tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post1530237024700222155..comments2024-03-28T16:08:29.578-04:00Comments on Sardonicky: Neoliberalism KillsKaren Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-42740612020603496852016-04-24T01:18:09.471-04:002016-04-24T01:18:09.471-04:00To the sensitive comments appended to Ms. Garcia&#...<br />To the sensitive comments appended to Ms. Garcia's incisive post, these statements by a true statesman are appropriate to add:<br /><br />“Without a global revolution in the sphere of human consciousness, nothing will change for the better in the sphere of our being as humans, and the catastrophe toward which this world is headed — be it ecological, social, demographic or a general breakdown of civilization — will be unavoidable. If we are no longer threatened by world war or by the danger that the absurd mountains of accumulated nuclear weapons might blow up the world, this does not mean that we have definitely won. We are still incapable of understanding that the only genuine backbone of all our actions, if they are to be moral, is responsibility.” <br /><br />“The worst thing is that we live in a contaminated moral environment. We fell morally ill because we became used to saying something different from what we thought. Concepts such as love, friendship, compassion, humility or forgiveness lost their depth and dimension.” <br /><br />"The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less.<br />The deeper the experience of an absence of meaning - in other words, of absurdity - the more energetically meaning is sought.<br />Sometimes I wonder if suicides aren't in fact sad guardians of the meaning of life." <br /><br />~ Vaclav Havel <br /><br /><br /><br />Erik Rothnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-8387439639682924122016-04-22T21:41:31.729-04:002016-04-22T21:41:31.729-04:00
Not Now, When? Young Jews Refuse to Stay Silent o...<br />Not Now, When? Young Jews Refuse to Stay Silent on the Occupation This Passover http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35759-if-not-now-when-young-jews-refuse-to-stay-silent-on-the-occupation-this-passover via @truthout Pearlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-26433557827226792992016-04-22T15:49:58.520-04:002016-04-22T15:49:58.520-04:00Karen, i replied to your comment on Krugman's ...Karen, i replied to your comment on Krugman's blog:<br /><br />Yeah, the TV news is running this on one of their delightful crawls repeating over and over the various tragedies on this earth, 24/7---citing continuing increase in suicide of middle aged white males. <br /><br />I wonder what the comparative suicide rates are in countries with health care for all since generations ago. Plus more humane drug treatment rehab programs? Plus with more middle class and employee protections? Just wondering if anyone at our ‘greatest newspaper’ might run an article or column with those comparisons. I think the Times has overseas bureaus and could easily report on it. <br /><br />Maybe someday one of our candidates will pose those questions. However, in 2013 Sanders did hold hearings on how 4 advanced countries pay for and use health care--- which I just happened to catch on Cspan, or would never have heard about it. <br />It’s a mystery why Sanders never used this testimony by his witnesses to bolster his calls for health care reform. Did he think it might anger the establishment even more? Or what?<br />Meredith NYCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-7571902963631553792016-04-22T13:45:05.463-04:002016-04-22T13:45:05.463-04:00Anne,
You raise a good point. The latest suicide s...Anne,<br />You raise a good point. The latest suicide study doesn't concentrate on the socioeconomic status of the victims, so who's to know how many well-off people do away with themselves because of the meds they scored on a platinum health insurance plan?<br /><br />You can get a clue from watching the nightly network news, though. One of the drugs now being very heavily advertised (to what is not exactly a downtrodden audience) is a high octane laxative to combat the severe constipation caused by opiates. Additionally, when your Zoloft (which is also a culprit in suicides among young people) is not quite doing the trick anymore, they can give you a boost with Abilify or some other antipsychotic. Ka-ching!<br /><br />I am with you on pot legalization. If the drug companies could find a way to corner the market, you betcha the politicians would be crawling all over themselves to help the industry. Marijuana continues to have a bad rap because until recently it was so far outside the mainstream economy. It's stupid it is included in the failed War on Drugs, which, let's face it, is a lucrative subsidiary of one our biggest drug cartels, the CIA.Karen Garciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612731479365562803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-974773076690597683.post-71997252797759111342016-04-22T13:02:40.617-04:002016-04-22T13:02:40.617-04:00Another cause of suicide are the many prescription...Another cause of suicide are the many prescription medications which cause suicide as a side effect. Many anti-depressants can have that effect, and drugs like Chantix for (frequently women) quitting smoking is another category that can kill, and I'm sure there are hundreds more. The deep, dark despair that comes as a side effect is far different than worsening depression. It's like death in a pill. (Don't ask me how I know.) <br /><br />The reasoning for not taking them off the market is that they cause fewer suicides than 'natural' volitional suicides. Of course profits are the real reason they're still on the market, and because they don't affect all users. As long as the drug companies provide a warning, they're off the hook. Btw, children are at greatest risk of suicide as a side effect from taking prescription anti-depressants, and more children are on those than ever before. <br /><br />Does anyone keep track of the medications that people who commit suicide took in the recent past? Doubt it. Of course if a depressed person commits suicide, they automatically attribute it to the depression, not to the medications. Who could prove otherwise? I'm thinking about that Germanwings pilot who flew into that mountain. Think of how many lawsuits against the phamaceutical company would result and how much it would cost them if the cause and effect could be proven. I'm sure the doctors never consider the possible side effects as being the cause of a worsening condition either. <br /><br />My prescription? Marijuana. It should be legalized immediately. Unlike so many of those prescription feel-good pills, the worse side effect is a case of the munchies and fits of laughter. I'm not saying there are no possible ill effects, but it's preferable to prescription drugs and certainly better than self-medicating with alcohol, that legal depressant. Fun fact - the depressant effects of alcohol can last for 2 weeks after the last drink. <br /><br />Anyway, marijuana creates a concentrated focus on the present moment and enhances the senses to appreciate and enjoy it. No more rumination and obsession on problems of the past or future and just how crappy life really is. It's all good!<br /><br />Considering we have no power to change our shallow, superficial, consumerist, greedy, amoral, selfish culture and rigged economic and political system, why not just enjoy things as they are with a mind opening experience? It might just lead to inspiration.annenigmanoreply@blogger.com