian…cause as we all know “they all look just alike.” Here is the apology ..judge for yourself but to me it’s BULLSHIT ..call it the “they all look alike defense”……………………………”March Against Monsanto Philadelphia would like to clarify that there was a case of mistaken identity during the march on Saturday. David Woo, an apparent supporter of non-GMO proliferation, was mistakenly identified as a shill, pointed out unfairly, booed, and made to feel unsafe. We deeply regret this unfortunate incident, and sincerely apologize to David Woo.
Firstly, let us clarify, that we did not confuse you, Mr. Woo, with a 70-80 year old man in the GMO OMG documentary. You were mistakenly identified as a 40-50 year old man at a viewing of the GMO OMG movie whom Diamond and Leah interacted with for at least 20 minutes. Leah (the in-reality-not-so-young “blond woman”) spent some time trying to eliminate you as this man from ten feet away, but the evidence mounted against you. This man looked, acted, dressed, and spoke uncannily similarly to you, and absolutely was a biotech shill who spouted false information about GMO science and obfuscated conversation with the audience and individuals incessantly. This set of circumstances made it impossible to decipher you from this man. So for the mistaken identity, the assumption, despite that it was based on good educated information, and for publicly embarrassing you and for the hurt and anger this caused you to feel, we fully apologize. This was absolutely NOT a stunt – it was an honest mistake. We don’t do stunts. We believe in honesty, transparency, and the truth. We wish you had approached one or both of us at the MAM table at the market and clarified who you were; either one of us would have made the time to listen and discuss this. We also wish we had taken the same initiative.
The very sad reality is that there are shills out there who attempt to confuse and obfuscate the public about the issues in GMO science. Independent research is stifled, blocked, and discredited. Scientists in academia are paid off. Shills are everywhere – they show up to public events, they infiltrate social media, they attempt to block communication, they are present everywhere in the mainstream and even some alternative media. There are groups in social media who are there only to paint non-GMO activists as stupid and “against science” (check out the GMO Soapbox group or GMO LOL community on facebook as examples, and prepare to be attacked if you do join). They are everywhere precisely because of how much is at stake, i.e., the power, money, and greed inherent in potentially controlling the world’s food supply and the fate of public health. We are on high alert all the time because of this. This is an information war of the highest degree. It is absolutely the case that “an informed public is Monsanto’s worst enemy.”
The sheer volume of money that is spent to misinform the public is the proof of the significance of the stakes. An informed public is the worst enemy for the political machine as well, as it has been completely corrupted by corporate money. This applies at every level, Democratic, Republican, whatever. Multinational corporations have taken full control of the reins. As examples: one of the most important issues the non-GMO movement faces is the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would undo all efforts in the United States and the globe to ban and/or label GMOs. After three years of study and wiretapping, it was proven in 2012 by Food and Water Watch through Wikileaks information that the federal government is strong-arming foreign countries and demanding GMO proliferation while simultaneously promoting global trade deals that would do the same. Unless corporate money is removed from the political system, these issues will only get worse.
To be clear, March Against Monsanto Philadelphia does not have a left/right political “slant” in the sense that is it not associated with, nor ever will be beholden to, any political party. However, the fight against GMOs absolutely IS a political issue, precisely because all politics is manipulated by financial motivations. Paul Glover and the Green Party of PA showed up to March Against Monsanto because of alignment with our beliefs – that corporate money must be removed from politics completely, that there should be no tolerance for political parties who do take corporate money, and that GMO proliferation must be stopped in its tracks. This is case of a party using the system to change the system, by not taking corporate money, and by supporting a platform that is about the people, not corporate interests. March Against Monsanto Philadelphia refuses to support a system that revolves around corporate interests. Because the Democratic and Republican parties are beholden to corporate multinationals, the entire political machine is corrupted and therefore invalid. We passionately oppose any candidate who is a part of this system, or anyone who supports such a system candidate. We believe the solution is to leave the system or find an alternate political solution that is not controlled by corporate multinational interests.”……..Well , that’s the apology they posted ..days after David almost got his ass kicked…what do you think..as always I welcome your comments
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