Photos of War

I listened to Neal Conan on NPR while driving to lunch today. I understand why he needs to talk about it - the majority of the American populace is composed of craven lunatics with no sense of reality.

There is never a way to truly understand a person's sacrifice in war by simply looking at an amputated limb or a flag-draped box. I can feel sympathy for them, but I can never truly understand how much that person suffered. Not knowing how they suffered, I cannot know how reprehensible their death or permanent injury was. To never show such photographs is to completely dishonor their sacrifice. To have the parents of this man wish to so dishonor their son's sacrifice by not wanting the photograph shown is even more reprehensible.

These soldiers volunteered for service knowing that war existed and that they might die. Not once were they ever shown what a dead body looks like when hit by a grenade or a .50 caliber bullet. Those things leave holes in bodies, spray blood and body parts on the landscape, and expose interior body parts that most would prefer not to see. That preference has led to a misunderstanding by the general Americans populace that death is clean and quick. It is for the same reasons they don't want to know where their meat comes from - there's just too much blood. Americans revel in Gore movies (what we call Horror movies now - good grief). Those that claim that the scenes in movies and war are different have never seen the photographs. Those movies are made by people who have seen them and make them exactly because they make you squirm. It's about time the American people squirmed to real images of what war looks like. Un-doctored, unstaged (like the Civil War photographs were), raw, screaming, in your face reality. Not for kicks, but for edification.

Americans - it's no wonder the rest of the world hates us: we are apes that pick our butts and sniff and then claim we've never heard of butts.

To APR: well done. It's time for someone to tell the military to go to hell so that people can put a true face to the deaths that have occurred on both sides of these wars. The steps taken to elicit at least the comments of the most affected individuals warrants praise. These dead people are listed in military parlance as, "Non-operational assets." Does that sound like they give a shit? No, not really. So, again, Nice job.

To the editor of whatever newspaper that claimed that their nine-year old might see the paper and be horrified: That would be a good thing. Death such as what occurs in war should be viewed as horrible. Does that mean that you should also tell that same nine-year old that wars should never be fought? I bet you wouldn't do that. Oh, you'd tell us that you would so you could make all the politicians and pansy-asses out there happy, but there is no way you ever got to be a news editor of any stripe without exulting in blood and mess - whether or not you think it's a good or a bad thing. "If it bleeds, it leads," is an axiom that has never been truer than in today's media. Yes, even on NPR. How dare you take the right of your readership to teach their children away from them by withholding the photograph.

To the man who said that these dead people are fighting for our freedom: guess what? these wars were never about our freedom. It was for someone else's freedom and our safety. I always disagreed with the stated reasons we went there, but never disagreed that we need to go there. However, I believe we've been there too long. We fought there, gained their freedom, and have since tried to turn their cultures into America Light. Is the American military so incompetent that they can't teach military tactics to military personnel from other countries that we need to be there years after the original governments have been destroyed? (I know one person who was able, with about 40 others, to train the Contras in about 14 months.) The answer to that is obviously, yes. If you believe otherwise means that you believe in American Imperialism. Yes - colonialism by proxy. The only people who've threatened my freedom since 2001 are those within the United States government. Remember the Patriot Act? Do you know the differences between liberty, freedom, and safety? No? Hmm...thought the Marines only recruited smart people. My fault for assuming.

To the people who equate these photographs as being against war just as pictures of car crash victims are against drunk drivers: I seem to remember a film in high-school that depicted just such a thing as part of the Driver's Education course (yeah, California actually cared back then). I've completely forgotten the name of the film, but I bet it's still being shown in the now private courses. Besides, as one comedian said it, "20% of all accidents involve alcohol. Well, damn it, get all those sober people off the road and let us drunks drive in peace!" You may not like that comment, and I do not endorse drunk driving, but it is illustrative of how little the analogy fits this situation. Those films were never meant to deter drunk driving, they were meant to encourage safety. Publishing the photographs accomplish the same thing.

I'm done

I quit. I ain't looking for work because all I get are bogus headhunting bullshit. I quit because every time I try to do something it doesn't work - even when I use the same tools and methods as someone else I've seen do that thing.

I quit because no one gives me any respect whatsoever. They treat me like some kind of child. I'm tired, I'm sick. I Quit.

When someone I know actually gives me respect instead of seeming to simply tolerate my existence, I might come back. Until then, though shit. I'm gone

PharmaCom scare tactics and you

I was recently researching Seargeant's Natural Guardian flea repellent. I noticed a poster by the name of "Warren" that ran horrific blurb that was a waste of (mediocre) marketing skills. Warren's comments are word-for-word and format-for-format the same at this blog (look for Warren's post left on March 24, 2008) which was less than 24 hours after posting to this blog.

I'm all for free speech, but there is such a thing as ethics involved with allowing a free-market economy. You don't bash a competitor simply because they have a product that seems to be working. Figure out how they do it and try to do it better. Isn't that what corporate espionage is all about? Or are the CEO's being paid so much that companies can't afford that anymore...

Disclaimer
I do not and have not ever worked for any Pharmaceutical corporation of any kind nor any of said companies' subsidiaries. I have likewise never worked for Seargeant's or any of its subsidiaries. I am not a doctor of any sort (J.D., Ph.D., M.D.).


Review
I've used this product on one 9-year-old cat. The only effect the first time was that the he hated the smell and let me touch him for a day or two. The second application went better I think due to him having used it before and just knowing he'd have to deal with it. Anyway, the fleas were gone, as evidenced by zero scratching for about three or 3.5 weeks. Does it last a whole month on a regular basis? I wouldn't think even essential oils will last that long.

Al-in-all, I'd use this product again with no qualms.


Now to the absurd
These are a couple of answers to the most severe questions arising out of the scare tactic comments, like Warren's. These are usually posed by some unsuspecting user interested in natural alternatives.

Is it gonna kill my cat? There may be some skin irritation from the peppermint especially if applied directly to the skin instead of the fur. However, if your cat is allergic to peppermint there could be some really serious reactions most of which will fall into normal histamine categories - one of which is respiratory failure. As with any product you might use on your pet, use your head first. Test a small amount and wait a day. If there is no reaction other than a slight redness, you're good-to-go. Anything other than a slight redness and you need to find another product.

Why is my cat angry at me? The smell is a bit strong which makes me wonder about the amounts used. The smell is what the cats are attempting to escape. Because they can't get away, eventually they hide and are usually snappish. They get better.

My cat is foaming at the mouth or drooling, is this a sign that the cat is sick? The reports of foaming are probably due to the close relationship between peppermint and catnip - same family, therefore it's the same type of, if not the same quality of, reaction. If a cat stays on the catnip-infused scratching board too long they will drool and foam a bit. Lethargic reactions to the peppermint means they are probably high (hence the inability to find a proper toilet or the inaction regarding food). Since they can't get away from what is making them that way, they may stay high for a while. You should ease up on the dose or find another product.

When you read reviews online about products that are an alternative to some large corporation's heavy chemical solutions, be aware that most of the negative posts are not from users of the product. Since the FTC doesn't do a great job in print or on TV, and cannot regulate claims made by the "public" in any forum especially online, any of the reviews you read (and most likely many of them) could be fake. Search several review sites and compare the posts. Eliminating the similar posts will give you a better idea on the product.