Sunday, October 31, 2010

The Polar Bears: aka John Lennon's Give Peace a Chance

Cool and timely!

Amplify’d from mimiwrites.blogspot.com

Wait A Minute! Do I Hear Bears Singing?




So I'm sitting here minding my own business this Sunday afternoon when suddenly I hear....Lennon? Yes. It was definitely Lennon. I looked up to see a team of polar bears, one wearing sunglasses, singing "Give Peace A Chance" on YouTube!  It was incredible. They were in tune and everything!

See more at mimiwrites.blogspot.com
 

Friday, October 29, 2010

Private Prison Profit Reason for Arizona Illegal Alien Law

The current Governor has really close ties to private prison companies. What better way to up profits than by putting more people in detention. As usual - follow the money and you will find the stink. Race bait voters so you can get money from filling up private jails that are paid with your tax dollars!

Amplify’d from bsnorrell.blogspot.com


Tucson Hearing Puts Spotlight on Private Prisons in Arizona

Tucson Hearing Puts Spotlight on Private Prisons in Arizona
From Mike Wilson of the Tohono O’odham Nation to Joe Glen of the Maricopa & Pima Juvenile Corrections Associations, the theme was the same: Companies such as Corrections Corporation of America, Management Training Corporation, and the GEO group consistently focus on profit over safety and rehabilitation of those who are incarcerated in their facilities.

Coming directly on the heels of the Tucson Hearing was a scathing report from National Public Radio exposing the influence that private prison corporations had in the development of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, SB1070. Corrections Corporation of America, which holds contracts with the federal government to incarcerate immigrants, was a key player in creating a law that would increase the number of immigrants in detention, thus representing the potential for tremendous corporate profits. The report describes how a shadowy organization called ALEC provided opportunities for corporations to meet with state legislators to draft model legislation, which those legislators later took back to their states.Read more at bsnorrell.blogspot.com
 

Intel to California workers - who needs you! Opens biggest plant in Vietnam.

Shame and loyalty to California workers, voters, consumer - naw! Loyalty does not compute for Intel!

Amplify’d from www.straitstimes.com



Intel opens its biggest plant

Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini speaks during a news conference in Taipei. -- PHOTO: REUTERS

HANOI - US-BASED chip maker Intel on Friday opened in Vietnam US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) assembly and test facility billed as the company's biggest.

Read more at www.straitstimes.com
 

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Fear - the dark corner in this Afghan woman's mind and heart

Let's hope her brave poetry helps her and does not end up costing her, her life - as it could in her land.

Amplify’d from www.awwproject.org

Whenever…







Whenever the door of my heart begins to open

Something closes it with fear.

Whenever I try to fly free and high

Something covers my wings before I can try.

Whenever it is time to speak up

Something seizes my words.

Whenever the past is about to be forgotten

Something reminds me of it over and over.

Whenever I can take a step forward

Something pulls me in reverse.

Whenever I can try a new endeavor

Something draws me back to the old.

Whenever I have a new idea

Something destroys it to the marrow.

Whenever my accomplishments blossom

Something keeps them captured.

Whenever more can be written

Something prevents me to continue.

Whenever I say enough is enough

Something says it will never be enough.

When will I find out what this

Something is?


by Meena Z.

See more at www.awwproject.org
 

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Oops! Covered up admission of Alaska Senate candidate lies uncovered

Not a good time for the truth to come out for him but maybe good for Alaska - but who knows; they may want to elect a good liar - it is their call.

Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk

Revelations that Joe Miller altered files on colleagues' computers put safe Republican seat in jeopardy

tea-party-senate-scandal
Miller, in personnel files released late on Tuesday, admitted lying about the computer scandal.
In a memo at the time to his then boss, another lawyer, Rene Broker, Miller said: "I lied about accessing all of the computers. I then admitted about accessing the computers, but lied about what I was doing. Finally, I admitted what I did."Read more at www.guardian.co.uk
 

Some days, an Afghan woman tells us, even your skin does not fit right

Poems are like the blues - they let you get it all out and at the same time share it with others who feel the same and let them release their hurt as well. Well done.

Amplify’d from www.awwproject.org

No One…







No one knows how it feels to be so sad

No one knows how it hurts to live so alone

To walk on a dark path

No one sees when your heart is broken

No one cares if you have pain

When your dreams are taken

No one takes your hand when you are fallen

No one knows how you are

exhausted of living

or listens if you cry, “the world is selfish!”

No one loves a mad girl

No one wants a sad girl

No one cares if the cruelty doesn’t finish


By Shafiqa

See more at www.awwproject.org
 

Monday, October 25, 2010

Nevada's Angle Takes Lessons from the Racist George Wallace of Old.

She'll not be outdone, it seems, in slamming Latinos and anyone she can smear for thinking they are as human as Anglos.

Amplify’d from www.latinalista.net
Latina Lista

Latest political ad by Nev. GOP Angle slanders all Latinos -- she should be sued!

One of the highly objectionable lines in the ad says that "waves of illegal aliens are streaming across our border joining violent gangs and forcing families to live in fear."



Every picture of these "illegal aliens" is one showing Latino youth. The family living in fear is Anglo.

The insinuations and implications made in this ad are not just highly insulting -- they're slanderous.
See more at www.latinalista.net
 

Friday, October 22, 2010

Will we raise up a new fear mongering Un-American Activities Hearings As We Did in 1950s?

It was a strange time - one that some today would like to start again. Fear of others, is a great way to keep people's eyes off the fact that you are shipping their jobs overseas, or moving to make this or that group second-class citizens. Keep your eyes and ears open.

Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk





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British Pathé archive: Ronald Reagan testifies at the House Un-American Activities Committee

Hollywood stars - including future president Ronald Reagan - give testimony before the anti-communist House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947. It was chaired by J Parnell Thomas, who would later be convicted for fraud

Read more at www.guardian.co.uk
 

Aussie Environmental Management - Oops! 400 Birds Mistakenly Poisoned

To be fair Aussies are not the only environmental managers they mess up but you'd think with such a long history with it they get things right more often - Not!

Amplify’d from www.abc.net.au

Poison baits kill over 400 Macquarie Island birds

Baits have killed 431 birds, including southern giant petrels (pictured).

Two months ago Parks and Wildlife admitted 300 birds had been killed after being exposed to poison pellets.


The baits were laid as part of a $24 million bid to rid the island of rats, rabbits and mice.

Read more at www.abc.net.au
 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Uganda Still Hatefilled After Years of War, Dictatorship and Children Soldiers

Really sickening, as it is everywhere. Love is the answer.

Amplify’d from feministing.com

Ugandan hit list further confirms an age of rampant homophobia

If one needs more evidence beyond teen suicides and the uphill DADT battle to realize that the state of rampant, unchecked homophobia is at an all-time high, check out this recent issue of the Ugandan Rolling Stone Newspaper:

See more at feministing.com
 

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Millennial women: Anna Quindlen says: You go!

Amplify’d from feministing.com

Anna Quindlen on young women and feminism

Woodruff asked Quindlen if she was concerned that young women today didn’t acknowledge the progress that had been made before them
“I don’t want to hear anyone talk about how young women today aren’t this or that. Millennial women are the coolest, most capable, most together women ever.”

So there you have it, young feminists and young, supposedly complacent women: Anna Quindlen’s got your back.

Read more at feministing.com
 

Monday, October 18, 2010

Profit first = children at risk and injured

Parents - stop trusting toy manufacturers to care about your kids before their profits.

Amplify’d from www.cpsc.gov
Bathtub Toys Recalled by Munchkin Due to Risk of Injury
Incidents/Injuries: CPSC and the company are aware of 19 incidents of lacerations to boys' genital area. One of the incidents required medical attention.
Recalled bathtub toy
See more at www.cpsc.gov
 

Industrial-Agriculture Monopolists (Oligopoly) Rig Market - Hunger is the Result

Amplify’d from ipsnews.net
'Food Empires Creating Agricultural Crisis'
UTRECHT, The Netherlands, Oct 18, 2010 (IPS) - Forget speculators, forget biofuel farmers. The real cause behind the permanent
food and agricultural crisis is the imperial food regime, squeezing money out of
agriculture, a Dutch professor says.
Where does the difference go to? "To food empires," Van der Ploeg says. "The
market is more and more dominated by industrial trade conglomerates, like
Ahold, Nestle, Cargill, and many more, governing production, processing,
distribution and consumption of food. Those empires are able to manipulate
markets and squeeze wealth out of agriculture. In this regime, small
disequilibria in the markets translate into huge price fluctuations."
Read more at ipsnews.net
 

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Bizzare - Children's "spa" bubble thing explodes - not supposed to!

Amplify’d from www.cpsc.gov
Additional Injuries
Spa Factory™ Aromatherapy Kits Due to Explosion and Projectile Hazards
recall of 516,000 Spa Factory™ Aromatherapy Fountain & Bath Benefits Kits.
13 injuries to children. Since that time, CPSC has received 12 additional reports of exploding unvented jars of JAKKS� Bath Bombs/Balls or Bath Fizzies, including 13 additional reported injuries.
Picture of Recalled Spa Fantasy Aromatherapy Fountain
See more at www.cpsc.gov
 

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Lover's Bench Recalled Safety Hazard Cited - Grin

Not falling in love but falling on butt - grin. Just had to share it.

Amplify’d from www.cpsc.gov
Bench
Recalled Due to Fall Hazard
Hazard: The bench may tip over when only one person is seated on it. This could pose a fall hazard to consumers.
Incidents/Injuries: Ross has received two reports of the bench tipping over. No injuries have been reported.Read more at www.cpsc.gov
 

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Arizona Sheriff Believes "HE" is the law

Ever wonder how low things can get when you start race and ethnic cleansing raids.

Amplify’d from www.latinalista.net
Latina Lista

Arpaio continues to push the bounds of law versus lawlessness

arpaio2.jpg

Yesterday, Arpaio conducted a work site raid where he arrested 14 people at the Prime Cut Meat & Seafood Co., a Phoenix meat packing business. Five of those people were accused of using false IDs.

According to Arpaio, the undocumented immigrants he arrested were taking jobs U.S. citizens could have. In other words, he's implying that he's doing a favor for the city's unemployed.

Yet, in the hours after the raid, about 80 people showed up to fill the vacancies -- the vast majority of them were Latino according to Poppen.

Read more at www.latinalista.net
 

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

No ready for prime time Paladino

Amplify’d from gothamist.com

Video: Paladino Says "Fuck 'Em" To Having NYC Terror Trial

According to National Journal, the questioner says, "If you were the chief executive of New York, what would your response be to the attorney general of the United States deciding to hold terrorist trials in Manhattan?" Paladino answered, "Fuck him. Fuck him." WAtch the video—the question is at about the 2:10 mark.

Read more at gothamist.com
 

The deepest yearning: to be accepted just for being me

Hiding what/who you are can kill the spirit, or it can inspire you to a most powerful revolutionary way of life - as this woman has chosen in Afghanistan.

Amplify’d from www.awwproject.org

Read My Poems on the Reddish Stream of My Blood

What does it mean to be an Afghan woman?

Hmm, I know you can’t provide me with an elegant answer so

Just give me the pen, the hidden pen

So that I can write, that is all I am asking for!
My eyes will read my environment; my brain will save the details,

and I will write with the hidden pen on the chambers of my heart,

so that when I am caught and executed,

By Emaan

Read more at www.awwproject.org
 

Monday, October 11, 2010

Excesses by Homeland Security and headline writer of Christian Science Monitor

Mobile X-ray trucks deployed for anti-terror use and then tested at random and used to find drugs is dumb and a boys-with-toys approach to what ought to be serious work. The headline designed to feed fear and conspiracy nuts is just sort of unbelievable by the Christian Science Monitor. Shows how much do/say anything to get noticed has infect American culture. Shame enough to go around here - don't you think?

Amplify’d from www.csmonitor.com

'Feds radiating Americans'? Mobile X-ray vans hit US streets


As an antiterror measure, the US government has deployed mobile X-ray technology to randomly scan cars and trucks. But the measure is riling privacy proponents.

On Tuesday, a counterterror operation snarled truck traffic on I-20 near Atlanta, where Department of Homeland Security teams used mobile X-ray technology to check the contents of truck trailers. Authorities said the inspections weren't prompted by any specific threat.

Read more at www.csmonitor.com
 

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Art you enter into - Leslie Huppert

Leslie, I met during a project of hers called The Robe. Using burgeoning e-mail networks in 1987, she gathered together people to submit bits of cloth and clothing and the stories that went with them for a 10 meter tall "robe" that people could enter into and experience the spirit of those who contributed to it. A "real" story board - grin. The Hut is a project follwing similar thoughts and based on her experience with Namibia, I believe. I don't read German, so our German speakers will have to help out here if it will help and they are interested.

Amplify’d from www.leslie-huppert.de
The herero hut

Während des internationalen Workshops in Okakarara habe ich eine weitere Version von ‚Home sweet home‘ in einer alten Lehmhütte umsetzen können. Hierbei habe ich den Küchentrakt unseres Aufenthaltsortes gezeichnet und auf die Innenwand der Hütte malerisch übertragen und dabei mehrere Personen schemenhaft eingebunden. Über den Köpfen der Personen schweben Worte in Oshi-Herero, die deren Hoffnungen, Ängste,

Wünsche und Erfahrungen widerspiegeln. Am Boden in der Mitte der Hütte war ein Video einer Autofahrt zum Waterberg zu sehen und des Weiteren das Melken einer Kuh. Beide Elemente sind sehr wichtig für die Herero.
See more at www.leslie-huppert.de
 

Friday, October 08, 2010

Yo candidates! Truth, these days, is smarter than lying.

Someone is going to check nearly everything you say, or in this case wave. If you have a list, show the list. If you do not have it sit down and be quiet!

Amplify’d from www.inthesetimes.com
The state’s Republican candidate for governor waves a bogus list
“These are the 780 individuals that are on that list.
the papers he brandished were not what the candidate claimed
It was not a list. It was simply a printout explaining state statutes.Read more at www.inthesetimes.com
 

For tomorrow - Happy Birthday John! http://amplify.com/u/c3dp

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Fundamentalist terror will someday unite us all?

Fundamentalism in many religions and ultra-nationalists alike believe they know what is best for all of us - they are wrong.


Attack on Karachi Sufi Shrine (Developing Story)

BBC News cited President Zardari who said the attack occurred when people gathered to hand out food to the poor. Read more at changinguppakistan.wordpress.com
 

Tiene hambre? Hungry? Viva Mexico!

Corn, beans, peppers and much imagination makes for eating delights!

Amplify’d from globalvoicesonline.org



Mexican Cuisine Declared Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO

Do you know anybody who does not know what enchiladas are? Or someone who has never had tacos or any other type of Mexican food? Mexican cuisine is well known for its variety of flavors and colors, and for its combination of different spices and unique ingredients. Traditional Mexican food is based on corn, beans and different types of chili peppers.

See more at globalvoicesonline.org
 

Job Tracker: Who is exporting US jobs

Handy dandy way to check facts. There is no natural law that says you have to export jobs to stay in business - grin - except the law of greed. And there are examples of companies that care enough about their workers to say no to a short term increase in net profit by firing their current workforce. For those with short memories - the steelworkers and autoworkers of the 1960s and 1970s are the ones who built the foundation for today's economy. Now their kids and grandkids are getting the bums rush from the Walmarts and GMs of America. So, if you care and want the facts of who is doing what - here is a source.


Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Opera browser now works again for my Mac! It is so fast and lovely - thanks Opera! http://amplify.com/u/bye5

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Tears, Fears, Sadness, Rage; yet still... Hope.


a broken heart..and a hope that refuses to die

i am actually writing under the saddest of circumstances.
you all know Israel and Palestine are in the midst of peace talks. yes, peace talks. sounds like a joke, doesn't it?
i have a good friend
a Palestinian peace activist
when hamas took over Gaza, his life was in danger. he escaped
but.... his brother and mother were left behind.
his brother was arrested by hamas
a few days ago
40 people,
are to be given a "fair trial", and executed
my friend's brother was on the list
"brave" leaders of Israel and Palestine....work it out already!!!! if he is do die, let it not be in vain!!!!!!

with my deepest wish for better days,
a heartbroken Noa
Read more at noa-the-singer.blogspot.com
 

UK Support Global Fund in Aids fight!

Amplify’d from www.guardian.co.uk

The UK must increase its support for the Global Fund's battle against Aids

Hope is not such a popular word these days. As budgets are cut and belts are tightened, grand ambitions and aspirations – particularly when it comes to tackling the global Aids problem – have been squeezed out.

If this is the case, the UK must send a signal to the rest of the world that this is not a retreat from our commitment to the Global Fund.
Annie Lennox is the founder of the SING Campaign, which works with Comic Relief to tackle HIV. She is also a goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS, which operates as a technical adviser to Global Fund grant applicants.Read more at www.guardian.co.uk
 

Monday, October 04, 2010

Settler Terrorists should be policed and not answered in kind

All terrorists, not just settler terrorists, read from the same book and hope that their targets over-react to gain them new recruits and to strike fear into those who just want to live their lives in peace. They should be hunted down, arrested, tried, and imprisoned as the criminals against humanity that they are.

Settlers Torch Another West Bank Mosque

Torched mosque of Beit Fajjar

Not to be outdone by the magnificent handiwork of their settler colleagues of Yizhar, who burned down a nearby mosque several months ago, residents of Gush Etzion torched the mosque of Beit Fajjar, a village near Bethlehem.  Haaretz calls this a “price tag” action by settlers warning the Israeli public of their displeasure with the prospect that Bibi Netanyahu’s government might contemplate renewing the settlement freeze.

Read more at www.richardsilverstein.com
 

Friday, October 01, 2010

You Go Meryl! Senators Demint and Coburn - Get a Life!

A museum celebrating women's contribution to history - YES!

Amplify’d from feministing.com

What Does Meryl Streep have in common with the Tea Party?

PhotobucketThat they both have their eyes on a women’s history museum to be built in Washington D.C. — but with entirely different intentions. Streep recently held a gala raising funds as well as pledged $1 million dollars to help create the the building, while Tea Party Republicans and general misogynists Senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn are intent on making sure the museum is never built.

Read more at feministing.com
 

Sky Doesn't Fall - Ho Hum - Gitmo Trial in NYC

Who says USA can handle terror cases as crimes? Nobody in NYC anymore, it seems.

Amplify’d from www.humanrightsfirst.org

Terrorism Trial in New York City: Keep America Afraid Goes to the Scene

The debate around bringing terrorists to justice has brought out threats of panic and destruction from fear mongers distorting the facts.

Meanwhile, a suspected Al Qaeda terrorist and former Guantánamo detainee is on trial in a U.S. federal court in New York City.

Read more at www.humanrightsfirst.org
 

Liffey Face 1968 film - 26 minutes

"Liffey Faces" a 26min film, made by the Guinness Film Society's Film Group in the Summer of 1968.



It traces a little boys lost sailing boat as it makes its way from the source of the River Liffey to the sea at Dublin Bay, encountering many activities, known to Dubliners everywhere.

Amplify’d from www.vimeo.com
"Liffey Faces" a 26min film, made by the Guinness Film Society's Film Group in the Summer of 1968.



It traces a little boys lost sailing boat as it makes its way from the source of the River Liffey to the sea at Dublin Bay, encountering many activities, known to Dubliners everywhere. Released in Spring 1969,the film credits briefly:
See more at www.vimeo.com