Female-to-female workplace bullying: Homespun theory on an imperfect storm (via Minding the Workplace)

David Yamada

One of my regrets is I don’t talk as much about workplace bullying as much as I should. It’s a controversial area with some claiming it doesn’t exist.

I’ve seen it. I don’t like it. We as a nation should do something about it. Legislation is necessary to address the issue.

I admire David Yamada and his blog and, in particular, his wilingness to keep going in a difficult struggle.

Please read this and subcribe to David’s blog.

James Pilant

Among the many aspects of workplace bullying worthy of examination, female-to-female aggression seems to push the hardest buttons when raised in everyday discussions, in person or online. Some of the angriest and most anguished comments come from female targets. Newspaper articles and blog posts (such as here) about female-to-female bullying prove quite popular among readers and trigger impassioned exchanges. I often have wondered, what is it abo … Read More

via Minding the Workplace

The True Battle of Chernobyl Uncensored (via The Buddhist Blog)

This is another web site where you can see the documentary, The True Battle of Chernobyl Uncensored. This site is very interesting. This particular entry is from 2008 but the blog is still going strong. I’d watch the documentary and then browse the other posts if I were you.James PilantThe True Battle of Chernobyl Uncensored.

 

1986 was a difficult year for the world. In January the United States saw the explosion of the space shuttle, Challenger during lift off. Then in April a man made disaster of epic proportions was triggered that rocked the then Soviet Union in Russia which affected the world as a result of the explosion of nuclear reactor #4 at the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine.

I remember this accident vividly even though I was only 10 years old. The true reality of the extent of the damage wasn’t fully known for some time due to the censorship of the Communist Party of the USSR but now 22 years later the true story is finally being told.

And just yesterday I discovered a stellar, brilliant documentary (viewable at the bottom of this post) that compiles all the information known up to the present regarding the Chernobyl nightmare. It is beyond sobering but a must view due to the current push to build more nuclear reactors in the face of global warming and the current oil crisis. (Click here to see the rest.)

{Elisabeth Sladen died yesterday.}Doctor Who Companions Profiles, Elisabeth Sladen (Sarah Jane Smith) (via SparkyGerbil)

I was surprised by her death. I didn’t know she had cancer. I’m surprised about how much the news has upset me. You see, back when I was a teenager, the first “Dr. Who” episodes I saw were of the fourth doctor, Tom Baker and his companion, Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). She was a great actress, she brough a lot of strength to the role, playing a strong ballsy woman able to handle herself – and she looked really, really good in a pair of slacks. (I was a teenager, remember.)

This is a fan video. I thought it appropriate. For a good Sarah Jane Episode, watch Pyramids of Mars.

James Pilant

The True Battle of Chernobyl Uncensored (92 min) (via Picasso Dreams)

This documentary is chilling look at the Chernobyl disaster with all the benefits of hindsight. I was familiar with the original coverage – this is way beyond this. Fron just a serious nuclear incident in the popular press, this documentary shows you a cataclysm that Gorbachav explains was one of the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Please watch it!

James Pilant

You can get this video at -

Picasso Dreams

An ever-evolving collection of art, nature and political musings, with a little bit of photography, economics, humor, world news, and the rantings of a bookstore/coffee farm owner living by the beaches of Nicaragua tossed in for good measure.

I was reading this site for a while and found a lot of interesting thought. Here are some examples -

As Xenon, Iodine, Cesium and who knows what else blankets Canada, the US, half of Mexico and Europe, life goes on as normal.  Charlie Sheen and his wife or ex-wife appear to be in a custody battle, though.

Then came Fukushima.  I didn’t see the images or read the news for the first two days.  I was in a silent retreat – thank god.  I overheard someone mention an earthquake in Japan on Friday morning, but I put it out of my head.  There was nothing I could do.  By the evening, I felt sad energies weighing me down.  In the morning, I learned that a tsunami struck, leaving a quarter of a million people homeless.  I did a lot of dance meditation that day, releasing energies through movement.  I ended my silence Sunday afternoon and headed to an internet cafe to see what had happened.  That was when I first learned about Fukushima.  I felt like I had been hit with a lead pipe.  The world had just changed, though many people did not know it.  They still don’t know that it has changed.  I stared at the images on my computer screen.  Three reactors in melt-down.  “Partial meltdown.”  There is no such thing as a partial meltdown.  They won’t be able to stop it, I said to myself.

 I rarely read mainstream news articles.  They aren’t worth my time – I can rip apart the accuracy of just about every article put on the front page.  There is a huge disconnect between the news I read (and share) and what passes for news in the corporate media.

Fukushima update for today 4/20/11 (MsMilkytheclown)

This is a very good summary of the situation as of today. This is, however, a “gotcha” video where they veer off into obscenity laden rants. There is no problem – just click out a little after three minutes into the video.

James Pilant

US power company abandons reactor construction (via hisatomijapan)

I am utterly astonished. I can’t figure this one out. The government is in the industry’s pocket. The American press really isn’t interested. The American public is opposed but if you have lived here any length of time, you know how little public opinion means. So, a utility is giving up builing a plant with loan guarantees from the federal government and indemnification if there were a crisis or future meltdown? I don’t get it.

Did some official in the company decided to exercise some judgment? Did somebody grow a backbone? Or did someone take out a calculator and figure out how much the building costs would increase if all the cures for the safety problems at the Fukushima plant were incorporated into the new plant’s design?

James Pilant

Can Anna Hazare’s Jan Lokpal Bill root out the menace of corruption? (via Cinesign’s Blog)

Generally, I try to write a few paragraphs and explain what I think about the situations. This one, this post, is difficult to write about.

First, it’s long and quite detailed. I like that. In fact, that the author was able to describe and explain so much without losing me was strong reason to reblog the post.

Second, it’s about India, not just about the country but about the nation’s future, hopes and dreams. That’s a dangerous area to comment on. I have noticed that even mild criticism of India can generate strong responses. That’s okay. I’m getting used to it. When the United States was becoming a great power back in the early 20th century, there was a lot of thin skin there too.

India is a great nation with a difficult future, and it’s not just a little complex. From the middle of the United States, it’s hard to get a good, solid view, but I’m going to try. I need to write about this. In my country, on one of the major news networks, Hazare merited a short single article. We don’t think about India. We don’t read about India. We probably get more information about India from Rajesh Koothrappali than we do from the news.

So, I’m passing on to you a long, detailed and, in my mind, well written and informative post. Please read it!

James Pilant

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare at Jantar Mantar The real battle for the future began the moment Anna Hazare sipped lemon water at Delhis Jantar Mantar to break his fast on April 9. The four-day fast started on a low-key note, but exploded into a nationwide exhibition of anger, as a diminutive, unknown Gandhian from Maharashtra turned into a giant icon, a heroic symbol of the hidden despair that had been swelling in the consciousness of an … Read More

via Cinesigns Blog

“For the love of money.” (via acwords)

Great quote!

I started reading Tim Kellers Counterfeit Gods this week, and came across this intriguing little gem of a quote. Definitely thought it was worth sharing, especially when you find out who said it: What induces one man to use false weights, another to set his house on fire after having insured it for more than its value, while three-fourths of our upper classes indulge in legalized fraud. . . what gives rise to all this? It is not real want–for t … Read More

via acwords