Category Archives: ethics and morals

Exxon interfering with coverage of the Arkansas spill

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Exxon is interfering with our right to know and the First Amendment–the right of the news crews to fly over the spill to document it. And my guess that the reason I haven’t heard of it on the news is becoming obvious–trying to shut down the news of it so that the Canadian XL pipeline can go through without protest… (note again the Hillary Clinton connection to XL…)

…and as I said, the real reason they don’t want *outsiders* taking the ducks and other wildlife to rescue centers is to thwart attempts to document the damage with photos of the dead and suffering wildlife….

(I say outsiders with just a little sarcasm…as if the American public were outsiders in their own country….but increasingly made to feel that way, eh? )

Arkansas oil spill

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Gah, there is so much I miss…

I did not know that there had been an oil pipeline spill. 

(I’m sure that the push for the new pipeline has nothing to do with it)  /snark

Be sure to click on the links—the poor ducks….

…and I strongly suspect the reason that Exxon officials are discouraging people from handling the ducks are not concern for the person’s safety as they are at keeping people away from the scene to thwart pictures of the ducks circulating, a la BP thwarting efforts to document the deaths of the dolphins during the oil spill.  And the government is not helping, but also part of the see-no-evil plan…

Here’s an update to the gulf. Not good news…not that I  expected any. More here.

Here’s a photographic diary of the devastation.  Warning: the worst photo I have ever seen of a poisoned dolphin  is in this group, along with the pelicans, turtles, and other sea life covered in oil….it makes you just want to suck in air, doesn’t it?  Good God.

 

 

 

More on hazardous conditions

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Common dreams has this up on fracking and all the hazards it entails.  Hey, just as long as Dick Cheney gets his cut, all is well…

More here.

And here.

And the best Congress money can buy….

Let’s not forget the other consequences of fracking– earthquakes.

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!

 

The culture and women

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The Boston Women’s Collective put out the book Our Bodies, Ourselves to fill that information gap for women and the issues that nobody talks about.

Here is a page on domestic violence which explores the options for women and questions the culture that fosters the thinking that women are weak, therefore, it’s okay to smack them around. They don’t explore verbal abuse enough, however, and therein lies a big problem….

I don’t think most women know what verbal abuse is…especially in this culture of the put-down being “funny”.  “What’s the matter, can’t you take a joke….?”

Verbal abuse isn’t taken as seriously because there’s no bleeding or bruising involved.  It’s much easier, I think, for us to look at someone who is hurt on the outside and be shocked at the brutality.  But with verbal abuse, the “bruises” and “cuts” are on the inside and that pain is difficult to “see”.

Humiliation, put-downs, and disrespect are all apart of verbal abuse, among other things.  And verbal abuse almost always precedes physical abuse.

Verbal abuse kills the soul.

Physical abuse kills the body.

Pope washes feet

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Pope Francis washes the feet of inmates of a juvenile detention facility.

When I heard this story over the weekend, I was moved by it.  Of course, it is a symbolic gesture that requires change within the church…

Some have said that there is new hope with the folks who believed Vatican II was the beginning of reform in the church….but were sadly disappointed.

When younger, I was asked to participate in a woman’s forum on Vatican II.  There was just a handful of we women.  When the discussion turned to birth control, I stated that I thought the church should embrace the modern methods of birth control.  (It’s pretty much already in practice by most Catholic women that I knew, so it was merely a blessing by the church.)

Well….that was quickly shot down by the nun that was present.

I wasn’t asked back for my thoughts on women in the priesthood. Ha.  Nor was I asked about my thoughts on women as equals who had more of a purpose in life than just baby machines.  Not trying to devalue that, mind you, as I value that aspect of being a woman–being a mother is the best thing that happened to me, but it was not the only part of me to offer to the world. The church’s stance against feminism speaks to the mindset.  Not that feminists have all the answers, but they offer a different point of view than the traditional that expands one’s thoughts beyond the male mindset of the church.

We get back to the balance needed in the world today–valuing masculine over feminine, valuing culture over nature…when a balance is needed between the two.

It’s good than Pope Francis has taken this step and has asked for Peace.  It is also good that he values the environment–as nature is seen as feminine (Native Americans) and by that standard, our trashing of the environment speaks volumes on our views of the feminine.

Here’s to hope.

Freud’s Legacy

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In our building, we have a small library with some good mysteries (which I love), and we all share the books between us.

I like to read them before bed, and this last one just is over the top in stereotypes.  I quit reading trashy romance novels because of the way women were portrayed as always needing rescued and in some of the cases, the women were…how to put this…gently raped.  Or perhaps I should say date raped….the last romance novel with this in it had portrayed a Native American woman as a princess (there is no such thing) that was  in love with a European guy who thought she was seeing someone else.  He proceeds to throw her on the bed and rip her clothes off….and you get the rest.  This was so offensive that it pretty much turned me off of them (some exceptions are ones where the woman is independent and doesn’t need rescued, but enjoys having a companion to share her life).

So…long intro story into the book I just finished—

This mystery was about a serial killer that was attacking women in a certain area.  I’ll spare you the gruesome details (also not one of my favorite reads–I prefer the kind Agatha Christie wrote that focused more on analytical ability than the gore).  But essentially these women were connected to a domestic violence recovery center and three of them disappeared and two bodies were recovered.  A third survived, but would be blind and deaf for life.  I liked the fact that the book somewhat highlighted centers that helped women to recover from abusive relationships–absolutely get that, BUT that was briefly talked about.  The other women characters, save for our one heroine and the lady running the center, were textbook misogyny.  As Freud did, the acts of the brutal men were blamed on the women in their lives.  The killer, a professional man whom nobody suspected (except me–I had him nailed after the first few chapters), was driven to the horrible crimes by his overbearing, career driven wife.  The book brings up a real life serial killer (whose name escapes me right now) whose mother was so controlling that it drove him to his crimes.   Another woman married to a man who commits domestic violence on her and their child was portrayed as an alcoholic who did not help her son or try to seek help at said domestic violence center—a curious part of the plot.

The heroine of the book was a teacher.  Now, most teachers I know are dedicated as this one was portrayed.  But to portray only her as “a good woman” just left me depressed as women have to be perfect in order to be considered “good women”.

The career woman was a complete bitch who did not care about her child or husband.  I’m not saying that those women don’t exist, but it was just sooo over the top.  And to blame her for the violent actions of her husband was pure Freud.  Anything wrong in the relationship or the man acts in anti-social ways?  Well, then, blame the woman he’s with or his mother….case closed!

As I’ve said before—there are plenty of people who have been abused as children and don’t go on to abuse others as adults.  They make that choice not to repeat the abuse….

…which leads to the question of why do some folks go on to abuse and others do not?   Compassion?  Why don’t those that go on to abuse others have that compassion?  Free will plays in this, I know, but why do they choose violence?

Thanks for letting me vent.  End of rant

 

…because even the low minimum wage is too much to pay…

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As Susie Madrak says, just when you think WalMart can’t get any lower…they provide you with even more reasons to loathe them….

As a side note, here is a list of the companies paying the least in taxes.  (hat tip to huffington post)

Note that Verizon is on the list–Verizon in recent years was sending their sales folks out on the street (door to door) to sell their product.  They paid them nothing. Not one cent.  Meanwhile, the poor sap employee used their gas/vehicle to get to the assigned area….only getting a paycheck if they signed someone up–low pay that maybe, just maybe covered their gas expenses…or not.

Here’s another post on companies that pay employees the least. Note Walmart on here, too.  Shock. Surprise. /snark

More here on employees not being paid.  More here.

And here. 

And this on Walmart doing what it does best–using the law for its own purposes to avoid paying health insurance: forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/12/09/walmart-bails-on-obamacare-sticks-taxpayers-with-employee-healthcare-costs/

Same here: gawker.com/5950331/olive-garden-red-lobster-scale-back-employee-work-hours-to-avoid-paying-for-health-insurance

(A note here–when I did my search, page after page came up with links for business owners and helping them with legal questions of not paying their employees.  I’m thinking WTH?)

And given the golden parachute….um, yeah, paying one or a handful of people millions of dollars as they leave a company…paying someone for not working versus not paying folks who do work…makes no sense at all….