The Irish Senior Citizens Parliament has decided, following a decision of the Executive Committee, to lend its support to the National Day of Protest on Friday 6 November and to the “Get Up, Stand Up” campaign.

This campaign aims to bring about change in how Government responds to the crisis we face.

As part of the National Day of Protest, there are demonstrations scheduled to take place in eight centres across the country on November 6 at 2.30pm. These are: Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford, Sligo, Tullamore, and Dundalk.

Protect

• Jobs
• Pensions
• Vulnerable People
• Vital Services
• Community Support
• Peoples’ Homes

We ask our member organisations to get behind this campaign and show that Older People in Ireland will stand up for their rights and to protect pensions, the Christmas Bonus, free travel, the carer’s allowance and of course medical cards.

For more information, see www.getupstandup.ie

Daß man hin und wieder aufstehen und für seine Rechte kämpfen muß, davon wußte der gute Bob Marley auch schon 1973 ein Lied zu singen: “Get up stand up”

Enjoy!

“I am walking around muttering “balls balls balls “ all day long. I think I’ve become a little curmudgeon toad, the worse part, it suits me..” I think this would be the best phrase to describe the present me without getting in the lexical family of any of the words like paranoid, trustless, depressed or faithless.

The story of how i got here, is long and not very charming so I’ll skip this part leaving it to my own memory and regress, anyway it is not the first, and i am not so lucky to be the last one from my life. The point is , what do you do to make it better or to find the strength to get up again ?

The first thing which I discovered about being alone (again) is that i found myself thinking. Producing ideas, trying to get answers.  I can’t remember when I’ve been questioning my inner brain (because my emotions are under permanent “?”) last time. When i actually managed to produce alexisms here and there and little glimpses of intelligence. Because when you are in a couple you tend to rely too much on other one, to ask the questions to the wrong person(s) because there is always somebody there to support you. So, brain is again under function, even if in a small percent, currently upgrading.

Happiness comes in the small things. We all know that but we always want more, we want the absolute happiness that comes once in a blue moon and we want it now. With cooking skills if possible. Oh damn it I don’t have that and I don’t know when (if) I will get it.. so I must try to enjoy what i have or at least start from  small paces. It shouldn’t be right that after the plague has knocked you down to have nothing to start living again with. But that is only because of my own stupidity because I trust too much and depend on the people I love (loved?). Note to myself: please fall in love when you know you can always return to something, in case that goes bad.

The only thing which will never be taken from you is your mind and the nutriments you had given to it during all this time. So do appreciate any boy who pushes you to study when all you want to do is making up with him, because sooner or later the books will be the only thing to take comfort in and to hug at night. Somebody said in an earlier discussion these days that some people don’t deserve the chance to get out of the routine – our worst enemy. And it made me think even more. Of course nobody says you can get through things just by flipping your fingers i mean – when a girls gotta cry she cries until the end of the days, or the best case – her tears – but what happened with all my dreams i had before ? With all my abilities? Maybe is time to prove something to myself since the music therapy I’ve put myself into doesn’t work anymore.  After 2 weeks of Vonda Shepard’s  “The end of the world”, Goo Goo Dolls “Iris” and other lousy crap I decided to switch reluctantly and sighting hopeless to “Mr. E’s beautiful blues” or “Fresh Feeling” and other songs made to induce you a state of..goodness/wellness. Better say acceptance. It didn’t work almost at all..

Despite all this i am not ready to talk to him again because i know that from the first “hello” all my tryings will be ruined, just like a shallow castle of cards. Having in mind some elementary general truths which I lacked of before, doesn’t make me  strong, independent or emotionally inaccessible. And hell, i have a big problem with emotions. And so far my remedies among which are top listed getting –myself- tired-by-staying- up- all- night- so- i- can- fall- asleep- in- the- morning (and have a little nightmare) or lying to myself in all the treacherous ways my mind can find regarding the last cycle from my life finding all those things that i hate, don’t help too much in the end, honestly.. Because i know what i know and she knows what she knows.

I guess nobody takes the pain away and there are no proper words to make you feel better when the catastrophe falls on you. Nobody knows how you feel and there might take a long time to be able to get up again.. but in the end we do do that, even if at night it all may come back to you with the same intensity as it was in the original moment, even if you fall asleep with tears in your eyes.. Nothing lasts forever – that is already known, adjourned and experienced. Not even pain. And i will be waiting for this..

Loneliness is good.

(Balls, who am i fooling around here..?!)

Pienso En Ti – Varios

I miss you so much..

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer has eliminated domestic partnership benefits to gay couples stating that ‘God has placed [her] in this powerful position to help the state weather its troubles’… jesus christ, you have got to be kidding me. Was it not also G.W. who stated that ‘God told [him] to end the tyranny in Iraq?’ Or what about Hitler? This is sounding all too familiar and making me wonder more and more about this so-called God that they speak of.

9-12 Project Glenn Beck Video:

Raw Video of the 9/12 Taxpayer Tea Party March on Washington DC. White House “shocked” at Large Turnout of American Patriots.

9/12 Project – Paradigm Shift - Glenn Beck’s comments from Glenn Beck Show ” The Game is Rigged “

Get Up , Stand Up – stand up for Your Rights. Get Up , Stand Up – don’t give up the Fight. Bob Marley live Video:

God Bless You America – Stay Strong – Good Night from Glenn Beck , Bob Marley and the Tea Partiers.

Art is one of those things, that whenever someone tries to keep beauty down, art will always cause them to shine through.

She survived dating Marilyn Manson, and this girl is only just starting. Love her take on where the world is at today.

In the darkness, there is always pretty. Redemptive Art has always been the social revolutionary’s visual tool.

As Tracey Chapman sings: “I’m talking about a revolution… People are going to rise up and take what’s theirs.”

Go Evan Rachel Wood! Lovesit!

Heres one for my homie KLM! GET UP STAND UP! http://ping.fm/LliIY

Boston Globe staffers’ letter to Arthur Sulzberger Jr.; sent on June 9

Dear Mr. Sulzberger,

We have long admired your commitment to producing the world’s best journalism. We know, as a former reporter, that you appreciate the work we do and how we have continued to publish hard-hitting, thoughtful papers throughout these hard times.

Despite all the rhetoric of the last few weeks, we believe you want to do the right thing – that, at bottom, you’re a mensch. We’re all too aware of the awful economic climate and the precipitous challenges to the newspaper industry. Most of us went into this work because of our love for it, not for the money. We never expected high salaries; we just wanted reasonable pay, enough to make ends meet.

We’re writing to you because we’re asking for you to step in and show us what we have admired about you for years – your fair-minded leadership. We’re asking you to call off the lawyers, head off a bitter fight, and come forward with a plan that would attract a bit more support from the Guild.

More than 130 members of the Guild – surely enough to tip the balance in any future vote – have signed a petition, saying we’re ready to take painful cuts and do what it takes to preserve the long-term future of The Boston Globe. Many of us voted against the contract because we saw it as inequitable – that we were being asked to take a steeper cut than management. If you could find a middle ground that would provide more equity – such as making our pay cut equivalent to that of management – I’m sure you’ll find significantly more support.

We believe that you don’t want us to take a 23 percent pay cut. We believe you understand that the consequences of such a drastic cut would be disastrous for many of us who have worked tirelessly for the Globe for years. Not only could many of us lose our homes and our child care, but too much of our top talent might no longer be able to afford to work for a newspaper that they’ve given their hearts and souls to for so long.

Mr. Sulzberger, we’re asking for your leadership. You can make a difference. We desperately need it right now.

We look forward to your response.

All the best,

Concerned Reporters at The Boston Globe

UPDATE: The New York Times Company is trying to offload The Globe! Any takers?

Photograph of Sonia Sotomayor's mother Celina reacting to her daughter's nomination to the Supreme Court by Susan Walsh/AP

Dreams still can come true in this country! Just look at the new Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor!

Homegirl grew up in a housing project in the Bronx and put herself through Princeton and then Yale law school!

Keep fighting to succeed no matter how many haters put you down!

Via bola de nieve aflu că ăştia de la Hotnews le-au pus nişte întrebări candidaţilor noştri la alegerile europarlamentare:

• Sînteţi de acord cu căsătoriile homosexuale? Da sau nu? Dar cu parteneriatele civile? Da sau nu? Argumentaţi-vă poziţia.
• Sînteţi de acord cu legalizarea drogurilor uşoare? Da sau nu? Argumentaţi-vă poziţia.
• Sînteţi de acord cu sinuciderea asistată? Da sau nu? Argumentaţi-vă poziţia.

De pe urma răspunsurilor am aflat:

Că pesedeii Severin şi Paşcu au în curte un cireş suficient de mare să-i ascundă pe-amîndoi (chestie deloc uşoară!).

Că Rovana Plumb confundă sinuciderea asistată cu eutanasia, dacă nu cumva chiar cu împingerea soacrei pe scări („Dacă eutanasia ar fi legalizată, ar fi ucişi şi pacienţi care nu şi-au dorit acest lucru“), adică, după cum ştim, dacă toţi bluncşii sînt blincşi rezultă că toţi blincşii sînt bluncşi.

Că în general alde ăştia se cred în amvon la Patriarhie, iar doamna Norica aghezmuieşte: „Sînt mamă, sînt o femeie născută şi crescută în spiritul unor valori creştine bine definite. Fata mea are 14 ani şi este la vîrsta la care descoperă marile provocări ale vieţii. Uitîndu-mă la ea şi gîndindu-mă la părinţii mei, îmi dau seama că, oricît de tolerantă aş fi, resping tot ceea ce este împotriva firii umane, tot ceea ce aduce atingere demnităţii umane, tot ceea ce este fals, sintetic şi imoral. (…) Şi tot Dumnezeu ne mai învaţă să nu-i judecăm pe cei care nu sînt ca noi. Ceea ce nu voi face nici eu.“ (Pasajul cu filmul SF cu muieretul infertil l-am sărit, că tremura chimeşa pe mine de rîs şi nu puteam scrie.)

Că pedelistul Cristian Preda n-a aflat, pînă la vîrsta dumisale, că_căsătorii se fac şi la starea civilă („Căsătoria trebuie să rămînă uniunea dintre femeie şi bărbat. E o chestiune religioasă. Nu ne stă în putere să redefinim doctrina Bisericii“), fapt pentru care e susceptibil de-a se fi însurat cu doamna Preda numai la beserică, fapt pentru care, doamnă Preda, aveţi grijă că nu sînteţi nevastă oficială, fapt pentru care domnu’ Preda v-ar putea face vînt pe uşă cu tot cu domnişoara Preda, nu zic c-ar avea de gînd, dar fiţi atentă, vă rog io!

Că udemeristul-zici-că-i-neamţ Iuliu Winkler îi reprezintă pe toţi românii în Europa. Pardon, numai pe românii creştini. Credincioşi. Practicanţi. Şi hetero. Nu prea mulţi, aş zice, dar, na, domnul Winkler e conştient că are limite şi nu se-aruncă să reprezinte tot poporu’, aşa, la grămadă, că-i prea mult de muncă şi domnia sa nu poate.

Că ălălalt udemerist, Sogor Csaba, le-ar interzice politicienilor să-şi mai desfăşoare activitatea dacă sînt fumători. (Nu-i nevoie, nenicule, stai liniştit pe curu-ţi. Şi-aşa înalţii noştri funcţionari de stat intră în shut down din tot soiul de motive, de la durerea de măsea a vecinei la telenovela de la ora 4. Dacă-i scoţi din producţie şi pe fumători, gata, tragem oblonu’ la Parlament şi facem clădirea guvernului jumi-juma, cazino şi farmacie.)

…

Panseul zilei: Cristian Preda, de la PDL, despre drogurile uşoare: „Cum a fost un chin să scap de fumat, mă gîndesc că nu e prea sănătos să încurajăm dependenţe de alt fel. Ar fi o limitare a libertăţii, iar eu cred că libertatea nu trebuie limitată pe această cale.“

De unde înţelegem:

- libertatea poate fi limitată pe celelalte căi;

- dacă libertatea ta se opreşte la uşa casei mele, atunci o să-mi trag un căsoi pînă la tine-n pat şi-o să-mi trîntesc uşa la tine-n braţe, na, să te văd cum te mai mişti;

- orice libertate care nu ne convine va fi numită, printr-o mică adăugire, limitare a libertăţii şi pe cale de consecinţă o vom putea interzice în numele libertăţii.

…

Panseul săptămînii – Sogor Csaba, de la UDMR: „Nu sînt pentru căsătoriile homosexuale. Ca şi creştin cred însă că şi homosexualii ca şi persoanele care se nasc stîngaci sînt copiii lui Dumnezeu.“

De unde ne ferim să spunem ce înţelegem.

.

Vincent Giordano is hosting a “Video Chef” contest and the grand prize winner gets $4k! Not bad!

Here are the official rules.

This is what you need to do to enter:

1. Entrants are encouraged to use Vincent Giordano brand Premium or SteakHouse Roast Beef, Corned Beef or Pastrami from your local ACME deli counter.
2. Record a video of you and/or your family creating a unique and delicious sandwich recipe. Be clever, creative…be funny!
3. Upload your video by June 15, 2009.

The war is ON between Wall Street Goliath Goldman Sachs and a blogger named Mike Morgan!

Last month Mr. Morgan, a registered investment adviser, started a blog called “Info, Comment, Opinions and Facts About Goldman Sachs.”

He point blank on the landing page of the blog explains,

“Born on March 26, 2009, this website is an open forum for facts and discussion about what part Goldman Sachs and their executives played in the current Global Economic Crisis. This site is NOT affiliated with Goldman Sachs, nor has this site been approved by Goldman Sachs. In fact, Goldman Sachs has threatened to file a lawsuit to shut down this website.”

But that is NOT enough for Goldman execs worried about someone shedding light on their shady business practices and their lavish bonuses!

The Telegraph UK reports that the bank has hired “Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan, warning him in a recent cease-and-desist letter that he may face legal action if he does not close down his website.”

Mr. Morgan told the paper, “It’s just another example of how a bully like Goldman Sachs tries to throw their weight around.” He also mentioned that if Goldman does shut down the current site, he has “a number of other domain names registered.”

That’s pretty sweet. Planning ahead, unlike what GS didn’t do to avert this whole “recession thing!”

Guess hipsters are being cut off from their trust funds because they are apparently not buying magazines as much anymore, shock! Evidence #100:  that trashy wanna-be “cool” magazine BlackBook, won’t even pay their freelancers!

Nicole, a former and now stiffed freelancer for the rag, was supposedly owed $1,440, and in response to their greediness/cheapness, she posted EVERY email those scumbags wrote her. Sorry Nicole stay strong!

Check out the whole thread here:

First, BlackBook tried to low ball me on what I was owed.

I corrected them.

My correction was noted.

Then the punting ensued.

I figured this is standard procedure, especially for BlackBook, who isn’t known for it’s timely payments. But then after following up again last week, I was told that the matter was out of the hands of Chris Mohney, and into the hands of Joe Friedman, the controller of the company. After a leaving a voicemail and sending two emails, I received a response from Joe, who is now refusing to pay me at all, citing my alleged breach of contract. According to him I had not completed my work by August 1, 2008 – despite the fact that this is their own fault – and therefore I would not be paid the outstanding balance of $1,440 at all.

Joe even implied later in the email that he could take back some of the money I’ve already been paid.

Now, I could go into the specifics of an absentee editor; the irony of a luxury publication built on the backs of low wage writer slaves; the fact that writing a shopping guide is valued more than actual journalism by virtue of the price it commands for a writer, should they actually get paid; and even my previous experience of waiting eight months for a BlackBook check. But really, like every other human in the working world, I just want to get paid for my work.

With all the empty foreclosed houses sitting around, many are being taken over by squatters.  Advocacy groups like Take Back the Land are even helping people move into vacant foreclosed homes around the country.  Neighbors are even becoming more accepting of squatters moving in, especially in areas where there are several empty houses.  If nobody else is willing to buy these empty homes, they should be used for homeless families rather than sit around being useless.

Larry Summers at the Economic Club in Washington D.C. yesterday