Author Archives: 0xo4cdr4

Tales From City of Hope #7: Weekend Update

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on April 25, 2015

Mother Jones

Since my actual stem cell transplant happened on Thursday, that counts as Day Zero. Today is Day +2. It turns out that part of the prep for the transplant was an IV injection of both Benadryl and Ativan, so I was pretty conked out the entire day. Friday was about the same. Strong stuff, but today I seem to be more alert. For now, anyway.

My white cell count continues to drop, which is paradoxically a good thing. Basically, my immune system will drop nearly to zero, probably around Monday or Tuesday, and then begin rebounding. Assuming nothing goes wrong, the main effect will be lots of fatigue and poor appetite. So let’s hope nothing goes wrong, shall we?

In the meantime, while I wait for a guest post from President Obama, my mother has promised to deliver me a traditional chocolate birthday cake of my childhood on Sunday. We shall christen it the Day +3 cake since we’re not even within shouting distance of my birthday at the moment.

Otherwise, today is busy! Marian is here, doing some laundry while I’m being hydrated for four hours. Later my sister is coming, and our friend Eileen a little after that. Should be quite the party.

View article:

Tales From City of Hope #7: Weekend Update

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Tales From City of Hope #7: Weekend Update

Bill Moyers: "That Sound You Hear Is the Shredding of the Social Contract"

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on December 13, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website.

I met Supreme Court Justice William Brennan in 1987 when I was creating a series for public television called In Search of the Constitution, celebrating the bicentennial of our founding document. By then, he had served on the court longer than any of his colleagues and had written close to 500 majority opinions, many of them addressing fundamental questions of equality, voting rights, school segregation, and—in New York Times v. Sullivan in particular—the defense of a free press.

Those decisions brought a storm of protest from across the country. He claimed that he never took personally the resentment and anger directed at him. He did, however, subsequently reveal that his own mother told him she had always liked his opinions when he was on the New Jersey court, but wondered now that he was on the Supreme Court, “Why can’t you do it the same way?” His answer: “We have to discharge our responsibility to enforce the rights in favor of minorities, whatever the majority reaction may be.”

Continue Reading »

Source article: 

Bill Moyers: "That Sound You Hear Is the Shredding of the Social Contract"

Posted in FF, Free Press, GE, LAI, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Bill Moyers: "That Sound You Hear Is the Shredding of the Social Contract"

DonorsTrust—the Right’s Dark-Money ATM—Pumps Out Record $96 Million

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on December 3, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

DonorsTrust is the conservative movement’s little-known but hugely influential cash machine, a conduit for millions of dollars in anonymous donations to anti-union legal shops, climate change deniers, pro-life advocates, libertarian think tanks, media watchdog groups, and a panoply of other right-leaning causes. Wealthy conservatives use DonorsTrust as a surefire way to invest their money, fingerprint-free, with the assurance it will end up in the right hands. According to new tax filings obtained by Mother Jones, DonorsTrust is growing increasingly popular among the bankrollers of the conservative movement.

Last year, DonorsTrust (and its sister group, Donors Capital Fund) doled out a record $96 million, making it one of the largest honeypots for right-leaning groups. That’s an increase from $85 million in 2011 and $78 million in 2010. DonorsTrust CEO Whitney Ball, who cofounded the group in 1999 and sometimes appears at the Koch brothers’ donor summits, says the increased giving stems from her organization’s growing profile and also conservative donors’ anger at the Obama administration. And despite worries about donor burnout within the conservative ranks, Ball says DonorsTrust is on track for another great year in 2013.

Continue Reading »

See original article: 

DonorsTrust—the Right’s Dark-Money ATM—Pumps Out Record $96 Million

Posted in FF, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on DonorsTrust—the Right’s Dark-Money ATM—Pumps Out Record $96 Million

Amash Amendment to Defund NSA Phone Program Fails in House

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on July 25, 2013

Mother Jones

Rep. Justin Amash’s amendment to defund the NSA’s bulk collection of domestic telephone records failed in the House this afternoon. That’s probably not too surprising given the full court press coming from the president, the leadership of both parties, and the intelligence community. But take a look at the vote count. When was the last time we saw something so genuinely bipartisan? In the end, 94 Republicans and 111 Democrats voted in favor, and the leaders of both parties—John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Nancy Pelosi, and Steny Hoyer—all joined with President Obama to oppose the amendment and keep the NSA program in place. Despite disagreements at the margin, support for the fundamental structure of the modern national security state truly spans both parties.

On a side note, I’m not sure how to interpret the closeness of the vote. It’s possible that House leaders whipped a bare opposition majority in the short time they had and didn’t bother putting any pressure on the remaining Yes votes. If they had, maybe the vote would have been more lopsided. On the other hand, maybe they got all the votes they could and this was genuinely a close run thing. With a little more work, maybe the Yes side could have won.

And on the bright side, I note that our nation’s major newspapers all deigned to report this on their front pages today. That’s something, at least.

Link to article: 

Amash Amendment to Defund NSA Phone Program Fails in House

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Amash Amendment to Defund NSA Phone Program Fails in House

Meat industry doesn’t want to tell you where your meat comes from

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on July 10, 2013

Meat industry doesn’t want to tell you where your meat comes from

By John Upton

Shutterstock

Where did it come from?

Multinational meat medley, anybody?

Industry groups are suing the U.S. government because they don’t want to have to tell you the origins of your meat.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture implemented new rules in May that require packages of meat to be sold with labels that identify the country in which the animal was born, raised, and slaughtered. The rules also outlaw the mixing of cuts of meat from different countries in the same package. That pleased food-safety advocates, environmentalists, and some farmers.

But it angered large meat importers and producers and grocery chains. On Tuesday, some of those groups announced they were suing to have the rules overturned. From the AP:

The American Meat Institute, a trade group for packers, processors, and suppliers, and seven other groups said segregating the meat is not part of the law Congress passed and the USDA is overstepping its authority. They also claim the rule will be costly to implement and that it offers no food safety or public health benefit.

“Segregating and tracking animals according to the countries where production steps occurred and detailing that information on a label may be a bureaucrat’s paperwork fantasy, but the labels that result will serve only to confuse consumers, raise the prices they pay, and put some producers and meat and poultry companies out of business in the process,” Mark Dopp, an AMI executive, said in a statement.

The USDA says the country of original labeling, known as COOL, will help consumers make informed decisions about the food they buy. …

Other advocates of the new rule say segregating meat will help if a food safety issue develops.

So enjoy knowing where your grocery-story beef comes from, while you can. It might soon return to being mystery meat.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Business & Technology

,

Food

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Link:  

Meat industry doesn’t want to tell you where your meat comes from

Posted in Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Meat industry doesn’t want to tell you where your meat comes from

Chevron CEO admits fracking raises “legitimate” safety concerns

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on June 13, 2013

Chevron CEO admits fracking raises “legitimate” safety concerns

By John Upton

Shutterstock

Is Chevron more clued in to the dangers of fracking than the federal government?

It would seem so. The company’s CEO said this week that the industry needs to do a better job of resolving concerns about the safety of the practice. From Bloomberg:

Energy producers must deal with the “legitimate concerns” that gas development associated with hydraulic fracturing is unsafe by adopting tougher standards, Chevron Corp. Chief Executive Officer John Watson said. …

“Public expectations are very high, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t be high,” Watson said. “There are some risks out there. Some risks are overstated. But we have to engage them either way.”

Kurt Glaubitz, a Chevron spokesman, said Watson was referring to concerns with truck traffic and the disposal of hazardous wastewater from the fracking process as areas of concern the industry needs to confront.

Those are stronger words than we’ve heard from the Obama administration, which is taking a less-than-aggressive approach to regulating the fracking industry — much to the anger of environmentalists.

Still, the comments amount to little more than rhetoric. Chevron is being sued by neighbors in Pennsylvania over pollution and noise from its gas fracking wells. And Chevron’s overall safety record is appalling. A string of accidents, including an explosion at a San Francisco Bay Area refinery last year, recently cost Watson some of his annual bonus. (But don’t worry about him, he still took home more than $30 million last year.)

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

Find this article interesting? Donate now to support our work.Read more: Business & Technology

,

Climate & Energy

Also in Grist

Please enable JavaScript to see recommended stories

Source:  

Chevron CEO admits fracking raises “legitimate” safety concerns

Posted in Anchor, FF, G & F, GE, LG, ONA, organic, solar, Uncategorized, wind power | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chevron CEO admits fracking raises “legitimate” safety concerns

‘Artificial Leaf’ Uses Photosynthesis to Create Clean Electricity

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on June 11, 2013

Donna Hamilton

on

5 Ways to Show Dad You Love Him

6 minutes ago

customize your newsletter

causes & news
animal welfare
global warming
environment & wildlife
human rights
women’s rights
news
submit news story
healthy living
food & recipes
health & wellness
healthy home
family life
true beauty
pets
shopping
take action
browse petitions
create a petition
daily action
volunteer
jobfinder
click to donate
community & sharing
people
groups
singles
photos
blogs
polls
ecards
my care2
my account
my groups
my page
my friends
my petitionsite
my messages
join care2
about us
advertise
partnerships
careers
press
contact us
terms of service
privacy
subscription center
help
rss feeds

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved

healthy living
food
health
love + sex
nature
pets
spirit
home
life
family
green
do good
all recipes
appetizers & snacks
basics
desserts
drinks
eating for health
entrees
green kitchen tips
raw
side dishes
soups & salads
vegan
vegetarian
videos
ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
AYURVEDA
CONDITIONS
DIET & NUTRITION
FITNESS
GENERAL HEALTH
HEALTHY AGING
Mental Wellness
MEN’S HEALTH
NATURAL REMEDIES
WOMEN’S HEALTH
VIDEOS
dating
friendship
relationships
sex
videos
environment
lawns & gardens
natural pest control
outdoor activities
wildlife
videos
Adoptable Pets
Animal Rights
Behavior & Communication
Cats
Dogs
Everyday Pet Care
Humor & Inspiration
Less Common Pets
Pet Health
Cute Pet Photos
Safety
Wildlife
Remedies and Treatments
Videos
Biorhythms
Deepak Chopra’s Tips
Exercises
Global Healing
Guidance
Inspiration
Peace
Self-Help
Spirituality & Technology
Videos
home
life
family
beauty
green
do good
crafts & designs
news
videos
conscious consumer
blogs
astrology
my favorites
my Care2 main
my account
my butterfly rewards
my click to donate
my eCards
my friends
my groups
my kudos
my messages
my news
my page
my petitionsite
my photos
my sharebook
my subscriptions
my thank you notes

See the article here:  

‘Artificial Leaf’ Uses Photosynthesis to Create Clean Electricity

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Artificial Leaf’ Uses Photosynthesis to Create Clean Electricity

News Orgs Not Thrilled About Meeting With Eric Holder

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on May 29, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

In his big national security speech last week, President Obama promised that Attorney General Eric Holder would meet with members of the press to “review existing Department of Justice guidelines governing investigations that involve reporters.” Michael Calderone says this isn’t unusual:

When the press and government are battling over issues of access or press freedom, it’s common to bring in top Washington-based editors and executives in hopes of coming to a resolution.

I didn’t know this, actually, and I’m curious about how often meetings like this take place. Whatever the answer, it turns out that this one won’t include the New York Times, which says it “isn’t appropriate for us to attend an off the record meeting with the attorney general.” AP agrees. This suggests that past meetings like this have been on the record. Is there an old-timer out there who can give us the skinny on this?

In any case, here’s the interesting thing about whether this meeting is on or off the record: I doubt that it matters much to Holder. He’s basically asking for input into revised policies, not making news or committing himself to anything. But it might matter to the editors who attend. After all, if the meeting is on the record, they’re pretty constrained in what they can say. How likely is it that they can be candid if they know they’re speaking for public consumption? Not very, I’d guess.

Source: 

News Orgs Not Thrilled About Meeting With Eric Holder

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , | Comments Off on News Orgs Not Thrilled About Meeting With Eric Holder

USDA Sticks It to Monsanto and Dow—At Least Temporarily

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on May 11, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Back in early 2012, the US Department of Agriculture seemed on the verge of approving new genetically modified crops from agrichemical giants Monsanto and Dow. The two agrichemical giants were pushing new corn and soy varieties that would respond to the ever-expanding problem of herbicide-tolerant superweeds by bringing more-toxic herbicides into the mix—and likely ramping up the resistance problem, as I explained at length in a post at the time.

Even some mainstream ag scientists were alarmed at the coming escalation in the war against weeds. Scientists at Penn State—not exactly a hotbed of alternative ag thinking—delivered a damning analysis of the novel crops, which would engineered to withstand not only Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, but also the highly toxic old ones 2,4-D (Dow’s version) and Dicamba (Monsanto’s).

Yet in August, the USDA again signaled that approval would be imminent—and by the end of 2012, people who follow ag regulatory issues were telling me that the USDA would almost certainly approve the crops over Christmas break, timing the decision in an effort to minimize the inevitable uproar.

But then Christmas came and went with no announcement—leading Dow to issue a January press statement about how the unexpected delay meant it could not sell its new product to farmers for the 2013 growing season. Yet the company remained confident about the prospects for approval in time for planting in 2014—it told the trade journal Delta Farm Press it “expects all approvals will be in place for sale in late 2013,” in time for a its novels seeds to be used over a “broad geography” in 2014.

But on Friday, the USDA essentially trampled on those expectations—it announced it was delaying approval of the crops until it could generate full environmental impact statements (known as EIS’s) on them. The move effectively means that the crops won’t be planted in fields next year, either, a Dow spokesperson told Bloomberg News.

Continue Reading »

This article: 

USDA Sticks It to Monsanto and Dow—At Least Temporarily

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Comments Off on USDA Sticks It to Monsanto and Dow—At Least Temporarily

Travels in China, With Skateboard: A Photo Diary

by 0xo4cdr4 Posted on April 7, 2013

Mother Jones

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC “-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN” “http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd”>

Changsha, Rian Dundon’s first monograph, could be aptly subtitled My Six Years Hanging out in China. Not unlike the country itself, Changsha is big and sprawling, a photo diary akin to something Anders Petersen, Morten Andersen, or Jacob Au Sobol might put together. There’s no real narrative, no particular story set out to be told in pictures. It’s just Dundon carrying his camera and loads of black and white film as he tumbles from one adventure to the next. It’s my favorite kind of photo project.

Dundon set out on his journey without any real background in the country or its languages, landing in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, located on a branch of the Yangtze River. He expected to be there for a year. He wound up spending six.

Dundon dove into the city headfirst, exploring its alleys, skateboarding its streets, eating, drinking, smoking, and, of course, shooting constantly. What emerged was a view of China we don’t often see in the West, a chronicle of daily life for a younger generation.

It’s the absence of an agenda that makes the book work so well. The in-between moments, direct flash shots in nightclubs, landscapes, city details, and otherwise mundane street scenes come together to create a more telling experience of life in China than any formal photo story could hope to. Changsha offers its perusers a chance to live vicariously through Dundon, and it’s a far more interesting armchair-travel experience than anything you’ll find in an airline magazine.

Perhaps the best way to review this kind of book is simply to let the photos sell you on it (or not). So here’s but a very small glimpse at some of the 200 pages of photos in Changsha, which I recommend highly.

(emphas.is, 2013)

Original post:

Travels in China, With Skateboard: A Photo Diary

Posted in FF, GE, ONA, Uncategorized, Venta | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Travels in China, With Skateboard: A Photo Diary