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Guggenheim Productions, Giants in Docs City
While some big hollywood films and productions have come to Washginton, D.C. to shoot big blockbuster fare, the real work has to do with all the docs that come out of here. The capital city should really be called doc’s city because of the sheer number of documentaries that our amazing film community produces. Lots of hard work goes into each of these often films, from pre-production and shooting to editing, transcription and post production. One of the biggest companies in the field, Guggenhiem Productions has been in the biz for more than 50 years and produced over 500 titles.
Their founder Charles Guggenhiem wanted to be known as a storyteller and sought to create a video production company that had the goal of telling powerful stories with a profound effect on the viewer. He’s received are several academy awards for his films including Nine from Little Rock, about integration in Arkansas. He’s also notable for being one of the first to employ documentary style video production on American Political Campaigns. Starting with Robert Kennedy and George McGovern, he revealed the character of the candidates in an affirmative way and let the issues speak for themselves.
Guggenhiem passed away after a battle with cancer 2002 but not before spending the last 6 months of his life finishing the film Berga: Soldiers of Another War.
The film tells the story of his fellow American infantryman who were captured and sent to a Nazi slave labor camp during World War 2. Even when his health was fading, he completed the film overseeing all final aspects including logging, editing, transcription and completed post production. Today his daughter Grace serves as an executive producer for many of the historical documentaries to come out of the company.
One of the amazing things the Guggenheim Productions prides itself on is it’s dedication to history and using the narrative form of documentary to keep it alive for future generations. To that end, they work with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences/Academy Film Archive to preserve critical titles from the holdings. They have also partnered with National Archives to create the Charles Guggenhiem Center for Documentary Film at the National Archives. Not only does the center celebrate the work of Guggenhiem but also honors other documentarians who have made important differences with their work.
Please check out Guggenheim Productions at http://www.gpifilms.com/index.html
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Recently Updated Five Mindfulness Trainings
The trainings have been expanded and adapted to be more appropriate to our time and global situation.Jul 29, 2009
Dear Friends, we invite you to listen to Thay's sharing about the recently updated Five Mindfulness Trainings. Thay shared about this new development near the end of the first Dharma Talk of the Summer Opening on July 8th, 2009 in the Assembly of Stars Meditation Hall in Lower Hamlet of Plum Village.
It is a celebration for Thay and for the Sangha as you will hear. It is an offering to the Three Jewels and all our ancestors. Please listen to it and read it with an open heart and open mind. Remember that all teachings are only guiding means and should change and evolve with the times and conditions.
May the insights and fruits of our practice of the trainings bring us more lightness and freedom - freedom from our suffering, from our wrong perceptions, and from our ideas about right and wrong.
Here are the trainings:
The Five Mindfulness Trainings (updated 07.08.09)
Sisters and brothers in the community, this is the moment when we enjoy reciting the Five Mindfulness Trainings together. The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and global ethic. They are a concrete expression of the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the path of right understanding and true love, leading to healing, transformation and happiness for ourselves and for the world. To practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings is to cultivate the insight of interbeing, or Right View, which can remove all the afflictions of discrimination, intolerance, anger, fear, and despair. If we live according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we are already on the path of a bodhisattva. Knowing we are on that path, we are not lost in confusion about our life in the present or in fears about the future.
Reverence For Life
Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and our Earth. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination and non-attachment to views, in order to transform violence, fanaticism and dogmatism in myself and in the world.
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and reverse the process of global warming.
Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness which are the four basic elements of true love, for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully in the future.
Loving Speech and Deep Listening
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize my anger and look deeply into its roots, especially in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.
Nourishment and Healing
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into my consumption of the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.
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Tuesday 06. of November 2012
The biomass sector is considered to be a significant contributor to climate change mitigation. However, recently, a controversial debate has been taking place regarding the carbon savings of biomass associated with a concept of...
Monday 09. of July 2012
Newsletter July 2012
Monday 04. of June 2012
A number of FP7 calls for proposals relevant to renewable heating and cooling technologies are planned to be published on 10 July 2012:
FP7-ENERGY-2013-1: general call focusing on research with a long-term...
Friday 18. of May 2012
EUROGIA+, the EUREKA low-carbon energy technology cluster seeks collaborative, low-carbon energy related research and development projects.
Next cut-off date for project submission is 25 May, 2012. Projects submitted by...
Wednesday 16. of May 2012
Renewable Heating and Cooling technologies took centre stage as their real potential was explored during the 1st Renewable Heating and Cooling Week in the European Parliament (14-16 May 2012).
The event week,...
Displaying results 16 to 20 out of 62
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Elk Mound Seed Co in Wisconsin signed contracts to buy roughly 20 percent more corn seed from the 2012 harvest than it did in 2011, in hopes of avoiding a crunch.
However, the increased acres under contract were offset by yields that missed expectations by about 20 to 25 percent, owner Mike Zutter said.
"We're really glad we did contract for more, because now we're not going to get to get the fills" on all of the orders, he said.
"I'm not going to holler wolf," he said. "There'll be seed out there. Is it tight? Yes."
Stine Seed Co, which says it is the largest independent U.S. seed company, planted more acres in the United States and contracted to import almost 20 percent more corn seed from South America this year.
The company decided to increase its imports "considering what we went through the year before" with tight supplies, said Myron Stine, vice president of sales.
"We'll still be short on particular hybrids," he said.
Companies were more or less vulnerable to crop damage depending on where their seed was produced.
Stine Seed produces about two-thirds of its seed in central Iowa, where yields were down but still generally "good," Stine said. Some fields in Illinois, where southern areas were devastated, produced "nothing," he said.
If "you're going to Indiana, Iowa," Stine said, "the drought is just not as severe."
Pioneer, one of the world's largest seed companies, grows seed across the Corn Belt, from Nebraska to Indiana, with the large geographic area designed to mitigate events like the drought that devastated crops in certain regions and not others.
The company increased its plans to import seed from South America during the summer as the severity of the U.S. drought came into focus.
However, its "actual reliance on imports has actually tended to dwindle" because U.S. yields were not as bad as expected, said Dan Case, supply planning manager.
"Certainly this was one of the most challenging production years I've seen," he said, declining to detail the U.S. yields. "We've been really pleasantly surprised with the yields."
Corn grown for seed is a smaller subset of production. Companies produce it on their own land or sign contracts to buy it from farmers.
Corn grown for seed often suffers severe damage from poor weather because it is produced from a genetically pure line that has not been bred with multiple traits to combat adverse conditions. By contrast, corn grown for grain is hardier because it is a hybrid of the best qualities of pure varieties.
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Credit unions are not-for-profit cooperative financial institutions that are owned by their members, and run by volunteer board members.
Credit unions often offer to their members better rates on loans and savings than do commercial banks, due to credit unions' unique operation. While banks must make profits for their shareholders, credit unions exist only to serve their members... You!
More than 2.7 million Ohioans (about 20 percent of the state's population) belong to credit unions through associations with their employers, communities, churches, or occupations.
What is the
Ohio Credit Union League?
The Ohio Credit Union League does not offer financial services to the public.
The Ohio Credit Union League supports the state's credit unions with operational and regulatory information, training opportunities, legislative representation, and public relations, among other duties. The League also plans and hosts an annual credit union convention each spring.
The League and its affiliates employ more than 30 people at its offices in Dublin, Ohio, (a suburb of Columbus) with more employees working from external sites around the state. The League's phone number is 800/486-2917 (toll-free) or 614/336-2894 in Central Ohio.
The League is the primary association of The Ohio Credit Union System, which includes three other affiliates:
The Ohio Credit Union League is a state trade association whose mission is to foster the success of credit unions, and the credit union philosophy, in Ohio.
Ohio Credit Union League
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WASHINGTON -- The upcoming automatic federal budget cuts would mean a big hit to energy development, as well as to Americas national parks, according to the Interior Department, which says oil and gas leasing would be slowed and popular parks would see reduced hours and fewer services.
But theres skepticism and suggestions that the Obama administration is playing politics with its projections, exaggerating the potential harm to get Congress to postpone the cuts or, if the reductions happen, to blame Republicans for the outcomes.
There are $85 billion in across-the-board federal spending cuts scheduled to start taking effect March 1 unless President Barack Obama and Congress can agree on some other solution to curb the federal budget deficit.
Outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar told the Senate Appropriations Committee recently that development of oil, gas and coal on federal lands and waters would slow down if the across-the-board cuts, known as sequestration, happen. He said his department would have to reduce the programs that issue oil and gas permits, plan for new projects, do environmental reviews and inspect operations.
That means some 300 fewer oil and gas leases would be issued in Western states, while Gulf of Mexico exploration plans would be put at risk and oil permitting would be slowed in Alaska, Salazar said.
Massachusetts Rep. Edward Markey, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, took up the call this week and declared the cuts the biggest threat to new drilling right now.
He said the Interior Department faced an 8.2 percent budget cut and might see layoffs among those federal workers who oversee drilling.
Republicans say they want to drill, baby, drill, Markey said in an analysis released by his office.
Yet by letting the sequestration go forward, Republicans in Congress will put the brakes on oil and gas development on public lands in America and reduce our ability to protect against another offshore drilling disaster.
David Kreutzer, an energy specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation research center, said Markey was no champion of oil drilling and that politics were at work. Kreutzer said he wasnt surprised that the interior secretary was linking the cuts to the oil and gas drilling that Republicans enthusiastically advocated.
It is pretty much standard practice for agencies to highlight the cuts most dear to those who have the power to stay the cuts, Kreutzer said.
Among Salazars first acts as interior secretary in 2009 was canceling 77 oil and gas exploration leases on federal lands in Utah, Kreutzer said. So its not hard to imagine him using the sequestration as a reason to further restrict access to our oil and gas reserves regardless of how significant the budget pressure actually may be.
Salazar said national parks also would get hit. A National Park Service memo shows more than $1 million apiece in cuts to Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks, and the budgets of many other parks reduced by more than $600,000 this year.
Congress might just as well put a big Keep Out! sign at the entrance to Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, the Cape Cod seashore and every other iconic national park in the U.S., Joan Anzelmo, a spokeswoman for the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees, said in an email.
The retirees group sent a statement to the news media this week saying the impacts would include a delay in spring road openings at Yellowstone, Yosemite and other national parks. Visitors centers and campgrounds at other parks would close. The group said thered be delays in access to the rim of the Grand Canyon and less emergency response for drivers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park, among other reductions around the country. The group said its information came from unnamed sources inside and outside the agency.
The National Park Service wouldnt release or even confirm details of the reductions, saying its still planning how it would deal with what an agency memo described as a 5 percent cut for each park.
The information from the retirees group shouldnt be considered final, Alaska National Park Service spokeswoman Rebecca Talbott said. But the potential consequence in Alaskas Denali National Park is delayed plowing operations on the spring road, she said, which would hurt businesses that cater to park visitors.
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'Tuesday's election outcomes dealing with public schools should serve as a directive for more work and commitment to our public schools. É
'We offer the following strategies to provide immediate and long-term solutions for Oregon's public education system.
• 'Continue the public and general dialogue about the value of public schooling. It isn't enough for this discussion to be among school supporters and critics. Quality, properly funded, effective public schools are a value for all Oregonians and businesses.
• 'Accelerate efforts to restart the state's economy by focusing on local, regional and statewide strategies and results. Many efforts are under way. Most are moving at less than warp speed, and Oregon's economy still is stumbling and unemployment increasing. Minus a stronger economy, the state's dependence upon income tax will mean even more budget reductions next year.
• 'Complete legislative and administrative reforms of PERS (the Public Employees Retirement System) by July 1, or we will mortgage many more public programs and educational services.
• 'Continue to employ spending oversight and reductions in school programs that don't have a direct focus on providing a balanced quality education for all students. É
• 'End the rhetoric about what will happen if this measure fails or that measure passes. Focus on what Oregonians value in education, what they will pay and go deliver on that. Such a focus could dial down overstated comments on both sides of an issue.
'Tuesday night it was tax-opponent Don McIntire's turn to talk too much and say too little. He suggested that passage of the Multnomah County income tax for schools would prompt a 'mass exodus' of residents and businesses from Multnomah County. 'Some will get out as fast as they can, and others are stuck.' '
Ñ From an editorial published in the May 22 edition of the Beaverton Valley Times
'Important public purposes sometimes warrant involuntary sacrifices. Taxes may be levied to build sewers or fire stations. Property may be taken by eminent domain for a railroad or tunnel. Government even has the power to force citizens to fight in an army during times of war.
'In Northwest Portland, the community and city are considering a comprehensive parking program that cannot happen without government action. It involves metering on-street parking throughout most of the district, rewriting city codes to allow large commercial parking structures in residential zones and raising millions of dollars to finance these garages.
'What vital societal need justifies these measures? Best I can tell, it's all about saving well-heeled recreational shoppers from having to walk more than two blocks.'
Ñ From a column in the May edition of the Northwest Examiner newspaper, opposing public parking facilities that have been proposed for Northwest Portland
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A letter from the U.S. Justice Department to Alabama's Superintendent of Education is warning that the state's immigration law has 'diminished access to and quality of education for many of Alabama's Hispanic children,' according to a story on CNN.com.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez said in the letter to superintendent Thomas Bice that the state's immigration law has had "lasting" and possibly illegal consequences for Hispanic school children, the story said.
"(The law has) diminished access to and quality of education for many of Alabama's Hispanic children, resulted in missed school days, chilled or prevented the participation of parents in their children's education, and transformed the climates of some schools into less safe and welcoming spaces for Hispanic children," according to the letter from the head of the federal department's Civil Rights Division.
The legislation, known as HB 56, has several provisions, including one requiring police who make lawful traffic stops or arrests to try to determine the immigration status of anyone they suspect might be in the country illegally.
There was no immediate comment Thursday night from the state about Perez's letter.
For the full story, see CNN.com.
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Shiblon was persecuted for righteousness’ sake—Salvation is in Christ, who is the life and the light of the world—Bridle all your passions. About 74 B.C.
1 My ason, give ear to my words, for I say unto you, even as I said unto Helaman, that binasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be ccut off from his dpresence.
2 And now, my son, I trust that I shall have great joy in you, because of your asteadiness and your faithfulness unto God; for as you have commenced in your youth to look to the Lord your God, even so I hope that you will continue in keeping his commandments; for blessed is he that bendureth to the end.
3 I say unto you, my son, that I have had great joy in thee already, because of thy faithfulness and thy diligence, and thy patience and thy long-suffering among the people of the aZoramites.
4 For I know that thou wast in bonds; yea, and I also know that thou wast stoned for the word’s sake; and thou didst bear all these things with apatience because the Lord was bwith thee; and now thou knowest that the Lord did deliver thee.
5 And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your atrust in God even so much ye shall be bdelivered out of your trials, and your ctroubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
6 Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been aborn of God I should not have known these things.
7 But behold, the Lord in his great mercy sent his aangel to declare unto me that I must stop the work of bdestruction among his people; yea, and I have seen an angel face to face, and he spake with me, and his voice was as thunder, and it shook the whole earth.
8 And it came to pass that I was athree days and three nights in the most bitter bpain and canguish of soul; and never, until I did cry out unto the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy, did I receive a dremission of my sins. But behold, I did cry unto him and I did find peace to my soul.
9 And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is ano other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the blight of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and crighteousness.
10 And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and atemperate in all things.
11 See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not aboast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.
13 Do not apray as the Zoramites do, for ye have seen that they pray to be heard of men, and to be praised for their wisdom.
14 Do not say: O God, I thank thee that we are abetter than our brethren; but rather say: O Lord, forgive my bunworthiness, and remember my brethren in mercy—yea, acknowledge your unworthiness before God at all times.
15 And may the Lord bless your soul, and receive you at the last day into his kingdom, to sit down in peace. Now go, my son, and teach the word unto this people. Be asober. My son, farewell.
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(CNET) -- Killing legislation that would enable the government to shut down websites accused of piracy was a top priority for many technology trade groups Wednesday.
Last week, a Senate committee stunned the tech sector by announcing it would try to fast-track a bill designed to grant the U.S. Department of Justice wide authority to combat illegal file sharing and counterfeiting.
The bill, which was introduced in the Senate Judiciary Committee and backed by the committee's chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), could go to a vote in the Senate as early as tomorrow.
Critics say the proposed legislation, known as the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, is nothing more than censorship and would heap the copyright-protection problems on companies that shouldn't bear the burden.
"Legislation like this goes through, we start to break the Internet," said Ed Black, CEO of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA). "Nobody is arguing that copyright infringement doesn't exist. But Lady Gaga isn't going to go broke tomorrow. We should be trying to solve the copyright issue in as an unobtrusive and thoughtful way as possible and not creating anti-First Amendment laws."
Supporters of the bill, including members of both major political parties, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AFL-CIO, and most of the major entertainment industry trade groups, say online piracy is helping to shrink the U.S. economy.
Some U.S. intellectual property is now a commodity because pirates all over the world make it available for free, say many copyright owners. Backers of the legislation say that the government needs better tools to combat such sites, especially abroad.
Under the proposed legislation, the Justice Department would file a civil action against accused pirate domain names. If the domain name resides in the U.S., the attorney general could then request a court to find that the domain name in question is dedicated to infringing activities.
The DOJ would have the authority to serve the accused site's U.S.-based registrar with an order to shut down the site.
Perhaps most important to copyright owners, the DOJ would also have the power to prevent U.S. citizens from accessing accused sites based overseas by ordering Internet service providers to black out those sites. The government could order Google or Visa to cease doing business with the alleged pirate sites.
The tech sector is fighting a pitched PR battle. Yesterday, 89 engineers who played a large role in the development of the Internet wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee and said Leahy's bill threatens the Web, innovation, and the domain-name structure itself.
"This bill isn't ready for prime time and most certainly not ready for passage," Black said. "It hasn't had any hearings and very limited testimony, which raises the question about why are we trying to ram this thing through on the last day of this session? What is it about this law that can't stand the light of day?"
Content owners seethe whenever they hear someone tell them they are being too hasty. They say that since Napster made it hip to share pirated film and music files online, their industries have seen revenues plummet.
"No one has been harder hit by rogue foreign Web sites that unabashedly steal our content and give it away for free than the music community," said Jonathan Lamy, spokesman for the Recording Industry Association of America.
"These illegal enterprises undermine our economy and contribute to thousands of hard-working Americans losing their jobs. The answer from these self-styled public interest groups can't always be 'no.' Congressional and administration leaders have made it clear that doing nothing is no longer an option."
That bill's chances of passing before lawmakers depart Capitol Hill to campaign for the November elections appears doubtful. A version of the bill hasn't yet been introduced in the House of Representatives. Regardless, the bill will almost certainly be taken up again once Congress returns following the elections.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. CNET, CNET.com and the CNET logo are registered trademarks of CBS Interactive Inc. Used by permission.
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Bartholomew wrote:If I have processed ham or other meat on a sandwich I can take one bite and think I am eating a skin sandwich, so put it in the bin.Black pudding is pig's blood and something I couldn't eat and apparently sausages in England are full of minced up eyes and testicles and all the other things you really wouldn't want to eat.
I think living in the cities is a big part of the problem. When I look at the above post from Bartholomew, I find that a very interesting and poignant statement. Thing's you wouldn't want to eat? Only we in our overfed western countries would look at it like that. The reality is much harsher, look at Uganda:
She points to a brittle, old, dried goat-skin hanging inside her hut. It's crawling with insects. She brings it down and bangs it, throwing dust into sunbeams coming through gaps in the roof. She takes a knife and slices off small chunks. The children's dulled eyes light up a bit. Expectantly, they gather around like a scene out of Oliver Twist. Ms Echak hands out slices of raw skin. They grab them, chewing frantically and wolfing them down - fur and all.
For my grandparents, who had one pig each year to feed a family of 7, anything was edible as long as you could chew it. What was not immediately consumed was ground up and went into sausages to be eaten later, and there was no part of the animal that was thrown away (bones maybe). My great-grandmother's cookbook is full of recipes for heart, lungs, kidney, liver, brains, thymus and other internal organs from an animal. For us of today, the only edible part of an animal seems to be the lean muscles, and even that comes with health warning for red meat. While I am not keen on chewing gristle in its original form, I have no problem eating it when it has been nicely minced and seasoned, so sausages are fine. But you cannot even buy half the parts of an animal at the butcher's any more, since there is no market for it. Go and try to buy pig trotters, you will probably have to order them in advance.
In today's world, we are too detached from the harsh realities, be that of food shortage or how animals are treated during the life on the farm and when their life ends. It is that which makes us indifferent to what is going on in battery farms, and enables the atrocities that are going on. Don't believe for a moment I am blind to that. I find it very interesting though to see a woman complain after the BBC series "Where our food comes from" about the horrible images and insist we buy meat in the supermarket "where no animals are hurt". This woman has lost all touch with reality, but she is not the only one.
So rather than stopping to buy meat and living off plants entirely, I rather try and get to buy meat that was properly reared and killed, and hopefully, we can restore proper living conditions for those animals. For me, the discussion is less about eating meat and more about he question of how we want farming to be in the future. With our population rising, and land not being extendable, we will have that discussion soon anyway. If you have a look at the government report on food shortage:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12249909
We might soon have to decide whether we feed animals or humans. Like it or not, we might all be going vegan soon. In the meantime, I enjoy my lamb korma.
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At the Rochester Police Department, Chief Jim Sheppard's team assembled for the department's first Twitter Town Hall.
"It's funny you say the word count and language, we are learning how to be hip," said Chief Jim Sheppard.
The public came with the questions, the chief with the answers.
It's a new age for police departments to reach out to the community.
Rochester Police got the idea from success at other police departments across the country.
"It's a tool that one I am unfamiliar with and I wanted to take advantage of it," said Chief Sheppard.
Followers asked questions of children safety and the city's shot spotter system.
"social media is the future and so many of our young adults use that to communicate we see this as an opportunity to not just reach one constituency but any number of constuencies," said Chief Sheppard.
Rochester Police are using Twitter now but they hope to grow this and add more social media down the road, including Facebook.
Rochester Police know tweets and facebook won't immediately solve crimes but the hope is to get communication flowing between them and what's happening outside.
"Hopefully it will become a staple in how we communicate with the Rochester community," said Chief Shepppard.
To participate in the another Twitter Town Hall with RPD, you can log on to twiiter between 3 to 4pm every Tuesday in January.
Just tweet @RochesterNYPD using #rpdchief
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The world-renowned Brief Therapy Center was founded in 1966 by Dr. Richard Fisch.
One of its initial members, John Weakland, Ch.E. remembers how it started: "Dick was doing therapy in his office and Paul (Watzlawick) was also excited about the possibility of getting together in a more formal way to do what we were doing anyway: talking about our difficult cases and seeing if we could look at them in a different way. We were concerned at the time that the 'new' Family Therapy was developing into long-term way of helping people and we were saying to each other that we were going to end up doing the same thing as the psychoanalysts were. We actually did not want to make therapy longer; we wanted to get things done". This is probably where the name of 'brief therapy' came from: the world saw this approach as short-term, brief, more so than what it really is, which is a different way of solving problem. Nowadays a description that better fits it is: problem solving brief therapy.
In 1974, members of the Center published their first major work introducing such a rationale, Change, Principles of Problem Formation and Problem Resolution, Watzlawick, Weakland, Fisch. This was followed by a companion work in 1982, The Tactics of Change - Doing Therapy Briefly, Fisch, Weakland, Segal. More recently, in 1999 the Center published Brief Therapy with Intimidating Cases by Richard Fisch and Karin Schlanger
Thousands of professionals in the behavioral sciences in almost every area of the globe have been participants in our workshops, training programs and formal presentations. Through these programs as well as its publications, MRI has achieved unique national and international prestige.
Never satisfied with past accomplishments, The Center is hoping to continue its work adapting its systematic and brief approach to schizophrenia and problem drinking, as well as non-clinical problems, in particular, the application of systems-oriented problem-solving strategies to business organizations. Another area of interest that has been developed in the last 14 years is the application of the problem-solving brief therapy to the Spanish-speaking community, through the Latino Brief Therapy and Training Center.
For inquiries and appointments, call (650) 321-3055.
or email Karin at firstname.lastname@example.org
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Bioheart (OTC: BHRT; Twitter: $BHRT) seeks to be the "go to technology partner for heart failure specialists and their patients".
The company's flagship product MyoCell is an adult muscle stem cell composition, also known as immature myoblasts, derived and processed from patient's own thigh muscle. These cells are delivered to a patient's heart via the MyoCath needle tipped catheter or a similar device which is inserted through the patient's groin and is directed to the inside myocellof the heart where the injections are made.
MyoCell has been in clinical trials for treating advanced heart failure patients since early 2001. A 2nd generation composition MyoCell SDF-1 received FDA approval for clinical trials. This composition is made up of genetically modified cells that over express the stromal derived factor 1 protein that has been shown to improve blood vessel formation and muscle development.
Bioheart. has also initiated clinical evaluation of methods of treating heart ischemia, acute myocardial infarctions and lower limb ischemia utilizing adipose (fat) derived cells. Bioheart is focused on heart failure and has a building pipeline of product developments to assist care providers in treating and caring for these patients.
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Fall is by far my favorite season. When I was a kid, my brother and I used to help my dad rake leaves in the fall. We'd pile them high in the back yard, not far from the hedge between our house and the neighbor's house. When we were just about finished raking and just about to set a match to them, we'd look in time to see a tan streak, shooting through the bottom of the hedge. Rudy, the neighbor's boxer, was waiting for this moment. He'd tear into the yard, run round and around and around the pile of leaves, and suddenly take this enormous leap, landing in the middle of the pile. He'd come out grinning, and then take off and do it again. We'd stand there and laugh each and every time he flew into the air and landed in the pile. He loved it, and so did we!
The meals of fall always smell good, too. I love walking inside and smelling something bubbling on the stove or in the oven. It says "home" and "comfort" to me. When I lived in New Mexico, a pot of food on the stove and a pile of wood out back were the equivalent of money in the bank. We didn't cook much with tomatillos when I lived there. I don't know why. But I've discovered their delicious greenness here in San Diego. They taste slightly tart, and add such a wonderful counterpoint to meat and potatoes.
I looked at Wikipedia to learn something about tomatillos. Here's what it said:
The tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa or Physalis philadelphica) is a plant of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, bearing small, spherical and green or green-purple fruit of the same name. The tomatillo fruit is surrounded by a paper-like husk formed from the calyx. As the fruit matures, it fills the husk and can split it open by harvest. The husk turns brown, and the fruit can be any of a number of colors when ripe, including yellow, red, green, or even purple. Tomatillos are the key ingredient in fresh and cooked Latin American green sauces. The freshness and greenness of the husk is a quality criterion. Fruit should be firm and bright green, as the green colour and tart flavour are the main culinary contributions of the fruit.
I find it amazing that herbs are so incredibly versatile. Oregano, which is used in this recipe, is an herb I grew up associating with Italian food. But it's versatility is astonishing. One minute it's Italian, the next it's Greek or New Mexican! What I love most about it, other than it's flavor, is it's meaning: "Delight in the mountain". Don't you just love that?
I found this recipe in the October Food And Wine magazine. Of course, I've tinkered with it, but I'll give it to you as it's written first, and then tell you what I've done to it.
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into 3-inch chunks
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 large celery ribs, finely diced
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 Anaheim chile, seeded and finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons mild chile powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 1 cup 1/2-inch-diced carrots
- Two 6-ounce russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
- One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 pound tomatillos—husked, rinsed and cut into 1-inch dice
- Hot sauce
- Chopped cilantro, for garnish
- Corn tortilla chips, for serving
- In a medium casserole or Dutch oven, heat the oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper and cook over high heat until browned on 2 sides, about 2 minutes per side. Add the celery and onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the diced chile, garlic, chile powder, cumin and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, potatoes, tomatoes and tomatillos, cover and simmer over low heat until the pork is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- Transfer the pork to a plate and shred with two forks. Meanwhile, simmer the stew over moderate heat until thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir the shredded pork into the stew and season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Ladle the stew into bowls, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with a few tortilla chips.
MAKE AHEAD The stew can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat gently.
Notes: I added string beans to my stew. Also, I didn't use Anaheim chilis - they have no heat. I used my green chili from Hatch, New Mexico. The best! When you use good chilies, you don't need to bother with chili powder or hot sauce. Also I left the pork as cubes instead of shredding it, as I find that more satisfying. And I didn't bother with the cilantro or the tortilla chips.
I'm entering this post in Kalyn's Kitchen Two Year Anniversary of Weekend Herb Blogging. Can you believe it's been 2 years since she started this event? Congratulations, Kalyn!Mission Valley Acupuncture.
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Computer Graphics Memory Disk Space Minimum: 386/20sx VGA 570K min 22MB min/4MB+2MB(XMS) Control: Keyboard, Microsoft compatible mouse recommended Sound: Adlib, Adlib Gold, Soundblaster, SB Pro, Roland Notes: It is best to work from a boot disk as this game is memory intensive. Unlike previous Sierra boot disk programs, you will need to customize it yourself to fit your own system. Reviewed Version: 1.00. Game reviewed on 486 DX2 66, 16 MB ram, ATI Ultra VGA plus, Logitech mouse, NEC 3 FGx monitor, PAS 16 Sound Blaster compatible card, MS DOS 6.0 Reviewer recommends: 486 25 Mhz VGA system, Soundblaster or SB compatible card, and Smartdrive with 512K buffer.
Being such an avid fan of games dealing with space exploration and discoveries such as STARFLIGHT and STAR CONTROL II, I was eager to install and play this game. Since ALIEN LEGACY was designed by Joe Ybrra, the creator of STARFLIGHT and YSERBIUS, I knew that it had to be of certain good quality. I was not disappointed. Despite only being able to explore a single star system, the mechanics and story line of the game can provide countless hours of fun and excitement. Although the replayability is limited, one game play is enough to satisfy even the hard core gamer.
You begin the game in orbiting Gaea, one of the more pleasant planets in the solar system. Finding habitable planets is not a prime requisite as you have the materials to build self sufficient colonies any world but colonizing habitable worlds will provide certain clues and/or needed materials not found on other planets.
The game is a combination of Sim City and Starflight. You must build facilities to house your people as well as constructing factories, power plants, research stations, etc in order for your colony to grow and expand. To be fully self-sufficient, your production of materials must exceed your consumption. Since each building/construction requires certain raw materials, you must carefully balance your resources and allow enough reserves to meet emergencies. For example, your power plant provides a certain number of power points for use but only if it has the minimum amount of people, robots, life support etc. to keep it in operation. If at any point, this minimum requirement is not met, the plant shuts down and cannot provide power. Hence, you should not expand too fast in the early stages of the game as you only have a certain amount of resources to spend. Eventually, as you explore other worlds, you can establish a supply line linking resource rich worlds with resource poor worlds. As time progresses and your technology improves, you can upgrade or enhance all your facilities. Although this will increase your consumption of raw materials, the production output is also increased.
The ability also to construct space stations is a big asset and should not be overlooked even though it is expensive to maintain. Space stations can provide certain information not available anywhere else. Without giving away too much, just be advised that a player should expand as much as possible and avoid putting all the eggs in one basket so to speak. Save the game often and always be prepared for emergencies.
For those who have played STARFLIGHT, this game will bring back old memories. The methods of exploring planets is quite similar to that game with a few exceptions. Unlike STARFLIGHT, the game is played in real time and the planets actually move in an orbital path around Beta Caeli. Hence, there is no turn sequence. Another difference is that you explore sectors instead of the entire planet. As some planets may have more sectors than others due to their size, exploring one planet may take a while. The rest of the exploration game then is very similar to STARFLIGHT. While your main ship, Calypso, can be used for exploration, the main workhorse of your fleet are the shuttles.
The shuttles are very important for both exploration and defense. They are equipped with lasers as well as a cargo hold for supplies. With the exception of the Calypso, the shuttles have a very limited amount of fuel. Hence, they can be left stranded if you are not careful but they can be used for interplanetary travel. As your technology base expands, you can equip your shuttles with equipment which will make your exploration tasks easier.
The Calypso bridge crew, composed of an Engineer, Scientist, Military Advisor, Navigator, and a Robot, are always available and can provide some very helpful advice from time to time. Of course, you will need to determine if the advice is worth pursuing.
Although the graphics are not up to par with that of OUTPOST by Sierra, the VGA graphics are more than adequate for this game. Actually the graphics reminded me somewhat of DUNE and DUNE II by Virgin Games especially with respects to the bridge personnel and building graphics and I was very happy with the results.
For those who like an intriguing mystery and a knack for managing cities, this game is for you. It has enough elements to keep you busy for countless number of hours. The game is very easy to get started and after a few sessions of learning how to go about creating a self sustaining colony, the rest will fall into place. As always in all Sierra games, be sure to save often. You never know what will happen next.
Of course with every good side to a game there will always be bad sides. One of the most glaring problems is that the computer will not prompt you to let you know that some colonies are in trouble. You will have to micro- manage everything to make sure that all your colonies are producing. Stalled factories or other installations will remain unproductive until you do something about it. Hence, once you get multiple colonies underway, you will have to go back and forth making sure that each one is producing. This can get quite tiresome as there are other things which may require your immediate attention.
It would have nice to have some sort of computer control for the colonies to operate on automatic. The computer would regulate the resource production and consumption. So if a colony was running low on robots, for example, it would allocate priority production for robots in the factories.
Another problem is not being able to destroy your own ships. As stated earlier, your smaller ships have limited fuel so they can easily be stranded in space. I had about 10 ships which I couldn't get refueled and they took up space in the inventory screen. Also there are certain times where you will need to destroy some ships.
Although I have not encountered any horrendous bugs, there is one which needs to be addressed. It has to do with the option of abandoning colony sites. The game states that you must withdraw all personnel and equipment from the site before it can be dismantled. However, some sites keep producing people even though there are no more habitats and therefore the base cannot be abandoned. As with shuttles with no fuel, the colony sites take up space in the inventory screen.
Overall, the good aspects of this game far outweigh the bad. As with most Sierra games, the music is quite engaging as certain sequences come into play and the background music is low enough not to be a distraction or annoying.
While there are many paths to a satisfactory conclusion, you will lose the game automatically if the Calypso is destroyed or if certain requirements are not met as the game progresses.
The Sierra Tech Support people have been very responsive and very helpful in acknowledging the minor complaints that I had with this game. Since I believe there may be a sequel, a patch or revision may be out soon.
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CountyFair had an important and much-needed lesson in journalistic ethics for us this morning. The key points:
First: it should never, ever be considered acceptable to quote a candidate or official making a false claim without noting its falsity. Reporters do this all the time, justifying it by saying they’re just presenting both sides, or that they aren’t making the false claim, they’re just reporting it, or saying they corrected three other false claims in the article. That is not sufficient: if a journalist includes a false or misleading claim in their news report — in any form — without indicating that is false, they are actively helping to spread misinformation.
Second: the way in which news reports debunk misinformation matters a great deal. If Candidate A lies about Candidate B, for example, the fact that Candidate A is lying should be the lede – otherwise the news report just drills the false claim into readers’ and viewers’ minds, allowing the misinformation to take hold before it is corrected. As I wrote in my column on Friday, the news media too often privileges lies rather than punishing them.
To put it simply, we need a press that, when it hears a public figure lying, understands that the story isn’t the substance of the lie, which therefore needs repeating; it’s that a public figure is lying. And it’s okay to use these words. When a public figure says something that is patently false, and that he or she knows or ought to know, as a matter of basic competence, then it is okay to report what happened: Candidate A lied this morning. That is not opinion – it is a statement of fact.
So I second MediaMatters (and the Shankar Vedantam piece they’re riffing on) here. I’d also like to broaden the discussion a bit in order to provide some context for the appropriate use of terms like “negative ad,” “go/went negative” and “attack ad.” I heard one of the network nitwits this morning talking about another round of “attack ads” – a lede that reinforces the message that the candidates are campaigning “negatively.” This approaching to packaging the story pretends that the claims of the ads are irrelevent. If Candidate A indicts Candidate B for lying, and Candidate B shoots back with an ad that lies about Candidate A some more, a reporter (or morning show host pretending to be a reporter) who frames these events as an exchange of negative ads has not only failed to accurately report the story, he or she has in fact added to the lie.
All “negative” ads are not alike, and I’d be grateful if someone would explain the difference to the collected asshaberdashery at NBC “News.” Let’s illustrate with a couple examples:
- Congressman Bob has been using his office to conduct all manner of graft and fraud for 20 years and a recent investigation has brought it all to light. His challenger, Assemblywoman Jane, runs an ad pointing all this out and saying that it’s time to run the criminals out of the statehouse.
- Congressman Bob runs an ad accusing Assemblywoman Jane of being a communist millionaire crook who blows lobbyists under her desk. All of these assertions are either demonstrably false or at the very least based on little more than Bob’s imagination.
NBC leads its morning show with a story about mudslinging in the campaign and repeats the substance of the charges in the story without making clear that one ad is truthful while the other is bad creative writing. In doing so, they have certainly provided “balance,” but they have also done to the truth what the guys in that shop did to Marsellus Wallace in Pulp Fiction. They not only fail to bring truth to the audience, their malfeasance helps the audience internalize an outright lie.
It’s reached the point where as soon as I hear the term “negative campaigning,” or any iteration thereof, I immediately assume that I’m about to be lied to. If the source is one I know to usually be credible, I figure they simply haven’t thought about how they’ve bought into this corrosive, corruption-enabling canard, which must originally have been fabricated on the same hellish meme-forge that gave us “Japan-bashing” and “flip-flopping.”
If I hear it from a member of the mainstream press or someone who gets their information about the world from those corporatist sources, I assume either stupidity, intentional dishonesty or a measure of both.
Regardless of the source or intent, however, this kind of uncritical, half-educated rage for the faux-ethics of “balance” and “fairness” is doing very real damage to our society. Given the central role played by Big Media in our politics, then, the first step in holding our leaders to a higher standard is to demand that the press hold itself to some kind of standard – and really, just about any kind of standard would be an improvement.
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You do not lose Class, Race, Level, or Curses when you die. The other characters get to loot your body when you die, each getting one card from your revealed hand or the cards you had in play, starting with the highest level character. The remaining cards (non-Class/Race/Curse) are discarded.
The rules have a section labeled Death that clearly explains the consequences (page 3).
Death - If you die, you lose all your stuff. You keep your Class(es), Race(s), and Level (and any Curses that were affecting you when you died) – your new character will look just like your old one. If you have Half-Breed or Super Munchkin, keep those as well.
Looting The Body: Lay out your hand beside the cards you had in play. Starting with the one with the highest Level, each other player chooses one card . . . in case of ties in level, roll a die. If your corpse runs out of cards, tough. After everyone gets one card, the rest are discarded.
Dead characters cannot receive cards for any reason, not even Charity, and cannot level up. Your new character appears when the next player begins his turn, and can help others in combat . . . but you have no cards. On your next turn, start by drawing four cards from each deck, face-down, and playing any legal Race, Class, or Item cards you want to, just as when you started the game. Then take your turn normally.
The FAQ reiterates much of the same information.
Q. Exactly when do you die, and how long do you stay dead?
A. You die when you get Bad Stuff that says you're dead. (A very few other cards can cause Death as well.) If you were fleeing from other monsters, you are excused from their Bad Stuff, because you're dead. While you are dead, you cannot receive cards for any reason, and you cannot level up. You STAY dead only until the next person's turn starts. Your new character appears at that point and may join normally in the combat, though you will get no new cards until someone gives you charity, you get cards as payment for helping in a combat, or your next turn starts. Fortunately, death is temporary . . .
Q. What happens when you die? Do Curses that persist go away?
A. There are a number of Curses that persist, like Tiny Hands, Big Feet, Sex Change, Chicken On Your Head, and so on. Most of these Curses can only be gotten rid of with a Wishing Ring or perhaps some luck. If a Curse persists, its effects transcend death. Remember, your new character looks like the last one. So, if your sex was changed, you are still your new sex (but you very likely died because of combat, so that pesky -5 is gone), you still have Big Feet or Tiny Hands, and if you didn't have Headgear on when you died, that stinking Chicken is going to roost on the head of your new character. Sucks to be cursed, but, well, you knew that . . .
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CONSUMERS, LIKE FINICKY CHILDREN, often require some coaxing to try new foods. Demo stations, free coupons or similar intercepts are the primary tools retailers have traditionally used to break consumers from their routine purchase behaviors.
That pattern is quickly changing as shoppers arrive at their favorite supermarket with greater concern for, and interest in, the foods and beverages they buy for themselves and their families. Consumers have become smarter and more proactive in seeking out products that satisfy specific needs, whether it's health or convenience. As a result, the need to tempt and lure shoppers into trying new foods is evolving into a more up-front approach emphasizing the facts and benefits of each product.
Organics -- and by extension, all natural foods -- have been among the biggest beneficiaries of this trend. Slowly, but surely, organics continue to enjoy double-digit growth in almost all categories. Once-cautious retailers are more openly embracing an expanding array of options as consumers express more interest.
"Our approach has been conservative because that's how our customers behave. We've kind of let them lead us," said Dale Instefjord, general manager, Blue Goose Supermarket, St. Charles, Ill. "We'll add items as we go along and see how they do. What's made us successful in this area is our persistence. Too often, managers will give up too early in the process."
Under the fresh umbrella, nothing has promoted consumer trial in organic foods quite like fresh produce or dairy. These two departments have consistently garnered the highest percentage of sales among all classes of organic users. Retailers and industry observers pointed to several reasons for this, though there was universal agreement that these fresh categories are closest to nature, and most closely align themselves with the organic image.
"Produce and dairy are the categories that are most sensitive to consumer concerns like pesticides or growth hormones," noted Catherine DiMatteo, president of the Organic Trade Association, Greenfield, Mass. "Health and safety are the No. 1 consumer concerns regarding food, and these specific concerns get mentioned most frequently when people talk about organic foods."
Paulette Thompson, health and wellness manager for Stop & Shop Supermarket Cos., Quincy, Mass., agreed, saying that perishables are the most obvious starting point for organic-minded consumers.
"Produce and dairy are not as processed as other foods, and are closer to nature, which is what people associate organic with," she said. "So, if they're thinking about eating organic or exploring it, they're going to turn to those products they think are closer to the farm."
Building an organic selection within produce and dairy has been a slow but consistent process. Once-small sections have grown in size and profile -- even if they are still limited to top-selling commodities like fluid milk or lettuce. Bill Brophy, vice president of produce for Stop & Shop/Giant of Landover, said that produce in particular is a logical choice to make an organic statement due to its in-store position.
"The first thing customers see is a big, wide expanse of produce, and first impressions are strong impressions," he said. "So, we've taken a strong stance [with organics] because we've seen a lot more interest in supermarkets helping customers and their families stay healthy."
At Stop & Shop, organic produce has enjoyed double-digit, year-on-year sales increases for the past three years. The point has been reached where the retailer's goal is to offer organics in every major commodity.
"It's a little bit of a challenge to have a 52-week [organic] offering in all major commodities because everything is seasonal and growers move around," Brophy added.
Supply problems exist in the dairy aisle as well, where there are spot shortages of organic milk. More farmers are transitioning to organic production, but it's a process that takes three years. The out-of-stocks are in part due to a simple increase in demand; skyrocketing conventional milk prices are also to blame, according to some.
"Over the past 14 months or so, conventional prices have been relatively high, so the difference between conventional and organic milk prices have been narrowed, and this makes it easier for consumers to make a decision," observed Jerry Dryer, president of JDG Consulting, Chicago. "They don't have to pay as high a premium now for choosing organic."
The closing of this price gap has helped spur purchases at Stop & Shop/Giant, particularly for the retailer's Nature's Promise private-label line, said Thompson.
"In dairy, there really hasn't been a narrowing in price, but it's because conventional milk prices have gone up," she said. "So, it's not because organic has gone down, it's because conventional has gone up."
Most organic dairy products are still branded, though private label is making strong inroads here. Thompson said fluid dairy has been the bestseller in the entire Nature's Promise line, which includes all-natural and organic products in multiple departments and was rolled out last autumn.
"We're in a pretty competitive market right now," echoed Instefjord at Blue Goose. "I'm getting the margin I'd like to on organic, but I'm not getting it on regular milk."
Blue Goose currently sources its organic milk from Horizon Organic Dairy. There are four stockkeeping units in total, all in half-gallon gables: whole white, low-fat chocolate, 2% and skim.
Horizon also supplies Buehler's Fresher Foods, Wooster, Ohio, where 1% and 2% half-gallon gable cartons can be found, according to Mary McMillen, director of consumer affairs for the 11-store operator.
"The stores where we have colleges, or where our clientele is younger and more affluent, are those that have the largest percentage of business in organics," she said.
The stores in those communities have seen the organic dairy section grow, on average, from a four-foot shelf to an eight-foot section. While fluid dairy sells the most, organic soy milks and organic yogurt are the fastest-growing categories, McMillen added.
Simple consumer interest can only propel growth so far, say industry observers. There are other factors at work. For example, all the retailers contacted by WH said their organic produce and dairy products were integrated within their larger umbrella categories. They noted that not only does this present a better scenario for promoting trial purchases, it becomes a convenience issue when the shopper returns to buy again.
"I think that as consumers go through a store and become acquainted with organic products that are adjacent to their conventional counterparts, those with an interest in organic are able to make comparisons and then, a decision whether to buy," said Cynthia Tice, a partner in The Tice-Genuardi Group, a Cherry Hill, N.J., consulting firm devoted to naturals and organics. "The fact that the gateway categories are produce and dairy really speak to the efficiency of merchandising in an integrated fashion."
Tice said integration came to these categories more by necessity than by design. Produce needed specific handling and merchandising, while dairy required refrigeration. The result of this "happy mistake" has been the consumer's increasing level of comfort in considering making an organic purchase. Stop&Shop/Giant's Brophy said integration is the rule at his chain.
"It allows customers to make a comparison. When you put an organic item next to a conventional item you can compare the look, the feel, the smell and the retail," he said. "Another advantage is that integration can help satisfy different logistical needs -- the wet produce can be on the wet rack, the cold produce can be cold, and produce that doesn't need temperature control can be on tables."
Blue Goose Supermarket integrates its eight feet of organic produce on two shelves of the wet rack, which runs a total of 60 feet. Instefjord, the general manager, said integration may encourage comparison shopping on several levels -- not all of them good.
"Quite frankly, the appearance of organic isn't always as nice as conventional; the flavor isn't always as good; and the prices can be higher," he said. "You really have to be wanting it for a reason."
He estimates that organic produce typically runs at a premium of 20% to 25% over conventional items, but the gap is closing as more suppliers come online. Still, it's not always an impulse buy.
"People who are buying organics are pretty well-educated and have done some homework," he said.
The length of time both produce and dairy have been integrated stretches far beyond other departments, such as center store, and retailers are searching for ways to keep interest growing at the current rate. Right now, growth is focused on new converts to organic foods and new organic products arriving in stores.
"All of the data I've seen shows organic dairy continues to increase very steadily," said JDG Consulting's Dryer. "For the past four or five years, it has increased roughly 20% a year, and I just saw the figures for '04, and it's 20% again. Dairy alone is doing roughly what the total organic category is doing."
DiMatteo at the OTA said that as organic produce and dairy mature, the number of organic versions of conventional items reaches parity, so that there eventually is a mirrored department where everything conventional has an organic counterpart.
Suppliers are helping to balance the categories. At Stop & Shop/Giant, Brophy said grower/shippers are expanding their product portfolios to include organic varieties of conventional products.
"We've encouraged our incumbent shippers to grow organic as well," he said. "These are our partners that we've had for a long time, whereas 10 years ago it was mostly niche players that didn't have the same economies of scale and logistics that our major suppliers offer us."
Industry observers note that as long as there is room for growth, there won't be any intra-category competition between organic and conventional products. Certainly, price will play a key role in how the question plays out. Tice, the consultant, warned that retailers need to consider competitive pricing.
"There are still retailers out there who view this all as a specialty category," she said. "The more retailers understand that these are developing into commodity items, they'll realize that they need to have more reasonable margin expectations and be competitive with the retailers who are really immersed in these categories."
Instefjord said this is why Blue Goose has taken a slow-but-sure approach to incorporating organics, even in thriving categories like produce and dairy.
"You can't try it once and give up because the trend keeps growing and it will just grow around you," he said "That can't happen -- we are supposed to be market leaders in this in yhis kind of stuff.
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CRAB ORCHARD — Lincoln residents hoping to beat the heat with a visit to the beach on Cedar Creek Lake will now have to find somewhere else to cool off.
While the beach has been closed and swimming prohibited for years, the closure has not been enforced and the small sandy shore near U.S. 150 is regularly visited by many people.
But beginning a few days ago, state Fish and Wildlife officials began enforcing the closure, telling beach-goers the beach is closed.
John Williams with Fish and Wildlife said several recent incidents involving law enforcement at the beach and lake caused the crackdown.
Trash has been an issue at the beach, and there have also been problems with the location being used as a "party spot," Williams said.
"People use it as an ash tray for their cigarettes," he said.
Lincoln County Judge-Executive Jim Adams said a recent incident where an infant got water in its lungs and stopped breathing was one problem at the beach that drew the attention of Fish and Wildlife.
Adams said when the beach was initially constructed many years ago, the county failed to understand the costs that would be required to keep the beach maintained and open.
County leaders at the time thought they "could develop a beach with just sand, more or less," Adams said.
Fish and Wildlife, which owns the entirety of the lake including a 300-foot buffer zone from the high-water mark, leased the beach area to the county, but soon after the sand was put in, the Department of Health and Human Services shut the beach down due to a lack of restrooms, lifeguards and other requirements.
The signs prohibiting use of of the beach haven't stopped people from using it — more than a dozen people were swimming in the lake, floating on noodles and sitting on the beach Friday afternoon around 3 p.m.
Now things have reached a point where enforcement is necessary, Adams said.
"It's getting to be a real danger out there," he said. "It's gotten to be a pretty nasty place from what I've been told."
Adams said Lincoln Fiscal Court will hold a special called meeting 9 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the beach and he expects the court will vote against spending any money to fix it up.
In order to open the beach, the county would have to cover the costs of installing and maintaining bathrooms and a permanent phone, hiring lifeguards, roping off areas and "all kinds of equipment," he said.
"We just don't have it in our budget," he added.
Williams said it's possible the space could be made into a fishing spot in the future.
For now, Fish and Wildlife officers will be warning anyone at the beach that the beach is closed.
There will be a public notification campaign, and once Fish and Wildlife feels the public has been adequately notified, officers will begin enforcing the closure with penalties, Williams said.
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Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin appears to have forgotten there was an election in November. This is quite amazing given he was the candidate for vice president on the losing Republican side.
But last week Rep. Ryan, chairman of the House budget committee, rolled out his latest budget proposal, which differed little in substance from his past budget proposals and ignored the results of an election in which matters of spending and taxing took center stage.
Voters re-elected the Democrat, President Obama, who when running pledged to implement the Affordable Care Act and take a balanced approach to reducing deficit spending through a combination of spending cuts and tax reforms that would force the wealthier and corporations to shoulder a bigger share.
Yet here was Rep. Ryan presenting a spending package that included a repeal of the health care act, a budget that called for slashing the top tax rate from 39.6 percent to 25 percent, and cutting $4.6 trillion from spending over 10 years. The proposal is full of speculation, fudgy numbers and flawed logic about job creation. In reality cuts this severe are unwarranted and would cost jobs and drag down the economy.
Some of the ideas are as scary as they were before the election. Turn Medicaid and food stamp programs into block grants for the states, while reducing the federal funds to pay for them and removing safeguards to assure states don't withhold their share. Once again Rep. Ryan brings out his proposal to change Medicare from a guaranteed entitlement to a voucher system. Didn't voters teach him anything?
Meanwhile the Democrat-controlled Senate works on its own budget proposal - and the leadership there deserves equal condemnation for their repeated failures to produce a spending plan. But given where Rep. Ryan and the House are starting, it is hard to imagine where there is a middle to meet at.
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I love a good movie as much as anyone - but have you noticed the influence of film and television on the style of the books you've read lately? How about the book you're writing?
Chances are it's something you wouldn't normally think twice of. But it's time we rescue one of the most powerful tools available to book writers from being buried under film technique.
Read the latest article from the Fiction Writing site at BellaOnline.com:
How film and television influence writing
For many authors today, film and television make up just as much of their exposure to stories and plots as books do and the techniques of audio-visual story-telling are rubbing off on the written form. Sadly, the tools being lost are far more powerful than the techniques borrowed from film.
Please visit fictionwriting.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Fiction Writing.
To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Fiction Writing located here -
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Elsa Neal, Fiction Writing & Creativity Editor
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Indiscriminate Attacks by Opposition, Government, and African Union Forces Devastate Mogadishu
(New York) - The Islamist armed group al-Shabaab is subjecting inhabitants of southern Somalia to killings, cruel punishments, and repressive social control, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), and African Union (AU) forces in the war-torn capital, Mogadishu, continue to conduct indiscriminate attacks, killing and wounding numerous civilians.
The 62-page report, "Harsh War, Harsh Peace: Abuses by al-Shabaab, the Transitional Federal Government, and AMISOM in Somalia," finds that al-Shabaab forces have brought greater stability to many areas in southern Somalia, but at a high cost for the local population - especially women. Based on over 70 interviews with victims and witnesses, the report describes harsh punishments including amputations and floggings, which are meted out regularly and without due process. People accused of being traitors or government sympathizers - often on flimsy pretexts - face execution or assassination. Al-Shabaab fighters had threatened some of those interviewed with death simply because they lived in government-controlled areas of Mogadishu.
"While al-Shabaab has brought stability to some areas long plagued by violence, it has used unrelenting repression and brutality," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The population under al-Shabaab's control is paying a very steep price."
Key international actors have often played a counterproductive role in the crisis and have played down abuses by AU troops deployed to Mogadishu to protect Somalia's weak transitional government, Human Rights Watch said.
Many local al-Shabaab authorities devote extraordinary energy to policing the personal lives of women and preventing any mingling of the sexes. Several women told Human Rights Watch that they had been beaten, flogged, or jailed for selling tea to support their families because the work brought them into contact with men. In other cases, women were beaten for failing to wear the precise type of abaya - a bulky head-to-toe garment - prescribed by local edicts. Women often fail to wear the abaya not out of defiance but because their families simply cannot afford them.
"He was raising his hand back and counting, ‘One, two, three, four, five .... '" one woman told Human Rights Watch, describing the beating she got when she ran out of her house after her toddler without an abaya. "It felt so painful that if I had a gun I would have killed that man."
Al-Shabaab has subjected young men and boys to abuses that include forced military recruitment and strict social control. Human Rights Watch interviewed one young man who saw his uncle murdered by al-Shabaab fighters because he refused to reveal the whereabouts of another nephew, a 15-year-old, who had deserted their ranks after being wounded in combat. Beatings or public humiliations are commonly meted out to men for a broad range of offenses such as failing to go to mosque, having long hair, or wearing clothes that al-Shabaab considers Western.
"Alongside abuses in al-Shabaab-controlled areas, all sides are responsible for laws-of-war violations that continue unabated in Mogadishu," Gagnon said. "Many Somalis confront indiscriminate warfare, terrifying patterns of repression, and brutal acts of targeted violence on a daily basis."
In Mogadishu, the transitional government and the 5,300-member African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) are squared off against a powerful opposition dominated by al-Shabaab.
Opposition fighters regularly fire mortar rounds indiscriminately into populated neighborhoods controlled by the transitional government. They frequently fire from residential areas in apparent hope of attracting retaliatory attacks that will damage the image of the transitional government and AU forces. All too often these forces oblige, responding to indiscriminate attacks in kind. AU forces have fired mortar shells into densely populated areas without taking precautions to discriminate between civilians and military targets. Human Rights Watch interviewed people on both sides of the lines who witnessed family members being torn to pieces in such attacks, which violate the laws of war.
Al-Shabaab and other opposition fighters threaten and kill civilians they see as sympathetic to the transitional government. Al-Shabaab has also carried out devastating suicide attacks against civilians, including one at a university graduation ceremony in Mogadishu that killed at least 22 people in December 2009.
The intervention of outside powers in Somalia has often proved counterproductive to restoring security. The strong backing for the transitional government by the US, the EU, the AU, and the UN Political Office for Somalia has led these actors to quickly condemn serious abuses by al-Shabaab, but effectively turn a blind eye to abuses by transitional government and AU forces. The US government has sent mortars to transitional government forces in Mogadishu even though no party to the fighting has used the weapons in accordance with the laws of war.
Neighboring Kenya has under false pretenses helped recruit Somali youths from refugee camps to be fighters, contravening the humanitarian status of the camps. Eritrea, in an effort to undermine the regional interests of its political foe, Ethiopia, has helped al-Shabaab procure weapons. Human Rights Watch urgently calls on foreign actors to re-evaluate their policies toward Somalia and help end the impunity that fuels the worst abuses.
"There is no easy, obvious way to solve the crisis in Somalia," Gagnon said. "But outside powers should address abuses by all sides instead of ignoring those committed by their allies."
Somalia has been plagued by armed conflict since the collapse of its last functioning government in 1991. But the situation dramatically worsened in late 2006, when Ethiopian military forces intervened to smash a coalition of Sharia (Islamic law) courts that had taken control of Mogadishu.
The resulting conflict pitted Ethiopian forces and their transitional government allies against an array of insurgent groups, including al-Shabaab, who sprang up to fight them. The fighting devastated Mogadishu, drove hundreds of thousands of Somalis from their homes, and spawned a massive humanitarian crisis that continues to worsen. Ethiopian forces withdrew by the beginning of 2009, but the violence continues unabated.
Quotes from Victims and Witnesses Interviewed in "Harsh War, Harsh Peace":
"My husband was then asked, 'Are you going to take the 10 lashes normally prescribed for women who are supposed to wear the abaya?' He refused, and they said, 'Okay, then your wife will take it.' A young man gave me 10 lashes with the whip. He beat me so much that I felt heat and pain throughout my body. He was raising his hand back and counting, 'One, two, three, four, five .... ' It felt so painful that if I had a gun I would have killed that man."
- Woman from Mogadishu who had been chasing after her toddler who had wandered from her house to the street, and was arrested by al-Shabaab fighters for failing to don her abaya.
"If they find you without [an abaya], they will beat and flog you. This happened to me two months ago. I was standing in front of my compound. When I saw them with whips and guns, I rushed back inside. But a man chased me and whipped me three times. He used a stick from a marer [a berry tree]. He said, 'Why are you not wearing a hijab?' I said, 'I cannot afford it.' He said, 'That is not possible; get into your house.' So you either have to have it or stay in your house, hungry."
- Woman from a farm near the town of Jilib, north of Kismayo.
"One day when I came home from duksi [Quranic school] I found our house had been hit by a [mortar shell]. The house was pulverized. My mother and father were killed. I think my four brothers were killed as well - I saw pieces of their hands and legs near the part of the house that we used for resting. I am in such shock, I barely know who I am."
- 14-year-old boy whose family in Mogadishu was wiped out by a mortar strike in September 2009.
"They [al-Shabaab] use mortars. They sit at a specific place and launch one, five, or even ten mortar rounds. Then they pack and go immediately. We have no way to complain to them [and tell them to stop]. Even if you look at them, you can be killed. Now a counterattack comes, without discrimination. One day some of my relatives were buried in their house after a mortar hit a nearby house - three people died there. My house was blocked by the rubble of that house. We had to dig them out."
- Former resident of an opposition-controlled neighborhood of Mogadishu.
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Last year (2012), your MBA implemented selective advertising on the MBA web site. In a way, it was sort of an experiment. We were not sure if there would be any interest in this service; not only from potential beekeepers placing the ads, but more importantly from the general public looking at the ads.
The results from 2012 are in and we thought we would share them with you.
First, a bit of background
Advertising on the MBA web site takes one of three forms: classifieds, interactive locator maps and display ads. The classifieds are basically listings like you see in the back of newspapers and journals. These are short blurbs advertising goods and services that would be generally focussed on the beekeeping community, but with some general public orientation (eg., honey for sale). All classified ads are previewed for relevancy.
The interactive maps are focused on the general public looking for honey and swarm removal services which beekeepers can provide. On these maps, visitors can zoom in on their area and find local beekeepers. The honey locator map is restricted to MBA members who want to sell their honey to the public. The honey locator map connects beekeepers and the public who are interested in finding a source of locally produced honey.
The swarm removal maps are presented in two flavors: one for swarm removal and the other for building cutouts. The reason for this two-map approach is that removing swarms from buildings (cutouts) is typically a specialized service often with significant associated fees. Many beekeepers will remove a swarm from a tree limb or bush; a much smaller number are willing to tackle a cutout.
The display ads are generally oriented to companies that provide goods and services to the beekeeping community. Like in a magazine, the display ads are prominently displayed on the web site’s pages.
In the calendar year 2012, MBA revenues from advertising was $1,535.
How did the ads themselves perform? Here are the stats from 2012. We’ll first give you the raw numbers and then give you our spin on the numbers.
90,313: the number of web site pages that were visited in 2012.
247: the average number of daily page loads in 2012
On each page of the web site, space is reserved to show one of the display ads in a random rotation fashion. This means that the ads have an equal opportunity for viewing. In 2012, we had five display ads: four were paid and one was a display ad by MBA promoting the service. Given that, each display ad had a bit over 18,000 “views” in 2012, or around 49 displays per day. We might point out that the visitors to the MBA web site are, by a vast majority, beekeepers. So these display ads were viewed by a highly “targeted” audience.
12,065: the number of page requests for the “For Sale – Show Ad” page.
8,794: the numer of page requests for the “For Sale – Browse Categories” page.
1,112: the number of page requests for the top performing classified ad (Don Lam advertising packaged bees)
719: the number of page reqquest for the second best perfoming classified ad (Tim Bennet advertising packaged bees)
We were really quite surprised by the number of “page requestes” (the number of times web site visitors click on a link to a specific page) for the classified ads. On average, about 1000 visitors per month, or 33 per day, looked at the classified ads. When visitors “browse the classified ad categories”, they can select the group of ads for a specific topic (for example, bees for sale). Around 732 visitors per month browsed the ad categories.
3,865: the number of page requests for the Honey Locator map
74: the weekly average number of page requests for the Honey Locator map
3,241: the number of page requests for the Swarm Removal maps (both)
62: the weekly average number of page requests for the Swarm Removal maps (both)
Of the three interactive maps, the “honey locator” map was the most popular, though not by much. This map was viewed over 3,800 times in 2012, or 322 per month or around 10 times per day. The number of comments received by the MBA web site administrator backs this up; we received more comments from the public looking for sources of local honey and hive products than any other single topic.
Over 3,200 people looked at the swarm removal maps, or 270 per month or just under 9 per day on average. Comments from beekeepers received by the MBA were very positive; many were amazed at how many calls they received as a direct result of their map marker. Interestingly, the majority of comments and inquiries received by the MBA from the public (non-beekeepers) were for building cutouts. We conclude that there is significant opportunity in this area for enterprising beekeepers.
So there you have it. Impressive numbers, we think. If you want to get on board, go to the respective pages on the MBA web site, read the policies statement and place your ad.
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Concerns Voiced on Maine Gay Marriage Wording
PORTLAND, Maine - The proposed wording of a ballot question asking Maine voters if they want to legalize same-sex marriage is inaccurate and misleading, gay marriage supporters said Wednesday.
Maine’s secretary of state announced last week that the proposed wording for the November referendum reads, ’’Do you want to allow same-sex couples to marry?’’
The question should also include wording about how clergy, churches, and other religious institutions will not be required to perform or host same-sex marriages if Maine voters approve the measure, said Matt McTighe, campaign manager for Mainers United for Marriage, a coalition in support of the proposal.
The wording, he said, should reflect the title of the proposed law, which reads, ’’An Act To Allow Marriage Licenses for Same-Sex Couples and Protect Religious Freedom.’’
’’The one-part question proposed by the secretary of state falls short, is inaccurate, and would create an opportunity for distortion and confusion by voters in November,’’ McTighe said at a press conference.
Opposition groups disagree. Protect Marriage Maine, a political action committee that opposes the referendum, is pleased with the simplicity of the question, said Carroll Conley Jr., executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine and a member of the PAC.
Conley said he would prefer that the ballot question asked whether Mainers favor ’’changing the existing law to redefine marriage,’’ but he said it is misleading to include wording about religious exemptions.
Under current law, clergy and churches are not required to perform marriages for whatever reason, he said. The proposed law will not protect town officials, florists, photographers, caterers, and others who refuse to participate in a same-sex marriage, he said.
’’Someone may say this protects religious rights and not realize how restrictive it is,’’ Conley said. ’’But it doesn’t refer to all the other ramifications. That’s why we think it’s best to not have it in there at all.’’
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For those who believe the U.S. economy is in decline, I have one response for you: Come visit the Port of Baltimore. If you visit the Port, you will see first-hand that it is doing landmark business, a strong indication that our overall economy is on the upswing. Last year there was such a dramatic increase in the amount of imports and exports flowing through the Port that it saw the greatest increase of growth of any major port in the country.
We in Maryland are fortunate that the Port of Baltimore is so well positioned for the future. Earlier this year, construction was completed on a new 50-foot deep container berth at the Port’s Seagirt Marine Terminal. In June, the Port welcomed four supersized container cranes that can load and unload cargo for some of the largest ships in the world, and, in 2015, the expansion of the Panama Canal will be completed allowing bigger ships from Asia to transit to East Coast ports. Baltimore will be only one of a few ports on the East Coast that will be able to handle these larger vessels.
Today, the Port of Baltimore is ranked number one among 360 U.S. ports for handling farm and construction machinery, autos, light trucks, imported forest products, imported sugar, imported iron ore and gypsum. It ranks second in the nation for exported coal, imported salt and imported aluminum.
The Port handles the largest export tonnage of autos and trucks in the nation, which is a reflection of the stronger U.S. auto market. In 2009, I was a strong supporter of President Obama’s effort to save the domestic auto industry. Our investment of $25 billion in loans has been fully repaid and the domestic auto industry is now back on its feet. The increased volume of cars and light trucks going through the Port of Baltimore today is due in part to the decision we made to invest in the U.S. auto industry in early 2009.
All this trade translates into jobs—jobs for Marylanders. Currently, the Port of Baltimore generates about 14,630 direct jobs and another 108,000 jobs are linked to Port activities. The Port is responsible for approximately $3 billion in personal wages a year.
While our nation has gone through the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression, the Port’s booming business is strong evidence of the growing strength of our nation’s manufacturing base and the resilience of our economy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that 120,000 new factory jobs were created in 2011 and the United States continues to manufacture more than any other country in the world.
Another plus for the Port of Baltimore is the growing cruise industry. In 2011, more than 250,000 people sailed on more than 100 cruises out of Baltimore. Nearly all of these cruises sailed at 100 percent of capacity. All signs indicate that 2012 will be another record year for the cruise industry in Baltimore. The total economic value of the cruise industry to Maryland is about $90 million, supporting approximately 200 direct jobs.
The Port of Baltimore is an economic engine for our state and a bell weather for our nation’s economic health. A visit to the Port of Baltimore will convince most people that we are well on our way to an economic recovery.
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Gay and happy
The Delhi High Court has passed a landmark ruling decriminalizing gay sex between consenting adults.
July 2, 2009 2:48 by Aarti Nagraj
Indian websites and blogs are filled with people gushing about the Delhi High Court’s decision to legalize gay sex. The court said that an existing law prohibiting homosexuality was discriminatory and therefore a violation of fundamental rights under the constitution, reports AFP.
“It cannot be forgotten that discrimination is the antithesis of equality and that it is the recognition of equality which will foster dignity of every individual,” the bench said.
Under the previous law, people found guilty could be fined and sentenced to a maximum 10-year jail sentence.
Although the Delhi High Court’s ruling does not apply to the whole of India, activists claim that it’s a great first step. Writers and supporters say that this is “historic moment” for India, and that it will hopefully set a precedent for other countries to follow.
Do you think this is a good decision? Do you support it? Do you think courts in the Arab world will ever make such rulings?
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The Open Group’s long awaited guidance on Cloud is now published!
Cloud Computing is the major evolution today in computing. It describes how the internet has enabled organizations to access computing resources as a commodity and when needed – in much the same way as households access household utilities.
For Enterprises with complex and expensive IT systems, the idea of paying on demand for someone else to provide IT services is attractive. This authoritative guide is specifically designed for business managers to understand the benefits that can be achieved; including
Improved timeliness and agility
Control and reduction of costs
Decreased exposure to risk
Demonstration of compliance
Improved quality of support
Improved business continuity resource
The authoritative title, published by the globally respected Open Group, gives Managers reliable and independent guidance that will help to support decisions and actions in this key operational area.
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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A family on Long Island won’t have to worry about college tuition for their son. The boy has just won a coveted national award for innovation and invention.
Sandy Hyman told CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan that without winning this award there is no way that the family would have been able to afford their son Paul’s $37,000-a-year tuition at Clarkson University.
“Quite honestly, without this, he would not have been able to go. It’s not to be described, it’s kind of a fairytale,” she said.
Paul Hyman, a local volunteer firefighter, said he plans to run his fire-safety product company at Clarkson’s Business “Incubator” while he studies for his undergraduate degree.
“They are going to be giving me an office, and access to rapid prototyping labs, and a lot of incredible resources,” he said.
Paul Hyman developed his invention after becoming disoriented inside of smoke and flames while on the job. His solution was to create miniaturized infrared cameras that could be inserted into the masks of firefighters, to help them move in similar conditions.
Another one of Hyman’s inventions detects lint inside of vents and lint traps and shuts off dryers before they catch on fire.
“As soon as it detects smoldering, it uses carbon dioxide to flush the whole system and put the fire out,” he said.
Experts are enthusiastic about Hyman’s work.
“I’m very interested in the products he’s been inventing, and will be selling. Absolutely great,” said Thomas McDonough, a former fire chief at Atlantic Hook and Ladder Company 1.
In exchange for mentoring and guidance, Hyman said he plans to give his college a 10-percent equity share of his business.
Several companies in the Midwest are already interested in Hyman’s products.
do you have an idea for an invention? Let us hear about it in our comments section below…
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Fed Has Giant, and Opaque, Role in Financial Crisis Aid
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wall Street analysts, congressional overseers and the media have parsed every detail of the Treasury Department's financial rescue program -- $250 billion and counting.
Largely outside public view, however, the Federal Reserve is lending far more than that amount -- $893 billion, roughly the equivalent of the annual economic output of Mexico -- to help a wide range of institutions weather the economic storm.
As of last week, the Fed's loans included $507 billion to banks, $50 billion to investment firms, $70 billion for money market mutual funds, and $266 billion to companies that use a form of short-term debt called commercial paper. It is considering a new program that would make billions more available to prop up consumer lending: auto loans, credit cards and the like.
In lending these vast sums, the Fed is essentially substituting its own unlimited ability to supply cash for that of private markets, which are not functioning normally. The central bank is even fulfilling some of the original goals of the Treasury Department's $700 billion rescue program by allowing financial institutions to use securities that are difficult to sell as collateral for loans.
"The existing system of lending is broken," said David Shulman, a senior economist at the UCLA Anderson Forecast, which analyzes economic trends. "The Fed is coming in to do that lending. That's why they call it the lender of last resort."
But unlike the Treasury's rescue package, which has elaborate disclosure requirements and oversight mechanisms, the Fed lending is occurring quietly and at the discretion of its five governors, as well as top officials of the 12 regional Fed banks. Timothy F. Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the Obama administration's expected nominee for Treasury secretary, has been a leading architect of the new lending programs.
Following a long-standing practice designed to protect investor and depositor confidence in the institutions it deals with, the Fed refuses to name the banks and other companies accessing the cash. It has also declined to specify which assets institutions have pledged as collateral in exchange for loans, a decision that has drawn skeptical questioning from Capitol Hill and at least one lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. Fed officials argue that any disclosure along those lines would create a stigma for banks and others that need to borrow from the Fed, making the programs less effective at jump-starting lending.
"There's a concern that if the name is put in the newspaper that such and such bank came to the Fed to borrow overnight for a good reason, that people might begin to worry: Is this bank credit-worthy?" Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke told Congress last week. "And that might create a stigma, a problem, and might cause banks to be unwilling to borrow."
Bernanke also said there is little chance taxpayers will lose money on most of that lending, because the central bank lends money only to institutions it views as sound and requires that the collateral borrowers put up be worth more than the amount of the loan.
Outside experts generally agree that Bernanke has been prudent in his decision-making, but they note that Fed lending to support the purchase of Bear Stearns and the government takeover of American International Group entails greater risk than the central bank usually takes on.
The expansion in Fed lending has come in the form of numerous new programs to inject cash into the financial system, attempts to combat a crisis in which banks and other firms are hoarding it. To enact those steps, the Fed has increased the size of its balance sheet and replaced the ultra-safe U.S. government bonds it normally keeps on its books with loans to banks and others.
A year ago, the central bank had assets of $868 billion, of which about 90 percent was in Treasuries. Last week, it had assets of $2.2 trillion on its books, of which 22 percent was in Treasuries. Much of the remainder represents the new lending to banks and other financial institutions. Even the weekly report that summarizes the Fed's financial position has grown -- to eight pages from four pages a year ago.
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[The communities in the Siria Valley, gravely affected by Goldcorp's San Martin mine in Honduras, would argue with Canadian Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the Americas, Peter Kent, who stated to CBC that "Canadians should be proud of Goldcorp..." Photo: Siria Valley Environmental Committee.]
IN RESPONSE TO MR. PETER KENT:
CANADA’S INCREASINGLY COMPLICIT ROLE IN HONDURAS
Day 36 of Honduran Coup Resistance, August 2, 2009
On July 29, The Current radio program, of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), aired a 2-part discussion about “Canada’s role in Honduras”: part one with Grahame Russell of Rights Action; part two with Peter Kent, Canada’s Minister of State of Foreign Affairs for the Americas.
As Peter Kent spoke second, and responded to points Grahame made, we publish this in response to comments made by Mr. Kent.
GENERAL COMMENT: BODY COUNT RISING
Honduran teacher Roger Abraham Vallejo died in hospital on Saturday, August 1, two days after he was shot point-blank in the head by a police officer during a peaceful protest.
As one listens to the 2-part CBC interview and reads the comments below, keep in mind that Mr. Kent represents the government of Canada. He is not speaking in his personal capacity. Keep in mind, also, that the OAS (Organization of American States), one month ago, unequivocally called for the “the immediate and unconditional return” of President Zelaya and his government – “immediate” and “unconditional”.
= = = = = = =
= = = = = = =
IN RESPONSE TO MR. PETER KENT: CANADA’S INCREASINGLY COMPLICIT ROLE IN HONDURAS
By Grahame Russell, co-director of Rights Action
Mr. Kent said that after the July 4 emergency meeting of the OAS (Organization of American States), a call was made “for calm and non-provocative actions by all parties.” On a number of occasions in this interview, and on other occasions, Mr. Kent has made this “call” to “all parties”, giving the idea that in Honduras there are two sides in conflict.
This is a mid-leading “call”. There is one side using provocation and violence. The illegal coup regime, on a daily basis, is using the army, police and para-military forces in civilian clothing to carry out repression against Honduran civilians who are, on a daily basis, protesting peacefully, demanding an end to the illegal, repressive regime, and a return of President Zelaya and his government.
Surely, Mr. Kent is not characterizing those promoting the OAS position through peaceful demonstrations as being “provocative”?
* * *
Mr. Kent states: “The Supreme Court and the Congress of Honduras had acted within the constitutional framework of that country up to the moment that the army actually arrested and expelled President Zelaya …”.
This is an inappropriate and disturbing assertion for the Canadian government to make and repeat.
Inappropriate: Mr. Kent is parroting the highly questionable position of the coup planners and perpetrators: that the Congress and Supreme Court were acting properly. At a bare minimum, Mr. Kent should not take this openly partisan position on such a debated and sensitive point.
Disturbing assertion: But, the problem goes further. Representing the Canadian government, just how did Mr Kent arrive at the conclusion that the political systems (Congress, etc) and the administration of justice in Honduras were acting in adherence to the principles of democracy and the rule of law? There have been no such findings in Honduras. There has been no due process. He certainly did not seek the opinion of the ousted President Zelaya and his entire government, and numerous members of Congress, on this issue.
In the name of the Canadian government, Mr. Kent is seemingly washing clean the hands of the coup supporters – including some in the judiciary, legislature and executive branches whose American visas have now been revoked – on the untenable argument that they themselves did not remove the president at gunpoint. The absurdity of this argument is patent. It is an attempt to give legitimacy to those who plotted and carried out the coup based on what their intentions might have been before the coup. This argument does not work any better here than it would in a criminal court of law.
The Canadian government’s use of this argument undermines the principled position of the OAS – calling for the “the immediate and unconditional return” of President Zelaya and his government.
* * *
Mr. Kent says: “We urge restraint. We view his initial and subsequent attempts to re-enter the country as very unhelpful to the situation.”
It is disturbing, but not surprising – given other comments by Mr. Kent – that the victims of the coup and repression, the Honduran people, are here blamed for protesting against the coup and repression. The right to free movement, opinion and expression are guaranteed in Honduras and in international human rights law, but are presented as “unhelpful” in Mr. Kent’s view.
On July 5th, President Zelaya made his first attempt to return to Honduras. Over 100,000 Hondurans marched peacefully to the Toncontin airport in Tegucigalpa to await his arrival. He made this attempt, by air, after the first round of negotiations in Costa Rica fell apart because the military ‘de facto’ regime refused to discuss any of the points that Oscar Arias had presented to them.
Now, more than a month has gone by, the body and repression count is rising, and still the Canadian government seemingly faults the legitimate President and the Honduran people for their peaceful actions.
* * *
Mr. Kent acknowledges that the first set of proposals, as presented by Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, were rejected outright by the illegal coup regime.
Why, at this point, did Canada not take concrete military, economic and diplomatic actions against the coup planners and perpetrators?
Why does the illegal regime get to dictate what terms they will accept or not?
Furthermore, to raise a point that did not come up in the CBC interview, why are Mr. Kent and Canada supporting the “negotiation” point of providing amnesty for Zelaya for alleged legal and political problems before the military coup?
I refer again to comments made above, about Mr. Kent blindly accepting and repeating the mantra, used daily by the pro-coup sectors, that the “Supreme Court and the Congress of Honduras acted within the constitutional framework up to the moment that the army actually arrested and expelled President Zelaya …”.
These are unproven allegations, made by coup supporters to justify the coup. At a bare minimum, the Canadian government should stay completely away from giving an opinion about these matters.
In contrast, why is Mr Kent not demanding, as a point of “negotiation”, legal trials against the coup planners and perpetrators?
Mr. Kent represents a biased position of the Canadian government by giving weight and importance to internal legal and political issues as alleged by the coup planners and perpetrators, while providing no weight to demanding that justice be done for the coup and for over a month’s worth of quite brutal repression.
* * *
In discussing Oscar Arias’ latest negotiation plan, Mr. Kent mentions how it is being reviewed by the “legally elected Congress” of Honduras.
This is a questionable point, in straight legal terms, given that the entire constitutional framework of Honduras has been uprooted. There is no constitutional government in Honduras right now; there is an illegal, military supported ‘de facto’ regime.
Mr. Kent is again taking pains to legitimize and praise the Honduran Congress – the very Congress that legitimized the illegal coup and militarization of the country and that is effectively supporting the repression that has gone on for over one month, with no end in sight.
* * *
In passing, Mr. Kent commented that: “Canadians should be proud of Goldcorp …”
Since 2003, Rights Action has worked closely with the Goldcorp mine affected communities of Honduras (and Guatemala). At www.rightsaction.org, one can find links to reports, articles and films documenting a wide range of health and environmental harms and human rights violations that Hondurans, in the mine affected communities, have suffered.
On many occasions, Goldcorp has responded to these reports, denying their veracity, claiming fabrication of false accusations, and the like.
The narrow point here is that Mr. Kent is again taking an openly partisan position, this time in favour of Goldcorp, while giving no creedence to serious allegations of health and environmental harms and human rights violations being caused by a Canadian mining company.
* * *
Mr. Kent criticizes President Zelaya for camping out on the Nicaragua-Honduran border, blaming him for interrupting millions of dollars in Central American commerce, including shirts made by low-paid wager-earners in garment factories owned by the Montreal based Gildan company.
Thus, while the Canadian government steadfastly refuses to take any actions – diplomatic, economic or military – against the military backed ‘de facto’ regime that is carrying out a campaign of brutal repression, he takes the time to criticize the militarily deposed President (Zelaya) for blocking commerce!
* * *
Mr. Kent finishes off: “This crisis needs to be resolved quickly and non-violently and we continue to call on all parties to work to that end.”
This is one more example of the explicit and, I believe, complicit bias of the Canadian government. There is one side using violence – M-16 weapons, rubber bullets, tear-gas, wooden clubs, illegal detentions, death threats, mid-night beatings, etc, – against the other side, the civilian population that is peacefully protesting against the illegal, military regime.
* * *
As the body count rises in Honduras, Canada’s position passes from being equivocally ambiguous to being one of indirect complicity with the military coup regime.
We urge Canadians to pressure their own politicians and government to implement direct military and diplomatic sanctions on the Honduran regime, and to implement economic sanctions on the coup plotters and perpetrators.
By Grahame Russell, co-director of Rights Action, email@example.com
= = = = = = =
= = = = = = =
WHAT TO DO
AMERICANS AND CANADIANS SHOULD CONTACT YOUR OWN MEDIA, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, SENATORS & MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, EVERY DAY, DAY AFTER DAY,TO DEMAND:
an end to police, army and para-military repression
respect for safety and human rights of all Hondurans
unequivocal denunciation of the military coup
no recognition of this military coup and the ‘de facto’ government of Roberto Micheletti
unconditional return of the entire constitutional government
concrete and targeted economic, military and diplomatic sanctions against the coup plotters and perpetrators
application of international and national justice against the coup plotters
reparations for the illegal actions and rights violations committed during this illegal coup
TO DONATE FUNDS TO PRO-DEMOCRACY MOVEMENT IN HONDURAS, MAKE TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS TO “RIGHTS ACTION” AND MAIL TO:
UNITED STATES: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
CANADA: 552-351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
Upon request, Rights Action can provide a proposal of which organizations and people, in Honduras, we are channeling your funds to and supporting.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
Jesus fish: Tish Desalvo boxes up another take-out order during St. John the Baptist’s Lenten fish fry.
But that leaves one enormous unanswered question: What would Jesus eat during Lent? Fried or baked fish?
their annual Lenten fish fry, St. Daniel/St. Matthew Academy, 214 Kinne
St., East Syracuse, has offered baked fish for the better part of 15
years. What started as a small fish fry for parishioners of the church
and students of the elementary school has become an event rejoiced by
believers of all faiths, with the baked haddock nearly becoming more
popular than its traditional fried counterpart over the last few years.
definitely had the highest turnout for the baked this year,” says Mary
Ansbrow, a parishioner of St. Matthew’s Church who, for seven years
along with husband Jim, has organized the annual feast. “A lot of
people have mentioned ordering it baked for health reasons while others
just want a little variety.”
they serve 300 to 350 dinners per week and that the fried vs. baked
fish order is split about 50/50, with fried taking a slight lead. “Some
people are hesitant to try the baked because they know what fried fish
tastes like and don’t want to fix something that isn’t broken,”
continues Ansbrow. “And there are many people who flat-out refuse to
try it. But a lot that do, refuse to go back to fried fish.”
MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
Holy reelers: St. Daniel/St. Matthew Academy volunteer Emmaleigh Enderle gets ready to serve a pair of baked fish dinners at the East Syracuse school’s fish fry.
of their fish is haddock, and a baked fish dinner, paired with potatoes
and steamed vegetables for, as Ansbrow says, “a completely healthy
meal,” costs $8.50 ($7.50 for seniors). For those who do not want to
break their pledge of allegiance to fried fish, a dinner, sided with
french fries and choice of cole slaw or applesauce, runs $7.50 ($6.50
for seniors); a fried fish sandwich with fries costs $6.50 ($6
seniors). Also on the menu are shrimp dinners ($8.50; $7.50 seniors)
and cocktails ($5), while clam dinners and sandwiches are priced in the
same way as fried fish and all come with two sides.
fish is not considered a meat, it seems to be the most consumed meal on
Fridays during Lent,” notes Ansbrow. “But fish are one of those foods
that people either really like, or won’t eat at all.”
you can’t stomach the idea of aquatic fodder swimming around in your
belly, don’t worry. St. Daniel/St. Matthew has other non-meat meals: a
mac and cheese or spaghetti dinner costs $6, while a slice of cheese
pizza is $3.
About 20 to 25 volunteers,
including school alumni as well as current students who help keep the
tables clean alongside their parents, all lend a helping hand every
Friday fry during Lent. After subtracting the overhead costs of running
the fish fry, the rest of the proceeds go directly back into helping
pay for school supplies and events at the elementary school.
is an event that was started for the parish and school community,” says
Ansbrow. “But now, it is something that is really community-driven, and
also something that gets people out to enjoy each other’s company.”
Stop by the fish fry in the school’s cafeteria any Friday through March
21, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Takeout is also available, and orders can be
placed in person.
St. John the Baptist
Church, 406 Court St., is another venue getting baked for Lent. In
fact, baked fish is the only option on the menu, and not just because
they are a bunch of health nuts taking it into their hands to ensure
MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO
Bakin’ all over: John Soldo showcases a tray of baked haddock that will soon be enjoyed by Lent observers at St. Daniel/St. Matthew. Looking on is Jim Ansbrow, who oversees the fish fry.
“We don’t have the
facility to fry fish, or any other food for that matter,” says Grayce
Constantini, head of the Parish Life Committee at the church, who
organizes and runs the event. “And because of that, people really
recognize us as the best place to get baked fish in the area during
For five years they have been serving
North Siders and anyone else who wants to stop in, although some
newcomers get surprised when they see the atypical Lent menu options.
“A lot of people come in assuming we make fried fish,” continues
Constantini. “Some are kind of hesitant at first before finally giving
in to trying our baked fish, but when they do, they’ll usually keep
coming back because they liked it.”
the fish dinners, which are all haddock, come with choice of fries,
macaroni and cheese, clam chowder or baked beans, along with a dinner
roll and dessert. Although everyone raves about the fish, Constantini
says their desserts get just as much hype.
of the girls on the committee take turns making homemade cakes,” she
continues. “They always make chocolate because it’s the most popular,
but the other two choices always vary; in the past we’ve had a lemon
and vanilla, as well as a mix of chocolate banana and pineapple that
went over really well.”
New this year is a
kids’ menu, which features a toasted cheese sandwich with a choice of
macaroni and cheese or fries, as well as drink and dessert for $5. The
fish fry at St. John the Baptist will be open on Friday, Feb. 29, and
March 14, for lunch from noon to 2 p.m. and for dinner from 5 to 7 p.m.
food is dished out in the parish center, which was remodeled from the
cafeteria in the now-defunct St. John’s school, which the Diocese
closed in 2001. About 25 to 30 volunteers from the parish help out and
all profits earned after the cost of running the fish fry go to the
Constantini has been a parishioner
at St. John’s for 50 years, and sees the Lenten fish fry as a way to
get people out and into the swing of things. “We get a fairly good mix
of people in here,” she says. “And it’s nice to sit back and watch
everyone enjoying themselves and having a good time, and we’re happy we
can make that happen for them.”
Takeout is also available at St. John’s. Call ahead at 478-0916. q
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Subcategories Project status:
Setting Inspection Targets and Monitoring Performance
- Number: 2011/07
- Status: Running
- Period: 2011
- Lead Country: Portugal
Project team countries:
The Netherlands and Portugal
The Netherlands, Belgium, United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal.
In this IMPEL-project we will act upon the recommendation from the DTRT and Performance Indicators reports to further look into the issue of setting inspection targets and monitoring performance against these targets. This will be done within the framework of the DTRT Guidance Book. We will further collect practical experiences of authorities in this area and analyse and discuss these. Based on the findings of this exercise we will develop a practical guidance tool.
Please also refer to the second phase of this project for further information.
In the IMPEL “Doing the right things” (DTRT) project, a Guidance Book was produced to assist environmental authorities plan inspections. The Guidance Book uses an Environmental Inspection Cycle that is divided into a number of connected steps of which planning is one step and performance monitoring is another step.
According to the Guidance Book authorities should, as part of their inspection planning, define measurable targets on desired outputs and outcomes and consequently monitor their performance against these targets. However, it has become apparent that authorities have still little experience with setting targets. Especially setting targets on concrete outcomes like for instance a certain improvement of compliance to be achieved after a certain period of time, and the monitoring connected with this, is often regarded to be very difficult . Experts have repeatedly argued that additional guidance should be developed to help authorities in making progress in this area.
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“The communities we serve and the issues we care about suffer when we are fragmented and isolated. Now more than ever, nonprofits need to unite around our common values, develop a shared vision and priorities, and exercise our collective voice for a better future.”
~Audrey Alvarado, Co-Founder of the Nonprofit Congress
Meet our Advocacy Committee and learn about our education, public awareness, and lobbying efforts.
Every year, early in the legislative session, we bring nonprofits to the State House to raise awareness of the critical role nonprofits play in our state and strengthen relationships between policy makers and nonprofit staff and volunteers.
Nonprofits know their communities and their issues. We work with Nonprofit Vote to ensure every eligible nonprofit volunteer, staff member, and constituent is educated and votes. We also survey candidates and post their responses.
We lobby and advocate on behalf of the sector. Learn about the issues and campaigns on which we work.
Find coalitions and legislators, get informed, take action to make Maine a great place to work, live and raise a family.
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I had the true honor and pleasure of being able to teach some classes at the Durango, Colorado’s Shin-Budo Kai dojo this past July! There are a lot of similarities between our dojo and the Durango dojo. The greatest strength and similarity between the two dojos is the emphasis on mindful practice. I believe that this component is critical in having students and teachers alike become their own best teachers. In order to best learn and teach, we must be as aware as possible as to what we are doing so that we can answer the “whys” of what we are doing.
I always emphasize that people practice at a speed with which they can maintain awareness as to what is happening with them and with the attacker. This forces a person to be mindful and in the moment. At another level, you can be more aware of what you are doing than the next person and if you are not able to “translate” that awareness into meaningful movements, so much for being aware….. We not only need to to be aware, but we also need to utilize our mindfulness so that our mental intent and physical movements are done in a martially effective manner. Whereas certain movements might look the same, but the way in which they are executed can be very different and have markedly different results. Mindful awareness and control helps us to make the right choices as to the nature of our movements.
Our practice needs to be 100% of the time on the mats. We should not relax our mindful awareness as uke by mindlessly attacking and taking mindless ukemi. The uke needs to be able to attack with an integrated body and the mindful intent should be obvious in the nature of the attack. The uke can continue to be mindful in how to manage the incoming forces as a technique is applied. this information helps to maintain a connection with the nage, while learning how to keep maintain one’s structural integrity throughout the ukemi process. The Nage needs to be mindful of what he/she is doing, rather than mindlessly “replicating” a technique that is being executed again for the nth time. Mindful awareness helps the nage to deepen the understanding of the martial principles of movement that are contained within a technique. This enables the nage to develop the “insides” of a technique, which is the heart and soul of what makes it all work.
We need to be mindful of our training environment. Everybody has issues related to conflicts and these issues get set off at one time or another. We need to be personally responsible for our own issues and use our practice to learn how to better manage them (and hopefully resolve some of them). Learning to deal with conflicts is part of our training experience and mindful awareness creates a type of practice that can inform us of areas that we need to address. We need to be sensitive to everybody in the dojo and look to create the most harmonious training atmosphere that we can personally create. Mindful practice helps us to see how our interactions with other people with their own unique set of issues can create opportunities for personal growth. Aikido provides us with a unique opportunity to put into action the empty words of many. Mindful practice helps us achieve that goal. I would like each student to reflect deeply upon this topic this month and see what can be gained from a month of training with this focus.
Marc Abrams Sensei
(Original blog post may be found here
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Political opposites attract? Local couples make differing views workFARGO - Joe Mitchell remembers meeting girlfriend Whitney Derks’ family for the first time. They talked politics. Joe, a Democrat, saw a photo of Whitney’s grandfather with George W. Bush perched on the mantle. Whitney classifies her political views as “middle of the line, but tending to lean conservative,” but she says her family is conservative.
By: Anna G. Larson, INFORUM
FARGO - Joe Mitchell remembers meeting girlfriend Whitney Derks’ family for the first time. They talked politics.
Joe, a Democrat, saw a photo of Whitney’s grandfather with George W. Bush perched on the mantle. Whitney classifies her political views as “middle of the line, but tending to lean conservative,” but she says her family is conservative.
Whitney and Joe, both of Fargo, have been dating for two years. Tuesday’s election has the pair thinking about their similarities and differences in political views. Whitney says they “agree to disagree” and also try to keep an open mind about political views.
“If people value the relationship, they can figure out a way to agree to disagree,” says Karissa Schmoll, a marriage and family therapist for The Village Family Service Center.
Mutual respect for each other’s opinions is key in a relationship, she says.
“We don’t have to agree with the other’s opinions, but if we want to have a healthy relationship with that person, we should demonstrate respect for what they think,” Schmoll says.
Open mindedness, she says, applies to everything in a relationship, not just politics.
For Whitney and Joe, open mindedness during college and going into their relationship led each of them to shift their political views slightly. Joe says he was once on the “extreme left” and now is a more moderate Democrat, considering himself conservative regarding fiscal matters and liberal concerning social issues. Whitney says her conservative views now tend to be more moderate, or even liberal in some cases.
“To quote Taylor Swift, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know,’ and having an open mind has led to me to have educated opinions,” she says.
Linda and Jerry Jenson, who have been married 34 years, have also been talking politics, although not just recently. Politics have been a frequent discussion topic the last four years.
Linda says it’s because her husband has been “miserable” since Obama was elected.
A self-described “moderate Democrat/leaning independent,” Linda says debates with her Republican husband Jerry can get heated. He agrees.
“She’ll say something, and I’ll ask her for facts to back it up, and if it came from a commentator on CNN, well then …,” Jerry says.
Linda interrupts. “Well then it’s crap, right? If it’s not on Fox, it’s crap, right?”
The duo breaks into laughter – another thing they’ve been doing for 34 years. Linda says laughter is how the couple “makes it work.”
She recalled a joke Jerry played on her in 2004. He told her that all people who vote Democrat were supposed to show up at the polls on Wednesday, not Tuesday.
“We have those serious times, but when we find something to laugh about, it’s fun to howl with laughter,” she says.
The ability to debate in a compassionate, loving way is healthy in a relationship, Schmoll says.
A healthy debate involves “emotional safety.” Karissa explains emotional safety as meaning that either partner can communicate how they feel to the other without fear of a negative response.
While it’s not the case for Jerry and Linda and Whitney and Joe, some couples with very strong opinions might consider different political views deal breakers in a relationship.
“There are people who equate their political views with their basic morals and values, so for those people, drastic political differences could be a deal breaker,” Karissa says. “For others, the relationship is more important than agreeing on politics, and they can agree to disagree.”
Both couples say having similar morals and values trumps political views, although those values and morals intersect with political views sometimes.
“At the end of the day, it’s more about the type of person they are than what they think about paying taxes,” Joe says.
Conviction, no matter what the beliefs, matters most to Whitney.
“If you don’t believe in something, what do you have going for you?” she says. “Even though some of Joe’s views are different from mine, I’m so thankful that he has conviction and that he is aware of what’s going on in the world.”
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Fort Hood Families Sue U.S. Government
Today is the third anniversary of a shooting rampage that killed 13 people and wounded dozens at the Fort Hood Army post in Killeen. Survivors and family members today filed a lawsuit against the federal government.
Lawyers for the victims say the Army ignored warning signs that Major Nidal Hasan was embracing militant Islamist views and violating military regulations in the months before the attack. If officials hadn’t, they say, they could have prevented the shooting. Attorney Reed Rubinstein says victims want the attack reclassified as terrorism, which could qualify them for additional benefits.
“The injuries that they have suffered, if they have suffered them in Afghanistan or Iraq, that would have led them to be discharged with medical disabilities but in this case, they’re denied those,” Rubinstein said in a phone interview. “The government has seemingly deliberately engaged in an effort to push the Fort Hood attack and the victims of that attack down a memory hole.”
The Department of Defense says reclassifying the attack now might affect their case against Hasan. The court martial is currently on pending a legal battle over Hasan’s beard. The beard is forbidden by military rules, but Hasan says federal laws on religious freedom allow it.
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Organizers don’t expect decision to fence in Lee Park, ban outside alcohol at event following parade to have major impact on attendance
JOHN WRIGHT | Online Editor
When the Dallas Tavern Guild announced a $5 admission charge for Sunday’s Festival in Lee Park earlier this year, it led to some major backlash on social media networks and in the comments section of DallasVoice.com.
But Michael Doughman, executive director of the Tavern Guild, said the backlash hasn’t translated into significantly reduced interest in the event from vendors and nonprofit groups.
As of this week, only five fewer organizations had signed up for booths at the festival, which takes place before, during and after the Alan Ross Texas Freedom Parade.
“We don’t consider that a loss in attendance at the park at all,” Doughman said. “We do have some nonprofit organizations that opted not to be in the park this year, and that’s certainly their choice. We don’t think that it’s going to harm anything.
“We have over 70 vendors already paid in the park,” Doughman added. “If that were the general consensus, a whole lot of those people wouldn’t be coming either, but they are.”
The Tavern Guild, which puts on both the parade and festival, chose to fence in the park this year to be proactive since the city plans to require it in the future, Doughman said.
The fencing will also allow the Tavern Guild to prevent people from bringing in their own alcohol, which Doughman says has become a problem.
“We’ve had a really, really rapid rise in the number of people [getting] highly intoxicated,” he said.
Those who want to consume alcohol at the festival this year will have to purchase it from vendors — who’ll be selling plastic bottles of beer at the same prices as before, $3 for domestics and $4 for imports, Doughman said.
Lori Chance, special events manager for the city of Dallas, confirmed that her office likely would have required the Pride festival to be fenced beginning in 2012.
“Typically anytime alcohol is involved, we require fencing, and that’s so they can control the ingress and egress,” Chance said. “We’re headed in that direction because of the alcohol. Their choice is to fence the entire park … or to make a secluded area for alcohol, and the alcohol has to stay in that area only.”
While the decision to fence in the festival was made in anticipation of the city requirement, Doughman said the $5 admission charge is designed to raise money for the event’s beneficiaries.
The Tavern Guild historically has donated a combined $20,000 to $25,000 to three or four beneficiaries. But in recent years, there’s been only $7,500 or $8,000 left over for one beneficiary — Youth First Texas.
This year, the Tavern Guild has added AIDS Arms, AIDS Services of Dallas, AIDS Interfaith Network and Legacy Counseling Center.
“If you begrudge $5 to be divided among four of the AIDS services and YFT, then that’s not the spirit of Pride to begin with,” Doughman said. “It’s always been about raising money for the community.”
The Festival in Lee Park normally attracts about 7,500 people, and organizers are predicting a decline in attendance of up to 1,500 this year due to the admission charge, Doughman said. But even if attendance is as low as 5,000, it will still mean an extra $25,000 for the beneficiaries. In addition, Doughman said 25 percent of net proceeds from alcohol sales will go to the Texas Gay Rodeo Association, while 75 percent will go back to the Tavern Guild and its beneficiaries.
Still, not everyone is willing to pay the price.
Rob Schlein, president of Log Cabin Republicans Dallas, said his group is among those that won’t have a booth at the festival this year because of the admission charge, which he called “a stupid business decision.”
Schlein said Log Cabin decided it wouldn’t be worth the $150 registration fee because of reduced attendance.
He said Log Cabin, which is also skipping the parade this year, used “free market principles” to make a statement.
“To have to pay for it just doesn’t seem to be in the spirit of gay Pride weekend,” Schlein said. “This is a tax on the gay Pride parade.”
Festival in Lee Park
Sunday, Sept. 18.
Park opens at 11 a.m.
No coolers, glass containers or alcohol can be brought into the park. There will be an exception for vendors who want to bring in coolers for volunteers. Admission is $5. ATM machines will be situated near festival entrances for those who don’t have cash. More info at www.DallasPrideParade.com.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition September 16, 2011.
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On New Year's morning Saint Louis Missouri firefighters were called to rescue a dog from the icy waters at Fairground Park. A man was walking his dog in the park when another dog that appeared to be German Shepherd mix showed up.
The stray shepherd got spooked and ran onto the ice. The weight of the dog was too much for the thickness of the ice and the dog fell through into the frigid water. The man called for help and Saint Louis firefighters responded.
"He was scared. I'm pretty sure he wanted to get out of the water," says St. Louis Firefighter Dan Hill told St Louis KSDK News
Interestingly enough it happened to be Hill's first day at Fire Station 29. He was chosen to go get the dog. "I believe city parks, the water is roughly four feet deep. So they decided to send the tallest guy...and that was me." Hill strapped on his waders, but the water was a little higher than he expected. He said he got a little wet as he waded out to the dog.
" I think he was happy to see me. I just threw him in the little basket that we had and they pulled him in." Hill said that the squad frequently trains for water rescues, but usually for humans.
The dog was treated at the scene with oxygen and IV fluids. He was shivering, but was alert. He was taken to the humane society. The dog was wearing a collar but he had no tags. The humane society will hold the dog for a few days to see if his owner turns up. If he is not claimed, he may be released for adoption.
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Every kid who ever swung a bat at one time saw himself as Babe Ruth.
But there was only one Ruth. Sheep can be cloned; not heroes.
Miche Braden, the star, musical director and arranger of Cleveland Play House's production of "The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith," clearly has a case of hero worship for the 1989 inductee in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Actually, it's more like a love and respect for Smith, who died in a car accident in 1937 at the age of 43.
Few of us actually get the chance to pay homage to our heroes, especially the way Braden has, by being in a position to actually be Bessie Smith for 90 minutes a night.
For the most part, Braden is able to pull it off. But because of the format of the show -- it's neither concert nor play, but an amalgamation of the two -- it's hard to forget that this is a talented singer-actress playing Bessie Smith. She brings the songs to life, but not Smith.
Braden's phrasing and power are really close to Smith's recordings without being simple imitations of the tunes, like some impressionist doing Richard Nixon. The depth of her understanding of Smith is such that a pair of tunes written by Braden -- the show-opening "Bad Mood Blues" and "Devil Dance Blues (Sho Nuff Daddy)" -- fit perfectly amid the 11 tunes Smith recorded that comprise the show.
Those 13 songs are used to tell the tragic life story of the woman dubbed "the Empress of the Blues." Born into poverty in Tennessee and raised by an older sister after losing both parents before the age of 9, Smith grew up to be brazen, brassy, bold, bossy and bisexual.
Any of those could be tolerated, or at least swept under the rug, in the rural South. But the one unforgivable sin was being black in a land where the boogie man wore a white sheet and hood.
Under those circumstances, roots in the blues were inevitable.
Braden's big voice works particularly well in the opening number, co-authored by the actress with Joe Brancato, who is credited for the concept of the show, and in Smith's hits "Downhearted Blues" and the heart-wrenching "I Ain't Got Nobody."
"St. Louis Blues," the title song in Smith's lone movie, also showed that Braden very nearly has as much virtuosity as Smith. The scene calls for Smith to be getting a little tipsy, and Braden is the consummate actress, so she donned the role. And by doing that, she was able to loosen up, both onstage and vocally, and deliver the best song of the night.
Again, this isn't a knock against Braden; it's just that there is a reason Smith is in the Rock Hall, the Blues Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame and the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame.
Regardless, Braden was able to rock "There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight," wag a finger in the face of detractors in "T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do" and "Downhearted Blues."
Braden is able to play off three excellent musicians -- upright bassist Jim Hankins, pianist George Caldwell and especially sax and clarinet player Keith Loftis. What's missing is the brass, which played such an integral role in the real recordings by Smith.
The problem comes in the difficulty of trying to use the music to move along what's essentially a one-woman show. "I Ain't Got Nobody" and "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" are two of Smith's greatest gut-wrenchers, but Braden's delivery suffers because of the context. The acting necessary to progress to the denouement gets in the way of the singing.
Still, those hiccups can't detract from a quality show. After all, even Babe Ruth struck out two out of three times.
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The Emerging Radical Center?
An historic opportunity for political realignment is arising, and the Democrats, true to form, are in the process of squandering it.
In this week's New Republic, John B. Judis and Ruy Teixeira write that "ever since the collapse of the Reagan conservative majority, which enjoyed its final triumph in November 1994, American politics has been turning slowly, but inexorably, toward a new Democratic majority." The assertion seems odd at first glance, given that we have a Republican president, a Republican majority in the House, and Democratic control of the Senate by the slenderest of margins (and only because of a Republican defection). But Judis and Teixeira are not completely off-base, even if their argument (in its abbreviated article form, drastically condensed from a forthcoming book) is not entirely convincing. They write:
Just as the McKinley majority was closely tied to the onset of industrialization, the emerging Democratic majority is closely linked to the spreading postindustrial economy. Democrats are strongest in areas where the production of ideas and services has either redefined or replaced assembly-line manufacturing, particularly the Northeast, the upper Midwest through Minnesota, and the Pacific Coast--including the Sunbelt prize of California--but also including parts of Southern states like Florida, Virginia, and North Carolina. Republicans, meanwhile, are strongest in states like Mississippi, Wyoming, and South Carolina (as well as in former Democratic enclaves like Kentucky), where the transition to postindustrial society has lagged.
Participants in the new economy, Judis and Teixeira write, tend to be fiscally moderate but socially tolerant, believers in capitalism but also in the need for government to act as a fair referee to curb capitalism's excesses, supporters of political reform. And, Judis and Teixeira posit, as America increasingly moves to a postindustrial economy, these voters will become more numerous. They will not alone be sufficient to form a majority of voters, but they will represent an increasingly important portion of any majority coalition.
The Bush administration is in no position to benefit from the posited shift. From the large tax cuts for the richest Americans, to the refusal to do anything about American corporations relocating offshore to avoid tax liability, to the weak corporate governance reforms, to the massive giveaways in the farm bill and the energy bill, the Bush administration, at least in its domestic policy, is dedicated principally to the proposition that government of the cronies, by the cronies, and for the cronies shall not perish from this earth. Its basic outlook is therefore antithetical to the emerging center-left voters that Judis and Teixeira believe they have identified. The president's economic platform was never terribly popular—witness Bush's poll ratings last summer, before the terrorist attacks—and the wobbly economy, erratic stock market, and accounting scandals have done nothing to make it look more appealing. Likewise, the social conservatism that dominates the southern wing of the Republican party tends to alienate the new economy voters.
There thus appears to be a significant mass of voters defined loosely by the following characteristics:
* They recognize the importance of a dynamic capitalist economy as the engine for economic growth but fear that a market left to its own devices will inevitably lead to the excesses and abuses we are now seeing in the collapses of Enron, WorldCom, Global Crossing, and the like. To those who would argue that these collapses prove that the market ultimately will correct abuses on its own, these voters would point to the significant costs that the recent correction has imposed in terms of unemployment and investor losses. Preventative medicine is usually more effective than emergency care. They thus look to the government not only to set rules for financial reporting but to enforce those rules rigorously.
* They also want an honest accounting from the government. In this respect the transition from the Clinton administration, which consistently overestimated deficits and then underestimated surpluses, to the Bush administration, which has consistently underestimated deficits, is striking: the Republican administration's actions are hardly deserving of the label conservative.
* Speaking of preventative medicine: these voters recognize that, in contrast to the view expressed by Bush in the 2000 campaign and not modified since, the availability of emergency medical care at hospitals is no substitute for adequate preventative health care for the nation's increasingly numerous uninsured. Although leery of a massive bureaucratic plan like that proposed early in the Clinton administration, they also doubt that the Republican proposals for tax incentives will make a significant dent in the problem.
* They recognize that the welfare system as it existed prior to 1996 needed reform, but they also recognize that moving people from dependency to the workforce requires a transitional support system—education, job training, child care—that costs money, and that entering the workforce can be difficult in times of economic uncertainty. Simply cutting people loose to fend for themselves won't do.
* They are leery of the growing power of large corporations over various portions of their lives—the abuse of personal information, the restrictions on uses of new technology, the restrictions on choices.
* Joined by an increasing number of libertarian-oriented Republicans, they are suspicious of the administration's plans for homeland security, which threaten similar intrusions into their privacy in exchange for uncertain results.
The situation would seem tailor made for the Democrats—there is significant potential for a campaign of the people over the powerful that need not devolve into crude class warfare. Mounting this campaign, however, would require leaders able to formulate a coherent plan, articulate it to the public, and defend it from the inevitable Republican attacks. And, at the moment, none of the leading Democrats is in a position to assume this role.
Much of the blame must be laid at the feet of the Democratic Leadership Council, which in recent years has devolved from a useful counterweight to other factions within the party into a pure tool for business interests and the wealthy. Thanks to the influence of the DLC, Tom Daschle has refused to allow a straight vote on requiring stock options to be treated identically on tax returns (where many corporations treat them as expenses) and financial reports (where most do not treat options as expenses). Thanks to the influence of the DLC, the Democratic leadership refuses to call for repeal of the large prospective tax cuts enacted last year, cuts that redound almost exclusively to the benefit of the very wealthy. Thanks to the influence of the DLC, a number of Democrats support the egregious bankruptcy bill that, in a time of economic slowdown, would greatly favor the large banks that bombard consumers with solicitations for cards carrying usurious interest rates. And thanks to the influence of the DLC and the Democrats' ties to the entertainment industry, Democrats are supporting dramatic expansions of copyright law that would significantly complicate the creation, dissemination, and use of content for all but the big media players. These actions on behalf of the powerful over the people, combined with the failure to articulate and advance a coherent agenda in the one branch of the federal government in which they exercise control, means that Democrats, especially Senate Democrats, are ill-suited to seize the opportunity that, according to Judis and Teixeira, presently exists.
Indeed, the person best positioned to articulate a coherent Democratic position at this point is Al Gore, whose populist rhetoric in the 2000 campaign failed to carry the day in good economic times but would resonate more powerfully in our present circumstances. This week Gore rather pointedly avoided the DLC's gathering in Manhattan, and he is not tied directly to the questionable Democratic positions in Congress. This too, though, works to the Democrats' disadvantage. Despite his popular-vote victory, Gore emerged from the 2000 campaign a badly damaged figure, his credibility in tatters after relentless (and frequently untruthful) Republican attacks, his demeanor off-putting to many voters. Republicans champ at the bit at the thought of opposing Gore a second time. In the meantime, the Democrats' weakness in Congress allows the president to co-opt the more popular elements of the Democratic platform with his own window-dressing versions of those elements (no permalinks; scroll to the July 29 entry).
The Democrats' present failures do not mean that Ralph Nader was correct and that there is essentially no difference between Democrats and Republicans (one look at the president's judicial nominees should dispel that notion). But the Democrats' weaknesses threaten their ability to take advantage of an historic opportunity. And if they squander it, new political forces are emerging with an eye toward seizing the political center (again, scroll to July 29) and breaking the political status quo—a development that may ultimately cost the Democratic party its very existence. The next serious third-party candidate to emerge from the center will not necessarily be a crackpot like Ross Perot. The new economy voters are watching.
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American evangelicals played a key role in the creation of anti-gay measures in Uganda that remain viable — and very dangerous
What? Africa does not have enough problems already with the struggles with civil wars, food shortages, severe droughts and the hangovers of apartheid?
Apparently some Americans — self-styled guardians of faith and family — think those problems are insufficient. Apparently they think it is necessary to add fuel to the flames of Africa’s anti-gay movement.
Here’s a part of what has happened and continues to happen in Uganda, a southwestern African nation whose 31 million citizens are among the poorest on the continent. (Uganda has natural resources aplenty, including copper and cobalt, crude oil and natural gas, however. So poverty does not afflict the political elite.)
In March 2009, Stephen Langa, an evangelical Christian, organized a conference in Kampala, Uganda, entitled “Exposing the Truth about Homosexuality and the Homosexual Agenda.” Langa and his cohorts sought to concentrate the minds of that political elite on the efforts of the LGBT community to “recruit and/or lure children” into the homosexual lifestyle.
Here’s where the U.S. comes in: Three American evangelicals — Scott Lively and Don Schmierer, who are white, and Caleb Lee Brundidge, who is black — were featured in speeches and workshops.
Let’s begin with Lively, who organized an entity called Abiding Truth Ministries and has long been an anti-gay activist. He has sought to have homosexuality itself, all expressions and any public advocacy thereof, declared felonies.
He is best known in anti-gay circles for co-authoring The Pink Swastika, a book that blames homosexuals for the worst atrocities of the Nazis. Perhaps it is redundant to note that he also denies the Holocaust.
According to Boston.com, Lively moved from Temecula, Calif., to Springfield, Mass., in 2008, determined to “re-Christianize Springfield.” His principal vehicles are the Redemption Gate Mission Society and the Holy Grounds Coffee House.
Lively still opposes LGBTs, of course, but he now claims to be caught up in serving and saving the poorest people in Western Massachusetts. He has been interviewed several times since the Kampala conference, and he has repeatedly said that he did not push for the death penalty, just for “reparative therapy” to make everyone straight.
Schmierer has also been a homo hater for a long time. His principal identification is with Exodus International, which describes itself as an ex-gay ministry. One of his several books is An Ounce of Prevention, which purports to teach parents how to “pick out” a gay or potentially gay child, and turn that child toward the straight and narrow.
More alarming — because it uses newer media and because it came out just months ago — is an iPhone application designed to straighten its users. “Truth Wins Out” objected, collected more than 150,000 signatures on a petition claiming the app contained objectionable material, and submitted the petition to Apple. Apple promptly removed the app from the iTunes store.
No word whether Schmierer himself, who’s an old, white-haired guy, has used the app himself.
Brundidge is a whole ’nother thing. Young, tattooed and dreadlocked, he claims to have overcome his same-sex attraction through the National Association for the Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH). That’s a New Jersey-based organization run by a man named Richard Cohen.
You can see Brundidge and Cohen performing some of NARTH’s “ministry and healing” exercises on Internet video clips, which are laugh-out-loud funny.
In any event, Brundidge graduated to heterosexuality or a facsimile thereof and began giving Tender Loving Care seminars in Maryland. In 2006, he became a “Sexual Reorientation Coach” (who knows how), and in 2007 he moved to Phoenix, Ariz., for the “opportunities” presented by Extreme Prophetic Ministries.
He counsels online and via telephone and speaks at churches. Believers have called upon him to raise the dead, but to date the dead have not responded.
So in March 2009, these three Americans went over and presented their anti-gay message, and within a month, Ugandan Member of Parliament David Bahati submitted a bill calling for the death penalty for many same-sex acts, not just by males but by all LGBTs, whatever their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.
International donor nations objected to the death penalty, and since Uganda’s elite wanted to keep the money coming, they saw to it that the act was softened to demand only life without the possibility of parole.
Then this year on Jan. 10, the UK’s Guardian newspaper published an article entitled “We are free to be gay in Uganda — for the moment.” Exactly two weeks later, Uganda’s best-known gay activist, David Kato, was beaten to death with a hammer.
“David’s death is the result of the hatred planted in Uganda by U.S. evangelicals in 2009,” said his friend, Val Kalende.
Uganda’s Minister of Ethics & Integrity (yea, right!) James Nsaba Buturo has now told his nation’s gays to “forget about human rights.” The anti-gay bill remains very much alive.
What? We couldn’t send food or footwear, books or bed nets? We had to send hatred?
Must be that America has an oversupply of hatred against our community.
Phyllis Guest is a longtime activist on political and LGBT issues and a member of Stonewall Democrats of Dallas.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 31, 2011.
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Attend any talk given by an entrepreneur and you'll hear some variation of the following: The most important thing you can do is to get started! I completely disagree.
This advice has percolated from its origin in business self-help to the wider productivity blogging community. You've heard it before: Do you want to become a writer? Start writing! Do you want to become fit? Join a gym today! Do you want to become a big-time blogger? Start posting ASAP! If you don't start, you're weak! You're afraid of success!
Here's the problem: I completely disagree with this common advice. I think an instinct for getting started cripples your chance at long-term success. And I suggest that, on the contrary, you should develop rigorous thresholds that any pursuit must overcome before it can induce action.
Allow me to explain why…
In his convention-busting book, Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Taleb preaches the danger of survivor bias - a common fallacy in which we emulate people who succeeded without considering those who used similar techniques but failed. Taleb uses the example of The Millionaire Next Door, a popular finance guide in which the authors interviewed a large group of millionaires. As Taleb points out, the habits of these millionaires - accumulating wealth through spartan living and aggressive investments - should not be emulated unless one can determine how many more people followed a similar strategy but failed to hit it big.
Perhaps a more poignant example would be to find and interview the 10 people in the country who had the biggest and fastest overall increase to their finances in the last year. Guess who would dominate this list? Lottery winners. Ignoring the survivor bias, one could conclude: the people who get richest fastest all invested heavily in lottery tickets, so that's what I should do too!
The same, of course, can be applied to an entrepreneur, or anyone, really, who had success in a glamorous pursuit. To the winner, their path seems straightforward. It was just a matter of putting in the time and the results followed. To someone in this position, it can be incredibly frustrating to watch people denying themselves similar success simply because they're afraid to get started.
But the survivor bias lurks…
For every successful entrepreneur, or writer, or blogger, or actor, there are dozens of others who did get started but then flamed out. Some people lack the right talents. For many more, the pursuit, once past that initial stage of generic, heady enthusiasm, simply lost its attraction and their interest waned.
The Saturation Method
I have observed many people who have had long-term success in an impressive pursuit. I have also observed many people who went after such successes yet failed. I hope by combining both outcomes - success and failure - I can identify a predictor of the former that will remain free of the taint of survivor bias.
In short, I've noticed that people who succeed in an impressive pursuit are those who:
- Established, over time, a deep emotional conviction that they want to follow that pursuit.
- Have built an exhaustive understanding of the relevant world, why some succeed and others don't, and exactly what type of action is required.
This takes time. Often it requires a long period of saturation, in which the person returns again and again to the world, meeting people and reading about it and trying little experiments to get a feel for its reality. This period will be at least a month. It might last years.
Steve Martin's Diligence
Steve Martin noted that the key to becoming really good at something (so good that they can't ignore you), is diligence, which he defines as effort over time to the exclusion of other pursuits. This is why people who ultimately succeed in a pursuit go through such a long period of vetting before they begin - if you're not 100% convinced and ready to tackle something, potentially for years, to the exclusions of the hundreds of interesting new ideas that will pop up along the way, you'll probably fizzle out well before reaping any reward.
The Art of Not Starting
This reality brings me back to my original point: try not to get started. If you translate every burst of enthusiasm into action, you're going to waste time. More dangerous, you're going to hobble your chances of succeeding in any pursuit, as the constant influx of new activity prevents you from achieving a Steve Martin-style diligence.
My advice: resist starting. Spend lots of time learning about different pursuits, but put off action until an idea begins to haunt your daydreams and refuses to be dislodged from your aspirational psyche. Then, and only then, should you reluctantly take that first step, one of what's sure to be many, many more before you get to where you want.
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Leslie Ironroad was 20 years old when she moved from one side of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in the Dakotas to the other — the town of McLaughlin, S.D., home to one gas station, one diner and her friend, Rhea Archambault. She roomed in Archambault's spare bedroom.
"I make star quilts, so she was helping me make patterns," Archambault said recently, sitting at her dining room table. "She was just a nice little girl."
One night four years ago, Ironroad left the house to go to a party a few miles away. Early the next morning, she called Archambault's brother in tears asking to be picked up.
"She said, 'Can [you] go get Rhea to come get me 'cause these guys are going to fight me,'" Archambault said. "And so he said, 'Well where you at?' And she was just crying and hangs up."
Leslie never made it home.
When Archambault found her friend in a Bismarck, N.D. hospital, she was black and blue.
"'I said, 'Leslie, what happened?.' She said, 'Rhea, is that you? Turn the lights on, I can't see.' But the lights in the room were on. She said, 'Rhea, I was raped,' and she was just squeezing my hand," Archambault recalled.
Archambault called the Bureau of Indian Affairs police, a small department in charge of all law enforcement on the reservation. A few days later an officer arrived in the hospital room, and Leslie scratched out a statement on a tablet laid across her stomach.
Ironroad told the officer how she was raped and said that the men locked her in a bathroom, where she swallowed diabetes pills she found in the cabinet, hoping that if she was unconscious the men would leave her alone. The next morning, someone found her on the bathroom floor and called an ambulance.
A week later, Ironroad was dead — and so was the investigation. None of the authorities who could have investigated what happened to Leslie Ironroad did — not the Bureau of Indian Affairs, nor the FBI, nor anybody else.
People who know the men who likely attacked her say they were never even questioned.
Archambault couldn't believe nothing came of Ironroad's report.
"She named all the people that were there, the ones that were hitting her, the ones that were fighting her, she named everybody — what more else?" Archambault asked.
Unreported, Uninvestigated and Unprosecuted
This case was not an isolated incident. NPR spoke with at least a dozen people on Standing Rock — rape counselors, doctors, tribal leaders and victims — people who were either assaulted or know women who were in cases where no charges were filed.
The story of what happened to Ironroad, and more importantly what happened to the investigation of her death, is a window into what is happening on Native American reservations across the country. Cases like hers are going unreported, uninvestigated and unprosecuted, according to tribal officials.
The Justice Department found that one in three Native American women will be raped in her lifetime. In many cases, on rural reservations like Standing Rock, NPR found that there aren't enough police to investigate sexual assaults, and few of the cases are prosecuted.
On Standing Rock, there's one person in charge of law enforcement: Bureau of Indian Affairs police Chief Gerald White.
"I consider any sexual assault a serious problem. I mean, we don't take them lightly," White said at the police headquarters on the reservation. "Every sexual assault that is reported to us — we investigate them to the fullest."
When asked what happened in the Ironroad case, White responded, "I looked back and there was nothing that could substantiate that happening. I'm sure she passed away, but as far as her being involved as a victim of sexual assault, I couldn't find anything to support that ... You know, if a person doesn't report, then how can we investigate it, if we don't know about it?"
Overwhelmed and Overworked
Although Ironroad did report her attack to a BIA officer in her hospital room, authorities did not conduct an investigation. Through records, interviews with officials at the hospital, the state medical examiner's office and the police department, and conversations with more than a dozen people familiar with Ironroad's case, NPR learned the officer in her hospital room was BIA police officer Doug Wilkinson.
Officer Wilkinson resigned from the Standing Rock police department two months ago. NPR tracked him down in the small town of Little Eagle, S.D. In a phone conversation, he confirmed the basic details of the story.
Wilkenson said a lot of sexual assault cases like Ironroad's are never investigated. He said he was too overwhelmed and overworked to keep up with the number of calls for rape, sexual assault and child abuse he received each week.
When it came to federal prosecutors, he admitted, "We all knew they only take the ones with a confession ... We were forced to triage our cases."
Wilkenson has now joined a ministry and says he hopes to help survivors through preaching.
"I felt like I was standing in the middle of the river trying to hold back the flood," he says, describing his decade as a federal police officer.
On Standing Rock, there are five BIA officers for a territory the size of Connecticut. On this and other reservations, police are stretched thin and often can't or won't make arrests.
Allocating the Limited Resources
Fourteen years ago, Archie Fool Bear, who sits on the Standing Rock Tribal Council, was chief of the BIA police department on the reservation, heading a force three times as large as today's. Now, he says, tribe members are coming to him with terrible stories of rapes and crimes, even though he can no longer do anything about them.
"We know with that size of force, I know from experience, there are cases that are going to be sitting on the shelf or cases where people don't want to come forward because they have no confidence in law enforcement," he said.
Money for new officers can only come from one place: Washington, D.C. The Bureau of Indian Affairs' director Pat Ragsdale sits in his office just across the street from the White House grounds. Ragsdale says he knows cases may be falling through the cracks. He'd love to have more officers, he says, and expects the situation to improve with $16 million in new funding that the Bush administration has proposed, which would add about 50 new BIA police officers.
Spread among 200 tribal jurisdictions, 50 new officers comes out to well below one per tribe. Director Ragsdale says they plan to cluster the officers on reservations where they are needed the most.
On Standing Rock, getting an officer to respond to a call for help can mean waiting for days or even months. The reservation's only women's shelter is still waiting for police to come after someone cut all of their phone lines two months ago.
The shelter's director, Georgia Littleshield, can attest firsthand to the lack of police response. When her daughter's boyfriend, a non-native, broke her daughter's nose, her daughter filed a report and attached statements and photos from the doctors. But when Littlefield called special investigators the next morning, an officer told her that her injury was not considered a broken bone, but broken cartilage and that the case would not be prosecuted.
"This is a lawless land where people are making up their own laws because there's no justice being done," Littleshield said.
A study from the Justice Department found that Native American women are two and half times more likely to be raped than other women. The majority of victims said they were raped by men from outside the reservation, according to a victimization survey.
Many of those victims wind up at the Indian Health Service Center. When Ironroad arrived at the center, her injuries were so severe that doctors told the ambulance to take her two hours north to Bismarck.
The health center does not have rape kits to collect the vital DNA evidence needed to prosecute attackers. They are also inadequately staffed and cannot spare an exam room for the hour it takes to complete the rape examination.
For that, women must go to Bismarck, but most women don't want to go because they don't know how they will get back home.
Staff physician Jackie Quizno says she sees rape cases several times a month. When she and other doctors turn over their information to the BIA police and federal prosecutors on the women they see, she says nothing happens.
"I have only been involved in one court hearing where I was actually called to testify," Quizno said, who has worked at the center for more than five years.
A Federal Responsibility
Tribal leaders say the Justice Department ignores them, and one of the department's own former top officials agrees.
"Our committee was frequently met with indifference," said Thomas Heffelfinger, who until last year chaired the department's Indian Affairs Committee, which tried to get resources to Indian country. He said department officials "simply don't recognize the magnitude of the problem and the degree to which it is a federal responsibility."
Mary Beth Buchanan, acting director of the Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women, disagrees. She says Indian sexual assaults are a priority, especially for U.S. attorneys.
"Most prosecutors in Indian country are very committed to assisting in the prosecution of these cases and are very sensitive to the problems associated with crime in Indian country," she countered, citing millions of dollars the department has funneled to a new pilot project to reduce violence and a new study that will examine the rate of sexual assaults on reservations.
However, actual figures are difficult to pin down. Justice officials and local U.S. attorneys say they can not provide the number of sexual assault cases they decline from Indian reservations or even the number of cases they take.
A 2004 study conducted by the department found that the number of suspects investigated by U.S. attorneys for crimes on Indian land declined 21 percent from 1997 to 2000.
On Standing Rock, where the bright green grass seems to stretch as far as the sky, women like Ironroad can live and die without any federal official taking notice.
The tribe's chairman, Ron His Horse Is Thunder, stood on the porch of his log cabin overlooking the plains where his people have lived for thousands of years.
"Rape amongst our people was one of those unheard of crimes, he said. "Not because people didn't talk about it, but at one point in time, it didn't occur."
That is no longer the case, and the chairman says that as long as the tribe must depend on the federal government to police and prosecute people on their own land, anyone who comes here may well be able to rape or assault women, like Leslie Ironroad, and get away with it.
"There's a word amongst our people," he said, pronouncing an Indian phrase. "Simply stated, that we are all related, but it's more than just me and my cousin being related. It means that anything that happens to the tribe or one its members will affect everybody."
Two weeks after NPR began requesting documents and interviewing officials, the Bureau of Indian Affairs reopened the investigation into Leslie Ironroad's death. Officials say the results are still pending.
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Deja Vu PNG – The ‘Bulolo Phenomenon’ all over again?
I was recently reading a number of Wall Street investment analysis reports covering emerging markets within the Asia-Pacific, and as expected, Papua New Guinea’s economic profile popped up. The opening sentence of PNG’s economic profile was the first and last line I read in this particular brief. This introductory sentence follows:
“Papua New Guinea is richly endowed with natural resources, but exploitation has been hampered by rugged terrain and the high cost of developing infrastructure and facilities“.
This opening line designed to inform potential global investors about the Land of the Unexpected bothered me to such an extent that I completely discarded reading the report for a few days. Why? Because the structure and context of the language used in this particular sentence is largely representative of how the corporate world views PNG. There is no subtle hint or Chinese-qianzai in relaying this purpose or reason for action as described in the sentence. It is stated unashamedly, crudely and matter-of-factly, i.e., “exploitation“.
One country that has had more than its fair share of PNG is Australia. The potential of our resources has long been identified by Australia with the Wau and Bulolo goldfields the first major incursions into exploiting PNG’s mineral wealth. The Bulolo phenomenon in the 1930s, which saw thousands of kilograms of PNG gold contribute to the development of Sydney and Brisbane, set the precedent for capitalised monolithic corporations to focus their largely then inefficient energies on PNG. Seventy years on their progeny have evolved into leaders in the fields of technology and innovation, enabling them to overcome many of the geographical limitations that plagued early pioneers.
Just like the Bulolo gold fields, the PNG LNG project has once again attracted the attention of the globe. And once again, Australian cities are in line to reap rewards. One, in particular, has caught the eye due to its geographic location, economic dearth and particularly, its agressive strategic approach to taking advantage of PNG’s mineral wealth. That city is Cairns.
Since 2009 the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Advance Cairns, the regional business incubator and development organisation, with the support of Queenslands’ Bligh Government, have set their sights on tapping into the economic opportunites PNG presents. Contributing to an agressive investment strategy has been regular high-level meetings between Cairns business delegations and PNG:
- November 10, 2009: Cairns Chamber PNG trade mission visits Port Moresby
- March 15, 2010: Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser leads 40 business representatives to PNG on a 3-day delegation
- November, 2010: A trade mission of Cairns business representatives will leave for PNG in November armed with The Cairns Prospectus
Such is the emphasis on PNG and the importance of converting opportunities into dollars that Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser recently launched The Cairns Prospectus, a blueprint aimed at broadening out the Cairns economy and attacting investment, and which places special emphasis on PNG.
This commitment to deliver on an overarching PNG strategy for North Queensland to capitalise on opportunities in the market via a structured and coordinated manner has resulted in Jeremy Blockey, President of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce and Director of Advance Cairns, being appointed as the Queensland Government’s new Special Trade Representative to Papua New Guinea (PNG).
The Cairns-based Special Trade Representative to PNG is an initiative of the Queensland Government under the Cairns Economic Future Plan released in November 2009 which is tasked to create new jobs in Cairns and Far North Queensland. The Special Trade Representative will also be a member of the new Queensland-PNG Business Group to advise Trade and Investment Queensland on business relations with PNG.
The simple fact that PNG is beginning to be included as an integral part of the strategic direction of both local and federal government thinking is an encouraging sign for business confidence in the nation. There is no doubt that Cairns and North Queensland are placing a particular emphasis on PNG in the hope of boosting the regions’ stagnating economy.
However, it is this same desperation in the wake of opportunity that we must be attentive to – the Bulolo phenomenon has showed us quite clearly what can happen if we aren’t.
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President Obama’s press conference earlier this week proved a stunning display of political theatre only a political guru as adept as David Axelrod could have orchestrated.
Consider this. Obama demanded of Congress, “no games, no politics, no delays,” while simultaneously outlining a purported jobs plan designed solely to score political points around a proposal he knew Congress could never adopt. It is a plan chockfull of games, politics and delay.
The title of the legislation is the American Jobs Act. The staging was impeccable surrounded as he was by police, firemen, teachers, construction workers and small business owners – all the purported beneficiaries of Obama’s proposal.
The reality, however, is that Obama’s plan would more appropriately be called the American anti-Jobs Act because that would be the ultimate impact were it ever to see the light of implementation.
The cost would be immediate. The economic results of all that increased borrowing and spending would not be known for a year or more. Therefore, the only result of the legislation in 2012 would be higher debts and bigger deficits.
Obama’s announcement was vintage David Axelrod. Set the stage with sympathetic characters, fill the screenplay with language known to evoke an emotional response, direct it at members of the audience who are part of key constituencies, call it substance, but guard against any specific result other than political advantage.
Consider this, the President declares that all of the costs of this program are paid for, but doesn’t tell us what specific cuts to existing programs will occur to provide the funds. The President claims that Republicans have supported all of these proposals in the past, but takes each out of the context in which Republicans originally offered it. Yes, some of the elements of his proposal were supported by conservatives in combination with other features that made them valid. A continuation of stimulus disguised as a spending program does not validate more taxes.
In line with this logic, Paul Krugman opined on This Week with Christiane Omanpour, and further in an op-ed piece in the New York Times last week, that we should continue to borrow and spend because interest rates are low. He makes no calculation about how long this borrowing and spending can go on, or at what ultimate cost to the economy. It’s as if borrowing and spending is within itself a goal. And any adverse results are not to be considered.
Great Moments in Human Rights: Mandated “Emotional Support” Animals in College Dorms | Daniel J. Mitchell
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New York Times
June 8, 2005
President Bush kept a remarkably straight face yesterday when he strode to the microphones with Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, and told the world that the United States would now get around to spending $674 million in emergency aid that Congress had already approved for needy countries. That's it. Not a penny more to buy treated mosquito nets to help save the thousands of children in Sierra Leone who die every year of preventable malaria. Nothing more to train and pay teachers so 11-year-old girls in Kenya may go to school. And not a cent more to help Ghana develop the programs it needs to get legions of young boys off the streets.
Mr. Blair, who will be the host when the G-8, the club of eight leading economic powers, holds its annual meeting next month, is trying to line up pledges to double overall aid for Africa over the next 10 years. That extra $25 billion a year would do all those things, and much more, to raise the continent from dire poverty. Before getting to Washington, Mr. Blair had done very well, securing pledges of large increases from European Union members.
According to a poll, most Americans believe that the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent. As Jeffrey Sachs, the Columbia University economist in charge of the United Nations' Millennium Project, put it so well, the notion that there is a flood of American aid going to Africa "is one of our great national myths."
The United States currently gives just 0.16 percent of its national income to help poor countries, despite signing a United Nations declaration three years ago in which rich countries agreed to increase their aid to 0.7 percent by 2015. Since then, Britain, France and Germany have all announced plans for how to get to 0.7 percent; America has not. The piddling amount Mr. Bush announced yesterday is not even 0.007 percent.
What is 0.7 percent of the American economy? About $80 billion. That is about the amount the Senate just approved for additional military spending, mostly in Iraq. It's not remotely close to the $140 billion corporate tax cut last year.
This should not be the image Mr. Bush wants to project around a world that is intently watching American actions on this issue. At a time when rich countries are mounting a noble and worthy effort to make poverty history, the Bush administration is showing itself to be completely out of touch by offering such a miserly drop in the bucket. It's no surprise that Mr. Bush's offer was greeted with scorn in television broadcasts and newspaper headlines around the world. "Bush Opposes U.K. Africa Debt Plan," blared the headline on the AllAfrica news service, based in Johannesburg. "Blair's Gambit: Shame Bush Into Paying," chimed in The Sydney Morning Herald in Australia.
The American people have a great heart. President Bush needs to stop concealing it.
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There is much to learn about WFSU and the range of services we offer to the public. Use the links to the right to find additional answers about WFSU. If you should still have questions, please follow the Contact Us link at the bottom of any page, and we will be happy to try to find an answer for you.
WFSU-TV and Radio are housed together in one building near Innovation Park and the Engineering Campus of The Florida State University (map). WFSU also holds space on the 9th floor of the Capitol building, in Tallahassee, as The Florida Channel. In Panama City, WFSU is known as WFSG-TV and WFSW-FM.
In total, WFSU provides two television broadcast stations (WFSU and WFSG), one cable television station (4FSU), one statewide satellite television service (The Florida Channel), four FM broadcast stations (WFSU, WFSQ WFSW, and WFSL, with repeaters in Marianna, Apalachicola and Port St. Joe), and Internet webcasting services. WFSU is a member of both PBS and NPR national networks Additionally, WFSU provides community outreach and educational services. Examples include Raising Readers and online children's projects associated with the PBS Kids Go! brand. WFSU is also a teaching and learning lab for Florida State University students, and provides satellite and production services to local businesses.About Internet
Since 1997 has provided both radio and television webcasts of its services. Visit the streaming media, radio and television pages to gain access to live streams as well as numerous program archives.
WFSU LIVE Webcasts - All live webcasts are available via "Streaming Media" in the menu bar. To view The Florida Channels live web streams and video archives, please visit their web site at thefloridachannel.org.
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From time to time, as part of my day job, I find myself surfing the web looking for good examples of publicly available web mapping sites. More often than not, I end up looking at sites from someplace else (i.e. other than Victoria or Australia). Perhaps this represents an under reported outcome of globalisation, a case of cultural cringe on my part or an indication of something more? Some of the sites that I have been impressed with lately include:
City of Surrey - British Columbia (http://cosmosbeta.surrey.ca/apps/COSMOSbeta/COSMOS.aspx). Contains great functions (e.g. creating a mailing list), it is data rich (access as-built and legal plans etc) and its super easy to use (even watch a help video on YouTube!)
Creating a mail list to inform my neighbours about the noisy party coming up on Saturday night…
City of Bern in Switzerland (http://map.bern.ch/stadtplan/index_en.htm). So easy to use and hey, I can even find where to drop my recycling off!
Swiss Confederation Geoportal (http://map.geo.admin.ch/).The folks at SwissTopo have been putting out great web mapping applications for years and the geoportal is yet another. It is data rich, easy to use and has some great functions (e.g. calculate the elevation for your weekend mountain bike ride!)
At this stage you might be thinking – “so what, so you like looking at web mapping sites from Canada and Switzerland, big deal” – and perhaps you are right, but the fact remains that when I look at some, web mapping sites from local jurisdictions, I’m sometimes left a bit disappointed and occasionally confused
Is this a cultural cringe on my part? Is it that web mapping sites from some other place seem better just because they are from, well, not here?
Of course, it is obvious that there are examples of woeful web mapping sites all over the world, and equally obvious that there are some excellent Australian sites. However, based on looking at a large numbers of Local Government web mapping sites (mostly Victorian) and various State Government web mapping sites across Australia, I can’t help thinking we could be doing better.
I am not going to name names of course – hey, I have to work in this industry! – so rather than name and shame the odd organisation, perhaps a few general suggestions might be helpful (and less controversial!)
- Usability is key – if your web mapping application has “select an object” as a user interface option, its time for a re-design! Most people in the spatial industry know that users of public web mapping sites are not GIS analysts, but the odd site still contains jargon that most non spatial people would surely struggle with.
- Make sure you have some data that the user community will be interested in (e.g. citizens in your local council). Sure imagery is great, but Google, Bing and various other sites give that to us already. Parcel boundaries are interesting, but…., I am not the expert here, but I think its reasonable to assume that people are often interested in the things that affect their life – e.g. where can I walk my dog off lead, does the park have a BBQ, what day does the street sweeper come through, who do I report that leaking water main to, etc (there are of course state and federal relevant examples as well).
- Give users real tools – provide the users with tools that allow them to “do something” – browsing spatial data in map form is of interest to map nerds like me, but I suspect that many other users get bored of this very quickly. I suspect that many users view web mapping just like lots of other web applications, its about both viewing “and” interacting. Web mapping applications can be great for harvesting information - perhaps users can report something that needs to be fixed (that annoying pothole), measure a distance (which school is closer to walk to) or a profile (my weekend bike ride), make an enquiry (Can I book this facility), the list is, well, endless.
Now for the cynical out there, you are probably thinking, “this is just a plug for organisations to spend money on web mapping application development” – and well, on one level it is (hey, we all have to pay the mortgage!). But really, it’s a general plug for better designed and functional web mapping applications. If your organisation has a web mapping site – cast a critical eye over it. If it is easy to use, contains useful information and provides real services, great. If not, perhaps it’s time to update.
Perhaps even Swiss web mapping users ask Könnten wir besser tun ? (Could we be doing better ?)
After penning the rather rambling article above, I came across this Blog from Brian Timoney - In addition to being a very thought provoking and interesting article, it touches on some common themes. Providing meaningful data – although in the Denver example, they have gone one further and published this useful data as single topic maps – the usage stats are fascinating. In addition, the focus on usability strikes a common theme (0.5% interaction with the “full-screen button”!).
If you haven’t already read Brian’s article, I highly recommend it.
Michael Black is a Senior Consultant at Spatial Vision (and a part time Swiss-o-phile)
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Andrew Sullivan, on President Obama's endorsement of marriage equality:
"It's hugely important and to tell you the truth, I didn't realize how important it would be until it happened. Beforehand, I was kind of steeled. I was like, 'I don't care, he's going to disappoint us again.' And then I sat down and watched our president tell me that I am his equal, that I'm no longer outside, I'm fully part of this family and to hear the president who is in some ways a father figure speak to that, the tears came down like with many people in our families, to be included....I never understood the power of a president's words until that day, really. I thought, all that matters is the states and the Congress and the Defense of Marriage Act and I had all this in my head and suddenly this man saying, 'I'm with you, I get it, you're like me, I'm like you, there is nothing between us, we are the same people and we are equal human beings and I want to treat you the way you treat me.' That -- that was overwhelming. That's all I can say. I was at a loss for words."
I think we all felt the same way.
Reince Priebus, Republican National Committee chair, on whether or not marriage equality is a civil rights issue:
“I don’t think it’s a matter of civil rights. I think it’s just a matter of whether or not we’re going to adhere to something that’s been historical and religious and legal in this country for many, many years. I mean, marriage has to have a definition. And we just happen to believe it’s between a man and a woman....People in this country, no matter straight or gay, deserve dignity and respect. However, that doesn’t mean it carries on to marriage."
Typical GOP goose-stepping moron.
He actually lumps religion and legality in the same sentence even though the two have no place together in law.
How can we expect the GOP to evolve on equality when they can’t even understand the Constitution?
Bristol Palin, single unwed mother, high school graduate, and reality show whore, on Barack Obama's methods of raising his children:
"While it’s great to listen to your kids’ ideas, there’s also a time when dads simply need to be dads. In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage. Or that – as great as her friends may be – we know that in general kids do better growing up in a mother/father home. Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview."
I love how the girl who got knocked up out of marriage is suddenly the Marriage Expert.
That’s like having Bristol Palin be an Abstinence Expert and….
Wow, the stupid apple not only felt out of the stupid tree, it hit every single stupid branch on the way down, and then landed on a pile of stupid called Levi, and then fucked him.
R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin Republican head, on Mittsy's marriage equality lack of evolution:
"Governor Mitt Romney's statement in opposition to not just marriage but civil unions jeopardizes his ability to win moderates, women and younger voters, especially as a large majority of Americans favor some form of relationship recognition for their LGBT friends and neighbors. Ultimately, the response of the Republican candidates this election cycle will determine not just endorsements by Log Cabin Republicans, but the votes of millions of Americans who are simply tired of the culture wars."
Good luck with that.
Your presumptive nominee and even the head of your committee disagree.
Oh, well, you can try again in 2016.
Steny Hoyer, Democratic House Minority Whip, on marriage equality:
"I have believed that the phrase ‘civil union’ was an appropriate definition of a relationship that is both different and the same between two people of the same sex. And I have believed strongly that such couples must be treated equally under the law. Because I believe that equal treatment is a central tenet of our nation, I believe that extending the definition of marriage to committed relationships between two people, irrespective of their sex, is the right thing to do and will not, in any way, undermine the institution of marriage so important to our society nor impose a threat to any individual marriage. It will, however, extend the respect due to every one of our fellow citizens that we would want for ourselves and our children."
And the Evolution continues……
Michele Bachmann, withdrawing her dual citizenship in America and Switzerland, roughly five seconds after it was announced she was accepting dual citizenship in America and Switzerland, Ladybird's land of origin:
"I sent a letter to the Swiss Consulate requesting withdrawal of my dual Swiss citizenship, which was conferred upon me by operation of Swiss law when I married my husband in 1978. I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen. I am, and always have been, 100 percent committed to our United States Constitution and the United States of America. As the daughter of an Air Force veteran, stepdaughter of an Army veteran and sister of a Navy veteran, I am proud of my allegiance to the greatest nation the world has ever known."
Pandering delusional, married to a homosexual, moron.
Howard Stern, new America's Got Talent judge, on fellow celebrity judges Britney Spears, and Jennifer Lopez:
"Well, I think it's a wonderful decision [on the $15 million deal Spears just signed to become The X Factor judge]. Britney still thinks the earth is flat. I don't anticipate great opinions from her. I think she's gonna sit there like J.Lo, 'Oh, you're wonderful, you're terrific. You think I can get a perfume endorsement out of this?' As far as any real criticism, I think Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid will do that. I think Britney will sit there and eat a lollipop and wear a sexy outfit. I'll tune in to see what kind of train wreck she is, absolutely."
Rick Santorum, bigot, homophobe, moron, failed presidential candidate, on wanting Mitt Romney to talk up his anti-gay values:
"This is a very potent weapon, if you will, for Governor Romney if he’s willing to step up and take advantage of a president who is very much out of touch with the values of America...Hopefully Governor Romney will continue to stand tall for his position on this issue and understanding how detrimental it would be for society for it to have this changed."
Like Romney needs to amp up his fear and loathing of the LGBT community.
Like he needs the help of Frothy.
He’s enough lying, flip-flopping, pandering hatred for the whole party, all by himself.
James Lankford, Oklahoma Republican Congressman, on his support for legislation making it okay to fire someone for being gay....oh and how being gay is a choice:
"Well, you’re now dealing with behavior and I’m trying to figure out exactly what you’re trying to mean by that. Because you’re dealing with — race and sexual preferences are two different things. One is a behavior-related and preference-related and one is something inherently — skin color, something obvious, that kind of stuff. You don’t walk up to someone on the street and look at them and say, “Gay or straight? I think it’s a choice issue. Are tendencies and such? Yes. But I think it’s a choice issue."
Oh Jimmy. I know its Oklahoma but it doesn’t have to be stupid.
See, your being stupid is a choice. Your being a homophobe is a choice. My thinking you’re an idiot is a choice.
My being gay is an orientation.
Bob Staake, artist, on his art piece for the recent cover of The New Yorker:
“I am honored to be doing this cover. It’s a celebratory moment for our country, and that’s what I tried to capture. (I don’t especially like those rainbow colors, but they are what they are—I had to use them.) I wanted to celebrate the bravery of the President’s statement—a statement long overdue—but all the more appreciated in this political year. We are on the right side of history.”
I think his art should become life. I’d like to see the columns lit up in Rainbow colors next year as we celebrate Obama’s second term, and LGBT Pride.
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Bodies … The Exhibition explores our self-contained worlds of wonder
By Josh Bell
Photos By Christopher DeVargas
Most entertainment in Las Vegas isn’t out to teach you anything, and that’s OK. Las Vegas is a place for escapism and spectacle, and going to see a show or visit an attraction is usually a chance to cut loose and forget about the outside world for a little while. But Las Vegas can also be a place for becoming more engaged with the world, and one of the best places to do that is at Bodies … The Exhibition at Luxor, a unique opportunity to learn about the intricacies and wonders of our human bodies.
Yes, those are actual human bodies that you will see at the exhibition, preserved via a process known as polymer preservation. According to materials from Premier Exhibitions, it’s “a revolutionary technique in which human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber. This prevents the natural process of decay, making the specimens available for study for an indefinite period of time.” In other words, the bodies and human organs on display look just as clear and detailed as any model, except that they’re completely real, offering an unprecedented level of insight and accuracy.
What’s the value of using real human bodies rather than carefully constructed models? “Seeing promotes understanding, and understanding promotes the most practical kind of body education possible,” says Dr. Roy Glover, the exhibition’s chief medical director, in the exhibition’s frequently asked questions. As you walk into the attraction, the first thing you see is a room displaying bones, so anyone who’s a little skeptical can ease into the presentation. Right away, however, it’s obvious that the skeleton on display is different from a model you might see in a science class, and just realizing that these bones came from real human beings adds a level of gravity and significance to the experience.
As you make your way through the exhibition, you can see rooms dedicated to the various systems of the body, as well as entire preserved bodies, often in familiar poses, throwing a football or digging a ditch or sitting in contemplation. There’s beauty here, too, especially in the room devoted to the circulatory system, where blood vessels, arteries and even hearts are suspended in fluid and vividly colored, looking almost like abstract art. Although Bodies is at times a somber experience, there’s no reason why it can’t have a little Las Vegas flair as well.
Other parts of the exhibition demonstrate the condition of diseased organs and chart the development of a fetus, and the variety of ways of looking at the human body can be astonishing. While some cities have closed down other Bodies exhibitions, visitors in Las Vegas have the chance to see this remarkable exploration of the human condition up close. With all of the amazing feats on display in town (acrobats contorting, singers coaxing beautiful sounds from their vocal chords, dancers engaged in graceful, fluid motion), Bodies offers a look into the origin of everything that is wonderful and miraculous about how humans function.
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By Amanda Joering Alley • firstname.lastname@example.org
After increasing enforcement and spreading the word to the community, the Fort Thomas Police Department is reporting a decrease in speeding on Tremont Avenue.
Lieutenant James Gadzala said after receiving several complaints about drivers speeding on Tremont, a through street that connects South Fort Thomas Avenue and Grand Avenue, the department conducted a stealth box study to monitor speed.
The results showed that in nine days, 388 vehicles were found going 34 to 36 miles per hour, 116 were going 37 to 39 miles per hour and 28 were going over 39 miles per hour on the street, which has a speed limit of 25.
The department then began an education and enforcement campaign to address the issue and spread the word that they have zero tolerance for speeding, Gadzala said.
“January and February we hit Tremont pretty hard running radar,” Gadzala said. “We really put a lot of time into it.”
Earlier this month, the department again did a stealth box study of the speed and found that the number had decreased.
During the nine-day period of the second study, 39 cars were found going 34 to 36, three were going 37 to 39 and none were going over 39.
“We really had a lot of community support and the schools helped us spread the word to parents about reducing their speed,” Gadzala said.
Gadzala said the department plans to continue monitoring the speed on the street and will hold another study in April.
Currently the police are working to try and have permanent signs placed on the street that say “Targeted Radar Enforcement Area,” Gadzala said.
Gadzala said the department is planning on working on reducing the speed on some other streets in the city as well.
Posted in: News
Tags: Fort Thomas
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Mubarak as initiator of Arab Spring
HDN | 10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM |
Hosni Mubarak is on trial. His country is in transition, and the youth of Tahrir Square is lost in disillusionment. I have been looking at the photos of Mubarak facing prosecution on his sick bed. It’s tragic, but what goes around comes around, I suppose.
Hosni Mubarak is on trial. His country is in transition, and the youth of Tahrir Square is lost in disillusionment. I have been looking at the photos of Mubarak facing prosecution on his sick bed. It’s tragic, but what goes around comes around, I suppose. A new study by Fabrice Murtin and Romain Wacziarg on “The Democratic Transition” has appeared on the website of the National Bureau of Economic Research (www.nber.org). I recommend everyone to take a look at it. After reading it, I have come to the conclusion that it is Hosni Mubarak himself who initiated the Arab Spring transformation in Egypt. The improvement of Egypt in the last 30 years in the 2010 Human Development Report (HDR) alone is mind boggling.
The study’s major finding is that modernization, as measured by income per capita and educational attainment, affects democracy (that is in the long run, of course, when we will all be dead.) The data set covers the period between 1870 and 2000. Primary education is considered to be a robust determinant of democracy over the long term. The study reminds me of the 2010 HDR findings. There was a box on Arab countries in the report. It showed that there were six Muslim majority countries (Oman, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria) among the top 10 human development performers around the globe in the last 40 years. Over the three decades of Mubarak’s rule, Egypt was the eighth highest performing country among the 135 countries studied. It may be true that Mubarak made a big mess during his 30 years in power, but Egypt outperformed Turkey during his time, as did Tunisia. Turkey is ranked 25th among a total of 135 countries. That covers all human development indicators.
The United Nations Development Program has published the HDR every year since 1990. According to the human development report, living a ”humane life” refers to living in a society composed of individuals who have a certain life expectancy, enjoy a sufficient per capita income, and improve their skill sets in line with the global educational standards. The race to this end has recently been led by Arab and Muslim majority countries. That makes me start considering the tragedy of Mubarak. Perhaps I should ask my Egyptian friends for help.
If you invest heavily in human capital, missing links, such as democracy, are built by the people themselves. This can be an unintended consequence in our new global village. Thanks to the late Steve Jobs, computer literacy has jumped, eroding the digital divide. This is a new era where the number of “those who know” is increasing. Are those who know equal to those who don’t? They are not. Those who know start questioning police treatment and living conditions of their hometowns.
These days some people talk about a possible Kurdish Spring. Maybe it would be a good idea to compare the HDR rankings of Arabs and Kurds in the last 30 years, as a start.
Advice for Iran? Stop building schools. Ban the internet. Confiscate all iPads.
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Most online businesses know the importance of ranking highly on search engines. Some even acquire the assistance of website link building services in order to do this. These are some of the ways that services can help new and developing businesses.
Creating good content
The first step in link building is the creation of good content. The goal of the website developer is to create a site that other people will want to link to. For those who are not already aware of how to create a desirable site, website link building services may need to be hired. They can advise people on what type of articles to write and what kind of videos to make. Furthermore, they can also give tips on how to design sites and what kind of color schemes most attract viewers. These services can also act as editors and consultants. A legitimate link building service will take the time to look at an already existing site and advise people on what alterations need to be made. They can even perform simple editing, such as proofreading articles and ensuring that proper grammar and spelling are utilized. A good service will know how to create a site that attracts viewers and hits.
Making good connections
The next step to creating effective links is finding other sites that allow for messaging and posting. Reputable website link building services will know which sites to contact and which ones to post on. They will also be aware as to which sites are of a higher quality and which ones are not. It is important to note that the more high quality sites that “point” toward a particular site, the higher the ranking of that site becomes. Good organic SEO services will know which sites to post on and which will be most advantageous for a new web developer.
Letting go of control
A good link building service will always be happy to advise new clients but will know when to let go. Companies that take advantage of potential clients is way too common. An ideal SEO company will help a website creator to get started and will give him or her the tools to continue when all the pieces start to fall into place. Good website link building services want to help their clients but will never make them dependent on their services. A scam service, on the other hand, will give faulty advice and continue to leech off their clients.
People who are just starting out in SEO should therefore consider hiring a professional service. A service can advise web developers on how to create good content and make good connections. Website link building services will also empower their clients with the tools needed to survive in the SEO world.
- The Value of Link Building Services (iamsellingtoday.com)
- Using Link Building/Relationship Management Software Pros/Cons (capturedtech.com)
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Carol Bartz, fired as chief executive of Yahoo Inc. last September, wishes she did one thing differently during her troubled tenure.
"I probably wouldn't have said the F-word,'' Ms. Bartz said at a Women in the Economy conference this month organized by The Wall Street Journal. Fellow Yahoo directors discouraged her frequent use of swear words, people familiar with the matter have said.
Yet Ms. Bartz, 63 years old, used profanity to energize employees about beating competitors while successfully running Autodesk Inc. for 14 years. Staffers there "loved me,'' she told me recently. Four-letter words language "show passion and commitment.''
Generally, cursing at work can damn your career. Managers who cuss appear unprofessional and out of control, executive coaches and recruiters say.
But that's not always the case. Deployed at the right moment and in the right setting, a well-chosen curse word can motivate a team, dissolve tension or win over an audience.
"Companies increasingly prefer authentic leaders,'' says Jeffrey Cohn, a CEO succession-planning expert. "Using colorful language can play to your advantage—as long as you also demonstrate empathy and good business judgment.''
Consider Michael Dubin, founder of e-commerce startup Dollar Shave Club. He stars in an online video where he boasts its razor blades "are "F---ing great.'' Still, he bleeped part of that motto.
The video communicated "the same intensity without having to actually hear it (the F-word),'' explains Mr. Dubin, whose company has five full-time employees. "People know the curse is there.'' Profanity can have the right effect, "but you have to know your environment,'' he adds.
That's why Mr. Dubin never swears during pitches to venture-capital firms, which so far have provided Dollar Shave with $1 million in seed funding.
Letting fly with profanity during a job interview is pretty much always a bad idea—but not everyone realizes it.
A chief financial officer in the hospitality industry lost a chance to land the same spot at a genteel rival company partly because he described his boss in deeply profane terms "within ten minutes of meeting me,'' recalls Jane Howze, a managing director of Alexander Group, a Houston executive-search firm. "I said, 'This guy has no emotional intelligence.'''
Still, Ms. Howze says she has recommended top management candidates who've used the occasional four-letter word to describe their professional achievements more emphatically.
For Brent Sherwin, a senior vice president of a Schwan Food Co. unit, profanity was a part of his work persona. Company truck drivers still "love to hear me swear,'' he notes.
But his employer reprimanded him for swearing during large group presentations attended by executives. Assisted by an executive coach, Mr. Sherwin says he realized that cursing on the job is not unlike adding fiery spices to an entree: "Used sparingly, it's very effective.''
When he addressed a Schwan national sales meeting last December, Mr. Sherwin cursed just once. He waited until the end to rally workers about beating the competition, urging them to "f----ing kick their asses!'' he remembers. It did the job: "Even senior executives stood up and applauded."
Using a well-placed curse usually helps one senior litigation partner at a West Coast law firm frequently puts her male clients at ease.
Such clients speak candidly sooner "when they feel like I am one of the guys,'' says the veteran attorney, who chose not to use her name because she fears being seen as unprofessional. Men see that "if you don't shrink at foul language, you won't shrink at something opposing counsel will throw at you,'' she continues.
Executive women who curse face greater career risks than their male counterparts do. "It's deemed not appropriate for females to be swearing,'' says Dee Soder, managing partner of CEO Perspective Group, an executive-advisory firm. "There's a higher standard for women.''
Indeed, during the Journal conference, my colleague Alan Murray chided Ms. Bartz for heavily using the F-word while she led Yahoo.
In Jim Neill's experience, lighthearted obscenities have defused tense work situations. He and about 15 colleagues at the National Association of Manufacturers got laid off right before Christmas in 2008. Mr. Neill, an assistant vice president, dispatched an e-mail that lightened the gloomy mood, according to a former co-worker.
"Free food in the employee lounge!'' was the subject line. The note said that he had begun work "on my long-delayed book and instructional DVD, "Rhymes with Truck: How to Use Profanity in Every Sentence.'''
Mr. Neill became a vice president of Retail Industry Leaders Association. He now sometimes interjects a "bull----" during office debates about a knotty problem. It "allows people to take a breather from the challenging situation.''
Equally important is grasping a new workplace's attitude toward profanity. Swearing remains common at talent agencies, management consultancies, investment banks, media businesses, heavy manufacturers and movie studios.
Geography counts, too. Cursing "helped define my career in England because everybody swears,'' a successful British advertising executive recalls.
Things changed, however, when the ad man moved to New York six years ago. American associates warned that his salty language made some uncomfortable, he says. "I just dialed it right down.''
Write to Joann S. Lublin at email@example.com
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(Review, Before/After Photos, Giveaway) Potency without the Viper Venom: Immunocologie VenoMax Treatment Creme
Whenever I examine a skincare product, I always look for two things: results, and the science behind it. Over the past few years, the anti aging category has completely exploded because everyone wants to explore the “youth in a bottle” phenomenon. But, only some work, and others don’t.
When I was invited last week to learn about the science behind Immunocologie’s latest skincare launch, VenoMax, I was intrigued because the line uses a process I had never before heard of: biofermentation. I sat next to the formulator and one of the co-founders of the company, a gentle and extremely learned scientist, Dr. Manzoor Jaffrey, who told me about the firm’s patented Bioferm Process.
He explained to me that how, after being dissatisfied with so many skincare products on the market, he wanted something that really worked. Jaffrey developed a process called Bioferm that is modeled on the ancient alchemic process called “Nigredo,” whose sole purpose is to transform the life force within matter. This process is actually different from other products’ formulations where the trick is their “blending” process. So, in essence, because Immunocologie’s ingredients are fermented, there is no danger of the ingredients going through oxidation process; plus, the result is a much more powerful cream.
As Jaffray explains, the ingredients are powerful, just like raw food. The reason why the product is called “Immunocologie” is because it helps with the skin’s own immune system. You might dismiss this as hogwash, but listen to the science behind this for a bit. Because the skin is the largest organ in the body, it maintains its own immune system, it’s imperative to help protect it. This is why people recommend you eat your daily fruits and veggies, for one. Now, how can a skincare cream help with your immune system, you might be thinking? It all has to do with the Reticulate of Langerhans Cells, which are white blood cells generated in the bone marrow. When the arrive at the epidermis, they develop small legs or dendrites, and automatically generate an immune response to the skin when they come into contact with ingredients they don’t recognize. But ingredients that have been through the bio fermentation process are readily accepted by these cells, so in essence Immunocologie acts as a bio catalyst.
Now, the brand has launched a new treatment creme called VenoMAx, which fights “inflamm’aging” with an exclusive complex that mimics Viper Venom.
Viper Venom, as you may have heard, is basically a “botox” for your face. Don’t ask me how they discovered this, but apparently the venom relaxes wrinkles. Now, VenoMAX aims to simulate the effects of Viper Venom, and it also decreases inflammatory activity while increasing hydration, and also brightens the skin tone and evens the skin.
Now, VenoMAX has nothing from the viper — in fact, its key ingredient is a plant-based peptide that biomimics the protein found in viper venom. It also contains inflammation-fighting snow algae from Japan, regenerative Alpine Rose and Magnolia Tree Bark. In addition to all these natural ingredients, it also contains Bioferrin, which is an active protein isolated from fresh sweet whey. So — a truly nature-derived product that’s quite potent while being fermented. That’s big!
I have been using the VenoMAX religiously on my forehead, where I have several wrinkles and I have noticed a substantial improvement both in the level of hydration as well as the relaxation of the wrinkles. Below you can see a Before/ After and the texture of the back of my hand — just after a few minutes.
The VenoMAX creme retails for $275 (the VenoMAX Light is part of the VenoMAX family and retails for $195) at Clyde’s on Madison, White’s Pharmacy and online.
The packaging is upscale, elegant and very “Ascot” in black and white
VenoMAX comes in an elegant jar made of black, baked glass. Look at how it glistens! Just a little bit goes a long way, baby!
Before using VenoMAX Treatment Creme
After using Immunocologie VenoMAX — just after a few minutes you can see how the skin’s hydration levels have improved.
As a special to our readers, we are pleased to give away ONE JAR of Immunocologie’s VenoMAX Treatment Creme. Leave a comment below letting us know what you love about this product, and how you think it can help you. Winners will be picked by September 30th (US only please).
- Charu Suri
For giveaways and contests, sign up for our newsletter HERE.
If you like this post, share it with your friends and give it a LIKE on Facebook.
BeautyStat frequently receives products for review but its opinions and reviews are completely unbiased and not sponsored. Should there ever be a sponsored post, we will ensure that this is displayed clearly in the post heading. Samples are certainly welcome for consideration but do not guarantee reviews.
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A high school in Detroit is warning that scammers are using their name to steal money.
Martin Luther King High School Band Director Victoria Miller says she's been told that there are people passing out fliers with her name and images of the band on them -- soliciting money for a college tour in May. But Miller says the money collected isn't going toward the students, but to someone's pocket.
"I don't have any students out there fundraising at all," she said.
Miller said her band members go out with M&Ms and water bottles when they fundraise. And they always wear their King Marching Band T-shirts.
"It hurts me. It's very deceptive," she said. "I'm worried about the people they approach because there was one group of guys who were collecting peoples names and addresses and phone numbers. I wouldn't want them to hurt anyone who would be a supporter of us."
Miller said the scams using her band's name has happened before.
"They [scammers] know we have a reputation for fundraising and there are so many people who support us. So, they're out there using our name," Miller said.
The band mostly recently raised money and traveled to perform at the Olympics in London.
Detroit Public Schools police are investigating.
Meanwhile, Cass Tech's band is fundraising for money to travel to Washington D.C. for President Barack Obama's inauguration.
To make a donation, send checks to:
Presidential Inauguration c/o Cass Tech Bookstore
2501 Second Avenue
Detroit, MI 48207
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am-bi-tion [am bish'n] (am-bi-tions)
1. desire for success
a strong feeling of wanting to be successful in life and achieve great things.
2. objective or goal
a goal or objective that somebody is trying to achieve
why should i feel guilty about being an ambitious person? i always hear, "you are working yourself into an early grave". if this is the case, i can say i enjoyed my journey getting there. i have no regrets with being the person i am and having the work ethic that i do. i am always challenging myself to grab that next "brass ring" in the corporate world. i am most definitely part of the minority when it comes to my place of employment. it is no where near being a diverse working environment. i have seen so many of my fellow brothers and sisters come and go so fast that my head is still spinning. i do not get involved with others and their time with my employer. so i would not know who the instigator in the seperation was. i just hope it was amicable.
part of the reason for this post is due to me being upset with myself for not doing anything recreational on my time off. i then realized that i was only upset with myself because others told me that i should be upset that i am not doing anything but working. i always joke, "work is my hobby!" no matter how much i joke, this is the truth. when i see that others who came before me squandered all they worked hard for, i vowed that will not be me. to me, that would be the time that i should be upset with myself. i came from a very poor background with a very tragic upbringing. i definitely know what it is like to not have. i love the fact that i do not have financial issues and that i can still, in these topsy-turvy times, go into a place of business and not worry about the price of anything. do not get me wrong. i am not a materialistic person. i am far from it. i just like the security of being financially well off.
why am i so ambitious? i am ambitious because 1. i do not want to be the antonym which is unmotivated. there are enough people filling those shoes. NO THANK YOU. 2. before i knew what ambition was i was homeless at a very young age. i called my parents and asked for $5 after i was out in the streets and i was denied. after that, i promised i would not ask another person for a thing. in the 26 years i have been out on my own, i have not asked for a dime. i bust my ass and achieved my current status on my own. this is without the benefit of college or a stable loving home. experience is the best teacher. i currently have my doctorate in AMBITION.
with that, i am calling it a night. i have another ambitious day ahead of me beginning at 4 am. let's just see where the day takes me.
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A common trope of hawkish foreign policy writers is that America took a "holiday from history" by starting too few wars and trimming military spending in the 1990s. The unsubtle suggestion is that this holiday caused 9/11. But a better analogy would be that America, for decades, has taken a holiday from arithmetic, spending money like Jill Kelley at a JSOC mixer.
The fiscal cliff is looming and Washington is scrambling to reach a deal to avoid a Thelma and Louise ending in January. To start, policymakers need to identify spending cuts, and they could begin with Senator Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) just-released report on wasteful and duplicative spending in the Pentagon. The report identifies savings totaling at least $67.9 billion over the next decade in the Department of Defense.
Today is a federal holiday in observance of Veterans Day and we should all pause a moment to reflect on the sacrifices our veterans have made. But today is also an opportunity to reflect on the current state of civil-military relations. In today’s New York Times, Tom Ricks addresses this and notes:
A fixture of the presidential race has been Mitt Romney's 47% problem: Those Americans who don't pay federal income tax that Romney has described as freeloaders. Of course, Romney has retracted his remark. But if he still wants to attack those who freeload off of U.S. taxpayers, there is a better target: Our wealthy overseas allies.
After last night’s debate, I watched the postgame on the Fox News Channel. They had some problems with their fact checking.
It is no surprise that the defense contractors want to protect their profits by getting taxpayers to pony up more money.
Two months ago, Cato published a study by economist Benjamin Zycher, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, that showed that military spending contributes very little to GDP growth, and concludes that cuts would have very little long-term impact on GDP. On the contrary, Zycher estimates that cuts on the order of $100 billion a year would reduce costs in the wider economy by $135 billion per year. I wrote about that study when it was published here.
It's telling that the most quotable line from Mitt Romney's foreign policy speech Monday is a reheated zinger from Rudy Giuliani's 2008 Republican National Convention speech: "Hope is not a strategy."
The Romney campaign is airing a television ad in Florida, and similar ads in other states, accusing President Obama of pushing “defense cuts” that “threaten thousands of jobs.”
Over the weekend, the Washington Post published a lengthy story by Dana Priest on plans to modernize the nation’s nuclear arsenal. It is difficult to comprehend the strategic rationale for the nation’s nuclear arsenal and force structure, and politics and parochialism (especially the jobs associated with the various nuclear labs) add a further layer of complexity.
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New Nstar Transmission Line Approved By State Siting Board
Critical Resource To Bolster Boston-area Electricity Infrastructure
The new transmission line will address specific weaknesses in the Boston-area electrical transmission system consistent with the recommendations of Governor Romney's Task Force on Electric Reliability and Outage Preparedness, which was convened following the blackout of August 14, 2003.
Department of Telecommunications & Energy ("DTE") Chairman Paul G. Afonso, who also chairs the Energy Facilities Siting Board, applauded the decision. "Today, we acted unanimously in approving a reliable energy resource that will bring much-needed power into the Boston area and reduce our reliance on older, less efficient power plants," said Chairman Afonso.
Beth Lindstrom, Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation, said the siting board's decision is an important step in maintaining an affordable and first-class energy supply for the Boston-area and the regional power grid. "This project is in keeping with the integrated energy policy that Governor Romney wants fostered. It embraces three major goals: assuring adequate and reliable energy supplies, at reasonable energy prices with environmentally friendly use," said Director Lindstrom.
NSTAR filed its application to construct the new transmission line on January 16, 2004. The Energy Facilities Siting Board held three public comment hearings in March and April at venues in Dorchester, Canton and Roxbury. Evidentiary hearings were then held in July, August and September. On December 23, 2004, the Siting Board staff issued a Tentative Decision, acknowledging the need for the project and recommending that the full Siting Board approve the transmission line.
The NSTAR transmission line will originate from a new switching station to be constructed at the intersection of Route 138 and York Street in Stoughton, adjacent to NSTAR's existing 345kV transmission line running from Walpole to Holbrook. From there, it will run underground along Route 138 through the towns of Stoughton, Canton and Milton into Boston along Cummins Highway to American Legion Highway. At that point, the transmission line will split, with one branch traveling along American Legion Highway to the Hyde Park Substation and another branch traveling approximately 6 miles under Boston streets to the K Street Substation.
NSTAR anticipates equipping the Hyde Park and K Street substations for the new transmission line during the summer of 2006, with full implementation at the K Street substation by the summer of 2008. Today's Siting Board decision imposes conditions designed to minimize traffic disruptions, noise and heavy equipment concerns during construction at switching stations and substations in Stoughton and Boston.
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Thu, Oct 20, 2011
Flights Halted Over Search Area On Wednesday
A search for a 10-month-old baby that reportedly
went missing October 4th prompted the FAA to issue a TFR on
Wednesday in the area surrounding the home of the child's
parents in Kansas City, MO, while authorities searched for
The TFR, which was in effect until about 1100 CDT Wednesday, was
a circle a mile in diameter and reaching up to 1,500 feet agl.
MSNBC reported that the flight restrictions were put in place to
"provide a safe environment for law enforcement." It is the fourth
time that the specific area around the house, described as "heavily
wooded," has been searched.
The baby's mother, Deborah Bradley, admits to being intoxicated
at the time the baby disappeared. She and her husband are
reportedly cooperating with authorities, and her attorney says she
will "absolutely not" be arrested.
Three-Eight Charlie If you know the name of the first woman to fly solo around the world, you’re ahead of most people. By the way, if you thought it was Amelia Earhart, you&r>[...]
Holding pattern. A racetrack pattern, involving two turns and two legs, used to keep an aircraft within a prescribed airspace with respect to a geographic fix.>[...]
“We need a world-class system of weather prediction in the United States – one, as the National Academy of Sciences recently put it, that is ‘second to none'." So>[...]
Send Them A Story -- We Don't Mind! Do you need another set of eyes to see that story you can't believe Jim just wrote? Want to spread Hognose's unique wisdom and perspective to th>[...]
Cites 'Strong Record On Aviation Security' The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) has endorsed Congressman Ed Markey for the U.S. Senate, specifically noting his proven rec>[...]
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Can a numbers guy from Disney correct Gap's style missteps?
(FORTUNE Magazine) - During an investor conference call last spring, Gap Inc. CEO Paul Pressler did a mea culpa, admitting he was "disappointed" by the retail firm's sagging sales. Pledging that a turnaround was in the works, he indicated that improvements in the company's clothing lines should appear by year's end.
Yet when the holiday season arrived, the flagship Gap (Research) brand's annual TV ad campaign--a critical tool and ostensibly a competitive advantage for a true national clothing chain--was shelved. "We had more work to do with Gap's in-store experience and product," explains investor-relations chief Sabrina Simmons.
In other words, the clothes weren't up to snuff. By this February things had only gotten worse, with customer traffic across the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands down 13% from the same point in 2005, same-store sales off 11%, and talent fleeing in alarming numbers. As for the turnaround that was laid out a year ago, Pressler now says it will come in the fall.
That was not the plan when Pressler took over in 2002 from his embattled predecessor, Millard "Mickey" Drexler, who had built Gap into a retail powerhouse but then stumbled badly. Gap's stock fell by two-thirds in Drexler's last two years, and the firm was drowning in $3.4 billion of debt.
Pressler, a longtime Disney executive, swiftly imposed the financial rigor that the business sorely needed. Cash flow improved radically, and investors cheered. "He has made the company financially strong again," says Gap board chairman Bob Fisher, whose parents founded the company in San Francisco in 1969. "We cannot underestimate how the debts on this business crippled us."
But fashion retail is not strictly a numbers game, and the quantitative orientation that made Pressler so appealing as an antidote to Drexler--and initially so successful--has ultimately come back to bite the company. Running a FORTUNE 500 fashion retailer is a tricky balance between the art of conjuring styles and the discipline of managing an enormous and far-flung operation.
Gap seems to have swung from one extreme to the other. The stock, after initially rebounding under Pressler from $10 a share to $25, has since drifted back down to $18. Same-store sales have declined for 18 of the past 21 months. By summer 2005, Pressler was referred to as "DMW," or "dead man walking," in the private-equity community. The Gap board declined to pay Pressler a bonus in 2005, and director Meg Whitman of eBay, who recommended him for the job and whom Pressler considers a strong backer, has announced she will step down when her term expires in May. (Whitman declined to comment.)
Members of the Fisher family own at least 37% of Gap Inc. stock. As long as they support Pressler--which chairman Fisher insists they do--the CEO is secure. Still, the question remains: Is a numbers guy from Disney the right person to lead Gap out of fashion limbo?
"Doesn't this look great?" Pressler asks, as he browses through Banana Republic's upcoming summer line in a showroom at Gap's headquarters. Wearing Ferragamo loafers, a Banana Republic wool blazer, and pressed Gap jeans, the 49-year-old looks every bit the suave fashionista.
But during an extended interview, it becomes clear that Pressler is much more comfortable talking corporate strategy than clothing styles. "I think I have good taste," he says, "but [having good taste] is not my job. I am not a merchant." Instead he defines his task as "meeting investor expectations, building platforms, and building a vision of where we want to go."
He could not be more different from Mickey Drexler, whose fashion instincts made Gap's classic, colorful clothes into America's uniform. As president of the Gap division starting in 1983 and then CEO of Gap Inc. In 1995, Drexler made khakis and T-shirts cool as Gap struck a chord with everyone from hip teens to suburban moms to Sharon Stone, who wore a Gap turtleneck to the Oscars in 1995. The stock soared too, by 862% from 1995 to 2000. But overexpansion and a series of fashion faux pas (including an ill-fated experiment with purple leather pants) brought the Drexler reign to a halt.
When Pressler arrived, he attacked Gap's challenges from a different angle. His previous retail experience had nothing to do with fashion; it consisted of stints running Disney's consumer stores (which were later sold) and the Disneyland theme park (where he expanded the souvenir shops and restaurants), and oversight of all Disney parks and resorts. But he knew how to streamline operations and cut costs.
Working with CFO Byron Pollitt, whom he had brought over from Disney, Pressler shut down hundreds of stores, consolidated production among fewer suppliers, and revamped inventory management. He hired what he calls a "chief algorithm officer" to analyze the sales from every cash register.
It turned out that Gap was sending the same size assortments to stores with different selling patterns, so the company customized deliveries--for instance, sending more extra-larges to places that needed them. Each chain also instituted "guardrails" that defined what portion of a store's inventory should go toward basic colors and styles (regardless of how varied the floor displays). It all served to cut the need for discounting, and profit margins improved.
When it came to the merchandise, Pressler also leaned on the numbers. "Our consumer-insight research showed that the three brands were sitting on top of each other," Pressler recalls. So he pushed them further apart: While Gap stayed in the middle, Old Navy focused on lower prices and basic items, and Banana Republic raised prices and experimented with runway-influenced designs.
It all worked. The business bounced back after 29 straight months of same-store sales declines under Drexler. Cash flow from operations leaped (since Pressler's arrival, the company has paid off $2.9 billion in debt), and Gap's credit rating rose.
But in July 2004 the turnaround hit a snag. Each of the three chains' sales headed south, pushing Gap's comparable sales down 5%. The problem: After initial success spreading the brands apart, Pressler's reliance on metrics prompted him to separate them even further. And it backfired.
Old Navy, known for its specialty sass at discount prices, disappointed its faithful by emphasizing the kinds of commodity T-shirts and jeans you could buy at Target, rather than the trendy-but-cheap looks it had feasted on earlier.
Banana Republic went over the top, devoting too much of its space to embellished pieces unsuitable for the office. As for the Gap brand, it started marketing outfits instead of individual staples like khakis and denim. "In a store you'd see a 'going out' section, a 'go to work' section--it became hard to navigate," Pressler admits. Shoppers who had once considered Banana, Gap, and Old Navy as default choices gravitated to fresher competitors like Abercrombie & Fitch, Urban Outfitters, and J. Crew, where Drexler had become CEO in 2003.
An avalanche was underway inside the company too. Soon after Drexler's departure, a stream of talented executives who had helped make Gap great in its heyday began to head for the exits, from executive vice presidents to in-the-trenches designers. Some were fired, as always happens when a new leader takes over; others left unprompted.
"From the day I got here, we've had to assess our talent," says Pressler, who calls the turnover healthy and normal. Not everyone is so sanguine. Morgan Stanley analyst Michelle Clark has an underweight rating on the stock; she fears that with other ex-Disney players, such as Gap-brand head Cynthia Harriss, now in key roles, the company's lack of fashion expertise at the top is being exacerbated by a drain of youthful morale and energy. "Ten of the best 15 executives in all retail were working for the company," says a former head of one Gap division. "Now they've lost the creative people, almost all the merchandising and design leadership."
By the time Pressler faced investors in that spring 2005 conference call, the momentum he'd built up in his first 18 months was gone. He tried to shift Wall Street's focus to the future, announcing that the company would introduce a new store chain, Forth & Towne, for women 35 and over.
More privately, he went back to the core brands, working with their respective presidents to analyze customer surveys, past hits and flops, and Gallup research. The identity of each chain was recalibrated: Gap would offer high-quality basics with style; Banana Republic would emphasize fashionable classics but avoid the cutting edge; Old Navy would rededicate itself to disposably priced trendy items.
Pressler also cut the nine-month production cycle on some Old Navy clothes to three months--so it could adapt to emerging trends more readily--by moving designers from New York to its San Francisco headquarters, positioning some merchants closer to factories in Southeast Asia, and sourcing more items in North America. "This business is legalized gambling," says Pollitt, referring to the fast-changing whims of fashion, "and we're working to have house odds."
All the changes make sense. They may even have staved off steeper decline. But they have not yet delivered anything that looks like a turnaround. As of Christmas, Gap's clothes and stores weren't good enough to merit buying TV ad time. "The last couple of campaigns didn't have the return we were hoping for," explains Pollitt. Fourth-quarter revenues fell 2%, and earnings slid 11%, while operating margins dropped to 10.9% in 2005 from 12.7% the previous year.
Will GAP bounce back again? That depends on the fashions--the area where Drexler was markedly adept and where Pressler is less instinctively inclined. FORTUNE got a sneak preview of Gap's fall line, and it does look promising. The collection features Gap's classic navy, gray, crisp white, and denim, plus some richer materials--washed leather and cotton cashmere.
Meanwhile, Banana Republic has pulled back from fashion extremes and is focusing on the classics Pressler admired in the showroom. At Old Navy--to which Pressler is looking for a big chunk of the company's growth--product quality has improved noticeably.
Pressler is also investing more in the stores, where Gap's minimalist look too often appears dated and shabby, replacing it with darker-wood fixtures (like Abercrombie), painted walls (like J. Crew), and more dramatic window displays. A back wall dedicated to denim and a colorful "T-shirt bar" highlights Gap's traditional expertise.
New spotlighting, hand-drawn chalk signs, and artful displays of intertwined jeans create a sense of theatricality. "When I was building theme parks [at Disney] we needed to build stories," Pressler says. "Specialty retail is no different. The background experience is what's relevant." Sixty Gap stores have been redesigned so far, with another 220 of the chain's 1,335 stores scheduled to get the new look this year.
All this comes at a financial cost, pushing Gap's capital expenditures to among the highest in specialty retail. Pollitt says the investment will draw customers into stores, so they'll notice the better-designed, higher-quality products. It also means operating margins will drop to between 10% and 10.5% this year, he says, but he predicts a rebound to the mid-teens once more products sell at full price.
Yet Gap faces a perception problem--a struggle to recapture customers who have abandoned it. Bob Buchanan, a retail analyst at A.G. Edwards who has a hold rating on the stock, says that in 23 years covering the industry he's seen only one chain (J.C. Penney) shake an extended slump like this. When frustrated shoppers change their buying habits, he says, they tend to stay changed.
Fiscally and operationally, Gap is a tighter, stronger business than it was in 2002. Pressler has hedged its fashion bets. Company-commissioned research is directing brand presidents on how they can expand the chains into what Pressler calls "lifestyle brands," with line extensions like accessories and babywear.
While creating the Forth & Towne chain may seem a gamble, Pressler says the numbers point to an untapped market. Still, no matter how carefully calibrated Gap's fashion choices are, the nature of the business requires a certain degree of risk taking. No one knows what consumers will actually buy until the goods are on the shelves.
Pressler takes great pride in the fact that Gap was financially strong enough to make a string of fashion mistakes through 2004 and 2005 and still stay profitable. His first priority remains modest: protecting the company from financial swings and heavy debt. As he describes his accomplishments in 2005, "We didn't turn this past year into another financial crisis."
If Gap's ambition in this phase of its existence is simply stable growth, then Pressler--through his use of metrics and the cautious addition of new brands--may be the right man for the job. But without a defining product vision, Gap is unlikely to be the cultural presence it once was, when the dream was not just to deliver dividends but to become a global brand on a par with Coke and McDonald's.
The man who inspired that dream is doing just fine these days as the CEO of J. Crew. Rather than staving off crisis, Drexler finds himself once again at the helm of a fashion front-runner. (Drexler is in an SEC quiet period before J. Crew's pending IPO.) If only the two CEOs' disparate strengths--aesthetic instinct and fiscal ingenuity--could be combined in one place, well, that would be the kind of store where anyone would shop.
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When to go
Thailand is hot all the year round but best time to visit is between October and April when the weather is warm and quite dry, especially in the South West. Between the months of May to September their can be storms and heavy rainfall but it is still very hot and accommodation is usually very cheap.
All year round the weather is warm, but the best weather is between October and April when it is dry and hot. Low Season, May to September is very hot and rainfall is heavier. Average temperatures are between 27-33 degrees.
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Check out our Aboriginal Job Board!
On Earth Hour it was "lights out" for Senator Brazeau
March 31 - Globe and Mail
A surprising victory was won Saturday night in an Ottawa boxing ring when MP Justin Trudeau beat his opponent Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau.
By most accounts Senator Brazeau was favoured to win the bout.
But although Brazeau came out strong in the first round of the Olympic-style match on Saturday, he appeared to tire quickly. By the second round, Trudeau was able to extend his reach and get several hits in to Mr. Brazeau and had him on the ropes. The referee stopped the match in favour of Trudeau during the third round.
“I had a gameplan that I was going to stick to, I knew that he was going to come in heavy and hard right off the bat,” Trudeau said soon after his win. “But I also knew that I was going to be able to take anything he threw at me and when he did, he emptied himself out.”
The senator weighs 183 lbs (83 kilograms), and Trudeau is a bit taller and weighs 180 lbs (81.6 kilograms). Brazeau, who has a black belt in karate and served in the Canadian Forces, admitted that he may have got ahead of himself.
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I think there have been some misconceptions about the nature of the 'hovertank'. It is a conventional hovercraft, floating on a cushion of air created by a series of impellers driven by a turbine engine, ala the Harrier jet. It 'flies' about 6 to 8 inches above the ground, but can move very fast across smooth surfaces, such as water, grassland and the like. These vehicles currently exist and are used by the military, some exceding 100 tons in wieght.
It certainly has a variety of weaponry, lethal and overwise on it. It can be assumed to have some sort of net-launching gun, stun grenades, smoke and tear gas launchers and the rest of the gear you could expect on a well stock police SWAT vehicle. It is also armored against small arms fire, and since few xeo-powers are specifically armor piercing, it is fairly effective against their powers as well.
Spotlights, at least 1 mounted machine gun, and possibly something along the lines of light infantry weapons are present. If pictures and diagrams are need, I can scan some junk out of my Battletech Technical Manuals, but I didnt think that was necessary.
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bjcarne writes in to commend Jon Ramvi and his team, who have delivered their first stable release of Ubuntu Eee, an Ubuntu version customized for the Asus Eee PC. "In December Ubuntu Eee started as a one man project, but [over] the last months several people have joined in on the development. We're trying to achieve something which [hasn't] been successful for any other Linux distribution yet: a OS targeting a single computer which includes the best applications available. This means people can buy this really cheap computer and easily get a great OS on it for free. Ubuntu Eee is just for the Asus Eee. Ubuntu Eee is smaller, faster and we're bringing people the cutting edge of technology (while being stable and free of course)."
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TERRE HAUTE —
West Vigo Elementary School students danced to the “Cha Cha slide” Thursday as part of the school’s kickoff for the “Battle of the Fit,” an MDwise eight-week fitness program.
The school will compete against Ouabache Elementary and Benjamin Franklin Elementary schools to claim a title of “fittest school,” with prizes of $6,000 for the winning school, $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third place.
The money is to be used toward the purchase of fitness-related equipment.
“We’re going to win,” said Peggy Pfrank, principal at West Vigo Elementary School as she watched the school’s 325 students hop and slide in the school gymnasium.
“It is based on fitness activities beyond the routine, so we have some things planned for passing periods, before and after school and in the classroom as well. Some active learning,” Pfrank said.
“We’re so excited. It is a win-win, because our kids will be active learners and will be physically fit, as will the staff, and we can win money,” Pfrank said.
West Vigo hopes to use its winning to help pay for a walking trail on the school’s playground. The trail would be a half mile track, the principal said.
Ouabache and Benjamin Franklin will hold their kickoff on Jan. 29. The program officially starts Jan. 30 and runs through March 27. The top winner and finishers will be announced in April.
In its second year, the MDwise Battle of the Fit program promotes physical activity, health and wellness in an effort to combat childhood obesity. Three Indianapolis schools last year participated in the pilot program, which was a 12-week program. That length was reduced this year.
MDwise, a not-for-profit managed health care organization, serves those on the state’s Hoosier Healthwise, Healthy Indiana and Care Select health coverage programs.
Participating schools earn points for activities such as general exercise, sports, games and dance-related activities. The progress of each school can be monitored at www.battleofthefit.
Becky Klingele, MDwise outreach consultant, said the company has previously held outreach activities with other Vigo County schools, “so we wanted different schools,” Klingele said. To select the three schools, MDwise “looked at free and reduced lunch percentages. These schools are some of the highest” in Vigo County, Klingele said. Benjamin Franklin has the highest percentage, she added.
Dr. Caroline Carney Doebbeling, chief medical officer for MDwise, said childhood obesity continues to rise statewide.
“In fact, recent studies show nearly 30 percent of children in Indiana are overweight or obese. We’re excited that these Terre Haute schools recognize this problem and are ready to proactively fight it,” Doebbeling said in a statement.
Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached at (12-231-4204 or howard.
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The page will allow you to translate a blog into another language!
Please select the language you would like to translate the blog into:
It is so easy to judge, criticize and cast away others who fail to meet our high standards of righteousness. It is so easy to withdraw and walk away from those whose trespasses have marked them as failures.
It is so easy to reject those who have lost their way and leave them to be devoured by the birds of prey. It is so easy to wash our holy hands and have nothing to do with those who are not as perfect as we are.
It is so easy to point our finger at the shortcomings and weaknesses of those unable to be as holy as us. It is so easy to put on our fancy clothes and strut about while scorning those who wallow in the dust.
It is so easy to forget that once upon a time we were as those we love to deride, object to and flee from. It is so easy to close our eyes and never see the hurt, pain and sorrow etched on the faces of the lost.
It is so easy to only be with those who think and live as we do and refusing to allow others into our lives. It is so easy to retreat into the sanctimonious lifestyle of the special people who are better than others.
It is so easy to wake up in the morning thinking only of how God will bless us and make us happy today. It is so easy to fall into the trap of believing life revolves around us and we are the center of everything.
THE WAY is not easy for it demands we reject all the self serving and self promoting fantasies the world programs into us and religion lays upon us as law. To live as Jesus lived is to forgive the sinners instead of stoning them. To live as Jesus lived is to hug the leper instead of running away from him. To live as Jesus lived is to go out of our way to find the downtrodden, hungry and thirsty and offer them comfort, food and water.
Anyone who says it is EASY to live for and like Christ is wrong. It is NOT easy to live in a way contrary to everything those around us consider to be right. It is NOT easy to humble ourselves and through obedience and love, offer ourselves in service to others. It is NOT easy to be willing to never receive accolades or praise for doing what needs to be done that no one else will do.
There was no easy way for Jesus to manifest the love of God and be a friend to sinners. His way got Him crucified and rejected by all. But His way is the only way that is right in Gods eyes and His way is THE way we should strive to emulate and follow in this life. Doing what is right is not easy but it is the calling of all who love God.
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Intel is celebrating its four-decade-long relationship with Stanford University by spotlighting the school's nexus with its top executives.
The Intel-Stanford tie famously began back in 1969 when Stanford electrical engineering alumnus Ted Hoff became Intel employee No. 12. Within two years, he had invented, along with Federico Faggin and Stan Mazor, Intel's flagship product: the microprocessor.
For more than four decades, the Stanford-Intel relationship has been behind the launch of some of Intel's flagship technologies and hundreds of the company's engineering careers. (Almost 1,000 Stanford alumni have worked at Intel and a Stanford University Web page marks this relationship.)
The retirement this month of Intel chairman and former CEO (1998-2005) Craig Barrett, highlights one of the most enduring ties. Barrett was a professor from 1965 until he joined Intel in 1974.
"Industry does a good job at the D part of R&D--but we rely on the tier-one research universities like Stanford on the R side," Barrett said in an interview published on Stanford University's Web site. Barrett cited marquee research at Stanford such as semiconductor device modeling and new packaging technologies.
Senior VP Pat Gelsinger is another Stanford graduate. "We've had great results from the collaboration," said Gelsinger--also quoted in the interview--who earned an masters of science degree in electrical engineering at Stanford in 1985. "In almost every area that Intel is doing work we can point to significant collaboration and research projects with Stanford." … Read more
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* Above, Margolles, via Universe in Universe.
What do you get when you put Mexico's preeminent contemporary art critic and its most radical working artist together on the global stage of the moment? I'm gonna go ahead and say it: You get a temple of blood.
Cuauhtémoc Medina, as a curator, submitted the winning entry for the Mexico pavilion at the upcoming Venice Biennale, featuring a new installation by Teresa Margolles, an artist who specializes in the material usage of cadavers, morgue water, and blood. For the 2009 Mexico pavilion, Margolles will exhibit mud and human blood from the sites of narco executions in Sinaloa area, where she is based. The pavilion is to be installed at the 16th Century Palazzo Rota Ivancich, just steps from St. Mark's Square. Blood, I'm told, will drip continuously upon the palace's ancient floors.
Read more at e-flux.
Reforma announced the exhibit in Wednesday's paper with this headline: "Narcoterror to be Exhibited in Venice." It's actual title is "What else could we talk about?", a blunt admission of the blood-soaked elephant in the room that no one in Mexico can deny, no matter how hard the president, media, and foreign boosters try. The purpose of the work, I'm told, is to "activate back those materials" in the face of the art-world and the consumers of Mexican-managed drugs in the United States and Europe -- and in Mexico itself.
So said Mariana Botey and Helena Chávez Mac Gregor, who aided Medina in the curation and writing of the work's texts. Those writings will be available later at this site where the artists contribute, Des-Bordes. Drenched in real Mexican blood, the installation, Chavez said, is all the more pertinent as Mexico became the pariah of the global community this spring after the swine flu feargasm.
"It's pure contamination, pure infection," Chavez told me Wednesday evening.
Botey added in our dual interview: "[Margolles] interrupts the art space by bringing in these materials that are really charged, which traces the relationship between death and power. It's about necropolitics, and the eruption of necropolitics in the art sphere."
With Mexico's conservative federal government trying its best to contain the geopolitical consequences of the orgy of narco violence in Mexico, and Europe's generally delicate airs, we'll see in the coming days how this aggressive gesture by Mexico's Medina and Margolles goes over. The Mexico Pavilion in Venice is slated to be on view until November.
* Images and media reaction to come later.
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Editor's note: The Traveler's Psyche is a five-week series focusing on travel scenarios that stir emotion. We're starting with frustration and will wind up on a happy note in June. This week we looked at the airline seat squeeze. Tomorrow we'll have a story on the TSA.
(CNN) -- When it comes to air travel, just about everyone has a complaint, no matter which security line they use.
Passengers are tired of long lines, baggage fees and last-minute delays. Airline employees and flight attendants could do without the cranky travelers who refuse to wait patiently, turn off cell phones or stay in their seats.
Sometimes that frustration escalates into "air rage" incidents that still disturb the friendly skies post-September 11. Reported instances of unruly passengers rose internationally about 29% between 2009 and 2010, following an estimated 27% rise between 2008 and 2009, according to the International Air Transport Association, which represents about 240 airlines worldwide.
The numbers are a small part of the picture because they only include reported instances. They don't count all the times a member of the flight crew manages to calm an anxious flier or successfully mediates disputes over seats or armrests.
In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration keeps numbers on unruly passengers who interfere with the duties of a crew member, but reporting is left to the discretion of the crew. Numbers related to security violations are not included because those cases are handled by the Transportation Security Administration, which keeps its own data.
But even those statistics may or may not include incidents in which the crew requested that local law enforcement meet the plane and take control of a passenger, an FAA spokeswoman said.
"Air rage has remained a problem post-September 11, although it is much more subtle than before the attacks," said University of Akron assistant professor Andrew R. Thomas, who keeps track of incidents on his site, AirRage.org.
In his book "Soft Landing: Airline Industry Strategy, Service and Safety," Thomas wrote that in the 24 months before September 11, there were 30 documented cases of unruly passengers partially or completely entering the cockpit.
"Today, because of heightened security awareness and the reinforced cockpit door, air rage is likely to involve a confrontation between a disruptive passenger and a member of the flight crew or another traveler," he said.
Yet, apart from the occasional Alec Baldwin-size disturbance, aviation experts said the impact of disruptive passengers on day-to-day operations is barely perceptible. Since 2006, when 1,417 unruly passenger incidents were reported to the TSA, the number has fluctuated on a mostly downward trend, hitting 1,218 in 2011. As of May 1, 385 unruly passenger incidents had been reported to the TSA.
Those figures include passengers being disruptive, intoxicated or confrontational with security screeners, law enforcement officers, airport employees or passengers in airports and on aircraft. It also includes times when a pilot requested law enforcement to meet the aircraft because of an unruly passenger.
A similar trend is reflected in the FAA's unruly passenger statistics between 1995 and 2011, with the number of incidents peaking at 330 in 2004 before gradually dwindling to 131 last year.
"More than 28,000 flights take off each day in the United States, so if you look at the statistics, they're pretty small in relation to the big picture," said Kees Rietsema, department chair of business administration at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
"It's not something the crew stresses about on a day-to-day basis. Their concerns are basically the same as in the past: staying on schedule, weather, congestion at airports."
From security pat-downs to the behavior of other travelers, a number of factors can provoke anxiety. But usually, the addition of alcohol to the mix is what tips the scales into rage territory, said Ronald Carr, assistant professor of aviation physiology at Embry-Riddle.
A report released in the United Kingdom in 2008 found that incidents of air rage had soared from 696 in 2003-2004 to 2,702 in 2007-2008. The figures from the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport revealed that alcohol consumption and smoking were the main factors in nearly 63% of reported incidents, and 78% of cases involved male passengers.
Americans of a certain age might recall a time when airlines were the gold standard of customer service, when champagne flowed freely and every passenger received a hot meal. It was also the era when air travel was strictly the domain of the wealthy and business passengers, and family travel was reserved for the most special of occasions.
Service began to deteriorate with the deregulation of the industry in 1978 and continued into the 1990s with the arrival of bargain airlines, airline industry expert Joyce Hunter wrote in her book, "Anger in the Air." Airlines across the board were forced to cut prices to keep up, leading to cutbacks in service and amenities that had defined the golden era of air travel.
The term "air rage" entered the public consciousness in the 1990s, spurred by a rash of incidents, culminating in the death of Jonathan Burton in 2000 at the hands of fellow passengers attempting to restrain him as he rushed the cockpit door.
Between 1994 and 1997, the number of air rage incidents reported around the world had more than quadrupled from 1,132 to 5,416. By 2000, the number of air rage incidents in the United States topped 10,000, Hunter said in her book.
"(September 11) has compounded the growing epidemic of passenger rage, while making it more urgent than ever that airlines around the world find ways to prevent it," Hunter said.
"Airlines used to brag of 'something special in the air.' On September 11, that 'something' turned into a toxic mix of fear and anger that would slowly seep into the hearts and minds of airline travelers and personnel alike, further eroding the civility of travel that was once an integral part of the industry's culture," she wrote.
The number of incidents appeared to dwindle in the years following September 11, only to return to an upswing in the mid-2000s. In 2010, the International Air Transport Association asked the U.N. body representing the world's aviation regulators to take a look at management of unruly passengers in light of evidence that most rarely face official action.
"It's a matter of getting the contracting states around the table and acknowledging this is a serious issue: that the number of unruly passengers is on the rise and it needs to be decided how countries address this," Steve Lott, former International Air Transport Association head of corporate communications in North America, told Orient Aviation magazine in 2010.
Flight attendant Heather Poole has witnessed firsthand growing frustration among passengers in the past decade, and she said it's worse than ever.
"Passengers are far less patient today than ever before. This makes them quicker to snap," said Poole, author of "Cruising Attitude."
"Before September 11, if we asked passengers to remain seated to let those with tight connections to get off first, people would stay seated. Now no one cares. People practically push each other over to get off and on the plane. It's sad to see."
Cell phones and alcohol tend to be the most common triggers of confrontations with passengers. In the past decade, training has focused on the cabin crew's role in defusing a situation to avoid the need for drastic action, such as diverting a plane or calling law enforcement to meet the aircraft, she said.
Flight attendants are compelled to respond more quickly to a potential threat but also to do whatever it takes to keep the situation from escalating.
"We have to be more patient than ever before. It's not easy. We're human, too," she said. "When you're trapped in a tube at 30,000 feet, we can't call the cops or the fire department if need be. It's just you and me.
"That's why it's always best to remove a potential problem before the flight takes off. If you really must freak out, do so when we're safe and sound on the ground. No one wants to divert a flight."
Frustration is far from the only emotion travel inspires. We want to hear about your greatest travel moments, whether serendipitous or carefully planned. What sticks out to you as your biggest travel success? Share your stories below for possible inclusion in an upcoming story.
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TOPEKA, KS–The second law of thermodynamics, a fundamental scientific principle stating that entropy increases over time as organized forms decay into greater states of randomness, has come under fire from conservative Christian groups, who are demanding that the law be repealed.
"What do these scientists want us teaching our children? That the universe will continue to expand until it reaches eventual heat death?" asked Christian Coalition president Ralph Reed, speaking at a rally protesting a recent Kansas Board Of Education decision upholding the law. "That's hardly an optimistic view of a world the Lord created for mankind. The American people are sending a strong message here: We don't like the implications of this law, and we will not rest until it has been reversed in the courts."
The controversial law of nature, which asserts that matter continually breaks down as disorder increases and heat is lost, has long been decried by Christian fundamentalists as running counter to their religion's doctrine of Divine grace and eternal salvation.
"Why can't disorder decrease over time instead of everything decaying?" asked Jim Muldoon of Emporia, KS. "Is that too much to ask? This is our children's future we're talking about."
"I wouldn't want my child growing up in a world headed for total heat death and dissolution into a vacuum," said Kansas state senator Will Blanchard (R-Hutchinson). "No decent parent would want that."
Calling the second law of thermodynamics "a deeply disturbing scientific principle that threatens our children's understanding of God's universe as a benevolent and loving place," Blanchard is spearheading a nationwide grassroots campaign to have the law removed from high-school physics textbooks. The plan has already met with significant support in the state legislatures of Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Mississippi.
"My daughter's schoolbooks tell her that we live in a world ruled by disorder," said Knox Heflin, one of several dozen fundamentalists who spoke out against the teaching of the law at a Statesboro (GA) School Board hearing. "That's a direct contradiction of what it says in the Bible, about how everything is going to get better, and we'll all live happily up in heaven after the End Times."
"The only 'heat death' Jesus ever mentioned is the one that sinners will suffer for all eternity in the Lake of Fire," said Indianola (MS) School Board president Bernice McCallum. "Now more than ever, we need to hear what the Bible has to say about our public schools' physical-science curricula."
Leading physicists contend that, as the foundation of much of our current scientific understanding, a reversal of the second law of thermodynamics would have massive ramifications on the future of both our nation and the universe itself.
"Were the second law to be repealed, random particles would collect and organize themselves instead of dissipating, which could affect such basic processes as combustion, digestion, evaporation, convection–that sort of thing," Columbia University superstring theorist Dr. Brian Greene said. "There wouldn't be much sunlight, either, because all stars, including our sun, would be collecting photons from surrounding space instead of emitting solar radiation. Oh, and the universe would begin to contract rather than expand, which could possibly turn back the flow of time itself, sending our cosmos spiraling inward toward a reverse Big Bang, a sort of 'Big Crunch,' if you will."
"In light of all this," Greene continued, "I would sincerely hope that our nation's legislators think long and hard before making any decisions to amend or repeal this law."
Despite such warnings, the grassroots movement to eliminate the second law of thermodynamics appears to be gathering strength.
"This is America," said Duane Collins, a Gatlinburg, TN, distillery operator and father of five. "And in this country, we have the God-given right to change laws we don't think are Christian. We are united in our demands that the second law of thermodynamics be repealed, and our voice will be heard no matter what. That's just a plain fact, and nothing anybody says can ever change it."
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Written by Chris Herman
Willimantic, Conn. - On May 22, 23 and 24, more than 1,500 students in grades five through 12 gathered in the Betty R. Tipton Room in the Student Center at Eastern Connecticut State University to participate in "College Knowledge Days." The students came from schools in Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Coventry, Danbury, East Hartford, Ellington, Enfield, Hartford, Meriden, New Britain, New Haven, Norwalk, Stamford, Union, Watertown, Wethersfield and Willimantic.
The visiting students participated in a number of lectures and group activities facilitated by Eastern staff. The presentation, "Preparing for the Future," instructed students on how to research and choose the college that is right for them. Other presentations included "Financing My Future," which focused on paying for a postsecondary education. Group discussions analyzed payment options such as federal student aid, grants, work-study and loans. Group activities such as "When I Grow Up," gave visiting students the opportunity to discuss what they wanted for a future career and the process that it takes to attain that career.
"College Knowledge Days are a great opportunity for students and educators to start the conversation about postsecondary options," said Eastern's assistant director of admissions Laquana Price, who coordinated the event. "The program allows students to start planning early for their future."
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Jessica lives in North London and helps co-ordinate the Youth Food Movement (YFM) UK which is a network of young people, students, cooks, artisans and activists that are working to change the future of food and farming
YFM builds on the work of Slow Food and emphasises that food should be “good, clean and fair”. It is a movement that Jessica describes as a “state of mind” and is about sharing knowledge, offering support and nurturing leadership skills.
The YFM movement organises SkillShare events to encourage people to share knowledge such as how to bake bread and churn butter. They also organise Eat-In
events (they held one in Hyde Park last summer) where people gather together in a public space around specific food issues and share home-cooked food.
Jessica is currently working with YFM to establish a working group in London to start activities here. If you would like to be involved with this then get in touch with email@example.com
Outside of her work with Youth Food Jessica is an avid baker and home chef and also writes her own food blog.
Made in Hackney (38)
Global Generation (35)
The Bread Factory (34)
Cultivate London (33)
MIND in Haringey (32)
Café Crema (31)
Westminster Artisans (30)
Sarah Green Organics (29)
Croft Tea Room (28)
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As per Hindu mythology Rahu was killed because of its distrust with Gods and Moon is responsible for its death but it didn\'t died because of consuming the liquid of immortality and since then roaming in space to get the revenge from moon. It makes native restless and prompts him for roaming. It reduces peace in his life and makes him involve in quarrels. Because of the effect of this planet the native spends sleepless nights.
It isa one of the greatest malefics and is responsible for the sudden bad incedents in anyone\'s life.
It is also said that no bad effect takes place without the involvement of RAKESH ( Rahu ,Ketu ,Shani)
Your vote on this answer has already been received
I think Pradeep, you want to know about the role of Rahu ( not the origin of his division in to Rahu & Ketu !!!!!!
RAHU IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SURYA-GRAHAN & CHANDRA GRAHAN...
RAHU & KETU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOER FORMATION OF KALSARP-DOSH IN ASTROLOGY..
RAHU & KETU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SEVEN TYPES OF PITRU DOSHAS AS PAR PREDECTIVE ASTROLOGY......GRAHAN YOG..,VISHYOG.., ANGARAK YOG.., ABHOTATV YOG.., CHANDAL YOG, JADATV YOG & NANDI YOG...
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Also announced this month, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is introducing measures to speed up the processing of family sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents. The measures are intended to break through the backlog of applications in this class of immigrants.
It is now estimated that 18 000 parents and grandparents will immigrate in 2005, up from an original projection of only 6 000. The same increase in the number of applications processed is expected for 2006. Increased processing is expected to begin immediately.
Minister Volpe has also indicated that CIC will be more open to issuing visitor visas for grandparents and parents while their sponsorship applications are in process. Visiting parents and grandparents will still be required to demonstrate that their stay will be temporary. Additionally, regular health screening will be enforced, requiring some parents to have private health coverage prior to visiting.
While the Government of Canada will be investing $36 million a year during 2005 and 2006 to cover the costs of increased processing, Minister Volpe will be seeking long-term solutions with the cooperation of the provinces, territories, and local communities. According to Minister Volpe “Reuniting families is a commitment of the Government of Canada as well as a key priority of Canada’s immigration program.” The Minister expects that increasing the efficiency of immigration processing will address this important issue.
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James, the brother of Christ, writes:
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do
- James 2:17-18 (NIV)
If we love others and want to help those in need, whether believer or not, we must put our words and beliefs into action. Here are some of my favorite charities and organizations:
This unique organization is a network that equips and prepares churches in Japan (and around the world) to do relief work in case of emergency. As per their mission, CRASH was a first responder during the 2011 earthquake. Guest-blogger Yuki-Anne helped in relief efforts through this organization.
- Living Dreams
The challenges for orphaned children are tremendous and can be overwhelming. This organization aims not only to help meet Japanese orphans’ basic needs, but also to help them develop the skills and tools they need to succeed and excel in life.
Other Charitable Organizations
- Samaritan’s Purse
Samaritan’s Purse does some amazing work and ministry in underdeveloped countries. In the past, I’ve given to them through Operation Christmas Child (more below) and by buying animals like cows for villages (a very cool way to help!).
- Operation Christmas Child
Every year for the last six or seven, my wife and I have participated in this ministry, in which thousands of shoeboxes filled with gifts are given to children around the world, most of whom have never received a Christmas gift before. What better way to celebrate Christmas than to give to the least fortunate children in the world?
- World Vision
This organization runs Operation Christmas Child (see above) as part of a wide variety of campaigns to attack poverty and injustice. They’re known for their child sponsorship program (which my wife and I have done); another project we like is paying for specific needs (ex. a cow for milk in village; mosquito nesting; part of the expense of bulding a school).
- To Write Love on Her Arms
This amazing organization works to help those who are hurting, including people who self-injure, those considering suicide and others in difficult situations. I’ve rarely found such a loving organization, and one that is also so culturally aware. They have some great merchandise as well!
- Voice of the Martyrs
American Christians sometimes talk about being persecuted, but we have no idea until we find ourselves imprisoned in China; tortured and mutilated in the Middle East; or burned alive in North Korea. This organization mobilizes the Christian community to support our persecuted brethren however we can.
- Show Hope
I’ve often been told that adoption is a “calling.” I disagree. The Bible instructs Christians to help the orphan and the widow. A famed pastor once tweeted that if every American Christian adopted one orphan, there would be no orphans in the world. Formerly called Shoahannah’s Hope, this is Steven Curtis Chapman’s organization to promote adoption and to assist Christians financially in adopting.
I love this organization (and Bill Clinton does, too). It works like this: you give a $25 loan to a person in an underdeveloped nation. They use that loan for their business and they pay you back. Then you start over again. In this way, you’ll picking people up and helping them use their skills for lifelong success.
- World Concern
This organization’s goal is to bring people out of poverty by developing communities. Beginning with de-worming medication and safe water, World Concern works to create lasting impact on communities.
- Tear Fund
This organization teams with local churches, which are part of the everyday lives of villagers, to defeat disease, improve basic services, resolve economic injustice, restore the environment and tackle disaster.
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Efficient Bit Allocation, Quantization, and Coding in an Audio Distribution System
With the advent of digital television broadcasting, there is a need within the broadcast infrastructure for a robust method for the carriage of 5.1-channel sound programs with associated video. A practical approach to this problem involves a number of low-complexity methods for efficient audio coding. These methods are discussed, with a focus on two new bit allocation and quantization methods.
Click to purchase paper or login as an AES member. If your company or school subscribes to the E-Library then switch to the institutional version. If you are not an AES member and would like to subscribe to the E-Library then Join the AES!
This paper costs $20 for non-members, $5 for AES members and is free for E-Library subscribers.
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Good News for All Nations
Writing for Tabletalk is a great honor. It is hard to put into words the privilege of having one’s writing published alongside contributions from today’s finest theologians and pastors. Those who worked on the magazine before us have set a high standard indeed and by God’s grace we hope that we can be faithful to their example.
This standard also makes writing for Tabletalk a great responsibility. We are called to be true to the legacy Dr. R.C. Sproul has set, a legacy of faithfulness to the biblical doctrines recovered during the Reformation. Our job is not to present teachings for the sake of increasing our readership; our task is to present truth, even if it is unpopular or unfashionable.
Of course, the demand that we be true to the Word of God is where we feel the heaviest weight. We lack the time and space to provide the most thorough examination of Scripture possible. No matter how many words we are allotted, we can always say more. The Bible is so rich that we must invariably choose to cover only a few aspects of the text. This means there is always something we cannot bring out in the exposition of a passage. It is always a challenge to decide what lesson from the text will most help our readers grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18).
Sometimes I wonder if the gospel writers endured a similar struggle. After all, there is much from the life and teaching of Jesus that is not recorded in the New Testament (John 21:25). This information is not found in some document the Vatican is keeping under wraps, nor is it hidden in the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci. There is nothing unknown about our Savior that will one day reveal the Gospels as works of fiction. Despite their brevity, we can be confident that the Evangelists accurately summarize the life and mission of Jesus.
Still, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were forced to choose what to write about the Christ, lest they work for a lifetime recording the Messiah’s life only to die before completing their task. In some ways, it must have been hard for them to leave out certain events in Jesus’ life, though they did have the Holy Spirit inspiring their efforts to produce what God most wants His church to know concerning His Son. And it is a testimony to the importance of our Savior and His work that the Spirit has given us four Gospels, each with its own particular insight into Jesus. One perspective alone would never do Him justice; a fourfold witness therefore helps us to understand His significance.
Matthew’s inerrant account of our Lord’s life and ministry is the subject of our study this year. Perhaps more clearly than the other three Gospels, the first evangelist (gospel writer) helps us see that in Jesus God keeps the promises He made to His old covenant people. It is a distinctly Jewish gospel, written to point Jews to their Messiah.
Yet, we must not miss Matthew’s interest in Gentiles. From the very beginning, those who are not physical descendants of Abraham play important roles in the first gospel. The wise men (2:1–12) are obvious examples, but the mention of Rahab, Ruth, and Uriah in the Lord’s genealogy (1:1–17) shows the evangelist’s interest in Gentiles as well. The Holy Spirit, theoretically speaking, could have inspired Matthew to leave out these individuals. We can be saved regardless of whether or not we know who Jesus’ ancestors were. But under divine guidance, the tax-collector turned apostle chose to list these persons, and there is a reason why God had him reveal this information.
To show us that Jesus fulfills the deepest and truest longings of the Gentiles seems to explain why the Father includes information about them in Matthew’s gospel. Episodes in Christ’s life, from the centurion who has more faith than many of Israel’s sons (8:5–13) to the guards who call Jesus “the Son of God” (27:54), show us that our Lord’s ministry is not limited to one nation alone. The parable of the tenants (21:33–46) presents the church, made up of faithful servants from both Israel and the Gentiles, as the community in which God keeps His promises to the Israelites of old. Matthew dispels any thought that the nations are an afterthought in the saving purposes of our Creator.
Again, humanly speaking, it would have been just as easy for the Spirit not to inspire Matthew to record these particular events and teachings. Yet, we Gentiles who trust Christ today should rejoice that this data was not left aside when this gospel was written. For in having Gentile concerns reflected in so Jewish a gospel, we are assured that we are God’s true people in Christ and not second-class citizens in the kingdom. Matthew shows us that the Gospel is for all people, and for that we should be forever grateful.
© Tabletalk magazine
Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way, you do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction, and you do not make more than 500 physical copies. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred (where applicable). If no such link exists, simply link to www.ligonier.org/tabletalk. Any exceptions to the above must be formally approved by Tabletalk.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: From Ligonier Ministries and R.C. Sproul. © Tabletalk magazine. Website: www.ligonier.org/tabletalk. Email: firstname.lastname@example.org. Toll free: 1-800-435-4343.
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So far, 2003 is proving to be a hot year for health policy developments, both locally and nationally. Here is an update:
Unfortunately, most of the dire budget predictions made here earlier are coming true. The city asked that the state pay an additional $200 million of its Medicaid costs; instead, Governor George Pataki wants the city to pay a greater share of hospital and clinic costs than it does now. In exchange, the state would provide more money for prescription drugs. This shift would benefit many upstate counties, but would hurt the city because 35 percent of city Medicaid payments go to cover inpatient hospital costs while only 15 percent go for drugs. Medicaid is the federal health insurance program that provides coverage for the poor.
The New York Times estimated that the change would cost the city an additional $140 million and wrote in an editorial that the cuts would devastate the city's teaching hospitals, which educate about 15 percent of all doctors in the United States.
The governor also wants to reduce the number of people eligible for Medicaid. He has proposed lowering the maximum income that people can have and still qualify for the program. In the past, this has proved to be counterproductive because many of those kicked off Medicaid remain uninsured. Then, when they turn up in emergency rooms needing treatment, the city is forced to cover 100 percent of the cost. If these people had stayed on Medicaid, the federal government would have paid 50 percent of their treatment costs.
The federal government also has its eye on Medicaid. States, including New York, put many people on Medicaid who do not meet all the federal rules for being in the program. In fact, one third of people currently on Medicaid in the United States fall into this category and receive a full package of benefits. But the Bush administration is proposing that this change - that people who states voluntarily add to the Medicaid program no longer get all benefits.
Under current rules, states must apply for a federal waiver to change eligibility requirements and benefit packages in many cases. With the new system, they would no longer have to do so.
Critics-including some Republicans -say that the Bush proposal looks remarkably similar to a plan vetoed by President Clinton, who said at the time that it would lead to cuts that would be "devastating" for the poor.
"I don't see how New York would benefit with this kind of arrangement," says James R. Tallon, president of the United Hospital Fund. "New York has a significant Medicaid program, therefore, one has to be skeptical about any standard federal formula. New York probably has more to lose than gain."
The National Governor's Association, which might be expected to enthusiastically support anything that offers Medicaid spending relief (since Medicaid spending makes up approximately 20 percent of most state budgets) did not endorse the proposal but simply thanked the administration for putting Medicaid spending in the spotlight.
The president has put Medicare reform on his agenda as well. During his State of the Union address last month, Bush proposed adding a prescription drug benefit to the program. But to take advantage of the benefit, the elderly would have to enroll in health maintenance organizations. The administration, through its administrator of the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services, Tom Scully, denied that the program would "force" beneficiaries into HMOs, but few details of the plan have yet been released.
There is some unequivocal good news for Medicare patients and their doctors, however. Scully told a Senate subcommittee on January 30 that the administration did not support actually going through with the 4.4 percent cut in doctor's fees that is scheduled to go into effect on March 1. This will now be considered along with the federal budget. Experts had said that, following a 5.4 percent reduction that went into effect last year, another cut would drive even more doctors out of the program.
And Pataki had some positive news for one group of health care consumers-the seriously mentally ill. After the Times revealed that nursing homes were warehousing mentally ill patients and that many of the group homes serving them provided worse care than the mental institutions they replaced, the governor appointed a commission to look into the problem. Taking its recommendations, Pataki has proposed spending $80 million to create new housing to replace the current system. While Democrats want more, advocates for the mentally ill are pleased to get a substantial increase during a fiscal crisis.
Maia Szalavitz is author, with Dr. Joseph Volpicelli, of "Recovery Options: The Complete Guide: How You and Your Loved Ones Can Understand and Treat Alcohol and Other Drug Problems." She writes frequently on health, science and public policy for the New York Times, New York Magazine, the Village Voice, and other publications.
Last Updated (Mar 19, 2013)
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Back in September, James Franco scored his first The Paris Review byline with a piece that introduced the magazine’s highbrow readership to River, his Gus Van Sant-blessed cut of My Own Private Idaho. In the months since, he has reviewed Restless (an indie love story directed by Van Sant) and written a piece juxtaposing The Descendants with Breaking Dawn. Today, Franco’s latest piece arrived online, and this time he’s using the two movies that he saw over the holidays — The Artist and Puss in Boots — to look at how recent advances in CG technology will impact his own career.
“The Artist is a film about an actor who can’t use his voice in film — and Puss in Boots is an animated film that uses only famous performers’ voices (Antonio Banderas, Selma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thorton, Amy Sedaris),” Franco writes. “Animation has been a part of film history almost since its inception, and animation with sound started at almost the same time as live-action talkies, Snow White being one of the first feature-length animated sound films in 1937. But it wasn’t until Aladdin (1992) and then Toy Story (1995) that recognizable actors started voicing animated characters with regularity. The personalities of the performers is now a huge part of the animation process, and as computer-generated technology advances, the images will only begin to look more lifelike. Pretty soon — in fact it’s already happening, just look at Tintin — it won’t just be the voices that actors provide for CG animators; it will be all the aspects of a performance.”
We’re curious: What do you think will happen to every actor who’s not Andy Serkis as technology continues to advance?
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Mortal danger is an occupational hazard for many city employees. For these workers, who protect the public's safety around the clock, thinking quickly can mean the difference between life and death. Once a year, the city pays tribute to the selflessness that they display every day on the beat.
For 20 years, the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce has been celebrating the fearlessness of the city's sheriffs, police and firefighters. Each year, the chamber hosts a lunch where the stories of heroism are recounted and awards are presented. Elected leaders mingle with public-safety officials and business leaders over lunch, paying tribute to the courageous acts that are performed on a regular basis in the city.
"This is for our heroes," said Lonnie Rich, chairman of the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce last week, as the awards ceremony began at the Mark Hilton. "It's our honor to recognize the men and woman who provide invaluable service to this city."
The emotional highlight of this year's ceremony came at the end, when a posthumous gold medal was awarded to Officer James Feltis. He was killed during a carjacking last year, and his wife accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.
"James stepped in front of that car to save a life," said Mary Feltis. "Just like all the officers standing behind me, he didn't hesitate."
As each award was presented, the host of the event recounted individual acts of valor that were being recognized by the chamber. Many of the stories involved quick thinking, selfless action and stubborn bravery in the face of danger. The men and women honored at the award ceremony put their own security aside to protect the safety of others. These are their stories:
JAN. 11, 2005: Responding to reports of a carjacking on North Henry Street, Officer Martin Hoffmaster began following a stolen car through Del Ray. Other officers responded to assist, and the chase continued onto Interstate 395 toward the Pentagon.
While the stolen car was on an Interstate on ramp, Officer James Feltis attempted to stop the car while his partner turned to alter oncoming traffic. The man in the car struck Feltis and kept going. Eventually, Officer Hoffmaster was able to pin the car against the guardrail — ending the chase.
Officers Patrick Lennon, Anton Keith and Terri Mucci joined in to help arrest the suspect, but he was fiercely combative. While struggling against the officers, the man grabbed a gun from Hoffmaster’s holster and fired several shots. The officers continued struggling with the armed man, who was eventually restrained and arrested.
Feltis was critically injured during the incident, succumbing to his injuries a month later.
Feltis received a posthumous gold medal; Hoffmaster received a gold medal; Keith received a silver medal; Lennon received a silver medal; and Mucci received a silver medal.
JAN. 23, 2005: Officer Angle Semidey arrived on the scene of a domestic dispute between two men. One of the men was suicidal and pointed a knife at himself, asking police to shoot him because he wanted to die.
Semidy ordered the man to drop the knife, and he complied. But it was inches away — still within dangerous proximity to the unpredictable man. He tackled the suicidal man, pinning him against the wall with a spare mattress. The man later received a mental evaluation and treatment for a cut he sustained that day.
Semidy received a bronze medal.
FEB 9, 2005: Deputy Sheriff George Gray stopped by a convenience store on South Whiting Street on his way home from work. Before entering, he could see a shoplifting in progress through the windows of the store. He entered the store to confront the man, who resisted with Gray with violence — punching and kicking his way free.
The man fled the store, and Gray followed close behind. Once again, Gray confronted with man — and once again, he kicked and punched his way free.
After another chase, Gray tacked the man in the common area of Crestview Apartments. He held the man down until backup could arrive. Later, police determined that the man was in possession of stolen material from the convenience store and marijuana. He was arrested and charged with five separate criminal violations against a law-enforcement officer.
Gray received a bronze medal.
FEB. 18, 2005: Officer Brunilda Cofresi-Toro arrived at the scene of a domestic dispute, where a man told police that his brother had threatened to start a fire. While driving through the neighborhood, Confresi-Toro saw fire coming from a nearby home. She then saw a man who had been burned arguing with two other people.
Confresi-Toro parked her cruiser and entered the burning building to rescue anyone who may have been inside, shouting into the thick smoke. When she did not hear a response, she decided that the building was empty and left.
Police later learned that the brother had set fire to his bedroom, severely burning himself in the process. He was charged with arson.
Confresi-Toro received a certificate of valor.
APRIL 27, 2005: As part of a federal task force, Assistant Fire Marshal Robert Luckett spent years trying to catch a deadly arsonist. After months of surveillance, Luckett was ordered to make the arrest in a Maryland parking lot. The arrest went down without violence or resistance.
The suspect eventually confessed setting more than 300 fires since the 1970s, killing two people and injuring scores of others. He was later sentenced to 130 years in prison.
Luckett received a certificate of valor.
MAY 28, 2005: Officer Gregg Ladislaw and Officer Shawn Quigley were patrolling the George Washington Parkway on their bicycles when they responded to a report of a naked man running through the area. They quickly found the man in a heavily wooded area and tried to entice him to come out.
Officer Anthony Gorham joined Ladislaw and Quigley, who made their way into the brush. The man was extremely combative, and he tried to bite the officers. The three officers were eventually able to arrest the man, who was later found guilty of a murder that happened earlier that day.
Gorham, Ladislaw and Quigley each received a bronze medal.
JULY 12, 2005: Deputy Sheriff Dexter Mason and Deputy Sheriff Tianna Crockett were on duty at the Alexandria Detention Center. About 6 p.m., they responded to a report that one of the inmates was trying to kill herself.When they arrived, they saw that a woman prisoner was trying to stab herself with a pen.
Mason and Crockett entered the cell to confront the inmate, who turned toward the deputies. Mason shot pepper spray at the woman, and Crockett escorted her to the jail’s medical section. The woman continued to struggle, violently resisting deputies who were trying to help her.
Mason received a certificate of valor; Crockett received a lifesaving award.
JULY 30, 2005: Officer Welton Barnes and Officer Burke Brownfeld were on Van Dorn Street when they were approached by a woman who had blood on her clothes and a cut to hear ear. She told officers that her adult daughter had assaulted her.
They followed her to her apartment, where they confronted the daughter. Inside the apartment, the daughter grabbed a knife and lunged at Barnes — who pushed a medic to safety and grabbed his gun. The two officers moved a couch to create a barrier between themselves and the knife-wielding woman.
Several other officers arrived and tried to subdue the woman. She was eventually disabled with a Sage gun, which fired a less-than-lethal round at the woman. She was then handcuffed and charged for assault.
Barnes received a bronze medal and Brownfeld received a bronze medal.
SEPT. 2, 2005: Detective Venus Roman was looking for burglars in Old Town when she saw a teenager using a flashlight to look into parked cars. She called for backup and then began to question the young man.
While she was searching his bag, Officer Sean Casey, Officer Brad Cecchetti and Officer Mark Petersen arrived on the scene. Unexpectedly, the boy punched Petersen in the face. Then he pulled a knife from his waistband and began slashing the officers before running from the scene.
Roman, Petersen and Casey had each been stabbed by the teenager, who was found a few hours later hiding in a nearby alleyway.
Roman received a silver medal; Petersen received a silver medal; Casey received a bronze medal; Cecchetti received a bronze medal.
SEPT. 28, 2005: Deputy Sheriff Monique Edwards and Deputy Sheriff Raymond Veney were on duty at the Alexandria Detention Center when they learned that one of the inmates was trying to kill himself. His neck was wrapped with a sheet, which had been tied to a light fixture in the cell.
Edwards and Veney entered the cell, untied the inmate and administered first aid to the inmate. He was lethargic and unresponsive, but clearly alive.
Edwards received the lifesaving award; Veney received the lifesaving award.
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‘La circulation’ is the word for traffic in French, but film director Jacques Tati used the synonym ‘trafic’ as the title of his 1971 film about the automobile. ‘Trafic’ is used more generally in the sense of ‘the traffic of goods and services’ both licit and illicit. In English we know the double-f traffic as the movement of the means of conveyance, but we too know it as, negatively, the movement of illicit goods and services. We speak of human trafficking and the trafficking of drugs.
I began thinking of traffic today when reading this piece by Bill Keller in the New York Times on the motorway infrastructure of New York City. Keller writes of the massive transportation problems facing a metropolis like New York City. He adroitly illustrates the opposing forces, the march of tradition and influence versus the grand ideas and fresh perspectives that a couple of individuals in moderately high places have managed to bring to some public attention. In doing so he also illustrates how challenging it is for individuals with good ideas to be heard in bureaucratic systems, filled with special interests, nepotism, and general resistance to change.
Keller’s article forced my hand, as I’d been thinking about Tati’s films lately and waiting for an opportunity to re-watch the four we have on CD. Tati only directed five or six films, and a few shorts. Some people may have heard of him due to the animated film The Illusionist from 2010, based on a script he wrote in 1956. Tati’s films humorously and gently confront the viewer with the contradictions and irony of modern life from the perspective of a figure who bears a vague resemblance to de Gaulle. Tradition meets the hyperreal.
Trafic tells the story of a hapless group of characters whose mission is to deliver a proto-type, ultramodern camper from Paris to Amsterdam for an international auto show. Tati, an American PR expert, and a schlemiel truck-driver take the camper, loaded onto a lorry, and form a small convoy on the expressway northeast to Holland. In the meantime, the camper’s display backdrop of fake trees and a large, very real log, are transported separately and arrive ahead of schedule at the grand venue, a palace of a convention center, and are set up to await the trio.
Along the way, they encounter an array of obstacles and the story is developed in a way that, like Tati’s other films, required very little dialogue. On the contrary, what dialogue there is seems almost superfluous. The scenes convey the story very well indeed. And that story is the story of modernity. While we find a man who might seem more comfortable in the polite, slow-paced society of 1950, I do not believe that his place in the new era is really the point of the movie.
In Trafic, we see the absurdity of the notion that modern (conveyance) is at all equal to ‘convenient.’ For Tati, the expressway is a metaphor for rapid change. In images that are little changed today, we see a society that seems to be moving very fast, on the verge of a breakthrough, but that is stalled at the same time. Fields of traffic cause nothing but aggravation. Bored motorists gaze blankly ahead. Minor offenses cause violence. What we see most clearly is a society that is consuming itself. Always in the background there is the image of cars being junked that bear great resemblance to those just coming off the assembly line, while on the television are images of rockets landing on the moon.
What I believe Tati says in this film is that the great advances of humanity are often little more than an absurd backdrop to our fundamental needs of comfort, of food, and of companionship on the one hand; and on the other hand he seems to say that great ideas don’t always make it off the drawing board, no matter how much better they would make life for the masses of people. Bigger minds, or bigger powers, have other plans (see the Keller piece for more on this.)
This was a film encapsulating the old saying, ‘the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry’ from one of my favorite poems, ‘To a Mouse,’ by Robert Burns. This idea is embedded in the idea of the luxury camper. While we want to live close to the land, ultimately most of us don’t really know what that entails anymore. And in Trafic this idea is taken even further, with the camper conveyed as it is in a lorry, touching the ground only for repairs and passing customs. We’ve changed, whether we wanted to or not.
So, my recommendations for the day: 1. rent, buy, or order Trafic by Jacques Tati, forget everything you just read, and just enjoy it. 2. Read ‘To a Mouse’ by Robert Burns and 3. Dust off your bike. Spring is coming soon.
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LAST CHRISTMAS DAY, John Pryor should have been where he belonged — at home in Moorestown, with his wife and three little kids. He should have been watching those kids open presents, laughing at their excitement, warning them not to eat too many chocolate Santas. Or maybe, John Pryor being John Pryor, he should have been doing his job, as a trauma surgeon in the emergency room at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, so some other doctor could be at home with family instead.
But where he was, at the age of 42, was in Mosul, Iraq, getting blown apart by a mortar shell. And now he’s dead, and Christmas, for those who knew and loved him — and just about everyone who knew John Pryor loved him — will never be the same.
“He was a force of nature,” says his old college roommate at SUNY Binghamton, Todd Kesselman. “A great man, a great friend, a great doctor.”
“A genius,” says Bill Schwab, Pryor’s boss at HUP.
“He wanted to be seen as just an average Joe,” says Leslie Rice, a nurse who served beside him in Iraq. “But he wasn’t an average Joe.”
What he was was complicated: a devoted husband who joined the Army Reserve at age 38 when he learned that soldiers in Iraq were dying because of a lack of qualified trauma surgeons. A loving dad who left his kids behind for not one, but two tours of duty. A gifted mentor who was studying Arabic so he could talk to the Iraqi children he treated. A dedicated doctor who used what he’d learned caring for young men blasted full of holes in Philly’s street wars to save American soldiers.
It was those soldiers — the relentless loss of their lives — that sent him on a new mission in Philly. He saw, with rare clarity, that the war on our city’s streets, the one that kept his trauma unit at HUP frantically tying off veins and arteries, rebooting hearts, pouring in new blood, was just as relentless. But it could be stopped. Philadelphia could put an end to the gang-and-drug violence so common that otherwise caring people are numb to it. All we lacked was the will.
He sought to make his rage contagious, perform a fury transfusion on the entire city. He died before he could. The legacy he leaves is in our hands.
HE WAS A doctor, a surgeon, a saver of lives in HUP’s operating rooms, then in the tented, improvised, inadequate ORs of Mosul and Abu Ghraib. And while his cause was righteous, he never was. He really was a regular guy — a joker, a prankster, a party animal, the kid at college whose dorm room everybody gravitated to. In fact, he had such a good time at Binghamton that he didn’t have the grades to get into a U.S. med school. So he enrolled at St. George’s on the island of Grenada, and did well enough to be admitted later to SUNY Buffalo’s med school, where he came into his own. “So many people, in their early life, focus on a single thing — academic achievement,” says Schwab, who hired Pryor in 1999. “John was straightforward about this. He told me, ‘For me, college was about the camaraderie.’”
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On a recent flight from Atlanta, I was delayed on the tarmac for an hour and a half. The woman seated behind me played two Adele songs on a loop on her iPad. On speaker. For an hour.
No one said anything. At one point the woman took a call.
"I'm on the plane," I heard her tell the caller. "It's Adele on my iPad!" Then, "I don't have headphones. But everyone likes Adele!"
Anyone who has ever been on a plane, and is over the age of 10, has probably experienced some form of air rage. Creating it, witnessing it or just making a supreme mental effort not to succumb to it by thumping your seatmate for an outrageous offense such as playing loud music, noisily speaking on the phone or eating food so stinky it might actually be considered a weapon.
The good news: you're not alone. The bad news: air rage is becoming routine.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) saw a 29% rise in incidents on board flights between 2009 and 2010. The Transportation Security Administration, however, has seen a decline over the last three years in security-related disturbances the agency has been called to deal with on planes.
However you slice it, you don't have to work too hard to notice multiple recent examples of passengers losing their cool in lavish fashion.
This year alone we've seen some impressive displays of in-flight fury.
January started with an unruly passenger aboard a Reykjavik to New York flight who finished his journey rather inelegantly duct-taped to a seat after an apparent display of screaming, hitting and spitting at fellow passengers.
Later that month, a Jetblue flight from New York to San Diego made an unscheduled stop in Denver to remove a woman who allegedly became verbally abusive after another passenger was moved to a neighboring "even more legroom" seat near her. The source of the woman's rage was apparently that the man had not paid for the extra legroom ($65), but had been moved there due to a broken television in his seat.
In February, a male passenger on a flight to Atlanta is accused of hitting another passenger's crying baby, uttering a racial slur as he did so.
According to an FBI affidavit, a passenger on a February Hawaiian airlines flight from New York assaulted a flight attendant, spat food at people and bit an air marshal.
And another February incident proved that you don't even have to be up in the air to experience air travel-related anger. Yan Linkun, identified by NBC News as an executive and Chinese Communist Party official, became incensed at Kunming Changshui International Airport in Kunming, China. Learning he'd missed not one but two flights, Linkun vented his rage by flinging equipment and smashing windows in an impressive tirade that has since gone viral.
Frustrations on the ground and in the air may seem to invite air rage. Before fliers even reach their allocated metal bird, they've often struggled through security and customs lines and may face delays at the gate or on board. And the United States' recent mandatory government spending cuts could make those slowdowns at airports worse.
Airlines, angling to make a profit, are chipping away at legroom or charging extra for a little more room, introducing new fees or bundling and unbundling the existing charges and re-jiggering mileage programs to favor the elite big-spenders.
Air travelers are agitated, but it doesn't quite explain why some boil over on planes.
Is the altitude getting to them? HLN's Dr. Drew Pinsky points out that fliers can experience mild brain swelling even at low altitudes that can make it harder to keep your cool.
Or are enraged passengers just under the influence?
"If you want to look at one single contributing factor, you would have to point at alcohol," Dr. Drew says. Andrew Thomson, creator of airrage.org and author of several air-travel related books including "Air Rage: Crisis in the Skies," agrees.
"Alcohol," he writes, "is the leading driver of air rage." In fact, many of the air rage incidents above were allegedly alcohol-related.
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An overview of a strike by the syndicalist union Workers Initiative, at a contract manufacturing plant in Poland that produces components for the Korean electronics multinational, LG.
An electronics factory in a special economic zone, low wages, long working hours, hire-and-fire labor contracts – what we primarily hear from China, Malaysia, or Mexico, happens about 350 kilometers from Berlin, Germany, too.
On Saturday a group of Polish activists were arrested in Frankfurt (Oder) just because they were Polish antifascists.
That day, German Nazis wanted to organize demonstration against Polish immigrants. The counter demonstration is supported both by workers, leftists and religious groups. Even the mayor of the town gave “support” to the demonstration. But the true about this “support” is a bit different.
“Mothers’ Strike” is a documentary that portrays the living conditions of the striking women in Walbrzych, Poland in 2010, their struggle against local authorities, conflicts with welfare institutions and their attempts at self-organizing.
The following text was written in summer 2011 by some of those behind the documentary:
Short news about protest which changed into Fascist event.
26th of August in front of the Syrian embassy two demonstrations took place. The first one was organized by Syrian embassy and its goal was to record it and show in pro-Syrian government that whole world supports Al-Assad. That is why Syrians who live in Warsaw prepared second demonstration to drown the first one.
Polish police victimize activists who protests against housing politics and neonazi violence. At the same moment gangsters associated with Palikot's Movement terrorize tenants.
Woman was evicted from her house, one of Evict Activists arrested and beaten in a police car.
Early in the morning, police vans parked all around the building where Mrs. E. lives. She has been struggling with her living place, where they did not recognize her right to tenancy because she divorced from the person who originally was living there. Despite the fact that she continued to live there alone for 22 years, paying rent, they notified her that they wanted to evict her. E.
A look at the military camps in southern Poland organised by the far right, which were recently responsible for the murder of two students.
The most dramatic result of the existence of such camps, is the death of two students from Wrocław: Anna Kembrowska and Robert Odżga. These two people went for a trip to Góry Stołowe. They left their home town on the 15th of August 1997 and were going to with other students who had organized their camp. After two days, contact with them was lost.
In the past few months, a struggle of dozens of workers has taken place at the Chinese Chung Hong Electronics factory, a supplier of LG in a Polish Special Economic Zone in Kobierzyce near Wroclaw. Workers entered the collective labor dispute with a series of demands: a wage increase, the restoration of the social fund, the reduction of the annual overtime limit, the restoration of free transport for workers etc.
As no agreement was reached between the employer and employees, workers carried out a strike referendum, and the strike was supported by a majority of workers. The employer refused all demands, and industrial action was organized according to the Polish labor law – despite of its weaknesses like a long procedure that in reality stifles workers' unrest.
Brogans Irish Pub is one of the two pubs which belong to Maciej Witzberg, Polish neofascist who attacked squat Rozbrat last time.
Everything happened in May. After march of Witold Pilecki, Polish soldier who tried to organize resistance in Auschwitz a group of 20 neofascists attacked squat Rozbrat where public cultural event for children was taking place.
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People who intend to take their four wheel drives out on Stockton Beach over the Easter long weekend are being urged to drive responsibly.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service says the basic road rules apply on the beach, and people are being reminded that if they are fined by police double demerits will apply.
Hunter Coast Area Manager, Mick Murphy says he is expecting more than a thousand visitors to the dunes.
"To ensure everyone has a safe and enjoyable experience we really ask them, when they buy their beach vehicle permits or if they have one already, to read carefully the conditions of entry," he said.
"And if they abide by those conditions everyone should have a safe and enjoyable time.
"The important things to know are driving less than 40 km/hr and if you're near people to slow down to even below 20 km/hr."
Five people were injured when two vehicles collided head-on in January this year, and the most recent accident happened last weekend when a four wheel drive rolled and injured three people.
Mr Murphy says is urging people drive to the conditions and not to drive at night.
"Most of those accidents occur by people who are new to the area," he said.
"It might be the first time they've taken their 4WD down onto the beach, you can get into trouble very quickly.
"The one that happened on the weekend was actually at night time.
"It's not a very intelligent thing to drive around the dunes or on the beach at night time and I encourage people actually over this holiday period when there's going to be so many people around - don't drive at night."
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$32.00 donated in past month
Oscar Grant III's Birthday
A life cut short by a colonial system. Time to build a new world!
Oscar Grant III would have been 23 year's old today. Broken hearted family and friends mourn today a young black life taken away by the public policy of police containment and terror against the African community.
It is very moving that there are friends and family members and organizations holding actions to honor his life. The Uhuru Movement is calling on people honor Oscar Grant's too short life by getting involved in the movement for justice for the African community.
This Sunday, March 1st at 2pm, the Chairman of the African People's Socialist Party and founder of the Uhuru Movement, Omali Yeshitela will be speaking on "US War, Economy in Crisis and Police Terror Against the African Community" at the Uhuru House, 7911 MacArthur Blvd in Oakland. Support the independent voice and movement of the African working class. Participate in the long term strategy of the Uhuru Movement for freedom and independence for African and oppressed peoples. Join in solidarity with the struggle to overturn a filthy rotten system that would take the life of this young man in his prime and countless others in Oakland, in the U.S. around the world. Let's destroy the system that is already in a state of collapse that is built on slavery and genocide and let's participate in building a new world. Hear the vision of the Uhuru Movement and get involved. Call (510) 569-9620 for more info, for transportation to the event or for more information. Email oakland [at] uhurusolidarity.org
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GovTrack’s Bill Summary
We don’t have a summary available yet.
Library of Congress Summary
The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.
Clean Money, Clean Elections Act of 2007 - Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) with respect to: (1) eligibility and qualifying contribution requirements, seed money limits, and benefits of clean election financing of House election campaigns; (2) establishment of a House Clean Elections Fund; (3) eligibility for Fund allocations as well as such allocations; (4) a seed money contribution requirement; (5) contribution and expenditure requirements; (6) certification of whether or not a federal election candidate is a clean money candidate; (7) benefits for participating candidates; (8) payment of fair fight funds; (9) administration of the House Clean Elections System; (10) reporting requirements for nonparticipating candidates; (11) modification of electioneering communication reporting requirements; (12) limitation on coordinated expenditures by political party committees with participating candidates; and (13) treatment of coordinated expenditures as contributions. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to provide a tax credit for voluntary donations to the House Clean Elections Fund. Establishes the Clean Elections Review Commission. Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to entitle clean money candidates to receive specified free broadcast time and reduced broadcast rates in certain circumstances. Amends federal postal law to prohibit franked mass mailings by Members of Congress (except public meeting notices) during the 90 days before primary and general election periods, unless they are not candidates for re-election to any other federal office. Amends FECA to: (1) empower the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to petition the U.S. Supreme Court for a proceeding on certiorari; and (2) reduce from 48 to 24 hours the deadline for electronic filing with the FEC of reports by each political committee of contributions received within 90 days before an election.
House Republican Conference Summary
The summary below was written by the House Republican Conference, which is the caucus of Republicans in the House of Representatives.
No summary available.
House Democratic Caucus Summary
The House Democratic Caucus does not provide summaries of bills.
So, yes, we display the House Republican Conference’s summaries when available even if we do not have a Democratic summary available. That’s because we feel it is better to give you as much information as possible, even if we cannot provide every viewpoint.
We’ll be looking for a source of summaries from the other side in the meanwhile.
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Shawls made by Afghan women will be among the wares from around the world for sale at this year’s art market in Santa Fe, N.M.
The US state of New Mexico is to host artisans from all over the globe, presenting traditional handmade pieces in the world’s largest folk art market.
The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market will run from July 13 to15, 2012, showcasing works by artisans, some of whom have left remote villages for the very first time.
The event sends 90 percent of its USD 2 million-plus annual proceeds back to the artists and programs that support them and their communities.
Some 20,741 people visited the show last year in hopes of contributing to life-changing programs like helping communities build schools, houses and wells for clean drinking water.
Founded by of Charlene Cerny and Judith Espinar, the ninth edition of the market will offer a wide range of handmade products from traditional scarves and attire to jewelry, rugs and baskets created by more than 150 artists from 49 countries.
Prices at the market range from USD 5 to tens of thousands. The market has earned more than USD12 million since its first year, AP reported.
Espinar and Cerny travel the world looking for new artists and a jury selects the participants. Some first-timers are offered financial assistance and some are offered training to help them market and sell their works.
"More and more people are looking at they do as a vote for what they care about," said Cerny. "... They are getting the idea that they are helping build a school in Pakistan, helping put a roof on a women's shelter."
Some forty percent of the participating artisans in this year’s market will be showing at the market for the first time.
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With a long-standing federal deadline breathing down its neck, California's polarizing $100 billion bullet train suddenly got a much-needed reprieve Wednesday when the Obama administration eased the target date for starting construction.
For years, state high-speed rail leaders aimed for a September 2012 groundbreaking to meet the assumed deadline for the federal stimulus program, which funded about one-third of the $6 billion first leg of track.
But in a statement Wednesday, federal rail officials said the train "is making continual progress" and for the first time revealed that the law does not specifically require a deadline to start construction. Technically, it mandates the funds be "obligated" by September, and for the project to be finished by September 2017.
State rail officials still hope to start building by the end of the year but could begin in early 2013, giving them extra time to work on an unprecedented project that some state and local leaders fear was being rushed to meet the federal deadlines.
"If this is the first step down a $100 billion path, it better be the right first step," said state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, one of the lawmakers who has called for the project to slow down. "I think it's important for all of us to resist being hurried into a decision we might later regret, given the multibillion-dollar consequences."
At its Thursday board meeting, the California High-Speed Rail Authority will detail
The desire for a delay is hardly a surprise for an agency with a humongous workload and a reputation for missing deadlines. The biggest question was whether the U.S. government would allow it, because the stimulus program had set deadlines to create jobs quickly.
A lot of work remains, however. In recent months, Gov. Jerry Brown's appointees overhauled the project twice, while planners tweaked track alignments in response to community concerns. They still haven't finished two key documents needed before construction can start: the business plan and state environmental impact reports. On Thursday, they'll start the process of soliciting the first $1.5 billion to $2 billion in construction bids for the initial set of tracks.
But rail authority deputy director Lance Simmens said the project remains "on schedule."
"Let's not get too carried away with the dates here. It's not like, 'Oh my god, you guys have missed (the groundbreaking) by a year,' " Simmens said. "It's a daunting task, and a daunting challenge, to say the least. But we're moving forward in the most cost-effective and efficient way we know how."
Still, critics took the news as further evidence that the project is spiraling downward. Support has waned since the cost tripled and the opening of full service between San Francisco and Anaheim was pushed to 2034. Major concerns remain about the source of the rest of the funding, expected rider counts and the tracks' effects on communities along the route.
"We're having to restart or reconstruct a whole project model in a very short time frame," said Assemblywoman Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, who is helping lead a GOP charge against the train. "I think with how it's progressing, this was predictable. The project is having a lot of issues."
Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705.
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What are "ashcans"? What are their purpose? Where does the name come from?
(This is all based on reading about ashcans on a variety of indie RPG sites a year or two ago. I have purchased a few.)
The word "ashcan" comes from the comic book industry. In recent usage in the comic book industry it tends to mean a smaller format comic (for varying meanings of "smaller") used as a freebie to try and hook new readers.
In the indie RPG scene, an ashcan is a sort of pre-release, a weird sort of public beta-test. A designer might not feel their game is done or has uncertainty. The designer wants feedback from a wider group of people. This would normally be done by playtesting, but: the designer may have exhausted his playtesting pool, the designer may want opinions from "normal" gamers who wouldn't normally engage in playtesting.
Generally speaking an ashcan looks "finished," frequently with production quality comparable to the final product.
By and large you pay for an ashcan RPGs. While this limits your player base, the people who purchase it will almost certainly be more invested. The problem with, say, a free online release is that you'll get lots of downloads from people who will never play it. They might offer feedback, but the designer wants feedback from actual play, not feedback based on just reading the rules. If you've spent a few bucks on the game, you're presumably genuinely interested. You're more likely to seek out a group, to try it repeatedly, and to be interested in providing serious feedback.
Finally, many ashcans come with a discount on the final game as a sort of thank you.
According to this:
And According to wikipedia:
According to this blog's usage:
Therefore, an ashcan release is one done as an initial, unpolished release designed to satisfy certain IP elements and, if sold at conventions, serve in many ways as a paid-for alpha test. A synonym would be "pre-release edition." The important aspect is that it is legally published, but not designed for wide consumption. The name comes from, as per wikipedia, the comics publishing industry.
There also is/was a group called the Ashcan Front, that is/was using the medium in a very particular way as part of the roleplaying game development process. I think it is sort of dormant now but I don't really know. Anyway, that's a link to their FAQ.
The notion was that only people invested in a project would actually buy an ashcan, which is expressly unfinished and in development and full of questions, and that they would become part of a playtesting conversation that would improve the finished game.
In games prior to the 1990's revolution in publishing technologies, it usually meant a self-published version intended to be used to shop it around at cons to both a select group of playtesters, and to the big companies in hope of a "real release." It also would have two copies sent to the Library of Congress to establish formal copyright protections.
Some ashcan versions were near-professional layout quality, others simply optically typeset text, and were not in distribution networks. Several games mention shopping around the ashcans prior to being sold to a major company.
Given that many printing houses in those days required a minimum order of at least a hundred copies for a bound volume of any kind, it was common for such versions to be sold via mail, convention, or personal contact.
The term was often synonymous in use with "low quality cheap printing", as many were printed on the cheapest set of options the printing house would allow. The few examples I've seen of this mode were hand-typed mimeograph master dittoed (run off) on recycled unbleached high-acid newsprint, and used for playtest.
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Charles Clemons is running for mayor because he is dedicated to creating a new Boston. Over the years, Clemons has worked as an activist--advocating for school reform, public safety strategies that work and community engagement around issues that impact public policy. A tireless promoter of the public good, and economic self-sufficiency, Clemons is running for mayor of Boston because he brings fresh ideas and perspectives to an increasingly diverse Boston.
As mayor of Boston, Clemons will bring vitality and a deep concern for the quality of life for all Boston citizens. He will lift the hope and build upon the potential of Boston residents who comprise Boston’s many communities.
Clemons became an entrepreneur very early in life; he traded marbles for a penny and sold them for a nickel; he picked up bottles and returned them to recycling centers. And at the age of 12, he opened his first business, a lemonade stand. Clemons purchased his first radio kit at radio shack and discovered his love for radio and music. It was at the age of 15 that Clemons officially became a disc jockey, calling himself C.C., then coined himself C.C. the Mastermixer.
Talk about a young man who went after whatever he wanted, at age 16 he applied for his first permit at Boston City Hall in order to have Block parties that would bring his family, friends and neighbors together through music. This led to him becoming an unpaid intern at WILD for two years working 50 hours a week because he wanted to learn about the music industry. At the age of 19 he became one of the youngest Music Director in the country and was featured in Billboard magazine. From this vantage point he also was a concert promoter.
In his professional career, Clemons became a correctional officer to monitor and ensure fair treatment, the safety and well being of incarcerated individuals. He later decided that he could also make an impact on the streets that he grew up in. For 10 years Clemons walked the beat in Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain and West Roxbury as a Boston Police Officer.
Clemons, simultaneously and successfully operated First Choice Limousine Service for 17 years however, the business was sold in 2006 in order for Charles to fulfill his lifetime dream of becoming a radio station owner. Clemons is the co-founder of; TOUCH 106.1 FM, The Fabric of the Black Community. And you can Truly Feel and Hear the Difference. TOUCH 106.1 FM is strategically located in the heart of the Black Community. Which allows the people broader access to real time media, TOUCH 106.1 FM is the vehicle and platform that speaks to and for the people.
Clemons is recognized by all and is often asked when he will run for office. Clemons is an activist. In March of 2009, he walked to Washington, DC and lobbied Congress to give more power to local f.m. radio stations across the country.
He is the proud parent of 7 wonderful children and grandfather of 2 amazing grandchildren.
Clemons has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the: Mayor Thomas Menino and the city of Boston African American achievement service award for community service; “Metro Boston Alive Inc. Somebody Community Service Award”; The Garrett Pressley Autism Resource Center Award and numerous citations from the State House of Representatives, The Massachusetts State Senate, Governor Deval Patrick and the Boston City Council.
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Volume , Number 0
There are no articles.Commentary
There are no articles.Culture
There are no articles.Features
New Party Report
Paul von Blum
Henry Rosemont, jr.
Slippin' & Slidin'
Queering the Scouts
There are no articles.
NOTE: Z Magazine subscribers and sustainers have access to all Z Magazine articles here and in the archive. The latest Z Magazine articles available to everyone are listed in the Free Articles box at the top of the table of contents, and are starred in the list below. Questions? e-mail Z Magazine Online.
Queering the Scouts
This was a right-wing nightmare that rivaled the image of Barbara Bush and Nancy Reagan announcing that they are lovers on National Coming Out Day, or Kenneth Starr excusing himself as Special Prosecutor because he had walked that mile in Monicas kneepads. This may have been even worse. This was about those iconographic models of young American manhood, those paragons of preparedness and patriarchy: the Boy Scouts.
On March 2, 1998 the New Jersey Appellate Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) violated the states anti-discrimination law by ousting James Dalea highly commended Eagle Scout with 11 years of scouting and 30 merit badges behind himfrom the organization in 1990 after his name appeared in a newspaper as co-chair of the Lesbian/Gay Alliance of Rutgers University. The three judge decision overturned a 1995 ruling by NJ District Court Judge Patrick J. McGann that upheld the BSAs decision to terminate Dales relationship with the Scouts, claiming that "[t]here is absolutely no evidence before us, empirical or otherwise, supporting the conclusion that a gay Scoutmaster, solely because he is homosexual, does not possess the strength of character necessarily to properly care for, or to impart BSAs humanitarian ideals to young boys." They also stated that, because the BSA recruits members nationwide and because they meet in public spaces such as schools and churches they were, like hotels or restaurants, public accommodations and subject to the states anti-discrimination laws. Needless to say, the BSA is appealing the decision.
The high of the New Jersey victory was dampened just 20 days later when the California Supreme Court ruled that the Boy Scouts of America can exclude homosexuals, agnostics, and atheists from their ranks because they are a private membership group which is not covered by the states civil rights or anti-discrimination laws. The decisions were in two separate cases. Timothy Curren had brought suit, claiming that he had been unlawfully rejected as a teenager by the Scouts in 1981 when his Scoutmaster discovered he was gay. The second California suit was brought by Michael and William Randall who were barred from an Orange County Cub Scout den in 1990 whenat the age of ninethey refused to declare a belief in God.
One of the central legal questions in all of the cases revolved around the status of the Boy Scouts of America as a private membership group who has the right to exclude boys who do not fit their criteria. The California Supreme Courts unanimous decision was that the BSA was a private business with the right to restrict membership. This was a new direction for the States Supreme Court that in the recent past had ruled that Boys Clubs and a private country club were, in fact, business establishments because their buildings and programs were open to the public. This new direction was made clear in separate opinions by two Justices who stated that they would advise the Court to overrule its earlier decisions about the Boys Club and country club and to narrow the definition of "business establishments," and by extension the ability of people to use anti-discrimination law and civil rights law to seek redress under the rubric of "public accommodation."
In this sense, the Courts pro-BSA ruling is in line with the whittling away at statutes and judicial decisions that cover such issues as affirmation action and laws that protect legal immigrantsthus implementing a vision of a more privatized, restricting society that would allow (under the guise of a broadly interpreted "freedom of association" argument) personal preference and prejudice to take precedence over a more open vision of equal rights and accessibility. (Interestingly, the rulings made a point of mentioning that while California civil rights law did not cover the Scouts membership policies, the BSA was not "free to exclude boys from membership on the basis of race, or other constitutionally suspect grounds, with impunity," since other laws, including Federal tax laws granting tax-exempt status, would apply.)
In contrast, the New Jersey Appellate Court argued that because the Boy Scouts have over 5 million members nationwide (and over 90 million members since it was formed in 1910), routinely use public buildings such as schools and churches, and aggressively recruit membership with television and radio PSAs that they can be defined as a public accommodation. Citing New Jersey case lawmuch of it from the mid-1960s when racial discrimination was being successfully challenged in a wide range of venues, the Appellate Court found no reason why the BSA should fall into the category of a "private club or business."
The BSA responded that its membership practices and policies do not "reflect an open and unrestricted invitation to the community at large to join "the organization," and that membership is "redistricted to those willing and able to understand and live by the Scout Oath and Scout Law." They also pointed to BSA policies that explicitly deny open homosexual membership in the Scouts. A 1978 policy statement that was not made public, but was addressed to executive committee members, stated that, "an individual who declares himself to be a homosexual would not be selected to be a volunteer scout leader, be registered as a unit member, or be employed as a professional or non-professional."
A 1993 Position Statement stated: "The Boy Scouts of America does not ask prospective members about their sexual preference, nor do we check on the sexual orientation of boys who are already Scouts. The reality is that Scouting serves children who have no knowledge of, or interest in, sexual preference. We allow youth to love as children and enjoy Scouting and its diversity without emerging them in the politics of the day." But, they added: "The Boy Scouts of America has always reflected the expectations that Scouting families have had for the organization. We do not believe that homosexuals provide a role model consistent with these expectations. Accordingly, we do not allow for the registration of avowed homosexuals as members or as leaders of the BSA."
These arguments were essentially moot once the NJ Appellate Court had decided that the BSA was a public accommodation, but the judges addressed them as well. The Boy Scouts of America were arguing that they were being denied their "freedom of expressive association" by not being able to discriminate against homosexuals; that their essential moral and social message would be sullied or diminished because of the presence of gay boys and men. Aside from the Position Statement, the BSA noted that, according to their oath, Scouts had to be "morally straight" and "clean"both of which were incompatible with being a homosexual.
The tone of the Appellate Courts rejoinder was both patient and startling sharp. Noting again that with a national membership of over five million, the BSA was hardly espousing one social or moral message. Further they claimed that since it is an "undisputed fact that the BSAs collective expressive purpose is not to condemn homosexuality [and] its reason to be is not to provide a public forum for its members to espouse the benefits of heterosexuality and the evils of the homosexual lifestyle" their "freedom of expressive association" was not being hindered. In fact, they claimed, the general moral precepts of the Scouting movementhonesty, truthfulness, leadership, integrityare "in many respects compatible with the purposes sought to be achieved by the LAD" (New Jerseys anti-discrimination law).
When addressing the anti-gay Position Statement, the court was downright hostile. Because the Statement was drafted in 1993amid a flurry of suits against the BSA by homosexualsthey claimed that "it is not unrealistic to view these Position Statements as a litigation stance taken by the BSA rather then an expression of a fundamental belief concerning its purpose." After accusing the BSA of easily exposed moral posturing, the Appellate Court then went after the earlier decision by Judge Patrick J. McGann, in which he argued that James Dale was an "active sodomite" (even though he also admitted that since New Jersey had no sodomy law, this was a legal activity) and "cited the Judeo-Christian tradition condemning sodomy as a grave serious wrong." It wasin McGanns logicthis "wrong" that rendered James Dale not "clean" and certainly not "morally straight." Through a legal and linguistic slight of hand the Appellate Court claimed that Dale was kicked out of the Scouts because he was "an avowed homosexual" not because he was an "active sodomite" and that homosexuality per se was, in essence, morally neutral and not in variance with the Scouts moral precepts.
It is at this point that the New Jersey Appellate Court decision becomes a startling legal and social document. The decision is not only a necessary and bold retort to the blatant discrimination of the BSA and a direct challenge to the pervasive homophobia that is entrenched in everyday life, but it is a radical revision of how homosexuality, manliness, and morality are conceptualized. It is a decision that, while argued in clearly delineated legal terms, carries with it much broader implications.
But these implications (as well as the Court decision) are overshadowed by a basic irony: Lord Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the Scouts, was a homosexual and a pedophile. Tom Jeals The Boy-Man<D>, <D>a 1990 biography, details Baden-Powells attraction to, and likely affairs with, teenage boys, as well as his fondness for nude boy photos and requirements that Scouts in his care should bathe outside naked. Today Baden-Powell would have made the top ten on a Sex Offenders Registry list.
But Baden-Powells homosexuality is a superficial irony compared to the fact that despite what the New Jersey Supreme Court declares, the Boy Scouts of America are essentially correct: homosexuality is completely incompatible with the history, meaning, and intent of Scouting as it has been understood until now. How could it be otherwise? As conceived of and organized by Lord Baden-Powell in 1907, Scoutings mission was to make boys moral, patriotic, and healthy. Beneath the more benign rhetoric exhorting Scouts to "help others," "tell the truth," and "be kind to animals," Baden-Powells Scouting principles focused on obedience to authority, doing your "duty to God and Country," and "being pure in thought, word, and deed." Scoutingwhich Baden-Powell referred to as a "character factory"was a regiment to inculcate a deeply conservative, secular Christianity that espoused a defensive nationalism, racial intolerance, and sexual prohibitions. Scouting would turn out real men who would maintain the status-quo, and not challenge prevailing social standards. When World War I erupted Scouting was seen as the breeding ground of good soldiers.
As World War II began Baden-Powells repulsive political and racial attitudes, which inform the history of Scouting but are clearly separate from it as well, became even more evident. In 1937 Baden-Powell was eager for the scouting movement to establish official ties with Hitler youth groups. In 1939 he noted in his diary: "Lay up all day. Read Mein Kampf. A wonderful book, with good ideas on education, health, propaganda, organization etc.and ideals which Hitler does not practice himself."
While the Boy Scouts today are certainly not a neo-Nazi group, nor as paramilitary as they were in the past, many of Baden-Powells original ideas still remainespecially those that inform how "real men" are made in the character factory. The Scouts "duty to God" is defined, even now, by the most narrow of moralities. (Although in California it is determinate to BSA membership.) The injunction to be "pure in thought, word, and deed" reflected its founders repressive views of sexuality (including an obsession with stopping masturbation among Scouts) and allowed only reproductive heterosexual intercourse within marriage.
Such views are still at the heart of the BSAs stand against homosexuality. In their 1990 letter expelling Dale from the organization they claimed he had "violated a provision of the Scout oath to remain morally straight and a mandate under Scout law that members remain clean." Simply put, the Boy Scouts are about manufacturing real men, and homosexuals are not "real men" by their definition.
The Courts challenge to the BSAs anti-gay stance is not just about homosexual rights, but is emblematic of a much larger cultural battle over how society defines masculinity. While coached in the legal terms of "public accommodation" and "discrimination" the Appellate Courts ruling represents a wresting away from the Boy Scouts of their patent on issuing the only "real men" from the character factory. "Morally straight" and "clean" are code words reinforcing stifling traditions of masculinity, traditions accepted by fewer and fewer people.
In conjunction with this bid to redefine masculinity, the Appellate Courts ruling also contests the ever popular and still prevalent idea that gay men are a menace to children. The Appellate court accuses Judge McGann of unfairly raising "the sinister and unspoken fear that gay scout leaders will somehow cause physical or emotional injury to scouts." They respond that "such assumptions, predicated on stereotypical generalizations, rather than fact, cannot be employed as "shorthand measures" in place of legitimate factors justifying First Amendment protection. This is the question that hangs over the entire proceedings. The charge of child molestation is intrinsic to how homophobia is constructed in our society, and any challenge to it is welcome and necessary. Ironically, it is a change that has gained more credibility since gay people have been struggling for their basic civil rights, and one which Lord Baden-Powell never had to face in his own lifetime.
In their final paragraphs the Appellate Judges articulate an irony that explodes the BSAs unconscionable hypocrisy: "In our view, there is a patent inconsistency in the notion that a gay Scout leader who keeps his secret hidden may remain in Scouting and the one who adheres to Scout laws by being honest and courageous enough to declare his homosexuality must be expelled." By simply imaginingpresumingthat homosexuality is natural and morally neutral, the New Jersey Appellate Court has radically reordered how the world works: homosexuality is now "clean," children may gain benefit from gay Scoutmasters, and coming out is being honest and truthful.
Baden-Powells character factorywith its corrupt notion of what it means to be moral, truthful, and honestis in the too-slow process of finally shutting down; it is a process that has been going on for years. The BSAs demand to continue to define "real men" is a last ditch effort to hold on to and promote outdated, ugly values. In years to come it will seemlike Baden-Powells attraction to Hitler Youth and Mein Kampfsimply repulsive.
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President Barack Obama arrived in Jordan on Friday after scoring a diplomatic coup just before leaving Israel when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu phoned his Turkish counterpart to apologize for an Israeli commando raid in 2010 that killed eight Turks and an American of Turkish origin in a Gaza-bound flotilla.
The apology, long sought by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, brought a restoration of normal relations between Turkey and Israel, two vital U.S. allies in the Middle East, according to a statement from Netanyahu's office.
It happened in the phone call during a final meeting between Obama and Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv minutes before Air Force One departed for Jordan.
The Israeli government statement said the apology included an offer of compensation.
Obama, who U.S. officials said also took part in the call at one point, issued a statement that welcomed the development.
"The United States deeply values our close partnerships with both Turkey and Israel, and we attach great importance to the restoration of positive relations between them in order to advance regional peace and security," Obama's statement said. "I am hopeful that today's exchange between the two leaders will enable them to engage in deeper cooperation on this and a range of other challenges and opportunities."
The last-minute diplomacy added a flourish to Obama's first foreign trip of his second term, which also was his first visit to Israel as president.
While the two nations have a key strategic partnership, with the United States supplying military aid and diplomatic support as Israel's most vital ally, Obama and Netanyahu had famously frosty relations during the president's first term.
With both beginning new terms after Obama's re-election last year and Netanyahu's recent formation of a new government, the president's visit this week was an opportunity to reset the relationship and signal unified positions on major issues such as the Middle East peace process and Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
Obama and Netanyahu met several times during the president's three days in Israel, which also included a state dinner where Israeli President Shimon Peres awarded him the country's highest civilian honor.
Before leaving Israel, Obama paid tribute to the father of modern Zionism in a symbolic visit to Theodor Herzl's grave.
Joined by Peres, Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, Obama also visited the grave of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was assassinated in 1995.
Both stops were intended to bolster Obama's standing with Israelis by demonstrating his understanding of the history of the Jewish state.
Obama placed a stone at each grave from the grounds of the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington in a gesture to link the African-American struggle for freedom with the struggle by the Israeli people for a homeland.
The president also visited the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, where he turned up the "eternal flame" of remembrance of the millions of Jewish victims of Nazi death camps in World War II.
Obama called for the world to follow the example of nations that intervened in Nazi genocide.
"Here, alongside man's capacity for evil, we are also reminded of man's capacity for good," he said. "The rescuers, the righteous among nations, who refused to be bystanders, and in their noble acts of courage, we see how this place, this accounting of horror, is in the end a source of hope."
In another cultural stop Friday, Obama also visited the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which is on the West Bank, with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
After putting himself in the middle of the historic tensions between Israelis and Palestinians this week, Obama then headed to Jordan, a military and intelligence partner that has been facing trying times.
Jordan's leader under duress
Jordan's King Abdullah II has a reputation for benevolence, unlike autocratic rulers such as Syria's Bashar al-Assad or deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. One house of the Jordanian parliament is democratically elected.
However, a bad economy and allegations of corruption by public officials have stoked dissatisfaction with Abdullah.
In addition, the country wedged between the Palestinian territories, Iraq and Syria has seen more than its share of refugees from them all. Jordan currently shelters more Syrian refugees than any other country -- more than 300,000, according to the United Nations.
In November, crowds took to the streets calling for Abdullah's downfall because of rising gasoline prices.
More recently, comments attributed to Abdullah in the The Atlantic caused further anger toward the king, who was quoted as calling the opposition Muslim Brotherhood a "Masonic cult" and referring to tribal elders in his country as "old dinosaurs."
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In the first railway budget by a Congressman in 17 years, minister Pawan Kumar Bansal sought to walk a tightrope by combining political compulsions with fiscal prudence.
A train engine moves past waiting travellers at the Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station in New Delhi. AFP Photo
This being the last railway budget before the 2014 general elections, Bansal avoided increasing passenger
fares — which were hiked by 20% just 34 days ago — but made rail travel costlier by tweaking some surcharges.
The travel cost hike will result from additional charges on superfast trains and ‘Tatkal’ tickets and higher reservation and cancellation fees, which will mop up Rs. 480 crore more for the railways.
With the railways’ finances deep in the red — a Rs. 24,600-crore loss incurred in 2012-13 — Bansal attempted some innovative turnaround strategies, such as the public-private partnership route, without raising passenger fares which are among the lowest in the world.
Besides, Bansal announced that fuel prices would be linked to freight charges. The move will rake in Rs. 4,200 crore against the expected additional burden of Rs. 5,100 crore on account of diesel and electricity prices in 2013-14.
With the highest ever plan outlay of Rs. 63,363 crore, the budget this time was low on populism — a clear departure from the ones presented by regional leaders, such as Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress and Lalu Prasad of the Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Bansal announced much fewer new trains — 63 new express trains and 26 new passenger trains — than his predecessors. But extended the run of 57 trains and increased the frequency of 27 others.
He also announced several measures to improve passenger amenities as the deteriorating quality of railway services has been an irritant for the mobile, middle-class population which the Congress has been keen on reaching out to.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leaders of the ruling alliance praised the budget, calling it reformatory for the railways - the last citadel of government monopoly, perhaps. But BJP leader Yashwant Sinha described is as "very, very pedestrian" and a "political budget" aimed at the general elections.
After the last month's fare hike, the railways' operating ratio -- operating expenses as a percentage of revenue - stood below 90% for the first time in four years. While the current ratio is placed at 88.8%, Bansal expects it to come down further to 87.8% by the end of this fiscal.
He also announced a debt service fund for loans taken for the dedicated freight corridor, outlined plans for India's entry into the 'Heavy Haul Club' and indicated the setting up of a regulatory body for railway tariff.
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Why Immigration Reform May Happen This Year
Senior Editor, CNBC
A long-awaited overhaul of U.S. immigration law has a good chance of happening this year, bringing major changes to the millions of people living here illegally—and perhaps giving the economy a boost.
While details are sketchy right now, the Obama administration last week announced it is launching a major effort to push reforms through Congress soon.
A major goal is to expand the guest worker program to allow more foreign nationals to legally work in the U.S. But the biggest hurdle may be whether to grant amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S.—or deport them.
Analysts say that unlike failed attempts in the past, they expect reform to get done this time—and it could end up being beneficial for the still sluggish economy. (Read more: Bleak Global Economy)
"If there's a way to bring millions of people legally into our system, they'd be paying more taxes and spending more money and creating more jobs," said Michael Wildes, managing partner of the immigration law firm Wildes & Weinberg. "It would be a big boost to the economy and any kind of amnesty provision that includes fees from illegal immigrants would help fill the treasury."
Others agree that this is the year something will get done.
"I think some type of reform will happen soon," said Jim Witte, director of the Institute for Immigration Research at George Mason University. "There are traditional allies among Democrats but there's also a growing conservative coalition of businesses and law enforcement who want immigration reform as well." (Read more: Disney To Layoff Workers?)
I'ts estimated that some 40 million people in the U.S. are immigrants, according to the Census Bureau, with anywhere from 7 million to 20 million of them in the country illegally.
Economic activity produced by illegal immigrant spending employs about 5 percent of the total U.S. workforce, according to a study by UCLA. The research indicates illegal immigrants produce a total of $150 billion of economic activity each year.
And billions of dollars from illegal worker paychecks flow into and support the Social Security system--some $7.2 billion in 2009 alone, that they will be unable to collect.
"The irony is that illegal immigrants are not entitled to many of the benefits they pay for," said Jamie Longazel, a professor of sociology at the University of Dayton. "The reality is that many people receive benefits on the backs of those who suffer."
How to integrate them—or not—into the country could be the a stumbling block to any reform. But the idea of deporting millions of people isn't realistic, said Christine Greer, an assistant professor of political science at Fordham University.
"We can't just pick up and move some 15 million people and their families out of the country," Greer said. "It's not feasible to do that. Besides, many kids came here with parents and had no choice. Some of the kids don't even speak the language of their native land."
But it's not just illegal immigration that's at stake. Some analysts have argued that since the late 1990s, the U.S. needs to find a way to allow more workers—most specifically skilled tech workers—to enter legally. There are nearly one million people working in the U.S. under the current guest worker programs that allow U.S. employers to sponsor non-U.S. citizens in the country with temporary visas.
That number is not big enough, said Scott Cooper, managing attorney at the immigration law firm of Fragomen, Del Rey, Benson & Lowey. (Read more: Why End of Stimulus May Not Be All Bad)
"The U.S. needs more skilled workers from abroad and be more receptive to the contributions they make economically," said Cooper. "We're limiting our economy by not letting more in."
"We need go beyond the current quota of 140,000 legal immigrants per year and allow more qualified people with math and science skills to enter the U.S.," said Ted Ruthizer, a lawyer who teaches immigration law and policy at Columbia University. said. "The Job market is screaming for them."
But not everyone sees an economic rainbow with immigrants, legal or not. (Read more: US May Get Messy Again: Roubini)
"Their contribution is large, but I think it's hard to accurately say what impact immigrants have on the economy, especially when it comes to the earnings and spending of illegal immigrants," said Jim Witte.
"You can say that some competition from illegal workers may depress the wages of legal workers. On the other hand you can also say that cheaper illegal labor frees up people at higher skill levels to put their talents to a higher value," Witte said.
Business groups, like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce have called for tighter border security but also say they advocate establishing provisional visas for lesser skilled workers, having sufficient numbers of visas for the highly skilled and for agriculture workers. "These changes would allow employers to hire immigrants in accordance with the demands of the economy, when U.S. workers are unavailable," according to the chamber's web site.
For the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), who contend that immigrants are a drain on the economy, any reforms must include not only stricter border controls but tougher laws limiting any kind of immigration -- with amnesty for no one.
"We blame the business community as well as others because we're bringing in people who have poor job skills, are poorly educated and relegated to the lower rung on the economic ladder," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for FAIR. "We end up paying for all their health care they take away jobs from Americans." (Read more: Heath Insurance Rates Rise)
The last attempt at reform came in 2007 from President George W. Bush who advocated an expanded guest worker program that would tighten security along the southern border while allowing about 11 million illegal immigrants to work legally in the country temporarily before forcing them to return home. But the measure failed to get any support in Congress.
That lack of action spurred some states, like Arizona and Alabama, to pass their own stringent and controversial immigration laws.
What's different now on the national level--and why reform is likely to become law in the months ahead -- is a shift in the political scene, said Scott Cooper.
"The recent presidential election changed things with the immigration vote going so strongly to Obama," Cooper said. "So that's why I think there will be reform because the Republicans need it to win elections and Obama has to give something to the immigration groups that voted for him."
Despite what many consider the best chances in decades for reform, getting it done won't be easy.
"I'n not optimistic about any reform package because of the extent to which current policy reflects corporate interests for cheap labor and the fact that most politicians lack the courage to stand up to those who spout ant-immigration sentiment," said Jamie Longazel.
Immigration reform is hard to do anytime because of the many misconceptions about it, said Evie P. Jeang, founder and managing partner of the Ideal Legal Group, an immigration and labor law firm.
"The myths are that immigrants steal jobs, commit more crimes, mooch off our health care and don't pay taxes," said Jeang. "The studies have shown that's not true. Even unlawful immigrants pay more in taxes that they use in welfare services."
But there are reasons for optimism. A so called bi-partisan 'Gang of Eight' of U.S. senators has been meeting since the first week of December to discuss reform. They include Democrats Chuck Schumer, Dick Durban and Bob Menendez as well as Republicans Lindsey Graham, Mike Lee and John McCain.
Schumer said he and Graham are reviving talks about an immigration reform proposal they started in 2010. (Read more: Most Stressful Jobs)
President Obama has moved in pieces on immigration, despite having deported record numbers of illegal immigrants in his first term--some 409,849 from October 2011 through September 2012, the fourth consecutive fiscal year that the number increased.
Obama issued an executive order on January 2, making it easier for illegal immigrants to obtain permanent residency if they have immediate relatives who are U.S. citizens.
And before the November election, Obama issued a directive that grants people who'd be eligible for the DREAM Act -- a law that would give certain illegal immigrants between 16 and 30 legal standing --a reprieve from deportation and work-authorization papers.
Whether a reform bill includes deportation mandates, amnesty provisions or a broader guest worker program, expect a hard fight in Washington, said Christine Greer.
However, Greer said, something will get done.
"Reform might be pushed to a back burner with gun control and other economic issues, and there are a lot of sides that have to get coordinated, but if nothing happens this year, it will happen before the end of Obama's second term," said Greer. "We're a nation of immigrants. We have to come up with some way to handle the issue."
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“When I left Columbia, they told me I’d probably have to come back and repeat a few classes,” Warren Buffett, MS ’51, deadpanned as he took the stage with Bill Gates on Thursday as part of a community forum at Columbia Business School. More than 700 students from the Business School were in attendance at the event, which was filmed for global broadcast by CNBC.
A major theme of the 90-minute Q&A session was optimism about U.S. economic prosperity in the long-term, with a nod to future energy issues. That theme underscored Buffett’s comments about Berkshire Hathaway’s recent acquisition of Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $34 billion last week.
“The railroads are tied to the future prosperity of this country. You can’t move a railroad to China or India or anywhere else,” he said. “As the country grows, the transport of goods will grow — [people] will be moving more and more goods back and forth to each other. And you have the most environmentally friendly and the most efficient way of doing that on the railroads.”
The theme returned later in Gates’ discussion about areas he sees with the most growth potential in the United States. He said those include information technology, energy and medicine. Gates discussed the growing field of alternative energy as a driver for a long-term economic development.
“Solar-thermal, solar-electric, nuclear [energy] is going to go through some of the revival and see if it can solve some of its cost challenges. As a country, we want to make sure all of those get lots of R&D and regulatory enablement because one of them is going to give us much cheaper power,” he said. “We don’t have quite as much R&D going into those things as I’d like to see. We have quite a bit, but I think the government policies could drive for more.” He added that he foresees an energy revolution and the United States is expected to lead the way.
Buffett also discussed his value-investing strategy, saying that it had not changed in light of the financial crisis and the fundamentals were the same. “We like companies with a durable, competitive advantage,” he said. On the economy, both Buffett and Gates lauded the actions of the government and the Federal Reserve.
Both men offered advice and inspiration to students. (Marry the right person, said Buffett. Act on your self-confidence, Gates added). Buffett signaled his optimism for future MBA graduates of Columbia Business School, making a promising offer to those in the audience.
“I would pay a $100,000 dollars for 10 percent of the future earnings of any of you,” Buffett said. “If that’s true, you’re a million-dollar asset right now.”
CNBC will broadcast “Warren Buffett and Bill Gates: Keeping America Great” moderated by Becky Quick on November 12 at 9 p.m. and 12 a.m. ET . Join the conversation with other students on Facebook and on Twitter.
Photo credit: Eileen Baroso
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I'm re-posting this past post as a way of re-setting the context for some future posts.
I'm now actually reading Kahneman's book and finding many pieces of information that are relevant to what this blog addresses: intelligent thinking women, understanding ourselves, managing our thinking and emotions effectively, communicating and taking action in the most effective ways at work and in personal relationships, creating and breaking thinking habits.
I'm also away from my home base which I find definitely increases my intuitive thinking — or my thinking fast, system 1. And I'm with a friend who is very smart in totally different ways than I, which enhances my own thinking and sends me out and down different neural pathways. She was talking yesterday about memorizing a (short) literary quote every day, which she finds makes her brain feel "freshly brushed".
Here's the previous post.
I have to acknowledge, I still haven't read Daniel Kahneman's book, Thinking, Fast and Slow. I have ordered it, but haven't received it yet. I'm in Phoenix for a month, where amazingly there are no more book stores! I had to order it online rather than from my favorite independent bookstore Eagle Harbor Bookstore on Bainbridge Island. Happily I'm returning tomorrow.
But here are some interesting thoughts from the NYTimes Book Review of Kahneman's book, by Jim Holt.
• System 1 is our fast, automatic, intuitive and largely unconscious mode of thinking. "It is system 1 that detects hostility in a voice and effortlessly completes the phrase,'bread and . . . ' " It uses loose connections, memories, metaphor, similes, to create solutions to problems, ideas for innovation.
• System 2, in contrast, ". . . 'swings into action when we have to fill out a tax form or park a car in a narrow space." (I'm not sure I agree with the latter example) Interestingly, Kahneman says that you can tell that people are in System 2 because their pupils are dilated. It uses logical thinking, solid data, tight connections to come to conclusions and solutions.
"Although System 2 believes itself to be there the action is, the automatic System 1 is the hero of the book."
What do you think? Which type are you? I'm a System 2 and I'm working on improving my System 1, but I'm much more successful and confident with System 2.
Here's a related post: http://intelligentwomenonly.blogspot.com/2010/06/is-womens-lateral-thinking-illogical.html
and another: http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=5630711609871539058&postID=1076726261671923464
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Michelle Belanger – the vampire’s biographer visits Northeast State
From Dracula to Lestat, vampires inspire thrills, terror, and a good deal of thought. Just ask any “Twilight” or “True Blood” fan.
Michelle Belanger (pronounced bell-lawn-zhay) is one of the key figures in the modern vampire community. An award-winning author and researcher, she is also a modern day vampire. And she’s coming to Northeast State Community College on Wednesday, Oct. 28 for two presentations at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the auditorium.
Belanger has shattered the code of secrecy that once shrouded her community in myth, sharing with the world what vampires really are and how they live their lives. The modern vampire has evolved into a seductive icon that embodies humanity’s darkest desires: undying beauty, eternal youth, sexual freedom, and immortal power. To most people vampires are myths, but to a burgeoning modern community, vampires are very, very real.
Belanger established herself as a significant voice in the modern vampire community. She published Shadowdance Magazine, a groundbreaking quarterly that explored the vampire in fiction, poetry, and art. Her members-only publication, “The Midnight Sun,” pushed the envelope even further by addressing the occult reality of modern vampires.
Head of the International Society of Vampires until 1997, Michelle then teamed up with the vampire network known as the Sanguinarium. Through the Sanguinarium, she helped establish the Black Veil, an internationally recognized code of ethics now synonymous with the modern vampire community.
Michelle has lectured on vampires and other aspects of the paranormal at colleges across the Midwest. Her work has been referenced on the SciFi Channel, CSI, the Discovery Channel, the Women's Entertainment Network, the History Channel, and A&E network.
She appears in numerous books on the vampire community, including Jeff Guinn's Something in the Blood, Christine Wicker’s Not In Kansas Anymore, and Katherine Ramsland’s The Science of Vampires.
Echoes and Images wins literary magazine award
Echoes and Images the student literary magazine of Northeast State Community College won 2nd place in the Southern division of the Community College Humanities Association’s (CCHA) National 2009 Literary Magazine Competition.
The win marks the second consecutive year that the magazine earned the second place award for overall quality.
“We would like to kindly thank the wonderful students who contributed such amazing pieces of writing, art, and photography to this year’s edition, and made it a winner,” said Tempi Hale, instructor of English at Northeast State and one of the journal’s four faculty editors.
Published in the spring, the magazine features poems, short stories, essays, and visual art of painting and photography by currently enrolled Northeast State students. Hale along with fellow faculty editors Tamara Baxter, Gretchen McCroskey, and Christal Hensley reviewed student entries and edited the publication. Regional artists JoAnn Asbury, Connie Jordan Green, Kenneth Murray, and Donald Seacrest judged the entries by category.
The first place visual arts winner – “Ganesh Tree” by Jacob Yelton for 2009 – served as the magazine’s cover art. The 2009 edition features a nonfiction essay about putting up a Christmas tree after a divorce; the loss of a childhood friend; poems about bemused anger of life’s daily scenes and the frustration of writing; a painting of a geisha; and a photograph of a kiss on the railroad tracks.
Echoes and Images has been consistently recognized for excellence by the CCHA. In addition to choosing the three best literary magazines, Association judges also choose the best work in each artistic category. Last year, Association judges selected “The Picture of My Daddy,” written by former Northeast State student Thomas Mink, as the best work of nonfiction in the Southern division.
Founded in 1979, the CCHA is the only national organization for humanities faculty and administrators dedicated to preserving and strengthening the humanities in two-year colleges. The Association’s literary magazine competition awards honor community colleges in five geographical divisions throughout the United States.
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