Daily Archives: 12/09/2011

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Two dolphins dead at party


Two dolphins are dead after the Connyland themepark in Switzerland allowed a two-day rave to take place just a few yards from their tank.

The pair died agonizing, drawn-out deaths, seizing and foaming at the mouth. Veterinarians now say their deaths were likely caused by the ear-splitting music of the rave and drugs that ravers threw into the dolphins’ tank.

Carin Zellerman is an animal activist living in Sweden. After hearing about the tragedy — and the fact that Connyland ignored protests by local activists who warned a rave would endanger the dolphins — she decided to start a petition on Change.org to save the remaining dolphins from Connyland’s negligence. Please sign Carin’s petition calling on Swiss officials to shut down the Connyland dolphinarium where two dolphins died after a rave last month.

Eight dolphins have died at Connyland in the past three years, and a 2010 investigation into alleged violations of Swiss animal welfare laws at Connyland is still pending. Meanwhile, the health of the remaining dolphins at Connyland is slowly deterioriating  (due to illness and chemical poisoning as well as claustrophobia that results in depressive behavior and sometimes self-abuse).

The good news is that a  global outcry over this disaster is fueling the longstanding domestic movement to get Connyland’s dolphin tank — the last dolphinarium in Switzerland — shut down. Swiss officials can’t ignore this gross violation of animal welfare; they need to know that the world is watching, and that thousands expect them to save Connyland’s remaining dolphins.

Please sign Carin’s petition to shut down Switzerland’s last remaining dolphinarium, where two dolphins were killed last month, and eight have died in the last three years:

http://www.change.org/petitions/dolphins-die-after-rave-at-connyland

Thanks for being a change-maker,

– Stephanie and the Change.org team

 

 

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Support ThinkProgress.org … Help keep up the fight for truth


CAP Action Logo

Hey Friend, just wanted to give you a quick update. In just 2 days, we are more than halfway towards our fundraising goal for ThinkProgress. Thank you!

We don’t have any mugs, ball caps, or tote bags to offer. But we’ll promise to keep fighting for the truth — something that’s going to be much harder to come by in 2012.

Can you pitch in $5 right now and help us get over the finish line?

As always, feel free to email me with any questions or comments.

— Faiz

On Tues, Dec 6, 2011 at 12:04 PM, Faiz Shakir (faiz@thinkprogress.org) wrote:

Dear Friend,

In 2012, Karl Rove, the Koch Brothers and others on the far-right are planning to spend nearly half a billion dollars to influence the political debate. Their goal is to make sure that the national dialogue protects their own deep pockets at the expense of the rest of the nation.

ThinkProgress is working around the clock to fight back with the truth. This past year, we traveled around the country to confront the right-wing with tough questions. We exposed their underhanded tactics, and crunched the numbers behind their radical policy schemes.

Next year, there is even more at stake and we need to work even harder. But we can’t do it without your help. We need to raise $25,000 this week to help fund our reporting for the coming year.

Please click here to pitch in $5 and help us bring the facts to the 99%.

We have made a huge impact this year. A few examples:

  • After Herman Cain told us in an interview he would not be comfortable with a Muslim in his cabinet, we began a campaign to fight back against Islamophobia in the conservative movement.
  • We attended congressional town halls conducted by at least 20 different members of Congress, and broke the news that Paul Ryan got booed for saying the rich were taxed enough.
  • In early October, we launched a new page on ThinkProgress that was solely devoted to reporting on the nationwide Occupy protests, branding it The 99 Percent Movement.

Our influence is scaring many on the right. The powerful corporate front group ALEC kicked our reporters out of a conference, and the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity launched a smear campaign against one of our writers.

We need your support now, more than ever, to keep up the fight in 2012.

Best,

Faiz Shakir
Editor, ThinkProgress.org

P.S. We never stop. Please pitch in $5 and it’ll be the hardest working $5 you’ve ever spent.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Unemployme​nt Insurance – Share Your Story


 

Unemployment Insurance – Share Your Story

Unemployment benefits are a vital lifeline for many Washington workers who are jobless through no fault of their own. These programs help them continue to put food on their table, gas in their car, and pay their bills while they look for work.

Federal unemployment programs will begin to expire at the end of this year.

In fact, unless Congress acts to extend these vital benefits, approximately 100,000 Washington residents and more than two million Americans will be cut off from federal unemployment compensation by February 2012.

Over the coming weeks I will be pushing my colleagues in the Senate to work quickly to extend unemployment benefits before the end of the year.

But I need your help.

I consider it to be my job to be your voice in the Senate. So tell me your stories. Send me your pictures and your videos. Show me how inaction by Congress to extend these benefits would most impact your life.

While the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% in November, we’ve still got a lot of work to do to get our economy back on track. But I can promise you that it will be your stories and experiences that will guide me as I fight for workers in Washington state.

Your Story…

Have a photo or video that tells your story? Please share it by using this form.

Send an e-mail with your photo or video link to: yourstory@murray.senate.gov

You can also Tweet your photo to @PattyMurray using #extendUI.

Note: Selected stories, photos, or videos may be used by Senator Murray online or in her public remarks. We will include only your first name and hometown. Your full name and email will never be posted online or provided without your permission.

Their Story…

I have heard from so many workers across Washington state—and I know they aren’t looking for a hand-out, they just want their government to be there for them the way it was there for generations of workers before them. They are just looking for a hand up—some support so they can keep food on their families’ tables while looking for work, and the resources and tools they need to skill-up, train-up, and get back on the job. Here are a few of their stories:

“I got laid off my job in April 2011. My unemployment insurance will run out at the end of this year. Unless Congress acts swiftly, federal unemployment insurance programs will expire December 31, leaving me with no benefits starting January 2012. I have two small children, three and five years old. Due to my employment status, we have to tell them that we will only be able to give them one Christmas gift this year. We also had to tell them we couldn’t go see the “Disney on Ice” show because it was too expensive. Please renew the full federal Unemployment Insurance program through 2012 now! The benefit I get will help pay for our mortgage while my wife’s salary, who works for Macy’s, covers our day to day expenses – including providing for our children. I have been looking for a job for nine months now but there are not many jobs out there.”

– Jose Villanueva, Seattle

“I am writing to urge your support for an extension of the federal unemployment benefits. I am receiving these benefits right now and have enrolled in a special program to start my own business. Through the SEAP program, I have become my own job creator. These funds, along with my own savings, have allowed me to meet my expenses while starting my financial education business, Twight Financial Education. As a fee-only financial planner, I work with people who want to know more about how to handle and invest their money. Sometimes, we must work on getting them from paycheck to paycheck first. You know that while you have been in office, the financial world has become more complex, even as employee benefits have diminished. Without these UI benefits, I would not have been able to keep my business going. I have not yet made a profit, but expect to next year. I have momentum now and your support for these benefits is critical for me and many others.”

– Dana Twight, Seattle

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Price for access to Vogue digital archive: $1,575


Price for access to Vogue digital archive: $1,575

By Dylan Stableford | The Cutline – 18 hrs ago

Would you pay $1,575 a year to access Vogue’s archive? That’s what the revenue keepers at Condé Nast are hoping, after they unveiled the iconic fashion magazine’s digital vault on Thursday.

The cover of Vogue, June 1950.

The Vogue Archive includes every American issue published by the magazine since 1892–every page, including covers, advertisements and more than 400,000 full-color images.

The archive–aimed primarily at designers, fashion students, teachers and academic institutions–took nearly two years to complete, Vogue says. In addition to employing standard search functions, users can refine their searches by color, materials and clothing. The magazine plans to update the archive monthly with each new issue, and will make some of it available to current print subscribers in 2012.

“The Vogue Archive is expected to become a definitive resource for students of fashion and the visual arts,” the release says. “Additionally, as a comprehensive primary source of modern social history, the Vogue Archive opens new research avenues in the humanities and gender studies.”

Other consumer magazines have tried to leverage their digital archives before, including Playboy, Rolling Stone and Time. But none have attempted to charge such a hefty fee for access. (Playboy’s “Hard Drive,” for instance, costs $299.)

Annual subscriptions for individuals cost $1,575; schools and libraries can gain access for multiple users at a corporate discount that will vary, depending on the institution’s size.

Black History

Congress: the Republican led House – the Senate back on 12/12


the Senate Convenes 2:00pmET December 12, 2011

  • Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business until 4:30pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each.
  • At 4:30pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider the following nominations:
  • #360 Norman L. Eisen – to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Czech Republic
  • #501 Mari Carmen Aponte – to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of El Salvador
  • There will be one hour of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Kerry and Lugar or their designees. Upon the use or yielding back of time, the Senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Eisen nomination. If cloture is invoked, the Senate will immediately vote on confirmation of the Eisen nomination. Upon disposition of the Eisen nomination, the Senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Aponte nomination. Further, if cloture is not invoked on the Eisen nomination, the Senate will vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the Aponte nomination.
  • Therefore, at approximately 5:30pm on Monday, Senators should expect up to 3 and at least 2 roll call votes in relation the following:
  • Motion to invoke cloture on the Eisen nomination
  • If cloture is invoked, confirmation of the Eisen nomination
  • Motion to invoke cloture on the Aponte nomination
  • Additionally, Senator Reid announced that the Senate expects to consider the following additional items next week: additional nominations, remaining appropriations bills, balanced budget amendments, and payroll tax, unemployment insurance, Medicare reimbursement, tax extenders, all of which are set to expire at the end of the year.

———————————————————————

 The next meeting is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on December 9, 2011.

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF DECEMBER 9, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

-The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on December 12, 2011.11:03:13 A.M. -PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.11:03:06 A.M. -The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.11:01:00 A.M. -Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.11:00:27 A.M. -The Speaker designated the Honorable Steven C. LaTourette to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.11:00:00 A.M. -The House convened, starting a new legislative day.