Sunday, April 14, 2013

14 April - The View


The many invasive and often humiliating hurdles currently in place at airports have successfully dissuaded the population from wanting to bother with what would otherwise be the safest traveling option.
http://www.naturalnews.com/039883_TSA_death_rate_Americans.html



www.naturalnews.com
TSA actually causes an increase in deaths of Americans


Congratulations Ikal Angelei for being named the 100th most important woman in the world for your work protecting Lake Turkana. You are truly an inspiration. -Berklee
CCTV Africa congratulates Kenya's Ikal Angelei for making it to the top 126 women in the World 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/galleries/2013/03/28/women-in-the-world-125-women-of-impact-photos.html#18e343c9-494a-4dad-916d-d2389c2fbcb3
CCTV Africa congratulates Kenya's Ikal Angelei for making it to the top 126 women in the World
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/galleries/2013/03/28/women-in-the-world-125-women-of-impact-photos.html#18e343c9-494a-4dad-916d-d2389c2fbcb3
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Most Shared on Truthout
In addition to efforts at the local level, farmers and activists are attempting to tackle the
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/Thomson+Alberta+Tories+helping+raise+cash+beleaguered+Liberals/7830013/story.html
( Now that's the most overt evidence of a bipartisan tyranny by corporations I can recall )

RT shared a link.

As phase one of the trial comes to a close, the central elements in the case against BP have become clear. The decision for Judge Carl Barbier is whether these issues taken together show BP acted with gross negligence or wilful misconduct. Although senior managers consistently identified safety as their top priority, BP also stressed that “every dollar counts”, and staff were incentivised to cut costs.


“Yeah I do,” Bobby said. “I’m concerned about the dispersant…what’s in the soil.” He had a daughter who he used to take to the beach on a regular basis. Not anymore. Bobby had hit on something that hits on me. Big time. Who will ever know the amount of poison that BP sprayed in Louisiana and God knows where else. Why they were allowed to is the bigger question, and I still wonder why the Woodward/Bernsteins of the world aren’t on this part of the tragedy like a tick. Something that at the end of the day may prove more damning than the damn oil spill itself.
Deep in Cajun country, times are better but worries remain about long-term effects of BP spill - 201
houston.culturemap.com
Editor's Note: In 2010, Katie Oxford filed a series of riveting columns from the heart of the Gulf oil spill disaster. She recently returned to Louisiana.
It took less than an hour for something like 5,000 barrels (at 42 gallons per barrel) of ExxonMobil’s tar sands oil flow into a residential neighborhood and surrounding wetlands in [1]Mayflower, Arkansas,[1] on March 29, once the company’s Pegasus pipeline had opened a two-inch hole along its top surface. The hole was also over 22 feet long and made the pipe look like a split sausage.
Major Oil Spill in Arkansas: Has ExxonMobil Lost Control of More than Just its Tar Sands Oil? |..
www.globalresearch.ca
It took less than an hour for something like 5,000 
 
 
Real Coastal Warriors
Two oil projects in the works could significantly increase the amount of heavy crude oil moving on -- and near -- the Great Lakes, causing alarm among environmentalists because they involve the same heavy oil that was behind a $1-billion oil spill on the Kalamazoo River in 2010 that remains an ecological disaster.
Great Lakes oil proposals threaten repeat of Kalamazoo spill, environmentalists say
www.lansingstatejournal.com
Two oil projects in the works could significantly increase the amount of heavy crude oil moving on -- and near -- the Great Lakes, causing alarm among environmentalists because they
Target of Planned Obsolescence
The consumer is perpetually targeted directly by corporations and various businesses to buy, wear/use products, and then swiftly discard them when they are no longer fashionable. This method is called “planned obsolescence.” Planned obsolescence is defined as “the conscious decision on the part of an agency to produce a consumer product that will become obsolete in a defined time frame.” This phrase was coined by an American industrialist named Brooks Stevens. The fashion industry, car industry, and even companies that produce razors for shaving are but a few types of businesses that practice and promote this wasteful method of production and eventual planned consumption.

The razor blade used for shaving is one of many ways that consumers have been seduced into buying and then discarding a still usable product. The first blade, the disposable razor for example, became immensely popular and prevented men from having...Continue Reading
Target of Planned Obsolescence
The consumer is perpetually targeted directly by corporations and various businesses to buy, wear/use products, and then swiftly discard them when they are no longer fashionable. This method is called “planned obsolescence.” Planned obsolescence is defined as “the conscious decision on the part of an agency to produce a consumer product that will become obsolete in a defined time frame.” This phrase was coined by an American industrialist named Brooks Stevens. The fashion industry, car industry, and even companies that produce razors for shaving are but a few types of businesses that practice and promote this wasteful method of production and eventual planned consumption.

The razor blade used for shaving is one of many ways that consumers have been seduced into buying and then discarding a still usable product. The first blade, the disposable razor for example, became immensely popular and prevented men from having to use the dreaded “straight razor” that their grandfathers had originally used. It conquered the market immediately and then was hailed as the best way to improve the condition of men’s skin. However razors soon became more “high tech” and the electric razor was introduced. It helped men avoid cutting their skin and all one had to do was plug it into the wall and there was no need to change blades repeatedly. The disposable blade was considered philistine and unfashionable. Soon however businessmen who worked in the razor industry though that it might be possible to stage a come-back for the little disposable blade, if it could be made to look different, classier. They reasoned rightly that if they charged more money and enhanced the design, people would see it as something to have. Given a stainless steel look the formerly blue plastic handled disposable blade made a huge comeback and has been going strong ever since. There are now also several versions of the basic electric razor as well, one being the Lady Remington brand.

Another perfect example of planned obsolescence is the car industry. Originally cars were manufactured in the twenties. The cars from before WWII were still driven in the streets of London in the Sixties, during this time Volkswagen also built a cheap, durable car until it flooded the entire market. If a person was able to afford a Rolls Royce then it was considered the best buy in the world with a large re-sale value. Unfortunately, executives realized that once sales stabilized people would no longer be willing or would need to buy a new car. It would have meant millions of workers laid off and a considerable drop in profits. For the next two or three decades, the ultimate purpose in the automotive industry would be not to produce cars, but to keep workers and manufacturers busy making cars, with the only real result being that tons of steel and billions of hours of work were spent to produce cars not meant to last for very long. The whole point of this was (and still is) to keep the customer coming back even before the previous obligations toward payment and maintenance of their currently owned car ended.

Nylon pantyhose are a fashion related example of a previously durable product that has been turned into something that can only be used a few times, discarded, and thus a new item must be purchased. It was during the Second World War when nylon first came into use. Troops were beginning to show their dislike for insubstantial cloth equipment that needed frequent mending and as a result nylon came into use for the parachutes the troops used. During the 1950’s nylons were thick and good for frequent and long term use. They were ugly and not stylish, but practical. Over the past few decades they have become more varied in color and yet thinner, good only for a few times to be worn and then disposed of. There is no way to effectively mend them so new ones must be purchased.

For quite some time telephones did not break because there was a huge market to be satisfied and, over decades, the companies that created the equipment would concentrate on improving real service and efficiency rather than issuing new designs and other unneeded extravagances. Over time though, it was realized that the technique had reached quasi-perfection, that there was little more left to be desired…and that the market was satisfied. To somehow convince the consumer that they were unhappy with their current model the companies began creating all sort of new gadgets and accessories to go with their phones. Cell phones are the perfect example, since before it had only the basic function of making and receiving calls. Now they can take pictures, send messages, and even access the internet. The original design and ever changing basic purpose and function of the cell phone from merely making calls to literally working as a miniature mobile office.

Another form of manipulation is that of the “counterculture” appeal. Certain products are advertised and pushed as an alternative to “mainstream” items. Ironically people who participate in this theory and lifestyle are creating a mainstream all their own that becomes just as conformist as the original “mainstream” trends, beliefs, and mannerisms.

The most recent development has been that of the Blue-Ray disc. The only real difference between the Blue-Ray disc and that of the DVD is that the Blue-Ray offers a more hi-fi view of the film and actors acting in it. It has no real new innovative, efficient technology that will benefit viewers in the long run. Blue-Ray is merely a much hyped minor visual improvement over still existing useful and viable technology.

There is a perverse symbiosis at work. The companies that develop these products rely on this type of fantastical waste in creation and consumption because it continues production and thus ensures a continued profit in an ever competitive workforce; a competitive workforce that is increasing in competition as time goes by. Manufacturers rely in planned obsolescence because it keeps sales moving or increasing at a steady pace. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if sales increase, quickly occur, or that the product is even really needed; the main idea and motivation is simply continuing to make things we really don’t need in the name of frivolousness and acquiring a new status symbol.
@[262849270399655:274:The Conspiracy Archives]
☮NaTHaN♥
SOURCE:
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/11010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60YN8honuDs

Most Shared on Care2
In response to a series of seriously unfortunate incidents involving police shooting dogs, Colorado

http://t.co/rqQH6mlP0e Urban Farmer grass fed - well cooked - steak and Brussel sprouts
South Carolina State Senator Tom Davis Explains his NDAA Nullification Bill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4QIkep-hYc

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