Thursday, December 22, 2016

Thursday, December 08, 2016

I Don't Think They Heard Me: The Less-Than-Helpful Reply From the F.C.C.



Question:  Are YOU willing to trust your health and well-being (and that of all of your loved ones) to an over-whelmed, understaffed and (IMHO) far too WiFi Industry-cozy federal agency ("Trust us, we're with the government.") ?

(Please note:  I'd contacted the F.C.C. (please see previous blog post) out of concern regarding a real public health hazard:  I'd felt my shoulder being burned by a retail, wall-mounted, WiFi booster antenna at a local shopping mall - not to complain about any "provider".)

F.Y.I. ~ The F.C.C.'s own website claims that public, wireless, network antennas don't emit the type of extremely high R.F. (Radio Frequency aka "microwave") radiation that can damage human flesh. 

In the wake of my recent experience, I beg to differ.

*The Wireless Industry's sole motivation is the raking in of Profit.

*My sole motivation has always been and continues to be Public Safety.)


Here's the REPLY that I received from the F.C.C.:

"Thank you for sharing your story. Your Ticket No. is 1324555.

Your story will not be served on a provider but will be shared internally to inform policy and potential enforcement. You will not receive any further communication from the FCC. 

If you want to file an informal complaint that will be served on your provider, please go to www.consumercomplaints.fcc.gov and select a complaint category.

Your story provides the FCC with important information we can use to develop policies to protect consumers, remedy violations of the Communications Act, and encourage future compliance with the law.

Thank you for your help in furthering the FCC’s mission on behalf of consumers."

Hmm...

If I won't "... receive any further communication from the FCC. ", then how will I know if this information ever reached the appropriate persons/parties at the agency?

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Can You Hear Me NOW?: An Open Letter To The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Re: Public Safety, RF Radiation & Cell Phone Antennas

An Open Letter To The Federal Communications Commission (FCC): (Subject: The Immediate Public Health Hazard Posed By Excessive and Unsafe Levels of RF Radiation Emitted By Retail, Wall-Mounted Cell Phone Booster Antennas.) "November 22, 2016
Hello FCC Staff:

I am writing to share with you my concerns for the public health following a recent experience of mine.

I was sitting with a friend at a table in the courtyard of an open-air shopping center.  There are small restaurants on either side of the courtyard.  The exterior facades are all brick.  At one point, I leaned back in my chair and felt a significant amount of heat on my left shoulder and upper arm.  Initially, I assumed that I'd inadvertently sat beneath a nearby restaurant's patio heat-lamp.  A few moments later, when my friend and I got up to leave, I turned to my left, expecting to see a commercial heat-lamp behind me.  But, much to my surprise, there was no heat -lamp.  There was only a small, white, commercial cell-phone booster antenna mounted on the wall, about 7-ft. off of the ground.  I raised my arm, so that my hand was directly in front of it, and I immediately felt heat on my skin.

It was my understanding, from all that I've read on the subject, that cell-phones and wireless network devices are required by law to emit such a low amount of radiation as to not cause heating of human tissue.  I'd read that only large antennae - on rooftops or on hilltops were likely to emit enough (non-ionising?) RF radiation so as to noticeably heat and damage tissue - and that 's why maintaining distance from them is important.

Is there a specific department or office at the FCC that I should report this to?

My concern is that this antenna may be only of many that might be exposing countless men, women and children to a harmful amount of RF radiation on a daily basis.

I look forward to your response and appreciate any pertinent information you are able to provide.

Thank you."

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Despite What You May Have Been Led To Believe... All Is NOT Lost!



In The Wake Of The General Election and Despite What You May Have Been Led To Believe...


And, In Case You Are (with Good Reason) Worried About America's - And The World's - Future..

In Case You Care About Protecting The Environment and Preventing The Extinction Of Countless Other Species (Including Our Own)...

In Case You Care About The Future For Children and For Public Education...

In Case You Missed THIS... it ain't over... not yet!
Please Sign and Share This Petition.
It Currently Has 4,645,088 Supporters.
Help Us Reach 5 Million!

Electoral College: Make Hillary Clinton President on December 19


"
On December 19th, 2017, the Electors of the Electoral College will cast their ballots. If they all vote the way their states voted, Donald Trump will win. However, in 14 of the states in Trump's column, they can vote for Hillary Clinton without any legal penalty if they choose. 
We are calling on the 149 Electors in those states to ignore their states' votes and cast their ballots for Secretary Clinton. Why?
Mr. Trump is unfit to serve. His scapegoating of so many Americans, and his impulsivity, bullying, lying, admitted history of sexual assault, and utter lack of experience make him a danger to the Republic. 
Secretary Clinton WON THE POPULAR VOTE and should be President. 
As Of 11/24/16, Hillary Clinton Won The Popular Vote Over Donald Trump By More Than 2.2 MILLION Votes (and Counting)!

America Has Spoken!

And, America Wants Hillary Clinton To Be Our Next President!

The only reason Trump "won" is because of the disastrous Electoral College (You remember the E.C., right?  They're the hot mess that gave us eight years of George W. Bush!)
But the Electoral College can actually give the White House to either candidate.

So why not use this most undemocratic of our institutions to ensure a democratic result?
HILLARY CLINTON WON THE POPULAR VOTE.
There is no reason Trump should be President.
"It's the 'People's Will'"
No. She won the popular vote...
By 2.2 MILLION Votes and Counting!
"Our system of government under our Constitution says he wins"
No. Our Constitution says the Electors choose (and they can vote how they want.)
"Too many states prohibit 'Faithless Electors"
24 states bind electors. If electors vote against their party, they usually pay a fine. And people get mad. But they can vote however they want and there is no legal means to stop them in most states."

Rolling Over and Surrendering To Apathy and/or Stupidity Is NOT An Option!

Monday, November 21, 2016

An Open Letter To The EPA Re: Cellphone Boosters, RF Radiation and Burning Skin, Oh My!


An Open Letter/Email To The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Re: Cellphone Boosters, RF Radiation and Burning Skin (Oh My!):

"Dear EPA:

I am concerned about a recent experience I had while sitting in a public courtyard at a local open-air shopping mall.  I was sitting at a table with a friend and suddenly realized that I felt a focused heat on my left shoulder and upper arm.  Initially, I assumed that I had, inadvertently, sat too close to a nearby restaurant's patio heat-lamp.  But, when I got up to leave, I turned to look for the lamp and there was no heat-lamp... in fact, there was only an exterior, wall-mounted, cellphone booster antenna nearby.  It was placed about 8-ft. above the ground.  But, I definitely felt it heating my skin and deeper.  Like I said, I had thought it was a heat-lamp before I turned around.

I am concerned because, according to your own website, "At very high levels, RF energy is dangerous.", but the non-ionizing radiation from wireless technology that is capable of heating the body's tissues rapidly is supposed to be "... found only near certain equipment, such as powerful long-distance transmitters." and you go on to say that, although cellphone and wireless networks emit RF radiation, it's "not at levels that cause significant heating."

My recent experience definitely refutes these statements and I am concerned, not only for my own, but also for the public's safety.  Especially if there's no regulation of or laws regarding the amount of RF radiation that is being emitted from these widely-used, human-adjacent devices.

Please let me know - including the EPA - to whom and at what agency should I report this?

Thank you!

San Francisco, California

(From: "About Non-Ionizing Radiation From Wireless Technology)
... At very high levels, RF energy is dangerous. It can heat the body's tissues rapidly. However, such high levels are found only near certain equipment, such as powerful long-distance transmitters. Cellphones and wireless networks produce RF, but not at levels that cause significant heating. In addition, RF energy decreases quickly over distance. At ground level, exposure to RF from sources like cellphone towers is usually very low.""

Sunday, November 20, 2016

1952 Chadwell / Bedell-Smith CIA UFO Memo

The next time anyone - whether they are civilian, military or even a White House spokesperson - parrots the 'official' "No such objects - popularly referred to as "UFOs" - have flown through United States air space." bull puckey... just show them THIS:

(Excerpt from a 1952 internal CIA memo written by Mr. H.Marshall Chadwell, CIA Director of Scientific Intelligence to the then CIA Director, Walter Bedell-Smith. Subject: “Unidentified Flying Objects”. This memo was a direct result of the 1952 flood of UFO sightings across the United States, which included the widely-reported Washington D.C.. Capitol sightings.)

"(…) At this time the reports of incidents convince us that there is something going on that must have immediate attention. (…) Sightings of unexplained objects at great altitudes and traveling at high speeds in the vicinity of major US defense installations are of such nature that they are not attributable to natural phenomena or known types of aerial vehicles." 1952 Chadwell / Bedell-Smith CIA UFO Memo

Saturday, November 19, 2016

More Women and Minorities Signing Up for Self-Defense Classes After Trump Win



If You Didn't See This Coming, Either

A.) You Weren't Conscious;

B.) You Were Too Busy Blindly & Deaf-ly Supporting Trump;
or

C.) All Of The Above.*
(*Not a judgement. Just an observation.)
I was looking into classes long before the looming Trumpocalypse developed.
But, current circumstances have definitely motivated me to pick one and start going, immediately.

I'm leaning towards Krav Maga - If it's good enough for Israel's Mossad, it's good enough for me!

If you're female or if your're someone who is simply interested in developing your self-confidence, self-esteem, self-awareness, physical and mental strength, etc., then please find a skilled instructor where you live (community colleges often offer classes) and GO!
From NYmag.com ~

More Women and Minorities Are Signing Up for Self-Defense Classes Following Trump’s Win

Saturday, November 05, 2016

Got Laws of Physics?: 9/11 3D Analysis - 2016 Update - Richard D. Hall

At first, as I watched and listened to this video, my initial, physical reaction to the 3-D computer model- and electrical-engineer-supported information therein was that I felt like throwing up.

Don't get me wrong, I figured out in the months and years following the events that appeared to play out on 9/11/01 that the, then, developing "official" narrative was patently untrue.  (Give those crafty ol' boys an "A" for effort. In fact, brand it into each of their foreheads with white-hot irons.)

Full Disclosure: This video is painful to watch.  Why?  Because, it can be excruciating to come to the realization that a great many of those things that you've been led to believe - not only about the 9/11 attacks, but also, about America and what she stands for and what America's leaders* are truly capable of (*I'm not talking about then-President George W. Bush - he's a moron.  And, let's be completely honest, he wasn't in charge of anything during his tenure.  He was simply a face who kept a seat warm... and, whose father was a very powerful and wealthy man with very powerful and wealthy friends (Including - among many others - the House of Saud).

Richard Hall - the man who narrates this video - is no fringe conspiracy theorist.  He's a well-educated, scientific, detail-oriented man with a laser-like focus on uncovering the Truth of what really occurred on 9/11/01 in America.

So, yes, it may hurt to watch this video.  In fact, it may just open a sizable wound on one's psyche to discover that you and much of the world were sold a bloody bill of goods by a cabal of old, powerful, wealthy, influential, (mostly) white men whose primary objective is to not only maintain their current power, wealth and influence, but to increase and secure it.

Yes, a horrifying series of events occurred on 9/11/01.  And, yes, a particular group of men orchestrated and carried out a number of heinous crimes on 9/11/01.  BUT, they may not have been the events that you thought you saw (intentionally replayed over and over again, ad nauseum, for years) nor the alleged perpetrators (19 so-called 'hijackers' - 15 of which were Saudi, mind you - who were barely able to fly Cessna aircraft) that were blamed (Can you say "Scapegoats", boys and girls? Good!  How about "Patsies"?  I knew you could!).

Especially noteworthy items in this video:
*Woman in video clip exclaiming, "What the hell is THAT?!" as she and a man watched and videotaped object approaching second tower.  She undoubtedly knew what a plane looked like, so why not shout, "Look at that plane!" or some-such, instead?

*The "Road-Runner" Effect:
The unforgettable sight of the outline of "plane" - from wing-tip to wing-tip - on the exterior of the second tower where the object - allegedly a 767 commercial airliner (with wings constructed of struts and, mostly, air and covered with an aluminum skin a mere 1/10th of an inch thick) was seen to have simply "melted" into and "sliced through" multiple weight-bearing iron beams that were not only holding a 100+ floor skyscraper upright and together, but, were specifically-designed to withstand plane strikes.  (Not to mention the fact that, in a close-up video clip included in the 'official story' video-clip compilation, one can clearly see a secondary incendiary explosion - following the initial impact and smoke cloud - and watch as the 'fire' burns a plane wing-tip-shaped outline into the skin of the second tower... creating that silhouette we all remember vividly, but which is, actually, a physical impossibility:  As stated above, the wings of an actual 767 airliner are constructed of aluminum and the wing-tips are particularly fragile.  Therefore, there is, unequivocally, no way in Heaven or on Earth that aluminum airplane wings are ever going to strike a steel-framed structure and slice through it like a hot knife through butter... except, perhaps, within the utterly-unreal confines of a Looney-Tunes cartoon.  IF the object that hit the second tower had actually been a commercial 767 airliner, then the wings -in particular - would have been sheared off or simply destroyed on impact.  Hard landings have been known to cause wings or tail-sections to separate from the fuselage of these aircraft.  #TruthBomb.

*The fact that, in the official version of events, it's claimed that the alleged 'airliner' that struck the second tower was traveling at over 500 mph when it hit the building.  That's an airspeed that's physically-impossible for a 767 at/near sea level.  (But, it's totally possible for a Raytheon Block IV Missile...)

(...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead​)** Please See Bottom of Page About This.

*The fact that - on a clear, sunny morning, one in which even the WTC towers, themselves, glistened - the alleged polished, aluminium 'airliner' looks like a flat, black, smoky smudge in the sky in virtually all of the 50 or so videos collected.

And, much, much more.

Please watch this video, closely, with an open-mind, healthy skepticism and your critical-thinking caps on.

And, then, most importantly: Decide For Yourselves What Really Happened (or Didn't Really Happen) on September 11, 2001.  And, then, Please Share This Video With Your Friends and Family and Everyone.  Thank you.
"I'd rather be struck with the TRUTH than be caressed with LIES."

** I have no idea where this sentence came from.  I swear.  It just appeared as I was writing this post.  That said, I find it perfectly appropriate and fitting, so I'm leaving it where it appeared. - L.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

I (Don't) See Dead People (Voting): The Real Fraud Is GOP-Led Voter Suppression

They May Be Popular, But You Know Zombies Aren't Real, Right?


I (Don't) See Dead People (Voting)!


What We Can All See... If We Simply Open Our Eyes To The FACTS:

"The real danger to American Democracy stems from GOP efforts to make it harder to vote. New voting restrictions — like Voter-ID Laws, Cuts To Early Voting and Barriers to Voter Registration — that are in place in 14 states (!) for the first time in 2016 will make it harder for millions of eligible voters to cast a ballot.

And, voters are lacking crucial protections because this is the First Presidential Election in 50 Years (!) without the full provisions of the Voting Rights Act."*



*You  Remember The VOTING RIGHTS ACT, Don't You?!

Voter Suppression Is A Much Bigger Problem Than Voter Fraud: 
Trump’s rigged election lies distract from the Real Threat to American democracy.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

"Haters Back Off"... And, Make America SANE, Again!


I wanted to share my review of the new Netflix series "Haters Back Off!"...

If it happens to save you from making the same horrible mistake as I made... Well, then, my job here is done and... "You're Welcome!"
"Oh my Gd... You have got to be joking... 5-Stars... Really?
Those reviews must all be from the ice cream boy's various DBA accounts.  And, they're the only reason I gave this show 19 minutes of my Life.  Nineteen minutes that I cannot get back... Ever! Nineteen minutes that I cannot un-see nor un-hear.  Now, don't get me wrong: I don't hate "Haters" (sigh), I simply want my 19 minutes back.
To achieve success with this type of comedy, the cast members must be able to create a willing suspension of disbelief in the viewers (Think of Tom Hanks' performance in "Big"). And, let's be honest, "Haters..." is no "Big".  It feels like narcissism making an unsuccessful attempt to masquerade as a satire of narcissism.
I thought about it, and there can be only one explanation for all of the 5-star reviews: It's further evidence that the 'dumbing down of America' is enjoying a modicum of success. But, seriously, you shouldn't require any more proof than looking at the two Demo-publican candidates for President of the United States (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.)
Make America Sane, Again: Vote For All People - Not Just The 1%-ers! Vote For The Entire Planet! Vote For Peace! Vote For The GREATER GOOD! Vote Green! Vote Dr. Jill Stein... Please!
Thank you."

Monday, October 10, 2016

The Case Of The Mysteriously Mutilated Car - Revisited and Still Unexplained



"The Case Of The 'Mutilated' Car - Updated*
*This update may be a few years old, but I just learned about it today.
It's a case of High-Strangeness and an organized (and, so far, successful) Cover-Up that's fascinated me since I first heard about it:
On November 4, 2008, a woman was driving her car on an Illinois highway. It was evening and there were no cars in her immediate vicinity (she was traveling in the middle of three lanes). Suddenly, something shoved her car over into the next lane on her right. She attempted to look around via her left-side mirror - but, the mirror was gone. She had not seen whatever it was that struck her car. When she was able to exit the car to examine it, the image above and those in the article below reveal what she found.
Mr. Peter Davenport - Director of the National UFO Reporting Center - handed the case over to the State Director of MUFON-IL, Sam Maranto. When he'd learned more details of this strange event and seen the photos of the crumpled door panels (still, somehow, sporting an unscratched, rip-free and intact paint job), Davenport had offered to buy the car "as-is" to preserve the evidence. The car's owner wouldn't sell. But, she did agree to let Davenport have the damaged panels after the car was repaired. He'd also brought some of the paint chips from the vehicle to a lab at the University of Chicago for analysis.
Around January of 2009, Mr. Maranto contacted Mr. Davenport with some bad (and truly Strange) news:
The owner of the garage where the car was being repaired had called to, regrettably, inform him that the damaged doors had been stolen.
And, as if that wasn't bad enough: When Mr. Maranto tried to retrieve the paint chips and the lab's analysis results, he'd been told that someone claiming to be an associate of Mr. Maranto's had already retrieved both.
Mr. Maranto hadn't sent any such person.
Someone went to a lot of trouble to prevent the source of the damage to the woman's car from being identified and revealed to the public
If I were to hazard a guess...
I'd say it was either a directed energy weapon or...
focused & directed intention: Perhaps an intentional mental "push", so to speak, or an accident of "letting off steam/venting"?

Monday, October 03, 2016

The War On Terror: Extraordinary Circumstances, Extraordinary Measures and American Values* (*Thanks, Supergirl!)



I was just in the middle of watching an episode of Supergirl on Netflix*:
Season 1 Ep, 14: "Truth, Justice and The American Way".

(*If you haven't seen it, please consider giving it a try.  I'd put off watching it for a long time - Another superhero show?  Are they kidding?.  And, then, I watched the pilot.  After which, I watched the first five episodes back-to-back in a mini-marathon.)

At 17:52, the character, James Olson (played by Mehcad Brooks
), is having a conversation with Supergirl (played by Melissa Benoist).  And, what transpired was a short speech that - when I heard it - I thought, "Eureka! (or, something like that)  That's, (almost) exactly, what I've wished someone/everyone would say to the U.S. military/intelligence community!"

So, taking a cue from the sharp writers of Supergirl - and with some of my own, 
personal editing for proper content and context - here's my version of that speech:

"To Whom It May Concern At The F.B.I., C.I.A., N.S.A., D.I.A., D.O.D., et al.:

When you have more power than any other military/intelligence network on Earth, you must be better than taking a page out of your enemy's handbook.

In every endeavor or conflict - whether it's ground warfare, the (perpetual) war on terror or matters of national security - victory doesn't just come down to a battle of strength or smarts or wills.

Ultimately, it comes down to a battle of values.

Our American Values versus our enemy's values - or lack, thereof.

And, if we're willing to abandon our American Values...

Then what, exactly, is it that makes us any better than our enemy?

If - as claimed - we believe in Truth, Justice and The American Way...

Then, we cannot and must not lower our own standards by taking actions which are in direct opposition to our American Values or by doing whatever it takes.*
 (*
i.e torture, enhanced interrogation, extraordinary rendition, suspension of Constitutional/civil/human rights)."
Thank you.

Sunday, October 02, 2016

Stop This Runaway Train - I'm Getting Off* (*And Voting For Jill Stein)


The 2016 Presidential Election Is NOT A Runaway Train On A Collision Course With A Four-Year Long, Foul-Tasting, Festering, Fetid, Foregone Conclusion... Not Yet!

Whether You Consider Yourself A Conservative, Progressive or "Other", You Should Know That Everyone DOES Have A 3rd, Better-Qualified and Much Better Choice In This Election!

This November 8th, If You Truly Want Your Vote To Count As A Force For The Greater GOOD Instead of (sigh) - Yet Again - Voting For The Lesser Of Two Evils...

Then, You'll Take The Time To Familiarize Yourselves With Dr. Jill Stein - The ONLY Highly-Qualified, Truly Progressive, Female Candidate For President Of The United States!

The Next Four Years - Both For America and For The World - Are Much TOO Important For Us To Act Like Sheep On Their Way To Slaughter: Silently and Spinelessly Accepting What We Already Know To Be A Horrifying Fate - One That None Of Us Want Or Deserve - Doing The Thorazine Sheeple Shuffle To The Polls, Obeying The Will Of The Corptocracy/Elites By Voting For One Of Two Sides Of The Same Corporate-Owned, War-Mongering, Environment-and-Natural-Resource-Damning Coin.


"Obama Has Failed Victims of Racism and Police Brutality"
By Cornel West via theguardian.com


Friday, September 23, 2016

An Open Email To T.J. Maxx Re: Selling Products Known To Cause Cancer, Birth Defects, Reproductive Harm...



(An Open Email To Retailer T.J. Maxx Re:
Selling Products Known To Cause Cancer, Birth Defects and/or Reproductive Harm:)


Dear T.J. Maxx:


First, let me say this: "I Love Shopping at T.J. Maxx!".

That said, I'd also like to add:

"WHY does T.J. Maxx sell any products that include the following warning:

"WARNING: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm."?

Er, Hello?  If something's 'known to cause cancer AND birth defects OR other reproductive harm' in the State of California, you can bank on the fact that it's going to cause those same life-threatening health risks in the other 49 states.

So, I must ask you: WHY are you stocking them on T.J. Maxx's shelves and on the T.J. Maxx website?

There are more than enough items available that do not contain potentially lethal chemicals in them to fill those places.

Please Note: Including the Prop. 65 Warning does NOT relieve T.J. Maxx's of any responsibility if those items acknowledged to be toxic are purchased from T.J. Maxx and then, God forbid, cause cancer, birth defects and/or other reproductive harm in your customers.

Especially, if those poor souls don't live in California and, therefore, aren't even offered the warning about the potentially life-threatening dangers contained within them.

For Example: I was going to buy a pair of Betsey Johnson sunglasses from the T.J. Maxx website (see image above) - until I (thankfully) saw that warning. The thought that - had I not seen or been presented with that warning - I'd have bought the sunglasses and worn them on my face is horrifying!

(*Please know that I'm not excusing Betsey Johnson, nor whomever is in charge of licensing her name, nor any other company or celebrity who allows these sorts of (unnecessarily) toxic products to be produced in their names... and purely for additional profit.)

To me, this all comes down to taking Personal Responsibility for your personal and business decisions/actions as well as for the good (or the harm) that you cause to other people, living things and/or to the World because of them.

I look forward to hearing from you and I'm sincerely interested in hearing your honest response to my inquiry..

Thank you very much!

Thursday, August 11, 2016

"Weird Al" Yankovic Makes Me Want To Be "Tacky": It Looks Fun! (Video)

In Case YOU Missed It...

Now Hear THIS: "Weird Al" Yankovic Is A Genius and A National Treasure!

In fact, I hereby nominate Mr. Al Yankovic for National Poet Laureate!

Enjoy!

This made me HAPPY!  Bet it'll make you smile - at the least!

Monday, August 08, 2016

Aliens: The Big Think With Sir Martin Rees - BBC Documentary Video 2016

Is There (other) LIFE In The Universe?
Better Question: Is There INTELLIGENT Life?
Should We Seek Such Life Out? And, If So, Then Where?
Would We Know It If We Saw It?
"After a distinguished career in cosmology Professor Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, has taken up the search for extra-terrestrials."
Enjoy!

Darth Obama Signs The 'Dark Act': Are YOU Pro-GMO? Or Pro- RIGHT TO KNOW?


ICYMI:  President Barack Obama just signed the 'DARK ACT' into federal aw.



This law now preempts (The Great State Of) Vermont's hard-fought and hard-won (Hello? They beat Monsanto!) mandatory labeling of GMOs and takes away - from Every Single American - our Basic Human Right-To-Know what is and what is not in our food supply and in our groceries.
Monsanto (You bastards!) and the GMA (Grocery Manufacrturers A**hole-ciation) spent around $400 Million over the last four years to make this happen.
We've been fighting against it.  We are continuing to fight against it.  And, we will not surrender.

I've joined an organization that's continuing to Fight The Good Fight. We're Buy-cotting Monsanto (and all of it's subsidiaries) and every single grocery manufacturer who was involved in this Monsanto-made dastardly dietary disaster... and I'm inviting/urging all of YOU to join me!
Here's what I said when asked why I joined:
"I'm absolutely sickened and hugely pissed-off that President Obama stood up and, then, folded like a spineless piece of paper and signed the 'Dark Act' into law.
I'd expect something like that from any corporate-crony Republican, but I, honestly, hadn't expected it from Obama.


After all, back in 2007, he swore that he'd fight for Americans' Right-To-Know about GMOs!
But, by turning turn-coat and signing this bill, President Obama has consciously and intentionally betrayed all Americans - every single man, woman and child - and has shown us all who he's really working for - and ("Hello?!) it isn't for 'The Common Good'!
Shame on YOU, Mr. President!
What good is a national healthcare system, if 'We, The People' are being intentionally, unwittingly, involuntarily and systematically-poisoned by a GMO-tainted food supply? (Rhetorical Question.)

By signing this bill into federal law, President Obama has - All By His Lonesome - rendered Obamacare moot (after a big slobbering, lobbying push from Monsanto & the GMA**holes).
What makes this betrayal especially excruciating is that there can be no doubt, whatsoever, that President Obama has done this to all Americans - All Of US - and has done so exclusively to benefit a greasy group of pathologically-greedy, ethically-stunted and morally-bankrupt corporations and their shareholders.
His actions make me want to throw-up ( ...where the hell's a Monsanto shareholder when you need one?).
Monsanto must be Terminated. GMOs must be GM-NOs. The Dark Act must be destroyed. And, all of those who were involved in creating the 'Dark Act', supporting it, lobbying for it and who are - only very temporarily - celebrating it must be exposed, publicly-humiliated, shunned and/or kicked out of political office, for good.
Thank you."
As you can see, I'm a wee bit perturbed by this... and understandably so, I think.

And, I sincerely hope YOU are perturbed, too!


Now, Please, Sign-Up, Share & Take Action:
https://www.buycott.com/campaign/211/pro-gmo-or-pro-right-to-know

Saturday, August 06, 2016

Open Email To Whole Foods Market / Caveat Emptor: Read The Fine Print!



Hello Whole Foods Market:

I am a loyal Whole Foods Market customer in San Francisco, California.

I'm contacting you about "Product Standards" because I found something disturbing buried in the fine print on the label of a sample of a dietary supplement product that you carry in (at least some of) your stores:

Product: Irwin Naturals "Brain Awake" Liquid Soft Gels.

On the tri-fold label, at the bottom of the "Supplement Facts", is the following:



"WARNING (State Of California Prop 65) This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm."


Now, as I received this sample from a Whole Foods Market Store in California and as Whole Foods Market proudly makes the claim of: "America's Healthiest Grocery Store", I found this item particularly disturbing.

Not to mention the fact that I have excellent eyesight and don't require/wear glasses or contacts.  Still, there's a variety of small-sized fonts on the label, but this CA Prop 65 Warning is in the smallest one of them all.  Therefore, even I couldn't have read that line without the use of a magnifying glass.

Considering how many people wear glasses, I'm quite sure the vast majority of Whole Foods Market customers who may have picked up the same Brain Awake sample as I did would be unable to read the fine print - including this warning - and would, undoubtedly, ingest the gel caps because they were from Whole Foods Market and, well, WFM wouldn't offer anything that might be harmful to a woman, her unborn child or her reproductive system, would they?

Fortunately, I've paid close attention to health/diet/product/supplement news and I've done enough research so that I know better than to trust the FDA's approval or any product manufacturer's well-thought out label at face value.  Health-conscious individuals must be their own best advocates, read the labels of everything and know what ingredients are as well as their safety/efficacy (or lack thereof).

There's a serious problem, though,. when the print on a label is so tiny as to require the use of a magnifying glass to read it.

And, there's an enormous problem when a grocery store that claims to be "America's Healthiest" is offering products with a CA Prop 65 Warning buried in the tiny print of that label which warns of "... birth defects and other reproductive harm"... but no one can be - conceivably - expected to be able to read it.

Do you know if there are other products on your shelves with the same (or similar) warning(s)?  How many of them are in such tiny-sized letters as to be, virtually, illegible?  If there are, how many are there?  Why would WFM agree to sell such products, especially in California?

At the very least, shouldn't WFM have a large, easy-to-read sign displayed in its Supplement Departments to inform WFM customers that some of the dietary supplement products WFM offers for purchase may contain ingredients known to the State of California to cause BIRTH DEFECTS or OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM?!

I see pregnant women shopping in WFM every day.  So, reading this warning on one of your products - but only with the aid of a magnifying glass - bothers me.  I sincerely hope it bothers you., too.  Are you going to do anything about this?

Please respond ASAP.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Thank you.

Monday, July 25, 2016

Jon Stewart Takes Over Colbert's Late Show Desk (video) Enjoy!

Jon Stewart pops by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to do the "Snoopy Dance" (off-camera) over Fox Chief Roger Ailes' resignation and to share a few of his thoughts in the wake of the Republican National Convention.

Bravo, Jon Stewart, BRAVO!!

Enjoy!  (Feel free to watch it repeatedly.  You'll feel better every time!)

Sunday, July 17, 2016

The Fashion Racket Is A Rip-Off or Why I Only Buy US or EU-Made

The Following is a Yelp review that I just posted.  It's on the Theory clothing store (Maiden Ln.) page, but it could just as easily be on Betsey Johnson's page or Elie Tahari's or St. John's or Calvin Klein's or on any/all big name fashion house pages.  (*Please see helpful links at the bottom.)
"Made (Not Just "Designed") In USA" Matters!
"Full Disclosure: My review concerns the quality - or lack thereof - of "Theory" clothing, not the store.  I'm sure the shop is lovely: it's on (high-rent) Maiden Lane.

"Theory" is a fairly pricey, off-the-rack (it's fairly mass-produced) clothing line.  It always has been and remains so.  And, I wouldn't have a problem with that IF the quality of the materials/fabrics and the quality of the workmanship were still... well, Quality.

Please Note: "Theory" clothing used to be manufactured in the United States of America - specifically in New York City!  Theory CEO Andrew Rosin was crowing about this fact in interviews as recently as 2012.

In Case You Missed It: If you remember, not that long ago, most of your favorite clothing lines were manufactured in the USA or somewhere in Europe.  And, there was a standard of quality that buyers could rely upon: predominately natural fabrics/textiles that felt substantial/didn't feel "cheap"; clothes were often lined, any visible stitching was even and unbroken/patterns were lined-up; and the clothes lasted.

Today, if you look at the labels of most - if not all - of your favorite higher-end clothing lines (including Theory), they all say (with rare exceptions) "Made In China".  And, even THAT might not be a problem IF it weren't for the fact that - across the board - the quality of the materials/fabrics and the quality of the workmanship of the clothing produced under these labels have all gone down the toilet!

But, the thing that really pisses me off - and should piss You off, too - is that we're all still paying the kinds of prices we were paying when the clothes were "Made In USA" or "Made In France" or "Made In Italy" and they actually looked and felt like it.  Hell, even mall-store brands were being manufactured on either side of the pond!

As I said, the problem isn't just with Theory - it's virtually all fashion magazine- and runway OTR-level labels (Betsey Johnson, Elie Tahari, St. John, Calvin Klein, etc.. Levi-Strauss from China is abominable.)

The Problem: They're ripping you and I and everyone off:  We're still paying premium prices and they're giving us garbage.  And, we (well... you. I boycott "Made In China"/ only buy "Made in USA" or UK) just keep taking whatever crappy scraps they deign to give us.

Also worth noting: The sea of plastic and "pleather" footwear that has replaced leather uppers and leather-soled shoes/boots is impractical, tragic and environmentally-toxic (now, often promoted as "VEGAN", but at same price point as before).

Many of those clothing labels/companies were making millions of dollars, before.  Now that they've moved manufacturing to China, many are raking in billions of dollars.  And, still, they expect us to keep giving them our hard-earned money for crap-quality clothing?

I - for one - am sick of it.  And, I hope you are, too!

I'm not giving them my money anymore."

"Made In USA" Matters Helpful Links:


1.) THE AMERICAN LISTA guide to great things still made in the U.S.A.

2.) 35 Fair Trade and Ethical Clothing Companies

Aliens: The Big Think W/ Martin Rees (BBC Documentary Video) Enjoy!

Is There (other) LIFE In The Universe?
Better Question: Is There INTELLIGENT Life?
Should We Seek Such Life Out? And, If So, Then Where?
Would We Know It If We Saw It?
"After a distinguished career in cosmology Professor Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, has taken up the search for extra-terrestrials."
Enjoy!

Thursday, May 05, 2016

BitchTapes: There Goes the Neighborhood | (Music) Bitch Media (Or... Tech Bros & Condos SUCK!)



Dear Seattle:  Your Brothers and Sisters In San Francisco Feel Your Pain!


"This week's mixtape is curated by Emily Nokes of esteemed Seattle pop punk band Tacocat!

This is...
An Ode to the Practice Spaces, Gay Bars, Weird Businesses, Affordable Housing, and other Long-Lost Treasures that Seattle has lost recently to:

Greyish-beige condos filled with bigots;  Tech jerks terrorizing service workers on the weekend in the very neighborhood they can no longer afford to live in; Queer/arts/ethnically-diverse neighborhoods dissolving into restaurant nightmares; Lavish marijuana shops selling government-approved wares on the same corner folks were busted for (and still doing time for) selling marijuana! 

Cities change and that's a fact. But Seattle musicians aren't going down without writing a bunch of songs about it first."


BitchTapes: There Goes the Neighborhood | Bitch Media: Songs from Seattle musicians calling out gentrification in their neighborhoods, curated by Emily Nokes of Tacocat.

Monday, May 02, 2016

Two Nuclear Leaks in the United States



"When a radiation leak happens in Japan the whole world hears about it..."

FUKUSHIMA.

"But, when not one but TWO radiation leaks happen in the United States no one does.

There are radiation leak reports in Miami and New York, why is no one talking about it?
"

INDIAN POINT and TURKEY POINT.


Two Nuclear Leaks in the United States, One Is Likely Worse Than Fukushima...
Two Nuclear Leaks in the United States:

Saturday, April 23, 2016

A Personal Extraordinary Experience On The Day Prince Died

Here's a short and sweet story about a very recent extraordinary personal experience...

Two days ago, I was out walking around the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco.  I had a few errands to run and had brought Tyler the Pup with me.  I'd awoken early (for me) that morning and had decided to do some grocery shopping which, potentially, could entail walking/skateboarding/riding the bus to four different markets... ones which weren't close to each other (It did).

(@ 10 am) The first store I went to was on Haight Street.  I'd bought some amazingly sweet organic strawberries there at an equally amazing price recently, twice.  Unfortunately, when i got there, the price had gone up thirty cents and - although they were California strawberries - they were from a producer I didn't care for.

So, onward (sans strawberries)...

As I walked to the second market (several blocks away), I began to try to sing along with a song that was playing in my head.  I say "try" because I hadn't heard the song in a long time and was unsure about the order of some of the lyrics.  I went in the second store to pick up a couple salads they usually have prepared. Unfortunately, although they did have many salads on the salad bar, they didn't have the ones that I like.

So, onward...
... about seven more blocks to - then - wait for (ever!) to catch the MUNI...


The whole time Tyler and I are making our way to the MUNI stop, inside my head - as loud and clear as if she were standing there, right in front of me - Sinead O'Connor was still crooning "Nothing Compares 2 U" in her beautiful, melodic, tortured way.  I could even see her - in my mind's eye - just as she looked in her video.  I was pleased to find that I was having a fair amount of success getting the lyrics in their proper order - even if I couldn't match Sinead note-for-note.

This is what I saw in My Mind's Eye...




Anywhoo...

To make a long-enough story a little shorter, the MUNI (finally!) arrived and Tyler The Pup and I went to the other two markets and found some of what I had intended to pick up.

And, through each and every moment,  for the entire time - from the moment it had started back on Haight Street - Sinead O'Connor and I were singing our hauntingly mournful song about utterly grief-stricken, heart and soul-crushing loss.

And, for the remainder of the day, Sinead and I sang that song.  Mostly often as a duet but, at times, Sinead would sing it solo (inside my head, of course) if other people were around.

We sang it as I made my way from one stop to the next and as I took care of my errands and - especially - to block out the murderously inane muzak that businesses seem to like to assault people's ears with once inside their doors.


She sang as we arrived back at home and as I cooked dinner for Tyler The Pup and for myself.  I didn't mind at all.  I'd always loved that song - every note, every word and Sinead's every exquisitely-nuanced performance of it.  I swear, from the first time i'd heard it, it touched a Sacred part of my Soul.  And, honestly, I think it touched a Sacred part of every Soul who ever had the honor of hearing it.

At around 9:00 pm, I'd gotten both of our dinners finished.  I gave Tyler The Pup his and sat down in front of my laptop.  I was running late for my favorite (and only) radio show: Fade To Black with Jimmy Church!

I brought up the show's website and the player came to life.  I glanced at the description and couldn't believe what I didn't want to be seeing:

"Tonight On FADE TO BLACK with Jimmy Church:  In Memory Of Prince...".

Immediately, I tried to lie to myself, "No!  It's 'Prince Charles' who died... Please. Please. Please!  I mean, seriously, I'd be totally okay with that.  Because, if it wasn't Prince Charles, then, I so didn't want to know!  My eyes went back and read the screen again.  No!  It couldn't be Him!  No!  Not PRINCE!

It took me a few moments...  And, then, I realized, Whoa!

THAT'S Why Sinead O'Connor's rendition of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' Was In My Head All Day.

At some deep, unconscious level - perhaps at that Sacred place in my Soul - I'd already picked up on that His Royal Badness, our gifted, gorgeous, genius Prince was gone... and (with Sinead's powerful performance of one of the songs Prince, himself, had penned) I'd already been remembering and mourning him.

There was never and will never be another like Him.  Rock In Peace, Brother!

Click on the link below to see what AWESOME looks like: 


Prince's Full Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show 2007