PENIS', VAGINAS, ANUS' and a little news.

PENIS', VAGINAS, ANUS' and a little news.



In the 50's and 60's families gathered around the TV set at dinner time and were joined with journalistic icons  like Walter Cronkite as he and others of his era reported on the days news. Informative, matter-of-factly, little or no hype, and most important, just a smattering of commercials.

Fast forward to the 21st century and tune in to any network nightly news show (with the exception of PBS) and I dare any one to sit down in front of a TV with their kids  without having their trigger fingers on the remote off button.

What you'll find is a string of rowdy, sometimes stomach churning, drug commercials portraying sexy 20 somethings talking to you (yes you) about your limp penis, or a concerned looking middle-aged woman droning on about dry vaginas and painful intercourse. An then there's the even more concerned 30 something Millennial lamenting about feeling like he's "passing bricks" every time he needs to take a dump. Not to forget the guy who pees a lot.  OMG! WTF!

The message is always the same; "ask your doctor" about drug X-Y-Z, blah, blah, blah.

Then, there's the news?  Please! A prime-time family oriented event? Please!


Where's the FCC when you need them? Aren't there rules and regs about content during prime time when kids are watching?  Or is Big Pharma one of those "too big to whatever" untouchables?

Should Prescription Drug Ads Be Reined In?

As many Americans enter rehabilitation centers for prescription drug abuse as for ecstasy, cocaine/crack, methamphetamine, and heroin addictions, according to a recent study from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Too many people have dangerously casual attitudes toward legal medications.

For the general public, TV advertising makes use of these drugs seem like an everyday convenience rather than an important decision worthy of serious consideration. Except for New Zealand, no other country in the world allows manufacturers to market prescription drugs directly to consumers.

And in addition to the serious health-related issues these ads evoke, many viewers find them annoying, distasteful, or just plain depressing. The manufacturers jam-pack prescription drug commercials into certain TV programs, most notably the national network evening news broadcasts.

How lovely it would be to sit back and allow the anchorperson to deliver the latest stories—unpunctuated by reminders that osteoporosis, bladder control problems, and erectile dysfunction lurk in the future. TV-watchers who already take the medications for those conditions might not particularly appreciate being forced to think about them every night at 6:30 either.

On that note; Poem: Drug Commercials on the Evening NewsDrug Commercials on the Evening Newsby Victor Rook

WHAT DOES CONGRESS AND FIFA HAVE IN COMMON?

Both institutions are corrupted by money; and the corruption is endemic to those at the top which contaminates these institutions as a whole.




FIFA's huge corruption and bribery scandal, explained

The biggest surprise here isn't that FIFA officials allegedly engaged in this sort of corruption — it's that after years of widespread accusations, the US and Swiss governments are finally cracking down.

The allegations largely began during the tenure of previous FIFA president João Havelange, who enlisted the World Cup's first corporate sponsors, expanded the number of teams, and dramatically increased FIFA revenues from it after taking over in 1974. During the same period, Havelange took millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for World Cup marketing and broadcast rights. Current FIFA president Sepp Blatter allegedly knew about these bribes and attempted to cover them up upon taking office.

More recently, the decision to award the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar led to widespread accusations of vote buying. Two members of the executive committee were actually suspended before the vote due to the allegations, and afterward, the leader of England's bid reported that he'd been asked for millions of dollars and other bribes in exchange for votes.

Ex-Speaker Hastert's Payments Linked To Sexual Misconduct


Hastert was indicted Thursday in connection with charges that he tried to hide cash withdrawal requirements and lied to the FBI about it. As NPR's Brian Naylor reported:


"According to the U.S. attorney's office, Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to a person identified only as Individual A 'in order to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against Individual A.' The indictment charges that Hastert began withdrawing money from various bank accounts, and that beginning in approximately July 2012 he started structuring those withdrawals in increments of less than $10,000 to evade currency transaction requirements that withdrawals of $10,000 or more be reported."

DEATH BY GUN

The ICD code for “accidental discharge of firearms” clearly does not cover all forms of death caused by a gun, but it also does not cover all accidental deaths caused by gunfire. Several other categories, including “other and unspecified nontransport accidents,” “discharge of firearms, undetermined intent,” include these types of accidents. 

Despite this drawback in this sort of determination, Alabama’s age-adjusted mortality rate from accidental discharge of firearms is 3.5 times higher than the national rate. Ten other states (Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wyoming) have rates at least twice the national average, with the largest difference represented by Louisiana’s 3.9.

The Most Unusual Causes of Death By State

The leading causes of death tend to be the same across the country. A majority of deaths are due to heart disease, followed by cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease. However, some causes of death affect some state residents far more than others.


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a report, “The Most Distinctive Causes of Death by State, 2001-2010,” detailing causes of death most out of proportion to national rates. In some states, the results are intuitive. In others, unusually common causes of death are much more surprising.

THE LAND OF INEQUALITY FOR ALL

No matter how hard they try to convince you that this country is the home of the brave and the land of the free with "equality" for all the numbers don't lie and tell a different story;

Countries With the Widest Gap Between the Rich and the Poor

The United States, which prides itself as a land of opportunity, has the fourth-most uneven income distribution among developed nations, according to recently-released data. Only Turkey, Mexico, and Chile had worse income inequality, with Chile ranking as the most unequal overall.

The Gini coefficient measures how much an economy deviates from perfect equality — where everyone has the same income. A score of zero indicates perfect equality, and a score of one indicates extreme inequality. Based on index figures for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, these are the least equitable countries in the developed world.

4. United States
> Gini index – post tax & transfer: 0.389
> Social spending, pct. of GDP: 19.2% (10th lowest)
> Chg. in Gini after tax & transfer: 0.118 (6th smallest)
> Poverty rate: 17.4% (5th highest)

The United States once again ranks as one of the least equal developed nation in the world. It is also very unusual as a less equal nation. The United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world with a GDP per capita of close to $55,000, fourth highest in the OECD. In fact, of the 16 nations with the highest per capita income in the OECD, the United States is the only one among the worst nations for income inequality. The United states had the fourth largest proportion of adults with a college degree. Having more college graduates might have helped reduce inequality in the country.

WHAT DO BANKS AND CONGRESS HAVE IN COMMON?

The answer is; CORRUPTION!

Former House Speaker Hastert Indicted In Probe Into $3.5M In Withdrawals

Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Chicago. The Illinois Republican, 73, is charged with trying to evade cash withdrawal requirements, and with lying to the FBI about it.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to a person identified only as Individual A, "in order to compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against Individual A." The indictment charges that Hastert began withdrawing money from various bank accounts, and that beginning in approximately July 2012 he started structuring those withdrawals in increments of less than $10,000 to evade currency transaction requirements that withdrawals of $10,000 or more be reported.

The indictment says that, when questioned in December 2014 about the withdrawals, Hastert falsely stated he was keeping the cash.

If convicted, Hastert could face five-year prison terms for each of the two counts, and fines of up to $500,000.

WHAT DOES FIFA AND BANKS HAVE IN COMMON?

The answer is; CORRUPTION.


Two criminal investigations into corruption at football's world governing body Fifa are under way, with seven top officials arrested in Zurich.

The seven are among 14 indicted on corruption charges in a US inquiry, the US Department of Justice said.

The second criminal case was launched by Swiss prosecutors into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar respectively.

Fifa corruption inquiries: Officials arrested in Zurich - BBC News

The U.S. is examining banks’ conduct as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe of international soccer that has led to charges against 14 people, including officials with the sport’s organizing body.

Money involved in the two-decade-old bribery scheme passed through U.S. banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment. That helps give the U.S. the right to pursue prosecutions against the foreign nationals involved, and also to examine the role of the banks, acting U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie in Brooklyn, N.Y., said at a news conference Wednesday.

Read the full FIFA indictment here.


“Our investigation is going to look at a broad area of conduct,” Currie said. “A lot of the banking institutions and the ways these moneys were funneled passed through the U.S.”

TV-LAND GARBAGE DUMP FILLS UP

TLC wasn’t always a bastion of controversy. Once upon a time there was a nice, boring network called “The Learning Channel” which focused mainly on science, history, nature and adult educational content. After rebranding as TLC in 1998, we saw an incremental shift towards reality shows with more popular appeal, which is when everyone became very obsessed with renovating and we started to see shows like “Trading Spaces,” “Junkyard Wars,” and “A Wedding Story.” The biggest change came in 2008, when TLC rebranded itself with a new slogan “Life surprises” and a renewed focus on eclectic human stories instead of decorating and home improvement shows that had dominated the network a decade prior. Thus came the family-focused, individual-centric shows like “Jon & Kate Plus 8,” “Little People, Big World” and “17 Kids and Counting,” from which the slow crawl into absurdity began. Here’s a look at some of the most controversial moments TLC has weathered over the past few years:


From the Duggars to Honey Boo Boo: How TLC became the most controversial channel on television