30 April 2006
A politician's job and life are separate
An article published on the BBC website today discussed deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's affair with civil servant Tracy Temple. It reminded me of the Clinton scandle. And I feel the same way about both. I don't think that how a politician spends his or her time outside of the job should be discussed or critized at all. Their job in office is what matters. Yes, Bill had "sexual relations" with Monica, but the United States also had a surplus budget. You don't see that now, do you? All that matters is a person's ability to take care of the people of whom they are serving.
27 April 2006
Army Times poll says bye bye Rummy
Taken from AlterNet, written by Evan Derkacz, April 26th 2006 www.alternet.org/
In a thoroughly unscientific poll on the Army Times website, found by Raw Story, responders have voted 2 to 1 in favor of dumping the man widely seen as the architect of the Iraq War -- if it could be said to have structure, that is.
The question was as follows:
"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has come under fire in recent weeks from a variety of retired generals, who say he should resign for his performance in managing the war in Iraq. Do you think the U.S. war effort is grounds for Secretary Rumsfeld to resign?"
When I clicked through to the Army Times page I found this advertisement occupying the middle of the page. I doubt it needs much commentary:
21 April 2006
Here's a pic I found on Myspace Quizzer. I thought it was pretty cool. It actually reminded me a bit of some pictures my dad fowarded me a few days ago. I'll post those too.
Here are the ones by artist Julian Beever. He specializes in sidewalk art. It's so cool. Here's the pics:
Are you now wondering how this guy does it? The next two pictures will give you a hint: 
Here are the ones by artist Julian Beever. He specializes in sidewalk art. It's so cool. Here's the pics:
Are you now wondering how this guy does it? The next two pictures will give you a hint: 
20 April 2006
This Talks For Itself
Taken from Vanity Fair, April 2006:
"The Pentagon has also found a novel way of recovering some of the $240 billion it has spent to fight its losing war in Iraq: charge soldiers for gear destroyed in battle. First Lieutenant Willaim "Eddie" Rebrook IV, a 25-year-old West Virginian, found out about this new military income stream the hard way. He was riding in the turret of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle last year when it was hit by a roadside bomb. Rebrook's right arm was wounded and he was picked up by a Black Hawk helicopter and taken to a combat hospital in Baghdad. When he turned his gear in early this year, prior to heading home, he was ordered to pay nearly $700 for the equipment that was destroyed in the attack, including $570 for the Kevlar vest he had been wearing. Not really knowing what to do, Rebrook borrowed the money from his pals in the First Cavalry Division and paid the U.S. Army. When WKWS, a local Charleston, West Virginia, radio station, reported the story, donations flooded in - more than 200 of them, according to americablog, for a total of $5,400. Rebrook, who graduated with honors from West Point, ins't keeping the money. He's giving some of it to the mother of a soldier who helped save his life in Iraq; her house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The rest, he's giving to charity.
"The Pentagon has also found a novel way of recovering some of the $240 billion it has spent to fight its losing war in Iraq: charge soldiers for gear destroyed in battle. First Lieutenant Willaim "Eddie" Rebrook IV, a 25-year-old West Virginian, found out about this new military income stream the hard way. He was riding in the turret of a Bradley Fighting Vehicle last year when it was hit by a roadside bomb. Rebrook's right arm was wounded and he was picked up by a Black Hawk helicopter and taken to a combat hospital in Baghdad. When he turned his gear in early this year, prior to heading home, he was ordered to pay nearly $700 for the equipment that was destroyed in the attack, including $570 for the Kevlar vest he had been wearing. Not really knowing what to do, Rebrook borrowed the money from his pals in the First Cavalry Division and paid the U.S. Army. When WKWS, a local Charleston, West Virginia, radio station, reported the story, donations flooded in - more than 200 of them, according to americablog, for a total of $5,400. Rebrook, who graduated with honors from West Point, ins't keeping the money. He's giving some of it to the mother of a soldier who helped save his life in Iraq; her house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The rest, he's giving to charity.
Spectacular Canadian Architecture
I was glancing through the entries of Luxist (http://www.luxist.com ) when I saw a picture of this awesome building. It's located near Toronto, at a place called Mississauga, Ontario. It was built by Beijing-based MAD Architectural Design Studio. It's not built quite yet, but will be fully completed by 2010. Isn't it gorgeous?
18 April 2006
Harry Taylor is my hero
Harry Taylor vs. President Bush.
Q: You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are –
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what’s your question?
Q: Okay, I don’t have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I — in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and –
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec — let him speak.
Q:And I would hope — I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I’m saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.
THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)
Q: And I know that this doesn’t come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.
THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate –
Q: I don’t have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it, thank you. Let me –
Q: Can I ask a question?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m going to start off with what you first said, if you don’t mind, you said that I tap your phones — I think that’s what you said. You tapped your phone — I tapped your phones. Yes. No, that’s right. Yes, no, let me finish.
I’d like to describe that decision I made about protecting this country. You can come to whatever conclusion you want. The conclusion is I’m not going to apologize for what I did on the terrorist surveillance program, and I’ll tell you why. We were accused in Washington, D.C. of not connecting the dots, that we didn’t do everything we could to protect you or others from the attack. And so I called in the people responsible for helping to protect the American people and the homeland. I said, is there anything more we could do.
And there — out of this national — NSA came the recommendation that it would make sense for us to listen to a call outside the country, inside the country from al Qaeda or suspected al Qaeda in order to have real-time information from which to possibly prevent an attack. I thought that made sense, so long as it was constitutional. Now, you may not agree with the constitutional assessment given to me by lawyers — and we’ve got plenty of them in Washington — but they made this assessment that it was constitutional for me to make that decision.
I then, sir, took that decision to members of the United States Congress from both political parties and briefed them on the decision that was made in order to protect the American people. And so members of both parties, both chambers, were fully aware of a program intended to know whether or not al Qaeda was calling in or calling out of the country. It seems like — to make sense, if we’re at war, we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution, on a very limited basis, a program that’s reviewed constantly to protect us.
Now, you and I have a different — of agreement on what is needed to be protected. But you said, would I apologize for that? The answer — answer is, absolutely not. (Applause.)
Q: You never stop talking about freedom, and I appreciate that. But while I listen to you talk about freedom, I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without charges, to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you’d like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf. You are –
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not your favorite guy. Go ahead. (Laughter and applause.) Go on, what’s your question?
Q: Okay, I don’t have a question. What I wanted to say to you is that I — in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and –
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Booo!
THE PRESIDENT: No, wait a sec — let him speak.
Q:And I would hope — I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I’m saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.
THE PRESIDENT: It is, yes. (Applause.)
Q: And I know that this doesn’t come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that.
THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate –
Q: I don’t have a question, but I just wanted to make that comment to you.
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it, thank you. Let me –
Q: Can I ask a question?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m going to start off with what you first said, if you don’t mind, you said that I tap your phones — I think that’s what you said. You tapped your phone — I tapped your phones. Yes. No, that’s right. Yes, no, let me finish.
I’d like to describe that decision I made about protecting this country. You can come to whatever conclusion you want. The conclusion is I’m not going to apologize for what I did on the terrorist surveillance program, and I’ll tell you why. We were accused in Washington, D.C. of not connecting the dots, that we didn’t do everything we could to protect you or others from the attack. And so I called in the people responsible for helping to protect the American people and the homeland. I said, is there anything more we could do.
And there — out of this national — NSA came the recommendation that it would make sense for us to listen to a call outside the country, inside the country from al Qaeda or suspected al Qaeda in order to have real-time information from which to possibly prevent an attack. I thought that made sense, so long as it was constitutional. Now, you may not agree with the constitutional assessment given to me by lawyers — and we’ve got plenty of them in Washington — but they made this assessment that it was constitutional for me to make that decision.
I then, sir, took that decision to members of the United States Congress from both political parties and briefed them on the decision that was made in order to protect the American people. And so members of both parties, both chambers, were fully aware of a program intended to know whether or not al Qaeda was calling in or calling out of the country. It seems like — to make sense, if we’re at war, we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution, on a very limited basis, a program that’s reviewed constantly to protect us.
Now, you and I have a different — of agreement on what is needed to be protected. But you said, would I apologize for that? The answer — answer is, absolutely not. (Applause.)
17 April 2006
Bobby Chiu's Subway Sketch Group Blog
Here's a really cool blog I found recently. It's sketches made on the subway; be sure to take a look. :-)
http://bobbychiusubwaysketchgroup.blogspot.com/
http://bobbychiusubwaysketchgroup.blogspot.com/
13 April 2006
"Ashley"
Language of Origin: Old English
Meaning/Translation: ash tree clearing
Info about origin: from a family name which is derived from a place name,also used as a male name, but mostly female nowadays
Words: aesc=the ash; leah=the wood, the clearing, the meadow
Spelling:
Ashley English (#1 in US popularity)
Ashely English (#983 in US popularity)
Ashlee English (#185 in US popularity)
Ashleigh English (#212 in US popularity)
Ashli English (#923 in US popularity)
Ashlie English (#598 in US popularity)
Ashly English (#722 in US popularity)
Ashlyn English (#285 in US popularity)
Ashlynn English (#668 in US popularity
Meaning/Translation: ash tree clearing
Info about origin: from a family name which is derived from a place name,also used as a male name, but mostly female nowadays
Words: aesc=the ash; leah=the wood, the clearing, the meadow
Spelling:
Ashley English (#1 in US popularity)
Ashely English (#983 in US popularity)
Ashlee English (#185 in US popularity)
Ashleigh English (#212 in US popularity)
Ashli English (#923 in US popularity)
Ashlie English (#598 in US popularity)
Ashly English (#722 in US popularity)
Ashlyn English (#285 in US popularity)
Ashlynn English (#668 in US popularity
12 April 2006
I Can't Be the Only One...
To be absolutely honest, I'm terrified. Our government is seriously thinking about dropping nuclear weapons on Iran. It's not just a joke, THEY ARE ACTUALLY CONTEMPLATING IT! I can't believe that I'm going to be alive to see America drop it's third bomb. It's insane. We're going to have a freakin' nuclear war in less than two freakin' months! I agree with this, something I found in an AlterNet email: "Should a nuclear first-strike occur, something we all have a hard time wrapping our heads around, according to Billmon we'd become a rogue state, it would 'mark the definitive end of the system of collective security - and the laws and institutions supporting that system of collective security - and the laws and institutions supporting that system - established in the wake of World War II,' oil would skyrocket, and Iran, with a very capable terrorist network would likely ATTACK THE U.S.. If we attack Iran with nuclear weapons, nothing will ever be the same. Everyone will hate us. And with good reason. As Billmon says "A country that nukes other countries merely on the suspicion that they may pose a future security threat isn't the equal of anybody. America would stand completely alone: hated by many, feared by all, admired only by the world's other tyrants. " I can't believe that I'm writing all this, because, even though I may have joked that 'the U.S. is gonna nuke everyone' and stuff of that nature, THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING. I can't think of anything else to say, except we can't let them do it. It's unbelievable that the supposed greatest nation on earth is going to use nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century. The only thing I can think of doing at the moment is letting Congress know how we feel. Here's a link to a petition to sign to try to put a stop in it, even though the Bush Administration can always get away with anything they want. http://political.moveon.org/dontnukeiran/?id=7311-6874093-93FjHoJaBk.U90EVoy0cPA&t=1
Real George W. Bush Q&A
This is what happens when Bush decides to have an impromptu Q&A session by himself with college students:
Q …My question is in regards to private military contractors. Uniform Code of Military Justice does not apply to these contractors in Iraq. I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions.
THE PRESIDENT: I was going to ask him. Go ahead. (Laughter.) Help. (Laughter.)
Q I was hoping your answer might be a little more specific. (Laughter.) Mr. Rumsfeld answered that Iraq has its own domestic laws which he assumed applied to those private military contractors. However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against -- over our American military contractors. I would submit to you that in this case, this is one case that privatization is not a solution. And, Mr. President, how do you propose to bring private military contractors under a system of law?
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that very much. I wasn’t kidding -- (laughter.) I was going to -- I pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, I've got an interesting question. (Laughter.) This is what delegation -- I don't mean to be dodging the question, although it’s kind of convenient in this case, but never -- (laughter.) I really will – I’m going to call the Secretary and say you brought up a very valid question, and what are we doing about it? That’s how I work. I'm -- thanks. (Laughter.)
Q …My question is in regards to private military contractors. Uniform Code of Military Justice does not apply to these contractors in Iraq. I asked your Secretary of Defense a couple months ago what law governs their actions.
THE PRESIDENT: I was going to ask him. Go ahead. (Laughter.) Help. (Laughter.)
Q I was hoping your answer might be a little more specific. (Laughter.) Mr. Rumsfeld answered that Iraq has its own domestic laws which he assumed applied to those private military contractors. However, Iraq is clearly not currently capable of enforcing its laws, much less against -- over our American military contractors. I would submit to you that in this case, this is one case that privatization is not a solution. And, Mr. President, how do you propose to bring private military contractors under a system of law?
THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate that very much. I wasn’t kidding -- (laughter.) I was going to -- I pick up the phone and say, Mr. Secretary, I've got an interesting question. (Laughter.) This is what delegation -- I don't mean to be dodging the question, although it’s kind of convenient in this case, but never -- (laughter.) I really will – I’m going to call the Secretary and say you brought up a very valid question, and what are we doing about it? That’s how I work. I'm -- thanks. (Laughter.)
11 April 2006
Movies
I just finished watching three fantastic movies. I was surprised, because nowadays when you rent that many movies, two are usually misses and the third is only alright. But all three of these were movies I would recommend to everyone.
The first one I watched was actually one Dennis had gotten from NetFlix. It was called Truly Madly Deeply. It starred Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson. It's about a man who dies and his wife who misses him so much that she brings him back. Then she realizes that she doesn't want a ghost controlling her life, and she wants to go on living. It was great. I ended up watching it only because I like Alan Rickman so much (he's been one of my favorite actors for awhile). But I was definetly impressed. I'd never heard of Juliet Stevenson before, but as soon as I saw her in the first minute of the movie I realized that she played Juliet's (Keira Knightly) mother in Bend It Like Beckham, one of my favorite movies. I'd give it an 9 out of 10.
The second movie I view was the new version of Pride and Prejudice. I've never seen the older one with Colin Firth in it (but god knows I want to) but this one was wonderful. I'd read somewhere that the actors had been miscast, but I can't for the life of me figure out where I'd read that piece of garbage. Every one was great in that movie. The imagery was really good to, and they didn't try to update it or make it stray from (what I read of) the original novel. Although I never finished reading the book, I already knew what was going to happen at the end for two reasons. One, it's Jane Austin, and love prevails; and two, because I'd seen Bride and Prejudice (from the same director of Bend It Like Beckham) and it's basically the same thing. I'd give that movie an 8 out of 10.
The third one I watched today (and just finished) was Elizabethtown. I'd wanted to see it when it was in theatre, but I never did. It was great. Despite his sometimes-not-so-great acting ability (which recently has been much better - Kingdom of Heaven was proof of that), I still very much like Orlando Bloom, and he was good in this. And his American accent was very good. It was believable. I live Cameron Crow's movies altogether though. I adored Almost Famous when it came out and I still only watch it on special occasions because I don't want to watch it too much and get sick of it. The soundtrack was good too, something else that's very evident in Almost Famous. I'd give it an 9 out of 10.
The first one I watched was actually one Dennis had gotten from NetFlix. It was called Truly Madly Deeply. It starred Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson. It's about a man who dies and his wife who misses him so much that she brings him back. Then she realizes that she doesn't want a ghost controlling her life, and she wants to go on living. It was great. I ended up watching it only because I like Alan Rickman so much (he's been one of my favorite actors for awhile). But I was definetly impressed. I'd never heard of Juliet Stevenson before, but as soon as I saw her in the first minute of the movie I realized that she played Juliet's (Keira Knightly) mother in Bend It Like Beckham, one of my favorite movies. I'd give it an 9 out of 10.
The second movie I view was the new version of Pride and Prejudice. I've never seen the older one with Colin Firth in it (but god knows I want to) but this one was wonderful. I'd read somewhere that the actors had been miscast, but I can't for the life of me figure out where I'd read that piece of garbage. Every one was great in that movie. The imagery was really good to, and they didn't try to update it or make it stray from (what I read of) the original novel. Although I never finished reading the book, I already knew what was going to happen at the end for two reasons. One, it's Jane Austin, and love prevails; and two, because I'd seen Bride and Prejudice (from the same director of Bend It Like Beckham) and it's basically the same thing. I'd give that movie an 8 out of 10.
The third one I watched today (and just finished) was Elizabethtown. I'd wanted to see it when it was in theatre, but I never did. It was great. Despite his sometimes-not-so-great acting ability (which recently has been much better - Kingdom of Heaven was proof of that), I still very much like Orlando Bloom, and he was good in this. And his American accent was very good. It was believable. I live Cameron Crow's movies altogether though. I adored Almost Famous when it came out and I still only watch it on special occasions because I don't want to watch it too much and get sick of it. The soundtrack was good too, something else that's very evident in Almost Famous. I'd give it an 9 out of 10.
So we're going to attack Iran now. According to the Bush adminastration, we're attacking them because they have nukes. Which they probably don't. In an e-mail I received from AlterNet.org, Scott Ritter said that "there's no reason to believe that Iran has the capability, nor that they're actually doing anything to violate the nonproliferation treaty at this point." And former UN weapons inspecter Hans Blix has said that "Iran is at least five years away from developing a nuclear bomb, leaving time to peacefully negotiate a settlement...'We have time on our side in this case. Iran can't have a bomb ready in the next five years.'"
Now for what our prez said. This is a Hersh statement that I'm just gonna copy and paste: "A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was 'absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb' if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do "what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do," and 'that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.'"
I very much doubt that saving Iran is going to be his legacy. His legacy is going to be driving America into three wars while we have a huge deficit. I personally believe that the only reason we're going into Iran is to forget about Iraq, much in the same way we went to Iraq to forget about Afganisthan. It seems the administration thinks American's are to forgetful and dumbfounded by whatever news they choose to tell, and will forget about the other two wars and the over 2000 soldiers who have died there.
Now for what our prez said. This is a Hersh statement that I'm just gonna copy and paste: "A government consultant with close ties to the civilian leadership in the Pentagon said that Bush was 'absolutely convinced that Iran is going to get the bomb' if it is not stopped. He said that the President believes that he must do "what no Democrat or Republican, if elected in the future, would have the courage to do," and 'that saving Iran is going to be his legacy.'"
I very much doubt that saving Iran is going to be his legacy. His legacy is going to be driving America into three wars while we have a huge deficit. I personally believe that the only reason we're going into Iran is to forget about Iraq, much in the same way we went to Iraq to forget about Afganisthan. It seems the administration thinks American's are to forgetful and dumbfounded by whatever news they choose to tell, and will forget about the other two wars and the over 2000 soldiers who have died there.
07 April 2006
Another Strike Against George W. Bush
This guy makes me sick: not only is he a liar, he's a hyprocrite too.
According to the Center for American Progress (http://www.americanprogress.org/), on September 30, 2003, Bush stated "There's just too many leaks, and if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. I want to tell you something - leaks of classified information are a bad thing." Hmm... then why did he and Dick Cheney force a leak out of Scooter Libby. Maybe if the president does it it's not so bad? Because of the leak, Bush's approval rating is the lowest it's ever been: 36%. Am I the only one counting down the days until the 2008 elections. Yes, I'm going to take another chance to promote Russ Feingold. www.draftruss.com
According to the Center for American Progress (http://www.americanprogress.org/), on September 30, 2003, Bush stated "There's just too many leaks, and if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. I want to tell you something - leaks of classified information are a bad thing." Hmm... then why did he and Dick Cheney force a leak out of Scooter Libby. Maybe if the president does it it's not so bad? Because of the leak, Bush's approval rating is the lowest it's ever been: 36%. Am I the only one counting down the days until the 2008 elections. Yes, I'm going to take another chance to promote Russ Feingold. www.draftruss.com
06 April 2006
Get You Some Bats
This email I got from Ideal Bite made me so happy because I adore bats. Here's what I copied and pasted from the letter:
The Bite:
Spring has arrived, and soon, so will the mosquitoes. To keep these pests at bay, skip pesticides and bug zappers and put a bat house in your yard.
The Benefits:
Many species of these misunderstood mammals are nature’s best control measure for night-flying insects like mosquitos. The little brown myotis, common across North America, can eat 2,000 in a night.
Electric "bug zappers" use more energy every month than two computers. Plus, these energy-suckers don’t catch a lot of blood-suckers: mostly they zap beneficial insects and harmless critters that would otherwise be food for birds, bats or fish.
The pesticide malathion, often used in mosquito control, interferes with the normal function of the nervous system and is highly toxic to frogs, honeybees, and other wildlife.
Dwindling habitats worldwide threatens bats’ survival, but bat houses can help. The odds of attracting bats with a well-built and mounted bat house are good - occupancy rates are up to 80%.
Wanna Try?:
Planet Natural - attractive cedar bat house attaches to walls or trees and can accommodate up to 40 bats ($40).
Bat-chelor Pad - designed for cooler locations preferred by solitary males, but is suitable for a small nursing colony ($27.50).
Build a Bat House - feeling batty and crafty? Build your own bat abode using these free plans.
Bat Conservation International - learn about the 1,100 species of bats (1/4 of the world’s mammal species!), become a member, or support conservation by purchasing bat houses and bat-themed gifts .
http://www.idealbite.com
The Bite:
Spring has arrived, and soon, so will the mosquitoes. To keep these pests at bay, skip pesticides and bug zappers and put a bat house in your yard.
The Benefits:
Many species of these misunderstood mammals are nature’s best control measure for night-flying insects like mosquitos. The little brown myotis, common across North America, can eat 2,000 in a night.
Electric "bug zappers" use more energy every month than two computers. Plus, these energy-suckers don’t catch a lot of blood-suckers: mostly they zap beneficial insects and harmless critters that would otherwise be food for birds, bats or fish.
The pesticide malathion, often used in mosquito control, interferes with the normal function of the nervous system and is highly toxic to frogs, honeybees, and other wildlife.
Dwindling habitats worldwide threatens bats’ survival, but bat houses can help. The odds of attracting bats with a well-built and mounted bat house are good - occupancy rates are up to 80%.
Wanna Try?:
Planet Natural - attractive cedar bat house attaches to walls or trees and can accommodate up to 40 bats ($40).
Bat-chelor Pad - designed for cooler locations preferred by solitary males, but is suitable for a small nursing colony ($27.50).
Build a Bat House - feeling batty and crafty? Build your own bat abode using these free plans.
Bat Conservation International - learn about the 1,100 species of bats (1/4 of the world’s mammal species!), become a member, or support conservation by purchasing bat houses and bat-themed gifts .
http://www.idealbite.com
03 April 2006
"You Can Be Nice To Mice"
I'm just going to copy this from Peta's Animal Times:
"The patient was alive and alert but unable to move an inch. A client brought veterinarian Dianne Ferris and animal who was paralyzed but not from a fall or from being hit by a car - the tiny mouse was hopelessly mired in a glue trap. Dr. Ferris found that "[a]ll four limbs, the abdomen, and the tail were mired in the glue, rendering the animal unable to move. The skin, muscles, and tendons on the dorsal aspect of the left forelimb had been chewed through in an apparent effort by the mouse to free [himself]." After being carefully freed from the trap with vegetable oil, the starving mouse gratefully ate and drank for perhaps the first time in days.
Most mice and rats caught in these "pans of pain" aren't lucky enough to be rushed to a veterinarian. Instead, they die slow, agonizing deaths from starvation, dehydration, or suffocation if their faces become stuck in the sticky goo. Glue traps are one of the cruelest "pest" control devices on the market today. They are indiscriminate, capturing not only rats and mice, but also birds, squirrels, snakes, gerbils, and other small animals, even kittens. Animals who become stuck to these boards often suffer for days before finally succumbing to starvation or dehydration. As the animals struggle to escape, the strong adhesive rips patches of skin, fur, or feathers off their bodies. Many animals chew off their own limbs in an effort to free themselves.
HEALTH HAZARDS
Makers of glue traps claim that they help to prevent the spread of diseases, but trapped animals continue to urinate and defecate, and their bodies are often left in the traps for weeks or months. In one case, a hospital that used glue traps did not check them for more than a year - during that time, the dead mice who were stuck on the traps became hosts for the flies who caused illness among the hospital's patients.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
Glue traps aren't just extremely cruel; they are also ineffective. Biologists and wildlife experts agree that the only long-term way to control rodent populations is to modify the habitat so that the area is unattractive or inaccessible to the animals. Otherwise, when animals are removed from an area, others simply move in to occupy the newly vacant niche. The best solution is prevention: Patch holes larger than 1/4" in diameter, seal cracks in the walls and floor, and close gaps around plumbing, doors, and windows. Also, keep food and trash in sturdy, sealed containers, and make sure foundation plantings are neat and weeded.
SUFFERING FOR SALE
Victoria, Australia, is considering outlawing glue traps, citing a study that concluded that glue traps cause "enormous distress...even if the trapped animals are found after just a few hours and then humanely dispatched." But despite causing suffering that would violate many state anti-cruelty laws, glue traps are widely sold in "big box" stores, such as Home Depot and Lowe's, and even in drugstores, such as Rite Aid. Peta has launced a campaign to convince stores to pull these rodent torture chambers from their shelves, and we've already had some success. CVS drugstores and two major supermarket chains have agreed to stop selling glue traps, and other stores are reviewing the information that we sent to them. So far, Rite Aid has refused to budge. The store needs to hear from its customers that there's no money to be made in being merciless to mice.
If you have mice, try petamall.com for humane "traps".
UPDATE:
Since this article RiteAid has agreed to remove all glue traps. yay!
"The patient was alive and alert but unable to move an inch. A client brought veterinarian Dianne Ferris and animal who was paralyzed but not from a fall or from being hit by a car - the tiny mouse was hopelessly mired in a glue trap. Dr. Ferris found that "[a]ll four limbs, the abdomen, and the tail were mired in the glue, rendering the animal unable to move. The skin, muscles, and tendons on the dorsal aspect of the left forelimb had been chewed through in an apparent effort by the mouse to free [himself]." After being carefully freed from the trap with vegetable oil, the starving mouse gratefully ate and drank for perhaps the first time in days.
Most mice and rats caught in these "pans of pain" aren't lucky enough to be rushed to a veterinarian. Instead, they die slow, agonizing deaths from starvation, dehydration, or suffocation if their faces become stuck in the sticky goo. Glue traps are one of the cruelest "pest" control devices on the market today. They are indiscriminate, capturing not only rats and mice, but also birds, squirrels, snakes, gerbils, and other small animals, even kittens. Animals who become stuck to these boards often suffer for days before finally succumbing to starvation or dehydration. As the animals struggle to escape, the strong adhesive rips patches of skin, fur, or feathers off their bodies. Many animals chew off their own limbs in an effort to free themselves.
HEALTH HAZARDS
Makers of glue traps claim that they help to prevent the spread of diseases, but trapped animals continue to urinate and defecate, and their bodies are often left in the traps for weeks or months. In one case, a hospital that used glue traps did not check them for more than a year - during that time, the dead mice who were stuck on the traps became hosts for the flies who caused illness among the hospital's patients.
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION
Glue traps aren't just extremely cruel; they are also ineffective. Biologists and wildlife experts agree that the only long-term way to control rodent populations is to modify the habitat so that the area is unattractive or inaccessible to the animals. Otherwise, when animals are removed from an area, others simply move in to occupy the newly vacant niche. The best solution is prevention: Patch holes larger than 1/4" in diameter, seal cracks in the walls and floor, and close gaps around plumbing, doors, and windows. Also, keep food and trash in sturdy, sealed containers, and make sure foundation plantings are neat and weeded.
SUFFERING FOR SALE
Victoria, Australia, is considering outlawing glue traps, citing a study that concluded that glue traps cause "enormous distress...even if the trapped animals are found after just a few hours and then humanely dispatched." But despite causing suffering that would violate many state anti-cruelty laws, glue traps are widely sold in "big box" stores, such as Home Depot and Lowe's, and even in drugstores, such as Rite Aid. Peta has launced a campaign to convince stores to pull these rodent torture chambers from their shelves, and we've already had some success. CVS drugstores and two major supermarket chains have agreed to stop selling glue traps, and other stores are reviewing the information that we sent to them. So far, Rite Aid has refused to budge. The store needs to hear from its customers that there's no money to be made in being merciless to mice.
If you have mice, try petamall.com for humane "traps".
UPDATE:
Since this article RiteAid has agreed to remove all glue traps. yay!
Animals In Captivity
I got this from Peta's Animal Times. It's facts about animals being kept in captivity and what this means for humans.
*Since 1990, incidents involving big cats have resulted in the killings of approximately 110 big cats, 62 human deaths, and more than 235 human injuries worldwide. Incidents since 1990 involving primates have resulted in the killings of 458 primates, two human deaths, and more than 160 human injuries.
*In June 2005, a lion and a tiger who were kept captive at Best Buy Auto Warehouse in Minnesota bolted from their cage and attacked a 10-year-old boy. The child is now a quadriplegic.
*In March 2005, a man was attacked by two chimpanzees who had escaped from their cage at the Animal Haven Ranch in California. The chimpanzees bit off the man's nose, lips, and testicles, most of his fingers, and his left foor and gouged out one of his eyes before bing shot and killed.
*In NOvember 2004, a 14-year-old boy was attacked by a tiger at the St. Johns County Fair in Florida.
*Also in November 2004, a circusgoer was bitten on the cheek by a chimpanzee at the Hadi Shrine Circus while posing for pictures.
*In June 2004, a 10-year-old Toronto boy was attacked by a Siberian tiger who was let out of his cage so the child could take his picture.
*A North Carolina woman's tiger fatally mauled her 10-year-old nephew in December 2003 after pulling him under a fence and into his cage.
It's not worth it to capture and encage exotic animals. Visit http://www.WildlifePimps.com for ways to help.
*Since 1990, incidents involving big cats have resulted in the killings of approximately 110 big cats, 62 human deaths, and more than 235 human injuries worldwide. Incidents since 1990 involving primates have resulted in the killings of 458 primates, two human deaths, and more than 160 human injuries.
*In June 2005, a lion and a tiger who were kept captive at Best Buy Auto Warehouse in Minnesota bolted from their cage and attacked a 10-year-old boy. The child is now a quadriplegic.
*In March 2005, a man was attacked by two chimpanzees who had escaped from their cage at the Animal Haven Ranch in California. The chimpanzees bit off the man's nose, lips, and testicles, most of his fingers, and his left foor and gouged out one of his eyes before bing shot and killed.
*In NOvember 2004, a 14-year-old boy was attacked by a tiger at the St. Johns County Fair in Florida.
*Also in November 2004, a circusgoer was bitten on the cheek by a chimpanzee at the Hadi Shrine Circus while posing for pictures.
*In June 2004, a 10-year-old Toronto boy was attacked by a Siberian tiger who was let out of his cage so the child could take his picture.
*A North Carolina woman's tiger fatally mauled her 10-year-old nephew in December 2003 after pulling him under a fence and into his cage.
It's not worth it to capture and encage exotic animals. Visit http://www.WildlifePimps.com for ways to help.
02 April 2006
Feingold's Committee Hearing Statement
Published on Friday, March 31, 2006 by CommonDreams.org
Committee Hearing Statement on the Call To Censure the President
As Prepared by US Senator Russ Feingold
US Senate Judiciary Committee
March 31, 2006
Mr. Chairman, first, thank you for scheduling this hearing. I know you recognize that this is a serious issue, and I thank you for treating it as such. I want to welcome and thank our witnesses, some of whom – Mr. Fein, and Professor Turner -- were with us just a few weeks ago, and one of whom -- Mr. Dean -- last appeared before a congressional committee in 1974. I am grateful for your participation, particularly given the short notice that you were given of this hearing.
There is a time-honored way for matters to be considered in the Senate. Bills and resolutions are introduced, they are analyzed in the relevant committee through hearings, they are debated and amended and voted on in committee, and then they are debated on the floor. We have now started that process on this very important matter, and I look forward to seeing it through to a conclusion.
Mr. Chairman, I have looked closely at the statements you have made about the NSA program since the story broke in December. We have a disagreement about some things, but I am pleased to say we are in agreement on several others. We agree that the NSA program is inconsistent with FISA. We agree that the Authorization for Use of Military Force did not grant the President authority to engage in warrantless wiretapping of Americans on U.S. soil. We agree that the President was and remains required under the National Security Act of 1947 to inform the full Intelligence Committees of the NSA program, which he refuses to do.
Where we disagree, apparently, is whether the President’s authority under Article II of the Constitution allows him to authorize warrantless surveillance without complying with FISA. You have said you think this is a close question. I do not believe he has such authority and I don’t think it’s a close question. We will continue to debate that I’m sure. But I think the fact that you have proposed legislation on this program undermines your argument that such presidential authority exists. Because if it does exist, then nothing that we can legislate, no matter how carefully crafted, is worth a hill of beans. For starters, your proposed bill may or may not cover what the NSA is now doing. You and I have no way of knowing because we have not been fully briefed on the program, and I am a member of the Intelligence Committee as well. But regardless, if the President has the inherent authority to authorize whatever surveillance he thinks is necessary, then he surely will ignore your law, just as he has ignored FISA on many occasions.
If Congress doesn’t have the power to define the contours of the President’s Article II powers through legislation, then I have no idea why people are scrambling to draft legislation to authorize what they think the President is doing. If the President’s legal theory, which is shared by some of our witnesses today, is correct, then FISA is a dead letter, all of the supposed protections for civil liberties contained in the reauthorization of the Patriot Act that we just passed are a cruel hoax, and any future legislation we might pass regarding surveillance or national security is a waste of time and a charade. Under this theory, we no longer have a constitutional system consisting of three co-equal branches of government, we have a monarchy.
We can fight terrorism without breaking the law. The rule of law is central to who we are as a people, and the President must return to the law. He must acknowledge and be held accountable for his illegal actions and for misleading the American people, both before and after the program was revealed. If we in the Congress don’t stand up for ourselves and for the American people, we become complicit in his law breaking. A resolution of censure is the appropriate response – even a modest approach.
Mr. Chairman, the presence of John Dean here today should remind us that we must respond to this constitutional crisis based on principle, not partisanship. How we respond to the President’s actions will become part of our history. A little over 30 years ago, a President who broke the law was held to account by a bipartisan congressional investigation and by patriots like Archibald Cox and Elliot Richardson and yes, John Dean, who put loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law above the interests of the President who appointed them. None of us here can predict how history will view this current episode. But I hope that thirty years from now, this Senate will not be seen to have backed down in the face of such a grave challenge to our constitutional system.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Committee Hearing Statement on the Call To Censure the President
As Prepared by US Senator Russ Feingold
US Senate Judiciary Committee
March 31, 2006
Mr. Chairman, first, thank you for scheduling this hearing. I know you recognize that this is a serious issue, and I thank you for treating it as such. I want to welcome and thank our witnesses, some of whom – Mr. Fein, and Professor Turner -- were with us just a few weeks ago, and one of whom -- Mr. Dean -- last appeared before a congressional committee in 1974. I am grateful for your participation, particularly given the short notice that you were given of this hearing.
There is a time-honored way for matters to be considered in the Senate. Bills and resolutions are introduced, they are analyzed in the relevant committee through hearings, they are debated and amended and voted on in committee, and then they are debated on the floor. We have now started that process on this very important matter, and I look forward to seeing it through to a conclusion.
Mr. Chairman, I have looked closely at the statements you have made about the NSA program since the story broke in December. We have a disagreement about some things, but I am pleased to say we are in agreement on several others. We agree that the NSA program is inconsistent with FISA. We agree that the Authorization for Use of Military Force did not grant the President authority to engage in warrantless wiretapping of Americans on U.S. soil. We agree that the President was and remains required under the National Security Act of 1947 to inform the full Intelligence Committees of the NSA program, which he refuses to do.
Where we disagree, apparently, is whether the President’s authority under Article II of the Constitution allows him to authorize warrantless surveillance without complying with FISA. You have said you think this is a close question. I do not believe he has such authority and I don’t think it’s a close question. We will continue to debate that I’m sure. But I think the fact that you have proposed legislation on this program undermines your argument that such presidential authority exists. Because if it does exist, then nothing that we can legislate, no matter how carefully crafted, is worth a hill of beans. For starters, your proposed bill may or may not cover what the NSA is now doing. You and I have no way of knowing because we have not been fully briefed on the program, and I am a member of the Intelligence Committee as well. But regardless, if the President has the inherent authority to authorize whatever surveillance he thinks is necessary, then he surely will ignore your law, just as he has ignored FISA on many occasions.
If Congress doesn’t have the power to define the contours of the President’s Article II powers through legislation, then I have no idea why people are scrambling to draft legislation to authorize what they think the President is doing. If the President’s legal theory, which is shared by some of our witnesses today, is correct, then FISA is a dead letter, all of the supposed protections for civil liberties contained in the reauthorization of the Patriot Act that we just passed are a cruel hoax, and any future legislation we might pass regarding surveillance or national security is a waste of time and a charade. Under this theory, we no longer have a constitutional system consisting of three co-equal branches of government, we have a monarchy.
We can fight terrorism without breaking the law. The rule of law is central to who we are as a people, and the President must return to the law. He must acknowledge and be held accountable for his illegal actions and for misleading the American people, both before and after the program was revealed. If we in the Congress don’t stand up for ourselves and for the American people, we become complicit in his law breaking. A resolution of censure is the appropriate response – even a modest approach.
Mr. Chairman, the presence of John Dean here today should remind us that we must respond to this constitutional crisis based on principle, not partisanship. How we respond to the President’s actions will become part of our history. A little over 30 years ago, a President who broke the law was held to account by a bipartisan congressional investigation and by patriots like Archibald Cox and Elliot Richardson and yes, John Dean, who put loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law above the interests of the President who appointed them. None of us here can predict how history will view this current episode. But I hope that thirty years from now, this Senate will not be seen to have backed down in the face of such a grave challenge to our constitutional system.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
The History of April Fool's Day ~ A Day Late
April Fool's Day - April 1st
From Beverly Hernandez
Taken From About.com
Learn all about the history of April Fool's Day
In sixteenth-century France, the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools." They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make them believe that something false was true. In France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril." French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs.
When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d’Avril!" (April Fish!)
Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One common trick on April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, is pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied." Teachers in the nineteenth century used to say to pupils, "Look! A flock of geese!" and point up. School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled. Whatever the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, "April Fool! "
The "fools' errands" we play on people are practical jokes. Putting salt in the sugar bowl for the next person is not a nice trick to play on a stranger. College students set their clocks an hour behind, so their roommates show up to the wrong class - or not at all. Some practical jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim realizes what day it is. Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and not meant to harm anyone. The most clever April Fool joke is the one where everyone laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke is played.
"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. "- American humorist Mark Twain
From Beverly Hernandez
Taken From About.com
Learn all about the history of April Fool's Day
In sixteenth-century France, the start of the new year was observed on April first. It was celebrated in much the same way as it is today with parties and dancing into the late hours of the night. Then in 1562, Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar for the Christian world, and the new year fell on January first. There were some people, however, who hadn't heard or didn't believe the change in the date, so they continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April first. Others played tricks on them and called them "April fools." They sent them on a "fool's errand" or tried to make them believe that something false was true. In France today, April first is called "Poisson d'Avril." French children fool their friends by taping a paper fish to their friends' backs.
When the "young fool" discovers this trick, the prankster yells "Poisson d’Avril!" (April Fish!)
Today Americans play small tricks on friends and strangers alike on the first of April. One common trick on April Fool's Day, or All Fool's Day, is pointing down to a friend's shoe and saying, "Your shoelace is untied." Teachers in the nineteenth century used to say to pupils, "Look! A flock of geese!" and point up. School children might tell a classmate that school has been canceled. Whatever the trick, if the innocent victim falls for the joke the prankster yells, "April Fool! "
The "fools' errands" we play on people are practical jokes. Putting salt in the sugar bowl for the next person is not a nice trick to play on a stranger. College students set their clocks an hour behind, so their roommates show up to the wrong class - or not at all. Some practical jokes are kept up the whole day before the victim realizes what day it is. Most April Fool jokes are in good fun and not meant to harm anyone. The most clever April Fool joke is the one where everyone laughs, especially the person upon whom the joke is played.
"The first of April is the day we remember what we are the other 364 days of the year. "- American humorist Mark Twain
31 March 2006
Check out this poem
This was written by a woman named Alassante, and this poem was on her myspace blog. I really liked it so I asked her if I could put it on my blog, and since she said it would be alright, here it is:
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Angsty Poem
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Writing and Poetry
Sometimes when I get down I write really angsty dark poetry. I don't know that it helps but the words seem to come from somewhere so I just let them flow. Its not good poetry but its just got to get out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When you look at me
Can you see into my soul?
Do you know who I am?
Or do you judge me before you know.
Icy fingers of loneliness wrap
Around my heart and I feel
Myself slipping yet again.
Will you just let me go?
I've been here before
And I know this place
Things are so cold and empty here
Yet so familiar to me.
There are times I have
No choice but to be
Sometimes I come here
And wander aimlessly
Alone.
I wonder if there is a way
To fix what is broken
In truth I know
I will always be who I am.
Does it matter if I smile
And play this game?
Will my efforts mean nothing,
Will I always be damned?
I am not a martyr
I don't deserve sainthood
For I am no fallen angel
Nor have I been crucified
This thing inside me
Takes away all of my will
And I feel like
My soul as been sacrificed
Broken.
The darkness knows no bounds
Fear I can taste
But in so many ways
I no longer care.
Do I reach for a hand,
And ask for help?
Will they turn away?
Do I even dare?
But there is no help for me
Except the passing of time
One day I'll feel better
Leave here once more.
Let sunshine in and
Turn my eyes to the light
I cannot quit,
Don't want to be depression's whore.
Sorrow.
It hurts and I cry
But nothing seems to help
I struggle to make sense
And yet I fail.
My life isn't so bad
Others have far worse
I look at their troubles
And mine simply pale.
I hate this weakness in me
Shame fills my heart
Knowing I passed it on
Makes the guilt so much worse.
If I could stop it, I would
But I cannot spare him
And I suffer in silence,
As my son lives with my curse.
Falling.
Her profile is here: http://www.myspace.com/alassante
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Angsty Poem
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Writing and Poetry
Sometimes when I get down I write really angsty dark poetry. I don't know that it helps but the words seem to come from somewhere so I just let them flow. Its not good poetry but its just got to get out.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When you look at me
Can you see into my soul?
Do you know who I am?
Or do you judge me before you know.
Icy fingers of loneliness wrap
Around my heart and I feel
Myself slipping yet again.
Will you just let me go?
I've been here before
And I know this place
Things are so cold and empty here
Yet so familiar to me.
There are times I have
No choice but to be
Sometimes I come here
And wander aimlessly
Alone.
I wonder if there is a way
To fix what is broken
In truth I know
I will always be who I am.
Does it matter if I smile
And play this game?
Will my efforts mean nothing,
Will I always be damned?
I am not a martyr
I don't deserve sainthood
For I am no fallen angel
Nor have I been crucified
This thing inside me
Takes away all of my will
And I feel like
My soul as been sacrificed
Broken.
The darkness knows no bounds
Fear I can taste
But in so many ways
I no longer care.
Do I reach for a hand,
And ask for help?
Will they turn away?
Do I even dare?
But there is no help for me
Except the passing of time
One day I'll feel better
Leave here once more.
Let sunshine in and
Turn my eyes to the light
I cannot quit,
Don't want to be depression's whore.
Sorrow.
It hurts and I cry
But nothing seems to help
I struggle to make sense
And yet I fail.
My life isn't so bad
Others have far worse
I look at their troubles
And mine simply pale.
I hate this weakness in me
Shame fills my heart
Knowing I passed it on
Makes the guilt so much worse.
If I could stop it, I would
But I cannot spare him
And I suffer in silence,
As my son lives with my curse.
Falling.
Her profile is here: http://www.myspace.com/alassante
Alternative Outfitters
I just found this great site on PetaMall. It's called Alternative Outfitters. All the products are 100% vegan, so there's no harm in buying anything. There's actually quite a few things I'm considering buying for myself. Here's the link: http://www.alternativeoutfitters.com/ And even better than the cuteness of the stuff, it's also all under $100! Yay :-)
A Lesson I've Learned
A few days ago I wrote about my "Computer Woes". It taught me a lesson ~ always back up your computer files. All you have to do is get a few data cd's and put all your infomation on them. I don't know about other kinds of computers, but mine even has a wizard that does it for you. I also learned not to rely only on itunes and actually buy a few cds so i'll have them in case it crashes again (which I really hope it doesn't do).
Crazy Thursday Drivers
Yesterday Mom, Dennis, and I went shopping for stuff for the new house. And it's a good thing I went. I stopped two wrecks from happening. They wouldn't have been big car-totaling wrecks, but they would have been wrecks nontheless. The first one happened on the way to Lynhaven Mall. We were stopped at a redlight when the big dumptruck in front of us started backing up for some insane reason. Mom and Dennis were talking and I heard the beeping of the truck backing up. So I alerted mom who backed up (thankfully there was no one behind us) and beeped the horn. Save #1 for the day.
The next one wasn't quite as bad. We were in the rear parking lot of JC Penney's when we were driving through looking for a spot to park when a white van pulled out of it's spot way too fast without looking and stopped maybe 5 inches from our front bumber. Again, I noticed it first. I ought to be a good driver with that kind of reaction speed! :-)
Other than that it was an uneventful shopping day. Since my room is so bare I've been buying a lot of decor, but all I could find yesterday were a glass slipper, a jade dragon, and a green reflective coat hanger. But at least the mall weren't crowded. And we're going back to Target to get my desk and to Pier 1, a store I've never been in without drooling over something.
The next one wasn't quite as bad. We were in the rear parking lot of JC Penney's when we were driving through looking for a spot to park when a white van pulled out of it's spot way too fast without looking and stopped maybe 5 inches from our front bumber. Again, I noticed it first. I ought to be a good driver with that kind of reaction speed! :-)
Other than that it was an uneventful shopping day. Since my room is so bare I've been buying a lot of decor, but all I could find yesterday were a glass slipper, a jade dragon, and a green reflective coat hanger. But at least the mall weren't crowded. And we're going back to Target to get my desk and to Pier 1, a store I've never been in without drooling over something.
29 March 2006
Getting Ready To Move
We're getting ready to move into the new house. Here's a few pictures; it's nothing grand, but it's actually pretty cute now that we've cleaned it up and made it livable.
Computer Woes
It's been a long few days for my computer. Dennis had taken it with him to use it while he was at the new house waiting for the Verizion people, and when he came back Karleen and I had turned it on so that we could go online. When we turned it on, there was an error message that wouldn't go off. Karleen's mom tried to fix it, but we couldn't figure anything out. The next morning Jeremy and Aunt Anita played around with it and finally called tech support. The entire computer had to be reset. Which meant I lost everything from pictures to at least $60 worth of iTunes. Needless to say, I wasn't too happy. But at least it works now.
24 March 2006
Something else I found in Marie Claire
I thought this was interesting. Like my last post, it's from April's Marie Claire. It's about the richest and poorest nations in the world per capita:
Richest:
Luxembourg: $62,700
Norway: $42,400
United States: $41,800
Poorest:
East Timor: $400
Malawi: $600
Somalia: $600
Richest:
Luxembourg: $62,700
Norway: $42,400
United States: $41,800
Poorest:
East Timor: $400
Malawi: $600
Somalia: $600
Americans don't take much vacation time
Recently I read an article in April's Marie Claire where they compared employee's vacation time with that of other nations. I decided to research it online, and this is what I found:
Argentina: 14 Days
Australia: about 4 weeks
Belgium: 20 days
Bulgaria: 20 business days
Canada: at least 2 weeks
Chile: 15 working days
China: 0
Czech Republic: 4 weeks
France: 5 weeks
Germany: 4 weeks
Hong Kong: 7 days
Hungary: 20 work days
Ireland: 4 weeks
Israel: 14 days
Japan: 10 days
Mexico: 6 days
Northern Mariana Islands: 0
Poland: 18 working days
Puerto Rico: 15 days
Saudi Arabia: 15 days
Singapore: 7 days
South Africa: 21 consecutive days
South Korea: 10 working days
Spain: 30 calender days
Sweden: 5 weeks
Taiwan: 7 days
Netherlands: 4 weeks
Turkey: 12 work days
UK: at least 4 weeks
Ukraine: 24 calender days
US: about 2 weeks
Venezuela: 15 days
this info comes from: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/QuestionOfTheMonth/archive/vacationtime.html
Argentina: 14 Days
Australia: about 4 weeks
Belgium: 20 days
Bulgaria: 20 business days
Canada: at least 2 weeks
Chile: 15 working days
China: 0
Czech Republic: 4 weeks
France: 5 weeks
Germany: 4 weeks
Hong Kong: 7 days
Hungary: 20 work days
Ireland: 4 weeks
Israel: 14 days
Japan: 10 days
Mexico: 6 days
Northern Mariana Islands: 0
Poland: 18 working days
Puerto Rico: 15 days
Saudi Arabia: 15 days
Singapore: 7 days
South Africa: 21 consecutive days
South Korea: 10 working days
Spain: 30 calender days
Sweden: 5 weeks
Taiwan: 7 days
Netherlands: 4 weeks
Turkey: 12 work days
UK: at least 4 weeks
Ukraine: 24 calender days
US: about 2 weeks
Venezuela: 15 days
this info comes from: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/QuestionOfTheMonth/archive/vacationtime.html
23 March 2006
"Censure the RNC" from alternet
Posted by Evan Derkacz at 12:42 PM on March 22, 2006.
Republicans' Feingold ad gives you a lie and 2 distortions for the price of 1!
The RNC missed the satire in Stephen Colbert's report on truthiness. In an attempt to scare the bejeezus out of an America that has precious little bejeezus left in it, the RNC is using lies distortions to attack Sen. Feingold for proposing to censure Bush.
Despite the fact that Feingold has repeatedly asserted that "No one questions -- no one questions -- whether the government should wiretap suspected terrorists," an RNC radio ad attacks Feingold for reprimanding the president "for pursuing suspected members of al Qaeda."
"Which," as Emi Kolawole writes, "isn't true."
Couple thoughts. A. The fact that that they're taking the trouble to lie in order to smear Feingold means that the bejeezus has been scared out of the Republicans as well and B. They have every right to be scared because although America's representatives aren't for censure -- yet -- America is. To the tune of 48% to 43%.
Kolawole's article also notes deceptive claims about the Patriot Act and Democratic calls for impeachment. Three deceptions, one ad. Very economically sound. Too bad the same can't be said for other Republican policies. (Factcheck)
Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet.
20 March 2006
"Americans favor Feingold's proposal to censure Bush"
"And a surprising number support impeachment. Blog Tools
Posted by Evan Derkacz at 11:45 AM on March 19, 2006.
taken from altern
What Americans want to see.
A poll by the American Research Group last week reveals that 48% of American voters support Senator Feingold's call for a senate censure of President Bush (note: the articles of impeachment must come from the House of Representatives... As a senator, Feingold has no Constitutional power to propose impeachment). 43% of voters oppose the measure.
Amazingly, nearly a third of Republican respondents favored censure while nearly a fifth even favored impeachment. Three-fifths of Democratic respondents and nearly half of Independents favored impeachment.
Censure, many have argued, doesn't actually DO anything, and impeachment is very unlikely given the current make up of Congress -- so what's the use?
Well, when this many people favor a firm response to an outrageous transgression of the law -- illegal domestic spying -- it capitalizes on public anger, focuses it, keeps the lawbreakers on the defensive, and begins to revitalize the public image of an opposition party struggling to be perceived as having integrity and the guts to assert it.
Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet."
I love the fact that Russ Feingold does what he feels is right. He doesn't sit in the background and play along; he gets up there and says what he thinks. He's the man for the 2008 Democratic nomination, as I've said before.
Posted by Evan Derkacz at 11:45 AM on March 19, 2006.
taken from altern
What Americans want to see.
A poll by the American Research Group last week reveals that 48% of American voters support Senator Feingold's call for a senate censure of President Bush (note: the articles of impeachment must come from the House of Representatives... As a senator, Feingold has no Constitutional power to propose impeachment). 43% of voters oppose the measure.
Amazingly, nearly a third of Republican respondents favored censure while nearly a fifth even favored impeachment. Three-fifths of Democratic respondents and nearly half of Independents favored impeachment.
Censure, many have argued, doesn't actually DO anything, and impeachment is very unlikely given the current make up of Congress -- so what's the use?
Well, when this many people favor a firm response to an outrageous transgression of the law -- illegal domestic spying -- it capitalizes on public anger, focuses it, keeps the lawbreakers on the defensive, and begins to revitalize the public image of an opposition party struggling to be perceived as having integrity and the guts to assert it.
Evan Derkacz is a New York-based writer and contributor to AlterNet."
I love the fact that Russ Feingold does what he feels is right. He doesn't sit in the background and play along; he gets up there and says what he thinks. He's the man for the 2008 Democratic nomination, as I've said before.
14 March 2006
"Having walked around in a parade for a lot of my life, I find myself today relating much more to the kids on the sidelines. Somehow, I believe that they have the real answers. And I want so desperately to ask the questions: Why desperately to ask the questions: Why is there so much excess in some parts of the world, and such a lack of food and basic needs in others? How is there "all you can eat" and starvation? How can you, the individual, make a difference when governments can't tackle the horrors of our world?" ~Drew Barrymore
09 March 2006
Why Women Still Makes Less Than Men
Why Women Still Make Less than Men
From Robert Longley,Your Guide to U.S. Gov Info / Resources.FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
"... death, taxes and the glass ceiling."Despite a sense of continued progress toward gender equality in the workplace, the federal government has confirmed that the workplace earnings gap between men and women still persists today.
According to General Accounting Office (GAO) Report GAO-04-35, the weekly earnings of full-time working women were about three-fourths of men's during 2001. The report was prepared from a study of the earnings history of over 9,300 Americans for the last 18 years.
Even accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure, reports the GAO, working women today earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. This pay gap has persisted for the past two decades, remaining relatively consistent from 1983-2000.
In attempting to explain the discrepancies in pay between men and women, the GAO concluded:
*Women in the workforce are also less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men, further suppressing women's wages. These differing work patterns lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women - suggesting that working women are penalized for their dual roles as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home and family.
*Men with children appear to get an earnings boost, whereas women lose earnings. Men with children earn about 2% more on average than men without children, according to the GAO findings, whereas women with children earn about 2.5% less than women without children.
*Women have fewer years of work experience.
"The world today is vastly different than it was in 1983, but sadly, one thing that has remained the same is the pay gap between men and women," said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York, 14th). "After accounting for so many external factors, it seems that still, at the root of it all, men get an inherent annual bonus just for being men. If this continues, the only guarantees in life will be death, taxes and the glass ceiling. We can't let that happen."
This GAO study updates a 2002 report it conducted at the request of Rep. Maloney, which examined the glass ceiling for female and male managers. This year's study used data from a more comprehensive, longitudinal study - the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The study also accounted for a slew of external factors for the first time, chief among which were the differences in men's and women's work patterns, including more leave from work to care for family.
taken from http://www.about.com
From Robert Longley,Your Guide to U.S. Gov Info / Resources.FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!
"... death, taxes and the glass ceiling."Despite a sense of continued progress toward gender equality in the workplace, the federal government has confirmed that the workplace earnings gap between men and women still persists today.
According to General Accounting Office (GAO) Report GAO-04-35, the weekly earnings of full-time working women were about three-fourths of men's during 2001. The report was prepared from a study of the earnings history of over 9,300 Americans for the last 18 years.
Even accounting for factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure, reports the GAO, working women today earn an average of 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. This pay gap has persisted for the past two decades, remaining relatively consistent from 1983-2000.
In attempting to explain the discrepancies in pay between men and women, the GAO concluded:
*Women in the workforce are also less likely to work a full-time schedule and are more likely to leave the labor force for longer periods of time than men, further suppressing women's wages. These differing work patterns lead to an even larger earnings gap between men and women - suggesting that working women are penalized for their dual roles as wage earners and those who disproportionately care for home and family.
*Men with children appear to get an earnings boost, whereas women lose earnings. Men with children earn about 2% more on average than men without children, according to the GAO findings, whereas women with children earn about 2.5% less than women without children.
*Women have fewer years of work experience.
"The world today is vastly different than it was in 1983, but sadly, one thing that has remained the same is the pay gap between men and women," said U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York, 14th). "After accounting for so many external factors, it seems that still, at the root of it all, men get an inherent annual bonus just for being men. If this continues, the only guarantees in life will be death, taxes and the glass ceiling. We can't let that happen."
This GAO study updates a 2002 report it conducted at the request of Rep. Maloney, which examined the glass ceiling for female and male managers. This year's study used data from a more comprehensive, longitudinal study - the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The study also accounted for a slew of external factors for the first time, chief among which were the differences in men's and women's work patterns, including more leave from work to care for family.
taken from http://www.about.com
07 March 2006
More Discrimination In the U.S.
Although the times have changed in most of America, it seems the military still discriminates against pagans and atheists. Around December 17th, 2005, it was reported that some army chaplains went as far as to say that atheists are unqualified as soldiers compared to their Christain counterparts. Atheists are also not allowed to put atheist on their id tags as their religion, but must put "no preference". According to Wayne Adkins, "There is a world of difference between having no religious preference and being an atheist. Often soldiers must choose between religious services and work details. Twice in my career I was told to either go to church or pick up trash. Soldiers are often captive audiences for chaplains as well. The first thing that happened when my plane landed after returning from Iraq was a chaplain boarded and held a ten minute devotional on the PA system before soldiers had an opportunity to get off the plane."
More recently, discrimination has showed up in the form of headstone battles. Here's part of the article from alternet.com: "The National Guard had no problem taking Wiccan Patrick Stewart when he decided to serve his country. They even listed Wicca on his dog tags.
Now that he's been killed in action in Afghanistan (remember Afghanistan?), however, they refuse to put his religion's symbol on the headstone. Right now, the stone remains blank:
[His widow, Roberta] said she had no idea the pentacle could not be used on her husband's memorial plaque until she had to deal with the agency after the death of her husband. "It's discrimination," she said. "They are discriminating against our religion."
According to The Pagan Veterans Headstone Campaign: "thirty-eight different "emblems of spirit" allowed on veterans' headstones, and despite the fact that there are thousands of Pagan veterans and hundreds more currently serving today, none of those are the Pentacle..."" Here's a site to check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pagan-Headstone-Campaign/
More recently, discrimination has showed up in the form of headstone battles. Here's part of the article from alternet.com: "The National Guard had no problem taking Wiccan Patrick Stewart when he decided to serve his country. They even listed Wicca on his dog tags.
Now that he's been killed in action in Afghanistan (remember Afghanistan?), however, they refuse to put his religion's symbol on the headstone. Right now, the stone remains blank:
[His widow, Roberta] said she had no idea the pentacle could not be used on her husband's memorial plaque until she had to deal with the agency after the death of her husband. "It's discrimination," she said. "They are discriminating against our religion."
According to The Pagan Veterans Headstone Campaign: "thirty-eight different "emblems of spirit" allowed on veterans' headstones, and despite the fact that there are thousands of Pagan veterans and hundreds more currently serving today, none of those are the Pentacle..."" Here's a site to check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Pagan-Headstone-Campaign/
27 February 2006
Heraclitus
I just finished reading a book about Heraclitus (c. 500bc). Quite interesting. His theory was that, as he says, "Good and bad are the same". This means that without one thing, you cannot have another. You have to experience the bad to know you have the good. Another fragment of his work I like is "It makes more sense to throw out a corpse than manure." I feel this means that you shouldn't hold on to the past or the broken; but keep things that are functional and will help you, just like manure helped the ancient Greeks sow their fields. Also, "The sun is new each day". This isn't very hard to understand because there are many sayings that echoes its meaning today, but the fact that you should take every day as a new adventure is a great way to live life.
21 February 2006
Radio Frequency Identification
Here's a scary thought: Everywhere you go, everything you do, is being tracked. It could happen. RFID technology, otherwise known as Radio Frequency Identification, can be used to transmit data to "Big Brother." Of course, it can also be used for postive things. In fact, it is already being used. For example, computer chips in your skin that enable doctors to quickly find your medical records.
Whenever I read something about computer chips being implanted in people, I always think of the Left Behind books I read five years ago. In one of the books, the "satanists" decide to put "the mark of the devil" on people in the form of RFID technology. Although I doubt very much that's the case here, it's not unbelievable to think that the government could potentially do harm with this, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. ~*Ashley*~
Whenever I read something about computer chips being implanted in people, I always think of the Left Behind books I read five years ago. In one of the books, the "satanists" decide to put "the mark of the devil" on people in the form of RFID technology. Although I doubt very much that's the case here, it's not unbelievable to think that the government could potentially do harm with this, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see. ~*Ashley*~
13 February 2006
Check out this blog!
Take a look at Bipodial Dog's blog, http://bipodialdog.blogspot.com/ It's beautiful. ~Ashley
Talk About a Tyrant!
I was reading a book about the Celts (I can't remember the title) and came across this little tidbit:
In 143 BC, the Romans attacked the Celtic city of Numantia, which is near Madrid. The Celts held out until 134 BC when Rome sent over Scipio Africanus. His 60,000 men fought against the Celts, only 8000. When 400 young Celts decided to ride for help, Scipio cut of all their hands. But the hardy Celts still didn't surrender. Many committed suicide when faced with the prospect of being made into slaves.
In 143 BC, the Romans attacked the Celtic city of Numantia, which is near Madrid. The Celts held out until 134 BC when Rome sent over Scipio Africanus. His 60,000 men fought against the Celts, only 8000. When 400 young Celts decided to ride for help, Scipio cut of all their hands. But the hardy Celts still didn't surrender. Many committed suicide when faced with the prospect of being made into slaves.
Michelle Kwan
I'm very sorry that Michelle Kwan isn't going to have the chance to win the Olympics, since she very much deserves it after all her hard work. But I don't think it's necessary to smother the news with it. My brother and I are watching the Today Show, and all they're talking about is Michelle Kwan and the Olympics. Yes, it only happens once ever four years (or if you're like me, once every two, I really couldn't care less if it's summer or winter), but there are other things going on in the world that is more important.
10 February 2006
I Love Sweden!
Published on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 by the Guardian / UK
Sweden Plans to Be World's First Oil-Free Economy· 15-year limit set for switch to renewable energy· Biofuels favoured over further nuclear power
by John Vidal
Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years - without building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
Sweden...gets almost all its electricity from nuclear and hydroelectric power, and relies on fossil fuels mainly for transport. Almost all its heating has been converted in the past decade to schemes which distribute steam or hot water generated by geothermal energy or waste heat.
The attempt by the country of 9 million people to become the world's first practically oil-free economy is being planned by a committee of industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others, who will report to parliament in several months.
The intention, the Swedish government said yesterday, is to replace all fossil fuels with renewables before climate change destroys economies and growing oil scarcity leads to huge new price rises.
"Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020," said Mona Sahlin, minister of sustainable development. "There shall always be better alternatives to oil, which means no house should need oil for heating, and no driver should need to turn solely to gasoline."
According to the energy committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, there is growing concern that global oil supplies are peaking and will shortly dwindle, and that a global economic recession could result from high oil prices.
Ms Sahlin has described oil dependency as one of the greatest problems facing the world. "A Sweden free of fossil fuels would give us enormous advantages, not least by reducing the impact from fluctuations in oil prices," she said. "The price of oil has tripled since 1996."
A government official said: "We want to be both mentally and technically prepared for a world without oil. The plan is a response to global climate change, rising petroleum prices and warnings by some experts that the world may soon be running out of oil."
Sweden, which was badly hit by the oil price rises in the 1970s, now gets almost all its electricity from nuclear and hydroelectric power, and relies on fossil fuels mainly for transport. Almost all its heating has been converted in the past decade to schemes which distribute steam or hot water generated by geothermal energy or waste heat. A 1980 referendum decided that nuclear power should be phased out, but this has still not been finalised.
The decision to abandon oil puts Sweden at the top of the world green league table. Iceland hopes by 2050 to power all its cars and boats with hydrogen made from electricity drawn from renewable resources, and Brazil intends to power 80% of its transport fleet with ethanol derived mainly from sugar cane within five years.
Last week George Bush surprised analysts by saying that the US was addicted to oil and should greatly reduce imports from the Middle East. The US now plans a large increase in nuclear power.
The British government, which is committed to generating 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2012, last month launched an energy review which has a specific remit to consider a large increase in nuclear power. But a report by accountants Ernst & Young yesterday said that the UK was falling behind in its attempt to meet its renewables target.
"The UK has Europe's best wind, wave and tidal resources yet it continues to miss out on its economic potential," said Jonathan Johns, head of renewable energy at Ernst & Young.
Energy ministry officials in Sweden said they expected the oil committee to recommend further development of biofuels derived from its massive forests, and by expanding other renewable energies such as wind and wave power.
Sweden has a head start over most countries. In 2003, 26% of all the energy consumed came from renewable sources - the EU average is 6%. Only 32% of the energy came from oil - down from 77% in 1970.
The Swedish government is working with carmakers Saab and Volvo to develop cars and lorries that burn ethanol and other biofuels. Last year the Swedish energy agency said it planned to get the public sector to move out of oil. Its health and library services are being given grants to convert from oil use and homeowners are being encouraged with green taxes. The paper and pulp industries use bark to produce energy, and sawmills burn wood chips and sawdust to generate power.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
Sweden Plans to Be World's First Oil-Free Economy· 15-year limit set for switch to renewable energy· Biofuels favoured over further nuclear power
by John Vidal
Sweden is to take the biggest energy step of any advanced western economy by trying to wean itself off oil completely within 15 years - without building a new generation of nuclear power stations.
Sweden...gets almost all its electricity from nuclear and hydroelectric power, and relies on fossil fuels mainly for transport. Almost all its heating has been converted in the past decade to schemes which distribute steam or hot water generated by geothermal energy or waste heat.
The attempt by the country of 9 million people to become the world's first practically oil-free economy is being planned by a committee of industrialists, academics, farmers, car makers, civil servants and others, who will report to parliament in several months.
The intention, the Swedish government said yesterday, is to replace all fossil fuels with renewables before climate change destroys economies and growing oil scarcity leads to huge new price rises.
"Our dependency on oil should be broken by 2020," said Mona Sahlin, minister of sustainable development. "There shall always be better alternatives to oil, which means no house should need oil for heating, and no driver should need to turn solely to gasoline."
According to the energy committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, there is growing concern that global oil supplies are peaking and will shortly dwindle, and that a global economic recession could result from high oil prices.
Ms Sahlin has described oil dependency as one of the greatest problems facing the world. "A Sweden free of fossil fuels would give us enormous advantages, not least by reducing the impact from fluctuations in oil prices," she said. "The price of oil has tripled since 1996."
A government official said: "We want to be both mentally and technically prepared for a world without oil. The plan is a response to global climate change, rising petroleum prices and warnings by some experts that the world may soon be running out of oil."
Sweden, which was badly hit by the oil price rises in the 1970s, now gets almost all its electricity from nuclear and hydroelectric power, and relies on fossil fuels mainly for transport. Almost all its heating has been converted in the past decade to schemes which distribute steam or hot water generated by geothermal energy or waste heat. A 1980 referendum decided that nuclear power should be phased out, but this has still not been finalised.
The decision to abandon oil puts Sweden at the top of the world green league table. Iceland hopes by 2050 to power all its cars and boats with hydrogen made from electricity drawn from renewable resources, and Brazil intends to power 80% of its transport fleet with ethanol derived mainly from sugar cane within five years.
Last week George Bush surprised analysts by saying that the US was addicted to oil and should greatly reduce imports from the Middle East. The US now plans a large increase in nuclear power.
The British government, which is committed to generating 10% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2012, last month launched an energy review which has a specific remit to consider a large increase in nuclear power. But a report by accountants Ernst & Young yesterday said that the UK was falling behind in its attempt to meet its renewables target.
"The UK has Europe's best wind, wave and tidal resources yet it continues to miss out on its economic potential," said Jonathan Johns, head of renewable energy at Ernst & Young.
Energy ministry officials in Sweden said they expected the oil committee to recommend further development of biofuels derived from its massive forests, and by expanding other renewable energies such as wind and wave power.
Sweden has a head start over most countries. In 2003, 26% of all the energy consumed came from renewable sources - the EU average is 6%. Only 32% of the energy came from oil - down from 77% in 1970.
The Swedish government is working with carmakers Saab and Volvo to develop cars and lorries that burn ethanol and other biofuels. Last year the Swedish energy agency said it planned to get the public sector to move out of oil. Its health and library services are being given grants to convert from oil use and homeowners are being encouraged with green taxes. The paper and pulp industries use bark to produce energy, and sawmills burn wood chips and sawdust to generate power.
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2006
07 February 2006
Weapons
What's my favorite weapon of all time? I love greek fire.It wasn't invented until the 7th century. It could have been invented by Callinicus, an egyptian architect. It was especially effective against ships at sea because it ignited spontaneously, and couldn't be extinguished by water. Instead, water made the flames larger. In 673 greek fire was used by the Byzantine empire to repel an arab fleet attacking Constantinople. Unfortunately, we do not know what it was. It could have been mixture of flammable materials like sulfur and pitch in a petroleum base, but it's uncertain right now.
The most evil weapon of all time is, without question, the Atomic bomb. The degree of destruction is almost unknowable. Even though it's been 61 years since Hiroshima, Japan is still feeling the effects of the radiation. I actually believe that the end of the world is very likely going to be nuclear holocaust.
The most evil weapon of all time is, without question, the Atomic bomb. The degree of destruction is almost unknowable. Even though it's been 61 years since Hiroshima, Japan is still feeling the effects of the radiation. I actually believe that the end of the world is very likely going to be nuclear holocaust.
My Favorite Era
I've always been a fan of medieval times. It's hardly correct to call them the "Dark Ages"! So much happened. Personally, I'm obsessed with the plague and the great fire of london in 1666. I've never been a fan of more recent (in terms of all of history) stuff; I like 'pre-gun' history. Probably why I've never been that interested in American history. Or it could be that I grew up listening to American propoganda and am now so used to it that I hardly find it interesting now. Anything about Eurasia is fascinating!
The 7 Wonders of the World
7 Wonders of the World
Pyramids of Egypt: Only one still standing. In Cairo, Egypt.
40-ft tall Statue of Zeus from 435 bc. Stood in Olympia. Made of Gold and ivory.
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus: 353 BC. Huge marble tomb built for King Mausolus of Caria in Asia Minor.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar II, the Chaldean king, probably built the gardens in about 600BC as a consolation to his Median wife who missed the natural surroundings of her homeland.
Pharos of Alexandria: Stood on island in harbor of Alexandria and was over 440ft tall.
Colossus of Rhodes: 280BC. 100ft high, built to guard entrance to the harbor at Rhodes.
Temple of Artemis: Built in Ephesus in Asia Minor in 356BC. destroyed by the Goths in AD. 262
The Origin of "Plantagenet" and "Big Ben"
This is really interesting (at least to me): Plantagenet (a royal line including Richard III) comes from planta (sprig) and genista (broom plant) in reference to the sprig that Geoffrey IV (1113-1151) of Anjou always wore in his cap.
Big Ben: named after Sir Benjamin Hall (commisioner of works). 13.5 ton bell first rang out in 1859.
Big Ben: named after Sir Benjamin Hall (commisioner of works). 13.5 ton bell first rang out in 1859.
06 February 2006
Quote
"All life is transitory. Even your children are not immortal, my sister. The time will come when they will be defeated. The time will come when no one will want gods and goddesses to nurture them, when they will be driven into the darkness, like my children have been this day.
"The time approaches when the summers of Inisfail will be flowerless, when the cows shall be without milk, and the men will be weak and the women shall be shameless; the seas will be without fish, the trees without fruit and old men will give false judgements; the judges will make unjust laws and honour will count for little and warriors will betray each other and resort to thievery. There will come a time when there will be no more virtue left in this world."~Domnu, Celtic Myths and Legends, Peter Berresford Ellis
"The time approaches when the summers of Inisfail will be flowerless, when the cows shall be without milk, and the men will be weak and the women shall be shameless; the seas will be without fish, the trees without fruit and old men will give false judgements; the judges will make unjust laws and honour will count for little and warriors will betray each other and resort to thievery. There will come a time when there will be no more virtue left in this world."~Domnu, Celtic Myths and Legends, Peter Berresford Ellis
30 January 2006
Conserving energy in winter requires simple living and wise use practices by David Reister
Since space heating uses 49 percent of the energy in our homes (see Figure), to save energy, turn down your thermostat to 65 degrees. For every degree you lower your heat in the 60-degree to 70-degree range, you’ll save up to five percent on heating costs.
Wear warm clothing, add a sweater. Set the thermostat back to 55 degrees at night or when leaving home for an extended time - heat pumps, however, should be set back only two degrees to prevent unneeded use of backup strip heating. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating system.
Traditional fireplaces are an energy loser. It’s best not to use them because they pull heated air out of the house and up the chimney. When not in use, make absolutely sure the damper is closed. If you decide not to use a fireplace, block off the chimney with a piece of rigid insulation from the hardware store that fits snugly into the space.
Reduce hot water temperature. Set your water heater to the “normal” setting or 120 degrees, unless the owner’s manual for your dishwasher requires a higher setting. Savings are seven to eleven percent of water heating costs. Insulate the first five feet of pipe coming out of the top of your water heater.
Take shorter showers. Simply reducing that lingering time by a few minutes can save hundreds of gallons of hot water per month for a family of four. Showers account for two-thirds of your water heating costs.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
Plug home electronics, into power strips and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use.
Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes. Look for the Energy Star label on home appliances and products. Energy Star products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Driving Tips
Idling gets you zero miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Any more time simply wastes fuel and increases emissions.
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking) wastes gas and will lower your highway gas mileage 33 percent and city mileage 5 percent. Avoid high speeds. Each five mph you drive over 60 mph equals to 10 cents more per gallon of gas. When you use overdrive gearing, your car’s engine speed goes down, which saves gas and reduces wear.
Use air conditioning only when necessary. Clean out your car; extra weight decreases gas mileage. Reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A loaded roof rack decreases your fuel economy by 5 percent.
Check into carpooling and public transit to cut mileage and car maintenance costs.
For further information visit:
Department of Energy http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/
California Energy Commission http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/flex/tips.html
______________________
David Reister is a Member Sierra Club Sustainable Consumption Committee
Taken from January/February 2006 Old Dominion Sierran
Wear warm clothing, add a sweater. Set the thermostat back to 55 degrees at night or when leaving home for an extended time - heat pumps, however, should be set back only two degrees to prevent unneeded use of backup strip heating. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating system.
Traditional fireplaces are an energy loser. It’s best not to use them because they pull heated air out of the house and up the chimney. When not in use, make absolutely sure the damper is closed. If you decide not to use a fireplace, block off the chimney with a piece of rigid insulation from the hardware store that fits snugly into the space.
Reduce hot water temperature. Set your water heater to the “normal” setting or 120 degrees, unless the owner’s manual for your dishwasher requires a higher setting. Savings are seven to eleven percent of water heating costs. Insulate the first five feet of pipe coming out of the top of your water heater.
Take shorter showers. Simply reducing that lingering time by a few minutes can save hundreds of gallons of hot water per month for a family of four. Showers account for two-thirds of your water heating costs.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
Plug home electronics, into power strips and turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use.
Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes. Look for the Energy Star label on home appliances and products. Energy Star products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Driving Tips
Idling gets you zero miles per gallon. The best way to warm up a vehicle is to drive it. No more than 30 seconds of idling on winter days is needed. Any more time simply wastes fuel and increases emissions.
Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and hard braking) wastes gas and will lower your highway gas mileage 33 percent and city mileage 5 percent. Avoid high speeds. Each five mph you drive over 60 mph equals to 10 cents more per gallon of gas. When you use overdrive gearing, your car’s engine speed goes down, which saves gas and reduces wear.
Use air conditioning only when necessary. Clean out your car; extra weight decreases gas mileage. Reduce drag by placing items inside the car or trunk rather than on roof racks. A loaded roof rack decreases your fuel economy by 5 percent.
Check into carpooling and public transit to cut mileage and car maintenance costs.
For further information visit:
Department of Energy http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/
California Energy Commission http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/flex/tips.html
______________________
David Reister is a Member Sierra Club Sustainable Consumption Committee
Taken from January/February 2006 Old Dominion Sierran
25 January 2006
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is the first female president of Liberia. In 1985, she announced her intention to stand as senatorial candidate in the elections, opposite Samuel Doe. After giving a speech very critical of Doe, she was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. She served 2 short periods of detention before fleeing into exile. After returning to Liberia after the 7-yr civil war, she was a late entry to the presidential race as part of the Unity Party. She lost the election to Charles Taylor, who won 75% of the vote. She was then charged with treason and forced back into exile. Finally, she won the 2005 election, still part of the Unity Party. This is quite a brave woman; not only is she the first female president of Liberia, she's the first African woman to win a presidency. ~*Ashley*~ http://people.africadatabase.org/en/profile/2655.html#profile98700
Happy News
Seeing as most news today is all about negative aspects of our lives, you can bet I was more than excited when I found Happy News. Of course, not everything on Happy News is revelent to your life, alas, most news that is profound is also most likely bad. However, it's refreshing to see something nice once in awhile. ~*Ashley*~ http://www.happynews.com/
North Shore Animal League America
This is a charity that I posted about in another blog awhile back. I wanted more people to see it, so I'm posting it again. It's based in Port Washington, NY. It started in 1944 (before the major animal liberation movement began) in a garage. There was one major difference between this and others is that since their founding, they refuse to kill any animal, even the old and ailing. When the organization began to fail because of their deminishing money, Alex and Babette Lewyt helped them out, and now they are still up and running. They do so much now; you can adopt through them, they'll help find good homes for neglected pets, help senior citizens, and you can even donate your car to them. Here's the url: http://www.nsalamerica.org/ . Take a look at it. ~*Ashley*~
24 January 2006
A Sweat-Shop Free Company
I found a company that is "produced by independent trade union members in the US, Canada, and the developing world", meaning no cruel sweatshops. Here's the url if you want check it out: http://nosweatapparel.com/ . ~*Ashley*~
Dana Schutz
I recently saw some paintings by Dana Schutz, and they were phenomenal. You should totally check out her work, and pick up the latest issue of Vanity Fair (the one with Lindsey Lohen on the cover) to read an article about her. Here's a site that has some of her paintings on it: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/dana_schutz.htm . Her art is so unique and unusual. Trust me, check it out. ~*Ashley*~
Who I Want To Win the Democratic Nomination
Russel Feingold
I've never wanted anyone to win their party's nomination this much. I recently read an article about him in Vogue, and I wanted to share with everyone what I learned about this man.
I've never wanted anyone to win their party's nomination this much. I recently read an article about him in Vogue, and I wanted to share with everyone what I learned about this man.
- He was the lone senator to vote against the Patriot Act, only 6 weeks after 9-11. Most senators felt that if they dissented, it would be political suicide.
- 1 of 23 to vote against the Iraq War Resolution.
- 1st member of congress to propose a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.
- When he became Senator, he promised to keep his family home in Middleton, Wisconsin, accept no pay increases, and rely on in-state money for his campaigns. He vowed he would not "go Washington".
- He holds a public meeting in each of the state's counties (72 of them) every year.
Here are two good sites to do a little bit more research of Feingold:
http://www.draftruss.com/index.html
Wouldn't it be a great election if Russ Feingold and John McCain ran for President in 2008? Either way you really can't go wrong.
A New Low for Our Judicial System
This is what I saw when I logged onto AOL this morning: "No Jail Time For Officer Convicted of Killing Iraqi General". So of course I read the article. Here's the Highlights:
"A military jury recommended a simple reprimand Monday for an Army officer who killed an Iraqi general by stuffing him headfirst into a sleeping bag and sitting on his chest during an interrogation.
"Welshofer, 43, was charged with murder, but was convicted over the weekend of negligent homicide and negligent dereliction of duty that carried a penalty of up to three years and three months in prison, a dishonorable discharge, loss of pension and other penalties.
"The murder charge carried a potential sentence of life in prison. Instead, Welshofer faces no jail time, the forfeiture of $6,000 in salary and what amounts largely to a restriction to his barracks for 60 days."
What's even more surprising is the poll on the same page as the Article.
I've never had much faith in our judicial system. If someone kills a child they seem to get less time than people who commit money-related crimes. This just reiterates why something needs to be done, and why other nations hate America. How can we expect anyone to have faith in our government if murderers get to go (basically) free because the murdered party happened to be Iraqi? Despite the fact that Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush was in jail, and the fact that we are in war with Iraq, is irrevelent. America's standards should be much higher than that, otherwise this nation is will never become great. The government is a terrorist in it's own right.
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060123171409990015
~*Ashley*~
"A military jury recommended a simple reprimand Monday for an Army officer who killed an Iraqi general by stuffing him headfirst into a sleeping bag and sitting on his chest during an interrogation.
"Welshofer, 43, was charged with murder, but was convicted over the weekend of negligent homicide and negligent dereliction of duty that carried a penalty of up to three years and three months in prison, a dishonorable discharge, loss of pension and other penalties.
"The murder charge carried a potential sentence of life in prison. Instead, Welshofer faces no jail time, the forfeiture of $6,000 in salary and what amounts largely to a restriction to his barracks for 60 days."
What's even more surprising is the poll on the same page as the Article.
How do you feel about the sentence?
It's too harsh
43%
It's too lenient
35%
I'm not sure
22%
Total Votes: 30,005
It's too harsh
43%
It's too lenient
35%
I'm not sure
22%
Total Votes: 30,005
I've never had much faith in our judicial system. If someone kills a child they seem to get less time than people who commit money-related crimes. This just reiterates why something needs to be done, and why other nations hate America. How can we expect anyone to have faith in our government if murderers get to go (basically) free because the murdered party happened to be Iraqi? Despite the fact that Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush was in jail, and the fact that we are in war with Iraq, is irrevelent. America's standards should be much higher than that, otherwise this nation is will never become great. The government is a terrorist in it's own right.
http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060123171409990015
~*Ashley*~
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