Thursday 21 February 2013

The Ministry of Magic withdraws from Hogwarts...for now


Stuff in brackets ( ) added by me

CBC News.ca: "The Ontario government repealed Bill 115 today, removing from the books controversial legislation that allowed the province to impose labour contracts on public school teachers earlier this month."

"Many teachers continue to withhold duties they perform outside of the classroom, such as supervising clubs and sports teams." (Yeah, continue punishing the kids for things that aren't their fault! Selfish pricks!)

The Star.com: “It’s not going to change anything — it still doesn’t resolve any fundamental issues or concerns that both school boards and certain bargaining units would have,” said Michael Barrett, president of the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association and a trustee with the Durham District School Board.
A statement released by the Liberals Monday afternoon said that by “moving to repeal the act, the government is promoting goodwill and stability in Ontario schools by addressing a key concern” of both the elementary and secondary teacher unions."
Metro News: "Phil McNeely was quite happy to take our help in his campaign,” said Peter Giuliani, president of the Ottawa-Carleton Elementary Teachers’ Federation, noting that teachers volunteered and got behind the MPP in the 2012 election. “If you cast a vote and don’t hold people accountable, you get the government you deserve.”
"We’re still in exactly the same conditions,” said Giuliani. “There has been no commitment. The government hasn’t come out and said ‘we won’t do this again.’” (That's because this is the same style of stunt that was pulled last year with SOPA and PIPA. There was much contreversy and backlash, so "they" claimed they were pulling the plug on SOPA and PIPA. Uh-huh, so why is it that 9 times out of 10 I can't convert YouTube videos to mp3's? For that matter, why are most actual music videos now only available on Vevo, which for some reason often causes my display driver to crash then recover? SOPA/PIPA and Bill 115 may appear-on the surface-to be unrelated, but both are acts imposed by tbtb which are subsequently "withdrawn" or "repealed" after much opposition by the public, only to be sneakily implemented at a later date when the imposition has become a distant memory to the masses and general tempers have calmed. Don't believe me? Again, I bring up converting YouTube-to-mp3.)







Reading Between the Lines: National Enquirer Jan.14 2013

Incomplete, but I just wanted to get it out there. I may add the images at a later date.

Seinfeld's Shocking Suicide Confession:
"Confessing that he fights an offstage 'tendency toward depression,' Seinfeld said in a recent interview: 'If it wasn't for my kids, I'm pretty much done with living. I could kill myself. Now, there's something else to live for.'"
 "He also implied that 'romantic dissatisfaction' was something that used to depress him."
 "...Pals wonder whether he's still pining for his ex-flame Shoshanna Lonstein, who was an 18-year-old high school graduate when she started dating Seinfeld, then 39. The two dated for four years before his workaholic ways reportedly led to a breakup."
"'The interview Jerry gave wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement for his marriage to Jessica [Sklar, with whom he has a daughter and two sons], although it's clear he certainly loves his kids and being a dad," a friend told The Enquirer. 'It's also clear he still hasn't found real happiness and remains somewhat depressed. Pals believe he really never got over his bustup with Shoshanna and wonder if he would be happier today if they had been able to make it work.'" -Barry Levine

Taylor Swift Being Used By Scheming boy-bander Harry:
"The country cutie...is being used by the HANDLERS of her latest lover, One Direction singer Harry Styles, say sources."
"...sources say her match with Harry was orchestrated by his publicists to cast even more light on the handsome teen pop idol. 'Little does Taylor know that Harry's HANDLERS went to great lengths to put the two together because she's such a huge star.' said an insider. 'Anytime Taylor starts dating a new guy she gets a flurry of media attention, and her breakups receive even more.'"
"'After one of Taylor's relationships sours, it's almost a sure bet she'll write a song about it and there will be even more waves of publicity. That's why her romance with Harry was arranged by his HANDLERS.'"
"'When his advisers saw the potential for a blooming relationship, they began doing everything they could to push the two closer together.' said the insider. 'It took some time because Taylor began to date Conor Kennedy, but they didn't give up and saw to it that Harry was waiting for her with open arms when she broke up with him. Now they're just waiting for the relationship to take its course and reap the publicity benefits of a breakup.'"

Jen Aniston Wedding Blowup:
"'...Things went horribly awry when Justin [Theroux] suddenly turned introspective,' divulged the source. 'He started to pick apart their life together and their plans for raising a family around Jen's booming career.'"
"That prompted [Jen]-who's often intimidated by screenwriter/actor Justin's intellectual side-to point out that she felt Justin overthought things and could benefit from being more spontaneous, continued the source. 'After that, their conversation deteriorated into a shouting match,' the source said. 'Justin accused Jen of living the shallow life of a Hollywood screen queen. Jen responded by saying Justin had no feel for her inner self and called him a pseudo-intellectual who didn't know the meaning of the word fun. Then she burst into tears and huffed off.'"
"'Justin worries that he and Jen are not on the same intellectual plane and often complains that he feels smothered by her Hollywood fame.' revealed the source 'He misses his artist and musician friends in New York City and has said many times that he'd love to move back there.'"
"'Justin feels as if he's Jen's prop to prove to the world she's finally found love,' explained the source. 'He feels that on some level their relationship is almost a sham.'"
"'After a couple hours, they each realized how foolish the fight was,' said the source. 'They both apologized and repledged their undying devotion.'" [they did not say to whom they pledge undying devotion to!]

Gossip with Mike Walker:
"...Stop wondering why Brad Pitt's new flick 'Killing Them Softly' bombed: His own reps say it's all his fault, reports an insider! They're telling the star that his insistence on letting his facial wrinkles show is killing his career-because fans are shocked by the loss of his boyish good looks. Trouble started with the 49-year-old's much ballyhooed Chanel No.5 ad campaign featuring huge posters showing him looking weathered and aged-all because he refused to allow any photo retouching. Brad's HANDLERS even begged him to let the movie makers use a soft focus lens that would smooth his wrinkles, but Brad told them he wants to keep it real, saying: 'I've accepted the way I look and both you and my fans better accept it as well. I'm getting older-and the lines on my face aren't going anywhere.'" [good for you, Brad!]

"...mere moments after Hurricane Rihanna blasted into the ladies shoe department of Saks Fifth Avenue, nearly 100 pairs of expensive kicks-and dozens of shoe boxes-lay scattered all over the floor! Huffing and puffing like an ill wind, Rihanna ran salespeople ragged, snapping her fingers and ordering designer shoes at such a lightening pace it took three frazzled clerks to wait on her, says a source. Upper-crusty customers suddenly started complaining loudly that they couldn't get service, but that didn't faze the 'sole' singer-who demanded even more service until she'd made her final choices."

"Justin Bieber's shockingly morphed from sweet, considerate boy to total monster, reports a longtime co-worker, who admits the teen throb's suddenly become 'a big-headed, self-absorbed pain in the ass! The difference between Justin from our last tour and this current one is like night and day. Justin used to be kind and considerate; now he never misses an opportunity to belittle everyone around him. He calls them *mere peons* and refers to himself as *a megastar.*' Citing an example of baby-faced Bieb's outrageous ego, one source recalled the stinging criticism he leveled at some professional back-up dancers after a rehearsal. 'He told them what they were doing *wrong*-and then actually said, *if Michael Jackson was alive to see me dance, we would agree I'm easily as good as he was.* The only straight face in the room after that crack was Bieber's!'"
See the difference? I already knew he's turned into a dick!

"Angelina Jolie usually keeps her good works quiet, but here's one I'd like to report: When the star learned one of her longtime wardrobe women had been diagnosed with breast cancer, is too ill to work, and snowed under by medical bills, Jolie whipped out her checkbook and (1) promised to cover her living expenses, (2) guaranteed she'll have her job back whenever she's able to work again, and (3) even if the star isn't working on a movie at that time, she'll find her work on some other project pronto! Said an insider: 'The woman was so touched by Angie's kindness, she told pals she just wished everyone could know what a good person she is.' (And now they do, lady!)"

"Jon Stewart just proved he's either overflowing with Yuletide spirit, or actually is that no-nonsense, level-headed guy he portrays on TV! Waiting in a loooong line outside Toys'R'Us in Manhattan right before Christmas, the funnyman actually turned down VIP treatment by refusing to cut the line.


Calgon/Ilex are full of shit!


It is widely reported across the internet that Calgon products used to be tested on animals when they were owned by Reckitt Benckiser, but that the testing stopped when Ilex took over ownership. 

Goudlylox Reviews happily posts "Calgon does not test on animals. When Calgon was owned by their previous parent company, they were listed as testing on animals according to PETA. I've spoken to Ilex, the new parent company, and they assured me that they don't test on animals."

On their Facebook page, Erica Writsel wrote "I asked if your products were cruelty free and was told yes. I went to the store and saw no not tested on animals label, researched online and saw that you do test on animals :(" Calgon replied "We do not test our products on animals. We're sorry you read that online."

For a brief shining moment, I was happy. I've been trying in vain to find other marshmallow and cotton candy scents that do not test on animals (and preferably are entirely cruelty free). I've even tried looking up home-made recipes to make my own...but I can't find any such recipes in the scents that I want. So I was happy, thinking "YES! I can still buy Calgon and not feel guilty about it!" Because honestly, their stuff smells awesome and is fairly affordable.

Then I looked at the back of their Cotton Candy body lotion (I still have some of their products bought in my days of ignorance)....made in China.


As The Beauty Diaries sums perfectly "Basically these companies (and this is true to my knowledge) sell their products in China, which requires animal testing by law. Therefore, these companies still test their products on animals, regardless of what their flimsy statements say."

There is a very informative article here about some of China's horrible methods and cruelty towards animals. It's very heart-breaking, especially combined with the images of the tiny cages they live in.  Another post about the treatment of zoo animals in China. 

Animals aren't the only ones to suffer in China. As the name of this site so aptly puts it, China sucks (for many reasons)!