Category: Freak U.S.A

Freak U.S.A, Hypocrisy, Manipulation, Politics, RightsLeave a comment

How To Escape Gun Control Gridlock

Fernando Kaskais

A shift to proportional representation in the U.S. would open up new possibilities — not just on guns, but on climate, immigration and democracy itself. BY LEE DRUTMAN Lee Drutman is the author of “Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America.” He is a senior fellow at the think tank New America, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, co-host of the podcast Politics in Question and the co-founder of Fix Our House, a campaign for proportional representation in America. After every mass shooting in the U.S., there’s a familiar cycle: Grief, outrage and frustration, followed by helplessness and the predictable sinking feeling … Continue reading How To Escape Gun Control Gridlock

Buddhism, Freak U.S.A, Philosophy, Politics, Psychology1 Comment

On Guns and Anger

Fernando Kaskais

Just like how a lotus flower rises from muddy water to bloom beautifully, we also have the ability to transform the suffering we experience into something more. By Rev. Blayne Higa Iam heartbroken over the recent mass shootings that have claimed so many innocent lives. I’m exhausted by empty platitudes of “thoughts and prayers” which have done nothing to change our behavior or public policy in the face of this carnage. I’m frustrated that we care more about banning books, saying gay, trans kids playing sports, or women’s health choices than the safety of our children in schools, people in church, … Continue reading On Guns and Anger

Freak U.S.A, Future, Media&Culture, Politics, ScienceLeave a comment

Opinion: Universities Are Failing the Next Generation of Scientists

Fernando Kaskais

In a tight academic job market, graduate schools owe it to students to be transparent about their career prospects. BY PAUL M. SUTTER THE LONG-TERM JOB outlook for a freshly minted science Ph.D. can be pretty grim. After devoting more than a half decade to becoming an independent researcher in the field of their passion, after sacrificing opportunities for better pay and work-life balance, and after writing papers and presenting at who-knows-how-many conferences, graduate students may emerge from the ivory tower only to find that there are no jobs that allow them to do the thing they’ve been training to do. In … Continue reading Opinion: Universities Are Failing the Next Generation of Scientists

Big Pharma, Freak U.S.A, Health, Manipulation, Money1 Comment

Book Review: A Doctor’s Impassioned Critique of Big Pharma

Fernando Kaskais

In “Sickening,” Harvard professor John Abramson chronicles the deceptive marketing practices of the drug industry. BY TROY FARAH COMPARED TO OTHER high-income countries, the fitness of Americans is in dismal shape — and has been declining for decades. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated health disparities, crisis on top of crisis has compounded to create even more devastating conditions for a growing number of people, especially marginalized groups. There is the diabetes crisis, the obesity crisis, and, of course, the despair crisis, which includes the rising tide of suicides, alcohol poisoning, and drug overdoses — claiming an average of 70,000 lives annually from 2005 to 2019. … Continue reading Book Review: A Doctor’s Impassioned Critique of Big Pharma

Freak U.S.A, Manipulation, Military, Politics, Russia, WarLeave a comment

AS WAR DRUMS BEAT FOR UKRAINE, REMEMBER, LIES AND PROPAGANDA STARTED NEARLY EVERY WAR IN US HISTORY

Fernando Kaskais

Don Via Jr., Guest Waking Times War is one of the most primitive and senseless manifestations of the human experience, so naturally, most sane people with families, ambitions and kind hearts want nothing to do with such things. Unfortunately, as we are seeing with the Ukraine / Russia escalation, governments thrive on war, as it gives them a pressing excuse to grab more power and take extrajudicial measures—both at home and abroad. To get around the obstacle of public opinion, governments have an extensive history of lying their way into war. This is hard to believe for people who think that government … Continue reading AS WAR DRUMS BEAT FOR UKRAINE, REMEMBER, LIES AND PROPAGANDA STARTED NEARLY EVERY WAR IN US HISTORY

Ásia, Freak U.S.A, History, Military, WarLeave a comment

Three maps remind us of the horror of the Vietnam War

Fernando Kaskais

America’s war in Southeast Asia is fading fast from memory. These maps offer a horrific reminder. KEY TAKEAWAYS Like most armed conflicts once they are over, the Vietnam War is fading fast from memory.  One map reopens the door to a particularly horrific aspect of the Vietnam War: carpet bombing.  A second map depicts the spraying of various herbicides, and a third depicts U.S. bases named after sweethearts and Nazi strongholds (among other things). by Frank Jacobs Wars transform nations. Then they end, and as their veterans die, they fade from living memory into history. That is now happening to … Continue reading Three maps remind us of the horror of the Vietnam War

Drugs, Freak U.S.A, History, Philosophy, PoliticsLeave a comment

The dropout: a history

Fernando Kaskais

The dropout was not just a hippy-trippy hedonist but a paranoid soul, who feared brainwashing and societal control Charlie Williams is a postdoctoral research fellow on the Wellcome Trust-funded Pathologies of Solitude project at Queen Mary, University of London. Edited by Marina Benjamin In November 1967, Robin Farquharson ‘dropped out’. After losing his job as a computer programmer along with the flat he’d been renting, he decided to forgo the dwindling funds in his bank account and live on London’s streets. In his short memoir Drop Out! (1968), Farquharson recounted his homeless wanderings and loose associations with London’s underground scene, moving from … Continue reading The dropout: a history

Big Food, Big Pharma, Freak U.S.A, Health, PsychologyLeave a comment

Americans Have Never Been Sicker

Fernando Kaskais

Depression, suicide, and obesity are on the rise in America, and not just because of social media and Covid. by JOHN MAC GHLIONN Americans have never been sicker. Life expectancy in the United States continues to fall. An increasing number of people are anxious and depressed. And before you blame Covid-19 and lockdowns, it’s important to note that these problems existed long before a deadly pandemic brought the country and the world in general to a screeching halt. Has the pandemic made things considerably worse? Of course. Nevertheless, according to a recent Mental Health America (MHA) report, in 2019, just before the pandemic hit … Continue reading Americans Have Never Been Sicker

Climate Change, Eco, Freak U.S.A, Future, HealthLeave a comment

This Surprising State is Allegedly The Best Place to Ride Out Climate Change

Fernando Kaskais

Florida may be an abandoned city one day, according to the Armchair Urbanist. By Devan McGuinness  Unfortunately, it’s true that we are already living through the effects of climate change. The world is becoming hotter, wetter, and storms are becoming more intense. And while the next decades certainly aren’t yet foretold — there are plenty of drastic actions world governments can take to avoid the worst of climate change — there are places that will probably be better off as the planet warms. As some activists have stated, doing what we can to make a difference will go a long way, and … Continue reading This Surprising State is Allegedly The Best Place to Ride Out Climate Change

Climate Change, Eco, Freak U.S.A, Future, Globalization, PlanetLeave a comment

Climate Change Has Exposed the Decline of the American Empire

Fernando Kaskais

Responding to the climate crisis has become a race against time, and our government still dawdles at the starting line. By William deBuys Thirteen thousand feet high on the far side of the Himalaya mountains, we have entered the past and the future at the same time. We are a medical expedition and also a pilgrimage, consisting of doctors, nurses, Buddhist clerics, supernumeraries like me, and a large staff of guides, muleteers, and camp tenders. We are bound for the isolated villages of Upper Dolpo, a remote region of northwestern Nepal, land of the snow leopard—both the actual animal and the eponymous … Continue reading Climate Change Has Exposed the Decline of the American Empire