~~~~ Distressed
The Grandchildren of Holocaust Survivors from World War II are doing to the Palestinians Exactly what was Done to them by Nazi Germany.
Warning. Some of these images are extrememly graphic and disturbing. They need to be seen. The next time you think that what Israel is doing is right without any thought for those on the other side remember these children and their families. Do they deserve to die?
~~~~ Okay
Obama Acts to Reverse Bush Climate Moves
By Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama will start reversing former President George W. Bush's climate change policies on Monday by taking steps to allow states to limit greenhouse gas emissions from cars and by ordering 2011 vehicle fuel efficiency standards to be set by March.
An administration official said late on Sunday that Obama, who took office last week, would direct the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider a request by California to impose its own strict limits on car emissions.
The request was denied under the Bush administration. The official said a final decision by the EPA would likely take several months.
Another official familiar with the policy shift said Obama would instruct the EPA to approve the waiver allowing California to impose the rules.
California last week asked the new administration to reconsider the state's request.
California and other states sued the EPA after Stephen Johnson, the agency's chief under the Bush administration, denied California's request for federal permission to impose new limits on carbon dioxide emissions from cars.
In a letter to Obama, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asked the president to "direct the U.S. EPA to act promptly and favorably on California's reconsideration request.
The White House official said Obama would also direct the Department of Transportation to move forward with setting 2011 vehicle fuel efficiency standards by March.
Obama's memorandum would also instruct the agency to reconsider how such standards are set for later years in a separate process.
Obama promised on the campaign trail to take aggressive action to fight global warming and reduce emissions blamed on heating the earth.
Shortly after his victory in the Nov. 4 election Obama reiterated his commitment to bringing the United States firmly back into the fold of nations trying to reach a global agreement to limit emissions once the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol runs out at the end of 2012.
(Additional reporting by JoAnne Allen; Editing by Eric Walsh)
~~~~ Disappointed
Trovo un po 'buffo. Trovo un po 'triste. I sogni che mi morire sono i migliori che io abbia mai avuto.
~~~~ Tired
World Hails "United States of Obama."
(CNN) -- Newspaper front pages around the world were unanimous Wednesday in celebrating the momentousness of Barack Obama's inauguration as U.S. President."Let's rebuild America," said the front page of France's Le Figaro, over a photograph of a smiling Obama swearing the oath of office. "The Promise," said Liberation, hailing the "United States of Obama."
"Remaking America," said the Daily Telegraph in the UK -- a theme carried by many other newspapers worldwide -- while the Daily Mirror preferred: "Reborn in the USA."
The Sun showed a picture of Obama's seven-year-old daughter Sasha giving her father the thumbs-up with the headline: "You're the Daddy."
"At last it was the day, the hour, even the second that millions of Americans, "and not just Americans, have waited for impatiently ever since November, and in many cases for much longer than that. The crowds in Washington were extraordinary evidence of the momentous public potency of the moment," the Guardian gushed in its editorial.
Many international newspapers focused on the powerful symbolism and unifying power of the arrival of an African-American U.S. president on the world stage.
"We're a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers," said the headline on the front of the Times of India, taking a line from Obama's inaugural address.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun said: "He is expected to play the leading role in changing the world in which racial and religious confrontations continue to rage in defiance of the ideal expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
"He is as much symbol as substance, an icon for the youth and a sign of deliverance for an older generation that never believed a man with his skin color would ascend those steps," said the International Herald Tribune.
But many papers urged Obama to get to work immediately to address the urgent problems already piled up up in his intray.
"This wasn't the occasion for his most soaring of speeches. It was instead an oration rooted in the immediate challenges. It was directed at two audiences: a hopeful but anxious one at home, and an uncertain but hopeful one overseas, the UK's Times said.
Speaking of the economic problems on a scale not seen since the Great Depression, China's Xinhua said: "Like Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, Obama, the new president, will get a rare opportunity to leave a sweeping and long-lasting imprint on the U.S. economy."
The Times of India called on Obama to continue the so-called "war on terror" by pursuing Pakistani-based militant groups, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba which New Delhi blames for last year's terror attacks in Mumbai.
"For the sake of the world's security, Obama must press Islamabad to clamp down on these groups and close down their bases, something that the Bush administration failed to do for most of its run."
Meanwhile, Germany's Der Spiegel sounded a note of caution about the weight of expectation now resting on Obama's shoulders: "The catchword of the election campaign was 'change.'The new message to his followers is: 'Be patient.'"
And there was little lament for the passing of the presidency of Obama's controversial predecessor, President George W. Bush.
"He entered the White House promising to heal division by being a 'uniter, not a divider.' He leaves it today as one of the most divisive and least popular presidents in US history," the South China Morning Post said.
For Obama, according to the UK's Independent, the challenge in office will be to strike a balance between the "poetry" of his campaign for election and the tough "prose" of government.
"Beautiful rhetoric alone cannot change the world. So perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the address was the new President's willingness to spell out the scale of the problems facing America and the "hard choices" that lie ahead for him and the country," the paper said.
"An old American aphorism has it that politicians campaign in poetry, but govern in prose. We can be sure that the poetry will continue to flow from an orator as gifted as President Obama. But now begins the difficult task of getting the prose right too."
~~~~ Determined
Time to shut down. I crave numbness.
And if I'm flying solo at least I'm flying free...
Queen Rania Al-Abdullah '91 receives first YouTube award for using the site
to induce positive change.
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah '91 recently won YouTube’s first ever
Visionary Award.
The award, presented as part of the official
launch of YouTube Live, celebrates active users of YouTube who aim to use the
service as an open platform for constructive dialogue to highlight social and
cultural issues and work for positive change in their communities and around the
world. Her YouTube channel, which is dedicated to breaking down stereotypes
about the Arab and Muslim worlds and bridging the East-West divide, has more
than 15,000 subscribers and has been viewed more than half a million times since
its launch in March.
“YouTube encourages us to be active
participants in a global conversation, making our voices heard, giving us the
power to broadcast ourselves, increasing knowledge of each other, breaking down
the barriers between us clip by clip,” said Queen Rania.
Chad
Hurley, co-founder of the popular Internet video-sharing Web site, honored her
efforts with the award during a 90-minute live event on the site. “Queen
Rania sets the standard for breaking down stereotypes, and her YouTube videos
are nothing short of inspirational,” said Hurley. “It is both a pleasure and an
honor to present her with this much-deserved tribute.”
In accepting
the award, the queen spoofed late night talk show host David Letterman’s “Top
Ten” list, beginning with humorous reasons for her starting the channel,
including not having enough friends on Facebook, but ending with her actual
reason: “Because suspicion, intolerance, and mistrust are driving us apart. …
That’s why I wanted to kick-start a conversation in the world’s largest
community,” she said
~~~~ Content
Intimacy is a four syllable word for, "Here's my heart and soul, please grind them into hamburger, and enjoy." It's both desired, and feared. Difficult to live with, and impossible to live without. Intimacy also comes attached to the three R's... relatives, romance, and roommates. There are some things you can't escape. And other things you just don't want to know.- Grey's Anatomy.
~~~~ Okay
When this break started I thought it would never end. Every day was like a lifetime and I seriously thought I was back in this town for the rest of my life. But all of a sudden tomorrow is my last day and I get to go back to school. I mean, granted I'm still going back a full four days before most everyone else but still wow. And I just had an epiphany that this was basically my last break. There is still spring break but I'm not spending it at home and spring break is a completely different form of break then winter. And this was it. No more breaks no more relaxing extended periods of time. Welcome real world. Bring. It. On. Going back early has the opportunity to be really excellant or really terrible. One way or another Thursday on will be great. Picking up Michele then just relaxing for the rest of the weekend with just a little bit of work will be so much better then being here. But Wednesday. Wednesday may either royaly suck or be totally fantastic. We'll see how it's handeled by... well... by people in general. It'll just be so satisfying to be back.
Currently Listening to: White Wedding - Billy Idol
~~~~ Angry
It was so much easier when boys had cooties.
Currently Listening to: Miniature Disasters - KT Tunstall
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