If there’s one thing we can thank Twitter for it’s how well it highlights just how many morons, loonies, and general hatemongers are out there, waiting to pounce on anyone who dares to hold opposing views to them.
But, can they be blamed, when certain public peddlers of lies and vitriol, which have the effrontery to still call themselves ‘newspapers’, emblazon their front pages with this sort of rubbish:
This was the front page output of two of these porno-pushers following a judgement by the U.K. High Court stating that Article 50, to commence withdrawal from the E.U., could only be triggered with the consent of parliament.
From the BBC:
Meanwhile, Gina Miller, the investment manager and philanthropist who led the legal campaign, has said she plans to report online trolls to police after receiving rape and death threats.
She told BBC Radio 5 live that other abuse included people telling her “I’m not even human, I’m a primate, I belong in a kitchen – that’s the nicest of some of them. It is unbelievable.
“I am really cross at the politicians and the media who are whipping this up because they are the ones inciting racism and violence and acrimony.”
These so-called “trolls”, who use their anonymity to vent hatred and spread fear, aren’t just a small band of right-wing, fascist, nutters. They’re a large section of the general populace who are incapable of thinking for themselves, or holding any opinion other than those they’ve gleaned from the gutter press, or the shadier parts of the internet.
That these people exist in such large numbers proves beyond doubt the ineffectuality of referenda as a method of determining a correct course of action in any political situation. This is why we elect political representatives to make these decisions for us. David Cameron’s decision not to allow the British parliament to decide whether the U.K. should remain in the E.U., was tantamount to Pontius Pilate washing his hands and letting the people decide the fate of Jesus of Nazareth – and we all know how that turned out!
The British parliament must realise that there are Brits so badly educated, so immature, and so politically ignorant, that they can’t be trusted to make any properly thought out decision on the future of the nation. It was their votes that swung the Brexit decision.
If Theresa May had any backbone at all she would allow a free vote in parliament and let MPs decide whether the result of the “advisory referendum” should be adhered to, or whether it was in Britain’s best interests to remain a part of the European Community.
Sadly, that won’t happen because May and her cronies have other, hidden, agendas. But given the collapse of the U.K. currency, forecasts of 4% inflation by next year, rising prices across the board, and numerous other negative factors in the pipeline, the ‘best interests’ question has already been fully answered.
I’m appalled, utterly – and mystified. Brits are walking around with smug grins on their faces. It’s the sort of, “I told you so” grin an elder sibling might wear when, as a kid, you’d try to walk along the top of a narrow wall just to prove you could do it, and the elder one would say, “Get down, you’ll fall off.” You did, and there was the grin, smug and knowing, while you picked the gravel out of your knee.
Brits can be a bit smug at the best of times. It comes from once having an empire and pretending it’s still there. But this is different. They now have proof they were right all along. Science has proved it, or so they think.
When I was a kid my mother was strict about teeth cleaning. Twice a day, morning and bedtime, my sister and I were marched to the bathroom for this ablutive ritual. It worked. All my life I’ve brushed religiously twice a day, happy in the knowledge I was doing the best I could for my teeth. Sadly, my pearlies never reciprocated. Toothache, painful dentist visits, cavities galore, even, one girlfriend eventually admitted, bad breath. How shaming!
This sad orthodontic plight persisted on and off for fifty years or so, until I eventually moved to the United States and married the present Mrs R J. I was surprised to find large quantities of dental floss in her bathroom cabinet.
“Do you really use that stuff?” I exclaimed, fingering the small round plastic pack, as one might if it had been labeled, ‘Nitroglycerine’.
“Of course, and you should too, darling. It would help with your tooth problem – and,” she smiled demurely, “your other little problem.”
“What tooth prob…and what other little problem?” I was becoming irate. Was this woman telling me I was less than perfect in her eyes? We’d just got married, for God’s sake!
“Well,” she took my hand, “you do sometimes have bad breath, you know…” I snatched my hand away, “…not always,” she continued hastily, “just sometimes…and it’s not really bad…just a little bit.”
That was how I began a regular flossing routine. Just once a day, in the morning after breakfast. I was also ‘persuaded’ to visit my wife’s dentist and have the ravages of fifty year’s Mars bars and chip suppers repaired. A couple of crowns and four ‘fillings’ later I was as good as new. Well, dentally, at least.
Fifteen years later, I can honestly say I’ve never had a problem with my teeth since. My wife doesn’t hesitate to kiss me any more, and as we can’t get decent dental floss in France, we import our favourite brand from America.
Well, okay, I’ll hold up my hand and admit the first sentence of that last paragraph isn’t quite accurate. A few months before we came to France I began to suffer pain from my back teeth. Fearful of molar decay, I visited an elderly dentist in our local town to be checked out. He took X-rays, poked around as dentists do, and finally concluded that I was fine. “It’s just a slight gum recession, inevitable at your age,” he said,”I have a similar problem myself. Try one of those toothpastes that deaden it. That works for me.” Then he added, “You have very good teeth for a man of your age. I see you floss regularly.”
I was surprised, “How can you tell?”
He smiled and showed me the X-ray of my mouth, “Look, between every tooth you have a clean gap. That’s the floss gap. People who don’t floss regularly don’t have such a well-defined gap. Plaque builds between the teeth and closes that gap leaving the side of the tooth vulnerable to disease. Most cavities we dentists see begin there, in the side of the tooth rather than the back or front.”
This was from a man who’d been a dentist all his working life, and he was seventy-two. He was right about my gums. The pain went away after a few day’s use with a deadening toothpaste.
The British (and possibly the French as well, judging from the lack of good quality floss in their stores) have always shied away from flossing. It’s why so many of them suffer from bad breath. I know, I was one until I joined Halitosis Anonymous and elected Mrs R J as my mentor. It’s no myth that the British have always had more dental problems than the Americans, and U.S. dental treatment is even more expensive than in the U.K., with virtually no cover from standard medical insurance policies.
For reasons unfathomed, The Associated Press recently decided to wage war against tooth flossing. There’s no scientific evidence it does any good, they decided. This is quite true, but it’s also a fact that there’s no scientific evidence it doesn’t. They approached the U.S. government.
The federal government has recommended flossing since 1979, first in a surgeon general’s report and later in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans issued every five years. The guidelines must be based on scientific evidence, under the law. Last year, the Associated Press asked the departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture for their evidence, and followed up with written requests under the Freedom of Information Act…
Why would they do that? The “Freedom of Information Act?” Can dental floss be used to make a terrorist’s bomb?
When the federal government issued its latest dietary guidelines this year, the flossing recommendation had been removed, without notice. In a letter to the AP, the government acknowledged the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched, as required. [my bold] [1]
Okay, so any studies done have been unscientific and incomplete, but that’s no reason to condemn a product that’s been in use for over a century. Many, however, think it is, including one British dentist, Ollie Jupes, who wrote to the Guardian about it:
In Britain we’ve long known about the futility of floss, and now Americans have brushed up on their science, too. As a health measure, it simply doesn’t work. The fact is, the British dental profession gave floss a quiet burial years ago after sneaking it out the back and finishing it off humanely with a lump-hammer. Yes, in the UK we realised ages ago that – and if you still religiously floss daily, look away now – flossing simply doesn’t work as a health measure (or a fetish).
Let me say that again. FLOSS DOES NOT WORK. Not at all. There’s not a shred of evidence that it does any good whatsoever. I mean, it seemed a good idea at the time – 1882 to be precise – but modern evidence would demonstrate that it doesn’t improve gum health one jot (to use the scientific term).[2]
Golly, Ollie(!), that’s a bit strong, isn’t it? Especially considering there’s no modern evidence to demonstrate anything. I think this is more a question of the British feeling a little smug that for once they may have got things right. Take Dave Bry, another contributor on the subject to the Guardian:
The federal government has removed daily flossing from its official Dietary Guidelines for Americans after admitting to the Associated Press that “the effectiveness of flossing had never been researched”…
…I had gone to a dentist for the first time in more than a decade. My mouth was a disaster site: my teeth hurt, my gums bled every time I brushed them. I had gum disease, the dental hygienist said, and she warned me about all sorts of more serious health problems that studies had shown might follow– loss of teeth, heart disease, even cancer! I would have to come back for cleanings twice a month for the next four months. And I’d have to floss.
We filled out a calendar of appointments, and I made them. But I struggled, and failed, to find a daily flossing routine. It was hard to remember. And even when I did, it was such a boring way to spend two minutes, so unrewarding. And it hurt. Just a little, but still. Every time I squeezed the waxy little string between two of my teeth, just at that first moment, when you penetrate and the floss hits the gum: ouch! Again, just a little ouch, but certainly enough to render the whole endeavor less than fun.
Here’s a guy who was obviously suffering from a lack of floss – decaying teeth, sore gums, etc – and who needed flossing to be FUN!
It never became any less boring. And I quit – as is my wont, I’ve always lacked self-discipline. It wasn’t an abrupt quitting. It was a gradual petering out. After almost a month.
So I was glad to read the news about the uncertainty of its effectiveness. Who knows whether flossing works? Who knows whether it’s healthy? One thing’s for sure, though. It is definitely boring. I’m happy not to do it, and to not feel guilty about it.[3]
Well, that’s fine, Dave. So you’re happy to suffer painful teeth, bleeding gums, the possible outcomes of false teeth, heart disease, even cancer? And how about your halitosis problem, Dave? You never mentioned that, did you? No, better not to admit to that. In fact, better to not admit it to yourself. Bad breath? Huh, not me! Give us a kiss, Love.
The British may think they can be smug over flossing. Who needs it? We’re British, we know better. Well, guess what, so am I British and I know better than the AP or you smug bastards. My gnashers are living proof that flossing works. When all your rotting British teeth need to be pulled, I’m the one who’ll be walking around with all mine intact.
And don’t come complaining to me when your dentures keep falling out. I’ll just have a smug grin on my face.
Opposition in Belgium has collapsed. The ‘Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement’ (CETA) is to be passed after all. It’s really not surprising. In fact, it was inevitable. There can be little doubt that all the other secretive, underhand, so-called ‘Trade’ agreements will also eventually pass into law.
Had it not been for WikiLeaks no-one, except those few individuals privy to the negotiations, would have known what was involved until the contents were eventually made public – if ever. It’s ironic that, in just over a week, elections will be held by the major power behind these clandestine agreements. Elections held in the name of democracy.
That same power has been blasting Middle Eastern nations apart for the last few decades in the guise of ‘spreading freedom and democracy’. The phrase has become synonymous with ’empire-building and subjugation’. America, in the form of the United States, has changed the very meaning of ‘democracy’ in its bid to control all the nations of the planet. It sees itself as the ultimate force for good against those who would live by different rules – those it regards as ‘evil’.
For that’s what America’s engaged in today, the fight of good against evil. But only as it sees the world, not as the world truly is. Torture, napalm, depleted uranium, white phosphorus, incarceration without trial, sexual humiliation, assassination by remote control, even the pigeon-holing of many thousands of dead innocents as ‘collateral damage’ – are these the tools used by ‘good guys’ fighting evil? No! They are the very embodiment of evil – the tools of evil, the weapons of some of the worst, most evil, criminals in our history.
Not only is the United States, together with its puppet allies, waging evil war for its own gain, it has another arrow in the bow of supreme domination – that of economic control. Super-Capitalism has become the other weapon in the armoury. Huge corporations, expanding like cancerous growths in the body of humanity, seek new markets and fresh businesses to engulf and swallow like some grotesque, science-fiction, monster devouring all in its path.
US telecoms giant AT&T has announced that it will buy entertainment group Time Warner for nearly $86bn (£70bn).
The deal – one of the biggest this year – still needs approval from regulators.
If the takeover goes through, it would combine AT&T’s distribution network with content from the Warner Brothers film studios and the cable TV channels HBO and CNN.
AT&T’s chairman described it as “a perfect match” but critics say it concentrates too much media power.
The deal is likely to be closely scrutinised by US antitrust regulators. AT&T is already the third largest cable TV provider in the US.
Randall Stephenson, who is both chairman and chief executive of AT&T, said he did not anticipate any regulatory obstacles, saying any concerns could be overcome if concessions were made.
“This is a perfect match of two companies with complementary strengths who can bring a fresh approach to how the media and communications industry works for customers, content creators, distributors and advertisers,” he said. [1]
The merger of AT&T and Time Warner is just the latest mega-deal in the pipeline. Note that the deal is to be “closely scrutinised by US antitrust regulators.” It will almost certainly pass that scrutiny, even though some publicity may be given to certain ‘concessions’. And we can forget the baloney spouted by Mister Randall Stephenson (who, not-incidentally, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a major think-tank advising the U.S. government on foreign policy issues). This merger is all about profits.
The Western world, though large, has geographical limits on corporate ambition. Where to find such corporate succour when America and the West are no longer large enough to sustain it?
Hence the welcome mat rolled out in the form of CETA, and the TPP, and all the other ‘Trade’ agreements that will follow in time. A world of free trade where U.S. companies can devour their rivals abroad with impunity. Once these ‘Trade’ agreements are passed there’ll by no more ‘regulators’. It’s been cleverly written into CETA and the TPP that any government regulation stifling profits will cost the tax payers dear. We are witnessing the greatest hand-out of power to the Masters of Super-Capitalism the world has ever seen.
Can it be stopped? No, it can’t. Many have tried, but all have failed. Once, it could have been stopped at the ballot box. But then there was still democracy. Democracy is now dead. When Americans go to the polls on November 8th, who will they be voting for? In truth, two evils. There is no ‘lesser’.
Clinton is a proven war-hawk and has been working hand-in-glove with her President for the last four years to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership and The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (now neatly relabelled CETA and served up as stew instead of goulash) to fruition. She says she’s no longer in favour of it, but she is lying through her teeth. It’s one of Clinton’s greatest assets. It’s why the corporations, usually Republican, are backing her over Trump. They know she’ll lie for them easily once she becomes president, as has the present incumbent. A glib, lying, tongue, capable of sounding sincere in public, has become a U.S. president’s greatest asset.
Trump also states he’s not in favour. He may not be now, but he’ll be ‘persuaded’ to change his mind if he’s ever elected – which is highly unlikely as the big guns of corporate power have been blasting away at him from the time of his nomination.
The electorates of the world are easily manipulated. Gone are the days when ordinary folks were prepared to die for their rights. Now, it’s much easier just to complain to each other on Twitter or Facebook.
It won’t happen overnight, but the time is approaching when we will all be forced to face the truth of what’s happening to the world we inhabit. CETA and TPP are just steps on the way to new forms of government – corporate government, where all that matters is profit, and broken human lives are just more ‘collateral damage’.
