D. Mindock wrote: > There's no doubt that conditions for farmworkers have not improved under the > Bush regime. Notice that > the organophosphate pesticides, developed by the Nazis as a weapon of war, > are being used everywhere.
Organophosphates have been around since the middle 1800s. Glaucoma was being treated with an organophospate "physostigmine" before to turn of the century, and many organophosphate cholinesterase inhibitors have been around well before the Nazis. I call shenanigans. The problems with organophosphates are HUGE. This is all a real mess. Yes, the Nazi's did use these for weapons. However, they were developed well before the nazi movement, for very different reasons. For reasons like the aforementioned physostigmine, which was helpful in treating glaucoma then, like it is now, a century and a half later. It also, like many other organophosphates, is able to cross the blood/brain barrier, which is what makes these chemicals such a problem, and also, makes them pretty damned handy for a lot of things. And yes, it also makes it ideal for nerve agent weapons. > Note: some common organophosphates (OPs) = (diazinon, chlorpyrifos, > dichlorvos, malathion, and azamethiphos) > (Phosmet is the one form used in England which set off the original cases of > Mad Cow Disease.) In short, Yeah, I personally feel that short of an outright ban, access to OP pesticides needs to come under some pretty strict controls. [Arguments concerning the relative merits of pesticides aside.] However, whenever you pick up a really broad brush, and paint NAZI across something, please be certain the label is appropriate. Language that demonizes people like a lot of the agricultural scientists that I've known and worked with my short stay in this life, might serve only to narrow your impact well inside what might have been a broader intended audience. > Peace, D. Mindock _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
