“Women, you have to treat them like shit.”
Not my words. Donald Trump’s. In a 1992 New York Magazine interview, Trump was asked how he felt about women. His response as set forth.
Whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, male or female, keep in mind that we all have grandmothers, mothers, wives, daughters, and granddaughters. Do we want a President who says they should be treated as “shit?”
This column is similar to one I did several months ago. Sharing things generally not known.
Credit card debt recently received short rift in the news. The U.S. is approaching $1 trillion in credit card debt. The highest ever.
It appears that the American people have not learned a lesson from the 2008 recession. Running up debt a mistake.
Credit card debt has increased with stunning speed. The last quarter of 2015 added more to credit card debt than the years 2009, 2010 and 2011 combined. The average balance per family $15,700.
One reason for the dramatic increase is wages have been static for too many years. People are more and more forced to live off credit cards.
China is going to end up owning the U.S. The government keeps borrowing. The U.S. presently owes China $1.3 trillion.
China is quietly buying up America. China’s Anbang Insurance Group significantly involved.
Earlier this year, the Chinese Insurance Group paid $6.5 billion for the well known Hotel del Coronado near San Diego, the Fairmont Scottsdale in Arizona, and several other hotels, including a Westin, Ritz Carlton and Four Seasons.
Two weeks ago, the Chinese Insurance Group bought Starwood Hotels (Sheraton and Westins) for $13 billion. The sale being represented as the largest hotel deal ever.
Last year, the Chinese Insurance Group bought New York’s Waldorf Astoria for $1.95 billion.
One reason the Group is buying up lucrative U.S. hotels is China’s aging population. The insurance company has policy liabilities to many of the aged.
Putin is a man of many faces. He and Trump would probably get along well together. They are birds of a feather.
Putin is always full of surprises. The latest is his announcement ten days ago that
Russia was beginning to pull its military forces out of Syria. He claims the pull out was part of his exit strategy when he went into Syria.
Russia he claims has achieved its purpose. Flew 9,000 sorties in five months. His objective was to free 400 populated areas. Such was accomplished. Time to get out.
The U.S. never seems to have an exit strategy. Recall how long we got stuck or are still stuck in Korea, Vietnam, Bush 2’s Iraqi War, Afghanistan and Syria. Why don’t we ever have an exit strategy?
The Lower Keys Mosquito Control wants to test the use of GMO mosquitoes in the lower keys. Resident of the area will serve as guinea pigs for a hopefully new way to eradicate mosquitoes causing Zika.
It is claimed the GMO approach has been tested in several other areas world wide. I know of only one. A certain area of Brazil. Since last October, 4,000 babies have been born with deformed heads and malformed brains in that area. For real. It has not yet been established that the GMO mosquitoes caused the problem.
My concern is that we have been told the hold up re testing in the keys was FDA approval. The FDA had been studying the safeness of the GMO chemicals.
Roughly three weeks ago, the FDA reported its decision. The FDA gave approval stating the genetic materials were safe and effective.
Beware! Things sometimes are not as they appear. The FDA was not testing to determine human safety. Its result was directed at the genetic material introduced into the mosquitoes. Such was safe and effective for mosquitoes. Humans had nothing to do with FDA’s four year study.
One of FDA’s responsibilities is to protect animals. Mosquitoes are animals within FDA definitions.
I am unaware of any study/testing determining GMO mosquitoes are safe for humans.
Some ISIS activities suggest its leaders are smarter than those of most other war mongering groups. I refer specifically to banking and sex/birth control.
ISIS has evidenced a knowledge as how to make money. It has banks within its structure. Money making important to ISIS. ISIS pays its fighters. Something not common among other groups.
It is common knowledge ISIS captures women and young girls by the hundreds. The ladies are used to keep ISIS fighters happy. Specifically, to provide them with sexual pleasure and relief.
The young girls are as young as 9. A permissible age for sexual relations in the Muslim world.
ISIS does not want the ladies to get pregnant. If pregnant, they cannot provide the sex pleasures required. Additionally, babies cost money to support and take up the mother’s time.
Birth control solves the problem. Birth control pills and injectable contraception are used. Urine tests to confirm pregnancy has not occurred.
ISIS goes a step further. There are certain ISIS members that daily watch the women and young girls take their birth control pills. The shots also when rendered. The urine tests are under watch. The women pee into the cup or on a devise in the presence of a male.
The system works.
The women and girls if lucky are forced to marry or live with one fighter. The great majority are not so lucky. They live and work in what might be described as a brothel atmosphere.
They function as sex objects/slaves during the evening hours. A bed in a small room. A bathroom at the end of a hall. Twenty plus men an evening accommodated. The fighters are not gentle. Remember, women are not respected in the Muslim world. The women and girls are literally raped each time they have sex.
Proof that the birth control system works is evident from a recent report by a UN backed clinic in the area. Seven hundred girls escaped. The clinic found that only 5 percent had gotten pregnant. Five percent equates to 35 out of the 700.
Flint has brought lead poisoning to everyone’s attention. The problem is greater than Flint, however. Few talk about it.
Excessive and harmful leaks of lead exist all over the U.S. Not just a Flint crisis. It is a national crisis.
Lead contaminated water is presently supplied/used by 6 million Americans. Three hundred fifty lead contaminated water systems provide drinking water to schools and day cares. One hundred eighty water systems failed to notify consumers that their water contained high levels of lead. Federal law requires such notice.
Further examples include a Maine elementary school where the lead content in the water is 42 times higher than the EPA limit. A Pennsylvania pre school has levels 14 times higher. An elementary school in Ithaca, New York had levels so high that the number reached the thresh hold for hazardous waste.
The Ithaca school has been supplied with bottled water since last year.
Again, not solely a Flint problem. A national one.
Congress conducted hearings last week re the Flint problem. Congress beat up witnesses who testified. Blamed most. Heaped abuse on them.
The joke is Congress is responsible first and foremost. Water pipes are part of infrastructure,. Congress for years, whether Democrat or Republican, have failed to provide money to correct the problem. Many other infrastructure problems such as roads, bridges and schools, also. Congress is responsible for providing money.. It has failed to correct lead problems for at least 50 years.
Oreo cookies! America loves Oreos! It appears Oreos does not love America as much.
Oreos has four plants in the U.S. The main plant is in Chicago. Been there for 100 years turning out Oreos.
Nabisco owns Oreos. The corporate conglomerate owning Nabisco is called Mondelez.
Nabisco recently announced that Oreo was moving 600 jobs from the Chicago plant to a new one in Mexico. Some jobs would remain in Chicago.
Reasons given include it would be cheaper to build a new plant in Mexico than remodel the Chicago plant at a cost of $130 million. The other reason is taxes. Corporate taxes are too high in the U.S.
The tax argument fails.
Although the corporate tax rate is 35 percent, Mondolez paid only 13.5 percent in 2014. 2013 was even better. They only paid 2.5 percent.
Six hundred men and women will be out of jobs. The corporation bullshits the public with the tax issue. No one challenges the corporation. The 1 percent wins again.
Venezuela. Why the people have not revolted against the Maduro government is beyond me. First, it was Venezuela was out of toilet paper four years ago. Still out of toilet paper. Followed by fewer and fewer groceries. Hundreds lining up in front of stores for entry. Only to find nothing on the shelves when they gain entry. Farmers no longer grow food products because the costs exceed any monies to be payed. A vicious cycle.
Last week, it was announced that the country was shutting down for a week. No electricity. Ergo, no work. A drought has cut the power generated at hydroelectric dams, Other reasons include poor maintenance and planning.
The preceding nothing. Last week, it was announced Venezuela was taking its last bars of gold and sending them to Switzerland and France. Banks have come up with a novel method for countries to meet their debt obligations. Called a gold swap.
Venezuela is going through a gold swap with its last bars of gold to pay interest on its debts. Debts primarily owed to banks.
Economists predict that Venezuela will not be able to meet its debt obligations in the fall and will default. A financial crisis getting worse. Inflation is predicted to be 720 percent by year end.
What I do not understand is why Venezuela is giving up its last bars of gold (estimated in the billions) to pay creditors. Screw them! Use the gold to feed and help the people. Buy some toilet paper along the way, also
The Republican Party is in a mess these days. One of the reasons is it has taken into its arms every social issue out there. And those that support such causes. Many of whom quite frankly are nuts.
Now comes a new social issue. One that is becoming increasingly popular among religious lawmakers.
The cry is pornography is a public health crisis. Porn is being likened to infectious diseases such as flu, cholera, diphtheria and polio. So say Utah legislators who recently passed a bill in both houses stating pornography is a public health crisis. The governor is expected to sign it.
The Utah legislators claim they do not want to ban porn. Their goal is to control it like tobacco. Put out evidence showing its harm.
This issue reminds me of when I was a fourth grader in a Catholic grammar school. A priest came into talk to the boys. About the evils of masturbation. Most of us did not even know what masturbation was. The priest told us if we did it, we would get hair on our hands and our brains would become defective.
The Supreme Court ruled years ago that pornography is entitled to First Amendment protection. Freedom of expression.
When does this type stuff stop. There are more important things for the national and state governments to concern themselves with. Like lead in the water, bad roads. poor bridges, jobs, the economy, etc.
I am sure I have offended some by the thoughts herein. My purpose was not to offend. It was to provide an awareness of what is going on in the world. Matters we do not hear much about.