APRIL 2013

requested rachel maddow's DRIFT to read

investing idea   ----    check out www.dominifunds.com

From mother jones march/april issue:

NRA claims 4.2 million members.  it publishes 3.1 million free magazines for members / yr.  claims it has 2 million "most active and interested" members.  no more than 5% of gun owners belong to the NRA.
less than 10% members vote in board elections
87% of board members are men.  93% white
25% are or were lawmakers or officials (mostly cops)
1 lives in Newtown CT
top vote getter in 2008 board election was tom selleck

recent surveys (how recent?)
74% of NRA members say they support background checks for all gun buyers
67% of gun owners support background checks for ammo buyers
55% of gun owners support a ban on high capacity clips
45% of gun owners support assault weapons ban
30% say they have an unfavorable opinion of the NRA

see motherjones.com/gun-myths

average walmart worker earns 8.81/hr

article on green in the military =  "full green ahead"
p 17     "nimitz running on nuclear power and other ships on biofuel diesel blend.  the same for 71 aircraft aboard  superhornets, hornets, prowlers, growlers, hawkeyes, greyhounds, knighthawks, seahawks.      p18  "6 wks before the 2012 rimpac (rim of the pacific) exercise repuibs and some coal gas demo tried to scuttle (navy sec ray mabus) mabus' green fleet by barring the pentagon from buying alternative fuels that cost more /gallon than petroleum based fuels the biofuel blends cost more than 15/gal unless the more expensive alternative fuels come from other fossil fuels like liquefied coal.     p25  "adopting a green agenda for national defense of course is a terrible misplacement of priorities."  john mccain may 2012  same summer james Inhofe R from ok "succeeded in slipping an amendment into the defense budget that would block the navy from spending any money on biofuel."  his amendment killed though w/11 repubs joining 49 dems

p35   article on fracking "whose fault?"


discovered a beaver dam in the creek today.  looks like a 2nd being built too.  saw the critter for just a second, about 18-24 inches sleek brown swimming under a branch.










our government is  hammering home austerity at the expense of democracy--and who cares?

ruralking.com/hobbyfarmer --- farm items

to get The Pulse from union of concerned scientists:  www.ucsusa.org/pulse

from the catalyst from concerned scientists:  ripe for retirement about coal fired plants--st clair owned by edison has 6 coal fired generating units being used beyond their 30 yr life span.  "as of may 2012, 288 coal fired generating unitss totaling more than 41 gigawatts of capacity--12 % pf tje is cpa; f;eet--have been judged a bad investment by their owners and scheduled for closure."  p9 spring 2013    The group found 353 coal generators in addition to those slated for closure ready to be retired--nearly 18% of existing us coal fleet, located in 31 states but most in eastern half of us.
georgia to retire 15
michigan has 39 ready for retirement including 5 of st clair's 6
p.11   "shutting down all 353 could avoid approx 1.3 million tons of sulfure dioxide and 300,000 tons of nitrogen oxided emissions each year. . . it would also keep 260 million tons of  CO 2 out of the atmosphere each year--more than 10% reduction in 2010 us power sector global warming emissions. . . "



car accident at m15 and hill last week, left in rd for a day or so, 1 car flat west of saline + new tire in adrian, another s of indianapolis + another tire.  wrote shirley about whether there was an accident report in case insurance asks.  lost cause?

tulips in bloom here.  81 on monday.  7:19 um phone call tues am.  monday we got another new tire, went to franklin and ate supper there.  fun place w/lots of unique stores.  homes are very large = someone has money here.  not a mi setting

keep.com
familycirclepromo.com/olay
http://nmi.cc/7o  (daily contest)
endless giveaway at endlesssummerblooms.com

get a pacovsky poster   --   hommage a alfred sisley

recipe for daube from france magazine

 http://www.ehrmantapestry.com/  ---poppy pillows
anthropologie.com

grand ole opry on tues 4-16.  saw 6 acts mark wills, the whites, blackberry smoke (this 1 horse town), aaron tippin, the greencards (from australia), chris janson, mandy barnett, and darius rucker.  not there was jeannie seely replaced by janson.

wed--went to bluebird cafe since dave watches nashville.  great show.  came back to room and the nashville show had a cafe scene and a ryman one.  got some good pics i think.  4 people there were singers/songwriters.  one to play tammy wynette in movie patsy.


NEW CHARTER ARBITRATION POLICY

DISPUTES

You hereby acknowledge and agree that Charter may elect to resolve all controversies, disputes or claims of any kind arising hereunder (whether raised by you or Charter) through binding arbitration.
It is the intent of the parties hereto that the agreement to arbitrate disputes hereunder, shall be interpreted and applied broadly such that all reasonable doubts as to whether such dispute may be fairly submitted to arbitration, shall be decided in favor of arbitration. The parties' agreement to arbitrate includes, but is not limited to, all disputes arising from or relating to this Agreement and its formation, and any and all other agreements or matters arising between the parties (including all disputes regardless of the theory of liability).
Any such arbitration (and in the alternative without limiting the foregoing, any and all suits) arising from or concerning this Agreement shall be filed and or otherwise handled and/or decided in the state in which the Services were rendered to you, and in no other place. You hereby irrevocably consent to the authority of the arbiter chosen by Charter or in the alternative, to the jurisdiction of such court or courts in the state in which Services were rendered to you, and agree to appear in any such action upon written notice thereof.
In the event of litigation between the parties which is not referred to arbitration for any reason whatsoever, or in the event any court of competent jurisdiction refuses to compel arbitration of a dispute between the parties, then the parties: (i) agree to waive, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any right to trial by jury as (ii) agree to waiver any right to, or claim for, any punitive or exemplary damages against the other, and against any affiliates, owners, employees, or agents of the other; and (iii) agree that each party shall be limited in the recovery of any damages to recovery of the actual damages sustained by it. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if Charter is permitted to seek injunctive relief under this Agreement, Charter may, at its option, bring such action in the county in which the Services were rendered.

here's where to see charter policies:

      http://www.charter.com/footer/footerPage.jsp?tag=POLICIES_TC_VIDEO_SERVICE

march 2013

farm news feb 28 edition:
1--article about a hen study in britain saying 8 groups of 15 hens studied over 8 wks "found no evidence to suggest that modern hens reared in commercial conditions form such friendships, even when housed in small groups where it is possible to know every other bird.  this suggests that, at present, fostering of friendships cannot be used as a way to improve the welfare of chickens".  as for perch roosting positions--no hen preferences there either.
2-farm labor problems?  maybe.  seems there's a problem w/fewer migrant workers available.  "growers are looking for ways to more efficiently work w/ mi agencies that help them connect w/migrant labor, how they might better use more local labor, how they can improve the way they manage labor and how they can position their farms to be attractive to migrant labor".
3-glyphosate resistant weed problem intensifying.   nearly half (49%) of all us farmers interviewed reported that glyphosate resistant weeds were present on their farm in 2012 up from 34 % of farmers in 2011.  ...not only are glyphosate resistant weeds spreading geographically, the problem is also intensifying w/multiple species now resistant on an increasing # of farms.  marestail (horseweed) is the most common w/palmer amaranth (pigweed) second.


I am only one, but still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
but still I can do something;
and because I cannot do everything,
I will not refuse to do something that I can do.     edward everett hale

 "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do."


Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they  re the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.     marcel proust


MOVIE to see = Dirty Wars



 Michigan Farm News mar 15 issue:  re bowman v monsanto  --  is about more than 1 farmer saving and replanting seed. . . . . .  "when anti-biotech arguments arise, they consistently try to reinforce the premise that big is always bad and small is always good.  it's as easy to make saints of small subsistence farmers as it is to vilify the big guys.  ...since bible times david always gets more empathy than goliath.. . . the small guys may benefit from the monsanto sized companies' research and development as much as the big guys. . . .biotech seed is expensive.  but it also carries advantages.  by virtue of resistance to root worms or ability to thrive under the same crop protection products that kill yield-robbing weeds, patented seed is largely regarded as the only way food producers can keep pace w/demands of population growth.  without patented biotech seed, it has been argued, this world would be much hungrier.

same issue about farm labor:  "the argument quite often is that we have all these unemployed people out there doing nothing.  why can't they do this work?  with a little experience and a lot of on the job education, they could.  but they won't.  our society has bred several generations who think they're entitled to college-graduate pay without any of the hard work.  but has anyone stopped to think why foreigners will do those physical jobs?  because it's where they get their start.  sure the work may be hard and the hours long, but it's rewarding to them.  they can use farm work as a stepping stone to higher-paying jobs, and in many cases they do.  that's the american dream in a nutshell,  no entitlement, no high pay or corner office fresh out of school.  no.  the dream in practice is to work hard, move your way up and succeed.  to that type of success, there is no barrier, at least not in agriculture."

 front page of Michigan Farm News March 30:

 "long before lawyers and insurance companies set out to convince society that it should--either by prevention or litigation--try to eliminate all risk from life, there was food.  consumers, having little choice, trusted restaurants....everyone trusted mom w/food sanitation....today trust is in short supply.  EXTREMIST GROUPS WHICH MISTRUST THEIR FOOD--OR ANYTHING THAT HINTS OF BUSINESS FOR PROFIT--TELL PEOPLE THE ONLY THING THEY CAN TRUST IS RAW, PERFECT, PEST FREE UNPROCESSED FOOD, PREFERABLY HUNTED OR GATHERED WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE AND UNPROTECTED BY PESTICIDES, WHETHER ORGANIC OR SYNTHETIC.

i love the farm news.  keeps me "informed"

feb 2013

"Steal the vote" plan coming to Michigan?

Some Republicans in the Michigan Legislature are pushing a plan that would award the state's electoral votes by congressional district, meaning a presidential candidate could win by a large margin but still lose the election.
Here's how the scheme, championed by state Rep. Pete Lund, R-Shelby Township, would work: Instead of awarding the state's 16 electoral votes to the candidate who garnered the most votes across the state, candidates would receive one electoral vote for each congressional district he or she carried. As Michigan has 14 congressional districts, the remaining two votes would be given to the statewide winner.
Had this scheme been in place in last November's election, Mitt Romney would have won nine of Michigan's 16 electoral votes, despite losing the popular vote to President Barack Obama by 9.5 points.
Michigan House Speaker Jase Bolger, R-Marshall, has signaled support for the measure.
"I hear that more and more from our citizens in various parts of the state of Michigan that they don't feel like their vote for president counts because another area of the state may dominate that or could sway their vote," Bolger told the Gongwer news service. "They feel closer to voting for their congressman or their congresswoman and if that vote coincided with their vote for president they would feel better about that."
What Bolger failed to mention, however, is that the state's gerrymandered congressional districts were drawn by him and Republican Party operatives.
"Michiganders cast over 240,000 more votes for Democratic congressional candidates than Republicans, but still elected a 9-5 Republican delegation to Congress," the Republican State Leadership Committee proudly pointed out in a report for its REDMAP gerrymandering project.
Project REDMAP is working on implementing similar schemes in other states, including Wisconsin and Ohio.
Gov. Rick Snyder said last week that he was "open-minded" to the idea and that 2013 "would be the best year" to consider it.
Snyder appeared to do an about-face in an interview this week with Bloomberg TV, saying: "I'm very skeptical of the idea and the time frame that would be done. We don't want to change the playing field so it's an unfair advantage to someone. And in a lot of ways, we want to make sure we're reflecting the vote of the people, and this could challenge that."
"I don't think this is the time to really look at it," Snyder added.
Of course, Michigan citizens know all too well what can happen when right-wing proposals aren't initially on the governor's "agenda."
Even the conservative Detroit News editorial board has come out against what it calls the "steal the vote" plan.
"Michigan has been a blue state in presidential elections for 25 years, but now some Republican lawmakers want to change the color to red without doing the hard work of changing votes," the Detroit News opined today. "Their shady attempt to steal an advantage voters won't give them ought to die a quick death."
Whether you're a Democrat, a Republican or an independent, "even the most partisan among us would have to agree this doesn't pass the fairness test," the Detroit News said.

 

Announcement of Film Selections Focus on French Cinema 2013 February 1, 2013

Thérèse Desqueyroux - Opening Night Film Directed by Claude Miller    Genre: Drama Screenplay: Claude Miller and Natalie Carter Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche, and Anais Demoustier France French release November 2012

38 Witnesses Directed by Lucas Belvaux Genre: Drama Screenplay: Lucas Belvaux Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes Starring: Yvan Attal, Sophie Quinton, Nicole Garcia, François Feroleto, Natacha Régnier, Patrick Descamps and Didier Sandre France French release March 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

Tango Libre Directed by Frédéric Fonteyne Genre: Comedy - Drama Screenplay : Anne Paulicevich Running Time: 1 hour 45 minutes Starring: Francois Damiens, Sergi Lopez, Anne Paulicevich, Jan Hammenecker, Zacharie Chasseriaud Belgium French release November 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for  Trailer

War Witch Directed by Kim Nguyen Genre: Drama Screenplay : Kim Nguyen Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Starring: Rachel Mwanza, Alain Bastien, Serge Kanyianda, Ralph Prosper, Mizinga Mwinga Canada, Quebec French release November 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for  Trailer

Granny's Funeral Directed by Bruno Podalydès Genre: Comedy Screenplay : Denis Podalydès, Bruno Podalydès Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes Starring: Denis Podalydès, Valérie Lemercier France French release June 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

Renoir - Saturday Night Film Directed by Gilles Bourdos Genre: Biopic Screenplay: Jérôme Tonnerre and Gilles Bourdos Running time: 1 hour 51 minutes Starring: Michel Bouquet, Christa Théret, Vincent Rottiers, Thomas Doret, and Romane Bohringer France French release January 2013 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

Our Children Directed by Joachim Lafosse Genre: Drama Screenplay : Joachim Lafosse, Matthieu Reynaert Running Time: 1 hour 51 minutes Starring: Niels Arestrup, Emilie Dequenne, Tahar Rahim Belgium French release August 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

Little Lion Directed by Samuel Collardey    Genre: Family Film Screenplay: Catherine Paillé, Nadège Trebal, and Samuel Collardey Running Time: 1 hour 41 minutes Starring: Marc Barbé, Mytri Attal, Anne Coesens, Marc Berman, and Jean-François Stévenin France French Release January 2013 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

Becoming Traviata Directed by Philippe Béziat    Genre: Documentary Running time: 1 hour 52 minutes Starring: Natalie Dessay, Jean-François Sivadier and Louis Langrée France French release October 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

Welcome to Argentina Directed by Édouard Deluc    Genre: Comedy, Road Movie Screenplay: Édouard Deluc, Thomas Lilti, Philippe Rebbot, and Anais Carpita Running Time: 1 hour 34 minutes Starring: Nicolas Duvauchelle, Philippe Rebbot, Gustavo Kamenetzky, and Paloma Contreras France French Release January 2013 Click Here for Synopsis  Click Here for  Trailer

You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet - Directed by Alain Resnais Genre: Fiction   Screenplay : Alex Réval and Laurent Herbiet Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azéma, Jean-Noël Brouté, Anne Consigny, Anny Duperey, Hippolyte Giradot, Gérard Lartigau, Michel Piccoli, Denis Podalydés, Michel Robin, Andrzej Seweryn, Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc, Michel Vuillermoz, Lambert Wilson France French Release September 2012 Click Here for Synopsis  Click Here for  Trailer

Paris Under Watch - Directed by Cédric Jimenez Genre: Thriller Screenplay : Arnaud Duprey, Cédric Jimenez, Audrey Diwan Running Time: 1 hour 25 minutes Starring: Olivier Barthelemy, Mélanie Doutey France French release April 2012 Click Here for Synopsis Click Here for Trailer

hortmagazine  nov-dec  (my last issue--won't be renewing)  good article on raising potatoes w/ several suggestions on planting.      trenching or furrowing = oldest method     OR  straw mulch above ground      OR     raised beds       OR         containers for limited spaces

see organicgardening.com/indoorherbs

last month's blog had article about run off from no till fields and build up of fertilizers/pesticides.  however the organic gardening dec-jan issue has an article extolling the NO-TILL Gardening method:  healthy, undisturbed soil may be the secret to carbon sequestration.  organic ag encourages a robust pop of soil organisms, including beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, which may facilitate the accumulation of SOC  (soil organic carbon).  no till ag reduces the loss of SOC by reducing the rate of decomposition.  by combining the health of organic soil, we may be able to maximize carbon sequestration.   so both articles have good points--hard to find a absolute solution to any problem

my blackberries:  doyle's thornless blackberry inc   fruitsandberries.com

from the progressive feb 2013   p. 31  "despite the gov's attempt to obfuscate, ordinary people in spain cannot be fooled.  they first first hand the effects of these adjustments no matter what they are called.  many kids feel them because they are going hungry, thanks to gov cuts in free school lunches and food banks"  sounds familiar doesn't it? 

p40 about super bowl and ads  --  ad by soda stream and their sodastrea, gadget -- however the company is housed in an illegal israeli settlement on the west bank.  not only that but palestinian workers have been fired when trying to agitate for better wages and working conditions.

talkbacktees.com

Land O Links

Land O Links — 06 February 2013

By Derek Melot/Bridge Magazine

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* The Capitol news service MIRS is paywall protected, but I wanted to share some basic data it collected on salaries for top political appointees in Michigan.
“Salaries of the department directors as of Jan. 10, 2013:
- John Nixon, Department of Technology, Management and Budget: $250,000
- Mike Flanagan, Department of Education: $189,515
- Andy Dillon, Department of Treasury: $174,204
- Gregory Vadnais, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs: $167,237
- James Haveman, Department of Community Health: $146,450
- Dan Heyns, Department of Corrections: $146,450
- Kriste Kibbey Etue, Michigan State Police $146,450
- Kirk Steudle, Department of Transportation: $146,450
- Dan Wyant, Department of Environmental Quality: $145,000
- Jamie Clover Adams, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development: $145,000
- Maura Corrigan, Department of Human Services: $145,000
- Keith Creagh, Department of Natural Resources: $145,000
- Dan Kirchbaum, Department of Civil Rights: $136,000
- Attorney General Bill Schuette: $124,900, *pay rate set by SOCC
- Secretary of State Ruth Johnson: $124,900, *pay rate set by SOCC.”
* Michigan’s debate over road funding is not unusual: “In the search for more transportation money, governors and state lawmakers are largely avoiding one of the most obvious and straightforward funding sources: state gasoline taxes. … Instead, they have proposed selling bonds backed by higher tolls, tapping reserves or surpluses, taxing miles driven instead of fuel bought or hiking income or sales taxes. In fact, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell wants to get rid of the gas tax altogether.”
* The Amtrak passenger rail service carried almost 800,000 ridersin Michigan in 2012, a record. The Michigan Department of Transportation said greater awareness and a more positive view of train travel contributed to the passenger growth. And this is with a limited service that’s been plagued by delays.
Part of the challenge for improvement is, as Amtrak passengers will tell you, operating a passenger rail line on rail routes used and owned by freight companies.
As a 2009 state-sponsored study put it: “Freight railroad ownership of the rail lines with the resulting control of dispatching duties has caused problems with on-time performance of passenger trains. Some of the line segments have heavy freight train volumes that often delay passenger trains, producing persistent on-time performance problems.”
For perspective, look at the map below of rail lines. Now, imagine if the interstate highways were owned not by the public, but by, say, FedEx, with a state motor travel agency leasing space and time on the highways for drivers.



 





beautyberry callicarpa L == shrub to check out, attracts butterflies
hudson valley seed library  www.seedlibrary.org    packages have art work

harvest parsnips after several hard frosts--thinking about trying them this summer.  great fried (and fattening).  sew directly in garden in spring.  germination often poor so sew more.  long growing season needed about 120 days


Cree saying:
only after the last tree has been cut down
only after the last river has been poisoned
only after the last fish has been caught
only then will you find that money cannot be eaten  
    
Ouch. It hurts when you see it spelled out.




se blottir contre (sa mère, son chien) - to cuddle up next to (one's mother, dog)
 échanger qqch contre qqch - to exchange something for s-t else

goûter à qqch - to taste something
grignoter qqch - to nibble on, eat away at something
gronder de - to scold for ___-ing
 loucher sur - to ogle
 quêter pour (les orphelins) - to collect for (orphans)
 vivre de (ses rentes) - to live on (one's income)

Jan 2012

trying to check value of jane's items tues jan 8 at Antiques by Cecelia:  here's what i wrote on their site.
in contact w/store at 4 pm, told open until 7, listened to spiel about their best prices for gold, drove over about 5pm.  open sign up but door locked. 4 people inside.  man unlocked and opened the door, man came out said he was busy w/another person, maybe we could come back.  he did step out, look in my box of items, unwrap some to give a value, said nothing valuable.  did not get to talk about the gold items i had.  felt like we were dealing drugs or selling knock off purses. great first visit; probably last.

got reply from the strongs in AZ about aunt jane's painting and china.  oscar opened a christmas card this week from them--address on envelope.  i wrote and gave them a copy of max's obit and a little info.  on jan 3 email arrived.

same day i wanted to mail certified AAA letter because of information inside but must have mailed it sans stamp.  lady at po looked but couldn't find it.  hope there's a return address on it.

randy's truck burned at irish and richfield.

from lake research partners poll done nov 5-6 2012:

     85% of dems support collective bargaining
     77% of independents support
     48% of repubs

www.foodandwaterwatch.org -- good site to visit, food, water, environment issues

check www.organicconsumers.org -- read a fist in the eye of god www.organicconsumers.org/gefood/smallwonders.cfm

in defense of food: an eater's manifesto by pollan
animal, vegetable, miracle: a year of food life by kingsolver
eatwild:  grass fed food and facts      www.eatwild.com

article in horticulture mag--asparagus care--suggests no wet feet; sidedressing w/greensand in the fall at about 1 cup/plant, letting fronds grow and cutting below soil level when they turn brown disposing NOT in compost; cover bed w/inch of good compost or manure and adding a thick mulch of clean straw or salt hay; keep bed weed free

same issue has fall planting chart  --  things to try this fall like bush beans 17 weeks before 1st frost / kale and peas 12 weeks before / carrots 10 weeks  //  see site victoryseeds.com/frost  //  this site is worth exploring for info and seed sources like quinoa, soybeans, heirlooms

another seed source = seedlibrary.org and facebook.com/seedlibrary
www.rareseeds.com

bonsai sources = bonsaioutlet.com 

industry sponsored onkline opt out registry = yellowpagesoptout.com    you can choose which directories you want to receive or to stop delivery.  12 weeks needed to implement

check your password strength at www.securitystats.com/tools/password.php

best free anti spy and anti virus = windows defender, ad aware, grisoft's AVG or Avast


Mother Jones jan/feb 2012--
p.44 "the frog of war"  summarizes frog study done w/ male frog being raised in water contaminated w/the herbicide atrazine at level of 2.5 parts/ billion (slightly less than what's allowed in drinking water).  frog developed a female body inside and out; also he is the mother of his children having mated w/ other males and spawned clutches of eggs.  once moved to atrazine free tank he turned lanky--when opened up frog was still female inside (frog still alive)  maker of chemical = Syngenta swiss manufacturer.  Atrazine introduced in 1959 and is now used on half our corn and 90% of our sugarcane, lawns, golf courses and christmas tree farms.  80 million pounds about used every year; highest usage after glyphosate (round up).  Atrazine banned by european union in 2003.  (this article makes me think back to the book i summarized for a master gardener newsletter                                )


free classes try educationportal.com and click on open course ware

photo editing try citrify.com and pixorial.com

cash4books

amazon.com/sellyourstuff

fixya.com for free advice on common computer problems

save minutes on cell = sprint for leaving message press 1  //  verizon  press*  //  at&t  press #  //  T mobile press #


i use groupon but others are socialbuy.com, scoopst.com and angieslist.com

looking for an owner's manual?  retrevo.com,  manualsonline.com, usersmanualguide.com

cheaper tickets?  goldstar.com  (about 4.50 service charge), ticketloot.com

need a phone #?  try free 1-800-GOOG-411

airport park and stay?  parksleepfly.com, stay123.com, parkingaccess.com

car repairs?  check average price at repairpal.com

missing $  check missingmoney.com or unclaimed.org


daily discounts = everydaysavingscenter.com/deals


idea for organizing earrings from realsimple mag jan 2013 =  use buttons!

slipcovershop.com
money = irs.gov // missingmoney.org // unclaimed.org 
check/compare cell plans at billshrink.com
 find higher banking accts at bankrate.com 
money saving sites = pricegrabber.com, nextag.com, retailmenot.com, couponcabin.com, dealnews.com, shopittome.com

consumer review and complaint sites = yelp.com, BBB.org

From The New York Times, these are the 67 Republicans that opposed even the most minimal of aid packages for the victims of Sandy. This is the Wall of Shame:

Justin Amash R MI-3
Andy Barr R KY-6
Dan Benishek R MI-1
Kerry Bentivolio R MI-11
Marsha Blackburn R TN-7
Jim Bridenstine R OK-1
Mo Brooks R AL-5
Paul Broun R GA-10
Steven J. Chabot R OH-1
Doug Collins R GA-9
K. Michael Conaway R TX-11
Tom Cotton R AR-4
Steve Daines R MT-1
Ron DeSantis R FL-6
Scott DesJarlais R TN-4
Sean Duffy R WI-7
Jeffrey Duncan R SC-3
John J. Duncan Jr. R TN-2
Stephen Fincher R TN-8
John Fleming R LA-4
Bill Flores R TX-17
Virginia Foxx R NC-5
Trent Franks R AZ-8
Louie Gohmert R TX-1
Robert W. Goodlatte R VA-6
Paul Gosar R AZ-4
Trey Gowdy R SC-4
Sam Graves R MO-6
Tom Graves R GA-14
Andy Harris R MD-1
George Holding R NC-13
Richard Hudson R NC-8
Tim Huelskamp R KS-1
Randy Hultgren R IL-14
Lynn Jenkins R KS-2
Jim Jordan R OH-4
Doug Lamborn R CO-5
Kenny Marchant R TX-24
Thomas Massie R KY-4
Tom McClintock R CA-4
Mark Meadows R NC-11
Markwayne Mullin R OK-2
Mick Mulvaney R SC-5
Randy Neugebauer R TX-19
Steven Palazzo R MS-4
Steve Pearce R NM-2
Scott Perry R PA-4
Tom Petri R WI-6
Mike Pompeo R KS-4
Tom Price R GA-6
Phil Roe R TN-1
Todd Rokita R IN-4
Keith Rothfus R PA-12
Ed Royce R CA-39
Paul D. Ryan R WI-1
Matt Salmon R AZ-5
David Schweikert R AZ-6
F. James Sensenbrenner R WI-5
Marlin Stutzman R IN-3
William M. Thornberry R TX-13
Randy Weber R TX-14
Brad Wenstrup R OH-2
Roger Williams R TX-25
Joe Wilson R SC-2
Rob Woodall R GA-7
Kevin Yoder R KS-3
Ted Yoho R FL-3




Bloomberg.com--ohio state pres earned 1.9 million last year (highest paid public university pres in the us).  he also submitted 1.7 in expenses for private jets, country club dues and fundraising parties. 


from THE WEEK dec 28 -jan 4 2013:  an example of skewing the stats
t or f question saying 3x the # of federally licensed gun dealers in the us as there are grocery stores  129,817 vs 36,569.  searching for reliable stats =  50,812 RETAIL (just retail stats) gun dealers as of oct 2012 and yes 36,569 stores w/sales of $2 million or more as of dec 2011


email from bernie sanders jan 9 2013:
Republicans like Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell who say the revenue debate is over don't want you to consider these facts:

• Federal revenue today, at 15.8 percent of GDP, is lower today than it was 60 years ago. During the last year of the Clinton administration, when we had a significant federal surplus, federal revenue was 20.6 percent of GDP.
• Today corporate profits are at an all-time high, while corporate income tax revenue as a percentage of GDP is near a record low.
• In 2011, corporate revenue as a percentage of GDP was just 1.2 percent -- lower than any other major country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, including Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, Norway, Australia, South Korea, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Ireland, Poland, and Iceland.
• In 2011, corporations paid just 12 percent of their profits in taxes, the lowest since 1972.
• In 2005, one out of four large corporations paid no income taxes at all while they collected $1.1 trillion in revenue over that one-year period.

Feds Release Nursing Home Inspections, Free of Censor’s Marks

Nursing Home Inspect: Find Nursing Home Problems in Your State

Updated: Dec. 27, 2012

http://projects.propublica.org/nursing-homes/state/MI

Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System

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Posted on Apr 11, 2011

Photo illustration by PZS based on an image by Lin Pernille Photography

By Chris Hedges

A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind. It prizes test scores above critical thinking and literacy. It celebrates rote vocational training and the singular, amoral skill of making money. It churns out stunted human products, lacking the capacity and vocabulary to challenge the assumptions and structures of the corporate state. It funnels them into a caste system of drones and systems managers. It transforms a democratic state into a feudal system of corporate masters and serfs.

Teachers, their unions under attack, are becoming as replaceable as minimum-wage employees at Burger King. We spurn real teachers—those with the capacity to inspire children to think, those who help the young discover their gifts and potential—and replace them with instructors who teach to narrow, standardized tests. These instructors obey. They teach children to obey. And that is the point. The No Child Left Behind program, modeled on the “Texas Miracle,” is a fraud. It worked no better than our deregulated financial system. But when you shut out debate these dead ideas are self-perpetuating.

Passing bubble tests celebrates and rewards a peculiar form of analytical intelligence. This kind of intelligence is prized by money managers and corporations. They don’t want employees to ask uncomfortable questions or examine existing structures and assumptions. They want them to serve the system. These tests produce men and women who are just literate and numerate enough to perform basic functions and service jobs. The tests elevate those with the financial means to prepare for them. They reward those who obey the rules, memorize the formulas and pay deference to authority. Rebels, artists, independent thinkers, eccentrics and iconoclasts—those who march to the beat of their own drum—are weeded out.

“Imagine,” said a public school teacher in New York City, who asked that I not use his name, “going to work each day knowing a great deal of what you are doing is fraudulent, knowing in no way are you preparing your students for life in an ever more brutal world, knowing that if you don’t continue along your scripted test prep course and indeed get better at it you will be out of a job. Up until very recently, the principal of a school was something like the conductor of an orchestra: a person who had deep experience and knowledge of the part and place of every member and every instrument. In the past 10 years we’ve had the emergence of both [Mayor] Mike Bloomberg’s Leadership Academy and Eli Broad’s Superintendents Academy, both created exclusively to produce instant principals and superintendents who model themselves after CEOs. How is this kind of thing even legal? How are such ‘academies’ accredited? What quality of leader needs a ‘leadership academy’? What kind of society would allow such people to run their children’s schools? The high-stakes tests may be worthless as pedagogy but they are a brilliant mechanism for undermining the school systems, instilling fear and creating a rationale for corporate takeover. There is something grotesque about the fact the education reform is being led not by educators but by financers and speculators and billionaires.”

Teachers, under assault from every direction, are fleeing the profession. Even before the “reform” blitzkrieg we were losing half of all teachers within five years after they started work—and these were people who spent years in school and many thousands of dollars to become teachers. How does the country expect to retain dignified, trained professionals under the hostility of current conditions? I suspect that the hedge fund managers behind our charter schools system—whose primary concern is certainly not with education—are delighted to replace real teachers with nonunionized, poorly trained instructors. To truly teach is to instill the values and knowledge which promote the common good and protect a society from the folly of historical amnesia. The utilitarian, corporate ideology embraced by the system of standardized tests and leadership academies has no time for the nuances and moral ambiguities inherent in a liberal arts education. Corporatism is about the cult of the self. It is about personal enrichment and profit as the sole aim of human existence. And those who do not conform are pushed aside. 

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“It is extremely dispiriting to realize that you are in effect lying to these kids by insinuating that this diet of corporate reading programs and standardized tests are preparing them for anything,” said this teacher, who feared he would suffer reprisals from school administrators if they knew he was speaking out. “It is even more dispiriting to know that your livelihood depends increasingly on maintaining this lie. You have to ask yourself why are hedge fund managers suddenly so interested in the education of the urban poor? The main purpose of the testing craze is not to grade the students but to grade the teacher.”

“I cannot say for certain—not with the certainty of a Bill Gates or a Mike Bloomberg who pontificate with utter certainty over a field in which they know absolutely nothing—but more and more I suspect that a major goal of the reform campaign is to make the work of a teacher so degrading and insulting that the dignified and the truly educated teachers will simply leave while they still retain a modicum of self-respect,” he added. “In less than a decade we been stripped of autonomy and are increasingly micromanaged. Students have been given the power to fire us by failing their tests. Teachers have been likened to pigs at a trough and blamed for the economic collapse of the United States. In New York, principals have been given every incentive, both financial and in terms of control, to replace experienced teachers with 22-year-old untenured rookies. They cost less. They know nothing. They are malleable and they are vulnerable to termination.” 

The demonizing of teachers is another public relations feint, a way for corporations to deflect attention from the theft of some $17 billion in wages, savings and earnings among American workers and a landscape where one in six workers is without employment. The speculators on Wall Street looted the U.S. Treasury. They stymied any kind of regulation. They have avoided criminal charges. They are stripping basic social services. And now they are demanding to run our schools and universities.

“Not only have the reformers removed poverty as a factor, they’ve removed students’ aptitude and motivation as factors,” said this teacher, who is in a teachers union. “They seem to believe that students are something like plants where you just add water and place them in the sun of your teaching and everything blooms. This is a fantasy that insults both student and teacher. The reformers have come up with a variety of insidious schemes pushed as steps to professionalize the profession of teaching. As they are all businessmen who know nothing of the field, it goes without saying that you do not do this by giving teachers autonomy and respect. They use merit pay in which teachers whose students do well on bubble tests will receive more money and teachers whose students do not do so well on bubble tests will receive less money. Of course, the only way this could conceivably be fair is to have an identical group of students in each class—an impossibility. The real purposes of merit pay are to divide teachers against themselves as they scramble for the brighter and more motivated students and to further institutionalize the idiot notion of standardized tests. There is a certain diabolical intelligence at work in both of these.”

“If the Bloomberg administration can be said to have succeeded in anything,” he said, “they have succeeded in turning schools into stress factories where teachers are running around wondering if it’s possible to please their principals and if their school will be open a year from now, if their union will still be there to offer some kind of protection, if they will still have jobs next year. This is not how you run a school system. It’s how you destroy one. The reformers and their friends in the media have created a Manichean world of bad teachers and effective teachers. In this alternative universe there are no other factors. Or, all other factors—poverty, depraved parents, mental illness and malnutrition—are all excuses of the Bad Teacher that can be overcome by hard work and the Effective Teacher.”

The truly educated become conscious. They become self-aware. They do not lie to themselves. They do not pretend that fraud is moral or that corporate greed is good. They do not claim that the demands of the marketplace can morally justify the hunger of children or denial of medical care to the sick. They do not throw 6 million families from their homes as the cost of doing business. Thought is a dialogue with one’s inner self. Those who think ask questions, questions those in authority do not want asked. They remember who we are, where we come from and where we should go. They remain eternally skeptical and distrustful of power. And they know that this moral independence is the only protection from the radical evil that results from collective unconsciousness. The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralized authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as Socrates understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think. Those who are endowed with a moral conscience refuse to commit crimes, even those sanctioned by the corporate state, because they do not in the end want to live with criminals—themselves.

“It is better to be at odds with the whole world than, being one, to be at odds with myself,” Socrates said.

Those who can ask the right questions are armed with the capacity to make a moral choice, to defend the good in the face of outside pressure. And this is why the philosopher Immanuel Kant puts the duties we have to ourselves before the duties we have to others. The standard for Kant is not the biblical idea of self-love—love thy neighbor as thyself, do unto others as you would have them do unto you—but self-respect. What brings us meaning and worth as human beings is our ability to stand up and pit ourselves against injustice and the vast, moral indifference of the universe. Once justice perishes, as Kant knew, life loses all meaning. Those who meekly obey laws and rules imposed from the outside—including religious laws—are not moral human beings. The fulfillment of an imposed law is morally neutral. The truly educated make their own wills serve the higher call of justice, empathy and reason. Socrates made the same argument when he said it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong.

“The greatest evil perpetrated,” Hannah Arendt wrote, “is the evil committed by nobodies, that is, by human beings who refuse to be persons.”

As Arendt pointed out, we must trust only those who have this self-awareness. This self-awareness comes only through consciousness. It comes with the ability to look at a crime being committed and say “I can’t.” We must fear, Arendt warned, those whose moral system is built around the flimsy structure of blind obedience. We must fear those who cannot think. Unconscious civilizations become totalitarian wastelands.

“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,” Arendt writes. “For human beings, thinking of past matters means moving in the dimension of depth, striking roots and thus stabilizing themselves, so as not to be swept away by whatever may occur—the Zeitgeist or History or simple temptation. The greatest evil is not radical, it has no roots, and because it has no roots it has no limitations, it can go to unthinkable extremes and sweep over the whole wo
 rld.”


cleaner bird baths = try 6-8 fresh lavender stems w/daylily leaf and put in the water.  should kill algae for 2 wks +

freshen cast iron = rub w/coarse salt.  preheat oven to 200 and put pan inside.  slowly raise to 300,  take out and cool.  wash in hot water NO soap.  this is for smells in pan not for preparing a cast iron skillet

stains:
grass = alcohol
carpet and upholstery = dab liquid laundry detergent let sit for 2 hrs.  remove w/damp cloth
chocolate = color soak, carpet and upholstery scrape off blot w/ 1 part laundry 2 parts warm water
ink = clothing carpet, upholstery rubbing alcohol then warm water
red wine = club soda and wash
fruit juice = boiling water on stain, warm for delicate fabrics; carpet 1 soap 2 water then distilled white vinegar and water, detergent again then sponge clean w/cold water

 

Floundering EAA already asking for additional state funds

Despite cutting over $1 billion from K-12 schools, Gov. Rick Snyder is considering giving $2 million in state funds to help prop up the Education Achievement Authority, an experimental school district designed to take control away from local parents, taxpayers and school employees.
The Detroit News reported today that EAA administrators are requesting the funds after some private philanthropic funding fell through.
The EAA is a special “takeover” school district created by the Snyder administration that oversees certain Detroit schools deemed by arbitrary and flawed ratings to be in the bottom 5 percent. It launched at the beginning of the current school year.
Despite its myriad challenges, Snyder and corporate school “reformers” want to expand the EAA to the entire state, allowing Lansing bureaucrats to assume many of responsibilities currently entrusted to local school board members, parents and educators.
Critics of Snyder’s plan to expand the EAA to the entire state say creating a cold, impersonal statewide school district would eliminate time-honored “neighborhood schools,” further eroding the public school system.

New american century  June 3, 1997 American foreign and defense policy is adrift. Conservatives have criticized the incoherent policies of the Clinton Administration. They have also resisted isolationist impulses from within their own ranks. But conservatives have not confidently advanced a strategic vision of America's role in the world. They have not set forth guiding principles for American foreign policy. They have allowed differences over tactics to obscure potential agreement on strategic objectives. And they have not fought for a defense budget that would maintain American security and advance American interests in the new century. We aim to change this. We aim to make the case and rally support for American global leadership. As the 20th century draws to a close, the United States stands as the world's preeminent power. Having led the West to victory in the Cold War, America faces an opportunity and a challenge: Does the United States have the vision to build upon the achievements of past decades? Does the United States have the resolve to shape a new century favorable to American principles and interests? We are in danger of squandering the opportunity and failing the challenge. We are living off the capital -- both the military investments and the foreign policy achievements -- built up by past administrations. Cuts in foreign affairs and defense spending, inattention to the tools of statecraft, and inconstant leadership are making it increasingly difficult to sustain American influence around the world. And the promise of short-term commercial benefits threatens to override strategic considerations. As a consequence, we are jeopardizing the nation's ability to meet present threats and to deal with potentially greater challenges that lie ahead. We seem to have forgotten the essential elements of the Reagan Administration's success: a military that is strong and ready to meet both present and future challenges; a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American principles abroad; and national leadership that accepts the United States' global responsibilities. Of course, the United States must be prudent in how it exercises its power. But we cannot safely avoid the responsibilities of global leadership or the costs that are associated with its exercise. America has a vital role in maintaining peace and security in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. If we shirk our responsibilities, we invite challenges to our fundamental interests. The history of the 20th century should have taught us that it is important to shape circumstances before crises emerge, and to meet threats before they become dire. The history of this century should have taught us to embrace the cause of American leadership. Our aim is to remind Americans of these lessons and to draw their consequences for today. Here are four consequences: • we need to increase defense spending significantly if we are to carry out our global responsibilities today and modernize our armed forces for the future; • we need to strengthen our ties to democratic allies and to challenge regimes hostile to our interests and values; • we need to promote the cause of political and economic freedom abroad; • we need to accept responsibility for America's unique role in preserving and extending an international order friendly to our security, our prosperity, and our principles. Such a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity may not be fashionable today. But it is necessary if the United States is to build on the successes of this past century and to ensure our security and our greatness in the next. Elliott Abrams    Gary Bauer    William J. Bennett    Jeb Bush Dick Cheney    Eliot A. Cohen    Midge Decter    Paula Dobriansky    Steve Forbes Aaron Friedberg    Francis Fukuyama    Frank Gaffney    Fred C. Ikle Donald Kagan    Zalmay Khalilzad    I. Lewis Libby    Norman Podhoretz Dan Quayle    Peter W. Rodman    Stephen P. Rosen    Henry S. Rowen Donald Rumsfeld    Vin Weber    George Weigel    Paul Wolfowitz

 washington spectator--a plan to destroy the voting rights act--about law suits against colleges for have minority weighted acceptances.
edward blum former paine webber stockbroker from houston recruited abigail fisher to file against u of texas.  he has advocacy group called "the campaign for a color-blind america legal defense fund"  his litigation funded by donorstrust--ceo = whitney ball who was on a list of right weing donors and grantees at a koch brothers strategy meeting in 2010.  previously worked for the cato institute funded by kochs and philanthropy roundtable.

tax shelters for corporations--best known is the ugland house in the cayman islands.  nearly 20,000 companies have the legal address of their many overseas corporate subsidiaries in this 1 building--only purpose is to avoid taxes

we remember GE--from 2008 to 2010 it made 7.722 billion in profit in the US, paid no fed income tax and got 4.737 billion back from the treasury.  CEO jeff immelt got 25.58 million in pay during that time.


find safe dosages of supplements at iom.edu--many people are using dietary supplements and should be checking to be sure they are being safely used

french app from  elisabeth smith's french in a day 1.99
still like this:  I shook my head thinking that boldface lying was becoming easier and easier all the time.  maybe i had a future in politics

must see GASLAND again  and new movie w/pitt

Halliburton loophole - - - thanks to cheney big oil and gas are exempt from the safe drinking water act and the clean air act

from Natural Awakening--ideas for summer problems

1.  dehydration = coconut water

2.  overheating = rose water. use food grade few droops in water and spritz yourself

3.  poison ivy = rhus tox tablets   homeopathic

4.  indigestion = nuc vomica

5.  sunburn = lavender essential oil    10 droops oil w/pure aloe  and apply

6.  muscle strains = arnica   3 tablets  NEVER apply arnica to open wound

7.  bites, stings, cuts = hydrogen peroxide, yarrow tincture and latex free bandages.  douse w/peroxide, apply 6 yo 12 drops yarrow

8.  athlete's foot = 10 to 15 drops seed extract to tablespoon water and apply area w/cotton swab 



weather rhymes from my girl scout scrapbook:

red sky in the morning, sailors take warning. red sky at night the sailors delight 

when the dew is on the grass, rain will never come to pass.

rain before 7, clear before 11

east wind brings rain, west wind fair weather

when the grass is dry at morning's light, look for the rain before the night  


i have long thought that anyone who does not regularly-or ever-gaze up and see the wonder and glory of a dark night sky filled w/countless stars loses a sense of their fundamental connectedness to the universe   --   brian greene

watershed info = http://arsagsoftware.ars.usda.gov/stewards (could not get in 1-13)

to adopt a watershed  =  http://water.epa.gov/action/adopt 
     has suggestions of things to do to help w/water solutions

when planting seeds major concern in not air temp but soil.  weel drained sandy soils heat up faster; heavy clay slower esp if wet.  in general, plant dev will be delayed 4 days in spring for every degree of latitude north you head.  for every 100 of elevation, delayed by 1 day in the spring

 onearth fall 2011: 
     power plants are largest source of mercury emissions in the air.  once mercury from the air reaches water, micro organisms can change it into methlmercury, a highly toxic form that builds up in fish...
     in the 8 states surrounding the 5 great lakes there are more than 144 coal fired power plants, pumping some 13000 pounds of mercury into the air every year.  these plants are the leading source of mercury deposition in the great lakes and midwest rivers, lakes and streams

20% of oil imports of us are from canada 

the progressive 9-2012:
     senator ron johnson repub from wis:  our rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  and when we start expanding beyond that realm,  when you create a right for somebody, you create an obligation for somebody else, and then you are taking away that person's right  TOPIC?  why there shouldn't be a law requiring businesses to cover employees who have cancer.

office of inspector gen of the state dept released a review of democracy-building grants awarded to the international repub institute in iraq from 04 to 10.  group billed taxpayers around 50 million for blackwater's security services many of which were no bid contracts.  (maybe another reason blackwater has a new name Z)

to see:  koch brothers exposed

book to read:  billionaires and ballot bandits:  how to steal an election in 9 easy steps 
     and kozol's fire in the ashes 

sept 15 2012 Washington Spectator:
 Bain Capital--bought GS industries in kansas city missouri.,  1993 paid 8.3 million.  1 yr later GS borrowed 125 million to pay off existing debt modernize the mill and pay 36.1 mil to bain.  when GS went bankrupt and closed the plant, it dismissed all employees.  the pension fund couldn't meet obligations.  so the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp had to cover about 44 mil in benefits to retired workers when the pension fund shut down in 2005.  
Bain got another fed bailout in 1991 when one of its holdings the bank of new england went under.  bain was responsible for 38 million of its loans.  in 1993 while romney was CEO of bain, the co cut a deal w/ the fed deposit ins corp to shave 10 million off bain's liability shifting that amount onto FDIC balance sheets. 

interesting to know:  although GE salmon was green lighted through the initial stages of review, the FDA based its decision largely on science conducted by AquaBounty the co that breeds the salmon

For Ben:
ben ben up before 10, do you think it'll happen again? 

june 6 2011 the nation:  blackwater founder building an army of mercenaries according to NT times.  the 800 members are under the new co name of REFLEX RESPONSES also know as R2.  prince was hired by sheik mohamed bin zayed al-nahyan crown prince of abu dhabi and bankrolled to the tune of 529 million.  crowd control, protecting oil pipelines and special ops operations inside and out of emirates "to destroy enemy personnel and equipment"  prince plans to build a training camp modeled after the 7000 private military base in built in NC 

Eric Prince

WASHINGTON — It seemed like a simple idea: In the chaos that is Somalia, create a sophisticated, highly trained fighting force that could finally defeat the pirates terrorizing the shipping lanes off the Somali coast.
But the creation of the Puntland Maritime Police Force was anything but simple. It involved dozens of South African mercenaries and the shadowy security firm that employed them, millions of dollars in secret payments by the United Arab Emirates, a former clandestine officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, and Erik Prince, the billionaire former head of Blackwater Worldwide who was residing at the time in the emirates.
And its fate makes the story of the pirate hunters for hire a case study in the inherent dangers in the outsourced wars in Somalia, where the United States and other countries have relied on proxy forces and armed private contractors to battle pirates and, increasingly, Islamic militants.
That strategy has had some success, including a recent offensive by Kenyan and African Union troops to push the militant group Al Shabab from its stronghold in the port city of Kismayu.
But with the antipiracy army now abandoned by its sponsors, the hundreds of half-trained and well-armed members of the Puntland Maritime Police Force have been left to fend for themselves at a desert camp carved out of the sand, perhaps to join up with the pirates or Qaeda-linked militants or to sell themselves to the highest bidder in Somalia’s clan wars — yet another dangerous element in the Somali mix.
Please read the entire story at the The New York Times



 

Al Gore-Trained Climate Leader Available to Speak to Your Group
Over the next several months, groups across the world will engage communities to discuss the realities of global climate change and how strategies can be put in place to lower carbon dioxide emissions and lessen impacts. With 2012 going down in history as one of the warmest years on record, melting polar ice caps, catastrophic fires, superstorms and prolonged droughts all point to climate change as a serious international crisis with devastating consequences for human life.
The Climate Reality Project is a grassroots network of more than 4,000 trained leaders who live and work all over the world. Each of them has been personally trained by former Vice President Al Gore, Chairman of the Climate Reality Project. One of these leaders is Allegan resident and Sierra Club member Mary A. Colborn, who is working to elevate this timely conversation in Southwest Michigan.
If you have a group you'd like Mary to speak to, contact her at marycolborn@honorhealnurture.com or 360-621-0050 to set up a climate reality presentation. Or click here to request a presentation.

There's still time to Register for Free Water Monitoring Webinars!

Help us fight polluting animal factories by becoming a volunteer water monitor of waterways impacted by a facility near you! Concerned citizens who want to make a difference have helped us collect vital data on the levels of pathogens and bacteria that end up in rivers and streams when manure and waste runs off from farm fields, leaks from storage lagoons or is intentionally dumped.

We're offering two free introductory webinars conducted by Goldman Environmental Prize winner Lynn Henning for folks who want to learn more Tues., Jan 29, and Thurs., Jan 31, from 7-8 pm. 

To sign up email cecilia.garcia@sierraclub.org and specify the webinar date in the subject line. We will send call-in details the week before the webinar.

One grand-prize winner will receive $1,000, and the winning photo will appear in a future issue of Horticulture.

Enter Horticulture‘s 2013 Garden Photo Contest Now!

VISIT OUR SPONSORS

PHOTO CATEGORIES
Nature’s Bounty, Gardens of the South, City Gardens, Small-Space Gardens, The Garden Landscape, Wildlife in the Garden, Beauty in the Details
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PROSPECTUS ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to photographers anywhere in the world. All works must be original.  Employees of F+W Media, Inc., and their immediate families, are not eligible.

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JUDGING
Entries will be prejudged and then finalists will be chosen by the judge named above. All properly prepared entries will be viewed and judged. The decision of the jurors is final.

NOTIFICATION
All winners will be notified by October 31, 2013. The results will not otherwise be made public until they are published in Horticulture. Non-winning entrants will not be individually notified of the results.

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I hereby warrant that I have read the attached entry rules and understand them in full.
I attest that, to the best of my knowledge, this entry (“the Work”) is the original work of the parties listed in the entry submission and that I have full power and authority to enter my submission under the terms outlined herein. I verify that Work provided as my entry is free of matter that is libelous, an invasion of privacy, or is in any other way unlawful. I further warrant that the Work does not infringe upon any statutory copyright, common-law literary right, or proprietary right of any third party, and that, where applicable, I have secured any necessary permission for use of third party material incorporated in the Work for F+W Media, Inc., (the “Sponsoring Organization”) as outlined herein.
I hereby grant the Sponsoring Organization the perpetual, non-exclusive, world-wide right to publish, republish and repurpose my artwork in both print and digital formats, including, but not limited to magazines, promotion materials, websites, databases and as part of downloadable digital products.
The sponsoring organization warrants that it shall include in all uses of the Work an attribution, in house style, based upon the contributor information provided.

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 natural awakenings jan 2013

     dirty pool great lakes under siege  by global warming   ---   "don scavia dir of the UM graham sustainability institute stated in a regional leaders' conference that climate change is aggravating the effects of devastating algae blooms in the great lakes by increasing the intensity of spring rains that wash phospohorus into the water."

     this i found interesting:  "while the practice of planting crops without plowing the ground may help prevent erosion, it leaves high concentrations of fertilizer phosphorus in the upper layers of soil, where it easily runs off into waterways".  the no till idea seems like a wise decision and yet knowing that it could increase run off shows how a good idea might bring  possible negative results.

source:  earthknowledge.net--this is a good site to explore.  more articles about many subjects including the great lakes are available

shell game   turtles facing extinction get help from the turtle survival alliance foundation which is opening a facility to house some of the most endangered freshwater turtles and tortoises near charkleston SC.  see TurtleSurvival.org

local videographer produces natural beekeeping DVD  --dvd on natural beekeeping, shows 40 yrs of beekeeping of jeremy dunbar's dad.  visit honeyfarm.blogspot.com

article  --  gmo free grocery list jan 2013 natural awakenings
the USDA confirms that large %s of the nation's crops were genetically modified in 2011 including 94% of conventional  soy and soy products,  90% cottonseed (common in margarine, salad dressings and oils) 88% corn,  95% of the 2009 US sugar beet crop (maybe data not available since then?) and 90% of canola crop.  supposedly aspartame has been made w/genetically modified bacteria since 1965 (nutrasweet and equal contain aspartame)
source:  greenamerica.org, green american magazine, and a british newspaper The Independent

nearly had a heart attack--the jan 15 issue of michigan farm news did not have it's normal style letter to the editor.  no, a letter from a farmer owner, female, against fracking!  totally unbelievable.  and w/some facts like the 600 chemicals used, 29 toxic or carcinogenic, and the 
FACT that many are under trade secret laws so we can't be told what they are.   and the FACT that fracking process is exempt from laws like the safe drinking water and clean air act, national environmental policy act, clean water act and the superfund law. 


Hightower lowdown jan 2013:
sites to explore--
www.npa-us.org     national people's action
commoncause.org     common cause
deannazandt.com     getting social w/officials, locating email, twitter, etc addresses
publiccitizen.org     public citizen
democracyisforpeople.org     
movetoamend.org
freespeechforpeople.org
united4thepeople.org
mediamatters.org
FAIR.org
PRWatch.org     center for media and democracy
nationalnursesunited.org
wellstone.org
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As of New Year's Day, residents of Michigan can no longer claim charitable contributions to homeless shelters, food banks, community foundations, public universities or other nonprofits on their state income tax, says CBS Detroit. As part of the Public Act 38 budget cuts package, Gov. Rick Snyder repealed Section 261 of the Michigan Individual Income Tax Act, eliminating charitable giving credits. Here's information about these changes.

Which organizations are affected?

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan explains the three tax credits. The Public Contribution Credit covered institutions like public broadcasting stations, higher education facilities, colleges, universities, university fundraising groups, donations of publicly displayed artwork, public libraries and museums. The Community Foundation Credit provided credits for local civic organizations. The Homeless Shelter and Food Bank Credit reimbursed contributions made to rescue missions, food kitchens and pantries and organizations whose purpose is to provide accommodation for indigent persons.

How much is the charitable tax credit worth?

Michigan Legislature defines the three credits as 50 percent nonrefundable amounts that can only be used to reduce owed taxes. On each credit, married couples filing jointly can claim up to $200 for $400 in contributions. Individual filers receive up to $100 back. CBS Local said about 250,000 residents took advantage of the credit in 2010. Snyder eliminated the Michigan Business Tax as well. That tax included charitable giving credits. These credits saved taxpayers $40 million in income taxes. Gov. Snyder is hoping to recover some of those lost income tax funds to revitalize Michigan's struggling economy.
Can donations made last year be claimed?

Donations to nonprofit organizations made before Dec.31 can be claimed on 2011's income taxes. The Holland Sentinel says mailed donations made close to the end of the year cannot count because the payment might not have processed and a receipt issued in time. Electronic, Automatic Clearing House or credit card donations are easier to claim because they provide an immediate confirmation number for payment, even though the bill may not be paid yet. All receipts for charitable gifts should be saved.

How will this affect local organizations?

The charitable contribution credits have brought in $100 million for nonprofit organizations, says CBS Detroit. Of that amount, the 2011 Community Education/Foundation and Homeless Shelter/Food Bank Credits Report says the MBT contributed a significant portion to public institutions. The majority of IIT funds went to support homeless shelters and community food banks.

Marilisa Kinney Sachteleben writes about people, places, events and issues in her home state of "Pure Michigan."


SeedsofChange.org -- organics  promo code fsmay 13 to use by may 15 2013

organic gardening feb-mar 2013
article on blight for tomatoes and potatoes -- buy romato varieties bred for blight resistance, avaoid cary over from pathogens left in potatoes not dug the previous year, recognize the dark lesions on the stems and brown spots on leaves, fuzzy white fungal growth during humid weather, act quickly--remove plant double bag and toss

same issue = reources on decoding food labels and making smart choices include:
cspinet.org
ewg.org
foodrenegade.com
healthychild.org
things to be on the lookout for:  natural flavor (natural and artificial both synthesized in labs often using hexane a toxic component of gasoline.  MSG often hiding behind "yeast extract" or "soy protein isolate")     artificial flavor     GMO's (found in 80% of processed food)     flavor packs (engineered fronm synthesized peel, pulp and orange essences they are used to reinvigorate pasteurized oj after it has been stored  for up to a year in de-aerated tanks)     BPA  (plastic hardener in food can and plastic bottles and cash register receipts)    

HobbyFarm Home march-april 2013
plants for air out home:  bamboo palm, boston ferns, dracaenas, rubber plants, peace lily 

cleaner = equal parts water and white vinegar
citrus oils like lemon orange or grapefruit to deordorize and disinfect
melaleuca (tea tree oil) to sanitize counters, etc.  keep away from kids and pets
lavender antibacterial and antiviral.  add drop or two to mop water, all purposse cleansers or room sprays