a sad day for cleveland

from the writing on the wal

In a little more than 24 hours the doors open on the Steelyard Commons Wal-Mart. At 8:36 a.m. on 19 May 2005 citizens who opposed that store came together and turned the lights on at No Cleveland Walmart

Song of the day:

we are disgusting

richest country in the world, and we dont even give one quarter of one cent of our earnings to help with the upkeep of the globe...

from: poverty.com

International Aid ― A Solution
Quick Summary: Almost all of the deaths from hunger and disease that you see on this site can be stopped. The cost to do this is about $195 billion a year, according to the United Nations. Recently, 22 developed countries listed below pledged to work towards each giving 0.7% (a little less than 1%) of their national income in international aid, which would raise the $195 billion. Some countries are slow to meet their pledge.
2006 International Aid Donated (Official Development Assistance)
COUNTRY For each $100 earned in the country, how much is donated in aid Aid as % of income How close the country is to reaching the 0.7% goal
Sweden 103 cents 1.03 Already reached goal
Luxembourg 89 cents 0.89 Already reached goal
Norway 89 cents 0.89 Already reached goal
Netherlands 81 cents 0.81 Already reached goal
Denmark 80 cents 0.80 Already reached goal
Ireland 53 cents 0.53 Scheduled to reach in 2012
United Kingdom 52 cents 0.52 Scheduled to reach in 2013
Belgium 50 cents 0.50 Scheduled to reach in 2010
Austria 48 cents 0.48 Scheduled to reach in 2015
France 47 cents 0.47 Scheduled to reach in 2012
Switzerland 39 cents 0.39 No schedule yet
Finland 39 cents 0.39 Scheduled to reach in 2010
Germany 36 cents 0.36 Scheduled to reach in 2014
Spain 32 cents 0.32 Scheduled to reach in 2012
Canada 30 cents 0.30 No schedule yet
Australia 30 cents 0.30 No schedule yet
New Zealand 27 cents 0.27 No schedule yet
Japan 25 cents 0.25 No schedule yet
Portugal 21 cents 0.21 Scheduled to reach in 2015
Italy 20 cents 0.20 Scheduled to reach in 2015
United States 17 cents 0.17 No schedule yet
Greece 16 cents 0.16 Scheduled to reach in 2015
Source: OECD

...and notice that while greece has given less then us, they have at least voiced a date for meeting their tzedaka commitment...

Song of the day: stay human- michael franti

the shock doctrine: well said, ms. klein

Song of the day: white house blues- caroline aiken

school shootings:it didnt start with columbine

hess and i got in a conversation this morning about the most recent school shooting which took place right here in our town, the same school system in which i was working this year. two things made the meat of this conversation at first, why wasnt asa coon in a juvenile mental health facility instead of free in the schools to address his rage (and for some reason, though hess wants me to write about it, i am hesitant to address the current lack of beds for adolescents, and my concerns around minors on adult units....of course it may have something to do with learning that an aquantance supposedly lost her job in a hospital system because they found her blog and did not appreciate the things she said about her employer and the medical system on it)and how does race play into the media coverage of this shooting

then we talked about the rend of school shootings, which of course brought up columbine as the mother of all school shootings

this brought up alot for me, as i am unclear on why columbine is the one always cited- was it because it was the largest number of dead? because it was conspiracy versus the lone shooter? how about because it is the first time middle-class, white america felt they had a stake in this type of phenomenon?

from wikipedia

Well known shootings
United States

University of Texas at Austin massacre - Austin, Texas, United States; August 1, 1966
Orangeburg Massacre - Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States; February 8, 1968
Kent State shootings - Kent, Ohio, United States; May 4, 1970
Jackson State killings - Jackson, Mississippi, United States; May 14-15, 1970
California State University, Fullerton Library Massacre - Fullerton, California, United States; July 12, 1976
Brenda Ann Spencer, Cleveland Elementary School - January 29, 1979
Parkway South Junior High School shooting - Saint Louis, Missouri, United States; January 20, 1983
Stockton massacre - Stockton, California, United States; January 17, 1989
University of Iowa shooting - Iowa City, Iowa, United States; November 1, 1991
Simon's Rock College of Bard shooting - Great Barrington, Massachusetts, United States; December 14, 1992
Lindhurst High School shooting - Marysville, Californa, United States; May 1, 1992
East Carter High School shooting - Grayson, Kentucky, United States; January 18, 1993
Richland High School shooting - Lynnville, Tennessee, United States; November 15, 1995.
Frontier Junior High shooting - Moses Lake, Washington, United States; February 2, 1996
Pearl High School shooting, Pearl, Mississippi, United States; October 1, 1997
Heath High School shooting, West Paducah, Kentucky, United States; December 1, 1997
Jonesboro massacre - Jonesboro, Arkansas, United States; March 24, 1998
Thurston High School shooting - Springfield, Oregon, United States; May 21, 1998
Columbine High School massacre - Columbine, Colorado, United States; April 20, 1999
Heritage High School shooting - Conyers, Georgia, United States; May 20, 1999
Santana High School - Santee, California, United States; March 5, 2001
Appalachian School of Law shooting - Grundy, Virginia, United States; January 16, 2002
Rocori High School shootings - Cold Spring, Minnesota, United States; September 24, 2003
Red Lake High School massacre - Red Lake, Minnesota, United States; March 21, 2005
Campbell County High School - Jacksboro, Tennessee: November 8, 2005
Platte Canyon High School shooting - Bailey, Colorado, United States; September 27, 2006
Weston High School shooting, Cazenovia, Wisconsin September 29, 2006
Amish school shooting - Nickel Mines, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States; October 2, 2006
Henry Foss High School - Tacoma, Washington, United States January 3, 2007
Virginia Tech massacre - Blacksburg, Virginia, United States; April 16, 2007
SuccessTech Academy shooting - Cleveland, Ohio, United States; October 10, 2007

itll be interesting to learn more

Song of the day: gangsta's paradise- coolio

waning or perservering: its all about perception

the ap reports that the "hope is waning among protesters" for myanmar protesters while the bbc says that there are "New protests on Rangoon street"....despite three days of crackdowns on pro-democracy protests.", its amazing how perception can vary...or is it?

now if we are the country for freedom, doesnt it seem odd that our news reports certain failure while the british news brings forward the courage of the continued effort? all over right now, we hear and say our government and media are using psychology to get us to buy or believe, and here is just another example

people all over the world are protesting president bush, just like all over the world people are protesting the junta....it is too dangerous for the american people to feel encouraged by these protests, it brings to much rage and too many ideas, too much creativity...remember, it was once the streets of america that were flashed around the world on the evening news, fighting for our civil rights, fighting racism, fighting war.....do you see how they are trying to keep us down? ever hear of the term "mind fuckers"? oh, and i just heard about milton friedman and intend to learn and disseminate information on his ideas...as if we had ever bothered to learn about the past, we might have prevented the current direction of this country

and for anyone who didnt know, the entire bush administration the whole way through these eight years has been filled with the same people who worked with nixon- and i thought we all hated him and his ideas, that cheat, that thief!

Song of the day: the future is a war- Exene Cervenka

my hero

Ailing senator returns to Hill
By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer
40 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - South Dakota Sen. Tim Johnson returned to the Senate on Wednesday physically weaker but saying he anticipates running for re-election next year.
Johnson, a Democrat, has been out since suffering a life-threatening brain hemorrhage nine months ago. The effects of the hemorrhage are clear — he uses a scooter to get around and his words are slow and slurred. But his mind appears sharp, and he gave every indication of wanting to stay.

"It feels good and I'm ready to go," he said after returning to his office.

Johnson had no problem finding answers to questions, but it occasionally took him while to form words. He said he will measure his speech and mobility progress and make a final decision on re-election this fall.

"I anticipate it will be good but you never know," he said. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wasted no time readying for the senator's political future.

"In honor of his first day back in the Senate, help me welcome Tim with a contribution to his campaign," he said in an e-mail to Democratic supporters Wednesday.

living with ms, i often run up against people saying "but you look so good" when i actually take a risk and talk about what it is like living in this body...i send out pictures of my mri's, say, this is what my ms looks like, but lets be honest, very few people can connect a blurry photo of white streaks on the brain
with my ruddy cheeks, bouncy hair and active legs....my ms, you cant see it on the outside but i sure can feel it. i find this very frustrating, as i dont like being doubted by the people in my life

but even worse, i dont want things to be visible and i admire the courage, persistance and commitment senator johnson brings to the table, and i hope his health is strong enough to run for reelection in the fall....maybe even president one day

adversity has so far brought out the fighter in sen. johnson and i hope the voters can put aside this new imperfection and see the man he is (honestly, i know nothing of his polotics, but i intend to look up on it)

ive been told roosevelt could never be president in this world of 24 hour tv news, and maybe thats true, maybe us americans are too shallow to understand that physical appearance is truly a very minor aspect of a leader...but then again, maybe who he is will ring louder then a disability after all


Song of the day: when im gone- phil ochs