Sunday, August 30, 2015

CNN's Ashleigh Banfield Asks If Jefferson Memorial Is Equal To Confederate Flag


"After the mass murder of nine black churchgoers by a white gunman in Charleston, South Carolina... CNN host Ashleigh Banfield asked co-host Don Lemon whether... we should also take down a memorial to former President Thomas Jefferson because of his slave ownership:
"Thomas Jefferson owned slaves -- third president of the United States. And there is a monument to him in the capital city of the United States. No one ever asks for that to come down. Is it equal [to the Confederate flag]?"
===> Make No Mistake, Friends...
CNN is an arm of the Time-Warner Mega-Media Corporation. They don't do anything that isn't scripted and hasn't been given the official stamp of approval from the very top. If you haven't noticed, CNN is the only network news being broadcast in every major airport in the United States (and, likely, most of the minor ones). And, this isn't just a remarkable nationwide coincidence. It's Planned. It's Policy. It's Propaganda.
CNN is a major - if not THE major - propaganda outlet for the U.S. Federal Government.

Propaganda is a tool.  And, propaganda is a weapon.  And, it's one weapon that our federal government doesn't hesitate to wield against it's own populace.  To wield against "We, The People...".
Why would CNN raise this flag? Why would they take this shot across the bough at Thomas Jefferson?
Yes, Jefferson - a wealthy, white, land-owner - owned slaves in his lifetime.
But, he also "thought that slavery was contrary to the laws of nature, which decreed that everyone had a right to personal liberty. These views were radical in a world where unfree labor was the norm." Jefferson included a passage attacking slavery in his draft of the Declaration of Independence (Read it here: http://www.blackpast.org/…/declaration-independence-and-deb…). It was removed at the behest of delegates from South Carolina and Georgia and those who represented northern merchants in the slave trade.
Richard Dolan inferred (and I concur) that the reason CNN took a swipe at Thomas Jefferson was because of his positions on personal liberty and on banking institutions. In an 1816 letter to John Taylor, Jefferson said:
"And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.".
1.) Individual/Personal Liberty/Freedom and
2.) Freedom From Being Indebted To Banking Institutions -For Perpetuity...
... are the two Jeffersonian ideals that Ashleigh Banfield - under orders from her bosses at CNN... who, in turn, were under orders from multi-national umbrella corporation Time-Warner - was attacking.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Forget Mame: Realtors Are To Blame for San Francisco’s Housing Crisis

The Following is a True Story:
"Rents are skyrocketing in San Francisco because state law prevents the city from restricting rent increases on vacant apartments. Realtors get all the credit for putting the city in this policy straitjacket. In 1995, realtors’ won passage of the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act"
"Absent Costa-Hawkins, San Francisco rents on most vacant apartments would be at least 25-50% cheaper today. In cases like the Hayes Valley 1 bdrm units now advertised for over $4000, the rent would likely be 50%- 75% less."
"Realtors, not progressives, are also to blame for the fear of Ellis Act evictions throughout San Francisco... realtors have fought in Sacramento the past two years to preserve speculators right to evict longterm tenants for profit—a point too often overlooked in assessments of San Francisco’s housing crisis."
"Strong rent control and eviction protections are the core prerequisites for maintaining affordable housing. That’s why Richmond’s enactment of both measures last week is so critical (see my piece, “Richmond 1, Gentrification 0”)."
"Realtors have denied San Francisco the most potent strategies to protect affordable housing, which would be the enactment of vacancy controls and preventing speculator Ellis evictions. They should be called to account for what their policies have wrought."
(Excerpted From:)
Blame Realtors for SF’s Housing Crisis

by Randy Shaw

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

AT&T Helped The N.S.A. Spy on Everyone (via the Internet) on a Vast Scale

The N.S.A. Bldg. In Fort Meade, Maryland.
(Sort of looks like a computer chip, doesn't it?)


This Is Documented:

"The N.S.A.’s top-secret budget in 2013 for the AT&T partnership was more than twice that of the next-largest such program, according to the documents. The company installed surveillance equipment in at least 17 of its Internet hubs on American soil, far more than its similarly sized competitor, Verizon. And its engineers were the first to try out new surveillance technologies invented by the eavesdropping agency."

And, This Is B.S.:

“We do not voluntarily provide information to any investigating authorities other than if a person’s life is in danger and time is of the essence,” Brad Burns, an AT&T spokesman, said. He declined to elaborate.*

"Liar! Liar! Pants On Fire!... Hanging On A TELEPHONE WIRE!!"

*Wow! Wasn't the author of little rhyme prescient?

AT&T Has Been Helping US Spy on Internet on a Vast Scale

Monday, August 17, 2015

Airbnb Horror Story Begs The Question: How Many Other (Unreported) Victims Are There?

Talk about "Risky Business"...

A 19-year old young man was locked inside a Madrid, Spain apartment, held inside against his will and sexually-assaulted by his Airbnb host on July 4, 2015.


The man began texting his mother - who was in America - by phone as the events began to unfold.  He begged her for help.  His mother called Airbnb, but the company's employees refused to tell her his location, nor would they call the Madrid police.  Instead they told her to call the police and ask them to call Airbnb for the youth's address.  The phone number Airbnb provided led to a recording - in Spanish - and being disconnected.  When she called Airbnb back, her calls went straight to voicemail.


Airbnb was horrifically irresponsible and neglectful in this incident.  Their employees could have and should have immediately called the Madrid police and provided the man's location and urged the police to investigate.


Did you know that, at least, half (if not most) sexual-assaults go unreported?

This incident begs the question of how many others have occurred and how often are sexual-assaults occurring between Airbnb (and similar businesses) "guests" and their "hosts".


When I was a kid, my parents impressed two things on me very strongly:
1.) Don't accept rides from strangers; and
2.) Don't go anywhere with strangers, because terrible things have happened to kids/people who do.

Now, businesses like Airbnb, Uber, Lyft and others are making enormous profits encouraging people to do both of those dangerous things.

And, apparently, they aren't dealing with it too well when it goes sideways.

From: nytimes.com:
Airbnb Horror Story Points to Need for Precautions

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Happy Thursday!

I just sent this email to San Francisco's Public Utility Commission (PUC) and wanted to share it with you/make it public because I'm concerned about the safety of our drinking/cooking/bathing water AND I'm very concerned about the safety of the marine life in San Francisco Bay/ the Pacific Ocean/etc...

I'm guessing these might also be issues that are important to you.  Especially since most municipal water departments have switched from using 'free' chlorine as a disinfectant in drinking water to using chloramine (a chlorine/ammonia compound).  Not only is chloramine not easy to remove, effectively... it is deadly to fresh- and salt-water fish, amphibians and reptiles.

Hello PUC:

I was compelled to contact you after discovering glaringly conflicting information in regards to what the Public Utilities Commission (sfwater.org) states about effective methods of removing chloramine from tap/drinking water and what the EPA states about such methods.

According to the EPA (http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/disinfection/chloramine/pdfs/Q29.pdf):

Neither boiling water; nor allowing water to sit at room temperature; nor reverse-osmosis filters removes monochloramine from drinking water.

Yet, sfwater.org's (http://www.sfwater.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=6920) "QUESTIONS REGARDING CHLORINE AND CHLORAMINE REMOVAL FROM WATER Updated March 2015" states:

"If desired, chloramine and ammonia can be completely removed from the water by
boiling; however, it will take 20 minutes of gentle boil to do that."

In another paragraph, it discourages "... letting an open container of water stand because it may take days for chloramine to dissipate."

It also states: "If desired, both chlorine and chloramine can be removed for drinking water purposes by an activated carbon filter point of use device that can be installed on a kitchen faucet."

In researching this last statement, I learned that the activated carbon filter alone is not enough to remove chloramine from tap water.  Brewers of beer and - especially - aquarium-keepers repeatedly confirm this statement.

Also, since chloramines are deadly to fish and amphibians at levels used for drinking water, I am very concerned about the harm being done to marine life in San Francisco Bay (and, in turn, the Pacific Ocean) by run-off from fire hydrants, water mains, etc. and from water released from wastewater treatment plants into the environment.

I look forward to hearing from the PUC in regards to these two important matters:
1.) Why are there such glaring discrepancies between SF's PUC and the EPA re: effective chloramine removal at home/What is the Truth? and
2.) What is San Francisco doing to protect San Francisco Bay's (and the Pacific's) marine life from toxic chloramine exposure?

Thank you.

Best regards,

San Francisco, CA

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Dog Lovers ALERT:

Just found this article.


The Controversy Over Menadione In Dog Food

I was researching the ingredients in a Purina Brand Dog Food ("Beyond All-Natural Dog Food: Superfood Blend") because my 1-yr. old puppy began dripping blood everytime he pooped and sometimes when he didn't.


I make Tyler the Pup's food from scratch (Turkey/ground beef, kale, sweet potato) and, occasionally, I add some Premium dry kibble.


Normally, as a rule, I would NEVER use Purina or any other by-product-/synthetic ingredient- containing commercial pet food brands - but, I ran out and my Mom, unfortunately, bought this home.

I was recovering from surgery, so I was only going to use it for a few days, until I was able to get to the store and buy a dry kibble brand that I'd researched and knew to be much better.

A Red Flag went up when Tyler began leaking blood drops when he relieved himself. Sometimes, he would stop, squat and push - hard - and only blood drops would come out.  I knew it couldn't have been from the food that I was making.


So, it had to be the Purina Brand Kibble!

Immediately, I stopped adding the Purina Kibble and Tyler stopped crapping blood!


If you buy commercial food for your companion-animals, PLEASE read the ingredient label.


And, look up any ingredients that are multi-syllabic or sound like synthetic chemicals!


Especially ones like menadione (synth Vit. K3) - which the FDA BANNED in Human supplements!

There's no good reason to use synthesized vitamins that are banned from human consumption in our beloved companion animals' food!