Blog if you’re able

Part of me wants to mumble under my breath that Gawker caught my attention, in a good way, today. But screw it – this post about the five most dangerous countries for bloggers is totally worth mentioning.

China and Iran are pretty well known for oppressing freedom of speech and pouncing on anyone who dares speak out against the government.

But the worst country to be caught blogging in is Egypt, where officials have been “arresting, detaining, harassing, and beating bloggers that span the entire ideological spectrum, from the ultra-conservative Muslim Brotherhood to Coptic Christian minorities to socialists.”

Saudi Arabia and Syria are also on the top five.

I wonder what would happen if bloggers in the United States, and other free-speech oriented countries, collaborated with the writers living in these strictly controlled areas of the world. This has already happened to an extent, but some kind of anonymity would have to be established (use of public computers, anonymous sources). And that could get tricky.

A note to a naughty vandal

Dear prick who broke into my house,

I was surprised tonight, to say the least, when I came home and stumbled upon a large rock on the kitchen floor, and shattered glass everywhere.  I knew I had almost caught you in the act, because I could still hear the glass crumbling in the frame of the door.

You may not know this, but the door you decided to smash was brand new.  We finally started to remodel our small, humble home, and you stupidly considered robbing what little we have.

You’re very lucky that my sweet chihuahua, Deuce, was unharmed (terrified nonetheless).  If anything would have happened to him, I would have tracked you down and ripped your balls off with my bare hands.

You should also know that we own a loaded pistol.

Enjoy karma!

Begging for a change in habit

About to throw that bottle out the window, or ditch that plastic shopping bag in the parking lot? Please think twice.

The Pacific Garbage Patch: it’s created by humans, and destroying life in our precious waters.

And water is nothing short of precious.

This is not “news” but this underwater landfill continues to grow. Read more, from the San Fransisco Chronicle, here.

Please watch this, and be aware:

Environmentalists gone bad

The New York Times ran a story today with the headline “House Fires with a Message in the Northwest.” I think “Psychotic Group Trying to Save the Environment by Destroying It” would have been more fitting.

The Earth Liberation Front, a self proclaimed “underground movement” with no leadership or membership, set four vacant homes ablaze today. Three of the four multi million dollar houses were burnt to the ground. The destruction took place north of Seattle, and the houses were models for the Street of Dreams, a new development claiming to be green and environmentally conscious in its building efforts.

Almost anyone can determine that mansions in suburbia aren’t necessarily going to be the “greenest” of the living options out there. But to burn them down in protest? Ironic.

Obviously the members (or should I say non-members) of the ELF wanted to make themselves known because they left a sign that read “Green? Nope Black.” They have been reeking havoc, mostly on the west coast, for some time now.. all in the name of the environment. If you check out their website, it has a strange mix of news about their terrorist tactics, sex movements and Viagra ads.

OK listen: I hate wasted structures. I hate meaningless mansions. I hate rich people who have no consideration for the environment. But the worst of all are groups like this, who have the potential to be a part of the solution, but decide to be wasteful and violent.

Their message will never fall on open ears if they choose destruction over more sophisticated forms of communication.

Behind bars, in the masses

1/99 adults is in prison in America. Right now.

Of course, this can be broken down even further: 1/36 Hispanic adults and 1/15 African American adults are in the clinker. The US is the leading country in the world with these stats.

Shit. This is bad. Is it the fault of the criminals or the system? I’m leaning towards the system. Actually, I’m pointing at the system and calling it insufficient and damaging. The prisons in this country should not be used to slap the wrists of people who’ve made mistakes, but to keep dangerous criminals away from everyone else.

The criminal process is too quick, and takes much advantage of the opportunity to move people through the courts and into the cells.

Out of sight, out of mind.

(read the official, yet terribly written, story here)

Sketchy origins of exhibited bodies

20/20 aired a disturbing investigative story last night, and it’s creating quite the controversy.

By now, we’ve all heard of the traveling body exhibits. Right now there are several exhibitions around the world, including one in San Antonio. The bodies are real, and are preserved by Plastination, a method invented by Dr. Gunther von Hagens (Google this guy and you could read for days about the controversial ways he has played with the dead).

Few people, though, have asked the question of where the bodies on display came from (all of which are preserved after they die during their medical prime), and who makes the money from the exhibitions.

A majority of the bodies are shipped from China, and Premier Exhibitions Inc. (a company with millions of dollars of reported profit from the body displays) only receives Chinese bodies. The trade is made possible by labeling the packages as plastic medical models.

But how are the bodies attained? ABC reported:

“Authorities in China and New York have opened investigations into allegations that a black market in Chinese bodies, which may include executed prisoners, is sending corpses to the United States for public display.

“The investigations come in the wake of an ABC News report, that aired this Friday on “20/20″, that features a self-admitted participant of a bodies black market who described “body runs” to locations where bodies, including those of executed prisoners, were sold for $200 to $300″

Disgusting. Wrong. Disturbing. If this is true, people are paying money to see people who may or may not have suffered while others profit from this exploitation.

I refuse to post pictures of the bodies, but there are plenty out there. There’s a little thing called CONSENT and it is the key term in all of this. The donation of a body to science is a wonderful gift, but also a choice.

In my opinion, authorities should have officially started this investigation a long time ago.