Columbine? Kosovo? Susan Smith drowning her two children? Mark Foley's sexually inappropriate behavior? Hurricane Katrina?
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Newt Gingrich says everything bad in the world can be blamed on liberalism. Who knew?
Monday, April 23, 2007
Wrong way George
Bush's opinion went up after Gonzales' testimony. Everyone elses, including Republicans, went down.
Bloomberg.com: U.S.
"President George W. Bush said his support for Alberto Gonzales has increased since the embattled attorney general testified to Congress about why he fired eight federal prosecutors. "
Bloomberg.com: U.S.
"President George W. Bush said his support for Alberto Gonzales has increased since the embattled attorney general testified to Congress about why he fired eight federal prosecutors. "
Michael Moore movie on U.S. healthcare
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: Controversial Michael Moore Flick "Sicko" Will Compare U.S. Health Care with Cuba's: "'The World Health Organization ranks health care systems based on objective measures of medical outcomes: The United States' health care system currently ranks 37th in the world, behind Colombia and Portugal; the United States ranks 44th in the world in infant mortality, behind many impoverished Latin American countries. While infant mortality in the United States is skewed toward poor people, who have rates double the wealthy, the top quintile of the U.S. population has infant mortality rates higher than Canadians in the lowest quintile of wealth."
Worker's Rights
AlterNet: WorkPlace: Bush Poised to Veto Long-Sought Labor Reform: "Big Business commissioned a Zogby poll that's dangerously close to the political 'push-polls' of campaign infamy. The questions were remarkably dishonest, and the results were what the pollsters and their clients were looking for. Please tell me whether you agree or disagree with the following statement: 'Every worker should continue to have the right to a federally supervised secret ballot election when deciding whether to organize a union.'"
Rights and Liberties: The "Silent" Ninth Amendment Gives Americans Rights They Don't Know They Have
Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Although the constitution lists various rights that are retained by the people, the founding fathers realized that there were other non-listed rights that should be protected.
AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: The "Silent" Ninth Amendment Gives Americans Rights They Don't Know They Have
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Although the constitution lists various rights that are retained by the people, the founding fathers realized that there were other non-listed rights that should be protected.
AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: The "Silent" Ninth Amendment Gives Americans Rights They Don't Know They Have
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Republicans see global warming alarmism - Yahoo! News
Six retired admirals, five retired generals and almost all scientists believe global warming is a threat. Republicans want voluntary changes. Don't Republicans have children? They keep their heads in the sand while their greedy corporate friends rob our children's future? Can we go with science this time please?
Republicans see global warming alarmism - Yahoo! News
Republicans see global warming alarmism - Yahoo! News
Bill to Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices Is Blocked
This is just ridiculous. The federal government is paying but they're not allowed to ask for a better price. Conservatives can call it what they want but I still say it's ridiculous. Is there any common sense in the American system?
Bill to Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices Is Blocked - New York Times
Bill to Let Medicare Negotiate Drug Prices Is Blocked - New York Times
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Corporate greed
Let's contained it, then reversed it, then eliminate it. Again, this is not a world that I want my children living in. We have to tackle this greed, global warming, human rights, intolerance, poverty ....
Don't shop at Circuit City anymore... I won't.
AlterNet: WorkPlace: Circuit City Slaughter: Seniority Means a Pink Slip
Don't shop at Circuit City anymore... I won't.
AlterNet: WorkPlace: Circuit City Slaughter: Seniority Means a Pink Slip
All religious extremists are dangerous.
I believe that all religions that have human translators between you and your diety/ies are dangerous.
AlterNet: Radical Christian Right Preaches Liberal Evil
AlterNet: Radical Christian Right Preaches Liberal Evil
Monday, April 16, 2007
Bush's War on logic
The last video was funny and true. Here is a more serious analysis.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Olbermann: Bush's War on logic [VIDEO]
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Olbermann: Bush's War on logic [VIDEO]
Where They Get All The Screwups
Great video on the Justice Dept. scandal and the conservative right.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Bill Maher: "Now We Know Where They Get All The Screwups: Pat Robertson": "They Get All The Screwups"
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Bill Maher: "Now We Know Where They Get All The Screwups: Pat Robertson": "They Get All The Screwups"
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Bicing Barcelona
Would you ride a bike if you didn't have to store it, maintain it and secure it?
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Bicing Barcelona
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Bicing Barcelona
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Virtual Town Hall
Thanks to moveOn.org, I'm listening to these candidates respond to questions put to them from ordinary Americans. I submitted one myself. I've only listened to John Edwards segment so far. I was impressed enough to know that this needed blogging so more people have a voice.
MoveOn.org Political Action: Democracy in Action
"MoveOn.org will host a series of "virtual town hall meetings" this year with the candidates for president. The first one, on April 10, focused on the war in Iraq. Progressives gathered in over 1,000 living rooms, bars, libraries and back yards to hear from 7 Democratic contenders (map of events). This summer, we'll hold two more Town Halls, on health care and global warming."
MoveOn.org Political Action: Democracy in Action
"MoveOn.org will host a series of "virtual town hall meetings" this year with the candidates for president. The first one, on April 10, focused on the war in Iraq. Progressives gathered in over 1,000 living rooms, bars, libraries and back yards to hear from 7 Democratic contenders (map of events). This summer, we'll hold two more Town Halls, on health care and global warming."
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
March in peace protest, get on the no-fly list
This professor got on the no-fly list by criticising the administrations policies.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: March in peace protest, get on the no-fly list
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: March in peace protest, get on the no-fly list
Monday, April 9, 2007
We Must Imagine a Future Without Cars
I read this last week and was impressed. I should have bloged it then. It came up again in my email. Maybe our time in communes was training for the future.
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: We Must Imagine a Future Without Cars
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: We Must Imagine a Future Without Cars
If a Conservative Lies, And There's No Progressive Around to Tell the Truth, It's Still A Lie
This is a good article. It seems that lieing really loud has been working for a few years. I don't think it will work anymore.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: If a Conservative Lies, And There's No Progressive Around to Tell the Truth, It's Still A Lie
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: If a Conservative Lies, And There's No Progressive Around to Tell the Truth, It's Still A Lie
Christian Right Wants Bigfoot, UFO's, Elvis in Science Curriculum?
Read this carefully. To teach something that has been proven wrong, IS WRONG!!!
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Christian Right Wants Bigfoot, UFO's, Elvis in Science Curriculum?
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Christian Right Wants Bigfoot, UFO's, Elvis in Science Curriculum?
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Dire warming report too soft, scientists say - Los Angeles Times
I didn't know it was this bad. I thought I was keeping up and even saw "An Inconvenient Truth", but this scares me.
Dire warming report too soft, scientists say - Los Angeles Times
Dire warming report too soft, scientists say - Los Angeles Times
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Our frightening energy future
Kunstler argues that the coming age of energy scarcity will change everything about how we live in this country -- most of all our dependency on automobiles
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: We Must Imagine a Future Without Cars
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: We Must Imagine a Future Without Cars
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Olbermann: Bush cites bloggers to make case for Iraq
This video is far deeper than its headline. It shows the ridiculous claims made by Bush and McCain about the surge.
The two bloggers are dentists. The entry was a couple weeks ago. Also McCain says "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today." and "General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee." He must be living in an alternate universe.
All along McCain has been saying "we need more troops". Now that Bush has taken his advice he is in deep doo-doo and he is desperate.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Olbermann: Bush cites bloggers to make case for Iraq [VIDEO]
The two bloggers are dentists. The entry was a couple weeks ago. Also McCain says "There are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today." and "General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee." He must be living in an alternate universe.
All along McCain has been saying "we need more troops". Now that Bush has taken his advice he is in deep doo-doo and he is desperate.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Olbermann: Bush cites bloggers to make case for Iraq [VIDEO]
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Colbert says Impeach Bush now... [VIDEO]
This is hilarious. Had me really laughing at the same time I was agreeing.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Colbert says Impeach Bush now... [VIDEO]
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Colbert says Impeach Bush now... [VIDEO]
The First Openly Godless Member of Congress
I agree with Representative Stark.
We have to look to science and do something for the world ourselves. That's the way to solve global warming, pollution, poverty, corporate greed, hunger, homelessness .... I could make a very long list. Everybody take a share of the work and stop waiting. If you can do more than others then do. You were lucky and you owe it to those who weren't. Your birth circumstances were only a matter of chance.
AlterNet: The First Openly Godless Member of Congress
Representative Pete Stark is the highest-ranking politician in American history say publicly that he doesn't believe a "supreme being" -- but believes that real political courage is saying, "Let's tax the rich and give money to poor kids."
We have to look to science and do something for the world ourselves. That's the way to solve global warming, pollution, poverty, corporate greed, hunger, homelessness .... I could make a very long list. Everybody take a share of the work and stop waiting. If you can do more than others then do. You were lucky and you owe it to those who weren't. Your birth circumstances were only a matter of chance.
AlterNet: The First Openly Godless Member of Congress
Representative Pete Stark is the highest-ranking politician in American history say publicly that he doesn't believe a "supreme being" -- but believes that real political courage is saying, "Let's tax the rich and give money to poor kids."
Friday, March 23, 2007
All or Nothing in Iraq Pullout Debate Will Get Us Nothing | TPMCafe
I'm also blogging on Talking Points Memo. Here is my latest entry
All or Nothing in Iraq Pullout Debate Will Get Us Nothing TPMCafe
All or Nothing in Iraq Pullout Debate Will Get Us Nothing TPMCafe
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Edwards to suspend presidential campaign: source - Yahoo! News
I am greatly saddened by the news that Elizabeth Edwards has suffered a relapse in her bout with breast cancer. John and Elizabeth are good people and both have been instrumental in the fight to turn this country around. I will light a candle for her recovery. Although this is not what I should be saying, why wasn't it Bush?
Edwards to suspend presidential campaign: source - Yahoo! News
Edwards to suspend presidential campaign: source - Yahoo! News
Why Having More No Longer Makes Us Happy
After over 2000 years, science rediscovers ataraxia.
"New friend or new coffeemaker? Pick one"
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: Why Having More No Longer Makes Us Happy:
"Check this out: When researchers at Carnegie Mellon (somewhat disgustingly) dropped samples of cold virus directly into subjects' nostrils, those with rich social networks were four times less likely to get sick. An economy that produces only individualism undermines us in the most basic ways."
"New friend or new coffeemaker? Pick one"
AlterNet: EnviroHealth: Why Having More No Longer Makes Us Happy:
"Check this out: When researchers at Carnegie Mellon (somewhat disgustingly) dropped samples of cold virus directly into subjects' nostrils, those with rich social networks were four times less likely to get sick. An economy that produces only individualism undermines us in the most basic ways."
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Al Gore on Global Warming
Common sense goes a long way. I wish there was more of it.
Gore Tears Up Global Warming Skeptic TPMCafe
Gore Tears Up Global Warming Skeptic TPMCafe
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
You can't "edit" science to fit your agenda
Another dirty deal. Throw this corrupt government out!
Congressional hearing heats up over changes to climate reports - Los Angeles Times
It's painful to read the news wondering how anyone falls for the lies anymore. What was that Abe? In today's polls the Democratically controlled congress has a 28% approval rating. Except for a very few, ALL incumbents that aren't doing there job should be out of a job on a minimum wage retirement package.
Congressional hearing heats up over changes to climate reports - Los Angeles Times
It's painful to read the news wondering how anyone falls for the lies anymore. What was that Abe? In today's polls the Democratically controlled congress has a 28% approval rating. Except for a very few, ALL incumbents that aren't doing there job should be out of a job on a minimum wage retirement package.
White House offers interview with Rove, but not under oath
White House offers interview with Rove
Interview? Not under oath? Bullhockey!! This administration can't be trusted to tell the truth.
Interview? Not under oath? Bullhockey!! This administration can't be trusted to tell the truth.
Iraq Peace Vigils
There were over 1,100 peace vigils on the fourth anniversary of the Iraq war including one here in Coventry. They included all 50 states. Here is a link to the map, pictures and comments on the vigils:
Monday, March 19, 2007
Sunday, March 18, 2007
What your insurance company may not be telling you about high deductible medical insurance
High Deductible Health Insurance coupled with a Health Savings Account (HSA) is becoming a popular way to reduce insurance premiums and therefore medical expenses, but are insurance companies giving you all the facts when they sell you a policy? Mine did not. Is this a case of consumer fraud?
The law that created this type of insurance made a change to terms that had a defined meaning, and legal precedent. The deductible stated as Individual/Family no longer means what it always had. A high deductible medical insurance policy sold to a couple or family, has only one deductible, the family deductible.
For the requirements for this type of coverage, click here. Look for the section titled "Important Note About The Family Plan Deductible".
As an example I will use my experience with Anthem in Connecticut. When purchasing a high deductible policy that met the legal requirements to establish an HSA I was not informed of the change to the meaning of "Individual/Family Deductible". My family consists of myself and my spouse. To lower our expenses I purchased an HD policy on March 1, 2006 that was labeled as $2500 Individual / $5000 family. Never was it mentioned in the advertising or the application process that our deductible would be $5000, with no ability to ever receive the $2500 individual deductible. We found this out when my spouse went in for a preventative medical procedure that we assumed would put us over our deductible and we would not have to pay the entire bill. This was 8 months after we purchased and received the policy.
When I, and then my spouse, called Anthem we received the answers "There is nothing we can do." and "It's the law.". One Anthem customer representative felt that we were right and said that she would "correct it". When I did my own research I found that it was the law. We never did hear from the customer rep that had agreed with us.
I had worked in the insurance industry for over 12 years, albeit as a programmer and many years ago, and I had never heard of the new deductible definitions.
Why do I consider this consumer fraud? Insurance companies and the insurance industry employ a large number of attorneys. Insurance companies know of this change. Is the average American expected to research law when buying a policy? Is the average American expected to learn auto mechanics when having a car serviced? Must I study medicine before I see a doctor? I feel that it is the obligation of the insurance industry and individual insurance companies to inform consumers of changes to accepted policy terms.
My policy cover states "Century Preferred Direct HSA Subscriber Agreement $2500 Deductible - w/Rx". My approved application sent to me had Item # 3:
3. Plan Choice
Product Name: Century Preferred Direct HSA (PPO)
Deductible: $2500.00
Optional Prescription Drug Coverage (no charge after deductible): YES
Would the average consumer expect this to be a $5000 deductible policy? I think not.
I would like feedback. Is this one insurance company or are other insurance companies using this tactic? Is this only happening in Connecticut?
The law that created this type of insurance made a change to terms that had a defined meaning, and legal precedent. The deductible stated as Individual/Family no longer means what it always had. A high deductible medical insurance policy sold to a couple or family, has only one deductible, the family deductible.
For the requirements for this type of coverage, click here. Look for the section titled "Important Note About The Family Plan Deductible".
As an example I will use my experience with Anthem in Connecticut. When purchasing a high deductible policy that met the legal requirements to establish an HSA I was not informed of the change to the meaning of "Individual/Family Deductible". My family consists of myself and my spouse. To lower our expenses I purchased an HD policy on March 1, 2006 that was labeled as $2500 Individual / $5000 family. Never was it mentioned in the advertising or the application process that our deductible would be $5000, with no ability to ever receive the $2500 individual deductible. We found this out when my spouse went in for a preventative medical procedure that we assumed would put us over our deductible and we would not have to pay the entire bill. This was 8 months after we purchased and received the policy.
When I, and then my spouse, called Anthem we received the answers "There is nothing we can do." and "It's the law.". One Anthem customer representative felt that we were right and said that she would "correct it". When I did my own research I found that it was the law. We never did hear from the customer rep that had agreed with us.
I had worked in the insurance industry for over 12 years, albeit as a programmer and many years ago, and I had never heard of the new deductible definitions.
Why do I consider this consumer fraud? Insurance companies and the insurance industry employ a large number of attorneys. Insurance companies know of this change. Is the average American expected to research law when buying a policy? Is the average American expected to learn auto mechanics when having a car serviced? Must I study medicine before I see a doctor? I feel that it is the obligation of the insurance industry and individual insurance companies to inform consumers of changes to accepted policy terms.
My policy cover states "Century Preferred Direct HSA Subscriber Agreement $2500 Deductible - w/Rx". My approved application sent to me had Item # 3:
3. Plan Choice
Product Name: Century Preferred Direct HSA (PPO)
Deductible: $2500.00
Optional Prescription Drug Coverage (no charge after deductible): YES
Would the average consumer expect this to be a $5000 deductible policy? I think not.
I would like feedback. Is this one insurance company or are other insurance companies using this tactic? Is this only happening in Connecticut?
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Suicide Was the Only Way Out of Iraq for Col. Westhusing
"Writing in his suicide note, 'I am sullied -- no more,' U.S. Colonel Ted Westhusing, father of three, chose death over a life of lies and corruption in occupied Iraq. "
AlterNet: War on Iraq: Suicide Was the Only Way Out of Iraq for Col. Westhusing
AlterNet: War on Iraq: Suicide Was the Only Way Out of Iraq for Col. Westhusing
Friday, March 16, 2007
How to Stop the Dilbertization of IT: Let IT Be More than Firefighters
So I can get a job.
I have been in IT since 1972. I left an insurance co the first time I was being Dilbertized. Now I consider insurance to be legalized gambling where the house always wins. I went broke trying to run my own business. Gave my services away. Then I went to a university to have meaningful work and it happened again when the university hired a CIO from the corporate world. I'm broke again and looking for a job. I will only work for a non-profit now. If the work can't be meaningful, the cause can. I've applied to the UConn foundation and I'm applying to another non-profit. Ahh, for the days when a programmer was allowed a say in the decision of what the computer could do for the organisation. Now it's the businessperson.
How to Stop the Dilbertization of IT: Let IT Be More than Firefighters
I have been in IT since 1972. I left an insurance co the first time I was being Dilbertized. Now I consider insurance to be legalized gambling where the house always wins. I went broke trying to run my own business. Gave my services away. Then I went to a university to have meaningful work and it happened again when the university hired a CIO from the corporate world. I'm broke again and looking for a job. I will only work for a non-profit now. If the work can't be meaningful, the cause can. I've applied to the UConn foundation and I'm applying to another non-profit. Ahh, for the days when a programmer was allowed a say in the decision of what the computer could do for the organisation. Now it's the businessperson.
How to Stop the Dilbertization of IT: Let IT Be More than Firefighters
Court says U.S. can ban medical marijuana
This entry goes with the one below. It shows the stupidity of applying morals (religion) against ethics. We need to use science and common sense.
Court says U.S. can ban medical marijuana
Court says U.S. can ban medical marijuana
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Will a New Study Force Changes in Drug Law?
A common sense, scientific drug study:
AlterNet: DrugReporter: Will a New Study Force Changes in Drug Law?
AlterNet: DrugReporter: Will a New Study Force Changes in Drug Law?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
War hero to Cheney: Where the hell were you in Vietnam? [VIDEO]
CNN Video of an interview with Max Cleland.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: War hero to Cheney: Where the hell were you in Vietnam? [VIDEO]
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: War hero to Cheney: Where the hell were you in Vietnam? [VIDEO]
Monday, March 12, 2007
After Bush's visit to holy site, Mayan priests will purify for "bad spirits"
I have my sage, incense and candles ready. Of course I would never let him in in the first place.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: After Bush's visit to holy site, Mayan priests will purify for "bad spirits"
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: After Bush's visit to holy site, Mayan priests will purify for "bad spirits"
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Conservatives Laud Gay Porn Star Marine
This is so funny! The Colbert Report could have fun with this.
Conservatives Laud Gay Porn Star Marine -- Towleroad for modern gay men,
Conservatives Laud Gay Porn Star Marine -- Towleroad for modern gay men,
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
The four unspeakable truths about Iraq
The same thing happened to Howard Dean. We won't forever be the stongest nation in the world. To broker peace you must be fair. These statements sounded true to me. This article sounds true to me too.
The four unspeakable truths about Iraq. - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine
The four unspeakable truths about Iraq. - By Jacob Weisberg - Slate Magazine
Good old Howard Dean
I supported him and still do.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: UPDATED: Scooter Libby Guilty/Howard Dean on Cheney's focus: It "makes me sick" [VIDEO]
It makes me sick too!
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: UPDATED: Scooter Libby Guilty/Howard Dean on Cheney's focus: It "makes me sick" [VIDEO]
It makes me sick too!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Video: Thousands speak out against occupation, use their bodies to call for impeachment [VIDEO]
RUN TO THE ROCKThis is a powerful video that brought tears to my eyes. It is graphic, makes you angry and gives me hope for the future. Hold our leaders accountable. And NEVER stop demanding PEACE!
Keep the web free!!!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Want to know where your tax dollars go?
An article I read "Taxpayers continue to fund right-wing meetings to assess presidential candidates" led me to look into the Council for National Policy or CNP.
This is what I found:
AlterNet: Secret Society
This is what I found:
AlterNet: Secret Society
Swift boater sinking
This is a must read. A major contributorto the "Swift Boat Liars" is facing the Senate and Sen. Kerry for confirmation for an appointment as U.S. Ambassador to Belgium. Between Kerry and Obama I don't think (and do hope) that he is not going to get it.
The tide is turning.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Major Swift Boat donor to Kerry: "you're a hero"
Keep the internet free!!!!
The tide is turning.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Major Swift Boat donor to Kerry: "you're a hero"
Keep the internet free!!!!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
The "Care Crisis"
AlterNet: Why Working Women Are Stuck in the 1950s
"For four decades, American women have entered the paid workforce -- on men's terms, not their own -- yet we have done precious little as a society to restructure the workplace or family life. The consequence of this "stalled revolution," a term coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild, is a profound "care deficit." A broken healthcare system, which has left 47 million Americans without health coverage, means this care crisis is often a matter of life and death. Today the care crisis has replaced the feminine mystique as women's "problem that has no name." It is the elephant in the room -- at home, at work and in national politics -- gigantic but ignored."
By Ruth Rosen, The Nation
"For four decades, American women have entered the paid workforce -- on men's terms, not their own -- yet we have done precious little as a society to restructure the workplace or family life. The consequence of this "stalled revolution," a term coined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild, is a profound "care deficit." A broken healthcare system, which has left 47 million Americans without health coverage, means this care crisis is often a matter of life and death. Today the care crisis has replaced the feminine mystique as women's "problem that has no name." It is the elephant in the room -- at home, at work and in national politics -- gigantic but ignored."
By Ruth Rosen, The Nation
"Explosive" new Hersh scoop: Bush funneling money to Al Qaeda-related groups [VIDEO]
If this is true the entire administration should be handcuffed, dragged out of the government and put on trial.
"Explosive" new Hersh scoop: Bush funneling money to Al Qaeda-related groups [VIDEO]
The video is from CNN and is posted on Alternet.org.
The New Yorker piece is here.
"Explosive" new Hersh scoop: Bush funneling money to Al Qaeda-related groups [VIDEO]
The video is from CNN and is posted on Alternet.org.
The New Yorker piece is here.
The infidel Europeans love to hate. - By Anne Applebaum - Slate Magazine
"What to say to a man who tells you he prefers to obey God than to obey men, and who is consequently sure of entering the gates of Heaven by slitting your throat?" - Voltaire
Here is a very interesting article. I haven't had much use for religion for a long time. It seems to me that religion is a control mechanism used by greedy men that has done so much more damage than good. Galileo started the world of reason when he showed that the earth was not the center of the universe. All but the ancient religions ignore reason. The gods of the old religions were used to explain the world as best the society could. The modern religions demand that we have faith against reason.
The infidel Europeans love to hate. - By Anne Applebaum - Slate Magazine
In the article, notice the link to "Enlightenment fundamentalism or racism of the anti-racists?" . I haven't read it yet but I will.
Here is a very interesting article. I haven't had much use for religion for a long time. It seems to me that religion is a control mechanism used by greedy men that has done so much more damage than good. Galileo started the world of reason when he showed that the earth was not the center of the universe. All but the ancient religions ignore reason. The gods of the old religions were used to explain the world as best the society could. The modern religions demand that we have faith against reason.
The infidel Europeans love to hate. - By Anne Applebaum - Slate Magazine
In the article, notice the link to "Enlightenment fundamentalism or racism of the anti-racists?" . I haven't read it yet but I will.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Stacking the courts with cronies
Read Chiara's accomplishments. I don't think she should be replaced. I don't think any of Rove's aids should be given a judgeship.
Mich. female U.S. attorney resigns - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com
Mich. female U.S. attorney resigns - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com
Ban the bulb
A simple way to help the planet. Just don't buy them at Walmart.
We have been using compast flourescents for years. It's an easy way of reducing your environmental footprint and it saves money to boot.
Battle of the light bulbs - Los Angeles Times
We have been using compast flourescents for years. It's an easy way of reducing your environmental footprint and it saves money to boot.Battle of the light bulbs - Los Angeles Times
Friday, February 23, 2007
Don't let neocon right-wingnuts pass the torch to McCain
McCain is seeking support from scary, powerful people. We need to get religion out of politics.
Falwell, evangelists to host event for McCain - The Business Journal of Phoenix:
From the story:
The reception will be hosted by Falwell, evangelists John Hagee and Keith Butler as well as media executives Edward Atsinger and Stuart Epperson. Butler is a leading opponent of a gay marriage and Hagee is known for his stance that the U.S. has a biblical obligation to support Israel in its various conflicts. Epperson and Atsinger are the top two executives with Salem Communications, a conservative Christian media group whose holdings include magazines, Townhall.com and radio shows hosted by Bill Bennett, Hugh Hewitt and Michael Medved.
McCain also clashed with Falwell personally during the 2000 GOP primaries calling the Virginia evangelist an extremist. In his efforts to improve relations, McCain gave the commencement address last year at Liberty University, where Falwell is chancellor.
The Democratic National Committee has criticized McCain for his outreach to the religious right saying he is compromising his stance on issues to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Falwell, evangelists to host event for McCain - The Business Journal of Phoenix:
From the story:
The reception will be hosted by Falwell, evangelists John Hagee and Keith Butler as well as media executives Edward Atsinger and Stuart Epperson. Butler is a leading opponent of a gay marriage and Hagee is known for his stance that the U.S. has a biblical obligation to support Israel in its various conflicts. Epperson and Atsinger are the top two executives with Salem Communications, a conservative Christian media group whose holdings include magazines, Townhall.com and radio shows hosted by Bill Bennett, Hugh Hewitt and Michael Medved.
McCain also clashed with Falwell personally during the 2000 GOP primaries calling the Virginia evangelist an extremist. In his efforts to improve relations, McCain gave the commencement address last year at Liberty University, where Falwell is chancellor.
The Democratic National Committee has criticized McCain for his outreach to the religious right saying he is compromising his stance on issues to win the Republican presidential nomination.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Major Snow Job
Here's a Snow job. This administration has no soul. The more I look the more disgusted I am. It's a long video but watch it all. It becomes more evident the longer you watch.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Bush pounded by livid Press for not supporting Troops [VIDEO]
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Bush pounded by livid Press for not supporting Troops [VIDEO]
More truth is coming out.
The neocons need to be immediately and permanently removed from politics and policy. This is another positive development. This administration is dangerous. Wake up America. Help the world turn the corner.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Dick Cheney's dirty fingerprints all over the crime... [VIDEO]
KEEP THE WEB FREE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Dick Cheney's dirty fingerprints all over the crime... [VIDEO]
KEEP THE WEB FREE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, February 16, 2007
Take Action: Global Warming: Urge Presidential Hopefuls to Take a Stand
How about signing a petition to show your concern about global warming?Take Action: Global Warming: Urge Presidential Hopefuls to Take a Stand
Polyamory How-To
SEE Magazine: February 8, 2007Yes, I am different. But as oil becomes scarce doesn't combining resources and enlarging families make sense?
This is a very simplified how-to. It is much more difficult in reality. Can you imagine actually telling the whole truth to the partner you are supposed to be honest with? What a concept.
A little information about me here. I am married. Only once. 38 years and still going.
Don't believe the Bush administration this time...Watch this!!
They pulled the wool over our eyes in Iraq. Watch this video and don't let them do it again in Iran.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Juan Cole Challenges White House's Iran Intel [VIDEO]
Isn't it time for impeachment?
Where is our "free press"? That is why we must KEEP THE WEB FREE!!!!!
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Juan Cole Challenges White House's Iran Intel [VIDEO]
Isn't it time for impeachment?
Where is our "free press"? That is why we must KEEP THE WEB FREE!!!!!
Bush lies, people die
This president has got to go!!!
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Bernstein: Willingness of Bush White House to Lie is unprecedented
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Bernstein: Willingness of Bush White House to Lie is unprecedented
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Aren't there better ways to spend $9 billion?
Now that a university study shows that medical marijuana has benefits where there is no benefits and greater risks with legal tobacco and alcohol.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
More danger in Iraq
This is scarier than what's happening in Baghdad and the south. I didn't know much about the alliances and the stakes.
In northern Iraq, another war looms - Yahoo! News
In northern Iraq, another war looms - Yahoo! News
Monday, February 12, 2007
The leak
I think this goes all the way up to Rove and Cheney. I don't think Bush knew about it, I don't think he knows much of anything. 7-9 days and he's gone!!
Novak Says Libby Didn’t Leak Agent’s Name to Him - New York Times
Novak Says Libby Didn’t Leak Agent’s Name to Him - New York Times
House Democrats to vote on anti-war bill - Yahoo! News
It's about time. Make all these elected officials take a position.
House Democrats to vote on anti-war bill - Yahoo! News
House Democrats to vote on anti-war bill - Yahoo! News
Australian PM questions Obama's candidacy - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com
This Howard thing really angers me. If it's before someone is elected president, it's meddling. Right now Howard is as vulnerable as Bush and is throwing his "Hail Mary" too. I don't oppose a surge but it should olny be used to extracate Ameerica's children who are now in Iraq in danger.
Australian PM questions Obama's candidacy - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com
Australian PM questions Obama's candidacy - Asia-Pacific - MSNBC.com
Veterans face budget increase, then big cuts - Politics - MSNBC.com
I really don't like Bush. When I saw him on TV after Katrina he seemed to be two days behind me in his information. I was using the net to stay informed. He didn't seem to care. Here is another example.
Veterans face budget increase, then big cuts - Politics - MSNBC.com
Veterans face budget increase, then big cuts - Politics - MSNBC.com
Saturday, February 10, 2007
NO!!!!
I worked for a corporation, and insurance company. I didn't like it. I worked at a university and liked it. I was contributing to knowledge and art. Then we got a CIO from the corporate world. I didn't like it anymore.
AlterNet: WorkPlace: Get Promoted with a YES! Attitude? Yuck.
AlterNet: WorkPlace: Get Promoted with a YES! Attitude? Yuck.
Human possibilities?
NEXT ON NOVA: "THE LAST GREAT APE"NOVA
http://www.pbs.org/nova/bonobos
Broadcast: February 13, 2007 at 8 p.m. ET/PT (NOVA airs Tuesdays on PBS at 8p.m. Check your local listings as dates and times may vary. Broadcast inHigh Definition where available.)
With its intelligent gaze, humanlike posture, and peaceful nature, it's nowonder the bonobo, one of five great apes, reminds us of ourselves. Butwhile we share a common hominoid ancestor with bonobos as well as 98 percentof our DNA, this unique primate has been largely overlooked by all but a fewscientists. Bonobos live in a region that has been consumed by war, whichthreatens their habitat and survival. Can we learn more about theseintriguing, intelligent apes before it's too late? By interviewing leadingexperts and traveling into the field, NOVA shines a spotlight on theextraordinary behavior of the endangered bonobo
.............
THE BONOBO IN ALL OF US
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/dewaal.html
"Bonobos help us to see ourselves more in the round," says Frans de Waal, aprimatologist at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Inparticular, he says, we can learn as much about human evolution and behaviorby studying the sensitive, peace-loving bonobo as by studying the moreviolent chimpanzee -- both of which share more than 98 percent of our DNA.In this interview, de Waal explains what the ape he calls the"make-love-not-war" primate can teach us about who we are -- and why, forthis reason alone, it's vital to protect this highly endangered closerelative of ours.
YIN AND YANG APES
Q: Can you recall your first encounter with bonobos? What was it like?
De Waal: I first saw them in 1978. At the time, I knew a lot about chimps,because I had been studying them. I saw the bonobos at a zoo in Holland, andI thought immediately, they're totally different. The sense you get lookingthem in the eyes is that they're more sensitive, more sensual, notnecessarily more intelligent, but there's a high emotional awareness, so tospeak, of each other and also of people who look at them.
Q: What made you decide to study them?
De Waal: At the time, I was interested in reconciliation after fights, and Iwanted to know how bonobos did it compared to chimpanzees. Very soon Idiscovered that they were much more sexual in everything they did, and thatinterested me -- not so much for the sex part, even though that became avery hot topic, the peacemaking-through-sex thing -- but much more how theyhave such a peaceful society, because they are much less violent thanchimpanzees.
Q: You were initially entranced by chimpanzees as the model for humanancestry. So just how seismic were the revelations that came out of Gombe[the Tanzanian national park where Jane Goodall has studied chimpanzeessince the 1960s] that they engaged in murder and infanticide?
De Waal: The first news about the Gombe murders -- basically chimpanzeesinvading the territory of other chimps and killing them off -- was veryspectacular, because at that time there was a big debate about aggression inhumans. One school claimed that we were inborn killer apes, and anotherschool claimed, "Yes, maybe that's true, but look at the apes, they're allvery peaceful." So, when Jane Goodall came along with her stories of chimpsnot being so peaceful, that overshadowed that whole view, and we ended upwith one coherent view of: Chimps are aggressive, we are aggressive, ourancestors must have been aggressive, and so we are basically killer apes.That was the story, and it's still the story today for many scientists.
Q: It's a pretty negative view, isn't it?
De Waal: Yes, we tend to have a negative view of ourselves. Or let me say itthis way: Everything we do negatively is associated with our biology; weblame that all on biology. And everything we do that is nice, or when we'realtruistic and empathetic, and so on, we don't blame that on anything, weclaim that as our own unique human nature. So, the stories out of Gombe onthe chimpanzees confirmed that negative biological view that we have ofourselves as purely competitive, purely aggressive. And when the bonoboscame along later, they didn't fit that view.
Q: Yes, in the early 1970s there was this revelation from Wamba in the Congothat bonobo neighbors had met and after initial wariness had acted quitepeaceably together. Just how momentous was that discovery?
De Waal: Well, in the context of us being territorial and chimps beingterritorial and everyone believing that we are killer apes, when theJapanese scientists [led by Takayoshi Kano] came along with the story thatbonobo groups just mingle -- and not only do they mingle, but they have sextogether, the kids play with each other, they groom each other afterwards,they travel together sometimes -- all this was absolutely shocking anddidn't fit the image that we had of where we came from.And it was totally ignored. It's very interesting: when something doesn'tfit your thinking, the best way to deal with it is to shove it out thewindow and ignore it, and that's what the scientific community did for about20 years.
Q: But given our propensity for war and violence, aren't we much more likethe chimpanzee in our behavior?
De Waal: If you look at human society, it is very easy, of course, tocompare our warfare and territoriality with the chimpanzee. But that's onlyone side of what we do. We also trade, we intermarry, we allow each other totravel through our territory. There's an enormous amount of cooperation.Indeed, among hunter-gatherers, peace is common 90 percent of the time, andwar takes place only a small part of the time. Chimps cannot tell usanything about peaceful relations, because chimps have only differentdegrees of hostility between communities. Whereas bonobos do tell ussomething; they tell us about the possibility of having peacefulrelationships.
WE'RE A LITTLE OF BOTH
Q: Yet chimps are not all bad and bonobos all good, of course. You've saidthat chimpanzees are from Mars and bonobos are from Venus, but it's not thatclear-cut, is it?
De Waal: Yeah, sometimes I say that, and that's, of course, a bigstereotyping of the two species. It is true that the chimpanzee isdominance-oriented, violent, territorial. But it's also cooperative in manyways, and so that side is sometimes forgotten. The bonobo is sensual,sensitive, sexual, a peacemaker, but also can have a nasty side, and that'ssometimes forgotten. So both species are sort of the ends of the spectrum,and we fall somewhere in between. Clearly, we have both of these sides inus, and that's why I sometimes call us "the bipolar apes."
Q: So do you think we're more bonobo or more chimp?
De Waal: Uh, I usually say that we're both. Is that a good answer? No, youwant a choice!
Q: Well, if you had to make a choice.
De Waal: I would say there are people in this world who like hierarchies,they like to keep people in their place, they like law enforcement, and theyprobably have a lot in common, let's say, with the chimpanzee. And then youhave other people in this world who root for the underdog, they give to thepoor, they feel the need to be good, and they maybe have more of this kinderbonobo side to them. Our societies are constructed around the interfacebetween those two, so we need both actually.
THE EMPATHIC APE
Q: I've heard some great anecdotes about certain bonobos having behavedquite extraordinarily, like the bonobo that helped an injured bird that flewinto its cage.
De Waal: Yes, there was a bonobo at a zoo in England who found a littlebird, a starling, that had hit the window of the bonobo's enclosure. Thestarling was stunned, and she picked it up. She took it in her hand, and sheclimbed to the highest point of her enclosure, the highest tree. She wrappedher feet across the tree so that she had her hands free, and she unfoldedthe bird like a little toy airplane, and she sent it out, which I think isamazing, because it's not something she would do to a bonobo; that would bestupid to do that. But for a bird, that seemed to be the appropriate help.The bird didn't survive the treatment, I think, but the intentions were verygood. The bonobo put itself in the position of a totally different creature,an ability that we usually assume is uniquely human.
Q: And isn't there another story about bonobos and a moat?
De Waal: Yes, there was a case at the San Diego Zoo, where they were fillingup the water moat [in the bonobo enclosure]. The juveniles of the group wereplaying in the empty moat, and the caretakers had not noticed. When theywent to the kitchen to turn on the water, all of a sudden in front of thewindow they saw Kakowet, the old male of the group, and he was waving andscreaming at them to draw their attention. They looked at the moat and sawthe juveniles and then got them out of there in time, before the moat filledup.Now, that's very interesting, because Kakowet himself was not in trouble atall. It was purely that he perceived that water in the moat was not going tobe good for these young bonobos. So that's a case of perspective-taking, andthat is actually typical of bonobos, I think. Bonobos are particularly goodat that kind of thing.
Q: We're not very good at appreciating other types of intelligence, such asperspective-taking and empathy, are we?
De Waal: Yeah, when people talk about intelligence, they like to talk aboutthings that they are very good at, such as language and tools. We're verytechnologically oriented, and so if chimpanzees are good with tools, we areamazed and we think that's absolutely wonderful. But I think in terms ofsocial intelligence and sensuality and being in tune with the emotions ofothers, bonobos are far superior to many other animals.
WHAT APES HAVE TAUGHT US
Q: We humans have also tended to put ourselves on a pedestal, separatingourselves from the animals. How have primate studies changed this?
De Waal: Yes, in the West we have ignored our connection with nature to alarge degree because we have no primates in Europe or the U.S. For 2,000years or longer we have been building up this idea of ourselves asdisconnected from the rest of Nature, and that's why, for example, Darwin'stheory was so shocking to the West, because it said there actually was aconnection, and we didn't want to hear about that.Now primate studies have filled that gap, and the reason we are obsessed byprimates and want to know more about them, even people who hate theconnection with primates, is because we know that we have been neglectingthat connection, which we obviously have with nature. We have eyes and nosesand livers and DNA, everything basically the same as any other mammal, andso that connection clearly exists.
Q: How differently might we have seen ourselves if bonobos had been studiedbefore chimps?
De Waal: That's a fun thought experiment. Imagine that we didn't know thechimpanzee, that all we knew were those bonobos who have sex all the timeand are peaceful and female-dominated and that people would say that this isour only close relative. I think we would have totally different theoriesabout ourselves and our background. But, of course, it didn't happen thatway.
Q: If we see ourselves as violent apes, do we become violent? To what degreeis that the case?
De Waal: Well, there's a long tradition in the West of looking at ourmorality, our human civilization so to speak, as conquering nature. Natureis bad, our human nature is all selfish genes, everything is bad about us,and if we work very hard, we can overcome that. I've called it Calvinistbiology, because it's based on this idea of original sin, and if we workhard enough we can become a little bit better -- the perfectibility ofhumankind and all that.
I think if we study the primates, we notice that a lot of these things thatwe value in ourselves, such as human morality, have a connection withprimate behavior. This completely changes the perspective: if you startthinking that actually we tap into our biological resources to become moralbeings. That gives a completely different view of ourselves than this nastyselfish-gene type view that has been promoted for the last 25 years.
SAVING THE GREAT APES
Q: Do you find it ironic that the war in Congo in the 1990s -- our violentchimpanzee side coming out -- threatened these very peaceful apes?
De Waal: Yeah, it's very sad. Bonobo studies started in the '70s and came tofruition in the '80s. Then in the '90s, all of a sudden, boom, they endedbecause of the warfare in the Congo. It was really bad for the bonobo andironic that people with their warfare were preventing us from studying thehippies of the primate world.
Q: What were your feelings when you first saw pictures of the war in Congoand the trade in bonobo meat?
De Waal: For a long time I personally was in denial. I thought well, youknow, they say that the bonobos are not there anymore, but there must beplenty, because some people had estimated 100,000 bonobos at one point,other people said it's maybe 25,000. But now we are down to maybe 10,000. Sonow I've become much more pessimistic, and all the graphs that I seenowadays of disappearing habitat, which is really the main threat for allanimals, are also very pessimistic. By 2040 or 2050, we may not have muchleft anymore.
Q: How important is it that bonobos survive?
De Waal: I think if we humans cannot protect our closest relatives, if eventhose have to go, so to speak, then we're in really desperate shape. Weshould certainly also protect the forest elephant and all sorts of otheranimals, but the bonobo and the chimp are very special for our understandingof ourselves and where we come from. We can use them as sort of timemachines, to go back in time and look under what kind of conditions weevolved and how the human mind was shaped by that original environment. Thefact that the apes exist and that we can study them is extremely importantand makes us reflect on ourselves and our human nature. In that sense alone,you need to protect the apes
..............
READ MY LIPS
See a slide show of bonobo gestures and facial expressions, and find outwhat they mean.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/read.html
............
KANZI THE BONOBO
In this audio slide show, researcher Sue Savage-Rumbaugh describes oneextraordinarily linguistic ape.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/kanzi.html
............
OUR FAMILY TREE
See (and hear) where you stand among the great apes in this audiovisualinteractive.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/primate.html
http://www.pbs.org/nova/bonobos
Broadcast: February 13, 2007 at 8 p.m. ET/PT (NOVA airs Tuesdays on PBS at 8p.m. Check your local listings as dates and times may vary. Broadcast inHigh Definition where available.)
With its intelligent gaze, humanlike posture, and peaceful nature, it's nowonder the bonobo, one of five great apes, reminds us of ourselves. Butwhile we share a common hominoid ancestor with bonobos as well as 98 percentof our DNA, this unique primate has been largely overlooked by all but a fewscientists. Bonobos live in a region that has been consumed by war, whichthreatens their habitat and survival. Can we learn more about theseintriguing, intelligent apes before it's too late? By interviewing leadingexperts and traveling into the field, NOVA shines a spotlight on theextraordinary behavior of the endangered bonobo
.............
THE BONOBO IN ALL OF US
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/dewaal.html
"Bonobos help us to see ourselves more in the round," says Frans de Waal, aprimatologist at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Inparticular, he says, we can learn as much about human evolution and behaviorby studying the sensitive, peace-loving bonobo as by studying the moreviolent chimpanzee -- both of which share more than 98 percent of our DNA.In this interview, de Waal explains what the ape he calls the"make-love-not-war" primate can teach us about who we are -- and why, forthis reason alone, it's vital to protect this highly endangered closerelative of ours.
YIN AND YANG APES
Q: Can you recall your first encounter with bonobos? What was it like?
De Waal: I first saw them in 1978. At the time, I knew a lot about chimps,because I had been studying them. I saw the bonobos at a zoo in Holland, andI thought immediately, they're totally different. The sense you get lookingthem in the eyes is that they're more sensitive, more sensual, notnecessarily more intelligent, but there's a high emotional awareness, so tospeak, of each other and also of people who look at them.
Q: What made you decide to study them?
De Waal: At the time, I was interested in reconciliation after fights, and Iwanted to know how bonobos did it compared to chimpanzees. Very soon Idiscovered that they were much more sexual in everything they did, and thatinterested me -- not so much for the sex part, even though that became avery hot topic, the peacemaking-through-sex thing -- but much more how theyhave such a peaceful society, because they are much less violent thanchimpanzees.
Q: You were initially entranced by chimpanzees as the model for humanancestry. So just how seismic were the revelations that came out of Gombe[the Tanzanian national park where Jane Goodall has studied chimpanzeessince the 1960s] that they engaged in murder and infanticide?
De Waal: The first news about the Gombe murders -- basically chimpanzeesinvading the territory of other chimps and killing them off -- was veryspectacular, because at that time there was a big debate about aggression inhumans. One school claimed that we were inborn killer apes, and anotherschool claimed, "Yes, maybe that's true, but look at the apes, they're allvery peaceful." So, when Jane Goodall came along with her stories of chimpsnot being so peaceful, that overshadowed that whole view, and we ended upwith one coherent view of: Chimps are aggressive, we are aggressive, ourancestors must have been aggressive, and so we are basically killer apes.That was the story, and it's still the story today for many scientists.
Q: It's a pretty negative view, isn't it?
De Waal: Yes, we tend to have a negative view of ourselves. Or let me say itthis way: Everything we do negatively is associated with our biology; weblame that all on biology. And everything we do that is nice, or when we'realtruistic and empathetic, and so on, we don't blame that on anything, weclaim that as our own unique human nature. So, the stories out of Gombe onthe chimpanzees confirmed that negative biological view that we have ofourselves as purely competitive, purely aggressive. And when the bonoboscame along later, they didn't fit that view.
Q: Yes, in the early 1970s there was this revelation from Wamba in the Congothat bonobo neighbors had met and after initial wariness had acted quitepeaceably together. Just how momentous was that discovery?
De Waal: Well, in the context of us being territorial and chimps beingterritorial and everyone believing that we are killer apes, when theJapanese scientists [led by Takayoshi Kano] came along with the story thatbonobo groups just mingle -- and not only do they mingle, but they have sextogether, the kids play with each other, they groom each other afterwards,they travel together sometimes -- all this was absolutely shocking anddidn't fit the image that we had of where we came from.And it was totally ignored. It's very interesting: when something doesn'tfit your thinking, the best way to deal with it is to shove it out thewindow and ignore it, and that's what the scientific community did for about20 years.
Q: But given our propensity for war and violence, aren't we much more likethe chimpanzee in our behavior?
De Waal: If you look at human society, it is very easy, of course, tocompare our warfare and territoriality with the chimpanzee. But that's onlyone side of what we do. We also trade, we intermarry, we allow each other totravel through our territory. There's an enormous amount of cooperation.Indeed, among hunter-gatherers, peace is common 90 percent of the time, andwar takes place only a small part of the time. Chimps cannot tell usanything about peaceful relations, because chimps have only differentdegrees of hostility between communities. Whereas bonobos do tell ussomething; they tell us about the possibility of having peacefulrelationships.
WE'RE A LITTLE OF BOTH
Q: Yet chimps are not all bad and bonobos all good, of course. You've saidthat chimpanzees are from Mars and bonobos are from Venus, but it's not thatclear-cut, is it?
De Waal: Yeah, sometimes I say that, and that's, of course, a bigstereotyping of the two species. It is true that the chimpanzee isdominance-oriented, violent, territorial. But it's also cooperative in manyways, and so that side is sometimes forgotten. The bonobo is sensual,sensitive, sexual, a peacemaker, but also can have a nasty side, and that'ssometimes forgotten. So both species are sort of the ends of the spectrum,and we fall somewhere in between. Clearly, we have both of these sides inus, and that's why I sometimes call us "the bipolar apes."
Q: So do you think we're more bonobo or more chimp?
De Waal: Uh, I usually say that we're both. Is that a good answer? No, youwant a choice!
Q: Well, if you had to make a choice.
De Waal: I would say there are people in this world who like hierarchies,they like to keep people in their place, they like law enforcement, and theyprobably have a lot in common, let's say, with the chimpanzee. And then youhave other people in this world who root for the underdog, they give to thepoor, they feel the need to be good, and they maybe have more of this kinderbonobo side to them. Our societies are constructed around the interfacebetween those two, so we need both actually.
THE EMPATHIC APE
Q: I've heard some great anecdotes about certain bonobos having behavedquite extraordinarily, like the bonobo that helped an injured bird that flewinto its cage.
De Waal: Yes, there was a bonobo at a zoo in England who found a littlebird, a starling, that had hit the window of the bonobo's enclosure. Thestarling was stunned, and she picked it up. She took it in her hand, and sheclimbed to the highest point of her enclosure, the highest tree. She wrappedher feet across the tree so that she had her hands free, and she unfoldedthe bird like a little toy airplane, and she sent it out, which I think isamazing, because it's not something she would do to a bonobo; that would bestupid to do that. But for a bird, that seemed to be the appropriate help.The bird didn't survive the treatment, I think, but the intentions were verygood. The bonobo put itself in the position of a totally different creature,an ability that we usually assume is uniquely human.
Q: And isn't there another story about bonobos and a moat?
De Waal: Yes, there was a case at the San Diego Zoo, where they were fillingup the water moat [in the bonobo enclosure]. The juveniles of the group wereplaying in the empty moat, and the caretakers had not noticed. When theywent to the kitchen to turn on the water, all of a sudden in front of thewindow they saw Kakowet, the old male of the group, and he was waving andscreaming at them to draw their attention. They looked at the moat and sawthe juveniles and then got them out of there in time, before the moat filledup.Now, that's very interesting, because Kakowet himself was not in trouble atall. It was purely that he perceived that water in the moat was not going tobe good for these young bonobos. So that's a case of perspective-taking, andthat is actually typical of bonobos, I think. Bonobos are particularly goodat that kind of thing.
Q: We're not very good at appreciating other types of intelligence, such asperspective-taking and empathy, are we?
De Waal: Yeah, when people talk about intelligence, they like to talk aboutthings that they are very good at, such as language and tools. We're verytechnologically oriented, and so if chimpanzees are good with tools, we areamazed and we think that's absolutely wonderful. But I think in terms ofsocial intelligence and sensuality and being in tune with the emotions ofothers, bonobos are far superior to many other animals.
WHAT APES HAVE TAUGHT US
Q: We humans have also tended to put ourselves on a pedestal, separatingourselves from the animals. How have primate studies changed this?
De Waal: Yes, in the West we have ignored our connection with nature to alarge degree because we have no primates in Europe or the U.S. For 2,000years or longer we have been building up this idea of ourselves asdisconnected from the rest of Nature, and that's why, for example, Darwin'stheory was so shocking to the West, because it said there actually was aconnection, and we didn't want to hear about that.Now primate studies have filled that gap, and the reason we are obsessed byprimates and want to know more about them, even people who hate theconnection with primates, is because we know that we have been neglectingthat connection, which we obviously have with nature. We have eyes and nosesand livers and DNA, everything basically the same as any other mammal, andso that connection clearly exists.
Q: How differently might we have seen ourselves if bonobos had been studiedbefore chimps?
De Waal: That's a fun thought experiment. Imagine that we didn't know thechimpanzee, that all we knew were those bonobos who have sex all the timeand are peaceful and female-dominated and that people would say that this isour only close relative. I think we would have totally different theoriesabout ourselves and our background. But, of course, it didn't happen thatway.
Q: If we see ourselves as violent apes, do we become violent? To what degreeis that the case?
De Waal: Well, there's a long tradition in the West of looking at ourmorality, our human civilization so to speak, as conquering nature. Natureis bad, our human nature is all selfish genes, everything is bad about us,and if we work very hard, we can overcome that. I've called it Calvinistbiology, because it's based on this idea of original sin, and if we workhard enough we can become a little bit better -- the perfectibility ofhumankind and all that.
I think if we study the primates, we notice that a lot of these things thatwe value in ourselves, such as human morality, have a connection withprimate behavior. This completely changes the perspective: if you startthinking that actually we tap into our biological resources to become moralbeings. That gives a completely different view of ourselves than this nastyselfish-gene type view that has been promoted for the last 25 years.
SAVING THE GREAT APES
Q: Do you find it ironic that the war in Congo in the 1990s -- our violentchimpanzee side coming out -- threatened these very peaceful apes?
De Waal: Yeah, it's very sad. Bonobo studies started in the '70s and came tofruition in the '80s. Then in the '90s, all of a sudden, boom, they endedbecause of the warfare in the Congo. It was really bad for the bonobo andironic that people with their warfare were preventing us from studying thehippies of the primate world.
Q: What were your feelings when you first saw pictures of the war in Congoand the trade in bonobo meat?
De Waal: For a long time I personally was in denial. I thought well, youknow, they say that the bonobos are not there anymore, but there must beplenty, because some people had estimated 100,000 bonobos at one point,other people said it's maybe 25,000. But now we are down to maybe 10,000. Sonow I've become much more pessimistic, and all the graphs that I seenowadays of disappearing habitat, which is really the main threat for allanimals, are also very pessimistic. By 2040 or 2050, we may not have muchleft anymore.
Q: How important is it that bonobos survive?
De Waal: I think if we humans cannot protect our closest relatives, if eventhose have to go, so to speak, then we're in really desperate shape. Weshould certainly also protect the forest elephant and all sorts of otheranimals, but the bonobo and the chimp are very special for our understandingof ourselves and where we come from. We can use them as sort of timemachines, to go back in time and look under what kind of conditions weevolved and how the human mind was shaped by that original environment. Thefact that the apes exist and that we can study them is extremely importantand makes us reflect on ourselves and our human nature. In that sense alone,you need to protect the apes
..............
READ MY LIPS
See a slide show of bonobo gestures and facial expressions, and find outwhat they mean.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/read.html
............
KANZI THE BONOBO
In this audio slide show, researcher Sue Savage-Rumbaugh describes oneextraordinarily linguistic ape.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/kanzi.html
............
OUR FAMILY TREE
See (and hear) where you stand among the great apes in this audiovisualinteractive.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bonobos/primate.html
Friday, February 9, 2007
I'm going to be a grandfather
I wanted to tell the world that I'm going to be a grandfather in August. What a great feeling. I sent my daughter a CD of the Lovin' Spoonful's greatest hits so she will have "Younger Generation". Check it out for advice on raising children.
Now I will have to do even more to protect the environment and get the right wing religious wingnuts out of power.
Aon
Now I will have to do even more to protect the environment and get the right wing religious wingnuts out of power.
Aon
Disgusting
How do these "people" sleep at night?
Paraplegic Allegedly Dumped On Skid Row, Witnesses Says Los Angeles Hospital Van Left Homeless Man Crawling In Street - CBS News
Paraplegic Allegedly Dumped On Skid Row, Witnesses Says Los Angeles Hospital Van Left Homeless Man Crawling In Street - CBS News
Thursday, February 8, 2007
What a missed opportunity
Read what Iran was willing to talk about.
Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03 - washingtonpost.com:
"Remark Adds to Debate on Whether U.S. Missed Chance to Improve Ties With Tehran"
Rice Denies Seeing Iranian Proposal in '03 - washingtonpost.com:
"Remark Adds to Debate on Whether U.S. Missed Chance to Improve Ties With Tehran"
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Global warming is a global fight
EU carmakers warn that production will have to be moved to countries with cheaper labor if they have to meet the pollution standards that meet the Kyoto Accords. This is a global issue and it requires global resources. If production must be moved to save the Earth, move it. Here in the U.S. the greedy CEO's of our auto companies went with profit and now have debt. Either do it with science or do it with cheap labor. Where are the scientists that work for the auto companies? If the auto companies had been doing the right thing all along, instead of pushing profitable SUVs and big trucks, they and the world would be in less of a predicament.
BBC NEWS Europe Car firms attack pollution plans
BBC NEWS Europe Car firms attack pollution plans
Saturday, February 3, 2007
The Four Ghosts of the White House
Comedy Central – Jokes: "
The Four Ghosts of the White House
One night, George W. Bush is tossing restlessly in his White House bed. He awakens to see George Washington standing by him Bush asks him, 'George, what''s the best thing I can do to help the country?'
'Set an honest and honorable example, just as I did,' Washington advises, and then fades away...
The next night, Bush is astir again, and sees the ghost of Thomas Jefferson moving through the darkened bedroom. Bush calls out, 'Tom, please! What is the best thing I can do to help the country?'
'Respect the Constitution, as I did,' Jefferson advises, and dims from sight...
The third night sleep still does not come for Bush. He awakens to see the ghost of FDR hovering over his bed. Bush whispers, 'Franklin, What is the best thing I can do to help the country?'
'Help the less fortunate, just as I did,' FDR replies and fades into the mist...
Bush isn''t sleeping well the fourth night when he sees another figure moving in the shadows. It is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Bush pleads, 'Abe, what is the best thing I can do right now to help the country?'
Lincoln replies, 'Go see a play.' "
The Four Ghosts of the White House
One night, George W. Bush is tossing restlessly in his White House bed. He awakens to see George Washington standing by him Bush asks him, 'George, what''s the best thing I can do to help the country?'
'Set an honest and honorable example, just as I did,' Washington advises, and then fades away...
The next night, Bush is astir again, and sees the ghost of Thomas Jefferson moving through the darkened bedroom. Bush calls out, 'Tom, please! What is the best thing I can do to help the country?'
'Respect the Constitution, as I did,' Jefferson advises, and dims from sight...
The third night sleep still does not come for Bush. He awakens to see the ghost of FDR hovering over his bed. Bush whispers, 'Franklin, What is the best thing I can do to help the country?'
'Help the less fortunate, just as I did,' FDR replies and fades into the mist...
Bush isn''t sleeping well the fourth night when he sees another figure moving in the shadows. It is the ghost of Abraham Lincoln. Bush pleads, 'Abe, what is the best thing I can do right now to help the country?'
Lincoln replies, 'Go see a play.' "
Friday, February 2, 2007
Minimum wage
Here is a list of senator who voted for/against raising the minimum wage.
Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---54
Akaka (D-HI)Baucus (D-MT)Bayh (D-IN)Biden (D-DE)Bingaman (D-NM)Boxer (D-CA)Brown (D-OH)Byrd (D-WV)Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD)Casey (D-PA)Clinton (D-NY)Coleman (R-MN)Collins (R-ME)Conrad (D-ND)Dodd (D-CT)Dorgan (D-ND)Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI)Feinstein (D-CA)Harkin (D-IA)Inouye (D-HI)Kennedy (D-MA)Kerry (D-MA)Klobuchar (D-MN)Kohl (D-WI)Landrieu (D-LA)Lautenberg (D-NJ)Leahy (D-VT)Levin (D-MI)Lieberman (ID-CT)Lincoln (D-AR)McCaskill (D-MO)Menendez (D-NJ)Mikulski (D-MD)Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL)Nelson (D-NE)Obama (D-IL)Pryor (D-AR)Reed (D-RI)Reid (D-NV)Rockefeller (D-WV)Salazar (D-CO)Sanders (I-VT)Schumer (D-NY)Snowe (R-ME)Specter (R-PA)Stabenow (D-MI)Tester (D-MT)Warner (R-VA)Webb (D-VA)Whitehouse (D-RI)Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs ---43
Alexander (R-TN)Allard (R-CO)Bennett (R-UT)Bond (R-MO)Bunning (R-KY)Burr (R-NC)Chambliss (R-GA)Coburn (R-OK)Cochran (R-MS)Corker (R-TN)Cornyn (R-TX)Craig (R-ID)Crapo (R-ID)DeMint (R-SC)Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM)Ensign (R-NV)Enzi (R-WY)Graham (R-SC)Grassley (R-IA)Gregg (R-NH)Hagel (R-NE)Hatch (R-UT)Hutchison (R-TX)Inhofe (R-OK)Isakson (R-GA)Kyl (R-AZ)Lott (R-MS)Lugar (R-IN)Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ)McConnell (R-KY)Murkowski (R-AK)Roberts (R-KS)Sessions (R-AL)Shelby (R-AL)Smith (R-OR)Stevens (R-AK)Sununu (R-NH)Thomas (R-WY)Thune (R-SD)Vitter (R-LA)Voinovich (R-OH)
Not Voting - 3
Brownback (R-KS) Carper (D-DE) Johnson (D-SD)
Grouped By Vote Position
YEAs ---54
Akaka (D-HI)Baucus (D-MT)Bayh (D-IN)Biden (D-DE)Bingaman (D-NM)Boxer (D-CA)Brown (D-OH)Byrd (D-WV)Cantwell (D-WA)Cardin (D-MD)Casey (D-PA)Clinton (D-NY)Coleman (R-MN)Collins (R-ME)Conrad (D-ND)Dodd (D-CT)Dorgan (D-ND)Durbin (D-IL) Feingold (D-WI)Feinstein (D-CA)Harkin (D-IA)Inouye (D-HI)Kennedy (D-MA)Kerry (D-MA)Klobuchar (D-MN)Kohl (D-WI)Landrieu (D-LA)Lautenberg (D-NJ)Leahy (D-VT)Levin (D-MI)Lieberman (ID-CT)Lincoln (D-AR)McCaskill (D-MO)Menendez (D-NJ)Mikulski (D-MD)Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL)Nelson (D-NE)Obama (D-IL)Pryor (D-AR)Reed (D-RI)Reid (D-NV)Rockefeller (D-WV)Salazar (D-CO)Sanders (I-VT)Schumer (D-NY)Snowe (R-ME)Specter (R-PA)Stabenow (D-MI)Tester (D-MT)Warner (R-VA)Webb (D-VA)Whitehouse (D-RI)Wyden (D-OR)
NAYs ---43
Alexander (R-TN)Allard (R-CO)Bennett (R-UT)Bond (R-MO)Bunning (R-KY)Burr (R-NC)Chambliss (R-GA)Coburn (R-OK)Cochran (R-MS)Corker (R-TN)Cornyn (R-TX)Craig (R-ID)Crapo (R-ID)DeMint (R-SC)Dole (R-NC) Domenici (R-NM)Ensign (R-NV)Enzi (R-WY)Graham (R-SC)Grassley (R-IA)Gregg (R-NH)Hagel (R-NE)Hatch (R-UT)Hutchison (R-TX)Inhofe (R-OK)Isakson (R-GA)Kyl (R-AZ)Lott (R-MS)Lugar (R-IN)Martinez (R-FL) McCain (R-AZ)McConnell (R-KY)Murkowski (R-AK)Roberts (R-KS)Sessions (R-AL)Shelby (R-AL)Smith (R-OR)Stevens (R-AK)Sununu (R-NH)Thomas (R-WY)Thune (R-SD)Vitter (R-LA)Voinovich (R-OH)
Not Voting - 3
Brownback (R-KS) Carper (D-DE) Johnson (D-SD)
ProgressivePunch: Home
Here is a place where you can check your legislators voting record.
ProgressivePunch: Home: "ProgressivePunch is a non-partisan searchable database of Congressional voting records from a Progressive perspective. But we're convinced it's extremely useful irrespective of anyone's political positions. We show the performance of members within 160 different issue categories, and detailed vote descriptions, thereby empowering you to zero in on what matters to you."
ProgressivePunch: Home: "ProgressivePunch is a non-partisan searchable database of Congressional voting records from a Progressive perspective. But we're convinced it's extremely useful irrespective of anyone's political positions. We show the performance of members within 160 different issue categories, and detailed vote descriptions, thereby empowering you to zero in on what matters to you."
Thursday, February 1, 2007
This is an email I received copied to my blog.
"Anthony D. Romero, ACLU"2:03 pm (5 hours ago)
Running Roughshod
The Bush administration has run roughshod over our rights and the rule of law. With the help of phone and internet companies, the NSA has monitored phones and email without a warrant. The FBI and Pentagon are monitoring activists and peaceful groups.
All of these actions are part of a broad pattern of the executive branch encroaching on the privacy and free speech rights of Americans without real oversight. It’s time to bring this to an end.
Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible.
Read the New York Times op-ed piece by our client Jim Bamford.
Dear Friend,
Yesterday, ACLU attorneys from the national ACLU and our Michigan affiliate went head-to-head with the National Security Agency (NSA) over its illegal spying program. In a federal court room in Cincinnati, we argued that President Bush broke the law by authorizing the NSA to engage in warrantless surveillance of Americans.
The hearing was the next step in our ACLU v. NSA case in which a federal court ruled that the Bush administration’s program is unconstitutional and must be stopped. It’s up to each and every one of us to hold the president accountable and put an end to this disregard for the Constitution. Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible for authorizing and implementing the illegal surveillance.
Our lawsuit and pressure from the public and Congress are making a difference. Two weeks ago, the Bush administration -- flip-flopping on its repeated claims that the NSA spy program is legal -- was forced to concede that the FISA court has a role in overseeing spying done by the NSA. Now that the FISA court is belatedly involved, the government is trying to get our case thrown out of court, because it claims the illegal spying has ended.
As Jim Bamford, one of our clients in this case, noted in an op-ed piece in yesterday’s New York Times, “That’s a bit like a bank robber coming into court and arguing that, although he has been sticking up banks for the past half-decade, he has agreed to a temporary halt and therefore he shouldn’t be prosecuted.”
Because the president claims he has the “inherent authority” to violate the law at any time in the future, we argued yesterday that the appeals court must still rule on our case. Now the court must excercise its proper authority and require the president to follow the law. The inherent powers of the president do not include the ability to conduct an indefinite and unlimited domestic surveillance campaign.
Lawmakers are only beginning to assert necessary and long-delayed leadership on this issue, and fundamental questions remain unaddressed. How many Americans had their private conversations listened to over these past five years? What role did telecom and internet companies play? The administration thinks it can throw us a bone and we’ll go away but we won’t.
Those responsible must be held accountable. Our democracy requires intense constitutional and congressional scrutiny to ensure it endures. Congress must conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the NSA domestic spying program to uncover the truth about the illegal program. Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible.
You and the ACLU have been working so hard on this because you understand that this case is about more than putting an immediate end to the Bush administration's warrantless spying program; it is an important step in the battle to curb the Bush administration’s relentless disregard for the Constitution. Let’s be sure we keep the pressure on. Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible for authorizing and implementing the illegal surveillance.
Sincerely,Anthony D. RomeroExecutive DirectorACLU
"Anthony D. Romero, ACLU"
Running Roughshod
The Bush administration has run roughshod over our rights and the rule of law. With the help of phone and internet companies, the NSA has monitored phones and email without a warrant. The FBI and Pentagon are monitoring activists and peaceful groups.
All of these actions are part of a broad pattern of the executive branch encroaching on the privacy and free speech rights of Americans without real oversight. It’s time to bring this to an end.
Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible.
Read the New York Times op-ed piece by our client Jim Bamford.
Dear Friend,
Yesterday, ACLU attorneys from the national ACLU and our Michigan affiliate went head-to-head with the National Security Agency (NSA) over its illegal spying program. In a federal court room in Cincinnati, we argued that President Bush broke the law by authorizing the NSA to engage in warrantless surveillance of Americans.
The hearing was the next step in our ACLU v. NSA case in which a federal court ruled that the Bush administration’s program is unconstitutional and must be stopped. It’s up to each and every one of us to hold the president accountable and put an end to this disregard for the Constitution. Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible for authorizing and implementing the illegal surveillance.
Our lawsuit and pressure from the public and Congress are making a difference. Two weeks ago, the Bush administration -- flip-flopping on its repeated claims that the NSA spy program is legal -- was forced to concede that the FISA court has a role in overseeing spying done by the NSA. Now that the FISA court is belatedly involved, the government is trying to get our case thrown out of court, because it claims the illegal spying has ended.
As Jim Bamford, one of our clients in this case, noted in an op-ed piece in yesterday’s New York Times, “That’s a bit like a bank robber coming into court and arguing that, although he has been sticking up banks for the past half-decade, he has agreed to a temporary halt and therefore he shouldn’t be prosecuted.”
Because the president claims he has the “inherent authority” to violate the law at any time in the future, we argued yesterday that the appeals court must still rule on our case. Now the court must excercise its proper authority and require the president to follow the law. The inherent powers of the president do not include the ability to conduct an indefinite and unlimited domestic surveillance campaign.
Lawmakers are only beginning to assert necessary and long-delayed leadership on this issue, and fundamental questions remain unaddressed. How many Americans had their private conversations listened to over these past five years? What role did telecom and internet companies play? The administration thinks it can throw us a bone and we’ll go away but we won’t.
Those responsible must be held accountable. Our democracy requires intense constitutional and congressional scrutiny to ensure it endures. Congress must conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into the NSA domestic spying program to uncover the truth about the illegal program. Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible.
You and the ACLU have been working so hard on this because you understand that this case is about more than putting an immediate end to the Bush administration's warrantless spying program; it is an important step in the battle to curb the Bush administration’s relentless disregard for the Constitution. Let’s be sure we keep the pressure on. Ask Congress to investigate the president and those responsible for authorizing and implementing the illegal surveillance.
Sincerely,Anthony D. RomeroExecutive DirectorACLU
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Bush appointee unable to utter the words "Global Warming" [VIDEO]
This video is something you must see. It shows the political rewriting of science. Often politians get away with editing history but you just can't alter science to agree with you. This administration MUST be removed.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Bush appointee unable to utter the words "Global Warming" [VIDEO] has the link. Watch the ridicules bouth linking global to warming if you like too.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Young Marine Dies Of PTSD - And Neglect
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Young Marine Dies Of PTSD - And NeglectI'm a vet. I served from 1968 to 1972 in the Air Force. This isn't the way things should be.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Right Wing smear.... failed.
I am sooo happy that the internet is out of the control (I think?) of any government, local or global. I do realise it's monitored and I still have freedom of speech. I can know so much more about what is really going on and from all perspectives. Take this article on AlterNet. I knew Obama's problem went away but not how low the dirt was. Of course I haven't checked to insure this is true. I am a left winger. Am I as bad as Rush but on the opposite side?
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Right Wing smear.... failed.
AlterNet: Blogs: PEEK: Right Wing smear.... failed.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Destruction of the Myth of John McCain [VIDEO]
Personally, McCain lost me when he stood beside Bush supporting an incompetent administration that has broken laws and trust. I can never trust McCain again. Aon
Brave New Films put together this devastating film on "Straight Talkin'" John McCain's whack-a-mole positions regarding Iraq, gay marriage, and the Christian Right as the champagne smash across the bow of a new website, therealmccain.com.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Destruction of the Myth of John McCain [VIDEO]
Brave New Films put together this devastating film on "Straight Talkin'" John McCain's whack-a-mole positions regarding Iraq, gay marriage, and the Christian Right as the champagne smash across the bow of a new website, therealmccain.com.
AlterNet: Blogs: Video: Destruction of the Myth of John McCain [VIDEO]
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Science vs Politics
Experts: Latest climate report too rosy - Yahoo! News
We have to demand the end to politicians trying to change science. Visit the Union of Concerned Scientists and read Scientific abuses from A to Z "The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science exposes dozens of instances in which research findings have been manipulated or suppressed by political appointees."
We have to demand the end to politicians trying to change science. Visit the Union of Concerned Scientists and read Scientific abuses from A to Z "The A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science exposes dozens of instances in which research findings have been manipulated or suppressed by political appointees."
Craft with a C not a K
Image: Frank Ridley Makes a Toy. Photo by Amy Shaw.
WorldChanging: Tools, Models and Ideas for Building a Bright Green Future: Why Craft is Worldchanging
I have no talent myself to produce strong, useful and beautiful items. My craft is maintaining and fixing the things I have. So many things are disposable, from diapers to electronics. Anything that can be fixed is worth fixing. I love it when something that is beyond my capabilities and is finally dragged to the side of the road (we don't have a curb) and is picked up by someone who still sees value in it.
When you put out items for the trash haulers, do it a few days early and in a way it can be seen. Someone out there needs or wants it. It's a matter of displaying for the longest time to the largest number of passersby is a way they can look for it's value.
Aon
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Top 10 progressive solutions
There are ten good bills awaiting passage in Congress that could make a real difference.
AlterNet: Top 10 Solutions for a More Perfect Union
AlterNet: Top 10 Solutions for a More Perfect Union
Friday, January 26, 2007
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Move over Bush
Sunday, January 21, 2007
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