Illusions Revolt!

           JoeyCheung/Shutterstock.com By   Simon Gottschalk , University of Nevada, Las Vegas In the 1950s, scholars worried that , thanks to technological innovations, Americans wouldn’t know what to do with all of their leisure time. Yet today, as sociologist Juliet Schor notes , Americans are overworked, putting in more hours than at any time since the Depression and more than in any other in Western society. It’s probably not unrelated to the fact that instant and constant access has become de rigueur, and our devices constantly expose us to a barrage of colliding and clamoring messages: “Urgent,” “Breaking News,” “For immediate release,” “Answer needed ASAP.” It disturbs our leisure time, our family time – even our consciousness. Over the past decade, I’ve tried to understand the social and psychological effects of our growing interactions with new information and communication technologies, a topic I examine in my book “ The T...

As a means of encouraging healthier eating habits in the province, this group of south Pacific Islands are issuing a ban on the import of western junk food. The Torba area of Vanuatu has a population of roughly 10,000 people – many of which are farmers. The local government believes that by prohibiting islanders from having…

They say money can’t buy you happiness, but a new study indicates that it can definitely buy you a longer life. Published in British medical journal The Lancet, the report shows that the wealthiest Americans outlive the poorest by about 10 to 15 years. Despite medical and technological advancements as well as the push for healthcare…

Want more proof that nothing is out of bounds for tobacco companies in carrying out their profitable mission to push "nicotine delivery systems" any way they can? Consider this - Did you know mentally ill adults smoke one third of all cigarettes in the US? It's true, and it didn't come about just by accident. In 2007 Big Tobacco was forced to admit that starting in the 1950s it had targeted mentally ill people with bogus scientific evidence and free cigarettes. Two whopping lies were used to convince vulnerable people, their families and even the medical profession that smoking cigarettes was a good idea. It was claimed: Smoking relieves the symptoms of psychosis, depression and anxiety. Mentally ill people have special immunity to tobacco-related disease. These unbelievably cynical fabrications were pushed so aggressively by cigarette-makers that many customers/victims still believe them and suffer the effects. But that's not all we have to off...

You know those commercials and ads that show how much the food industries care about your well being? The ones where happy and healthy families are laughing and having a good time while consuming generous quantities of the company's latest "wholesome" invention?  Bullshit! Pure propaganda! Don't believe a word of it. The agriculture, dairy and food industries only care about making money - as much as they can - at the expense of the customer's physical, emotional and spiritual health. Your health and happiness are of no concern, despite all those feel-good images of vibrant revelers. We've seen the warnings about mercury in tuna, wood pulp in Parmesan cheese, ground beef treated with ammonia to retard E. coli. These are examples of how the media exposes some of the dangerous and deceptive practices of Big Food. The problem is, the public assumes corrective measures will be taken once an issue is exposed - and that's just fine with Big Food...