Buy Indian Gold

Howdy Comrades!

From the dearth of recent posts on my favorite blog, Blind Confidential, I surmise that Chris Hofstadter has skyed off to India on some feckless quest to discover new access technology or that magic algorithm to solve all our AT problems.  Ho, hum.  I’d hoped to remind him to purchase 22k gold Indian jewelry for his spouse Susan, both as a well deserved reward for putting up with his quirky behavior and a tremendous investment.  If you’re listening BC, get thee to a reputable jewelry store and purchase as much 22k gold jewelry as you can afford.  Don’t pay more than ten percent over the spot price.  Tanishq is the largest jeweler retailer in India with

    A chain of stores (around 80 stores) all around the country, from the

    House of TATA. There is a karat meter to test the purity of Gold in

    Most of the Tanishq show rooms where you can do a non-destructive

    purity testing to ensure the gold purity.

 

    There are three Tanishq stores in Bangalore - one in Dickenson Road,

    One in Jayanagar and the third one is in Malleswaram. You can look at

    www.tanishq.in for the address details and the details about the

    Brand / company.  Be safe and live long and prosper.

Regards,

Chairman Mal

Power to the Peeps!

Cap Metro Power Play Part Two

Cap Metro Power Play Part Two

Howdy Comrades!

As predicted in my post last December, Cap Metro officials are apparently seeking to limit the power or intimidate the Access Advisory Committee again.  Under the guise of “determining future strategies for STS,” the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Access Committee have been summoned to a confab with the powers that be at the agency.  Two disabled citizens pitted against at least five Cap Metro officials.  These officials include a rep from the legal department, the Assistant Director of Cap Metro, Director of Para-Transit, and Gina Estrada, Metro Board Liaison and the ubiquitous Nancy Crowther, our so-called ADDA / Accessibility expert and general factotum.  Do I smell just a whiff of a possible gang bang in the works here?  Metro is probably devoting 250 man hours to this rather vaguely defined meeting according to one estimate by an expert source, who happens to be both a gentleman and a statesman.

The question arises, what is Cap Metro really up to by calling this high caliber meeting?  Moreover, if the meeting is so important, why weren’t members of the major consumer group in the blind community, the Austin Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind, invited to attend these important deliberations?  Moreover, if the point of the meeting is to explore the future of the Special Transit Service and accessible transportation in our community, why has Metro lawyered up?  NFB boasts two excellent lawyers as members of our local chapter, and I’m sure we could get one or both of them to attend as well.  After all, that’s only fair, right? 

Well, comrades, I’m not sure if this meeting will actually happen.  Clearly, the disability community here in Austin will not stand for the Access Committee’s role being diminished, and we will continue to speak truth to power; the Cap Metro Board.  If staff thinks this latest gambit will scare our Access Chair, Ms. Judy Watford, they simply don’t know her or her supporters.  Ms. Watford has been speaking truth to political leaders here in Austin since the late 1970’s.  She will not be cowed or shocked and awed into submission.  What’s more, she has the backing of the Access Committee.  Comrades, stay tuned and prepare to man the barricades when called!

Regards,

Chairman Mal

Power to the Peeps!

Cap Metro Power Play Fails

Howdy Comrades!

The newly constituted Access Advisory Committee fought a recent power play by Special Transit officials.  Access members began to get calls from STS users complaining that Metro was forcing them to accept trips at least two hours prior to their appointment times.  In the past, the same trips were provided as late as one hour prior to the appointment.  Consequently, STS users began arriving at their destinations long before buildings even opened.  In one instance, an elderly woman in a wheelchair was required to accept a ride at 5:50 AM in order to get to a medical appointment scheduled at eight o’clock that morning.  The STS vehicle delivered her at her destination at approximately 6:30 AM, and she was unable to enter the building because all doors were locked.  Her medical condition caused her to soil herself about thirty minutes before anyone working at the office arrived to assist her.  A flurry of email between Access members and STS officials ensued.  Metro contended that scheduling was a purely administrative matter totally outside the authority of Access to review, much less approve. 

The blind and disabled communities in Austin were in full revolt, and Access was able to get the “guideline” rescinded.  We can view this as a victory of substance over semantics.  I warn readers, however, that this was just the initial test by Metro of the resolve and effectiveness of the new Access Committee.  Expect Metro staff to have many more tricks up their sleeves.

Regards,

Chairman Mal

Power to the Peeps!

Thanks Getting

My title reflects a perception that Thanksgiving, as well as the Holiday season it presages, has devolved into a capitalist celebration of excess rather than a day to count one’s blessings and express gratitude to our Creator for the gift of sentience.  That doesn’t mean I want to piss in your cheerios or denounce the traditional turkey dinner and family confab.  I just wish we could all focus more on what is really important in life, our ability to think and understand, our potential for becoming more than we are now, and the needs of others.  We do tend to focus too much on sales, stuffing ourselves and carrying on a rather hollow tradition that lacks meaning andprovides calories rather than sustenance.  I am thankful for the small number of readers who take the time to red what I write, and I hope you all have found something to rememger about this holiday.  Peace and long life to each and every one of you.

Regards,

Chairman Mal

Power to the Peeps!

 

 

CAPTCHA Excludes Blind Activists

Howdy Comrades!

Here’s what I wrote to

info@gopetition.com info@gopetition.com

On behalf of blind people who insist on inclusion with respect to the Internet.  I have also posted this message to the Blind Access Journal Discussion Group.  I could be mistaken, but I believe that the so-called “instant petition” offered by Go Petition is associated with Yahoo.  The Blind Access Journal has a CAPTCHA free petition for those of us who are tired of being excluded by Yahoo.  I will have more to say about the corrupt folks running Yahoo in a future post.

Hello Petition Help,

 

I am a blind human rights activist who has been trying to help to  Free human rights activist chen-guangcheng.  Because I use a screen reader to access your petition, I am unable to participate because signing your petition requires entering the characters in your CAPTCHA.  Be advised that screen readers cannot read these CAPTCHA's, excluding an entire class of people who want to help.  Your petition should have

An option to use an audio CAPTCHA or a way to get assistance without the discriminatory use of a CAPTCHA.  Please advise me and other blind activists on

how we can participate effectively with this cause.  Many blind people would be eager to sign a CAPTCHA free petition to help  chen-guangcheng.

Thank you for helping with this important issue.

PS:  For members of the Blind Access Group, here is the link to this petition:

Copy the following code to your site: 

<a href="

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/free-human-rights-activist-chen-guangcheng.

I will apprise readers of the Little Red Book of any response from the Go Petition folks.

Regards,

Chairman Mal

Power to the Peeps!

CAPTCHA Hurts Blind Chinese Activist

Howdy Accessibility Comrades!

I’m so mad I could fight a circle saw, as we say here in Texas.  For quite some time, I’ve been agitating to free a blind activist in China, Chen Guangcheng.  He was imprisoned for exposing forced abortions by local officials in China on trumped up charges of running a criminal gang that damaged government property and delayed traffic.  I’m not kidding.  As you may know, China has a “one child” policy, a policy to discourage families from adding to an already overcrowded population.  While the policy may be good for China, sports heroes, popular entertainers and even some government officials often violate the official policy and suffer no consequences or pay a modest fine.  When ordinary, poor Chinese women violate the policy, local officials resort to persecution, even forcing them to have abortions or sterilizations.  Chen Guangcheng sought to expose this injustice, and he rots in jail for daring to challenge these serious human rights violations.  Recently, a Human Rights organization has started a petition to pressure the National government of China to free Chen Guangcheng.  I applaud their efforts.  What makes me so angry is that there’s a CAPTCHA that one must solve in order to sign the petition.  Consequently blind supporters of Chen Guangcheng can’t help him by signing the petition without sighted help.  I seek your advice on what to do.  Should I attempt to start a separate petition, one that blind people can sign without a CAPTCHA?  Should I ask the International Rights group to change their petition?  This CAPTCHA hurts both Chen Guangcheng and his blind friends around the world.  I have provided a link below to the current petition.  I urge those of you who can manage to do so to sign it.  In the meantime, I will explore other ways to help free Chen Guangcheng.

Regards,

Chairman Mal

Power to the Peeps!