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The greater depression hiding in plain sight: The anti-Cinderella Man (part 1)

Jim Quinn
The Burning Platform
Sun, 04 Sep 2016 19:31 UTC
Greater depression
There are several movies I will watch every time they are aired on one of my generally useless 600 cable channels. They all have the same thing in common - a compelling character portrayal which keeps you riveted and mesmerized by how the protagonist deals with adversity and circumstances beyond their control. The movies I can't resist include: The Godfather I & II, The Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Apocalypse Now, and Patton. Another captivating movie, which didn't do well at the box office, is Cinderella Man. The portrayal of Depression era heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock by Russell Crowe is inspirational, with a rousing and improbable victory by the champion of the common man. While watching this great movie a few weeks ago I found myself equating the themes to the current presidential campaign.

The Greater Depression

Braddock was an inspiration to all downtrodden demoralized Americans during the Great Depression. The parallels between the 1930's Great Depression and today's Greater Depression are uncanny, despite the propaganda emitted by the establishment politicians, media and banking cabal that all is well. The corporate mainstream media faux journalists scorn and ridicule anyone who makes the case we are currently in the midst of another Great Depression. They are paid to peddle a recovery narrative to keep the masses ignorant, sedated, and distracted by latest adventures of Caitlyn Jenner and the Kardashians. An impartial assessment of the facts reveals today's Depression to be every bit as dreadful for the average American as it was in the 1930's.

The Obama administration has used the identical failed fiscal policies utilized by FDR. $800 billion stimulus packages, cash for clunkers, payroll tax holidays, student loans for anyone with a pulse, and hundreds of other useless Keynesian claptrap ideas have driven the national debt from $10 trillion in September 2008 to $19.4 trillion eight years later, a 94% increase. The national debt in October 1929 was $17 billion. Eight years into the Great Depression, after billions in wasteful New Deal programs the national debt stood at $36.5 billion, a 115% increase.

Comment:

Tent cities are booming all over the U.S. as poverty, homelessness spikes

Report reveals the Pentagon doesn't know where $6.5 trillion dollars has gone

$9 trillion missing from the Federal Reserve. Kinda misplaced it Huh?

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Camera

Disconnected society: Nature vandalism selfies are on the rise

Vic Bishop
Waking Times
Tue, 13 Sep 2016 18:08 UTC
selfie stick
Perhaps it's just another sign of the times, but people seem to be quite at ease when disrespecting nature if they know a camera is rolling.

In recent years there have been a number of highly publicized and shared incidents of people, often operating in irrational hordes, mobbing wild animals in order to get selfies with them, often killing the animal in the melee. In Argentina beachgoers killed a rare baby dolphin while snapping selfie photos. In Costa Rica a flock of clueless tourists destroyed hundreds of sea turtle nests and eggs in frenzy of a photo shoot. These are two examples of many.

Narcissism such as this is an indication that the human being at large is becoming more disconnected from nature and more attached the self, seeking self-aggrandizement at the expense of the environment that supports, sustains and inspires us.

Some recent examples of this type of self-absorbed sickness, albeit of a different sort, include instances of self-recorded vandalism and outright disregard of nature, where presumably the vandals considered their acts to be fitting of the approval or admiration of their peers and therefore thought to record and post them on the internet, with pride.
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Nuke

For Japan, radiation is the new norm

Richard Wilcox, PhD
Activist Post
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:24 UTC
radiation japan
"We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one." — Jacques Cousteau

"When drinking water, remember its source." — Chinese proverb

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." — Matthew 7:16-20, Holy Bible

Japan has an amazing food culture thanks in part to the rich volcanic soil and ample rainfall, despite the lack of spacious farms. As it stands, Japan can feed approximately one third of its population from domestic production.
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Pistol

Fast and furious, Chicago style: Gang member accuses U.S. government of dumping guns in the hood

Isaac Davis
Waking Times
Tue, 13 Sep 2016 17:09 UTC
Chicago gun
There is a well-documented history of the U.S. government supplying weapons and arms to both friends and foe for political purposes and for profit. In addition to publicly known global arms deals to U.S. political allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia, revelations about the rise of ISIS indicate that U.S. arms and military trainees have been a critical factor in the rise of the terror group.

From 2006 to 2011 the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms ran a gun smuggling operation into Mexico to ostensibly dismantle Mexican drug gangs, accomplishing the precise opposite however, in what has affectionately become known as Fast and Furious. Further back in time we have covert operations like Oliver North's Iran Contra scandal of the mid 1980's, and America's involvement in arming rebels in Central America to destabilize uncooperative governments. The list goes on.

Furthermore, it is alleged that the CIA, DEA and other government agencies have been involved for decades in the destruction of American communities by covertly shipping in drugs. Former DEA agent Cele Castillo has been persecuted by the U.S. government for seeking accountability of the George H.W. Bush administration for drug smuggling into the U.S. He would know as he was directly involved.
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Christmas Tree

California cops begin testing drivers with marijuana breathalzyer, nationwide distribution planned for next year


RT
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:51 UTC
breathalyzer
© Joshua Lott / Reuters
Police in the US have gotten their hands on a marijuana breathalyzer and drivers in California were among the first to be tested - with nationwide distribution planned for next year.

As part of an initial field test, several erratic drivers were pulled over and asked to voluntarily blow into the breathalyzer. Two of the drivers who took part in the test admitted to smoking marijuana in the previous 30 minutes, and delivered a positive reading on the handheld device.

Other drivers who confessed to smoking pot within the previous two to three hours also tested positive - none of whom were arrested, although those who tested positive were not allowed to continue driving.

"Basically everyone agreed because they were curious," said Mike Lynn, CEO of Hound Labs, the Oakland-based company who developed the device with some help from the University of California's chemistry department.

Lynn, who also works as an emergency room doctor in Oakland, California, and a reserve officer with the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, tagged along with officers to assist in the pullovers and testing.
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Heart - Black

Man sets 'traditionally-dressed' Muslim woman's blouse on fire in NYC


RT
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:41 UTC
muslim woman
© Matt Sullivan / Reuters
A 'traditionally-dressed' Muslim woman found her blouse set on fire by a man with a lighter in New York's midtown in a disturbing incident being investigated by New York City police as a possible hate crime.

Police said the Scottish tourist felt heat on her arm on Saturday night as she stood outside a Fifth Avenue luxury boutique in Manhattan. She noticed her blouse was on fire.

The woman, Nemariq Alhinai, patted out the fire and noticed a man standing nearby holding a lighter. The man then walked away.

"She saw [the suspect] pull a lighter away and walk away," a source told the New York Daily News who first reported the incident. "He doesn't say anything."

It is not clear what police meant by 'traditional dress' whether she wore a hijab, which covers the head, or an abaya, which covers everything but the face, or a burqa, which conceals the face, as well.
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Red Flag

Rise of the machines: Robots poised to replace 6% of jobs by 2021


RT
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 18:19 UTC
robot
© Yuya Shino / Reuters
Robots are poised to replace interns as the unrewarded and unpaid worker ants of industry. A study by Forrester Research has projected that by 2021, artificial intelligence will be sophisticated enough to push many out of the job market as we know it.

The future of technology growing bright could signal lights out for taxi drivers, bankers and customer service agents. In a report released by Forrester Research, six percent of jobs could be taken by "early-stage intelligent agents," as soon as 2021. The study cites Facebook, Amazon and Apple as being at the forefront of developing nuanced bots that rely on algorithms like Siri, and that they could eventually replace truck drivers.

"By 2021, a disruptive tidal wave will begin," Brian Hopkins, vice president at Forrester wrote. "Solutions powered by AI/cognitive technology will displace jobs, with the biggest impact felt in transportation, logistics, customer service, and consumer services."

But those industries aren't the only ones that could replace their flesh-and-bone employees with something more mechanical. Researchers at the World Economic Forum have grimmer predictions. They see 7.1 million jobs being replaced with algorithms, two-thirds of which will be "concentrated in the Office and Administrative job family," Digital Trends reported.

Comment: See also:

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Camera

Study finds taking selfies linked to increased happiness in college students


RT
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 15:32 UTC
selfie
© Murad Sezer / Reuters
Constantly snapping selfies may seem a bit narcissistic, but a new study has found that taking photos on smartphones and sharing them online is actually linked to increased happiness levels among college students.

The research, conducted by academics from the University of California-Irvine's Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences, studied 41 college students for four weeks. Among them were 28 females and 13 males.

The students were first invited to the lab for an informal interview, and to fill out a questionnaire and consent form. They were then instructed to continue with normal daily activities while taking part in the study.

Each student was assigned one of three types of photos to take, to help researchers determine how smiling, reflecting, and giving to others might impact the participants' moods.

Comment: Perhaps asking students themselves how they felt after taking a selfie was not the best method for judging how selfies affect and transform our personalities:

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Brick Wall

TEPCO dismantles safety wall of Fukushima No. 1 reactor building


RT
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 02:44 UTC
Fukushima Daiichi
© Fukushima Daiichi / YouTubeRipping off the band-aid.
TEPCO has begun decommissioning the outer protective wall which was erected around the Fukushima No.1 reactor building in 2011 following the massive earthquake and tsunami that sent the power station into meltdown. Industrial cranes started the decommissioning of the exterior walls of the cover, which was installed around Fukushima's reactor building on Tuesday, by removing the first 20-ton panel which measured 23 by 17 meters.

This is the first time that the burned reactor has been exposed to the world in almost five years, after the plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) went on to construct the cover in October 2011 as a temporary measure following a powerful earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.

The entire site is highly contaminated with rubble and radioactive dust. TEPCO is taking all necessary precautions to prevent any radioactive dust from escaping the contaminated area.

The utility company, according to Asahi news, hopes to dismantle the remaining 17 panels of the protective cover by the end of the year to assess the state of the reactor's interiors and to remove the 392 fuel assemblies from the spent fuel pool in addition to melted nuclear fuel.


Comment: Protective wall removal...contaminated site...what if there is another tsunami in the very near future? They haven't even assessed the internal damage from 5 years ago. Send in the robots!

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USA

Bombshell leak reveals Williams tennis sisters and Rio Olympics gymnast heroine have been doping for years, with WADA's approval


RT
Tue, 13 Sep 2016 16:02 UTC
williams sharapova
Turns out American tennis stars also dope... surprise!
A hacktivist group claims it has uncovered files that show top American athletes including Serena Williams and Simone Biles took banned substances - although their respective sporting federations responded by saying the athletes did not break any rules.

The allegations were published on the website of the hacktivist group Fancy Bear, which described the revelations as being "just the tip of the iceberg."

The documents the group says it hacked from the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) files contain information that Serena Williams, one of the world's greatest ever tennis players, was taking a number of banned substances.

Williams was allowed to take oxycodone, hydromorphone, prednisone and methylprednisolone in 2010, 2014 and 2015, despite the substances being placed on WADA's list of banned substances.

However, the documents released also showed that Williams had been given special permission to take some of the drugs. The authorization was given by Dr. Stuart Miller from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Serena's older sister Venus was found to have taken prednisone, prednisolone, triamcinolone and formoterol, which are also on WADA's banned list. However, she was given special dispensation to take the substances as long as she adhered to various conditions regarding the use of the drugs.

Comment: Exceptions can be made for exceptional star athletes from exceptional countries.

Just how many Russian athletes are given "special dispensation" to take banned substances? We're guessing very, very few.

Just because these athletes had a therapeutic use exemption doesn't mean that the situation isn't ridiculously hypocritical. We'd be very interested to know who the doctors were that prescribed the drugs and why the athletes needed them. Plus, the drugs themselves are banned because they enhance performance. There's no getting around that, doctor's note or no doctor's note.

See also: Cultural warfare: US attempt to ban Russia from Olympics for 'cheating' is rank hypocrisy

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