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Book Reviews
Skinny Bitch: a no-nonsense tough-love guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating
crap and start looking fabulous, by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
Their call to action is simply this: “If you can't take one more day of self-loathing,
you're ready to hear the truth.” Holding nothing back, and with drill sergeant dexterity,
they undeniably dish up the truth. You’ll wonder why you never had a clue about the
garbage you put in your mouth and why you never bothered to read a label. Maybe a
more appropriate title would have been Stupid Bitch. Finally! A best seller that highlights
the dangerous neurotoxin Aspartame (which you, and your children, probably consume
widely), and the horrors and marketing ploys of the billion dollar meat, sugar and dairy
industries, while still managing to present research and data that doesn’t cause you to
nod out. Readers are zapped with one liners such as: “When ever you see the words
“fat-free” or “low-fat”, think “chemical shit storm.”
Political Ponerology: a science on the nature of evil adjusted for political purposes
by Andrew M. Lobaczewski
According to Lobaczewski, a small percentage of psychopaths has the ability to infect certain personalities within populations to go along with their deviant worldview by manipulating them with propaganda and “patriotic buffoonery.” Causing a sort of neurosis within such personalities, psychopathic regimes – whose desire is to rule and be served – have used these pawns to inflict enormous suffering on the majority of “normal” people throughout history. Lobaczewski calls this “macrosocial evil’ where large scale evil overtakes whole nations affecting social, political and religious movements time and time again.
The biggest fear of the pathocracy (a small pathological minority controlling a society of normal people) is to be discovered; to have its mask removed and be rendered powerless. Is it too late to recover from damage already inflicted, or can we utilize this remarkable science to create a world normal humanity dreams of and knows is possible? It’s time to wake up or risk succumbing to a path Lobaczewski says was chosen for us by powerful forces.
Articles
Of Fumpedumps and Trucker Bombs
These tepid bombs do in fact explode when road
workers who trim foliage and mow along the highway
run over them. They pose health hazards, cost
taxpayers millions in clean up, and bypass recycling,
heading to the landfill to biodegrade in 30,000 years.
Studious research led me to the phenomenon’s
cause: Long-haul truckers are mostly to blame as
they are only paid for miles driven, thus making the
pit stop uneconomical. Fine. Most of us can relate
to urinating inside a plastic jug while driving to save
money. Right? Yet the burning question remains in
our hearts, indeed for all America: “Why, Mr.
Trucker Man, do you not wait until you stop and
then toss your bombs in the garbage?” Perhaps –
like the Grassy Knoll – we will never know the true
answer, the raison d’être, the holy of holies, the Big
Lebowski.
Designer Dogs and Social Responsibility
While this story had a happy ending, most don’t, since puppy mills are hidden from view. For instance, in Franklin, Tenn., breeder Jennifer Siliski was found to be keeping approximately 200 toy Maltese dogs in her home, where cages were stacked atop each other in the filthy house to provide merchandise for Hollybelle Maltese, her online company that sold the pups. At the time of confiscation, veterinarians suspected that as many as 100 of the dogs were pregnant. One 15-year-old mother was blind, deaf, and too weak to lick her pups clean. In addition, authorities suspected that Siliski had given hormone-like pills to the female dogs and Viagra to the males in order to maximize reproduction. At rescue, most of the males had erections to the point they were bleeding, probably due to the mucous membrane surrounding the penis drying and cracking when unnaturally exposed to air for a prolonged period of time
Any reasonably observant person can’t help but see that there is an overwhelming and unnecessary amount of suffering in the world. One way in which to alleviate or end it is to make informed and thus compassionate choices. Slowly, society is waking up to this simple ethic and to the power of individual contribution by embracing social responsibility. The only way to put puppy mills and backyard breeders out of business is to end the demand.
Your Toxic Home Series, Part I, II and III
In our last installment, we took a look at the serious health hazards that everyday household cleaning products can cause. There is, however, something even more sinister afoot, and that is the personal care products you utilize every day. Personal care products are rubbed, poured, sprayed, massaged on to and absorbed by the largest organ in your body; your skin. Add that to the toxins in lipstick, toothpaste and mouthwash that are directly ingested, and unfortunately, we’re applying some heavy chemicals directly into our systems. Not to fear, for there are excellent alternatives.
Volumes and volumes of information about the credible dangers of this additive (aspartame) have been published by doctors, scientists, and journalists and aspartame comprises over 80 percent of consumer complaints filed with the FDA, yet this widely consumed additive retains its haughty position. How does this happen? Why was aspartame approved by the FDA? Well, for 16 years, the FDA not only refused to approve it, it wanted G. D. Searle, the company that held the patent to the chemical, indicted for failing to provide required reports, for concealing material facts and for making false statements in animal studies. However, Donald Rumsfeld, CEO of Searle at the time, used his political clout to get aspartame approved. (Searle was eventually bought by Monsanto. More on these criminals later). If it is too much to think that Secretary of Defense Rummy could unleash his own chemical of mass destruction, consider this: For his complicity in the betrayal, aspartame is currently being called, “Rumsfeld’s Disease”. In fact, last January, a senate bill to ban aspartame in New Mexico was introduced. If passed, no food containing any amount of the sweetener could not be manufactured, sold or delivered in New Mexico.
Got milk? Too bad, because unless you consume organic milk, cheese, butter and ice cream for that matter, you have probably been ingesting Monsanto’s Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH) since 1994 when it was approved by our FDA friends. BGH is a genetically engineered hormone that cruelly causes cows to produce more milk and has been called the first of biotechnology’s “Frankenfoods”. Don’t think a foreign hormone in your body is a problem? Well it’s banned in Europe and Canada and was approved without pre-market safety tests or long-term studies. Basically, the public – and sadly, children - are the guinea pigs.
Wine Columns
Sideways Over Pinot Noir
If you haven’t seen the movie Sideways, you’ll be surprised that
Hollywood churned out something other than their normal pabulum by
providing a brilliant, searing view of characters in desperation. This dark
comedy is a must see for wine lovers, as the film is set in California’s
central coast, with a wine tasting jaunt as the backdrop. For those who
miss wine country, you’ll relish the canvas of vineyards, tasting rooms
and restaurants, where the film’s writers so aptly reveal the protagonists.
The film also provides an amusing, over the top glimpse in to wine
tasting and wine culture.
In a gut-busting scene, Miles screams, "If anyone orders
Merlot, I'm leaving. I'm not drinking any #@&%! Merlot." Indeed,
any wine snob knows that trendy Merlot had its heady run following
Cabernet’s Bush-like dictatorship over the nation that caused a
collective Cabernet madness. It was nice to see a new red emerge, but jeez, did you ever think Merlot’s run would end? Alas, it seems to have been replaced by the current dominator, Shiraz. Will Pinot Noir be the next big red? Probably not to the extent of its predecessors; here’s why:
Chillin' out with the Glorious White Wines of Summer
Even die hard red wine drinkers will veer off their well worn path and cool off with a crispy white. Seems like the last thing you want on a sweltering day is anything red, which feels “heavy” to a body seeking a more refreshing beverage. So, let’s chill out with a look at summer’s glorious white wines. But first, I have a lament for Chardonnay, since I will not be writing about her today:
Oh Chardonnay, long time mistress and muse. Though ye are America’s number one selling white wine and queen of all the realm, ye now have some serious competition to contend. And, although we shant lose our adoration and devotion for ye, the time has come for us to try an open relationship and experiment with new partners.
Chenin Blanc: You’re probably too young to remember that Chenin Blanc was all the rage in the 70’s. I recall my mother drinking this wine to no doubt calm her from the effects of the orange, silver metallic and lime green wallpaper of our kitchen. It hails from France’s Loire Valley and has done well in sunny California. It can be fruity or dry depending on whether or not someone stuck their finger in the barrels to stir. Goes great with lighter dishes on the veranda.
Editorial
This is Wildlife Management in the 21st Century?
The author contemplates the phenomena desecrating America's highways.
Rodeo Reality.
At the rodeo, thousands of children will also be indoctrinated and desensitized toward animals in the name of family fun, leaving us with yet another generation with no regard for sentient beings who are viewed as nothing but profit units, entertainment units, or food units.t the rodeo, thousands of children will also be indoctrinated and desensitized toward animals in the name of family fun, leaving us with yet another generation with no regard for sentient beings who are viewed as nothing but profit units, entertainment units, or food units.
Terrified baby cows will be violently jerked down, body slammed and hog tied in the name of entertainement
I am in disbelief regarding the archaic ways in which officials manage the wildlife here — and in the 21st century. Placer County Fish and Game killing policies are unacceptable, and I doubt this is what citizens want with more positive approaches available. You’d think “officials” would, by now, have a compassionate solution to some beavers making a home in Kings Beach. Instead, they run around behaving like the dominant species they so love to
be, instituting the one solution they can offer: killing.
