Should public radio program in the public interest?
By Thom Hartmann A...
NPR is supposed to be our national public radio, but they're barely covering climate issues that are in the public's interest.
Only one month ago, a national New York Times/CBS News poll found that half of all Americans think that global warming is already having a serious impact. Sixty percent of those surveyed even said that protecting our environment should be a priority “even at the risk of curbing economic growth.”
Despite those clear statistics, NPR's climate coverage has declined steadily over recent years, and now they're slashing their environmental staff to one part-time reporter. According to Katherine Bagley of InsideClimate News, at the beginning of this year, NPR “had three full-time reporters and one editor dedicated” to climate and environmental news. Now “one remains – and he is covering it only part-time.”
This new policy is an insult to the vast majority of the public who cares about our environment, and it blatantly ignores the real risks we face from global warming. It also hints at where NPR is getting funding, and who is pulling the strings at the so-called public radio network.
Rather than focusing on the most important issue of our time – our warming planet – the network has joined the long list of organizations doing the bidding of Big Oil. The fact is, the radio airwaves are part of our commons, and they should be used by those working for the common good.
We only have one planet to call home, and we need to do everything we can to protect it. That includes providing coverage of the important climate and environmental issues that the public needs to know about.
It’s time to demand that our national public radio does a better job covering those issues.
Comments
#2
It's a sad fact that over a hundred staffers have left NPR in the past year or two. I know this because I heard two announcements on, where else, NPR. "There is no way to exaggerate the amount of experience that is leaving the building," said one.
What I hear now on All Things Considered is the daily ebola story, a foreign story or two, a story about some minority's stuggles, a light feature and then the hourly new music review. There seems to be no shortage of music reviewerrs at the new NPR, at least. There's a combination of predictibility and banality, amolified by repetition there. Or perhaps it's just me, and I'm grumpy after Thom was taken off the local AM dial, and I'm now forced to listen to NPR to hear anything intelligent?
#3
I think that we deserve and need to demand, the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth somewhere in the USA!!!
#4
I suspect one reason that NPR could be characterized as National Petroleum Radio is the usual Republican de-funding maneuver. Don't like a watchdog agency? Just don't fund it.
Simple and effective.
Then, if the agency can, it can go begging for funds, and you have them at the mercy of those with deep pockets.
This has been done to every federal governmental agency that watches out for the general populace, including the Centers for Disease Control which has had a 30% cut in budget since 2007 and has been unable to fund promising Ebola vaccine research.
Yet, millions of voters across the country are getting ready to vote Republican because they aren't happy with how things are. Yup. That'll make things so much better-for the one percent.
Meanwhile, the rest of us have to pay attention and be active citizens. For this NPR issue, I suppose the thing to do is to advocate for increased funding. Anyone starting a petition?
#5
Thom, of course PBS is doing the , "... bidding of Big Oil ..." IOWs, the Koch boys.
But, Big Oil isn't our biggest environmental problem -- it's the environmental/governmental/media complex that is not addressing the largest, by far, climate changing cause. You think not? See THIS new documentary:
http://cowspiracy.com
#6
I can only tell you that I am vegan and I volunteer in wildlife rehab; I have 7 years of university; I live in mismanaged senior HUD housing; and I almost lose my lunch when my NPR station broadcasts their terribly trendy and yuppified cooking shows! I sell on eBay in order to eat organic! I do some really mean steamed veggies! As for news, I come online to get my ideas, both mainstream and alarming alternative. I'm interested in what thoughtful people in other countries are doing about climate change, and other important concerns of humanity. No, I can only take so much of these brittle chatty smug yuppies on NPR. I have no illusions that they are giving me the whole story!
#7
Pope Francis recently declared the Big Bang, Eveolution, and Global Warming to be real and credible. Wonder who will rush in to start funding the Catholic Church ? Perhaps Silly Billy O'reily. He's alwsy bragging about his Catholic Faith - so is Sean Hannity for that matter.
#8
I saw this coming years ago when Congress elected to cut back federal funding for public radio. I knew that corporate funding would be taking over, which it has. So now, what was once a wonderfully progressive, alternative media source is now a shell of its former self, sticking to less controversial subject matter (boring). I got tired of it after awhile and stopped tuning in. Much as I enjoy listening to music (and last I heard, they still had some fabulous music programs, especially on the weekends!), I really crave the news, along with updates on various issues and causes. If I’m not getting that, I move on. I now listen instead to KBBR, where you get Thom Hartmann in this area, along with other progressive talk radio. Good stuff. Haven’t bothered with NPR for at least a decade. - AIW
#9
Though it is heartening to read such sensitive and meaningful comments, my heart is broken and sad that NPR has gone to the darkside. With the Koch brothers on the board of Directors, and corporate donors rushing to bully and destroy a wonderful and very necessary Public Broadcasting System in America, it is very sad.
While driving truck for cross country deliveries and pickups, time after time there would be NPR with the same programming I love, the thought out commentaries, interesting and fun to listen to. Even in the middle of the night. And all the rural Americans had to listen to basically for news they can use. Now I get angry when I listen to those middle school-like children babbling. Have written many letters correcting their mistakes, including rude manners to heads of state. On Public Broadcasting, I have written a few letters and have received thoughtful answers from some of the commentators. But alas, NPR has no interest for me, as lies are an insult and bad manners disgusting.
#10
Aliceinwonderland ~ At least you get Thom Hartmann in your area. Several months ago the last AM station that carried his show here in the SF Bay Area sold out. Imagine my surprise while riding to work in the morning and hearing Glenn Beck where Stephanie Miller used to be. At first, I thought my radio was broken. (After about 15 minutes I wished my radio was broken.) Now I have to listen to soft rock in the morning. Not that it is a bad thing. The corporations are having a field day with the media. Imagine that in a progressive community like the Bay Area we have lost every single progressive radio station we had. NPR simply has not stepped up to the plate as far as I am concerned.
#11
Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooo GIANTS!!!!!!!!!!!
#12
Doesn't the bay area have some Pacifica stations on the FM dial?
#13
Aliceinwonderland ~ Sorry Alice. I just lost my cool because of the World Series; but, you are so right. I wish I could just turn on the radio again and listen to Thom. It is such a hassle to have to turn into the internet. I used to be able to do my listening at work. Now I have to use my free time, the internet; and, I just don't have that much free time to spare. The corporatist fascists are winning. However, I do believe We the People will prevail in the long run.
#14
chuckle8 ~ Pacifica has some Pacifica stations on the radio. However, because it is isolated below a mountain and fog bank it is pretty much a Pacifica thing. If it isn't transmitted from San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Hayward, or San Jose, it might as well be transmitted from Mars.
#15
Repeat
#16
Marc, the shit you describe going on with S.F. Bay Area radio stations scares the bajeezus out of me. It’s a definite symptom of encroaching fascism, when all media representing certain points of view gets wiped out by whatever means. Kinda frightens me, how corporations keep taking up more and more space in our lives. Media is the eyes and ears of a society. When media such as radio, TV and various publications get hijacked by corporate power, we’ve nothing connecting us to each other or the world beyond our borders except kleptofascist propaganda. This is dangerous. It concerns me. - AIW
P.S. Oh m'gawd... I just read zephyrr's post. Didn't know the Kochs were on NPR's Board of Directors. R.I.P., NPR... In a funny way NPR's fate reminds me of the fate of some tiger swallowtail caterpillars I used to "raise" in captivity, and observe as they transitioned into butterflies. Mysteriously, my caterpillars began to shrivel up and die, at various stages of growth. I began noticing something resembling a tiny white (or pale yellow?) egg attached to the side of each caterpillar. To solve the mystery, I put one of the dying caterpillars in a jar and sealed the lid, just to keep it under observation. I was curious to see what would hatch out of that microscopic egg. What finally emerged from the egg was the tiniest wasp I'd ever seen. The larvae of that wasp had hatched from the egg, burrowed into the caterpillar and eaten it from the inside. And that's what the Kochs and their ilk have done to NPR; invaded it from the outside, destroyed it from the inside. Jeez… I thought things were bad when we had the Vietnam War going on and all those riots and assassinations… I look back through the last several decades and see how much worse it’s gotten in this country, as well as the harm this country continues inflicting on the rest of the world. And it all resembles a dreary, tiresome movie I would never elect to watch, let alone live through in "real life".
#17
Aliceinwonderland ~ Well said! I agree!! Your analogy is spot on. I too as a child attempted to capture and incubate a caterpillar in its cocoon to see it turn into a butterfly. Not a very easy task to perform. Personally, you've had much more success than I. However, your assessment of the Koch brothers is very appropriate.
Even now as we s;peak I am watching the news. Despite the festivities in San Francisco at the present the police are moving in on the revelers. There is a mobile command center set up and arrests have been reported. I have no idea why there is a mobile command center dispatched to the seen of a bunch of revelers; however, it is most disconcerting.
At present there are thousands of Giants fans in the streets of San Francisco who are peaceably celebrating their victory. It will be interesting to see what becomes of this. We are so rapidly moving toward a police state that I worry for the revelers.
#18
It seems ever more difficult to find an informed perspective or finding a path out of the Ground Hog Day syndrome. I recently returned to NPR after gagging on the dried up, re-run music stations. They cover the elections like a horse race over non issues and ever mentioning what candidates histories and assertions. Reporter questions are posed as cute, trivial, nuance, "some might say," or just stupid.
I reflect on the greats of my era, the authoritative voice of Cronkite helping us make sense of incredible social change in an era of incredible change - whether we would land the moon or destroy the planet in a momentary fireball. Civil rights. Riots. An endless war with over 58,000 American deaths and a million Vietnamese dead.
The lie must be preserved at all costs. Ebola. ISIS. Al Quada. Beheaded worker in Missouri. School children killing children at school. Whacko so called Islamic, brutal attacks on the streets of America, England, and Canada. American workers pushed overboard to fend for themselves. Unaffordable healthcare. Dying from preventable disease. Two deputy sheriffs shot and killed here the Sacramento by Mexican immigrant with an AR-15.
The lie must be denied as banks are too big to fail or jail. We used to watch Chevrolet car sales now replaced by Boeing -billion - dollar weapons systems and the "modern and safe drilling techniques (code for fracking) makes for a better economy.
Perhaps the human species thinks of climate change like the second coming of Christ... "yeah, it's going to get ugly, but things will sort themselves, like what happened to the dinosaurs....
The lie must must continue until the last drop of oil is burned and the clouds rain acidic water turning the mid-west into an arid desert. The lie must reign from the empty skyscrapers, empty monuments partially submerged by the Atlantic Ocean.
I wonder what the lie will be then?
"... and that's the way it is. I am Walter Cronkite. Good night."
#19
The command of our nations media by the Rightwing is massive and total. That our national radio and television outlets are controlled by the Rightwing is not news as I've watched the destruction of US media for over 50 years.
America is a Rightwing nation of fools and stooges---------and these are our good points!
#20
Richinfolsom, excellent post! Your initial comment rang a bell with me. I’ve often compared media coverage of elections to how sports announcers keep score. Yeah, non-issues are part of the package these corporate shills dole out to we the public. The most crazy-making thing of it is how much of the public eats that shit up.
Sounds like you’re from my era. How I miss Cronkite. They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore, do they? Now all we get is blowdried, coiffured fascist fluff. You do a good job portraying the lie; lying by diversion is one of their tactics to mislead and distract. Well, like the old saying goes, ya can’t fool all the people all the time. Especially us old Boomers, those of us who haven’t drunk the proverbial “Kool Aid”, who've managed to get by without having sold out to the Big Lie. Yep; those pundits will do anything to keep the sheeple under their spell, handily distracted from what the master predators are doing to us. I’m talking about the banksters, the CEOs, the payday pirates, the oil barons, the healthcare extortionists... whatever their stripes. Not to mention the death & destruction inflicted on people of smaller, weaker countries by this USian Fourth Reich, on our nickle and in our names! And let's not forget how uninhabitable Planet Earth is soon to be if we don’t collectively mend our ways. “Too big to jail” is just one of various tactics used by plutocrats & psychopaths to keep themselves immune to the consequences of their actions. It’s what they do.
Yeah I can see some religious nuts framing the climate issue as a 21st Century Armageddon. God punishing us for our sins… Abortion, homosexuality, athiesm, socialism... Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
I’ve got this really cool magnet on our fridge with the photo of a Native American man's weathered face. Under this elegant portrait is the following quote: “Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.” Yeah Rich, while back in Pundit Land, lies continue gushing from the mouths of "babes", those blond-haired Aryan bimbos… and let’s not forget the almighty empty suits behind the curtain, calliing the shots.
Be very scared. We're in deep do-do, folks. - AIW
#21
Anybody old enough to remember Walter Cronkite is certainly old enough to remember the late Mike Wallace (and, Edward R. Murrow, Eric Sevareid, Bill Downs, and Dan Rather, too...). What we have today pales in comparison to their work. The Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas (my spouse's alma mater) has a wonderful collection of substantive television available as streaming video, audio, and as transcripts from The Mike Wallace Interview interviews from 1957 and 1958. Available free here: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/collections/film/holdings/wallace/
The breath, depth, and scope of the interviews is beyond anything I've seen or heard since David Frost's interview with RMN. The subjects of Mr. Wallace's penetrating interviews run the gamut from Margaret Sanger and Eleanor Roosevelt to leading political figures (both at home and abroad), KKK leaders to noted authors, physicians, theologians, and movie stars.
The level of preparation that Mr. Wallace evidences is nothing short of a trial attorney deposing a witness - he knows what to ask, how to ask, when to ask, and does not let the subject "off the hook". This is what we've lost. Check out these incredible interviews.
Turning to the "fear" topic: Churchill has been quoted enough - he was correct then, when the Nazi Blitz was pounding London - and he's correct now when we have sneak-thieves and power-brokers manipulating the whole planet. Fear paralyzes. Doing something positive is always an option.
You may not yet have the skills to best the useful idiots - but, if you keep at it - you can learn them. Mr. Hartmann has the civil discussion mastered - and his steady adherence to that practice keeps his opponents willing to come back for more.
I can literally destroy a human being's credibility with a well crafted question at trial - but, it usually takes two years of discovery and motion practice before I get the chance to ask that question - two years to frame the argument, create my theme, and deliver the goods for my client: a jury verdict in their favor. That's an entirely different skill set - but it, like Mr. Hartman's debates - I must pay incredibly close attention to exactly what the witness says.
Active listening, good preparation, and a predetermined goal will always stand you in good stead. Go watch/listen to Mike Wallace give a master class fifty-six years on - most interviews are still highly relevant today - and, they present a master class in the fine art of interrogation.
RIP Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Susan Stamberg should have been readying her cranberry-horseradish relish recipe right about now.
#22
AMEN to the previous comment by Aliceinwonderland!
#23
I agree; It seems obvious that this is happening, and that our "American Way Of Life" with its emphasis on consumerism is causing it, and causing the world to want to follow in our footsteps. It's time for the entire world to shift it's paradigm to "Enough." It means the assurance of basics for all people and only the extras for the rich.
#24
Right on, AnneMarie! I think "Enough" says it all. What a beautiful , novel concept!
#25
I had no idea that only Pacifica had Pacifica stations in the bay area. Is that where the Pacifica stations came up with their name? My sister-in-law and my brother, before his passing, lived in Pacifica. My impression of Pacifica was that it was a fog bank.
#26
AIW -- Love the fridge magnet - c8
#27
“Enough!” Does anyone have any idea what can be done to create public policy that supports “enough”.
I think the Iroquois had a society that came very close to one that honored the concept of enough. I think we should study how they arrived at that state. Unfortunately what I can infer from what Thom says the manner in which the Iroquois attained that state was best described by AIW’s fridge magnet:
Quote AIW:“Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.”
#28
Perhaps the Occupy movement should be followed by the Enough movement.
#29
Dear Thom -- not only does "regular media" ignore climate change, but WOMEN's organizations such as Planned Parenthood, NOW, Women's MEDIA, and others refuse to publish anything about the GREAT BARRIER Brief and Rearguard Anal protection. GBB went through a CLINICAL TRIAL during the Clinton administration, then the BUSSH admin killed a million women on day one of the admin, with the GAG RULE which also DEMOTED FUNDING GUIDELINES in NIH so NO womens contraception and protection would ever be funded.
PLEASE read this, there is much more insidious data....tip of the iceberg below. I think the main reason the data does not present well is that the CDC only reports deaths in clinical "approved" trials! So even if we ran PRIVATE clinical trials, the data would not hit the CDC printouts. I call them the CDO = Observation as they control nor prevent any disease. FDA did not give permission either! Latex is VERY well documented, no excuses.
Peace n Planting ===> open group has files on Faceboook
Stella Jane
THINK the WAR on WOMEN hasn’t killed too many ???
Our Government & MANY private individuals funded Big pHARMA to CURE AIDS. Much money was spent on research but NOT TESTED on WOMEN! NO medicines were tested on women for about ten years of copious input of funds. So.....
More WOMEN died from AIDS than Men in WAR 1984-2010 RIP *** see below re: reporting.
Womens organizations and media have been asked to address this situation numerous times since 1984. Most media have advertising contracts with Big pHARMA corpse-porations that prohibit bad press.... thus no articles about womens needs, unmet! It would be bad for BUSINESS.
GREAT BARRIER Brief system --
Invented in 1984 -- Let's manufacture in 2014 !
WOMEN can create cultural breakthrough about the red-taped regulation-raped, GREAT BARRIER Brief system in news, on every media channel, tweets , television, social media, dating sites, public service announcements etc.
DE-Regulate Prevention Barrier Methods
Due to FDA / NIH /pharmaceutical regulations, a group of barrier method latex devices have been unused in the fight against AIDS, STD's and also unwanted conception. There are still no barrier methods available for herpes and genital warts, which happen OUTSIDE the area covered by male condoms.
One of these latex barriers got a National Institute of Health grant during Clinton administration, and can be seen online www. JANESWAY.net
This panty condom is both contraceptive and a prophylactic /disease preventive. REARGUARD Anal protection has never even had any newspaper article written about it...
This situation must be clear to media and public alike!
No media in the USA including NY Times Washington Post SF Chronicle have said a word about this, though all been asked to address this situation numerous times since 1984. Most media have advertising contracts with Big pHARMA corpse-porations that prohibit bad press.... thus no articles about womens needs, unmet! It would be bad for BUSINESS.
The plan of the small group of women still involved is to organize licensed collectives worldwide run by trained volunteers. The volunteers would be given latex barriers for their own use and to give away or sell for no more than 2% MARKUP or two PENNYs per barrier over costs. So each ordinary person volunteering becomes a self-designated distributor. Any collective licensed and using the manufacturing standards could ship worldwide. No corporations would be licensed to avoid profit making in reproductive health worldwide by NON-HUMAN entities. Sponsored /lowered costs would help lower birth rates worldwide.
FACTS today: Men have no options, Women still have NO PROTECTION beyond talking men into male condoms, so…. once people know about this coverup, talk about a BRIDGE SCANDAL???? We organize and create licensed COLLECTIVES and make our protections ourselves. We share latex with those we love.
No corporate licenses to manufacture will be issued, to avoid others making profits from women /sex!!!
No more corporate mark-up on our private lives!!!
For the 7 generations,
Stella Jane ==> spokesperson for GREAT BARRIER Brief, aka JANESWAY Panty Condom.
Liason contact for REARGUARD Anal Condoms.
SEE the GREAT BARRIER Brief red-taped, regulation raped, and hidden in plain site (sic) >>~~~>> awkward old tech http://janesway.net/FutureStyles/index.html
It got a National Institute of HEALTH GRANT during Clinton Administration. Then BUSH administration issued the GAG RULE on day ONE of the reign of repugs and millions of women died around the world.
There's REARGUARD Anal latex/silicone protection too but no online info available.
No corporate licenses to manufacture will be issued, to avoid others making profits from women /sex!!!
No more corporate mark-up on our private lives!!!
*** NIH STATISTICS are predicated on WHO SURVIVES with CERTAIN MEDICATIONS in a CLINCIAL STUDY. They do not tally doctors reports at all. THEREFORE it's nearly impossible to tell how many women had it and died, uncounted nor how many children in California schools w/no mother. Women get all STD 20 to 200 times easier than men
PS MEDIA and RESEARCH persons: Please contact me if you don't understand that the centre 4 dis-ease OBSERVATION does not control disease. The reporting changed, so no actual women's deaths are reported UNLESS they are using some HIV medicine IN a STUDY. So the statistics look like "GAY MEN" caused this problem, fueling haters everyday, and the women continue to die..... uncounted.
PLEASE help get this to women everywhere…. If you can form /fund a collective to manufacture these, Fern can help you with the license to begin. Each person chooses their own level of participation. Example: A real estate agent rents an old dental laboratory, and a builder remodels it for required Good Manufacturing standards. Their good deeds for the community serve as marketing for their own enterprises, as the community organizes around the collective efforts. Any concerned citizens purchase equipment and donate it, while some use their volunteer status to provide prevention education. Each volunteer becomes a self-directed distributor of education and prevention. Mark-up is 2% MAXIMUM.
WHO CAN HELP do this on other continents?
WOMEN On EARTH TODAY need to know that they can begin making protection themselves! VERY LOW disease and unplanned pregnancy when used. MAKE it LOCAL, use it local.
Invented in 1984 -- Let's manufacture in 2014 !
NOW maybe we all see this perfect example of the Permaculture principle: The PROBLEM is the SOLUTION......!
What caused the problem? Political power/corporate greed
Without the PROBLEM, what IS THERE is the solution!
practical private local-made /homemade protection
Invented in 1984 -- Let's manufacture in 2014 !
PS MEDIA persons: Please call me if you don't understand that the centre 4 dis-ease OBSERVATION does not control disease. The reporting changed, so no actual women's deaths are reported UNLESS they are using some HIV medicine in a study. So the statistics look like "GAY MEN" caused this problem, and the women continue to die.....
PLEASE help get this to women everywhere…. If you can fund a cooperative to manufacture these, we can help you with the license to begin. Good manufacturing standards are required and the mark-up is 2% MAXIMUM.
WHO CAN HELP do this on other continents?
WOMEN On EARTH TODAY need to know that they can begin making protection themselves! VERY LOW disease and unplanned pregnancy when used. MAKE it LOCAL, use it local.
Womens organizations and media have been asked to address this situation numerous times since 1984. Most media have advertising contracts with Big pHARMA corpse-porations that prohibit bad press.... thus no articles about womens needs, unmet! It would be bad for BUSINESS.
#30
Maybe NPR see 'global warming' for what it is......a sham.
Oh yeah, I forgot.....it's called 'climate change'.
Can you tell me when the climate hasn't changed. Climate is not static, it's dynamic....constantly changing. There have been ups and downs since the beginning....that's why you don't call it 'global warming' anymore. Because it doesn't fit any longer. Keep drinking that Kool-aid and soon you will be talking about the next ice age.
#31
Geo, save it. We've heard that generic conservative knee-jerk argument so many times, we could probably recite it word-for-word. Since the real science on climate is on our side of this issue, you're just making an ass of yourself posting that nonsense. Get a life. (HA! Just now, while typing "Get a life", I missed hitting the "F" key and it said "Get a lie." Take your pick, Geo.) - AIW
#32
geochand -- have you ever been in a real greenhouse during wintertime in the Northern US?
#33
Hello George R. I was attempting to relate to this topic about media NOT being MEDIA yesterday when a thunderstorm knocked out our electricity. I am old enough to relate to all you said about the comprehensive style of presentation that was our GOLD STANDARD by which every reporter was expected to REPORT to the public in a way that let everyone really know what is going on behind the event.
Well as we all know, "the media" is sold out /bought out / blacked out.... and here is my case in point, and the current game plan. Have tried to get ACLU to support various points of view, tried raising funds for NY Times full page ad, tried finding lawyers who could explain it .....
THINK the WAR on WOMEN hasn’t killed too many ???
Our Government & MANY private individuals funded Big pHARMA to CURE AIDS. Much money was spent on research but NOT TESTED on WOMEN! NO medicines were tested on women for about ten years of copious input of funds. So.....
More WOMEN died from AIDS than Men in WAR 1984-2010 RIP *** see below re: reporting.
Womens organizations and media have been asked to address this situation numerous times since 1984. Most media have advertising contracts with Big pHARMA corpse-porations that prohibit bad press.... thus no articles about womens needs, unmet! It would be bad for BUSINESS.
GREAT BARRIER Brief system --
Invented in 1984 -- Let's manufacture in 2014 !
DE-Regulate Prevention Barrier Methods
Due to FDA / NIH /pharmaceutical regulations, a group of barrier method latex devices have been unused in the fight against AIDS, STD's and also unwanted conception. There are still no barrier methods available for herpes and genital warts, which happen OUTSIDE the area covered by male condoms.
One of these latex barriers got a National Institute of Health grant during Clinton administration, and can be seen online www. JANESWAY.net
This panty condom is both contraceptive and a prophylactic /disease preventive. REARGUARD Anal protection has never even had any newspaper article written about it...
This situation must be clear to media and public alike!
No media in the USA including NY Times Washington Post SF Chronicle have said a word about this, though all been asked to address this situation numerous times since 1984. Most media have advertising contracts with Big pHARMA corpse-porations that prohibit bad press.
The plan of the small group of women still involved is to organize licensed collectives worldwide run by trained volunteers. The volunteers would be given latex barriers for their own use and to give away or sell for no more than 2% MARKUP or two PENNYs per barrier over costs. So each ordinary person volunteering becomes a self-designated distributor. Any collective licensed and using the manufacturing standards could ship worldwide. No corporations would be licensed to avoid profit making in reproductive health worldwide by NON-HUMAN entities. Sponsored /lowered costs would help lower birth rates worldwide.
FACTS today: Men have no options, Women still have NO PROTECTION beyond talking men into male condoms, so…. once people know about this cover-up, talk about a BRIDGE SCANDAL???? We organize and create licensed COLLECTIVES and make our protections ourselves. We share latex with those we love.
WOMEN can create cultural breakthroughs about the red-taped regulation-raped, black-balled panty condom just by mentioning it to any friend who has herpes. Horrid statistics,
over half our younger generations have this problem. Mention
GREAT BARRIER Brief system in news, on every media channel, tweets , television, social media, dating sites, public service announcements etc. Every step of the journey of each manufacturing collective will be celebrated by mutual affirmations.
No more corporate mark-up on our private lives!!! per Gilda Radner via Roseanne Roseannadanna===>>Why do they call it PRIVATES when it is everyone ELSE's business ???
For the 7 generations,
Stella Jane ==> spokesperson for GREAT BARRIER Brief, aka JANESWAY Panty Condom.
Liason contact for REARGUARD Anal Condoms. REARGUARD needs some spokespersons.
SEE the GREAT BARRIER Brief red-taped, regulation raped, and hidden in plain site (sic) >>~~~>> awkward old tech http://janesway.net/FutureStyles/index.html
It got a National Institute of HEALTH GRANT during Clinton Administration. Then BUSH administration issued the GAG RULE on day ONE of the reign of repugs and millions of women died around the world.
There's REARGUARD Anal latex or silicone protection too but no online info available.
No corporate licenses to manufacture will be issued, to avoid others making profits from women /sex!!!
No more corporate mark-up on our private lives!!!
*** NIH STATISTICS are predicated on WHO SURVIVES with CERTAIN MEDICATIONS in a CLINICAL STUDY. They do not tally doctors' reports at all. THEREFORE it's nearly impossible to tell how many women had it and died, uncounted nor how many children in California schools w/no mother. Women get all STD 20 to 200 times easier than men.
PS MEDIA and RESEARCH persons: Please contact me if you don't understand that the centre 4 dis-ease OBSERVATION does not control disease. The reporting changed, so no actual women's deaths are reported UNLESS they are using some HIV medicine IN a STUDY. So the statistics look like "GAY MEN" caused this problem, fueling haters everyday, and the women continue to die..... uncounted.
PLEASE help get this to women everywhere…. If you can form /fund a collective to manufacture these, you can get the license to begin. Everyone chooses their own level of participation. Example: A real estate agent rents an old dental laboratory, and a builder remodels it for required Good Manufacturing standards. Their good deeds for the community serve as marketing for their own enterprises, as the community organizes around the collective efforts. Any concerned citizens purchase equipment and donate it, while some use their volunteer status to provide prevention education. Each volunteer becomes a self-directed distributor of education and prevention. Mark-up is 2% MAXIMUM.
WHO CAN HELP do this on other continents?
WOMEN On EARTH TODAY need to know that they can begin making protection themselves! VERY LOW disease and unplanned pregnancy when used. MAKE it LOCAL, use it local.
Invented in 1984 -- Let's manufacture in 2014 !
NOW maybe we all see this perfect example of the Permaculture principle:
The PROBLEM is the SOLUTION......!
What caused the problem? Political power/corporate greed
Without the PROBLEM, what IS THERE is the solution!
practical private local-made /homemade protection
Invented in 1984 -- Let's manufacture in 2014 !
Womens organizations and media have been asked to address this situation numerous times since 1984. Most media have advertising contracts with Big pHARMA corpse-porations that prohibit bad press.... thus no articles about womens needs, unmet! It would be bad for BUSINESS.
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
Mueller's favorite place to pray (written about in "Prophet's Way"), and the roof of the room where the Last Supper is reputed to have happened.
With His Holiness The Dalai Lama, at His home in Dharamsala, India (Synthesis Dialogues - made into a movie narrated by Harrison Ford)
From Screwed:
"Once again, Thom Hartmann hits the bull’s eye with a much needed exposé of the so-called ‘free market.’ Anyone concerned about the future of our nation needs to read Screwed now."
From Screwed:
"The powers that be are running roughshod over the powers that OUGHT to be. Hartmann tells us what went wrong — and what you and I can do to help set American right again."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a creative thinker and committed small-d democrat. He has dealt with a wide range of topics throughout his life, and this book provides an excellent cross section. The Thom Hartmann Reader will make people both angry and motivated to act."
I went from a better than 20 year supporter to a total boycott of NPR. It came to that when reporter Mara Liasson began her coverage of the Jack Abramoff scandal back in 2005 where, in her first report Ms. Liasson characterized the influence peddling of Mr. Abramoff as "bipartisan" without citing a single fact supporting that statement.
I wrote the NPR Ombudsman and requested that the statement either be supported or retracted. I did not receive a serious response - only that the matter was still breaking news and that NPR stood behind their reporter. As time passed, and further stories were filed by reporter Liasson, I again requested that the constant refrain that Mr. Abramoff was an equally corrupting influence on both political parties be supported by some fact - e.g. stating the names of any Democrats that Mr. Abramoff had lobbied. Still, the Ombudsman stood behind reporter Liasson.
When the Indictment came down I used my PACER account (I am a practicing attorney) and downloaded the charging instrument - and, nowhere within the charges were any Democrats mentioned, much less named as coconspirators. I sent a copy off to the Ombudsman, along with copies of all of my previous correspondence, and again requested that the Network review all of the Liasson reportage of Mr. Abramoff for political bias.
When Mr. Abramoff pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2006 I again implored the NPR Ombudsman to review the record of the Liasson reportage - and was again rebuffed. I followed up with a copy of all of my donations to NPR and various member stations for a period well over 20 years - and stated that not one more dime would come from me while the Network refused to correct the record.
As Mr. Abramoff cooperated with the DOJ, a total of twenty-one other politicians and staffers were charged and pleaded, or were found, guilty of various classes of conspiracy and corruption (including Thom's present contributor, Bob Ney). Not a Democrat in the lot. Still, NPR permitted the Liasson reportage to continue to mischaracterize the matter as bipartisan. I sent copies of the charging documents and guilty pleas to the Ombudsman and after twenty-one separate criminal actions beyond the original charges against Mr. Abramoff were concluded, NPR continued to permit the Liasson reportage to mischaracterize the scandal as bipartisan.
In 2008 the House Government Reform Committee published its report on Mr. Abramoff (see it here: http://web.archive.org/web/20080731124622/http://oversight.house.gov/abramoff/docs/abramoff.pdf ) and, once again - a total lack of Democrats. The Committee documented 485 contacts with Bush Whitehouse staff - most of them personal visits from Mr. Abramoff and ten (10) direct meetings with Karl Rove - (truth be told, all but 70 of those 485 contacts were personal visits to the Whitehouse by Mr. Abramoff - and the remainder - telephone calls from Mr. Abramoff to Whitehouse staff). Still, nearly four years into the scandal, NPR refused to correct the record.
I miss what NPR once was - and I know that there are many excellent reporters still employed by the network - but, I don't tolerate any news organization publishing blatant mischaracteriizations of objectively proven facts. There is simply no other way to characterize the Liasson reportage where my profession has thoroughly documented the crimes as a matter of public record. The amount of "investigative reportage" required to set the record straight (or, get it right straight from the start) is miniscule - anybody can open a PACER account and obtain the actual Court filings. That I took the time to supply those documents to the NPR Ombudsman for twenty-two cases means that reading my letters and verifying that I had not edited or otherwise changed any pleading was all that NPR had to do to correct their errors.
That NPR still has not addressed the tarring of the Democrats with the Abramoff brush - a toxic bit of propaganda every bit as noxious as other, less than truthful, news outlets ply us with every day - means that they have lost me as a listener for the rest of my life.
I'm much more inclined to favor dismantling the Network (and, every other one that pays only passing respect to the facts) as a violation of various Consumer Fraud statutes (the First Amendment does not protect fraudulent speech). I'd rather see thousands of diverse news sources than the gross concentration that we have now. What I wish for won't happen - and, in that light I will, grudgingly, agree with Mr. Hartmann that stricter monitoring of the public radio spectrum is a viable alternative.