Category Archives: chemical

Hazards to furniture workers

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Common dreams has this up on the hazards of furniture workers.  Be sure to click on the link to the NY Times.  This relates to my post on verbal abuse–she’s not bleeding and bruised–it’s much harder, I think, for the public to see the injuries, even though she now walks with a cane.  It’s amazing that she lasted five years….I wouldn’t last five minutes, being  so hypersensitive now…and I am met with the same disinterest and disbelief when I talk about being hypersensitive to chemicals….you can’t show someone how these chemicals affect you until you’re so bad that you’re bedridden.

I don’t know why they can’t design furniture that doesn’t require gluing.  What is wrong with just thread and needle?  Is glue really required or can a more creative mind come up with a solution that doesn’t require it?

And if it is affecting the workers this way, what does it do to the person who purchases it?  It’s much harder for someone to prove that their furniture is making them ill.  I meet with such resistance from folks who should know better—or at least folks who should make it their business to know this stuff….but alas…

Lastly, as the article explores, what happens if the workers protest too much?  The company will pack up and move overseas…or just find another worker…

From the article:

“There are people lined up out there for jobs,” said John Lyles, a vice president at Franklin, according to testimony by a plant manager in a successful lawsuit in Mississippi brought by four cushion workers who suffered severe nerve damage from the glue. “If they start dropping like flies, or something in that order, we can replace them today.”

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God, if that isn’t chilling to read.  In other words, human life is so cheap, we can poison them and there will be more to take their place.  Unbelievable.

Incredibly, OSHA has been inspecting this plant and filing reports of dangerous levels since 1996….and they keep repeating the same story with no results.  Clearly, reading this article, OSHA does not exert its power to shut down these plants.  The article states that it’s a matter of limited resources.  I suspect that it is also unwilling to shut down plants because it would send so many people to the unemployment office.  In this economy, the workers are even more vulnerable and need even greater protection. There are no mentions of unions in this article…so one can assume there are none?

 

 

 

 

Hansen leaving NASA

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Common Dreams has this up on NASA scientist James Hansen leaving the agency to work actively against climate change.

What’s really depressing about this article is that Hansen has been telling Congress since 1988 that climate change was real and a growing problem.

1988….twenty-five freaking years ago….and we’re still dragging our feet?  It is so depressing at all that has happened since then and how much better off we would be now if action had been taken at that time!

 

Krugman on Cyprus

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(hat tip to common dreams)

Paul Krugman has a few thoughts on Cyprus:  Leave the euro now.

The only issue with Krugman’s column is that he should get a little more detailed and put it into context.  Most folks are not literate in the financial world (which I think they bank on (pun intended)), so a little “lesson” on the history of economics and why we continually bail out banks and financial institutions and anyone else they deemed “worthy”…just as long as they don’t give those sleazy poor people food stamps!!

Banks and profiteering on food.

Christie private profiteering

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Well, the good feelings towards Christie for his actions during the storm crises is evaporating rapidly…with the news of him continuing to destroy public education for private profiteers.

Looking at the comments, Amitola mentions how the town has gone the way of most in the U.S.–jobs dry up, people move or the ones that stay are scraping by–not able to support a robust economy.  And the schools follow–poverty is the number one reason for school’s poor performance.  It’s hard to concentrate on school work when you’re hungry, dirty, and your folks are stressed out because you’re *this close* to being out on the street.  (or worse, you’re already out on the street, living in a shelter, with noise all night long and no privacy and no life).

Another poignant comment is by John Randolph:  the 1% bring the city to its knees and then profit off of the carcass.
Disaster capitalism, folks….(speaking of unions, they announced on the news the other day that Indiana has now lost more union members than gained, thanks to “Right to Work” law.  Also, they are airing commercials promoting a tax break…yes, a tax break in this economy…for Hoosiers—Gov. Mike Pence, an APEC toadie, first spouted this hairbrained idea right after election.  Legislature said no.  Now *cough* Americans for Prosperity are taking it to the airwaves trying to get people to call their representatives.)

Unfortunately, charter school takeover is not just here in the U.S., but now in Haiti. (insert a few choice expletives here). Note that Bill Gates has his filthy little fingers in this, too.  Like I said before, he is not the philanthropist he tries to imitate.

See previous posts here. And here. And here. 

And here.

Accepting responsibility

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…is the first step towards correcting the problem….Washington Post hasn’t quite gotten *there* yet.  The media was absolutely culpable for instilling fear into the public and credibility into the Bush Administration where no credibility existed.

What’s worse is that they are still giving air time to Cheney, et al, as if this guy has any credibility at all.

From the New York Times:

Most notably, Mr. Cheney defends his position on Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction, the Iraq war and the use of waterboarding with his usual aplomb and deft obfuscation. Other key players, including George W. Bush, have acknowledged mistakes and expressed dismay over decisions that proved misguided. Mr. Cheney says he did nothing wrong and has no regrets.

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One incident is almost chilling. Barton Gellman, a journalist and the author of a Cheney biography, recounts how in 2004 Mr. Cheney fought Justice Department lawyers who had determined that the top-secret, warrantless surveillance program that he had pushed for was illegal. Mr. Cheney was so insistent on keeping the wiretaps going that he kept Mr. Bush, then in his re-election campaign, out of the loop until the 11th hour, when two dozen Justice Department lawyers and the F.B.I. director threatened to resign

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And let’s not forget the profit factor for Cheney.  More here.  Blood on your hands, Dick.

Here’s a good article on those that were promoting the Iraq War through the media.  They use powerful words and the “if you’re not with us, you’re against us…or a fool….”  Hard to go against the grain when put in that context…I tried talking with a friend about it, but she was military and absolutely refused to believe that there was any doubt there were WMD’s.  They wouldn’t lie to her….

The media is very powerful in influencing people.  And the fact that Ronnie Reagan removed the Fairness Doctrine has had huge impacts in our ability to get both sides of a story in order to flush out the truth.  The press is no longer obligated by law to present the whole picture instead of something that suits them.  The fact that in my community there are nothing but rightwing radio announcers is testament to how unfair and unbalanced our media is…

Not only Reagan, but Clinton allowed media consolidation.   The media owners get to promote their own political views and world views without having to air the opposing side’s views.

From the article:

(This is my beef, also, about what happened in Fort Wayne last June–save for one station on Friday night, there was no live broadcast talking about the super storm.  NO ONE was live on the air on the next day, Saturday, telling people where they could go for cooling stations, when the power would be back on, how many people were affected (so folks would know that it was going to be awhile to get power and to plan accordingly.))

 

January 18, 2002 A train carrying hazardous materials derails at 1:30 a.m. in Minot, North Dakota, spilling 210,000 gallons of anhydrous ammonia in an incident federal regulators call “catastrophic”. Clear Channel Communications owns six out the seven commercial stations in Minot. Minot authorities say when they called with the warning about the toxic cloud, there was no one on the air who could’ve made the announcement. Clear Channel says someone was there who could have activated an emergency broadcast. But Minot police say nobody answered the phones.

Tell me it isn’t so…

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Daily Mail has this story up on a new fad.  It states that it contains natural ingredients of seaweed and prickly pear to lose weight.

First, I hope that this story is untrue.

Secondly, seaweed (most likely kelp) can be beneficial, as it has been known for centuries by the Native Americans for the benefits. However, with the modern pollution of our oceans, it is likely to be contaminated unless they are carefully cultivated in less polluted waters, such as Norwegian kelp.

Thirdly, kelp does contain iodine, which is beneficial to the thyroid but can really mess up your thyroid and immune system if too high a dose is used.  Losing 3-5 pounds in a week tells me that this is overdosing and will wreck the thyroid and adrenal glands.  Believe me, as someone who is trying to heal those two important glands, you do not want to mess with them.

Lastly, if one sees a dramatic difference after taking kelp, then I would suggest testing the thyroid and adrenals for the person having low thyroid.  It is one of the most overlooked deficiencies in this toxic environment today.

Like anything, too much of a good thing can cause as many problems as being deficient in them.

Be well, my friends.

Frankenfish and other nightmares…

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From PR Watch:

Frankenfish salmon coming to your table, whether you like it or not.

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…because they couldn’t destroy voter access by destroying ACORN….

…note the “guilty until proven innocent” mindset that seems to be the way things have become in the U.S. instead of innocent until proven guilty.

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More on the dangerous food industry trying to keep you from knowing what the hell is in your food or how badly they treat the animals.

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Take action against Fix the Debt.

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Promoting  “activist” judges….conservative activist, that is….

 

 

Your food

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The Organic Farmers network of New York has posted this:

Message

Begin forwarded message:
> From: “Amy Little” <amylittle@hvc. rr.com>
> Date: March 14, 2013 11:36:40 AM CDT
> Subject: Action needed today on Biotech and GIPSA Riders
>
> From: Amy Little, NESAWG
> Action Alert and Mobilization TODAY
>
> The Senate released its Continuing Resolution (appropriations legislation) that includes “riders” on 2 big issues. Legislative riders are controversial policy provisions that “hitch a ride” on appropriations bills that otherwise deal only with funding matters in order to escape full and open debate in the committee that has jurisdiction over the relevant policy area.
> 1. The “Biotech Rider” would undercut current biotech safety regulations by striping federal courts of their authority to halt the sale and planting of illegal, potentially hazardous GE crops, and compel the USDA to allow continued planting of that same crop upon request regardless of its potential to cause transgenic contamination in the food supply and ecosystem.
> 2. The “GIPSA Rider” overrides the GIPSA rule that protects farmers from abuses by the meat industry, by denying contract producers protection under the Packers and Stockyards Act .
>
> TODAY, Senator Jon Tester plans to introduce two amendments that removes those riders from  the Continuing Resolution. Many organizations that participate in NESAWG are issuing alerts and mobilizing phone calls and emails.
>
> Please consider making a call to your Senator’s DC office, alerting your lists to take action, and spreading the word quickly.
> You can find your Senators’ phone numbers here: http://bit.ly/ findmySenator
>
> Many organizations have issued alerts, here is the basic message:
>
> “Please tell the Senator to vote for two amendments to the Continuing Resolution introduced by Senator Jon Tester of Montana that protect family farmers from abuses by the meat industry and support review of biotechnology products. These two amendments will stand up for family farmers, ensure that independent producers have a fair chance in the livestock market, and ensure that courts can review biotechnology products.”
>
>
> From the NSAC Blog: This is an affront to justice and fairness for farmers and is an unfortunate example of legislating on an appropriations bill on behalf of a very few powerful corporations.
>
> Phone calls are needed right now, but Food and Water watch has an on-line letter campaign athttps://secure3. convio.net/ fww/site/ Advocacy? pagename= homepage& page=UserAction& amp;id=591& autologin= true& JServSessionIdr0 04=w8pdw3w8a5. app340a

A celiac story

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(Taking time out for a quick post.  Mom is doing better at the moment….but not out of the woods yet)

I asked permission to post this story of the recovery of a GAPS support group member:

Hi you guys
I wanted to encourage all newbies. My son age 4/12 was non verbal when we started this diet. He also had no social skills and he didn’t respond to his name

We have been on the diet for two years now. It has been a rough road to say the least. Not only was he nonverbal he also had extreme behavioral problems. Taking out high candida foods, like fruit, nuts and honey helped tremendously. We also have a Laura V from the group Gaps practitioner and Naturopath ND helping us.

Eli had a wonderful day at the park yesterday. My heart was overwhelmed with joy watching him play with other kids. He saw a little guy his age. He walked over to him and asked if he wanted to play. The other kiddo said yes. They played on the swing, they played tag and ran around. The other kid saw a friend he knew at the park. The friend also played with Eli. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Not to long Eli would shy away from kids. He use to act so strange around them. Perhaps because he couldn’t speak

He is also talking using sentences, asking questions and making comments on things that he hears and sees. We thought we would never see this happen

To all newbies stay the course. This diet can be stressful at times but the benefits of healing is so worth it. Dr NCM talks about adding cherries on top if you don’t see healing within a year or so. We had to get additional help. In addition to the diet. Eli is on homeopathic remedies to address his faulty detox system, his over exposure to antibiotics and his chronic gut issues due to the meds that was given to him as a baby. My doc is in the process of becoming gaps certified. I will post his info as soon as that happens

Hugs
Reg

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I can’t add anything to this.  It’s just absolutely stunning how diet can impact one so profoundly.  God Bless Regina for being the kind of Mom who acts on her intuition and asks questions until she finds the answer.