Oct. 21st, 2008

webfarmer: (Default)
Kind of a weird day today. Got an invite from a Bay area friend asking me to join her on LinkedIn and decided to join up and check it out. Sent out a bunch of invites myself and got lots of affirmations from that process. Nice to get in touch with old friends who I don't otherwise keep up on. One of these friends invited me to join up on a couple of "transitions" web sites and I ended up doing one of them.

The transitions movement is something I've been hearing a bit about but haven't really looked into very much. My initial take on it is that it's kind of the latest back-to-the-land or sustainability movement only with the extra motivating drivers of global warming and peak oil. I'm all for it but the re-branding bit is a bit annoying. I guess if it helps people to do the right thing, what the heck.

There's even a handbook! The Transitions Handbook by Rob Hopkins - Chelsea Green

Communities Plan for a Low-Energy Future - CSMonitor.com - 11 Sep 08

"A year ago, Pat Proulx-Lough felt so overwhelmed by reports about climate change that she couldn’t even listen to the news. 'My husband was finishing a dissertation on water resources, and I became hopeless and fearful,' says Ms. Proulx-Lough, a therapist in Portland, Maine.

Fast-forward to summer ’08 and Proulx-Lough is not just hopeful, but excited about the future. What happened? She tapped into the Transition movement.

Transition Towns (or districts, or islands) designate places where local groups have organized to embrace the challenge of adapting to a low-oil economy. As the movement’s website (www.transitiontowns.org) states, it’s an experiment in grass-roots optimism: Can motivated citizens rouse their neighbors to act in the face of diminished oil resources and climate change?

'We don’t know if this will work,' says Ben Brangwyn of Totnes, England, who in 2007 helped launch the Transition Network to support Transition Towns worldwide, 'but if we leave it to the government it will be too little, too late. If we do it on a personal level, it won’t be enough. But if we do this as a community, it may be just enough, just in time.'"
webfarmer: (Default)
Kind of a weird day today. Got an invite from a Bay area friend asking me to join her on LinkedIn and decided to join up and check it out. Sent out a bunch of invites myself and got lots of affirmations from that process. Nice to get in touch with old friends who I don't otherwise keep up on. One of these friends invited me to join up on a couple of "transitions" web sites and I ended up doing one of them.

The transitions movement is something I've been hearing a bit about but haven't really looked into very much. My initial take on it is that it's kind of the latest back-to-the-land or sustainability movement only with the extra motivating drivers of global warming and peak oil. I'm all for it but the re-branding bit is a bit annoying. I guess if it helps people to do the right thing, what the heck.

There's even a handbook! The Transitions Handbook by Rob Hopkins - Chelsea Green

Communities Plan for a Low-Energy Future - CSMonitor.com - 11 Sep 08

"A year ago, Pat Proulx-Lough felt so overwhelmed by reports about climate change that she couldn’t even listen to the news. 'My husband was finishing a dissertation on water resources, and I became hopeless and fearful,' says Ms. Proulx-Lough, a therapist in Portland, Maine.

Fast-forward to summer ’08 and Proulx-Lough is not just hopeful, but excited about the future. What happened? She tapped into the Transition movement.

Transition Towns (or districts, or islands) designate places where local groups have organized to embrace the challenge of adapting to a low-oil economy. As the movement’s website (www.transitiontowns.org) states, it’s an experiment in grass-roots optimism: Can motivated citizens rouse their neighbors to act in the face of diminished oil resources and climate change?

'We don’t know if this will work,' says Ben Brangwyn of Totnes, England, who in 2007 helped launch the Transition Network to support Transition Towns worldwide, 'but if we leave it to the government it will be too little, too late. If we do it on a personal level, it won’t be enough. But if we do this as a community, it may be just enough, just in time.'"
webfarmer: (Default)
Sounds like some serious karma is about to be balanced in Minnesota.

Bachmann's Seat Up For Grabs - The Nation - 21 Oct 08

"Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's McCarthyite rant about investigating alleged 'anti-American' members of Congress may cost her a job.

Bachmann's Democratic opponent, El Tinklenberg, has raised over $640,000 since Bachmann's Hardball appearance on Friday. Her GOP primary challenger, Aubrey Immelman, announced her intention to run as a write-in candidate. Over 52,000 people have signed a petition to censure Bachmann in the House of Representatives. Colin Powell called her comments 'nonsense.'"


The video is after the cut . . . )
webfarmer: (Default)
Sounds like some serious karma is about to be balanced in Minnesota.

Bachmann's Seat Up For Grabs - The Nation - 21 Oct 08

"Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's McCarthyite rant about investigating alleged 'anti-American' members of Congress may cost her a job.

Bachmann's Democratic opponent, El Tinklenberg, has raised over $640,000 since Bachmann's Hardball appearance on Friday. Her GOP primary challenger, Aubrey Immelman, announced her intention to run as a write-in candidate. Over 52,000 people have signed a petition to censure Bachmann in the House of Representatives. Colin Powell called her comments 'nonsense.'"


The video is after the cut . . . )
webfarmer: (Default)
And now for this message from our good friend.

Mr. W . . . )

With thanks and a big hug to [livejournal.com profile] quotamour.
webfarmer: (Default)
And now for this message from our good friend.

Mr. W . . . )

With thanks and a big hug to [livejournal.com profile] quotamour.
webfarmer: (Default)
Had we zigged then, we might not be zagging now.

Volcker Out After 8 Years as Federal Reserve Chief; Reagan Chooses Greenspan
NY Times - 03 Jun 87

"The main philosophical difference between Mr. [Paul] Volcker, a Democrat, and Mr. [Alan] Greenspan, a Republican, appears to be in their views of the structure and regulation of the banking system. Mr. Volcker has tended to resist deregulation of banks while Mr. Greenspan is more favorably disposed to it."

Volcker Makes a Comeback as Part of Obama Brain Trust
WSJ - 21 Oct 08

"Mr. Volcker has emerged as a top economic adviser to Sen. Barack Obama during a presidential campaign dominated by a global financial crisis. Their growing bond is paying dividends for each man.

Mr. Volcker delivers gravitas and credibility to Sen. Obama, people in the Obama camp say, as well as ideas and approaches to the economic crisis. 'Volcker whispering in Obama's ear will make even Republicans comfortable, because he's a hero of the right and a supporter of a strong dollar,' says John Tamny, a supply-side economist and Republican."
webfarmer: (Default)
Had we zigged then, we might not be zagging now.

Volcker Out After 8 Years as Federal Reserve Chief; Reagan Chooses Greenspan
NY Times - 03 Jun 87

"The main philosophical difference between Mr. [Paul] Volcker, a Democrat, and Mr. [Alan] Greenspan, a Republican, appears to be in their views of the structure and regulation of the banking system. Mr. Volcker has tended to resist deregulation of banks while Mr. Greenspan is more favorably disposed to it."

Volcker Makes a Comeback as Part of Obama Brain Trust
WSJ - 21 Oct 08

"Mr. Volcker has emerged as a top economic adviser to Sen. Barack Obama during a presidential campaign dominated by a global financial crisis. Their growing bond is paying dividends for each man.

Mr. Volcker delivers gravitas and credibility to Sen. Obama, people in the Obama camp say, as well as ideas and approaches to the economic crisis. 'Volcker whispering in Obama's ear will make even Republicans comfortable, because he's a hero of the right and a supporter of a strong dollar,' says John Tamny, a supply-side economist and Republican."
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