Open Thread 02-06-15
Monsanto Crops Pushing Monarch Butterfly to 'Verge of Extinction
'The alarming decline of monarchs is driven in large part' by Roundup Ready crops, Center for Food Safety findsHerbicide-resistant genetically modified crops have brought the iconic monarch butterfly to the brink of extinction, according to a new report presented by the Center for Food Safety to Congress on Thursday.
The report, Monarchs in Peril (pdf), is the most comprehensive look yet at how Monsanto's 'Roundup Ready' crops have helped decimate the monarch population, which has declined by 90 percent in the past 20 years.
"This report is a wake-up call. This iconic species is on the verge of extinction because of Monsanto's Roundup Ready crop system," said Andrew Kimbrell, executive director at Center for Food Safety. "To let the monarch butterfly die out in order to allow Monsanto to sell its signature herbicide for a few more years is simply shameful."
As Common Dreams has reported before, and the new study makes abundantly clear, a critical factor in the orange-and-white butterflies' decline is the loss of host plants for larvae in their main breeding habitat, the Midwestern Corn Belt. Monarchs lay eggs exclusively on plants in the milkweed family, the only food their larvae will eat.
The Key That Is the Saudi Kingdom
Was the United States compelled to attack Afghanistan and Iraq by the events of September 11, 2001?
A key to answering that rather enormous question may lie in the secrets that the U.S. government is keeping about Saudi Arabia.
Some have long claimed that what looked like a crime on 9/11 was actually an act of war necessitating the response that has brought violence to an entire region and to this day has U.S. troops killing and dying in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Could diplomacy and the rule of law have been used instead? Could suspects have been brought to trial? Could terrorism have been reduced rather than increased? The argument for those possibilities is strengthened by the fact that the United States has not chosen to attack Saudi Arabia, whose government is probably the region’s leading beheader and leading funder of violence.
But what does Saudi Arabia have to do with 9/11? Well, every account of the hijackers has most of them as Saudi. And there are 28 pages of a 9/11 Commission report that President George W. Bush ordered classified 13 years ago.
Doc Watson & The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band - Tennessee Stud from "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"
Doc Watson - Sitting on Top of the World (1964)
Doc Watson - Deep River Blues
Comments
I had forgotten...
to change the permissions yesterday for the Feed Aggregator, so if you get a chance check it out today, it's in the Navigation Menu and a World News listing below the "Who's Online". It updates the news feeds every hour, in essence we are your one stop news shop. Additional feeds can be included, if you have a favorite you want added let me know
Also new is a "Dashboard" on your "My Account" page. It is customizable by clicking the "Customize dashboard" link and then dragging and dropping the blocks to the region of your choice, after you've arranged it the way you want then click "Done" to save the changes. This will make a more compact version of the site for fast and easy monitoring of comments, new diaries, who's online or whatever you want displayed. Bookmark the page and use it to see if there's anything new at a quick glance.
Good Morning
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Morning Tim...
How goes it today?
Pretty Good
Making all the appointments and getting all the chores done.
Here is a pretty good podcast on pesticides and extinction.
http://www.sciencefriday.com/segment/07/11/2014/concerns-rise-over-pesti...
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Update...
I've changed the World news feed in the left sidebar to Blog Watch, the World News can still be accessed in the Feed Aggregator in the navigation Menu, under Categories. Also the Blog Watch is now above the Who's Online, I'm house cleaning today.
Feed Aggregator
Here I am again - I see the feed aggregator in the Nav menu, but nothing below the Who's online listing, though it was there yestiday for a bit.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Morning el...
hope you're feeling better. The Blog Watch is now above the Who's Online, I'm cleaning and rearranging the house today, sorry about the confusion.
Thanks for the good wishes
- I've got a way to go, but I'm retired so all I absolutely have to do is indoor stuff.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Not seeing a dashboard or world news
I am seeing it easier to use with my phone. I can shrink it all down to read with less side to side and the font is still big enough read it.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
happy Friday, gang
Its Date Entry Day here for me at Chez Lib. Ive got all (almost all) my ducks lined up so I will try out the new TaxACT software (ditched Turbo Tax) and see how it goes. I know we are gonna OWE money this year so we'll wait to actually file but I have to have it 'done' so I can move on to my next hurdle, the FAFSA App. Flirting with the idea of "rewarding" myself with a "treat" of some sort for getting all this done on time (early! lol) but I know I won't feel done until I wrap up all these bread crumb paper piles that seem to just self-generate and reproduce around here! What a mess I've made. We'll see. At this point getting my hair trimmed is a $20 luxury-treat so... that can count!
When I get in this mode - hyper focus - I totally tune out The News, its kinda nice.
(Whats all this fuss about the whole stupid anti-vaxxers?! and more importantly: WHY DO WE CARE what some douchebag idiot pol said about it!?)
The great procrastinator
Can I use you for inspiration?
I intended to do the taxes last weekend. It usually takes ~six hour day to get to 70%, some growling at each other, a list of what to go find and another ~4 hour day to tie up the loose ends. I am dreading this years return. Both good and bad. Good that we will likely get the medical expense deduction. Bad that we will likely get the medical expense deduction.
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
if only I could
if only I could figure out a way to earn a living with it - my Procrastination skills are EPIC! lol
I made myself some Worksheets for all that advance data gathering, spreadsheets. Thats the hardest part! Hub is a freelance musician so theres a bunch of stuff to go into the Schedule C by category. We had a CPA up until a year or two ago, but now doing it myself I have a totally different approach than how that CPA had me gather & hand it over to her. Amazingly, now that Ive done a few on my own in turbo tax, I actually freaking UNDERSTAND it all. sheesh. CPA's intentionally liked keeping me 'helpless' and dependent on her. Pffft.
Okay Im off to do my data entry now for real, lol. Had to clear my desktop of all the unrelated clutter first!!
hi lady!
Sorry your doing the taxes. We filed for an extension and I have to start sorting through piles of bank statements etc and creating big paper messes and data entry myself. Right now I'm marketing for our business and having a great time (not) stalking potential leads on LinkedIn. Why don't market researcher's write in language that is human? The Jargon is just insane. What a bizarre world where nothing that is real pays you any money. Data is the only coin of this realm. Good to see you here. Seems the site is kinda messed up but at least I got to post a reply to you. The news these days gives me the existential 'no exit' willies so I'm kind glad myself to be too busy to get caught up in the 'world as we find it'. Although reading a bunch of marketeers talking about tracking peoples eyeballs while they shop creeps me right out. Numbers do not lie but the analyst's our clients sure know how to interpret the numbers as voodoo behind their 'studies'.
Shaz, you and DK are both commenting on a February
thread (wasn't sure if you Guys noticed the date). IOW, Lady Libertine made her remark about taxes in February, not recently. (I apologize if you saw that, and intended to reply to her.)
I'll be back in a few--a neighbor's here, right now.
Some major quirks/flukes/glitches--whatever--are going on. I'll describe them in a few minutes.
It's great that it's working for some (like Joe), but I assure you Folks, it's like a time warp from where I'm sitting.
Later . . .
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
things just went completely time-warp for me.
I can't find any of today's content
anymore . . .
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
posting the above comment
brought back tonight's 12/7 EB.
This is seriously crazy-making.
Only connect. - E.M. Forster
Oh well that's different ....
Thanks Mollie had no idea. I got all excited to see LL back and posting. Well I hope LL got her last year taxes straightened out. Wish she would post more here as she's one of my favorite bloggers from way back. Tonight the site seems back in sync. No time warp or changing names. So strange to post in virtual reality that has lost it's mind.
a shocking report
hard to be shocked these days
but, was the PA giving targets to Israel in Gaza to target their foes in Hamas?
have known for years that PA are kiss ups to Israel even in the face of the largest land grab in 30 years in West Bank (as I recall, land sold off to multi national builders for luxury places)
Hamas: PA gave Israel nearly a third of its Gaza targets
Islamist terror group’s Salah Bardawil says technology used by apprehended collaborators in Gaza resembles Israeli equipment
Joe pointed out that we will need to hear more about this to see if the claim holds up
The Times of Israel
http://www.timesofisrael.com/pa-gave-israel-nearly-a-third-of-its-gaza-t...
Morning. Wooly Bullly man.
Sam the Sham was ahead of his time. And 9/11 was Israel too. Don't forget Israel. Sometimes I think the focus on Saudi Arabia, like
the missing 28 pages, is partly for just that, to forget about Israel.
Yeah...
but don't forget the heat, man, takes a lot of Canned Heat to melt steel girders. Where was Sam at on 9-11-01, in the bunker with Dick? It's a Sham...CT, CT, CT, CT!!!!11!!
Somebody is pulling the wool
The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself. - Friedrich Nietzsche -
Like I said,
Michael Doucet was ahead of his time.
jeez, I danced the "twist" as a fifteen year-old to that
song with my girlfriends in middle and highschool in Germany. I had no idea what they were saying in that song. Hmm, may be I should search for the lyrics.
I guess your sig-line proves and confirms your comment. Nice to see you again here, Al.
oops, time machine killing me, sorry for the post...
just imagine we had a thread from April 2003 and would post on it today.
Update...
there are some new fields that can be filled out and will show in your User Account. They are all optional. The new fields are: Real Name; Birthday; Bio; Location; Occupation; Interests; Website; and Daily Kos Username. To fill out these fields click "My Account" and then "Edit" and you'll see the new fields, any fields that are filled out will display in your user account and will be visible to other members.
Good Morning!
Thanks Tim. I want to add something to the World news aggregate on Canada after I walk Max and have a coffee. Woke up earlier but after looking out the window I went back to bed. Heavy rain again and for the next ten days they say.
To do something colorful on dark day I'm going to an exhibition at an artists' run gallery, Open Space. Paintings by 5 young guys. This exhibition is more proof that painting is not dead. These guys devote their lives to it. I saw a little of their work when they had a panel discussion now I'm going back when there are less people around to really look at the work. (I posted an image of a painting from the show on EB last week.)
Be back later to check out the world news. Thank you for the lineup.
To thine own self be true.
Morning Marilyn...
give me some links and I'll make a new Canadian News category in the aggregator. I'll also make a Green News category if you want, give me the links you'd like to have added.
Thanks for the Canadian News
I'll check for some top stories.
For the Greens, I don't think we need to categorize it anymore. Green news affects us all and should be included with all the other headlines, imo
What happened to the world news in the left side bar? I just see the DKos blogs there now.
To thine own self be true.
All the...
news below in the left sidebar is also listed in the Feed Aggregator in the Navigation Menu, check it out, there are several categories and many site feeds. Give me some links here for your favorite Canadian news and I'll make a Canadian News category in the aggregator. The aggregator lists all the news items from the sites that are entered.
OK, glad to, just on my way out now
I will be back later this afternoon.
To thine own self be true.
Can't believe they missed the headline:
"Obama Lama Drama"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/world/asia/obamas-public-encounter-wit...
Bill Moyers writes on DKos but WARNING!
if you are very sensitive, I advise not to go there. I read it last night when i was feeling upset over the immolation of the Jordanian pilot by ISIS. Bill points out much worse inhuman cruelty in his post. I'm sorry I read it.
Hey we can edit comments here. That's great and so much better than that other big blog.
To thine own self be true.
Thank you posting this
Yesterday in the open thread, I posted a comment that was in reference to Chauncey delaVega's diary. Bill Moyer's diary talks about the same issues, but with a much more introspective tone. I strongly recommend everyone read Bill's diary. I believe that Marilyn is referring to is not Bill's written words, but a photograph that he included.
For the record, I do not like it when someone shouts accusations in my face and tries to stir the pot with me. For me, it is like being taken hostage, and I have dealt with that too many times in my work. It does not matter the issue either. I believe in finding a common humanity between people. That does not mean compromise either. And it has zero to do with my having my acknowledged white privilege. But for me personally it is due with my own personality which tries to find a peaceful way to make a point. Bill does just that. I think Bill Moyers is a national treasure, even when I do not completely agree with him.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
The subject too, it was like
"you think ISIS is bad, let me tell you Americans have been much worse." We love Bill Moyers too and have his essays delivered to us by email. "We" being my whole family. I was just too weak to take the description and photo in his essay. I think it should have come with a warning, that's all.
To thine own self be true.
I realize now
That by liking what Bill Moyers posted, it was a losing proposition personally. Instead, I should have just shut up. There are way too many times lately that I have realized that no matter where my heart and soul is, it is not enough for far too many people. This is a metaphor for what we (or I) face every day. It has all boiled down to everything being perceived as black and white.
Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy
Yeah!
Looks like some Tweets with images will work, which is great, since I'd like to use this feed from time to time.
Going to be experimenting with various types of material this evening--but will use the same dairy, and label it "Test Diary."
I'll remove the entire diary before I log out for the evening.
Thanks!
UL
Postcript: Just curious, I had to us HTML code to put in paragraph breaks--any particular reason for this?
IOW, has a setting changed since day before yesterday?
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
A thumbs up for you and
a thumbs up for the magnificent picture. RROOAARR!!
"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone
Hey, CL,
thank you and JTC for making the Tweets work!
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Here's the scoop Mollie...
Well, that explains it then. I can't see that image. When I was troubleshooting the tweet problem, one of the main things that could cause it was a text format filter could be stripping the tweet tags. I even turned off all of the filters and still no tweet image. it's now obvious to me that it's a local problem with either my browser or operating system. I probably had the tweet problem fixed and didn't even know it. Huh! I believe the culprit was a lightbox filter that I disable today and in retrospect that makes sense.
But I still can't get that image to display, I've been trying everything for the last hour to no avail, WTF! Why wont it show on my set up?
Okay, JTC,
I've "got to shut up and get down to business" with my experimentation (seeing how my WordPress stuff will crosspost, etc.), and then work on my own little blog that's badly needing attention.
But, I have found out this evening that I can post Tweets that contain "C-Span" links to video--and they are working!
Yeah!!!!!!!!!!
I'm using Windows, not MAC.
And, as I've mentioned to you several times, I've always been able to post on Drupal-based blogs with success (Tweets).
So, whatever you've done, I appreciate it.
I sure don't know "why" your browser settings don't allow you to post Tweets here.
I copied and pasted the "exact" code from my own Tweet, that contains a link to the head of a Social Security think tank--it's a clip from a 1-2 hour video conference.
Plays perfectly!
(I've erased it--I don't have time this evening to write a post for explanation.)
So, I hope that somehow you can reconfigure your browser, so that you can at least "see" the photo and video Tweets.
Now, later this evening, I'll try to see if an embedded Tweet/video will work here. That would be nice.
But more than anything, I'm grateful that my serious C-Span videos will at least work here, when I use a URL link.
Have a good one. And good luck!
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
When you're happy...
I'm happy, Mollie!
Twas JtC not I
He's the one who deserves our thanks for holding this together and persuing all the bells and whistles.
"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone
Thanks Cordelia.
Evening Mollie...
is the image displaying for that tweet because i don't see it. I was experimenting earlier with removing some filters from the text formats and that may be why the images are showing now, but I don't see it, which may be a configuration problem with my browser. When experimenting earlier with the text formats I had turned off the filter that automatically breaks paragraphs, should be back to normal now. Thanks for the heads up, Mollie.
No problem, thanks!
Well, it is a photo of a gorgeous Lion (Lioness?) with several cubs--hope you get your settings reconfigured, JTC, so you can enjoy it.
By the time I posted my second comment, the paragraphs were 'back to normal.' (Actually, I should have thought of that as being a possible reason for the formatting glitch.)
Thank you for all the "extras" that you've added since I last logged in. (I'll have my hands full 'experimenting' this evening, but I'll definitely check them out later.)
Hey--looking better every day! Not that it was at all shabby in the first place.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
i probably...
had this tweet problem fixed a few days ago and didn't realize it, dammit!
Lion
Lionness don't have fur (mane, I think) around thier faces.
And it all makes the picture so outstanding because it's papa lion and his cubs sitting there so peacefully. Most of the time such a cub pix would be with mama.
"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone
Some do!
Seriously, your point made sense to me, after you brought it up.
So I Googled, and I found that very occasionally there are outliers!
The 'guides' speculate that it is caused by a hormonal imbalance/abnormality.
The Guide's Bio is below.
You are correct, though, that generally, females don't have manes--which I should have known. Thanks for making the point.
That is partly what makes this photo even more interesting.
Mollie
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Thank you
The guide's story is fascinating. Thank you for the link.
And, as the old adage goes "you learn something every day."
"Never separate the life you live from the words you speak." --Paul Wellstone
What beautiful animals!
Thanks! Aren't they? NT
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
Truthfully,
I've seen old, old newspaper clippings, and in recent years, internet photos which were considerably worse than the Moyers' photo.
Even though Moyers is almost two decades older than me, my Father was only one year younger than his.
One reason that my Father was involved as a civil rights activist later in life, was because of what he saw as a child. He and his family did not attend lynchings, but did 'happen into town' on the heels of one. Indeed, my paternal Grandfather was the Sheriff of one of the oldest counties in the Southeast--replete with a handlebar moustache.
My understanding is that it was commonplace to mutilate the victims' genitals prior to hanging, burning, etc. Frankly, it gets even worse than that--but I'll skip the rest, since I don't want to upset anyone.
I do believe that we need to be made aware (with a disclaimer, perhaps, as Marilyn mentioned) of the atrocities committed by our Forefathers.
I know that 'we' didn't do this, but still, I am so ashamed.
Mollie
BTW, JTC--this comment didn't "need" any of the HTML code. Go figure!
Could it be that the Tweet code sorta messed things up?
Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.
See my...
comment above about the paragraph breaks.