chervilant
chervilant's JournalWhat BP and TEPCO Don't Want You to Know
On my way home from the market, I happened to tune in to an interview on a PROGRAM that airs on our NPR station called Making Contact. The topic of discussion was titled BP Five Years Later: Deepwater Horizon and the Cost of Oil...
Journalists, scientists and residents were interviewed about how BP’s Deep Horizon, (“Deep” is a reference to offshore deepwater drilling) that exploded into raging flames on April 20th 2010, the largest and most devastating oil catastrophe in HISTORY, created a crisis of Biblical proportions. Beneath the Gulf’s seafloor is one of the most dangerous places to drill. BP has done more to establish that fact than any other oil company.
The blowout literally transformed an ocean that was teeming with life into a toxic, dead zone. BP is not the only oil company to blame. The oil industry, with the help of their paid-off political officials, has committed egregious crimes of pollution, and irreparable damage with their oil pipes and spills to rich habitats, pelican and turtle sanctuaries, marshes, wetlands and coastal ecosystems since the 1930s. But BP’s blowout was by far the last deadly nail to the Gulf’s coffin.
***SNIP***
A Perpetual Crisis: Fukushima Four Years Later…
Meanwhile, off the Pacific coast, a strange phenomenon is occurring that I wrote about in my last Buzzflash-Truthout commentary. Scientists are mystified by the growing warm water called the “blob” that has radically altered the jet-stream, resulting in erratic weather patterns that could explain why Californians are facing the worst drought in HISTORY.
The obvious question that has been completely omitted from the research and reports is: Could the tons of radioactive water that TEPCO has been releasing into the Pacific Ocean since 2011 be the primary reason why this so-called mysterious “blob” was recently formed?
What I find astonishing is that there were three, possibly four, nuclear cataclysmic meltdowns that happened after Japan was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami, and we’re all supposed to pretend that it’s over, no big deal. Just as corporate network weather REPORTERS never talk about climate change in relation to extreme weather disasters, so too, no one remembers the terrifying fear about relying on nuclear power for energy.
For the rest of this provocative editorial by JACQUELINE MARCUS FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT, go here.
Pumps at Fukushima plant halted, toxic water leaking into ocean - TEPCO
Source: RT
All the eight water transfer pumps at the Fukushima 1 nuclear power station have been shut down due to a power outage, leading to a leak of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, the plant’s operator said.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) REPORTED a power outage on Tuesday, according to Kyodo news agency. It follows the line of the toxic leaks that were reported in February, when at one point around 100 tons of highly radioactive water leaked from one the plant’s tanks.
The February report prompted TEPCO to launch a pumping process at the site; this began just last Friday. The pumps were CONFIRMED to be working Monday afternoon, but at 8:45am on Tuesday they were found stopped.
The incident and the amount of water already leaked are being CHECKED, according to the company. The pumps are used to transfer tainted water from a drainage channel to a channel that leads to an artificial bay in front of the station, enclosed by a fence.
Read more: http://rt.com/news/251637-fukushima-plant-toxic-water/
This report coincides with a report of an emergency shutdown of West Coast Fisheries, citing a catastrophic decline of 91% in sardine populations.
Sardines, like honey bees, don’t seem important to the casual observer. But just like honey bees, which are experiencing their own colony collapse, they are critical to the propagation of the global food chain. The immediate effects can be seen on the creatures next in line...
Bank of America tries to seize widow's home while forgetting to mention that her loan was insured
Laura Coleman Biggs and her experience with Bank of America is absolutely criminal. When her husband George Mitchell passed away, 12 years ago this month, Ms. Biggs CONTINUED paying off her mortgage.George “Kenny” Mitchell had taken out a SPECIAL lender-pushed insurance policy to pay off most of his loan if he died.
But when he passed away on April 26, 2003, the subsidiary of Charlotte-based Bank of America did not ARRANGE a payoff of the $100,000 policy and CONTINUED to charge his widow an insurance premium every month along with her mortgage payment.
Pretty bad. But the story is even worse than you ALREADY know it is. See, the only reason Ms. Biggs even found out that BOA had royally screwed her was a mixture of desperation, luck and a pro bono lawyer.
If anyone needs further proof of the unfettered hedonism of BoA, read the entire article posted on DailyKos here.
Victims of Fukushima
A large group of dolphins stranded near the Fukushima Prefecture have died. Scientists have determined that the dolphins died of radiation poisoning.
Fukushima Diary, Apr 12, 2015: According to National Science Museum, most of the inspected 17 dolphins had their lungs in ischaemia state… The chief of the researching team stated “Most of the lungs looked entirely white”… internal organs were generally clean without any symptoms of disease or infection, but most of the lungs were in ischaemia state. She said “I have never seen such a state”.
For more information, go here.
Fellow Liberals, Please Stop Claiming Jesus Accepts LGBT People
From the article, a useful passage:
The next time someone tells you that the Bible condemns your entire EXISTENCE, consider responding: "You're right. And I, along with millions of OPEN and affirming people across this great country, do not care. You shouldn't either."
For the entire article, go here.
35 Founding Father Quotes Conservative Christians Will Hate
The separation of church and state is one of the cornerstones of America’s foundation. Conservative Christian fundamentalists have sought to crush this cornerstone in the hopes of establishing Christianity as the state religion, an action that would threaten the rest of the foundation that makes up the Constitution. These conservatives contend that the Founding Fathers dreamed of making America a Christian state at the expense of those who practice other religions or none at all.
So here are 35 quotes from the Founding Fathers. Perhaps your first thoughts are the first four Presidents and maybe Benjamin Franklin, but there were many other Founding Fathers. Many were signers of the US Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. They were lawyers, judges, soldiers, merchants, farmers, and some were even clergy. And the great majority of them signed the Constitution knowing that matters of government and matters of religion would be separate.
Quotes here.
My Life As a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Deep within America, beyond your typical evangelicals and run-of-the-mill fundamentalists, nurtured within the homeschool movement and growing by the day, are the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements. This is where I grew up.
I learned that women are to be homemakers while men are to be protectors and providers. I was taught that a woman should not have a career, but should rather keep the home and raise the children and submit to her husband, who is her god-given head and authority. I learned that homeschooling is the only godly way to raise children, because to send them to public school is to turn a child over to the government and the secular humanists. I was taught that children must be trained up in the way they should go every minute of every day. I learned that a woman is always under male authority, first her father, then her husband, and perhaps, someday, her son. I was told that children are always a blessing, and that it was imperative to raise up quivers full of warriors for Christ, equipped to take back the culture and restore it to its Christian foundations.
Christian Patriarchy involves the patriarchal gender roles and hierarchical family structure, while Quiverfull refers to the belief that children are always a blessing and that big families are mandatory for those following God’s will (some eschew birth control altogether). While these two belief sets are generally held in common, they can technically exist separately. Now, not everyone who holds these beliefs actually claims the term “Christian Patriarchy” or “Quiverfull.” My parents certainly didn’t. In fact, I never heard those terms growing up. What matters is not the name that is claimed, but the beliefs outlined above.
For the entire article, written by "Libby Anne," go here
(Reposted to Good Reads by request.)
My Life As a Daughter in the Christian Patriarchy Movement
Deep within America, beyond your typical evangelicals and run-of-the-mill fundamentalists, nurtured within the homeschool movement and growing by the day, are the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements. This is where I grew up.
I learned that women are to be homemakers while men are to be protectors and providers. I was taught that a woman should not have a career, but should rather keep the home and raise the children and submit to her husband, who is her god-given head and authority. I learned that homeschooling is the only godly way to raise children, because to send them to public school is to turn a child over to the government and the secular humanists. I was taught that children must be trained up in the way they should go every minute of every day. I learned that a woman is always under male authority, first her father, then her husband, and perhaps, someday, her son. I was told that children are always a blessing, and that it was imperative to raise up quivers full of warriors for Christ, equipped to take back the culture and restore it to its Christian foundations.
Christian Patriarchy involves the patriarchal gender roles and hierarchical family structure, while Quiverfull refers to the belief that children are always a blessing and that big families are mandatory for those following God’s will (some eschew birth control altogether). While these two belief sets are generally held in common, they can technically exist separately. Now, not everyone who holds these beliefs actually claims the term “Christian Patriarchy” or “Quiverfull.” My parents certainly didn’t. In fact, I never heard those terms growing up. What matters is not the name that is claimed, but the beliefs outlined above.
For the entire article, written by "Libby Anne," go here
The Sexist Attacks On Women For Saying The Same Thing As Men
Source: Media Matters
State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki and her deputy, Marie Harf, have spent the week being attacked by right-wing media. They have been TARGETS of particularly harsh, personal attacks, using language that demeans both women and is almost never used to describe men in similar high-profile positions, regardless of what they say.
On February 19, the Daily Caller equated Psaki to a game where players take turns kicking a bead-filled ball around, when it was announced she has been tapped by President Obama to be the White House Communications Director: "Hacky Psaki: Obama Spokeslady Kicked Back To WH After Stint At State Dept."
The National Review's Ian Tuttle called the two women an incapable "hapless duo" with a "Lucy and Ethel routine" (Harf is blonde, Psaki a red head) who were trying to create a version of the comedy film Legally Blonde at the US Department of State. In a separate piece, the conservative journal of record's Kevin Williamson called Harf "cretinous" and a "misfit who plays Messy Marvin to Jen Psaki's feckless Pippi Longstocking."
It's one thing to disagree with and criticize a strategy or policy, it's another to belittle and undermine a person's intelligence and legitimacy by resorting to misogynist attacks.
Read more: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/02/22/the-sexist-attacks-on-women-for-saying-the-same/202609
(Reposted per OKNancy's instructions.)
I have actively opposed sexism and misogyny since the early seventies. Not much has changed, and far too many cry "misandry!" when feminists attempt to address this blight on our species. Misogyny--and myriad other forms of abuse--damages our entire species.
The Sexist Attacks On Women For Saying The Same Thing As Men
Source: Media Matters
State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki and her deputy, Marie Harf, have spent the week being attacked by right-wing media. They have been TARGETS of particularly harsh, personal attacks, using language that demeans both women and is almost never used to describe men in similar high-profile positions, regardless of what they say.
On February 19, the Daily Caller equated Psaki to a game where players take turns kicking a bead-filled ball around, when it was announced she has been tapped by President Obama to be the White House Communications Director: "Hacky Psaki: Obama Spokeslady Kicked Back To WH After Stint At State Dept."
The National Review's Ian Tuttle called the two women an incapable "hapless duo" with a "Lucy and Ethel routine" (Harf is blonde, Psaki a red head) who were trying to create a version of the comedy film Legally Blonde at the US Department of State. In a separate piece, the conservative journal of record's Kevin Williamson called Harf "cretinous" and a "misfit who plays Messy Marvin to Jen Psaki's feckless Pippi Longstocking."
It's one thing to disagree with and criticize a strategy or policy, it's another to belittle and undermine a person's intelligence and legitimacy by resorting to misogynist attacks.
Read more: http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/02/22/the-sexist-attacks-on-women-for-saying-the-same/202609
I have actively opposed sexism and misogyny since the early seventies. Not much has changed, and far too many cry "misandry!" when feminists attempt to address this blight on our species.
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Member since: Wed Nov 10, 2004, 10:41 AMNumber of posts: 8,267
