Category Archives: ethics and morals

Getting us into yet another war

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John I-don’t-know-how-many-houses-I-own McCain is once again banging the war drum…although he is careful to not make it sound that way.

Let’s take a look back, shall we?

My blog here on the media’s culpability in getting us into Iraq.

John McCain on Iraq here.

I want the Ukraine people to have their democratic government, but I am not willing to go to war over it. I am sick of wars and I’m sick of warmongers like McCain and Clinton who slobber at the thought of going to war.  One has to wonder how much they are invested financially in defense contractors or other war profiteering.

Let’s not forget the lie of the reasons to go to war…as she smiles and says “it’s the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make…”  Utter bullshit

And this video on Hillary Clinton’s views on the media and exchange of free information is chilling.  Without a free exchange of ideas, without the media uncovering greed & corruption, and violations of our Constitution, our democracy is lost.    Why is Hillary so afraid of that?

Finally, my Russian reader has not been back since Putin clamped down on the media.

My hope is that he/she will be back when things settle down.  I hope so….please know that not all Americans are like Clinton and McCain…we value peaceful solutions to conflict.  We are all connected.  Peace to you.

And this is heartening…a journalist quits the Russian media in protest of Putin.  Bless her.

 

Terry Richardson Assistant Identified

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Leslie Lessin has been identified as the assistant to Terry Richardson.  My prior blogs on him here and here.

She is apparently the one who was allegedly cheerleading/cajoling the young women into whatever Terry Richardson wanted.  She tried to smooth things over (and what sounds like brainwashing) in a cab ride home with one of the young women.

It’s nice to hear from the guys about the stories of the women. 

“I felt that to dignify [accusations] with a response was a betrayal of my work and my character”

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Richardson is concerned about his character? Really?  How dignified is it to having your member photographed while a woman performs a sexual favor? Because I don’t see a lot of dignity in that.  Nor in putting a woman in a garbage can, or calling her a slut.

“I collaborated with consenting adult women who were fully aware of the nature of the work,”

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“Nature of the work”…what does that mean, exactly?  Do you tell them you are going to whip your member out and make demands that they perform sex acts?  Is that in writing? Because if it isn’t in plain language in the so-called “release” then you have no freaking case.

These accusations have been occurring over years and nothing has been done. 

Women are apparently sick of it and are boycotting anything connected with Richardson to make their voices heard. 

 Indeed, gaslighting is classic tactic of an abusive personality. Richardson insists that it is an ill-informed, pitchfork wielding internet leading the charge against him while subtly failing to address the fact that these allegations have come from multiple sources, repeatedly and over a number of years.

But if the allegations are true, then Richardson isn’t just undermining his victims by questioning the credibility of their accusations – he’s further abusing them by attempting to erase them from the situation altogether.

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And as each of them have stated, they were intimidated at the time…so for them to come forward is a brave thing to do.  It gives their testimony more weight because they have a lot to lose (not working again is a big incentive NOT to say anything).

Richardson’s involvement with Miley Cyrus’ vulgar performances (Wrecking Ball, for one; and Blurred Lines, for another) speaks volumes.  He’s a creep who loves to degrade women.

There is a positive sexuality and a dark, negative sexuality.  Terry Richardson is dark and devoid of any conscience, in my opinion. 

 

Freed U.S. Hikers write book

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Democracy Now! featured the three hikers captured in Iran.

They emphasized during the program that they did not hate the Iranian people.  I think this is an important point because it sends the message of peace instead of revenge.

It’s fascinating that this incident apparently was the beginning of tentative peaceful relations that was behind the historic Iranian nuclear deal.

I’m glad that they are using what could be a negative–anger for what happened to them–and turned it into a positive–working for the end of solitary confinement and other ills of the prison system.

A concrete dog run?  Are you kidding me?  Talk about being treated like an animal.  I always thought that they were allowed out into fresh air on a grassy yard.  They’re not even getting that much.  It’s pretty sad when someone in a U.S. prison is experiencing the same thing as prisoners in Iran.

In one of the prisons here, the prisoners once had an organic garden.  Governor Daniels got that stopped.  Um-hmmm….

 

Greenpeace protests logging in Canada

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Report here. 

What bothers me is when I see trees torn down for yet more construction when there are thousands of empty buildings waiting to be occupied.  There should be a law that prohibits this–we don’t have the luxury of time anymore.  We need those trees to take the carbon dioxide out of the air and provide us with fresh oxygen.  Indiana is especially bad about destroying forests–when you look at aerial photos, you can pick Indiana out just by the lack of trees.   You can tell such a difference when leaving Indiana and going to Ohio–the air is better.  Combine this with the 15 million pounds of toxins released into our waterways…toxic soup.  (sigh)

The youngest victims at Auschwitz

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City Jackdaw has a sobering post up on a young Polish Catholic girl, Czesława Kwoka, that perished at the German prison camp.

I wanted to re-post in memory of her, too.  And the other children. And the gypsies.

Be sure to click on the link to her biography.

It’s important to note that these are the poor.  The wealthy could flee the country until the war was over.

 

Heavy Metals and Chemical Toxins in Foods **edited

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Where’s my spoon?  /snark

Magnetic Wheaties.  The press refused to publish this because they didn’t think it was real.  Anyone want to test their own Wheaties and dispute it?

Heavy Metals in Vegan foods. 

Sea vegetables.

Here’s another paper on heavy metals content in foods.

Arsenic in food.  The discussion is in defense of reports of arsenic in organic foods.  What the news reports got wrong was that heavy metals are present in conventionally grown foods, too.  It’s not a fault of growing them organically…but it is a fault of our toxic environment—which we are all responsible for promoting.

Another link here.

While there is a set legal limit for the amount of arsenic in water, that’s not the case for food. In previous weeks, researchers also detected high levels of arsenic in apple and grape juices. “All of these arsenic studies come back to the fact that there are multiple exposures, with the levels varying from product to product and batch to batch,” says Patty Lovera, assistant director of Food & Water Watch, a consumer safety organization. “We need to figure out some regulatory limit.”

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Arsenic in rice has been discussed on the mercury support group–obviously, we’re concerned about putting more poison in our bodies.  It’s frustrating as hell because even if you eat organic, you’re still at risk of heavy metals by the soil contamination.

Someone said in a reply on one of the sites I visited:  you’re pretty much going to get exposed by anything you eat…nothing is safe.

But I would not give up organic food.  Conventionally grown food is less nutritious, besides polluting the environment even more–it doesn’t make sense on that point alone.

Finally, here’s a disturbing video produced by Environmental Working Group on toxic chemicals in babies’ blood.

I looked up the Kids Safe Chemicals Act of 2008…and I’ll give you three guesses how it turned out.  Yep.

But, wait!  There’s yet another bill introduced with link to co-sponsors…here’s where it stands. 

Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D-NJ] Bill Author

Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] Bill Author

Max Baucus [D-MT]

Michael F. Bennet [D-CO]

Richard Blumenthal [D-CT]

Barbara Boxer [D-CA]

Maria Cantwell [D-WA]

Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]

William “Mo” Cowan [D-MA]

Richard Durbin [D-IL]

Dianne Feinstein [D-CA]

Al Franken [D-MN]

Tom Harkin [D-IA]

Angus King [I-ME]

Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]

Patrick Leahy [D-VT]

Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Jeff Merkley [D-OR]

Barbara Mikulski [D – MD]

Patty Murray [D-WA]

Bill Nelson [D- FL]

Bernard Sanders [I-VT]

Brian Schatz [D-HI]

Charles Schumer [D-NY]

Jon Tester [D-MT]

Tom Udall [D-NM]

Elizabeth Warren [D-MA]

Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]

Ron Wyden [D-OR]

Again, no mention on the toxins’ effects on the animals and birds.  Mercury has been found in birds on land and sea birds.  It’s also been found in marine mammals.

**edited to correct wording.

Rhee vs. Ravitch

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Diane Ravitch posted a link to this biting piece.  Apparently, Rhee knew when it comes to her failed education mandates, she was going to get schooled by Diane.

And yet…she is still telling the American public she knows whats best for their children.