http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/03/06/3701675.htm?topic=space
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
Scratches to Sketches
Thursday 18 April 2013
First signs of dark matter? › StarStuff (ABC Science)
Still too early to be sure!
http://www.abc.net.au/science/audio/2013/04/10/3733897.htm
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
http://www.abc.net.au/science/audio/2013/04/10/3733897.htm
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
The New Printed Art on Canvas
Do these fade over time?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-m-kaye/canvas-prints-ordering_b_3097075.html
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-m-kaye/canvas-prints-ordering_b_3097075.html
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
Extinction For Neanderthals Came Due To Large Eyes - Science News - redOrbit
It's all in the eyes! I wonder what colour they were?
Arthur
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112802425/extinction-neanderthals-due-to-large-eyes-031313/
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
Arthur
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112802425/extinction-neanderthals-due-to-large-eyes-031313/
More at Sketches from Scratches ... http://woohs.blogspot.com
Fwd: Thanks for your support
Glad to help get rid of SH!
Arthur -
It's been a busy few days since the Liberal leadership results were announced, but I wanted to take a moment to thank you, and all the candidates and their supporters, for all you've done.
Our win was the result of the hard work of tens of thousands of Canadians, just like you: you organized the events, worked the phones, shared our hopeful message with your friends and family, and voted in record numbers. The strength of this leadership campaign has always been you, and your ability to make change happen.
That work goes on. The distance between today and 2015 is great, but the attacks on what we've built together have already begun. Pay them no mind. I stand by my belief that the best response to those who mock our commitment to a better Canada is unity, and action.
United, we represent a real alternative to those who spread fear and sow cynicism, and those who play along. Active and engaged, we can prove that hope and hard work are the surest path to the better Canada we all know is possible.
From me, from Sophie, our campaign organizers and sincerely, on behalf of all Canadians, thank you for being part of the change. Let's finish what we started - together.
Justin
PS. I wanted you to be the first to know that in my first 48 hours as Leader, over 5,000 Liberals have chipped in $336,000 so that no attacks against us go unanswered. If you want to add $5 to help us share our positive message, click here.
Email updates like this one are the most effective way for us to keep in touch.
To contact the Liberal Party of Canada, please reply to this email. Our mailing address: 81 Metcalfe street, suite 600 Ottawa ON K1P 6M8. Authorized by the Federal Liberal Agency of Canada, registered agent for the Liberal Party of Canada.
20130417esol
Fwd: Break Monsanto’s grip
Monsanto's grip
Avaaz.org - The World in Action Dear Avaazers,
One mega-company is gradually taking over our global food supply, poisoning our politics and putting the planet's food future in serious danger. To stop it we need to expose and break up Monsanto's worldwide grip.
One mega-company is gradually taking over our food supply -- putting the planet's food future in serious danger. But we can turn the tide on Monsanto and other companies that push through policies that prioritise their profits over the public good. Pledge now to help stop this dangerous domination of our politics and our food:
Monsanto, the chemical giant that gave us poisons like Agent Orange and DDT, has a super-profitable racket. Step 1: Develop pesticides and genetically modified (GM) seeds designed to resist them, patent the seeds, prohibit farmers from replanting their seeds year to year, then send undercover agents out to investigate and sue farmers who don't comply. Step 2: Spend millions lobbying government officials and contributing to political campaigns, get former Monsanto bigwigs into top government jobs, and then work with them to weaken regulations and push Monsanto goods into markets across the world.
As long as US law allows corporations to spend unlimited sums to influence policy, they can often buy the laws they want. Last year, Monsanto and biotech giants spent a whopping $45m to kill a ballot initiative that would have labelled GMO products just in California, despite 82 percent of Americans wanting to know if they are buying GM. And just this month, the company helped ram through the "Monsanto Protection Act," that blocks courts from stopping the sale of a product even if they've been wrongly approved by the government.
Monsanto's power in the US gives them a launch pad to dominate across the world. But brave farmers and activists from the EU, to Brazil, to India and Canada are resisting and starting to win.
We're at a global tipping point. Pledge now to join forces to break Monsanto's grip on our politics and our food and help stop the corporate capture of our governments. Avaaz will only process the pledges if we get enough to make a real difference:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_nd7/?bBEuVbb&v=24254
Monsanto is driving an industrial farming takeover -- trampling small farmers and small businesses as vast 'monoculture' farms of single crops leech the land of nutrients, diminish genetic diversity, and create dependency on fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals. The irony is, it's not clear that the decimation of natural, sustainable farming has brought any boom in crop yields. Just more profit for the corporations. Our governments should step in, but Monsanto's lobbying obstructs them.
Monsanto's near monopoly is breath-taking, with patent rights over 96% of the GM seeds planted in the US. And despite concerns about health and safety, the same patents allow Monsanto to prevent any farmer or scientist from testing their seeds! Still, a few countries have banned or restricted Monsanto products.
They claim their products cost less, but often farmers are lured into multi-year contracts, then seed prices rise, and they have buy new seed each season and use more herbicides to keep out 'superweeds'. In India, the situation is so dire that one cotton area has been called 'the suicide belt', as tens of thousands of the poorest farmers have taken their lives to escape crippling debt.
But farmers and scientists are also fighting back -- and winning. One group in India has helped win three patent battles against the corporations, and in Brazil five million farmers sued Monsanto for unfair collection of royalties, and won a $2 billion payout! Scientists are campaigning for sustainable agriculture models, and just last week 1.5 million of us joined the fight against conventional patents in the EU.
Only a massive, global, united force can stand up to Monsanto and the corporate capture of our governments. Let's expose this dominance of our democracies, help farmers speak out, challenge unjust laws and patents, and go head to head with the corporate lobbies. Pledge to support action now:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_nd7/?bBEuVbb&v=24254
We are running out of time. As we confront massive environmental, climate and food crises, we need sustainable agriculture and innovation, but that is best done by multiple farmers and scientists who know what works best in different ecosystems, rather than one monolith driven by their own profit, taking control our food future.
This corporate Goliath is increasing in power across our world. But if our 21 million strong community stands together, we have a chance. Avaaz members have repeatedly stood up against the world's biggest bullies, and won. Now it is time for us to go big to save our policies from special interests, protect our food supply, and get justice for poor farmers.
With hope and determination,
Alice, Oli, Joseph, Ricken, Pascal, Chris, Michelle, Emily, and the whole Avaaz team
MORE INFORMATION
Seeds of discontent (Texas Observer):
http://www.texasobserver.org/seeds-of-discontent/
Monsanto sued small farmers to protect seed patents, report says (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/12/monsanto-sues-farmers-seed-patents
Political contribution discloslures (Monsanto):
http://www.monsanto.com/whoweare/Pages/political-disclosures.aspx
The Real Monsanto Protection Act: How The GMO Giant Corrupts Regulators And Consolidates Its Power (ThinkProgress):
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/04/10/1832621/monsanto-protection-act-power/
Monsanto Protection Act put GM companies above the federal courts (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2013/apr/04/monsanto-protection-act-gm
Biodiversity for food and agriculture (UN Food and Agriculture Organization):
http://www.fao.org/sd/EPdirect/EPre0040.htm
Monsanto's harvest of fear (Vanity Fair):
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805
Wikileaks shows US pushes GM on EU (The Guardian):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/wikileaks-us-eu-gm-crops
USDA Greenlights Monsanto's Utterly Useless New GMO Corn (Mother Jones):
http://www.motherjones.com/tom-philpott/2012/01/monsanto-gmo-drought-tolerant-corn
Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research (New York Times):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/business/20crop.html?_r=0
Additional sources (Avaaz):
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_sources/
Avaaz.org is a 21-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 18 countries on 6 continents and operates in 17 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.
Singapore Overtake Switzerland By 2020 - Business Insider
Guess we will have to follow the new trails of deception and corruption!
Woman Takes Her Father's Ashes To RBS - Business Insider
RBS is pretty bad when comes to understanding people other than ways to exploit opportunities!
Risk Takers - Gallery - Pictures, More From National Geographic Magazine
People who do extraordinary things for less that what you would expect?
12 best new features of the Samsung Galaxy S4 | MNN - Mother Nature Network
If this is the direction you want to go?
Gmail, Google Drive And Docs Currently Experiencing Partial Outage | TechCrunch
Courses for horses? Which track are you running on?
Boston Marathon 2013 bombing shows reality of life outside a bubble | Sports | National Post
The soft underbelly of freedom has be struck by cruelty!
David Stockman's book "The Great Deformation" is a must read for literate economists concerned about excesses
Get a copy and learn!
Worth your best research as a macro economist.
Understand the issues and critic Stockman's thesis if you can.
Controversial yes, but Stockman has hit many bulls eyes in economic financial analytical terms.
Help stop the rot by understanding how it arises in the modern economy.
The Corruption of Capitalism in America (9781586489120): David A. Stockman: Books
David Stockman's book is a must read for literate economists. Be better informed about the issues affecting American political economics!
I am a third through this book enjoying the wonderful criticism of conventional thought. Stockman's analysis captures the essence of FRB policies destructive force in recent years. He calls into question issues that need to be discussed and understood.
No macroeconomist should miss this treat for the grey matter!
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