Welcome Friday
Up too late again last night, due to spending several hours on the computer when I should have been in bed. Ah, well -- at least I get to sleep in tomorrow, as late as I want to. (Unfortunately, I'm also going to probably have to mow the lawn tonight when I get home from work, as the price of getting a lazy day tomorrow. And then presumably hit the gym afterwards -- it worked well enough last week.) And I passed the halfway mark of my stocking heel yesterday during my stint at the front desk and the tail end of my lunch hour, and managed to finish the heel and start the foot last night in front of the TV. I'll see how much more of the foot I can get done today, and have that much less of it to finish off tomorrow.
Link spotted on Yahoo!:
Ancient civilizations reveal ways to manage fisheries for sustainability -- "'Before European contact, Native Hawaiians were catching fish at rates that far exceed what reefs currently provide society,' said John 'Jack' N. Kittinger, co-author and an early career fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University. 'These results show us that fisheries can be both highly productive and sustainable, if they're managed effectively.' In contrast, historical fisheries in Florida were characterized by boom and bust, with serial depletions of highly valuable species for export markets. Today many species that were the target of 19th and early 20th century fisheries in Florida - including green turtles, sawfish, conch and groupers - have severely reduced populations or are in danger of extinction. 'Seven hundred years of history clearly demonstrate that management matters,' said Loren McClenachan, co-author and assistant professor of environmental studies at Colby College. 'Ancient Hawaiian societies used sophisticated tools similar to innovative conservation strategies used today, like marine protected areas and restrictions on harvest of vulnerable species like sharks.' The difference, the authors explained, was in the way fisheries governance systems were structured. Regulations were developed locally with the buy-in of community members, but they were also effectively enforced with methods that now would be considered draconian. 'Today, no management system comes close to achieving this balance, and as a result, resource depletion and collapse is common,' said McClenachan."
And, already caught up on the LJ friends list, so on to the Tumblr / Twitter / Facebook links portion of the entry:
The Difference Between Private and Public Morality -- "Americans are entitled to their own religious views about gay marriage, contraception, out-of-wedlock births, abortion, and God. We can be truly free only if we’re confident we can go about our private lives without being monitored or intruded upon by government, and can practice whatever faith (or lack of faith) we wish regardless of the religious beliefs of others. A society where one set of religious views is imposed on a large number of citizens who disagree with them is not a democracy. It’s a theocracy. But abuses of public trust such as we’ve witnessed for years on the Street and in the executive suites of our largest corporations are not matters of private morality. They’re violations of public morality. They undermine the integrity of our economy and democracy. They’ve led millions of Americans to conclude the game is rigged."
Women and children first -- "As it turns out, there is a direct connection between male-biased societies and the attitudes expressed towards women. Research in cultural anthropology in the decades after Bowlby has shown that what anthropologists call 'patrilocal societies' - societies in which men stay in the communities they are born into while women marry into outlying regions - tend to be more patriarchal, with an emphasis on controlling women’s freedom of movement, expression and reproduction. Societies with more flexible residence patterns, in which females have the option to remain in their home group near helpful kin or to move between groups, tend to be more egalitarian with higher levels of female control over their own lives and the lives of their children. Hunter-gatherers, the foraging societies that most closely approximate how our Pleistocene ancestors would have lived, are generally multi-local, with parents opportunistically moving between father’s and mother’s kin, or even joining some new group. However, most farming societies today are based on patrilocal residence - and this suggests that a dramatic shift occurred when humans first invented agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago."
Tea Party Leader Arrested For Kidnapping and Rape -- "In light of the conservatives’ war on women, events such as the arrest of a self-proclaimed Christian Tea Party leader for the alleged rape and kidnapping of a woman only add to the growing perception that the Right does not support women’s rights, and may, in fact, see American 'liberty' as only pertaining to white men."
"Conscience Cause," A New Super PAC, Forms to Deny Women Access To Birth Control -- "The Republican party may not have won the public opinion war over birth control coverage, but they’re willing to try it again. And this time, with more money. Introducing 'Conscience Cause,' a new 501c4 that is ready to fight for religious employers’ rights to deny birth control coverage to their employees. Once more, the talking point is that it’s not about women’s health, but freedom of religion. And it must be true… after all, there’s a woman in the group!"
Help, Help! There’s an Elephant in My Uterus! -- "And if you’re not fully convinced yet that Alaska is the next front in the GOP’s war on women, you just have to listen to State Rep. Alan Dick. He said that he doesn’t believe that when a woman is pregnant, it’s really 'her pregnancy.' As a matter of fact, he would advocate for criminalizing women who have an abortion without the permission via written signature from the man who impregnated her. He stated, 'If I thought that the man’s signature was required… required, in order for a woman to have an abortion, I’d have a little more peace about it…' He didn’t say whether a rapist would be able to send his signature by fax from prison, or not. But he’ll have 'peace' and women will require a permission slip for their own bodies."
The Ag Gag Laws: Hiding Factory Farm Abuses From Public Scrutiny -- "Earlier this month, politicians in Iowa bowed to corporate pressure when they passed a law designed to stifle public debate and keep consumers in the dark. Instead of confronting animal cruelty on factory farms, the top egg- and pork-producing state is now in the business of covering it up. As one of the people this new law is designed to silence, I’m concerned that Iowa is shooting the messenger while letting the real criminals go unpunished. HF 589 (PDF), better known as the 'Ag Gag' law, criminalizes investigative journalists and animal protection advocates who take entry-level jobs at factory farms in order to document the rampant food safety and animal welfare abuses within. In recent years, these undercover videos have spurred changes in our food system by showing consumers the disturbing truth about where most of today’s meat, eggs, and dairy is produced. Undercover investigations have directly led to America’s largest meat recalls, as well as to the closure of several slaughterhouses that had egregiously cruel animal handling practices. Iowa’s Ag Gag law - along with similar bills pending in other states - illustrates just how desperate these industries are to keep this information from getting out. The original version of the law would have made it a crime to take, possess, or share pictures of factory farms that were taken without the owner’s consent, but the Iowa Attorney General rejected this measure out of First Amendment concerns. As amended, however, the law achieves the same result by making it a crime to give a false statement on an 'agricultural production' job application. This lets factory farms and slaughterhouses screen out potential whistleblowers simply by asking on job applications, 'Are you affiliated with a news organization, labor union, or animal protection group?'"
Elephant in Thailand Gets New Prosthetic Leg -- "A 50-year-old elephant in Thailand who lost her left front leg a few years ago is now kicking it up with a new prosthetic. The elephant, named Motala, lost the appendage in 1999 after she accidentally stepped on a land mine left over from the ongoing conflicts along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to CNET.com. At the time, she had been a working elephant who moved trees for a living, and was simply foraging for food in the forest when the accident occurred. Her owners tried to save the leg, but eventually it had to be amputated. And it wasn't until 2006 that she was able to get her first artificial leg, a temporary one that she learned to walk on, before getting a more permanent prosthesis in 2009."
Illinois students grill Rick Santorum after teacher interrupts stump speech -- ""GOP presidential challenger Rick Santorum faced three tough questions from high school students Friday afternoon on his education, health care and economic policies. The questions he faced afterward from reporters at an Italian restaurant in suburban Chicago about the year he lived in Illinois seemed almost gentle by comparison."
Analysis: More US drilling didn't drop gas price -- "It's the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show. A statistical analysis of 36 years of monthly, inflation-adjusted gasoline prices and U.S. domestic oil production by The Associated Press shows no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump. If more domestic oil drilling worked as politicians say, you'd now be paying about $2 a gallon for gasoline. Instead, you're paying the highest prices ever for March."
Okay, I should have wound up and left about half an hour ago, but I took a few minutes to reply to some comments. I only have about five minutes' worth of actual work sitting here left on my desk anyway -- and a nice long weekend to look forward to.
Also, I dropped off the form with my supervisor requesting Easter Monday off. My nephew's fourth birthday is Easter -- though I think I can avoid attending his party since IIRC it's being held on the day before and Mom will be at work and thus unable to A) attend and B) drag me along -- but I might be stuck going for a little bit anyway to drop off his present, unless I wind up going over with Mom on Friday night instead.
But more to the point, before Paw-Paw died my aunt was planning to do an Easter lunch at his house and have the family assemble and bring Paw-Paw out of the resting home for the day if he were up to it -- and with my uncle keeping the old house and the family periodically visiting in the process of claiming various bits of property, I wouldn't be surprised if the Easter lunch gathering happened after all. So, might as well take an extra day just in case I spend that day hanging out with family instead of doing my usual Sunday stuff. And even if I don't, might as well use the Monday up while we're still in the slow part of the year...
Crossposted from Dreamwidth with
comments made.
Link spotted on Yahoo!:
Ancient civilizations reveal ways to manage fisheries for sustainability -- "'Before European contact, Native Hawaiians were catching fish at rates that far exceed what reefs currently provide society,' said John 'Jack' N. Kittinger, co-author and an early career fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions at Stanford University. 'These results show us that fisheries can be both highly productive and sustainable, if they're managed effectively.' In contrast, historical fisheries in Florida were characterized by boom and bust, with serial depletions of highly valuable species for export markets. Today many species that were the target of 19th and early 20th century fisheries in Florida - including green turtles, sawfish, conch and groupers - have severely reduced populations or are in danger of extinction. 'Seven hundred years of history clearly demonstrate that management matters,' said Loren McClenachan, co-author and assistant professor of environmental studies at Colby College. 'Ancient Hawaiian societies used sophisticated tools similar to innovative conservation strategies used today, like marine protected areas and restrictions on harvest of vulnerable species like sharks.' The difference, the authors explained, was in the way fisheries governance systems were structured. Regulations were developed locally with the buy-in of community members, but they were also effectively enforced with methods that now would be considered draconian. 'Today, no management system comes close to achieving this balance, and as a result, resource depletion and collapse is common,' said McClenachan."
And, already caught up on the LJ friends list, so on to the Tumblr / Twitter / Facebook links portion of the entry:
The Difference Between Private and Public Morality -- "Americans are entitled to their own religious views about gay marriage, contraception, out-of-wedlock births, abortion, and God. We can be truly free only if we’re confident we can go about our private lives without being monitored or intruded upon by government, and can practice whatever faith (or lack of faith) we wish regardless of the religious beliefs of others. A society where one set of religious views is imposed on a large number of citizens who disagree with them is not a democracy. It’s a theocracy. But abuses of public trust such as we’ve witnessed for years on the Street and in the executive suites of our largest corporations are not matters of private morality. They’re violations of public morality. They undermine the integrity of our economy and democracy. They’ve led millions of Americans to conclude the game is rigged."
Women and children first -- "As it turns out, there is a direct connection between male-biased societies and the attitudes expressed towards women. Research in cultural anthropology in the decades after Bowlby has shown that what anthropologists call 'patrilocal societies' - societies in which men stay in the communities they are born into while women marry into outlying regions - tend to be more patriarchal, with an emphasis on controlling women’s freedom of movement, expression and reproduction. Societies with more flexible residence patterns, in which females have the option to remain in their home group near helpful kin or to move between groups, tend to be more egalitarian with higher levels of female control over their own lives and the lives of their children. Hunter-gatherers, the foraging societies that most closely approximate how our Pleistocene ancestors would have lived, are generally multi-local, with parents opportunistically moving between father’s and mother’s kin, or even joining some new group. However, most farming societies today are based on patrilocal residence - and this suggests that a dramatic shift occurred when humans first invented agriculture approximately 12,000 years ago."
Tea Party Leader Arrested For Kidnapping and Rape -- "In light of the conservatives’ war on women, events such as the arrest of a self-proclaimed Christian Tea Party leader for the alleged rape and kidnapping of a woman only add to the growing perception that the Right does not support women’s rights, and may, in fact, see American 'liberty' as only pertaining to white men."
"Conscience Cause," A New Super PAC, Forms to Deny Women Access To Birth Control -- "The Republican party may not have won the public opinion war over birth control coverage, but they’re willing to try it again. And this time, with more money. Introducing 'Conscience Cause,' a new 501c4 that is ready to fight for religious employers’ rights to deny birth control coverage to their employees. Once more, the talking point is that it’s not about women’s health, but freedom of religion. And it must be true… after all, there’s a woman in the group!"
Help, Help! There’s an Elephant in My Uterus! -- "And if you’re not fully convinced yet that Alaska is the next front in the GOP’s war on women, you just have to listen to State Rep. Alan Dick. He said that he doesn’t believe that when a woman is pregnant, it’s really 'her pregnancy.' As a matter of fact, he would advocate for criminalizing women who have an abortion without the permission via written signature from the man who impregnated her. He stated, 'If I thought that the man’s signature was required… required, in order for a woman to have an abortion, I’d have a little more peace about it…' He didn’t say whether a rapist would be able to send his signature by fax from prison, or not. But he’ll have 'peace' and women will require a permission slip for their own bodies."
The Ag Gag Laws: Hiding Factory Farm Abuses From Public Scrutiny -- "Earlier this month, politicians in Iowa bowed to corporate pressure when they passed a law designed to stifle public debate and keep consumers in the dark. Instead of confronting animal cruelty on factory farms, the top egg- and pork-producing state is now in the business of covering it up. As one of the people this new law is designed to silence, I’m concerned that Iowa is shooting the messenger while letting the real criminals go unpunished. HF 589 (PDF), better known as the 'Ag Gag' law, criminalizes investigative journalists and animal protection advocates who take entry-level jobs at factory farms in order to document the rampant food safety and animal welfare abuses within. In recent years, these undercover videos have spurred changes in our food system by showing consumers the disturbing truth about where most of today’s meat, eggs, and dairy is produced. Undercover investigations have directly led to America’s largest meat recalls, as well as to the closure of several slaughterhouses that had egregiously cruel animal handling practices. Iowa’s Ag Gag law - along with similar bills pending in other states - illustrates just how desperate these industries are to keep this information from getting out. The original version of the law would have made it a crime to take, possess, or share pictures of factory farms that were taken without the owner’s consent, but the Iowa Attorney General rejected this measure out of First Amendment concerns. As amended, however, the law achieves the same result by making it a crime to give a false statement on an 'agricultural production' job application. This lets factory farms and slaughterhouses screen out potential whistleblowers simply by asking on job applications, 'Are you affiliated with a news organization, labor union, or animal protection group?'"
Elephant in Thailand Gets New Prosthetic Leg -- "A 50-year-old elephant in Thailand who lost her left front leg a few years ago is now kicking it up with a new prosthetic. The elephant, named Motala, lost the appendage in 1999 after she accidentally stepped on a land mine left over from the ongoing conflicts along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to CNET.com. At the time, she had been a working elephant who moved trees for a living, and was simply foraging for food in the forest when the accident occurred. Her owners tried to save the leg, but eventually it had to be amputated. And it wasn't until 2006 that she was able to get her first artificial leg, a temporary one that she learned to walk on, before getting a more permanent prosthesis in 2009."
Illinois students grill Rick Santorum after teacher interrupts stump speech -- ""GOP presidential challenger Rick Santorum faced three tough questions from high school students Friday afternoon on his education, health care and economic policies. The questions he faced afterward from reporters at an Italian restaurant in suburban Chicago about the year he lived in Illinois seemed almost gentle by comparison."
Analysis: More US drilling didn't drop gas price -- "It's the political cure-all for high gas prices: Drill here, drill now. But more U.S. drilling has not changed how deeply the gas pump drills into your wallet, math and history show. A statistical analysis of 36 years of monthly, inflation-adjusted gasoline prices and U.S. domestic oil production by The Associated Press shows no statistical correlation between how much oil comes out of U.S. wells and the price at the pump. If more domestic oil drilling worked as politicians say, you'd now be paying about $2 a gallon for gasoline. Instead, you're paying the highest prices ever for March."
Okay, I should have wound up and left about half an hour ago, but I took a few minutes to reply to some comments. I only have about five minutes' worth of actual work sitting here left on my desk anyway -- and a nice long weekend to look forward to.
Also, I dropped off the form with my supervisor requesting Easter Monday off. My nephew's fourth birthday is Easter -- though I think I can avoid attending his party since IIRC it's being held on the day before and Mom will be at work and thus unable to A) attend and B) drag me along -- but I might be stuck going for a little bit anyway to drop off his present, unless I wind up going over with Mom on Friday night instead.
But more to the point, before Paw-Paw died my aunt was planning to do an Easter lunch at his house and have the family assemble and bring Paw-Paw out of the resting home for the day if he were up to it -- and with my uncle keeping the old house and the family periodically visiting in the process of claiming various bits of property, I wouldn't be surprised if the Easter lunch gathering happened after all. So, might as well take an extra day just in case I spend that day hanging out with family instead of doing my usual Sunday stuff. And even if I don't, might as well use the Monday up while we're still in the slow part of the year...
Crossposted from Dreamwidth with
comments made.