as of just now 12 blocs
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Tootles, Mr. Cantor!
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We support VA chief Shinseki He may be an easy target but he is not the source of current Veterans Affairs problems. As stated by Gen. Barry McCaffrey, “He is determined, focused and wants to factually understand a problem so he can get a sensible solution.” He is a soft-spoken soldier who does not pound the table or raise his voice. In 2003 he stood up to Rumsfeld when he said thousands more troops would be needed to secure postwar Iraq. For that he lost his job but not his integrity. We do not want a competent and honest man to be replaced with a glad-hand politician.
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Blue skies, warm dry air, and a cool breeze. At looong last, we had a perfect day.
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We're shocked that 275 Nigerian schoolgirls were abducted by militants. We realize politics there are extremely turbulent, but it's unconscionable for children to be used as bargaining chips. We support the protesting >Nigerians that demand more government and military attention in this matter!
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We demand repercussions for the egregious killing of protected bird species by JFK Airport "wildlife control contractors"!
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It's cool large websites are ignoring gag requests on government subpoenas. However, we realize they only do so because not appearing to collude with government overreach happens to benefit their marketability (particularly overseas). Furthermore, this doesn't affect the most opaque of government requests: court-ordered FISA requests and executive NSLs. That's why we, private citizens, will continue pressing for Congress to remedy this.
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City Council, pass the community board reforms! We strongly support these reforms. Community boards are weak at best. At worst, they are dominated by self-interested or deeply biased individuals who directly, systematically oppose the residential majority of the community. It's time to re-draft the blueprints that permit such corruption to destroy our neighborhoods!
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RIP Al Feldstein The activists of the 60’s got their early exposure to satire and inept government from the pages of Mad Magazine. Al cared about humor, kids and country and he made a difference.
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We believe in the budding and coming revolution of the sharing economy. "This collaborative rather than capitalistic approach is about shared access rather than private ownership...Millions of people are using social media sites, redistribution networks, rentals and cooperatives to share not only cars but also homes, clothes, tools, toys and other items at low or near zero marginal cost."
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We're 100% for personal expression. That said, if anyone's gonna call Obama un-Presidential for his Two Ferns interview, they better be calling Dubya's amateur painting exhibition downright anti-Presidential! 50 more years down this road and ex-Presidents will be showcasing their coloring book work!
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We're a bit freaked out by all the people gone missing in the last week. Dental student Jiwon Lee missing for a week, fashion designer Jay Ott missing for 8 days, and banker Andrew Jarzyk missing for 10 days. We hope these folks are found and this trend stops. - http://www.nytim
es.com/2014/04/0 3/fashion/the-s... - http://gothamist .com/2014/04/06/ columbia_dental... - http://www.nydai lynews.com/new-york/mystery-sur... -
It's that time again: Lower East Side nightlife operators are applying for liquor license expansions. We've been sick of the atmosphere for years and nothing has changed. We urge Lower East Siders to register their positions in this survey from the LES Dwellers.
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Democracy requires both Liberty and Justice. And giving billionaires orders of magnitude greater influence on elections than ordinary citizens is not just. This ruling pushes American society further along a cycle of increasing corporate influence from which it will be difficult to return.
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Props to Mayor de Blasio for funding free prekindergarten education in NYC! Thanks for making this an issue and for fighting for it!
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America's congress, a sad but true April Fool (from Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader)
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Senator Yee, what in hell have you done? Bribes? Wire fraud?? Conspiracy to deal firearms?!! Your selfish attempt to make money any way you could shows a total lack of respect for the people who trusted you to represent them. Your actions have inflicted serious harm on the Democratic party and especially on the image of hard working Chinese Americans. Resign your position immediately. >Californians do not want you. "Shrimp Boy?" Give us a break.
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We >CHICAGOANS as >AMERICANS will not stand for this! While you're still cleaning up yo...
originalWe share >Chicagoans outrage at BP's oil spill. We hope the penalties are stiff in order to motivate improved safety controls and to send the message that our natural resources are fragile resources that must be treated with the utmost care!
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"Artisinal tortillas"? Ay dios mio! We have enough gourmet/fusion/u
pscale Mexican food. What we need is good *homestyle* Mexican food! -
Governor Christie isn't fooling us for a second. Not only was the "investigation" he ordered into the GW Bridge closings a waste of money ($1 million in legal fees fronted by >New-Jerseyans), but it was also a waste of effort! Unsurprisingly, it defends his ignorance, but it then illogically fails to explain why the lane closings occurred in the first place! If Christie really were innocent, that would've been the entire point of the investigation. What a petty bully.
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We sympathize for the business owners affected by the Harlem explosion, and we feel it's reasonable for the city to avail low/zero-interest emergency loans to help them out temporarily. But in the end, this is an issue for insurance and, possibly, for ConEd or the negligent landlords to rectify, not the city government.
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We need to stop long-term solitary confinement. As Americans, we're above torturing prisoners in this brutal way. It just feeds a cycle of violent behavior and a culture of punitive destruction that ends up making its way onto streets and local precincts. It's just another way being tough on crime has not only backfired, but turned us from the values this country is founded upon.
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Obama's termination of the NSA's bulk phone metadata collection is a significant step forward! We're relieved to see it happen. However, the greater problem goes on: that there is little transparency or oversight of the FISC and other secret powers granted by Section 215 of the Patriot Act. Fixing that is how we repair our damaged democracy.
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Crimeans join the >Russians and the other >Ukrainians join the West. Seems like a fair trade! It's on us now to make the most of this.
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A long time ago, we used to be fans... and we still are! Guilty pleasure or not, we're looking forward to the Veronica Mars movie!
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The "secular charter" set forth by the Parti Québécois to >Canadians in Quebec grossly infringes upon free speech in a prejudicial way. Since we believe free speech and the free flow of information is vital to expanding mankind's understanding of our existence, atheists find the actions of the Parti Québécois to be hateful and inflammatory.
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We're uneasy this morning after a building "exploded" in East Harlem. We hope no one was killed and that it was just a terrible accident.
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In other neighborhoods, yesterday's 65° weather was an exciting taste of spring. For us >Lower-East-Siders, it was an omen of the out-of-control nightlife violence that summer brings. Two fights broke out outside of the Hotel on Rivington on the Lower East Side Monday night. One was an old-fashioned broken bottle duel, the other a violent attack of a female by a male. The Hotel's own security guards didn't even intervene--guards from across the street did! And it goes without saying in this neighborhood, the cops didn't show up until everything died down. Yet further examples of how >Lower-East-Siders are being run roughshod by bar operators in collusion with a corrupt Community Board 3 and NYPD Precinct 7, threatening the fragile economic progress made in the previous decade.
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Shame on the >Californians' Governor Jerry Brown for supporting fracking! The devastation it wreaks on the environment is irreparable!
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"Sun"-day delivered! New Yorkers, hurry up and... do everything!
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>Lower-East-Siders applaud the persistent efforts of Ms. Boyd and the LES Dwellers to awaken and galvanize our community. We sense a turning-of-the-corner in LES quality of life thanks to their efforts, and look forward to further progress in 2014!
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Twelve Years a Slave >Americans, do not let this film go down as one of the best pictures never seen. Story, acting, and cinematography are undeniably first class. This film should be seen soon while it is still available on the big screen. It is to >Americans shame that the domestic gross for the Best Picture of 2013 should fall at number 69.
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Well this goat head in Prospect Park is totally disgusting. Come on, New Yorkers! Let's keep it classy-ish!
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Hooray for Lupita Nyong'o! Well-deserved recognition and a heartfelt acceptance.
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Putin's aggression against >Ukrainians continues to undermine his oft-repeated claim that >Russians play by the international rules. Which just validates our own sidestepping of treaty and protocol. All of which concerns us because it may be setting the region up for a destructive confrontation. Hopefully Ukrainians can find a middle ground between Western and Russian alignment.
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'12 Years A Slave' wins Best Picture! The Oscar Academy got it right!
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DJ Cavem is a real OG (Organic Gardener), who is “teachin' HIP HOP history and how to grow gr...
originalWe agree that using music to connect to the youth about environmental responsibility is a great idea. We're interested to know of artists in other musical genres that have this environmental focus. Perhaps the >soundcrowd can enlighten us...
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Good job, kids! Keep it up!
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As >Americans "We love writing, and we love trains, and we love them both together."
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Sorry, Raymond, we don't think that gun is gonna help the Knicks shoot any better.
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Programming languages are not foreign languages, just as mathematics, sheet music, and art are not foreign languages. Specifically, programming languages don't have anywhere near the expressive power of natural languages, nor are they formed by thousands of years of cultural history. Kids need to become computer literate, no question about that. But this shouldn't come at the expense of exposure to foreign cultures. In fact, we need to ensure our kids are getting more exposure to other cultures, as the globe becomes smaller and smaller.
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We must not ignore the >North-Koreans. Nothing on Earth compares to the horrifying scale of inhumanity there, and the extent of oppression and despair that render them incapable of revolution. We must not mistake their inaction for satisfaction with their condition. As free people in the most powerful country on Earth, it is *our* duty to come to their aid. Michael Kirby of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in DPRK, summed up the imperative: "At the end of the second world war, so many people said, 'If only we had known. If only we had known the wrongs that were done...' Well now, the international community does know. There will be no excusing a failure of action." For starters, let's pressure our government to hold the >Chinese accountable for abetting this regime. Let's support NGOs, such as LibertyInNorthKo
rea.org, that help refugees. Let's talk with friends about this, and about our responsibility for the weakest and most abused of our fellow human beings. But let's not ignore the North Korean people. -
We >ENVIRONMENTALISTS aren't the radicals. It is those who try to industrialize everything, who are radically changing life on this planet.
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Plant milkweed; save the monarch. Monarch butterflies have one food source: milkweed. American farmers are destroying milkweed in their rush to plant genetically modified corn and soybeans. First through the use of herbicides that kill all plant life (save the modified corn and soybeans) and second by increased planting of corn and soybeans on acreage that historically grew milkweed. The winter migrations of monarch butterflies used to blanket over 16 acres of forests in western Mexico. This year they were recorded on only 1.7 acres; a 90% decrease. Our elected officials must take the lead in restoring milkweed. One easy to implement recommendation is to plant milkweed on the sides and medians of US roads along the butterflies’ migratory route. In the meantime each of us can act by planting milkweed around our homes and neighborhoods. Seeds are available for the cost of postage (copy/paste URL in your browser) https://www.live
monarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds... The disappearance of the monarch would be an ecological tragedy and we can prevent it. Act now. -
"We are, after all, connected."
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40° + sun = a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
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We're dismayed by Justin Cater's prosecution. It's another example of disproportionate prosecution of online activity in the tradition of Aaron Schwartz as well as online bullies who face no consequences whatsoever. Sure his remarks were crude when taken out of context, but that's not a requirement of the First Amendment. DA's need to familiarize themselves with digital rights and culture to properly calibrate their charges, or we'll be voting them out of office!
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We wholeheartedly support this day of action against NSA surveillance. https://thedaywe
fightback.org makes it very easy to express your dissatisfaction to your Congressional representatives. Only through the legislature can we rollback the laws that permit these egregious government acts! -
It was an impressively beautiful opening ceremony, projecting the high culture and artistry of Russia more than their international power (risked life of 11-year-old notwithstanding). On a stage like this, it's understandable that they presented Soviet-era brutality in very abstract terms. But even in those terms, some of the scenes were very utilitarian, cold and almost unhuman, making them some of the darkest in recent Olympics opening ceremony performances. Overall, fine job, >Russians.
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Ah. More snow. Remember, New Yorkers: "More snow now = less bugs later."
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We are appalled by the numerous killings of dogs being carried out at the behest of the government. It's not like the >Russians found out yesterday that they'd be hosting the Olympics. They've had years to address this problem, and yet they've chosen to be reactive rather than proactive about this ethical issue. Russia has a long way to go before earning the respect of the international community.
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