Senate leaders pledge to work through weekend to avert ‘cliff,’ following White House meeting - The Washington Post
They'd better. It goes like this: we find a dollar saved here, your turn. We find a dollar saved here. Your turn. Until budget is balanced.
Friday, December 28, 2012
In Ireland, Carbon Taxes Pay Off - NYTimes.com
In Ireland, Carbon Taxes Pay Off - NYTimes.com
Hello future, nice to see you.
Hello future, nice to see you.
"...Although much of that decline can be attributed to a recession, changes
in behavior also played a major role, experts say, noting that the
country’s emissions dropped 6.7 percent in 2011 even as the economy grew
slightly.
“We are not saints like those Scandinavians — we were lapping up fossil
fuels, buying bigger cars and homes, very American,” said Eamon Ryan,
who was Ireland’s energy minister from 2007 to 2011. “We just set up a
price signal that raised significant revenue and changed behavior. Now,
we’re smashing through the environmental targets we set for ourselves.”
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
How to Sell or Get Rid of Old Gadgets
http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/25/tech/gaming-gadgets/used-electronics/?hpt=hp_c2
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The New Mayan Era: Now We Can be Grateful, and More Conscious!
I've been thinking some about the Winter Solstice, the Mayan end of the 30,000-year-cycle on 12/21/12.
What if in fact the world did end? To live consciously, even though this probably will not happen, it is honest to take a bit of an inventory.
Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?
Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.
Because I realized on some level I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet. How can we share the planet's resources better?
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)
Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.
But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)
Still we are finite on this ride.
It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.
For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.
What if in fact the world did end? To live consciously, even though this probably will not happen, it is honest to take a bit of an inventory.
Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?
Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.
Because I realized on some level I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet. How can we share the planet's resources better?
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)
Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.
But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)
Still we are finite on this ride.
It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.
For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.
Friday, December 21, 2012
May Winter Solstice mark a shift in consciousness, a change in worldview - Guest Voices - The Washington Post
May Winter Solstice mark a shift in consciousness, a change in worldview - Guest Voices - The Washington Post
"Let us for one moment imagine that new era—how it would feel to come together and say “Yes! Yes, we are going to stop the stupid and destructive practices that are destroying the world, and all work together to make this shift right now! We will phase out coal and oil and close down the poisonous tar sands, and instead put the resources into ways we can meet our needs that will regenerate the natural systems around us. The sun, the wind, the water, the elements of life will give us power, and we will use it to build the new systems that will take us into a living future! Nature will be our model and our teacher, no longer our prey. Together we will shape a world that may have less stuff to waste but will offer us more beauty, more health, and more time to enjoy our deep connections with one another.”
"Let us for one moment imagine that new era—how it would feel to come together and say “Yes! Yes, we are going to stop the stupid and destructive practices that are destroying the world, and all work together to make this shift right now! We will phase out coal and oil and close down the poisonous tar sands, and instead put the resources into ways we can meet our needs that will regenerate the natural systems around us. The sun, the wind, the water, the elements of life will give us power, and we will use it to build the new systems that will take us into a living future! Nature will be our model and our teacher, no longer our prey. Together we will shape a world that may have less stuff to waste but will offer us more beauty, more health, and more time to enjoy our deep connections with one another.”
Saturday, December 15, 2012
***Antidotes to violence, and Hollywood responds to deadly Conn. school shooting
Hollywood responds to deadly Conn. school shooting - Yahoo! News
"We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn't have a sort of influence," Jamie Foxx said in an interview on Saturday. "It does."
Ya think? The average 10-year-old has seen tens of thousands of acts of homicide in his lifetime.
That kid reportedly has trouble differentiating between the news, movies, and video game violence. But they keep seeing homicide. We keep seeing more violence. Let's change this cycle.
I've boycotted Tarantino films (even though he's a good story-teller) and almost all other overtly violent films and tv shows for years because YAWN of the stupid, excessive morbid violence in them.
I am ahead of the curve, I think, and pray.
There's lots of things better to do than participate in that milieu: play music, play sports, play with your kids, scuba dive, bungee jump, find your X Games inner athlete and push your inner boundaries and kick ass at the top end of your potential... eat hot peppers, have sex, have more interesting sex, read the greatest novels, study eastern religion and culture, learn about terra forming and plans to expand our space programs, find video games that challenge people to find out the DNA alleles responsible for AIDS and HIV, blog, mentor a kid, watch a Bruin game, donate time to a soup kitchen, read about, volunteer for and support Doctors Without Borders, brew your own ginger beer, paint, and start a garden and grow your own food, for a few.
"We cannot turn our back and say that violence in films or anything that we do doesn't have a sort of influence," Jamie Foxx said in an interview on Saturday. "It does."
Ya think? The average 10-year-old has seen tens of thousands of acts of homicide in his lifetime.
That kid reportedly has trouble differentiating between the news, movies, and video game violence. But they keep seeing homicide. We keep seeing more violence. Let's change this cycle.
I've boycotted Tarantino films (even though he's a good story-teller) and almost all other overtly violent films and tv shows for years because YAWN of the stupid, excessive morbid violence in them.
I am ahead of the curve, I think, and pray.
There's lots of things better to do than participate in that milieu: play music, play sports, play with your kids, scuba dive, bungee jump, find your X Games inner athlete and push your inner boundaries and kick ass at the top end of your potential... eat hot peppers, have sex, have more interesting sex, read the greatest novels, study eastern religion and culture, learn about terra forming and plans to expand our space programs, find video games that challenge people to find out the DNA alleles responsible for AIDS and HIV, blog, mentor a kid, watch a Bruin game, donate time to a soup kitchen, read about, volunteer for and support Doctors Without Borders, brew your own ginger beer, paint, and start a garden and grow your own food, for a few.
Family Guy and American Dad Episodes Pulled in Wake of Connecticut School Massacre | E! Online
Family Guy and American Dad Episodes Pulled in Wake of Connecticut School Massacre | E! Online
Tom Cruise's new shoot 'em up Jack Reacher release postponed too.
Fascinating that violent and inflammatory 'entertainment' is being pulled in the wake of this Newton shooting tragedy.
One would hope we could bring ourselves to produce equally dynamic entertainment without the violence before more of these things happen, no?
Tom Cruise's new shoot 'em up Jack Reacher release postponed too.
Fascinating that violent and inflammatory 'entertainment' is being pulled in the wake of this Newton shooting tragedy.
One would hope we could bring ourselves to produce equally dynamic entertainment without the violence before more of these things happen, no?
New IPCC report: Evidence supporting climate change is ‘unequivocal’ | Science Recorder
New IPCC report: Evidence supporting climate change is ‘unequivocal’ | Science Recorder
Been that way for long time.
Time to jail those who are most responsible for keeping us back.
Jail time, for long, long time. Long time.
Been that way for long time.
Time to jail those who are most responsible for keeping us back.
Jail time, for long, long time. Long time.
Friday, December 14, 2012
Gunman Kills 20 Schoolchildren in Connecticut - NYTimes.com
Gunman Kills 20 Schoolchildren in Connecticut - NYTimes.com
How incredibly awful.
Readers horrified by the latest school violence call for gun control.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/opinion/newtown-conn-and-guns-in-america.html
How incredibly awful.
'Mr. Obama called for “meaningful action” to stop such shootings, but he did not spell out details. In his nearly four years in office, he has not pressed for expanded gun control. But he did allude on Friday to a desire to have politicians put aside their differences to deal with ways to prevent future shootings.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy of Connecticut, who went to Newtown, called the shootings “a tragedy of unspeakable terms.”
Readers horrified by the latest school violence call for gun control.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/15/opinion/newtown-conn-and-guns-in-america.html
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Pope Benedict XVI Sends First Tweet - Photo Journal - WSJ
Pope Benedict XVI Sends First Tweet - Photo Journal - WSJ
Interesting. I like the third tweet, about prayer and looking to imbue our goodness toward those in need.
Interesting. I like the third tweet, about prayer and looking to imbue our goodness toward those in need.
The 10 Most Searched Things of 2012 from Google Search
Gizmodo'd article says we're low-brow pop-culture saturated, or 'screwed up' as they put it. Which is pretty obvious to just about any sentient being. Which is also a bit of a Catch-22. Does that shallow, callow self-awareness stop one from watching piles of reality TV? I wouldn't know, I don't watch it.
I think the things here that will have the longest legs are Hurricane Sandy and iPad maybe tied for 1st, Kate, Whitney and then the London Olympics. All the rest will be gooooone not too long from now.
1. Whitney Houston
2. Gangnam Style
3. Hurricane Sandy
4. iPad 3
5. Diablo 3
6. Kate Middleton
7. Olympics 2012
8. Amanda Todd
9. Michael Clarke Duncan
10. BBB12 (don't search for this, it's a terrible Brazilian show, apparently).
I think the things here that will have the longest legs are Hurricane Sandy and iPad maybe tied for 1st, Kate, Whitney and then the London Olympics. All the rest will be gooooone not too long from now.
1. Whitney Houston
2. Gangnam Style
3. Hurricane Sandy
4. iPad 3
5. Diablo 3
6. Kate Middleton
7. Olympics 2012
8. Amanda Todd
9. Michael Clarke Duncan
10. BBB12 (don't search for this, it's a terrible Brazilian show, apparently).
Sunday, December 9, 2012
No oasis for climate in Doha desert | CAN International
No oasis for climate in Doha desert | CAN International
This is an enormous disapointment.
There are villains who will become increasingly uncomfortable and in the hot seat to change.
There is enormous effort and innovation being brought by good, smart people who will lead.
This is an enormous disapointment.
There are villains who will become increasingly uncomfortable and in the hot seat to change.
There is enormous effort and innovation being brought by good, smart people who will lead.
Climate Talks Yield Commitment to Ambitious, but Unclear, Actions - NYTimes.com
Climate Talks Yield Commitment to Ambitious, but Unclear, Actions - NYTimes.com
The NY Times really sloughed this one off.
Really failed to take to task the repressive, tragically greedy and selfish American politicians holding us back on progress. Tragic, sad, INFURIATING AND UNACCEPTABLE. Both the media and New York Times' performance and the backwards oil and coal bought-out Republican politicians themselves, just disgusting.
“What this meeting reinforced is that while this is an important forum, it is not the only one in which progress can and must be made,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, director of the international climate programs at the Environmental Defense Fund. “The disconnect between the level of ambition the parties are showing here and what needs to happen to avoid dangerous climate change is profound.”
The NY Times really sloughed this one off.
Really failed to take to task the repressive, tragically greedy and selfish American politicians holding us back on progress. Tragic, sad, INFURIATING AND UNACCEPTABLE. Both the media and New York Times' performance and the backwards oil and coal bought-out Republican politicians themselves, just disgusting.
“What this meeting reinforced is that while this is an important forum, it is not the only one in which progress can and must be made,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, director of the international climate programs at the Environmental Defense Fund. “The disconnect between the level of ambition the parties are showing here and what needs to happen to avoid dangerous climate change is profound.”
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Amy Goodman Questions Top U.S. Negotiator on Alleged Obstruction of U.N. Climate Talks in Doha
Amy Goodman Questions Top U.S. Negotiator on Alleged Obstruction of U.N. Climate Talks in Doha
"Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace International said, "Todd Stern and Jonathan Pershing have come to Doha with their needles stuck in the groove of obstructing the U.N. process, an art they have perfected." And he said that it is "disrespectful of President Obama to inflict on us two negative negotiators who act as if the comments he made after his election were never made. Obama should pick up the phone and tell his delegates to follow his lead, or, alternatively, call them back to Washington."
"Kumi Naidoo of Greenpeace International said, "Todd Stern and Jonathan Pershing have come to Doha with their needles stuck in the groove of obstructing the U.N. process, an art they have perfected." And he said that it is "disrespectful of President Obama to inflict on us two negative negotiators who act as if the comments he made after his election were never made. Obama should pick up the phone and tell his delegates to follow his lead, or, alternatively, call them back to Washington."
!!!To Fight Climate Change, College Students Take Aim at the Endowment Portfolio - NYTimes.com
To Fight Climate Change, College Students Take Aim at the Endowment Portfolio - NYTimes.com
Yes, like ending investments in South Africa during apartheid. Yes.
Yes, like ending investments in South Africa during apartheid. Yes.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Doha: Will the Arab World lead the way on climate change? - Telegraph
Doha: Will the Arab World lead the way on climate change? - Telegraph
Everyone has to chip in here. Developing nations, developed. EVERYONE.
I will cut my carbon emissions in 2013 too. At least by 20% by 2020. Probably 20% by next year.
Everyone has to chip in here. Developing nations, developed. EVERYONE.
I will cut my carbon emissions in 2013 too. At least by 20% by 2020. Probably 20% by next year.
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Sunset, Venice 12/20/2012
