Religious Violence, Not Blasphemy, Is Criminal. Freedom; The Right To Criticize

   When a religion insists it is the only right religion for the entire world, and everyone that does not believe is doomed for hell, then why should that religion be free from criticism? People from a religion that tell other people they are wrong for believing in something different, and then get angry or violent when challenged, have no leg to stand on. No religion should be free from criticism and satire.

   There is a big difference between the people of a religion insisting only they are correct, and the people of a religion insisting that because they are correct, they therefore have the right to dominate, oppress, torment and kill. 

   Our technology evolved, but mankind never evolved. We are right back in the middle ages fighting religious wars, except now there are nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The only way to fight back is to not capitulate to the demands of the religious bigots, brainwashed sheep, and tyrants. This means standing behind the principle that criticizing a religion is a basic human right, and is different than discriminating against the people of a religion because of what they believe. Furthermore, when the people of a religion insist only their religion is right, and everyone else is wrong, and that this gives them permission to act violently, than others have an obligation to respond, including by discussion, argument, criticism, and satire. 

   If this is construed to be blasphemy, then so be it. If we allow ourselves to be led down the road by religious fanatics, tyrants, and bigots, then we are no worse than these mindless sheep. The road they insist is the only path to God, Allah or a higher power, is nothing but a road to hell. 

   

Micro Plastic And Garbage. What You Can Do To Protect Oceans And Wildlife

   Micro beads of plastic are used in a wide variety of household items, including many personal care items such as soaps, toothpastes, cosmetics, sunscreens, insect repellent, along with many household cleaning items. They are used because they are cheap for manufacturers, even though they are extremely costly for the world. Micro beads of plastic are not biodegradable, and do not get filtered out by water treatment and filtration plants. These plastic microbeads are already in the lakes and oceans of the world. They are virtually impossible to remove, and are eaten by fish and other marine life, moving their way up the food chain.
    Oceans are under assault from thousands of tons of plastics and styrofoam that enter into them daily. Food manufacturers and others are doing nothing to change how their items are packaged, knowing full well that in many countries, the lack of proper disposal systems guarantees that all these plastics and other oil based wrappers end up in the oceans. Cheap packaging for them is costly to the world.
    Little to nothing is being done to address the plastic contamination and poisoning of the oceans. The big money conservation organizations may have a token program here or there, but true to form, they are good at exploiting a problem for all the free publicity and money a problem may generate, while contributing nothing of substance.
     Stopping the use of micro plastics should be immediate. Polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene are some of the names used in products for micro beads of plastic or beads made from petrochemicals.  Microplastics are unnecessary, and only add to the already huge, and almost completely unaddressed problem of plastics in the oceans. The magnitude of this problem cannot be understated. Daily the oceans are under massive assault from non biodegradable plastic trash and other non biodegradable waste. Kill the oceans and human life will perish.
     Meanwhile, for those concerned about the environment and helping the world rather than engaging in senseless violence, hate, religious wars and so forth....Instead of sending money to one of the useless conservation or animal organizations (many animal organizations have made fortunes exploiting animal cruelty and suffering), consider better alternatives. You can start your own small program anywhere in the world where plastics and other garbage are making their way into the waterways and oceans, and thereby do your own small part to clean up the mess. Hiring local people living in poverty provides employment, raises their awareness about helping the environment and wildlife, and is a concrete way to actually remove trash from the land, waterways and coastlines before it enters into the seas.

Enjoy Triclosan And Micro Plastic With Your Fish

     Studies show that plain soap and water is as effective, or more effective than soaps containing antibacterial agents. Triclosan, one widely used antibacterial agent, ends up contaminating water.  Many municipal water filtration and sewage treatment systems do not filter out triclosan and other antibacterial agents, including antibiotics. Over exposure to antibacterial agents lowers the body's natural ability to resist harmful bacteria. There are reasons super bacteria have emerged that resist treatment. Adding triclosan to the oceans and lakes of the world, on top of all the antibiotics and other medications, pesticides, non biodegradable plastic microbeads in cosmetics and other products (which do not get filtered out by municipal water treatment systems), mercury, dioxins, flame retardants, and other man made poisons, only increases the toxicity of the oceans and the inability of marine life to endure. The thousands of tons of plastics and other non biodegradable garbage that daily enters into the oceans already is an enormous threat that is ignored (much of the plastic breaks down into impossible to capture tiny particles that fish and other marine life consume). Reducing the unnecessary use of triclosan and other antibacterial agents, along with completely eliminating plastic microbeads in personal care, household and other products, is not an impossible task, and can be the start of a sincere, international effort (garbage, waste and harmful material knows no boundaries) to stop the poisoning and trashing of the world's waters and oceans.

Dictatorships And Theocracies, The Least Productive Societies

   There are reasons why countries that function best are not theocracies or religious dictatorships, or any kind of dictatorship. Without the separation of church/mosque and state, all that is left is being under the thumb of someone dictating how to think and act. The end result is blind conformity, suppression and the killing of creativity. Oil may delay the collapse of some theocracies, but eventually they are all doomed to fail. The most productive, inventive, creative societies are not theocracies, and they are not dictatorships.

The Daily Destruction Of The Oceans By Plastic And Styrofoam

   How is it possible for technology to have advanced as far as it has, and yet we cannot stop thousands of tons of non biodegradable plastics, styrofoam and other non biodegradable harmful garbage from entering into the oceans daily? Why is there no pressure to change how products are packaged, including food products (chips, cookies, candy, crackers, etc.) knowing full well most of this non biodegradable packaging material ends up in the oceans, especially from heavily populated coastal nations, including China, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Bangladesh, and many other countries? Food manufacturers make billions, but do not bear the huge cost that results from their non biodegradable wrappings. Why also is there no international effort (garbage crosses all ocean boundaries) to properly dispose of plastics and other non biodegradable garbage, and to remove that which is already present littering the oceans and land that can still be removed ( i.e. plastic and styrofoam that has not yet broken down into near impossible to recover small particles) ?
    Daily the oceans become further damaged from this assault by plastic and other garbage. The negative impact on human health and welfare, on the oceans, on wildlife, is far reaching. The problem is only getting worse, as more and more non biodegradable material is used and improperly discarded. Fish and other wildlife eat plastic, thinking it is food. Plastics break down but do not degrade, making it virtually impossible to remove small plastic particles from the oceans. Unlike climate change, which is of great concern to many; plastic, styrofoam and other non biodegradable material poisoning the oceans continues to remain under the radar, even though it is one of the biggest threats to our survival.

ISIS Islamists Call For The Murder Of Muslim Clerics That Advocate Tolerance And Peace

   ISIS put out a video calling for the death of certain Muslim clerics and leaders that are advocates for peace and tolerance. Islamists, not just ISIS Islamists, that wage war and terror in the name of religion are turning this world into a hellhole. Islamists want a war between religions. This must remain a battle between evil people that practice hatred, bigotry, violence, intolerance, terrorism, and everyone else that does not.

Will Trump And Putin Start Another Nuclear Arms Race?

    The United States and Russia have the ability to destroy earth many times over. It was reported that in a conversation with Putin, Trump asserted that the Obama administration negotiated a nuclear weapons reduction treaty that is not good for the United States. Trump felt he could negotiate a better deal.    
     If two enemies are each carrying a stick of dynamite, and that is the deterrent they use to keep back the other, what does it matter if they have one stick of dynamite, or a million sticks, when one is enough to kill the other person? The number of nuclear weapons Russia and the U.S. have in their arsenals far exceeds the requirements needed to destroy the other side and the entire world. The more nuclear weapons there are, the greater the risk of annihilation.
     If Trump really had that conversation with Putin, then it is unfortunate Trump could not see the bigger picture, which is not which side has more of a perceived advantage in the nuclear reduction treaty. The bigger picture is the enormous threat nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons proliferation present to the survival of human life and most life on this planet, and the critical need to reduce this threat.