Friday, December 11, 2009

Friday Hope Blogging


I'm taking a dreamy, romantic stroll through a minefield at the moment, so if there's to be any hope at all this week, you'll have to provide it.

If you've heard any heartening news, please post a summary and link in comments. (I'd do the same for you, if you were in my shoes!)

Thanks. I'll be back, eventually. 'Til then, do this in remembrance of me.

(Photo: "Dust Sculptures in the Rosette Nebula" by John Ebersole.)

17 comments:

Jay Schiavone said...

No link, but the Ugandans appear to have downgraded their proposed "Kill the Gays" law to imprisonment. This was likely the result of entreaties by red-faced pastors, C St pols and Hillary. Not especially hopeful, but less lethal.

Roadmaster said...

Here's something to remember -

Although today marks the 45th anniversary of Sam Cooke's tragic death, we have still been able to enjoy his decade-plus of recorded material - gospel, R&B, soul, blues...

There's nothing like hearing Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers on the radio while driving through Arkansas on a Sunday morning.

Anonymous said...

progress in research on repair to nerves.

Openly gay Latino Democrat to lead State Assembly.

Donations save bird sanctuary.

I hope that you and yours get through the minefield intact.

grouchomarxist said...

A raging head-cold has left me with little energy or inclination toward link-hunting, but here goes:

Japanese Ghosts and Demons via the Obakemono Project.

A complete set of illustrations from Grandville's Un Autre Mond.

A satirical look at the haute couture of yesteryear, from Sylvia and Danny Kaye: Anatole of Paris.

(And would someone please tell those geniuses at Blogger that links in the preview mode should launch in a new window! Sure, I could have done a right-click and open in new tab or window, but what's the point of a preview mode that blows away the comment you're previewing? Damned sloppy, if you ask me.)

Anyway, good luck with that minefield, Phila.

four legs good said...

Are you all right?

I don't have any serious links, but I can report that at least humor lives:

New Moon Review

sophisticated? no, but I hope that will cheer you up.

Jazzbumpa said...

Phila -

Usually I count on you to give me hope. But we are here to help each other. Here are a couple simple offerings from my own experience.

Hope

More Hope

Cheers!
JzB the hopeful trombonist

Walter Jeffries said...

Hope is snugging with a puppy. I mean that in the most literal sense. Good luck with your tip-towing.

Cheryl Rofer said...

Despite the rightwing noise machine, voters support the climate and energy bill.

And something - I think the roadrunner - is eating the sardines I'm putting out for her. Plus the local supermarket had a sale on sardines.

Anonymous said...

house passes financial oversight bill:

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-financial-reform12-2009dec12,0,612945.story

cia dumps some blackwater contracts:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/12/11/813328/-NYT:-CIA-Cancels-Blackwater-Contract.-Yippee!

jdw

Karin said...

As I mentioned in the post below:
Thanks to the Carter Center, guinea worm in Nigeria almost completely eradicated.
The EPA announced they would begin drafting regulations on greenhouse gases.
MIT team wins Darpa's treasure hunt in less than one day.
Also, the Obama administration has reached a settlement in a long-running class action lawsuit over federal mismanagement of Native American land trusts dating back to the nineteen century. On Tuesday, the Interior Department announced it would pay $3.4 billion to settle claims by more than 300,000 Native Americans for unpaid royalties on seized lands.
And the Justice Department has announced a settlement with the mining giant Asarco for the cleanup of more than eighty polluted sites in nineteen states. Asarco will pay $1.79 billion to settle a series of claims. It’s believed to be the largest environmental bankruptcy settlement in US history.(h/t to Democracy Now for the last 2)
I hope something in there helps your mood, Phila!

Karin said...

Oh, just one more bit of good news
A judge in New York ordered that ACORN’s federal funding be restored, rolling back a slew of Congressional actions that sought to stop taxpayer money from flowing to the community group on the heels of a fall full of embarrassments for it.
hat tip to Digby

Phila said...

Thanks, all. You're the best!

And I'm fine, really. "Luxury problems" is the technical term, I believe.

chris said...

A whole bunch of nudibranchs.

http://scienceray.com/biology/marine-biology/nudibranchs-beautiful-animals-you-never-knew-about/

monica_nyc said...

DEMOPOLIS — The Demopolis Public Library has added two early literacy stations to the children’s floor through a Library Service Technology Act grant administered by the Alabama Public Library Service.

link

Also: On Thursday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that Mexican authorities failed to adequately investigate the murders of Claudia Ivette Gonzalez, 17, Irma Monreal Herrera, 15, and Laura Berenice Ramos, 20.

The court's 167-page report also said Mexico failed to protect the victims. They were among the eight victims whose bodies were discovered in 2001 in a cotton field across the street from the Association of Maquiladoras in central Juárez.

The court ruled that the Mexican government must acknowledge publicly its responsibility, publish the sentence in official government records, and build a monument in memory of the victims. Authorities must also investigate the murders and bring those responsible for the slayings to justice.

The case is without precedent. It is the first time the court has ruled against Mexico on a human-rights complaint, and it is the first ruling by the court that recognizes gender murders, in which women are killed because they are women.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in San José, Costa Rica, is an autonomous judicial institution of the Organization of American States. Its objectives are to apply and interpret the American Conven tion on Human Rights and other treaties.

The Mexican government is bound by treaty to fulfill the sanctions, and it cannot appeal the ruling.

link.

--monica_nyc

Marcellina said...

The Belgrade-Sarajevo rail line has reopened after 17 years! It now takes 2 hours longer than before the war (the tracks are still a mess in some places) but it's a start.

chris said...

I'm so disappointed!

http://www.1sky.org/blog/2009/12/inhofes-truth-squad-canceled

Lucky Copenhagen!

joel hanes said...

The ocelot appears to be making a comeback from the brink of extinction.