May 17, 2018
By Doyle Rice
It was December 1984, (click here) and President Reagan had just been elected to his second term, Dynasty was the top show on TV and Madonna's Like a Virgin topped the musical charts.It was also the last time the Earth had a cooler-than-average month.
Last month marked the planet's 400th consecutive month with above-average temperatures, federal scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.
The cause for the streak? Unquestionably, it’s climate change, caused by humanity's burning of fossil fuels.
"We live in and share a world that is unequivocally, appreciably and consequentially warmer than just a few decades ago, and our world continues to warm," said NOAA climate scientist Deke Arndt. "Speeding by a '400' sign only underscores that, but it does not prove anything new."
Climate scientists use the 20th-century average as a benchmark for global temperature measurements. That's because it's fixed in time, allowing for consistent "goal posts" when reviewing climate data. It's also a sufficiently long period to include several cycles of climate variability....
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Iceland's population is about the same as Santa Ana, California.
- The current population of Iceland is 337,453 as of Sunday, May 20, 2018, based on the latest United Nations estimates.
- Iceland population is equivalent to 0% of the total world population.
- Iceland ranks number 180 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by population.
- The population density in Iceland is 3 per Km2
- The total land area is 100,250 Km2 (38,707 sq. miles)
- 97.1 % of the population is urban (327,949 people in 2018)
- The median age in Iceland is 36.3 years.
Santa Ana, California
Population 334,613
Population Density: 4759 people per Km2
The petroleum industry has no regard for life.
25 April 2018
By Jeff Tollefson
Making sense of recent energy trends (click here) can seem like a high-stakes Rorschach test. Some experts see the boom in renewable energy and the shift away from coal in many countries as evidence that the world is beginning to turn a corner on global warming. Others see simply a continuing reliance on low-cost fossil fuels, slow governmental action and a rising risk of planetary meltdown.
The fact is that both sides are right. Renewable energy is indeed undergoing a revolution, as prices for things such as solar panels, wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries continue to plummet. And yet it is also true that the world remains dependent on fossil fuels — so much so that even small economic shifts can quickly overwhelm the gains made with clean energy.
So it was in 2017, when, after staying relatively flat from 2014 to 2016, carbon emissions grew by about 1.5% (see ‘A brief lull’). All it took to create that spike was a small rise in economic growth across the developing world, according to a final estimate released in March by the Global Carbon Project, an international research consortium that monitors carbon emissions and climate trends....
Iceland's greenhouse gas emission pledge for reduction is 110 percent.
Iceland primarily uses geothermal for energy. The industrial pollution increase in Iceland is due to one reason and one reason only. "Alcoa."
In Denmark, (click here)) Finland and Sweden, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by between 22 and 25 per cent between 1990 and 2015, but emissions have increased in Norway and Iceland. Iceland has had the highest increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, an increase of almost 25 per cent.
In both the Nordic countries and the EU, the energy sector (including the transport sector) accounts for the highest share of emissions of greenhouse gases. The exception being Iceland, where the largest share of emissions stems from industrial processes....
Previous to the "Kyoto Protocol" no one ever paid attention to Iceland. Then Kyoto is written and adopted with Iceland having the lowest GHG score on the planet and Alcoa discovered Iceland. Iceland's smelters are proof that Wall Street cares about nothing but profits.
April 23, 2007
By Sarah Edmonds
Reydarfjordar, Iceland - Iceland’s biggest (click here) and newest aluminium smelter, Alcoa Fjardaal, pumped out its first hot metal at the weekend, riling critics who fear it will damage the environment.
The balance between environmental and economic tradeoffs for Iceland’s three existing and three planned smelters have become a major issue in the lead-up to May 12 elections.
On one side are those who fear unchecked industrial growth will harm the land and economy.
On the other are those who say Iceland must bring in such projects to make use of its abundant but unexportable power-generating resources, such as its geothermal and hydroelectric potential.
The issue has given rise to a new green party, the Iceland Movement, whose platform has a single plank: big industry development must stop for five years until the effects of projects like Alcoa’s Fjardaal are clear....
In Denmark, (click here)) Finland and Sweden, greenhouse gas emissions decreased by between 22 and 25 per cent between 1990 and 2015, but emissions have increased in Norway and Iceland. Iceland has had the highest increase in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, an increase of almost 25 per cent.In both the Nordic countries and the EU, the energy sector (including the transport sector) accounts for the highest share of emissions of greenhouse gases. The exception being Iceland, where the largest share of emissions stems from industrial processes....
Previous to the "Kyoto Protocol" no one ever paid attention to Iceland. Then Kyoto is written and adopted with Iceland having the lowest GHG score on the planet and Alcoa discovered Iceland. Iceland's smelters are proof that Wall Street cares about nothing but profits.
April 23, 2007
By Sarah Edmonds
Reydarfjordar, Iceland - Iceland’s biggest (click here) and newest aluminium smelter, Alcoa Fjardaal, pumped out its first hot metal at the weekend, riling critics who fear it will damage the environment.
The balance between environmental and economic tradeoffs for Iceland’s three existing and three planned smelters have become a major issue in the lead-up to May 12 elections.
On one side are those who fear unchecked industrial growth will harm the land and economy.
On the other are those who say Iceland must bring in such projects to make use of its abundant but unexportable power-generating resources, such as its geothermal and hydroelectric potential.
The issue has given rise to a new green party, the Iceland Movement, whose platform has a single plank: big industry development must stop for five years until the effects of projects like Alcoa’s Fjardaal are clear....
Berglind Icey (4 June 1977) Icelandic model and actress, former competitive swimmer.
So I went out last night (click here) with a group of friends and was talking to an English friend of mine that suggested I should write a blog about how open Icelandic people are about sex. (Which is obviously a great idea because everyone is going to want to read about that – and I have so much to say on the topic!) ;)
This said friend has been to Iceland a couple of times (as well as pretty much everywhere else in the world) and he was amused when he was there with myself and my Icelandic female friend and we had a conversation, in English so that he could understand, detailing our sex-lives....
Iceland National Anthem
Ó, guð vors lands! Ó, lands vors guð!
Vér lofum þitt heilaga, heilaga nafn!
Úr sólkerfum himnanna hnýta þér krans
þínir herskarar, tímanna safn.
Fyrir þér er einn dagur sem þúsund ár
og þúsund ár dagur, ei meir:
eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,
sem tilbiður guð sinn og deyr.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár,
eitt eilífðar smáblóm með titrandi tár,
sem tilbiður guð sinn og deyr.
Oh, God of our land! Oh, our country's God!
We praise your holy, holy name!
From the solar systems we will tie you a crown
your armies, a timely collection.
One day is a thousand years to you,
and thousand years; a day, and no more.
An eternal (small)flower with a tear in its eye,
that praises its god, and then dies.
Iceland's thousand years
Iceland's thousand years!
An eternal (small)flower with a tear in its eye,
that praises its god, and then dies.
Ó guð, ó guð! Vér föllum fram
og fórnum þér brennandi, brennandi sál,
guð faðir, vor drottinn frá kyni til kyns,
og vér kvökum vort helgasta mál.
Vér kvökum og þökkum í þúsund ár,
því þú ert vort einasta skjól.
Vér kvökum og þökkum með titrandi tár,
því þú tilbjóst vort forlagahjól.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
Voru morgunsins húmköldu, hrynjandi tár,
sem hitna við skínandi sól.
We praise your holy, holy name!
From the solar systems we will tie you a crown
your armies, a timely collection.
One day is a thousand years to you,
and thousand years; a day, and no more.
An eternal (small)flower with a tear in its eye,
that praises its god, and then dies.
Iceland's thousand years
Iceland's thousand years!
An eternal (small)flower with a tear in its eye,
that praises its god, and then dies.
Ó guð, ó guð! Vér föllum fram
og fórnum þér brennandi, brennandi sál,
guð faðir, vor drottinn frá kyni til kyns,
og vér kvökum vort helgasta mál.
Vér kvökum og þökkum í þúsund ár,
því þú ert vort einasta skjól.
Vér kvökum og þökkum með titrandi tár,
því þú tilbjóst vort forlagahjól.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
Voru morgunsins húmköldu, hrynjandi tár,
sem hitna við skínandi sól.
Oh God, oh God! We fall far down
and sacrifice your burning, burning soul,
Father, our Lord from generation to generation,
we tell our most important tales.
We tell and we thank for a thousand years,
for you are our only shelter.
We tell and we thank with tears in our eyes,
for you created our fortune wheel.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
Our dark and cold mornings, our fallen tears,
that warm up with the rising sun.
Ó, guð vors lands! Ó, lands vors guð!
Vér lifum sem blaktandi, blaktandi strá.
Vér deyjum, ef þú ert ei ljós það og líf,
sem að lyftir oss duftinu frá.
Ó, vert þú hvern morgun vort ljúfasta líf,
vor leiðtogi í daganna þraut
og á kvöldin vor himneska hvíld og vor hlíf
og vor hertogi á þjóðlífsins braut.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
verði gróandi þjóðlíf með þverrandi tár,sem þroskast á guðsríkis braut.
Oh, the God of our land! Oh, our country's God!
We live as waving, waving straws.
We die, if you aren't the light and the life,
that lifts us from the dust.
Oh, be the sweetest every morning,
our leader through troubled times.
And at nighttime, be our heavenly rest and our protector
and our lord on this road.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
The nation shall grow with drying tears,
it will mature in Gods way.
and sacrifice your burning, burning soul,
Father, our Lord from generation to generation,
we tell our most important tales.
We tell and we thank for a thousand years,
for you are our only shelter.
We tell and we thank with tears in our eyes,
for you created our fortune wheel.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
Our dark and cold mornings, our fallen tears,
that warm up with the rising sun.
Ó, guð vors lands! Ó, lands vors guð!
Vér lifum sem blaktandi, blaktandi strá.
Vér deyjum, ef þú ert ei ljós það og líf,
sem að lyftir oss duftinu frá.
Ó, vert þú hvern morgun vort ljúfasta líf,
vor leiðtogi í daganna þraut
og á kvöldin vor himneska hvíld og vor hlíf
og vor hertogi á þjóðlífsins braut.
Íslands þúsund ár,
Íslands þúsund ár!
verði gróandi þjóðlíf með þverrandi tár,sem þroskast á guðsríkis braut.
Oh, the God of our land! Oh, our country's God!
We live as waving, waving straws.
We die, if you aren't the light and the life,
that lifts us from the dust.
Oh, be the sweetest every morning,
our leader through troubled times.
And at nighttime, be our heavenly rest and our protector
and our lord on this road.
Iceland's thousand years,
Iceland's thousand years!
The nation shall grow with drying tears,
it will mature in Gods way.
Congratulations to the happy couple.
In one word, elegant. Their love is obvious. This moment is memorable. I am quite sure when their official capacity begins Tuesday their mark will be unique and set an agenda forward for their generation.
Meghan has the biggest adjustment for the two. As of yesterday, her life will change forever. I wish them continued happiness and joy.
Meghan has the biggest adjustment for the two. As of yesterday, her life will change forever. I wish them continued happiness and joy.
In many ways Pakistan's women's movement is outpacing that of the regressive USA.
May 20, 2018
By Faima Bakar
Feminism needs to include women of colour, (click here) Muslim women, disabled women, sex workers, trans women, gay women, queer women, fat women, skinny women. It needs to cater to all women. The fact that the term ‘intersectional feminism’ exists proves that the general movement is often exclusive and largely white.
Mainstream, western feminism isn’t always intersectional. There are feminists who often don’t realise or can’t relate to the fact that for women of colour, of different faiths, abilities, it’s not just gender that they’re discriminated on.
Such women are affected by these circumstances professionally, socially and mentally, and yet don’t always receive the help and support that’s needed. Issues are all too often seen through white lenses and how they affect white women, such as the gender pay gap, sexual harassment, eating disorders, and everyday sexism. We don’t see many platforms which seek out Muslim women’s experiences of these topics. Think of the countless articles, research pieces, features that looked at sexual assault, post #MeToo; how many of those included Muslim women’s stories? Given the wide scope of women affected by sexual misconduct, there were definitely Muslim women who were affected, so why have we not heard any of their voices?....
Make no mistake, Pakistan has grasped the woman's movement and is outpacing the USA in liberating from old ideology and oppression. There is a great deal of oppression in the USA since the regressive movement begun with "W." Women in the USA today actually have less freedom than their predecessors of the 1960s.
Civil rights in general in the USA has taken a nosedive, including the disruptive nature of the Supreme Court's decision regarding the Voting Rights Act. In response to many of the adverse elections, there is some movement as seen in Pennsylvania to return "the vote" to the people rather than it being held hostage by a political party through Gerrymandering.
With that reality, in many ways the women of Pakistan are outpacing their American sisters, thanks to the dedication and perseverance of Malala Yousafzai.
May 8, 2018
By Sherish Wasif
The National Assembly (click here) on Tuesday passed the controversial ‘The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 which aims at helping the marginalised community to get their rights but has some provisions which are declared as un-Islamic by certain quarters.
Prior to the voting on the bill, which aims to ‘provide for protection, relief and rehabilitation of rights of the transgender persons’, MNA Naeema Kishwer of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F) said there are some serious flaws in the bill that need to be rectified.
She suggested that the bill should be referred to the standing committee for detailed review and deliberation. She also moved a motion and amendments to refer the bill to Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the standing committee but these suggestions were rejected....
By Faima Bakar
Feminism needs to include women of colour, (click here) Muslim women, disabled women, sex workers, trans women, gay women, queer women, fat women, skinny women. It needs to cater to all women. The fact that the term ‘intersectional feminism’ exists proves that the general movement is often exclusive and largely white.
Mainstream, western feminism isn’t always intersectional. There are feminists who often don’t realise or can’t relate to the fact that for women of colour, of different faiths, abilities, it’s not just gender that they’re discriminated on.
Such women are affected by these circumstances professionally, socially and mentally, and yet don’t always receive the help and support that’s needed. Issues are all too often seen through white lenses and how they affect white women, such as the gender pay gap, sexual harassment, eating disorders, and everyday sexism. We don’t see many platforms which seek out Muslim women’s experiences of these topics. Think of the countless articles, research pieces, features that looked at sexual assault, post #MeToo; how many of those included Muslim women’s stories? Given the wide scope of women affected by sexual misconduct, there were definitely Muslim women who were affected, so why have we not heard any of their voices?....
Make no mistake, Pakistan has grasped the woman's movement and is outpacing the USA in liberating from old ideology and oppression. There is a great deal of oppression in the USA since the regressive movement begun with "W." Women in the USA today actually have less freedom than their predecessors of the 1960s.
Civil rights in general in the USA has taken a nosedive, including the disruptive nature of the Supreme Court's decision regarding the Voting Rights Act. In response to many of the adverse elections, there is some movement as seen in Pennsylvania to return "the vote" to the people rather than it being held hostage by a political party through Gerrymandering.
With that reality, in many ways the women of Pakistan are outpacing their American sisters, thanks to the dedication and perseverance of Malala Yousafzai.
May 8, 2018
By Sherish Wasif
The National Assembly (click here) on Tuesday passed the controversial ‘The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2018 which aims at helping the marginalised community to get their rights but has some provisions which are declared as un-Islamic by certain quarters.
Prior to the voting on the bill, which aims to ‘provide for protection, relief and rehabilitation of rights of the transgender persons’, MNA Naeema Kishwer of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F) said there are some serious flaws in the bill that need to be rectified.
She suggested that the bill should be referred to the standing committee for detailed review and deliberation. She also moved a motion and amendments to refer the bill to Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) and the standing committee but these suggestions were rejected....
Saturday, May 19, 2018
The value of Malala to #MeToo.
Global oppression of women can accompany the ideas behind the movement of #MeToo. In Pakistan, the abuse of women and profound danger in their lives for being nothing more than female has abated since the country found virtue in Malala's message.
Today, a Pakistan experiencing relief for women, now finds itself feeling the fear of encroachment of oppression again. For Pakistan, the #MeToo movement is an opportunity for men to engage in old practices by recalling old-world religious roles and victimization.
It is up to women to prevent such loss of human rights ("Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."). Sexual harassment and sexual assault when viewed through the lens of other countries where rape is a punishment for flirtatious behavior or to bring shame to a family by village elders; cries not to the past, but, to the future.
The very same ideas that hated girls for attending school are the same voices of oppression of women today. The future belongs to the voices in Pakistan men, women, girls and boys, that see a future where village elders have been the corrupting influence of life.
May 4, 2018
...The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (click here) on Friday sent a violation notice to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) slamming two Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders for their misogynist remarks against women of PTI.
In the letter sent to PEMRA by the PTI central secretariat, both Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Federal Minister of Water and Power Abid Sher Ali were lambasted for using inappropriate language for the women of PTI and the women that attend their rally....
Pakistan has made immeasurable progress in recent years. The power within that women's movement has brought freedom of expression and potential and real careers that add to the quality of life for women and their families. Pakistani women are becoming greater and greater treasures to the country and the future of all it's people. And let's also realize happiness is a women's right and today more women experience happiness than ever before.
May 4, 2018
By Rana Yasif
The Punjab Assembly on Friday (click here) passed a bill making the teaching of the Holy Quran compulsory in schools across the province.
The bill, Compulsory Teaching of the Holy Quran Bill 2017, makes it mandatory for children in grade one to five to recite the scripture in Arabic, while children in grade six and above will be required to recite the Holy Quran along with the translation.
The provincial legislature also passed another bill aiming to regulate the use of loudspeakers in mosques....
The increased freedom of women in Pakistan has improved the overall quality of life of all citizens. Women still love men, they still long for a family and find joy in being married. There is nothing that is going to change that. When elders fear for the country in requiring compulsory religious education, the Pakistani legislature needs to be reminded of it's place in advancing the quality of life of all the people and not just the narrow path of a few.
May 3, 2018
By Mino Nasar
Random thought: (click here) With this entire #MeToo global epidemic on the rise, I am beginning to realise that ISLAM was right all along when it ordains gap between the 2 genders. So called modernism has brought us to a point where the line between flirting & harassment is insanely blurred.
I am not going to start with a validation of how the #MeToo as a movement was so desperately needed to save us women. Frankly, my conscience could no longer bear witnessing the abuse of this narrative, most especially within the elite circles, to which all of us writing and commenting belong....
...Women of the elite are usually not shrinking violets. If anything, I have been harassed by more women than men in my life. If I were to start with my stories and named them with a hashtag on social media, all those women, with their feminist, professional careers and humanitarian credentials, would be done for. But this is not a matter to be hijacked for personal score settling. Therefore, imagine my utter surprise when I read Raja’s mean-spirited allegations against Ali Sibtain Fazli....
...Our nation may have started a transformation, thanks to the #MeToo movement. Unfortunately, in the context of Pakistan, effects are going to be much more destructive....
...This victimology will have another alarming negative impact: men avoiding collaborating with women out of fear. Only in the recent past have we seen every mainstream institution trying to hire and promote as many females as possible. The reversal of this trend will happen quietly and be largely invisible, because unlike the West, Pakistan has no set quotas for the hiring of women, and corporations are under no pressure to show proportional representation in the workforce....
...Rather than empowering women, these sensationalised allegations will result in more backlash; maybe even a call to return to the culture of the veil.
I am utterly disappointed to see the same people blaming others for doing what they have also done in front of my eyes. I refuse to be a silent witness to shameless denial when it comes to their own sins, yet such ugly display of expression when it comes to others. This is the “hypocrisy” that has and will destroy this very elite, and in the meantime, destroy the chance of justice for those women who have real stories to share for #MeToo.
Today, a Pakistan experiencing relief for women, now finds itself feeling the fear of encroachment of oppression again. For Pakistan, the #MeToo movement is an opportunity for men to engage in old practices by recalling old-world religious roles and victimization.
It is up to women to prevent such loss of human rights ("Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights."). Sexual harassment and sexual assault when viewed through the lens of other countries where rape is a punishment for flirtatious behavior or to bring shame to a family by village elders; cries not to the past, but, to the future.
The very same ideas that hated girls for attending school are the same voices of oppression of women today. The future belongs to the voices in Pakistan men, women, girls and boys, that see a future where village elders have been the corrupting influence of life.
May 4, 2018
...The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (click here) on Friday sent a violation notice to Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) slamming two Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leaders for their misogynist remarks against women of PTI.
In the letter sent to PEMRA by the PTI central secretariat, both Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and Federal Minister of Water and Power Abid Sher Ali were lambasted for using inappropriate language for the women of PTI and the women that attend their rally....
Pakistan has made immeasurable progress in recent years. The power within that women's movement has brought freedom of expression and potential and real careers that add to the quality of life for women and their families. Pakistani women are becoming greater and greater treasures to the country and the future of all it's people. And let's also realize happiness is a women's right and today more women experience happiness than ever before.
May 4, 2018
By Rana Yasif
The Punjab Assembly on Friday (click here) passed a bill making the teaching of the Holy Quran compulsory in schools across the province.
The bill, Compulsory Teaching of the Holy Quran Bill 2017, makes it mandatory for children in grade one to five to recite the scripture in Arabic, while children in grade six and above will be required to recite the Holy Quran along with the translation.
The provincial legislature also passed another bill aiming to regulate the use of loudspeakers in mosques....
The increased freedom of women in Pakistan has improved the overall quality of life of all citizens. Women still love men, they still long for a family and find joy in being married. There is nothing that is going to change that. When elders fear for the country in requiring compulsory religious education, the Pakistani legislature needs to be reminded of it's place in advancing the quality of life of all the people and not just the narrow path of a few.
May 3, 2018
By Mino Nasar
I am not going to start with a validation of how the #MeToo as a movement was so desperately needed to save us women. Frankly, my conscience could no longer bear witnessing the abuse of this narrative, most especially within the elite circles, to which all of us writing and commenting belong....
...Women of the elite are usually not shrinking violets. If anything, I have been harassed by more women than men in my life. If I were to start with my stories and named them with a hashtag on social media, all those women, with their feminist, professional careers and humanitarian credentials, would be done for. But this is not a matter to be hijacked for personal score settling. Therefore, imagine my utter surprise when I read Raja’s mean-spirited allegations against Ali Sibtain Fazli....
...Our nation may have started a transformation, thanks to the #MeToo movement. Unfortunately, in the context of Pakistan, effects are going to be much more destructive....
...This victimology will have another alarming negative impact: men avoiding collaborating with women out of fear. Only in the recent past have we seen every mainstream institution trying to hire and promote as many females as possible. The reversal of this trend will happen quietly and be largely invisible, because unlike the West, Pakistan has no set quotas for the hiring of women, and corporations are under no pressure to show proportional representation in the workforce....
...Rather than empowering women, these sensationalised allegations will result in more backlash; maybe even a call to return to the culture of the veil.
I am utterly disappointed to see the same people blaming others for doing what they have also done in front of my eyes. I refuse to be a silent witness to shameless denial when it comes to their own sins, yet such ugly display of expression when it comes to others. This is the “hypocrisy” that has and will destroy this very elite, and in the meantime, destroy the chance of justice for those women who have real stories to share for #MeToo.
Friday, May 18, 2018
The level of corruption in documentation of Flint's lead poisoning is amazing.
From the Centers of Disease Control.
A poison is any substance, including medications, that is harmful to your body if too much is eaten, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin.
Exposure
Contact with a substance by swallowing, breathing, or touching the skin or eyes. Exposure may be short-term of intermediate duration, or long-term
Let me be clear; medical terminology cannot be manipulated. The terminology is exact and it is supposed to be exact because it has been developed over the past century and quite possibly longer. Poisoning is correct in the case of the Flint children.
The people that died of Legionnaires Disease were exposed to a bacteria that infected their bodies and caused their deaths. No matter who wants to say those people would be dead anyway of comorbidities is nonsense. The comorbidities with these adults were being managed and under doctor's care to be managed. The bacterial infection set them up for septic shock and they died.
The people of Flint were poisoned and not exposed. The lead was immediately in the water when the Flint River water interacted with the pipes and released the lead into the drinking water. That is not an exposure. The lead was permanently in that water.
Not only were they DOSED with a poison in the water it was sustained for a year before the country found out about it and relief was obtained in the way of bottled water. Lead in the water for more than a year is not an exposure that was suddenly discovered. The Lead was KNOWN to be in the water, THE US EPA WROTE SEVERAL TIMES TO SNYDER IN REGARD TO HIS NON-COMPLANCE WITH WATER TREATMENT and the impoverished were helpless to do anything, in addition, their local government was disarmed from acting in any capacity to end the poisoning.
To be clear; the State of Michigan offices that had Flint River water in their taps at their offices were provided bottled water dispensers immediately; while the people of Flint were disregarded as important enough to immediately take action at the same time Snyder took action for his employees.
The people of Flint, Michigan were poisoned over an extensive period of time DELIBERATELY because their lives were considered insignificant for socio-economic reasons. In other words, "Flint asked for it in needing an emergency manager at all!"
The people of Flint were POISONED. End of discussion.
Hurley Medical Center needs to be sued for falsification of records and a new director for the entire hospital be found. Everyone on that panel needs to be replaced as soon as possible. These are serious ethics violations.
May 18, 2018
By Ron Fonger
Flint, MI -- Doctors at Hurley Medical Center (click here) have dumped the term "lead-poisoned" when referring to Flint children who went through the city's water crisis and adopted a replacement -- "lead-exposed."
The doctors unanimously approved a resolution at an annual meeting this week, agreeing to discontinue the use of the word "poisoned" when the medical staff communicates as a collective body, according to a posting on Hurley's Facebook page.
"Everyone agrees that there was an issue in 2014-2015 with (blood-lead levels) and that any lead level over the lifetime of a child is bad," the Facebook post from Thursday, May 17, says.
"However, a lead exposure does not equate to a lead poisoning and therefore does not equate to a damaged generation of children in the city of Flint."....
A poison is any substance, including medications, that is harmful to your body if too much is eaten, inhaled, injected, or absorbed through the skin.
Exposure
Contact with a substance by swallowing, breathing, or touching the skin or eyes. Exposure may be short-term of intermediate duration, or long-term
Let me be clear; medical terminology cannot be manipulated. The terminology is exact and it is supposed to be exact because it has been developed over the past century and quite possibly longer. Poisoning is correct in the case of the Flint children.
The people that died of Legionnaires Disease were exposed to a bacteria that infected their bodies and caused their deaths. No matter who wants to say those people would be dead anyway of comorbidities is nonsense. The comorbidities with these adults were being managed and under doctor's care to be managed. The bacterial infection set them up for septic shock and they died.
The people of Flint were poisoned and not exposed. The lead was immediately in the water when the Flint River water interacted with the pipes and released the lead into the drinking water. That is not an exposure. The lead was permanently in that water.
Not only were they DOSED with a poison in the water it was sustained for a year before the country found out about it and relief was obtained in the way of bottled water. Lead in the water for more than a year is not an exposure that was suddenly discovered. The Lead was KNOWN to be in the water, THE US EPA WROTE SEVERAL TIMES TO SNYDER IN REGARD TO HIS NON-COMPLANCE WITH WATER TREATMENT and the impoverished were helpless to do anything, in addition, their local government was disarmed from acting in any capacity to end the poisoning.
To be clear; the State of Michigan offices that had Flint River water in their taps at their offices were provided bottled water dispensers immediately; while the people of Flint were disregarded as important enough to immediately take action at the same time Snyder took action for his employees.
The people of Flint, Michigan were poisoned over an extensive period of time DELIBERATELY because their lives were considered insignificant for socio-economic reasons. In other words, "Flint asked for it in needing an emergency manager at all!"
The people of Flint were POISONED. End of discussion.
Hurley Medical Center needs to be sued for falsification of records and a new director for the entire hospital be found. Everyone on that panel needs to be replaced as soon as possible. These are serious ethics violations.
May 18, 2018
By Ron Fonger
Flint, MI -- Doctors at Hurley Medical Center (click here) have dumped the term "lead-poisoned" when referring to Flint children who went through the city's water crisis and adopted a replacement -- "lead-exposed."
The doctors unanimously approved a resolution at an annual meeting this week, agreeing to discontinue the use of the word "poisoned" when the medical staff communicates as a collective body, according to a posting on Hurley's Facebook page.
"Everyone agrees that there was an issue in 2014-2015 with (blood-lead levels) and that any lead level over the lifetime of a child is bad," the Facebook post from Thursday, May 17, says.
"However, a lead exposure does not equate to a lead poisoning and therefore does not equate to a damaged generation of children in the city of Flint."....
Sorry, I am late. There was a storm and I shut down electronics when the weather is bad. That is good advice and it is free.
Another school shooting today. The young adults haven't marched in awhile.
It seemed to me as long as "Not one more" was organized and marching there was far less violence. I may have missed it, but, I think this is the first shooting since Florida.
Another school shooting today. The young adults haven't marched in awhile.
It seemed to me as long as "Not one more" was organized and marching there was far less violence. I may have missed it, but, I think this is the first shooting since Florida.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Donald Trump is not a loyal American.
On June 9, 2016, a meeting was held in Trump Tower in New York City between three senior members of the Donald Trump presidential campaign – Donald Trump Jr., Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort – and at least five other people, including Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya. The meeting was arranged by publicist and long-time Trump acquaintance, Rob Goldstone.
The "Trump Talk" about this meeting is that the Russians had nothing to provide about Hillary Clinton and spoke about sanctions relief. Jared Kushner is stated to have left the meeting abruptly in disappointment.
WikiLeaks began to release DNC emails, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, in July 2016.
Questions?
Don't get it?
Russia is to have been known to hack the DNC from sometime in 2015. But, after the Trump Tower Meeting, the Russians learned they needed to up their game and get Trump elected in order to receive sanction relief.
Putin never received his sanction relief and quite the contrary the US Congress passed more sanctions and Trump signed it. The Russians didn't realize enough Republicans and Democrats were not Trump loyalists.
Donald Trump, as President, provided plenty of Russian election propaganda with the meeting of the Russian Foreign Minister in the Oval Office where he provided classified information to them as well. The pictures taken were by Russian photographers. Donald Trump was and probably still is an icon to the Russian people as someone who sees the potential of an alliance with Russia over NATO. The meeting in the Oval Office with the Russians was within hours after Trump fired Comey.
The lack of reception of NATO's general by Donald Trump today is more propaganda to provide THE ILLUSION cast for the benefit of maintaining President Putin as a propaganda ally. President Trump is not a loyal American.
The "Trump Talk" about this meeting is that the Russians had nothing to provide about Hillary Clinton and spoke about sanctions relief. Jared Kushner is stated to have left the meeting abruptly in disappointment.
WikiLeaks began to release DNC emails, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention, in July 2016.
Questions?
Don't get it?
Russia is to have been known to hack the DNC from sometime in 2015. But, after the Trump Tower Meeting, the Russians learned they needed to up their game and get Trump elected in order to receive sanction relief.
Putin never received his sanction relief and quite the contrary the US Congress passed more sanctions and Trump signed it. The Russians didn't realize enough Republicans and Democrats were not Trump loyalists.
Donald Trump, as President, provided plenty of Russian election propaganda with the meeting of the Russian Foreign Minister in the Oval Office where he provided classified information to them as well. The pictures taken were by Russian photographers. Donald Trump was and probably still is an icon to the Russian people as someone who sees the potential of an alliance with Russia over NATO. The meeting in the Oval Office with the Russians was within hours after Trump fired Comey.
The lack of reception of NATO's general by Donald Trump today is more propaganda to provide THE ILLUSION cast for the benefit of maintaining President Putin as a propaganda ally. President Trump is not a loyal American.
MS 13 is not a drug cartel. It has no direct relationship with Mexican, Central or South American cartels.
MS 13 is also not a terrorist network. It is organized crime in the USA and in places outside the USA where it is destabilizing because of the weak governance structure.
I am not defending organized crime, but, President Trump wants to chase MS13 to end the illicit drug trade in the USA. MS13 is not the way to do that.
MS13 is not responsible for illegal immigration. The label MS13 is a network that will allow members to travel throughout it's member gangs. Why do they do that? To avoid the law. Let's say a member is wanted for extortion in Los Angeles and believes he will get caught and go to prison; why not leave the city and/or the country where he is not known and can protect from arrest.
MS13 is a symptom and not the problem.
Graph (click here)
Approximately 16 percent to 19 percent of those incarcerated in the USA are Latinos. They have three times the problem in obtaining legitimate jobs in the USA before and after they are incarcerated.
The Latino population incarcerated in the USA have to face racism, a language barrier and if they are illegals they have a limited access to work.
Let me say this up front; if any person, American or not, has a criminal record, innocent or guilty; they have a terrible time obtaining work, especially cookie cutter jobs of Wall Street. The thing with innocent people wrongly arrested and charged, is that the arrest and the charges are still on their background check. Honest. Innocent people if arrested and charged have permanent marks on their background checks. In most Wall Street cookie cutter restaurants and the like see crime on the background check; they run in the other direction. The corporate structure identifies these innocent people as high risk anyway.
So, let's take that reality one more step. When an inmate serves his or her time, also known as "debt to society," they face not just an uphill battle to find a legitimate job, but, more or less a mountain climb. That is their reality. Now, place in that SPACE a Hispanic man without a clue as to how to expunge his record or obtain work or housing and where do they turn? MS13.
Turning away from crime for many men and women in the USA is not easy. Honest. MS13 is a support group to these people. MS 13 is no different than any other gang in the USA, there is some kind of social structure that maintains it's focus. These gangs, including MS 13 are deadly. That cannot be understated, but, if the gang serves as a place where a man or woman can be protected while carrying out crime to have money in their pockets, it is then home. It is well known these gangs are just as much a presence in a prison stay as any criminal activity in the community. By the way, guns support these people as well.
So, while Mr. Trump and AG Sessions wants to end gang related violence, MS 13 is not unique. These gang members do not really have the same longevity as average Americans. Their lifestyles are exceptionally high risk and do not reflect any normal mortalities of the majority of Americans. Realizing that, the members are within the gang because they do not have alternatives.
MS13 is most commonly Hispanic because of the language and cultural barriers of it's members. MS13 is a SYMPTOM of a failed society and not a desired lifestyle. To say, MS13 is a cartel of immigrants in the USA is incorrect. It is a street gang and nothing else. There is no limiting importation of illicit drugs by focusing on MS13. The reality is that while USA law enforcement chase MS13, the drug cartels will have an open lane for their drug trafficking. Basically, focusing on MS13 will be nothing more than police chasing their tails if the purpose is to stop drug and human trafficking.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Sessions are grossly wrong on this issue and will cause less focus on drug traffickers and American deaths will increase.
March 20, 2018
By Steven Dudley
...I spent three years (click here) at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies chronicling the MS13’s criminal exploits for the National Institute of Justice. Our study proves that MS13 is neither a drug cartel nor was it born of illegal immigration.
That misconception is fueling failed US policies that, in my assessment, will do little to deter the MS13....
...The MS13 was born in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, when scores of Salvadorans, many of them fleeing the country’s civil war, arrived to California. Like other Latino immigrant groups, the new arrivals formed a youth gang of the sort proliferating in Los Angeles at the time.
Then as now, the MS13 acted as a surrogate family for its members, though not a benign one. The MS13 created a collective identity that was constructed and reinforced by shared experiences, particularly expressions of violence and social control.
It has since spread to at least a half-dozen countries on two continents and has become a prime source of destabilizing violence, particularly extortion, in Central American countries like El Salvador and Honduras....
...In the early 2000s, one MS13 boss named Nelson Comandari tried to use the gang’s national criminal infrastructure to establish a drug distribution network. Comandari was well positioned to do it. He was powerful in Los Angeles, had underworld family connections from El Salvador to Colombia and enjoyed strong ties to the feared Mexican Mafia, a US-based prison gang with connections to Mexican cartels.
Yet within a few years Comandari was frustrated. MS13 members turned out to be inept at drug smuggling and resistant to the whole idea. Our research found that the gang frowns upon those who put their personal business above the collective’s....
...One reason the MS13 has failed so roundly at becoming a drug cartel is that it is more of a social club than a lucrative criminal enterprise. Its members benefit from the camaraderie and support that comes with membership — not the heaping monetary rewards that never arrive.
Entrepreneurs who hope to leverage its network for their personal financial gain see the same strong resistance that scuttled Comandari’s plans.
Perhaps more critically, the MS13 is a decentralized organization with no clear hierarchy. The gang is broken into local cells called “cliques” — or “clicas” in Spanish — that are more loyal to each other than to the various leadership councils that operate around Central America and the United States....
I am not defending organized crime, but, President Trump wants to chase MS13 to end the illicit drug trade in the USA. MS13 is not the way to do that.
MS13 is not responsible for illegal immigration. The label MS13 is a network that will allow members to travel throughout it's member gangs. Why do they do that? To avoid the law. Let's say a member is wanted for extortion in Los Angeles and believes he will get caught and go to prison; why not leave the city and/or the country where he is not known and can protect from arrest.
Graph (click here)
Approximately 16 percent to 19 percent of those incarcerated in the USA are Latinos. They have three times the problem in obtaining legitimate jobs in the USA before and after they are incarcerated.
The Latino population incarcerated in the USA have to face racism, a language barrier and if they are illegals they have a limited access to work.
Let me say this up front; if any person, American or not, has a criminal record, innocent or guilty; they have a terrible time obtaining work, especially cookie cutter jobs of Wall Street. The thing with innocent people wrongly arrested and charged, is that the arrest and the charges are still on their background check. Honest. Innocent people if arrested and charged have permanent marks on their background checks. In most Wall Street cookie cutter restaurants and the like see crime on the background check; they run in the other direction. The corporate structure identifies these innocent people as high risk anyway.
So, let's take that reality one more step. When an inmate serves his or her time, also known as "debt to society," they face not just an uphill battle to find a legitimate job, but, more or less a mountain climb. That is their reality. Now, place in that SPACE a Hispanic man without a clue as to how to expunge his record or obtain work or housing and where do they turn? MS13.
Turning away from crime for many men and women in the USA is not easy. Honest. MS13 is a support group to these people. MS 13 is no different than any other gang in the USA, there is some kind of social structure that maintains it's focus. These gangs, including MS 13 are deadly. That cannot be understated, but, if the gang serves as a place where a man or woman can be protected while carrying out crime to have money in their pockets, it is then home. It is well known these gangs are just as much a presence in a prison stay as any criminal activity in the community. By the way, guns support these people as well.
So, while Mr. Trump and AG Sessions wants to end gang related violence, MS 13 is not unique. These gang members do not really have the same longevity as average Americans. Their lifestyles are exceptionally high risk and do not reflect any normal mortalities of the majority of Americans. Realizing that, the members are within the gang because they do not have alternatives.
MS13 is most commonly Hispanic because of the language and cultural barriers of it's members. MS13 is a SYMPTOM of a failed society and not a desired lifestyle. To say, MS13 is a cartel of immigrants in the USA is incorrect. It is a street gang and nothing else. There is no limiting importation of illicit drugs by focusing on MS13. The reality is that while USA law enforcement chase MS13, the drug cartels will have an open lane for their drug trafficking. Basically, focusing on MS13 will be nothing more than police chasing their tails if the purpose is to stop drug and human trafficking.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Sessions are grossly wrong on this issue and will cause less focus on drug traffickers and American deaths will increase.
March 20, 2018
By Steven Dudley
...I spent three years (click here) at American University’s Center for Latin American and Latino Studies chronicling the MS13’s criminal exploits for the National Institute of Justice. Our study proves that MS13 is neither a drug cartel nor was it born of illegal immigration.
That misconception is fueling failed US policies that, in my assessment, will do little to deter the MS13....
...The MS13 was born in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, when scores of Salvadorans, many of them fleeing the country’s civil war, arrived to California. Like other Latino immigrant groups, the new arrivals formed a youth gang of the sort proliferating in Los Angeles at the time.
Then as now, the MS13 acted as a surrogate family for its members, though not a benign one. The MS13 created a collective identity that was constructed and reinforced by shared experiences, particularly expressions of violence and social control.
It has since spread to at least a half-dozen countries on two continents and has become a prime source of destabilizing violence, particularly extortion, in Central American countries like El Salvador and Honduras....
...In the early 2000s, one MS13 boss named Nelson Comandari tried to use the gang’s national criminal infrastructure to establish a drug distribution network. Comandari was well positioned to do it. He was powerful in Los Angeles, had underworld family connections from El Salvador to Colombia and enjoyed strong ties to the feared Mexican Mafia, a US-based prison gang with connections to Mexican cartels.
Yet within a few years Comandari was frustrated. MS13 members turned out to be inept at drug smuggling and resistant to the whole idea. Our research found that the gang frowns upon those who put their personal business above the collective’s....
...One reason the MS13 has failed so roundly at becoming a drug cartel is that it is more of a social club than a lucrative criminal enterprise. Its members benefit from the camaraderie and support that comes with membership — not the heaping monetary rewards that never arrive.
Entrepreneurs who hope to leverage its network for their personal financial gain see the same strong resistance that scuttled Comandari’s plans.
Perhaps more critically, the MS13 is a decentralized organization with no clear hierarchy. The gang is broken into local cells called “cliques” — or “clicas” in Spanish — that are more loyal to each other than to the various leadership councils that operate around Central America and the United States....
There is no leadership in Israel or Palestine that reflects reality. Each side of the conflict carry messages that work for them internationally.
Both Israel and Palestine are small plots of land recognized as nations of people. Both want the same exact land for their people. Israel was granted power over Palestine and the outcome today reflects that power.
If Israeli settlers are moving into the West Bank with the intention of populating the entire area, that should be ruled an international crime. It is a form of genocide and the United Nations knows it. All Israeli settlers in the West Bank need to be removed by a peacekeeper force that will defend the borders of the West Bank from aggressive and/or passive occupation by Israel.
The reason there is no allowance for Palestinians anywhere in the occupied territories is that Israel has convinced other major powers it can rule over land in peace and every person within those lands will have an opportunity for greater quality of life.
Every major power in the world is convinced Hamas is the real authority in Palestine and to validate them as leaders will only escalate the conflict. That is incorrect. Hamas is the only POWER within Palestine that is proven to hold on to land.
The international community gave the Jewish people a place on Earth where they could live without others having power over them and then left the rest of the timeline to fate. That was an error.
Israel obviously has strong allies that provide all kinds of weapons to rule the land, but, the Palestinian people are completely disarmed to protect their land and as a consequence, they have lost enormous swaths of land over the decades. My revelation, while not unique, is the impetus that will only increase the resolve of Israel to not only take the West Bank and Gaza but, to expand further into countries near their borders and beyond. The Israeli leadership today are expansionists with no determined end to their plans. Of course, they will deny that, but, it is true. Israel eyes Syria and believes it is best to rule the land and provide for all people.
There is no leadership in Israel or Washington, DC today that will allow peacekeepers on the land to protect Palestinians. The fact the USA backs Israeli ideologues should be a crime as well. The USA has a veto power within the UN Security Council and that is what maintains the conflict between the two nations of people and provides for Israeli expansion.
NO ONE can deny Israel has expanded from the original land granted to the Jewish people. I don't want to hear there is a better solution for the region because of Israeli leadership's grandiose ideas that have worked. That is a lie. If their ideas worked there would not be dead unarmed Palestinians. There are dead unarmed Palestinians because the world believes they are violent people as defined by Israel. They are violent people because they have no other choice, ie: Gaza.
Israel has set itself on a path of expansion for decades now and it has reached it's limit. Currently, Netanyahu has plans to expand Israel at any cost under the guise of establishing peace. Israeli settlers have to leave the West Bank and Gaza has to be provided relief from persecution by Israel. The people are suffering and it needs to stop. Israel cannot continue to impose suffering as a measure to require peace. Stop demanding President Abbas bring Hamas under control, that will never happen because Abbas has not been able to end the occupation and settlements, even in the West Bank.
Current Israeli leadership is grossly inadequate to end violence in the lands. That has to be a fact the international community has to recognize. Israel has been completely unable to establish peace between the two peoples while its settlements and occupation have created an intractable circumstance. That is the truth and the international leadership must impose that value on Israel. It has an extremist ideology, no different than Palestineans at this point in history.
Israel is not capable of peace because of the power it has compared to the land it occupies. Israel, in the past, has been a beacon for all Jewish people. Its leadership has been instrumental in providing for peaceful existence for it's diaspora. That is Israel's mission. Increasing violence in the land of Israel is destroying that mission.
The current leadership in Washington, DC and Israel are capable of a war that will move borders. They are capable of creating a protracted war that will last for generations. Stop it now. Israel is wrong and outside of it's internationally recognized borders. That is the truth and the tragedy of the Palestinian people is directly related to the passive occupation of Palestinian lands.
It is proven there is no leadership in Israel capable of peace. Prime Minister Sharon was the world's last hope.
The Arab nations have to stand together to prevent opportunistic war since the end of Daesh with both Israel and Iran. The siege of Saudi Arab has to end as well. Both Israel and Iran are now fighting opportunistic wars where stabilization and normalization should be occurring. I believe sanctions of both Israel and Iran are in order if the violence does not end.
There needs to be an official map of the region. This map is completely disproportionate.
By Wajahat Ali
Should I lie to an Israeli soldier in order to be allowed to pray? (click here) This was a theological dilemma I never studied in Sunday school, one I never thought I would have to confront.
Anxious and on edge, the soldier was standing in front of me, rifle in hand, blocking my way, and all I had to do was tell him I was 50 years old, and then I could pray at one of Islam’s holiest sites. One minor problem: I’m 37. Typically, when violence happens in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israeli authorities ban men younger than 50 from entering Haram al-Sharif, the compound known to Jews and Christians as the Temple Mount. And there had just been a small—by Middle Eastern standards anyway—spasm of violence. Three Palestinians had shot and killed two Israeli police officers near al-Aqsa Mosque inside Haram al-Sharif, which led to Israeli retaliations, which led to mass Palestinian protests, which led to yet another predictable round of stories datelined Jerusalem about the legendary Middle Eastern “cycle of violence.”...
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