Category Archives: Big Brother

Michael Hastings interview

by

I found this really interesting interview with Michael Hastings–note how the Gen. Kimmitt, who is now a private defense contractor, is blowing smoke about how “great” Iraq was, post-war—lying through his mossy green teeth about the situation.

I thought this was particularly relevant given the present situation in Iraq and the Middle East:

It shows how Michael was telling the truth as a journalist and how his slamming the lame “journalists” who just accepted whatever was fed to them about the wars. Piers Morgan’s actions here show that.

I agree with Michael’s statement that there were many reasons besides sex that should have forced the general to resign.  I really don’t give a crap if he had an affair–that’s between him and his wife–I care more about him lying to the White House, and the mischaracterization of Iraq before the war (their society was much more diverse than was portrayed).

Petition for Whistleblowers and Freedom of the Press

by

The Progressive has this release:

Thursday, July 10, 2014<br>
CONTACT: Nikolina Lazic, <a href=”mailto:nikolina@prwatch.org“>nikolina@prwatch.org</a>

TAKE A STAND NOW FOR A FREE PRESS
Tell President Obama America’s Best Reporters Should Be on the Beat, Not in Jail

The U.S. government is insisting that award-wining New York Times “national security” reporter James Risen reveal a confidential source — or go to jail. Risen says he won’t capitulate.

Now you can let this journalist and top government officials know that you’re in solidarity with his brave stand for a free press. Sign the petition “We Support James Risen Because We Support a Free Press at: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9775&tag=CMD20140508&track=CMD20140508.

The Freedom of the Press Foundation has called the government’s effort to force Risen to reveal a source “one of the most significant press freedom cases in decades.”

So much is at stake: for whistleblowers, freedom of the press and the public’s right to know. And for democracy.

That’s why our team at The Progressive/Center for Media and Democracy is joining forces with RootsAction, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), the Freedom of the Press Foundation and The Nation magazine to insist on protection for the confidentiality of journalists’ sources.

Amplify our combined voices. Click here to sign the petition to President Obama and Attorney General Holder: http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=9775&tag=CMD20140508&track=CMD20140508.

Thank you for taking action!

— The team and CMD and The Progressive

———-

CONTACT:

The Progressive, Inc.
Publisher of The Progressive magazine
PRWatch.org, ALECexposed.org, Progressive.org,
SourceWatch.org, and PublicSchoolShakedown.org
409 East Main Street, Suite 100
Madison, Wisconsin 53703-4929
Phone: (608) 257-4626

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your ability to know what is going on in the world depends on the press being able to gather information without threat of jail.

A democracy cannot survive without the press revealing the facts that politicians and government officials would rather you not know.  The press has the right to keep their sources secret….especially in this age of no privacy, as we saw with the previous story on Brian Williams.  The ability to obtain information from sources without them being compromised is already in jeopardy without the threat of jail for reporters who managed to keep their sources secret from the NSA/CIA spying.

Brian Williams trailed to interview

by

So… was Brian Williams surprised by this?  If a news person is surprised by all that NSA/CIA is doing, then we’re in serious trouble, folks….

…and it shouldn’t surprise Williams that Snowden was “cagy”….Williams, et al, apparently can’t move about without detection, so Snowden is smart to keep information to a minimum.

The Definition of a Bully: Israel

by

Definition of a Bully:

bul·ly1
ˈbo͝olē/
noun
noun: bully; plural noun: bullies
  1. 1.
    a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker.
verb
verb: bully; 3rd person present: bullies; past tense: bullied; past participle: bullied; gerund or present participle: bullying
  1. 1.
    use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.

Israel is pummeling the Palestinians…for what?  It’s like one kid throwing pebbles at another and the other pulling out a gun and shooting.

The death toll in Gaza jumped overnight, doubling to 80 dead and more than 500 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The latest fatality was 5-year-old Abdullah Abu Gazal, who was killed in a midmorning Israeli airstrike in Beit Lahia.

~~~~~~~~~

80 people dead, including children.  People watching the soccer games, minding their own business, struck dead. And once again, members of the media are targeted.  Not all Palestinians are in Hamas, yet Israel is shooting at anyone and anything.

And how many Israelis have been hurt?  No serious injuries reported.  None dead.  Repeat that–NONE dead.  There is absolutely no justification for the fierceness of the Israeli attacks.

Netanyahu said Wednesday Hamas was to blame, because it was “hiding behind civilians.”

~~~~~~

Stunning.

In other words….”it’s not my fault if stupid civilians get in the way of my bombs…”

Let them be.  Let them have their small parcel of land.  Treat them as you wish to be treated.

 

 

Gulen Charters, Ohio, Indiana, and politicians lining their pockets

by

Diane Ravitch has this up on the apparently greased palms of Republican Cliff Rosenberger and how Gulen schools have flourished in Ohio.  The article states that the investigation includes Indiana, as well….

Meanwhile, I’m reading a press release of Governor Mike Pence taking his family to England…on a “jobs creation trip”.  The release I read noted that he is paying for his children’s portion of the trip…but it left off his wife, whom is also going.  They’ll be gone for two weeks.  Unbelievable.  What a snow job–does anybody actually believe this guy is going to create jobs by this trip?  How many hours do you think he’ll devote to schmoozing for jobs?  I’m betting a day.  Half a day.  An hour.  A few minutes on the elevator down to the pool..

This article states that it is funded by the Indiana Economic Development Foundation through private donations.  I want to know who the donors are and what exactly Pence is doing–I don’t trust the tea partier at all.  They are good about saying one thing and doing the exact opposite–such as government being “too big”–and then, as I noticed yesterday in yet another press release, Pence created four more positions in his office for people who are no doubt cronies of his.  So, how does one “shrink government” by creating more useless positions while eliminating important ones, such as child welfare workers?

So, I’m waiting to see the fallout of this investigation and its connection to Indiana.  Pence and his henchmen are trying to wrest away what little control Glenda Ritz, an official elected by the people of Indiana, has on the Dept of Education.

 

 

Teachers, the wage gap, and the nearly homeless

by

Diane Ravitch has a blog up on one of the teachers involved in the Vergara case.  Ms. McLaughlin had replied to the “witch hunt” charges that she was a bad teacher…made by a student who also said there were five bad teachers and only one during her education–the one that wanted revenge apparently for being let go.

As I read the comments, the one by Chi-Town Res made me cry:

Yeah, and just wait until he hits retirement age and realizes that teachers with no union protections like me are exploited terribly. We are very low paid (and often hourly workers), don’t make enough money to get by on, let alone to save, have no pensions and are expected to live on about $900 per month from Social Security when we retire.

I could go live in a ghetto, since I will officially retire next month, because I can’t afford to continue living where I’ve been (renting) for the past 15 years, but I have no money to move. (Yes, homeownership was never an option for me.) Anyway, that’s the kind of income that even poor people in the ghettos can’t survive on in my area.

The reality is that I’m in arrears on my rent due to a further decline in my already low income and a high increase in my rent. I have applied to many places but I’ve been unable to find additional work. SS won’t actually start paying me until mid-September, my job put limits on our income and wouldn’t give me work for July, and I don’t qualify for unemployment compensation. I won’t get paid my measly wage again until the end of August. My landlord will not wait to be paid, and anyway I won’t get paid enough money then to cover back rent. I’ve been fighting becoming homeless for about three years now but, at this point, I have no more resources or anyone to turn to for help, and absolutely no one cares. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I will lose everything I own and be put out on the street and homeless before the fall. The only thing that could save my life now would be winning the lottery, but that is an intolerable hope.

The truth is that I could never afford to really stop working either, but SS has a limit on the amount of income I can earn. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. No one fully appreciates the “I’m living on a fixed income” cries, because the elderly are not revered in our society. No wonder the suicide rate for seniors is high.

As problematic as unions can be, not valuing the protections that unions provide workers is extremely short sighted.

~~~~~~~~~~

Also noted in the comments was that one of the plaintiff’s lawyers was Ted Olson, who ended the vote recount and handed George W. Bush the presidency, against the American public’s wishes.  Blood is on his hands, as well, for the wars and the economic mess Bush left us in.

Be sure to click on the link for Diane’s original post on Ms. McLaughlin.  Really stunning to see how she is “witch-hunted” by those with their own agendas.  She seems to be an outstanding person with true caring about her students, as a good teacher needs to be.

From the link:

“Indeed, this whole Vergara trial was like something out of Mao’s “Cultural Revolution” in China during the 1960′s. For those not acquainted with this, here’s primer: zealous students, under party leaders’ directions, would persecute their teachers. Kids would get their jollies as they put their teachers on a stage, put dunce caps on them, then screamed at them while forcing their teachers to bow their heads, kneel down, and confess their “crimes” and on and on…

These kids—appointed and empowered as “Red Guards” by Mao’s henchmen— would parade their former teachers through the streets…

~~~~~~~~~

Diane has also put up a link to a short film clip on the red army of children that illustrates the terrible time.

(A side note~I got this weird message that Diane Ravitch’s site was “untrusted”.  Say what??  It’s on a wordpress platform…why would I get that message?  Is someone trying to interfere with the traffic to her site??)

 

The Onion: Charter Schools Lottery

by

(hat tip Diane Ravitch)

The Onion has their usual satirical take on the Charter Schools lottery “system”.

“Between small class sizes, longer school days, individualized instruction, and superior college admission rates, charters provide amazing opportunities for students who don’t enter a convulsive state, fall into a coma, stop breathing, and cease all bodily functions during the admissions process.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

bwahahahahahahaha.

Spot on.

It’s really sad that the article hits Charter snobbery at its heart….and the kids suffer most of all.

Alert

by

Just wanted to give you a head’s up on something the mercury group has posted~

Vitamin Research Products (vrp.com) is no longer stocking DMSA, one of the chelators of mercury and lead.  They just suddenly stopped stocking it and have even removed the page from their website.

This is not good news.  They were the main supplier of DMSA.  Theories are abound that Big Pharma is behind this–buying out the competition.  And if they can buy out natural cures, they can force sick people to buy their side-effect-laden crap.

There are also allegations that Obamacare is limiting natural methods of healing, such as chelation supplements, making it harder for folks to get well. I don’t know this for fact, but it is one of the reasons I have not signed up for the health care.  Another reason is the link to the insurance industry instead of single-payer, which would have been more palatable, being like Medicare for All.

I can tell you that many of us on the group lost jobs as a result of mercury–therefore, we had lost the ability to pay for medical insurance and the ability to pay for supplements that insurance didn’t cover.   But at least the supplements were available…and cheap.  I would have not gotten well without that.  So once again, the poor take a hit for the uber wealthy to make even more profits….

I suspected that Big Pharma would try to grab this part of the market again, because they had in the past and continually try to get some twerp in Congress to do their bidding with making supplements illegal.

With billions of dollars and high-priced lawyers, they have gotten away with trying to take credit for natural healing herbs and methods, such as those used in India.  These were used for thousands of years…and Big Pharma comes along and tries to claim a patent.  Utterly mindboggling.  More here on Big Pharma’s battle to get a share of the market in India. An even better explanation of it here.

Big Pharma tries to claim that compulsory licenses aren’t available for cancer drugs – a lie; or that they are only available for national emergencies – another lie; or that India is establishing a general exception to patents for pharmaceuticals – an even bigger lie.  Sovereigns retain the right under TRIPS to issue compulsory licenses or to allow public, non-commercial use of patented products or processes.  As long as the correct procedures are followed and adequate remuneration is paid, the patent holder has nothing legitimate to complain about – unless, of course, it is a U.S. multinational who doesn’t want an emerging country like India to get in its way.

~~~~~~~~~~~

…or for a group of U.S. citizens who want natural methods to heal their bodies to get their way….

And unfortunately, that’s not all that the greedy are trying to patent.

Lastly, here is a good segment on DN! with Vandana and Mira Shiva–two “uppity” women I admire for fighting the good fight~~

Vandana brings up the point of liability.  It would seem that none of the chemical companies — be it Dow/Union Carbide or any Big Pharma — want to take responsibility for the harm that they cause.  All the profits. None of the guilt.

She also highlights the attitudes towards the poor–they don’t matter so let’s poison them or use them as guinea pigs.

It was great to hear of them speak of their strong mother in the end~~no junk food in the house.  My father, too, did not allow junk food in the house when I was growing up–a parent who cares is not going to feed their child junk.  I heard the other day of parents of my children’s generation feeding their kids nothing but junk…and they don’t see anything wrong with that.  Very unsettling.  Regretfully, I didn’t appreciate my Dad’s wisdom until recently.  I always felt deprived because other kids got to have a “treat” of junk food on Friday night.  Just before the divorce, my sister would make Chef Boy-ar-dee pizzas on Friday night.  I felt happy at getting that “treat”.  Pfft.  The “treat” that kills.

Food is medicine.  Weeds are medicine.  When will we learn to value that which is not valuable by profit-making and make that available to all, not just those with cash in hand??

 

 

Donnelly and wars

by

Joe Donnelly was once again on our local radio (to be fair, Walorski also gets plenty of free air time).  Now he is pushing mandatory annual psychological testing on military. He says there are way too many suicides in the military, and he wants to get this to “zero”.  He traveled to Israel last month to see how they were dealing with military suicides…he named the number, but I forget their record.

I’m sure the trip was at Senator Donnelly’s own expense because he’s not going to charge the American taxpayer for something he could have done at home. /dripping sarcasm, folks

Where do I begin?

All during the interview, Donnelly never mentions the fact that the reason there are so many suicides in the military is because war is soul destroying. Incredibly, he even stated that these soldiers had been to “tour after tour after tour”…just totally clueless on how his own governmental policies were the cause of the problem.  He seems to be unwilling to even consider the cause of the mental distress and why soldiers would lose their love of life. As they kill another human being, they must ask themselves…why?

Why were we there, Senator Donnelly? Can you even answer that question–with brutal honesty?

Why is Israel being consulted?  They force their people to join the military…is Senator Donnelly going to suggest that, too? How is Israel able to convince their soldiers that killing the Palestinians, who just want to live in their on land, is okay?  I don’t call that psychological help, but more likely brainwashing and propaganda to create an enemy–the Palestinians.

The next aspect of Donnelly’s “solution” is the belief that somehow psychological treatment will end all suicides.  Really?  Just like Common Core and No Child Left a Mind will “make” children 100% proficient?

Psychology has been blown up to be a greater asset than it is.  All the drugs and talk therapy cannot erase the devastating effects of war on a person’s psych.

How about we just get rid of war, Senator Donnelly?

No, the military industrial complex can’t function without war.  If we don’t have an enemy, they’ll create one…got to keep those war profits rolling in…

 

Iranians arrested for being “happy”

by

Well, this is sad news.  I hope folks think of this the next time someone spouts off that we need to nuke Iran…there are people of peace all around the world who just want to live their lives…and be happy…

In relation to my other post on our loss of civil rights…this is one of the things that happen when “intelligence” is used to track down someone expressing Free Speech.