THE QUICKIE: JUST SAY NYET!

In words and actions Russia has proven itself undeserving and unworthy of hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. CLICK HERE to get a horrifying glimpse of what life is like for LGBT citizens trying to do something most of us take for granted: the act of going about their everyday lives. What is going on in Russia is an insult to all decent humans and an affront to the spirit of The Games.

In addition to the video I link to above, here is a particularly good segment from the 8/22/13 episode of ALL IN WITH CHRIS HAYES. He sits down with Russian journalist Masha Gessen for an incredibly powerful conversation about what life is like for the LGBT community in Russia today.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO VIEW THIS VIDEO FROM ANY DESKTOP OR LAPTOP BROWSER. SOME MOBILE BROWSERS, HOWEVER, DO NOT SUPPORT EMBEDDED PLAYERS FROM THE CONTENT PROVIDER ABOVE. IF THAT IS THE CASE, CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE VIDEO  SITE AND BOOKMARK FOR VIEWING LATER IN AN ENABLED BROWSER.

THE QUICKIE: STAND WITH BANGLADESH

IN TWEET: AS THE DEATH TOLL IN THE BANGLADESH GARMENT FACTORY COLLAPSE SOARS PAST 500, IT’S TIME TO TAKE A STAND.

We all love a bargain (myself included) and most Americans own at least one article of clothing that was made in Bangladesh. There’s no room here to get on a soap box or write holier-than-though missives. Bottom line, we are ALL part of a supply chain that shows a remarkable lack of respect and compassion for the millions of hard-working, talented and grossly underpaid people who make the clothes we wear.

Taking a stand starts with awareness. Awareness that human hands make the garments that touch our bodies. We take a little bit of these folks with us every day. Like us, they laugh, they love and they are real people. Like us, they deserve dignity, a living wage and the security of a workplace that won’t collapse out from under them and bury their hopes and dreams in tons of rubble.

Awareness starts with facing the facts of this latest tragedy in Bangladesh. Read the articles posted here, look at the images shot in the aftermath of the collapse and then visit the Worker Rights Consortium website and start taking a stand of your own. It’s the least we can do.

• CLICK HERE  for coverage of the Rana Plaza collapse and a look at the ultimate price of bargain basement clothing prices, from Huffington Post.
• CLICK HERE for a list of the clothing companies with links to this and past factory disasters in Bangladesh, from Time. Is there blood on your shirt?
• CLICK HERE to read about the Walt Disney Company’s decision to halt manufacture of licensed merchandise in Bangladesh, Ecuador, Venezuela, Belarus and Pakistan, from CNN Money.
• CLICK HERE for more images and coverage of the Rana Plaza collapse, from Democratic Underground.
• CLICK HERE or on any image in this post to visit the Worker Rights Consortium site.
  

THE QUICKIE: FACE TO FACE WITH TERROR

IN TWEET: HE LOST BOTH LEGS IN THE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING. NOW JEFF BAUMAN TELLS OF HIS FACE TO FACE ENCOUNTER WITH DECEASED SUSPECT TAMERLAN TSARNAEV.

The image is already iconic: a gravely wounded Jeff Bauman is wheeled away from the scene of the Boston Marathon bombing by paramedics and everyman hero Carlos Arredondo.

Bauman lost both legs in the attack but only now do we know about his face to face encounter with terror: he stood right next to deceased suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev just before one of the two bombs was detonated. Jeff Bauman’s eyewitness testimony was a key factor in the success of the FBI investigation into the terrorist attack.

On Friday April 26, 2013 Bauman gave an interview to Boston area radio station WEEI FM. Here is the audio of his gripping interview on the DENNIS AND CALLAHAN MORNING SHOW.

NOTE: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS THIS AUDIO CLIP FROM ANY DESKTOP OR LAPTOP BROWSER. SOME MOBILE BROWSERS, HOWEVER, DO NOT SUPPORT AUDIO PLUG-INS. IF THAT IS THE CASE, CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL INTERVIEW HOST SITE.

CLICK HERE to read the PDF of the criminal complaint against Tsarnaev, filed on 4/21/13.

CLICK HERE to read the PDF transcript of Tsarnaev's first hearing, held bedside in his hospital room on 4/22/13.

CLICK HERE to visit the news archive of RONTHINK coverage of the bombing and subsequent manhunt.

THE QUICKIE: KEYSTONE XL HELL

IN TWEET: THERE’S A TON OF ANTI-KEYSTONE XL STUFF OUT THERE BUT, THIS NEW TV SPOT FROM THE ALL RISK/NO REWARD COALITION NAILS IT LIKE NOTHING I’VE SEEN.

The recent tar sands oil spill in Mayflower, AR is still a disaster in progress. In fact, the damage to the pipeline appears to be much worse than originally thought, according state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel (D-AR). The spill has also cast new doubts on the safety and viability of the Keystone XL pipeline extension.

Though proponents of the project correctly note that this is new, state of the art construction, the pipeline itself bisects the United States. It crosses wetlands, farmland and neighboring residential areas. It will also become part of an interconnected network of oil pipelines with a woeful track record of safety issues, accidents and shoddy maintenance.

I’ve seen a ton of anti-Keystone advertising and activism but few efforts are as pointed, common sense and effective as a TV spot just released by a new player in the mix: the ALL RISK/NO REWARD COALITION. Made up of various local, state and national organizations, the coalition makes the strongest case yet for saying “NO” to Keystone XL. Check it out:

NOTE: YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO VIEW THIS VIDEO FROM ANY DESKTOP OR LAPTOP BROWSER. SOME MOBILE BROWSERS, HOWEVER, DO NOT SUPPORT VIDEO PLUG-INS. IF THAT IS THE CASE, CLICK HERE FOR A LINK TO THE VIDEO AND OPEN IN YOUR YOU TUBE APP.

Click on the image at the top of the post to visit the ALL RISK/NO REWARD COLATION site.

CLICK HERE for more topical RONTHINK coverage including a takedown of petroleum industry PR tactics and coverage of the Mayflower, AR spill. Includes new video along with updates on some dubious and aggressive moves by pipeline owner Exxon to mitigate the fallout from the disaster. Think ERIN BROCKOVICH, with the oil giant filling the PG&E role.

THE QUICKIE: WE WANT A VOTE!

IN TWEET: 14 SENATORS WANT TO DENY A VOTE ON GUN SAFETY LEGISLATION, INCLUDING UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS SUPPORTED BY 90% OF AMERICANS. DEMAND A VOTE!

If you care about this issue (especially if you are a constituent of one of the Senators threatening to filibuster any vote on gun safety legislation) take action now! Please call the Senate switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to both of your U.S. Senators. Be polite but firm. Demand a vote!

You can agree or disagree with the legislation but let your Senators know that this is an issue that deserved an up or down vote in Congress.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO DOWNLOAD, COPY AND SHARE THIS ORIGINAL RONTHINK GRAPHIC. WE ASK ONLY THAT YOU DO NOT ALTER THE IMAGE ABOVE AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ATTRIBUTION AND (WHERE APPLICABLE) LIVE HYPERLINK:THIS ORIGINAL GRAPHIC WAS CREATED BY RON HEBSHIE FOR THE RONTHINK BLOG AT HTTP://WWW.RONTHINK.COM AND @RONTHINKBLOG ON TWITTER.

THE QUICKIE: SOCIAL SHAMING

IN TWEET: PET SHAMING MORPHS INTO SPOTLIGHT TROLLING AS PEOPLE USE SOCIAL MEDIA FOR INCREASINGLY SILLY (AND OFTEN SAD) SELF-GRATIFICATION. ENOUGH!

By now I’m sure many of you have seen the picture above. If not, give it a click to check out the original post on Facebook. For the sake of this discussion, I'm going to assume the "stop smoking" plea from this girl is genuine. Of course, that’s always a dicey assumption to make online.

This is the latest twist in the already annoying "pet shaming" and "teen shaming" phenoms. Personally, I don't care that your puppy hides meat in the couch, that your teen son or daughter is a selfish brat or that your cat shreds the curtains while you're at work. In fact, I don't know why anyone else would. Sure, much of it is silly and harmless but we all know things like this will eventually take a turn down some sad, dark alley.

What value is there in public shaming anyway? Do people really think their pooch is gonna stop pooping on the sofa or that little Bobby or Caitlin will became model citizens because you humiliated them on Tumblr?I read THE SCARLET LETTER in high school (ok, I really just read the Cliffs Notes) so lesson learned. I'm not gonna Hester Prynne anyone on two or four legs and don’t know why anyone else would. At a minimum, it’s an asinine use of social media. At its worst, it leads to public scorn and other forms of bullying.

At the root of all of these images, cutesy or otherwise, is as an obsessive narcissism. An almost desperate need to grab the spotlight “just because.” The day I use my tiny corner of the internet to slap up a picture of me holding a poorly scrawled note about something in my life that impacts no one other than me, is the day I will happily delete this blog. In other words, not gonna happen.

With all that said, any "daddy" who makes their kid beg for likes on Facebook as a pre-condition for kicking the habit is not what I would call a model parent. It’s already bad enough that he smokes. It’s even worse that he’s using his bad habit as an excuse to cajole his kid into making a very public plea for help. Who does that? Since when did pimping out your kid qualify as good parenting?

At the end of the day, things like this “please like me so pappy stops smoking” campaign denigrate the memory of kids like Jamey Rodemeyer. Teens who endure real pain and suffering and use social media as both a coping mechanism and a way to help others in need.

Jamey Rodemeyer didn’t live to see his 15th birthday. He took his own life at the age of 14. His heartbreaking journey still lives on YouTube (be warned, you will need a box of tissue). More importantly, his video posts have helped countless other at-risk teens choose life. At a minimum, we owe something better than “teen shaming” and spotlight trolling to all the Jamey Rodemeyers out there; past, present and future.

NEED HELP? CLICK HERE TO VISIT STOPBULLYING.GOV OR CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE TREVOR PROJECT. BOTH SITES OFFER 24/7/365 TOLL-FREE HOTLINES. MAKE THE CALL. YOU ARE NOT ALONE AND YOU MATTER.

THE QUICKIE: OBAMA THE ANTICHRIST?

IN TWEET: 1 IN 4 AMERICANS THINK OBAMA IS OR MAY BE THE ANTICHRIST. FOLKS, WE HONESTLY DON’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP!

WELCOME TO THE QUICKIE, A NEW REGULAR FEATURE ON RONTHINK. THESE ARE STORIES SO BAT CRAP CRAZY THAT WASTING TOO MANY WORDS ON THEM WOULD BE A GRAMMAR FELONY. ALAS, TO NOT COMMENT WOULD ALSO BE A CRIME.

The 47%? That’s so 2012!  The group we should be worrying about are the 25% who think President Obama is or might be the Antichrist. This is just one of the scarlarious findings in a new poll conducted by Public Policy Polling (PPP). I’d be more inclined to dismiss the results were it not for the uncanny accuracy of the polling from PPP during the last Presidential election. That, and the fact that way too many of our fellow citizens are indeed certifiable lunatics.

This group of ass backwards wackadoos is made up of a loose coalition of Evangelicals, white supremacists, people with bunkers on the grounds of their heavily fortified compounds, whatever is left of that Tea Party train wreck and a good percentage of those still watching any show featuring Donald Trump.

They’re the birthers, the folks who think man and dinosaur roamed the earth together, climate change deniers and anyone with a signed box set of the LEFT BEHIND novels on their bookshelf.

Things weren’t helped any by the Mark Burnett/Roma Downey produced mini series THE BIBLE. This big budget mess (with the hot, ripped Jesus) was a huge hit for History Channel. It also featured an actor playing Satan who bore more than a passing resemblance to President Obama. Of course, everyone involved with the show thinks we’re the crazy ones for noticing any similarities. OK, say that’s true. Did they have to cast an actor from an African country as the most evil character in the Bible?

• CLICK HERE for more details of the PPP poll from Huffington Post.
• CLICK HERE for the UK perspective on the PPP poll from The Independent.
• CLICK HERE for Kate Sheppard’s excellent look at the poll results in her article for Mother Jones.