Good morning!

Obama had another first and it is a biggie. Of course as usual, the radical right don’t want to give him credit, as if they could have done better.

From Think Progress:

A Historic Agreement

The U.S. And China Strike An Ambitious Deal To Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions

In a surprising announcement last night, President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly revealed a broad agreement between the United States and China to curb the two countries’ carbon emissions. The agreement between the two nations, which are the two largest carbon emitters in the world, sends a clear signal to other countries that they must also get serious about addressing the man-made causes of climate change. It also directly undercuts an oft-repeated conservative argument against climate action: that the U.S. doesn’t need to act on climate because China hasn’t either.

What Is In The Deal?
The agreement marks the culmination of nine months of negotiations between the two countries, capped off in recent days by Obama’s visit to China. The pledge commits the U.S. to cut its emissions 26 to 28 percent below their 2005 levels by 2025. As for China, it is committing to peak its overall carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and to get 20 percent of its energy from non-fossil-fuel sources by that same year.

Why Is It Important?
No effort to combat climate change could succeed without these two countries. The United States and China are not only the two largest emitters of carbon dioxide in the world, they make up more than 40 percent of total worldwide emissions:

CREDIT: EPA

For the United States, the commitment to cut carbon emissions 26 to 28 percent by 2025 builds off the current target of a 17 percent reduction below the 2005 baseline by 2020. According to Climate Progress reporter Jeff Spross, “it could actually double the pace of emission cuts set by that initial goal — from 1.2 percent a year to as high as 2.8 percent per year.”

For China, meanwhile, this agreement is the first time it has made a serious commitment to address global warming by setting a goal for when its carbon emissions should stop growing. And its pledge to get 20 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2030 is enormous: it will require the country to generate 800-1,000 gigawatts of new carbon-free energy, the same amount as the total electricity the U.S. currently generates from all sources combined.

Climate Progress’s Joe Romm takes a deeper dive into the importance of the deal.

What Do People Think Of It?
Progressive and environmental groups agree that it is a critical step in efforts to combat man-made climate change. “This announcement is a game-changer,” said Melanie Hart, the Director for China Policy at the Center for American Progress. Jake Schmidt, director of the International Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, emphasized China’s commitment: “You’re talking about 20 percent of a huge economy being based on non-carbon-dioxide emissions sources. That’s significant.”

Yet, it hasn’t taken long for Congressional Republicans to already start freaking out about the deal. Both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner blasted the deal as part of President Obama’s alleged “war on coal” that will hurt the economy. (In fact, the new deal won’t hurt the economy, as the GOP leaders suggest — and it may actually drive economic growth.) Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK), a climate denier who’s now set to become head of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, complained that China’s promise is “hollow and not believable.”

These are some of the same people, along with many other Republican members of Congress, who previously have pointed the finger at China’s inaction as an excuse for why the United States shouldn’t address climate change on its own. Now that China has made this commitment, they want to have it both ways. Their reactions are the ones that are “hollow and not believable” — as well as being deeply threatening to the health of future generations and the health of the planet.

BOTTOM LINE: The new climate agreement between the United States and China is a historic step that marks the first time that China, the world’s largest polluter, has agreed on targets to limit its greenhouse gas emissions. While climate deniers continue to search for ways to avoid taking action, this agreement solidifies America’s leadership on the issue and underscores the importance of the United States, China, and the rest of the world taking meaningful steps to slow climate change’s effects.

*G*O*B*A*M*A*

Readers: The repubs always want it both ways…really, they want whatever way is opposite of Obama.

Thoughts? Blog me.

Halina: I have blogged about the perps in Russia posing as “men;” they are much like many “men” here who think the same way. Be careful and watch your back.

Brittany: Girl you’ve got some balls and a good dose of mettle. Good for you for taking it all the way.

Hersilia: I was so sorry to read your story. You didn’t say much but enough for me to feel like I was there. I can only imagine how sick and upset you were. I HOPE you’re OK now.

Lidia: I’m so sorry what you experienced. Don’t feel ashamed and stupid. It was not your fault. You did so many right things – he was just one step ahead of you. Men like this have it all planned out. Sickening. And the gall that he still calls you after what he did. My best to you.

Gotta run. I’ll address the rest of you tomorrow.

Peace & Love…

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

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Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

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Good morning!

!!!

Janet: Better grab your helmut and protective gear, girlfriend, because you’re probably spot on. :)

Owen, Lorri: Yep, I had the same problem. I was on the phone working on getting it resolved. This was a new one to me. It was temporary and shouldn’t happen again (fingers crossed)

Donna: Ouch. You might want to grab your helmut too. The next two years should be very interesting and “exciting” (That’s a nod to you Rachel Maddow)

Readers: Who knows…sometimes things have to get really bad before they can get really good. So…what might seem like a bad thing could end up being a good thing. That’s it for me. Enough said.  It’s a new day – What’s on your mind? Surprise me with something. :)

Blog me. 

Peace, baby. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Many of these writes are a few years old. But don’t think that means enough time has gone by and the Koch Brothers have changed. Nope. They are still the same.

From Pro Publica.

Koch Fact Number 8: The Kochs lobbied against recognition of formaldehyde as a cancer-causing carcinogen because it might be bad for their business.

Company Owned By Cancer Research Donor Lobbied Against Designation of Formaldehyde as Carcinogen

Readers: Thanks for being here with me. Blog me.

Peace & Love...

…You know what to do. 

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

This is literally a Flap Your Lips Friday kind of write. Only in Paris!

From Artfido:

NSFW: Performance Artist Reenacts the Painting ‘The Origin Of The World’

Following on from our previous post where a performance artist was restrained, force-fed and injected with cosmetics in a high street shop window as part of a hard-hitting protest against animal testing (see HERE), another performance artist has gone to great lengths to make a point.

Background: if you’ve ever gazed into the beautiful void that is Gustav Courbet’s “The Origin of the World”, you’re probably familiar with just how provocative (and NSFW) the painting is.

As the title cleverly references, it is a portrait of the female genitalia, through which all human beings enter into life. Combining the romance of realism and the lustful voyeurism of erotic art, it’s, well, heavy stuff.

So, you can only imagine what would happen if someone – let’s say, a daring performance artist – attempted to reenact the racy anatomic still life from 1866… in front of an audience of museum patrons assembled at Paris’ Musée d’Orsay to see Courbet’s masterpiece face-to-face.

Une artiste expose son sexe sous «L’origine du… by quoi2news

According to Le Monde, the racy act took place on May 29 at the Musée d’Orsay’s Room 20. De Robertis entered the room in a gold sequin dress and proceeded to expose her own “L’Origine du monde” to a crowd of unsuspecting security guards and applauding gallery goers. The artist was eventually taken away by police and, as Artnet reports, the museum and two of its guards subsequently filed sexual exhibitionism complaints against the bold woman.

“This is a typical case of disrespecting the museum’s rules, whether for a performance or not,” the Musée d’Orsay’s administration said in a statement published in Artnet. “No request for authorization was filed with us. And even if it had been, it’s not certain we would have accepted it as that may have upset our visitors.”

De Robertis feels differently. “If you ignore the context, you could construe this performance as an act of exhibitionism, but what I did was not an impulsive act,” she explained to Luxemburger Wort. “There is a gap in art history, the absent point of view of the object of the gaze. In his realist painting, the painter shows the open legs, but the vagina remains closed. He does not reveal the hole, that is to say, the eye. I am not showing my vagina, but I am revealing what we do not see in the painting, the eye of the vagina, the black hole, this concealed eye, this chasm, which, beyond the flesh, refers to infinity, to the origin of the origin.”

To be fair, de Robertis claims she’s performed “Mirror of Origin” more than once in the Paris museum, without causing hysteria. And it’s not the first time that an avid student of art history has opted to demonstrate the sincerest form of flattery by imitating a famous work of art. Just last year, a 26-year-old known as Arthur G stripped down to his birthday suit in front of the Musée d’Orsay’s parade of male nudes, “Masculin/Masculin.”

As the Guerrilla Girls pointed out in the 1990s, less than 5% of the artists in the Modern Art section of New York’s Metropolitan Museum were women, but 85% of the nudes were female. Does it take a nude performance artist disrupting a casual day of museum revelry to make the world notice? Let us know your thoughts on de Robertis’ performance in the comments.

♥V♥A♥J♥A♥Y♥J♥A♥Y♥

Readers: Well? Let the flapping begin. Oh yeah…it already has. :)

Blog me.

Happy Friday!!

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"

Good morning!

Last Friday I blogged about Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the biggest action a president has ever taken to slow climate change.  (Can I have another “Yippee!?”:)

So what does all of this mean? What exactly is his Climate Action Plan going to do? I asked the same questions. This is what I found.

From Think Progress:

Acting On Climate

The Impact Of The New Climate Protection Proposal, By The Numbers

As reported last week, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled the latest piece in the Obama Administration’s Climate Action Plan today: a proposed rule to dramatically cut carbon pollution from America’s coal-fired power plants in the coming decades. “Climate inaction is costing us more money, in more places, more often,” said EPA Administration Gina McCarthy in the announcement. “This is an investment in better health and a better future for our kids.”

When it comes to the importance of this rule for public health and for slowing the effects of climate change, the numbers tell the story:

• 491: The number of coal-fired power plants in the United States.
• 42 years old: The average age of a coal-fired power plant.
• 1/3: The share of all domestic greenhouse gas emissions that come from coal-fired power plants, the largest source in the United States.
• 30 percent: The amount that the new standards aim to cut carbon emissions from the power sector by the year 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
• 150 million: The number of cars that a 30 percent reduction in emissions from power plants is equal to–that’s two-thirds of all the nation’s passenger vehicles.
• 6,600: The possible premature deaths avoided annually when a 30 percent cut in carbon emissions is achieved.
• 150,000: The possible number of asthma attacks per year avoided when a 30 percent cut in carbon emissions is achieved.
• 490,000: The possible number of missed school or work days avoided when a 30 percent cut in carbon emissions is achieved.
• $93 billion: The possible economic value of the public health benefit when a 30 percent cut in carbon emissions is achieved.
• $7: The amount in health benefits that Americans will see for every dollar invest as a result of this plan.
• 27: The number of states that already have energy efficiency goals or standards in place.
• 8 percent: The average projected decrease in electricity bills for consumers due to energy efficiency (contrary to opponents who claim bills will go up).
• 50: The number of different ways the EPA proposal can be implemented, one for each state, according to Special Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Dan Utech. “This plan is all about flexibility,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy in her announcement Monday morning. “That’s what makes it ambitious, but achievable.”
• 70 percent: The share of Americans who say the federal government should require limits to greenhouse gases from existing power plants, including 63 percent of Republicans.
• 63 percent: The share of Americans who want limits on greenhouse gases even if they raise monthly energy expenses by $20 a month.

Head over to Climate Progress for a more in-depth run down of the 8 things you should know about the biggest thing a President has ever done on climate change. They’ve also got some great reporting on the most ridiculous responses from political and industry opponents so far.

BOTTOM LINE: For other health threats like arsenic, mercury, and lead, we set limits on contaminants to keep people safe. But we let dirty power plants release as much carbon pollution into the air as they want. That needs to change. The new EPA rule is a huge step for public health and for our children’s futures. The companies that oppose this rule are desperate, dirty, and in denial. They were wrong in 1970 when we passed the Clean Air Act, they were wrong in 1990 when we took steps to stop acid rain, and they are wrong now.

*****

Readers: Pretty cool right? I don’t know if you feel this way, but it makes me want to take a long deep breath followed by a happy sigh and a smile. What about you? Blog me.

&♥

 ”Live it, give it to our planet.”

Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my “loyal”(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.

Gratefully your blog host,

michelle

Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)

If you love my blog and my writes, please make a donation via PayPal, credit card, or e-check, please click the “Donate” button below. (Please only donations from those readers within the United States. – International readers please see my “Donate” page)

Or if you would like to send a check via snail mail, please make checks payable to “Michelle Moquin”, and send to:

Michelle Moquin PO Box 29235 San Francisco, Ca. 94129

Thank you for your loyal support!

All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008-2014

“Though she be but little, she be fierce.” – William Shakespeare Midsummer Night’s Dream 

" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"