Moments of Awareness

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So the Idaho Statesman has banned me from posting comments on their site. If you read the Statesman and you've seen the posts they allow, and if you know anything about me at all, you know that whatever their reason - they haven't responded to my asking why they've banned me - it isn't because I broke any of their rules for posting. I didn't. I posted there the way I post everywhere, with a reasonable degree of respect and decorum, a total of maybe five times (at least two of which were merely to offer condolences to families who'd lost members through tragedies) since frankly the conversations they do allow don't fill one with much desire to get involved. It's not worth bein' pissed about - obviously they're as biased and subjective as they've been accused of being over the years (accusations against which I've defended them both publicly and privately), and not worth the energy it would take to care on a personal level - but it disturbs...

The hurricane churning east of New Jersey seems destined for the mid-Atlantic. Then a cold front descending out of Canada nudges the Category 2 storm northwest instead—setting it on a worst-case course for New York City. New York Harbor has often sheltered the city, dissipating energy from violent gales that start at sea. But now it plays an opposite role: It turns an otherwise moderate hurricane into a disaster. As the eye of the storm passes over Staten Island, the 100-mph counterclockwise winds shove 500 million tons of seawater directly into the harbor. The narrowing shorelines and shallowing sea bottom cause the mass of water to [...] Full article at  popularmechanics.com "By 2040, 70 percent of the U.S. population—which should then number 400 million—is expected to concentrate in 11 megaregions, seven of which occupy coastal counties."   "Canton suffered another 500-year flood in 2008 [after one considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime event ...

I have a few comments about this scam spam: No, thank you. Can't, wouldn't if I could. Please turn off your caps lock. From: Taryn Rosenkranz Date: Thu, Oct 13, 2011 at 2:51 PM “…when the Republicans vote for this bill today, they will be voting to say that women can die on the floor of health care providers … it’s just appalling,” -- Nancy Pelosi Peace -- We have to act fast. House Republicans are set to vote today on a bill that would go even farther than Republicans’ previous efforts to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care. Today? What day? I got this at 2:51 in the afternoon, my time, on a Thursday, pretty much end of business day in much of the country. Shall I fax you this donation, or... exactly how is it going to reach you in time to take effect, 'today'? Or am I really contributing to the 'fund more annoying "CONTRIBUTE" emails' coffers? Every message I get from these people, and I get one or two a day most days (...

To The Awake & Inspired, This Saturday at 5pm we take: Times Square ...with music, performance and a message that the people of this country - not the banks, not the corporations - hold the true power. It's a rare moment that a grass roots protest movement takes over the national conversation. From the Occupation of Wall St., a thrilling national movement has emerged. This Saturday, October 15th, hundreds of cities across the country will host demonstrations in support of the #Occupy     movement. In New York City, dozens of community groups, unions, student organizations and lots and lots of regular folk are taking to the streets in a mass protest that will culminate in Times Square at 5pm, then moving (by train party!) downtown. You are invited to be a part of it. Come join the Occupation Party and participate in a stunning moment expressing hope and a new vision for the future - and showing our solidarity with the people who have already been occupyi...

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HELSINKI — The Finnish government and major insurance companies announced Wednesday they will pay for lifetime medical care for children diagnosed with narcolepsy after receiving the swine flu vaccine. "The compensation will provide much-needed financial assistance for the families, although it cannot take away the emotional distress caused by this condition," Social Services and Health Minister Paula Risikko said in a statement. Finnish and international researchers recently found a conclusive link between the Pandemrix swine flu vaccine and new cases of narcolepsy, a chronic nervous system [...] Full article at  google.com "Of these cases, an unusually high number, 76, also suffered from bouts of cataplexy, suffering hallucinations or paralysing physical collapses, according to Finnish research." Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

Alright, Paul! Good stuff. :) From: paul peterson Date: Mon, Oct 10, 2011 at 2:29 PM Guess what?      We had a pro photographer drop by the club Saturday. Turns out, he's a reviewer too!   Paul Peterson 'Twin City Slim' 831.466.6245   http://wowclicks.typepad.com/wm_j_henderson_photograph/2011/10/twin-city-slim-and-the-feral-cats-capture-the-grand-dell-saloon.html Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

Saw a headline just now, breaking news about how an 'Iran-Tied Terror Plot [was] Disrupted in Washington, D.C.' Now, I'm not saying any presidential administration would amplify threats or refuse to give benefits of doubt anymore than any of the rest of us would, but isn't it nice that if they want to they can? It becomes so much easier in an environment where that's acceptable to impose one's will on anyone who might rock boats than it is having to, say, assume innocence until guilt is proven. I get that it's scary waiting for someone to actually attack and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they need to be dealt with, but if appropriate precautions have been taken, one is on one's guard without being on the defensive, aware and protective of one's vulnerabilities without jumping the gun to, "I know you intend to hurt me so I'm gonna hurt you first," attacks can be met and weathered without taking damage and the attackee is then in ...

... presents LOATHE . Check 'em out, then get involved! (LOVE the site, Patrick, and what you're doin' with it.) Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

I had a chill while reading to the girls tonight. So cold. After putting them to bed, I padded downstairs to do dishes and watch the Colbert Report. While fumbling with the remote, the house phone rang. It was the evening nurse, and she wanted to confirm if my mother had a change to her Healthcare Directive. I immediately assumed the worst. I confirmed that she was a DNR as of today and was entering hospice tomorrow. I asked if she arrested and the nurse said no. She said I had to come in and sign an internal DNR form for the nursing home, but it could wait until the morning. Thanking the nurse, I returned to the tube. I couldn't focus on the tube, so I space off. And I thought of my mom. Was it a c.y.a. [...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rachel Dykoski The Twin Cities Daily Planet is an edited news source produced by professional journalists working in collaboration with citizen journalists from the local community. We publish o...

Most of us believe we are rational decision makers. But medical decisions are especially complex, thanks to the numerous unknowns and the uniqueness of each person’s body. Suppose you’ve just found out that you or a loved one has  prostate cancer , one of the many examples in  Jerome Groopman  and Pamela Hartzband’s illuminating new book, “Your Medical Mind.” Nearly every urologist would recommend radical surgery to remove the organ. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? But let’s look at the numbers more closely. Prostate cancer is slow-moving; more people die with it than from it. According to one 2004 study, for every 48 prostate surgeries performed, only one patient benefits — the other 47 patients would have lived just [...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Daniel J. Levitin is a professor of psychology at McGill University and the author of “This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession.” F...

A graphic combines the expansion history of the universe from supernova measurements with data from NASA's WMAP satellite. Editor's note: Meg Urry is the Israel Munson professor of physics and astronomy and chairwoman of the department of physics at Yale University. She is also the director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. She previously worked as a senior astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs the Hubble Space Telescope for NASA. This piece was written in association with The Op-Ed Project , an organization seeking to expand the range of opinion voices to include more women. New Haven, Connecticut (CNN) -- On Tuesday, three U.S.-trained scientists won the Nobel prize in physics, for finding definitive evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Their discovery did not fit any existing theory, so it had mind-blowing implications for our understanding of the physical world. At the same time, it'...

Jane Rosett is an artist at work on a multimedia project, “Adaptivitudes: Navigating My Brain Injury Rehabilitation,” and currently a brain injury patient at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. Boston “WANT a piece of gum, Jane?” asked my friend Andrée. “What?” I asked her. [...] Full article at nytimes.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

WHEN she turned 38 last month, Brenda Frota Johnson got a sweet surprise: a formal “happy birthday” from her longtime partner’s mother. It wasn’t a gift or even a card, just a succinct text message, but even so, it had no precedent over the 10 years that she and her partner, Isabel Advirta, 39, had been making a life and a home here together. Why this birthday? The two women share a theory. “Brenda’s now officially a part of the family,” Advirta said recently as they watched [...] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I invite you to follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/frankbruni and join me on Facebook . Full article at  nytimes.com [Countries by which the author was surprised when they legalized same-sex marriage] "South Africa, Spain, Portugal and Argentina. "Why those four countries? People who have studied the issue note that that they have something interesting and relevant in common: each spent a significant period of th...

Susan Gregory Thomas is the author of “In Spite of Everything: A Memoir.” I’M not interested in being hip or a hippie. Nor does my happiness particularly hinge on artisanal cheese. (Odd, perhaps, given that I grew up a stone fruit’s throw away from Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif.) As a 42-year-old Brooklyn mother of three, what I care about is lunch, and feeding my family on a tenuous and unpredictable income. And so I have 20 fresh-egg-producing hens and a little garden that yields everything from blackberries to butternut squash to burdock root. [...] Full article at  nytimes.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

View high resolution   Yeti another “Bigfoot is described as a large hairy ape-like creature,  ranging between 6–10 feet [...]  Full article at  alanfriedman.tumblr.com   Posted via email from Moments of Awareness

We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we're working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent. Brought to you by the people who occupy wall street. Why will YOU occupy? OccupyWallSt.org Occupytogether.org wearethe99percentuk.tumblr.com via wearethe99percent.tumblr.com I may think the occupation will have to turn violent before it'll have much effect, but I certainly see why people are being driven to it. Posted via email from Moments of Awareness