Stop risking women's lives while treating them like chattel enforced by violence.

Unsafe Abortions Rates on the Rise.  New Global Analysis.


(CBS/AP) Abortion rates (click title to entry - thank you) are highest where the procedure is illegal, according to a new study. The study also found nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, with the vast majority of unsafe abortions occurring in developing countries....

Are abortions on the rise worldwide? (click here)


Some folks might guess "yes" as a sign of the changing times, but a new study in the Jan. 19 issue of The Lancet found the opposite. Analyzing global data from 1995 to 2008, researchers found abortion rates have remained relatively stable since 2003. Still, abortion rates vary greatly across the world - and in some cases are higher in countries where abortion is illegal. Where in the world are abortion rates highest? Keep clicking to see the regions - as defined by the United Nations - in order of lowest to highest abortion rates among women ages 15-44 years...



If the abortion rate globally is stable then there is going to ALWAYS be a statistical amount of women seeking abortions.  There is really no need for Anti-Abortion groups to continue their political rant.  They have to realize there will always be a population of women with unwanted pregnancy.  I have never understood the label "Pro-Life" of these groups, because, the question always arises to me as to whom they are Pro-Life for, it certainly is not women.


Article Date: 19 Jan 2012 - 10:00 PST
New figures from the Guttmacher Institute (click here) and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that after a long period of decline, the global abortion rates have steadied. From 1995 to 2003, rates dropped from 35 per 1000 women of childbearing age to 29 per 1000, whereas the new study shows the 2008 rate is stable at 28 per 1000. 

The United Nations says the slow down coincides with a plateau in the uptake of contraceptive use in developing countries, where there has been a big contraceptive drive in the last couple of decades, partly because of HIV and partly because of over population issues....

The Anti-Abortion Political Campaign is irrelevant. They endanger lives and stop NOTHING.  There will always be a statistically reliable number of women seeking abortion.  Lack of availability of safe abortions is an assault against women's lives.  There is absolutely nothing Pro-Life about Anti-Abortionists.

Abortion rates are highest in countries where procedure is illegal (click here)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Abortion rates are higher in countries where the procedure is illegal and nearly half of all abortions worldwide are unsafe, with the vast majority in developing countries, a new study concludes.

Experts couldn't say whether more liberal laws led to fewer procedures, but said good access to birth control in those countries resulted in fewer unwanted pregnancies.

The global abortion rate remained virtually unchanged from 2003 to 2008, at about 28 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, a total of about 43.8 million abortions, according to the study. The rate had previously been dropping since 1995....

Until Former Speaker Gingrick brought up the name I didn't know he was so hated. Good heavens.

I am quite sure there is an uptick in his book.  I don't know if that was the Former Speakers intention, but, I am sure there is a new wave sweeping the nation.  I mean why bring it up if they hate the guy, there are going to be more disciples than ever.  I never read the book and I am not going to.  I have a lot of reading to do and this is not on the list.  Heck, I have to finish reading The American Job Act.


It is really a shame the Republicans believe making up faux fear is the best way to win an election.  Amazing.  They call that politics?  


I don't consider a man that was "The Father of Empowerment" a dangerous or indecent man.  I find his values moral and his methods desperately necessary.

Newt Gingrich keeps likening President Obama to radical community organizer Saul Alinsky. But Gingrich seems to have adopted Alinsky's tactics himself, as has the tea party. Mainstream Republicans aren't happy.

By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer

January 28, 2012

“The centerpiece of this campaign, (click title to entry - thank you) I believe, is American exceptionalism versus the radicalism of Saul Alinsky,” Gingrich said in his South Carolina primary victory speech, a charge he finds constant ways to repeat. "Saul Alinsky radicalism is at the heart of Obama,” he said on CNN....

...So who was Saul Alinsky?

Born in Chicago in 1909 to Russian immigrant parents, Alinsky worked his way through the University of Chicago, then dropped out of grad school to organize the poor in the city’s slums, demanding better working and living conditions. He went on to do the same thing in other US cities....

Anyone who knows anything about the Jewish-American experience in the early 20th Century, it is well known they were activists in their own lives to establish their place in the USA and develop their own social worth.  Another example of an activist Jewish community was in the South, in New Orleans.  Below is a link to an essay about Mississippi Jewish Immigrants.  The Jewish Communities in the South didn't discriminate against African Americans in the early 20th century.  That, itself, was revolutionary and there were many raised eyebrows about this relationship between the two ethnic communities.  

...Jewish immigrants from Germany and Alsace (click here) settled in Mississippi in the 1840s. They were joined by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the Jewish immigrants initially worked as traveling peddlers. Since most Jews had been legally prevented from owning land in Europe, they had no experience with farming. Legal discrimination had made it hard for Jews in Europe to rely on someone else to support them economically, so they learned to support themselves through business ownership. When they came to Mississippi, they drew on this entrepreneurial experience and became involved in commerce. Peddlers went from town to town, providing necessary supplies to farmers and their families. Often the peddlers received merchandise from wholesalers in Memphis, Tennessee, or New Orleans, and traveled the state looking for customers....


...Jewish civic involvement was not unique to Mississippi, as Jews across the South were elected to public service positions. One reason for this acceptance was that Jews assimilated to Southern culture. While remaining faithful to their unique religion and culture, Mississippi Jews have worked to lessen the barriers and differences between themselves and their Gentile neighbors. They have embraced the cultural values of the region, for better or worse....


The only people that won't admit there has always been a place for "Movers and Shakers" in the USA are those that want a 'stable' playing field for promotion of their monetary fortunes, like Mr. Forbes.  When will the Republicans stop rewriting history?

Hunger in America, it is never a transient condition.

76 percent (10 million) (click here) of client households served are food insecure, meaning they do not always know where they will find their next meal.  

Hunger in America 2010 (click here) is the largest study of domestic hunger, providing comprehensive and statistically-valid data on our emergency food distribution system and the people Feeding America serves. Hunger in America 2010 is extremely detailed, drawing on data from more than 61,000 interviews with clients and surveys of 37,000 feeding agencies.

The report shows that hunger is increasing at an alarming rate in the United States, and our network is expanding its reach in response:

• Feeding America is annually providing food to 37 million Americans, including 14 
• million children. This is an increase of 46 percent over 2006, when we were feeding 25 million Americans, including 9 million children, each year.
• That means one in eight Americans now rely on Feeding America for food and groceries.
• Feeding America's nationwide network of food banks is feeding 1 million more Americans each week than we did in 2006.
• Thirty-six percent of the households we serve have at least one person working.
• More than one-third of client households report having to choose between food and other basic necessities, such as rent, utilities and medical care.
• The number of children the Feeding America network serves has increased by 50 percent since 2006....

TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. — Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows (click title to entry - thank you) are proud to announce they will present a check to Project MANA for $11,040 as a result of their “Food Fight” donation drive. The two resorts engaged in a friendly competition to raise money for Project MANA in early December. Each resort donated $500 to get  the “Food Fight” started and encouraged guests to participate and make a donation to help alleviate hunger in the community during the holiday season....


Project MANA (click here)


Project MANA (Making Adequate Nutrition Accessible) is the hunger relief organization serving the North and West Shores of Lake Tahoe and Truckee, which includes the coverage of three counties in Northern California and one county in Northern Nevada.  Since its inception in 1991 Project MANA as responded to the emergency food need of the homeless, the elderly, the homebound families in need, children and single parents....

Do loggers really hate Old Growth Forests? Or. Ah. Don't they know what they are actually doing?

...But the towering cedars, firs, hemlocks, and spruces (click title to entry - thank you) which have served as the owl's habitat, also have become a primary source of timber for a multi-billion dollar logging industry. Over the last 150 years, as a result of heavy logging, these ancient forests have dwindled. Only about 10% of the forests remain, most on federally owned lands. And as the forests have dwindled, so too has the number of spotted owls. Biologists estimate that only 2,000 pairs survive today....

The exact number of spotted owls is difficult to track.  No one knows how many there are but scientists document a downward trend.  The decline is most severe in Washington - about 7 percent a year.

This Spotted Owl has been banded for protection.  It will provide valuable information to those trying desperately to safe them from extinction.  This owl and the Old Age Forests where it lives are endangered today as direct result of greed and Wall Street.


Where are the ethics?  Why is there no respect for life over profits?  Oh, there isn't.  Make no mistake.  Besides nature, Americans learned the ruthlessness of the Health Care Insurance Industry priorities placing profits over human life.  So, ah, like, what is this mess already?
































Spotted owl is a kind of forest animal that can only breed in old-growth forests-forests that have never been touched by human activities. In order to breed successfully and gather enough food for its young, a single pair of spotted owls needs about 100 acres (40 hectares) of old-growth forest. Spotted owl populations have declined as old-growth forests have been cut down.


The Northern Spotted Owl is an INDICATOR species.  The fact it is now endangered loudly states the condition of the forest.  The decline of the Northern Spotted Owl is due to human exploitation and NOT natural processes.  Its habitat, the Old Age Forests, have been decimated.

Northern spotted owl marks 20 years on endangered species list (click here)

Published: Friday, June 25, 2010, 8:20 PM     

Updated: Saturday, February 05, 2011, 3:44 PM

Eric Forsman was a 21-year-old undergraduate working the summer at a Forest Service guard station in the Willamette National Forest when he first heard an odd barking call. 

Curious, Forsman scouted and listened hard, eventually realizing he was hearing a bird he had never heard before. Later that summer, his first northern spotted owl flew in. 

The owl, characteristic of its breed, showed little fear. It gave Forsman a "big brown-eyed look." 

"Once I heard what they sounded like," he says, "I started looking for them." 

What Forsman and fellow researchers found after that summer of 1968 led to the owl's listing as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act on June 26, 1990 -- 20 years ago today....

Every State in the nation needs to take a firm stand for Clean Energy Solutions of Wind and Solar!

Golden-Glow Flowers, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, USA


Like, get for real already.


...Statements from the attorney and groups involved follow:  (click title to entry - thank you)

“This settlement phases out some of the oldest, dirtiest, and most inefficient coal plants in the Carolinas,” said John Suttles, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center who represented the groups in court. “In addition to protecting people’s health and saving lives, it also will save ratepayers’ money by paving the way for a more efficient and sustainable energy future.” 

“This settlement ends another chapter in the history of polluting coal generation that jeopardizes our health, air and water," said Michael Regan, director of energy efficiency for Environmental Defense Fund. "In the future, energy conservation and new technologies will provide North Carolina with reliable energy while protecting our families and economy.” 

“The air quality improvements that will result from this settlement will provide present and future generations with substantially cleaner air in the region,” said Don Barger, NPCA’s Southeast Regional Director “The health of our people and parks, including Great Smoky Mountains National Park in particular, will long bear witness to the benefits realized from transitioning away from coal.” 

“North Carolina has long been a clean air leader, and today's settlement is another important step forward for the Tarheel State. This settlement is critical for the health of North Carolina's families. Coal-fired electricity is the primary source of toxic mercury pollution and is a leading trigger of asthma attacks. These retirements will allow North Carolina to move beyond coal, and focus on clean energy solutions like solar and offshore wind," said Mary Anne Hitt, Director of Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign....

I haven't seem him clean toilets yet.

Romney pumped his own gas at a stop on his bus tour.  (click here)


Why do I feel as though I can't ever relate to this guy?

Romney would rank among richest presidents ever (click title to entry - thank you)

WASHINGTON (AP) – Just how rich is Mitt Romney? Add up the wealth of the last eight presidents, from Richard Nixon to Barack Obama. Then double that number. Now you're in Romney territory....

Karl Rove's America - How much has it changed?

By PAUL KRUGMAN


Published: July 15, 2005


John Gibson of Fox News says that Karl Rove should be given a medal. I agree: Mr. Rove should receive a medal from the American Political Science Association for his pioneering discoveries about modern American politics. The medal can, if necessary, be delivered to his prison cell.
What Mr. Rove understood, long before the rest of us, is that we're not living in the America of the past, where even partisans sometimes changed their views when faced with the facts. Instead, we're living in a country in which there is no longer such a thing as nonpolitical truth. In particular, there are now few, if any, limits to what conservative politicians can get away with: the faithful will follow the twists and turns of the party line with a loyalty that would have pleased the Comintern.


I first realized that we were living in Karl Rove's America during the 2000 presidential campaign, when George W. Bush began saying things about Social Security privatization and tax cuts that were simply false. At first, I thought the Bush campaign was making a big mistake - that these blatant falsehoods would be condemned by prominent Republican politicians and Republican economists, especially those who had spent years building reputations as advocates of fiscal responsibility. In fact, with hardly any exceptions they lined up to praise Mr. Bush's proposals.


But the real demonstration that Mr. Rove understands American politics better than any pundit came after 9/11.


Every time I read a lament for the post-9/11 era of national unity, I wonder what people are talking about. On the issues I was watching, the Republicans' exploitation of the atrocity began while ground zero was still smoldering.


Mr. Rove has been much criticized for saying that liberals responded to the attack by wanting to offer the terrorists therapy - but what he said about conservatives, that they "saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war," is equally false. What many of them actually saw was a domestic political opportunity - and none more so than Mr. Rove.


A less insightful political strategist might have hesitated right after 9/11 before using it to cast the Democrats as weak on national security. After all, there were no facts to support that accusation.


But Mr. Rove understood that the facts were irrelevant. For one thing, he knew he could count on the administration's supporters to obediently accept a changing story line. Read the before-and-after columns by pro-administration pundits about Iraq: before the war they castigated the C.I.A. for understating the threat posed by Saddam's W.M.D.; after the war they castigated the C.I.A. for exaggerating the very same threat.


Mr. Rove also understands, better than anyone else in American politics, the power of smear tactics. Attacks on someone who contradicts the official line don't have to be true, or even plausible, to undermine that person's effectiveness. All they have to do is get a lot of media play, and they'll create the sense that there must be something wrong with the guy.


And now we know just how far he was willing to go with these smear tactics: as part of the effort to discredit Joseph Wilson IV, Mr. Rove leaked the fact that Mr. Wilson's wife worked for the C.I.A. I don't know whether Mr. Rove can be convicted of a crime, but there's no question that he damaged national security for partisan advantage. If a Democrat had done that, Republicans would call it treason.


But what we're getting, instead, is yet another impressive demonstration that these days, truth is political. One after another, prominent Republicans and conservative pundits have declared their allegiance to the party line. They haven't just gone along with the diversionary tactics, like the irrelevant questions about whether Mr. Rove used Valerie Wilson's name in identifying her (Robert Novak later identified her by her maiden name, Valerie Plame), or the false, easily refuted claim that Mr. Wilson lied about who sent him to Niger. They're now a chorus, praising Mr. Rove as a patriotic whistle-blower.


Ultimately, this isn't just about Mr. Rove. It's also about Mr. Bush, who has always known that his trusted political adviser - a disciple of the late Lee Atwater, whose smear tactics helped President Bush's father win the 1988 election - is a thug, and obviously made no attempt to find out if he was the leaker.


Most of all, it's about what has happened to America. How did our political system get to this point?


E-mail: krugman@nytimes.com

Another demonstrator sent to the hospital in Oakland? Do I see a trend?

Metropolitan police watch Occupy DC demonstrators as they try to block the guest entrance to the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capital Hilton in Washington on Saturday.


Draft Horses?  Oakland Police need draft horses?  Budweiser anyone?


The one in the foreground looks like a Percheron and not a Clydesdale.  They used to be plow horses.

"I (click here) saw a very young woman on the ground. She had been beaten earlier, and she

had to go to the hospital. ... Apparently her only crime had been being present
at the protest when she was beaten by the police." – Kevin Army, eyewitness
to OPD's attack last night on OCCUPY OAKLAND

People of the community complain about the demonstrators, but, when it comes right down to it, the complaints reflect every reason to continue to bring the establishment to the plight they seem to share.  I doubt "Occupy Oakland" is limiting their community to caucasian people alone.  While the community sees their issues differently and separate from the demonstrators, they sincerely aren't.  Gentrification is a Wall Street invention to return real estate to their 'For Sale' pages.  It would be nice to have neighborhoods rehabilitated, but, without homelessness would be better.

...In fact, I told the man that Occupy Oakland (click here) distracts Oakland from its own issues.  He asked me what some of those issues were.  I didn’t know where to begin.  How about the gentrification that treats African Americans like “blight” to be removed from our own homes?  Then our politicians applaud the new “diversity.”  Our politicians worry about polishing Oakland’s image and an Oakland Renaissance, even as Oakland’s children get killed in the streets....

Draft Horses?  
For real?  
Those poor animals.  
I would think apples or carrots would do the trick.  
Whatever.


The draft horses to the right are pulling a cultivator.  I don't know, maybe Oakland taught the poor animals to bite.  If they are aggressive it is completely out of character. I mean what did they do to them?


Gentle Giants Draft Horse Rescue is a 501 c3 Tax Deductible Non-Profit Rescue.  (click here)

Robert E. Lee's Birthday? He lost the war.

Maybe his horse, Traveler, got tired?


This is not meant as a joke, but, I was astonished at the number of Military Brass attending this ? social club ? dinner.  Admiral Mullen was at the head table with Bush 41 and 43,  I guess $200 per plate is cheap for most of these folks.  I sincerely believe this social event has transformed into a more than elite club and a place to be seen, especially if promotion in the military is an ambition.  It is unfortunate such an event exists.  It seems like "A Must Be Seen" club to me.  It is unsettling to realize that level of pressure actually exists with our military.  I realize the top position of the USA military is civilian, but, taking it to this level to keep everyone close to the vest is unethical.


It is listed on "The Conservative Caucus 2012 Events and Opportunities (click here).


January ? Annual Alfalfa Club Dinner is held in Washington DC.  This is an elitist club and the dinner and its jokes are closed to the media.  The President usually attends.


Yep.

It takes alfalfa to make ice cream (click here)

January 22, 2012|By ALEJANDRO DAVILA | Imperial Valley Press Staff Writer

When Khaled Bali looks at ice cream he thinks about alfalfa.

The connection is not quite clear for some people, said Bali, irrigation adviser and director of the Imperial County Cooperative Extension.

Alfalfa feeds cows, which produce the milk used to make ice cream people consume, he said with a grin.

The agency Bali leads works in conjunction with the University of California Desert Research and Extension Center, which this year is celebrating its centennial. 

This year 129,568 acres of alfalfa were grown in the Imperial Valley, according to an Imperial Irrigation District report.  This figure almost doubles the amount of wheat, which is the second-most grown crop.

"The Little Rascals" were among my favorite shows as a kid.  "Alfalfa" is the child in the middle of the photo with the Cow Lick in his hair and exclaiming "Oh."

To the right is the original cast.  

"The Alfalfa Club," the elite party began its fun in 1913 and "Our Gang" began in 1921, so I doubt there is any relationship.  How silly of me, of course, there is no relationship.

I suppose Warren Buffet provided incentive for the First Couple to attend.

...“You’ve heard it from the pundits: (click title to entry - thank you)  ‘Obama is cloistered in the White House.’ ‘He’s aloof.’ ‘He’s in the bubble.’ ‘He’s not connecting.’ And that’s why one of my big goals this year was to get out and be among everyday, ordinary Americans — like the men and women of the Alfalfa Club.”

Ha ha! How everyday-ordinary were they? “I’d like to acknowledge a very good friend of mine,” he added, according to excerpts of his speech released by the White House. “Warren Buffett’s secretary’s boss is in the house.”...

I hope everyone enjoyed by humor as much as the President's.  So good of Jeb Bush to show up at the Gala Event.  Hm. No monies for charity though, huh?  Maybe for Education? Oh, silly me, Republicans don't want the Department of Education unless they profit from it.  How's Neil Bush these days?

It's Sunday Night

Smashing Pumpkins - The Fellowship (click title for official website - thank you)

Get on board, this train ain't going to stop.
Where it's going, I don't know. You know, you know, you know.
Wheels on fire, fields of decent desire.
Punch your ticket, it's time to go......
There's a force around the bend, that drives this engine.

Are you with us? Are you with us?
Are you with us, or against us tonight? It's alright.....
Doesn't matter of where we meet this night. It's alright.....
Are you with us tonight? It's alright, it's alright, it's alright!
......................Are you with us tonight?.................

It's time to fly. We're on this eerie ride.
A steel horse, tied to dirt. No words, no words, for worst.
For once we'll survive, against this sacrifice.
For what is love, if not cause?.....
Ruby's wheels are falling off. Take them prayers and run.....

Are you with us? Are you with us?
Are you with us, or against us?
Are you with us, or against us?
Are you with us, or against us tonight? It's alright.....
Doesn't matter of where we meet this night. It's alright.....
Are you with us tonight? It's alright, it's alright, it's alright!
......................Are you with us tonight?


.......Are you with us tonight?
Are you with us, or against us?
Are you with us, or against us?
Are you with us, or against us?
Are you with us, or against us?.....

"Welcome Home" should extend to other cities. Thank you, heroes!

...Several hundred veterans, (click title to entry - thank you) many dressed in camouflage, walked alongside military vehicles, marching bands and even the Budweiser Clydesdales. People in the crowd held signs reading "Welcome Home" and "God Bless Our Troops," and fire trucks with aerial ladders hoisted three huge American flags along the route.

"It's not necessarily overdue. It's just the right thing," said Maj. Rich Radford, who became a symbol of the event thanks to a photo of his young daughter taking his hand while welcoming him home from his second tour in Iraq in 2010....

Transocean exonerated from liabilty in BP Gulf Oil Spill

Tim Probert (r.) of Halliburton is sworn in along with officials from BP and Transocean before May 11 Senate hearings on the Gulf oil spill.

Published on Fri, 01/27/2012 - 11:25 

By FNNO Staff 

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) is advancing (click title to entry - thank you) after a judge ruled that Transocean (NYSE:RIG) will not have to pay any clean up costs and economic losses caused by the 2010 Gulf oil spill. Transocean's indemnity agreement with BP (NYSE:BP) protects the company from having to pay compensatory damages, the judge found.

Meanwhile, BP has sued Halliburton, which was the cement contractor for the well that triggered the Gulf spill, for all of the damages and costs caused by the disaster. Similar to Transocean, Halliburton has countered by saying that its contract with BP indemnifies it from all damage claims related to the disaster.

In mid-morning trading, Halliburton gained $1.09, or 3.01%, to $37.25, while Transocean rose $0.89, or 1.88%, to $48.15 and BP fell $1, or 2.23%, to $43.77....

The Arab League needs help, which, indicates there are sincere problems in Syria.

A member of the Free Syrian Army (click here) gestures during a patrol in the western border town of al-Zabadani in this undated still image taken from amateur video obtained by Reuters. (Reuters)

Assad has no intention of giving up his thrown.  Oh, sorry, his office.  It would appear as though the circumstances in Syria are escalating without regard to human life.  There are door to door attacks now.  The attacks seem indiscriminate and somewhat for revenge as woman and children are killed as well.  There are no trials occurring in Syria, just assault by government forces.

...For the first time (click title to entry - thank you) since the team of monitors was deployed in mid-December, mainly to oversee a cease-fire between Syrian forces and the armed opposition, the league said Syria's government was "in complete contradiction to its commitments" to stop the violence. The news comes as fighting has intensified in several suburbs of Damascus, a new phase of Syria's conflict that holds the potential to move the capital toward chaos.

For the first time in the country's 11-month uprising, commanders of the dissident Free Syrian Army said they have fought back the military for stretches of hours or even days in some Damascus suburbs over the past week, using "hit-and-run" operations that are supported by lightly armed civilians.

The Arab League's mission, which had been extended for a second month, had a mandate to observe the implementation of a peace plan across Syria. The U.N. estimates that more than 5,400 people have been killed in protests against the rule of President Assad, which began in March. Syria, which blamed the violence on armed militants seeking the overthrow of the government, said 2,000 of its security forces have been killed.

The Arab League's decision is likely to escalate diplomatic efforts by the Arab League and Western nations to secure a U.N. Security Council resolution to stop the violence. The efforts have faced opposition from Moscow, a longtime ally of Damascus....