Category Archives: NAFTA/free trade

Buying our destiny…

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…or selling our destiny…depending on your point of view.  Naomi Klein was on DN! today, talking about climate change and our need to change the things we value in order to save the planet.

Perhaps it would be better stated to save ourselves…the planet will survive, i.e., after the humans and animals and plant life are dead from toxicity, the planet will re-emerge clean…like a phoenix rising up from the ashes.

Klein makes a point that the Green movement has been co-opted by the very targets they were fighting against.  Sadly, she states that The Nature Conservancy has been drilling.  Incredible!  Back in the day, it was one of the organizations I donated to.  That and Sierra Club, but when I found that Sierra was “partnering” with Clorox bleach…yeah, I stopped supporting them even before my life took its downturn.

She mentions the indigenous taking on the big corporations –asserting land rights.  You might recall about a year ago, with the natives of Canada protesting fracking exploration on their lands–

My posts on the events:

October 20th.   October 22nd.   November 4.   November 8.  November 24.   December 1.   December 15.

Klein asserts that those who stand to lose the most from the change in what we value–solar over oil, coal, and nuclear energy–are fighting a dirty war with the help of politicians and others who are bought and paid for.

They don’t care what ill health effects are created by the toxic environment.  It’s just mindboggling how they think that their pollution is not going to affect them–do they think they live in a bubble, immune from what happens around them?

An example–the pollen counts have been high here lately, so I haven’t been outside to jog.  I went yesterday morning, and then had problems with deep coughing.  I haven’t really had that deep coughing in awhile.  There has to be a connection.  Not only to the “normal” pollution, but from chemtrails, aka bioengineering–as I saw several trails in the sky to the East of me.  They have been spraying them above the clouds so it’s harder to see them, but they’re there.

I saw these from twenty miles away, Sunday:

chemtrails.9.14.2014

Just recently, Joe Donnelly, Dan Coats, and Jackie Walorski, Indiana politicians, have come out against EPA regulations.  The local radio station is airing commercials (surely paid for by those in the industry) stating that the EPA is a threat.  I kid you not.

Joe Donnelly here and here.

Dan Coats here–from an “EPA abuse” website, most likely being supported by the coal industry;  and here and here–this extension period was needed so they could flood the airwaves with the commercials I’m now hearing….

Notice the “job-killing” tactic–classic playbook.  Why doesn’t Sen. Coats tout renewable energy jobs that would be created if we stopped supporting the dirty coal industry?

Jackie Walorski here:  jackiewalorski.com/walorski-farm-bureau-take-aim-epa/

And here–a big thank you from the Farm Bureau. Pfft.

Note the scare tactics of “big government” and “regulating every faucet”….

Farmers need to realize their part in polluting the water.  And they need to be given some incentive for going organic, and not using chemicals in food production.  Where is the money for that?

Our water flows into the Ohio, which flows into the Mississippi, which flows into the Gulf.  It has been noted that Indiana is one of the biggest polluters (17 million pounds of toxins into our waterways EVERY YEAR), and the coral and sea life are dying because of it.

All the while, mercury in Indiana waterways is ABOVE the standards set from the USGS website.

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 Mercury contamination in water and fish throughout Indiana has routinely exceeded levels recommended to protect people and wildlife. About 1 in 8 fish samples tested statewide had mercury that exceeded the recommended safety limit for human consumption. The causes include mercury in the rain and mercury going down the drain, according to a recently released federal study.The most significant source of mercury to Indiana watersheds is fallout from the air. Much of the mercury in the air comes from human activity. In Indiana, coal-burning power plants emit more mercury to the air each year than any other human activity. In urban areas, wastewater discharge contributes a substantial portion of mercury to waterways.

The face of minimum wage

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Maria Fernandes died while sleeping in her car between work shifts.  She is the face of the minimum wage worker trying to make ends meet and have a little extra afterward.

 

 

(I’ve had a stupid migraine the past few days.  I thought I was going to go migraine-free this month. I started to get one last week, my usual time, but I stopped it with ibuprofen.  I was hoping that I had healed to the point that I could stop them with ibuprofen, which used to work for me.  But, alas…)

A discussion on population…

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Gene Logsdon has put up a post on his thoughts on population growth and food availability.

It’s a touchy and uncomfortable subject….to say the least.

It brings up eugenics–there are stories out there of people like Bill Gates and the Rockefellers advocating for population control via eugenics and even through genetically modified food.  There is a video out there of Bill Gates advocating vaccines for this purpose.  I don’t know what to make of the video, so I’m not posting it– you’ll have to go find it yourself.

I think advocating de-population is morally and ethically wrong.  We get into the self-righteous, superiority of those who think they are *more special* than the rest, therefore, they should live while others die.

The comments are as interesting as the blog–with one suggesting that the population growth perhaps was a spiritual one of bringing more light into the world….

…with that, I would disagree.  There is so much negative energy on Earth that I would happily volunteer to go right now if God would take me.   Just give me enough morphine to stop my heart, and I’m good to go…

Speaking of negative energy, I was just thinking last night how much I missed teaching.  I enjoyed it and the kids’ earnest quest for knowledge.  I also liked that I didn’t have to put up with office politics nor office gossip.  When I was teaching, I would stay in the room and eat my lunch so I didn’t have to hear the teachers gossip (yes, they gossiped…mostly about stupid substitutes…).  I went in, did my job, and went home while avoiding all of that negative energy.  I didn’t have to put up with the tired questioning of my single status–there is definitely a prejudice against single people in this country.  The downside, of course, is the pay and the work-on-demand instead of a steady schedule.

And if you try to avoid the gossip and cut people off…as some suggest you do…you’re still screwed because the gossips then turn on you as a target.  I’ve actually had that happen to me.  I ended up leaving a good job because of it.

I suppose the questioning of population growth is related to our bad economy…not enough jobs that pay living wages….while jobs are shipped to other countries for even lower wages…and Burger King and their ilk go to other countries so they don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes….while war hawks push us towards another war again…while not taxing the rich….

Yeah, I’m in a negative mood…how could you tell?  😦

 

The crises in Haiti continues…with the “help” of Bill and Hillary Clinton

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...disaster capitalists….(no wonder Hillary Clinton supports Israel’s bombing innocent Gazans…she probably wants a piece of the action, too, to gain financially from the “rebuilding” of Gaza.)

…because you know, the poor are just “useless eaters” (Hillary Clinton supposedly said that although I haven’t been able to confirm it.)

I have a question–why isn’t Bill Clinton in jail for misappropriation of funds?

My other posts on Haiti:

Earthships in Haiti (this would be a big help to the poor)

Where’s the money, Bill and Hillary??   Be sure to click on the mismanagement link–good source of info.

 

 

Sirota is back…

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Woot.  

(hat tip Diane Ravitch)

A voice that was silenced by those proclaiming to be progressive and open-minded weren’t quite so much when put to the test.  It’s not hard to see why when you read this article blasting Hillary Clinton.  There’s a powerful push to get her into office, despite the coy “I haven’t decided” b.s. that she is spewing.  I’ve said it before, but I’m sick of Clintons and Bushes in the White House.  Time for a real change for a politician that actually speaks up for the “little people” who don’t have big lobbyists, big PACs, nor big money to influence Washington.

Hillary Warren…

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…er, I mean, Hillary Clinton has once again morphed like a chameleon to put on the false face of concern over the general American public….what an opportunist.  Pfft.

…cause, you know, she was poor once, too. /snarky to the extreme

My post on the case against Hillary as President here.  In the non-ad, McCain says that she “gets attention when she arrives”  Really? That’s a qualification for running the most powerful country in the world?  Because I could gain attention when I arrive, too, by tripping down the steps.  *snort*

And the comments about her flying all over the world?  What’s up with that??  Yeah, I’d take trips all over the world if I could charge it off to the American taxpayer.  (Not really, I have more ethics and scruples than that.)  But one has to wonder what exactly she was doing on those trips…because they never really quite get around to telling us that, do they?

And if Henry Kissinger gave me “very high marks”, I’d want a recount. He doesn’t hold humanity in high regards.

Finally, in the end, when President Obama is slobbering over her, I begin to wonder if this isn’t as much a political ad for Israel’s chosen candidate as it is America’s….

Hillary and Bill Clinton with Eli Broad, who wants to destroy public education.  Note pictures of Arne Duncan and Michelle Rhee with the Broads.  Poor impoverished Hillary Clinton…she must have had to use the drapes, a la Gone with the Wind, to make her dress…../snarky, for sure

$31 million.  Pocket change, apparently, for Hillary Clinton (along with $200k speaking fees).

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren, among others, came out against the Keystone XL.  You won’t hear that from Hillary, as you see in my other posts on her–she is all for it.

The Third Way, Clinton Democrats….not to be confused with real Democratic Party.

Hillary Clinton, Rose Law Firm, Bill Clinton, and Monsanto.  This, alone, should be reason enough not to vote her into office.

Finally, a recording of Hillary Clinton laughing about how a rapist she represented as a lawyer was not convicted…and she knew it and was laughing about the lie detector test that he passed.  Note also her description of someone on the “wrong side of the tracks”…clearly a poor/racial prejudice.

She got a rapist off with time served…two months.  For raping a 12 year old girl.  And bragged and laughed about it.

 

 

 

More on the Middle East

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I’ve read a few good posts on the Middle East-– Iraq and the U.S.’s role in the mess there.

I have to agree with the writer’s premise–that we have made a mess of things and they need to work this out for themselves without us riding in on a white horse to only make matters worse.

They know how many Americans feel about Muslims–led by a biased media willing to portray them as all thinking alike.  That is as stupid as portraying all women as thinking alike. Or anyone, for that matter.

My other posts on Iran here and here.

Palestinians cry for help.

Presbyterian Church divests itself of U.S. corporations helping Israel to destroy the Palestinians.

 

 

 

Alert

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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.

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…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??

 

 

Fracking wastewater being pumped into wells

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Have these people completely lost their minds?

One New York state study found radioactivity in fracking waste water at 267 times the level considered safe for human consumption. Other studies found several cancer-causing contaminants in fracking waste water. The report cites arsenic, lead, hexavalent chromium, barium, chloride, sodium, sulfates, boron, benzene and radioactive agents.

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You might remember hexavalent chromium…it was the stuff used by PG & E featured in the movie, Erin Brockovich. 

It, as well as benzene, are known cancer causing agents.  Arsenic and lead, of course, are heavy metals that cause neurological damage and in enough amounts–death.

It is just mindboggling that the fracking proponents look the other way at the damage caused by the fracking process.  All that matters to them is getting the gas out of the ground, no matter the consequences.  Well, it has a way of coming back on you…quality of life goes down…healthcare costs go up…and each generation suffers more DNA damage.

Diet and Health, via Weston Price **edited

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A member of the mercury support group posted this link to the Spring Caustic Commentary on the Weston Price Foundation website.

It’s pretty informative for those who are unfamiliar with Weston Price’s work.  He was a dentist who traveled the world, observing the indigenous tribes.  He discovered that they had perfect teeth–no dental decay.  When they became industrialized, and ate a more Western diet, their dental health began to suffer.  Price also observed the changes in mouth structure–before the Western diet, the parents had bright, wide smiles….but the generations afterward had more narrow smiles and misshapened teeth by overcrowding the mouth.  And yet, Western doctors refuse to see the connection between diet and overall health and wellbeing.

**edited to add the link. Geesh.