Ladies,
If you loved “365 Days” and couldn’t put down the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy, I promise you’re going to love “Chasing the Spider” by D.S. Mitchell. “Chasing the Spider” is available on Amazon. Continue reading
Ladies,
If you loved “365 Days” and couldn’t put down the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy, I promise you’re going to love “Chasing the Spider” by D.S. Mitchell. “Chasing the Spider” is available on Amazon. Continue reading
Greenpeace uses direct action, lobbying, research, and ecotage to achieve its goals.
Founded in 1971
Greenpeace was founded in Canada in 1971 by Irving and Dorothy Stowe transplanted environmental activists from the United States. The organizations stated goal is to “ensure the ability of the earth to nurture life in all its diversity.” Greenpeace focuses its campaigning on worldwide environmental issues such as; climate change, deforestation, overfishing, commercial whaling, genetic engineering, and anti-nuclear issues.
Global Network
Greenpeace is a global network. The network comprises 26 independent national/regional organizations in over 55 countries. A coordinating body, Greenpeace International is based in the Netherlands. The network does not accept funding from corporations, political parties, or governments, relying instead on three million plus individual donors and special foundations grants.
Raising the World Consciousness
Greenpeace is without a double one of the most visible environmental organizations in the world and is critical in raising issues to public knowledge.
February 1972:
After the first Greenpeace action in 1971 the U.S. abandons nuclear testing grounds at Amchitka Island, Alaska.
October 1982:
After at-sea actions against whalers, the International Whaling Commission adopts a whaling moratorium.
December 1989:
UN moratorium on high seas large scale driftnets is passed, responding to public outrage at indiscriminate fishing practices. In 1991 a worldwide ban goes into force.
November 1993:
Due to repeated actions against ocean dumping for over a decade by Greenpeace the London Dumping Convention permanently bans the dumping of radioactive and industrial waste worldwide.
December 1994:
After years of Greenpeace actions against whaling, the Antarctic whale sanctuary is approved by the International Whaling Commission.
December 1997:
Adoption of the Kyoto Protocol by governments of many industrialized countries agreeing to set legally binding reduction targets on greenhouse gases. Europe signed on March 2002 and Russia in 2004.
May 2002:
Greenpeace defeats a major drive by Japan to re-introduce commercial whaling.
March 2009: The Great Bear Rainforest protection agreement capped one of Greenpeace’s longest running campaigns. The protected region covers over 25,000 square miles of Canadian wilderness.
September 2015: Shell Oil abandons Arctic drilling.
October 2016: After years of campaigning for a protected area in the Ross Sea, off the coast of Antarctica succeeded. The agreement created the largest marine protected area in the world.
July 2017: Thai Union, the largest tuna company in the world and owner of Chicken of the Sea, agrees to sweeping reforms with expected benefits for sharks, sea turtles and fisherman.
May-July 2018: Foodservice giants Bon Apetit Management and Aramark commit to phase out plastic straws and stirrers, and other single use products.
September 2020: Brazilian government rejects oil drilling applications near the spectacular Amazon Reef right off the Brazilian coast by French oil giant Total.
June 2021: The U.S. Interior Department suspends oil and gas drilling leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge after a Greenpeace campaign leading to an environmental review.
August 2022: California legislature enacts a 3,200 foot public health and safety setback, or a buffer zone to protect neighborhoods from toxic pollution created by oil and gas drilling.
A-fib can lead to blood clots in the upper chambers of the heart increasing the risk of having a stroke fivefold.
By D.S. Mitchell
Costco Connection
I am a Costco member and as such I get a copy of the Costco Connection magazine every month. The publication is full of useful information. In the February 2023 issue, I found a great article by Andrea Downing Peck, on the dangers of atrial fibrillation, a very dangerous heart rhythm disorder. I’m a retired RN and I’m always looking for information that will help people recognize symptoms of dangerous health conditions.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Recently, I have seen numerous public service announcements made by NBA basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who tells us that he suffers from atrial fibrillation. Well Kareem is not alone; an estimated 2.7 million American live with atrial fibrillation (a-fib). A-fib is the most common sustained heart rhythm disorder seen by doctors.
What Is A-Fib?
A-fib is an irregular, disorganized heart rhythm where the heart’s upper chambers (the atria) no longer beat in coordination with the lower chambers (the ventricles). The rate is usually more rapid than would normally be expected for the level of activity being engaged in. A-fib is extremely dangerous because the rhythm commonly causes blood clots and blood clots cause strokes. Patients may experience a-fib without symptoms, but when symptoms do appear they may include chest discomfort, light-headedness, palpitations, shortness of breath, and fatigue. If left untreated it can be deadly.
Common Victims
The risk for a-fib increases after age 65. Several medical conditions also increase the risk of developing a-fib whether you are young or old: High blood pressure, Sleep apnea, Obesity, Heart failure, Diabetes, Overactive thyroid, Pericarditis, and coronary artery disease.
Triggers
Lots of studies and research have been done over the last fifty years to discover how to prevent heart disease. Researchers have known that the risk of coronary disease increases with predictable lifestyle factors. Now much of that research is telling us that those same factors and prevention strategies are most likely relevant to heart rhythm disturbances such as a-fib.
Alcohol vs Caffeine
Caffeine has been suspected as a trigger in patients who experience intermittent a-fib. Intermittent a-fib is defined as a temporary episode of the disorder that starts suddenly but resolves quickly without medical interventions, usually within 24 hours. The studies clearly indicate that caffeine does not appear to increase episodes of a-fib, but alcohol did frequently act as a trigger. Drinking more than one alcoholic beverage per day is clearly a trigger for the disorder.
More Than One Trigger
Smoking, sleeplessness, dehydration, stress, obesity, high blood pressure, and sedentary lifestyle are factors that seem to trigger a-fib events. The caveat here, as with many things, it is often a combination of several factors that trigger the event. Over the next several decades the prevalence of a-fib is expected to increase significantly. It’s the combination of these co-morbidities that increase the risk of a-fib.
The Answer
There’s an epidemic of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, inactivity, and alcohol abuse, in the United States. According to experts, we need the population to move, lose weight, drink less alcohol, and as practitioners, doctors need to aggressively treat diabetes and high blood pressure.
Treatment
Treatments can vary. Medication or surgical intervention, in some cases, may be required. Medications are used to control heart rate and rhythm. Anti-coagulants are used to prevent clotting. A cardioversion is sometimes used as an emergency intervention. A catheter ablation is a procedure used to permanently restore the heart’s proper electrical currents. There is also for some patients an implant called the Watchman that offers an alternative to blood thinners.
Outcomes
It is important to educate the public about a-fib and other heart rhythm disorders. It is important that if an individual is experiencing symptoms, they should contact their physician as soon as possible to diagnose the problem and above all prevent stroke.
Editors Note:
The Trump Town Hall on CNN the other night, had the hair on my arms standing up and I felt a deep visceral anger and disgust I haven’t felt since Trump was president. With that disgust of everything Trump renewed, I was prompted to go back and revisit numerous calamitypolitics.com articles from Trump’s first few months in office.
Listen folks, all you need to do is read the newspaper to know Trump is a bad dude. He is a shameless narcissist, a fake and a liar, a sexual predator, a grifter, a tax fraud, among many other proven things, but most importantly he is a real threat to our democracy. Now here he comes again, after fomenting an insurrection, asking us to give him a second chance to bring down the damn government. It’s happening in Israel, Hungary, and Turkey. It could happen here. We must stop Captain Chaos. Donate to the re-elect Biden-Harris 2024 presidential campaign.
Back in 2016
Millions of people across the country were deeply disturbed and shocked in 2016 after the Electoral College determined Donald J. Trump to have been elected president of the United States. Many protested in the streets, some like me took to the computer to Resist the insanity of a TV huckster and an absurdity like Donald Trump becoming president.
By D.S. Mitchell
A Real Train Wreck
Anyone that knows me knows my total disgust of anything and everything, Trump. So, some may wonder why I would waste an hour watching the CNN Donald Trump Town Hall last night. Frankly, I just wanted to confirm that all the character traits that originally made me loath the man were still applicable. I didn’t need the hour to confirm my original assessment, but I hung around, just because as with all train wrecks it’s hard to look away.
Friendly Audience
He had a handpicked pro-Trump audience in New Hampshire. The crowd laughed and cheered at his attacks on E. Jean Carroll who had just the day before, won a $5 million lawsuit against the ex-president for sexual assault and defamation. Hopefully, Ms. Carroll isn’t done yet because this guy hasn’t learned anything about defamation. I believe she has grounds for a second defamation case against the disgraced, twice impeached, pro-sexual assault, ex- president.
A Vivid Reminder
If nothing else, last night gave us a vivid reminder of what another term of a Donald Trump presidency would look like. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m way, way, past the chaos, shame, hatred, cruelty, lies, corruption, and total dysfunction this man brought to the White House. I’m ready to see this aberration gone into the dark night, never to be seen or heard from again.
Mental Illness Effects All Of Us
Raise Awareness And Educate
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. The purpose of Mental Health Awareness Month is multipronged. First and foremost it is designed to raise awareness and educate the public about: mental illnesses. More than 1 in 5 Americans suffer from a diagnosed mental illness and an unknown number of Americans suffer from an undiagnosed mental illness. It is estimated that 80% of the population suffers from a mental illness at some point in their lives, some as benign sounding as nail biting and bed wetting. The most familiar and the most catastrophic in their effects on the lives of sufferers are depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Another goal is to reduce the negative attitudes and misconceptions that surrounds mental illnesses. An additional goal is to draw attention to suicide which can be precipitated by some mental illnesses. In 2020, 45,979 Americans committed suicide, and another 1.2 million attempted suicide.
Suicide Check List
If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms please seek help.
Please, if you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, or are showing any of the listed signals, tell someone. Call the suicide lifeline @Lines for Life: 1-800-273-8255 for young people call: 1-877-968-8491
$787.5 Million For Dominion
The Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit cost Fox (News?) $787.5 million big ones. If it sounds huge, it is. In fact, it is by far the largest defamation settlement in the history of the planet. Prior to the Fox-Dominion case, the largest defamation payout was for $177 million, in a 2017 case between ABC News and Beef Products Inc., a South Dakota meat processing company.
Five Factors To Prove Defamation
Five factors must have occurred to prove defamation. 1.) Publication of false information. 2.) The person, or in this case entity, Dominion Voting Systems, was specifically identified by Fox and its commentators. 3.) The remarks had a negative impact on the person or the entity’s reputation. 4.) The information disseminated (by Fox) was false and they knew it was false (reckless disregard). 5.) The defendant (Fox) is at fault, having published the lie for public consumption.
What Exactly Did Fox Do?
First and foremost, Fox and its on-air crew (Carlson, Hannity, Ingraham, and multiple others) repeatedly lied to their viewers. Despite information to the contrary, day after day, night after night, they repeated the lies, claiming Dominion Voting Systems had switched or credited votes illegally to Joe Biden. An intoxicated, red faced, Rudy Giuliani, a mentally disturbed Sydney Powell, and that weirdo Pillow Guy were on Fox every night pushing the lie that Donald Trump had won the 2020 presidential election with zero pushback from the commentators.
Nasty Secrets Revealed
As the trial date drew near, the cable news airwaves were filled with jaw-dropping leaks of emails between the folks at Fox. The texts and emails from the king of bullshit, and Fox’s biggest star, Tucker Carlson, stunned me. The shock came when I realized this SOB was even more disgusting in real life than I had imagined possible. Behind the scenes Tucker was like a rabid dog going after everyone from Donald Trump, to his boss, Rupert Murdoch.
‘Antifa Kid’
The large number, and the toxic content of Tucker’s emails were truly outrageous. In one particularly egregious email he “prayed” for the killing of a protester being attacked by a group of white supremacists. Now that is sick. On 1/7/2021 Carlson sent a text message to his producer telling him about his visceral response to the video. In the video three or more white men were filmed attacking an ‘Antifa kid.’ Carlson said he wanted the victim to be killed. After some thought Tucker decided that was ‘deeply wrong.’
Editorial: Along with a series of outrageous decisions the SCOTUS is facing the revelation of potentially serious wrongdoing, grift, and corruption.
Public Backlash
The 6-3 supermajority conservative Supreme Court is facing ugly public backlash to numerous recent court decisions, most notably of course, the overturning of Roe. But the court is also facing public outrage over the corruption of members of the court and their spouses. Clarence Thomas (& Ginni Thomas), John Roberts (& Jane Roberts), Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh are mostly responsible for the bad publicity that has led to the court’s low public approval rating. It looks like this set of justices is bad for the court.
Written on a Sign
I don’t know about you, but my outrage grows by the day. At a recent abortion protest, I saw a young girl carrying a sign inscribed, “I hate it here.” If you are a follower of Calamity News and Politics, you may have noticed an increased tension, and quite honestly, unbridled rage coming from this corner of the progressive community. I too have had several recent “I hate it here,” moments.
Targeted Killings
The radical right sees no contradiction in banning abortion, for love of life, yet fueled rhetoric that likely led to the murder of at least 10 pro-choice physicians. The radical right tell us the Second Amendment is sacred. Sometime between my birth and today, the sanctity of the Second Amendment has taken on ridiculous, and unintended proportions. Since when is the right to own a gun more important than the life of a child.
***** “I loved how fast paced and sexy this book was. I could not put it down until the end. I can’t wait for the next adventure.” Megahan W.
***** “Really good story with gritty dialogue and intriguing pace.” Roselyn T.
***** “I loved it. I couldn’t put it down until the last page.” Anita M.
***** “I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what was coming next. I don’t read a lot but this book just kept me glued to the page.” Mark S.
***** “What was coming next kept me reading.” Som G.
***** “Ever so sexy. Great fun.” Ellen B.
Available on Amazon Books and Kindle ebooks
Here’s the link to the book: