lauraanne_gilman: (Default)
and please, let it be merrie. I think we could all use a merrie month of May at this point, non?

Interesting thing about temperatures. I woke up this morning and put on a sleeveless tank and a pair of shorts. About half the windows in the apartment are open. I'm quite comfortable. The temperature in here is 61 degrees. The same 61 degrees that a few months ago had me wearing sweatpants and a fleecy jacket, and wondering if I should turn the thermostat up a bit higher.

Same temperature in the apartment. Totally different physical reactions. Always amuses me.

-----------------------
Had a discussion last night with someone about reducing our greenhouse footprint, and he challenged me to come up with five ways, large or small, I've done something about it.

1. I walk distances of less than 2 miles, rather than driving, and use my bike for under 5 miles (okay, unless there's lugging of very heavy things involved or weather issues).
2. I air dry clothing where possible, rather than automatically dumping everything into the dryer.
3. when I leave a room for more than an hour, I turn off the power strips, so there is no power drain at all (amazing, how much energy even turned-off electronics can use, over time!)
4. I have my desk and working chair set up to take advantage of natural light, rather than having to use overhead or lamps during the day.
5. I have cut my use of the dry cleaner's by more than half, and stopped buying clothing that is dry clean only.

How about you?
lauraanne_gilman: (Default)
I woke up this morning and thought to myself: 'self, you are not going to make it into the shower, much less through the day, without coffee.'

Thankfully, there was coffee to be had.


but that's not what I'm here to post about. There's some nice news, for a change, from the world of the Awl Bidness......

ConocoPhillips supports greenhouse gas regulation

In so doing, ConocoPhillips breaks ranks with the two biggest U.S.
oil companies - ExxonMobil and Chevron - as well as with the Bush
administration. With revenues of $188 billion in 2006, ConocoPhillips
operates in 40 nations around the world from its headquarters in Bush
country - Houston, Texas.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/10/news/companies/pluggedin_gunther_conocophillips.fortune


I know where I'm filling up my car from now on...
lauraanne_gilman: (truth to power)
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the federal agency responsible for providing women with access to contraceptives and pregnancy counseling resigned unexpectedly Thursday after Medicaid officials took action against him in Massachusetts.

The Health and Human Services Department provided no details about the nature of the Massachusetts action that led to Dr. Eric Keroack's resignation.

Just five months ago, Keroack was chosen by President Bush to oversee HHS' Office of Population Affairs and its $283 million annual budget. The pick angered Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion rights groups that viewed him as opposed to birth control and comprehensive sex education. Keroack had worked for an organization that opposes contraception.

''Yesterday, Dr. Eric Keroack alerted us to an action taken against him by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Office of Medicaid. As a result of this action I accepted his resignation,'' Dr. John Agwunobi, assistant secretary for health, said in a terse statement Thursday evening.

Massachusetts Medicaid officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.
lauraanne_gilman: (stop that)
Still being eaten by sharks (glad to be providing amusement to y'all) but I wanted to pass along this link by way of [livejournal.com profile] deedop and [livejournal.com profile] scarlettina about Kathy Sierra, and the 'culture' of hate-spewing on the Internet. Go. Read. React.

It's funny, in a horrible way -- much of BURNING BRIDGES and DOWN INTO DARKNESS is about hatred, and taking a stand, and the costs of both. And as I'm writing it, I'm wondering to myself "is this too over the top? Is this too obvious, too insane, too self-destructive for people to believe could happen?"

And, as always -- Life trumps plot without even trying.


Now, if you'll excuse me, my shark is calling.
lauraanne_gilman: (snarl)
Recalled Pet Food List Grows - It's Time To Act

This afternoon, by internet press release, Menu Pet Foods is now telling consumer to get rid of ALL wet food ("cuts and gravy) manufactured by their company, regardless of date. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is backing up the announcement. This is the direct quote from the Menu Foods Company: As a result of reports from the FDA and various media outlets that some recalled lots of "cuts and gravy" style wet pet food remain on store shelves, Menu Foods has asked all retail outlets to immediately remove all impacted varieties of wet pet food posted at www.menufoods.com, regardless of the date code. In other words, please click on the link below--which is from the FDA website--and throw ALL of the wet food brands listed out. Period.

Recall of Pet Foods Manufactured by Menu Foods, Inc.-- Revised March 24, 2007

This is not to alarm or panic you, only to let you know about something that was announced on a Sunday afternoon on the Internet only on the company's website and the FDA's website. A few quick-thinking electronic media outlets have also (slowly) started to pick up the story. But the way this was "announced" in my opinion smells suspiciously like what we in the media call "burying the story." Friends, it is time for us to act as consumers who are entrusted with the well-being of our companion animals. We at New York Tails have endeavored in the past to urge everyone to check out how the pet food industry is--and isn't--regulated. (See http://www.newyorktails.com/pe tfood.htm as an example.) Now this issue has come to the fore in a most unfortunate way. Please go to the FDA link to see the updated information. In the meantime, I'd like to ask you all to join me in writing a short note to the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine and attaching a picture of you and your pet(s) on it--dogs, cats, birds, fish, exotics. More details to come. But first, get rid of the food as listed in the updated release. Then, get paper, pen, envelope and a photo of you and your pet ready. I have an idea I'd like to run by you which I'll tell you more about in a few days.

Stay tuned, stay well

Diane West
New York Tails
email: newyorktails@aol.com
phone: 212.214.0653
web: http://www.newyorktails.com
lauraanne_gilman: (meerkat and diet coke)
Smart Fortwo Set to Come Across the Pond
By Matthias Pfannmüller (Road & Track, via YahooNews)

"When the Smart Fortwo arrives in the U.S. in early 2008, parent company DaimlerChrysler doesn't want to repeat past mistakes. The first Smart hit the European market in 1998, but the brand has never been profitable. With the new Fortwo, Smart is starting anew with a car tailor-made for the United States. Standard safety features include four airbags, ABS and stability control. The U.S. Fortwo will have increased cabin and trunk space and a new 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine making 84 bhp, mated to a refined semi-automatic transmission. Company executives claim the car will get about 40 mpg.

Three models will be available: The Pure with optional air conditioning starts at $11,000; the better-equipped Passion will cost $13,000 and the Convertible will be $15,000. A Brabus version with more power will be presented at the Geneva show in March. Roger Penske's UnitedAuto Group will be the exclusive distributor in the U.S., and they will be taking orders in about two months on their Web site, www.smartusa.com."

----------
They're ugly. They're very very ugly. In a bulldog-cute sort of way. And I think they're overpriced, compared to a basic Toyota, fer'ex. But you can park them anywhere, and if the mileage holds up over time.... for short-haul commuters and grocery-getters, at least, this may be the Next Car To Own.

I wouldn't want to drive more than an hour anywhere in it, tho.



ETA: and, best quote of the day: Speaking to MarketWatch's David Weidner about why a hedge fund would want to go public, a finance professor said, "When the smart money is pulling out, it's time to start selling to the dumb money." OUCH!
ETA2: second-best quote of the day: "People on the Internet? Really like porn. Who knew?"
ETA3: I may have had too much caffeine already today. Or maybe it's still yesterday's caffeine. I dunno.
lauraanne_gilman: (meerkat and diet coke)
Make a Difference in the Fight Against Cancer!

On Saturday, May 5th, I will again be taking part in the Revlon Run/Walk For Women as part of the New Haven Collective team, raising money to fund the fight against women's cancers.

I'm putting my sweat and shoe leather into this, but you can help too, without getting up off the sofa! Simply by making a pledge or donation on my pledge site -- https://www.revlonrunwalk.com/ny/secure/mywebpage.cfm?pID=345017

It is estimated that one in eight American women will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in her life. In 2006, 273,560 women lost their lives to the disease. Behind this staggering statistic is the face of a woman who needs your help - a mother, a wife, a sister, a friend. Your pledge will help fund important research into the cause and cure of women's cancers, prevention, education and support service programs. Every pledge will help bring us one step closer to a cure, as 100% of the funds raised go directly to research.

On behalf of those who have been helped, and those who will be helped, and those who someday may never need such help...thank you.


ETA: if every person who has friended me pledged $5 - $5! I would reach my goal and then some! Think about that...


Created in 1993 through the committed and collective efforts of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, Lilly Tartikoff, Ronald O. Perelman, and Rehage Entertainment, the Revlon Run/Walk For Women has grown to become one of the nation?s largest 5K fundraising events. To date, the Run/Walks (LA/NY) have raised over 42 million dollars for cancer research, counseling, and outreach programs.
lauraanne_gilman: (dandelion break)
Clinton’s Foundation Brokers AIDS Deal
By ANAND GIRIDHARADAS
Published: November 30, 2006

MUMBAI, Nov. 30 — The cost of treating children infected with H.I.V. and AIDS is poised to plummet next year, under a deal announced today between two Indian drugmakers and former President Bill Clinton’s foundation.

Cipla and Ranbaxy Laboratories agreed to make 19 different anti-retroviral drugs designed for children available at an average price of 16 cents a day, or $60 a year, which is about 45 percent lower than the lowest current price, the Clinton Foundation said in a statement.

Because not everyone has access to the current lowest price, the plan will actually translate into a four- to six-fold cost reduction for many children, said Stephen Lewis, the United Nations special envoy for H.I.V. and AIDS in Africa.

The prices will be available to 62 developing countries and will lead to the treatment of an additional 100,000 people in 2007, the statement said.

read more here via the New York Times



(they were racing the clock, according to the article, because laws are about to change in India that would have made this deal impossible in a few years. While I'm all for patent protection, and all for pharmecutical copies recouping the not-inconsiderable costs of research and development.... I'm still cheering this like crazy.)
lauraanne_gilman: (truth to power)
"Gay couples have the same marriage rights as heterosexual couples under the New Jersey state constitution, the state Supreme Court rules." -- CNN News Update

ETA: Following this on the news, and it looks like my first evaluation was right -- this isn't an MA-type "gay marriage is legal" blow, but a very measured legal ruling that states that marriage-rights may not be determined by gender makeup but rather by commitment. The legislative branch now has a set period of time to determine how to make it so.

The wording may not be what activists want -- "one marriage for all couples" -- but I firmly believe that wording is less important than protection, esepcially with so many hetero couples opting out of marriage in favor of domestic partnerships, these days...
lauraanne_gilman: (Default)
NEW YORK - The symptoms of Parkinson's disease that all but ended Michael J. Fox's acting career are making him a powerfully vulnerable campaign pitchman for five Democrats who support stem cell research.

In 30-second TV ads for Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin, who is running for the Senate in Maryland, Senate candidate Claire McCaskill in Missouri and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, Fox shakes and rocks as he directly addresses the camera, making no effort to hide the effects of his disease.

In the McCaskill ad, which has been viewed by more than 1 million people on YouTube.com, Fox tells voters, "What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans. Americans like me."

read more )
lauraanne_gilman: (peevy short chick)
under the heading of "no more foxes chickenhawks guarding the henhouse, please..."

----------

Hastert (R-IL) admitted in today's Washington Times(1) that he knew about some of Foley's actions. He didn't investigate; he did nothing except try to keep it quiet. This inaction demonstrates a lack of leadership and seriously calls into question Hastert's judgment and character.

As a result of his negligence and lack of leadership, we must demand that Rep. Hastert step down as House Speaker. Conservatives, liberals and everyone in between are calling for a new leader that puts the safety of our children ahead of their own political power. Sign this petition today and join them.

Matt Holland
TrueMajority Online Director

1 - The Washington Times, 3 October 2006




Here's the message we'll send to your representative:

I'm appalled that Speaker Dennis Hastert and other House leaders didn't take action to protect the young pages Mark Foley was pursuing with suggestive online messages. That's not leadership, and it's not acceptable. I'd like YOU to show leadership in urging Dennis Hastert to step down as Speaker.
lauraanne_gilman: (truth to power)
excerpted from an e-mail I just got from Move-On (an organization with whom I have a number of disagreements but they do get the word out on stuff):


"On Friday, Republican Senator George Allen sank to a new low. At a campaign stop the senator singled out the only non-white member of the audience--S.R. Sidarth, a young Indian-American volunteering for his opponent and called him "macaca" (a racial slur meaning 'monkey').1 He went on to say, "welcome to America." As it happens, Mr. Sidarth was born and raised in Virginia."
...

Unfortunately, this isn't the first incident of its kind. Sen. Allen--who's a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008--has a long history of demeaning minorities. Here are just a few examples of his racial hostility.2

Read more... )
lauraanne_gilman: (Default)
http://www.earthday.net/



"Earth Day -- April 22 -- each year marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.

Among other things, 1970 in the United States brought with it the Kent State shootings, the advent of fiber optics, "Bridge Over Troubled Water," Apollo 13, the Beatles' last album, the death of Jimi Hendrix, the birth of Mariah Carey, and the meltdown of fuel rods in the Savannah River nuclear plant near Aiken, South Carolina -- an incident not acknowledged for 18 years.

It was into such a world that the very first Earth Day was born.

Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, proposed the first nationwide environmental protest "to shake up the political establishment and force this issue onto the national agenda. " "It was a gamble," he recalls, "but it worked."

At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. Environment was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.

Earth Day 1970 turned that all around.

On April 22, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment. Denis Hayes, the national coordinator, and his youthful staff organized massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.

Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

Sen. Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- the highest honor given to civilians in the United States -- for his role as Earth Day founder.

As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting the status of environmental issues on to the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. For 2000, Earth Day had the Internet to help link activists around the world. By the time April 22 rolled around, 5,000 environmental groups around the world were on board, reaching out to hundreds of millions of people in a record 184 countries. Events varied: A talking drum chain traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa, for example, while hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., USA.

Earth Day 2000 sent the message loud and clear that citizens the world 'round wanted quick and decisive action on clean energy.

Now, the fight for a clean environment continues. We invite you to be a part of this history and a part of Earth Day. Discover energy you didn't even know you had. Feel it rumble through the grass roots under your feet and the technology at your fingertips. Channel it into building a clean, healthy, diverse world for generations to come..."
lauraanne_gilman: (snarl)
Heeding Pakistani Protest, U.N. Blocks Talk by Rape Victim

By WARREN HOGE
Published: January 21, 2006

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 20 - Mukhtar Mai, the Pakistani woman whose defiant response to being gang-raped by order of a tribal court brought her worldwide attention, was denied a chance to speak at the United Nations on Friday after Pakistan protested that it was the same day the country's prime minister was visiting.

The United Nations denied Mukhtar Mai, who was gang-raped by order of a tribal court, a chance to speak yesterday after Pakistan objected.
Ms. Mai had long been scheduled to make an appearance called "An Interview With Mukhtar Mai: The Bravest Woman on Earth" in the United Nations television studios, sponsored by the office for nongovernmental organizations, the Virtue Foundation and the Asian-American Network Against Abuse of Human Rights.

But on Thursday night the organizers were informed that the program would have to be postponed because of Pakistan's objections.

Ms. Mai is leaving New York on Saturday so the effect was to cancel her appearance.

Asked at a news conference why Pakistan had taken the action, the prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, said: "I have no idea. You have informed me and so have some other people as I was walking in. I don't know how the place functions."

The Pakistani Mission did not return calls seeking comment.

In 2002, a village council sentenced Ms. Mai to be gang-raped for the supposed misconduct of her brother. Pakistani women in such circumstances often commit suicide, but Ms. Mai instead successfully challenged her rapists in court. She gave the compensation money she received to schools in her remote district.

Rest of article is here before it gets pushed aside by flashier news items.
lauraanne_gilman: (Default)
WASHINGTON, Nov. 30 - Well before the argument in a New Hampshire abortion case was over, the question that had drawn the crowds to the Supreme Court on a crisp Wednesday morning had an answer. No, abortion law was not about to undergo a major change in the hands of the new Roberts court, at least not yet.

The justices appeared to be in broad agreement on two propositions: that laws regulating teenagers' access to abortion must make allowances for medical emergencies; and that the New Hampshire law, requiring notice to one parent and a 48-hour waiting period, failed to do so.

The only dispute was over how to fix the problem, and even as to that question, there was some evidence of a consensus in the making.

The hundreds of spectators in the courtroom, and the countless more who were able to listen, thanks to the court's unusually speedy release of the audiotape, were treated to an intense and lively session during which the justices appeared at times almost to be thinking out loud about how to proceed


for more, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/01/politics/politicsspecial1/01scotus.html?hp&ex=1133499600&en=96e52ac99af783df&ei=5094&partner=homepage


It really is a fascinating look into the proceedings, and the thought process that goes into it -- reassuring to those of us who wonder at times if there is any thought left at higher levels of law and government. The answer is yes, at least on the legal front. Jury's still out on politicos.
lauraanne_gilman: (pissed)
"Imagine walking into a pharmacy with a prescription and being
told by the pharmacist, 'I won't fill it. It's my right not to
fill it.' Yes, it's outrageous, but this is exactly what
happened to a 26-year-old woman who presented a prescription for
emergency contraception at a Target in Fenton, MO, on September
30. Planned Parenthood is demanding that pharmacists dispense
medication, not moral judgment, and we need your voice to be
heard, too."

Contact Target and insist that every woman's pills be filled --
now!
http://www.ppaction.org/campaign/fillmypillsnow_target/

the full Planned Parenthood call to action )

And while you're at it, show your support for CVS, which to-date has made a policy of filling ALL prescriptions, no questions asked, no unwanted moral judgements handed down.
lauraanne_gilman: (Default)
Is anyone else bothered that Bush has chosen his former personal lawyer, a woman with no judicial experience whatsoever, for a position on the Supreme Court?


She may be a fabulous person. She may even have political and judicial views I agree with (Haven't read enough to know). But personally? I think you should have gotten in some actual job experience behind the Big Desk before you get to wear the Big Black Robe of a Supreme.


But maybe that's just me.

ETA: to clarify my position on this -- for the State level, I have fewer/no problems with a relatively inexperienced lawyer with credentials being appointed. But at the Federal level? A person of any political stripe, appointed by any political stripe, without experience or significant creds? Nuh-uh...

October 2024

S M T W T F S
  12345
67891011 12
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jun. 12th, 2025 11:27 am
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios