Month: April 2015

DAYCARE – tears in the rain

Posted on by Helena

According to a report by the NACCRRA, as of 2012 about 12 million children under the age of five were in daycare. The cost depends on the age and local, the quality and the state. Infant care can cost as low as $4600 annually to a high of $20,200, and these number rise annually. In the US, 90% of the cost is born by the parents. Social Services provides an income balanced proportion of the cost at a fixed rate which is generally significantly lower than the public rate.

The advocacy states that more child care facilities and workers are needed to care for children so that the parents can achieve greater economic prosperity and productivity.

Actually, daycare was created to help single mothers get off welfare. Outside of that, daycare has evolved into an institution designed to babysit over 50% of US children, 70% of Canadian children and 92% of Swedish children. I remember when parents raised their children at home. I remember growing up with one car per household.

Stats:

  1. there are approximately 23.4 million children in the US under the age of 6

  2. there are approximately 15 million children under the age of six needing daycare

  3. 67% of new mothers return to work within the first year after giving birth and 44% after the first three months

  4. 8 million children under the age of six live with a single parent

  5. the average childcare worker makes $9.38 and has a high school diploma or GED

Articles abound that support the working mother cause and denounce the idea that daycare has problems.  The advocacy?  If you are working and your child is in daycare you are still completely ‘raising’ your child. So, what is the definition of the word ‘raising’.

What does raising a child entail?

In a nutshell; time and money. Time is the real issue. The reality is that a tremendous portion of women simply don’t want to devote the time. It is too ‘hard’. It detracts from their freedom.  It is inconvenient to their social life.  They feel trapped.  Years ago, a friend of mine who had just one child, a rather rambunctious boy, decided it was just too hard taking care of him any longer. He was three. She put him in daycare, spent $200 a week so she could earn $9 per hour. After taxes, gas, and meals she was slightly in the hole.

She didn’t ‘need’ to put her son in daycare, she ‘wanted’ to because she was bored.

Which brings to question another term that requires defining – ‘need’. How many mothers actually are in ‘need’ of daycare is subject to a qualification. Needing daycare because you want to work. Needing daycare because you want to make more money. Needing daycare because you need to get out of the house. Needing daycare because you want more adult stimulation. There are many qualifications of – need, but most revolve around want – not need.

Friend number two. She and her husband were fresh out of medical school and wanted no part in the idea of staying at home with their child. Making lots of money was the agenda, never mind that the husband was a doctor and fully capable of making a healthy living standard. It was about ‘want’, not ‘need’. She hired a nanny. In their household, a nanny lasted on average 3 months. I believe one actually lasted a year.

The point – it is rotation. Daycares have a huge employee turnover ratio. Daycares, like schools, have their agendas of values and ethics. These people instill their views, values and morays on your child daily during the formative years your child is most open to development. This is not to say that all daycares are bad, it is to say that daycares are in fact raising your children by virtue of time. Because raising is singularly about time and this is not simply a modern day invention. What the pendulum swing has unveiled is the self design of ‘me’. Me has become more important than the child. Me is the emphasis. And the common justification for daycare has morphed into – ‘well I just wanted more than sitting at home with my child’.  And the ever more succinct, ‘I deserve more than being a stay at home mom, I am entitled.’

This is a justification embraced by daycare proponents. Ancient history forward, children were raised by parents, the super wealthy or elite having the nanny or nursemaid. During various eras of poverty, children were sent to work the fields, the mines, the farms in order to stave off famine. However, in the 1600’s, John Locke defined a new attitude toward children in which he saw them as being born a blank slate. Everything that filled that slate would henceforth define that child and ultimately that adult. The greater influence was a product of – time.

Time defines many things; it is presumed that the more time spent on education, the more learned a person becomes. The more time spent at daycare, the more their values, ideas and beliefs are impressed on the blank slate that is your child’s brain. As of age 5, this blank slate is the framework of your child’s heart, emotions, security, bonding ability, behavior, sense of worth, and even weight.

While parents claim that daycare is great for the social development of a child via interacting with other children, more studies are showing a correlation between bullying, negative behavior, aggressive behavior, and conflict problems with children raised in daycare settings.

Sweden can be seen as the best long term example test case. With 92% of 18 month to 5 year olds in state run daycare facilities, there has been growing concern for the decline in education and behavior and a subsequent rise in anxiety and mental health issues over the last decade. Attachment disorder, ill-mannered behavior, entitlement, and slower emotional and intellectual development are common results of this daycare society. It should not be ignored.

It is unfortunate that these issues are not made more public. Partially, the media doesn’t want to make parents feel guilty for putting their children in daycare. They want to fill parents with a false sense of security and positive reinforcement – even if it is distorted. Most of the proponents of daycare will state that the quality is imperative, look for low ratio’s, engaging staff, educated staff, high quality food, etc… But these proponents live in a bubble world. In reality – this picture does not fill the norm for it caters to the wealthy who easily spend upwards of $15,000 per year, the cost of an in-state college!  The median wage in the US is $26,695.

More and more studies are focusing on the long term effects attachment disassociation relate to anger issues, bonding issues, and motivation issues as an adult. Mental health problems have risen disproportionately. This is exemplified by the fact that during the first year of development a babies brain doubles in weight as a result of glucose metabolism that is in direct response to input by the mother. The bonding between a mother and child during the formative years can not be transferred. Take that bonding away, toss in an assembly line of daycare employees that revolve through a child’s stream of development, and there will be consequences.

The bottom line should be that if you have a true need for daycare, single parent, then by all means this is the only viable solution. You need to make a living.  Instead, we have taken it to the extreme and conclude that everyone should focus on prosperity, because this is much more important.  Thus the definition of need is morphed to include anyone who – wants – because their agenda is more important. And of course, who looses? The child.

In the end, I think it is safe to say that no one lies on their deathbed and wishes they had spent less time with their children and more time at work –

If you deny there is a problem, how can you possibly attempt to fix it?

YEMEN – You Can’t Make this Stuff Up

Posted on by Helena

“Saudi airstrikes target Houthi forces and their allies in Yemen.” That was the mainstream media version.

“Paris is on the side of the Saudi’s in their efforts to restore ‘stability’ in Yemen.” That’s the mainstream version.

Reality? The Saudi’s are bombing schools, dairy farms, farms, water plants, roadways – infrastructure. They are bombing the basics of structure that support living. And they are bombing civilians – including children. The Yemeni’s want the bombing to stop. The Yemeni’s want the Saudi’s to let them use dialogue and dignity to resolve their own internal issues. The Yemeni’s have become the casualty that Hillary defines as normal collateral to any war. And the US, Europe and many Sunni Arab states comply.

Why?

Hadi, the president that fled when the Houthis took control was considered one of the most corrupt governments ranking 164th out of 182. Hadi only came to power after Saleh, the former president, was dislodged as a result of a coup and became injured. Hadi gained his military acumen while living in Britain, Egypt and Russia. He became Minister of Defense for Saleh in 1994 and Vice President until 2012. He was elected president in 2012 – although the term ‘elected’ is loose given he was the sole candidate. Normally, that does not constitute an ‘election’. But he was Sunni and thus sympathetic toward Saudi Arabia. But Hadi was incompetent, corrupt and seemingly a puppet at best. He certainly did not represent the people, nor did he seem to have any compassion for his people. More a figurehead, he was sympathetic to the Saudis, and that was all anyone outside of Yemen wanted. And hence a schism in Yemen widened further as the people felt unrepresented.

How different is it than in many other countries wherein the president is not acting in the interest of the people, but in the interest of economics and businesses and – self. We hope, we have faith that maybe this time it will be different. But it isn’t, and we share this angst and sadness with much of Europe, Canada and even Australia.

We watched Syria reduced to rubble because the Saudis didn’t like Assad. We watched Ukraine reduced to rubble as the coup was allowed and praised. Thousands upon thousands killed because someone decided the existing government needed to go. The casualties – people.

There is a haunting hypocritical aspect that angers not just the people of Yemen, but the citizens of the US, Europe and Asia, wherein one government that is ousted via coup is legitimate while in other countries it is not.

Why do the Saudis want Yemen?

They have no use for the country itself, or the people, all they really want is the assurance that the Gulf of Aden remains a viable conduit for their oil through the Red Sea. If Yemen falls to the Houthis, they are not sympathetic to the Saudis, they are Shi’a. Revenue means everything. Without this access to this strait the Saudis are in trouble, as are the other Middle East countries reliant on the Red Sea for transport.

Most people don’t even know where Yemen is, or what part they have played in history. Yemen was home to the Queen of Sheba and can trace it’s history back to the Sabaeans of ancient time. In medieval times, it was a lucrative trade center. They have controlled the strait through the Gulf of Aden since as early as 700 BC. They were conquered by the Himyarites who practiced a monotheistic religion called Rahmanism. The Romans attempted to convert them to Chritianity around 354 AD, but the Jews rebelled. In 521 AD, a Jewish warlord of Yemen rose to power and had all the Christians slaughtered. The country ‘converted’ to Islam with the rise of Muhammad and his conquests in the mid 600’s AD. Life has been tumultuous to be sure.

Yemen was embroiled in conquests thereafter. It has been overthrown by the Mongols, the Turks, the Egyptians, and the Ottomans. After the fall of the Ottoman’s the British laid claim and ruled. The Port of Aden has always been one of the key sources of warring. The country split between northern and southern allegiances. It has been mired in civil conflict, treason, corruption and pilfering. The unification of the north and south was accomplished with the intervention of the Saudis who needed access to the strait connecting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It was the Saudis who helped lodge Saleh in office, but relations soured. The US and the Saudis agreed that Hadi would be a better ally, and helped stage a coup to oust Saleh. It has been stated that Saleh’s victory was fraudulent and that the only other candidate, Faisal Bin Shamlan, who was the son of the former president, was the actual winner with over 96% of the votes. Saleh claimed the victory was his, and the people were not happy.

Staging a coup, they sought a new government to represent them. Instead, Hadi was instituted. He was not elected, and the people are still without representation. But external interests are seemingly the only interest.

When the people rose against Hadi, the US attempted to intervene and use more drone strikes to gain ‘peace’. But the ‘collateral damage’ created even more anger among the people. Instead of squashing the dissidents, the US and Saudis increased the animosity and became the enemy. The Houthis gathered and rose in number.

Why would the US even consider involvement in this countries unrest? Because the Saudis demand it.

Because, al-Qaeda has a huge presence in Yemen, and because the Middle East countries want to maintain their oil transit route. And we still need that oil.

In 2009, the US started drone strikes in Yemen with the rise of al-Qaeda. The drones strikes were very controversial as they took out large swathes of civilians including children. The Yemeni’s felt they had become the target. In 2013, the strikes escalated. By 2014, the US was stating that a partnership had formed between the government of Hadi and the US. By 2015, the Houthis had taken control.

Who are the Houthis? They are considered to have come from a moderate group of people who sought to re-establish their Shi’a belief system of Zaidi. The Houthis gained radical status sometime after the 2003 invasion of Iraq at which point the chant ‘death to America’ became their slogan.

Twists again… and again: ISIS is fighting against the Houthis, which means we are fighting on the side of ISIS. In March 2015, ISIS bombed a Houthi mosque killing 142 and wounding 351 worshipers. The Houthis claim that Hadi is backed by al-Qaeda, which means if we back Hadi, we back al-Qaeda. Hadi claims that the Houthis are backed by Iran. The Israeli’s claim the Houthis are backed by Hezbollah. The Saudis have been preventing humanitarian aid to the people of Yemen. And of course, this is all flanked by Obama’s new bigger and better nuke deal with Iran. Since the overthrow of Saleh, who is Sunni, he has joined the Houthis. Al-Qaeda has put a ransom on the head of Saleh. Much of the weaponry confiscated by the Houthis was actually previously provided by the US and the Saudis to Yemen.

And if this was a movie on television, no one would believe it was remotely real.

Police Brutality – A Maze of Statistics

Posted on by Helena

What is Happening With Our Police?

We want to support them, we want to have faith in them, and yet time and again a video surfaces in which grave acts of violence are perpetrated against otherwise innocent victims.

  1. A video showing California Highway Patrol pointing guns at a young pregnant woman. She is obviously scared and confused. They don’t have patience and physically, violently throw her to the ground, knee her and hogtie her. Four additional patrolmen show up – 6 large gun wielding men, none of whom allow her to sit up even though she is handcuffed. At one point it looks as though one of them realizes they have screwed up because he checks and notes the video is playing, recording the events.
  2. A woman calls the police to report she has been in a fender bender in a parking lot. When the police arrive, the woman is arguing with her boyfriend. Immediately, the two officers order the pregnant woman to the ground and attack her pushing face down to the ground, and straddling her while tasering her. They punch her leg and continue to hold her. More police arrive and arrest her boyfriend, handcuffing him and taking him away. Meanwhile the woman remains on the ground. More police arrive – a total of five cars and a paddy wagon. The woman is charged with resisting arrest.
  3. A woman in Baltimore is stuck in traffic and witnesses police brutally beating a young man. She pulls out her camera and films the scene only to have one officer run over to her car, pull her out and beat her. Three additional officers joined the beating. They smashed her camera and threatened to have her two year old daughter taken away by DPS. A trial was set twice and none of the officers showed. The case against her was dropped, although there is no specific mention of what she was charged with.
  4. Two officers in Texas pin down a prostitute while a third beats her severely. They had a warrant to arrest her for prostitution. The Chief of Police claims the force was justified.
  5. A pregnant woman in Massachusetts called the police because she thought someone was breaking into her apartment. It turned out to be her boyfriend. But when she went to the door to let the police officer in and tell them it was a mistake, before she could even open the door all the way an officer shot through the door and the bullet hit her in the face shattering her jaw and lodging in her neck. At the time she was holding her two year old child.

What is the rationale? The claim is consistent, the officers felt threatened. But we know that isn’t true. Something quite different is happening. Police argue that they have the right to subdue a suspect however they see fit given the circumstances. But actually that isn’t the case:

  1. a citizen may deny a search of their car
  2. a citizen may object to any handling
  3. a citizen has the right to question racial motivation
  4. a citizen has the right to object vocally
  5. a citizen may deny entry of an officer without a warrant
  6. the use of excessive force is a violation of the 5th and 14th Amendments

Police state that crimes against a police officer are rising, when in fact they have been decreasing dramatically since the 1990’s. They claim that aggressive behavior is necessary in order to control a situation. And they claim that Taser use allows them to use ‘less force’.

In fact, none of these statements are true. The hypocrisy is evident. It would appear that every situation is met with aggression and an abundance of cops on the scene for what should be a minor incident. It would also appear that Taser use has risen dramatically, 1500% in the last several years, and is used ‘in conjunction with’ brutal force as opposed to – instead of.

Part of the hypocrisy is in profiling. In reality, profiling is a valuable tool. Somewhere along the line it became politically incorrect, but it offers information that can be used to deter criminal activity. We all profile to some extent. Sometimes we profile in the most inane ways:

“Oh no, I’m behind four women on the golf course, they are going to play slow”

“Oh no, a woman driver…”

“Oh no, that guy is big and scary looking, I’m going to cross the street”

We even use it in our idioms – ‘that guy is going ‘postal’ or, ‘he operates like a used car salesman’.

That’s profiling. It is a part of our society. Is it a bad thing? No. Neither is being judgemental. They both use statistical data to form an opinion.

Recently a friend was incensed when I commented about an Asian student excelling in school. I was accused of being judgemental. Really? I was stating a statistical fact. A judge in a courtroom uses evidence to make a decision and judgement. He is thus judgemental. He weighs the evidence and makes a decision. But when applied in real life, the person making a statement based on evidence and facts becomes ‘judgemental’ in a negative context. The assumption is that the person has no evidence and has no facts.

Police are there to defend us against bad guys. But more often than not, they are perpetrating violence themselves. That’s hypocritical. Domestic violence classes are supposed to teach people how to use their logic and verbal skills to deflate an argument, to diffuse aggressive behavior and to act in a civilized manner. Yet our police act aggressively, physically, and brutally. Why? Because they can.

Profiling; how many pregnant women have shot at a police officer? None. Ever.

In 2013, the FBI profiled the 27 police officers killed while on duty:

“Circumstances: Of the 27 officers feloniously killed, six were killed in arrest situations, five were investigating suspicious persons or circumstances, five were ambushed, four were involved in tactical situations, four were answering disturbance calls, and two were conducting traffic pursuits/stops. One was conducting an investigative activity, such as surveillance, a search, or an interview.

Weapons: Offenders used firearms to kill 26 of the 27 victim officers. Of these 26 officers, 18 were slain with handguns, five with rifles, and three with shotguns. One officer was killed with a vehicle used as a weapon.

Regions: Fifteen of the felonious deaths occurred in the South, six in the West, four in the Midwest, and two in the Northeast.

Suspects: Law enforcement agencies identified 28 alleged assailants in connection with the felonious line-of-duty deaths. Twenty of the assailants had prior criminal arrests, and six of the offenders were under judicial supervision at the time of the felonious incidents.”

How many citizens were killed by police officers in 2013? Apparently, there is no data kept on this statistic by any government organization. However a fairly new website, killedbypolice.com, uses media reports to quantify the numbers. The organization started May of 2013, and between May and December accounted for 748 deaths attributable to police – both justifiably and not. In 2014, the number was 1100.

We want to believe in our police, we want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but it is increasingly more and more difficult when the evidence continues to accumulate and their credibility becomes questionable.

Mr. Bill – First Man…Guy…Gentleman?

Posted on by Helena

With the still undecided possibility of Hilary Clinton running for president, it should be noted that not only would she be the first woman president in the US, Mr. Bill would the First Boy… First Man… First Guy. What would he be? I would hardly defer upon him the title of ‘First Gentleman’. Doesn’t quite fit. But then, maybe Hillary would prefer herself to be known as Her Highness. In which case, Mr. Bill would then be “Hz High”. Sounds creepily like Sieg Heil. Let’s not go there.

Then we would have to define his role in the White House. Would he tend to the flower arrangements and offer tea to the other ladies and High’s? Although the role of First Ladies is not written in code and stamped with approval, the foremost role they are to maintain is ‘Hostess’. Mr. Bill, of course, would be the Hostess with the mostest… The second role is to organize and attend ‘official functions’ and state ceremonies. Mr. Bill would have his own staff including a social secretary and a chief floral designer. He would be called upon to attend reunions with other First Ladies and participate in luncheons and gala’s. He would be lauded for his fashion sense and wardrobe choices as he served behind Hillary. He would get to dedicate libraries with other former First Ladies and read to young school children. He would be surrounded by woman of all ages 24-7.

According the original National First Ladies Library, the following states the decorum that a First Lady is impressed with:

“Those who have been most successful (as measured by their own enjoyment of the role, serving the public in a substantive way, being politically involved without assuming the political prerogatives of an elected or appointed official, leaving a permanent public legacy in some measure) have carefully balanced being perceived as a “Queen” of the people while also being a “commoner” who understood their problems and lives.”

Mr. Bill would be responsible to decorate the Christmas tree, and coordinate the gingerbread house, wreaths, lights and angels for the White House. But he would have to give up some of his most precious things as well. The Clinton Foundation would most likely be handed over to Chelsea. They would vacate their estate in Chappaqua, NY that they purchased after leaving the White House which cost $1.7 million, and their second home in DC, which they bought for $2.85 million. Their privacy will be uprooted once again and their emails – scrutinized.

If elected, Hillary would be 69 and Bill 70 upon taking office. Hillary would tie Reagan in being the oldest elected president. Mr. Bill would surpass all previous First Lady/High’s in age; Anna Harrison the oldest at 65, second to Barbara Bush at 64. Both Clinton’s have suffered some health issues, whether age related or not is debatable. Mr. Bill had quadruple bypass surgery and has frailed considerably in recent years. Ms Hillary underwent issues with blood clots, a concussion and fainting that required six months of rehabilitation. Some might be concerned with these issues.

There have been two shows that portrayed a female president; Kisses For My President was released in 1964 and showed a humorous version of the concept, and low rated television series came out in 2004, Commander In Chief, in which Geena Davis played the president. The show didn’t take and was canceled in 2005. Despite the feminism of our society, there are still biases among women and men regarding a female president. Add age, add health, add past dalliances, add revelations of the mouth of Hillary, and well, it is rather ‘cringe worthy’.

Child Sex Trafficking – The New Norm

Posted on by Helena

Pretty Woman – remember the movie? A prostitute and her best friend openly talked about their choice to make money by selling sex. It was portrayed as just another means of making a living. It should be legal after all because women should have the right to do with their bodies whatever they please.

But of course it wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t legal and the ‘pimp’ was never mentioned.

As a society, we pass through era’s of extreme wherein rights are confused and cross boundaries of ethics, morality and values. The line is muddied to allow behavior that ordinarily we would never condone. But it comes from a place of vindictiveness. It comes from a place where freedom is manipulated to represent something perverse. And then the freedom slips and the pendulum ultimately betrays someone else on the other side.

Sex trafficking, child trafficking, slavery. Why do we as a society do so little to mitigate this kind of slavery? Our focus is on black vs white all while truth would have it as our children. The statistics are staggering, albeit rough. Estimates give the industry a tab of anywhere from $9 to $32 billion in annual revenues. The number of children drawn into the industry in the US is also a rough figure from 100,000 to 300,000. Pimps are said to handle 4 to 6 girls. Each girl brings in about $150,000 per year. Denver has the second highest pay at an average of $31,000 per week.

Who is buying?

Research has shown that for the most part, those paying for sex span the gamut of normalcy. Average Joe, regular job, perhaps married or in a relationship, and not really sure why he pays for sex. They are out of touch with their feelings and with values. They have buried their feelings of hatred toward women and find prostitution a release. The buyers tend to have feelings of anger and contempt toward women and dehumanize them as being property subject to their sexual whim. The average life span for a prostitute is 34. Prostitutes have the highest rate of ‘workplace’ homicide than any other ‘profession’.

Years ago, I wrote about the relationship between children raised in day care settings and the long term effects that might have on their inability to bond. Children raised in daycares are not touched as often, are not tended to in a nurturing, fretting motherly way. They are confined in a small space competing for attention with 20 to 30 other children. They are only 2, 3 and 4 years old, but their life has been institutionalized. Everything about their life is regulated by people they barely know. Turnover in teachers is high and thus even this bond is typically destroyed over and over again.

I know this because I once owned a day care. We catered to 70 children and I vowed that my children would never have to attend. Daycare had become a drop point for parents who didn’t want to be parents. But that isn’t how daycare started. It began with a more noble cause at heart in the administration of Head Start. I volunteered there as a child with my mother. The purpose of Head Start was to allow single mothers a chance to get off welfare by having a safe place to tend to their children while they trained for a good job. But it morphed.

Today, daycare is by far the norm. It’s given fancy names like Piaget and Montessori, a learning environment. But in truth, it remains – daycare, a drop point for mom’s who don’t really want to be moms. It is used by the poor, the middle class and the wealthy. It is the pendulum at full swing in the opposite direction. And we are now seeing some of the effects – including an inability to bond.

Sex is used to create a bond that is lacking. Porn isn’t enough because there is no interaction. In a research study done in the UK, some men claimed they had some delusion that sex with a prostitute might lead to a relationship, others claimed it was simply a release, an act without emotion. But even more interesting, a good portion of the men said they knew the woman was in an involuntary setting and they felt no desire to help. They really just didn’t care.

The sex trafficking business is only so profitable because it has a steady stream of buyers. Eliminate the buyers and the market collapses, it is simple economics.

So how do you eliminate the buyers?

First, foremost and easiest should be to make solicitation illegal for the buyer. But while that may appear an easy solution on the face, few states in the US and few provinces in Canada actually act on this proposal. Police arrest the prostitute, the buyer leaves, and everything goes back to normal the next day. Why? Because men want to believe that a prostitute is performing consensually, it is prettier, it is Pretty Woman. And because, our media would have us believe that this trade is just as it was since the beginning of time. But it’s rise may link to the empty feelings of abandonment, being raised in a daycare institution, and having no other model to feel a sense of morality. As such, it becomes an entitlement. “I deserve it” attitude.

If we can’t move past the first hurdle and create a morality and legal issue on the part of the buyer, the industry will continue to abduct and traffic whomever they can because money is the driver. Statistics show a small percentage of pimps or traffickers being arrested. And most return to the job because it pays and they haven’t the education to do anything else. There have been a few buyers prosecuted, but the numbers don’t support any real effort to curb the activity. Media reports tend to put the victim label on the Madame or even the Pimp and certainly the buyer – he didn’t know – Most often, the only victim, the girl, the prostitute, is the one punished.

How do you retrain buyers?

It starts with raising your own children. It starts with nurturing, instilling values, living values, and filling the voids of emptiness. It means teaching compassion and evolves into education. It means defining sex as something very special to be shared only with a spouse. It means giving back a child their life, whether it is your own, or the abducted one sold and humiliated, and given the status of property. It means when you think looking at porn is harmless – you are engaging in the trafficking of children. And that child could be yours.

HPV VACCINE – Statistical Truths

Posted on by Helena

Cervical cancer and the HPV Vaccine Stats:

It is estimated that 1, 665,540 cases of cancer occurred in the US during 2014. Of those, cervical cancer comprised 12,360 or .7%. As of the 2010 census, there were roughly 157million women in the US. That means that .008% of women in the US get cervical cancer. The rate of incidence has declined 70% from the mid 1950’s to late 1990’s and has continued to decline 2% each successive year – without the vaccine. The reason for the decline? The advent of the Pap-smear. Still, the CDC and WHO heartily push for massive vaccination. Some states are adopting mandatory vaccination and many more states are being pressured to follow.

Proponents of the vaccine argue that cervical cancer is the second highest killer for women. But let’s take a look at perspective: In 2012, worldwide there were 588,000 cases of cervical cancer. The US portion would thus represent 2.9% of the world total. Eighty five percent of the cases occur in less developed countries, the resulting death rates being somewhat the same at roughly 30-50%.

Why the massive push in the US?

In 2006, the FDA fast tracked Gardasil, an HPV vaccine. Merck, the manufacturer, petitioned heavily to make the vaccine mandatory for public school enrollment. Although this was shot down, it continues to be lobbied.

Merck claimed that Gardasil would prevent HPV, a virus that is said to affect 50% of women in the US and worldwide. The claim was that incidences of HPV and deaths would be reduced to zero. But, as with all vaccines, there are risks. Some of the more serious side effects reported after the Gardasil vaccine include; Multiple sclerosis like symptoms, seizures, paralysis, speech problems, blindness, Pancreatitis, ovarian cysts, Guillain Barre Syndrome, and short term memory loss.

Two ingredients in the vaccine are considered toxic: 1) Aluminum, which is known to cause brain damage, nerve damage and cognitive dysfunction, and 2) sodium borate which is an insecticide. These adjuvants are added to ‘stimulate the immune system’. The vaccine alternative to Gardasil is Cervarix. It includes aluminum as well but also includes ‘viral proteins’ which are derived from animals and aborted fetuses. In order for protein to be broken down, it must pass through the digestive system. Injected directly into the bloodstream can create an autoimmune response. Autoimmune diseases include; thyroid issues, MS, food allergies, celiac disease, Graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc…

As with every medication, side effects are an issue. (I wish just once side effects would include; increased muscle, increased flexibility, reversal of aging, etc…) Sigh. Proponents argue the potential for side effects is considered minor compared to the potential positives. And they pressed on, succeeding with their mandate – for a while. Still, most, if not all, cancer organizations continue to emphasize that the greatest way to prevent cervical cancer is through pap-smears. Period. In addition, they state that those who are at greatest risk for getting cervical cancer are women with HIV, AIDS or drug users. Which would explain why the highest rates occur in undeveloped countries, particularly Africa where HIV and AIDS is most prevalent.

According to The American Cancer Society, in addition to HIV and AIDS being major risk factors, they conclude that other risk factors include; smoking, multiple sex partners, genetics, long term use of contraceptive pills, and woman with a previous history of STD’s (syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia). So why don’t we address risk factors first? Stop smoking, have sex with your husband only, and stop taking the pill. In addition, they have determined that black and Hispanic women and women between the ages of 65 and 69 account for the highest incidence of cervical cancer – that’s the genetic issue that we can not change. Of course – again – safe sex = no virus.

So, if the decrease in incidence rates is due to pap-smears, why get the vaccine? If the predominate risk factor is a compromised immune system with HIV and AIDS, then why vaccinate the entire population? If the total number of cases in the US represents just .00008 of women, why are we making this an epidemic crisis?

HPV Vaccine:

According to Kaiser, there are over 140 strains of HPV, 40 can cause cervical cancer. The new Gardasil vaccine claims to mitigate 4 of the 40 strains.

Merck – Gardasil 9:

  1. approved in 2015, is recommended for girls 9-26 and for boys ages 9-15 to prevent against anal and penile cancer. It is currently not covered by private insurance but this is anticipated by 2017. The previous vaccine was only deemed effective for 4.5 years.

  2. 90-99%% of HPV infections resolve on their own without any treatment

  3. The effective rate for the vaccine drops the older the teenager

  4. In the US, cervical cancer in women under the age of 25 is ‘rare’. Most cases occur in older women

  5. If you already carry the virus, which CDC claims 50% of women do, the vaccine is not effective

  6. Hispanics, Asians, and those living below the poverty line have the highest vaccination rates in the US they also represent the highest incidence rate

  7. The incidence rate has remained relatively constant for the last ten years, although the death rate has declined due to early detection

  8. The vaccine costs about $400 and is administered in three shots.

  9. No tests have been conducted by Merck to evaluate the potential negative reactions Gardasil may pose when taken with other childhood vaccines

  10. There are over 3000 side effects reported, including death

FYI – what the heck are we doing vaccinating 9 year old’s against a sexually transmitted disease? Ewwww!

“HPV infection can change cervix cells into pre-cancer

cells. Pre-cancer cells are not cancer, and they don’t

cause changes that you would notice. Most cells with

early pre-cancer changes go back to normal on their

own. If they don’t, they can be treated. Sometimes,

if they aren’t found and treated, the pre-cancer cells

can turn into cancer. Cervical cancer can also be

treated if it’s found.”

Statistically, most women who die from cervical cancer have never had a pap-smear or have not had one for more than five years. Statistically, most women who die from cervical cancer have a compromised immune system from HIV, AIDS or drug use.

While no one wants cancer – perspective might help to mitigate over-whelming, consuming fear propagated by the media. While some people are at risk – that risk is .00008 of women in the US and of those only 32% will die, and of those 20% are over the age of 75, and of all incidences those who are already compromised due to HIV or AIDS are at the greatest risk. That leaves a very very small portion of the average population.

Perhaps it would be much more logical to immunize only those people who are at risk, while continuing to ramp up prevention through a completely non-invasive non-dangerous – pap-smear that has a proven record of dropping rates over 70%!

But then, there wouldn’t be much profit in such a scenario.

DROUGHT – Wake Up! This is NOT New News

Posted on by Helena

Note:  I wrote this commentary over a year ago and find nothing much has changed –  but it might explain the land grabs … just a thought

DROUGHTS HISTORY

California is experiencing a horrific drought. Over 80% of the area is considered at risk. Climatologists – and of course the media – are espousing this as the worst in history. But actually, that ain’t so:

California has a history of droughts dating back to 850 A.D. (the earliest recording) in which two droughts lasted 180 and 240 years respectively! Given there were no fossil fuels or ozone depletion or carbon releasing industries polluting the atmosphere during these historical times, it is safe to say these droughts were persistent without blaming ‘climate change’. And in the last 1000 years, 10-20 year droughts have been documented as rather ‘typical’ of the state/area.

While these droughts can have drastic consequences, they are not uncommon. The real problem is the fact that this commonality has simply not been properly mediated. The government, climatologists, scientists, etc…know its going to happen. It happens all the time. And every single time, they act as though this is the worst, it is the end, it is unusual, it is ‘global warming’, caught off guard. But what has California done to prepare?

Nothing.

And that’s the true problem. Have they built more storage? No. More underground reservoirs? No. Have they built desalinization plants? No. Do they still allocate water to farms that grow nothing? Yes. Do they require lawns to be drought tolerant or rock gardens? No. (Note:  They just implemented this change).  Half of ‘individual’ water use is for lawns. But 80% of the water is used for agriculture. For rice paddies in desert land. For growing water absorbing Alfalfa which is mostly exported to China. Almond trees consume 10% of ALL water use – that’s NUTS! And yet they are preserving these cash crops – for hopes of greater $$$ – to the decimation of lower crop values like vegetables. Add to the fray that 60% of almonds are an export crop, its just not practical. Its not about what is best or right – it is about what is going to make me the most money in the quickest time and allow me to high-tail it outa here jack mentality!

So what are farmers doing to make it better? They’re digging deeper and deeper wells, more and more wells, sapping up every last dribble of water that they can without concern for the longer term consequences. And no one is stopping them. In some over-pumped areas, the ground has actually sunk a few dozen feet.

What is Governor Jerry Brown saying? Why after three years of consecutive drought, he is asking that the 20% users, citizens, voluntarily reduce their consumption by 20%. Honk! JIBE! Ugh. Have they? NO! Surprise. And the farmers are now selling water that is allocated to them for huge profits. Because they can make more money selling the water than irrigating crops.

What would be the economic effects of a prolonged California drought?

  1. Some experts feel the economy would not be impacted much because only 3% of California’s economy is derived from farming. However, that stat does not take into account – people. Nor does it understand the domino effect that drives an economy. No more farms, fewer jobs, more expensive food, restaurants close, small markets close, no more wine, less tourism, and all the support industries begin the domino effect.

  2. People begin mass exodus. Housing falls. Tax revenue falls.

  3. The state splits into factions of the only remaining uber rich – Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

The ripples can then be felt across the country as 50% or more of the nations fruits and vegetables come from California. Mexico, by far, is the greatest source of imported fruits and vegetables. But Mexico’s underground water is on an annual depletion rate. Mostly due to the same perils as the US, Alfalfa.

So the US is not the only country with drought issues and risk. The northern portion of South America, middle Europe, Pakistan, central Australia, western to central Africa, and most of Asia into Japan are all experiencing dramatic droughts.

Where is the rain? Northern Europe, southern South America, eastern US, Afghanistan, Iran, Siberia, Mongolia, southern China, south and western Africa and Colorado (go figure).

Where there is drought – somewhere else there is flooding. The problem is – we have historical reference of these occurrences, and instead of taking action, being pro-active, DOING something, we sit back and blame. Oh, it’s global warming – told ya! But our world weather has shifted continually since the beginning of time. So I guess that would mean global warming has been happening since the beginning of time. Nah. Climates shift. Period. El Nino. El Nano. El fresco… whatever, they move and ebb and flow and move. It is a constant.

But sitting back and blaming global warming does little to nothing about adapting to the continuum of shift. If every single year a tornado ripped your house to shreds, would you just keep rebuilding, or at some point would you say, “hey, maybe this isn’t the best place to build a house…”. Would you year after year build that house from wood sticks or would you build it out of rock?

I know most guys have this abject fear of change. It’s why you wear the same hairdo at 65 that you had when you were 25. “Hey, you liked it then…” But sometimes ‘change’ equates to survival.

“California agriculture is nearly a $36.6 billion dollar industry that generates $100 billion in related economic activity.”

California’s dairy industry generated $47 billion “in economic activity” in 2004 and employed over 400,000 people.”

The largest source of freshwater for central and southern California comes from Colorado. The second largest source is the Sacramento Delta which is polluted with salt water and unusable for most crops. It typically supports grapes and asparagus. A Bill on the floor now proposes to redirect 90% of the delta water to central and southern California at a cost of $25 billion, thereby decimating the grape and asparagus crops… The tension is high! Is it a solution or a bandage? Does the bandage cause more harm than good? Who pays?

But there is another issue; in the US, 25% of fresh fruits and 10% of fresh vegetables are exported out of the country. What if we – didn’t? If we really have a shortage, doesn’t it make sense that the first line of defense is to just stop exporting them? And farmers would save the cost of transportation to Transalvania… And do we really need to be growing rice? It is native to Asia and parts of Africa, if its native, let them do all the watering and growing. Initially, rice paddies were a crop of Georgia, Louisiana, the Carolinas – where it rains – ALL the time. Growing rice in California is like having a banana orchard in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado… Hello? Its like a 90 year old German woman wearing a bikini.

But then you’d have the Feds subsidizing the banana orchard and buying the bikinis. So its free…?

Where’s the Beef? Hopefully, in a climate where it rains a lot because raising cattle is notorious for using the most water – over 2500 gallons per pound. Ugh! Part of that water use is in the diet we demand these cows consume – corn and soy (Monsanto’s favorites) which are two of the highest water consumable plants. Comparable; veggies and fruits consume 1/10th of that per pound of output. Relocate those cows to Arkansas and Missouri, and Tennessee. Let them stand in the rain and eat grass for criminey sake. With an Anaerobic Digestor the methane from manure can provide all the farms energy need and has a huge positive impact on the environment – water, air and soil.

As a people why are we so obsessed in making square pegs fit into round holes?

UKRAINE – A Country For Sale – going, going – gone!

Posted on by Helena

It has taken time, but finally, Mr. Soros has acknowledged a ‘financial’ interest in Ukraine. In fact, he has stipulated that infrastructure and agriculture are his prime targets of interest. And in a bid that looks strikingly similar to a threat, he has said he will invest $1 billion on the condition that the West and Europe ante up as well. He goes on to preach and banter, to reprimand, and to scold as though speaking to little bratty children, which is quite possibly exactly what he thinks of most people in this world.

So, the focus is not on oil or gold, but on the two resources that will out-pace those commodities for a millennium to come – water and food. It is estimated that by 2020 the world will see colossal food shortages. It can be assumed that Mr. Soros interest in Infrastructure is simply the means for transporting his newfound agri-goods to market. As for the citizens, for the country, they are of no consequence because the game is only about money. It is the same message I spoke about in Africa and Asia – land grabbing for agriculture. Food is the crisis. Many countries have destroyed their available land with poor farming methods, pesticides, and incompetent crop rotations so they need more. They need pristine land and they need water.

As it has panned, this was the goal from the beginning of the coup. Maybe the powers that be did not anticipate the revolts that would follow. Maybe the powers naively thought that the people would follow like cows or sheep to slaughter. The land grab of Ukraine has proven more difficult than expected, but still, they did prevail. The deaths were by-products of what was more important – the greater good for the wealthy. It is the new burgeoning entitlement, only it isn’t about the poor, it’s about the elite.

Ukraine has black soil, some of the most fertile in the world. But where is the water supply and who has access to it?

Ukraine has three major sources of water; the Dnepr Basin, Dnestr Basin, the coastal basin, the Donietsk Basin and the Danube. The Dnepr is by far the largest providing 65% of the fresh water and originates in Russia.

The land of Ukraine that is usable for agriculture is considered the second largest in all of Europe covering 41.5 million hectares. And since the coup, more and more private investors have been grabbing the land. The previous government was not hospitable toward foreign ownership of its land, despite many who tried. Land ownership was confined to the citizens of Ukraine. However, Poroschenko does not share that hesitancy and is more than willing to hand over any and all farmland to whomever he is told to sell to.

So far the largest contracts have originated with Luxembourg, Cyprus (which provides the ability to hide true ownership data), China, Qatar, Landkom International, Morgan Stanley, and France. In addition, Monsanto is now given free rein (the previous government had outlawed GMO’s). DuPont and Syngenta are busily building necessary plants and the country has for all intents and purposes been sold out.

The French firm, Agrogeneration, is one of the largest holders, as is a German trader Toepfer. Toepfer has a past that is quite questionable to say the least! In December 2013, a criminal lawsuit was filed against them, stating as follows:

“Archer Daniels Midland Company (“ADM”), a large agricultural processing company based in Illinois, is incorporated in Delaware and during the relevant period its stock was traded under the New York Stock Exchange. ADM also held a 80% interest in Alfred C. Toepfer, International GmbH (“ADM Hamburg”), a German limited liability company that is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, and an indirect 80% ownership interest in Alfred C. Toepfer International (Ukraine) Limited (“ADM Ukraine). ADM Ukraine was an affiliate of ADM Hamburg.”

A plea deal was struck and a fine levied payable to the Ukraine with a depository bank in the US. Some of the more prominent figures affiliated with ADM have included; Warren Buffet’s son, Michael Andreas, Robert Strauss, and Brian Mulroney, former PM of Canada. Other connections include; Lady Margaret Thatcher, Henry Kissinger, Evelyn de Rothschild, and former Fed Chief, Paul Volcker.

There is a Clinton relationship in the country as well. Between 2009 and 2013, the Clinton Foundation received nearly $9 million in donations from the Pinchuk Foundation and a pledge for a total of $29 million over five years. Victor Pinchuk is married to a former Ukrainian president’s daughter, served two terms in parliament, and is said to be a great collaborator with George Soros.

And the circle is complete.

So, we now have Monsanto, Burisma Holdings (the Hunter Biden, Archer, Kerry, Heinz connection), ADM, Soros, Clinton, Rothschild, France, Qatar, and a host of ‘greasers’.

The game? Quite simply, it is a game of rule, of power, of control. It is the game to own the government, to own the resources, to control who will have food, and who will not, who will have water, and who will not.

So, who is shepherding the sheep?

What will be on your table in 2020?

FYI – Largest “agriculture” land holders in US: Mormon Church, TIAA CREF, and Hancock Agriculture – largest landowner = John Malone