Submitted by Erin and Lucian
I am 24 years-old… and I am one of the very lucky ones. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with skin cancer, and because I was on the truly fortunate ones, I was able to receive medical treatment that I know millions in this country alone cannot afford to have when they’re sick and scared, in pain and in need. On January 4th of this year, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Once again, the fact that I am one of the very luckiest never escapes my mind or my heart. Fortunately, I am still covered under my parents’ health care plan for the next two years. Because of this blessing, I’ve been able to receive treatments, surgeries, and the necessary medications I need to not only survive but to live so that I can fight not only chronic illness but far more nefarious, demoralizing evils like chronic racism, intolerance, greed, corruption, and apathy.
I am a first-generation Palestinian-American, and I will ALWAYS stand with the 99% fighting tirelessly against injustice on all fronts. I stand with my tireless comrades resisting and galvanizing to bring about REAL change! They are my heroes who instill real hope in me and will ultimately change the world. So keep fighting dear comrades!
I believe in hope…
I believe that the blood, tears, patient suffering, and steadfast struggle of the 99% all over the world will stand the test of time and achieve all that is just and moral.
Occupy everything and don’t ever remain silent in the face of injustice anywhere it exists!
I am the 99 percent.
occupywallst.org
“Never doubt that a doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
- Margaret Mead
My wife and I both worked hard in school and went on to earn graduate degrees. Now together we earn over $100K. We own our house and we are raising two wonderful children. We are proud of the success we have earned.
BUT, we recognize that those below us on the income ladder are also working hard or are seeking work.
We recognize that the society we live in needs people who will stock store shelves, clean the floors, drive delivery trucks, operate cash registers, and do many other low paying tasks.
Since these jobs need doing, we recognize that the workers who do them deserve to be able to live lives of dignity – that is, lives that are not blighted by poverty or crippling financial insecurity or lack of health care.
So WE THE PEOPLE must provide a safety net for each other. It is simple decency, not to mention justice.
I am 19 years old. I graduated from high school with almost a straight A average. I was set to go to college to become a literature teacher. My dreams seemed so real at the time. After my mother found out about my religious beliefs I was forced to leave home. I started college in the fall of 2011 wile living with my cousins. I was working as a waitress making $2.14 an hour. The tips that I made were enough to get me back and forth to work in gas. Until my car gave out. I had to scrap it for money. My financial aid at the college ran into a snag that I still do not understand. No one would help me. I was told to “check my account online” that was all the advice they could give me. I had no way back and forth to college anymore. I am now living with my cousins and my aunt with no car, not money, and no school. No one in the house has a job. My cousin has been denied disability after working as a welder for years. He can not even kneel to put his knees on the floor. We live off of food stamps and pawning any valuables that we have. But the valuables are running out. Food stamps can not [ay for Christmas dinner plus food for the rest of the days of the month. My family went 4 days without eating last month because we were determined to have an okay Christmas dinner. I have a job interview at McDonald’s on the 30th where I will be making min wage and getting paid every 2 weeks. My cousins will take me back and forth to work. $20 a day for me in gas. I will be the only one working in a house of 5. I owe the college $800.
I am the 99%….
omfg the dog got one of the barbies and we found this on the floor instead of being upset the seven year old very solemnly picked the mauled ken doll off of the floor and said, “the devil has spoken”
submitted by alexis:
i think i forgot to send this to you. our halloween costumes (flamingo and crab). taken with instagram.
DARPA Launches Program to Industrialize Genetic Engineering
DARPA has launched a program called called “Living Foundries,”designed to apply the conventions of manufacturing to living cells, Wired Danger Room reports.
DARPA has awarded seven research grants worth $15.5 million to six different companies and institutions, including the University of Texas at Austin, Cal Tech, and the J. Craig Venter Institute. “Living Foundries” aspires to streamline genetic engineering for “on-demand production” of whatever bio-product suits the military’s immediate needs, starting with a library of “modular genetic parts.”
The agency wants researchers to come up with a set of “parts, regulators, devices and circuits” that can reliably yield various genetic systems. After that, they’ll also need “test platforms” to quickly evaluate new bio-materials to “compress the biological design-build-test cycle by at least 10X in both time and cost,” while also “increasing the complexity of systems that can be designed and executed.”
What could possibly go wrong?
(via DARPA, Venter launch assembly line for genetic engineering | KurzweilAI)
via joshbyard:
