Happy Saturday, dear friends. I was born a seafaring girl, and spent many summers sailing along the coast of New England. The ocean revealed many treasures during that time.
Some days, the sea was as smooth as glass, and others the swells were almost as high as our mast. As kids, our favorite part of sailing was scanning the water to see if anything would surface. We saw sea turtles, seals, sun fish, sharks, flying fish, dolphins, and humpback whales break through the waves. We also had a massive nuclear submarine surface within a 100 yards of our vessel, with the crew taking pictures of our boat, as we took pictures of them.
You never know what will pop up out of the water. People are a lot like that as well. Under the smooth surface, there is a depth that goes so deep, only their soul knows the breadth of it. Whenever I encounter anyone, I always try to remember that. I also try to treat them with love and kindness, so that a smile can surface from the depths of their soul.
Today, our news focuses on some upheavals in mainstream media, where things are, apparently, not what they seem. We then sail around from there.
Larry King moves to RT news and examines the crushing weight of media bosses.
Larry King left CNN, and has a new investigative program on RT called Politicking. In this edition, he interviews Sharyl Attkisson, who recently released a book called Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington.
Attkisson was a reporter for CBS and CNN, but she was labeled a troublemaker, due to her in-depth reporting and failure to abide by the extremely restrictive media guidelines supported by the current US federal government.
She details the spin-doctoring, spying, propaganda, and harassment that goes on to get reporters to play ball. She says this behavior is wide spread and supported by high level managers in all areas of media.
Ultimately, both Freedom of the Press and Free Speech are curtailed in this extreme environment, and most of the American public has no idea it is occurring. I commend her for her courage, and for bringing this situation into the public view.
Ex-CBS Reporter: Spineless Media Bosses Eroding Our First Amendment by Larry King on YouTube
MSNBC anchor melts down over biased Michael Brown coverage.
Joe Scarborough is a news anchor on MSNBC, which is a large cable news network in the US. Recently he had an on-air meltdown, focused on the excessive bias he sees in the coverage of the Michael Brown shooting case.
He believes the coverage is painting all police officers as simply out to shoot black people. He brings up the fact that the media has not covered all the facts in the case, and has portrayed Brown as an innocent victim.
He goes on to state that there are many wonderful heroes within the African-American community that could be embraced. The media is feeding the public only half the story, which creates significant fear and outrage. If the entire story were covered in a balanced way, citizens could make an informed choice as to where to throw their support.
I would note, that this meltdown, occurred before a grand jury in NY also failed to indict a police officer in the alleged choke-hold death of Eric Garner. Many believe that police forces have become increasingly aggressive, and citizens are losing faith in their ability to serve any community effectively.
The 100-year old New Republic Magazine implodes.
Chris Hughes is the 31-year old co-founder of Facebook. In 2012, he purchased the New Republic, an iconic voice in Liberal US media coverage, that has been around for 100 years. He then set about to turn the magazine into a digital media company and make his mark on the publication.
This week, due to the firing of their top editor, Franklin Foer, and changes in the magazine’s mission, most of the editors, writers and contributors resigned from the magazine, and asked that their names be removed from the mast head.
Hughes had primed the magazine for digital expansion, bringing in a new chief of operations, Guy Vidra. A majority of the staff felt the new direction was in direct conflict with the legacy of the magazine, which was always outspoken in their questioning of every US presidential administration.
Implosion of a Washington institution by Dylan Byers for Politico Magazine
Moving on…
US fast food workers expand the battle for living wages.
This week, marks the two-year anniversary of the “Fight for 15” movement in the US. Minimum wage workers are currently paid $7.25/hour, and this wage is not enough to support their families.
Most minimum wage workers are not unionized. The “Fight for 15” movement is being backed by Service Employees International Union, which provides support finances and organizational assistance.
Demonstrations were held in 190 cities, on Thursday, to increase pressure on employers to make a shift to an adequate living wage. While the initial dispute started with the McDonald’s franchise, the movement has embraced all minimum wage service workers. The demonstrations started in New York, in 2012, with 200 protestors and have now spread to other countries where workers are not paid living wages.
US fast food worker protests expand to 190 cities by Kim Gittleson for BBC News
Easter Island heads actually have bodies too.
My parents once visited Easter Island on a cruise ship, but the weather was too rough for them to go ashore. It was one of their bucket list goals in life, so I guess they will go back someday. They have always wanted to see the massive stone heads, carved by primitive man, on a tiny island in the middle of no where.
This is an older article, but it was new to me. I had no idea that the stone heads also had bodies. Archeologists have cleared away eons of sediment from around a number of heads. They were astounded to find that the debris hid complete bodies. Some of the statues are over 7 meters high, which makes the carvings even more astounding.
Hidden treat: The Easter Island heads also have BODIES by Eddie Wren for the Daily Mail
And finally…
Amazing animal friendships.
I have always adored cross-species animal friendships. In my space of love, my parrots sometimes eat out of the cat’s bowl, right along side her. When our dog Maggie was alive, my Quaker parrot Calle used to ride on her back.
Maybe it is a preview of the future, where we all forget our differences and learn to live together in harmony, but different animals playing together make my day. I hope they make yours too.
Unbelievable Unlikely Animal Friendships Compilation by Animalz TV on YouTube
That’s the news for today. Have a fun and relaxing day. I hope to see you back here tomorrow for Feel Good News!
Be Well. Be Joy. Be Love!
Alex