Student Detained For Toting Arabic Flash Cards Sues TSA

http://rawstory.com/2010/02/arabic-studies-student-detained-interrogated-who-911/

This is what happens when we employ socially inept people, with little training, and no credible expertise to conduct counter terrorism security measures in our airports. We need to be looking for terrorists, foreign and domestic, not people with unusual habits or those that fall into xenophobic, arbitrary categories of uneducated zealots. What a gross waste of time of resources and a despicable violation of Nick George's rights. If this happens to one of us, it happens to us all.

Elizabeth Warren: It's Bank Lobbyists vs. American Families In Fight For Financial Reform

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/20/elizabeth-warren-its-bank_n_469939.html

Elizabeth Warren(one of my favs) appeared on "Real Time With Bill Maher" Friday and talked with him about banks, financial institutions, and financial reforms. Well worth the listening time.

Could We Just Reduce Pain And be OK With the Meat We Eat?

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/19/opinion/19shriver.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Though I applaud the out of box thinking behind this opinion article, I have to disagree with the mode of thinking in the article. Even if we could reduce the suffering of the animals humans eat, it does not address the most important issues concerning this part of our food consumption. Meat production emits more green house gases than all kinds of transportation combined. It doesn't deal with the waste from these operations, which pollute the air and our water supplies. Finally, it does not not address the unnatural chemicals in the animal's diet, the antibiotics they are given, or the poor quality of the food they eat, which in turn is ingested by the consumer when they eat. Out of the box thinking is great, but it can't be an excuse to continue our poor choices and reckless behavior, when it comes to what food we put in our bodies.

Huffington Post-Beautiful Time-Lapse Vid

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/18/beautiful-time-lapse-vide_n_467106.html

Huffington Post posted this spectacular time lapse vid. Follow the link to see the video. Wonder and beauty are all around us, we just have to choose to see them.

Moves To Repeal Same-sex Marriage In Iowa and NH Fail

http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=102389

Same-sex marriage opponents in Iowa, and here in NH, didn't get what they wanted this week. They tried, in both states, to repeal same sex marriage, and failed. It is a great victory, but as the article states, we can't let our guard down for a second. They will come back at us again, from other angles, and we have to be prepared.

Huffington Post-Tax Rates For America's Top 400 Earners Fell As Their Income Soared In 2007, According To IRS

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/17/tax-rates-for-americas-to_n_466480.html

Though the wealthy in this nation like you to think think they suffer as everyone else does, as they say, "they can feel your pain," the facts say otherwise. As most American workers have struggled to stay afloat in very dark financial waters, apparently the wealthy have just turned their backs on us, cruised along on their exclusive private yachts, and left us to drown. 

Guardian-iPhone App Pitches Climate Change Science Against Scepticism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/blog/2010/feb/17/iphone-app-climate-change

In the fight against climate change skeptics, arm yourself with this i-Pod application. Stan and I though it was wicked cool.

Huffington Post-Trump, The Media Whore, Weighs In On Climate Change

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/15/donald-trump-points-to-sn_n_462834.html

This article isn't really news, but its' existence is. Donald Trump may be many things, a business magnate among them, but he is no more qualified to speak about climate change, than an inanimate object is. The only people who should be weighing in on climate change are people with the qualifications or science background to make determinations about changes in climate. Trump uses the recent snow storms across the US, as proof that global warming is not happening, but in doing so, he confuses weather with climate change, showing he knows nothing about climate science at all. Obviously his media whore nature, has gotten the best of him.

NASA WISE Photos From NASA's Sky-Mapping Spacecraft

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/17/nasa-wise-pictures-incred_n_465706.html?slidenumber=fnH1ZzYhsHc%3D&slideshow

Follow the link to take a look at the first shots from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. Simply divine!

Euro Parliament: EU Nations Must Protect LGBT Rights

http://www.baywindows.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=glbt&sc2=news&sc3=&id=102386

 "Accession criteria are crystal clear: Minorities must be protected from discrimination as laid out in Article 19 of the Treaty (on the Functioning of the European Union) -- and that includes sexual orientation. This is not an à la carte menu: It is at the core of the European Union, and we will be rigorous in its application." Intergroup Co-President Michael Cashman

It is nice to see the European Parliament reaffirm that nations hoping to join the European Union must modify their national laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination. Our European neighbors are pulling ahead with regard to equality and and anti-discrimination legislation for GLBT people. If they can make it happen there, we can make it happen here.