June 2010
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It held off nicely
accuwxboston:
Tonight: Mostly cloudy; areas of fog late with a shower or thunderstorm around with a low of 60°F Tomorrow: A couple of showers and a heavy thunderstorm; breezy and more humid with clouds and sun with a high of 76°F Get details at AccuWeather.com
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“(W)e would appreciate a detailed explanation of the information about Facebook...”
– John Conyers (D-MI), in a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Judiciary Committee Still Has Questions for Facebook
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“The Elders have condemned the reported killing by Israeli forces of more than a...”
– The Hindu : News / International : Nobel-winning Elders deplore Gaza flotilla attack
What can I say? Listen to the world’s Elders.
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Watch Boise woman aboard ship attacked by Israeli commandos | KTVB.COM | KTVB.COM | Boise, Idaho news
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“An ad-hoc working group comprised of representatives from over a dozen leading...”
– Peace and Justice Studies Association
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“In 2003, several prominent Jewish philanthropists hired Republican pollster...”
– Peter Beinart, The Failure of the American Jewish Establishment | The New York Review of Books
This article comes to me via a local activist from September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows with whom I had worked to bring an Israeli and a Palestinian member of Combatants for Peace to speak...
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“Given that the Israelis refuse to allow anything other than the most minimal...”
– UPDATE VII Israel attacks aid ship, kills at least 10 civilians - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
Greenwald’s seventh update to his Freedom Flotilla post invokes the Geneva Conventions in its critique of the formal statement submitted to the UN by the US Ambassador.
May 2010
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“We need our leaders to show their commitment to peace by condemning this act,...”
– Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK, who has travelled four times to Gaza. CODEPINK : CODEPINK Condemns Israeli Attack on Gaza Flotilla
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Canadian fires bring smoke to northern New England... →
When I woke up this morning, I thought one of the neighbor’s firepits was still going. I thought “How rude!” Little did I know that the problem was much bigger. This drives home the degree to which we are all one people on one Spaceship Earth. We all live downwind.
This is an AP report, and I can’t redistribute it, so you’ll have to follow the link for the story.
...
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“President Barack Obama told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday...”
– Obama urges Netanyahu to get facts on Gaza ship raid | Reuters
(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Editing by Sandra Maler)
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“Jewish Voice for Peace condemns Israel’s attack and killing of members of...”
– Jewish Voice for Peace
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“The one silver lining from these incidents is that the real face of Israel...”
– Israel attacks aid ship, kills at least 10 civilians - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
Greenwald provides the historical background and outlines the political context.
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“The Post Hoc Fallacy is committed whenever one reasons to a causal conclusion...”
– Logical Fallacy: Post Hoc
The IDF is using the claim that they were justified in raiding a civilian ship in international waters because they found weapons on board. Even if they did find weapons on board, a highly doubtful claim, they could not justify the piracy based on this prior to boarding...
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Emergency Action in Response to Israeli Attack on... →
Boston area humanitarians take note.
The government of Israel made a big show of withdrawing from (and destroying) its settlements in the Gaza Strip. Since then, in violation of international law, it has held the population of that Palestinian territory under siege, denying them basic necessities in an act of collective punishment. Israel also attacked Gaza in 2008. For independent analyses of...
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WatchLive video feed of the IDF attack on the Free Gaza Freedom Flotilla.
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“Regardless of any reasoning, such actions against civilians engaged in only...”
– At Least 10 Are Killed as Israel Halts Flotilla With Gaza Aid - NYTimes.com
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Civilians Under Attack by Israel |... →
This was an attack in international waters of an humanitarian convoy and must be roundly condemned by all freedom-loving people.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 31, 2010 2:11 AM
CONTACT: Free Gaza Movement
Greta Berlin - +357 99187275 iristulip@gmail.comiristulip@gmail.com
Mary Hughes, +357 96 38 38 09 daisydozy@gmail.comdaisydozy@gmail.com
Audrey Bomse,...
Saturn ’stationary’ in front of Virgo on May 31 →
Astronomical almanacs list Saturn as “stationary” today. That doesn’t mean that Saturn – like Polaris, the North Star – will remain in the same place in the sky all through the night tonight….
May. 31, 2010: The Writer's Almanac →
Monday’s Poem: “The Man in the Yard” by Howard Nelson, from The Nap by the Waterfall. Monday’s Literary Notes: It’s the birthday of the novelist Michael Chabon, born in Washington, D.C. (1963). He’s…
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“The promise of the Internet-as-Alexandria is more than the rolling plenitude of...”
– Gideon Lewis-Kraus, “A World in Three Aisles: Browsing the Post-Digital Library” Harpers 314: no. 1884 (May 2007): 56.
(via curate)
In exploring the various social implications of Web 2.0, especially in the wake of Facebook privacy concerns, I have become interested in the idea of curation....
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Even better than the real thing
The unofficial (not solar) start to summer certainly feels official.
accuwxboston:
Today: Mostly sunny and warmer with a high of 85°F Tonight: Partly cloudy with a low of 60°F Get details at AccuWeather.com
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“Yes — being as sentimental as I am — I, too, harbor nostalgia for...”
– Pure Kafka - Glenn Greenwald - Salon.com
Glenn Greenwald engages the issue of indefinite detention at GITMO with his typical integrity, and by the way, ouch, I too have been on Palin and Beck Watch.
Star Deneb belongs to a cross-like star pattern →
Here’s the view toward the northeast in mid-evening in the month of May.
It’s by looking in this direction that you can get a good look at Deneb. Denenb – along with the stars Vega and Altair…
May. 30, 2010: The Writer's Almanac →
Sunday’s Poem: “A Very Rich Old Woman” by David Starkey, from A Few Things You Should Know About the Weasel. Sunday’s Literary Notes: It was on this day in 1431 that Joan of Arc was burned at the…
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Hoping all the verses rhyme
accuwxboston:
Tonight: A shower or thunderstorm around this evening; otherwise, partly cloudy with a low of 59°F Tomorrow: Sunny to partly cloudy, breezy and warmer with a high of 85°F Get details at AccuWeather.com
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“The Florida Keys, third longest barrier reef in the world, is a dead zone....”
– Phillippe Cousteau, Jr. (via unburyingthelead) (via ryking) (via soupsoup)
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From a Slogan to a Movement: "Bring the War Money... →
The war is making us all poor. Among other things, cutting the military budget by 25% would keep us from having to lay off teachers and cops. This view is partly the legacy of Dr. King.
Submitted by ujpadmin on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 12:11pm.
by Mike Prokosch A theme is appearing on peace flyers across the country: “Bring our war money home.” “Money for healthcare / schools / jobs, not for war.” We’ve...
Tonight’s moon near Teapot asterism →
At middle latitudes in North America, the waning gibbous moon rises into the southeast sky about 2 hours after sunset. The full moon only happened a few days ago, so the moon tonight will…
May. 29, 2010: The Writer's Almanac →
Saturday’s Poem: “Arc” by Amy M. Clark, from Stray Home. Saturday’s Literary Notes: It’s the anniversary of one of the most legendary moments in modern art. On this day in 1913, The Rite of Spring…
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On Memorial Day, many families can't forget the... →
I am blessed and humbled to know Carlos and Melida. My heart will be with them this weekend.
Friday, May. 28, 2010
By AARON GLANTZ Memorial Day has a distinct meaning for the veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan and the families of the 5,400 Americans who have died in these wars.
Just ask Carlos Arredondo, whose son Lance Cpl. Alexander Arredondo was one of seven Marines killed in...
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“Hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars in revenue will be lost as a...”
– Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva: Let’s Tell Big Oil: You Break It, You Buy It
This is the sponsor’s view of HR 5355, the “no cap” bill. It bears repeating, that just as in Stigliz and Bilmes’s analysis of the Iraq war the costs to society of the disaster are much greater than...
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“Corporations, by law and practice, care only about themselves. They require...”
– Blue Mass. Group:: Deepwater Horizon: the results of G.O.P.-style laissez-faire capitalism
If you’re looking for the real debate over the BP Oil Spill, it’s going on over at Blue Mass Group.
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BP refuses to plug Twitter leak - How the World... →
Okay, enough fun here. Now go chain yourselves to some dead pelicans.
Has social media ushered in a new golden age of satire? As long as the oil gushes in the Gulf, so will the jokes
BY ANDREW LEONARD@bpglobalpr
This horrible spill wouldn’t be happening in the gulf of AMERICA! Arizona knows what I’m talking ‘bout!! #fistpound #bpcares
The Internet is a confusing place....
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Earth to Fox: Obama visited the Gulf on May 2 |... →
Yet another “inconvenient truth.”
On Fox & Friends, guest host Dave Briggs falsely claimed that President Obama “has not been down to the Gulf…[h]e has not had that moment to get down there in the Gulf and tell those people he cares, that he’s doing something.” In fact, Obama visited the Gulf Coast on May 2.
read more
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“It being extremely rare for authorities to crackdown on American flag wearing in...”
– Inside the Information Loop - Conor Friedersdorf - Metablog - True/Slant
The right-wing echo chamber can’t be an effective contributor to debate as long as it’s fact-challenged. It’s unfortunate this bleeds so readily to the mainstream. The most casual glance at the headlines...
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social media help spread unitarian universalism >... →
It’s amusing to think of UUs “evangelizing.”
‘If a congregation isn’t sharing its good news through multiple channels, it may be missing out.’ By Donald E. Skinner Summer 2010 5.15.10 When Melanie McCullough sits at her computer in Capistrano Beach, California, looking up Emerson quotes to send out on Twitter, she is doing ministry—just like the Rev. Dr....
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Gorgeous
Another gorgeous day in Greater Boston.
accuwxboston:
Today: Sunny to partly cloudy with a high of 71°F Tonight: Mainly clear with a low of 54°F Get details at AccuWeather.com
Look for Vega in the northeast in springtime →
Here is the star Vega, the fifth brightest star in the sky. You’ll find this beautiful bluish star by looking northeastward in mid-evening. It’s so bright that you can notice it, even when no…
May. 28, 2010: The Writer's Almanac →
Friday’s Poem: “Our Friends in Minnesota” by Amy M. Clark, from Stray Home. Friday’s Literary Notes: It’s the birthday of poet May Swenson, born in to Swedish-speaking Mormons in Logan, Utah, on this…
listening to "Deva Premal - Om Mani Padme Hum" →
Joyous Wesak (Buddha Day) to all of you followers of the Eightfold Noble Path!
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Sweet!
accuwxboston:
Tonight: Partly cloudy with a low of 54°F Tomorrow: Mostly sunny with a high of 71°F Get details at AccuWeather.com
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Happy Birthday, Rachel Carson! →
Her best-selling book about the dangers of pesticides, Silent Spring (1962), became one of the most influential books in the modern environmental movement.
Full moon near the Scorpion’s Heart on May 27 →
The moon reaches its full phase tonight, but it rides low above the horizon for mid-northern latitudes. If your southeastern horizon is rather cluttered, you might have to wait 90 minutes after
May. 27, 2010: The Writer's Almanac →
Thursday’s Poem: “Things I Didn’t Know I Loved: After Nazim Hikmet” by Linda Pastan, from Queen of a Rainy Country. Thursday’s Literary Notes: It’s the birthday of ecologist and nature writer Rachel…
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Watch“There’s a ring around the moon Long long time ‘till day Play me one more tune Please don’t go away.”
There was, indeed a ring around the nearly full moon tonight, with clouds racing past it. Did you get to see it?
