In order to add to the wall, select the appropriate option from the pull-down menu above.
hello, hello, hello....is there anybody in there? just nod if you can hear me. is there anyone at home?
- Wednesday, September 01, 2010 at 00:43:24 (PDT)
"If [man] is not to stifle his human feelings, he must practise kindness towards animals, for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."
Immanuel Kant
Soviet Republic of Georgia claims it has World's Oldest Person Age 130 years.
Jul 8, 2010.
By Misha Dzhindzhikhashvili
SACHIRE, Ga. - Authorities in the former Soviet republic of Georgia claim a woman from a remote mountain village turned 130 on Thursday, making her the oldest person on Earth.
Antisa Khvichava from western Georgia was born on July 8, 1880, said Georgiy Meurnishvili, spokesman for the civil registry at the Justice Ministry.
The woman, who lives with her 40-year-old grandson in an idyllic vine-covered country house in the mountains, retired from her job as a tea and corn picker in 1965, when she was 85, records say.
"I've always been healthy, and I've worked all my life — at home and at the farm," said Khvichava, in a bright dress and headscarf, her withering lips rejuvenated by shiny red lipstick. Sitting in the chair and holding her cane, Khvichava spoke quietly through an interpreter since she never went to school to learn Georgian and speaks only the local language, Mingrelian.
Her age couldn't immediately be independently verified. Her birth certificate was lost — one of the great number to have disappeared in the past century amid revolutions and a civil war which followed the collapse of the Russian Empire.
But Meurnishvili showed two Soviet-era documents that he says attest to her age. Scores of officials, neighbours, friends, and descendants backed up her claim as the world's top senior.
The Gerontology Research Group currently recognizes 114-year-old Eugenie Blanchard of Saint Barthelemy, France, as the world's oldest person. The organization is yet to examine Khvichava's claim.
Khvichava has a son, 10 grandchildren, 12 great grandchildren and six great, great grandchidren.
Khvichava's 70-year-old son Mikhail apparently was born when his mother was 60. She said she also had two children from a previous marriage, but says they died of hunger during World War II.
Although Khvichava has difficulty walking and has stayed largely in bed during the past seven years, she makes a point of hobbling unaided to the outhouse on the other side of the yard, loathe to be a nuisance, Mikhail said.
Though her body has all but quit on her — her fingers cramped and deformed by age mean she can no longer maintain her love of knitting — relatives say her mind remains sharp.
"Grandma has a very clear mind and she hasn't lost an ability to think rationally," said Khvichava's granddaughter Shorena, who lives in a nearby village.
To mark the centurion's birthday, a string ensemble played folk music out on the lawn, while grandchildren offered traditional Mingrelian dishes like corn porridge and spiced chicken with herbs to all guests as the party.
Toronto and the G8/G20: Peaceful protest suffers amidst heavy security measures and acts of vandalism. Amnesty International.
As the Annual General Meeting of Amnesty International Canada (English branch) concluded today in Toronto, Amnesty International members from across the country expressed their very deep concern that important rights associated with peaceful protest have suffered considerably in the city over the weekend.
In connection with the G20 leaders summit, the heavy police and security presence that has permeated the city for several days, as well as acts of vandalism and other violence by numbers of individuals, have contributed to an atmosphere of apprehension and fearfulness that has led many individuals to refrain from or limit their involvement in peaceful demonstrations and other activities.
At a time when the public should be encouraged to actively engage in debate and discussion about pressing global issues, the security measures that were put in place in Toronto in the lead up to the G20 Summit held in the city instead narrowed the space for civic expression and cast a chill over citizen participation in public discourse. Many thousands of individuals did take part in public events such as the “People First” demonstration during the afternoon of June 26, but felt apprehensive while doing so. Many others did not take part out of a sense of unease and fearfulness.
In meeting in Toronto at the same time as G8 and G20 leaders have held their summits in Canada, Amnesty International members have sought to draw attention to important human rights issues that should be priority concerns for both bodies. We have highlighted that it is a particularly key juncture in the development of the G20 as an emerging body that will exert growing influence on world economic, political and social affairs. We have emphasized, therefore, that we look to them to take action to ensure that human rights are brought to the heart of the global effort to fight poverty, particularly through the millennium development goals. We look to them to ensure that respect for universal human rights will become the hallmark of their deliberations and decision making.
Yet at a time when human rights need so very much to come to the fore, we have instead witnessed and experienced a curtailment of civil liberties. On the streets, protesters were faced with high fences, new weaponry, massive surveillance, and the intimidating impact of the overwhelming police presence. Combined with uncertainty and worry about unclear powers of arrest, this created an atmosphere in which countless individuals felt unable or too fearful to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and assembly and participate in rallies and other events which would have offered them an opportunity to express their views on a range of important national and international issues.
We unequivocally condemn the acts of vandalism and violence that have been carried out by numbers of individuals, particularly during the evening of June 26. Such acts are criminal and undermine the safety of the many thousands of individuals involved in peaceful protest.
We recognize that police have a responsibility to respond to such actions, to protect public safety, prevent damage to property, and ensure the safety of leaders and other officials attending the G20 Summit.
There are concerns, however, about possible police excesses, including reports of journalists being arrested or constrained in the course of covering confrontations between police and demonstrators. In one reported case, the journalist was apparently beaten in the course of being arrested. Nearly 500 people are reported to have been arrested, as of the morning of June 27th. Witnesses have reported that some of those arrested appear to have been engaging in peaceful protest.
It has not been possible to get clear information about which tactics and weapons police have deployed in the course of securing specific areas and responding to incidents of both violence and legitimate protest. This lack of clear information has further fueled misunderstanding and fears about police actions as protests are expected to continue.
The amount of money, reported to be in excess of $1 billion, that has been spent on security measures in Toronto over the past several days has been unprecedented. Yet on one hand extensive acts of vandalism and other violence were carried out and on the other hand thousands of individuals felt nervous and uneasy about exercising their right to engage in peaceful protest.
This cannot become the hallmark of how the G20 conducts its business. Instead, we call on G20 leaders to ensure that future Summits are carried out in ways that maximize rather than restrict rights associated with peaceful protest, particularly freedom of expression and assembly.
Lessons must be learned from these events. We call on the Canadian government and the government of the province of Ontario to cooperate in launching an independent review of the security measures that were put in place for the G8 and G20 Summits.
The review should include opportunities for public input and the results should be released to the public. Among other issues, the review should consider:
•The impact of security measures, including decisions about the location and venues for the two summits, on the protection of human rights, including the freedoms of expression and assembly.
• The ways in which police operations and the use of legal provisions such as the Public Works Protection Act have impacted the rights of the many thousands of people living, working and operating businesses within and near the G20 security zone.
For further information contact:
Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, Media Relations
bberton-hunter@amnesty.ca
Cell phone: 416 904 7158
- Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 14:33:17 (PDT)
Here you go Brian, that Pogues website you wanted me to find (http://www.pogues.com ).
UC Berkeley's Spring 2010 Poetry Conference Helps to Bring Awareness to Bay Area Homelessness Crisis.
LiBbey Joplin reads her urban slam poetry at UC Berkeley's Spring 2010 Poetry Conference to raise awareness around the Bay Area's homelessness crisis. Some 76 poets gathered and read their works to raise money for new Bay Area Homeless Shelter. A great time was had by all.
Flag-paved cemetery seas unfurl, undulate,
hard edges splashed with pulsing hues;
sorrow's depth, uncontained,
boggles the mourner's eye.
She's shrapnel embedded in bone,
clasping an insulated shroud,
macerating poppies into scarlet bloom.
Vessels thrum chamber walls, a six shot salute
to memories lodged fathoms deep,
nestled where she lives and grieves,
too bruised to beat her way out.
Limestone whispers; the next wave breaks,
over mourners swimming against the wind,
over bodies of water riddled by holes,
filling with new blood.
- Monday, May 31, 2010 at 11:41:09 (PDT)
RIP Dennis Hopper. what an impact you made on my life.............
Scientists discover explanation for why the Universe exists.
Michael Bolen.
Physicists have long wondered why the universe exists when matter and anti-matter particles obliterate each other on contact.
But new data from a particle accelerator in the United States suggests a reason.
The tests showed that when anti-protons and protons collide, the resulting new particles show a one per cent skew toward matter over anti-matter. Over a long period of time, this characteristic of the universe could explain why matter has come to dominate over anti-matter.
"Many of us felt goose bumps when we saw the result," said Stefan Soldner-Rembold, a physicist at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom.
"We knew we were seeing something beyond what we have seen before and beyond what current theories can explain."
Every basic particle of matter has a matching anti-particle. The anti-particle has the same mass as the standard particle, but an opposite electric charge. Anti-matter is not to be confused with dark matter.
While anti-matter has been demonstrated in numerous experiments, dark matter remains a hypothesis used to help explain the effects of mass which scientists cannot currently see.
The dark matter hypothesis helps to explain why the universe hasn't expanded into a cold and relatively motionless void. The extra mass, and resulting gravity, is the reason galaxies form into clumps rather than flying apart.
Particle accelerators, such as the Tevatron collider at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Illinois, which conducted the tests, and the Large Hadron Collider at CERN on the Swiss-French border, use electric fields to smash particles into each other at incredibly high speeds.
Scientists then study the particles that are created. Researchers seek larger and larger accelerators in order to create collisions that more closely resemble those which took place soon after the Big Bang 13.7 billion years ago, when the temperature and density of the universe were much higher.
The new findings deviate from what is known as the Standard Model, the theory created in the 1970s to explain the complex interaction of sub-atomic particles.
Up until now, the model predicted a small preference toward matter over anti-matter, but not enough to explain the structure of the universe we see today.
The findings come ahead of an experiment to be held at CERN, called LHCb, also aimed at explaining matter's dominance.
Consequently, the results of the test in the U.S. could soon be confirmed and expanded, forming the basis for a new or amended quantum theory.
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. -- The victim might have forgiven the woman who ran him down in a Massachusetts crosswalk, but police haven't.
Police say a Pittsfield woman has been cited for running down a man named Lord Jesus Christ as he crossed a street in Northampton on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old man is from Belchertown. Officers checked his ID and discovered that, indeed, his legal name is Lord Jesus Christ. He was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor facial injuries.
Police say 20-year-old Brittany Cantarella was cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
- Friday, May 07, 2010 at 13:14:15 (PDT)
Things are very bad for many, many ailing vulnerable citizens in Ontario, Canada. Please, spread the word ( COMPASSION is still a worthy virtue ).
respect-fully, Anne Carling.
Open Letter to Premier McGuinty from the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
Open Letter to Premier McGuinty from the 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
Budget Decisions on Social Assistance Call Commitment into Question
29 April 2010
Dear Premier McGuinty,
As organizations committed to the mission to reduce poverty, we write to express our serious concern about recent moves your government has taken on the poverty front.
More than a year into Ontario’s efforts to reduce poverty by 25% by 2013, your government has made the following moves that call into question your government’s commitment to meeting its own poverty reduction goals:
1.Ending the Special Diet Allowance Program without a previous and clearly thought through replacement plan, which will result in a significant drop in income for people on social assistance who have health-related nutritional needs;
2.Allowing, for the first time since 2006, social assistance rate increases to fall below the rate of inflation.
These actions are distressing, and – without adequate and commensurate resolution – threaten the health and safety of many struggling individuals in this province.
We keenly appreciate the fiscal constraints facing Ontario post-recession. We also acknowledge and have publicly celebrated the important positive steps taken in the 2010 budget. These include additional investment to improve enforcement of employment standards enforcement for precarious workers as well as your government’s commitment to permanently fund subsidized child care and invest in full-day early learning and child care. We were also very pleased to see the full-day early learning and child care legislation pass on April 27, and to see an additional $6 million in fee subsidies, growing to $51 million over five years.
These are key measures that support low-income families, but do little to directly support their health and well-being. We are deeply concerned about the actions you have taken that affect the most vulnerable people our society – those on social assistance.
By ending the special diet allowance, doctors, nurses, medical officers of health, labour organizations, activists, advocates, and many others warn that your government is putting the security, dignity, and even the lives of many sick Ontarians at risk. They cite the clearly demonstrated relationship between poverty, food insecurity, and poor health.
Others have raised concerns about what this decision says about your government’s commitment to strengthening Ontario’s human rights system, which was apparent in Bill 107, the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, in your first mandate.
Your own Social Assistance Review Advisory Council expressed disappointment with the decision to end the special diet allowance.
If an adequate replacement program to provide people with the finances required to support special dietary needs is not forthcoming, this decision will result in increased sickness, increased housing insecurity, and rising future health care costs.
The decision also underscores the critical need for your government to create a coherent plan to provide livable incomes to people on social assistance. This is because the incomes of people on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program fall far short of what is needed cover the costs of housing, nutritious food and, for those with health issues, to be able afford special foods to stay healthy.
We feel strongly that your commitment to poverty reduction has reached a crossroads. Over the coming weeks you will have three opportunities to clearly demonstrate your determination to get the 25 in 5 poverty reduction commitment back on track.
1.Affordable Housing Strategy: Since housing takes up such a large part of a low-income person’s budget, what your government does now to make housing more affordable will make a big difference. Your Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy will lay out a plan this spring that requires immediate action. By bringing in affordable housing measures this spring, you could help poor Ontarians – including those on social assistance – lower their budgetary costs, and create jobs at a time when the province needs them.
2.Social Assistance Review: Your Social Assistance Review Advisory Council will also make its recommendations this spring on the scope and direction of a comprehensive review for income security in Ontario, giving you an opportunity to fix a system that has long been broken and to align it with an agenda for poverty reduction and shared prosperity in Ontario.
3.Nutrition Supplement: Finally, resolution to the loss of the special diet allowance has yet to be worked out. This highly disturbing development in your government’s policy program must be remedied. The 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction is currently working with its partner groups to provide recommendations to your government on the principles that must underlie the replacement program, which we will forward to you in the coming days. However, we feel strongly that your government must immediately address the broader issue of income insecurity that people on social assistance are forced to endure.
Entire nations are recovering from the worldwide economic meltdown of 2008. Recovery efforts can, and will, test the mettle of many governments. Your challenge is to not let today’s fear hamper the future of the poorest of the poor – they are relying on your humanity, your vision and your leadership.
As a network, we strive to ensure the voices of the voiceless are heard in the halls of power. We have been supportive of your promises to reduce poverty and the steps you have taken so far to realize these promises. Our most important commitment is to the poor of this province – as should be yours.
We request a meeting with the core Ministers responsible for carrying out your poverty reduction plan to discuss our hopes and concerns:
· The Hon. Laurel Broten, Minister Responsible for Poverty Reduction
· The Hon. Madeleine Meilleur, Minister of Community and Social Services
· The Hon. Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care
· The Hon. Jim Bradley, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
Sincerely,
Michael Creek and Greg deGroot-Maggetti
Co-chairs, 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction
cc: Tim Hudak, MPP, Leader of the Official Opposition
Andrea Horwath, MPP, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Ontario
- Thursday, May 06, 2010 at 08:19:49 (PDT)
- Monday, April 26, 2010 at 21:16:52 (PDT)
The Loon Upon the Lake (Ojibwa).
I looked across the water,
I bent o'er it and listened,
I thought it was my lover,
My true lover's paddle glistened.
Joyous thus his light canoe would the silver ripples wake.-
But no!-it is the loon alone-
The loon upon the lake.
Ah me! it is the loon alone-
The loon upon the lake.
I see the fallen maple
Where he stood, his red scarf waving,
Though waters nearly bury
Boughs they then were newly laving.
I hear his last farewell, as it echoed from the brake.-
But no, it is the loon alone-
The loon upon the lake,
Ah me! it is the loon alone-
The loon upon the lake.
OBAMA signs historic Health-Care Bill!!!!!!! SHINE ON OBAMA !!!!!!!
- Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 11:09:41 (PDT)
Love'ya JIMBO!
Viva DOORS!
So many fantastic colours!!
- Friday, February 26, 2010 at 01:50:24 (PST)
Happy Birthday to George Washington, Father of America. We honor you.
Happy Birthday to Ted Kennedy, when you died, it was the end of an era. I hope we can get healthcare passed in some form.
Happy Birthday Dr. J. May it be a slam dunk.
Happy Birthday to Jeri Ryan. I await assimilation.
Happy Birthday to Drew Barrymore - my personal firestarter.
Happy Birthday to Lea Salonga - Marius was a fool.
- Monday, February 22, 2010 at 13:04:20 (PST)
To all Americans:
Happy "George Washington's Birthday" - The Father of our Country - He had no children of his own, so he adopted the entire nation.
(He was actually born on either February 11th or February 22nd, depending upon whether you use the Julian or Gregorian calendar. But his birthday is observed on the Third Monday of February.)
- Monday, February 15, 2010 at 13:21:46 (PST)
WHODAT? THE SAINTS, THAT'S WHO! (and The Who. Who are you? who who!)
- Sunday, February 07, 2010 at 20:24:27 (PST)
Creatures, All
(for JDM)
It’s St. Valentine’s Day...
but my childhood died, November-past,
my personal saint, on chilled wing, flown.
And I’m thinking of you...
of your kind regard for sparrows:
those vociferous scavengers
who crouch behind feathered black masks.
They shoot for the heart,
but their aim’s pure Mardi Gras,
minus the parade.
No trumpeting swans are they.
Less conspicuous, they cluster come Spring,
and in subtle retaliation,
pull back the grey...
unveiling a freshly riddled bloom.
Careful reading of the article indicates that the 'original' anonymous visitor to Poe's grave, who annually left the roses and Cognac, died in 1998, after passing the tradition on to his two sons a few years earlier.
Suggesting something kept both sons away this year.
- Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 12:16:18 (PST)
Here's a link to the article referenced in the post below.
Gavroche
- Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:49:57 (PST)
First time in over 60 years...Poe Toaster fails to show up. Edgar still received his roses and cognac, though.
My guess -- Edgar is immortal, but the Poe Toaster wasn't.
- Wednesday, January 20, 2010 at 10:47:14 (PST)
THIS SUCKS!
Haitian capital largely destroyed in quake
Casualties severe and widespread throughout Port-au-Prince
Nightly News
msnbc.com and NBC News
updated less than 1 minute ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The Haitian capital was largely destroyed in the most powerful earthquake to hit the country in more than 200 years. Journalists from The Associated Press described severe and widespread casualties after a tour of streets where blood and bodies could be seen.
The damage was described as staggering even in a country accustomed to tragedy and disaster. AP reporters said the National Palace was a crumbled ruin and tens of thousands of people were homeless.
Many gravely injured people sat in the street, pleading for doctors many hours after the quake. In public squares thousands of people were singing hymns and holding hands.
