 | "There's Justice In The Universe" |
| Posted 10/8/2008 4:01 PM CDT First, know that quality latex condoms are effective against STDs if used properly: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexually_transmitted_disease http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/condoms/HQ00463 Why Don’t Condoms Stop HPV? "Human papillomavirus differs from other sexual disease in its method of transmission; it is not spread from one person to another through the exchange of bodily fluids. Rather, it spreads through skin-to-skin contact. Since HPV is a regional, multicentric disease, it infects the entire genital area: the p- - - s, scrotum, vulva and surrounding areas. Condoms do not cover the scrotum, nor most of the other areas that can be infected with the virus. There also tends to be contact between the anogenital skin of the partners before a condom can be correctly placed on the p- - - s. No known effective barrier exists that will protect the vulva or prevent vulvar transfer of the virus." http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/other/1_Jan/condon.htm |
| Posted 10/8/2008 11:42 AM CDT People who steal (or are about to) also lie about it (often even to themselves). Whether they lie to cover the theft of material wealth or to misdirect your opinion of them, theft is usually an integral factor behind 'prevarication'. Manipulating the facts is done to misled others to avoid consequences. If we're so neurotic that we successfully lie to ourselves ("denial"), it's still lying. Lying interferes with the cause-and-effect nature of the universe. Note that I'm not talking about the use of mistruths to protect oneself from evil (e.g., a mugger attacks you and you lie about having a heart condition and convincingly faint in order to influence their treatment of you). I'm talking about when a person is perpetuating an evil deed by using untruth to obtain what they're not entitled to. When a politician lies, it's to steal our approval --- usually to cover theft (which comes in many forms & for many reasons). A friend lying to another friend to 'appropriate' approval and continued contact is still theft. A student lying to their teacher in order to manipulate the situation is engaged in theft. Even the use of 'white lies' used in order to be polite can be a slippery slope. If your date asks you if you like what they're wearing (and it's tacky), what do you say? Be wary of people who perpetually 'paint you into corners' where white lies seem the only way out. [In the above case, maybe a half truth might be acceptable -- "Your jacket is very eye-catching".] |
| Posted 10/7/2008 4:55 PM CDT As per the way our Electoral College is set up, despite the fact that Americans are watching the presidential debates in record numbers, only about six closely divided battleground states matter in the 2008 presidential election. In 2004, candidates concentrated over two-thirds of their money and campaign visits in just five states. The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia). It would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia). There would be no red states, no blue states, and no battleground states. Every person's vote, in every state, would be equally important throughout the United States. Every vote would be equal, and every vote would matter. Get e-mail Updates: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/getemailupdates.php Bill's Status In Texas: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/states.php?s=TX Join: http://www.nationalpopularvote.com/pages/donate.php |
| Posted 10/6/2008 11:27 PM CDT Vinyl shower curtains made of 'polyvinyl chloride' (PVC) give off toxic chemicals that contribute to health problems. Multiple chemicals account for that "new shower curtain" smell. Solution: Avoid PVC shower curtains. Read the following link for further information & suggestions: http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/06/12/your-shower-curtain-might-be-bad-for-you.html Is your plastic safe: http://www.simplesteps.org/content/view/0/3705/37 |
| Posted 10/5/2008 8:37 PM CDT "The chemical bisphenol A is found in the substance that coats the inner surfaces of metal cans and in hard plastics of baby bottles and soda bottles.... a study of more than 1,400 adults found that those with the most BPA in their urine had nearly three times the risk of heart disease and more than twice the risk of diabetes as those who had the lowest levels. Note: Another study shows that elevated BPA levels trigger an excessive release of insulin in mice. Another, on human fat cells, found that BPA suppresses the release of a heart-protective hormone. "Babies are most at risk. Through bottles and formula, they get more BPA exposure on a per-pound basis.... it accumulates in their bodies, which may pose problems for fragile developing organ systems. "So why is BPA still allowed in food packaging? While consumer groups have issued calls to ban it, the Food and Drug Administration has declined to do so, declaring last month that "products containing BPA currently on the market are safe and that exposure levels ... are below those that may cause health effects." This decision astounded environmental health activists who accused the FDA of relying on only two studies, both funded by plastic manufacturers, out of more than 700 that have been published." U.S. News & World Report, Deborah Kotz Published September 29, 2008 Also: http://www.ewg.org/node/27191 Take Action: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=4347851 |
| Posted 10/4/2008 6:39 PM CDT In the '20s, conventional banks took deposits and made them work to 'drive the economy' [hear them say today: "growth economy" practices]; the rule was they could lend 9 dollars for every dollar deposit. The process is called leverage—the one dollar levers nine. It was simple enough, except in panics, when every depositor wanted his money back at the same time and it wasn't there; the money was out working, so thousands of banks went belly up and the Depression deepened. Today, banks are not only providing loans to customers, they also use leverage themselves. When they make profits, they borrow more money to make more loans and book still more profits. But for every dollar of bank wealth that they lose, government-regulated commercial banks must eliminate $10 of lending, and for investment banks, the figure may be as high as $30. If the total losses across the credit markets exceed $1 trillion—and some think they will go to $2 trillion—then you have to put on a leverage multiplier of 10 or 15. This kind of gigantic number of more than $10 trillion poses a systemic risk that could drag many financial institutions down and take years to work through the system. What's new and scary is that the principal role in channeling funds from savers to borrowers now comes from non-depository institutions such as investment banks, hedge funds, and private equity funds. They invented new ways to slice and dice loans, packaging them as securities that could be sold to investors the world over. But who knew what they were really buying? The securitizers financed assets with a growing volume of credit and with ever higher leverage. In short, the new but opaque pyramids of structured securities enabled the new institutions to lend more against less. The world was awash not with cash but with credit. The global issuance of credit instruments went from $250 billion to $3 trillion a year. Many of these securities were rated, but last year, the agencies started downgrading billions of dollars of debt they had once deemed safe. U.S.News & World Report http://www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/mzuckerman/2008/09/19/wall-streets-day-of-reckoning.html [My Comment: In Europe, the word 'bankruptcy' is a dirty word that haunts one for life. Here, we're only tainted by it for seven years, then we're free to 'go at it again'. Asians typically save about a third of whatever they earn. In 2005, the savings rate for USA citizens went into the negative. Need I say more. That is part of the reason why we, the taxpayers, just bought $700+ billion worth of 'distressed securities' from financial firms to prevent paralysis in the credit markets. We think we forever 'can have our cake and it eat it too'.] |
| Posted 10/3/2008 5:04 PM CDT Consumers in Brazil can eat Hershey's Kisses untainted by genetically modified sugar because the company recently announced that it will not use GM beet sugar in its Brazilian-made products. Unfortunately, the company has not made a similar assurance to U.S. consumers as genetically modified sugar beets that resist higher doses of Roundup are coming into production. Ask Hershey's to publicly refuse GM sugar for its American products, too: http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26014 http://ga3.org/campaign/Hersheys |
| Posted 10/1/2008 12:46 PM CDT American banks created this crisis by lobbying for (and receiving) deregulation. All through the 1980s and '90s, the U.S. banking sector lobbied for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, an FDR-era reform meant to prevent a repeat of the 1929 crash. In 1999, the banks finally succeeded in gutting the act. Since then, they have been able to re-enact the same kinds of structural conflicts of interest that were endemic in the 1920s -- lending to speculators, packaging and securitizing credits and then selling them off (wholesale or retail), and extracting fees at every step of the way. The result is the mess we're in today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/15/lehmanbrothers.marketturmoil1 |
| Posted 9/30/2008 12:35 PM CDT "The abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, Social Security, fair labor standards, and protection of farmers were all first championed by third parties. The mainstream ultimately adopted these 'marginal' issues, and we are better for it. The legacy of the third-party candidates in American history is that of... visionaries." Ralph Nader [Maybe part of the message of Libertarians is that Socialism costs too much -- even socialists should want to pass something on to their children. And Nader's might be construed as 'what have we gained if we poison our planet and make it unsafe for our children and our children's children'.] |
Posted 9/29/2008 1:50 PM CDT
Drivers can get real relief from high gas prices and potentially save hundreds of dollars a year by getting the greatest possible efficiency out of their automobiles. Find out how. This table shows the potential savings for vehicles sold in 2000:
http://beyondoil.nrdc.org/cars/fuelsavings-table
Strategies for going farther on a gallon of gas:
http://beyondoil.nrdc.org/cars/seven-ways.php
Note: I worked my way through college working in auto repair shops. Needing to stretch every dollar, one of the things I did was to buy and install a simple vacuum gauge that hooked to the carburetor [today, the automotive shops & parts houses call it a "Miles-Per-Gallon Gauge"]. It indicated my rate of gas consumption & taught me to tread easy on the gas and brake pedals. To this day, whenever I see a driver gunning their engine and slamming on their brakes needlessly, I remember the lesson that my vacuum gauge taught me... and I, also, remember how grateful the mechanics were for idiots who abused their vehicles in such a manner.
http://beyondoil.nrdc.org/cars/fuelsavings-table
Strategies for going farther on a gallon of gas:
http://beyondoil.nrdc.org/cars/seven-ways.php
Note: I worked my way through college working in auto repair shops. Needing to stretch every dollar, one of the things I did was to buy and install a simple vacuum gauge that hooked to the carburetor [today, the automotive shops & parts houses call it a "Miles-Per-Gallon Gauge"]. It indicated my rate of gas consumption & taught me to tread easy on the gas and brake pedals. To this day, whenever I see a driver gunning their engine and slamming on their brakes needlessly, I remember the lesson that my vacuum gauge taught me... and I, also, remember how grateful the mechanics were for idiots who abused their vehicles in such a manner.
