Greta Thunberg being carried by the police
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moon
Satire for Sanity
‘Be vigilant, hold your ground’: Erin Brockovich rallies Ohio town after train disaster
Celebrated whistleblower and activist assures residents of East Palestine they are not alone, but also that a long road lies ahead
“Good evening, thank you for being here. My name is Erin Brockovich, not Julia Roberts,” she said, triggering a collective roar of laughter.
There has been little to laugh about in the three weeks since a Norfolk Southern freight train carrying vast quantities of toxic chemicals partially derailed and caught fire just a mile away in this small Ohio town close to the Pennsylvania border.
Transportation Secretary Buttigieg with people in high vis vests at train derailment site.
Safety regulators say Ohio toxic train derailment ‘100% preventable’
Read more
Residents continue to suffer an array of acute medical complaints and mounting anxieties about the long-term risks posed by the contaminated air, soil and water. And despite the opening quip, the message from Brockovich was fiery and sobering.
“I feel your angst, I feel your frustration. You are not alone. Every community I’ve gone to has been given the runaround. You’ll be told that it’s fine, that you’re safe, but it’s not fine. I’ve never seen anything like this in 30 years,” she said to 400 or so people in the main hall, and hundreds more watching a livestream in the gym.
“Please be vigilant, hold your ground. We’re gonna give you as much information as we can, some of it you might not want to hear and could scare you. But the more you know, the better you can prepare as we move forward … There is no quick fix or sweet answer, this is going to be a long game. Don’t let what’s happened here divide you. This is not my first rodeo. You have to band together and protect each other,” Brockovich added.
Brockovich, a legal clerk-turned-whistleblower and environmental activist, was instrumental in building the case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) for water contamination in Hinkley, California, in 1993. A Hollywood film starring Roberts won five Oscar nominations.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news...kovich-rallies-ohio-town-after-train-disaster
Anybody mocking Erin ?
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Yes, more Hollywood bullshitery!!
Hollywood tale doesn't hold water
It's getting near Oscar time again, and just like last year one of the top movies claims to be "based on a true story." But as a certain ex-president might have said, that depends on what the meaning of "true" is.
Last year the contender was "The Hurricane." This movie was based on the story of a boxer who was a true saint. But that saint could not have been Rubin Carter, the thug from Paterson who boasted about brutal muggings and beat up a nice lady from Newark named Carolyn Kelley. The guys who made that movie never bothered to contact Kelley.
I did. And after hearing her description of the KO she suffered at the hands of the Hurricane, I realized that if the screenwriters had bothered to talk to her, they wouldn't have made the movie.
This year's "based on a true story" contender is "Erin Brockovich."
The great truth this movie conveys is that evil corporations cause outbreaks of cancer and other diseases by putting minuscule amounts of chemicals in the water supply.
That's an intriguing theory, but the people who made the movie might have considered contacting the man who designed the test that makes such predictions of cancer possible. His name is Bruce Ames.
The movie people didn't bother to call him, so I figured I would. Ames is a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California.
He is the originator of the primary test for determining the cancer-causing potential of chemicals. It is called the Ames Test.
"It's really not very plausible that that little bit of chromium in the water did what it was supposed to do. The amount of chromium was just not credible," Ames told me when I got him on the phone.
Ignorance is bliss, they say. If the screenwriters had talked to Ames, there wouldn't have been much left of the plot except Julia Roberts' smile and that amazing collection of pushup bras that helped her replicate the motorcycle- mama look of the real Erin Brockovich.
Ames used to believe in the theory that tiny amount of chemicals cause cancer clusters.
But that was 25 years ago, when his testing revealed that about half of synthetic chemicals might cause cancer. He was a crusader against chemicals until he started testing natural substances. Then he found that half of them also have carcinogens in them.
His Web page (http://potency.berkeley.edu/herp.html) shows the relative risks of various substances. Petrified of PCBs? The typical hamburger has three times as many carcinogens. Lettuce, carrots, potatoes they all have carcinogens, even if organically grown.
The cup of coffee I was drinking as I spoke to Ames was packed with at least 17 carcinogens, Ames told me. Coffee's more dangerous than a bathtub full of the water in Hinkley, Calif., that so obsessed the lovely Ms. Roberts.
Incidentally, the real-life Erin Brockovich has complained that every time she returns to Hinkley she is beset by various ailments even though she doesn't drink the water there. What could be causing them?
I got a clue when I rented the video. In one of the very first scenes Roberts lights up a cigarette and takes a deep drag. Cigarette smoke contains a number of carcinogens including - how'd you guess? - chromium. The real danger of chromium comes from inhaling it, not ingesting it, studies show.
Ames noted that the problem behind all of these cancer clusters is that the lawyers always focus on some tiny amount of chemical in the water supply and ignore the much greater risks from such hazards as smoking and bad diet. Another recent movie, "A Civil Action," focused on the study of an alleged "cancer cluster" in the town of Woburn, Mass.
"They never controlled for things like smoking and diet," Ames said. "Nobody wants to think anything they do is their own fault."
Light up, eat a double cheeseburger and if you get cancer sue the nearest business. That's the American way.
"My interest is prevention of cancer," Ames said. "You never hear people talking about the fact that the quarter of the population eating the least fruits and vegetables have double the rate of cancer as the quarter who eat the most fruits and vegetables."
As for the idea that we're being poisoned by our water, "There is no evidence that any trace amounts of chemicals are causing any cancer. But if you tell people they're going to get money, then every possible ailment in the town is going to be blamed on chemicals."
He called the movie "a completely Hollywood thing. Everybody likes to look at Julia Roberts."
Me, too. She looked just great. Of course, the cleavage was about as realistic as the science, but I never before realized what nice legs Roberts has. Director Steven Soderburgh did a wonderful job of making Roberts look alluring.
https://www.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2011/06/great_piece_on_the_erin_brocko.html
moon
Satire for Sanity
Thunberg, dozens of activists block Norway’s energy ministry
A demonstration attended by climate activist Greta Thunberg calls for turbines built on Indigenous lands to be torn down.
Environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg and dozens of other activists have blocked entrances to Norway’s energy ministry, protesting against wind turbines built on land traditionally used by Indigenous Sami reindeer herders.
Thunberg, a vocal advocate for ending the world’s reliance on carbon-based power, said the transition to green energy could not come at the expense of Indigenous rights.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/27/protesters-block-norway-energy-ministry-over-wind-farms
You little beauty. More guts than a million suits with their snouts in the trough.
