May 16th
It did warm up yesterday but it was still cool. Today we are overcast and due to get into the high 70s. :)
One of the many things I must do soon is to repot the begonia that sits in my office all winter. It is going to split the pot before too long.
There are a lot of items on the to do list today so I must get started. Have a good one!
Petitions
The Wounded Knee site has been held sacred by the Lakota Sioux since the horrific massacre that happened there in 1890. Now, it's in danger of being sold to the highest bidder, including someone who would build a horse slaughterhouse on the plot.
The current owner has offered to sell the site to its rightful owners, the nearby Oglala tribe, for the cool price of $3.9 million. But The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just a few miles from where Wounded Knee is located, is one of the poorest places in the country. To build a horse slaughterhouse on their sacred site after everything the tribe has already suffered would be unthinkable.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AhnMh/zNI6/3R2f
Recommended Reading
***How Government Cover-Up on Fish Farming Affects Your Health - Canada has a problem. It’s lengthy but worth the watch.
This Kid Was Bullied A LOT. He Could Have Told His Teacher Or His Principal. He Had Bigger Plans.
http://www.upworthy.com/this-kid-was-bullied-a-lot-he-could-have-told-his-teacher-or-his-principal-he-had-bigger-plans?c=upw10
Twitter Hate Speech Map Pinpoints Racist, Homophobic Hotspots Across U.S.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/twitter-hate-speech_n_3265916.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010
Deep Canadian mine yields ancient water
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22544761
Embryonic stem cells: Advance in medical human cloning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22540374
Neutrinos from the cosmos hint at new era in astronomy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22540352
Rollercoaster destroyed in 'super storm' Sandy removed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22546234
A Dam Too Far in Laos
http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/a-dam-too-far-in-laos-7925
Are Plastic Food Containers Too Toxic to Reuse?
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2012/07/hey-mr-green-plastic-food-and-drink-containers-too-toxic-to-reuse.html
**New App Helps Consumers Avoid Koch Industries and Monsanto Products and Trace Corporate Ownership of Everything in Their Shopping Cart
http://www.alternet.org/new-app-helps-consumers-avoid-koch-industries-and-monsanto-products-and-trace-corporate-ownership?akid=10442.204376.i2plBW&rd=1&src=newsletter840820&t=22
Lenin's tomb reopens to public after renovation I always thought that this type of thing is kinda creepy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22547553
IRS commissioner quits over conservative tax scrutiny - yep, there is always a wictum even if it didn’t happen on their watch - see highlighted article previously posted under the following link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22549339
Rubio Demands Resignation of Nonexistent IRS Commissioner
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/rubio-demands-nonexistent-irs-commissioner-quit.html
Lady's Slipper rare orchid to have Chelsea show security
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22545330
Ancient Mayan pyramid in Belize destroyed by road crew
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22536212
Hidden Beauty: Diseases become art under a microscope
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22476101
Flawless diamond sells for record $26.7m at auction
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22549726
THE REAL I.R.S. SCANDAL
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/05/irs-scandal-tea-party-oversight.html
Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides so kids can cut lines at Disney World
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP
Vermont May Be First State to Require Labeling of Genetically Modified Food
http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17965-vermont-may-be-first-state-to-require-labeling-of-genetically-modified-food
If Frances Kelsey Could Protect America from the Pharmaceutical Industry in 1962, Congress Can Today
http://truth-out.org/news/item/16349-if-frances-kelsey-could-protect-america-from-the-pharmaceutical-industry-in-1962-congress-can-today
Nasa buys into 'quantum' computer - they are sharing it with Google? Bad idea.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22554494
World's most distinct mammals and amphibians mapped
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22540853
A late bloom for bluebells
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/22508596
Foldability origami exhibition opens in Glasgow
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22540928
Swedish friction experts on why curling stones curl
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-22553422
How I Did Less and Ate Better, Thanks to Weeds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8xWaNp_lbI
Petitions that need your signature
And now a word about Monsanto and others like them. These profit-hungry biotech companies have found a way to exclusively ‘own’ something that freely belongs to us all -- our food! They’re trying to patent away our everyday vegetables and fruits like cucumber, broccoli and melons, forcing growers to pay them and risk being sued if they don’t.
Companies like Monsanto have found loopholes in European law to get away with this, so we just need to close them shut before they set a dangerous global precedent. And to do that, we need key countries like Germany, France and the Netherlands -- where opposition is already growing -- to call for a vote to stop Monsanto’s plans. Go sign the petition.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_loc/?bjeIjab&v=23911
Tell Nestlé: Stop trying to patent a natural cure
In a paper published last year, Nestlé scientists claimed to “discover” what much of the world has known for millennia: that nigella sativa extract could be used for “nutritional interventions in humans with food allergy”.
But instead of creating an artificial substitute, or fighting to make sure the remedy was widely available, Nestlé is attempting to create a nigella sativa monopoly and gain the ability to sue anyone using it without Nestlé’s permission. Nestlé has filed patent applications -- which are currently pending -- around the world.
Sing the petition: http://action.sumofus.org/a/nestle-nigella-sativa/11/2/?akid=1601.65932.w0DNPx&rd=1&sub=fwd3&t=4
Maddow features PCCC activism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7LANHts78c
Tell Congress Social Security is non-negotiable.
http://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/standwithbernie
Amazon is at it again! Please go sign this petition. It is not fair for those of us who make our living by writing. Authors are not libraries and while most of us enjoy the social side of writing we do this to pay our bills. If some one returns an ebook after reading it our royalties get reduced.
I just signed the petition "Amazon Kindle e-Book Return Policy: Stop allowing refunds on e-Books after e-Books have been read." on Change.org. It's important. Here's the link: http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-kindle-e-book-return-policy-stop-allowing-refunds-on-e-books-after-e-books-have-been-read
North Dakota just passed the most extreme abortion ban in the country. It's just one of some 300 bills across the country designed to take away women's rights and access to health care -- and ultimately to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Don't let lawmakers get away with it, take action today:
http://ppaction.org/WakeUpCall
Click here to tell Obama to veto CISPA:
http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/veto_cispa/?referring_akid=a8234599.655732.Af5Ve3&source=auto-taf
AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon have all agreed to start spying on their users.
The US's largest Internet Service Providers are implementing a new "online infringement" plan to identify and punish, with virtually no due process, users suspected of downloading copyrighted content.
https://act.demandprogress.org/letter/six_strikes_2013/?rd=1&t=1&referring_akid=undefined
Remember CISPA? Well, it’s back - sign the petition
http://www.cispaisback.com/
Oppose Seismic Surveys in the Atlantic - sign it please
http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6937
Tell Congress to Dump Monsanto's Riders!
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8644
Bury Power Lines in Cities and Towns, Prevent Long-Lasting Outages, Improve National Security
http://signon.org/sign/bury-power-lines-in-cities?mailing_id=7341&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=913515
Protect Global Internet Freedom - go sign the petition
http://protectinternetfreedom.net/
The Sierra Club has a variety of actions to be taken. Just follow the link.
Send the congress a letter here: http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=9962
Do you really own the smartphone or computer you’re using to read this email?
If you sold your computer, would you be breaking the law? A federal court in New York says you would be.
It's unbelievable, but trademark and copyright holders really are trying to take away your right to sell things that you own. Please click here to fight back:
http://www.youvebeenowned.org/
The First-Sale Doctrine gives us the right to sell most property we own. But if the Supreme Court supports the lower court’s decision, we won't really “own” anything if it's from a different country. We expect them to issue a ruling later this year.
The President can urge the Court to side with consumers; then Congress will probably weigh in on the issue, no matter how the Court rules.
If we lose this fight, anybody who wants to resell foreign products, from Macbooks and iPhones to our clothing and textbooks, will have to ask copyright holders for permission first. And they'll have the right to deny it!
It's bad for so many reasons: It'll undermine Craigslist and Ebay, hurt the environment, increase incentives for manufacturers to move jobs off-shore, and effectively ban the traditional American yard sale. Just click here to email your lawmakers right away:
http://www.youvebeenowned.org/
There are two very bad internet bills that you need to be aware of. The first concerns making streaming content a felony. Read about it here:
http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/ten_strikes?akid=700.450896.5hVZPC&rd=1&t=1
and the second is the Protect-IP Act that gives the government power to censor search engines and browsers. Read more about it here:
http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/protectip_docs
Both of the above pages have a petition to sign so please do so.
The non-existent tags
weather, knitting, gardening, global warming, environment, politics, Repugs, scumbags, quilting, petitions, CISPA, health, Exxon, oil spills, Monsanto, evil, people, weeds, tar sands, privacy, fish, NASA, computing, technology, photography, fun stuff, GMOs, auctions, archaeology, plastic
Change the world one loan at a time - visit http://www.Kiva.org to find out how
One of the many things I must do soon is to repot the begonia that sits in my office all winter. It is going to split the pot before too long.
There are a lot of items on the to do list today so I must get started. Have a good one!
Petitions
The Wounded Knee site has been held sacred by the Lakota Sioux since the horrific massacre that happened there in 1890. Now, it's in danger of being sold to the highest bidder, including someone who would build a horse slaughterhouse on the plot.
The current owner has offered to sell the site to its rightful owners, the nearby Oglala tribe, for the cool price of $3.9 million. But The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, just a few miles from where Wounded Knee is located, is one of the poorest places in the country. To build a horse slaughterhouse on their sacred site after everything the tribe has already suffered would be unthinkable.
http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AhnMh/zNI6/3R2f
Recommended Reading
***How Government Cover-Up on Fish Farming Affects Your Health - Canada has a problem. It’s lengthy but worth the watch.
This Kid Was Bullied A LOT. He Could Have Told His Teacher Or His Principal. He Had Bigger Plans.
http://www.upworthy.com/this-kid-was-bullied-a-lot-he-could-have-told-his-teacher-or-his-principal-he-had-bigger-plans?c=upw10
Twitter Hate Speech Map Pinpoints Racist, Homophobic Hotspots Across U.S.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/13/twitter-hate-speech_n_3265916.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010
Deep Canadian mine yields ancient water
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22544761
Embryonic stem cells: Advance in medical human cloning
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-22540374
Neutrinos from the cosmos hint at new era in astronomy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22540352
Rollercoaster destroyed in 'super storm' Sandy removed
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22546234
A Dam Too Far in Laos
http://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/a-dam-too-far-in-laos-7925
Are Plastic Food Containers Too Toxic to Reuse?
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2012/07/hey-mr-green-plastic-food-and-drink-containers-too-toxic-to-reuse.html
**New App Helps Consumers Avoid Koch Industries and Monsanto Products and Trace Corporate Ownership of Everything in Their Shopping Cart
http://www.alternet.org/new-app-helps-consumers-avoid-koch-industries-and-monsanto-products-and-trace-corporate-ownership?akid=10442.204376.i2plBW&rd=1&src=newsletter840820&t=22
Lenin's tomb reopens to public after renovation I always thought that this type of thing is kinda creepy
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22547553
IRS commissioner quits over conservative tax scrutiny - yep, there is always a wictum even if it didn’t happen on their watch - see highlighted article previously posted under the following link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22549339
Rubio Demands Resignation of Nonexistent IRS Commissioner
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/05/rubio-demands-nonexistent-irs-commissioner-quit.html
Lady's Slipper rare orchid to have Chelsea show security
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22545330
Ancient Mayan pyramid in Belize destroyed by road crew
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22536212
Hidden Beauty: Diseases become art under a microscope
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22476101
Flawless diamond sells for record $26.7m at auction
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22549726
THE REAL I.R.S. SCANDAL
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/05/irs-scandal-tea-party-oversight.html
Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides so kids can cut lines at Disney World
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/disney_world_srich_kid_outrage_zTBA0xrvZRkIVc1zItXGDP
Vermont May Be First State to Require Labeling of Genetically Modified Food
http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/17965-vermont-may-be-first-state-to-require-labeling-of-genetically-modified-food
If Frances Kelsey Could Protect America from the Pharmaceutical Industry in 1962, Congress Can Today
http://truth-out.org/news/item/16349-if-frances-kelsey-could-protect-america-from-the-pharmaceutical-industry-in-1962-congress-can-today
Nasa buys into 'quantum' computer - they are sharing it with Google? Bad idea.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22554494
World's most distinct mammals and amphibians mapped
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22540853
A late bloom for bluebells
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/22508596
Foldability origami exhibition opens in Glasgow
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22540928
Swedish friction experts on why curling stones curl
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-22553422
How I Did Less and Ate Better, Thanks to Weeds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8xWaNp_lbI
Petitions that need your signature
And now a word about Monsanto and others like them. These profit-hungry biotech companies have found a way to exclusively ‘own’ something that freely belongs to us all -- our food! They’re trying to patent away our everyday vegetables and fruits like cucumber, broccoli and melons, forcing growers to pay them and risk being sued if they don’t.
Companies like Monsanto have found loopholes in European law to get away with this, so we just need to close them shut before they set a dangerous global precedent. And to do that, we need key countries like Germany, France and the Netherlands -- where opposition is already growing -- to call for a vote to stop Monsanto’s plans. Go sign the petition.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_vs_mother_earth_loc/?bjeIjab&v=23911
Tell Nestlé: Stop trying to patent a natural cure
In a paper published last year, Nestlé scientists claimed to “discover” what much of the world has known for millennia: that nigella sativa extract could be used for “nutritional interventions in humans with food allergy”.
But instead of creating an artificial substitute, or fighting to make sure the remedy was widely available, Nestlé is attempting to create a nigella sativa monopoly and gain the ability to sue anyone using it without Nestlé’s permission. Nestlé has filed patent applications -- which are currently pending -- around the world.
Sing the petition: http://action.sumofus.org/a/nestle-nigella-sativa/11/2/?akid=1601.65932.w0DNPx&rd=1&sub=fwd3&t=4
Maddow features PCCC activism
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7LANHts78c
Tell Congress Social Security is non-negotiable.
http://act.couragecampaign.org/sign/standwithbernie
Amazon is at it again! Please go sign this petition. It is not fair for those of us who make our living by writing. Authors are not libraries and while most of us enjoy the social side of writing we do this to pay our bills. If some one returns an ebook after reading it our royalties get reduced.
I just signed the petition "Amazon Kindle e-Book Return Policy: Stop allowing refunds on e-Books after e-Books have been read." on Change.org. It's important. Here's the link: http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-kindle-e-book-return-policy-stop-allowing-refunds-on-e-books-after-e-books-have-been-read
North Dakota just passed the most extreme abortion ban in the country. It's just one of some 300 bills across the country designed to take away women's rights and access to health care -- and ultimately to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Don't let lawmakers get away with it, take action today:
http://ppaction.org/WakeUpCall
Click here to tell Obama to veto CISPA:
http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/veto_cispa/?referring_akid=a8234599.655732.Af5Ve3&source=auto-taf
AT&T, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Verizon have all agreed to start spying on their users.
The US's largest Internet Service Providers are implementing a new "online infringement" plan to identify and punish, with virtually no due process, users suspected of downloading copyrighted content.
https://act.demandprogress.org/letter/six_strikes_2013/?rd=1&t=1&referring_akid=undefined
Remember CISPA? Well, it’s back - sign the petition
http://www.cispaisback.com/
Oppose Seismic Surveys in the Atlantic - sign it please
http://action.surfrider.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=6937
Tell Congress to Dump Monsanto's Riders!
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/50865/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=8644
Bury Power Lines in Cities and Towns, Prevent Long-Lasting Outages, Improve National Security
http://signon.org/sign/bury-power-lines-in-cities?mailing_id=7341&source=s.icn.em.cr&r_by=913515
Protect Global Internet Freedom - go sign the petition
http://protectinternetfreedom.net/
The Sierra Club has a variety of actions to be taken. Just follow the link.
Send the congress a letter here: http://action.sierraclub.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=9962
Do you really own the smartphone or computer you’re using to read this email?
If you sold your computer, would you be breaking the law? A federal court in New York says you would be.
It's unbelievable, but trademark and copyright holders really are trying to take away your right to sell things that you own. Please click here to fight back:
http://www.youvebeenowned.org/
The First-Sale Doctrine gives us the right to sell most property we own. But if the Supreme Court supports the lower court’s decision, we won't really “own” anything if it's from a different country. We expect them to issue a ruling later this year.
The President can urge the Court to side with consumers; then Congress will probably weigh in on the issue, no matter how the Court rules.
If we lose this fight, anybody who wants to resell foreign products, from Macbooks and iPhones to our clothing and textbooks, will have to ask copyright holders for permission first. And they'll have the right to deny it!
It's bad for so many reasons: It'll undermine Craigslist and Ebay, hurt the environment, increase incentives for manufacturers to move jobs off-shore, and effectively ban the traditional American yard sale. Just click here to email your lawmakers right away:
http://www.youvebeenowned.org/
There are two very bad internet bills that you need to be aware of. The first concerns making streaming content a felony. Read about it here:
http://act.demandprogress.org/letter/ten_strikes?akid=700.450896.5hVZPC&rd=1&t=1
and the second is the Protect-IP Act that gives the government power to censor search engines and browsers. Read more about it here:
http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/protectip_docs
Both of the above pages have a petition to sign so please do so.
The non-existent tags
weather, knitting, gardening, global warming, environment, politics, Repugs, scumbags, quilting, petitions, CISPA, health, Exxon, oil spills, Monsanto, evil, people, weeds, tar sands, privacy, fish, NASA, computing, technology, photography, fun stuff, GMOs, auctions, archaeology, plastic
Change the world one loan at a time - visit http://www.Kiva.org to find out how