Fuck you Monsanto!

So says a judge -

https://responsibletechnology.org/in-a-blow-to-bayer-judge-to-allow-controversial-evidence-in-roundup-cancer-trials/

A federal judge overseeing lawsuits alleging Bayer AG’s glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer causes cancer on Monday tentatively allowed pieces of controversial evidence that the company had hoped to exclude from upcoming trials.

Habs don't look like they're doing too bad at the halfway point of the season.

At last King County does something right for a change.

Finally did a show recently.

Nothing big, just me on guitar, a percussionist, and a backup vocalist.

It's amazing how prickly some people can be.

Not me - I try to be nice. But seriously, it seems as though it sometimes pains people to work on music.

Actually it wasn't that bad. I think our 'drummer' was nervous in that we did only practice and we did so the day before the gig. So it was probably nerves.

The actual show as fun. I had a back up singer who really got into the music and she did a fantastic job. With any luck, I'll be backing her on an upcoming gig of hers.

It's a really sad thing I learned the last few days.

When I was young(er), I spent a lot of time on public transportation mediums, which I still do today.

Buses, subways, trains, cars, vans, you name it.

In in that time - at least when I was young - even though I never really considered myself to be the ultimate gift to the opposite sex, at least I thought there were parts of me that could be considered attractive and appealing. And that whatever deficiencies the rest of me had, I could make up for it in charm.

I figured it was hard enough. Being a non-white man in a society dominated by white women and having limitations, I figured I already had a strike or two against me.

I guess what I'm saying is, despite all that, I always thought - in time I'll get my share as long as I retain those physical attributes that could keep me appealing.

Well over the last few weeks, I've come to realize that ship has sailed.

The parts of me that I thought would visually give me an advantage have gone (all other areas stay hidden as I'm not a pervert). I'm looked upon as I see myself now- an old(er) non-white man with glasses and thus not very appealing or interesting.

So it's no surprise that pretty much any woman I see in said public transportation mediums that I may find remotely attractive will almost always never ever look upon me with interest, nor ever find me attractive or ever sit near me.

Granted, I've never expected anyone to just come up to me and flirt. I mean after all, I've lived this long in life without ever being hit on by anyone. But like I said before, I always assumed if I kept some of those visual appeal, even if I aged, I'd still be considered hot.

But no. Not anymore.

Should any of this matter? Should I really care? After all, I am a grown man. I am a responsible adult. Even if some woman were to hit on me, I'm never going to follow through with anything other than just being polite and even-keeled.

But there's this part of me that always thought that some parts of me would always drive women crazy - yes it's a delusion I know.

At least now I know it really WAS a delusion, in that now I know it's over. In a sense, perhaps that's one of the true definitions of middle age. That is, knowing there are somethings in your life you can never go back to, or never be.

Perhaps in time I'll become more mature and accept this and move on. But as with anything in my life, it will take time.

An update on Venezuela -

Interesting for sure.

US-backed coup of democratically-elected Maduro in Venezuela continues unabated.

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/01/25/venezuelas-us-backed-coup-leader-immediately-targets-state-oil-company-and-requests-imf-money/

Hint - it's all about oil.

Source article: https://grayzoneproject.com/2019/01/23/us-coup-oil-venezuela-right-wing-opposition-privatization-capitalism/

While supporters of regime change in Venezuela insist this blatantly undemocratic move is necessary to “defend democracy,” make no mistake, the upheaval is clearly not motivated by resistance to authoritarianism.

Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves and has challenged the hegemony of the US dollar, has long been a target of US aggression. In 2002, the United States supported a military coup that briefly ousted democratically elected President Hugo Chávez and replaced him with the right-wing oligarch Pedro Carmona. US intervention, including crippling economic sanctions, has only continued since then.

Elements of Venezeula’s opposition have portrayed themselves to credulous foreign observers as “social democratic,” but their real intentions are very clear: The opposition-controlled legislature has demanded mass privatization of state assets and a return to a capitalist oligarch-controlled economic system built on “property rights and freedom of enterprise.”

Looking forward to the weekend.

Even though it was a short work week, it felt long.

Now let's see if I can get some sleep.

Well look who it turns out has been trying to keep progressively-minded people out of government ...

The FBI.

The assassinations that changed the course of America.

https://consortiumnews.com/2019/01/20/a-call-to-reinvestigate-american-assassinations/

Well look who a bunch of leaders who declared glyphosate safe got their info from?

Monsanto.

https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2019/01/17/plagiarism-allegation-likely-to-spur-activist-challenges-of-eu-approval-of-monsantos-glyphosate-based-weed-killer-roundup/

Plagiarism was discovered exclusively in the chapters dealing with the assessment of published studies on health risks related to glyphosate. In these chapters, 50.1% of the content was identified as plagiarism….the study authors found clear evidence of BfR’s deliberate pretense of an independent assessment, whereas in reality the authority was only echoing the industry applicants’ assessment.

Oh, and in the US ...

https://beyondpesticides.org/dailynewsblog/2019/01/more-documentation-of-epas-failures-in-allowing-use-of-roundup-as-french-court-bans-it/ 

Dr. Benbrook’s analysis considered the number and nature of the glyphosate studies evaluated by IARC and EPA. His conclusion? “Clearly, compared to EPA’s genotoxicity review, the IARC review is grounded on more recent, more sensitive, and more sophisticated genotoxic studies, and more accurately reflects real-world exposures.” In addition, he noted that EPA has relied for its fundamental assessment of glyphosate on dozens of studies paid for by Monsanto (and other makers of glyphosate products) that found no evidence of association with the development of cancer in those exposed.

A question I'd always want to ask a women walking outside in a miniskirt, bare legs and winter time ...

.. Aren't you cold?

A big part of the metoo movement exists for one simple reason.

To ensnare the a Progressive running for US President in 2020.

http://www.ninaillingworth.com/2019/01/16/fantastic-lies-special-ratfcking-edition-part-two/

... this is about crippling a class enemy of the elite Democratic Party establishment before his run for president really even starts. It’s about snuffing out a democratic socialist insurgency with a digital fire hose; every allegation, reaction, blog post, distortion, summary, response from the campaign, or apology Bernie makes, creates another cyber-imprint of the weaponized notion that Sanders and sexual harassment or even violence against women, are naturally associated with one another – even this very article I’m sharing with you now.

As I write this to you in the wee hours of the morning on January 16th, 2019, a quick Google search of the terms “Bernie Sanders sexual assault” returns back just under 1.9 million entries, which is roughly the same number of returns you’ll get if you type in “Bernie Sanders Medicare for all” or “Bernie Sanders minimum wage.” In light of everything we’ve just examined, the obvious class tensions between Sanders and the Wall Street wing of the Democratic Party as well as the mainstream, corporate media’s previously-established hostility towards and willingness to smear Sanders – it’s awful hard to feel like that result is an accident.

Is this the 'oh shit' moment for the world?

I have to read it in more detail to see -

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/363/6423/128.full

The workers' struggle in India

"The left, Karat suggests, needs to enter fully into the struggle over how to define the terms of a culture. Questions of dignity as well as discrimination are fundamental to the development of a progressive politics. No emancipatory movement can turn its back on any form of social hierarchy. The democratic impulse must work its way into the most rigid of cultural forms."

You'd have to be a complete idiot NOT to believe the US is involved in this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Venezuelan_presidential_crisis

Afternoon at Lake Tapps County Park.

Gag on “ag-gag”

So a US federal court does.

https://shadowproof.com/2019/01/10/iowa-ag-gag-law-aimed-at-suppressing-journalism-against-agribusiness-is-ruled-unconstitutional/

"A federal court in Iowa ruled the state’s corporate-backed “ag-gag” law, which targets journalists and activists, is unconstitutional.

Ag-gag laws are essentially farm secrecy statutes that were proposed and passed in multiple states to suppress and criminalize speech about industrial agricultural production."

US withdrawing from Syria - a deception?

Abby Martin makes a case  -

You know you're getting older ..

... when you're told the time is coming to consider bi-focals.

I'll be sure to stay away from the granny glasses and horn-rimmed ones, that's for sure.

Quote of the day - 01-08-2019.

https://youtu.be/A_AKLnl16l8

Courtesy of Jimmy Dore. - "Her word salad was a little too heavy on the bullshit dressing."

Trust me ...

https://nhltoseattle.com/2019/01/08/what-to-look-for-in-2019/

Nothing could be worse than 'Kraken'. :)

So my life in middle management begins.

Already I've got several things foisted at me.

Good times.

New term learned today - Statecraft. It means establishment propaganda.

Critique of Bernie Sanders and his potential 2020 US Presidential Run.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/01/04/if-bernie-runs-wrong-question/

Pretty hard to argue with most of the points.