Immigration Talk with a Mexican American: Stars Come Out for President Obama! Ask YOU to VOTE for him too!

Immigration Talk with a Mexican American: Stars Come Out for President Obama! Ask YOU to VOTE for him too!

Will Ferrell, Tom Hanks, Stevie Wonder, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Lopez, George Lopez, Katie Perry, Bruce Springsteen, Ben Affleck, Jessica Alba, Jason Alexander, Alec Baldwin, Antonio Banderas, Angela Bassett, Jim Belushi, Jack Black, Matthew Broderick, James Brolin, Jim Carrey, Chevy Chase, George Clooney, Kevin Costner, Daniel Craig, Russell Crowe, Jamie Lee Curtis, Matt Damon, Rosario Dawson, Robert DeNiro, Danny DeVito, Zooey Deschanel, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Robert Downey Jr,, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Fran Drescher, Hilary Duff, Jesse Eisenberg, Hector Elizondo, Omar Epps, Edie Falco, America Ferrera, Laurence Fishburne, Vivica Fox, Jamie Foxx, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Garner, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Melanie Griffith, Jon Hamm, Mariska Hargitay, Ed Harris, Neil Patrick Harris, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Terence Howard, Samuel Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Don Johnson, Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, James Earl Jones, Ashley Judd, Michael Keaton, Ashton Kutcher, Nathan Lane, Angela Lansbury, John Leguiamo, John Lithgow, Justin Long, Nia Long, Tobey Maguire, Julianna Margulies, Alyssa Milano, Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, Leonard Nimoy, Gwyneth Paltrow, Al Pacino, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kal Penn, Sean Penn, Rhea Perlman, Bernadette Peters, Mekhi Phifer, Oliver Platt, Natalie Portman, Daniel Radcliffe, Robert Redford, Julia Roberts, Adam Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Mark Ruffalo, Susan Sarandon, Tony Shaloub, Martin Sheen, Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Shue, Christian Slater, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Kevin Spacey, Ben Stiller, Sharon Stone, Meryl Streep, Jason Sudeikis, George Takei, Marlo Thomas, Lily Tomlin Mark Wahlberg, Christopher Walken, Denzel Washington, Betty White, Vanessa Williams, Rita Wilson, Reese Witherspoon, Alfre Woodard, Joanne Woodard, Bill Cosby, Margaret Cho, Billy Crystal, Jimmy Fallon, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Harvey, Richard Lewis, Bill Maher, Eddie Murphy, Carl Reiner, Chris Rock, Sinbad, Wanda Sykes, Ellen Degeneres, Jerry Springer, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Tony Bennett, Jon Bon Jovi, Jimmy Buffett, Mariah Carey, Cher, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow, Ice Cybe, Miley Cyrus, Snoop Dog, Gloria Estefan, Aretha Franklin, Peter Frampton, Lady Gaga, Al Green, Cee Lo Green, Merle Haggard, Mick Jagger, Elton John, Quincy Jones, Toby Keith, BB King, Carole King, Beyonce Knowles, Kris Kristofferson, Jay-Z, Cyndi Lauper, John Legend, Madonna, Barry Manilow, Ricky Martin, Dave Matthews, Bette Midler, Nicki Minaj, Pink, Axl Rose, Paul Simon, Barbara Streisand, Justin Timberlake, James Taylor, Usher, Common, Kanye West, will.i.am, Earth Wind & Fire, Foo Fighters, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Maya Angelou, Steven King, Seth MacFarlane, Muhammad Ali, and on and on and on!

Supreme Court denies Ohio request to curtail early voting

Supreme Court denies Ohio request to curtail early voting: (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday denied Ohio's request to curtail early voting in the state leading up to the November 6 presidential election.

Easier as a Latino? Actually...

BlogBlast4Peace 2012

Romney's Bain Selling Out American Workers to China

Harry & David Peanut Butter Caught Up in Sunland Recall

Harry & David Peanut Butter Caught Up in Sunland Recall Sunland Inc. was apparently also making peanut butter products for the popular mail order food company known as Harry and David, LLC.   It joined the peanut butter recall that has been under way since Sept 22 when Trader Joe's recalled its brand made by Portales,NM-based Sunland.

Recalled Harry and David peanut butter brands include 1 these 2 oz. jars all with "Best Buy" dates of 01MAY13 through 24SEPT13:

-Harry & David® Crunchy Almond and Peanut Butter, 

-Harry & David® Creamy Banana Peanut Spread, 

-Harry & David® Creamy Raspberry Peanut Spread,

Also recalled are these multi-component food items containing peanut butter:

-Harry & David® Apple Snack Box, 

-Wolferman's® Bee Sweet Gift Basket, 

-Wolferman's® Hearty Snack Gift Basket, 

-Wolferman's® All-Day Assortment Gift Basket, 

-and Wolferman's® Father's Day Basket. 

Why The New Coronavirus Unnerves Public Health: Remembering SARS | Wired Science | Wired.com

Why The New Coronavirus Unnerves Public Health: Remembering SARS | Wired Science | Wired.com
The concern underlying these developments is that exposure to the new virus seems to have occurred only or primarily in Saudi Arabia, which houses Mecca, the physical heart of Islam — and which, next month, will be the center of the worldwide annual pilgrimage known as the Hajj. The Hajj brings more than 2 million people to the country, in extraordinarily crowded conditions, and when those pilgrims leave, they disperse all over the world.

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Designation of Critical Habitat for Jaguar

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants: Designation of Critical Habitat for Jaguar In total, we propose

to designate as critical habitat approximately 339,220 hectares 
(838,232 acres) in Pima, Santa Cruz, and Cochise Counties, Arizona, and 
Hidalgo County, New Mexico.

Urban Food Week

Urban Food Week UK

The event is a collaboration between restaurant network Ethical Eats; Capital Growth - the campaign to create 2012 new food-growing spaces by 2012; and Capital Bee, which promotes community beekeeping in London. 

Restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs across the capital will be showcasing dishes and drinks made with ultra-local fruit, veg and herbs, and from honey made by bees in community hives. 

Restaurants can choose to ‘adopt a plot’, or ‘adopt a hive’, and build a long-term relationship with their local growing space or beekeeper.  Or they can simply buy produce on an ad hoc basis during Urban Food Week and create some exciting menu specials with it. 

We’ll provide postcards, posters, badges and stickers to promote the week, and talk to the press and generally get the word out via our networks and Twitter etc. 

We’ll also be running a competition to find the best menu special put on during the week, with winners voted by the public. 

Afghan Women's Writing Project | The Window

Afghan Women's Writing Project | The Window

I look from my room’s window
Try to see my future,
I see a long way to go.
Life changes its face as weather changes seasons
Trees lose leaves just as I
lose every day of my life.

I look from my room’s window
and think, “Where did my smile go?
Where has my happiness gone?”
I am strange to myself.
Looking from my room’s window.
I see how my life is passing
But my days and nights the same

Looking from my room’s window,
I am not a child at play anymore
I am not child to have my hand held
I am grown
I have to find my own way
As I look from my room’s window
I think how I will build my future.

by Shogofa

Amazon CARES: Wordless Wednesday: Nuns, Orphans, Rescue Dogs!

Amazon CARES: Wordless Wednesday: Nuns, Orphans, Rescue Dogs!: Mother Superior Maria Jose and a Sister look on with two orphaned girls that reside at their orphanage.  They adopted a pit bull, Sally...

New Baltic bacteria linked to ocean warming | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 25.07.2012

New Baltic bacteria linked to ocean warming | Sci-Tech | DW.DE | 25.07.2012

Vibrio bacteria are usually found in warm waters, but new research has found them in the cold Baltic Sea as a result of rising temperatures. Controlling the spread will be hard.

A team of scientists from Britain, Finland, Spain and the United States says it has the first hard evidence to link rising ocean temperatures in Northern Europe with the emergence of various strains of Vibrio bacteria.

Vibrio bacteria is normally found in warm, tropical marine environments but has been detected in the usually cold Baltic Sea.

It belongs to a group of bacteria which - depending on the strain - can cause gastroenteritis or cholera in humans if raw or undercooked shellfish are consumed, or through exposure to contaminated seawater.

Give a Garden | kidsgardening.org

Give a Garden | kidsgardening.org
Welcome to Give a Garden Initiative brought to you by the National Gardening Association. Together we can change the world, one garden at a time. This is your opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young people as well as in communities everywhere.

Hoop House Training Garden

Hoop House Training Garden

OVERVIEW OF OUTDOOR IDEA

We want to build a hoop house (green house) to support community gardening for children and adults in Hamilton, Ohio. Neighborhood people will help build and learn how to build their own and how to garden for good health, nutrition, and bringing the community together.

THE SPECIFICS: WHAT WILL THE $5,000 FUND?

The $5,000 will pay for materials to build a 40×80 foot hoop house, provide materials to build raised garden boxes inside it, organic planting materials, seeds, a water system, and will pay for water for at least first planting season. Reasonable ($20.00) season fees for using garden boxes and sales of surplus crops will pay for ongoing up keep.

Hoop House Training Garden

Hoop House Training Garden

We want to build a hoop house (green house) to support community gardening for children and adults in Hamilton, Ohio. Neighborhood people will help build and learn how to build their own and how to garden for good health, nutrition, and bringing the community together.

THE SPECIFICS: WHAT WILL THE $5,000 FUND?

The $5,000 will pay for materials to build a 40×80 foot hoop house, provide materials to build raised garden boxes inside it, organic planting materials, seeds, a water system, and will pay for water for at least first planting season. Reasonable ($20.00) season fees for using garden boxes and sales of surplus crops will pay for ongoing up keep.

Visit my project page at http://outdoors.maker.good.is/projects/HUGS and click “Vote for this Idea” to vote for me! Please use either Firefox or Chrome browsers.

If you need to register, please remember to validate your email address (you’ll receive instructions after you vote) so your vote gets counted. You’ll see a notification at the top of the screen once your vote has been successfully counted.

Remember, everyone can only vote once, so be sure to also let your friends know and spread the word!

Voter Protection Unit (VPU) - American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

Voter Protection Unit (VPU) - American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

 ADC Voter Protection Unit (ADC-VPU)

The ADC-VPU was established in October 2008. This special unit is dedicated to protect the Arab and Muslim American communities from attempts at chilling the communitiess‘ right to vote and responding to fear tactics designed to promote hate, division, and hostility against the Arab and Muslim American communities.

How can you volunteer?

ADC-VPU calls for volunteers to make a difference and help protect the rights of all voters. The ADC-VPU needs the assistance of those willing and available to become Election Monitors. Please email your information; including your name, email address, phone number, and voting district to vpu@adc.org. Upon receiving your information a member of the VPU will be in touch with you to explain the process.

Election Monitor District Representative:

• Will serve as the go-to person to election monitors across a voting district.
• Responsible for contacting the City or County Clerk should an issue arise.
• Set schedules across a district and be responsible for strategically placing monitors.
• Responsible for reporting to the ADC-VPU on the day‘s activities.
• Someone familiar with election monitoring, organized, familiar with the voting district.

Election Monitor:

• Primary responsibility will be to ensure the fairness of the election process.
• Will be placed at a polling station by the District Representative.
• Will be given specific instructions on what to look for on Election Day.
• Will be provided instructions on how to report any acts of voter intimidation
• Willing to commit to a 3-4 hour block and have be able to carry out the duties.

IPS – Impure Flows the Ganga | Inter Press Service

IPS – Impure Flows the Ganga | Inter Press Service

“The dams cause an excess of silt deposits upstream, leading to algal growth that changes the character of the water,” he says.

People who live around the confluence of the river with the sea, at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal where the holy river empties into the Bay of Bengal, are extremely concerned about the situation.

“The Ganga Sagar islands, which are already threatened by climate change, are now more vulnerable than ever because there is no longer enough silt in the waters to buttress the landmass,” Singh tells IPS.

He says construction of the Tehri Dam for a hydel project in the Bhagirathi river, one of the Ganga’s two headstreams, has almost killed the river.

“Even the river Alaknanda (the Ganga’s source stream) could (suffer) as a result,” says Singh.

Hoop House Training Garden

Hoop House Training Garden Vote with us to make this happen

Overview of Outdoor Idea

We want to build a hoop house (green house) to support community gardening for children and adults in Hamilton, Ohio. Neighborhood people will help build and learn how to build their own and how to garden for good health, nutrition, and bringing the community together.

The Specifics: What will the $5,000 fund?

The $5,000 will pay for materials to build a 40×80 foot hoop house, provide materials to build raised garden boxes inside it, organic planting materials, seeds, a water system, and will pay for water for at least first planting season. Reasonable ($20.00) season fees for using garden boxes and sales of surplus crops will pay for ongoing up keep.

Eat Drink Better | Humane Egg Production Ruffles Feathers in the House of Representatives | Page: 1 | Eat Drink Better

Eat Drink Better | Humane Egg Production Ruffles Feathers in the House of Representatives | Page: 1 | Eat Drink Better States rights only on stuff that I like - Rep. King?

Representative Steve King of Iowa introduced an amendment to the House version of the Farm Bill which would nullify California’s humane egg production law and the more recent foie gras bill.

Amendment 45 uses the Commerce Clause to deny states the right to regulate agriculture production and sales within their own borders.

The Commerce Clause (Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution) reserves the power “to regulate Commerce … among the several States …” to Congress. Rep. King argues that this means any agricultural product produced in any state can be sold in any state, even if it does not meet minimum standards set by the citizens of a state.

When California enacted a humane egg production law a few years ago, egg producers in the state argued that it would put them at a disadvantage to egg producers who did not have to meet minimum standards in the care of their hens. The California legislature included in the law a stipulation that eggs produced in other states must also meet minimum standards for the care of the hens before they could be sold in California.  The standards had been pushed forward by the United Egg Producers, an industry group which supplies about 95% of the eggs in the United States, and the Humane Society of the United States.

Rep. King’s press release about the amendment says the amendment “…prohibits states from enacting laws that place onerous conditions on the means of production for agricultural goods that are sold within its own borders but are produced in other states.” Allowing hens the room to stretch their wings is considered “onerous” in some circles, but thankfully not all.

Rep. King’s district is in Iowa. The egg farm that had to recall a half billion eggs in 2010 after several hundred Americans fell ill from salmonella is also in Iowa. The humane egg production standards are intended to reduce the likelihood that overcrowded conditions in henhouses will result in another disease outbreak.

Chilean Fish Farms and the Tragedy of the Commons

Chilean Fish Farms and the Tragedy of the Commons

"We blamed the ISA virus on eggs imported from Norway," Alvial says. "But the real problem was overcrowded conditions in our pens. We weren't paying attention to the long term effects of these mega-farms."

Scientists now understand that the oceans are made up of interrelated ecosystems. And any ecosystem has a carrying capacity, an ill-defined capacity for how much life can be sustained by the available food and oxygen.

"It's human nature," Alvial says. "We were so arrogant. This little country in South America showing the world how to build a world class aquaculture system. And we weren't listening to the people who were telling us: You're taking too many risks, not enough research, not enough regulation.

"So it may have started with a single lot of eggs from Norway, or a single boat or a single net... But we can't blame our crisis on a few contaminated eggs. We have to blame it on our lack of knowledge of the carrying capacity."

Fortunately, he says, the same entrepreneurial spirit that built the industry was marshaled to respond to the crisis. "We are a very opportunistic country."