All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Antibiotic resistance began before discovery of penicillin, DNA from First World War shows – Telegraph

Antibiotic resistance began before discovery of penicillin, DNA from First World War shows – Telegraph.

Activist Brings Catalans Together as They Seek to Secede From Spain – NYTimes.com

So, why is Spain afraid to let Catalans express their feelings and political choices?

The speech, before hundreds of thousands of pro-independence Catalans, was as straightforward as the seven-mile-long V for vote that the crowd formed along two of the main avenues of Barcelona, Catalonia’s regional capital.

“We will vote, and we will win,” the speaker, Carme Forcadell, a teacher and onetime local politician turned street activist, told the cheering demonstrators in September on the Diada, Catalonia’s national day. She stood on a podium with her hand raised and fingers spread to make a V, this time for victory.

While Catalonia is scheduled to hold a significantly watered-down referendum on secession on Sunday, the region remains far from breaking away from the rest of Spain. The vote has been fiercely opposed by Madrid and, after a ruling on Tuesday by Spain’s Constitutional Court suspending it, may not happen at all.

via Activist Brings Catalans Together as They Seek to Secede From Spain – NYTimes.com.

The third intifada is here – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

“Temple Mount Faithful” members and right-wing activists in Israel maintain that Jews have the right to ascend to the Temple Mount, similar to the Muslim right to do so. Even if we assume that their claim is just and that Jews do indeed have the historic right to ascend and pray on the Mount as Muslims do, the choice is between a religiously motivated intifada, and distancing right-wing activists from the center of conflict — the Temple Mount.

Perhaps in the past understandings could have been reached with the Palestinians to allow Jewish groups to ascend to the Mount and pray. But that was not accomplished. Solutions were not obtained, not even in the course of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, talks that have collapsed in the meantime.

What was not accomplished in the past through dialogue and understandings cannot, so it seems, be created now, when the earth in Jerusalem is burning under our feet and there is concern that a “second Al-Aqsa intifada” may well spill over into the West Bank. At that point, no security coordination will be able to stop it. Apparently, there is only one way to try to halt the downward spiral, before we again use a million bullets and transform the bus stations in the capital city into shelters: To close the Temple Mount to Jews.

On the advice of Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and the Jerusalem police, it was decided to place concrete railings around bus stations and underground train stations to protect pedestrians. While these may give some local protection to travelers, they ostensibly won’t be able to stop assailants from among the residents of East Jerusalem who believe that they are engaged in a religious war.

via The third intifada is here – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

Ramallah’s artistic uprising inspired by city archives – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East

On a corner near Rashid al-Haddadin Square — named after the founder of Ramallah — passersby get the impression that a painting on display is none other than Picasso’s Guernica, which was inspired by the German and Italian shelling of the Basque country during the Spanish civil war. Palestinian caricaturist Mohammed Sabana and graffiti artist Hamza Abu Ayash protect their painting like a child they are afraid of losing in a crowd, proving that it is the Palestinian Guernica, as they describe it.

via Ramallah’s artistic uprising inspired by city archives – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

THE LONGEST SENTENCE IN LITERATURE AND TRYING TO WRITE ONE

good try.

Silvia Writes

File:Legros - Victor Hugo.jpg

In “Les Miserables,” Victor Hugo wrote an 800+ word sentence, which some consider the longest written statement in literature and others think an exercise in verbosity. Of course, the book is translated from French, so that might have something to do with flow and readability. Either way, that is a very long sentence — a 12-point Times New Roman font makes it a five-page grammatical unit.

In the book I’m currently reading, I came across a page-long sentence (about two hundred words) that felt perfectly readable and the opposite of verbose, so I thought I’d try writing such a sentence, although perhaps not as long. For fun … let me know what you think.   

 When we reach Meadow Hill — the sheer massiveness of the mountain in front of us — just before the sun sets and the sky remains slightly illuminated, during this, our fourth and final…

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Pushing Limits – Disability and Seniors

Eddie Ytuarte speaks to Jessica Lehman,
executive director of Seniors and Disability
Action in S. F. about the intersection between
the disability community and senior
communities.  Tune in for Pushing Limits
on Friday, Nov. 7 at 2:30 pm.

Ms Lehman is a strong disability activist and
this wide-ranging conversation will discuss
topics like In Home Support Services (IHSS),
what older folks and people with disabilities
have in common, labor unions, and the outlook
for disabled activism.

How about that aborted effort by SEIU to get
its IHSS training initiative on the California ballot?

What was that all about?!?!

Senior and Disability Action
http://sdaction.org/

Live Streaming:
www.kpfa.org

Podcast & archives of this program:
http://www.kpfa.org/archive/show/complete/33

http://www.pushinglimits.i941.org

http://www.facebook.com

:  Pushing Limits Radio

Pushing Limits is produced collectively.
Contact us. Tell us what you think about
what you hear.
(510) 848-6767 ext. 636
pushinglimits@kpfa.org

How Many NYers Bothered Voting On Tuesday? The Answer May Dishearten You: Gothamist

2/3s of nation said – nada, nothing, zip, zero – screw you/screw me, huh?

NO PRESIDENT CAN RUN COUNTRY ON HER/HIS OWN – those who did not vote just guaranteed that anything good President Obama has done or wanted to do is at risk!

Not that New York’s low turnout stood out in this election—according to U.S. News, fewer voters showed up in all but 12 states this year. Washington, Delaware, Missouri, South Dakota, California and Indiana all saw drastic drops, and only about 36.6 percent of the nation’s eligible voters cast ballots overall.

Not that New York’s low turnout stood out in this election—according to U.S. News, fewer voters showed up in all but 12 states this year. Washington, Delaware, Missouri, South Dakota, California and Indiana all saw drastic drops, and only about 36.6 percent of the nation’s eligible voters cast ballots overall.

And of course, Millennials were too busy sexting or something to bother voting at all—according to NBC News, only 12 percent of voters in this election were under 30 years old. This was a bummer for the Democrats, who received the majority of Millennials’ votes, and got massacred anyway. The good news is we can blame Millennials for just about everything!

via How Many NYers Bothered Voting On Tuesday? The Answer May Dishearten You: Gothamist.

Standing in the Firing Squad: An Interview with Brianna Wu

The culprit is obvious. It’s male privilege. And, if there is a mecca of male privilege, it’s gamedev.

It’s filled with men that frequently harbor resentment towards women they don’t understand. While they intellectually feel we should be here, they unconsciously assume it’s their space and that their comfort is paramount. There’s no way to describe it but really, really shitty. I think we all address it in our own way. I try to make it better by never taking any shit, and speaking up on this stuff. I don’t accept excuses. That’s not going to work for everyone, but I think I’m helping make it better.

via Standing in the Firing Squad: An Interview with Brianna Wu.