May Be Offline for a Bit

May be Offline for a Bit

Last Thursday we had 45 MPH wind gusts and a wind chill which I think was in the low 20's or high teens.  I went out to put a thank you note and small gift for my mail carrier in the mailbox.  Wind grabbed storm door and slammed it.  I had no coat on and couldn't get it open.  After swearing and yanking for a few minutes I managed to get an arm wedged between the door and its frame.

Since pulling had proved useless, I yanked.  Fell and cracked lower back across edge of concrete step, then landed on back, in the yard.  After a few minutes outside I realized I either had to freeze to death and join Ann or find some way to move.

Rolled to my stomach and was able to ooze into house and call 911.

I don't Feel lucky, but I Do truly know I Am!  No paralysis, nothing broken, (unless it's a stress fracture which isn't too treatable anyway) and somehow while I fell I managed to tuck in my head, no head injury or concussion!  Thank you All Holy Beings!

I'm getting around house, using walker to get in and out of chairs.  Haven't tried outdoor steps yet.  Having to leave heat on as when pain level gets too high I get cold and shaky.

So, cancer test rescheduled for later this week and I may not be writing for a bit, hard to sit up for long.

May all of you who celebrate Christmas have a warm, (Inside at least) safe, and Happy one.

May be Offline for a Bit

Last Thursday we had 45 MPH wind gusts and a wind chill which I think was in the low 20's or high teens.  I went out to put a thank you note and small gift for my mail carrier in the mailbox.  Wind grabbed storm door and slammed it.  I had no coat on and couldn't get it open.  After swearing and yanking for a few minutes I managed to get an arm wedged between the door and its frame.

Since pulling had proved useless, I yanked.  Fell and cracked lower back across edge of concrete step, then landed on back, in the yard.  After a few minutes outside I realized I either had to freeze to death and join Ann or find some way to move.

Rolled to my stomach and was able to ooze into house and call 911.

I don't Feel lucky, but I Do truly know I Am!  No paralysis, nothing broken, (unless it's a stress fracture which isn't too treatable anyway) and somehow while I fell I managed to tuck in my head, no head injury or concussion!  Thank you All Holy Beings!

I'm getting around house, using walker to get in and out of chairs.  Haven't tried outdoor steps yet.  Having to leave heat on as when pain level gets too high I get cold and shaky.

So, cancer test rescheduled for later this week and I may not be writing for a bit, hard to sit up for long.

May all of you who celebrate Christmas have a warm, (Inside at least) safe, and Happy one.

May everyone find her/his favorite doll or action figure just Waiting unter the tree!

Why Isn't it Obvious and Questions

Why Isn't it Obvious, and Questions

I can't believe people are Still arguing about what should be done to Limit the number of mass shootings in this country!

When I came home from blind school I lived in the woods.  There were rabid skunks around which might chase us kids or our pets.  If rabies was suspected 14 very painful shots in the abdomen were administered.  Those who assumed they were bitten by a non-rabid skunk, or one of the wild dogs, (often dumped by city dwellers and left to form packs with others and fend for themselves), they often died a horrible death.  My parents would shoot skunks or wild dogs acting strangely or threatening us kids.  They used hand guns kept locked out of our reach to do this.

A squirrel or rabit might be killed for food, with a 22 caliber gun.  In order to stay healthy and because I can't afford either meat or health food store prices for protein I do eat deer.  I thank the spirit of any animal who sacrifices its life so I can live.

The friends who hunt a deer for me use deer rifles and hunt legally, in season.

Does anyone know people who hunt caribou, bear, or moose to sustain their lives, for meat?  Do they need semi-automatics for hunting these beings?  I seriously Doubt it since the Native peoples of Turtle Island, (North America) were able to hunt them with arrows, lances, harpoons, and spears.

The Reason semi-automatic weapons are called assault weapons is Because they are made for only One Purpose.  They are Made to Assault other Human Beings in large numbers.  This is why they can  come with such large clips of ammunition.  Americans can keep guns, but it is sad that we fear and hate one another so much that some of us think we need these mass people killers among us.  The word Sad barely begins to touch the depth of the problem.

New subject:  Mental Health.  The mass shooters who get news attention have a specific profile.  They are young white men who are loaners, have few if any friends.  Moms and dads, if this profile fits your son, don't wait and pray that they will be ok.  Try to Get them connected with Qualified help, Hospitalize them if you must.  It's terrifying to love and fear your own child.  But silence about these nice young men with no connection to others Needs to stop!  Of course some of them Will turn out ok.  But the ones who don't, ah, the ones who don't!

Question:  How many shootings of more that one person by a man with a semi-automatic weapon happen but Don't make the national news because they happen to people of color?  Is it basically disturbed young white men who commit these crimes?  Have the news media come just to expect such things in communities of people of color?  I really don't know. 

I grew up largely in St. Louis and do know about drive by shootings in poor neighborhoods where people of color are trapped.  But those which kill children or other unintended victims usually draw an outcry from the local community.  I am not justifying the killing of any person, whether it is intentional or not.  I am trying to ask if this profile only fits young white men.

On NPR a mom E-mailed in saying she had a very angry young man for a son.  She said all efforts and money seemed to him to be going to motivate young girls to live up to their potential.  Is this a reaction to changing demographics in the U.S?  Should affirmative action be income based rather than strictly race and gender based?  No, I don't think racial or gender discrimination has ended.  But I do think there are pockets of poor white people, mostly in rural areas, who get no help.

Why don't police "gun buy back" programs focus on semi-automatic and other heavier war weaponry?

An interesting comment was made by a Canadian journalist on the BBC.  She said people in the U.S. often kept guns because they didn't trust their government nearly as much as Canadians tend to.  I understand that, given our history of seizing land by force from Mexico, slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, etc.  These are acts in which Canada had no comparable role.  But I'm not sure how different Native American history in the U.S. is from First Nations history in Canada.

Last subject:  Truckers, we need you to break down around the sites of funerals in Conneticut, like you did when the so-called church tried to invace President Obama's appearance at the Memorial Service for the more than 100 dead killed in the Joplin, Mo. Tornado of 2011. That tornado took the lives of more that 160 people and you truckers and the Patriot Guard, Without semi-automatic weapons, were there to help us.  I haven't forgotten.

  Some thoughtless bozoes are evidently staging their political rallies for and against gun control around the funerals of children and the heroes who died to protect them in Conneticut.

I don't Want this to be true, but my wishes Rarely coincide with reality.

Petitions to consider are below.

As Americans process the grief, fear, and anger stemming from last Friday's tragic

shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, many are calling for action. In response to the

shooting, more than 1,000 people -- including many in and around Newtown -- started

petitions on Change.org, calling for tighter gun laws, stronger mental health services,

and support for the victims' families.

Here are a few petitions calling for meaningful action in response to the tragedy

at Sandy Hook Elementary School. You can

click here to browse and sign other petitions

 started in response to the tragedy in Newtown.

 Reenact the Assault Weapons Ban and make it law

Reenact the Assault Weapons Ban and make it law

 Increase the availability of mental health services now

Increase the availability of mental health services now

 Protect grieving families from politically charged demonstrations at funerals

Protect grieving families from politically charged demonstrations at funerals

 Walmart: Stop selling assault rifles in stores

Walmart: Stop selling assault rifles in stores

You can read and sign other petitions started in response to the tragedy in Newtown

by

clicking here.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Tim and the Change.org team

Saving Lives for Christmas!

Do Christian people really think Jesus would  want al LBGT people in an entire country Murdered?  I'm not a Christian, but even I don't believe this.

Please help!

Saving Lives for Christmas!

The "Kill the Gays" bill and the lives of LGBT Ugandans hang in the balance. Pepsi,

a major player in the Ugandan economy, could stop the bill by speaking out. But so

far Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi has remained silent.

If just 1,000 people chip in today, we’ll be able to tell Pepsi executives that we’ve

reserved an ad in a major industry publication

-- and if they don't speak out against this horrific legislation, we will publish

an ad slamming them for remaining silent in the face of this potential human catastrophe.

Please donate now so we can ramp up pressure on Pepsi to speak out before it's too

late.

Please donate

Pepsi is at a crossroads: The company can speak out and use Pepsi’s clout against

the “Kill the Gays” bill that the Ugandan Parliament is considering, which would

make being gay punishable by death. Or Pepsi can keep doing what it's been doing,

and stay silent -- and if the bill passes, bear part of the responsibility for the

deaths of an unknown number of Ugandans.

Pepsi is a major player in the Ugandan economy, with the ear of key Ugandan officials.

 Over 114,000 members of the SumOfUs community, the vast majority of us Pepsi consumers,

have signed our petition urging Pepsi to speak out.

But so far, the company has refused to act

 -- and time is running out.

Every day we get closer to Christmas without the Ugandan Parliament considering the

bill, it becomes more likely that our collective voices will have stopped this bill

from becoming law.

 Our sources on the ground tell us that

some MPs are wavering -- which means that additional pressure from Pepsi now could

make a huge difference.

So we have a plan: We want to go to Pepsi later today and tell it that we’ve reserved

ad space

in a major industry magazine,

Beverage World

, which our allies tell us Pepsi execs and their competitors read religiously

.

If Pepsi speaks out against the “Kill the Gays” bill, our ad will be a giant “Thank

you.” If it doesn’t, we’re going to call the company and its CEO, Indra Nooyi, out

for refusing to take a moral stand against this atrocious legislation.

Can you chip in $3, or whatever you can afford, to help us reserve the ad space immediately? It’s the best pressure point we have to get Pepsi to speak out about this bill. The lives of our LGBT allies in Uganda hang in the balance.

The problem is that right now, our concerns are sitting on the desk of Pepsi's PR

team -- and they just want to make it go away so they can get home for the holidays.

We have to get the attention of the CEO of Pepsi, Indra Nooyi.

 She personally may have the power to save the lives of brave LGBT men and women

in Uganda. And we think this challenge will be what it takes to get this issue on

her desk.

If Pepsi does speak out,

 its stance would ripple across Uganda’s entire government

. That’s because Pepsi is a huge deal in Uganda. Through its subsidiary Crown Beverages

Ltd., Pepsi has grown to be one of the largest beverage companies in the country,

seeing its market share grow year after year. According to the Ugandan Prime Minister,

Pepsi is making a “great contribution... to the growth of our economy in Uganda and

to the well-being of our people.”

Yesterday, Pepsi responded to us -- but instead of taking action to stand up for

the men and women in Uganda who are literally staring down death,

Pepsi paid mealy-mouthed lip service to human rights in the abstract

, and refused to do anything that would actually stand up for those rights in the

real world.

Pepsi’s executives clearly think that, if they make even the slightest nod to the

idea that human rights are a nice concept, then we’ll go away. The executives won’t

have to do the hard work of actually standing up for the human rights of LGBTI Ugandans

who, if this bill passes, will face the real risk of the receiving the death penalty

for something as little as repeatedly holding the hands of someone of the same sex.

We think that's unacceptable.

It’s not like the goal of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is a secret. David Bahati,

the bill’s author, has said publicly that

 he believes every single gay person in Uganda should be killed

. Bahati has extensive, well-documented ties to a secretive group of evangelicals

called The Family that includes American Senators and well-known American pastors.

When he initially proposed the bill two years ago, a global outcry forced the government

to drop consideration of the bill last May.

Together, we’re going to make sure this bill gets put to rest once and for all

, by putting Pepsi’s CEO in an uncomfortable position -- she could listen to us and

speak out against this bill, or see Pepsi’s brand tarnished on the world stage. We

think the choice couldn’t be more clear -- but we need to make sure we can afford

to issue that challenge.

Click here to donate $3 -- or whatever you can -- now to help us reserve the ads.

Thanks for continuing to stand against hatred,

Taren, Kaytee, Rob, Claiborne, and the rest of us

P.S. Not convinced? Why don’t you read

Pepsi’s weak response

 for yourself:

As a global company, PepsiCo works in countries with a broad array of laws and regulations.

Regardless of where we operate, PepsiCo takes great care to weave diversity and inclusion

into the very fabric of its culture, and respecting human rights is a fundamental

priority for PepsiCo.  We do not condone any action that would violate the human

rights of any person anywhere.

Best Regards,

Andrea, Senior Consumer Relations Representative

1-800-433-2652 ext. 7904

Click here to donate to our ad fund now, to show Pepsi we have the resources to make use its power as a major company operating in Uganda to stop this legislation once and for all.

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

You can follow us on

Twitter

, and like us on

Facebook

ll

Trees

Trees

This morning on NPR there was an article about the Archangel Ancient Tree Archhive, which collects specimens of some of the world's hardiest and most ancient trees and replants them where they have a chance of flourishing, despite climate change.

I think trees are holy.  Sounds nuts I guess, but too bad.

Trees are the most giving beings I know.  There is so much to say I don't know where to start.

First, they are pillars connecting Earth and Sky, living pillars.  Second, they are Literally part of our lungs.  They give us oxygen and thrive on the CO2 we over-emit. 

Third, they heat the homes of the poor, as charcoal or wood.  In this way too they keep humans both warmer and fed, by cooking our food over their bodies.

And of course, they are home, shelter, and food for numberless species of beings.

There is a children's book called "Song of the Trees" which I no longer have.  I think the author's name was Mildred Taylor or Tailor. It's about an African American family in the South, I think during the Depression.  They own some land with ancient oaks and other trees.  The daughter in this story realizes that these very trees witnessed slavery and hid runaway slaves.  They knew Native people before slaves were ripped from their homelands and forced onto this continent.

I think of trees in the same way.  If we could once again learn to understand them then Each ancient tree would be a library of stories.  They could tell us not only about human history in the Americas, but about the characters of all the beings they used to know, like the Carolina Parakete, which fed primarily on cocle burs.  Ever wish That bird was still with us?  What was its song like?

Here in the Ozarks our most ancient tree is probably the Osage Orange or Hedge Apple.  Talk about History, these trees were around with the dinosaurs!  Bet They could correct a few textbooks, if we could understand them.

I have an old Cherokee cookbook which has recipes for chestnut bread and chestnut stuffing, but the American Chestnut is gone.

Occasionally I torment unsuspecting healthcare aides with that book, suggesting they help me cook Yellow Jacket Soup, Cicadas, etc.  Fun.

The Cherokees in Oklahoma still make hickory nut butter, to add protein and fat to soups, serve over rice in a soup, etc.  They also use chinkapin (I think it's a kind of oak) nuts.  Our black walnut trees are in danger and Mo. Provides about three quarters of the black walnut crop for the country.  Personally, I don't like the taste of black walnuts but many people do, using them in Christmas baking and eating them in ice cream.   They also provide nutrition for squirrels and others. There are stoves which burn walnut shell pellets instead of wood, to keep homes warm.

 Pi~non trees also provide food for the Shoshone people and countless other creatures. Then there is the ewe tree from which a chemotherapy drug called taxol, which helped to save my life comes.  There is a drink which can be made from the sweet sap in honey locust trees.  And acorns can be eaten once the tanic acid is leached out of them, the shells can be roasted for a coffee like drink.

Due to two drought years our spruce and pines are dying out here.  The ancient white oaks are gone and a faster growing species was planted to replace them.  Now that species, with a lifespan of about 80 years is dying out and there is an overpopulation of red oaks.

One reason I eat deer meat here is that in general, the land is too rough for growing genetically modified crops of soybeans, corn, or wheat.  So the deer graze and eat blackberries, acorns, etc.  They are smaller than the deer in the Nothern part of the state, where GMO crops are grown, but to my mind they are also more healthy.

Many people use sacred trees to purify and clean their environments and minds.  Cedar, juniper, and other evergreens are usually used for this purpose.  When I smell cedar my mind becomes clearer and my spirits tend to lift.  In Asia sandalwood may serve the same purpose.

I think of trees as Treeople, Tree People, and I immediately fell in love with the Ents of J. R. R. Tolkein's "Lord of the Rings" series.

I haven't even mentioned the more ordinary trees which give us fruit:  peaches, pears, oranges, lemons, limes, papaya, bananas, apples, and cherries.

I Love the smell of a living evergreen and I know that Christmas trees are grown on farms.  But I can't enjoy that smell knowing I'm slowly killing a living being.  Just by being human I must kill to live, that is the law of Earth.  Whether it's a cabbage pulled from the land or a deer, I take life.  So I just have to carefully think about it and try not to take too much.

One of my lifetime wishes is to spend time with an ancient tree long enough to apsorb its atmosphere and maybe even Learn something from it.  If I don't ever get to do this in physical form, maybe I will as a being of Energy.

I heart trees!  But I couldn't send a donation (very small one) to the Archangel Ancient Tree Archhive, because I can't see the annoying Code I have to type in to send them an E-mail asking where to send a check.  I do not use credit cards.

Personal

My blood work yesterday was questionable enough that I have to take a more unpleasant test on Dec. 21st to determine whether my cancer has or hasn't come back.  I've been so Good, so far as diet is concerned that I lost ten pounds in a month, Never happened before. 

Meanwhile, am trying to go on as normally as possible.  Last year I was so depressed, (first Christmas without Ann) I drank too much and lost some time while hanging around the house.  Scared myself and stopped that shit.

Last night I was very sad not to have
Ann here, but enjoyed putting up the artificial tree.  Ann got me some carved wooden ornaments which truly look like animals I will never have the chance to touch, a penguin, a bear, a seal, a wolf, etc.  I thought of her and missed her as I put them up.  But they reminded me of the love she showed me in getting something I could enjoy touching.  Ann Loved shinny things!  So her favorites were fragile glass ornaments which made the lights sparkle.  After she died I sent all but three of those back to her family.  I was always terrified to touch them, both from experiences of past Christmas's at home, and because she loved them and some had come from her grandmother.  Ann's sister has a grandson, so it's better that family possessions stay in their family, to continue being passed down.

I have an odd Christmas tree.  It's like me, a mix.  It has Native made bead work, Buddhist prayer flags, (small paper ones) woven wicker and wooden ornaments, shells, and representavies (either painted brightly or just carved) of most kinds of creatures on Earth.  There's a little cherry wood Quan Yin carrying a baby and trabeling against the wind, from the way her cape and robes are ruffled.  If people want to call her Mother Mary, neither she nor I will care.  There's a leather camel a friend visiting Morocco brought back for me, so I could learn how a camel is packed and ridden, (this one has two bags and a saddle) a ceramic bamboo tray which was Ann's and which I always loved to touch, and an angel from a business called Sandys, which is no longer in business.  She is a gorgeous Kwaanza angel, and I picked her for her face.  Ann says it looks like she is annoyed, pouting, or at least serious.  I Like a ticked off angel,  there is certainly enough going on in the world to annoy Anyone!  The tree has no top ornament.  Up there is the Sky, the Mystery, so I'm not willing to define it or pretend I know what it is.  Buddhas don't tend to claim to be the best, have the only right way, I've never heard such things.  So a Buddhist symbol doesn't belong at the top either.  Wish I could send pics. of the tree.  Near the top is a wheat weaving, (a folk art) with two bird feathers above it.  I kept two bell ornaments of Ann's, an ice cicle which shines made of plastic, and four cut out metal ornaments, (like philagree only less detailed and sorry about my spelling) three snow flakes and a bell.  Because we valued them, I put each of our Obama for President buttons on the tree also.

I enjoyed putting it all together.  Stayed up until after midnight to get it done.  I did include a Japanese Buddhist mala (rosary) with nice black long tassles and a bead which, when looked through in a certain way, shows a tiny Buddha figure inside.

May everyone of you, of all beliefs or none, have a safe, warm, enjoyable holiday season!  Thank each of you for reading!

We Can Help Stop This

Below is a letter I sent to my local Buddhist group, or Sangha.  It deals with the law going through the legislature in Uganda allowing gay or lesbian people to be put to death.  Please read and consider this.

Thank you.

Dear Sangha,
In general I do not believe in interfering with the policies of another government.
But I do believe that Buddhism calls upon me to care about the suffering of others
both in my country and others.  I also believe that Buddhism calls upon me to not
judge others and to "non-discrimination" toward others.
It is for these reasons that I forward the E-mail below.
If you go to this organization's website and try to help save the lies of LBGT people
in Uganda, you will get more E-mails from this group.  But you can Always Unsubscribe.
Isn't that hassle worth trying to save the lives of fellow human beings?
One Ugandan Government official has stated that instituting the death penalty for
homosexuals would be "a Christmas present for the Ugandan people."
Please read the info. below and consider helping.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lyn
Teresa,
Thanks for standing with LGBTI Ugandans in calling for Pepsi to publicly oppose the
Ugandan "Kill the Gays" bill. But it's going to take all of raising our voices to
win this life-or-death campaign.
Can you share this petition on Facebook and Twitter or forward the email below to
your friends?
Click to share on Facebook
Thank you,
Kaytee and the rest of us at SumOfUs
*****************************
Dear Friends,
In Uganda, it’s already illegal to be gay. But some government officials -- with
support from American evangelicals -- want to take government-sanctioned homophobia
a step further. They’ve proposed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that would, among other
things, institute the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”.
But I know that if Pepsi, which has a huge presence in Uganda, speaks out against
the bill and the harmful effect it would have on investment and economic development
in Uganda, it would force Ugandan officials to put the bill on hold -- or even pull
it entirely.
Can you join me in adding your name to our petition to Pepsi, telling it to speak
out against this horrific “Kill the Gays” bill that’s racing through the Ugandan
Parliament.
http://action.sumofus.org/a/uganda-bill/?sub=taf
Thank you!
 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations
accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
You can follow us on
Twitter
, and like us on
Facebook
.
Was this email forwarded to you?
Click here
 to add yourself to SumOfUs.
If you don't want to receive emails from us anymore, you can remove yourself
xmeybrlz@att.net
from our list by clicking
here
. But just know, we'll miss you!

This Could be Fun

Heard about some new dolls I didn't know about.  And Hopefully, some of these "nonsexist toys" will appeal to boys as well!

The toys listed are not all dolls.

Personal note:  Cancer check tomorrow.  Usually I don't worry about these things.  But I'm on such a strict diet that it forces me to give careful cnsideration to literally Everything that goes into m mouth, constantly Reminding me.  Mental and emotional detox. continues, though Thankfully, at a slower pace.
I have acquired a router to download books o

download books onto my Kindle Keyboard.  It is playing Major havoc with my attempts to access internet, and just now, to read anything I have written.  I hope this comes through in a somewhat legible form.


I wil be glad when tomorrrow is over and I know if hard choices and unpleasant tests await me or do not!

Now, fo the fun, see below.

Can you help decide which gifts make it into the

UltraViolet Holiday Gift Guide: A 21st Century Guide to Non-sexist Holiday Shopping

?

It's easy and really fun to vote for your favorite gifts.

click here

Click Here

Last week UltraViolet members nominated thousands of awesome gift ideas for our "21st

Century Guide to Non-Sexist Holiday Shopping."

The ideas submitted were amazing and inspiring, like Sarah H., who nominated GoldieBlox,

a toy set meant to get girls interested in engineering or Jacquelyn I., who nominated

the Go Go Sports Girls! dolls of female athletes.

There's just one problem:

There are TOO MANY awesome gift ideas.

So we need your help.

Can you take a minute to click below and vote on a few of your favorite nominations?

 Voting is really easy and really fun--maybe even addictive.

And it will help us ensure the best of the best ideas make it into the final gift

guide.

Vote for the best non-sexist gifts.

If you've shopped for a gift for a young girl lately, you've probably noticed that

it seems like all the options are pink, princess-themed, and sparkly. There are great,

empowering toys, books and movies out there, but it can be really hard to find them.

That's why we wanted to put together a non-sexist gift guide--using the UltraViolet

community to choose the best gifts.

UltraViolet members have nominated over 1,200 gift ideas. Now, we need you to help

choose which will make it into the final gift guide.

Will you take a few minutes to vote on which toys, games, books and movies should

be included in the final guide?

Voting only takes a second and you can rate as many--or as few--as you like. Even

one or two clicks will help us make sure the final gift guide includes only the best

gifts out there.

After members have voted, we'll publish the gift guide on our website, Facebook,

and as a printable list in early December--just in time for holiday shopping. But

first, we need you to vote on your favorite gifts.

Vote for the best non-sexist gifts.

Thanks for helping out!

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat and Karin, the UltraViolet team.

nto

This is Obscene

During our own industrial revolution women were made ill and burned to death in garment factory fires.  But there was no internet, no BBC to report facts.  Today we have the power to protect those who clothe us.  Please read the two petitions below, one from a girl, now a young woman, who cannot be safe and use her last name.  The other is from an organization urging Responsibility on corporate America.  Details are not graphic.

Change.org

Walmart, Gap & H&M: Protect factory workers against deadly fires like the ones that killed 122 people this weekend in Bangladesh.

Sign Lovely's Petition

My name is Lovely* and I live in Bangladesh. This weekend, my worst nightmare came

true.

Ever since I survived a fire in a garment factory I worked in when I was 11, I've

wondered when the next deadly fire would happen.

A few days ago, a fire killed at least 122 people who were working in a factory that

was making clothing for Walmart outside the capital, Dhaka. There were no emergency

exits and no evacuation plan.

People burned to death. It was my worst nightmare come true.

I started a petition on Change.org

 because I think American companies like Walmart can save others from suffering like

me and the 700 people who have died in factory fires in Bangladesh in the past 7

years.

Please sign my petition calling on Walmart and the largest retailers that buy Bangladeshi apparel to commit to a real fire safety program that is legally binding, transparent and empowers workers to fight for our own safety.

Already, two American companies -- Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein -- have joined

a comprehensive fire safety program for workers in Bangladesh. The program is transparent,

includes worker input and is legally binding.

 It will keep workers like me safe and give workers' families legal rights if fires

do happen.

The fires that do occur happen because most companies that buy the clothing we make

don't talk to us workers about what we need for our own safety. Instead, they abandon

us when factories like the one I worked in don't pass inspections.

 But we don't stop being in danger -- the companies just stop feeling responsible

for our safety.

Companies like Walmart, Gap and H&M can join Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein to save

lives in Bangladesh.

But only if we call on them to do so right now.

Please join me in calling on the top buyers from Bangladesh to do the right thing by signing my petition now.

Thank you.

Lovely from Bangladesh

*I am not revealing my last name for my own security.

 Start a petition

112 workers died brutal deaths in a massive fire in a Bangladesh textile factory.

The emergency exits were locked so they couldn't escape. Inspectors for Walmart had

designated the factory to be "high risk", but did not enforce greater safety procedures.

Tell Walmart it must join an independent fire safety inspection program to prevent

tragedies like this.

Sign the petition.

Last week, a

fire tore through a garment factory

in Bangladesh. With the

emergency exits locked

, hundreds of workers -- mostly women -- were trapped inside the nine-story factory.

112 people were killed.

And in the ashes of the fire, a local community leader discovered the burned labels

of Walmart-brand clothes.

Walmart is claiming it has no responsibility for the deaths, even though it was

 purchasing garments made in the very factory that burned down

. Worse, Walmart knew the risk to workers. Inspectors working for Walmart gave the

factory “high risk” and “medium risk” safety ratings just last year, and this year’s

follow-up report was never performed.

Tell Walmart it must join an independent fire safety inspection program supported by Bangladeshi and international labor unions, to prevent tragedies like this.

In the wake of this disaster, Bangladeshi garment workers are taking to the streets.

They are demanding that brands take responsibility for fire safety conditions in

factories. Walmart has a key role to play in meeting the workers’ demand for a safe

workplace, and we can join together to demand that Walmart act.

Walmart is the largest retailer in the world, and the largest buyer in Bangladesh

. If Walmart joined the fire safety inspection program already adopted by PVH (owner

of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein) and German retailer Tchibo to ensure that

all

 its suppliers enforced basic safety regulations -- and then worked with suppliers

to ensure that they were followed -- it could raise the standard for working conditions

across Bangladesh, and, in the process, prevent the potential injury or death of

thousands of workers.

Or Walmart could brush this off as nothing more than a minor PR disaster. The company

-- which said it ended its relationship with this supplier over the tragedy -- could

simply

move on to the next rock-bottom supplier, and the next, leaving more tragedy in its

wake

.

But Walmart is nothing without its customers and potential customers. That's why

it is up to us, using our power as citizen-consumers, to pressure Walmart to change

and force improvements in Bangladesh.

Click here to add your name to our petition to Walmart to sign onto the fire safety inspection program that other international brands have already signed.

Just over 100 years ago, a nearly identical story played out in New York City, at

the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. A fire broke out, and in the chaos, the workers

found all the exits to be locked. 146 people, mostly immigrant women, died that day.

In the wake of that tragedy, citizens rallied together and forced factory owners

to adopt important safety guidelines to protect workers. Let’s band together now

to make sure real change comes out of last week’s disaster, by pressing Walmart to

protect workers throughout its supply chain.

- Claiborne, Kaytee, Paul and the rest of us

P.S. We know we’ve been beating the drum about Walmart a lot lately, but the truth

is it is the largest company in the world, and it can afford to treat its workers

fairly across the entire supply chain. But Walmart won’t listen unless we make it

-- so

join us in calling for Walmart to ensure its suppliers protect workers’ safety in all the factories in its supply chain

.

*******************

Further information:

Salon:

Walmart's connection to firetrap Bangladesh factory

, 26 November, 2012

 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations

accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.

You can follow us on

Twitter

, and like us on

Facebook

.

Was this email forwarded to you?

Click here

 to add yourself to SumOfUs.

 

Changes

While this blog Isn't nearly as important as the last one, it does give me the chance to share some personal observations.

First, "Hearts for Hearts" dolls.  Their faces all Feel pretty similar, bummer. But I understand that they look quite different from one another do to visual changes.

Second, money.  I think I'm going to have to leave the doll buying market for anything over $25 or $30.  I'm sure you collectors know what I'm talking about when I say "If I had known how much this doll Would be worth I wouldn't have . . ."  For me, of course, the sentence ends with, "taken that doll out of the box, played with it. . ."  But there's no fun for a blind person in a clear plastic window and a cardboard frame. Last night I was looking up some of my favorite Barbies.  Princess of the Nile, Princess of the Incas, Princess of Ancient Mexico, and Princess (a lie) of the Navajo.  Wow! are Those expensive dolls.  I don't care about the "Princess" bit, but they each have unique faces which I can easily identify.  Megabucks, that is what they cost, even on Ebay!

Anybody want to trade for a blonde "Supergirl" in mint condition except that one corner of her cape has been bent and although it has been straightened, it still shows a small crease on the outsice corner?  Sorry, no box.  When a tornado hit my doll collection in Winter, yes, Winter of 2008 I had to debox many dolls, including this one, to save the cape and doll.  But one Good thing about my dolls is no chew marks, no ink stains, etc.  Well, I thought not about the trade.

Personal.  I am on an extreme diet to cut out all carbs and drink green tea, using lots of spices, especially ginger which kills ovarian cancer cells.  It has proved to be an emotional/mental detox. as well as a physical one.  Not pleasant, bits of unpleasant flashbacks, etc. but I have to go on as though things are normal, not easy.  If my cancer blood marker score is knocked down (I expect it will be) I will Very Gradually add in some carbs.  Cancer loves to grow on sugar, and if it can't get that for rapid multiplication, it will make do with carbs.  I was eating healthy carbs, tar organic apples, hummus with veggies. dipped in it, beans and brown rice, old fashioned oatmeal with wallnuts dried fruit and spices, unsugared coconut for granola, etc.  I also ate blue corn, as I don't think they have managed a GMO version of that yet.  But though they were healthy carbs, Except for the weekly ice cream treat, they were too much.

Glad I love spices.  I'm dropping a bit of weight without trying, cayenne, hot chili peppers, and green tea are supposed to do that.  But I am tired of egg casseroles, and I'm not used to eating so much Meat!  It's deer, but I never used to eat meat but three to five times in a month.  Hard to digest.

Part of the emotional detox is working on an old Buddhist technique I was never able to succeed at before.  It's seeing your mind as a window.  When I feel pain or anger, etc.  I can either tense up, creating resistance to the pain which then adds clenched muscles unable to unlock and More pain, I can feel anger in return, (sometimes anger Is appropriate) or I can "open the window", refusing to claim an unpleasant or painful thing is "mine" while still acknowledging it's reality.  Then the unpleasantness and pain can fly through the window of my mind and they are no longer my responsibility.

Anger Is appropriate and a motivator to fight injustice, either to one's self or others.  But once I have done what I know to do about a situation it doesn't help me to stay angry.  As I said, I'm Working on this technique, I have Not Mastered it.  Hope it's useful to someone else.

Lives Ruined, Lives Scheduled to be Ended in Uganda

Lives Ruined, Lives Ended

The two Emails below seem equally important to me.  Please check them out.

Right now if a woman in the military is raped, insurance will not cover her abortion--a

ban more restrictive than the federal Hyde Amendment. That's wrong and the "Shaheen

Amendment" would end this ban.

Will you sign the petition asking Congress to pass the "Shaheen Amendment?"

click here

Click Here

Dear Teresa,

This week we have a big opportunity to do right by servicewomen, but it's going to

take all of us speaking out together--and quickly.

Here's the deal: Right now, if a woman in the military is raped and becomes pregnant,

her insurance will not cover the cost of an abortion if she chooses to have one.

She would have to pay for it out-of-pocket.

In 2011 over 471 rapes were reported in the military and the reality of sexual assaults

is MUCH higher--the Pentagon estimates only 13.5% of military rapes are reported.

1

 And most of these women make around $18,000 each year--meaning that if they end

up pregnant as a result of a rape, it could end their military careers if they can't

afford an abortion on their own.

2

Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee passed the "Shaheen Amendment"

that would end the ban on abortion coverage for rape survivors in the military with

bipartisan support. But conservatives in the House are blocking it.

3

  Now, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is back in front of Congress.

A vote could happen any day--so we need to speak out right now and tell Congress

they must pass the "Shaheen Amendment."

 Can you sign this petition asking Congress to pass the "Shaheen Amendment" to end

the ban on abortion coverage for servicewomen who are rape survivors? We'll deliver

your comments to Congress this week.

Add your name to the petition

The ban on abortion coverage for servicewomen is even more restrictive than the federal

Hyde Amendment that bans federal funding of abortion for civilians. Even the Hyde

Amendment allows for exceptions in the case of rape and incest.

4

Our servicewomen sacrifice everything for our country. And rape in the military is

a very serious problem. They deserve to have insurance coverage for abortion if they

become pregnant as a result of a sexual assault. We should not get in the way of

our servicewomen's rights to make their own personal, medical decisions--especially

when they are sacrificing so much for all of us.

Take Jessica Kenyon, who was serving in the military in Korea. She was raped by a

fellow soldier and became pregnant. Because of the ban in place now, she could not

find an affordable and safe abortion where she was stationed. And as a result of

trauma from her rape, she was discharged from the military, and eventually had a

miscarriage.

5

This week we have an opportunity to do better by the women who fight for us.  Let's

be sure to speak out.

Add your name to the petition

Thanks for speaking out!

--Nita, Shaunna, Kat and Karin, the UltraViolet team

Sources

1.

House GOP Blocking Abortion Access for Raped Soldiers,

 Mother Jones, June 13, 2012

2. Ibid

3.

What is the Shaheen Amendment?

 Stand with Servicewomen

4.

House GOP Blocking Abortion Access for Raped Soldiers,

 Mother Jones, June 13, 2012

5.

Senator Shaheen Champions Access to Reproductive Healthcare for Servicewomen,

 National Women's Law Center, June 14, 2012

You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

Change.org

Uganda's speaker of parliament has promised to pass a "Kill the Gays" bill in the next two weeks. Citibank and Barclays wield significant influence in Uganda, but have not spoken out against the bill.

Sign Collin's Petition

Teresa -

The speaker of the Ugandan parliament has promised she will pass the so-called "Kill

the Gays" bill in the next two weeks -- she called it a "Christmas gift" for the

Ugandan people.

The bill would legalize the death penalty for LGBT people and people with HIV or

AIDS.

Uganda experts say that one way to stop this bill is to get pressure from banks that

have significant resources invested in the country, such as Citibank and Barclays.

Citibank and Barclays together have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in Uganda

and wield significant influence in the country, just as banking lobbyists wield influence

with Congress in the US.

Citibank and Barclays speaking out against the "Kill the Gays" bill might be the

best -- and only -- chance to stop it.

Collin Burton is a Citibank customer who is also gay.

Collin started a petition on Change.org asking Citibank and Barclays to speak out against the "Kill the Gays" bill. Click here to sign Collin's petition right now.

Citibank and Barclays are both big supporters of LGBT rights for their own employees,

yet they invest money with a government that is threatening to execute LGBT people.

"I expect Citibank and Barclays to live up to the values of equality and fairness,

not just list them on their websites," Collin says.

If Citibank and Barclays speak out against the "Kill the Gays" bill, Ugandan legislators

will see that they are risking the business relationships that keep their government

afloat.

Click here to sign Collin’s petition asking Citibank and Barclays to issue strong statements condemning Uganda’s "Kill the Gays" bill. The bill could come up for a vote any day, so swift action is essential.

Thanks for being a change-maker,

- Mark Anthony and the Change.org team

How Would You Feel If . . .

Write to Congress today.

View Mobile Version

View Mobile Version

Write to Congress.

How would you feel if I told you that our military women are banned from having insurance

coverage for abortion if they have been raped or endured incest?

I bet you're outraged. That was my personal reaction when I found out, so I'm doing

something about it.

Tell your Members of Congress to end the outrageous abortion coverage ban for servicewomen and military dependents who have been raped or suffered incest.

Write to Congress.

This cruel policy forces servicewomen and military dependents to pay the cost of

the abortion care they need if they become pregnant as the result of rape or incest,

unlike their civilian counterparts who also get their health insurance through the

federal government.

It doesn't have to be this way.

 Congress will soon finalize the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), and they

have the opportunity to pass a version of the bill which removes this abhorrent ban.

Standing in its way, however, are some Members of Congress who are willing to play

politics with the women who serve this nation.

We can't allow that to happen.

 As your Members of Congress are home celebrating the holiday, your voice should

be in their head: Military women make sacrifices for us every day -- now it's our

duty to stand up for them.

End the abortion coverage ban for servicewomen and military dependents who become pregnant due to rape or incest. Contact your Members of Congress today.

Thank you for protecting women's reproductive health -- and thank you for making

it personal.

Sincerely,

Thao Nguyen

Campaign Manager

This Is Personal

Privacy Policy

All content © 2012 National Women's Law Center

11 Dupont Circle NW, #800

Washington, DC 20036

Native American dolls

Well, it's Thanksgiving which means Native people are once again kind of on the national radar.  So I thought I'd surf the net and see what I could find.  I can find a few Barbies, some old small action figures and one or two Sandys Native American dolls.  There is a small Cherokee made Native doll on Ebay, and two "Cherokee maidens".  They are reasonably priced.

But what there is most of are non-specific Native American STYLE porcelain dolls and about 98 percent of them are either babies or girls, with some moms carrying "paposes" on their backs.  Ugh!  Same message as Halloween, Native American boys and men are Dangerous!

Another thing I noticed is that all of these dolls, with the exception of those mentioned on Ebay are Non-specific to tribe.  I guess all "Indians" look alike, hu?

Last, (you can sigh with relief) no mixed race Native dolls, either African American, Latino, or European American. 

I guess if you have tan to brown skin, straight dark hair, and an old time outfit of fau suade clothes with some beads or shells scattered around, you're Native.

One more soapbox point, (guess I lied, but didn't mean to) Why all of the arrowhead and fetish and Kachina doll collectors?  I do know it provides a living for some Native artists.  But these are Religious symbols.  I don't buy them because I do not understand them within the context of their own cultures.  Who knows What I might be inviting into my home?  I suppose if one doesn't see them as religious objects, but only as Things, one is somewhat protected.  But as a Buddhist I will Not buy Ritual Buddhist objects specific to certain Asian Buddhist cultures and rituals.  If I have an understanding of the purpose and meaning of something, (a prayer flag, a Buddha statue) I might buy it.  Otherwise, no way.

Ok, so I'm a stuffed shirt, (ouch, hot in here) about the subject.  I just choose to be careful.  When I was a kid we found spear points and a corn grinding rock when my parents ploughed up the garden.  Seeing so many such things for sale on Ebay (a thing I had never considered,) kind of gave me the creeps.  Maybe before I die, if I have time, I need to see that these things are reburried in a place not too far from where we found them as kids.

New subject:  I thank each of you for being patient with my mouth, my faults, and for reading this anyway!  May each of you have a safe, warm, and Happy Thanksgiving!

I Want Bargains, Just Like You, But at What Price?

If there is a strike going on at my local Walmart this Friday I won't shop there.  I doubt that there will be, but sometimes Zarkers can surprise you.  Actually I Hate the "black Friday" crowds and they would have to offer one Heck of a bargain to get ME in there.  But please check this out!  These people are risking their livelyhoods.

Courageous Walmart workers are planning to go on strike on Black Friday to protest
Walmart’s abusive working conditions. But many of them live below the poverty line
and face a wrenching choice: To stand up for their rights and join the strike --
or to feed their families for the week.
Meet Carlton
Let’s make sure that they can afford to do both!
Donate now to buy a gift card for a striking Walmart worker to help make up their
lost wages.
Please donate
Dear friend,
Last month, something amazing happened at Walmart. Across the country, workers went
on strike for the first time in Walmart’s 50-year history. They were sick of poverty
wages, sick of irregular hours, sick of retaliation for speaking up. These courageous
workers inspired the world, but Walmart hasn’t budged -- so
now workers are threatening to organize even bigger strikes on Black Friday, the
biggest shopping day of the year.
We can’t overstate how big of a deal this is.
The workers are taking an enormous risk by going on strike
. They have no union, so they will have to go without pay. Some might be illegally
fired. Workers who work Walmart’s definition of “full-time” often make just $15,500
a year and can barely make ends meet as it is, so missing just a few days of work
could mean their kids go hungry.
But if this fledgling worker movement can continue to grow across the country,
it could be our biggest chance to end Walmart’s abusive working conditions -- which
would change the lives of millions of workers around the world.
The strikes that have already occurred at Walmart have inspired the SumOfUs community.
Over a hundred thousand of us have already taken action, by signing our petitions,
sharing our solidarity statements, and more -- and almost 1000 have donated to buy
ads about the strikes in Walmart executives’ hometown newspaper.
Now the workers have asked us if the SumOfUs community can take it one step further
and help make this strike as big as possible
, by raising $20,000 to purchase gift cards for the workers who walk off the job.
The cards will make up for lost pay -- which will help the families of these courageous
workers make ends meet for the month. And
the more gift cards we help them buy, the more workers will be able to afford to
go on strike
, and the bigger and more powerful the strike will be.
Can you help make sure every Walmart worker who goes on strike can still afford to feed their families this month -- by donating to the OUR Walmart strike fund for gift cards?
We figured you might want to have an idea of who these workers are before donating,
so meet Carlton Smith.
Carlton isn’t anyone’s idea of a troublemaker or a rabble rouser
. The grandfather of four has worked at a Paramount, California Walmart for 16 years,
starting as an overnight stocker and eventually becoming a department manager.
But over the years, Carlton grew frustrated with the way Walmart treated his coworkers
, who had been like a second family to him. As profits and executive pay climbed
higher and higher, Carlton’s friends’ wages shrank and their hours were cut until
they could barely make ends meet.
Carlton wanted to stand up for his co-workers, so he joined the Organization United
for Respect at Walmart (or OUR Walmart, for short), a group of workers that advocates
for better treatment. Carlton talked to his fellow employees and did outreach to
the community; he flew to Bentonville to talk to CEO Mike Duke and Walton heir Rob
Walton about the need for change at Walmart; he even introduced a shareholder resolution
protesting overpayment of executives.
But conditions at Walmart remain appalling
 -- so Carlton isn’t giving up. Not even close. Last month he joined hundreds of
other workers at Walmart’s corporate headquarters to demand an end to retaliation
against workers who speak out. And now,
Carlton’s joining the strike on Black Friday.
Will you stand with Carlton and his friends by donating to the OUR Walmart strike fund for Walmart associates?
Over the last 50 years, Walmart has waged an all-out war on workers
 -- driving down wages, crushing attempts to organise, and sourcing from sweatshops
all over the world. Today, Walmart is the world’s largest private sector employer
(only the Chinese and American militaries employ more people), with over two million
employees around the world. The average Walmart Associate makes just $8.81 an hour
-- which means that hundreds of thousands of them live below the poverty line. And
together, the Walmart heirs have greater net worth than the bottom 100 million Americans
combined.
When Walmart workers went on strike last month, they inspired millions of people
like us in the SumOfUs community. We know the workers already have Walmart scared
-- store managers across the country have received emergency instructions about how
to deal with the strikes.
 If workers walk off the job on America’s biggest shopping day, it’ll be one of the
biggest disruptions that Walmart’s business model has ever faced
. And it could be the beginning of something game-changing.
We've been a thorn Walmart's side for months, but there's plenty of work left to
do. If we are successful in raising the $20,000 that OUR Walmart challenged us to
raise, then we will dedicate additional money beyond that to sustaining our work
fighting Walmart's race-to-the-bottom policies.
Click here to support these courageous workers by donating to the Walmart workers’ strike fund.
Thanks for all that you do,
Kaytee, Rob, Taren, and the rest of us at SumOfUs
*********************************
Further Reading:
"
Alleging a New Wave of Retaliation, Walmart Warehouse Workers Will Strike a Day Early
" The Nation, November 2012.
 SumOfUs is a world-wide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations
accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
You can follow us on
Twitter
, and like us on
Facebook
.
Hope I got personal info. zilched, nearly Impossible to do with blogger and a screen reader.