NYC FRIENDS OF TOLKIEN
GATHER TO TALK ABOUT
THE NEW FILM
COMING OUT IN DECEMBER
"THE HOBBIT"
AND
RECEIVE POSTERS
FROM
WARNER BROS
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
THE LATEST IN THE
NEWS
Weapons of Mass
Distraction – The Big, Long Lie about Iraq Lingers Still
Dennis Kucinich,
Common Dreams
The Iraq War
remains with us as long as the lies continue and those responsible avoid
accountability.
Senator Bernie
Sanders on More Tax Breaks for the Wealthy – ‘Obscene, Immoral, Bad Economics’
5 Disturbing
Stories About Mitt Romney that Expose his Private Worldview
Lauren Kelley,
AlterNet
A close look at
Romney’s past reveals many warning signs, some even worse than driving with his
dog on the roof.
Walmart, the Most
Powerful Company in the World, Admits that Protests and Strikes Lead to Wage
Increases
Matt Stoller,
Naked Capitalism
Workers threaten
to walk out on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. Speedbump in Walmart’s race to the bottom?
Humanity Once Came
to the Cliff’s Edge of Total Self-Annihilation – Let’s Make Sure it Never
Happens Again
Noam Chomsky,
TomDispatch
5 Ways America is
Being Hollowed Out by Unfettered Corporate Greed
Paul Buchheit,
AlterNet
There’s no free
market, just businesses doing whatever they please with virtually zero
accountability.
Leaked Documents
Reveal “Monopoly-Like” Control of Presidential Debates
Common Dreams
Staff Commentary
Two party
agreement stultifies debates and encroaches on open democracy, say critics.
Saturday, October 06, 2012
THE
LATEST NEWS IS ROCKIN
Coalition
Against the Rockaway Pipeline
Sign
the Petition and tell President Obama to stop the Rockaway Pipeline Project
[Veto HR 2606 / SA 2869]
How
Fracking is a Danger to Your Health
Sabrina
Artel, AlterNet
Amid
controversy, New York will embark on a health impacts study, but residents living
in the gaslands are already speaking out about their experiences.
Meet
the Bank Exec Fighting to Foreclose on a Wheelchair-Bound Cancer Patient
Peter
Dreier, AlterNet
It’s
time to name the top executives whose decisions ripped off consumers and put cities
and states at the precipice of fiscal ruin due to declining property values and
revenues.
A
New Weapon in the Fight Against Fracking
Maria
Rodale, The Blog
Say
NO to MONSANTO – Sign the Petition to Tell WholeFoods to Support GMO Labeling
for ALL Foods
Debate
This – I’m 57 and Want Medicare and Social Security for Future Generations
Donna
Smith, Common Dreams
No
to NY Fracking – ‘We Will Not Compromise on the Health of Our Families’
Sandra
Steingraber and Kathleen Nolan
Seed
Freedom: A Call to End Corporate Control
Common
Dreams Staff
‘Alarming
Number’ of New State Laws Making it ‘Significantly Harder’ to Vote: Senators,
GAO Report
Common
Dreams Staff
THE
HOBBIT – Create Your Own Version of the Trailer
The
Fate of Humanity is at Stake – Why are Romney and Obama too Cowardly to Talk
About What Really Matters?
Noam
Chomsky, AlterNet
Our
politicians show an extraordinary willingness to sacrifice the lives of our
children and grandchildren for short-term gain.
Tar
Sands Blockade: Along with Landowner, Actress Daryl Hannah Arrested
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/10/05
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/10/05
Rebuffing
Shell, Judge Affirms Greenpeace's Right to Protest
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/10/05-3
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/10/05-3
Friends
of The Earth: Let’s Not Roll the Nuclear Dice
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/10/05-3
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/10/05-3
Veterans
For Peace: Americans in Pakistan Meet Families of Victims Obama Says Don't
Exist
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/10/05
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2012/10/05
Sunday, September 30, 2012
PERSONAL NEWS #212
Sept 1st to 4th, I visited with the
parents, brother and sister-in-law in upstate NY. Weather the whole time was great :-D
On Sept 5th, I attended the evening Hatha yoga
class in my hood.
On Sept 6th, I had my first “fitting” for the
Hufflepuff Gibson Girl style ensemble that my friend Wendy is creating.
On Sept 7th, I had final fitting of the
Hufflepuff Gibson Girl style ensemble and Wendy stated it was done, so I could
take it home. Hurray! Need to do alot ironing, especially the skirt
part of it.
Sept 8th, I was supposed to attend TGTSNBN
cosplay in northern Central Park, but at last minute I declined due to very
inclement weather. I wore my costume
anyway for 1 ½ hours to get a better feel of it, and took pix. My friend Gail came over to see the ensemble
and helped out with the photos.
Sept 9th, I visited Dr Tan for acupuncture
treatment on my right foot, which has developed Morton’s Neuroma. Damn!
Dr Tan says the treatment will help out, so I don’t have to get
surgery. I sure hope so! Afterwards I joined Debbie, Margaret and Mari
to see “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in IMAX and we all really enjoyed it. Then it was off to a diner on 9th
Avenue for abit of dinner and chatter.
Sept 11th, I had another appt with Dr Tan and
acupuncture treatment for my right foot.
Sept 12th, I assisted with other BSC EA’s at
an offsite EY event for the whole day [ie: 7am to 6pm and a tasty lunch were
included.]
Sept 13th, I assisted with an EY event at the
office that ran from 5pm to 9pm. More
OT!
Sept 14th, I had to come in early [7:30am] to
the office to assist with an EY event, and then left at 5pm for acupuncture
appt.
Sept 15th, I visited my friend Sheila in NJ
for the day. During the afternoon we
drove into Princeton for a wee walkabout, plus some shopping. The weather was so lovely. Afterwards, we had a nice dinner at a Chinese
restaurant near her home.
Sept 16th, I joined other NYC Tolkien
fan/friends in heading up to Valley Cottage [ie: bus] for Timdalf’s annual
picnic. This picnic is in celebration of
Bilbo and Frodo’s respective birthdays in the Shire.
Sept 18th, earlier in the day I went to see my
foot doctor and found out I don’t have Morton’s Neuroma, but a “transverse
stress fracture on the 3rd metatarsal of my right foot”. Good news is I don’t need surgery. The foot is now wrapped up and in a bootie
for at least 2 weeks. I am also off work
the 19th through 23rd and back to office on the 24th. Have to keep foot elevated. I brought laptop and paperwork home to take
care of over next few days. Later on I
joined in, via conference call, with the monthly BFP PF committee meeting.
On Sept 19th, Debbie and Jenna helped me out
with doing laundry, grocery shopping and hanging out while watching David
Tennant as Doctor Who. Jenna made the
most delicious chocolate chip and spice muffins for me. Yummers!
On Sept 22nd, my friend Gail stopped by to
assist me with grocery shopping and getting stamps. That evening I chatted with my friend
Michelle on the phone and then on Sunday evening I chatted with Josee on the
phone.
Sept 25th, I had a follow up appt with my foot
doctor. He checked it over, got some
therapy for it, wrapped up again and wearing the bootie for another week.
Sept 26th, "Yeah, diss here be Times
Square", so said the #7 subway conductor as our train entered the station during
commute this morning. Obviously
“grammar” is not a strong point with many of the MTA conductors.
Evening of Sept 27th, I left work around 7pm
and took a taxi down to the B&N in Union Square to pick up JK Rowling’s new
book [The Casual Vacancy]. From there I
took a taxi home, so as to give my foot a rest and not deal with the subways.
On Sept 28th, I joined in on the first of a
bi-weekly photography course at work called “The FSO Photography Initiative”. Course is being taught by Alec Sergeyev, a professional photographer & EY Senior
Manager.
On Sept 29th, my cleaning
lady, Dana, came over to take care of my apartment and she told me about her
recent trip to Poland. Later in the
afternoon I had a much needed manicure.
IN THE NEWS AND IT’S
NOT ALL PRETTY
9 Frightening
Things About America’s Biggest Police Force
Tana Ganeva and
Laura Gottesdiener
The NYPD has
expanded into a massive global anti-terror operation with surveillance and
military capabilities unparalled in the history of local US law enforcement.
Student Debt Hits
Record 1 in 5 US Households
Common Dreams
Staff
Nearly one in five
American households are now strapped with student debt, a new record for the US
public, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. The report cites soaring tuition costs as
well as a marked increase in college enrollment, due to a lack of jobs in the
economic recession, as the major causes of the heavy increase in student debt. Adding
to the weight of the debt is the continued faltering of the economy, which
supplies fewer college grads with jobs after graduation, making it difficult to
begin payments on the high interest loans.
Forbes 400 List
Reveals Why the Greedy Rich Fully Deserve Your Contempt and Jesus’s
Lynn Parramore
The bulk of
America’s superwealthy refuse to pull their weight and kill opportunity for the
rest. And they want your thanks!
Oil Spill in
Paerdegat Basin, Authorities Say Stay Away
Ned Berke,
Sheepshead Bites
How Do You Take
Your Poison?
Chris Hedges’
Column
We will all
swallow our cup of corporate poison. We can take it from nurse Romney, who will
tell us not to whine and play the victim, or we can take it from nurse Obama,
who will assure us that this hurts him even more than it hurts us, but one way
or another the corporate hemlock will be shoved down our throats. The choice
before us is how it will be administered. Corporate power, no matter who is
running the ward after January 2013, is poised to carry out U.S. history’s most
savage assault against the poor and the working class, not to mention the
Earth’s ecosystem. And no one in power, no matter what the bedside manner, has
any intention or ability to stop it.
Coalition Against
the Rockaway Pipeline
No One at Home –
How to Deal with Foreclosures in Your Community
AnnBrown, Madame
Noire
5 Biggest LIES
About America’s Public Schools – Debunked
Kristin Rawls,
AlterNet
Here’s the truth
behind 5 of the most destructive myths about public education.
Israel PM Draws
Red Line (Literally) on Mythical Iranian Bomb
Common Dreams
Staff
The only problem,
however, is that Netanyahu's claims are betrayed by the facts and, as is always
the case, were offered amidst the lingering reality that Israel refuses to
acknowledge the existence of its own nuclear arsenal. ---- Netanyahu's claims
at the UN, like that of most western media, "are awash
in misleading narratives, incomplete histories, and outright fiction about Iran
and its nuclear program."
"Protect Our
Park! Keep the gas industry out of Gateway National Recreation Area" --Take a moment and
please, sign on here: http://carpny.org/sign-the-petition/
Julian Assange:
The Audacity of US Policies
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27-1
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27-1
Amy Goodman:
Romney Has a Jobs Plan ... for China
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27-2
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27-2
Dana Goldstein:
Bad Lessons From 'Won't Back Down'
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27-9
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27-9
Jeff Nygaard: Social Security: Solidarity, Not Investment
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/27
Ralph Nader:
Barack to Mitt: Corporations Run the Economy
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/28
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/09/28
Pakistan Foreign
Minister: Drones Are Top Cause Of Anti-Americanism
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-2
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-2
France's
'Toughest' Budget: Super Tax on the Super Rich
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-0
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-0
Voyage Reveals
'Planetary Scale' of Plastic in Oceans
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-4
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-4
Big Pharma
Medicaid Fraud Penalties at Record High
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-1
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/09/28-1