CFLDem
CFLDem's JournalI love our medical system!
Went to the doctor for some $5 antibiotics. Get charged $130 by the Dr. just for the privilege since my deductible is stupid high.
And Republicans say this is the best system devised by humanity?
Blackfish is finally on Netflix!
So I finally got to see what all the hubbub is about. Some observations:
1) The low point for me was when they took the calf away from its mother. I don't really think that was right and if I were in management I'd probably would've kept them together.
2) The main point that Tilikum is a whale driven to madness by his surroundings didn't really ring with me.
Orcas are called killer whales for a reason. They are opportunistic carnivores who have been known to eat whales, sea lions, sharks, and very rarely, moose. It stands to reason they might be interested in the occasional human.
3) Because of the above I don't really buy the naïve trainer line. There's always inherent danger in working with large carnivores and they had to have known that.
Also, part of me thinks that trainers should be allowed back in the water as long as they sign a waiver understanding this fact. People in this country do have a right to do stupid and dangerous things for money.
4) Morally speaking I am upset that the whales' living condition isn't as good as it could be. If I had vast wealth I would give them more room and work to improve the mistakes of the past.
That being said I am in no moral position to boycott SeaWorld on this point alone considering my attitude towards animal welfare in other areas.
Pigs are just as intelligent as whales and yet I don't boycott pork because of swines' infinitely worse conditions on pork farms. I love my bacon waaay too much to give it up.
When artificial meat becomes the norm, I will gladly eat it to reduce pigs suffering but as there is no cruelty free equivalent now, it is what it is.
5) Lastly, seeing this movie just makes me even more excited to see Tilikum this weekend. I will enjoy every bit of it guilt-free because I know some of the bad things don't outweigh all the good that I feel Sea World provides.
Antarctic sea ice hit 35-year record high Saturday
Source: Washington Post
Antarctic sea ice has grown to a record large extent for a second straight year, baffling scientists seeking to understand why this ice is expanding rather than shrinking in a warming world.
On Saturday, the ice extent reached 19.51 million square kilometers, according to data posted on the National Snow and Ice Data Center Web site. That number bested record high levels set earlier this month and in 2012 (of 19.48 million square kilometers). Records date back to October 1978.
The increasing ice is especially perplexing since the water beneath the ice has warmed, not cooled.
"The overwhelming evidence is that the Southern Ocean is warming," said Jinlun Zhang, a University of Washington scientist, studying Antarctic ice. "Why would sea ice be increasing? Although the rate of increase is small, it is a puzzle to scientists."
Read more: http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-weather-gang/wp/2013/09/23/antarctic-sea-ice-hit-35-year-record-high-saturday/
TL;DR: Experts puzzled about why environment won't meet their expectations.
Croatians Vote In Favor of Banning Same-Sex Marriage
Source: Time
Initial poll results on Sunday showed Croatia has backed amendments to its constitution that would ban same-sex marriage and strictly define the union along traditional lines.
Almost 65 percent of voters agreed to defining marriage as a “matrimony between a man and a woman,” according to the partial results from about one-third of polling stations that were released by the electoral commission.
Liberal groups opposed, saying it infringes on basic human rights, and both the government and public figures spoke out against the referendum. Croatian President Ivo Josipovic planned to vote against amending the constitution: “We don’t need this kind of a referendum,” he said. “Defining marriage between a man and a woman doesn’t belong to the constitution. A nation is judged by its attitude toward minorities.”
But groups backed by the Catholic Church garnered 750,000 signatures in support of the measure.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/12/01/croatians-vote-in-favor-of-banning-same-sex-marriage/
The Catholic Church is one again the main arbiter of ignorance in this human rights travesty.
The pope can say anything he wants, but if he doesn't act to stop this asshattery, his words aren't worth a damn.
China sends warplanes to newly declared air zone
Source: BBC
China has sent warplanes to its newly declared air defence zone in the East China Sea, state media reports.
The vast zone, announced last week, covers territory claimed by China, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.
China has said all planes transiting the zone must file flight plans and identify themselves, or face "defensive emergency measures".
But Japan, South Korea and the US have all since flown military aircraft through the area.
Read more: http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25144465
Iran Deal Ripples Felt From Syria Battlefields to Saudi Palaces
Source: Bloomberg Businessweek
After news of the Iranian nuclear deal emerged, Syria quickly welcomed it as a triumph for its ally Iran and a setback for opponents led by Saudi Arabia.
Hours after world powers and Iran shook hands on a pre-dawn agreement on Nov. 24, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi, whose government is backed by Iran in a civil war with rebels funded by Saudi Arabia, said the pact marked a victory for diplomacy over “threats, ultimatums, challenges and wars.” The Foreign Ministry hailed “Iran’s role in the stability and security of the region.”
The agreement follows the U.S. decision two months earlier to pull back from using force against President Bashar al-Assad, angering its Gulf allies. With Saudi Arabia pledging to respond by broadening its support for rebels, and Iran now freed from some of the pressure of sanctions, there’s concern the rival nations may step up their proxy war in Syria where the fighting has already killed more than 100,000 people in 2 1/2 years.
“Up to now Iran was perceived as a spoiler,” said Sami Nader, a professor of international relations at Beirut’s St. Joseph University. “Now it will have to choose between acting as a partner, which means a less aggressive role in the Middle East, or it could decide it can have a free hand in Syria in exchange for compromising on its nuclear program.”
Read more: http://mobile.businessweek.com/news/2013-11-26/iran-deal-ripples-felt-from-syria-battlefields-to-saudi-palaces
Prostitution: France wants to punish clients
Source: USA Today
PARIS (AP) — France's government is pushing one of Europe's toughest laws against prostitution and sex trafficking, and other countries are watching closely. Advocates hope that a draft French law going to parliament Wednesday will help change long-held attitudes toward the world's oldest profession — by punishing the customer and protecting the prostitute.
The bill, however, is facing resistance in a country with a libertine reputation and a Mediterranean macho streak, and has prompted petitions defending those who buy sex. Signatories include screen icon Catherine Deneuve —who played a prostitute in the cult film "Belle de Jour" — and crooner Charles Aznavour.
Prostitution is currently legal in France, but brothels, pimping and soliciting in public are illegal.
The bill has prompted debate about sex and sexism in France, where former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is facing charges of aggravated pimping. He denies wrongdoing, though his lawyer has defended Strauss-Kahn's free-wheeling sex life.
Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/26/prostitution-france-sex-trafficking/3744469/
New Report Finds Climate Change Caused By 7 Billion Key Individuals
http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-report-finds-climate-change-caused-by-7-billio,34658/WASHINGTON—In a landmark report experts say fundamentally reshapes our understanding of the global warming crisis, new data published this week by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that the phenomenon is caused primarily by the actions of 7 billion key individuals.
These several billion individuals, who IPCC officials confirmed are currently operating in 195 countries worldwide, are together responsible for what experts called the “lion’s share” of the devastating consequences of global warming affecting the entire planet.
“Our research has proved conclusively that, year after year, the acceleration of the rate of global warming and the damage caused by this man-made acceleration can be clearly linked to 7 billion main culprits,” explained lead author Dr. John Bartlett, noting that many of these individuals have links to climate change going back nearly a century. “Worse, the significant majority of damage was done within the past two decades, when the consequences of climate change were widely known and yet these specific individuals did nothing to curb or amend their practices.”
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Member since: Sun Oct 27, 2013, 04:35 PMNumber of posts: 2,083
