As blackface, KKK and noose racist imagery and scandals involving Jussie Smollett, R. Kelley, etc., threatened to overshadow the yearly Black History Month celebrations, the L.A.-based Pan African Film Festival continued to emit a dazzling light of brilliant positivity and hope. Billing itself as America’s biggest Black-themed filmfest, from Feb. 7-18 PAFF screened more than 100 fiction, documentary, animated and short productions, plus workshops, panels and an art expo, all highlighting the history and experiences of people of African ancestry. Superstars, such as rapper/actor Common (who wrote the lyrics for the short Hats) and actor Danny Glover (who narrated and appeared in the documentaries Power to Heal and The Robeson Effect, also shown at PAFF), made personal appearances at Cinemark Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and the Directors Guild of America Theater, where the opening night gala screening of the Aretha Franklin film Amazing Grace took place.

Sustainability is no longer a niche effort. Today, it’s a global initiative that’s demanded by society and practiced by businesses across all industries. Car companies, from newer additions like Tesla to old standards like General Motors, understand this and are doing what it takes to get on board.

One reason why American car manufacturers are focusing on sustainability is to compete with foreign car manufacturers – and to improve where those have failed. Additionally, a big portion of jobs in the U.S. auto industry relies on sustainable products. According to a study by the BlueGreen Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council, "Building clean vehicle technology directly supports 288,000 manufacturing and engineering jobs in the United States.”

The Medicare for All Act of 2019, is scheduled to be introduced into the Congressional House by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington State this coming Wednesday, February 27th. She hoped to have more than 100 cosponsors at the time the bill is introduced.

The U.S. State Department uses public funds and public employees to market private products designed for mass killing to foreign governments. Few corporations have benefitted more from this socialism for the oligarchs than Boeing. In one recent example, the U.S. government has persuaded the New Zealand government to buy four “Poseidon” planes from Boeing that are designed for working with submarines, of which New Zealand possesses zero.

The purchase price of $2.3 billion in New Zealand dollars, $1.6 billion in U.S. dollars, may be too small for White House occupant Donald Trump to hold an illustration-enhanced media event about. And “at least they buy our instruments of death” is not a case that needs to be made for New Zealand in the way that it apparently does for Saudi Arabia. Still, the deal is troubling to people in both countries, and they are speaking out.

"In modern times, an increase in chemical production has led to widespread environmental chemical contamination that can affect normal hormone function in those exposed, particularly in vulnerable populations, such as children and pregnant women. Many of these identified endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), which include pesticides and substances used in manufacturing a multitude of products, have been reported to interfere with thyroid hormone function, yet public health policy does not fully address the risks to vulnerable populations."

Brain disorders in children linked to common environmental toxin exposures https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180324103152.htm

Psychosexual outcome of gender-dysphoric children https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18981931