Helping the less fortunate.....

Added a new weblink that's kind of a neat idea. Especially if helping the less fortunate has been on your mind. There's this organization called KIVA that makes micro-loans to (so called) less fortunate people in countries around the world .Based on the idea of Nobel Prize winning Martin Yunis? (Economics). Any perons that's willing to lend some of these people just $25.00 could help.....maybe the American Dollar can still help some people in other countries, in an immense way.  An idea for Americans too, with lots of people needing help, what would happen if everyone lended a dollar to someone here who really needed it?

Thanks..Mr President (Obama Administration)

I've been away for a while, I wonder if anyone out there is paying attention? Hard to use "blogger" on a Apple or Android Platform, yet everyone is using Android and Apple Platforms...plus I forgot my Passwords here, I sort of re-discovered them.  I think its important that I say this cause I haven't said anything like this before.

Thanks Mr. Obama. For that  health care package. I know that Healthcare reform has probably been on the table in alot of different Presidential administration.  Bill Clinton first talked about it. Under the Obama Administration, Now I've actually been able to enroll in an HMO. I wasn't able to afford this until now..though I'm still paying a  bit for for this swanky HMO in California.

 I actually conplained about about the high cost of health care, and how this particular HMO in California was rapidly expanding, even pushing out alot of small bussinesses in the area . I even complained about this on this forum.

I wonder what people like Michael Moore are saying about this,healthcare reform. I think Alot of lower income people are now finally going to be able to afford to get a doctor, I havent had a primary doctor in years. I think alot of people are going helped by this, and I'm a bit saddened by all the nay-saying, and the politicians complaining about "Obamacare" , by even people I liked.

There are many things in this Country that need reform, employment for instance; in my opinion, there are too many people (young People) an ever increasing population base in America and not enough jobs. How there are going to fix this probelm is a mystery to me...but the health Care package is got to be a help so far, and its a major reason for thanks to the current excutive branch in the U.S for following it though .

There's room for complaint though...My newly Primary physician suggested I get a colonoscopy, since I'm 50+, later I was to find out that the procedure using state of the art eqiupment and even Fentanyl as sedation, they were going to charge me 200.00. The procedure seemed to only last 5 min has the Attending doctor just seemed to look at my  Sigmoid Colon a (Sigmoidoscopy)..and that was it. Fast Food Medicine, a McOscopy.  I'm an asthmatic ,diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, but I don't do drugs, nor am I Hiv-positive

Gay marriage wins passes the U.S Supreme Court for California; a win for Democracy???

Possibly no, but when did democracy have much to do with the U.S judicial system especially concerning Proposition 8 in California?

I listened to the news that the U.S Supreme court struck down Proposition 8 in California, and had really mixed feelings about it  somewhat negative because of my own recent experiences dealing with Gays, and the intrusive aspects of them affecting my life and family.

Then feeling after listening to newscasters about the Proposition 8 defeat, that it was basically harmless and good, its defeat would allow Gays and lesbians to finally obtain legal status as a marriage. What's wrong with two people being happy?  I don't have much against that.

 Other reason I was sort of surprised by the decision is because of what someone once told me that, ....he "didn't think the ruling would fail because then the Government and the State of California ,might end up paying out a lot of money to there employees  of these Civil unions"...can they really afford to at a time they are think of cutting pensions and should we really care? Maybe that's why the U.S supreme court avoided the larger questions of this ruling for the Nation.

Proposition 8 ; according to C-Span was a proposition on the voter ballot that made marriage between a man and woman is only legal union valid in California, I believe it was voter approved twice in California.

Its was struck down today by the U.S Supreme Court 5-4. The majority justices; Roberts, Ginsburg, Scalia, Breyer, and Kagan.  The minority justices; Kennedy, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor.

God bless, C-Span, because I was able to listen to some of the Justice's of the U.S Supreme court listen to arguments concerning this Proposition...what I saw and heard was a little more disturbing than the placid opinion of Media newscasters.

That proposition was shot down because " the sponsors of Prop 8, lacked the legal right to appeal the initial ruling by the US District court, striking down the ballot measure."

So it wasn't so much that the U.S Supreme court, decided the issue, by it moral questions for the society for the people of California, or even there pocketbooks....they simply deferred to an earlier decision ...and have I got this right...the decision made in the 9th U.S court of appeals in California , by that Vonn Walker fellow?

In that case the opponents of Prop 8, got attorneys to appeal a decision made by the voters of California which was heard in 9th appeals courts, this was going to be decided in a in a closed court where the Proposition was defeated.

Today’s ruling is also significant because the 9th Circuit ruled that District Court Judge Jame. s Ware, who took over the Perry case when Judge Walker retired, was correct in denying a motion filed by Prop 8′s proponents to overturn Judge Walker’s decision on the grounds that he failed to disclose that he himself was in a long-term relationship with a man (which he did announce publicly after the decision was released). In a December 8 hearing on the motion to overturn Judge Walker’s decision, the 9th Circuit panel seemed deeply skeptical that Judge Walker’s ruling should be thrown out because of his orientation and relationship status. The 9th Circuit’s decision today is an important victory for the assumption of impartiality that our judicial system is based on, and demonstrates that LGBT judges are just as fit to preside over cases pertaining to LGBT rights as are their heterosexual counterparts.

In other words the judge was gay possibly at the time of that decision . So just how democratic is this process perhaps the Supreme Court merely was " passing the buck" on this issue.

The tyranny of evil persons....

Everyone's concerned about gun control in America has we all should be. I'm a little concerned about where the debate is heading.  They want to extend/toughen the restrictions on who can get a gun. Same old shit in white America...if they can stop.."THOSE PEOPLE" from getting a gun, then in there minds the problem is solved.

They been doing this for the longest time and it hasn't worked. The people doing all these mass killings aren't exactly marginalized people. I heard a statistic, on CSPAN ,That most of the offenders in these big mass homicides with guns are people who have a legal right to own a handgun.

Nevertheless, restrictions on who can get a gun, would work in my opinion, if they were strict and would follow through on the regulations.  Firearms ought to be regulated like cars in this Country, with a Department of firearms  in every city...this way you can regulate firearms. what I'm saying is Motor Vehicles are better regulated in this Country than Firearms are....and there are at least as many guns in this Country as Motor vehicles.

For America, I think what it boils down to is the same problem that is plaguing other probelm areas of the Government... lack of regulation and enforcement of those regulations.

I , for one as one of those "marginalized people" object to being the ire of these legislators, and the subject of gun control, but if restricting my right to own a gun, if it would save a couple of innocent lives , then I wouldn't object.

But People, and Congress ought to get really serious about controlling homicides by firearms....and what there taking about now is really nothing.  Just my two cents.

Thanks, Man...........

Thanks , Your holiness, though I am not Catholic. I have been following that papacy of the Catholic church. Thanks to the recent Pope Benedict.

 I think a lot of evil is being done in the name of the Catholic church, by people involved with it. What Benedict did took guts, and probably prolonged his life. It helped me...a bit, kinda affirmed my faith, that other people in higher position of power and authority, may be being tested also,and sometimes ,evil may be just too powerful, wealthy or otherwise too pervasive to overcome.

I also like that man, that Pope before Benedict. I saw a Media bit of that Pope having a chat with the Dali lama....  That Pope seemed so strong and vital, yet near his death in office, he looked weak and feeble.That was terrible to see, there's something about the Papacy that breaks down a man unto death.

I think they made a good choice in picking the present Pontiff, a man that knows about economic hard times. he choose the name Pope Francis.  I 'm from San Francisco, that's "Saint Francis", a Saint that was noted for this kindness to animals, plus the present Pope is a Jesuit, and I heard they are very sharp intelligent persons. I hope the Present Pope can stay healthy, and will have something to say to non-catholics.

The Monsters inside of me.

The Monsters inside of me, is a Docu-medical show  on U.S "Animal Planet", mostly talking about Parasitical infection in Humans. I have the link for it on this blog .A very interesting website and a good show on television. It ought to win an Emmy, I think. Alot better than some of these Medical shows on regular network television. Animal Planet can keep this show, they also have some other good shows about our animal friends,but "M.I.O.M", has been getting off topic has they appeared run out of Parasites to report about and have resorted to talking about some bacterial infections.

The first show of the second season was alittle hard hitting, talking about a guy that caught the Bubonic Plague in Texas, U.S.A, they cured him of the disease but the Plague apparently is a hard hitting disease, he lost both of his legs.The Bacteria for the plague is endemic in parts of the U.S.

 Sometimes I'm ashamed to keep this link on my blog, after M.I.O.M reported on a little girl that died of Rabies, ( you don't have to die of rabies unless you catch it too late or if your poor; see Scientific American magazine).  I think in 9th episode of M.I.O.M, 2nd season, they finally covered a kid that died of a brain eating amoeba.  I once named this Blog, that title, but in meeting that kid on that episode and his parents, I sort of regret doing that. For that little kid, it was a horrible way to die. I even consider removing the link to that show here. That's why I'm writing this.

If there running out of topics to write about,they could consider reporting on "Ringworm", or for a slightly off-topic , but interesting Pfisteria, fish kills in eastern United states.

I told this to Dr.Mike. Mike Leahy, he calls himself a Virologist; he did a show on the "Travel Planet" called "Bite me". Poor Dr. Mike would go around the world looking for dangerous, lethal things. He did about 10 episodes before he got cancelled, but it was an interesting show . Highlights were his trip to India, and on another episode where he envenomated himself with a stinger of a "Sea Wasp"..one of the most toxic critters on that planet...you hear that animal Planet!

I wrote Dr. Mike once, he wrote me back, the response I post here.

Hi David

Thanks for your e-mail, your kind words about my show 'Bite Me', and 
your tips for future subject matter.

I guess you're probably e-mailing from the States where the show was 
aired on the 'Travel Channel'. I'm not sure what 'Travel's' plans are, 
but the show is broadcast to the rest of the world on National 
Geographic's network of channels, and I'm about to visit New Zealand 
(Bite Me is produced by a New Zealand company) to chat about the 
possibility of more shows for Nat Geo - maybe more episodes of 'Bite 
Me' maybe something slightly different, so watch this space!

The Ganges water really was that bad!

Thanks again

Best wishes

Mike

Occupy Wall St, Buys up debt

Occupy Wall Street Activists Buy up Debt to Abolish It

Allison Kilkenny on November 12, 2012 - 9:25 AM ET

The Nation

 

Strike Debt, a movement formed by a coalition of Occupy Wall Street groups looking to build a popular resistance to debt, plans to hold a telethon and variety show November 15 in support of the Rolling Jubilee, a system to buy debt for pennies on the dollar, and abolish it.

The telethon, which has already sold out, will feature artists including Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Lee Renaldo of Sonic Youth, Guy Picciotto of Fugazi, Tunde Adebimpe of TV on the Radio, plus other surprise guests.

Strike Debt hopes to raise $50,000, which the group claims can then be used to purchase, and eliminate, around $1 million in debt.

The group has already performed a test run on the debt market by spending $500 on distressed debt, buying $14,000 worth of outstanding loans and pardoning the debtors.
Business Insider called the test run “impressive” and “noble,” although Alex Hern at the New Statesman points out that, while the law is on Occupy’s side, the banks may not be. Hern points to Felix Salmon’s discussion of the American Homeowner Preservation, which sought to buy up distressed mortgages and find ways for the homeowners to stay in their homes and pay off their debt.
Salmon:

The idea might have been elegant, but it didn’t work in practice, because the banks wouldn’t play ball: they (and Freddie Mac) simply hated the idea of a homeowner being able to stay in their house after a short sale, and often asked for an affidavit from the buyer saying that the former owner would certainly be kicked out.

David Rees, one of the organizers behind the project, writes on his blog: “This is a simple, powerful way to help folks in need - to free them from heavy debt loads so they can focus on being productive, happy and healthy.

Now, after many consultations with attorneys, the IRS, and our moles in the debt-brokerage world, we are ready to take the Rolling Jubilee program live and nationwide.

“As we’ve seen on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we, the people, are the ones who are best equipped to provide the help that damaged communities need,” Strike Debt stated in a press release.
“For years, all kinds of communities have been facing down a debt crisis that has stretched their resources and made them especially vulnerable to sudden shocks. 76 percent of American households are in debt, and 15 percent are being pursued by a debt collector. People shouldn’t have to go into debt for basic necessities like groceries, healthcare and education. Though the banks got bailed out, the people are still waiting for their turn.”
The wonkier subgroups of Occupy Wall Street such as Strike Debt and Occupy the SEC are interesting because these resistance fronts are familiar enough with the jargon and inner workings of the financial system to fight for reform from the inside out. In the case of Occupy the SEC, activists petitioned financial regulators to help ensure that Dodd-Frank reforms are implemented in a way to keep pressure on the big banks, whereas Strike Debt hopes to turn the opaque debt market into an advantage for the 99 percent.
At Waging Nonviolence, Yates McKee writes:

The occupations last fall were a crack in the system, unleashing the political imagination. Strike Debt aims to deepen that crack, calling for us to imagine actively refusing compliance with the power of creditors over our lives. Significantly, the launch of the Rolling Jubilee falls on the one-year anniversary of the eviction of Zuccotti Park; while the work of Strike Debt has taken a very different form than physical occupation, since its start last summer it has channeled and refined the principles of direct action, mutual aid and dual power that were at the heart of the original camp.
Throughout this period Strike Debt has woven together days of action in the conventional sense—mass assemblies, marches and physical interventions at sites of financial injustice—with a wider diversity of tactics. Two major dates in this regard have been the September 17 OWS Anniversary Convergence and the October 13 Global Day of Action Against Debt and Austerity. In both cases, Strike Debt kept its eyes on the prize of long-term movement-building by supplementing the negative call to “Strike Debt” with the affirmative principle of “reclaiming the commons.”

Occupy activists have lately been in the business of transforming philosophical debates about class inequality and government corruption into real, tangible solutions. This month alone, activists have been praised for their work in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in which it was often Occupy activists—not the Red Cross, US military, or FEMA—helping to dispense aid to devastated communities. Now, it is Occupy activists who plan to buy up debt and help some individuals who have long suffered under the crushing weight of debt.