Who Hijacked Our Country

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Rick Berman, Humanewatch, Chipotle and E. coli: Let's Connect the Dots

If you’ve watched a TV newscast or looked at a newspaper in the past few weeks, you know all about the restaurant chain Chipotle and the panic over E. coli at some of their restaurants.  (The most recent news is that the Health Departments of Washington and Oregon have not found any E. coli, after testing hundreds of samples.)

However, there’s a lot more background to this, which you probably don’t know about unless you’re on the mailing list of the Humane Society or other animals’ rights organizations.

Rick Berman — he’s sort of a one-man Koch Brothers — is the founder of an Astroturf front group called Humanewatch.  Humanewatch receives gazillions of dollars in funding from Agribusiness lobbyists, trophy hunters, mining/development interests; pretty much every robber baron profits might be threatened by animals’ rights groups.

The stated purpose of Humanewatch is to “alert” the public that the Humane Society doesn’t really accomplish anything except to take people’s donations and make false accusations against those kindly factory farms.  How nice that a few Big Ag billionaires is so concerned about the public being “deceived” by a “phony” animal rights group.

Another one of Rick Berman’s front groups is called Center for Consumer Freedom.  You know, because these cumbersome environmental and anti-cruelty regulations are driving up food prices for consumers.

For the past few years now, Rick Berman has been ranting about — and threatening — Chipotle, since Chipotle has been at the forefront in not serving any meat from animals that were fed antibiotics, and not using any GMO products at any of their restaurants.

OK, so is there a connection here?  Rick Berman’s various front groups have had Chipotle in their crosshairs for a long time.  And suddenly, “more E. coli poisoning at Chipotle!” (which has not been found by health inspectors) is all over the news.

Coincidence?

Here are some links


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10 Comments:

Blogger Jim Marquis said...

As somebody used to say on Hogan's Heroes, this is very interesting. I do find it really odd they haven't been able to figure out where the bacteria came from.

November 12, 2015 at 8:34 AM  
Blogger Jim Marquis said...

Oops, I just remembered that was Arte Johnson on Laugh-In. Different Nazi.

November 12, 2015 at 8:35 AM  
Anonymous Jess said...

They are just bent because Chipotle is one of the good companies. Pay the employees well, have benefits etc etc and so on, so they are going against everything big business is against. I just got an email from one of my animal groups today about a pig factory in Minnesota scaring pigs by beating them and dragging them to their death then laughing about, hey this one is still alive. As a non meat eater it breaks my heart that humans do this to other sentient beings but people love their bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

November 12, 2015 at 10:24 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Jim: Yup, I remember that "veddy intedesting" guy from Laugh-In. I never did watch Hogan's Heroes. I hope the poisoning at Chipotle isn't some sort of sabotage, but I wouldn't put it past the Monsanto/factory farm thugs that Chipotle has alienated.

Jess: Good pay and benefits for their employees, non GMO, non factory-farm -- no wonder those tree-hugging commies are being targeted by the Corporate Mafia.

November 12, 2015 at 10:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You gave me a start as the Rick Berman I know is the Executive Producer of all the Star Trek shows

http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Rick_Berman

Erik Bailey

November 13, 2015 at 11:35 PM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Erik: LOL. This must happen more often than we think. A few years ago I did a super profane vulgar name-calling post about David J. Stern, who became a jillionaire by running a foreclosure mill. His mansions and luxurious lifestyle were funded by all the homeowners whose homes and life savings he stole with his assembly-line foreclosure operation which totally steamrolled every legal and constitutional protection that people are supposed to have. Later I found out there's another David J. Stern who's some sort of professional sports tycoon. Small world.

November 14, 2015 at 1:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You mean the other David Stern who was a Democratic Fundraiser that later became commissioner of the NBA?

Erik

November 15, 2015 at 10:16 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Erik: Yup, that's the one; the "other" David J. Stern.

November 15, 2015 at 5:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The whole thing seems like a Berman conspiracy. How do we prove it?

November 19, 2015 at 7:24 AM  
Blogger Tom Harper said...

Anonymous: If I had my druthers, we'd go Medieval on Berman until he confesses, and then go more Medieval on him as punishment. Rick Berman's nickname is Dr. Evil, and with good reason.

November 19, 2015 at 1:09 PM  

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