The US and Somalia are the only two countries on the planet that have not signed the International Treaty for the Rights of Children. Somalia is about to ratify it.
Isn't it time for the US to get with the program and allow children the rights they have everywhere else on earth?
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Parental leave
Almost every country on earth has mandated that parents get paid time to spend with their newborn child.
There are five that do not: the US, Swaziland and two other tiny nations I can't remember the name of right now.
It seems like it is in the best interest of us all. A nation will have a higher standard of living. The businesses will have more productive and empowered employees. The parent has time to support the other parent, spend time with the child at a critical time and the family is strengthened. The child is more healthy and loved.
Why is the US not mandating parental leave? With our corrupted political system, it is probably a bit hard to know for sure. Isn't it time to bring the US up to global standards?
There are five that do not: the US, Swaziland and two other tiny nations I can't remember the name of right now.
It seems like it is in the best interest of us all. A nation will have a higher standard of living. The businesses will have more productive and empowered employees. The parent has time to support the other parent, spend time with the child at a critical time and the family is strengthened. The child is more healthy and loved.
Why is the US not mandating parental leave? With our corrupted political system, it is probably a bit hard to know for sure. Isn't it time to bring the US up to global standards?
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Toxic substances in American made products
I can't help comment on a few censored news items, since I was just reading the top 25 censored stories of 2008. The 2009 should be out soon? I hope.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/5-europe-blocks-us-toxic-products/
So, the basic problem here is, again, political lobbying and legal bribery has left US businesses to manufacture substandard products with lead in lipstick, mercury in electronics and endocrine disruptors in kids toys.
There was a time in my youth that Made in America was a claim for a superior product.
Industry has successfully removed power from the EPA to regulate their products and there is no one to hold industry to account.
Other countries, especially countries in the European Union are rejecting these products in search for superior, safer products.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/5-europe-blocks-us-toxic-products/
So, the basic problem here is, again, political lobbying and legal bribery has left US businesses to manufacture substandard products with lead in lipstick, mercury in electronics and endocrine disruptors in kids toys.
There was a time in my youth that Made in America was a claim for a superior product.
Industry has successfully removed power from the EPA to regulate their products and there is no one to hold industry to account.
Other countries, especially countries in the European Union are rejecting these products in search for superior, safer products.
Another censored news item
OK, these are from 2008, so this may have changed.
I am concerned with what occurred during George II (Resident George W. Bush). I contend that the Executive, with Congress' consent, has taken away Constitutional rights from the People.
Here are a couple of news items that, for some reason (well, at least a reason that deserves another separate posting), were ignored by the so called "liberal media."
1. No Habeas Corpus for anyone:
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/1-no-habeas-corpus-for-any-person/
2. Martial law
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/2-bush-moves-toward-martial-law/
These are a couple of items that were created by George II while he was in office. He also created the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II. Obama has inherited all of this, and I'm pretty sure he'll continue to hold onto these new powers of the Executive branch and other.
Additionally, a security alliance was created with Canada and Mexico. US citizens fall under the jurisdiction of this new system and Congress is not involved in the creation of this.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/2-security-and-prosperity-partnership-militarized-nafta/
I am concerned with what occurred during George II (Resident George W. Bush). I contend that the Executive, with Congress' consent, has taken away Constitutional rights from the People.
Here are a couple of news items that, for some reason (well, at least a reason that deserves another separate posting), were ignored by the so called "liberal media."
1. No Habeas Corpus for anyone:
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/1-no-habeas-corpus-for-any-person/
2. Martial law
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/2-bush-moves-toward-martial-law/
These are a couple of items that were created by George II while he was in office. He also created the Patriot Act and Patriot Act II. Obama has inherited all of this, and I'm pretty sure he'll continue to hold onto these new powers of the Executive branch and other.
Additionally, a security alliance was created with Canada and Mexico. US citizens fall under the jurisdiction of this new system and Congress is not involved in the creation of this.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/2-security-and-prosperity-partnership-militarized-nafta/
Monday, December 28, 2009
Slavery
Slavery is an awful part of the American past. Right?
Well, the numbers suggest that slavery is at an all time high.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/15-worldwide-slavery/
I was reading through Project Censored top 20 Censored Stories and I found this story about slavery being strong than ever.
27 million human beings are enslaved. You can follow the link to find out more, but this sure is an eye opener. This is the largest amount of humans that have ever been enslaved in the history of humanity.
I wonder how much of this is fueled by our need to have cheap toys from Walmart and the grocery stores?
Well, the numbers suggest that slavery is at an all time high.
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/15-worldwide-slavery/
I was reading through Project Censored top 20 Censored Stories and I found this story about slavery being strong than ever.
27 million human beings are enslaved. You can follow the link to find out more, but this sure is an eye opener. This is the largest amount of humans that have ever been enslaved in the history of humanity.
I wonder how much of this is fueled by our need to have cheap toys from Walmart and the grocery stores?
Telling the truth about America
I think it is important to tell the truth about oneself and the truth about the US and the US government, since I'm an American. It brings integrity to any conversation that looks at the state of the world, in terms of governments and economies. Your religious views on this topic are your own, but I think it is important to tell the truth about those that claim to follow the same God as I do.
The truth about the founding of our country: Some white men wanted to improve their lot in life and not have to be governed by the will of a lord or king. This lord or king only has authority because of the family they were born in.
They took the system they knew. A king or queen was in charge and the king or queen had lords or ladies who reported to them. The lord had people under them. It was thought to be an improvement to use this same system, but to have the people in charge be appointed by the People. A great improvement. Add some democracy to a system where most of the work was done by near slave labor and the rewards were reaped by the ruling class. They also thought the President should not be a king and should not be the one in charge...just in charge of one of the three major branches of government. It was agreed that this land should be ruled by laws (fair to everyone) and not be ruled by a specific person.
We are still left with a system where a person is in charge and a winner take all voting system. Our representatives are supposed to act in our interest, but they almost always act in their own, if they want to continue in office. Once elected, they can do what they want and represent the People anyway they see fit. In reality, they hear from corporate lobbyists on a daily basis (and voters once every election) and do the Corporate will more often than the People's will.
Since the founding time, other countries improved on our system and went one step further. They created true democracies, with parliaments and proportional representation. Our founding fathers figured that the People would want improvements over time, so they built that into the Constitution to "...build a more perfect union." I wonder how they would respond to the notion that our system of governance is still based on feudal methods of governing, from a time when people traveled by foot, horse or boat. There were no trains, planes, or automobiles; no phones and no Internet.
But, I digress.
Our founding fathers were made of people that practiced different religions. Some of the People came to this land to be able to practice Christianity as they wished and a few came to be atheist as they wished. Several were deists. They all wanted religious freedom to worship or not as they wished.
In the beginning, only land-owning white men were considered to be the People. Later, others were included in having the rights spelled out. Women and black people took a long time to enter into the equation. It can be argued whether poor people have ever had a voice in the political system of this land. In some ways, the poor are still living in a feudal system.
These white men must not have been brought up well. I mean, I teach my kids to share, to be gentle and to love one another. Many of the people that originally came to this land didn't want to share, they hated other human beings and they took what they wanted. They killed as many as 11 million indigenous people that were already living here. They also owned slaves and helped to destroy the continent of Africa to have cheap labor.
Women and children were considered to be the property of these men...as well as their slaves.
Thank the Goddess that some of these sins are over. Others sins and crimes go on, but the People have aimed to extend the rights of the Constitution to more and more people. Improvement are made and then more improvements are made.
Somewhere along the way, our government threw away the idea of democracy when it came to the US Government's position in the world. Instead of having a vote in global affairs, our government decided to become the controllers of the world. They began a campaign of building an empire. The message from our government became one "do our will or suffer the consequences." The consequences might be economic, or the US Government might invade your country or overthrow your government. It became accepted that it was good if other nations did our will and bad if other nations did not do our will.
Perhaps another improvement is imminent. It has to be in order for this country to continue very far in the future. We seem to be on the verge of the end of an empire. Maybe it is time to really weed out the corruption in our government and to upgrade our government to become a true democracy...with some proportional representation added in...Take the money out of campaigns. Take the bribery out of politics.
I think we act very arrogantly in this world when we continue to claim that we are the chosen ones, the ones appointed by God to determine the outcome of global affairs. I think we eat away at our national soul when we continue to claim that we are the best, we are the best. There was a time when arrogance was thought to be a sin, wasn't there?
Anyway, this is a great land, the People are pretty darn cool. We have many problems. We have many messes to clean up. Our political system has been taken over. The Constitution isn't dead yet though. We can still endeavor to improve upon this experiment started over 200 years ago.
The truth about the founding of our country: Some white men wanted to improve their lot in life and not have to be governed by the will of a lord or king. This lord or king only has authority because of the family they were born in.
They took the system they knew. A king or queen was in charge and the king or queen had lords or ladies who reported to them. The lord had people under them. It was thought to be an improvement to use this same system, but to have the people in charge be appointed by the People. A great improvement. Add some democracy to a system where most of the work was done by near slave labor and the rewards were reaped by the ruling class. They also thought the President should not be a king and should not be the one in charge...just in charge of one of the three major branches of government. It was agreed that this land should be ruled by laws (fair to everyone) and not be ruled by a specific person.
We are still left with a system where a person is in charge and a winner take all voting system. Our representatives are supposed to act in our interest, but they almost always act in their own, if they want to continue in office. Once elected, they can do what they want and represent the People anyway they see fit. In reality, they hear from corporate lobbyists on a daily basis (and voters once every election) and do the Corporate will more often than the People's will.
Since the founding time, other countries improved on our system and went one step further. They created true democracies, with parliaments and proportional representation. Our founding fathers figured that the People would want improvements over time, so they built that into the Constitution to "...build a more perfect union." I wonder how they would respond to the notion that our system of governance is still based on feudal methods of governing, from a time when people traveled by foot, horse or boat. There were no trains, planes, or automobiles; no phones and no Internet.
But, I digress.
Our founding fathers were made of people that practiced different religions. Some of the People came to this land to be able to practice Christianity as they wished and a few came to be atheist as they wished. Several were deists. They all wanted religious freedom to worship or not as they wished.
In the beginning, only land-owning white men were considered to be the People. Later, others were included in having the rights spelled out. Women and black people took a long time to enter into the equation. It can be argued whether poor people have ever had a voice in the political system of this land. In some ways, the poor are still living in a feudal system.
These white men must not have been brought up well. I mean, I teach my kids to share, to be gentle and to love one another. Many of the people that originally came to this land didn't want to share, they hated other human beings and they took what they wanted. They killed as many as 11 million indigenous people that were already living here. They also owned slaves and helped to destroy the continent of Africa to have cheap labor.
Women and children were considered to be the property of these men...as well as their slaves.
Thank the Goddess that some of these sins are over. Others sins and crimes go on, but the People have aimed to extend the rights of the Constitution to more and more people. Improvement are made and then more improvements are made.
Somewhere along the way, our government threw away the idea of democracy when it came to the US Government's position in the world. Instead of having a vote in global affairs, our government decided to become the controllers of the world. They began a campaign of building an empire. The message from our government became one "do our will or suffer the consequences." The consequences might be economic, or the US Government might invade your country or overthrow your government. It became accepted that it was good if other nations did our will and bad if other nations did not do our will.
Perhaps another improvement is imminent. It has to be in order for this country to continue very far in the future. We seem to be on the verge of the end of an empire. Maybe it is time to really weed out the corruption in our government and to upgrade our government to become a true democracy...with some proportional representation added in...Take the money out of campaigns. Take the bribery out of politics.
I think we act very arrogantly in this world when we continue to claim that we are the chosen ones, the ones appointed by God to determine the outcome of global affairs. I think we eat away at our national soul when we continue to claim that we are the best, we are the best. There was a time when arrogance was thought to be a sin, wasn't there?
Anyway, this is a great land, the People are pretty darn cool. We have many problems. We have many messes to clean up. Our political system has been taken over. The Constitution isn't dead yet though. We can still endeavor to improve upon this experiment started over 200 years ago.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Safety of Nuclear Energy???
http://www.projectcensored.org/top-stories/articles/4-nuclear-waste-pools-in-north-carolina/
Did anyone hear about this censored new item?
Apparently, this nuclear plant in North Carolina is the most vulnerable target for terrorist in the US. They store waste from this plant and two others at this site.
There has been numerous problems with this plant and an accident here could be worse than Chernobyl.
Check out the article for the chilling details.
Did anyone hear about this censored new item?
Apparently, this nuclear plant in North Carolina is the most vulnerable target for terrorist in the US. They store waste from this plant and two others at this site.
There has been numerous problems with this plant and an accident here could be worse than Chernobyl.
Check out the article for the chilling details.
The Word of God
A small minority of people on this planet believe that the Word of God is the Bible. I personally believe that the Word of God is that which said "Let there be Light (well, OK, it probably wasn't said in English)" and there was light. "Let there be...(fill in the blanks with the rest)" and there was. This stuff was called forth from nothing. There was absolutely nothing and then there was a Word and tada, there was light or the Universe or...
This Word of God cannot be captured by any words on a piece of paper.
I don't think that a human mind can hear the Word of God directly. Some words on a page, while they can be inspirational, are not the direct Word of God. I think that if our insignificant little minds came into direct contact with God, our brain would probably cease to exist.
We are not capable of comprehending God and God's will. We can not handle the complexity, the splendor and the glory of God.
Oh, yeah, when I refer to God, I'm not talking about a personification of an old man with a beard. I don't think God (although I use the word Goddess just as freely) has a penis or a vagina...God doesn't sit on a thrown up in the clouds either. These images are from the Dark Ages when people thought the world was flat and there was only up and down (bad down and good up) and everything revolved around our tiny planet. We now live in a Universe (or probably a Multi-verse) in which the Earth is only a speck.
These are only my spiritual beliefs. I do not think they represent a Truth that all should accept. I know what is good for me and no one else. I am lucky if I can figure out God's will for me on a daily basis. I do not presume to know the will of God for anyone else, so I will not presume to tell you what God's will is for you.
I respect your religious beliefs and don't want to change your beliefs. Please honor mine.
Although I will gladly argue my thoughts with yours on politics and business.
This Word of God cannot be captured by any words on a piece of paper.
I don't think that a human mind can hear the Word of God directly. Some words on a page, while they can be inspirational, are not the direct Word of God. I think that if our insignificant little minds came into direct contact with God, our brain would probably cease to exist.
We are not capable of comprehending God and God's will. We can not handle the complexity, the splendor and the glory of God.
Oh, yeah, when I refer to God, I'm not talking about a personification of an old man with a beard. I don't think God (although I use the word Goddess just as freely) has a penis or a vagina...God doesn't sit on a thrown up in the clouds either. These images are from the Dark Ages when people thought the world was flat and there was only up and down (bad down and good up) and everything revolved around our tiny planet. We now live in a Universe (or probably a Multi-verse) in which the Earth is only a speck.
These are only my spiritual beliefs. I do not think they represent a Truth that all should accept. I know what is good for me and no one else. I am lucky if I can figure out God's will for me on a daily basis. I do not presume to know the will of God for anyone else, so I will not presume to tell you what God's will is for you.
I respect your religious beliefs and don't want to change your beliefs. Please honor mine.
Although I will gladly argue my thoughts with yours on politics and business.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Does war make us "safer?"
It is annoying to me to have seen Dick Cheney on TV a while ago stating that the People of the US are somehow safer because of the war crimes he and George II (Resident George Bush II) committed in Iraq. Remember that Iraq had nothing to do with the events of Sept 11th.
Do the People really buy this line of crap about the Iraq invasion and occupation helps our security?
How does killing one million innocent men, women and children in Iraq make us safer? They have relatives and I bet some of them are very angry. Don't forget that five million lost their homes and have relocated to different parts of Iraq and out of Iraq. What would be the response of Americans if someone invaded our land...under false premises....and killed your family and neighbors? Then they destroyed your country. Then they stay their with their troops, promising more terror and death and destruction.
How does invading countries for oil and to prop up our military industry make us safer? We haven't been invaded since Pearl Harbor.
Do the People really buy this line of crap about the Iraq invasion and occupation helps our security?
How does killing one million innocent men, women and children in Iraq make us safer? They have relatives and I bet some of them are very angry. Don't forget that five million lost their homes and have relocated to different parts of Iraq and out of Iraq. What would be the response of Americans if someone invaded our land...under false premises....and killed your family and neighbors? Then they destroyed your country. Then they stay their with their troops, promising more terror and death and destruction.
How does invading countries for oil and to prop up our military industry make us safer? We haven't been invaded since Pearl Harbor.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
My new blog
I just found this blog site and this is my virgin entry.
I will have much to say in the future....today is Christmas Eve and I must spend some time with my family or I will be unhappy. I will start typing much after Christmas.
Happy Christmas and have a great holiday time. I hope your Solstice was wonderful, as mine was.
I will have much to say in the future....today is Christmas Eve and I must spend some time with my family or I will be unhappy. I will start typing much after Christmas.
Happy Christmas and have a great holiday time. I hope your Solstice was wonderful, as mine was.
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