Faulty Breast Implants

 

INTERPOL Red Notice for Jean-Claude Mas issued at request of Costa Rica unrelated to breast implants

On Christmas eve international police agency INTERPOL reported:

LYON, France – The INTERPOL Red Notice issued at the request of Costa Rica in June 2011 for Jean-Claude Mas is totally unconnected to the company, Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), which allegedly sold thousands of breast implants currently under suspicion of posing a potential health risk to hundreds of thousands of women worldwide in whom they have been implanted.

At this time, INTERPOL can only state that the criminal charge underlying the INTERPOL Red Notice relates to the local charge in Costa Rica of drunk driving which allegedly occurred in June 2010 and for which the penalty, if convicted, is three years imprisonment.

This same Red Notice has been available on INTERPOL's public website since its publication in June of this year, but has only generated international interest because of the recent controversy surrounding Mr Jean-Claude Mas and the potential health risk to women allegedly posed by his company's breast implants.

INTERPOL has never launched an ‘international manhunt’ for Mr Jean-Claude Mas for the above charge or any other charge.

 The above charge is like thousands of others for which an INTERPOL member country (Costa Rica) wants to alert all other INTERPOL member countries that a person - in this case, Mr Jean-Claude Mas - is wanted for arrest; that a warrant issued by a judicial body supports the request for arrest and that Costa Rica is prepared to seek his extradition if any INTERPOL member country arrests him on the basis of the Red Notice.

INTERPOL will not comment publicly any further on this matter.

Demand Equal Protection under the Law

In a recent online report made by eBoss Watch.com “Nobody should have to work with this “jerk”

The Navy Inspector General ruled that Cmdr. Liam Bruen retaliated against junior officer who filed sexual harassment complaint

The report stated:

The Navy Inspector General has ruled that Cmdr. Liam Bruen retaliated against one of his junior officers after the junior officer filed a harassment complaint.

Navy ensign Steve Crowston filed a sexual harassment complaint in February 2010 after Cmdr. Liam Bruen and other officers referred to him as “fagmeister” and other anti-gay slurs.

The Navy dismissed his complaint in May 2010 after conducting an investigation. In June, Bruen gave Crowston “the worst performance appraisal” he had received during the 16 years that he has served in the Navy. Crowston appealed the harassment dismissal ruling and added a retaliation claim.

Navy spokesman Lt. Myers Vasquez told FoxNews.com, “Department of Navy Naval IG substantiates the allegation that the then commanding officer of VFA 136 gave Crowston an unfavorable fitness report in reprisal for a sexual harassment and hostile work environment complaint he filed.”

Food for thought:

Bravo Zulu to my dear friend and fellow veteran Steve Crowston, who was not afraid of military brass when he decided to exercise his constitutional rights and reported his bosses for workplace abuse.  

Military veterans, you are not alone.  We live in an era where workplace abuse should not be tolerated.

Don’t be afraid to exercise your constitutional right and speak out and share your abuse with the media. 

Steve exercised his rights, filed a few congressional inquiries and contacted the media to tell his story. Now his old boss is on the eBoss Watch, as being one of the worse bosses to work for in 2011!!

Follow Your Own Path

Follow your own path
Listen with your heart 
Remain centered in your truth
And open to the wondrous
Possibilites of life

Remember to share your dreams

With those who would come after you

Always seek within for the answer

To your questions

Know that in the still space of your spirit

The Creator resides

Broken Silence

I found this poem while surfing the internet and it speaks truth to where I've been and where I'm going....

Broken Silence

a poem written by Anesa Laneigh

Here's to my broken silence 

Here's to my fallen tears 

Here's to my scars 

My fears 

My trail of lies 

String of truths 

My rights 

Wrongs 

Here's to the path less often taken 

Here's to my past 

And to my future 

Hell no! 

I will no longer be breaking 

Here's to me finding 

Peace in pain 

Doubt in love 

And here's double 

To me finding 

Love in pain 

Here's to my every fall 

Here's to my shattered confidence 

Newfound cockiness 

Here's to me finding my path 

Even if I have 

Barely discovered my journey 

Destination not yet revealed 

Here's to my inner strength 

No longer concealed 

Here's to me leaving 

But never saying goodbye 

Here's to my blood rushing 

Every day 

With just the thought 

Of every way 

I can be better 

Today 

Than the others before 

Here's to me 

Not fearing 

What's behind 

That door 

Here's to me releasing 

My pressure 

From letting go 

And grasping my hope to reunite 

Here's to my calm nights 

Here's to me becoming a woman 

My own best friend 

Breaking my silence 

Loving myself 

In every way 

Here's to you.... 

Kwanzaa "A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture"

The Nguzo Saba  

The Seven Principles
Kwanzaa was created to introduce and reinforce seven basic values of African culture which contribute to building and reinforcing family, community and culture among African American people as well as Africans throughout the world African community. 

These values are called the Nguzo Saba which in Swahili means the Seven Principles. Developed by African-Americans, the Nguzo Saba stand at the heart of the origin and meaning of Kwanzaa, for it is these values which are not only the building blocks for community but also serve to reinforce and enhance them. 

1. Umoja (oo-MOH-jah): Unity
Success starts with Unity. Unity of family, community, nation and race.

2. Kujichagulia (koo-jee-chah-goo-LEE-ah): Self-Determination
To be responsible for ourselves. To create your own destiny.

3. Ujima (oo-JEE-mah): Collective work and responsibility
To build and maintain your community together. To work together to help one another within your community.

4. Ujamaa (oo-jah-MAH): Collective economics
To build, maintain, and support our own stores, establishments, and businesses.

5. Nia (NEE-ah): Purpose
To restore African American people to their traditional greatness. To be responsible to Those Who Came Before (our ancestors) and to Those Who Will Follow (our descendants).

6. Kuumba (koo-OOM-bah): Creativity
Using creativity and imagination to make your communities better than what you inherited.

7. Imani (ee-MAH-nee): Faith
Believing in our people, our families, our educators, our leaders, and the righteousness of the African American struggle.

$40 Billion in Contracts Tied to Republican Security Advisers

Roxana Tiron – (Bloomberg) – December 22, 2011 – National security advisers to the Republican presidential candidates have links to defense, homeland security and energy companies that have received at least $40 billion in federal contracts since 2008.


Five of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney’s 41 national security and foreign policy advisers have ties to companies that last year alone received at least $7.9 billion in federal contracts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Government analyst Christopher Flavelle. Of that, $7.3 billion came from the Department of Defense.


Romney and Newt Gingrich, the former House Speaker from Georgia, who are leading in the polls, have advisers who sit on the board of directors of BAE Systems, Inc., which has received at least $37 billion in U.S. government contracts since 2008, the most of all the companies with ties to Republican national security advisers.


William Schneider, an adviser to Gingrich, and Michael Chertoff, who counsels Romney, serve on the board of the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems Plc, Europe’s largest defense contractor. The American company makes the Army’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle and provides information technology systems to American intelligence agencies and repair services to the U.S. Navy.




Read more:
http://mssparky.com/2011/12/40-billion-in-contracts-tied-to-republican-security-advisers/#more-26983

Remembering the reason for the season

Jesus of Pure Love... 

by Oriza Martins

Having born as Our Lord,

A small, blessed child,

Bringing fraternity,

A star of goodwill,

a being of light,

Baby Jesus...

When a peregrine your teachings

Have been a show of love in essence,

A messenger of providence,

A beacon for our destiny...

Today, on uncertain times,

On the happiness or despair,

I find You in my prayers

As I know that You never leave me,

Jesus, my divine master

You are the beam of hope,

You are the hope of the desperate,

The morning star,

The bright of sunset,

At night You are with me

In my beautiful dreams

And I enjoy your love

From the sunshine to dawn...

In front of You, my Lord,

My heart burns,

You are happiness and peace,

Sublime and divine.

When I enjoy the love

Which you presence gives,

I feel a celestial peace!

Decisions 

 © Syneeda Penland 2010 

Sitting here numb

my thoughts are frozen in time.

Wondering how did I get here?

Stop, let me rewind.

Retracing my steps

revisiting each decision I made.

Subsequently sitting here pondering

For a better life,

Would I trade?

The cost of Freedom is priceless

no more conforming to the norm.

My life is now my own

no longer will they bring me harm.

To be a prisoner of an institution

filled with of lies and deceit.

Those once wearing the uniform of top brass

from our pockets they cheat.

As a proud American

it was an honor to have served.

Defending our country,

“A Free Nation”, is what we deserve.

Yet, I did not “Go along to get along”,

and I stand behind my conviction.

Remaining fully committed,

To the Lord!

To His word!

His powerful intervention! 

Defense official pleads guilty in Ga. to bribery

Associated Press reported:

ATLANTA (AP) - A high-ranking Department of Defense employee pleaded guilty on Wednesday to taking a bribe from an Afghanistan-based contractor, saying he was "wrong in so many ways" for taking a backpack stuffed with $95,000 in cash to influence a lucrative contract.

Desi Deandre Wade offered his apologies to the judge after pleading guilty to taking the bribe from the contractor during the Fire-Rescue International Conference in Atlanta. He could face up to 15 years in prison when he's sentenced on Feb. 29 but he'll likely receive far less time.

"I just accept responsibility. I made a mistake. There was a lot of things weighing on me but I was wrong," said Wade. "I didn't want to play games. I wanted to take responsibility from day one."

Wade, a U.S. Army veteran and a longtime firefighter, was the department's Chief of Fire and Emergency Services in Afghanistan when he was arrested. Authorities said they began to monitor him in July when Afghanistan-based investigators got a tip from an Afghan-based contractor.

Wade received a $4,000 bribe in Afghanistan to award a maintenance contract to the firm, prosecutors said, and later proposed steering a $4.5 million contract to the same company in exchange for a payoff. Wade told the contractor that he would feed him quotes from rivals to ensure that the firm would be the lowest bidder, said Robert McBurney, an assistant U.S. attorney.

"The defendant was seeking bribes in exchange for influencing how bribes are awarded," McBurney said.

The contractor and Wade arranged to meet at a hotel room in Atlanta during the conference, and after some bartering Wade agreed to take a $95,000 payment in exchange for his help, McBurney said. Wade took about two steps outside the hotel room when he was swarmed by federal agents, the prosecutor said.

Wade, who is 40, was suspended from his government job pending the outcome of the case. He suggested after the hearing that personal problems led him to seek the bribe, but he and his declined to discuss specifics.

"I'm a career firefighter, and it took me away from my family," said Wade, who has five children and one grandchild. "It took me away from my family for years."

Defense attorney Ebony Ameen said her client has accepted responsibility and cooperated with authorities.

"He's a good guy who made a bad decision," she said.

http://www.wtvm.com/story/16367453/plea-hearing-set-for-official-charged-in-bribery

Racial hatred ends in soldiers death

CBS News reported today that 8 U.S. troops charged in fellow soldier's death.

Why does this case sadly read like the language in the Army's initial  criminal investigation division (CID) reports, when they first notify family members of thousands of  veterans who have died in a combat war zone: “your son or daughter died from a an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound."

Similar to the aftermath following the tragic death of football legend Pat Tillman,  I pray the family of 19-year-old Pvt. Danny Chen will help advocate for other family members who have been lied to by Army investigators, and help bring about justice to those who murdered their love ones.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57346098/8-u.s-troops-charged-in-fellow-soldiers-death/

Food for thought:

It saddens me to see that prejudice and hate towards someone who doesn’t look like you still exists within the heart of millions of Americans.  I don’t believe in an eye for an eye, but each  soldier who played a part in this senseless tragedy, deserve to be charged with “Commission of a most serious offense", as if he pulled the trigger himself.  

It was their hatred against minorities which blinded their ability to see Pvt. Chen as a fellow soldier.  It is the same hatred that will continue to haunt them for the rest of their lives.     

We are all humans trying to live together on one earth, regardless of our skin color or ethnic background, we are all part of one human race!

Adultery website endorses Newt Gingrich For President

The Huffington Post reported:

Ashley Madison, a "pro-adultery" website whose slogan is "Life is short. Have an affair," put up a billboard in Bucks County, PA, that "endorses" Newt Gingrich for president. Gingrich has famously admitted to extramarital affairs in the past.

The billboard boasts a large picture of Gingrich, with the text, “Faithful Republican, Unfaithful Husband. Welcome to the AshleyMadison.com Era."


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/adultery-site-ashleymadison-endorses-gingrich_n_1160382.html


Food for thought:
I wonder how the Republican GOP presidential hopeful would handle adultery allegations in the US military, if he were to become America's next Commander in Chief.

George Washington Carver - Figure It Out For Yourself

Figure it out for yourself, my lad,
You've all that the greatest of men have had;
Two arms, two hands, two legs, two eyes,
And a brain to use if you would be wise,
With this equipment they all began--
So start from the top and say, I CAN.

Look them over, the wise and the great,
They take their food from a common plate,
And similar knives and forks they use,
With similar laces they tie their shoes;
The world considers them brave and smart,
But you've all they had when they made their start.

You can triumph and come to skill,
You can be great if you only will;
You're well equipped for what fight you choose,
You have arms and legs and a brain to use;
And the man who has risen great deeds to do
Began his life with no more than you.

You are the handicap you must face,
You are the one who must choose your place.
You must say where you want to go,
How much you will study the truth to know;
God has equipped you for life, but He
Lets you decide what you want to be.

Courage must come from the soul within
The man must furnish the will to win.
So figure it out for yourself my lad,
You were born with all that the great have had;
With your equipment they all began,
Get hold of yourself and say, 'I CAN.' 

The Associated Press reported North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il, 69, Has Died

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/north-korea-leader-kim-jong-il-died-15185456#.Tu6tMrK8g8s

South Korean media, including Yonhap news agency, said South Korea put its military on "high alert" and President Lee Myung-bak convened a national security council meeting after the news of Kim's death.


In September 2010, Kim Jong Il unveiled his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts.


So what does this mean for the two Korean countries? 

Bradley Manning: WikiLeaks Suspect's Status As Gay Soldier Is Key To Defense

The Huffington Post reports Bradley Manning is using his gay status as his key defense.

Read more:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/18/bradley-manning-wikileaks-suspect-gay_n_1156288.html

There are too many lessons to be learned from this war and the case against Bradley Manning isn’t the tip of the iceberg.  Whether he disobeyed or directive or not, I would like to know why was he allowed to continue to have access to so much  classified information.  Especially after he assaulted his superior and made it clear he was struggling with an identity crisis.

After serving in the military for nearly 20 years, as a prior enlisted and as an officer, I had the luxury of knowing what it’s like to serve on either side of the fence.  By no means do I condone his actions, but I do blame the negligence of the leadership which allowed his retaliation against the Army to go so far.   

Unfortunately, we live in a society where men and women of all ages who are struggling with trying to identify with their sexuality are treated like they are aliens from another planet. 

It is clear that he had a troubling upbringing; he lashed out at his superiors and voiced his opposition towards the war and when he was ignored, he behaved like a malicious child crying out for attention. 

Remember the movie, “The Good Son”… Unlike the movie, his actions has affected the US foreign relations, but when a child, soldier, sailor, airman or marine actions is a cry for help, don’t ignore their cry, or else there will be consequences to pay in the end!

A timid soul sees neither victory or defeat

It is not the critic who counts;
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled
or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.
The credit belongs to the man
who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood;
who strives valiantly;
who errs and comes short again and again;
who knows great enthusiasms,
the great devotions;
who spends himself in a worthy cause;
who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while
DARING GREATLY
so that his place shall never be
with those timid souls
who know neither victory or defeat.

I know why the caged bird sings

A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

Military rape Victims are not given a chance to say NO!!

Today the Boston Globe reports:

Congress targets sex assaults in military - Measure demands Pentagon action

An outcry over MILITARY RAPE attacks has prompted Congress to step in. Language deep within the 1,150-page, $662 billion defense appropriations bill, approved by the House last night, demands that the Pentagon aggressively address the violence and protect service members.

The article also states:

The Military has invested $1.8 million in the past two years to train judge advocates to handle sexual assault cases.    Which I’m sure was a Ponzi Scam!! …..Train a military JAG on how to be a lawyer?! ….I say kick their incompetent asses out of the military and hire a real attorney and give the $1.8 million back to American taxpayers!

Yet victims’ advocates and government watchdog groups say this has been a tepid response to a massive problem. The Government Accountability Office concluded the Pentagon lacked the oversight to ensure “a consistent and effective approach’’ to sexual assault investigations.

Read more:  http://bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2011/12/15/congress-targets-sex-assaults-military/wS8zyK6Wz73t9F5vnEMhaL/story.html

Robert Frost - The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellowwood

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then too the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear

Though as for the passing there

Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I marked the first for another day

Yet knowing how way leads on to way

I doubted if I should ever come back

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence

Two roads diverged in a wood, am I

I took the one less traveled be

And that has made all the difference

Judge Dismisses ‘Epidemic’ of Rape in Military Case

On Wednesday, the Daily Beast reported:  

The landmark case holding former defense secretaries Gates and Rumsfeld accountable for an 'epidemic' of rape within the military ranks has been dismissed.  

The article goes on to say:

"“Notwithstanding the troubling nature of the sexual assault allegations alleged in Plaintiffs' Complaint,” O’Grady wrote, “The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed that the relief Plaintiffs seek … is unavailable in these circumstances.”

The two-page judgment took just under a month for O’Grady to determine. On Nov. 19, in a federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va., he had listened to oral arguments from both sides, and lamented just how difficult this particular case would be. “It’s obviously not a pleasant task to have to look at it from a clinical point of view given the underlying facts of the case,” he said then. “But we will do the best we can.”

Those “underlying facts” include alarming statistics regarding the number of soldier-on-soldier sexual assaults. Women in the military are now more likely to be raped by fellow soldiers than they are to be killed in combat; in 2010, there were 3,158 military sexual assaults reported, according to the Department of Defense’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office—a number that, by the Pentagon’s own admission, represents just 13.5 percent of the estimated 19,000 assaults that actually occurred last year."

Read more:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/12/13/judge-dismisses-epidemic-of-rape-in-military-case.html#comments 

Food for thought:  This is only round one, I'm sure these ladies and gentlemen are prepared to go all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. As a victim of military injustice, sometimes it takes a second wind and a band of positive supporters to uplift you to continue your plight for justice.These Ladies should not forget,  the U.S. military did teach us one thing, which is how to FIGHT!!

Florida A&M Hazing Victim Sues School, Suspects Accused of Beating Pledge

ABC News reported today:

A freshman Florida A&M student who filed hazing charges against three members of the school's marching band is now suing the school, her attorney announced today.

Bria Shante Hunter, whose thigh bone was broken in the alleged hazing incident, has been harassed since reporting the beating to band director Julian White, her attorney, B.J. Bernstein, said.

It is reported that Florida A&M University for decades has condoned a "culture of hazing" that led to the recent death of the former Drum Major, Robert Champion.

See related articles:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/florida-hazing-victim-sues-school-suspects-accused-beating/story?id=15146503

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/11/family-of-dead-drum-major-says-famu-had-culture-of-hazing/1

Food for thought:

Whether a person is harassed, hazed, assaulted, raped or murdered, their aggressor should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

The Navy Fires Another Commanding Officer

The Navy has fired 22 Commanding Officers so far this year.  With a few weeks remaining in this calendar year, will a few more Commanding Officers be forced to walk the plank?  Let's cross our fingers and hope the Navy can make it through the holidays without another incident.  But let's take a look at what caused the abrupt end to a fighter pilot's career....

According to a recent article Navy times article:  Prowler squadron CO fired on deployment

SAN DIEGO - The commander of a deployed EA-6B Prowler squadron was fired late Thursday following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations, the Navy announced Friday.

Cmdr. Jonathan Jackson was removed from command of Electronic Attack Squadron 134, which is deployed aboard the carrier Carl Vinson, after he appeared at admiral's mast before Rear Adm. Thomas Shannon, the Navy said in a statement issued Friday.

Jackson is the 22nd commanding officer fired in 2011.

Shannon, who commands Carrier Strike Group 1, found Jackson guilty of conduct unbecoming an officer and of violating a lawful general order after an investigation substantiated allegations of Jackson "creating and condoning an intimidating, hostile and offensive work environment in violation of [Navy] policy on sexual harassment," the Navy said in the statement.

Shannon relieved Jackson due to "loss of confidence in his ability to command," according to the statement. The commander received unspecified nonjudicial punishment.

Jackson is being reassigned to Electronic Attack Wing-Pacific at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wash., said Cmdr. Pauline Storum, a Naval Air Forces spokeswoman.

Cmdr. Gregory Byers, VAQ-134's executive officer, assumed command of the squadron, which is based at Whidbey. The squadron is deployed with Carrier Air Wing 17 aboard the Vinson, which left San Diego on Nov. 30 for a deployment expected to last six months.

Jackson, according to his official squadron biography, took command in August 2010 after serving as the squadron's executive officer for 16 months, a period that included a combat deployment to Afghanistan. He was commissioned in 1992.

Food for thought:

As Malcom X once said, "The chickens are coming home to roost!"

A Celebration of Life, Major Gloria Davis, may you continue to R.I.P.

Tomorrow will mark the 5 year anniversary when the Lord called forth my best friend, Gloria Davis, to live with Him and His angels in the heavenly sky.  This poem is to let her know I love her, I miss her and thank her for watching over me!

A Special Poem for my Guardian Angel

It's said there is a wondrous place
Where all the angels dwell
A place far beyond our vision
A place where beauty fell.

I've heard it said the angels fly
Throughout this place all day
and if you stop and listen
You can hear the harps they play.

I've never seen an angel
I've never seen one fly
But I just know somehow they're watching
From a majestic place up high.

I have heard it said they're always with us
though some days we seem to fail
but when we reach out to touch a heart..
we truly walk where angels dwell.

Somewhere in the clouds
Somewhere far away
Is the castle that I long for
It's only a dream away.

These are the things dreams are made of
Of tall castles in the sky
So come join me in my journey
Where doves and angels fly...