Wednesday, September 06, 2017

It took government planning

Kayla Costa (WSWS) reports:

   
Adult obesity rates for 2016 hit over 30 percent in 25 US states, with nearly one in three Americans now obese, according to a recent study. In five states, the average rates topped 35 percent, the highest rates of obesity in the world. These figures are unprecedented in human history and signal a health crisis of global proportions.
These astonishing statistics come from a report by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which analyzed public health data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The top five states for obesity rates include Louisiana at 35.5 percent, Alabama at 35.7 percent, Arkansas at 35.7 percent, Mississippi at 37.3 percent, and West Virginia at 37.7 percent. The mostly Southern states are also some of the poorest, with the most deplorable living conditions for the working class—both rural and urban.
An additional 41 states have rates greater than 25 percent. Only three states—Hawaii, Massachusetts and Colorado—and the District of Columbia have obesity rates below 25 percent. Despite its relative success, Colorado is poised to have the highest growth of obesity in the nation.
The data analysis accounts for rates of obesity, defined as people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ratio of 30 or greater. BMI values represent a calculation based on a person’s height and weight. Overweight people, or those with BMI ratios between 25 and 30, are not central to the study. Though it should be noted that they make up an additional 30 percent of the total US population, with minimal increases over four decades. Taken as a whole, nearly 70 percent of the US population is either overweight or obese and at risk for a variety of weight-related health issues.


There are many reasons for the above.

There is the Standard Aging Diet -- as Jane Fonda has called it for decades now.

SAD is about not just what we eat but also how we are more sedentary these days.

That did not happen by accident.

The highways around the country were created not due to need but to help sell cars.

In many places of the country, you pretty much have to have a car.

If you live in such a place without a car, you may have buses.

And you may discover that the bus routes and schedules are pathetic and not conducive to allowing working class people to arrive anywhere on time.

The point I'm trying to make clear is that this isn't 'individual choices.'

There has been a concentrated effort by our government to shape the world we live in.

This world may bring many great things (or not) but it has brought about conditions that aid obesity.


This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Wednesday:


Wednesday, September 2017.  A hack named Elayne Boosler pretends to be wise.  She's not.  We explain.


It takes a hacktivist.

We're not talking hackers.  We're talking the original hacktivists -- the hacks who pose and preen because they've discovered something -- some tiny bit of a puzzle -- that they don't really understand but, damn it, they want to drop the bone and get scratched behind the ears.

Enter Elayne Boosler.

The comedian was never known for penetrating observations but she did build a fairly routine comedy career by stating the obvious.  Repeatedly.



As this country loses its humanity, heart, intelligence & magnanimity, it loses its soul, & all good things will fall away.. Dreamers






Leave it to Elayne.

The country, the US, had "humanity, heart, intelligence & magnanimity" up until this minute.

Well maybe that's what all those bombs dropped on Iraq from 2003 to today were filled with?  Humanity, heart, intelligence and magnanimity?

I'm pro immigration.

This isn't really the focus of that site but we need to explain some basics since Elayne, like so many others, can't grasp reality.

DACA is not law.  It was never law.

Barack Obama could have tried making it law but he didn't want to get behind that.

First he declared (rightly) that he couldn't do immigration by executive order (fiat!).  Then a few years later, he did just that.  It wouldn't have survived a real court challenge.

You want Dreamers?  Then start demanding Congress pass legislation.

Tell fake ass Nancy Pelosi to stop pretending, get off her lazy ass and work on legislation that can pass both houses of Congress.

If that had happened, as it should have, Donald Trump couldn't do anything about it.

Instead, Donald's overturned an executive order.

It's not a crime.

Unless you're a simpleton like Elayne Boosler.

 Where has she been while Iraqis have been the victims of one War Crime after another?

In denial?

As US-backed Iraqi forces have carried out War Crimes, where's Elayne been?



As this country loses its humanity, heart, intelligence & magnanimity, it loses its soul, & all good things will fall away.. Dreamers






How stupid are you, Elayne?

Or do you just not see non-Americans as human beings?

Maybe idiot Elayne believes Iraq was behind 9-11 and got what it deserved?

Is that her explanation for her looooong silence?

She breaks her silence to go to war on PETA.

Because PETA declared war on Iraq?  Bombed Libya?

No, because easy hacks like Elayne need easy 'causes.'

The incredibly unattractive Elayne has made it her mission to protect dogs.

I'm sure one of her peers could kill for at least ten minutes with an act built around that.

But before Elayne wants to pretend to have global awareness next, we'd recommend she grasp what her country has done to Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen and more in the last 15 or so years.

Here's Elayne trying to show 'awareness':




Since SCROTUS was 2 busy talking about himself last nite to mention r 7 dead sailors, condolences 2 their families. TY 4 your service.






I don't really get this grandstanding on Elayne's part.

It's her one Tweet on the topic.

5 days after her Tweet, Euan McKirdy (CNN) would report that the remains of all ten sailors were recovered.  The dead jumped by three but 'political' Elayne didn't Tweet on the topic again.  She did one stupid ass Tweet and thought she'd labored.

She's slamming Donald for talking about himself but she didn't even name any of the fallen.  Did you notice that?


From CNN's McKirdy:

-- Nathan Findley, 31Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles, from Amazonia, Missouri
-- Abraham Lopez, 39, Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class, from El Paso, Texas
-- Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, Electronics Technician 2nd Class, from Gaithersburg, Maryland
-- Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, Electronics Technician 2nd Clas,s from Cable, Ohio
-- Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, Information Systems Technician 2nd Class, from Manchester, Maryland
-- Corey George Ingram, 28, Information Systems Technician 2nd Class, from Poughkeepsie, New York
-- Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, Electronics Technician 3rd Class, from Suffield, Connecticut
-- John Henry Hoagland III, 20, Electronics Technician 3rd Class, from Killeen, Texas
-- Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class, from Decatur, Illinois 
-- Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, Electronics Technician 3rd Class, from Cherry Hill, New Jersey



Elayne leaves them nameless.  Their ship collided with another vessel and she wants to use it to trash Donald Trump?  She who can't even mention the names of the dead while trying to mount a high horse?

More to the point, before her August 23rd Tweet, she never noted this:








Sgt. Roshain E. Brooks, 30, and Sgt. Allen L. Stigler Jr., 22, were identified as soldiers killed in Iraq on Sunday


 
 



She who wants to castigate Donald Trump never mentioned those two fallen.



We covered them.  See:





  • Iraq snapshot

  • Sgt Roshain E. Brooks and Sgt Allen L. Stigler Jr....

  • Iraq snapshot


  • 2 more US troops dead in Iraq



  • But Elayne wants to make an issue out of what Donald Trump did or didn't do.

    Elayne may not grasp it but she has no control over Donald.  She does have control over her Twitter account.  She does have control over what she highlights.

    So maybe instead of her insipid attempts at 'cutesy' cat Tweets (Elayne, aren't you 65 -- haven't you really aged out of 'cutesy'?), she should make a point to use her Twitter more wisely?


    Especially if she intends to slam others.

    Remedial work required, Elayne, and you can start by streaming this week's BLACK AGENDA RADIO and paying close attention to all the segments but especially Dr. Francis Boyle discussing US empire.

    Nehal Mostafa (IRAQI NEWS) reports two Baghdad bombings have left 1 person dead and seven more injured while an attack in Salahuddin Province has left 1 Iraqi soldier dead and three more injured.

    PANARMENIA reports:

    The Iraqi military is preparing to launch their imperative operation to liberate the strategic Al-Hawija District that is currently occupied by the Islamic State group, Iraqi officials said on Tuesday, September 5, Al-Masdar News reports.


    Where was the concern for saving Hawija when the slaughter took place -- the government slaughter?

    I'm really sorry, Elayne, that I can't point to cute cat photos all over this website.  But we do have important things in the archives.  Let's drop back to April 23, 2015:


    For all the liars who claim the current problems in Iraq have nothing to do with Barack Obama, let's note this from Iraqi Spring MC.
















    I'm sorry who called the above out?

    Not  Patrick Cockubrn.  He waited months to report on it and couldn't even get the numbers right when he finally did 'cover' it.

    Do you know what that is?

    If you're a community member you do.

    You probably looked at today's date, April 23rd, and thought of the event without any prompting.


    Nouri's slaughter.  The April 23, 2013 massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from  Nouri's federal forces storming in.  Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead.   UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).


    And where was the US?

    Where was the White House?

    Did they immediately demand justice?  Or that Nouri step down?  Or express solidarity with the protesters?


    No, they just looked the other way and continued holding hands with Nouri al-Maliki.

    In fact, at that point they pretty much had their hands down Nouri's pants.

    Oh, the Yazidis! Trapped on a mountain top!

    But when Nouri's forces killed protesters -- and Hawija is only the biggest slaughter -- Barack Obama was still thrilled to hold hands with the man he installed in 2010.

    Because Nouri lost the election.

    Despite bribery and bullying, in 2010, he came in second in the elections.

    But Barack Obama overturned the election results.  And, via the US-brokered Erbil agreement, he gave Nouri a second term.

    Liar Patrick Cockburn ignores that as well.

    He wants you to know that Iran decreed Nouri would get a second term in October and that's how it happened.

    Well if tehran is so damn all powerful, than their decision in October should have been immediately implemented, right?

    But that's not what happened is it?

    November 10, 2010, The Erbil Agreement is signed.  November 11, 2010, the Iraqi Parliament has their first real session in over eight months and finally declares a president, a Speaker of Parliament and Nouri as prime minister-designate -- all the things that were supposed to happen in April of 2010 but didn't.

    March 7, 2010, Iraq concluded Parliamentary elections. The Guardian's editorial board noted in August 2010, "These elections were hailed prematurely by Mr Obama as a success, but everything that has happened since has surely doused that optimism in a cold shower of reality." 


    Bully Boy Bush installed Nouri as prime minister in 2006.

    The Iraqi people suffered.

    And in 2010, they went to the polls.

    And they voted for something other than Nouri.

    Despite his bribery, his bullying, the threats and so much more, they voted Nouri out.

    But Barack overturned their votes and insisted Nouri get a second term.

    So, yes, the Hawija massacre is something Barack bears responsibility for.


    While so much of the press ignored it, others stepped up.   BRussells Tribunal carried a translation of one activist who was an eye-witness to what went down:




     



    I am Thamer Hussein Mousa from the village of Mansuriya in the district of Hawija. I am disabled. My left arm was amputated from the shoulder and my left leg amputated from the hip, my right leg is paralyzed due to a sciatic nerve injury, and I have lost sight in my left eye.
    I have five daughters and one son. My son’s name is Mohammed Thamer. I am no different to any other Iraqi citizen. I love what is good for my people and would like to see an end to the injustice in my country.

    When we heard about the peaceful protests in Al-Hawija, taking place at ‘dignity and honor square’, I began attending with my son to reclaim our usurped rights. We attended the protests every day, but last Friday the area of protest was besieged before my son and I could leave; just like all the other protestors there.

    Food and drink were forbidden to be brought into the area….

    On the day of the massacre (Tuesday 23 April 2013) we were caught by surprise when Al-Maliki forces started to raid the area. They began by spraying boiling water on the protestors, followed by heavy helicopter shelling. My little son stood beside me. We were both injured due to the shelling.

    My son, who stood next to my wheelchair, refused to leave me alone. He told me that he was afraid and that we needed to get out of the area. We tried to leave. My son pushed my wheelchair and all around us, people were falling to the ground.

    Shortly after that, two men dressed in military uniforms approached us. One of them spoke to us in Persian; therefore we didn’t understand what he said. His partner then translated. It was nothing but insults and curses. He then asked me “Handicapped, what do you want?” I did not reply. Finally I said to him, “Kill me, but please spare my son”. My son interrupted me and said, “No, kill me but spare my father”. Again I told him “Please, spare my son. His mother is waiting for him and I am just a tired, disabled man. Kill me, but please leave my son”. The man replied “No, I will kill your son first and then you. This will serve you as a lesson.” He then took my son and killed him right in front of my eyes. He fired bullets into his chest and then fired more rounds. I can’t recall anything after that. I lost consciousness and only woke up in the hospital, where I underwent surgery as my intestines were hanging out of my body as a result of the shot.

    After all of what has happened to me and my little son – my only son, the son who I was waiting for to grow up so he could help me – after all that, I was surprised to hear Ali Ghaidan (Lieutenant General, Commander of all Iraqi Army Ground Forces) saying on television, “We killed terrorists” and displaying a list of names, among them my name: Thamer Hussein Mousa.

    I ask you by the name of God, I appeal to everyone who has a shred of humanity. Is it reasonable to label me a terrorist while I am in this situation, with this arm, and with this paralyzed leg and a blind eye?

    I ask you by the name of God, is it reasonable to label me a terrorist? I appeal to all civil society and human rights organizations, the League of Arab States and the Conference of Islamic States to consider my situation; all alone with my five baby daughters, with no one to support us but God. I was waiting for my son to grow up and he was killed in this horrifying way.




    I hold Obama responsible for this act because he is the one who gave them these weapons. The weapons and aircrafts they used and fired upon us were American weapons. I also hold the United States of America responsible for this criminal act, above all, Obama.




     












     And he should hold Barack Obama responsible.  Not only did Barack give Nouri a second term as prime minister, but Barack also ignored the protesters. Even when they carried signs proclaiming "Obama, if you Cannot Hear Us Can you Not See Us?Sunday, April 21, 2013, a State Dept friend called me and said the US was monitoring Hawija closely and considered it a hot spot.  So how did the massacre happen two days later?

    And since they were monitoring it, they clearly knew, at least after it happened, that what took place were War Crimes.

    And yet Barack stood with Nouri, continued to stand with him.




    From Samarra من سامراء

    Iraqis in Samarra with a message for the world (photo via Iraqi Spring MC).

    That's March 15, 2013.  One month later, the Hawija massacre would take place.

    Barack was still pretending not to see or hear the cries of the targeted in Iraq.



    Sorry it's not a cat photo, Elayne.

    But it's what happened.

    And Lt Gen Stephen Townsend alluded to that in last week's press conference:


    In Iraq, for example, I think part of the rise of ISIS was disenfranchised peoples, most of them Sunnis, who looked at Baghdad and they didn't see their government representing them or their interests or their future.

    And I think that's probably the most important thing that the people of Iraq -- the government of Iraq has to do, is it has to reach out, reconcile, bring all Iraqis together and be the government of all Iraqis.



    That's more reality on what took place than even the BBC is prepared to offer today.  Read their laughable piece on Falluja published today which can't even get the length of protest correct (protests took place in Falluja for over a year) or note how Nouri attempted to put them down via Iraqi forces (or that ISIS appears on the highway between Baghdad and Falluja stating they are present to protect the peaceful protesters).


    Go back to your cat blogging, Elayne, you're almost intelligent enough to handle that.


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