June 15th
We have sun today, thank goodness.
Beaded knitting continues. I found a mistake last night - luckily before I got too far down the row. Fixed it and continued on.
I have felt like I have a case of tinnitus lately. That, or I’m living in a bas 50s Sci-fi movie. The noise of the cicadas sounds like a hovering spacecraft in an old film. :)
It is laundry weekend so I had better get moving and throw the first of three loads into the washer. Have a good one!
Petitions
The Mind Your Own Business Act
http://mindyourownbusinessact.com/?source=Jun13Email
America's top grocers are selling fake honey containing carcinogens, heavy metals, and banned antibiotics.
Get grocers to make sure they're selling us the real thing.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/honey-fake-walgreens/4/2/?akid=1806.65932.QE7P4I&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=3
Tell you Senators to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/monsanto_protection_act
This week, House Republicans are putting forward a bill called the "Northern Route Approval Act." This bill overrides the President's authority to make decisions on the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Whatever you think about the Keystone Pipeline, this bill is blatantly unconstitutional. The Constitution provides for a legislative branch, which creates legislation -- laws of general application. It also provides for an executive branch, which executes the laws. This is known as the separation of powers. The bill that the Republicans are putting forward is a clear violation of this principle.
The bill does one more thing: it bestows special favors on a foreign oil company, TransCanada. It lets the corporation build the Keystone XL pipeline without going through normal government approval processes, and even gives TransCanada a free right-of-way worth millions of dollars. House Republicans have said they want to get rid of Congressional earmarks. Yet here they are, bestowing an earmark anyway.
Read Grayson’s letter:
http://graysonforcongress.com/sites/default/files/LettertoSpeaker5-21-13.pdf
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.
Thousands gather for flashmob picnic outside the Louvre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22911613
Kenya's Maasai cricketers aiming for Lords
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22910583
Hate camping on the cold and soggy ground? Try the Tree Tent
http://www.industrytap.com/hate-camping-on-the-cold-and-soggy-ground-try-the-tree-tent/2489
26 Members of Congress to Live Off Food Stamp Budget to Protest Cuts
http://www.alternet.org/hard-times-usa/26-members-congress-live-food-stamp-budget-protest-cuts?akid=10573.204376.UTdEsq&rd=1&src=newsletter855250&t=5
Fraternity Prank Made African American Mail Carrier Haul 79 Boxes Labelled "F*ggot N*gger" Backward If I were UofC I shut down the frat.
http://www.alternet.org/culture/fraternity-prank-made-african-american-mail-carrier-haul-79-boxes-labelled-fggot-ngger?akid=10573.204376.UTdEsq&rd=1&src=newsletter855250&t=3
After Man Was Beaten into Coma by Border Patrol, His Wife Stops His Deportation from Hospital
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/6/13/video_after_husband_was_beaten_into_coma_by_border_patrol_wife_stops_his_deportation_from_hospital
Why Elizabeth Warren’s Plan For Student Debt is an Economic Breakthrough
http://www.alternet.org/economy/elizabeth-warren-and-student-debt?akid=10573.204376.UTdEsq&rd=1&src=newsletter855250&t=17
Rubio Says It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/06/13/2153451/rubio-enda/
Spurs Answer Racist Response To Latino National Anthem Singer By Letting Him Sing Again -:) well done kiddo!
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/06/14/2158771/spurs-answer-racist-response-to-latino-national-anthem-singer-by-letting-him-sing-again/
Cuteness
KAPOW: Oprah Just Bit The Head Off Of The Anti-Gay-Marriage Bat
http://www.upworthy.com/kapow-oprah-just-bit-the-head-off-of-the-anti-gay-marriage-bat?c=upw10
Rare Przewalski horses return to their native habitat - cool.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-22907581
Film Review - the week's new releases
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22913638
Vows: Master of Ceremonies
http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/02/14/fashion/100000002065963/vows-manhattan-marriage-bureau.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130615?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130615
Major Push to End Sexual Assault Epidemic in Military Turned Back in Senate
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/military-sexual-assault-prosecution-should-be-moved-chain-command?akid=10577.204376.aluInR&rd=1&src=newsletter855530&t=5
On Prism, partisanship and propaganda
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/14/nsa-partisanship-propaganda-prism
First slime mold of the year!
http://urbpan.livejournal.com/1486654.html
The Constitutional Amnesia of the NSA Snooping Scandal
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113424/nsa-snooping-scandal-reveals-our-constitutional-amnesia
What's On the Other 37 PRISM Slides?
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/06/whats-other-37-prism-slides
Phone boxes: Do we really need them?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22917038
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, tar sands, poverty, privacy, GMOs, fish, fracking, food, health, technology, cricket, racism, police, cuteness, animals, slime mold
Change the world one loan at a time - visit http://www.Kiva.org to find out how
Beaded knitting continues. I found a mistake last night - luckily before I got too far down the row. Fixed it and continued on.
I have felt like I have a case of tinnitus lately. That, or I’m living in a bas 50s Sci-fi movie. The noise of the cicadas sounds like a hovering spacecraft in an old film. :)
It is laundry weekend so I had better get moving and throw the first of three loads into the washer. Have a good one!
Petitions
The Mind Your Own Business Act
http://mindyourownbusinessact.com/?source=Jun13Email
America's top grocers are selling fake honey containing carcinogens, heavy metals, and banned antibiotics.
Get grocers to make sure they're selling us the real thing.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/honey-fake-walgreens/4/2/?akid=1806.65932.QE7P4I&rd=1&sub=fwd&t=3
Tell you Senators to repeal the Monsanto Protection Act
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/monsanto_protection_act
This week, House Republicans are putting forward a bill called the "Northern Route Approval Act." This bill overrides the President's authority to make decisions on the Keystone XL Pipeline.
Whatever you think about the Keystone Pipeline, this bill is blatantly unconstitutional. The Constitution provides for a legislative branch, which creates legislation -- laws of general application. It also provides for an executive branch, which executes the laws. This is known as the separation of powers. The bill that the Republicans are putting forward is a clear violation of this principle.
The bill does one more thing: it bestows special favors on a foreign oil company, TransCanada. It lets the corporation build the Keystone XL pipeline without going through normal government approval processes, and even gives TransCanada a free right-of-way worth millions of dollars. House Republicans have said they want to get rid of Congressional earmarks. Yet here they are, bestowing an earmark anyway.
Read Grayson’s letter:
http://graysonforcongress.com/sites/default/files/LettertoSpeaker5-21-13.pdf
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.
Thousands gather for flashmob picnic outside the Louvre
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22911613
Kenya's Maasai cricketers aiming for Lords
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-22910583
Hate camping on the cold and soggy ground? Try the Tree Tent
http://www.industrytap.com/hate-camping-on-the-cold-and-soggy-ground-try-the-tree-tent/2489
26 Members of Congress to Live Off Food Stamp Budget to Protest Cuts
http://www.alternet.org/hard-times-usa/26-members-congress-live-food-stamp-budget-protest-cuts?akid=10573.204376.UTdEsq&rd=1&src=newsletter855250&t=5
Fraternity Prank Made African American Mail Carrier Haul 79 Boxes Labelled "F*ggot N*gger" Backward If I were UofC I shut down the frat.
http://www.alternet.org/culture/fraternity-prank-made-african-american-mail-carrier-haul-79-boxes-labelled-fggot-ngger?akid=10573.204376.UTdEsq&rd=1&src=newsletter855250&t=3
After Man Was Beaten into Coma by Border Patrol, His Wife Stops His Deportation from Hospital
http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/6/13/video_after_husband_was_beaten_into_coma_by_border_patrol_wife_stops_his_deportation_from_hospital
Why Elizabeth Warren’s Plan For Student Debt is an Economic Breakthrough
http://www.alternet.org/economy/elizabeth-warren-and-student-debt?akid=10573.204376.UTdEsq&rd=1&src=newsletter855250&t=17
Rubio Says It Should Be Legal To Fire Someone For Being Gay
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2013/06/13/2153451/rubio-enda/
Spurs Answer Racist Response To Latino National Anthem Singer By Letting Him Sing Again -:) well done kiddo!
http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2013/06/14/2158771/spurs-answer-racist-response-to-latino-national-anthem-singer-by-letting-him-sing-again/
Cuteness
Click to viewKAPOW: Oprah Just Bit The Head Off Of The Anti-Gay-Marriage Bat
http://www.upworthy.com/kapow-oprah-just-bit-the-head-off-of-the-anti-gay-marriage-bat?c=upw10
Rare Przewalski horses return to their native habitat - cool.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-22907581
Film Review - the week's new releases
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-22913638
Vows: Master of Ceremonies
http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/02/14/fashion/100000002065963/vows-manhattan-marriage-bureau.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130615?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130615
Major Push to End Sexual Assault Epidemic in Military Turned Back in Senate
http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/military-sexual-assault-prosecution-should-be-moved-chain-command?akid=10577.204376.aluInR&rd=1&src=newsletter855530&t=5
On Prism, partisanship and propaganda
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/14/nsa-partisanship-propaganda-prism
First slime mold of the year!
http://urbpan.livejournal.com/1486654.html
The Constitutional Amnesia of the NSA Snooping Scandal
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/113424/nsa-snooping-scandal-reveals-our-constitutional-amnesia
What's On the Other 37 PRISM Slides?
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/06/whats-other-37-prism-slides
Phone boxes: Do we really need them?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22917038
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, tar sands, poverty, privacy, GMOs, fish, fracking, food, health, technology, cricket, racism, police, cuteness, animals, slime mold
Change the world one loan at a time - visit http://www.Kiva.org to find out how