It rained some more last night but we have sun for the moment and I am hoping that it sticks around all day.
Knitting continues on the Foxtrot Veil of Shadows shawl. I have less than 12 rows to complete and I can start the knitted on border. Question is, which border do I want to put on this shawl?
I have to thank the USTA. I can watch/listen to tennis on my computer as I do things in my office. And, it is a much better picture than you get on TV. See:
http://www.usopen.org/index.html It’s the middle of the afternoon and I still have not gotten round to posting this. The errands for the day are done and I would really like to take a nap but alsa I don’t think that is going to happen.
Have a good one!
A Very Good Idea!
Click to view
Go sign the petition:
http://climatenamechange.org/ The Commerce Dept's Internet Policy Task Force proposed making it a felony to stream copyrighted content (aka SOPA Section 201).
Interpreted broadly, this proposal would apply to anyone who uploads a YouTube video of themselves covering a song without permission, a video with copyrighted music playing in the background, even your friend's embarassing karoke performance or your family singing "Happy Birthday To You."
The federal government wants to make streaming -- including material which falls under the "public performance" category -- punishable by years in prison.
As was pointed out last time they tried this, many artists depend on uploading YouTube covers to jumpstart their careers (including the young Justin Beiber...), and many others enjoy streaming creative interpretations of existing songs on their own websites or blogs. This proposal would make both subject to felony prosecution.
Click here to tell Obama NO to making streaming a felony, and NO new SOPA-style censorship:
http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/streaming/?referring_akid=2268.655732.bYRpA8&source=taf Recommended Reading
Remember this from an earlier post?
Well, here is an example of what is happening.
Mummies burn as Egyptian museum latest casualty of turmoil
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4039332-mummies-burn-as-egyptian-museum-latest-casualty-of-turmoil/ Minister said "Threats to vandalise Luxor & Karnak temples, Armoured vehicles stationed for security." Really?! - apparently not
http://luxortimesmagazine.blogspot.nl/2013/08/minister-said-threats-to-vandalise.html Egypt is in a state of turmoil. Life is lost while the people of Egypt continue to fight for democracy and freedom. But while the safety of human life is our first priority, there is another aspect of humanity that we must not forget: Egypt’s cultural heritage. Why? Because “wars end, and shattered lives, communities and societies must be rebuilt.” (Nature, Vol 423, 29 May 2003). In the last few days, the situation has drastically worsened: the Mallawi Museum has been looted, churches are being burned, archaeological sites and museums have been closed indefinitely and the lands surrounding the pyramids at Giza and Dahshur remains peppered with holes dug by looters.
http://www.savingantiquities.org/say-yes-to-egypts-heritage/ From the “You just can’t make this shit up” department
http://gawker.com/lawmaker-leading-call-for-arming-teachers-accidentally-1216609648 LOL
http://gawker.com/a-stoned-sir-patrick-stewart-teaches-his-girlfriend-how-1213919634 Huge canyon discovered under Greenland ice
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23866810 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23887221 US start-up offers grocery deliveries in an hour
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23878173 Intelligence “black budget” reveals vast CIA funding for surveillance, collection
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/29/intelligence_black_budget_reveals_vast_cia_funds_spent_on_surveillance_collection/ "Horton" Hears a Stampeding Judicial Amendment
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18408-horton-hears-a-stampeding-judicial-amendment How the NSA’s boss can believe his agency’s own propaganda
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/23/how-the-nsas-boss-can-believe-his-agencys-own-propaganda/ An NYC High Rise Is Putting In Separate Entrances For Rich And Poor Renters
http://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-high-rise-getting-poor-door-2013-8 A bit of music for you
http://www.youtube.com/luna422422 Blueberries, not fruit juice, cut type-2 diabetes risk
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23880701 Economy Grows Faster Than Expected As GOP Threatens To Derail Recovery - Again
http://www.nationalmemo.com/economy-grows-faster-than-expected-as-gop-threatens-to-derail-recovery-again/ Starbucks Stance On Obamacare-Will You Buy Another Cup Of Coffee? - no
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/27/1234279/-Starbucks-Stance-On-Obamacare-Will-You-Buy-Another-Cup-Of-Coffee?detail=email Yet Another Reason to Kick Shampoo
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/28/1234581/-Yet-Another-Reason-to-Kick-Shampoo?detail=email Republican leaders asked to speak at March on Washington anniversary, declined
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/28/1234584/-Republican-leaders-asked-to-speak-at-March-on-Washington-anniversary-declined?detail=email Pat Robertson accuses gays of wearing special rings to intentionally spread HIV
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/27/1234287/-Pat-Robertson-accuses-gays-of-wearing-special-rings-to-intentionally-spread-HIV?detail=email Judge sentences ex-teacher to 30 years for raping student who killed herself. No wait, 30 DAYS!
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/27/1234215/-Judge-sentences-ex-teacher-to-30-years-for-raping-student-who-killed-herself-No-wait-30-DAYS?detail=email New Neighbor’s Agenda: White Power Takeover
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/us/white-supremacists-plan-angers-a-north-dakota-town.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130830&_r=0 Bruce C. Murray, Who Helped Earth Learn of Mars, Dies at 81
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/science/space/bruce-c-murray-who-helped-earth-learn-of-mars-dies-at-81.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130830&_r=0 Anthony Pawson, Biologist in Cell-Protein Breakthrough, Dies at 60
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/30/world/americas/anthony-pawson-biologist-in-cell-protein-breakthrough-dies-at-60.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130830 More Good News on Health Care: Medicare Costs Are Down, Down, Down
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/08/medicare-costs-down-down-down Why Coca-Cola's New Ad Campaign May Be Dangerous to Your Health
http://www.alternet.org/food/why-coca-colas-new-ad-campaign-may-be-dangerous-your-health?akid=10863.308485.1wIxUb&rd=1&src=newsletter889594&t=4 'Tanned' whales' sun response gives clues to human ageing
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23882667 Why Chicago is 'Stink Onions' in the Atlas of True Names
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23884819 Poet Seamus Heaney dies aged 74
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23898891 Pisces III: A dramatic underwater rescue
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23862359 Fred Stobaugh: Widower's love song makes iTunes top 10
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23897047 George Clooney's spy satellite 'inspired by paparazzi' - a man who puts his money where his mouth is.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23895539 'Hay devil' caught on camera in Hampshire
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-23892142 Molotov cocktails, civil disobedience and middle-class furor: Fracking protests hit Europe
http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/24/20134360-molotov-cocktails-civil-disobedience-and-middle-class-furor-fracking-protests-hit-europe?lite Meet The Defiant Nuns Who Are Taking Names And Fighting Back
http://www.upworthy.com/meet-the-defiant-nuns-who-are-taking-names-and-fighting-back-5?c=upw8 A Funny Look At How One Huge Corporation's Been Fooling Us All Along
http://www.upworthy.com/a-funny-look-at-how-one-huge-corporations-been-fooling-us-all-along-5?c=upw8 APPLY THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR UNITED STATES JUDGES TO THE SUPREME COURT
http://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/tell-supreme-court-justice-john-roberts-apply-a-code-of-conduct-to-the-supreme-court?source=upworthy_email_upworthiest_20130830 Eco-Groups Challenge Obama Administration Over GMO Farming in National Wildlife Refuges
http://truth-out.org/news/item/18493-eco-groups-challenge-obama-administration-over-gmo-farming-in-national-wildlife-refuges Drill next door: Here’s what it looks like when fracking moves in
http://grist.org/article/the-fracking-rig-next-door-photos/ Jim DeMint: Providing Health Care For Seniors And Veterans Is ‘Un-American’ And Grounded In ‘Socialism’
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/08/30/2555561/jim-demint-programs-like-medicare-veterans-health-care-american-grounded-socialism/ White Supremacist Felon Caught With 18 Guns, 45,000 Bullets And A List Of Black & Jewish Leaders
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/08/30/2556291/neo-nazi-felon-stockpiling-guns/ It is best that you watch this:
'We're building a domestic army' -Marine Corps colonel speaks out
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/08/15/1231397/--We-re-building-a-domestic-army-Marine-Corps-Colonel-speaks-out?detail=email ***How Government Cover-Up on Fish Farming Affects Your Health - Canada has a problem. It’s lengthy but worth the watch.
Petitions that need your signature
The USDA is about to slash regulations for poultry plants, saving big corporations millions at the expense of public health and workers’ safety.
If new rules are allowed to go into effect, poultry plants will be able to follow less stringent health and safety rules, speed up their production lines, and police themselves for any violations. That means that chicken will come doused with feces and bleach and that workers will be at greater risk of serious injury.
Now the only person who can reverse these regulations is President Obama. Will you join me in saying that these that these disgusting rules are unacceptable?
http://action.sumofus.org/a/usda-chicken/2/?sub=taf Rep. Darrell Issa is trying to pass a bill that would not only end Saturday delivery by the postal service, but also door-to-door mail service for millions. We must stop this outrageous attempt to kill the USPS and hand its business to FedEx and UPS. Go sign the petition:
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/issa_usps?akid=8606.952925.D3Dc4S&rd=1&t=2 They are at it again
The Texas Taliban - also known as the rightwing majority on the Texas State Board of Education - want to revise the state's standards for science textbooks to require the addition of religious pseudoscience when teaching subjects like biology. And this isn't just bad news for Texas school children because the Texas standards will impact the textbooks used by millions of students nationwide.
Texas may want to dumb-down their children by teaching them pseudoscience but I don’t want the children of my state to be taught this way. Tell textbook publishers to stand up to the Texas Taliban and only publish books that are based on sound, peer-reviewed science scholarship. Click the link below to sign the petition automatically:
http://act.credoaction.com/sign/texas_taliban/?sp_ref=7570952.4.422.e.0.2&referring_akid=8622.952925.lJjLf7&source=mailto_sp 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 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 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_docsBoth of the above pages have a petition to sign so please do so.
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