Search This Blog

Monday, January 30, 2006


GLUG GLUG GLUG
Pumped directly from your wallet to their profits
oh I'm sorry I have that wrong ..... its:
taken directly from your hide to their obscene profits !

Exxon Mobil post 4th qtr profits :
FULL YEAR HIGHLIGHTS
  • Earnings excluding special items were $33,860 million, an increase of 31%, with strong contributions from all segments of the business. Net income increased by 43%.
  • Earnings per share excluding special items increased by 35% reflecting strong earnings and the reduction in the number of shares outstanding.
  • Special items of $2,270 million included a $1,620 million special gain related to Gasunie, a
  • $460 million positive impact from the sale of the Corporation's stake in Sinopec, a
  • $390 million gain from the previously disclosed litigation issue, and a charge of $200 million for Allapattah. Net income for 2004 included a $550 million special charge for Allapattah.
  • Cash flow from operations and asset sales was approximately $54.2 billion, including $6.0 billion from asset sales.
  • ? The Corporation distributed a total of $23.2 billion to shareholders in 2005 through dividends and share purchases to reduce shares outstanding, an increase of $8.3 billion versus 2004.
  • Capital and exploration expenditures were $17.7 billion, an increase of $2.8 billion versus 2004.
source http://library.corporate-ir.net/library/11/115/115024/items/181178/xom_013006news.pdf

somethings wrong? ....yah think !?
how many poor....... well here is a quick guess:
                                               Number(k)  
of poor Poverty
Year in thousands families rate for
Number of Poverty with female families
poor rate for (NSP) with female
families families householder householder
______________________________________________________________________
2004...... 7,854 10.2 3,973 28.4
2003...... 7,607 10.0 3,856 28.0
2002...... 7,229 9.6 3,613 26.5
2001...... 6,813 9.2 3,470 26.4

Weighted Average Poverty Thresholds for Families
year 3 people 4 people 5 people
2002.....14,348    18,392    21,744
2003.....14,680 18,810 22,245
2004.....15,067 19,307 22,831

source
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov1.html
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/hstpov13.html

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Today in the sanctuary it was brought up
that sometime the litany of fact, especially horrid fact
(global warming in this case) can cause use to
Succumb rather than act.

When is it too much?
when does the gravity of a situation overwhelm use
numbness sets in, apathy takes hold

how do we feel the cold breeze
but not Succumb to its chill?

Friday, January 27, 2006

have to give credit to
http://www.natashatynes.org/
for great coverage of jll carroll

as i write "we" free prisoners and there renewed
hope for jill

If Bush were not in terror of huge losses in midterm elections
I fear we would not see hope for Jill
thus the merrit are far less than nobel
but

life is not logical nor fair

yet on Occasion a sole is to be saved

damn, how do I pray , as pray we must!!!

here is an enlightening site


http://boingboing.net/


has a great collection of snippings, all related stuff to make one ponder
with obligatory links to sites where one can indulge in the details

of special note is their excellent assemblage of coverage on Jill Carroll's plight


Saturday, January 14, 2006




moose
on the loose
nova scotia

we want to go back
Happy Pongal
wishing my new and old
friends a joyous Pongal, which I just learned of yesterday
Pongal

"The spirit of Pongal, the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu, is giving thanks to God for a bountiful harvest as people prepare a special dish called 'Sarkkarai Pongal' and pray for the blessings of the Sun God. One of the most popular Tamilian festival, it is celebrated on January 14th every year coinciding with Makar Sankranti in the North, Lohri in Punjab, Bhogali Bihu in Assam and Bhogi of Andhra Pradesh. One of the very few Dravidian festivals that have survived the Indo-Aryan influences, Pongal finds little reference in Puranas. Falling just after the winter solstice and a bountiful harvest, Pongal marks the season of celebration and joyous activities. Mainly a three-day festival, the fourth day just after the festival is dedicated to outdoors and excursions.

Pongal also marks the beginning of a New Year and is the day to praise and thank God with full devotion and faith and sincerity of heart. Old vices and past should be abandoned forever on this day as we get ready to start life afresh. The festival covers all living beings including humans, cattle and birds and crops. Even the insects have not been overlooked and are offered rice flour to feed on in the form of 'Kollam' on the entranceway of the houses. Thus, Pongal is a day for peace and happiness for all." - from http://festivals.iloveindia.com/pongal/
also see https://www.nehti.org/home.aspx

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

GWB can not be supported , must not be supported but we must support the people, the proverbial "troops". These people, that are serving in IRAQ, who have real faces and name, are the ones we so readily forget in our day to day frantic pace. We only try to know a name, put it with a face when they become a casualty of the god forsaken struggle for stability. Can we take a moment to connect, to bolster them, reminding them that we are despite all diversity are caring people. here are some places ways to support our troops our soldiers in Massachusetts

Operation USO Cares

http://www.usocares.org/
You can sponsor care packages provided by the USO with a $25 donation. The United Service Organizations (USO) has created Operation USO Care Package. Operation USO Care Package provides care packages to deployed service members. Through Operation USO Care Package, you can sponsor a care package which includes requested items such as pre-paid worldwide phone cards, sunscreen, disposable cameras, travel size toiletries, and a personal note of thanks for their service and sacrifice. Approved and endorsed by the Department of Defense, Operation USO Care Package is a way to send a message of encouragement thanking the troops for their service and sacrifice.

Operation USO Phone Home Program
Since it launched Operation Phone Home in March 2003, the USO has distributed more than 80,000 free cards, and included them in several hundred thousand care packages.

The USO is a registered 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.
http://www.operationusocarepackage.org

VFW’s Operation Uplink

http://www.operationuplink.org
Operation Uplink is a unique program that keeps military personnel and hospitalized veterans in touch with their families and loved ones by providing them with a free phone cards. Using contributions, Operation Uplink purchases phone cards and distributes them to servicemen and women who are separated from those they care about.

Operation Pride

http://operationmilitarypride.org/index.html
Volunteer organization, founded by military spouses, sends cards, letters and care packages to troops. Also distributes names and addresses of participating service members for people wishing to send messages or gifts directly. If you fill out a form at their web site they claim they will put you in touch with the service member. They also have lists of needed items and instructions for shipping.

Operation Iraqi Children

http://www.operationiraqichildren.org
Sends school supplies to the children of Iraq. In March of 2004, actor Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump, Apollo 13) and author Laura Hillenbrand (Seabiscuit: An American Legend) announced the launch of Operation Iraqi Children, a program that enables Americans to send school supply kits to Iraqi children. Through the School Supple Kit Program, American children, can help Iraqis by gathering school supplies in local drives, assembling them in kits, then sending them to the OIC Warehouse for transport to Iraq, where our soldiers will take them to Iraqi villages. The kits include:

· pair of blunt-end scissors,12-inch ruler with metric markings, 12 new pencils with erasers , small pencil sharpener, large eraser, box of colored pencils (Crayons melt in the Iraqi summer heat!), package of notebook paper, composition book, Three folders with inside pockets, and a zippered pencil bag

Massachusetts Based Organizations

Cell Phones for Soldiers
http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com/pages/10/index.htm
Since April, the brother-sister team in Norwell has made thousands of hours of conversation possible between deployed U.S. forces and their loved once. The have distributed $100,000 in prepaid calling cards to deployed troops, free of charge, through their "Cell Phones for Soldiers" program. Using cash contributions and money obtained by recycling donated used cell phones, the program buys calling cards and distributes them to deployed or deploying units.

The Friends of National Guard and Reserve Families Foundation
http://www.mangfriends.org/
Provides financial gifts to citizens of Massachusetts who are members of the National Guard and all other Reserve components and who are suffering financial hardship due to activation or extended military commitment. All members of the Massachusetts National Guard and Massachusetts residents serving in the U.S. Armed Forces Reserve components who have been deployed for at least 30 consecutive days are eligible to apply for a need-based grant for up to $1,000. In order to qualify, the financial hardship must be a direct result of activation or extended deployment.

political comments are mine only, but
source of links is Massachusetts Teacher association "MTA is encouraging members to show support for the troops .... throughout the year through Operation Home Front."