San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

Early Puberty In Girls Is Becoming Epidemic and Getting Worse

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Girls with early onset puberty face a number of mental and physical health risks.

By Martha Rosenberg / AlterNet

Padded bras for kindergarteners with growing breasts to make them more comfortable? Sixteen percent of U.S. girls experiencing breast development by the age of 7? Thirty percent by the age of 8? Clearly something is affecting the hormones of U.S. girls—a phenomenon also seen in other developed countries. Girls in poorer countries seem to be spared—until they move to developed countries.

No scientists dispute that precocious or early-onset puberty is on the rise but they do not agree on the reasons. Is it bad diets and lack of exercise that cause growing obesity? Is it soft drinks themselves, even when not linked to obesity? Is it the common chemicals known as endocrine disrupters that exert estrogen-like effects (and also cause obesity)? Is it the many legal, unlabeled hormones used in the U.S. to fatten livestock? Some researchers even believe precocious puberty could be triggered by sociological factors like having no father in the home or even stress.   [Read more…]

Trump Gets the Big “O” and Other Fallacies

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I realize that proving The Donald’s statements and actions to be untrue will do nothing to change his supporters. None-the-less, in the wake of the ‘surprise’ over Britain’s Brexit vote, I feel obligated to catalog them as they appear to underline the importance of turnout in the November general election.

Today’s topics include the economy, trade, campaign finance and questions of character   [Read more…]

Yes, Some People Experiencing Homelessness Are Alcoholics

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Nanette’s eyes tear up when she recounts the day she was chased down the block by a group of kids throwing rocks at her and calling her names. “That was the lowest I got. I was nothing. These kids were screaming at me to get out of here. They were only about ten years old, boys and girls, who were telling me I was so worthless that I couldn’t just sit in the park on J Street.”

Looking back now, Nanette can understand why even kids might have found her repulsive. Even the drug lord at the house where she would sometimes hang out would tell her, “You stink!” She confesses that one night, just to get out of the pouring rain, she and her boyfriend sought refuge in a full porta potty. But even that wasn’t enough to get her clean and sober. It’s not that she didn’t want to be sober, she just didn’t want to stop drinking.   [Read more…]

GDP is a Poor Measure of Progress

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Gross Domestic Product does not measure the well-being of human beings.

War, natural disasters, incarcerations all add to positive GDP growth. Profits from casinos, drug sales, cigarette sales, junk food all add to economic growth. Stock buybacks contribute to GDP. GDP is based on distorted values. If I pay down my debt, that does not add to GDP. If I borrow more money and go into debt and go out and buy stuff, that increases GDP.

Wall Street insistence on short-term profits, as opposed to long-term growth, does add to GDP. GDP is f’d up, yet for every politician and government functionary it’s the sine qua non of economic indicators. Every swindler that parts someone with a buck contributes to GDP growth.   [Read more…]

‘Colonial Control Board’ to Take Over Puerto Rico’s Finances

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Senate advances legislation to deal with territory mired in debt crisis, crippled by austerity

By Andrea Germanos / Common Dreams

Puerto Rico’s finances are poised to be controlled by what critics dub “a colonial control board” after the U.S. Senate on Wednesday advanced the so-called PROMESA legislation.

Senate approval of the bill would mean “a really dark day for the people of Puerto Rico, who are completely opposed to this bill.”
  [Read more…]

Will California Legalize Marijuana in 2016?

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If there’s any group capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in California, it’s marijuana activists.

The polling has never been better. This year 60% of likely California voters are inclined to legalize the consumption of marijuana for recreational use, up from 54% last year.

The political prognosis has never been better. Four states and the District of Columbia have already legalized pot and another eight states are considering giving voter approval to the idea.

So California’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act qualifying for the November ballot should be good news, right? Not so fast. We’ve been here before.  In 2010 Proposition 19 started out with strong polling and had decent financial backing, as I recollect. 
  [Read more…]

Muslim and Gay

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Stop Asking Me to Denounce Islam to Prove I Care About LGBT Rights

By Aaminah Khan / Yes! Magazine

When I first came out, I thought I might be the only queer Muslim in the world. I was 19 years old, born and raised in the West. While I had Muslim friends and gay friends, I didn’t know anyone but me who was both.

The idea of coming out to the Muslims in my life—mostly people of my parents’ generation who existed in my mind as a forbidding monolith hushing me at Jummah prayers—was unthinkable. My only option, if I wanted friends around whom I could be my whole self, was a backwards coming-out of sorts. Rather than being a queer person in Muslim spaces, I could be a Muslim in queer ones.   [Read more…]

Hunger Strike Against Private Prison

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On July 5th activists and community leaders will begin a hunger strike to protest the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)

By Mark Bartlett

Community Leaders and Local Activists will execute a hunger strike on July 5th at 6pm next to the Oceanview Facility located at 551 S. 35th St. San Diego, CA 92113. The hunger strike will continue until all action items requested by the protest organizers have been satisfied.

Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) is the largest for­-profit prison industry in America and they currently operate three Correctional Facilities across San Diego County. Two out of the three facilities are located in the heart of Southeast San Diego and Barrio Logan. Both centers are located in residential neighborhoods within close proximity of homes, churches, schools and businesses. CCA is looking to capitalize through alternative services in order to boost their revenue by purchasing re­entry/detention centers across the country.   [Read more…]

Homicide Rate In Mexico Increases

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By David Gagne / InSight Crime

The number of homicides in May reached levels unseen during the administration of Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto, and the fact that they are more widespread makes the trend increasingly difficult for authorities to reverse.

Mexico’s Executive Secretary of the National System of Public Security (Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad Pública – SNSP) announced there were 1,746 homicides nationwide during the month of May, reported Milenio. The previous high for murders under Peña Nieto was 1,726 in December 2012, the same month he was sworn in as president.

The last time homicides were this high was in September 2012, when former President Felipe Calderon was still in office, reported El País.   [Read more…]

2016 San Diego International Fringe Festival

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By Mukul Khurana

The 2016 San Diego International Fringe Festival arrived a month earlier than last year. There must be good reason, but it wasn’t announced. Almost everything else remains the same. Bi-national shows (San Diego and Tijuana being so close to one another) are now a fact since last year. The venues are pretty similar to last year too. However, this year, there are essentially two “centers.” Downtown has always been a base. Diversionary Theatre in University Heights got added to the mix.

Worth mentioning—the emphasis on nurturing the next generation of artists continues in the form of Family Fringe (7/2/2016 at the City Heights Performance Annex). Emerging Fringe (Competition for grades 7-12) happens the next day—7/3/2016 on The READER’S Spreckels Mainstage. The burst of creativity known as “The Fringe” also means buskers and street performers downtown and in Seaport Village. Enough said about logistics. Now, the creative and imaginative side.   [Read more…]

Benghazi Bombshells Go Bust: Committee Report Has Little to Say

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Four years of trash-talking by Republicans in Congress following an attack on the American diplomatic mission at Benghazi, Libya appears to have come to an end.

Republicans on the House Benghazi Committee released an 800-page report Tuesday morning, full of broad denunciations and thin on actual proof of wrongdoing. Eight different investigations, a boatload of incriminatory headlines added up to “woulda, shoulda, coulda.”

The ‘scandal’ that was supposed to bring Hillary Clinton down before the 2016 primaries turned into an opportunity for her show grit during an 11-hour marathon testimony before the House Select Committee on Benghazi last October.   [Read more…]

A Tale of Two Stabbings in San Diego

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Media use of the term “transient” — when and why

The local news recently carried two short articles about stabbings that had taken place. The headline of one article identified a woman as the victim while the other identified the victim as a transient.

Why did 10News choose to use gender in one description and the victim’s lack of housing in the other, instead of using a gender description in both? Does this journalistic decision matter?   [Read more…]

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