BANGKOK, Thailand -- Dancing bare-foot while singing Buddhist prayers may seem like an idyllic job, but for Bangkok's shimmering temple dancers it includes incense-choked lungs, dieting, and rare toilet breaks before the music stops on their 40th birthday.

"I feel happy to dance here because I love to dance," Wanpen Mapradit said in Thai during an interview at the glittering Erawan Shrine.

"But even though the salary is good, I would not recommend this job.

"We work every other day, either 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., or 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. The incense smoke from the shrine is strong, and my feet often hurt, but I am used to it, because this is my career.

"I earn 19 baht for each dance. The dance is not longer than three minutes. But my salary depends upon how many dances I do. I average about 1,000 baht a day," Wanpen said.

A woman at a nearby desk issues receipts to devotees who pay for each dance.

Fees are listed on a plastic sign attached to a wall.

The most direct attack on Ohio’s middle class in a generation, SB5, is scheduled to go up for a vote this Tuesday. Families and workers from across the state will be out in force at the Statehouse this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Show our lawmakers we will not be silenced and we will not have our rights taken from us.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011:
Rally at the Statehouse Against SB 5
West Lawn
9am – 2pm
4pm – 6pm

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Rally at the Statehouse Against SB 5!
West Lawn
9am – 2pm
4pm – 6pm

Thursday, March 31, 2011
Rally at the Statehouse Against SB 5!
West Lawn
9am – 2pm
4pm – 6pm


These will be outside events, so please dress accordingly. Consider bringing your own food and water or be prepared to purchase them from local businesses.

I assume that to some, I dare say, to the majority of Western citizens, it must be a relief to see that ‘our’ force for good has not lost its momentum – that humanitarian benevolence which characterizes the self-portrait we paint of our societies as we ponder on our own exceptionalism, our magnanimity.

What would the world do without ‘our’ greatness, without ‘our’ kindness, without ‘our’ Altruism? It is in asking ourselves these kinds of moronic questions, that we carry forth the full force of our dogma – our collective delusion, the lie, which once again has facilitated the dropping of ‘our’ bombs on the citizens of another part of the planet. This time it is happening in Libya, and just as with all other wars of aggression initiated through the barrel of Western guns, the submarines, aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and missiles of all kinds, are only engaged in a ‘humanitarian’ mission.

I Love My Obamacare  website and petition efforts: We have collected over 2,300 signatures of  “ILoveMyObamacare.org”  supporters, including more than 350 gathered at protests at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.  We also collected over 600 signatures at the combined labor and teacher rallies last Wednesday at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing.

  Congressman John Conyers is fully supporting this effort for several reasons.  He explains that our I Love My Obamacare effort is the next step towards gaining Medicare for All, HR 676.  If our opponents are able to repeal Obamacare in the US Senate, we may never see “health care for all” during our lifetime.  Fortunately, our and others’ efforts for Obamacare are gaining more strength, as Conyers states that more and more pro-health reform Congress Members on the floor are speaking about their support for “Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare.”  Also, Conyers appreciates the fact that President Obama was crucial in passing the Affordable Care Act last year, and calling the Act Obamacare is a tribute to his and every ones efforts.   

 

While Ohio public employees' rights to bargain collectively are under siege, the Ohio Republican Party executed a perfect sleight of hand by disenfranchising nearly 900,000 Ohio voters. In the most vicious and direct attack on voting rights since Bull Connor ran amok in the deep South, Ohio House Republicans passed HB 159 that requires Ohio voters to produce one of four state photo IDs at the polls.

The only IDs that will be accepted in Ohio if this bill passes the overwhelming Republican State Senate are a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID, an Ohio driver's license, or an Ohio state ID. This is the most restrictive standard in the nation.

The Republican Party's target is obvious. Studies indicate that 25% of African Americans nationwide do not have a government-issued photo ID, 18% of voters over age 65 do not have a photo ID, and 15% of voters with incomes under $35,000 lack the ID as well. Besides going after blacks, the elderly and the poor, the bill also sets its sights on college students. What do these people have in common? They tend to vote Democratic.