Road Rants (That’s Bullshit!)

(Avi sleeps, clutching his precious food)
As I travelled through the plains of Pennsylvania, I realized that this is the third country I have blogged from within the last month. I’m such a world traveler! Had to say it. Anyhow, as this tin can zipped along the highway, I was struck by a lot of random thoughts. First off, the roads to Washington D.C. (,my latest destination,) are littered with tons of road kill. I’ve been on my fair share of highways, but DAMN! That’s a lot of street sausage.

Street meat. Crow chow. Coon corpses - You get the picture.

My other random ‘on-the-road’ thoughts are less smelly, but just as stomach turning. Lets fire some off. Each will be followed by the eternal phrase ‘That’s bullshit!’. Here goes:

- - - The yellow rubber bracelet known as the Livestrong Bracelet is meant to be worn in order to show solidarity with cancer patients and victims while also aiding in the collection of funds for cancer research. Now, most people are wearing them just to ‘be cool’, turning a meaningful idea into a mindless fad. As a result there are now tons of knockoffs being sold in dollar stores, Ebay, and some clothing shops. The money from those sales do not go to cancer research. They go to profiteers. Hmm, what’s another example of people profiting from cancer? Tobacco companies! You know what I think when I hear about industries squeezing a buck out of tragedy? I think (Here it comes!): That’s bullshit!

- - - In the July 14, 2005 issue of USA Today, page 10A contained an article with the headline British police seek mastermind. The writer, Thomas Wagner from the AP uses the phrase ‘terrorist attacks’ to describe the recent tragedy in London. Towards the bottom of the page, there is short piece written by Paul Leavitt (with wire reports) that describes Israeli forces moving into Tulkarem in an effort to capture the members of Islamic Jihad that were responsible for the recent slaughter of four Israelis. Rather than use the term ‘terrorist/terror attack’, Leavitt says ‘bombing’. This is in line with what Canada’s (government funded) CBC does, preferring the terms ‘gunmen’ or ‘militant’ rather than terrorist when it comes to reporting on Palestinian terrorism in Israel. When civilians are blown up in London, it is a terrorist attack. When it happens in Israel, it is a ‘bombing’. This type of double standard has been pointed out by countless organizations and advocacy groups, but it continues to exist and be perpetuated by the media. You know what? That’s bullshit!

- - - Cellphone companies have pretty much conquered the adult market, and now they are setting their sights on children. No-one knows what kind of negative effects one may suffer from prolonged (or temporary) cell phone use. These devices have not been around long enough for people to draw any concrete conclusions. All I know is this: Holding an ever-discharging battery against the side of your head on a regular basis is unhealthy. It’s just common sense. When you use a cell, that is exactly what you are doing. Children have thinner skulls, and that increases any possible risk to their wellbeing. Cancer rates have skyrocketed over the last couple of decades. Outside of population growth, one of the biggest factors is the enormous increase in digital devices, genetically modified foods, and signal transmissions. When you walk down the street (or sleep in your bed, sit on a toilet, stand on your roof, etc.) tons of radio/satellite/cell phone signals are ripping through your body in search of a receiver. Cancer is a genetic mutation. Prolonged exposure to foreign objects of an unquantified nature can cause mutations. Think about it. Cellphone companies sponsor studies, but the independent studies are the ones that find many more causes for concern. The cell companies know there are dangers but prefer making cash over caring about the wellbeing of their customers. Motorola is one of the bigger cover-up artists, even going as far as to alter a document in their favour, after it was presented to them by one of their hired researchers. (I read that in the Toronto Star a while back.) These cover-ups are…well… It’s such bullshit!

So, what do these three micro-rants have in common? Well they all describe evil groups of people that do not care about the needs of others. Cancer profiteers (bracelet manufacturers, tobacco and cellphone companies, terrorists) as well as people that value some lives over others (CBC, writer Paul Leavitt [and/or his editor] and the majority of the media). It’s a sick world people. All you can do is hide under your bed or/and apply pressure to the more powerful while raising your voice and writing lots of whiny letters. Also, you should invest in an earpiece for your cell.

If something weird happens to me in the near future, you can rest assured that it was committed as retaliation by one of the groups mentioned above. Probably a cell company. Those guys are such shmucks. Free weekends, my ass!