The 1st of May…
Posted by Michelle Moquin on May 1st, 2013
…hooray, hooray! Outdoor _________begins today.
Good morning!
Please add whatever suits you in the above sentence.
May 1st is a holiday of many…maybe even more than any other day of the year. It’s a day of political protests. It’s a neopagan festival, a saint’s feast day, a day for organized labor, international Workers’ holiday. In many countries, it is a national holiday.
Many are protesting around the world for better working conditions. Here’s a video and short write from Voice of America. With the tragedy that happened at a garment factory collapse in Bangladesh recently, there is good reason to protest.
May Day Rallies Held Around the World
Workers around the world are taking to the streets Wednesday to mark International Workers Day, also known as May Day, with marches and calls for higher pay and better working conditions.
A May Day labor union strike in Greece has disrupted ferry service to the Greek islands and public transportation in Athens where demonstrators are protesting against prolonged economic austerity policies.
Workers across Spain, where the unemployment rate has rocketed to 27 percent, are holding rallies to call for economic policy changes.
In the Philippines, demonstrators are marching in Manila to demand the government protect their jobs. They also want the government to stop hiring contract workers who do not enjoy the same rights and securities of regular, full-time employees.
Laborers in Cambodia are calling on lawmakers to increase the minimum wage for garment workers.
Police in Istanbul, Turkey Wednesday clashed with people marching towards Taksim Square, the usual site of May Day celebrations.
******
Readers: I’ve worked many years in the fashion industry. It is truly sad and unacceptable what still goes on in this industry and so many other industries where workers work in such horrific conditions. Are you protesting today? Involved in a rally? Celebrating Spring? What will you do on May Day today where you live? Blog this BABE.
Me? I’m HOPEing my May Day will include some fun today. I can imagine myself having a little pleasure on the May pole, feeling the first bursts of Spring. You? And now that the weather is warming up, perhaps Zen Lill, will send me a pic in her new fave spring outfit for all of her admirers to enjoy? Wouldn’t that be nice.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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May 1st, 2013 at 2:14 pm
Mischa, I know you know what goes on in sweat shop factories…in the garment industry, it’s nauseating.
My visit was to a speaker factory in China where I went in a room that smelled of hard core glue (attaching leather on outside of speaker boxes, got high in 20 seconds off the fumes) when I asked how many hours these kids (14-19) were there without breaks/proper ventilation the response was – only 8 hours.
Oh ok…NOT.
It’s crazy the conditions people have to work in just to exist on this planet, just doesn’t feel right…and their pay vs company profits, oh don’t even get me started.
Lance, et al, I’ll get on the ZL summer clothing ‘pictorials’ asap.
Luv, Zen Lill
May 1st, 2013 at 3:27 pm
If you’re wondering why Mitch McConnell led a filibuster of President Obama’s popular background check bill, look no further:
The NRA gave thousands to Mitch McConnell’s campaign, and in return he led a filibuster against lifesaving background checks — bringing his filibuster count to 401.
May 1st, 2013 at 3:28 pm
We are looking forward to a real summer ensemble Zen Lill. Don’t short us(no pun intended).
May 1st, 2013 at 3:32 pm
Natural Remedies for Rheumatoid Arthritis
The majority of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) sufferers eventually require prescription drugs, but everyone with the condition can benefit from natural approaches that reduce inflammation, pain and stiffness.
This blending of natural and conventional treatments often allows patients to reduce the frequency and doses of medications, which is important for curbing side effects, such as dizziness and increased risk for infection and, in rare cases, cancer.
Best natural treatments for RA…
Get regular low-impact exercise. Any form of low-impact exercise, particularly walking and swimming, will increase joint lubrication and reduce inflammation, which helps people with RA perform daily tasks, such as dressing, without pain. Exercise will also increase endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers.
Give up meat.
Studies have shown that RA sufferers who don’t eat meat have less pain and greater mobility. Reason: Beef (even organic, grass-fed beef) and other meats, such as lamb and pork, increase levels of arachidonic acid, a fatty acid that’s transformed into inflammatory, pain-signaling compounds.
What we recommend for our RA patients: Avoid all meat (beef, lamb and pork), and replace it with other sources of protein—for example, from plants (such as legumes, including beans, and whole grains), poultry and fish.
Fish is particularly good because the omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation. A fish oil supplement, which contains omega-3 fatty acids, also is sometimes advised. Consult your doctor for dosage.
Identify and manage food sensitivities. The evidence isn’t conclusive, but it appears that many people with RA are sensitive to one or more foods. For example, one of my patients has an immediate RA flare-up when he eats foods that contain corn syrup.
Helpful:
An elimination diet to identify which food(s) you might be sensitive to. How it works: Your doctor will advise you to stop eating certain foods, such as corn syrup, dairy, citrus, tomatoes, wheat and corn, for one to two weeks. Then, you reintroduce the foods, one at a time, over a period of weeks to see whether symptoms reappear.
Use anti-inflammatory spices, such as ginger, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, cardamom and garlic. They contain potent antioxidants that can reduce inflammation even in the amounts typically used in cooking.
DON’T NEGLECT CONVENTIONAL CARE
Natural approaches can help control RA, but unless you have an unusually mild case, you’ll want to combine them with medication for the best results.
That’s because natural treatments help reduce pain and swelling but don’t stop joint damage, which can become permanent if not promptly treated with medications.
Joint damage can be detected earliest with imaging tests, such as an X-ray, MRI or ultrasound. Important: Start medications right away if imaging tests show any degree of “destructive” arthritis. The natural approaches outlined earlier can be continued while you are undergoing drug therapy.
Last year, the American College of Rheumatology released updated guidelines that call for the aggressive treatment of RA. In the past, doctors were more likely to use “mild” medications, such as ibuprofen (Motrin) and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), before escalating to more potent drugs.
The problem is, NSAIDs are usually good at relieving pain and stiffness, but they won’t prevent joint damage. Also needed…
DMARDs. Most people who experience severe and frequent RA symptoms should take one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), such as methotrexate (Rheumatrex), hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) or sulfasalazine (Azulfidine).
DMARDs, which suppress the immune system, reduce RA flare-ups and reduce risk for serious joint damage. If a DMARD is effective, it is usually continued indefinitely.
Important:
DMARDs may make you more susceptible to infection. Other side effects may include nausea, abdominal pain or, rarely, liver damage. Be sure to get the appropriate vaccinations for flu, pneumonia, etc.
Biologics.
If you don’t get adequate relief from one or more of the DMARDs, your doctor might switch you to a biologic drug. Medications in this class include etanercept (Enbrel), adalimumab (Humira) and others, and can actually delay or prevent joint damage.
These meds also increase the risk for infection, so ask your doctor about prevention strategies. In rare cases, these drugs can increase cancer risk as well.
Source: Harris H. McIlwain, MD, a board-certified rheumatologist, founder of the McIlwain Medical Group, Tampa Florida, and former chair of the Florida Osteoporosis Board.
He is author, with Debra Fulghum Bruce, PhD, of Diet for a Pain-Free Life (Diversion).
May 1st, 2013 at 3:35 pm
There are not that reach the depths of how much I want to make love to you.
May 1st, 2013 at 4:46 pm
I had a little fun last week, briefly mocking Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) new campaign video. The Republican lawmaker who’s spent his career fighting for the rich presents himself in the clip as some kind of nouveau-populist, with over-the-top music and a visual montage better suited to a Michael Bay movie.
It did not occur to me at the time to appreciate its total number of views, which, as it turns out, is far more interesting than the video itself.
According to YouTube, this video was posted by McConnell’s campaign team on Thursday morning, and by mid-day Friday, it had 651,021 views. Just 16 minutes later, it had 1,036,039 views. And then, between Friday afternoon and right now, it managed to get about 40,000 views.
To borrow a word, I’m calling bullpucky. There’s just no way this is legit. There are plenty of companies folks can pay to increase their YouTube views total artificially, and I have a strong hunch Team McConnell wrote a nice check and bought 1 million hits to their silly video.
Which, if true, is kind of a sad move for a Senate Minority Leader to have to resort to.
McConnell’s claim seemed fishy to Aaron Blake and Rachel Weiner, who explored further.
Did the video really go viral? “It doesn’t have the characteristics of an organic viral video,” said Eugene Lee, Founder and CEO of ChannelMeter, a YouTube analytics site.
A viral video, he said, would have more pickup in social media and would accumulate views steadily rather than spiking quickly and then dropping off. He suggested that it was a “paid buy” — this article from the Daily Dot explains how YouTube views can be bought.
McConnell’s campaign attributes the sharp increase in views to an innovative social media strategy and the presidential campaign quality of the video.
Is this claim possibly true? Yes. Is it likely? Not even a little.
On his best day, McConnell videos might get 1,000 views on YouTube. The Republican senator has an online presence — Twitter followers, Facebook friends, etc. — but it’s quite limited.
And we’re to believe a silly, two-minute campaign video generated over 1 million views in a day and a half? Including 400,000 views over the course of 16 minutes?
No. Bullpucky.
The post on McConnell’s Facebook page announcing the video has 239 likes and 66 shares. Another post directing visitors to the video on his campaign website is far more popular, with 5,307 likes and 533 share.
A subsequent post announcing that the video hit the million-view mark has over 621 likes and 62 shares. Twenty-two people have clicked on a Bit.ly shortened link to the video. A Google search for the video’s unique marker (found at the end of the url) turned up 21 different links.
By comparison, a Google search for a video of Michael Buble singing in the New York City subway, which has 441,272 views, finds 360 links. That Google search doesn’t catch many sites that embed videos in blog posts, so it is imperfect measure, but it gives an idea of the impact. The video was not on YouTube’s trending chart.
The questions for McConnell, then, are pretty straightforward: how many donor dollars were spent to inflate the video’s reach and why does one of Congress’ most powerful lawmakers feel the need to pretend his videos are more popular than they really are?
May 1st, 2013 at 5:30 pm
So who exactly is supposed to be impressed by the million hits? Does anyone even know his ad “went viral”? Or is this just another case of lackeys sucking up to the boss – like the pollsters Romney hired?
May 1st, 2013 at 5:32 pm
The biggest bullpucky in Kentucky! If he’d been sitting naked, drinking Kentucky moonshine from a jar, with Lady GaGa on his lap and a dead possum on his head…..maybe… maybe it would have had that many hits.
Maybe.
May 1st, 2013 at 5:33 pm
GOP’s midas touch…everything these guys touch, creates a foul stench, and an immediate questioning of the GOP’s ethics and morality…why is that?
May 1st, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Because they are all liars, thieves and cheats. They will do or say anything to stay in power
May 1st, 2013 at 5:37 pm
GOP POV:
You Libtards are presuming that Yertle… er… uhm… Mitch, doesn’t have millions of people who follow his every move like he was the non-singing AARP version of Justin Bieber, and “outed” themselves as such all in one day, like that gay black Basketball player just did yesterday.
We always thought the first openly gay athlete would be some “squish” Baseball player.
But we always had our doubts about Basketball, too.
REAL MEN, play NFL Football.
Like our favorite player back in the day, Running Back, David Kopay.
Now, THERE was a real man, straight as the day is lon…
What?
He was?
Did we say David Kopay? We meant… Who? Oh, yeah, Brown… Yeah, yeah, Jim Brown!
He was our real favorite, even if he is a “Black” guy.
May 1st, 2013 at 5:40 pm
I tried to watch the video, but I got sick and didn’t want to throw up on my nice computer.
Please, if you live in Kentucky, get this lying piece of dog #h@t out of the Senate. Please……..I beg you..please, please, please…
I’m on my knees now, Kentucky…..begging….please…
May 1st, 2013 at 5:42 pm
India: I have seen that video numerous times, in fact my wife’s niece sent a link to us a while ago. It does an excellent job of summing up GOP supply side policies for America. We are facing wealth inequality that approaches the 1929 levels that led to the Great Depression.
The Great Recession of 2008 was caused by decline in the real estate market. The point is that wealth is getting too highly concentrated in fewer hands meaning we are transitioning towards a corporate oligarchy of crony capitalism.
We need a Medicare public option for all Americans, year around school for our kids with Finnish type reforms, big investments in our infrastructure and scientific research and engineering, and the need for improved mass transit and green energy programs to get America off of foreign oil.
We used to be a country that did great things but with GOP supply side economics we are rapidly losing our edge and our future economic growth.
May 1st, 2013 at 6:11 pm
Hey, Ym, have you thought about trying on another warm fur coat? I mean there are a lot of hot women out there looking for a good man to please.
I live in East Oakland. If you are near the area. I visit the Claremont every Friday after work about 6:30. I usually stay until 8:30. I’m 5’8″, 117, coffee brown complexion, great attitude and looking for a intelligent romantic guy.
Tiff
May 1st, 2013 at 6:16 pm
Ratings and comments disabled on the video. Gee, can’t imagine why..
May 1st, 2013 at 6:34 pm
I’ll play Michelle. …hooray, hooray! Outdoor LOVING begins today.
May 1st, 2013 at 6:45 pm
Rex,
Sadly, I don’t think the GOP house will permit any governing that will help Americans for many years to come. We might have had a chance if they hadn’t sneaked Citizens United past us, and Gerrymandered the right wing nuts into the House to obstruct President Obama………………………….as well as future Democrat presidents,
but…they did.
Then with the wealth distribution being so heavily skewed to the 1%, and the poor and middle class dropping off the charts, and the right’s insistence on austerity and killing the New Deal, starving the beast…No…I think the prognosis is bad. I can’t see anything that could counter it, nothing!
People are too work weary, exhausted and distracted for a revolution. Americans are tired..very tired. So many people working two jobs at minimum wage and of course the GOP won’t raise that to a half way livable wage. It’s depressing.
May 1st, 2013 at 9:21 pm
Tiffany,
Perhaps you might like to stay a bit longer some Friday evening and stay and listen to the jazz that gets going around there about 9PM. I would very much enjoy some time on the deck overlooking the bay, bridge, and western skyline watching the sun drop into the Pacific with a woman such as yourself. I’m 6-1 to your 5’8″, and 170 to your 117, white complexion with long curly hair to your coffee brown complexion, great attitude to your great attitude and am looking for an intelligent, romantic woman to your intelligent romantic guy.
May 1st, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Now that you and Zen Lill are on the same page, when will we see the pictures of that doll Zen Lill?
May 1st, 2013 at 10:33 pm
7 Ways to Heal—and Prevent—Back Pain
Appeared in the print version as “Say Good-Bye to Back Pain”
More than 80% of Americans will experience at least one episode of low-back pain during their lives. Here’s how to relieve the pain and prevent it from coming back…
Act quickly.
Most back pain is caused by damage to muscle fibers. Frequent causes: Overuse, repetitive motions (a type of overuse) or anxiety, tension or stress. The damage is accompanied by the release of substances that constrict blood vessels and reduce the oxygenation of tissues.
Treating the pain can interrupt this chemical cascade. Take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen. For mild pain, take 400 milligrams (mg)—you can treat more severe pain with 800 mg, but always talk to your doctor first.
Also helpful:
Moist heat from a hot shower or bath. Or you can apply a cold pack to the area for about 20 minutes several times a day. Heat and cold both can be helpful. Use the one that seems to work best for you.
Keep moving even when it hurts. Relaxing and contracting muscles with normal movements—walking, turning, climbing stairs, etc.—will increase blood flow and help the muscles relax.
Caution:
I don’t recommend exercise if you have severe pain…a flare-up of sciatica (nerve pain that typically travels down the leg)…or pain from a traumatic injury such as a sprained back.
You’ll want to relax and let things settle down before resuming normal activities. See your doctor if the pain persists for more than a few days or the pain is getting worse instead of better.
Treat depression.
The more that your pain limits your daily activities, the more likely you are to be depressed. Your doctor can refer you to a mental health professional. Studies have shown that patients who manage their emotions in a healthy way tend to experience less pain.
Change position every 15 minutes.
People who spend hours in the same position are more likely to have back pain than those who move around. If you’re in front of a computer all day, get up and walk every 15 minutes.
Lighten your load.
I see a lot of patients with “teacher bag syndrome,” pain in the middle or lower back that’s caused by carrying a heavy bag on one side of the body. You can lighten your load or increase your core strength. Preferably, do both.
Strengthen your core. Strong abdominal muscles are essential for treating and preventing back pain.
Self-test:
Lie on your back with your arms folded across your chest. Try to sit up without using your arms. If you can’t do it, you don’t have enough core strength and should do curl-ups or other core-strengthening exercises.
To do a curl-up:
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your hands under the small of your back. Slowly curl your head and shoulders a few inches off the floor. Pause for a moment, then lower back down. Repeat eight to 12 times.
Check your shoes.
If you wear the same pair of shoes often and they are more than six months old, the heels and soles are probably showing signs of wear. The uneven surfaces force your body to compensate, which puts unnecessary stress on your back. Get new shoes or have the bottoms replaced every six months or so.
Source: Julie Silver, MD, a physiatrist and assistant professor in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, Boston, where she is chief editor of books at Harvard Health Publications.
She is author of Say Goodbye to Back Pain! How to Handle Flare-Ups, Injuries and Everyday Back Health (Chicken Soup for the Soul).
May 2nd, 2013 at 8:51 am
Ym
It is you who is not available to me. I am here waiting with bated breath and juicy lips for your call. It is a beautiful day and I know how you like to see me when the weather is warm. I am ready. Call me.