Category Archives: big oil

The reality of austerity

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This will be coming our way if something isn’t done.

It’s not Obamacare….it’s Social Security they’re after

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Center for Media and Democracy has this up on what the Koch Brothers and Pete Petersen and their toady Paul Ryan are really after–what they’ve been after all along—Social Security and other “entitlement” programs.  I still hate that term”entitlement”  as it alludes to a giveaway when folks pay into these programs all their lives.

Here’s the video by Mark Fiore:

 

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Also from CMD–

Profiting off the poor.  With Indiana being All Republican, All the Time in the Legislature, I rather doubt that they have slayed this dragon.  I suspect that privatization will be back…probably by backdoor deals.

Also, Indiana will be dropping ISTEP (Indiana Statewide Testing Educational Progress)next year BY FEDERAL REQUIREMENT.

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…and profiting off of our children-–and ultimately, our Democracy. (Just a refresher of the Charter school scams and hedge fund managers/Wall Street making a profit off of schools.)

From the report:

In recent years, there has been an explosion of full-time “virtual” charter schools paid for by the taxpayer. From 2008 to 2012, 157 bills passed in 39 states and territories (including the District of Columbia) that expand online schooling or modify existing regulations. Many of these bills are attributable to American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) politicians.

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I was thinking about this other day while teaching–online is such a ripoff in that you don’t get human interaction.  Granted, the Wall St. types probably loathe human interaction…but I really wonder if they’re human to begin with….the rest of us,however, actually want to be around other humans.

Anyway, a teacher can often pick up on cues to help a student “get” a subject that a stupid computer could never do.

A teacher can give encouragement when a student wants to give up.  This is especially important for students who are having difficulty–I thought of myself  and my daughter being dyslexic.  If I hadn’t tried to teach my daughter through Phonics and patiently sitting down with her every night to read, she most likely would not have reached her potential.  Again–computers cannot help when there is a learning disability.

Lastly, a teacher is going to lay the hammer down if a student comes in without homework done or starts goofing off during class instead of doing the work they’re supposed to be doing…online courses cannot do that, either.  And a teacher is also a sounding board for a student who may be dealing with issues at home…

As I’ve noted before, there is something lost when the classroom lacks discussion and interchange of ideas or more in-depth on the subject.

And, of course, a computer can’t teach art or music the way that it should be done.

The article makes note that the virtual schools enroll kids that never take courses, never answer emails, and so on, but still take tax dollars for them.  One had to reimburse the state $800k for “ghost” students.  This is a huge red flag in that while the neocons are so very worried about voter ID to “prove” who someone is so they don’t vote twice….well, I don’t see the same concern with these “ghost” students who may or may not even be real persons.  Who is checking on them?

And this just made my heart sing:

Affidavits from former K12 Inc. teachers that were incorporated into the complaint paint a devastating picture of an enrollment-driven, profit-driven corporate culture that leaves kids in the dust. (Note to Wall Street: If you want to exploit children, don’t hire a bunch of teachers who actually care about kids.)

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Sadly, I think Wall St. will actually take that advice and will screen teachers who don’t give a rip.  Or Wall Streeters will make a construct that they “can’t find any good teachers” so they will be “forced” to plead for the ability to hire non-teachers to….teach.

 

 

 

The importance of Education **edited

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If anyone ever doubted the significance of an education, perhaps Malala’s story and her passion can cast all doubt aside that fighting for the United States public education system is worth it.  It’s for the poor. It’s for the middle class.  And, as Malala so aptly points out–an education is what keeps women from being imprisoned (either emotionally or physically).

**edited to put just the clip of Malala on here.  I messed up with putting the entire Daily Show clip.  Sorry for the graphic  — I missed that one.

Stealing from the poor

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This mother in Saskatoon had apples stolen from her trees.  She said in the story that her son cannot digest food easily, so she was planning on making applesauce with them, when someone came and cleaned her out.  Luckily, there were some good hearted people who gave her not only apples, but other food, as well. …one could say that she was made whole.

That’s what Law was originally about–someone does something wrong to another and is made to do something for that person to make up for it–that’s what they called “making one whole” .

Now it seems the Law—looking at the person stealing as a corporation– is saying that the corporation had a right to take everything. 

Or –she was at fault for not having a guard dog protect her assets.

Or –she should have had a hot fence up. 

I’m thinking of corporate anti-union sentiment; of bankers/finance; of insurance (both health and home); of pretty much anything in this country where the less well-connected or less wealthy are not being treated in a just manner.

Our apples have been stolen and we haven’t enough folks with good hearts and enough resources themselves to come and make us whole again.

The Economic War of Israel

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Edward Teller has one of the best posts up I’ve seen on the situation in Israel. There are ways of waging war that don’t require planes dropping bombs…

Max Blumenthal explains in the 2nd video  how control of food is tantamount to control of people.   A poignant point he makes was the destruction of the herds of Buffalo to starve out the Native Americans.  They were forced to adopt the grain-based diet including fry bread, which we now know is very unhealthy, especially if one is gluten intolerant.  As Blumenthal highlights, the Native Americans now have issues with diabetes.  I would go a step further and say this also may be linked to alcoholism….as I believe there is a link with diet and alcoholism.

Henry Kissinger’s words flashed in my mind as Blumenthal spoke of the Israelis destroying chickens, and other livestock so that the Palestinians could not provide for themselves.   More quotes of Henry Kissinger.

I skipped over the first video to see his take on the market.   When I viewed it, I was stunned, to say the least.  American rightwing talking points about President Obama not being a U.S. citizen, of being a Muslim, and calling him a n***er, etc.  Wow.  Just wow.   And the gal who said she was “politically aware” but didn’t know who Benjamin Netanyahu was? For real?

The story behind Miriam Carey

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Miriam Carey was a dental hygienist.  And you all know what I’m going to ask–is she being autopsied?  and will they look for mercury poisoning?  Because her actions are textbook mercury poisoning—she had instances of delusions, she obviously had over the top aggression, and she was depressed.

I would want to know the history of where she grew up–was she in a neighborhood subject to toxins?  Were chemtrails being sprayed over her home in the days leading up to her doing this?  Was she eating GMO’s and undiagnosed Celiac?  Something tells me these questions won’t be asked…and they need to be.

One report said that friends who knew her before she became a dental hygienist said she had no mental issues at that time—so….if this occurred after becoming exposed to mercury in a dental practice—then it is a definite possibility.  Arsenic may also be a factor.

Also, the events surrounding pregnancy and giving birth need to be looked at since the sister says she was having issues afterward.  Did she have a Rho-Gam shot?  Even though mercury was supposed to have been removed in 2001, it reportedly still contains mercury.  And knowing what I know about the other vaccines, it probably has other issues.

During my research, it popped up that there were questions of a link between Rho-Gam and autism.  I found this disputing the biased research saying there was no link.   Others are bringing up the issue that the shot can sensitize a woman’s system.

Was she required to have annual flu shots to work in the dental practice?  They also contain mercury and other toxins.  This, plus accumulation from the mercury exposure in a dental practice, arsenic, and pesticide toxicity could have sent her over the edge.

Here’s the safeminds.org brochure on vaccines.

(And a side note here: current legislation regarding vaccination in different states.)

Here’s a paper disputing the value of the Rho-Gam shot.

 

The Yes Men

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It is a continual source of amusement and awe at the stuff I come across looking up other stuff.

For instance, the Yes Men — an activist group against the Bhopal disaster,

We never hear that part of the information Wikileaks leaked is about the stuff done by corporations.

Note at the bottom where Dr. Ingrid Eckerman, a member of the International Medical Commission on Bhopal, has been denied a visa to India since 2008. Incredible that someone trying to help the people damaged by this disaster is denied access.

This may be why (from the link to the IMC wiki page):

The IMCB publicly condemned Union Carbide and reiterated the company’s full liability not only for responsibility in causing the deadly gas leak, but also for the confounding role of its behaviour with respect to pre-accident preventive and exposure mitigating efforts, and the timely and effective application of the appropriate medical measures at the time of the accident. This included the lack of transparency about the composition of the gases released, resulting in the absence of rational methods of care and planning resulting in loss of sight and in some cases life, and creation of suspicion and conflict among professionals and the population. There was also a lack of emergency preparation which would have made the public and professionals aware of the potential toxins inside the plant and how to respond to an accident.

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Fracking came to mind with the mention of lack of transparency about the composition of the toxins released.  Remember the nurse who was sickened because they refused to tell her what chemicals she was dealing with? This from American Nurses association for information on toxins and their effects.   Take note of the UNIONS strength in numbers at calling attention to this and demanding transparency.

More reasons why they don’t want people to know what’s in it—

It is now well known that persistent and chronic gas-related health effects are present in the Bhopal population.[3][4][5] However, the full spectrum of effects is yet to be defined, especially in those exposed as children or in utero, and as manifested in survivor reproductive health.[6][7] There has been a lack of systematic collection of relevant information in these reproductive effects, and also with respect to cancer development or other chronic illnesses as sequelae of the gas exposure.

Recent investigations have shown that local well water has become contaminated by the improper storage of a large amount of hazardous waste in the facility, or on its grounds.[8] This toxic waste is especially hazardous to those still suffering the effects of direct exposure to the gas.

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See, if you don’t know what’s in it, you can’t connect the symptoms to the chemical that caused it.  Kind of like genetically modified organisms, eh?  If people don’t know what’s in their food, they can’t connect ill health to it.

A trojan horse…and another part of a horse…on DN

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Democracy Now had a couple of noteworthy segments up this morning–

Another *cough* fair trade deal that is characterized as NAFTA on steroids.  Great.  /snark

…because Clinton’s NAFTA didn’t do enough to destroy this country….one can only wonder at the forced GMO seeds  upon these countries–forced vaccination–and other unconstitutional actions that will affect us, as well.  We don’t live in a vacuum–what goes around comes around…

See previous post on how much influence corporations have on our government, and the ramifications of that influence.  The public loses its representation….and yet, we’re still taxed.

Max Blumenthal has written an insider’s view of Israel.   Prime Minister Netanyahu asserts he has the U.S. where he wants us.  He is still trying to drum up fear of the Iranians having a nuclear weapon…but methinks it’s more a fear that if the U.S. no longer sees Iran as a threat, they won’t be giving the bucks to Israel.

I’m glad he was on DN–because we get a picture of the rightwingers of Israel who are racist against not only the Palestinians, but Africans as well.  It’s chilling how they think of the Africans as a cancer on their society.   No wonder the rightwingers in America like Israel so much–they have so much in common.

Funny how we don’t hear that from the mainstream media, eh?

A picture flashed in my head when he said the youth march through the streets.  It’s unnerving how much that is like the Nazis.

I’m also glad that Blumenthal makes the point that there are peacemakers amongst the warhawks, as well, who are against what is happening, but perhaps feel powerless to do anything about it.  (sounds familiar, eh?)  I think this is true of every nation–that there are many unheard voices that are against violence and war but never get to speak out.