Veterans March For Occupy Movement in New York City

Veterans March For Occupy Movement in New York City

"Eli Wright, Iraq War veteran: "Veterans are coming home and finding that we don’t access to proper medical care, we don’t have access to jobs. We’re having a difficult time getting the educational benefits we were promised and we served for so, I’m worried about how I’m going to feed my daughter and how I’m going to put her through college. So I’m basically here with everybody else, marching for economic justice for all of us."

Thousands of Occupy Oakland Supporters Shut Down Major Port With General Strike

Thousands of Occupy Oakland Supporters Shut Down Major Port With General Strike

Sign the Petition: Properly Investigate XL Pipeline tar sands

Call for an investigation of the State Department's tar sands scandal

Sign this XL Keystone Pipeline petition, for a full investigation, not a whitewash.
This is one of the BIGGEST issues for FALL 2011 that needs to be properly looked at.

Senator Loni Hancock AWESOME Occupy Support Letter

Senator Loni Hancock

"As a part of the 99%, I support the Occupy Oakland movement and the Occupy Movements across the country. And this week, I will be adding my voice in support of the General Strike that has been called in Oakland.

The Occupy Movement is a national outcry against the strangling influence of money and corporate influence on our economy, our political system, and on our national soul and reputation. I am grateful to them for rallying Americans from all walks of life to speak up and speak out against the forces that show them such disrespect. I am grateful that they are demanding a return to the American Dream of a strong and stable middle class.

Every day my office intervenes to help people who are losing their homes and their jobs, or struggling to pay for their children's education. I hear from frustrated and angry Americans worried about their retirement savings because of Wall Street greed and mismanagement.

Unfortunately, I also see many of the biggest and most profitable corporations demanding more concessions from government -- more tax breaks, giveaways, and special treatment, no matter what the cost is to our society. Every bill I have introduced in the Senate to make our tax system more equitable or take money out of politics has faced their powerful opposition.

Peaceful civil disobedience is a basic human right and has been used ethically and successfully throughout the world. The violent response to peaceful disobedience last week could have been avoided and should be condemned. Oakland is a dynamic place where diversity is usually encouraged. It is tragic that Oakland is now known as the first and only Occupied City where violence has erupted.

I urge the City leadership to work with the Occupy Movement - and the Occupy Movement to work with the City - to ensure that effective and peaceful protest can continue. As a person who has lived most of my adult life in the East Bay, raised my family here, and as a State Senator fighting for quality education, a healthy environment and economic equity for all Californians, I am ready to help in any way I can."

Climate experts: Expect more weather disasters - CBS News

Climate experts: Expect more weather disasters - CBS News

"(AP) WASHINGTON - Freakish weather disasters — from the sudden October snowstorm in the Northeast U.S. to the record floods in Thailand — are striking more often. And global warming is likely to spawn more similar weather extremes at a huge cost, says a draft summary of an international climate report obtained by The Associated Press...."

Prominent Climate Change Skeptic Admits Global Warming is Real

Prominent Climate Change Skeptic Admits Global Warming is Real

Report: Increased Frequency of Weather Disasters Result of Global Warming

Democracy Now! | Headlines for November 01, 2011

"Report: Increased Frequency of Weather Disasters Result of Global Warming

A soon-to-be-released report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has found that freakish weather disasters are striking more often as a result of global warming. According to the Associated Press, the new IPCC report says scientists are "virtually certain" that the world will have more extreme spells of heat and fewer of cold. Heat waves could peak as much as five degrees hotter by mid-century and even nine degrees hotter by the end of the century."

Here's What YOU Can Do - U.N. Reports 7 Billion Humans

U.N. Reports 7 Billion Humans, but Others Don’t Count on It - NYTimes.com

***Zero-population growth: the tenet is one person in for each person already on the earth. So, in a two parent family = two kids max = zero population growth

It sounds easy, but I have to focus every day on improving also:

***Minimize one's consumption

***Don't buy things with excess packaging

***Don't buy things unless you need them

***Buy things that feature bio-degradable and/or recycled packaging (costs a *little* more; invest in our future please)

***Recycle as much paper, plastic, metal, as you can

>>>MOST PEOPLE TELL ME THEY RECYCLE MUCH MORE THAN THEY THROW AWAY!!! THIS IS GREAT!! KEEP IT UP!!

***Buy local, organic food. It really keeps the carbon/pollution costs of transporting your food down

***Buying local, organic food also supports local economies, ensures your food is most fresh, and keeps pesticides and other poisons out of us and the ground

***Consider zero-population growth: the tenet is one person in for each person already on the earth. So, in a two parent family = two kids max = zero population growth

***Don't waste water; we take it for granted

***TURN OFF THE SPOUT when brushing teeth or shaving, etc. I still have to remind myself to do this sometimes. Don't overwater outside.

***Go UNDER YOUR BATHROOM & KITCHEN SINKS and turn the hot and cold water flow knobs down 10-25%; Max flow will still be plenty; the avg. flow will now save water and YOU money

***Replace the three most used lights in your house with compact fluorescents -- this will save you 75% on your electrical bill for those fixtures, breaking even for the $2 bulb purchase price in a matter of weeks if the bulbs are frequently used; you WILL NOTICE THE SAVINGS on your NEXT electrical bill

***Replace the next three most used lights with compact fluorescents next month, until there are no more 18th Century, loses-most-of-its-efficiency-in-heat, Thomas Edison incandescent bulbs in your house

***Buy a hybrid, or electric car, when you can, when it suits your style and there is a suitable vehicle

***Walk or bike when you can!

***Have some candlelight nights, "turn the lights down low" as Bob Marley put it

***Put up solar panels right now, if you can afford it. Call me if you need help figuring out if it's feasible for you.

***Support higher fuel-mileage legislation

***Support clean-energy legislation and products, and use them

***Find clever ways to save energy around your house

***Be mindful, have fun, kick ass

***And realize how much more fun and safe the world will be if it's not terribly over-crowded, polluted and everyone is fighting for basic resources in a decade or generation

***You want your kids, and you, to live in a more fun, safe, and sustainable world in the future, don't you??? Do it! Now re-read the above and have a great day.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html

http://colbyallerton.blogspot.com/

After the Arab Spring: Islam, democracy, bikinis and polygamy - CNN

After the Arab Spring: Islam, democracy, bikinis and polygamy - CNN

This is very similar to my Egypt post! A great read that covers "modernity and Islam," with several countries covered, including Tunisia, Libya, Turkey, and some Iran.

"...The whole region is heading toward a moderate Islam and an Islam which is democratic, through the reconciliation between Islam and modernity," the Wall Street Journal quoted him [Rachid Ghannouchi -- leader of the Islamist Ennahda party in Tunisia] as saying...."

"...Even so, many observers of the region say Tunisia has a better chance than most Arab states to forge a moderate Islamist democracy. A former French colony with close ties to Europe, it is the most industrialized of Arab countries, with an educated middle-class and newly thriving media. It is heavily reliant on tourism, and Ennahda has been quick to reassure the industry that alcohol and bikinis won't be outlawed. And whatever the transgressions of the Ben Ali regime that was overthrown in January, it was less mercurial and brutal than that of Gadhafi next door...."

"...Ennahda says it is inspired by the success of Turkey's Justice and Development Party in merging Islam and modernity. Justice and Development has now been in power for nearly a decade; it has won three elections and has presided over rapid economic growth (forecast at 8 per cent this year). It has also advanced the growth of an Islamic space in a country whose secular constitution is fiercely guarded by the military.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a devout Muslim, made a triumphant tour of North Africa last month (all the more triumphant perhaps because of Turkey's recent falling-out with Israel) to tout the Turkish model. In Tunis, Erdogan predicted: "The success of the electoral process in Tunisia will show the world that democracy and Islam can go together....."