Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Eclipse and the Girl

Wonderful!

Hummus For Thought

I leaf art the eclipse and the girl

I spotted this gorgeous piece of art by I Leaf Art and couldn’t help sharing it.

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How Lebanese Women Can Save Their Lives

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Almost a year ago, my October turned pink as my mother got news that she had breast cancer. After the initial shock of the matter subsides, you’re left with one of two options: you either think rationally and fight or succumb to your emotions and crumble. It was a tough year, that’s for sure. My mom wasted away because of the chemo. She lost her hair, vomited anything she’d eat. But she’s getting better now.

My mom, however, is not your typical breast cancer patient: she doesn’t have a family history that would cause anyone to be more vigilant. The other risk factors associated with breast cancer do not apply in her case. And yet, there she was getting a needle stuck in her central IV line. My mother fell through the statistical cracks of medicine, like so many other people out there.

October may be breast cancer awareness month but…

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U.S. held hostage again: Editorial cartoon | cleveland.com

Instead of taking the big hints he\’s been given and embracing the strategy proposed by Obama and reasonable members of his own party, Boehner instead responded defiantly. The speaker of the hostage takers stopped just short of declaring that he would raise the Confederate flag over the house, instead of a white one.

via U.S. held hostage again: Editorial cartoon | cleveland.com.

Let’s Call The Shutdown What It Is: Secession By Another Means

Republicans have now lost three successive elections to control the Senate, and they\’ve lost the last two presidential elections. Nonetheless, they fought tooth and nail to kill President Obama\’s health care initiative. They lost that fight, but with the corporate wing of Democrats, they managed to bend it toward private interests.

So, we should be here on this: Obamacare, as it is known, is deeply flawed. Big subsidies to the health insurance industry, a bonanza for lobbyists, no public option and, as the New York Times reported this week, \”Millions of Poor Are Left Uncovered by Health Law\” — largely because states controlled by Republicans refused to expand Medicaid.

[…]

Despite what they say, Obamacare is only one of their targets. Before they will allow the government to reopen, they demand employers be enabled to deny birth control coverage to female employees; they demand Obama cave on the Keystone pipeline; they demand the watchdogs over corporate pollution be muzzled and the big bad regulators of Wall Street sent home. Their ransom list goes on and on. The debt ceiling is next. They would have the government default on its obligations and responsibilities.

When the president refused to buckle to this extortion, they threw their tantrum. Like the die-hards of the racist South a century and a half ago, who would destroy the union before giving up their slaves, so would these people burn down the place, sink the ship.

via Let’s Call The Shutdown What It Is: Secession By Another Means.

Korea, Japan, Finland – leaders – OECD SKILLS OUTLOOK 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (and more) [8 October 2013]

Some countries have made impressive progress over recent decades in equipping more people with better literacy and numeracy skills. Young Koreans, for example, are outperformed only by their Japanese peers, while Korea’s 55 to 64 year-olds are among the three lowest-performing groups of this age. Older Finns perform around the average, while younger Finns are among the top performers, together with Japan, Korea and the Netherlands.

But in England and the United States, the literacy and numeracy skills of young people entering the labour market are no better than those leaving for retirement. England ranks among the top three countries surveyed for literacy skills among the 55-65 year-olds. But the country is in the bottom three when it comes to such skills among 16-25 year-olds. American 55-65 year-olds perform around the average, but young Americans rank the lowest among their peers in the 24 countries surveyed.

via IWS Documented News DAILY POSTINGS: [IWS] OECD SKILLS OUTLOOK 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills (and more) [8 October 2013].

We refuse to pay our debts that we ran up unless you bail us out!?! Boehner Stands Firm on Demand for Concessions From Obama – NYTimes.com

Speaker John A. Boehner stood his ground on Sunday, insisting that his Republican House majority would not pass measures either to fund and reopen the entire federal government or to increase the nation’s soon-to-be-breached borrowing limit without concessions from President Obama.

via Boehner Stands Firm on Demand for Concessions From Obama – NYTimes.com.