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The traditional eight-hour workday may soon be the exception rather than the rule. New evidence shows that we’re reaching a tipping point in terms of workplace flexibility, with businesses seeing the wisdom of allowing employees — young ones especially — to work odd hours, telecommute and otherwise tweak the usual 9-to-5 grind.
One of the top 12 trends for 2012 as named by the communications firm Euro RSCG Worldwide is that employees in the Gen Y, or millennial, demographic — those born between roughly 1982 and 1993 — are overturning the traditional workday.
The Business and Professional Women’s Foundation estimates that by 2025, 75% of the global workforce will be Gen Y. As early as next year, this group of younger Americans will comprise 60% of the employees at companies like Ernst & Young. And increasingly, companies are creating workplace-flexibility programs because it makes good business sense, not in the least because that’s what their employees are demanding.
(GALLERY: 9 Jobs of of the (Near) Future)
Gen Y-ers are spearheading this change because they don’t want the same work environment their parents had. Between new technology and global workplace dynamics, companies are implementing flexible work arrangements for everyone, inclusive of Gen Y. A recent Vodafone U.K. survey illustrates that 90% of employers enable work flexibility instead of sticking to traditional hours.
Leading the charge in the shift toward allowing employees to work anywhere around the world, at any time they want, are companies such as Ernst & Young, Aflac and MITRE, which all realize that they need to accommodate employees’ personal lives if they want to retain them. “This notion of an eight-hour day is rapidly disappearing, simply because we work so virtually and globally,” says Maryella Gockel, Ernst & Young’s flexibility-strategy leader. By understanding Gen Y-ers’ need for workplace flexibility, companies are better able to recruit and grow young talent for the future.
Aside from the early adopters of workplace-flexibility programs, many other companies are hesitant because of the traditional “command and control” approach laid out for older generations. The challenge these companies face is letting go and trusting their young employees — even when they are telecommuting or using Facebook regularly at work.
Many companies fear that, without structure, employees will be distracted, not as engaged and less productive. In fact, the opposite is often true. A trusting work environment breeds more-loyal employees and increases efficiency. Here are three reasons for companies to embrace workplace-flexibility programs:
2. Gen Y-ers value workplace flexibility over more money. More than one-third (37%) of Gen Y workers would take a pay cut if it meant more flexibility on the job, reports a study by Mom Corps. Flexibility motivates these workers to be more productive and loyal to their companies because they feel like they are respected. An employer that allows flexibility in the workplace also demonstrates that it understands the evolving modern-day work environment, which bodes well for the future.
3. Gen Y workers are always connected to jobs through technology. Technology has made the traditional 9-to-5 model blurry — for all workers, of all generations, really. No one is ever out of touch or off the clock. When workers go home, they’re still working because who they are personally and professionally have become one and the same. Workers are always representing the company, and more and more, it seems, work e-mail doesn’t stop for anything or anyone. By no means does time away from the office equal less work getting done.
Schawbel is the managing partner of Millennial Branding LLC, a full-service personal-branding agency. He is the author of Me 2.0: 4 Steps to Building Your Future, founder of the blog Personal Branding and publisher of Personal Branding magazine.
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Governor Ted Strickland’s proposed state budget includes a nearly 50% cut in the state’s Public Library Fund. This will be devastating to all public libraries, especially to the approximately two-thirds of public libraries that don’t receive local funding.
In such difficult economic times, public libraries play an increasingly important role in society. They provide vital Internet access. (Think of how many employers today require applicants to fill out online applications.) They assist students. They provide education, such as computer training. Without these services, those who are unemployed or disadvantaged are going to find it even more difficult to get ahead.
There will be a rally at the Statehouse tomorrow (June 25) at 11:30am. Attendees are urged to wear RED and bring their library cards. Signs are encouraged, but please do not place them on sticks or poles.
More information on the proposed budget cuts can be found at the Ohio Library Council website.
There is a Save Ohio’s Libraries group on Facebook.
I hope to see you at the Statehouse tomorrow!
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The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) consists of licensed amateurs who have voluntarily registered their qualifications and equipment for communications duty in the public service when disaster strikes. Every licensed amateur, regardless of membership in ARRL or any other local or national organization, is eligible for membership in the ARES. The only qualification, other than possession of an Amateur Radio license, is a sincere desire to serve. Because ARES is an amateur service, only amateurs are eligible for membership. The possession of emergency-powered equipment is desirable, but is not a requirement for membership.
Regardless of how many years you may have been licensed or what your level of experience may be, there is a need for people from all backgrounds and experiences in Amateur Radio Emergency Services.
You, too, can experience the pride that comes with fulfilling one of the basic missions of Amateur Radio, to provide a resource of trained radio operators to meet the needs of the United States of America and its citizens in times of emergency.
In a era of satellites, cellular phones, trunked radio systems, and other radio systems, it may seem to many that Amateur Radio is a dinosaur with little to offer to the world of public safety communications. Nothing could be further from the truth. The value of Amateur Radio to public safety is two-fold. One is survivability and the other is expandability. Only Amateur Radio can meet these needs in this world of uncertainty.
Amateur Radio's finest day is yet to come.
Join us...won't you?
If you want to find a county program near you, email
or check out the EC/DEC page to find your applicable EC or DEC.
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Dunez and Wounda
During the last few weeks, the bond between Dunez and Wounda has grown increasingly strong and the two of them now behave like mother and daughter. If Wounda climbs a tree, picks flowers from a bush or decides to rest in the shade, Dunez is always a step behind her. It was Dunez’s love of the trees that prompted Wounda to climb again after a serious illness.
During her years at Tchimpounga, Wounda earned a reputation for not sharing food. Interestingly, Dunez seems to be an exception to this rule as Wounda shares her fruit with her newly adopted daughter. Dunez sits near Wounda, her eyes pleading, staring at Wounda as she chews a tasty banana. Suddenly, Wounda drops a piece of banana into Dunez’s mouth, just as a mother would do in the wild. These acts of generosity promote ties among the chimpanzees that can last a lifetime.
After lunch, Dunez curls up in Wounda’s lap for a grooming session. Wounda’s powerful fingers gently sort through Dunez’s hair. Dunez’s eyes droop and she slowly falls asleep. Thanks to Wounda’s warm touch and the support of Tchimpounga’s caregivers, happiness and security have found their way back into Dunez’s life.
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The 'gut' feeling about Real Estate
Feb 10, 2012 / 5:00 am
According to Brian Milner of the Globe & Mail Sunday Feb 5th, “If there were an award for the sector of the economy that produces the biggest volume of statistics week in and week out, housing would certainly be a top contender. Some of the data can prove useful for discerning or affirming trends. Other numbers add little clarity. And still others just muddy the waters.”
Here’s a headline example for you:
RBC ECONOMICS RESEARCH – DAILY ECONOMIC UPDATE – February 8, 2012
“Canadian housing starts decline by less than expected in January.” Now is that positive or negaitive? I think they want you to read on to find out.
We have just received all the numbers for January and it always amazes me how they can always be manipulated to make a point. Housing starts may be up, maybe average price for condos slips, it can be overwhelming. However I feel your real estate professional, who is always aware of the statistics and takes the figures into account, also can advise you with a “gut feeling” about the market. You know how busy your phone has been, you get a vibe from other Realtors in the office, you can’t fail to notice all the SOLD or PRICE REDUCED signs that crop up. Real Estate can be a 24/7, highly competitive occupation and successful Realtors are constantly aware of the market, it is all around them and part of their lives.
So the question remains, is it an art or a science? I believe it is a well practised blend of both. Realtors will always research their advice, check the numbers and do their due diligence; then deliver their opinion with a healthy dose of intuition developed from their experience. So don’t feel overwhelmed by the headlines, they can be over complicated and misleading.
As I finish writing this article this morning it seems Statistics Canada have released a barrage of data from the Census and the conclusion is that people are moving West and Kelowna is the fastest growing area in BC, and the 4th highest in Canada...so I had better get to work!
Read more The Accidental Journey articles
- Income properties for sustained recovery May 17
- The Accidental Journey May 10
- The bell rings in April! May 3
- Springing into action Apr 26
- Make real money in real estate Apr 19
- CEO outsourcing Apr 12
- Overtime pressure Apr 5
- New direction Mar 29
(Click for RSS instructions.)
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Skip to comments.Does President Bush Seek UN Jurisdiction Over the USA?
Posted on 11/24/2007 5:14:29 AM PST by fweingart
In several speeches he gave across the country, former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton revealed that President George W. Bush and his administration are buckling under pressure from this nation's Internationalists in the current controversy over Mexico and the International Court of Justice.
The Mexican government is attempting to save an illegal alien convicted of participating in the savage rape and murder two teenage girls from being executed in Texas for his crimes.
Death penalty opponents in both the US and Mexico are trying to place this nation under the control of a world court, according to critics of the Bush White House.
"[President George Bush's position is] a bad mistake, but one of many mistakes, I'm sad to say, the administration has made recently," Bolton told syndicated radio talk show host Laura Ingraham.
Bolton believes that President Bush is helping Mexico and the International Court block the death sentence for a Mexican rapist-murderer. He called Bush's actions "ridiculous."
"Bolton is a true patriot. That is why the liberals in the Democrat Party and the phony conservatives in the GOP were so eager to remove him from his seat at the UN. Bolton believes the UN is corrupt and he's opposed to placing the United States under the jurisdiction of any international entity," claims conservative political consultant Michael Baker.
"When it comes to US sovereignty, Americans would be better served listening to Ambassador Bolton rather than our closet Internationalist President," he added.
Baker points to phony conservatives such as Ohio's Senator George Voinovich who shed tears during Senate confirmation hearings for Bolton to serve at the United Nations. "Voinovich feared Bolton's anti-UN positions would hamper US involvement in the New World Order," claims Baker.
In early October, the US Supreme Court heard arguments regarding the impending execution of Jose Medellin, who confessed to police in 1993 to raping and murdering two Houston, Texas, teenagers -- Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. The girls were sodomized and strangled with their own shoe laces, according to court records and police reports.
According to Houston Police detectives' reports, Medellin boasted that he kept one victim's Mickey Mouse watch as a souvenir of his heinous crime. Medellin and four other attackers were convicted of capital murder and are awaiting execution on death row.
The intervention in the case by the Bush administration comes after the International Court of Justice in the Hague found Medellin -- who entered the United States illegally -- was not informed of his right to contact the Mexican Consulate for legal assistance.
"Bush's support of the World Court decision jeopardizes the cases of about 50 Mexican Nationals sitting on death row," said former NYPD Det. Sidney Francis.
"Once again, President Bush is stabbing law enforcement officers -- and the people they serve -- in their backs," said Francis.
Det. Francis points to the erosion of the enormous support of law enforcement officials and organizations enjoyed by President Bush in the 2004 election.
"President Bush was endorsed by the nation's largest police organizations including the 350,000-member Fraternal Order of Police, the Police Benevolent Association and other law enforcement and security organizations and unions," said Michael Baker.
"Now his popularity among cops has hit bottom because of his refusal to protect the US from illegal aliens who cross our borders at will," he said.
Ambassador Bolton told talk host Laura Ingraham that the U.S. has no obligation to the world court in this case.
"It is ridiculous," he said. "The Vienna Convention on consular relations does not create rights personal to the individual. It's a state-to-state agreement."
Lawmakers in Washington, DC, who signed the treaty, did not believe they were creating a way for criminals on death row to "get around our judicial system," Bolton explained to Ingraham. "They haven't had enough due process? They've had the full panoply of constitutional protection, and now they're trying to create something else."
The Bush Administration became involved in the Medellin case in 2003 when President Vicente Fox's government sued the US over the consular issue in the UN's world court.
The court ruled in Mexico's favor in late 2004 and ordered the US to reconsider the Mexican inmates' murder convictions and death sentences. In February 2005, Bush announced that while he disagreed with the decision, the US would comply. He ordered courts in Texas and elsewhere to review the cases.
The Supreme Court, which had agreed to hear Medellin's case, dismissed it in order to allow the case to play out in Texas. Then in November 2006, the all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals balked at the president's order, saying Bush had overstepped his authority.
The Texas court ruled that the judicial branch -- not the White House -- should decide how to resolve the Mexican cases. It also said Medellin wasn't entitled to a new hearing because he failed to complain at his original trial about any violation of his consular rights and had therefore waived them.
Then Medellin's defense attorney appealed again to the US Supreme Court, which announced last May it would hear the case. His lawyer, Donald Donovan of New York, argued that Bush was correct when he took action to comply with the world court's decision.
Recently, for his achievements in both international arbitration and international human rights, Donovan was awarded the Premio Nacional de Jurisprudencia by the Mexican Bar Association, the first non-Mexican so honored.
What the U.S. government wants in the Medellin murder case is "bizarrely grotesque," according to a statement by the chief counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund.
The warning from ADF Chief Counsel Benjamin Bull notes that the case, being pursued by President Bush through the Department of Justice, could result in US laws being subjugated to UN resolutions and rules to the point that local police officers will have to spend more time studying international law than catching criminals.
(Suggested Reading: The Beast on the East River »» The U.N. Threat to America's ...In The Beast on the East River, Nathan Tabor offers a unique perspective on the United Nations vis-à-vis its relationship with the United States, ... www.nathantabor.com)
I have reviewed the case. If the SOB wanted to avoid the death penalty, he shouldn’t have killed someone in Texas. Next.
P.S. - Mr. Medellin, the Mexican Consulate called and left a message: “You’re gonna fry.”
Condolences to the families and friends of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena.
>>>In several speeches he gave across the country, former US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton revealed that President George W. Bush and his administration are buckling under pressure from this nation’s Internationalists in the current controversy over Mexico and the International Court of Justice.<<<
“[President George Bush’s position is] a bad mistake, but one of many mistakes, I’m sad to say, the administration has made recently,” Bolton told syndicated radio talk show host Laura Ingraham.
That is the quote to support ‘several speeches’?
It looks out of context too to support ‘buckling’.
In my opinion, the administration on many key issues that involve the deliberate erosion of American sovereignty, instead of buckling, have just laid down in the middle of the road.
I’m saying the quote used to support the premise of the opening paragraph doesn’t support the opinion.
I personally believe the mexican elite could care less about the death penalty. all the poverty is sent to the USA.
Not many rich people being executed these days, or for that matter, never have.
Mexico is just a big joke!
The mexican elite thinks this makes them look good in the eyes of the international community.
A particularly nasty hit piece on the President by a Paulinista
>>>>I personally believe the mexican elite could care less about the death penalty. all the poverty is sent to the USA.
I think the politicians in Mexico City like the open border because it is a pressure release valve for them. If they don’t take care of their people if they don’t provide economic opportunity, and they don’t, than instead of their voters throwing them out of office they want people to vote with their feet and just leave the country. And that is what they do. They vote with their feet and leave the country and come to the United States.
- Duncan Hunter
In principle, allowing someone accused of a crime to contact their home country consulate for assistance is very important.
How many times have Americans been accused of crimes while abroad and were released when the US Consulate would become involved? Numerous.
Extending that right to non-citizens is OK with me.
However, in this case, the defense never requested such assistance. The International Court is making a straw argument.
In other words, fry him.
In the immortal words of Ron White "Most states are abolishing the death penalty. Mine is putting in an express lane. In Texas, if you kill somebody, we kill you back"
“President George W. Bush and his administration are buckling under pressure from this nation’s Internationalists”
LOL! Who’s kidding who here?
This totally sucks, but I’m glad Bolton is speaking out.
I love Ron White........
The article being discussed in the thread is the hit piece....the fact this guy is a Paulinista explains the reason for it.
it was all revealed by playing Sr's "Thousand Points of Light" speech backwards. Where have you been?
Jorge is on his way out. Be more concerned that we do not elect a socio/communist who will actually turn this nation over to the UN.
what makes you think he is not already setting the stage. Remember the Clintons are Bushs’ buddies.
"The president is out to lunch and cannot be disturbed."
I’m not a Paulinista, but please point out the parts that are not true.
When our government no longer enforces the laws it sets, it is time for the American people to start taking the law into their own hands.
Bush has really blown it on domestic policy. Some blame needs to go to his advisors. They are the ones who convince the President where his agenda needs to go.
But ultimately, this problem of border and immigration law enforcement falls directly on Bush.
Is there anyone who can save our country anymore?
Is there any politician with the desire and the gonads to not compromise our sovergnity??
Confidence is low.
Bumping for great justice.
You are right. Being an internationalist himself, Bush feels no pressure and doesn't need to buckle. Bolton is being charitable toward his former boss.
There are a lot of "new world order' traitors in our government, both Democrat and Republican. We need to get them ALL out.
With the elite political class ensconced in the Washington DC area, the nation is beginning to look like Madrid before Generalissimo Franco began marching north.
Regardless of what we do at the polls these elite socialist pansies refuse to follow the will of the majority.
We continally get poltically correct hogwash shoved down our throats, our borders are wide open, our nation is full of the castoff scum of Mexico, et al, our president entertains, with a white house dinner, the people who would like to see all of us either dead or bowing toward the east, our courts by and large, consist of judges who thwart and make a mockery of the Constitution, we aren't able to drill for oil in our own country, our industries were burdened with excessive bureaucratic regulation and our president is ready to join the socialist congress in turning over our sovereignty to the United Nations.
We're in deep trouble!
>LOL! Whos kidding who here?
LOL! Exactly! How does one "buckle under pressure" from onesself?!?
Sad, but true. In these time, laying down is like hoping it will go away. Bush has lost lots of respect with those that believed in him. So many mistakes.
Parts of what?????
The biggest of which I made was ever supporting Bush.
Only one small one: Ramos and Campeon!
Phats of Woher?
“Regardless of what we do at the polls these elite socialist pansies refuse to follow the will of the majority.”
You are too kind!
Regardless of what we do at the polls these elite socialist TRAITORS refuse to follow the will of the majority.
“We continually get politically correct hogwash shoved down our throats, our borders are wide open, our nation is full of the castoff scum of Mexico, et al, our president entertains, with a white house dinner, the people who would like to see all of us either dead or bowing toward the east, our courts by and large, consist of judges who thwart and make a mockery of the Constitution, we aren’t able to drill for oil in our own country, our industries were burdened with excessive bureaucratic regulation and our president is ready to join the socialist congress in turning over our sovereignty to the United Nations.
We’re in deep trouble!”
Couldn’t have summed it up better!
-- George Herbert Walker Bush, 2/1/92, speech before the UN.
Like father, like son.
“Life’s a bitch. So why vote for one?”
That’d be a heckuva bumper sticker this next year.
“Thatd be a heckuva bumper sticker this next year.”
Watts of Power.
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Jenifer Warren’s methodical work habits help a tricky profile succeed
When a profile works, it’s often because the writer has discovered and exploited a fundamental tension between the character and the outside world. The piece submitted for your examination this week is a profile of a man many of us would instinctively dislike–a fur trapper. It works because it takes us, non-judgmentally, through a day in the trapper’s life, puts us in his boots and lets us decide.
The author, Jenifer Warren, who works in my newspaper’s Sacramento bureau, offers some valuable insights in the essay that accompanies her story (which, for truth-in-advertising purposes, was written in 1993). For me, Jenifer’s observations are a lesson in planning. In particular: (1) Selecting the right kind of target, (2) Methodically preparing your questions early in the game, and (3) Being conscious of how your story elements are unfolding while you’re in the reporting process. Obvious stuff, sure–until you have to do it under pressure.
Read the first seven grafs, which set up the personality and the issue, and then we’ll hear from Jenifer before returning to the piece:
”TRAPPERS’ TRADE IS THE LATEST KILL”
KORBEL, Calif.–The man has a hunch about this spot. So he sets his trap at the edge of an old logging road, in the dirt between a manzanita bush and a clump of scruffy grass. Sure enough, a gray fox trots by, gets a whiff of the bait and takes a step he won’t live long to regret.
“Looks like we got ourselves a critter,” Reid Aiton says the next morning, out at first light to check the 24 traps he has hidden in the soggy Humboldt County hills. “A male, I’d say, pretty good-sized.”
The fox–silver, with orange belly and pointy snout–is in a real fix, and knows it. His left front paw is caught in a padded steel jaw. He twirls, thrashes and lunges as the trapper draws near. He tries a growl, flicks his tail. No luck.
Then he freezes, brown eyes locked on the rifle. There’s a hollow pop, a puff of smoke, some blood. With a single spasm, the fox dies. This is the way it goes out here in the woods.
Used to be that trapping was a noble trade. Our first explorers and settlers were trappers. Remember Daniel Boone? Davy Crockett and his coonskin cap? What men these were! Hardy, courageous. Romantic, even.
But many Americans feel differently now. Trappers are murderers, the animal rights activists say, anachronistic brutes whose ways maim pets and subject wildlife to horrific suffering. Wearing fur is seen as a sin, and has become socially hazardous: You might get a lecture; you might get sprayed with red paint.
That attitude steams Aiton, a woodsman for most of his 51 years in North Coast redwood country. “We don’t tell them how to live,” he says, “so why don’t they stop stepping on my rights?”
Jenifer takes the stage:
I decided to write about fur trappers after a brainstorming session with my editor. My job at the time was to produce ”California stories,” vaguely defined as ”stories that say something about California or Californians.” Fur trappers, I had learned from a piece clipped from another paper, were a dwindling breed in our state, and the topic intrigued me. I sensed the chance to profile a remnant of old California –an historic, once-respectable trade now besieged by growth and changing attitudes in the West.
The first problem I confronted was this: How to write about trappers without getting bogged down in the messy arguments for and against the fur business. I had read about animal rights groups, about anti-fur protests, about accusations of cruelty. All of that moved me as a person, but struck me as old news as a journalist–an angle already amply covered.
So instead, I decided to take a slice-of-life approach, and that early decision later made writing the piece a joy. I knew I would have to touch the important philosophical bases in the fur debate, but hoped to do it subtly, mostly through the words and experiences of the trappers.
My primary goal was to penetrate and reveal a culture, one that, for this Californian, was repulsive and fascinating at the same time.
I began the reporting with some phone calls, and then set out in search of the fur trapper who would be my window on the trade. I figured the pickings might be good at California’s last remaining fur market, in Red Bluff, so I drove there on a cold Saturday in February.
There were a couple dozen trappers selling their pelts, and I chatted (or tried to chat) with most of them. Some were hostile, most were wary. A few were scary, smelly creatures, not the sort I’d want to accompany on a trip through the woods. Others could barely put a sentence together.
Finally I found Reid Aiton, and he seemed perfect. Well-spoken but folksy, he was a lifelong trapper passionately devoted to the preservation of his way of life. He had showered recently, and was also willing to let a reporter tag along on the trapline, a must for my game plan. Finding just the right trapper for my portrait was a crucial step, another victory that made the writing much less of a struggle.
The next 13 grafs of the story take us through the background of the art of trapping and Aiton’s perspective, preparing us for what will be a day-in-the-life narrative:
Ten years ago, there were 3,540 trappers like Aiton still plying their ancient skill in California’s wild lands. This season, only 350 coughed up $60 for the license required by the Department of Fish and Game.
Tumbling demand and the success of fur farms mean there’s just no money in pelts anymore. In 1985, a fine bobcat could fetch $500. This year, that same fur might get you 60 bucks.
It’s also getting mighty crowded in California. A population of 30 million means a lot of pet owners worried that their cat or collie might get snared by a trap. And two years back, the state forced all trappers to buy new traps–the kind with rubber on the jaws, said to be gentler on the animals’ legs. That drove a bunch of trappers under.
“It hit them real hard, right in the wallet,” says Warren Duke, a state game warden for 26 years. “For a lot of guys, it’s just not worth the trouble anymore.”
Sure, times have changed, but not Reid Aiton. He set his first trap at age 13. That’s 38 winters–a lot of time on the trap line, a lot of fox, coyote, bobcat and raccoon through the skinning shed.
This isn’t a full-time deal for him. His day job is in the timber business, has been since 1960. Trapping just helps fill the winter larder. More than that, it’s a way of life he loves.
Aiton taught three sons the secrets of the traps before their teens. The children sold $1,000 in pelts a season during the mid-1980s, remembered by trappers as the glory years for fur prices. The boys had a tradition back then: After their first hides were sold each winter, they took Mom out to dinner.
His sons are grown now, and so Aiton traps alone, as most trappers do. Country music and Rush Limbaugh provide whatever company he needs. A thermos of black coffee and his chestnut-colored dog, Bobby, go along in the Ford pickup.
This winter, Aiton is running a short line–two dozen traps, or “sets,” on gravel roads that loop maybe 30 miles through the damp forests of the Coast Range. State law requires trappers to check their sets once every 24 hours. Aiton visits some on the way to work, the rest on the way back to his home on Murphy Ridge, a remote clearing in the fir trees 35 miles northeast of Eureka.
It’s a tricky business, trapping. Think of it. The animal has acres of land to roam and the trapper’s job is to get its paw on a piece of metal the size of a small sand dollar. Pretty tough odds.
To succeed, trappers must know their prey–its diet, preferred terrain, tracks, hunting habits. They must know, as Aiton does, that the coyote is a wary breed, able to spot any trap that is not blended in just so. They must know that the fox is curious, and that the raccoon is cautious, but not too hard to catch if the bait is tantalizing enough.
Trappers must also be patient. “It’s a hit-or-miss deal,” Aiton warns. “If you’re gonna get upset every time you come up empty, then you’d better find yourself something else to do.”
Aiton has the right sun-will-surely-rise-again-tomorrow attitude. Even so, he hates coming up empty–especially when his target was in the neighborhood.
Before we go further, Jenifer talks about the emphasis she placed on planning:
The night before our day in the forest, I sat in my crummy motel room and made a list of the things I wanted to know about Reid Aiton and trapping. Among the items I jotted down were these: methods, gait, pace, clothing, bumper stickers, smoker, jokes, smell, radio, hands, food, odor, anger, map, blood, mink farms, mange, trap bans, kids, fur coats, God, pets.
I don’t always make a list before an interview, but this was clearly a story that would bloom or wither on the richness of the detail. As a writer who is chronically insecure and panics unless she has armloads of material to choose from, I feared I might miss some telling nuance if I didn’t plan ahead.
Our adventure on the trapline was a long one, beginning with coffee and pancakes around dawn and stretching through dinner well past dark. As we bumped along the dirt roads of Humboldt County in Aiton’s Ford pickup I occasionally took a moment to think ahead, about the writing of the piece. A few observations began to stand out in my mind.
One was the challenge of trapping–and the long odds of success. I quickly realized that good trappers must truly be wildlife experts–must know their prey’s hunting instincts, diet and other habits. Aiton knew this stuff cold, and he showed a respect for animals that struck me.
More than once, for instance, he marveled at the cunning of a coyote that had slipped through his grasp, or praised the heart of a lustrous gray fox squirming and snarling in a trap. He paused to show me a red-tailed hawk in a tree, and spoke with pity of the suffering of wild animals dying of mange. Such traits conflicted with the popular image of trappers as vicious neanderthals. I decided it was vital that I bring this side of the man to life.
Another thing that amazed me was the complexity of trapping. I guess I figured you simply buried a trap in the dirt and an animal stepped in it. Not quite. Aiton’s painstaking methods–from scouting, baiting and camouflaging on the front end to skinning and fleshing the catch at day’s end–were something to behold.
There were times, of course, when I was horrified, but I also found the process fascinating. Trusting my instincts enough to believe readers would also find it fascinating, I recorded every tiny step, resolving to use much of this material in the piece.
And then there was Reid Aiton’s home life, the end-of-the-trapline stuff. Initially, I wasn’t expecting to gain admission to this aspect of my main character. But in the end I was invited to stay for dinner (I think he was impressed because I hadn’t fainted at the sight of blood), and as soon as I entered his house I knew it was a goldmine.
There were deer heads, bear skins, trapping magazines, a Bible, and an ancient wood-burning stove used for heating and cooking. I thumbed through family photo albums as Reid told stories about teaching trapping to his three boys, one of whom ran a 7-mile trapline on his bike–”rain or shine”–at age 12. Later, Margaret Aiton fried up some venison for supper (yes, I managed to choke down a bite or two) and explained how she makes bath soap by rendering the fat of bears her husband hunts. I scribbled madly, trying to look casual.
As I sat by the fire after supper, discussing political correctness and the merits of the Rush Limbaugh Show with the couple, I was content: I had tons of color for my story. All I needed was a sturdy frame.
Here’s the rest of the piece, beginning with the day-in-the-life material. We’ll let Jenifer explain the writing strategy after the piece ends. We’re picking up after the last graf you read, which ended: “…Even so, he hates coming up empty–especially when his target was in the neighborhood.”
Such is the case on this frosty morning, when he finds a coon print in the mud an inch from his trap. “One inch!” Aiton shakes his head glumly. “When they don’t come by, that’s nobody’s fault,” he explains. “But when they stop and you miss ‘em, well, the trapper gets the blame.”
Shrugging off his disappointment, he climbs back in the truck and moves on, winding through a maze of redwood stumps–the remnants of a clear-cutting. The next trap is a hit–another gray fox, twisting and snarling as he fights to escape. Aiton is pleased, but modest: “Even a blind dog finds a bone now and then.”
But there’s a problem: This gray fox has a broken leg. Aiton is visibly upset: “This isn’t supposed to happen. It doesn’t happen, I tell you.” Seems the trap wasn’t chained short enough, giving the animal too much leash as he lunged to get away. Humbled, Aiton quickly shoots the animal between the eyes and tosses it in the bed of his truck.
Not all trappers use a gun. Some prefer a club to the head–less blood and no shot to spook nearby animals. “Personally, I don’t like to thump ‘em,” Aiton says. “That method’s fine, but I respect the animal and I like to dispatch them as quick as possible.”
His field methods are meticulous. To guard against foreign scents that might scare his prey, he wears rubber boots and gloves. He scouts his location thoroughly–looking for an intersection of animal trails, say, or telltale scat.
Once he has found his spot, Aiton scoops a small depression in the earth and pokes a deeper hole in the ground behind it. He pours in a bit of lure–foul-smelling stuff with names such as “Trails End” and “Widow Maker” that he bought through the mail. Aiton also makes some of these potions himself, grinding animal glands in the blender, adding a bit of fox urine and other secret ingredients. Lined up in an old ammunition box, they look like jars of gourmet mustard.
The trap Aiton uses on this day is a No. 2–about the size of a shoe you might put on a draft horse. He tucks the trap in its nest and covers it with pre-sifted dirt–a mixture free of rocks that could block the jaws. Aiton then smoothes the earth with a finger, carefully, the way a child might sculpt a sandcastle.
A north wind kicks up as he brushes dirt off his gloves and considers a question: Why trap?
“I’m an outdoors person, first off, and I have an appreciation of wildlife–love watching ‘em, learning their habits, trying to outthink ‘em. . . . If I could retire today, and had my choice, this is what I’d do.”
His rounds complete, Aiton drives home with five foxes. That means 25% of his sets paid off–a good haul. Most trappers feel happy if they hit 10% or 15% on any given day.
Dusk approaches, but there is work to be done. Catching animals is only part of the game; skinning and fleshing are still to come.
Aiton’s skinning shed is in a cold and drafty barn. He hangs a fox carcass from a post, nose down, and unfolds his pocket knife with the two-inch blade. Starting at a hind paw, he slits straight and true–down one leg, up the other, then out along the tail. He is quiet, concentrating. One slip and the pelt is no good.
His cuts complete, the trapper pulls the hide down toward the head, each hard tug making a snapping sound. Two minutes and he is done. His hands are slick with blood.
Fleshing is next, and this is tedious work. As he scrapes gobs of fat from the glistening hide, Aiton sounds off–about new laws, accusations that trapping is inhumane, and the groups aiming to make sure that his is a breed with no future.
Every day, it seems, a new celebrity sheds her mink coat and antes up for the cause. That and the recession have hurt the trapping fraternity badly: Fur sales have dropped by about 75% since 1986.
The animal rights activists say the traps kill and cripple pets; Aiton says he’s “never, ever injured one in all my years.” Activists say wildlife populations are best left alone, but Aiton says trapping is a useful management tool, an argument he makes to state officials when they try to impose new rules.
Foes of trapping foes say the practice is cruel, offering examples such as the fox with the broken leg. But Aiton retorts–hotly now–that most folks do not realize how cruel nature itself can be: “People have no idea! It’s not some kind of Walt Disney movie out there.”
Aiton rests his case with the basic notion that predation is a fact of life, and that humans are the predators at the top of the heap.
“Go back to the original book of instruction, the Bible, and you’ll see. It says, ‘Man shall have dominion over the animals.’ ”
By nightfall, the foxes have been skinned, fleshed, stretched and hung to dry. While Aiton washes up and combs his hair, his wife, Margaret, gets dinner on the table. Venison–shot by her husband–is the centerpiece, with green beans from the garden and home-canned applesauce on the side.
“We try to be as self-sufficient as we can,” she says. The couple grow or catch 90% of what they eat, and Margaret even makes bathing soap from the fat of bears her husband kills.
It is easy, as she talks and cooks on a wood stove that is half a century old, to forget this is California, 1993. Feels a bit like the American frontier.
With two deer heads, a bear skin and a stuffed fox for decor, the home resembles a small hunting lodge. Along with the Bible, there are photos of the kids displaying their pelts and trapping magazines that advertise a how-to coyote skinning video ($34.95) and, “for the ladies,” bra liners made of beaver fur.
Margaret is waiting for something more substantial–a hip-length fur coat. Her husband has donated 21 foxes for the project so far; she hopes the day’s catch will give her a few more.
Those pelts not reserved for the coat will go with Reid Aiton over the mountains to Red Bluff, where California’s only remaining fur market is held twice a year at the fairgrounds. Time was, these were well-attended affairs–80 or 90 trappers in plaid wool shirts, joking and talking and drinking coffee while a dozen buyers bid on their wares.
But the glory days are gone, and last month’s sale was a vivid sign that the trapping trade is in trouble. There were just three buyers and 20 trappers. Prices were so lousy a lot of guys got disgusted, bundled up their pelts and refused to sell.
Dinner is done, and Aiton finally rests, sitting beside a comforting fire. The day lasted 12 hours, counting the skinning and fleshing: “Five foxes, at eight bucks apiece–looks like I made $40 today.” Deduct gasoline and other costs, and it’s a pittance.
“That’s not even minimum wage,” Aiton says, not looking too concerned. “Good thing I’m not in this to get rich.”
Jenifer’s analysis concludes with the composition process:
I wrote the first several lines of the story in my head as I flew back to San Francisco the next day. This isn’t typical for me; normally, I need fingers on the keys to compose.
But I knew what sort of lead I wanted–something that plunked the reader right down in the wilderness with the trapper and his prey–and I just sort of spun out the top from there.
I’m not crazy about the first two graphs, but I like the use of the present tense, for the sake of immediacy and punch, and I like the feel of Reid Aiton’s first quote: ”Looks like we got ourselves a critter.” (I didn’t spend much time describing Aiton, but I think his language helped bring him to life.)
From there I progressed to a vivid reenactment of the first kill, because for me, that was the most dramatic part of the day. When I saw that fox squirming and thrashing in the trap, I wished (momentarily) that I was at a school board meeting. I hoped readers would have a similar reaction and keep reading.
The next six graphs I used to relay bottom-line type information–the context into which my tale of the trapper would fit. This was necessary stuff, and it needed to be high up in the piece. But I wrote it as breezy and rustic-sounding as I could, trying to use words and phrases Aiton might use. The seventh graph is a comment from the only other person quoted in the story, a warden. And then it’s right back to Reid Aiton.
The track the story follows is, more or less, a day on the trapline with Reid. Weaved into that pattern are nuggets of information about the trade and the man–facts about weapons used to kill the animals; about his sons, dog, truck and preferred radio entertainment; about the strange concoctions used as bait, and so on. I scattered the nuggets here and there through his routine in the woods, to break up the step-by-step feel of the recitation.
Throughout the piece, I tried to keep the writing–vocabulary and sentence length–plain and fairly lean, again in an effort to echo what Aiton himself might say.
The first 75 percent of the story was remarkably easy to write, but I hit a few hitches near the end. For starters, I couldn’t figure out how to smoothly integrate some of the pro and con arguments on fur trapping. I felt a need to include some discussion of this sort, partly because it was something constantly on Aiton’s mind.
In the end, I opted for several tight graphs of conversational commentary in the skinning shed. At first I felt I might have shortchanged the debate, but then my editor shrunk the section still further, saying he felt it jarred the flow. Fine by me.
The other nagging problem related to that fur market in Red Bluff, where I had spent half my weekend interviewing trappers. I had a lot of good, juicy quotes and anectdotes from that event, and I hated the thought of not getting at least some of it in. After arguing with myself over the merits of the material for awhile, I finally swallowed my pride and admitted it just didn’t fit. The final version of the story has just a quick mention of the market, near the very end.
The most meaningful critique I received came from a friend, a decidedly anti-fur type who told me: ”You managed to make the guy sympathetic,” my friend said. ”I still think what the trappers do is sick, and I wish they’d stop. But I understand a little better why they do it.”
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The classic baseball film "A League of Their Own" immortalized the life of Lavonne "Pepper" Paire-Davis, though you might not have made the connection at first. Paire-Davis, the inspiration for the character played by Geena Davis, died Saturday of natural causes at age 88.
In 1992, "A League of Their Own" gave a fictionalized account of the birth of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was developed by Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley on the fear that Major League Baseball would cease playing because of World War II. The majors never stopped, but the women's league proved popular enough to stay in business from 1943 to 1954. They might have played in skirts, but the women also played to win. Their artifacts are all over the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, and their place in baseball history is undeniable.
The Associated Press has the details of where Paire-Davis came in:
She was a catcher and shortstop, and helped her teams win five championships. She chronicled her baseball adventures in the 2009 book "Dirt in the Skirt."
"I know what it's like for your dream to come true, mine did," Paire-Davis said in an AP story in 1995, when she was 70. "Baseball was the thing I had the most fun doing. It was like breathing."
After graduating from high school, she enrolled at UCLA as an English major, worked as a welder's assistant at the shipyards in Long Beach, and spent every spare moment playing in local softball leagues.
Her heart, however, belonged to hardball.
"Don't get me wrong, I was glad to be playing softball," she said in 1995. "But I'd rather have played competitive baseball."
Talk about a girl after my own heart. How can you not love her for that?
In the movie, Geena Davis played Dottie Hinson — a gorgeous athlete who became a star player in the AAGPBL as her husband fought overseas. Her sister, Kit Keller, was one of the league's top pitchers. Of course, it was the movie that also gave us, "There's no crying in baseball" — which is not always true, but it's a memorable line.
[Also: Pitcher's cross-country drive to spring training detoured by trade]
The one thing about Paire-Davis' obit that threw me a little: She never played for the Rockford Peaches. Producers of the movie juggled the facts around so they could fit everything into two hours. Instead of being a Peach, Paire-Davis won championships with the Racine Belles, Grand Rapids Chicks (! — the "Chicks") and Fort Wayne Daisies.
No, wait. Kit, played for the Belles! Well, apparently there was no Kit, either.
But there was a "Pepper" Paire-Davis, who provided inspiration for a lot more than just a movie character. May she rest in peace.
Pitchers and catchers report any moment.
Follow @AnswerDave, @MikeOz, @Townie813 and @bigleaguestew, on Twitter,
along with the BLS Facebook page!
More sports news from the Yahoo! Sports Minute:
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Black Warrior Riverkeeper and the Southern Environmental Law Center asked the court for permission to amend their year-old lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration, saying the agencies’ recent re-evaluation of the proposed Northern Beltline continues a pattern of failing to account for significant changes in the project and surrounding environment dating back to 1997. The groups are asking the court to require a thorough “supplemental environmental impact statement” as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“ALDOT’s so-called re-evaluation is more of a meaningless re-hash of information and does not meet legal requirements to fully assess the impacts this massive highway would have,” said Gil Rogers, SELC senior attorney. “For this study, ALDOT overlooked huge changes in the environment and the economic landscape, including whether this project makes sense in light of its escalating costs and the Jefferson County bankruptcy.”
Rogers said that other important changes, like the completion of I-22 and the project’s impacts on endangered species and critical habitat are similarly ignored.
“In filing our lawsuit last year, we called on ALDOT to take a meaningful look at the Northern Beltline’s direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts on the environment, including the region’s water resources,” said Black Warrior Riverkeeper Nelson Brooke. “ALDOT’s re-evaluation merely props up the agency’s first faulty study and fails to consider Jefferson County’s significant and failing sewer infrastructure, which cannot handle any additional loading at this time.”
The Northern Beltline remains one of the central controversies in the state. Despite the pending lawsuit and an Army Corps of Engineers permit that must be obtained, ALDOT continues to insist that it will break ground on the Northern Beltline by year’s end. The cost of the 52-mile highway ballooned last year to $4.7 billion, making it what would be one of the most expensive highways in history. In a surprise move last month, U.S. Rep. Jared Polis (CO) made the highway an election year example of wasteful government spending, labeling it an unnecessary pork project.
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Stopping smoking can be a very uphill struggle especially for an individual who has actually been addicted to cigarettes for a long time. It is not just the nicotine that plays a critical function in identifying the intensity of the addiction towards smoking that people normally have. It is also about the reality that smokers are made use of to taking certain time period out throughout their day to smoke a cigarette. In fact, the actual act of lighting a cigarette and then taking a drag of smoke to at some point blow it out is psychologically really satisfying for cigarette smokers.
Are e cigarettes safe and effective to use? The facts and also study results provide mixed testimonials on these devices. An electronic cigarette is a device that does not use tobacco to provide nicotine. As an alternative an atomizer as well as a liquid containing nicotine that is usually water based are used to deliver nicotine and provide the person together with the feel of smoking. This helps to reduce the amount of nicotine consumed and eliminates many of the harmful toxins that smoking tobacco can create.
If you're looking for a superior type of e-cig, one which can provide convenience, excellent quality fumes, and a great bargain for the money, then look no further than the t-rex e-cig! This e-cig provides everything you might ask for in this kind of product, and throws in a touch of taste and class as well!
There are numerous e-cigarettes on the present market made with various different technologies but all of them intend to do the same stuff. They were invented as an alternative choice to smoking tobacco. Now however they're becoming useful in an alternative way. With numerous premises being forbidden for smokers, electric cigs are now a good alternative. Now when you go out for the evening, instead of standing out in the cold to have a gasper you can use your Ecig inside as an alternative.
The ecigarettes are accessible in two piece modules. One of them is the heating element which is also known as atomizer. This is where the power cell powered electrical device makes all its heat from. The heat helps the liquid nicotine vaporize for breathing in. This is what gives the smoker the real smoking experience. The other part is known as the cartridge. This is the part that might act as the capsult for tobacco users.
Electric cigarettes have superceded normal cigarettes across many cigarette smokers. What’s improper with conventional cigarettes? Nothing is really wrong outside the conventional prospective health injuries that cigarette can cause. And opposed to the common belief, Electric cigarettes also are not yet proven to be free from such potential side effects. However, there are some other rewards of E-cigarettes that are not found in classic ones. For example, a traditional cig involves fire and ash. The Electronic cigarettes are completely free both from fire and from ashes.
A nifty device has been invented to change the way people enjoy their smoking habit. E-cigarettes offer numerous benefits over smoking traditional cigarettes. SmokeTip electronic cigarettes are better than traditional cigarettes. There are many reasons to help smokers decide whether or not to make that switch.
There are over 4,000 chemicals in tobacco smoke. 43 are considered especially poisonous. The health risks associated with this possibly sparked the invention of the e-cigarette in 2003 by Hon Lik. Knowing how e cigarettes work enables smokers to consider smoking without the adverse long-term side effects experienced with conventional smoking.
Many people are looking for alternatives to smoking cigarettes that will not require them to stop using nicotine. The dangers of smoking to both the user and those around them are clear. A person who smokes is constantly being herded to the “smoking area” almost everywhere they go if that section even still exists. Below are the top 5 reasons to switch to e cigarettes for individuals who are trying to reduce their intake of carcinogens, but still want to inhale nicotine.
Smoking is widely known to be very bad for the health as it introduces many toxins and harmful substances to the body, but the e cigarette has important differences. It is powered by electricity and gives out nicotine in the form of a vapor when you inhale from it, while at the same time greatly reducing the amount of dangerous chemicals that you are exposed to.
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Avoid failure with smoke control commissioning
How to adjust when the installed system does not meet the performance criteria of the approved design or there are inconsistencies with the design concepts in the approved design documents.
Allyn J. Vaughn, PE, FSFPE, JBA Consulting Engineers Inc., Las Vegas
Special inspections are required for smoke control systems as outlined in Section 909 and Chapter 17 of the International Building Code (IBC). Special inspection agencies are required to have expertise in fire protection engineering and mechanical engineering, and certifications as air balancers. Often the agencies qualified to perform these special inspections are involved and experienced in the design of smoke control systems.
However, the special inspector’s role is to inspect and test the smoke control system per the approved design. While the special inspection agency can provide guidance to the design team, its role is to verify compliance with codes and standards as well as compliance with the approved design documents.
So what happens when the installed system does not meet the performance criteria of the approved design or there are inconsistencies with the design concepts in the approved design documents?
Generally, these issues arise near completion of the project when all efforts are geared toward opening the building and completing the project. There is no time to re-examine design concepts or replace major smoke control system equipment. The most viable solution is to perform minor adjustments to installed equipment and smoke control barriers, while maintaining a code-compliant and approved system.
What happens next often is based on how far apart the operation of the installed system is from the approved design criteria. Minor adjustments can be made in the field, but major changes are often impractical this late in construction. Can changes be made to the approved design criteria to match the installed system, or will wholesale changes be required?
The following sections address ways to limit the impact of smoke control system operations. Many of these pertain to coordination during design and construction as wholesale changes late in construction are not feasible.
Depending upon the size of the project, the design concepts for smoke control systems often are completed several years prior to final occupancy. Performance criteria are set early in the design phase so other disciplines can work toward providing design documents that conform to these performance criteria. Hopefully, any inconsistencies in the smoke control system design are identified during the design process. But sometimes changes are made to the building design that are not carried forward to all disciplines involved in the smoke control system design. These changes can occur during the design and construction phases. Proper coordination among members of the design team is crucial to ensure that design changes do not impact the smoke control system design.
Many disciplines influence smoke control systems. They include mechanical and electrical systems, such as fan systems, dampers, ductwork, controls, and monitoring systems. However, architectural features impact smoke control systems as well. These may include the location of walls, soffits, draft curtains, and openings in walls and floors. Such features can be affected by the architectural design or the interior design.
Knowing that your discipline can impact the performance of a smoke control system becomes more important as the design of a building is being finalized. One way to understand your impact on the overall performance of the system is to be involved in the design stages of smoke control systems and to flag an issue when you feel a change will affect that design. This can be communicated during design workshops that involve the various disciplines and trades impacting smoke control systems.
As the design of the building is being finalized, all stakeholders in the smoke control system should meet periodically to review the design features that could impact smoke control system performance. These include smoke zone boundaries, openings in smoke zone barriers, design of draft curtains, mechanical and electrical systems, and location of rated walls for dampers, as well as control system sequencing. A review of these features to confirm proper integration can reduce the impact on the installed system.
Changes to the building design also can occur during the construction phase and it is important to review these changes as well, because they are being constructed. Periodic review meetings with the design and construction team can help to determine if any changes have impacted the smoke control system design. Corrections can be made to either the smoke control system design or the building before it is too late in the construction process. In addition to the design team, personnel familiar with the smoke control system on the construction team should review potential field changes to flag potential impact on the performance of the smoke control system.
During construction, the special inspector also should be on board, performing inspections of smoke control systems and participating in the overall review process. The inspector should be able to flag any design issues that may be affected by the construction process or changes to the building design. The special inspector is required by code to be on-site prior to the concealment of system components, such as ductwork and devices. During these inspections, the special inspection agency should be able to identify any issues related to the installation of the system. Having periodic meetings with these groups can prove beneficial in confirming that the installed system meets design criteria.
Ongoing dialogue during the course of design and construction can help offset many system performance issues near the completion of the project. Making sure the systems are installed as designed and that the building is being constructed as designed is critical to the successful performance of the smoke control system. It is also just as important to ensure that the smoke control system design criteria are well suited to the building design. These issues can be addressed in both the design and construction phases of a project.
Some of the more difficult issues when testing and inspecting smoke control systems are related to system performance. The smoke control systems required by the IBC (Section 909) are performance-based and must meet certain criteria in the field during system operation. These criteria are dependent on the building design and construction.
Section 909 of the IBC outlines four basic methods for use in smoke control system design, with performance standards as the criteria for each method of design. These methods are tied to National Fire Protection Assn. (NFPA) standards for smoke control systems. Three of the methods require performance design criteria to maintain the smoke in the zone of origin (pressurization, passive, and airflow methods), thereby preventing the spread of smoke throughout the building. The fourth option is to maintain the smoke layer above the highest walking surface (exhaust method) in an effort to maintain a tenable environment. The exhaust method is often used in large spaces such as atria and covered malls.
Pressurization method systems
Many of the smoke control systems designed for confined spaces use the pressurization method. This method of design creates a negative pressure in the zone of origin to prevent the spread of smoke beyond that zone. It requires a confined space and mechanical equipment to achieve the performance criteria. Walls and floors are used to create the physical envelope, with openings protected by smoke and draft control assemblies (fire doors and shutters, as well as dampers). Mechanical equipment includes exhaust or supply fans and dampers to exhaust the space and/or pressurize adjacent spaces. The typical design standard is to achieve a minimum pressure difference of -0.05 in. WC within the zone, relative to adjacent zones and stairwells. The design can exceed these minimum pressure differences, but an upper limit is imposed by door opening forces, which is typically 30 lbs.
Review of the design for a pressurization system can include confirmation of proper layout, and the required exhaust rate also can be calculated based on typical leakage rates. However, until the system is installed and the building is ready to be tested, you cannot confirm compliance with the performance criteria.
Many things can come into play when this testing is performed. Walls that are not sufficiently sealed can leak more than the calculated rates, or walls can be tighter than expected creating overpressurization of the zone and excessive door opening forces. Often the construction is looser than calculated, and you must either increase the exhaust capacity or find the leaks and seal them to meet the performance criteria. Obvious holes are easier to find than many of the smaller holes or cracks that add up. A ¼-in. crack at the joint between the wall and floor above does not seem like much, but when present along the entire length of the zone, that quarter-inch gap can add up to a significant area, resulting in excessive leakage impacting system performance. If the exhaust fans are not capable of overcoming this increased leakage, the pressure differences cannot be met.
As noted, part of the special inspector’s responsibility is to verify the integrity of smoke barriers. Holes in smoke barriers can be difficult to identify, particularly above ceilings where access is limited near curtain walls. Smoke generators and/or door fans can be useful in determining were the boundary walls are compromised.
Many of the systems designed to the pressurization method employ variable frequency drives (VFDs) on the fans. This allows the system to adjust the exhaust rate to meet the performance criteria. If the zone does not meet the minimum design pressures, the drive can be adjusted to allow more exhaust for the space. If the zone is tighter than expected, the drive can be adjusted to provide less exhaust, thereby reducing the pressure in the zone. Of course the fan capacity needs to be within the range required for the zone in order for the variable drive to be effective. In some cases, the fan needs to be increased in capacity, which requires a new fan or motor and costly replacement. Section 909.10.5 requires fans to be selected for stable performance. Slowing down the fan may result in unstable performance, and the fan curve must be verified when changes such as these are made. With experience and review of calculations, the engineer can reduce these more drastic measures in commissioning smoke control systems.
Proper sizing of the supply or exhaust fan for expected conditions is critical to the successful operation of pressurization method systems. The fan must be within reasonable limits to overcome field conditions that do not specifically correlate to design values. The use of VFDs can help offset these impacts, primarily when the building construction is tighter than calculated. When construction is looser than calculated, often variable drives alone cannot overcome the additional exhaust rates needed and revisions to the fan may be necessary.
Exhaust method systems
Exhaust method systems can be easier to commission since they use specific exhaust- and supply-air rates that are measured in the field. They do not rely on pressure differences and zone boundaries to meet their performance criteria. The measurements taken for performance on exhaust method systems are exhaust rates for the exhaust fan(s), as well as confirming make-up air rates. The exhaust method is intended to maintain the smoke layer at a certain height above the highest walking surface. The minimum height is 6 ft in the 2006 edition of the IBC. Previous editions of the IBC and Uniform Building Codes, as well as NFPA Standards, required a minimum height of 10 ft. The smoke layer height also can be increased to match draft curtains at smoke zone boundaries or to accommodate make-up air supply locations. Make-up air must be introduced below the smoke layer so as to not interfere with the plume dynamics.
Common performance issues for exhaust method systems pertain to supply- and exhaust-air rates. Often the calculated exhaust rate is a finite number, whereas exhaust rates for fans are dependent upon the selected unit and the static pressure losses within the duct. It is recommended to select a fan that has a higher rate than calculated while also taking into account any loss that may be attributed to pressure losses in the duct. While this concept may seem straightforward for single units, systems employing multiple fans have the same issues but multiplied. If an exhaust rate of 120,000 cfm is required and four units are provided, losses in the duct need to be considered for each unit. If one unit is used and the rate is less than specified due to field conditions, it still may be higher than the calculated rate. However, if four units have rates lower than specified, the entire system will likely be under the calculated rate due to the multiple losses. Employing VFDs and sizing the fans conservatively higher will overcome many of these issues.
Other performance issues related to the exhaust method deal with make-up air and are sometimes harder to resolve in the field. As noted above, make-up air is required to be delivered to the zone beneath the smoke layer. This needs to be addressed during the design stage as it is too difficult to change during construction. If make-up air delivery issues arise after construction is completed, often the best remedy is to find alternative sources, such as natural air from doors or selecting other fans if possible. However, the most common problem is when the make-up air has a delivery rate greater than 200 fpm.
NFPA 92B, The Standard for Smoke Management Systems in Malls, Atria, and Large Spaces, limits make-up air to no more than 200 fpm where the make-up air could come into contact with the plume, unless an engineering analysis supports higher rates. Many of the exhaust method systems being designed do not incorporate this type of engineering analysis and therefore limit the make-up air to 200 fpm. A simple calculation of make-up air vent sizing will take into account the required exhaust rate divided by 200 fpm to determine the area of the vents. However, this is the free area and does not account for any reductions for louvers or grilles. These need to be considered during the design phase so that make-up air vents are properly sized.
Addressing excessive make-up air velocity issues in the field can be difficult. The code does allow some subjectivity in where the measurement must be taken. The 200 fpm rate is at the fire or more specifically at the plume. Most of the time, this can be a reasonable distance from the vent or louver. If a fire is not expected to be immediately in front of the vent, the measurements should be taken at a location where the plume may reasonably be expected. This would allow for the velocity to decrease as it disperses past the vent. If a fire is expected to be near the vent, additional make-up air locations are needed, which will impact the operation and control of the system.
Sometimes the installed system cannot perform as the design criteria intended. At these times the design team is often asked to re-evaluate the design parameters to see if an alternative design will meet the performance of the installed system. This is a difficult task because the design is already approved and the installed system may not perform to any of the design methods allowed by code.
In these cases, it is important to consider the design intent to see if alternative design methods can be used. If the intent of the system is to provide a tenable environment, fire modeling can be performed to see if the installed system meets the accepted criteria for tenable environments. This might work for exhaust method systems whose prescribed formulas are often conservative. However, the cost of fire modeling can be extensive, so this type if analysis must be evaluated for overall cost impact.
Design changes for systems using the pressurization method may not be feasible if a prescribed pressure difference is not being met in the field. It may be possible to obtain approval of a revised design method if it can be demonstrated that the smoke will remain in the zone as intended by code. However, this may not be practical or possible, and changes to the fans may need to be made.
The main thing to consider when exploring design changes at this stage of construction is that the system must perform as intended by code either to prevent the spread of smoke within the building or to provide a tenable environment. Any designs that do not meet these objectives are likely to be rejected, since they do not meet the performance objective for smoke management systems.
One of the most frustrating things for the design, construction, or inspection team to discover is that the smoke control system does not perform as required and the system will delay occupancy of the building. This usually occurs near the end of the project when all of the efforts are geared toward opening the building. Without an approved system, final occupancy permits cannot be given and the building may not open on time. In fact many building-opening delays stem from life safety system testing issues.
Keeping in mind some of the items noted above may help prevent or reduce the impact of smoke control commissioning on opening a building. The main thing to remember is that it is very difficult to make changes to the systems late in the construction phase, so up front coordination is crucial to proper system operation.
Vaughn is the vice president of growth markets for JBA Consulting Engineers. He has more than 30 years of experience in the design, installation, and commissioning of smoke control systems. He has been a special inspector for smoke control system for more than 15 years and has supervised commissioning efforts for several high-rise buildings throughout the world.
Download Atrium Smoke Exhaust Calculations (PDF)
Download Corridor Smoke Exhaust Calculations (PDF)
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2012 Salary Survey
In a year when manufacturing continued to lead the economic rebound, it makes sense that plant manager bonuses rebounded. Plant Engineering’s annual Salary Survey shows both wages and bonuses rose in 2012 after a retreat the year before.
Average salary across all job titles for plant floor management rose 3.5% to $95,446, and bonus compensation jumped to $15,162, a 4.2% increase from the 2010 level and double the 2011 total, which showed a sharp drop in bonus.
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3 Tips For Getting Started With Big DataDon't dive in head first, says Fed-focused data analytics and cloud provider.
That's according to Mare Lucas, chief marketing officer and big data evangelist for GCE, a cloud services provider with a large footprint in the in the government realm. Its GCE Big Data and Analytics Cloud, a scalable platform for storing and managing data, provides tools for consumer-friendly data search and analysis. GCE's data/cloud platform is also the framework for U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA) USASpending.gov, a government site with nitty-gritty details, including contracts, grants, direct loans and payments, on how the Feds spend the taxpayers' money.
- The Critical Importance of High Performance Data Integration for Big Data Analytics
- Public Safety: Fighting Fraud with "Big Data" Visibility and Intelligence
- Big Data Analytics: Profiling the Use of Analytical Platforms in User Organizations
- Big Data: Harnessing a Game-Changing Asset
- Take the InformationWeek 2013 Database Technology Survey
- Strategy: Apple iOS 6: 6 Features You Need to Know
"We're trying to get these massive troves of information that everybody talks about to a place where people can do something with it," Lucas told InformationWeek in a phone interview. Planning a big data platform can be stressful for enterprises, said Lucas, who recommended these essential actions to help ease the anxiety.
[ It's not the size of your data, it's what you do with it. Read more at Big Data: Stop Focusing On Size. ]
1. Take baby steps.
Organizations that have traditionally used relational databases may be reluctant to try new big data platforms such as Hadoop. But inertia isn't the best approach. "You've got to take a first step and get started," Lucas advised. "Start with a chunk of data and see what you can do with it." For instance, a retail business might take three months of sales data, put it in one of these tools, and start seeing what you can learn.
2. Avoid fear.
Change is scary -- particularly the type of change that's may be expensive to implement and a potential career-killer. Lucas said, "There's that natural 'oh my gosh, what is it? Do I have to change everything to get to it?'"
Not necessarily. A big data platform can coexist peacefully beside a traditional relational database. "For the time being, these are complimentary things," Lucas pointed out. "You're going to have your transactional systems that run your business, but now you have this other way of getting to [new] data."
3. Find balance.
"Most people have found a way to have a cloud model coexist with their legacy systems. They strike a healthy balance," said Lucas.
This model can work for big data as well. "People don't know what to do. They get worried that one [system] would replace the other," said Lucas. "There's more of an 'I-should-do-it-too' factor with big data than there was with the cloud."
The appeal of big data differs somewhat from that of cloud computing, however. The latter's appeal revolves mostly around cost savings. The former, however, is attractive for a wider variety or reasons, including marketing and sales improvements, as well as the ability to find value in information that's often too unstructured for traditional data management platforms to process effectively.
"Enterprises often have value-rich data that has been locked up in business intelligence tools and transactional databases for a very long time," Lucas said.
This year may bring a greater "consumerization" of big data as well, but that doesn't mean the end of skilled data scientists who are trained to slice and dice information. "I'm sure there'll still be people around who are data scientists -- those who can do deep analysis," said Lucas. "But lots of times, people don't need that deep analysis. Sometimes they have straightforward questions they want to ask of their data."
InformationWeek is conducting a survey on cloud computing usage and optimization strategies. Take our InformationWeek 2013 State of Cloud Computing Survey now. Survey ends Jan. 25.
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Monday ReadsPosted: May 14, 2012 | |
Okay. Get ready to drag out your smallest possible violins for this UK Guardian article:Lagging at school, the butt of cruel jokes: are males the new Second Sex? Here’s the teaser subtitle: “They work longer hours, face economic insecurity and suffer worse health. Now their feckless ways are lampooned in the media. A controversial new book argues that men increasingly face a prejudice that dare not speak its name.” Poor babies!
You might not have realised it, but men are being oppressed. In many walks of life, they are routinely discriminated against in ways women are not. So unrecognised is this phenomenon that the mere mention of it will appear laughable to some.
That, at least, is the premise of a book by a South African philosophy professor which claims that sexism against men is a widespread yet unspoken malaise. In The Second Sexism, shortly to be published in the UK, David Benatar, head of the philosophy department at Cape Town University, argues that “more boys drop out of school, fewer men earn degrees, more men die younger, more are incarcerated” and that the issue is so under-researched it has become the prejudice that dare not speak its name.
“It’s a neglected form of sexism,” Benatar says in a telephone interview. “It’s true that in the developed world the majority of economic and political roles are occupied by males. But if you look at the bottom – for example, the prison population, the homeless population, or the number of people dropping out of school – that is overwhelmingly male. You tend to find more men at the very top but also at the very bottom.”
The American men’s rights author Warren Farrell calls it “the glass cellar”. There might be a glass ceiling for women, Farrell once told the Observer, but “of the 25 professions ranked lowest [in the US], 24 of them are 85-100% male. That’s things like roofer, welder, garbage collector, sewer maintenance – jobs with very little security, little pay and few people want them.”
Okay, I hope you haven’t lost your meal and coffee!
In 2007, before the Great Recession, people who were looking for work for more than six months — the definition of long-term unemployment — accounted for just 0.8 percent of the labor force. The recession has radically changed this picture. In 2010, the long-term unemployed accounted for 4.2 percent of the work force. That figure would be 50 percent higher if we added the people who gave up looking for work.
Long-term unemployment is experienced disproportionately by the young, the old, the less educated, and African-American and Latino workers.
While older workers are less likely to be laid off than younger workers, they are about half as likely to be rehired. One result is that older workers have seen the largest proportionate increase in unemployment in this downturn. The number of unemployed people between ages 50 and 65 has more than doubled.
The prospects for the re-employment of older workers deteriorate sharply the longer they are unemployed. A worker between ages 50 and 61 who has been unemployed for 17 months has only about a 9 percent chance of finding a new job in the next three months. A worker who is 62 or older and in the same situation has only about a 6 percent chance. As unemployment increases in duration, these slim chances drop steadily.
The result is nothing short of a national emergency. Millions of workers have been disconnected from the work force, and possibly even from society. If they are not reconnected, the costs to them and to society will be grim.
Unemployment is almost always a traumatic event, especially for older workers. A paper by the economists Daniel Sullivan and Till von Wachter estimates a 50 to 100 percent increase in death rates for older male workers in the years immediately following a job loss, if they previously had been consistently employed. This higher mortality rate implies that a male worker displaced in midcareer can expect to live about one and a half years less than a worker who keeps his job.
Here’s a great lesson on bullying from Michael Cohen at Alternet on “What we Learn from Mitt Romney’s Disgusting Teenage Bullying”.
There is a disturbing inference in Romney’s words – namely, that the blame should be placed as much on the sensitive shoulders of those who were hurt and offended, rather than the person who might have been responsible for inflicting pain upon them. What is missing from Romney’s non-apology is the recognition that pranks, hijinks, assaults or whatever you want to call them, can leave psychic scars that stay with the victim for years to come.
Indeed, one of the most heartbreaking elements of the Post story is that 30 years after it took place, one of the perpetrators, David Seed accidentally ran into Lauber at O’Hare International Airport and tried to apologize for not doing more to help his classmate. “It was horrible,” Lauber recounted. He went on to explain how frightened he was during the incident, and acknowledged to Seed, “It’s something I have thought about a lot since then.”
Here’s a follow-up to the Big Pharma drug pushers that try to market their miracle cures to us via their Snake Oil TV ads. It seems it really isn’t good for whatever ails ya!
The pharmaceutical company will pay $1.5 billion to settle criminal and civil liability charges for promoting the drug Depakote for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The drug is a neurological medicine labeled to treat mania, epilepsy and migraines, and can lead to life-threatening and deadly pancreatitis in children and adults.
The money will be distributed among 49 states and will go toward consumer protection, health care and other services.
Well, first it was MS touting Obama’s feminist bona fides. Now it’s Newsweek calling Obama the ‘first gay president’. Okee dokee then.
The cover of Newsweek magazine this week proclaims President Obama “the first gay president.”
The cover pictures Obama with a rainbow-colored halo over his head. The New Yorker’s cover for this week, likewise, is an image of the White House, with the iconic columns on its South portico arranged in the colors of the rainbow — a prominent symbol for gay rights.
The Newsweek cover goes a step further by adding the religious symbol of a halo above Obama’s head.
Obama said this week that he is personally comfortable with same-sex marriage — the first time a sitting president has taken that position.
Newsweek’s “first gay president” cover story is written by Andrew Sullivan, a blogger at Newsweek and the Daily Beast, who is openly gay.
The moniker evokes Toni Morrison’s description of former President Bill Clinton as “the first black president.”
Well, I think I’ve done enough damage this morning. What’s on your reading and blogging list today?
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Hassan: Federal sequester could mean N.H. National Guard furloughs
New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, listens to panel discussion on âeducation and workforce: growing school leaders and teachersâ at the National Governors Association 2013 Winter Meeting in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
New Hampshire National Guard personnel could be furloughed and 6,000 jobs could be lost in the state if automatic federal budget cuts go into effect as scheduled starting Friday, Gov. Maggie Hassan warned yesterday.
“It may be that in the first few days . . . that we won’t feel the impact of these cuts all at once,” Hassan said. “But we will.”
Hassan, a Democrat, spoke to reporters by telephone from Washington, D.C., where she’s been since Friday for a meeting of the National Governors Association. She also met with White House officials and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius.
Hassan said she spoke with Sebelius about Medicaid expansion, a provision of President Obama’s 2010 health care reform law that Hassan included in her proposed two-year state budget.
But the big issue in the air is the so-called sequester, a system of automatic federal budget cuts that will go into effect starting Friday unless Obama and Congress can agree on an alternative plan to reduce the deficit.
Some federal programs, including Medicaid and Social Security, are exempt from the cuts.
Hassan said she hopes the sequester can be avoided but believes it could go into effect as planned. She said she’s reaching out to local governments and state agencies to discuss what may happen.
One possibility, she said yesterday, is that the National Guard could furlough workers.
That would affect civilian technicians, not so-called “Active Guard Reserve” personnel, though both are uniformed employees, said 1st Sgt. Mike Daigle, a New Hampshire National Guard spokesman.
“We don’t have any details at this time,” Daigle said. “However, we are planning for the possibility of furloughing our civilian technicians, as the rest of the federal government is planning on furloughing its civilian employees also.”
Hassan also said teachers could be laid off, needy children could lose access to day-care services and an estimated 6,000 jobs could be lost in the state.
“The impact of the sequester is real,” Hassan said.
The White House estimates New Hampshire will lose nearly $1.1 million in education funding this year due to the cuts, while an estimated 100 children would lose access to Head Start and Early Head Start programs, among other cuts.
(Ben Leubsdorf can be reached at 369-3307 or
firstname.lastname@example.org or on Twitter @BenLeubsdorf.)
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The North Ayrshire Foodbank was launched last weekend as it emerged that one in five people in the UK are living below the poverty line.
Provost Joan Sturgeon and other elected members were in attendance at Ardrossan’s Church of the Nazarene to launch the foodbank on Saturday, December 1.
With a whole host of cuisines on offer at the launch, Craig Crosthwaite, lead developer for North Ayrshire FoodBank (NAFB) commented that the day was very encouraging. The whole day went very well and lived up to my aspirations anyway.
“I think it helped having all the different cuisines from different countries as it emphasises the global aspect of poverty and what we’re trying to do on a local level.
“Like I’ve said before, we don’t want to have to do this, but if we have to, we want to do it right,” he added.
It’s estimated that over 400 people across North Ayrshire will require the services of the bank - especially over the winter months.
North Ayrshire Foodbank is now up and running but the organisation still needs more assistance with running the bank.
Craig goes on: “We had more people signing up to volunteer on Saturday but we still need more distribution points and more importantly, volunteers.”
The NAFB, in partnership with Trussell Trust - an organisation specialising in poverty in communities in the UK - were given a grant of £680 from North Ayrshire Council.
If you’d like to donate to the North Ayrshire Foodbank, you can deposit non-perishable goods – ie cans and tins – Girdle Toll Parish Church, Fullarton Parish Church in Irvine and Ardrossan’s Church of the Nazarene.
For more information or to gain support from the North Ayrshire Food Bank, call Craig on 07411113126 or you can email email@example.com.
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I'm not sure how I feel about the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, but I watch its Whale Wars TV show regularly. I also celebrated when a British court dismissed a lawsuit brought against the non-profit group by Maltese tuna wranglers after a Sea Shepherd boat rammed a tuna pen in the Mediterranean, releasing some 800 bluefin tuna.
My first encounter with the Sea Shepherds occurred around 1988 when I was a member of the Gillnet Committee, a group of recreational angling interests and marine scientests brought together by the late California Assemblywoman Doris Allen (R-Cypress). Our goal was to rid California ocean waters of inshore set gillnets, and during one meeting, a member of the Sea Shepherds asked to speak with us. I recall his all-black attire and dedication to ocean conservation. But mostly I remember his polite offer to organize covert, dastardly acts -- such as scuttling gillnet boats as they sat at the dock -- on behalf of our cause. We thanked him for his time, but just as politely declined the offer, being that it was, like, illegal and violent and all.
Assemblywoman Allen eventually went on to author and promote Proposition 132 -- the anti-gillnet initiative -- which, with the help of organizations such as United Anglers of Southern California, was approved by voters during the November 1990 California election and became a state constituional amendment, the first law of its kind in the United States.
While Prop 132 proved to me that you can work within the system to promote fisheries conservation, I still admire the Sea Shepherds' rebellious spunk, but as with a high-spirited horse, always wonder when it will turn its wrath on me. On us. On recreational fishermen.
The group's website says its mission is to end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species. Sounds like our credo. But then it goes on to state that the Sea Shepherds use direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas.
For now, I think the Sea Shepherds will focus on commercial interests like the bluefin tuna netters, as well as whalers. So law-abiding recreational anglers are safe from their rage (I have visions of the Sea Shepherds' Bob Barker ramming a long-range sportifishing boat off Guadalupe Island). And if the Sea Shepherds' efforts to help bluefin tuna populations pay off, so much the better. And I will continue to watch Whale Wars. Even though Sea Shepherd crew members seem to bumble a lot and are prone to mistakes, mishaps and equipment malfunctions -- many born of the crew's inexperience and lack of training -- I want to believe that they know in their hearts that recreational fishermen were the first marine conservationists. And like the first Sea Shepherd I met in 1988, they should seek to help us, not ram us.
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Well, the same year that Eric Spear died, Masaru Satô wrote this song. In 1966, The Peanuts had been replaced by Pair Bambi as Mothra's Little Beauties for whatever reason, and here they are singing "Samashite Mosura" which translates to "Mothra Awake." It takes awhile for Mothra to wake up, so this music continues through the movie off and on for a long time before they finally get that stubborn Mothra to come alive!
Being redundant really isn't very cool, but we're serious here, go & get this movie, and once again, for all of you not paying attention, it's called "Godzilla Vs. The Sea Monster." Got it?
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DECA PREP is a K-6 school in Dayton, Ohio designed to immerse prospective first generation college students in a personalized, rigorous elementary curriculum to assure they will succeed in high school and college. Character education will be a part of every class, every day along with challenging academics.
Our promise is that all students will be reading at or above grade level by the end of the third grade - as this is the marker for future academic success. The staff of both DECA and DECA PREP will work together and with parents, community members and university partners to ensure a positive learning environment and student success.
Our driving vision
"We go to college" is the Dayton Early College Academy's mission and is the mindset of DECA PREP, our new feeder school. DECA PREP, a K-6 charter school, opened in August 2012 with grades K, 1, 2, and 6. Grades 3, 4, and 5 will be added over the next few years. Once all classes have been added, DECA and DECA PREP will include all grade levels from Kindergarten through high school. DECA PREP will serve students who reside within the geographic boundaries of the Dayton Public School District.
2013-2014 Enrollment Information
Due to overwhelming demand, we have added a 4th Kindergarten class. We are still accepting applications for 6th grade as well.
Please click here for more Admissions information.
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Remarks by Senator Joe Biden--as prepared for delivery
The Case for Change
Saint Clair Shores, MI
Monday, September 15, 2008
Eight years ago, a man ran for President who claimed he was different, not a typical Republican. He called himself a reformer. He admitted that his Party, the Republican Party, had been wrong about things from time to time. He promised to work with Democrats and said he'd been doing that for a long time.
That candidate was George W. Bush. Remember that? Remember the promise to reach across the aisle? To change the tone? To restore honor and dignity to the White House?
We saw how that story ends. A record number of home foreclosures. Home values, tumbling. And the disturbing news that the crisis you've been facing on Main Street is now hitting Wall Street, taking down Lehman Brothers and threatening other financial institutions.
We've seen eight straight months of job losses. Nearly 46 million Americans without health insurance. Average incomes down, while the price of everything -- from gas to groceries -- has skyrocketed. A military stretched thin from two wars and multiple deployments.
A nation more polarized than I've ever seen in my career. And a culture in Washington where the very few wealthy and powerful have a seat at the table and everybody else is on the menu.
Eight years later, we have another Republican nominee who's telling us the exact same thing:
This time it will be different, it really will. This time he's going to put country before party, to change the tone, reach across the aisle, change the Republican Party, change the way Washington works.
We've seen this movie before, folks. But as everyone knows, the sequel is always worse than the original.
If we forget this history, we're going to be doomed to repeat it -- with four more just like the last eight, or worse. If you're ready for four more years of George Bush, John McCain is your man.
Just as George Herbert Walker Bush was nicknamed "Bush 41" and his son is known as "Bush 43," John McCain could easily become known as "Bush 44."
The campaign a person runs says everything about the way they'll govern. The McCain-Palin campaign has decided to bet the house on the politics perfected by Karl Rove. Those tactics may be good at squeaking by in an election, but they are bad if you want to lead one nation, indivisible.
I count John McCain as a friend. I've known him since before he was a Senator. If he needed my personal help, I'd go. He served our country bravely, nobly. But America needs more than a great solider, America needs a wise leader.
Take a hard look at the positions John has taken for the past 26 years, on the economy, on health care, on foreign policy, and you'll see why I say that John McCain is just four more years of George Bush. On the issues that you talk about around the kitchen table, Mary's college tuition, the cost of the MRI for mom, heating our home this winter -- John McCain is profoundly out of touch.
Senator McCain has confessed, quote, "It's easy for me to go to Washington and frankly, be somewhat divorced from the day-to-day challenges people have." And he's right, if all you do is walk the halls of power, all you hear are the wants of the powerful.
I believe that's why Senator McCain could say with a straight face, as recently as this morning, and I quote "the fundamentals of our economy are strong." That, "We've made great progress economically" during the Bush years. But friends, I could walk from here to Lansing, and I wouldn't run into a single person who thought our economy was doing well, unless I ran into John McCain.
John McCain just doesn't seem to understand what middle class people are going through today. I don't doubt that he cares. He just doesn't think that we have any responsibility to help people who are hurting.
My dad used to have an expression: "Don't tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value."
By that measure, John McCain doesn't stand with the middle class. He stands with George Bush firmly in the corner of the wealthy and well-connected. He stands with the CEO of Exxon-Mobil, who, while testifying before my Senate judiciary committee swore to me under oath that Exxon-Mobil didn't need the tax breaks they'd been given to explore for oil.
John McCain is so firmly in their corner he thinks the Exxon-Mobils of the world should get an additional $4 billion dollars a year in tax cuts.
He stands in the corner of the wealthiest Americans by extending tax cuts for people making over a quarter million dollars a year, and then adding more than $300 billion on top of that for corporations and the wealthy.
There is simply no daylight - at least none I can see -- between John McCain and George Bush.
On every major challenge we face, from the economy, to health care, to education and Iraq, you can barely tell them apart.
Don't take my word for it, look at the record. Ninety percent of the time, John McCain votes with George Bush.
Here's what that means:
When George Bush called for Social Security to be privatized, John McCain stood with him - he even campaigned for that roundly rejected plan.
When George Bush says that the government has no obligation to re-train or provide extended unemployment benefits for people who have lost their jobs due to trade agreements,
John McCain echoes that view, and has said that Bush is "Right on trade... absolutely."
When George Bush said we shouldn't investigate why the government's response to Hurricane Katrina was so incompetent, John McCain stood with him.
When George Bush initially opposed a new GI Bill that would send a new generation of veterans to college, John McCain stood with him, calling Senator Webb's effort too generous.
When George Bush blocked our efforts to provide health care to another 3.8 million children, John McCain stood with him.
And when, in early 2007, George Bush suggested that the health care benefits you get through your employer should be taxed as income, John McCain stood with him. And now, ladies and gentlemen, John McCain has resurrected that idea, and made it an essential part of his health care plan.
Issue after issue, vote after vote, the story is the same.
In the last 16 years, he's voted 23 times against the renewable energy - wind, solar, biofuels -- we need to free ourselves from foreign oil.
Since he arrived in the Senate over 20 years ago, he's voted more than 19 times against the minimum wage.
In 1994, I wrote and we passed a Crime bill that put 100,000 new police officers on the street, 3,300 of them here in Michigan, provided shelters and security for tens of thousands of battered women, and helped lead to an eight year drop in violent crime. John opposed the crime bill and the Violence Against Women Act it contained, calling them "ineffective" and "ill conceived."
Time and again John voted against increased funding for Pell grants to help families with incomes under $55,000 send their kids to college.
Time and again, John McCain voted to make it harder for women to achieve equal pay for the same work - making it harder to prove, and punish, discrimination. He even voted against a study to determine if there is a gap between what men and women are paid. Twice.
Governor Palin says all senators do is vote. Well, just imagine what the country would look like if John's votes had become the law of the land.
In John McCain's America, we wouldn't guarantee that more of energy would come from wind, solar, and other renewables. The minimum wage would still be $3.35 an hour. There would have been 100,000 fewer police on the beat. There would have been no national domestic violence hotline for the 1.5 million women who were in crisis and needed somewhere to turn.
Over 160,000 members of the Guard and Reserve who answered their country's call and served more than one tour in Iraq or Afghanistan would get no credit towards an education for their additional sacrifice. Fewer parents would be able to afford to send their kids to college. And women who were discriminated against on the basis of pay would more difficulty making their case. Thank God that's not the America we live in.
John McCain recently said: "the issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should." Then he proved it by the advisors he chose to surround him - advisors who have further cocooned him from the reality facing the rest of us. People like Phil Gramm. The man who wrote John McCain's economic plan actually said, repeatedly, that we're not going through an economic recession. Phil Gramm says it's just a mental recession. That we're a nation of whiners.
Tell that to my friend who flew jets for the Navy and then went to work for a commercial airline for over 20 years - only to see his pension wiped out while his CEO got a golden parachute. Don't tell me that he is a whiner.
Don't tell me that the woman I met in Missouri who worked for the Chrysler plant for 13 years making minivans and lost her job when production moved to Canada is a whiner.
Don't tell me that an engineer who sees his job go overseas because his company has been given a tax break to leave instead of one to stay is a whiner.
Don't tell me that these people, people who are our nation's heart and soul - deserve to be treated as economic scapegoats.
These people worked hard, they did everything right, and they're willing to work hard again. But instead of their government supporting them, their government walked away from them. Nobody stood up for them.
Barack and I will.
What is John's response to the state of the economy? Let me quote him: "A lot of this is psychological." Let me tell you something: Losing your job is more than a state of mind.
It means staring at the ceiling at night thinking that you may lose your house because you can't get next month's mortgage payment. It means looking at your pregnant wife and not knowing how you're going to come up with the money to pay for the delivery of your child, since you don't have health care anymore. It means looking at your child when they come home from college at Christmas and saying "Honey, I'm sorry, we're not going to be able to send you back next semester." It's not a state of mind. It's a loss of dignity.
When you and your economic advisors are so out of touch, it's no surprise that your economic policies ignore the challenges that normal families face.
Let me just give you one more example. In the midst of this housing crisis, John McCain said, "I will fight for those that lost their... real estate investments." He went on to say, "It's not the role of government to bail out big banks or small borrowers." What about small borrowers? What about homeowners? What about the people who don't invest in homes, but live in them? There's an important distinction between the predators and the preyed upon.
I heard that a Republican County Chairman right here in Michigan said that they're keeping a list of foreclosed homes, suggesting that if you've lost your home, you should also lose your vote. I have a different idea. I think that if you're worried about losing your home, you should vote for the guys who are going to help you keep it!
Whatever happened to the guy, who once denounced tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans in a time of war as immoral.
When someone running for election changes his views to satisfy the base of the party, that's not change, that's just more of the same Washington game. The problem is that in the Washington game today, the American people are losing.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as of today, there are 50 days until Election Day. That's just seven more weeks to talk about the direction we're going to take this country, to talk about the issues of concern in your lives, to talk about you. But as his campaign manager has said, and I quote, "This election is not about issues."
When Senator McCain was subjected to unconscionable, scurrilous attacks in his 2000 primary campaign, I called him on the phone to ask what I could do. And now, some of the very same people and the tactics he once deplored his campaign now employs. The same campaign that once called for a town hall a week is now launching a low blow a day.
Barack and I can take it. That's not what bothers me.
It bothers me that -- as one media watchdog put it -- John's recent commercial is the, "latest in a number that resort to a dubious disregard for the facts." As another news organization put it: The wheels have come off the straight talk express.
But what really bothers me, is that every punch thrown at us --- is an attempt to distract you. And they can be plenty distracting.
Like the McCain advertisements that misrepresent a vote by Barack Obama to protect young children from sexual predators. Like Senator McCain's effort to obscure the fact that Barack Obama's tax cuts will benefit 95 percent of all working people. Like John McCain's attempt to cloak himself in reform by misrepresenting his running mate's record.
It's disappointing to me to think that John McCain really does approve this message.
Every false debate we're drawn into is a real conversation we don't have with the American people. Character attacks get media attention, but they make this election about us when it really needs to be about you.
Barack Obama believes that progress in this country is measured by how many people have a decent job where they're shown respect. How many people can pay their mortgage. How many people can turn their ideas into a new business. How many people can turn to their kids and say "It's going to be okay" with the knowledge that the opportunities they give will be better than the ones they received.
That's the American dream. That's what the people in my neighborhood grew up believing. And I want our kids to have the same dream.
Barack Obama starts from that vision of progress and will do what it takes to get us there.
That's why his tax cuts - benefit the middle class. That's why he'll make it easier for families to afford college for their kids. That's why he says everyone should be able to have the same health care that members of Congress have. That's why his energy plan will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, bring down gas prices, and, in the process, we'll create five million new green jobs. Those are the changes we need.
Yes, this campaign is about change, but it's about even more than that. It's about what we value as a people. It's not just about a job, it's about dignity. It's not just about a paycheck. It's about pride. It's not just about opportunity. It's about respect. That's why Barack and I are in this race.
We know we need change if we're to restore dignity, pride, and respect. We know America's best days are ahead of us, and we know why we're here.
We're here for the for the cops and firefighters, the teachers and assembly line workers, the engineers and office workers, the small business owners and the retiree.
All of the folks who play by the rules, work hard, and do what is asked of them. They deserve a government as good and an economy as strong as they are.
We're all are Americans. There has never been a challenge too great. The stakes have never been higher.
My father always told me, "Champ, when you get knocked down, get up. Get up." It's time to get up. It's time to trust the grit and determination of the American people.
America is ready. You are ready. I am ready. And Barack Obama is ready. Our best days are yet to come.
May god bless America and may God protect our troops.
# # #
Biden slams McCain Palin in Michigan speech. Transcript, prepared remarks.
Remarks by Senator Joe Biden--as prepared for delivery
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After a failed attempt on his life by an unknown terrorist cell, Professor Daniel Dupont decides to fake his own death with the help of Doctor Juard. The government authorities, believing that the attack is part of a series of political assassinations, send Wallas, a recently promoted special investigator, from Paris to the provincial town where the crime took place, which by coincidence he visited as a child. As he wanders the confusing streets of the town, he finds himself increasingly lost in a web of conspiracies, doppelgängers and memories.
Cleverly deconstructing the detective-fiction genre, The Erasers, Alain Robbe-Grillet’s first published novel, shifts between various narrators and time frames, while maintaining the suspense of a conventional thriller. The result is an engrossing examination of consciousness and reality which is also one of the founding texts of the Nouveau Roman school.
'I doubt that fiction as art can any longer be seriously discussed without Robbe-Grillet.' The New York Times
'Fascinating… It is an intricately clever novel' The Spectator
'Uses the full apparatus of the thriller… The conception is both inventive and subtle' The Sunday Times
Read an excerpt from The Erasers
By the same author:
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http://www.almaclassics.com/the-erasers-p-335-book.html?zenid=970471024ee8b9233df572f39ea2cc91
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An odd watch that was discovered at Oakland (OAK) a few days ago has been creating quite a bit of chatter on the web. As you can see from the picture, this is not your everyday watch. If I could show you what our employees saw, you would see that it looked even more nefarious to our officers viewing it on the X-ray monitor.
From comments I’ve read on the web, some think we overreacted to a piece of steampunk art, while others understand why we would be concerned.
Is this watch dangerous? Not at all. However, we didn’t know that until the explosive detection team arrived and cleared the item. You see, when something is considered to be a potential deadly threat, it is protocol not to open the bag.
Terrorists take everyday items and attempt to manipulate them to make improvised explosive devices. Our officers are trained to look for anomalies such as this one.
After clearing the watch, law enforcement officers (not TSA) made the decision to arrest the passenger. TSA officers do not have the power of arrest.
Please take a moment to think about what you’re traveling with and how it might appear to TSA. I happen to think this watch is pretty cool, and I’m a fan of all kinds of art and homemade DIY gadgets, however, they’re not always the best things to travel with. Here are a couple of posts talking about this
If you have a travel related issue or question that needs an immediate answer, you can contact us by clicking here.
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About 15 1/2 years ago in the parking lot of this newspaper, while waiting for a friend to pick me up at lunchtime, I heard a plaintive "meow."
I followed the cry to the tire of a minivan. Without thinking about the possibility of getting scratched, I reached in and grabbed a tiny, shivering kitten.
Then I did what any sane person would do: I stuck it inside the front of my jacket.
My friend noticed the little cat face beneath mine as I got in the car and ordered, "Take me to the shelter!"
"No. Take me to my house," I heard myself say before we'd gone half a block.
I gave her some food and water, fixed up a snug box and settled her in my carport — safe from the territorial cat in my house.
After work, I brought that scared, dirty and full-of-fleas kitten in, gave her a bath, wrapped her in a towel and called my colleague Julie to tell her that I'd found her cat.
"I don't have a cat," she said.
"Oh, yes you do," I replied.
She still does.
Ellie, who will turn 16 sometime in July, is an elegant, light gray, longhaired beauty. She likes to be combed, and she accepted her slightly goofy "brother," Romeo, when Julie adopted him.
Julie loves and takes excellent care of that cat. Ellie is lucky.
Too many others are not.
There are an estimated 82 million free-roaming cats in the United States, Cory Smith wrote in a recent email. Smith, senior director of Pets For Life for The Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C., also provided the appalling fact that more than 3 million cats per year are euthanized in U.S. shelters.
Kittens are adorable, but they soon grow up. A cat can become pregnant as young as 6 to 9 months of age. A fertile cat can produce an average of three litters in one year, each with an average of four to six kittens, Smith wrote.
The cats are just doin' what comes natur'lly. It's up to humans to have them spayed and neutered.
My friend Sherry, whose beloved pug, Lizzie, died a few of years ago, had thought about getting another dog. I suggested a cat might suit her always-on-the-go lifestyle, but she hadn't made a move.
It was settled a few months ago when a sleek young male cat came to her neighbors' door from the nearby woods. Lisa and her mom already have two cats and dog, so she asked Sherry to house him in her garage overnight, providing food, bed, toys and a veterinary appointment.
Although a tad unsure, Sherry gave him a try. She had him neutered the next day and named him Pyewacket, after the witch's cat in the 1958 James Stewart-Kim Novak romantic comedy, "Bell, Book and Candle."
Pyewacket's adoption has become the stuff of romantic comedy. Although I've not met him, I've seen emailed videos of the beautiful and self-assured feline clown — accompanied by Sherry's laughter. He's often on her lap when I call.
Happy — and responsible — people.
Kate Coleman covers The Maryland Symphony and writes a monthly column for The Herald-Mail.
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People like bugging me about this. I wrote AutoComplete once upon a time, and I guess they hope I'd be interested in doing something more powerful. AutoComplete was inspired by Linux shell tab completion. It was never really meant to be anything more. I wanted it to work through all text editors in the system, because at the time, we still used simple text dialogs for browsing senders of selectors and classes, etc.
I am not immune to wondering how some sort of IntelliSense like thing for Smalltalk might work though. First and foremost, you have to specialize off of the editor, rather than a general approach. After that, it seems like there are four general styles of completion:
- Variables. This is pretty straightforward. If you know the compilation environment of the method target, then it's just a hierarchical search upwards.
- Messages that directly follow variables. If you know the type of the variable, then you can confine the search to just the messages the receiver would respond to.
- Messages that have as their receiver the result of another message send (e.g. Object new yourself). Those so called "Law of Demeter violations."
- Literals and other miscellany. There's nothing to really complete here, so we'll leave this out of consideration.
Roel wanted me to look at using his type inferencer at OOPSLA. I think the idea was that it could be used for #2. I've been noodling about this for a while now (way back burner). Indeed something would be better than nothing. But how much would that get us? I've been curious. What is the split between #'s 2 and 3?
So I slapped together a little RBProgramNodeVisitor subclass: ReceiverClassifier (two 'er' endings in one class name. shudder). I threw it in the Open Repository even, I'm kind of curious what others might find (inspect ReceiverClassifier parseSystem, take a break while it runs). Basically, it parses messages and looks at the receiver type for each message send and classifies it. Here's what I got for my normal development image (sorted highest to lowest).
Some observations I made while putting this together. There is some pure dagnasty code in the base image. Inlined uses of the results of a cascade for a test that moves a stream in the optional part of an and: expression are cool.
Messages to messages are the highest count when presented as above. Some of them are 'control' messages (e.g. ifTrue:, and:, etc). Or equality testers. I did not tabulate them, since I couldn't decide how to draw a line in the sand for messages that produce known results.
A number of the messages could be scoped without any sort of inferencing. Outers, blocks, selfs, supers, and literals. These have a total count of 156440. If one used a type inferencer for local and instance variables, one could scope the search for 160678 of the sends. And the remaining 145977 would require something more involved. Comes down to about a 1/3 for each kind.
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June 14, 2012
Peres calls for renewed peace talks in medal ceremony
Receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Obama, Israeli President Shimon Peres called for a renewal of peace talks with the Palestinians.
“Israel and the Palestinians are ripe today to restart” peace talks, Peres said at the White House ceremony on Wednesday. “A firm basis already exists. A solution of two national states: A Jewish state – Israel. An Arab state – Palestine. The Palestinians are our closest neighbors. I believe they may become our closest friends.”
Peace talks have been stalled since 2010, with the Palestinians demanding a freeze of settlement building in the West Bank, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting on no preconditions.
Peres, addressing about 140 dignitaries in the White House East Room, also thanked Obama for pressuring Iran to end its suspected nuclear weapons program.
“Mr. President, you worked hard to build a world coalition to meet this immediate threat.,” Peres said. “You started, rightly, with economic sanctions. You made it clear, rightly again, that all options are on the table.”
Obama also emphasized peacemaking in his remarks.
“Shimon knows that a nation’s security depends, not just on the strength of its arms, but upon the righteousness of its deeds — its moral compass,” he said. “He knows, as Scripture teaches, that we must not only seek peace, we must pursue it. And so it has been the cause of his life — peace, security and dignity, for Israelis and Palestinians and all Israel’s Arab neighbors.”
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http://www.jewishjournal.com/articles/print/peres_calls_for_renewed_peace_talks_in_medal_ceremony_20120614
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Brahmeshwar Singh dubbed as the 'Butcher of Bihar' faced life imprisonment in several cases for killing the lower caste landless poor, including in Laxmanpur Bathe where 61 Dalits were massacred in December, 1996. He was acquitted and released from jail in April this year.
Mukesh Kumar, a leader of Bihar Nav Nirmal Manch, has filed a case against Giriraj Singh in the civil court in Bhagalpur district. Kumar said that court has fixed June 26 for hearing the case.
"I have filed a case against Giriraj Singh for defaming Mahatma Gandhi [ Images ], the Father of the Nation, by calling slain Ranvir Sena chief as a follower of Gandhi," Kumar said.
Griraj Singh, who is also a senior Bharatiya Janata Party [ Images ] leader, repeatedly claimed that slain Ranvir Sena chief was a Gandhian thinker and a farmer leader, who had faith in peace and social harmony. "Brahameshwar Mukhiya visudh rup se Gandhiwadi vichardhara ke the," he had said in chaste Hindi.
Griraj Singh, a vocal supporter of Hindutva and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi [ Images ], also blamed the opposition for large-scale violence and arson across Bihar after Mukhiya's murder.
The chief was shot dead by six unidentified gunmen who pumped several bullets into him while he was taking an early morning walk.
The Ranvir Sena was formed in 1994 in Belaur village of Udwantnagar block in Bhojpur district by Mukhiya, former head of Khopira panchayat. It was dominated by upper caste Bhumihars.
Its victims were usually landless labourers and peasants. The Sena said it was committed to protecting the rights of farmers, and was avenging the murders of members of the upper caste, often landowners, who were killed by the Naxals during insurgency in Bihar in the 1980s and 90s.
The Sena's deadliest strike was in the Lakshmanpur Bathe area in 1997, in which 58 Dalits were killed. In 1999, the Sena massacred 24 Dalit men, women and children in Shankarbigha village of Jehanabad district.
Mukhiya was arrested in 2002 from Patna for the murders of 21 Dalits in a village in Bhojpur in 1996. He spent nine years in jail. He was released on bail in 2011.
In April this year, the Patna high court ruled that the prosecution had not been able to prove its case against him and others accused of the massacre.
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The morning Thomas Jefferson was sworn in as the nation's third president, he declined the seven horses and two carriages that were ready to ferry him from his boarding house to the Senate chamber where he would take the oath of office.
Instead, Jefferson walked, followed by congressmen and onlookers, according to the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.
Security at President Barack Obama's second inaugural on Monday, however, will be significantly tighter.
Police will shut down dozens of downtown Washington streets and close major arteries into the city. Parking will be even tighter than usual. Bags will be inspected and tickets will be required to get close to the ceremonies.
The inauguration weekend National Special Security Event will have the Secret Service leading a web of agencies pulling together security and transportation to handle the throng expected to see Obama take the oath of office on Monday at noon.
"We have 42 partners here -- every law enforcement entity, every transportation entity, everyone that's got camera -- we are utilizing," Secret Service spokesman Edwin Donovan said.
Authorities estimated that more than 1.8 million people attended Obama's first inauguration in 2009. But the crowd around the event is expected to be smaller this time.
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is preparing for up to 800,000 people around the inaugural and the preceding weekend.
The Secret Service, Washington's Metropolitan Police Department, Capitol Police and Park Police are shutting down major and minor roads alike around Capitol Hill, where the ceremony will take place.
They are securing the National Mall, for more -- standing room only -- viewing of the ceremony, and they are policing the parade route, where onlookers will gather to watch floats, bands, and the president travel the approximately two-mile route up Pennsylvania Avenue.
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You'll like Mike Kuniavsky's broad selection of practical user research methods--presented clearly and usably. And you'll like his timing too: while recent books focus on the whys of user experience, many are now ready for the hows. Observing the User Experience does just that: It demonstrates how to discover what is in users' heads, and suggests how we might balance those considerations with business objectives.--Lou Rosenfeld, co-author of Information Architecture for the World Wide Web Wow! So many of the user experience research methods we have refined and used over the years are now organized and described in detail in one book. It is an essential reference for any practitioner. --Christian Rohrer, Manager, User Experience Research, Yahoo! Observing the User Experience provides the reader with a wealth of information. We now have a guideline that can be used to gain insight into those mysterious figures...our users. Knowing who our users are, what they need, and how they might use the things we build for them is the most important part of any product development cycle. Mike Kuniavsky's focus in this book is on the user experience as it relates to online interfaces, but ANYONE who builds ANYTHING can gain valuable knowledge from reading this book. --David Hoffer, Senior User Interface Designer, CTB/McGraw-Hill I love Observing the User Experience! This comprehensive guide approaches user experience research like never before, and is well-written, easy-to-read, and quite user friendly. It provides a real-world example of how research is done in just enough detail that it can both inform a CEO of the role of usability research as well as introduce methodology to someone starting out in the field. Bravo! --Kelly Braun, Usability Manager, Ebay Mike Kuniavsky offers many practical procedures to conduct and analyze the results of your own custom usability tests. He shares lots of personal stories from the trenches, many of which are painfully ironic. The hope is that his knowledge will help spare you the pain of making the same mistakes others have made before you. --from the foreword by Lynda Weinman, Author and Founder, lynda.com, Inc. "Kuniavsky presents information logically, often anticipating potential questions by providing extensive explanations. His text is readable and easily understandable. He incorporates interesting quotes from various scholars, keeping readers' interest by breaking up the strict presentation of information. The overall layout and conversational tone make the text an enjoyable read and useful reference." - Kalle Medhurst - Technical Communications "The best general how-to handbook on user research remains Mike Kuniavsky's Observing the User Experience. For the reader who wants to integrate contextual design into a fast-paced development cycle, but isn't sure how, this book will be a godsend. Even when their advice can't be followed to the letter, the book, like the authors method, can be adapted to your needs." - Networker Magazine "Mike Kuniavsky's Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner's Guide to User Research is a welcome addition to the half dozen essential books on my cubicle shelf. This book provides lucid, personable, experienced advice that could only come from a seasoned consultant who has seen the good, bad, and ugly of web and application design. Its purpose is to give a solid foundation to any design team in the crucial beginning stages of a project by answer the questions: How do we go about learning who our users are an what they really need? And how do we do this in a way that helps us make a strong case for our design decisions to the people in charge?" - Andrew Hinton
About the Author
Mike Kuniavsky is a user experience designer, researcher and author. A twenty-year veteran of digital product development, Mike is a consultant and the co-founder of several user experience centered companies: ThingM manufactures products for ubiquitous computing and the Internet of Things; Adaptive Path is a well-known design consultancy. He is also the founder and organizer of Sketching in Hardware, an annual summit on the future of tools for digital product user experience design for leading technology developers, designers and educators. Mike frequently writes and speaks on digital product and service design, and works with product development groups in both large companies and startups. His most recent book is Smart Things: Ubiquitous Computing User Experience Design.
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“Carmageddon” may in fact be the official game-plan for the dreaded California earthquake infamously known as “The Big One”. With Los Angeles freeways scheduled to be overflowing parking lots on Monday, October 1, 2012, it appears that a man-made disaster of Hollywood movie proportions involving millions of cars, freeways, bridges, explosives and demolitions may be planned.
“We see this as being a disaster – only it’s a planned disaster.” Posie Carpenter, Chief Administrative Officer of UCLA Medical Center
The term “Carmageddon” was originally derived from the unprecedented 53-hour shutdown of the I-405 freeway in Los Angeles, California, during the weekend of July 15, 2011. The first-ever complete closure of a southern California freeway was part of the Sepulveda Pass Improvements Project which was unparalleled and completely unnecessary. California has been a U.S. state since September 9, 1850, and until July of 2011, no such construction or traffic related closure had ever occurred.
Prior to closing the freeway, Los Angeles radio DJs and television reporters simultaneously began referring to the freeway closure as “Carmageddon”, parodying the death, destruction and mayhem synonymous with the word Armageddon. The on-air media personalities acted in concert by repeatedly parroting the term in an obvious propaganda campaign either ordered by or paid by Los Angeles County and its supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who is credited with publicly naming the “Carmageddon” event.
Unprecedented freeway closures, gridlock hype and the convenient use of explosives for “demolition” purposes may indicate that a Hollywood disaster movie may transpire in reality.
1.1: The “Carmageddon” Hype
The hyped-up fear surrounding “Carmageddon” is that a massive traffic backup could spread to connecting freeways subsequently gridlocking the entire Los Angeles highway system. “We wanted to get that image of what the stakes were by frankly alarming the public, getting the public’s attention, grabbing everybody by the lapels and saying, “This is a real project that is going to cause a real disaster if we aren’t prepared,” stated L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Helping spurn the original “Carmageddon” fear and propaganda was a number of different celebrities including newly cast “Two and a Half Men” star Ashton Kutcher and “CHiPs” actor Erik Estrada. The 2012 shutdown includes two of the nation’s busiest interchanges which carry about 500,000 vehicles on a typical summer weekend, said Marc Littman, a spokesman for Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), an agency handling the project.
1.2: “Carmageddon” 2012
Starting at 12:01 a.m. on September 29, 2012, and going through October 1, 2012, the second complete closure of the I-405 will take place. The freeway is scheduled to reopen at 5 a.m. Monday, October 1st, just ahead of the morning rush hour. In 2011, “Carmageddon” finished 17 hours early but Dave Sotero, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, says not to expect that again because there’s more work this time. According to reports, “If the freeway doesn’t reopen on time, that’s when Carmageddon will really kick in.” While “they don’t expect that to happen”, officials “will be ready if it does.” “Everything that was a concern last year is still a concern this year…There may be some complacency that we are worried about. There may be a false sense of security…for drivers thinking it’s going to be a very light weekend,” stated Sotero. According to news reports, “Ground zero for the shutdown is the Sepulveda Pass, where I-405 flows northward past Westwood, Brentwood, Bel Air and other expensive canyon neighborhoods on the western side of Los Angeles”.
1.3: Explosives & Demolition
On July 14, 2011, it was reported that the unprecedented 2011 “Carmageddon” shutdown was in part due to construction crews demolishing the Mulholland Bridge as part of an alleged $1 billion freeway-widening project. On September 28, 2012, it was reported that the 2012 “Carmageddon” closure is in part due to the demolition of the Mulholland Bridge so that it can make way for its replacement. Although it’s impossible to know, the demolition of the same bridge two years running may be cover for the rigging of demolition explosives at different freeway overpasses and bridges throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Should an alleged earthquake occur, these explosives could destroy bridges and freeway overpasses in a matter of seconds leading people to believe that the earthquake was in fact responsible. Obviously, the demolition of L.A. freeways would cause an unprecedented amount of injuries, death, destruction and gridlock which would inevitably play out like a Hollywood disaster movie.
Recent earthquakes and unprecedented news in respect to earthquake related events indicate that massive and deadly earthquakes may be just around the corner. Numerous earthquake related incidents mysteriously occurring right before, during and after “Carmageddon” is not sheer coincidence and may in indicate foul play.
2.1: A 6.2 Earthquake Strikes Baja California
On September 26, 2012, just two days before “Carmageddon”, it was reported that a 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook the southern part of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula. “We are calling on the public to remain calm in case there are aftershocks,” stated State Civil Defense Director Carlos Rincon, who also announced that there were no reports of damages or injuries. According to the report, the U.S. Geological Survey stated the earthquake occurred at about 4:45PM and was centered offshore in the Gulf of California. Twenty minutes later, a 4.6-magnitude aftershock occurred north of La Paz, as well as 4.8 temblor further out in the Gulf of California 12 minutes later. While there is no way to know for certain, the Baja California earthquake may be a sign that a California quake is on its way.
2.2: The Earthquake Show Trial
On September 27, 2012, just one days before “Carmageddon, it was reported that six Italian scientists and one government official could face prison terms for manslaughter for allegedly downplaying the risk of an upcoming earthquake. The earthquake in question occurred on April 6, 2009, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake killed 309 residents in the town of L’Aquila, Italy. Although the trial began about a year ago, it is on hold until October 9, 2012, when the defense will present its closing arguments. In what appears to be an obvious show-trial with no real evidence, the international earthquake spectacle will begin playing itself out roughly a week after “Carmageddon”.
2.3: A 6.4 Earthquake Strikes Alaska
On September 28, 2012, just two days before “Carmageddon, it was reported that seismologists had recorded three earthquakes which struck 64 to 75 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska. According to reports, the lights quakes occurred at 7:28 a.m. Thursday September 27, 2012, and 11:16 p.m. Wednesday September 26, 2012, but caused no damage. The Alaska Earthquake Information Center stated that the 4.5 and 4.3 magnitude quakes were aftershocks of the 6.4 earthquake that originally struck the area on September 26, 2012. That quake was felt in the communities of Adak and Atka, more than 1,000 miles from Anchorage. While there is no way to know for certain, the Alaska earthquakes may be a sign of things to come.
2.4: Earthquake Science Suddenly Changed
On September 28, 2012, the first day of “Carmageddon” 2012, an article entitled, “Big Earthquakes Can Trigger Temblors Across Globe” was published in the San Diego Union Tribune. This shocking report essentially states that earthquake behavior has radically changed and that large earthquakes in one part of the globe can now trigger even larger secondary earthquakes elsewhere. This new theory goes against everything known about earthquakes, but provides cover for man-made, HAARP or explosive generated earthquakes. “If you asked any of us if this event is possible a year ago, we would have laughed at you,” said Thomas Heaton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. “This was a really surprising finding,” said Fred Pollitz, a seismologist with the USGS and lead author of the paper. Although the behavior of the earth and earthquake science has allegedly changed, the plan to terrorize humanity under the cover of a natural disaster has not and should this man-made earthquake operation go forward, expect a series of devastating and escalating earthquakes from California to Japan and beyond
2.5: Earthquake Drill: The Great California ShakeOut!
Roughly three weeks after “Carmageddon” concludes, the annual Drop, Cover, and Hold On earthquake drill entitled the “Great California ShakeOut!” will kick-off on October 18, 2012. According to the official website, “more than 12.5 million people were registered in ShakeOut drills worldwide” and that “participating is a great way for your family or organization to be prepared to survive and recover quickly from big earthquakes.” Due to the hundreds if not thousands of earthquake drills which will occur worldwide on October 18, 2012, tens of millions of people will be consciously and subconsciously programmed for a future earthquake. Should a massive “earthquake” just happen to occur during “Carmageddon”, the international earthquake drills will induce unprecedented anxiety and fear while the terrorizing psychological effects of the drill will increase exponentially.
2.6: HAARP & Earthquakes
According to Wikipedia, “the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is an ionospheric research program jointly funded by the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Navy, the University of Alaska, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).” What Wikipedia fails to mention is that HAARP, as documented in this video, can be used as a weapon to guide weather systems and cause earthquakes. What role if any HAARP will play in a “Carmageddon” tyoe scenario is unknown, but the capability to cause widespread destruction and mayhemvia earthquakes is always at the disposal of the U.S. government.
2.7: Explosives & Earthquakes
While HAARP is credited by many Japanese citizens and well conspiracy theorists for causing the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, it is more likely that an underwater nuclear weapon or military grade explosive was used to lift up the sea just off the Japanese coast which subsequently caused unprecedented destruction and death. Whether or not HAARP or underground explosives will be used to create “The Big One” earthquake in Southern California is unknown, but all the ingredients needed for a massive earthquake disaster are already present.
III. L.A. EMERGENCY PREPARATIONS
With “Carmageddon” and numerous earthquake related events occurring simultaneously, the city of Los Angeles, California, appears to be readying itself for impending death and destruction. With a new police center, a fully staffed UCLA medical center and a new Office of Emergency Management via the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the city of Los Angeles is fully prepared to handle any upcoming man-made or natural disaster.
3.1: New LAPD Riot Center
On February 8, 2012, it was reported that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) opened a new high-tech war room which “gives it eyes all over the city”. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck stated that “We are targets on our own soil…We have to be ready.” Located in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, the new intelligence hub is interestingly called RACR. Should a massive and deadly man-made earthquake strike Los Angeles, there will likely be riots (possibly race riots), looting and mayhem which LAPD appears to be anticipating.
3.2: UCLA Medical Center Ready
On July 14, 2011, it was reported that the UCLA Medical Center had secured 600 dorms and apartments as temporary quarters for hospital staff as part of an emergency plan to prevent doctors and nurses from getting stuck in “Carmageddon” traffic. Then on September 23, 2012, it was reported that Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, just outside the “Carmageddon Zone”, planned to house as many as 300 doctors, nurses and other staff members in dorms at nearby hotels so nobody will have trouble getting to work. “Everybody, including myself, will be here to man the entire event, just to make sure everything goes safely for our patients and staff,” stated Shannon O’Kelley, UCLA’s Chief Operations Officer. Whether or not UCLA truly cares about their doctors and nurses getting to work on time is secondary, for the hospital will be fully staffed to handle massive amounts of trauma victims should a man-made earthquake or a “natural disaster” just happen to occur.
3.3: New “Office of Emergency Management”
On September 23, 2012, it was reported that a new emergency operations center opened in Santa Monica, California, during August of 2012. According to the report, Santa Monica’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) is where every major transit, law enforcement and emergency services agency has been cooperating in making “Carmageddon” contingency plans. According to their mission, “The Office of Emergency Management will exist to protect the community of Santa Monica from the loss of life and property in the event of a natural or man-made disaster. One of their stated objectives is to “implement a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program, which will provide people who live and work in Santa Monica with the skills and tools to respond to emergencies.” It’s still too early to tell if “Carmageddon” was the underlying motive behind Santa Monica’s new OEM, but it obviously opened for a reason.
The U.S. economy is at an all-time low and dissent for U.S. President Barack Obama and the U.S. government is at an all-time high. According to a Financial Times article, Obama’s has a “growing credibility crisis” and there are fears that the Democrats could lose the White House and the Senate to the Republicans.
White House advisor Robert Shapiro made it crystal clear that Obama is relying on a terror attack to rescue his presidency: “The bottom line here is that Americans don’t believe in President Obama’s leadership,” said Shapiro, “He has to find some way between now and November of demonstrating that he is a leader who can command confidence and, short of a 9/11 event or an Oklahoma City bombing, I can’t think of how he could do that.”
An unprecedented “natural disaster” earthquake type terror event in Los Angeles would give Obama the national tragedy that to date he has been unable to pull off. On February 6, 2011, the Obama administration was caught red-handed attempting to conduct a nuclear terror attack on Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, Texas. Then on September of 2012, the Obama administration was again caught red-handed trying to stage a 9/11 style terror attack on the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Unlike a terror attack, a “natural disaster” is a safer way for Obama and his administration to play savior in the aftermath of a national tragedy.
Desperate people do desperate things and staging the “The Big One” earthquake scenario would give Obama the platform he desperately needs and would play nicely into the whole 2012 Doomsday scenario. Under the cover of a “natural disaster”, the Obama administration could conduct dirty deeds while remaining relatively suspicion free. Post-earthquake, Obama’s poll numbers would rise and law and order in Los Angeles may break down eventually leading martial law.
About the Author
David Chase Taylor is an American journalist living in Zurich, Switzerland, where he has applied for political asylum after the release of his first book entitled The Nuclear Bible. In May of 2012, Taylor released The Bio-Terror Bible, which exposes the coming global bio-terror pandemic. Taylor has also exposed the 2012 Democratic National Convention Terror Plot, NATO’s implementation of the SKYNET Terminator Program, as well as the Alex Jones links to STRATFOR.
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When the time is ripe heart awakens- memoirs of a Zetetic
Meher Baba Speaks -12
These days I am reading a 371-page tome with an interesting title, ‘The Memoirs of a Zetetic’. I bought the book in February while on a visit to Ahmednagar. What prompted me to pick up the book from the shelves of Meher Nazar Books was the name of the author, Amiya Kumar Hazra. I heard about him and his work in Jabalpur from scholars like Prof S Bhatnagar, who heads the Ajmer based Centre for studies in Indian history, culture and religions. The Memoirs, as the title suggests, is the story of Hazra, an English Professor, and his love for Meher Baba, whom he met for the first time in December 1957.
Generally I don’t take long time to read any book on any subject. But with ‘The Memoirs…’ I could read just 20-pages in six-months. The publisher’s recommendation - ‘Like the hammering of a blacksmith forging a piece of red-hot iron into shape, Baba’s unseen hand has hammered all the personal traits and weaknesses of the ego in Amiya to prepare him into shape for participating in the design of Baba’s work in awakening slumbering humanity’ – did not persuade me to read the book in full. And it remained confined to the small rack near my bed. Till six-days back
Keith Gunn made me to return to the book. He is the editor of the ‘Memoirs …’. His advice: ‘If you suffered getting into it (the book), you will soon be rewarded by some excellent Baba material’.
‘The thing about Memoirs’, Keith wrote, ‘is that the first 40 or so pages were written deliberately in the style of Wordsworth, a 19th century English writer, whom Hazraji found captivating. It makes the reading difficult because of the 19th century style, and this difficulty persists for a while, more or less 40 pages. After that bit, Hazraji begins writing pretty much as he speaks (e.g., normal style for him, slightly internationalized by me…)’.
Armed with this tip, I returned to Amiya’s stories and agreed with the Editor’s assertion that these stories were amongst those ‘you find worthy of retelling or recollecting’ as the tales of ‘the stubbornness of a lover and the whim of the Beloved’. The stories unfold over 42-chapters. Up to Chapter 11, it makes tedious reading.
Once you are in Chapter 11, which thoughtfully is named ‘Prelude’, you find narration becomes racy. You will not put down the book till you reach the last para and find a ‘thank you’ from the author ‘to all readers who have patiently gone through this book’, and a ‘wish’ that the readers would be granted ‘some sideways glimpses’ of the ‘supreme experience that Baba has said is the only one worth having’.
The Bengali speaking English Professor is an interesting person, as the Memoirs tell you. He puts his Master to test not every now and then but every minute. He makes demands on his Master not occasionally but regularly. And his wishes some times sound outlandish. Like, for instance, when he forced himself on Meherazad with his mother to take guidance on a domestic issue. Both of them were hungry. They had not eaten anything since the previous evening. Baba asked Eruch to give them some food.
As the personal secretary to Baba was perhaps about to motion them to go to the dinning room, Amiya’s heart, notorious for desires, in a flash longed to eat in the presence of Baba, right inside the Meherazad Mandali meeting hall. ‘….Baba looked at me and then Eruch and gestured to bring the food there in front of Him! The plates arrived- humble fare- but how delicious! Baba sitting before us, smiling and supervising like the Ancient Father, asked us to eat at leisure. So again a gift – the manna from Heaven, the Bread from Christ’s hand. The one who feeds the whole world indirectly, invisibly, was now feeding us in His direct presence….’
The Memoirs of a Zetetic is replete with stories that highlight the need for obedience. Amiya is personification of obedience. Not in the conventional sense. In his own way of absolute disobedience. An exasperated Baba once remarked, ‘Amiya is very dear to me. Only he doesn’t obey me! He is, you know what? My problem child!’ (Page 314).
Another time Meher Baba extracted a promise from the Professor that he would not worry ‘too much’. And teased him saying, ‘Amiya is my son- but in spite of being a scholar he has one screw loose in his head’.
Promptly Amiya pleaded: ‘why don’t you tighten that screw?’
Baba’s replied: ‘How can I do that? Keeping your company My own screws are getting loosened’. (Page 318)
A couple of sentences strike the reader and will remain etched in memory.
“Why did you ask for anything? Did you not know that I have forbidden all my lovers to ask for anything,’ Baba admonished Amiya when he pleaded for a cure from a ‘strange’ neck pain. And went on to tell him ‘I shall pulverize your body’. Not that the professor was not provided ‘relief’. That happened in the ‘most routine’ manner. On his part, Amiya cried for ‘forgiveness’ and Baba sternly told him ‘If you again break my orders, I shall not forgive you’.
I came across Meher Baba lovers who had gone through tough phases in their lives. Some went through economic problems. Some had health related problems. These problems were so severe that the families concerned were literally at their wits end.
In the case of one family, grown up children were so distraught that they asked their mother: ‘Why daddy is following Meher Baba? He is no good. He is making daddy’s life and our life miserable’.
The lady of the house and children found ‘solace’ in Sai Baba. They became regulars at Shirdi.
The poor chap, ‘head of the family’ stuck to his grove. He did not come in the way of his wife and children, though. He accompanied them to Shridi and to various temples, whenever he could, to please them.
In fact, he had visited almost all major shrines in the country while on his official tours - from Vaishno Devi near Jammu to the Shiv temple at Rameshwaram on the east coast and from Darga of Khwaza Moinnuddin Chisti in Ajmer (Rajasthan) to Kamakya temple in Guwahati (Assam).
‘I have no problem visiting any religious shrine’. But he did not ask his family to think of Meher Baba.
Hear his logic in his own words:
‘It is not for me to tell them about Meher Baba. Who am I to tell about the Avatar to them or to any one? I may be the husband and I may be the father. But it is for them to know. It is a matter of faith, a matter of belief, a matter of conviction. Faith, belief and conviction stem from the heart, not under some one’s pressure or after hearing a discourse on TV. Just because they are not acknowledging my Meher Baba, He cannot be wished away. He is there very much. They will turn to Him when their time is ripe’.
He was seen recently visiting Meherabad with his wife and daughter. Apparently the time is ‘ripe’!
-Asian Tribune -
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Network World - Just a few years ago, Andrew Mayhall had to decide whether to continue his unique education or drop out of school to start his own server company. Now, he's mulling another major decision - whether to continue discussions about potentially selling that company and working for Facebook, or to follow the entrepreneurial path Facebook's founder laid out when he was around Mayhall's age.
Mayhall, the 19-year-old founder and CEO of data storage provider Evtron, has spent more than half of his young life steeped in technology. Armed with his first computer and a library card, an 8-year-old Mayhall quickly taught himself how to program in several languages. In seventh grade he began taking computer programming and engineering courses at Lewis and Clark Community College in eastern Illinois. From there, he began scheduling tours of local data centers, asking questions out of a general interest in how everything worked. Shortly thereafter, he began toying with server hardware himself.
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By the time his peers were juniors in high school, Mayhall had amassed enough credit for an associate's degree at Lewis and Clark. So, naturally, he left school altogether and started up his own company with Brady O'Brien, his co-founder and fellow 19-year-old. Though Mayhall says O'Brien likes to describe the decision as a "leave of absence" from school, Mayhall has no qualms about saying he dropped out.
"I really have no intentions of going back and continuing my educational path," he says.
The decision is understandable. Mayhall's work has already attracted attention from Facebook, a company familiar with the potential of a young CEO. Evtron's first storage platform, the Evtron Cell, is what caught the social networking giant's attention. Mayhall says that the Cell's capacity for 4.6 petabytes per server rack, which also reduces overall space required in a typical data center by 66%, broke the world record for data density. More practically, Mayhall says the Evtron Cell uses a lot of the same components that Facebook uses for its current storage infrastructure, but, because of "a little design change," the Cell is four times as dense.
The potential benefits are no doubt attractive to a social networking site that now boasts more than 1 billion active users and, following a rough IPO, has to appease public demand for profits. Mayhall says the talks with Facebook are still ongoing, and that the potential of a company acquisition coupled with a job for Mayhall has been discussed.
Mayhall, however, seems more interested in a licensing agreement than anything else. However exciting a buyout may be - Mayhall contends that a discussion with Facebook is an opportunity he couldn't pass up - the young CEO remains an idealist and a believer in the company that he formed as an adolescent. He frequently talks about building Evtron into a major corporation, and aspires to do so through the efforts of his team alone.
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The Bishop in the Life Chain
And this week's Bishop's Column focuses on Respect Life Month
103 people took part in the annual Life Chain witness against abortion which began at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and extended three blocks to St. Paul's Lutheran Church.
Joining their ranks was Bishop Robert W. Finn. "This is something I've participated in for many years," said Bishop Finn, who became bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in May.
"It's a public witness and it's an interesting experience always," he said. "It's a peaceful, prayerful witness to the sanctity of life and the perils of abortion. (Abortion) not only destroys the life of the victim, but it takes a terrible toll on the life of those who are so desperate they have an abortion. It is something that they carry with them all their life. We pray for healing for them, and we pray that the laws of our country will change to protect those who deserve protection, as you and I do."
It is imperative that efforts such as last year's unsuccessful initiative to place a ban on all human cloning - including SCNT - move forward for a vote by Missouri lawmakers and/or citizens. Human cloning for any purpose is morally wrong.
In this diocese, we have had the benefit of presentations by Father Pacholczyk, by John Morris of Rockhurst University, my special advisor on these issues and a frequent presenter in parishes throughout the diocese, and recently by David Prentice, hosted by Rockhurst University. All of these experts arrive at the same conclusion: Embryonic stem-cell research has not only been completely unsuccessful, but it requires the hyper-production of human eggs (ova) and the destruction of a human person to even begin to work. We have had good coverage of these events in The Catholic Key.
It is possible that legislation will soon be introduced in Missouri to seek government funding for these immoral and so far unsuccessful embryonic stem cell processes, or for cloning processes to obtain human embryos. We must be ready to say "No" to any such use of tax-payer money.
Now that's what we call good work.
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Hodges is entitled to opinions but he cannot make up his own facts. As a frequent school board meeting attendee and as a long term education advocate for our students I offer the following facts for consideration.
Despite the lingering gap some progress is evident in improving graduation rates and test scores. However neither the increase in graduation rates or improvement in math and reading scores are satisfactory to our superintendent. She has led the district in education reforms and implemented evidenced-based strategies that have proved successful in other districts. Specifically she has implemented effective teacher and principal evaluation systems. Professional development for teachers has emphasized professional learning communities and individual learning plans for students.
Johnson has led the district's implementation of focused instruction and improved both math and reading strategies across the district. These are only a few examples of the superintendent's leadership in addressing the academic results of MPS students.
This superintendent has made recruiting and training of transformational school leaders a high priority in her administration. Her partnership with Harvest Preparatory Schools (one of the most effective charter school in the country) is revolutionary in Minnesota. All of these strategies are being implemented in a very transparent manner. The trajectory for MPS's students of color is in the right direction and we need constructive criticism and partnerships rather than the slanted misinformed opinions offered in Hodges' op-ed piece.
That article raises interesting questions on the role of the local NAACP on issues of education. The need for substantial reform in public education has been at the forefront in Minneapolis for several years. The African American Leadership Forum (AALF), Put Kids First and the Coalition of Black Churches have led the push for effective reforms in Minnesota. Where was our local NAACP on these issues? The fact is it was largely silent. Issues like alternative certification and ending "last in and first out" where efforts to bring national reforms to Minnesota were fought at the legislature without the support of the Minneapolis NAACP.
Last year during MPS's negotiations with the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers, the issue of providing extended day and extended school year for our high priority schools was being contested and our NAACP was silent. While organizations like those mentioned earlier were asking the school board not to approve the contract without those changes the NAACP was not present. There has been no evidence of our NAACP supporting Harvest Prep, Hiawatha Learning Academies; all outstanding charter schools that are effectively educating our children.
It appears to this writer that President Hodges is once again wrongheaded in his opinions. While nationally the NAACP has supported the kind of reforms we have advocated our local branch has been silent.
What is needed is for the NAACP to join with others in this struggle to improve outcomes for our students. MPS and Superintendent Johnson have been receptive to constructive criticism and engagement by all of the stakeholders. It would be helpful if in our op-ed pieces we offer constructive advice. The proverbial, "it takes a village to raise a child" is still valid. We need the NAACP and its leadership to join organizations such as AALF, Put Kids First, the Coalition of Black Churches, the Minnesota Business Partnership in pushing for the reforms that will enable MPS and Superintendent Johnson to achieve the objective of making all MPS students graduating college ready.
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Star Trek: Online On Trek LorePosted by T'Bonz - 30/12/09 at 03:12 pm
Star Trek: Online‘s Christine Thompson explains how the Star Trek: Online development team was able to keep up with multiple sources of information.
In addition to “official canon” which was aired, Star Trek: Online used sources such as novels and comic books when creating their Star Trek world.
“We look at the soft canon like novels and comics,” explained Thompson, “but we don’t feel compelled to use everything from them. Some things, like the Countdown comic series, fit perfectly, so we incorporated it. Other things don’t work as well.”
One advantage Star Trek: Online has is being set in a time future to the known Star Trek world, either canon or non-canon. “Since our game is set in 2409, we’re decades ahead of the novels and the comics,” said Thompson. “We were always prepared to go our own way storywise because of that, and I think what we’ve done has worked.”
Being set thirty years after the last movie allows for new stories as well as keeping things familiar for fans. “We picked 2409 for a few reasons,” said Thompson. “It’s in the future of the timeline, so we get a chance to add new stories, new technology, new looks for some of the ships, etc. But it’s close enough that we can have a lot of things that are familiar to fans of the shows and movies.”
“Also, Star Trek Online is the story of the players,” added Thompson. “They’re the heroes in this time. Moving forward means that Starfleet isn’t always looking to Jean-Luc Picard or Benjamin Sisko to fix things. They’re asking you to save the galaxy.”
Tags: Star Trek: Online
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Player killing (commonly known as PKing , player vs. player, or PvP), is the act of two or more players engaging in combat. Player killing differs from other forms of combat in that players do not fight against monsters whose actions are defined by RuneScape's game engine.
Before 13 August 2001, the entire map was available for PKing. On that date, normal PKing was restricted to the newly opened Wilderness in the update. However, on 10 December 2007, Jagex ended PKing in the Wilderness and released Clan Wars along with Bounty Hunter as partial replacements. Pre-2007 style PKing was re-implemented in the Wilderness on 1 February 2011 due to the Wilderness and Free Trade Vote being tilted in the favour of bringing it back.
In summary, PvP has been modified by many updates since its conception, but has been restored to a reasonable degree, enough to attract players angered by said updates.
Originally, after the release of RuneScape Classic, players could select whether or not to play as player killer characters. Players could switch from player-killer mode to non-player-killer mode (in which the character could not attack or be attacked by other players) three times, after which they remained at their chosen setting "forever". The player-killer/non-player-killer modes were, however, removed from the game on 13 August 2001 when the Wilderness was added.
PvP combat could take place at most locations in the RuneScape world. The rules of combat were the same as in modern RuneScape Classic Wilderness. Lumbridge was designated as a neutral area in which players could not attack each other; this was done to prevent a practice called "spawn camping", in which recently killed players were immediately killed again as soon as they respawned. However, it was possible for a character to be attacked in the upper levels of Lumbridge castle. In addition to this restriction, NPC Guards and White Knights patrolled the cities of Varrock and Falador, breaking up PvP battles by attacking the aggressor. These guard units were limited in number, however, and if all the units in a city were already in combat, PvP combat could go on freely. At this time, the Bank of Runescape was limited to Varrock and Falador and could only store gold coins. As a result, players would carry their valuables with them.
On 13 August 2001, this system was replaced by the Wilderness, partly due to complaints from many players who were unable to leave Lumbridge without being attacked by hordes of hostile player killers. Later, additional areas where PvP combat is allowed were added.
On 10 December 2007, Jagex made a highly controversial update that made pking in the Wilderness only possible at the Bounty Hunter, which is unsafe, and Clan Wars, a safe activity. Fist of Guthix, also safe, was not added until about four months after these updates. RuneScape lost a sizeable percentage of its paying players within the following month, although more long-term statistics have never been released. No known amount of lost free players is known, however it is possible it was more than the number of quitting members. The exact numerical makeup of quitters (bots versus legitimate players) is uncertain. Many of the quitters were PKers, while others were the leaving accounts of autoers. According to Jagex, almost all of the lost players since the 10 December update have been replaced by new subscribers.
On 15 October 2008, Jagex re-instated map-wide PKing on designated PvP worlds, although many aspects had been altered. On 1 February 2011, the wilderness was returned to the original PvP wilderness system from 2007. When entering the Wilderness or other PvP based area's, warning signs will display the dangers of proceeding into the dangerous area.
PvP worlds (Historical)Edit
- PVP worlds, or Player-Vs-Player worlds, were entire designated worlds that were almost entirely Player-Vs-Player combat enabled. Only select areas (such as banks, respawn points, Entrana, and some guilds) were disabled to combat, and were marked by a skull with a cross over it. These worlds were sculpted after the original wilderness; much of the same rules apply, such as level restraints to attack and "skulls", You were "skulled" upon logging in to a PVP world and the Protect Item prayer were disabled. If you died whilst skulled, you would lose all of your items, much like being skulled currently. To begin, one would have simply chosen a world that was marked as a PVP world when logging in. You were warned of the dangers. The first time you entered a PVP world, you were transported to Lumbridge and a manual was given to you explaining much of the concept (you could get a new one from the Doomsayer in Lumbridge should you have lost it). You would have a short immunity period before you could be attacked. After the first time, you had to be standing in a 'PVP Safe Zone' or you would not be able to login. In PVP worlds, you could lose your items, but at the same time, there were great rewards to be had!
While they existed you must have had at least level 20 combat, not including summoning, to enter a PvP World.
As of 1 February 2011, PVP worlds no longer exist.
Bounty Worlds (Historical)Edit
- Bounty worlds were released on the 6th of May 2009. These worlds only allowed players to fight each other in the wilderness and travel throughout Edgeville and the Grand Exchange. These worlds were removed with the re-addition of the wilderness.
Due to the Evolution of Combat, single combat and multiway combat in the wilderness is now determined by an ability, called single-way or multi-way wilderness, which requires 25 constitution to use.
- Single combat restricts players so that they may only fight one target at a time, unlike Multi-combat areas. However, if a player stops attacking their opponent for a certain amount of time (the amount of time it takes to eat three pieces of food), one or both of them could be attacked by other players. This is referred to as player-jumping (PJing) and is considered dishonourable in PKing.
- Multi-combat areas are identified upon entering by two crossed swords appearing above the player's head. Anywhere else is classed as a single combat area. Multicombat areas are especially dangerous in the wilderness, as more than one player can attack you at one time. These areas are beneficial to groups of players, as it allows them to pile a player and greatly decrease the opponent's chance of escape or allows a group of lower level players to fight a higher level player at the same time.
The Wilderness is a large area of the world map in which Player versus Player combat is possible. Due to changes with the Evolution of Combat, players will now drop all of their items upon death in the wilderness (retain 1 item with protect item prayer). A player who successfully kills another player in the wilderness will immediately be able to pick up their dropped items. Items dropped intentionally onto the floor also become immediately visible to other players. This makes the wilderness a popular for player killing due to the potential to make money. Dying in the wilderness will always cause the player to respawn in Edgeville.
The wilderness contains multiple levels -- from 1-76. Players may only attack each other if the difference between their combat levels is less than or equal to the wilderness level. This means that a player may be attacked by a greater range of combat levels the farther into wilderness they travel. Single combat and multiway combat in the wilderness is now determined by an ability toggle, called single-way wilderness or multi-way wilderness, which requires 25 constitution to use.
Player killing is allowed in some minigames. In Clan Wars, it is the whole point of the minigame. While in some others, like Stealing Creation, it is mixed with skilling. Player killing in minigames are usually safe but not always.
If you traveling to a teleport-restricted area, one would recommend that a player takes multiple combat styles. This helps to bypass a player's protection prayers. Melee fighters almost require some other style due to dangers from mages. A Ranged weapon is a good choice for Melee fighters.
Teleportation gear is a must. Runes, interruptable items, and tablets are NOT recommended, due to inventory space issues along with spell and teleport limits to level 20 wilderness. Dragonstone equipment, such as the Amulet of Glory, and the Ring of Life allow teleportation from up to 30 wilderness. (Note: One should not rely on the ring of life as one's sole escape method. If one is hit with damage greater than 10% of his or her maximum health, he or she will die.)
- Advantages - Melee fighters generally are capable of doing greater damage than Mages and Rangers due to the bonuses of their weapons. It also requires no ammunition as opposed to Ranged or Magic. (Note: Due to the Evolution of Combat, combat magic is much cheaper than before.)
- Disadvantages - Melee armour is highly conductive to magic thus those using melee will take large amounts of damage when facing a skilled mage. Melee fighters should consider wearing Ranged armour with your melee weapon when you encounter mages. Additionally, many mages will bind a melee fighter to the spot, then make a kill.
- Advantages - Magic attacks are highly accurate against plate armour, and holding spells can keep an opponent from inflicting significant damage. The Ancient spellbook further increases a magician's power by giving the ability to freeze opponents for up to 20 seconds with Ice Spells, while Bloodfire spells can heal back any damage received. A skilled mage with a high Magic level can be a dangerous opponent in Player-Versus-Player situations.
- Disadvantages - Robes give no defence against a Ranger. In addition, Melee fighters can simply wear Dragonhide armour to give protection from attacks. The Ancient Spellbooks also lack a teleport block spell, which limits the practicality of maging in low Wilderness levels. Magic users tend to be extremely vulnerable to pile jumpers and player jackers of any combat style.
- Spellbook Notes: Many players believe that using mage is useless unless one has the Ancient spellbook; although some may choose the lunar spellbook to use the Spellbook swap spell allowing them to tele-block and freeze along side the Ancient Magic spells.Others may prefer to stay on the regular Spellbook as it has everything a mage PKer would need, such as binding spells (which at the best is behind Ice barrage's freeze by 5 seconds), Storm of Armadyl, which devastates almost any foe, and Teleblock.
- Advantages - Dragonhide and other Ranging armour generally gives large offensive bonuses, which results in very accurate and fast attacks with a very high Magic defence (obsolete). A mage may find that most if not all of their attacks will miss when fighting a Ranger with a high magic level. If one wishes to increase their resistance to Melee attacks, plate armour can be used in place of 1 or 2 dragonhide pieces to boost melee defence while keeping offensive bonuses high. In addition, due to the method used to calculate a player's Combat level, a player can have a relatively high Defence and Constitution level compared to a warrior of the same level.
- Disadvantages - Ranging gear has mediocre Melee defence, which can leave a player vulnerable to attack unless they are willing to sacrifice accuracy.
Backstabbing, also known as BSing, is the act of killing someone who has mistakenly placed their trust in the back-stabber or killing a player who is in the back-stabber's clan. Most experienced players greatly frown upon backstabbing. For example, one join a clan, a player takes him or her into the wilderness then kills him or her. Players may also backstab a person already in the the player's clan. Backstabbing is almost always effective if one reaches the high-level wilderness.
Rushing is the act of killing a player without giving him or her the opportunity to attack back. Many consider rushing dishonorable. Usually rushers will use a combination of 2 - 3 attack forms, the most common being magic/melee and Melee/Range.
Dragon claw rushers used to use Vengeance from the Lunar spells since its animation causes them to appear to be not moving, even if they are, so when the victim is hit the rusher appears to be attacking from afar. This no longer works as the evolution of combat has removed special attacks.
Most rushers use Protect from melee when they are not in a safe zone. However, many players wielding the Hand cannon and wearing Void Knight armour may try to kill rushers with Ranged from which the rusher is not protected. Another way that rushers may bypass this is by use of Korasi's sword.
Occasionally, events in the wilderness attract large amounts of players, many of whom are not prepared to combat serious threats. Penguin Hide and Seek, in particular, seems to be a popular target on weeks where penguins wander about the Wilderness. As many dedicated penguin clans prefer trapping penguins in enclosed locations, like the Dark Warriors' Fortress, player killers will camp near the entrance and spam Ice Barrage, killing several players at once. However, due to the vast range in penguin hunting clans, Anti-Player Killers (see below) are quickly called in to dispatch the menace, forcing players to either run or forfeit their winnings. Of course, since people entering the wilderness for penguins usually don't carry anything of value, camping a penguin location is usually done for the purposes of griefing, although at other times people may also offer to kill them once they are done spotting the penguin in order to skip the long walk back out of high level wilderness areas.
This is generally a fruitless pursuit, as people who do not wish to fight rarely risk anything.
Anti-Player Killing (Anti-PKing or better known as Anti-Rushing) is the act of killing a Pker - generally denoted to be any armour wielding player.
An Anti-PKer is someone who only ever attacked PKers and never attacks anyone else. Some RuneScape clans are "Anti-Random PKing clans" and only ever kill PKers. Usually, and ironically, Anti-PKers make more than PKers, as PKers usually use valuable gear and will drop everything they have. Usually, when Anti-PKing, the requirements are to use either Smite, Soul Split or an Ancient mace to drop the PKer's Prayer to 0, which results in the PKer dropping all their items.
Looting is the act of going into the wilderness and attempting to get drops from other PKing kills, while risking nothing, and is frowned upon by PKers. Usually looters make level 4 accounts and hope to make profit by looting food, potions, neglected drops, and high value items dropped in a double ko. Looters may have a rusher attack the winner with the Korasi's special attack (2 if using a ring of vigour) in hopes of a making a double ko in which they can collect their items for profit, or will group up and start placing items that show above a PKer's loot from their kills so that they cannot get the items until they are removed by the people that put them there, then remove the items when the loot shows to get profit.
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The sign boards of Kerala Tourism placed alongside the highways of the state, apart from doing their regular duty of giving distance information, gives the road traveller an introduction to the names of the tourist spots in the vicinity.
Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary was introduced to me by the sign boards near to the Kozhikkode in the NH 17 section. I always had many doubts about a bird santuary. Will there be a caged section where birds will be housed, or will it be a natural vegetation where birds will flock. Whenever I enquired about this place to some one at Kozhikkode, they always told me not to visit this place as it is not worthwhile and it contains nothing. But then why is it promoted as a tourist spot.
The urge to visit this place was reignited during the fag end of my 6 hour early morning drive from Trivandrum to Kozhikkode, when I again saw this name to appear in the sign boards as I approached Kozhikkode.
I made up mind to visit this place that day evening itself. Luckily it happened and here I present before you the "Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary"
Kadalundi Bird Santuary is around 20 Kilometers from Kozhikkode. From NH17 one has to take an westward turn towards Feroke after 8 km from Kozhikkode. The roads are typical narrow village roads with moderate traffic. As we approached Feroke there is one interesting bridge, which added some optical special effects while travelling, due to the enormous amount of trusses it contain.
Jeeps are the main mode of public transportation in this part of the state and the filled to brim statement is completely justified by the way people are packed into it and sometimes I wonder whether this 5 seater vehicle carries more passengers than an 20 seater minibus, with most of the passengers hanging outside.
This kind of travel poses great danger to the life of the people travelling in it. The vehicle is travelling completely offbalance, but the attitude of law enforcers to check such irregularities, only after a mishap occurs and that too for just a month or so, helps these kind of highly dangerous practices to continue.
After passing Feroke amidst the mad honking of those dangerously driven private buses, and Chaliyam, a quiet town, we reached Kadalundi. As no sign boards were seen, we asked the local people for the route and surprisingly before telling us the route they were asking whether we came to see the bird santuary or to visit a home. If it is the bird sanctuary then there is nothing to see was the advice. Is it a case of local people not finding there own place interesting. I got this answer all the three times I asked the route. But all of them explained the route in detail and in a very polite manner too, typical of the people in this part.
We had to travel through the side of the Kadalundi Railway Station through a narrow but beautiful road, which gives an impression of travelling through a forest.
Again there were no sign boards. Doubts lingered on whether we are inside the bird santuary and this is all that we can see. Got out and asked a person who was passing by. He also gave us an amused look as if we did a serious mistake. Based on his instruction we stopped the vehicle nearby a huge bunch of vegetation which were actually propped up from the Kadalundi river.
These were nothing but the Mangroves. Mangroves are medium sized trees that grown in saline conditions and are mostly in the news because of hue and cry raised by the environmentalists for their protection because of their ability to protect against soil erosion.
The density of these mangroves were blocking the view of the Kadalundi river on the other side. We walked through narrow path way and reached a wide open space, the sprawling kadalundi river was on view. On one side there was a railway bridge and on eastern side there was another bridge under which we could see the lashing sea waves. Yes it was an estuary and a beautiful one too. The mangrove population on the banks of the river has given the required mix of greenery to the already glorified ambience.
Watch the wonderful panoramic view here.
Bird sanctuary or no sanctuary this location is really wonderful, the calmness is so soothing, just sit here and mix with nature, feel dwarfed by the hugeness of the river.
The railway bridge itself looked really beautiful in these environmental settings.
The road bridge on top of the estuary also needs to be visited soon for I was sure that the view to both sides will be really wonderful. But for the time being, we decided to relax and look out what is happening around.
If one makes a quick visit here, then he is sure to be disappointed since, on a quick look you are sure not to spot any birds. Slowly but steadily we began to spot some of the birds.
Looking up we could see a lot of majestic Eagles (Sreekrishna Parunthu) circling around.
Their white upper part is contrasting to their darkbrown body color and the way they just spread their wings and glide through the air with minimal movement of their wings reminds us of the graceful way one must approach in doing things.
A lean tall white crane with black beaks was seen landing on a rock on the river.
Once it perched on top of the rock, it stood their still as if it is a statue. His legs were also black in color and are so lean that at times it was felt as if this guy is suspended in air.
On scanning the entire area, found out another crane near to the opposite bank. This was different from the one earlier spotted coz it was having a different color for its beak and seemed a little bit more bulky like a pelican.
My knowledge about the names of these birds is really great, hence I am not specifying the names. Soon the diversity of the bird population was on view. We got to see single birds calmly sitting on the tree trunks protruding from the river as well as a flock of birds who came from nowhere and quickly occupied their position on the other side of the river.
We were in for a visual treat soon as the flock of birds began to move around in unison creating a lot of different patterns. Their underbody color was contrasting to the upper body color. This resulted in creation of a different coloured patterns when they turned, twisted, hovered around just above the water. It was as if we watching a laser show. Only the music was absent. But sometimes calmness itself is music as the even the lightest of breeze can be heard.
I could not capture the patterns created by the birds, thanks to my ability in clicking moving objects in low light conditions, but the image of that pattern dancing still lingers on my mind.
Meanwhile a short beautiful object came and perched on top of another wooden trunk very close to us. His sitting posture was really majestic, no wonder he is christened as "King"fisher.
When we were analysing the kingfisher, in a quick swift action, this guy nosedived to water and came back up as if nothing had happened. But on a closer look I could see that he had something in his long beak.
He had an aim in his mind while sitting calm and was completely focussed at the movements of targed under water and waited for the right moment. When the moment came he acted quickly and emerged victorious. Surely a lesson for all.
Another little golden colored fellow was walking through the shallow waters occassionally dipping its beak under water. The setting sun had created a golden color pattern on the smallish waves on the river and this elegant little creature seemed to be a part of the color scheme.
This fellow was a workhorse as it was walking all the time constantly dipping its beak in search of food, unlike the kingfisher thingy which waited for the right moment and grabbed the opportunity.
All this time we could see some small white structures at a distance in between the tree trunks on the river. We had thought of them as some construction. I zoomed my camera and took a shot of those white structures, only to realize that they were another flock of birds sitting there with minimal movement.
As we were sitting there watching these little wonders amidst the colorful settings we noticed that there were lot of thin stick like objects protruding out of the wetlands close to the dense mangrove population.
Those were roots of the mangroves and the discussion was shifted on how these roots help mangroves breathe air in low oxygen conditions due to the salinity of water. Wonder how nature devices mechanisms for adapting life in varying environments.
The calm atmosphere was suddenly broke by the sound of an approaching train. Even though trains in this part of the world are not the most beautiful ones around, the ambience around made it look beautiful when it passed through the rail overbridge.
It was not long ago when a train got derailed over this very bridge and fell into the Kadalundi river.
Time just flew past as we kept on observing the life at this bird sanctuary and we found that Sun has already gone down the horizon. The sky color was getting really beautiful and with it the total look of the surroundings too changed.
We decided to move out of this place and get on top of the bridge on top of the estuary to have a view of the sea and the river. While walking back got to see two boards detailing the birds found in this area. The boards were already in a very unclean condition and it seems like the concerned department has lost interest in promoting this as a tourism spot.
Neverthless it is a beautiful spot and if there was a boating facility we could have explored a lot more. As we walked through the dense mangroves we noted some jelly like substance on the river banks near these mangroves. Could not make out what it is. But the shape being that of a fish, my son began telling that it is a fish.
By the time we started our journey back through the road near to the railway station dusk had already set in, but the road and the beautiful trees still had not lost its glory and it was a pleasure to glide through this narrow lane.
Again asked for directions and reached near the bridge on top of the estuary which was named as Kadalundi Kadavu bridge. This seems to be a recently constructed bridge.
Our vehicle got on top of the bridge. When we rolled the windows down, we got hit by a gush of fresh air. Instinctively all of us got out of the vehicle and as expected the scenery was fantastic to add to the refreshing and energizing wind blowing across from the sea.
Watch the color of the sky and the sea. We all seem to be part of a live painting. A painting which was changing its colors in every passing second.
A look towards the sea yielded this scene.
Had we got more time, we could have ventured into those rocks and just sit there for a long time. The view towards the river was equally interesting and we could see the place where we sat a little while ago and also could get a complete picture of the lengthy railway overbridge over the river. Watch this image closely and you can see a complete train in this single frame.
It was full moon day and I was tempted to take a close shot of the beautiful white thingy which seemed to be present just entertain us.
It was getting dark very fast, but the color of sea just above horizon was getting more and more intense with each passing moment and I was not able to go, even though my spouse was asking me to make a return.
I have seen this umpteen times, but the color of sky at dusk is something which turns me on and I cannot stop gazing at the colors and normally takes a lot of shots just to see how the color pattern was changing.
On the other side the full moon seemed to light up the entire area and the reflection it created on the river was superb.
All my co travelers got inside the vehicle barring me. I was busy capturing all the things around even though the light condition was not good, the color scheme was good. Tried to capture my carriage in the backdrop of this exemplerary settings.
Soon I got inside the vehicle, but we stayed there some more time just enjoying the sea breeze and discussing about this beautiful place. Another superb destination in God's own country, which is not a popular tourist destination and devoid of any tourist activity resulting it remaining a virgin without any commercialisation at all. Before I cranked the engine I took one more photo of the colorful sky in the back drop of the protective railing of the bridge which seemed to say Goodbye and see you again.
Sure I will be visiting this place again and will be exploring the beach side a little more and if possible will like to have a long walk through the banks of the river. Thanks to the road side sign board which made me probe about this place and make a visit.
Hope you too got a glimpse of what this place - "Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary" is all about. This is Subu signing off until we meet again with another complete photo coverage of a beautiful destination.
Other nearby destinations worth a visit1. Parapally - A rocking beach @ Quilandy
2. NC Gardens & beach resort @ Parappanangadi
3. Gotheswaram @ Beypore
4. Beypore port
5. Mananchira - Kozhikode's Heart is here
6. Thiruvachira Temple - A calming influence
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Should a child window have it's own data context (View-Model) or use the data context of the parent? More broadly, should each View have its own View-Model? Are there are any rules to guide making that decision? What if the various View-Models will be accessing the same Model?
I haven't been able to find any consistent guidance on my question. The MS definition of MVVM appears to be silent on child windows.
For one example, I have created a warning message notification View. It really didn't need a data context since it was passed the message to display. But if I needed to fancy it up a bit, I would have tapped the parent's data context.
I have run into another scenario that needs a child window and is more complicated than the notification box. The parent's View-Model is already getting cluttered, so I had planned on generating a dedicated VM for the child window. But I can't find any guidance on whether this is a good idea or what the potential consequences may be.
FWIW, I happen to be working in Silverlight, but I don't know that this question is strictly a Silverlight issue.
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The Food and Drug Administration advised patients Friday to keep taking a popular cholesterol drug even though it might contain specks of glass, reversing advice it gave just a day ago.
Millions of people take Ranbaxy Pharmaceutical's generic Lipitor, or atorvastatin, and many have been calling pharmacies confused about whether to take the drugs they have in their medicine cabinets.
Ranbaxy initiated a recall November 9 and told pharmacies to stop dispensing the drug, but gave no advice to consumers about what to do with what was in their medicine cabinets.
Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said the agency would review how it handles communication to the public during recalls.
"It took us some time to figure out what was going on," she said. "We need to fix our process a little bit."
Between 3 million and 4 million people take Ranbaxy's atorvastatin, according to Ross Muken, senior managing director at ISI Group. The company has more than a 40% share of the generic Lipitor market.
The FDA made no public statements on the recall until Thursday, when the agency said concerned patients should stop taking their medicine if their pharmacist confirmed it was from a recalled lot.
After a conference call Friday afternoon with pharmacies and other groups, the agency decided to change their guidance.
"Yesterday's statement was poorly phrased," Woodcock said Friday. "It made people think they should stop taking their medicine."
The glass particles are "the size of a grain of sand," she added.
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Gunmen staged fresh attacks on UN-backed polio vaccination teams in Pakistan, killing two more polio workers and wounding six in the country's northwest on Wednesday, a day after six health workers were gunned down in Karachi and Peshawar.
Teams involved in a nationwide anti-polio
campaign were attacked at Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera in the restive Khyber-Pukhtunkhwa province, officials said.
A woman anti-polio campaign supervisor and her driver were killed when gunmen fired at their vehicle in Shabqadar area of Charsadda.
Five persons were injured in three separate attacks in Charsadda, Nowshera and Peshawar, State-run Radio Pakistan reported.
One volunteer was injured in an attack on a vaccination team in Daudzai area of Peshawar.
The injured worker was taken to a nearby hospital.
Gunmen riding motorcycles attacked anti-polio teams in Charsadda and Nowshera.
Gunmen warned female health workers in Charsadda that they would be killed in they continued with the anti-polio campaign, TV news channels reported.
Authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have decided to press on with the anti-polio campaign despite the attacks, including one in Peshawar yesterday that killed a 14-year-old volunteer.
On Tuesday, five female health workers were killed in attacks in Peshawar and Karachi.
A male health worker was shot dead in Karachi on Monday, taking the total number of those killed in the past two days to six.
The World Health Organisation and UNICEF on Tuesday said they would continue their anti-polio drive in Pakistan despite the killing of six vaccinators but urged the government and society to do its "utmost to protect health workers".
After Tuesday's attacks, the Sindh Provincial government, of which Karachi is the capital, suspended the immunisation drive.
Pakistan is one of only three countries where polio remains endemic, the others being Afghanistan and Nigeria.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks on the anti-polio workers but the banned Pakistani Taliban have threatened vaccinators in the past.
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BB (aka Black Beauty) and Her Newborn Twin Girls Very Early this Morning
During the winter our sheep eat organic homegrown hay supplemented with natural grains—usually oats and alfalfa pellets tossed with some dried molasses (yes, that would be livestock candy), along with kelp, a calcium mineral mix, garlic and onion powder, and diatomaceous earth which is a natural wormer.
It's especially important for pregnant ewes to have grain during the last six weeks of their five month gestation period because as the growing babies inside them become bigger, the ewes' four stomachs become smaller, and it's physically impossible for them to ingest all the calories they need from hay alone.
We feed grain in the late afternoon or early evening because I once read that will promote daylight births. So far this year it isn't working. For the second night in a row, I went down to the barn at 2am to do a preg check and found a new set of twins, this time BB's. I didn't get back to sleep until around 5:30, but mother and those stylish black babies are doing just fine.
Current lamb count: 9. Number of ewe lambs: 7 (!)
© 2009 FarmgirlFare.com, the back in black foodie farm blog where we're always grateful when a ewe gives birth to twins all by herself without any problems, but we still can't help wondering why they don't have them at one in the afternoon instead of one in the morning.
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BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation is the way to address trade imbalance between China and the United States as well as the difficulties and frictions arising from it, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday.
The United States should open its exports to China and ease related restrictions while promoting two-way investment, Wen said at a press conference right after the parliament's annual session.
"China is prepared to buy more from the United States," said Wen.
"I believe that cooperation between China and the U.S. is always better than confrontation. As long as we continue to move in this right direction, the business ties between China and the U.S. will enjoy sustained and sound growth," he added.
The two countries should create favorable conditions for mutual investment and enhance cooperation in infrastructure construction. China's investment in U.S. infrastructure construction would be a win-win solution to helping boost employment of U.S. workers, Wen said.
Wen also proposed expanding cooperation in high-tech fields, including new energy, new materials, energy conservation and aviation.
Wen pointed out that China's international balance of payments, particularly in trade and goods, is "approaching basic equilibrium," citing figures to say that the current account surplus of China in 2011 only accounted for 2.8 percent of its GDP, below the 3 percent level that is internationally recognized as appropriate.
China recorded a trade deficit of 31.48 billion U.S. dollars in February. The country's annual trade surplus in 2011 narrowed 14.5 percent year-on-year to 155.14 billion U.S. dollars in 2011.
In February, the United States, the nation's second-largest trade partner, replaced the EU as China's largest export market, as monthly sales to the U.S. outnumbered that to the EU.
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City of Alexandria, VA
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)
Join with other concerned members of the Alexandria community to learn how to increase your neighborhood’s disaster readiness and support the first responders who serve your neighborhood! Learn how to assess damage after a disaster, extinguish small fires, perform light search and rescue, triage and provide first aid, and provide much needed assistance in times of crisis!
The Community Emergency Response Team program trains community members to be better prepared to respond to emergency situations in Alexandria.
When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders by providing immediate assistance to victims and organizing spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also participate in non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community.
I want to help! What do I need to do?
Attend the CERT training course to become a Team Member. You will learn how to prepare yourself, your family and your community for a disaster. Become familiar with tools to help you organize after a disaster and how to conduct triage and provide basic first aid. Learn to assess damage after the disaster, extinguish a small fire, conduct searches and rescue victims safely, and complete a small-scale disaster simulation!
I want to find out more!
For more information about CERT Training, call Kim Purcell at 703.746.5259
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Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation
Basic Adult Leader Outdoor Orientation (BALOO) is a one-day training event that introduces leaders and parents to the skills needed to plan and conduct pack outdoor activities, particularly pack camping.
Basic Leader Training
Basic Leader Training is designed to give position-related information to all adult leaders in Cub Scouting. Building on the foundation established in Fast Start Training, Basic Leader Training goes into greater detail.
Unit Leadership Enhancements
Unit Leadership Enhancements are short training discussions intended to better equip pack leaders to conduct a quality Cub Scout program. These do not replace, but complement, the more formal Basic Leader Training, Cub Scout leader roundtable, and Cub Scout leader pow wow or University of Scouting offered in the district or council.
Fast Start Training
Proper training lays the groundwork for success in their leadership roles. This training will help new leaders understand what is expected and establish effective meeting patterns so that the boys and their families can enjoy a quality program from the start.
National Cub Scouting Conferences
Cub Scout leader training conferences are held at the Philmont Training Center near Cimarron, New Mexico, and at the Florida Sea Base in the Florida Keys. Councils recommend individuals, who receive invitations to attend these conferences.
Pow Wow - University of Scouting
The pow wow is an annual get-together of Cub Scout leaders from an entire council or district. A pow wow is a training conference that takes place in a festive atmosphere.
Cub Scout leader roundtables are held monthly on a district basis. Den and pack leaders join for fun and fellowship while learning new tricks, stunts, games, crafts, ceremonies, songs, and skits related to the Cub Scout theme and Webelos activity badges for the following month.
Trainer Development Conference
The trainer development conference is part of a continuous process of updating trainers with the latest training methods, principles, and technologies. This conference is mainly for Scouters who will be delivering training to adult leaders as well as to the young people in Scouting.
What Makes a Trained Leader
A direct contact Scout leader is considered fully trained and entitled to wear the Trained leader emblem when he or she has completed the following training courses and the specific training for the position.< p>
Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders
Designed specifically for Webelos den leaders and their assistants, the Outdoor Leader Skills for Webelos Leaders course teaches outdoor-related skills through demonstration and hands-on practice. Webelos den leaders should attend this training before conducting Webelos overnight camping with the boys and parents of the den. In addition to covering basic camping skills, this training features planning campouts and finding resources.
Wood Badge is advanced training in leadership skills for all adults in BSA programs. Not only Cub Scouters, but also leaders in Boy Scouting, Varsity Scouting, Venturing, and commissioner service are invited to participate in Wood Badge.
Youth Protection Training
The Boy Scouts of America has developed Youth Protection training to prepare its leaders to help children who have been, or are being, abused. Materials are for use in pack and den meetings to show Cub Scouts and their parents what they should do to prevent abuse from happening to them.
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OneFile is an electronic portfolio ("eportfolio") for use in vocational
qualifications such as National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ), Scottish Vocational
Qualifications (SVQ), the new Qualifications Credit Framework (QCF), BTEC and the
14-19 National Diploma. It is also suitable for other criteria or competency-based
qualifications such as a company's induction programme or internal training programmes.
OneFile is owned, developed, managed and hosted by Citrus Lounge. It is licensed
directly to colleges and training providers on a per-learner basis rather than sold
directly to the end-user. It is currently being used by over 450 centres throughout
the UK and abroad. It is endorsed by the 4 major UK awarding bodies: City &
Guilds, Edexcel, OCR and EDI; and is also exclusively endorsed by EAL - the engineering awarding body for EMTA.
OneFile replaces the traditional bulky paper-based portfolio that learners are required
to bring with them every time an assessment is carried out by an assessor. The eportfolio
not only overcomes the logistical problems but also the reporting aspect on progress.
It's incredibly difficult, nonetheless time-consuming to work out on paper how far
a learner has progressed through the qualification, given that in some qualifications
such as Health & Social Care, a learner may be expected to demonstrate they are
competent in over 1000 individual tasks. Not only is this demotivating for the
learner it's difficult for the training provider's manager to get a realistic indication
of how far an entire cohort is progressing at any given time. The eportfolio on
the other hand automatically calculates progress on the fly so progress reporting
is instantaneous at the click of the button.
See www.onefile.co.uk for more information.
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May 18th, 2013 Armed Forces Day May 19th, 2013 Pentecost May 20th, 2013 Whit Monday May 21st, 2013 World Day for Cultural Diversity May 22nd, 2013 National Maritime Day May 22nd, 2013 World Biological Diversity Day May 25th, 2013 African Liberation Day May 26th, 2013 Trinity Sunday May 27th, 2013 Jefferson Davis Birthday May 27th, 2013 Memorial Day May 29th, 2013 International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers May 30th, 2013 Corpus Christi May 31st, 2013 World No Tobacco Day June 1st, 2013 Statehood Day June 3rd, 2013 Jefferson Davis Birthday June 4th, 2013 World Day for Child Victims of Aggression June 5th, 2013 World Environment Day June 6th, 2013 Isra and Mi'raj June 8th, 2013 World Oceans Day June 11th, 2013 Kamehameha Day June 12th, 2013 World Day Against Child Labour June 14th, 2013 World Blood Donor Day June 14th, 2013 Flag Day June 16th, 2013 Father's Day June 17th, 2013 Bunker Hill Day June 17th, 2013 World Day to Combat Desertification June 19th, 2013 Juneteenth
Black Americana Mammy Biscuit Cookie Jar, Teapot, Salt Shaker For Sale
Up for sale are three Black Americana items...a 6" tall Mammy biscuit cookie jar , a 7.5" Mammy teapot with no lid and a small 3.5" salt shaker , all with no chips and no breaks but I consider them fair to good because there is paint loss and a missing lid on the teapot (the middle size piece). The bottoms are marked Made in Japan....there are photos of that also. Two items....the small salt shaker and the teapot look as if the mammys bandana had polka dots on it, since I can still faintly see them on there. So cute! The salt shaker has the three holes at the tip of the spout....so it looks like a teapot but is actually a salt shaker.
Please view all photos of these wonderful items for details and feel free to ask any questions. All will be bubblewrapped and carefully packaged. If you like them, why not make a offer now...lest you forget and miss out later. My method of payment is PayPal and please note that PA buyers must pay sales tax. Thank you!
Posted with Mobile
This item has been shown 139 times.
Black Americana Mammy Biscuit Cookie Jar, Teapot, Salt Shaker : $104
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The scientific nonprofit, which sets standards for drug production and quality in the United States, was recently recognized by the Principal Financial Group as one of the 10 "best companies for employee financial security."
"Once we hire a person, we want to retain them," says Brian Hendrix, USP's chief operating officer. "Benefits help us do that."
No kidding. Benefits experts are so impressed by USP's perks that some jokingly asked if the nonprofit had any job openings.
Plenty of employers say workers are their most valuable asset. But when times get tough, companies look first to cutting their largest expenses, which are often employee benefits. As open enrollment time approaches, many workers will continue to feel the pinch that a weak economy and escalating health costs have had on their benefits.
Medical premiums next year will likely go up 7 percent to 8 percent for workers, and employers will continue to shift toward high-deductible health plans, says Steve Raetzman, a partner in the Washington office of Mercer, a benefits consultant.
And a Towers Watson survey last year found that a quarter of employers that suspended 401(k) contributions during the recession still hadn't restored them. Also, 23 percent of those that did reinstate matches did so at lower levels than before.
Plenty of employers are feeling the same economic pressures, which raises the question: Why do some make a bigger commitment to employees' financial security than others?
Luke Vandermillen, vice president at Principal, says winners of the annual contest are for-profits and nonprofits from a wide range of industries, such as manufacturing, education, information technology and financial services.
What they have in common, he says, is a commitment from top management to make benefits a priority. And when times get tough, he says, these employers look for other ways to rein in costs, such as slowing the pace of hiring or not filling empty positions, before cutting benefits. They also involve workers in these decisions, he says.
USP was selected as winner out of more than 480 employers with up to 1,000 workers.
The nonprofit was founded in 1820 to create a standards for drug manufacturers, and its benchmarks are now used here and in more than 140 other countries. USP's revenues come largely from the sale of reference materials to manufacturers. Revenues for the fiscal year that ended in June were $157 million and are expected to reach $171 million this year.
Most of its 700-plus employees are scientists.
USP's Hendrix says it's because the organization is a nonprofit that it offers generous benefits to attract talent.
"It's difficult for nonprofits. We are competing with pharmaceutical companies, with government and very deep-pocketed organizations," he says. "And we simply can't pay on the same scale as big pharmaceutical companies."
Some of USP's other benefits include 100 percent employer-paid premiums for life insurance as well as short- and long-term disability coverage.
USP has a three-tiered comprehensive health insurance plan and, depending on the option, the nonprofit pays 86 percent to 100 percent of the premiums, says Dawn Oram, USP's director of benefits administration.
After keeping employees' premiums flat for several years, USP raised them this year. But still the premiums seem tame. Under one plan, workers pay about $26.60 a month for individual coverage and $82.40 for families.
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Dear Editor, BBC News website,
I am writing about the following BBC News story:
BBC News Story
It contains the following two sentences:
'Israel, the US and the European Union regard Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, as a terrorist organisation.
'Hamas is officially dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the creation of an Islamic state in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.'
I have noticed that these sentences are almost routinely now being added to all BBC News website stories about the Israel-Palestine conflict which I assume may mean there is some kind of editorial stipulation to do so. Unfortunately, it would not surprise me if this was indeed the case as pro-Israeli groups have been vigorously lobbying various Western media outlets to enact just such measures.
However, perhaps you could explain why in that case such stories do not also just as routinely point out that Israel has been occupying Palestinian lands since 1967 and the world is agreed that the Jewish settlements established therein are illegal under international law.
Also, the same BBC story included this sentence:
'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has refused to see Mr Carter, who was ending his regional visit in Jerusalem.'
As you must surely know, East Jerusalem is illegally occupied by Israel and has been trying to unlawfully annex it (in a move the rest of the world does not accept). Israel would like the rest of the world to accept that 'Jerusalem' is the undivided capital of Israel. By not pointing out whether the BBC is referring to Israeli West Jerusalem or occupied East Jerusalem, isn't the BBC complicit in the Israeli aim? I recall in the late 1980's that the BBC did indeed refer to 'Arab East Jerusalem' (a stance now abandoned for some strange reason) - why cannot the BBC routinely make it plain that this is occupied territory?
The Muslim Council of Britain
PO Box 57330,
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To join orkut and start chatting, simply sign in with your Google Account and create your own profile right away. If you don't have a Google Account yet, you can create one now. After you have created your orkut profile, you first have to validate your email address to be able to chat.
orkut is is an online community designed to make your social life more active and stimulating. With the orkut social network, you can keep in touch with your friends and get to know new people. It is also part of the Google's chat network, which means that you can communicate with your friends using iGoogle, Gmail, Google Talk or another desktop client.
Watch a video about chatting in orkut
Voice and video chat in orkut
Not only can you use text chat in orkut, but you can now use the voice & video chat plug-in to have an actual conversation with your friends (seriously, out loud), or even chat face to face over video. The voice and video plug-in is free and easy to install.Chat contacts and history in orkut
Your chat contacts in orkut are the same as your chat contacts in Gmail, iGoogle or a desktop client. Changes to your contacts are synchronized across these services, so if you invite a friend to chat in Gmail and that friend accepts, he or she will automatically appear as a contact in orkut. If you have been using orkut for some time, your chat list will be made up of these contacts, as well as some orkut friends we believe you'd like to be able to chat with. Learn more about managing your contacts.History
If you're also Gmail user, it is worth noting that chats sent and received using orkut are not saved in chat history.
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|Al Baghdadi, June 29-2008
Adnan Oktar: I’m Hanafi of the Sunni school. But I find my Shia brothers very god-fearing, very perfect. They are very nice people. They are true Muslims. In the same way, my Wahhabi brothers are most god-fearing and most religious also. They are people who enjoy religion very well. We are all like the students of a school. But of the same school. So we serve the same purpose. Because we have the same Allah, the same Book, the same Kiblah. We believe in the same Prophet (May Allah bless him and grant him peace), we believe in the same Prophets. We have everything in common. There is a competition only in fear of Allah. We compete for fearing Allah the most.
Interviewer: Muslims face massacres. Before in Bosnia. Now in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, what should be done about this in your view?
Adnan Oktar: It is forbidden for Muslims not to unite, not to act together. What is forbidden is a command. So according to the Qur’an, it is required for Muslims to act together, to become brothers and to unite around a leader. Muslims don’t do this. Muslims are going to carry out this command. What do I say that? Let there be a Turkish Islamic Union in the leadership of the Turks, of the Turkish state. Each country could stay as a separate national state. Each country acts freely in itself, but there is a spiritual leader. Because Christians have the Pope as leader. It is a must for Muslims to have a spiritual leader. If there is someone leading the spiritual union, then this turmoil and mischief could end. Then if something happens to a Muslim in anywhere of the world, it would be stopped immediately as all Muslims would be acting together. But if they are in pieces, and they act according to the politics of divide-dismantle-conquer, then of course it becomes easy to swallow little pieces. However, it is impossible to swallow a block made up of the Muslim community. Muslims should obey this command as soon as possible.
Risale News, February 13-2010
|President of Religious Affairs, Prof.Dr. Ali Bardakoğlu, gave a speech in Diyarbakir and noted: “Religion is one of the most important aspects and realities of this society. Especially religious brotherhood, Islamic brotherhood. We should interpret this favorably for the society.
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Today is Valentine’s Day. Again.
In years past this hasn’t exactly been my favorite holiday, but this year I am endeavoring to change my association with its inevitable annual arrival to one which emits more, um, positive vibes.
On that subject, I recently read a very interesting piece about love. It challenged everything I thought I knew about the subject (which, judging from past romantic relationships, isn’t much). Anyway, in the past, some articles I have read seemed to focus on making a distinction between whether love is an adjective or a verb. Other articles I have read have chosen to state that love is an action, not a word.
But this particular article put all of that aside, claimed semantics and then took a step beyond it all into brand new territory.
Love, said the writer, is not a thing at all. It is who we are – each of us – it is the essence of our being.
I don’t know about you, but when I read this, something in my particular being breathed a sigh of relief. No more do I have to worry about “doing” it wrong. No longer do I have to struggle with the concept that I possess some kind of inner love “bank account” that I make deposits and withdrawals from.
Speaking of which, the author also asserted that love is not something that is exchanged between two people. Rather, it is always present within each of us, but it can be shared – in that when two people are both tuned in to the essence of who they are as love while keeping company with each other, the experience of each person’s love is magnified through such a supportive mutual understanding.
This, of course, should make it easier in the future to break up with people, lose loved ones, endure interpersonal conflict and all the rest. I doubt it will, but it should.
After all, we are still human, and I for one can share that I am drawn to “giving” and “receiving” love like the moths outside my door are drawn to the beam of my front porch light (and to the nearby lights in my kitchen and living room, where they happily set up shop whenever they can manage to zip past me). So it will likely take me some time to make the shift from “gaining” or “losing” love to “sharing the love I already have within and can never lose or gain”.
But as of this moment, I am inspired to try! I will keep you posted.
And happy Valentine’s Day!
Today’s Takeaway: How do you interact with the word – and the experience – of love? Do you find that it works to think of love in terms of a definition, of an action, or an exchange or of an essence of being (or all of the above?) There of course is no one right or wrong answer here and nobody really knows what “love” is – it is one of the great mysteries of being alive. But it can be helpful to arrive at a working understanding of love that supports you in feeling and sharing more of it in your own life.
Love inside photo available from Shutterstock
This post currently has
You can read the comments or leave your own thoughts.
Last reviewed: 14 Feb 2013
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Improper Fiscal Year 2002 Medicare Fee-for-Service Payments
Fiscal Year 2002 Medicare Fee-for-Service Payments. Washington: United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, 2003.
This OIG report estimates Medicare payment error rates for fiscal year 2002. The overall rate remained at 6.3% (the same as FY 2001). The report includes a description of the methodology used to establish error rates.
Overall error rates have remained constant since 1998, but the amount of each type of error varies considerably. Whenever documentation errors fall, medical unnecessary services errors increase. In years when better documentation is provided, OIG found more medically unnecessary services, and the overall rate of error did not change.
“If sampled providers failed to provide documentation or submitted insufficient documentation, the contractors or OIG staff requested supporting medical records at least three times—and, in most instances, four or as many as five times—before determining that the payment was improper.” In other words, providers had ample opportunity to create falsified medical records to match falsified claims, although in some cases reviewer made onsite visits to collect documentation.
The study found certain coding problems with very high error rates. What is most surprising is that these codes have had very high error rates since the first study in 1996 and only one of them decreased this year. CPT Code 99233 (subsequent hospital care) had a 76.3 percent error rate, up from 42% last year. CPT Code 99214 (office or other outpatient visit) had a 23.1% error rate, down from 31.3% in 2001. CPT Code 99232 (subsequent hospital care) increased to 36.7% from 15.1%. It is possible that provider education about coding reduced honest mistakes for these codes, resulting in lower incidence of the codes, but having little impact on the error rate for the codes.
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Number 2 (in Notre Dame and perhaps college football history): Frank Leahy
His .864 winning percentage (87-11-9) is bested only by Knute Rockne. His innovative "T-formation" offense changed the game of football forever. A former tackle on Rockne's teams of the late 20s, Leahy was an ambassador of the grand Notre Dame tradition in the finest sense, capturing four national championships, an incredible six undefeated seasons (four with a tie), and went on a ridiculous 39-game unbeaten streak in the late 40s (that included two ties).
In addition, he coached four Heisman Trophy Winners and took part in one of the greatest games in college football history, the 1946 0-0 tie against a then-powerhouse Army squad; a battle that gave the Irish a national championship. A solid argument could be made that Leahy is the greatest coach in college football history (especially when considering the "era" factor), but on this list Coach Leahy comes in at Number 2, not surprisingly because of:
Number 1: Knute Rockne
Let's put the statistics aside for a second. Rockne is a figure of culturally historic proportions. A figurehead of the Roaring Twenties on a level with Babe Ruth and Charles Lindbergh, Knute played a major role in shaping the national entity that college football is today. Barnstorming his squad around the country, including to the West Coast to play teams like Southern California, Knute was a marketing genius, transforming college football into a sport with nationwide appeal and recognition and Notre Dame into its most recognizable brand.
Without Knute, the sport's growth would have been greatly stunted — struggling to break free from its largely midwestern confines — and the small Catholic school in the small Indiana town of South Bend would never have become home of the most storied football team in the history of the game.
On the sidelines, Rockne was peerless in his success. In his 13 years as head coach of his alma mater Rockne posted an all-time best 105-12-5 record (that's winning 88.1% of his games, folks) and collected six national championships and five undefeated seasons with teams that included George Gipp, the Four Horsemen, and Frank Leahy.
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Search - List of Books by Robin Williams
"Cocaine is God's way of saying you're making too much money." -- Robin Williams
Robin Patricia Williams (born 1953) is an American educator and writer of computer-related books. She is particularly known for her manuals of style The Mac is Not a Typewriter and The Non-Designer's Design Book, as well as numerous manuals for various Mac OS operating systems and applications, including The Little Mac Book.
Total Books: 155
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“Marketing Plans are an incredibly useful, but frequently overlooking tool for marketers” wrote Bill Blaney, author of B2B AtoZ
As the Creator and Host of the extremely popular show Marketing Made Simple TV, I get many books sent to me by prospective show guests. These authors want me to read their book in hopes of being booked as a guest on the show.
One of those books is B2B AtoZ by Bill Blaney, which I am currently reading. There is something very important in this book you need to know – the importance of a good written marketing plan in your digital marketing programs. In this book, he writes on page 76
Getting Started: The Most Important Tool – The Marketing Plan
“It may seem elementary, but many companies overlook this crucial step. In order to understand what you want, where you want to go, how you plan to be perceived, and how to get there, you have to write it down.”
Here is what the author believes needs to be in your marketing plan:
“Marketing plans can be 50 pages or 2. They can include a full media plan or a suggestion of what sites, publications and events need attention. They can set agendas for quarters or the entire year. What you’ll accomplish in writing your marketing plan is clarifying your goals, thinking through your product or service categories, and pinpointing how you want to spend your money.
Here are typical elements:
- Who”s your target market?
Age range, Sex of primary customer. Income level and profession. Education. Location. Luckily, most companies know the profile of their buyers—and knowing your customer defines how you advertise to him or her. (My note: Agreed, but you also need to understand why they would or would not buy from you and why. Those insights come from Buyer Personas)
- How well do you know your product or service?
What are the similarities and differences between your product and service and the competition’s? Do you have unique benefits or features? What are the key selling points?We always ask the same simple question to our client, and most of the time, they don’t have answers at the tips of their tongues. So right now, try writing down an explanation of why someone would buy your products and do business with you. When talking about unique features, try to explain them in plain terms. Many B2B products are technically complex. Whether or not your customer is an engineer, it’s always best to find the easiest, most conversational way to describe what it is you do. (My note: Talk in human English, keeping it simple.)
- What is the demand for your product or service?
What products or services are popular and what ones need a push? Based on a product’s yearly gross and increases in revenue, most companies have some idea where they want to concentrate their advertising. With multiple products, the marketing plan is based on:
- If this is a new product, when will it be ready for market? If it’s not a new product, what are the expected profit goals for this product for the upcoming year?
- What are the most important (and well-populated) trade shows for these products?
- Who are your competitors?
What are their strengths and weaknesses? How lucrative is their business today? Do you intend to go head to head with your competitors in the same publications and online venues that they do? Or are their other strategies, or markets that the competition has ignored. Is there something your company can promote or enhance that the competition won’t, like exceptional service, or is there a new innovation you will integrate to make you the shiniest object in the bowl. A little bit of research on competitors goes a long way. (My note: Great idea, Bill. Understand your enemy.)
- What is the marketing environment and how is it affecting sales?
The psychology of your customer is of primary concern when the economy is in dire straits. You need to reseach who is buying today, and that may determine whether your advertising is focused across all markets or a few in particular which are showing growth? Some companies have found growth in India and China, for instance.
- How much is your marketing budget?
Although budgets vary, most marketing budgets are approximately 9% to 13% of revenue. It’s a good place to start, but smaller companies should know that you get what you pay for. There are many creative ways to work with a small budget, but you can’t expect to get a five-month banner ad on Squidoo.com, and article in FastCompany, and a robust online presence for a small budget. Spend appropriately. It will pay off. (My note: Far too many companies starve the marketing budget, instead of investing smartly.)
What are the particulars?
- Online advertising
- banners, keyword marketing, page takeovers, videos
- Print advertising
- Smart devices
- mobile phone and tablets
- Social marketing
- blogging, forum posting, RSS feeds linking, guest posting
- Web presence
- company sites, , micro sites, social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare, Slideshare, etc.
- online and off-line, sales oriented or vertical, which includes a promotion for the sales team and the end users.
- Trade shows
- displays, printed materials, article reprints, branded merchandise or give-aways, event marketing, which could include event organizers or experiential marketers giving your potential buyers a demonstration of your product or service or putting on a show or hosting a dinner.
- Public relations
- case studies, testimonials, white papers and articles about new products, local or national initiatives, company changes that might interest different markets or useful instructional information.
- Maybe you want to get your company name on a race car or be part of an affiliate promotion for an event that would compliment your business type
- Commercials or industrial videos
- brochures, stationary, sell sheets, ebooks, infographics, videos, forms.”
What do you think? Do you have a written marketing plan in your business today? If not, are you planning to write one. Why or why not?
This blog belongs to the sales lead generation company Find New Customers and is penned by award-winning BtoB marketing expert Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor. You can reach Jeff Ogden at 516-495-9350 or by sending an email to sales at findnewcustomers.com. You can also follow Jeff on Twitter at @fearlesscomp.
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Tony set up a google blogger blogspot account, and intends to start blogging. The address is http://tony-hughes.blogspot.com/2011/11/my-first-post-what-is-this-blog-about.html
Jon has a laptop that dual boots Ubuntu and windows 7. Jon has tethered windows 7 to his phone in order to get internet access while he is 'out and about', and wanted to do the same in Ubuntu. The initial attempt failed. When it is working, the method used will be posted here.
Donald is making progress with his project to put Gentoo on the DEC Alpha server.
The machine does not output anything to the screen when a monitor is connected to the VGA port.
The first task was to make a serial cable, then connect a laptop to the Alpha and run minicom.
The Alpha can now be controlled by the laptop running minicom over the serial port.
The gentoo cd has been booted, and the hard disk has been partitioned, ready for the install....... more to follow!
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State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP)
- State-Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) pilot Grant competition Fiscal year (FY) 2012 frequently asked questions
- What is the purpose of the STEP tribal education agency (TEA) pilot?
- What is an SEA, and what do we mean by “SEA-level functions”?
- What are the ESEA State-administered formula grant programs, and which programs could TEAs and SEAs include in a pilot?
- Can an SEA provide part of its State set-aside funding for administrative costs under an ESEA formula grant program to its TEA partner in the STEP pilot?
- Will TEAs receive State-administered formula grant program funds from the Department to distribute to the affected LEAs during the pilot?
- Will a TEA receiving a STEP pilot grant become the agency responsible to the Department for ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements?
- If a TEA and SEA decide to undertake joint functions, such as monitoring or providing technical assistance, would that count as the TEA assuming administrative functions?
- What are examples of SEA-level responsibilities that a TEA might assume as part of this pilot?
- Does the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibit a TEA from collecting or receiving data on students as part of its agreement with the SEA?
- What does the Department expect to see in a Preliminary Agreement (versus the Final Agreement) between a TEA and an SEA?
- What is meant by “capacity-building” and “technical assistance” as part of this pilot?
- Are Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools (BIE) eligible to participate in the pilot?
- Must the Preliminary Agreement submitted with the application be signed by the parties, and if so, which individuals can sign on behalf of each entity?
- What documentation must be submitted in an application by members of a consortium, either to show the agreement among the members, or to show the eligibility of the individual member TEAs?
1. State-Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) pilot Grant competition Fiscal year (FY) 2012 frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions (FAQs) are designed to provide applicants for funding from the STEP tribal education agency pilot program with information about the 2012 competition.TOP
2. What is the purpose of the STEP tribal education agency (TEA) pilot?
The purpose of the STEP pilot is to increase the role of tribal education agencies in the education of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students so that TEAs and State educational agencies (SEA) can, through collaboration, better meet the needs of AI/AN children. The funds awarded by this program must support the activities detailed in the preliminary and final agreements (see question 10), which include efforts to build the capacity of TEAs to perform certain State-level functions for certain formula grant programs in public schools operating on Indian reservations. Those grant programs are the State-administered formula grant programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESEA) (see question 3).TOP
3. What is an SEA, and what do we mean by “SEA-level functions”?
As defined in section 9101(41) of the ESEA, a “State educational agency” is the agency primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary schools and secondary schools. Depending on the particular program authorization, SEA-level functions include making subgrants (either competitively or by formula) to local educational agencies (LEAs) and other subgrantees; developing policy; providing technical assistance to subgrantees; monitoring for compliance; collecting, analyzing, and reporting performance information; and evaluating programs. (See question 8). A TEA cannot take on an SEA’s subgranting function. It can, however, agree to take on any of the other functions, under agreement with the SEA, consistent with State procurement laws.TOP
4. What are the ESEA State-administered formula grant programs, and which programs could TEAs and SEAs include in a pilot?
ESEA State-administered formula grant programs are the programs for which States: receive ESEA formula funding, may subgrant these funds to LEAs or other entities (in accordance with statutory allocation formulas or other criteria), and oversee the use of those funds by subrecipients. Therefore, ESEA State-administered formula grant programs do not include formula grant programs such as Impact Aid (Title VIII) and Indian Education Grants to Local Educational Agencies (Title VII, Part A) because the Department makes these grants directly to local educational agencies (LEAs).
The programs that may be included in a STEP pilot are:
- Title I, Part A;
- School Improvement Grants (ESEA §1003(g));
- Migrant Education (Title I, Part C);
- Neglected and Delinquent State Grants (Title I, Part D);
- Improving Teacher Quality State Grants (Title II, Part A);
- English Learner Education State Grants (Title III, Part A);
- 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV, Part B); and
- the Rural and Low-Income School Program (Title VI, Part B).
5. Can an SEA provide part of its State set-aside funding for administrative costs under an ESEA formula grant program to its TEA partner in the STEP pilot?
This will depend on the provisions of the agreement entered into between the TEA and the SEA. SEAs are not required to provide a portion of their formula grant administration funds to the TEA in order to participate in this pilot; however, an SEA could agree to provide a TEA with a portion of these funds, in accordance with applicable State procurement laws, in order to enable the TEA to assume certain ESEA State-level functions. If the TEA and the SEA agree to share formula grant administrative funds, the fund distribution must be detailed in the budget submitted to the Department with the grant application. There are several ways applicants and SEAs could share funding: (a) share the STEP grant award only; (b) share the STEP grant award and the SEA’s grant administration funds; (c) share the SEA’s grant administration funds but only the TEA uses the STEP grant award; or (d) share no funds. The ultimate goal of the distribution of funds should be to support the objectives of the pilot.TOP
6. Will TEAs receive State-administered formula grant program funds from the Department to distribute to the affected LEAs during the pilot?
No. The Department will not grant formula funds to TEAs as a part of this pilot. The Department cannot change the designated grantee under an ESEA program from an SEA to a different entity without a statutory change. The FY 2012 Appropriations Act does not provide that authority. STEP grant funds to successful applicants will consist only of discretionary funds appropriated for this competition. However, a TEA and SEA may distribute funds according to the options listed in question 4. SEAs that participate in the pilot will continue to subgrant ESEA State-administered formula funds to eligible LEAs in the State, including to LEAs with schools involved in the pilot. SEAs will continue to have the responsibility and authority to ensure subrecipient compliance with the applicable laws and regulations governing all ESEA State-administered formula grant programs. The Department will continue to monitor the performance of the SEA as the agent required to comply with the requirements of Federal laws and regulations related to the administration of the ESEA.TOP
7. Will a TEA receiving a STEP pilot grant become the agency responsible to the Department for ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements?
No. As noted in the response to question 5, the SEA will remain responsible for compliance with ESEA program requirements. The Department will continue to monitor the performance of the SEA as the agent required to comply with the requirements of Federal laws and regulations related to the administration of the ESEA.TOP
8. If a TEA and SEA decide to undertake joint functions, such as monitoring or providing technical assistance, would that count as the TEA assuming administrative functions?
Yes, it could. The types of SEA-level functions that a TEA will perform by the end of year one and for the remainder of the grant period will depend on the terms of the agreement reached by the TEA and SEA. A TEA’s assumption of State-level responsibilities under an agreement could include carrying out certain responsibilities jointly with the SEA. Alternatively, TEAs could take on an activity on its own, on behalf of the SEA. Under either option, SEAs would retain legal responsibility to the Department, as discussed in question 5.TOP
9. What are examples of SEA-level responsibilities that a TEA might assume as part of this pilot?
Examples of responsibilities that a TEA might carry out through the pilot include:
a. Under Title I-A, Part A, a TEA could propose in its STEP pilot grant proposal to develop a reservation-wide Title I-A implementation plan in collaboration with the SEA. A TEA could also choose to provide technical assistance to LEAs on various topics related to the implementation of Title I, such as technical assistance on school improvement.
- b. Under Title II-A (Improving Teacher Quality State Grants), a TEA could propose in its STEP pilot grant proposal to work with the SEA on developing teacher evaluation systems, providing training and support to teachers and school leaders, or providing technical assistance to LEAs.
- c. See also the general examples of SEA-level responsibilities in question 2. Please note, however, that a TEA is never authorized to make subgrants (either competitively or by formula) under the STEP pilot program.
10. Does the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) prohibit a TEA from collecting or receiving data on students as part of its agreement with the SEA?
FERPA does not prohibit data-sharing with TEAs if required steps and safeguards are followed. FERPA generally prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable information from students’ education records without parental consent; however, an LEA or SEA could release information on students to a TEA in non-personally identifiable form. In addition, an LEA or an SEA may designate an Indian tribe or TEA as its authorized representative to audit or evaluate Federal or State-supported education programs, under the conditions set forth in the Department’s regulations. See 34 CFR 99.3, 99.31(a)(3), 99.35. 76 FR 75604 (December 2, 2011).TOP
11. What does the Department expect to see in a Preliminary Agreement (versus the Final Agreement) between a TEA and an SEA?
An applicant TEA must submit a preliminary agreement between the TEA and the SEA with its application for funding. The preliminary agreement must document the commitment of the SEA and TEA to work together and must include all of the elements required in the notice.
Over the course of the planning period (the period before July 1, 2013), the TEA and SEA must develop a final agreement, which may include amending some of the statements included in the preliminary agreement. Therefore, the development of a final agreement is included as a required activity of year one of the grant.
By June 29, 2013, nine months after the start of the grant, each TEA grantee must submit to the Department a final agreement that builds on the preliminary agreement and details a feasible, sustainable plan for how the TEA and SEA will work together and in collaboration with affected LEAs to administer selected ESEA State-administered formula grant programs for identified public schools on Indian reservations. The final agreement must contain all of the required elements listed in the notice.
12. What is meant by “capacity-building” and “technical assistance” as part of this pilot?
We expect that a major component of both the preliminary and final agreements will be descriptions of capacity-building activities to be conducted by and for the TEA and SEA. By “capacity-building activities,” we mean activities intended to increase the capacity of the:
TEA to carry out State-level responsibilities under the affected ESEA programs;
TEA and SEA to work together effectively on meeting the objectives of this pilot program; and
SEA to understand the unique cultural and academic needs of the AI/AN students enrolled in participating schools and how to address them more effectively.
We expect that capacity-building to occur through the provision of technical assistance. By “technical assistance,” we mean activities that enable the recipient to effectively perform certain tasks or functions.TOP
13. Are Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools (BIE) eligible to participate in the pilot?
No. The definition of “eligible schools” under the STEP pilot program does not include BIE schools. Furthermore, individual schools (including individual BIE schools) could not apply for grants, because the pilot program will make grants to TEAs, not to schools. However, TEAs on reservations that include BIE schools can apply for funding if there is also a public school or schools on the reservation. In particular, if a reservation includes both State public schools and BIE schools, the activities under the grant (and under the TEA’s agreement with the SEA) can include addressing the needs of students who move between State public schools and BIE schools.
The funds under this pilot will be used by the TEA to build relationships with the LEA and SEA, and help with the State public schools on the reservation. If a TEA wants also to enter a separate agreement with BIE regarding the BIE-funded schools on the reservation, it can, of course, do so.TOP
14. Must the Preliminary Agreement submitted with the application be signed by the parties, and if so, which individuals can sign on behalf of each entity?
The Preliminary Agreement submitted as part of the application must be signed by representatives of the TEA and the SEA. The choice of which individual should sign the Preliminary Agreement on behalf of a TEA is a matter for tribal law or procedures. Likewise, the issue of who should sign on behalf of the SEA is a matter for State law or procedures. If the applicant is a consortium, either all TEA consortium members can sign the Preliminary Agreement with the SEA, or the lead applicant can sign on behalf of all members. TOP
15. What documentation must be submitted in an application by members of a consortium, either to show the agreement among the members, or to show the eligibility of the individual member TEAs?
The Education Department General Administrative Rules (EDGAR) contain specific requirements for consortium applications (34 CFR §§75.127-.129). One of these requirements is that the applicant must submit a consortium agreement with its application. The agreement must detail the activities that each member of the consortium will perform, and must bind each member of the group to every statement and assurance in the application. The agreement may also, at the option of the members, include other terms, such as how the funds will be shared, or how each member plans to budget its funds.
Therefore, for the STEP program, an application by a consortium must include both the signed Preliminary Agreement between the consortium and SEA, and a signed consortium agreement of the TEAs. The consortium agreement must be signed by a representative of each TEA that is a member.
In addition, because under EDGAR only eligible parties can be members of a consortium application, documentation as to each TEA’s eligibility must be submitted with the application. Thus, not only must the lead TEA submit the required certifications (see “Eligibility Requirements” in the Notice Inviting Applications or in the Application Instructions), but each member TEA must also submit those certifications. However, for the SEA’s confirmation that the schools that will participate in the project are eligible public schools, the SEA does not need to submit separate letters or other confirming documents for each TEA member, but may combine them in one document. The SEA may also choose to use the Preliminary Agreement as the vehicle for the confirmation regarding the schools.
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Cornucopia Institute Requests Full USDA Investigation of Aurora DairyNovember 10th, 2005
Improprieties Alleged at Organic Factory Farm in Colorado
For More Information, Contact: Mark Kastel, 608-625-2042
CORNUCOPIA, WISCONSIN: The Cornucopia Institute has filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA requesting a full investigation into allegations of multiple violations of federal organic regulations at the nation’s largest organic dairy. The Aurora Organic Dairy, located in Colorado and with a herd approaching 6000 cows, appears to have violated numerous organic regulations governing the rearing of animals entering its vast factory farm operation.
“We have filed this complaint following our visit to the site of a nearby ranch that has been supplying — on a contract basis — thousands of replacement cows to the Aurora Dairy,” said Mark A. Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst for the Wisconsin-based Institute.
“From our investigation, review of records and extensive interviews with the ranch owner, it appears that the operation has never had its livestock practices certified as organic,” Kastel said.
Organic certification requires an onsite inspection by an accredited certifying agent, the filing of an organic management plan, and careful record keeping on animals entering and leaving the livestock farm. This approach is the backbone of the USDA’s organic program and is designed to be a firewall blocking unsound practices that produce food unfit for the strict standards expected of the organic food label.
“This is extremely troubling,” Kastel added. “The owner of the ranch told us that he has never filed an organic livestock management plan or been visited by an organic inspector. Instead, he has been following the directives given to him by Aurora management for the handling of their replacement animals.”
The ranch, operated by Steven T. Wells of Gill, Colorado, is also raising thousands of animals for other conventional agricultural operations. “Of all the organic livestock facilities in the country, none would warrant, based on its size, scope, and complexity of operation, closer organic management scrutiny,” Kastel noted. (Click here to go to a photo gallery of the heifer ranch)
If the heifer ranch providing thousands of new cows has never been certified, then consumers might rightly question whether or not the dairy products made from Aurora’s milk meet federal organic food and production standards. “These same consumers are paying premium prices for products carrying the organic label. They must be assured that the practices used in producing the food are 100% organic, and not some cheap shortcut taken by suspect producers seeking to cash in on organics in the marketplace,” said Kastel.
Other questionable organic management practices were also raised in The Cornucopia Institute’s complaint. The replacement cows were not pastured, as required by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, the law that governs all domestic organic farming and food processing. The cows were instead penned into a large commercial feedlot. This tactic is favored by conventional factory farm operators — it’s a cheaper management tool — and is the same practice used to confine the thousands of milk cows on Aurora’s nearby industrial-scale dairy operation.
“Mr. Wells told us that the only time the animals were briefly placed on pasture was when Aurora’s management asked that they be pastured because of negative publicity in the media about their farm or when they were concerned about a potential inspection of the premises,” Kastel said.
“I was uncomfortable when Aurora approach me to consider raising feed and replacement animals for them. I have worked with them when their dairy was still producing conventional milk and it was not a happy experience,” Wells stated. “I agreed to convert cropland to organic production and handle their livestock according to their instructions because they touted a major investment from Harvard University and the scrutiny of a third-party certifier.”
Wells contacted The Cornucopia Institute when widespread media reports questioning Aurora’s management practices came to his attention. “My biggest regret is installing the gates giving their cattle “access” to my rangeland. Being only outside of the feedlot for two weeks out of the past year it seems that Aurora was only interested in creating the illusion of their heifers and dry cows being on pasture,” Wells added.
Federal law does give farmers the ability to remove cows from pasture for “temporary” reasons based on weather, environmental, or health considerations. However, in their complaint, The Cornucopia Institute countered that the claim that pasture is impractical, or not cost-effective, in arid Colorado is no excuse under the law.
“There are many places in the United States that are not ecologically compatible with organic livestock agriculture. If Aurora cannot incorporate a meaningful amount of pasture into their directives for rearing the thousands of replacement animals required by their factory farm operation — because they are located in an extremely dry, arid region — that is no excuse to scoff at the organic regulations,” Kastel said.
“We expect the USDA to make a full and careful investigation into the concerns raised in Cornucopia’s complaint, especially since they involve the nation’s largest organic dairy operator,” said Kastel.
Aurora Organic Dairy specializes in processing “private-label” milk for grocery chains. According to a recent New York Times story and other industry sources, Aurora packages milk for Safeway, Wild Oats, Target and Costco, among others. They also supply milk to the nation’s largest organic brand-name label, Horizon, owned by the corporate dairy colossus, Dean Foods.
“The investigation,” Kastel added, “must include a site visit and interviews with responsible parties. If remedial actions are required, the USDA should demand that they occur. Anything less would make a mockery of the federal organic regulations that are so diligently observed by the vast majority of participants in the nation’s organic agriculture and food sector.”
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Welfare state has destroyed CaliforniaWritten by Admin
To the Editor:
California is back in the news. Two Saturdays ago, Gov. Jerry Brown announced that the state’s budget deficit would exceed the original estimate he made in January of $9.2 billion. The new deficit is projected to be a remarkable $16 billion. With state spending still through the roof, unemployment at 11 percent, and poverty on the rise in the Golden State, hope is diminishing that California’s finances will ever return to normal with anything short of a declaration of bankruptcy.
So how did California get in this ugly predicament? The same way the federal government did; by interfering with free market forces by erecting a massive welfare leviathan. The only difference between the caretakers in Sacramento and the caretakers in D.C. is that the latter have the political luxury of printing money to forestall the inevitable day of reckoning. Sacramento does not have that same luxury and unless something drastic happens, it faces insolvency right now.
The five features of the welfare state that have brought the current financial calamity upon California are overregulation, bureaucracy, high taxes, social welfare programs, and unionization.
Overregulation and bureaucracy go together. It has been said that the fastest-growing entity in California is government and its biggest products are bureaucracy and regulation. California’s environmental regulations have always been legendary, but little noticed is the enormous bureaucracy built to regulate most other areas of life. Maintaining these ever growing monstrosities costs a fortune. Additionally, their onerous regulations are one reason that for the seventh year in a row Chief Executive Magazine’s survey of 500 chief executives ranked California as the nation’s worst state to do business in.
Besides regulations chasing business from the Golden State, there are also high taxes. Statists claim that California’s budget deficits have been caused by an ever-shrinking tax base. This is the old chicken before the egg argument.
The reason the tax base continues to shrink is precisely because taxes are so high. California has the 48th worst business tax climate. Workers who earn more than $48,000 a year pay a top income tax rate of 9.3 percent, which is higher than what millionaires pay in 47 states. Its sales tax is one of the highest in the nation, at 8.25 percent. Rounding out the levies that rank among the highest in the country are its capital gains taxes, gasoline tax, and vehicle license taxes. High taxes are a big reason why the state has seen a net loss of four million citizens to other states in just the last two decades. When government raises taxes, the astute find ways to avoid them. The industrious cut back their enterprises and in the case of California, many simply left for lower tax states.
Lastly, Californians have voted for and built a huge social welfare system that puts an enormous strain on the state treasury. The state has about 13 percent of the country’s population but 33 percent of its welfare recipients. Add to that the union contracts of state workers and it is no wonder California is a sinking financial ship. Her prison guards and public school teachers are the highest paid in the country. As of 2009, the average pay and benefits package for a firefighter was $175,000 per year.
California is not alone. For decades, the United States, Greece, and Spain have created welfare states that have choked the lifeblood out of the free market. All face grave financial circumstances today. The free market’s great revenge is that welfare states cannot last forever. Their inevitable collapse comes because they are not self-sustaining. They grow by feeding off the labor of hard-working citizens either through higher taxes or inflation. At some point either those sources dry up or the social programs become so large that no amount of money could ever be raised to keep the scheme going. Like Spain and Greece, California is facing immediate financial insolvency. The only thing keeping the United States from the brink is Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s printing press.
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Latest update: 28/01/2013
Egypt polarised two years after Mubarak's fall
Two years after the beginning of protests that toppled Hosni Mubarak, Egypt remains a deeply divided country. Demonstrators recently attacked the headquarters of Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood party. Meanwhile, the president compared the country's current challenges to the difficulties faced by the Prophet Mohammed when he founded the city Medina in the seventh century.
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Filed under: Activities & Attractions, Campgrounds & RV Parks, Family Camping, Family Day Trips, Family Weekend Trips, Historic Places & Landmarks, Holidays on the Road, Holidays on the Road, Nature & Wildlife, Other Great RV Routes, Outdoor Recreation & Hiking, Roads & Routes, RVing with Grand Kids, State & National Parks, Traveling Tips
Some Days Are Diamond: Florida Man Finds 1.95 ct. Brown Diamond
The second-largest diamond found so far this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park was certified on the afternoon of November 28.
The 1.95-carat dark brown gem is about the size of an English pea, with a round shape and a pitted surface.
40-year-old Doug Lay, a certified nursing assistant from Hernando, Florida, discovered the coffee-colored gem around 1:00 p.m. while wet sifting in the East Drain, a trench along the east side of the park’s 37 ½-acre diamond search area.
Lay is no stranger to diamond finds; he has found more than 30 over the past four years, but this is his largest find yet!
Lay first learned about Crater of Diamonds State Park from his father, one of the park’s longtime diamond miners.
“Dad’s been coming to the Crater of Diamonds off and on for about 17 years. Whenever I’m on vacation, I like coming to Arkansas to spend time with him, and we enjoy searching for diamonds together.”
Lay said he discovered the large diamond in the one-eighth inch screen he uses for wet sifting. Many park visitors use stacked screens of progressively-smaller sizes, usually ranging from one-quarter inch to one-sixteenth inch, to sort diamond-bearing gravel by size and make searching more productive.
Lay noted that although many visitors find big diamonds in larger, quarter-inch screens, “If it’s just the right shape, a big diamond can fall through the larger screen and end up in smaller gravel.”
When Lay first saw the brown gem in his gravel, he immediately knew it was a diamond and exclaimed, “Dad, you’ve got to come look at this!”
He also showed it to a few friends who were searching nearby before taking it to the park’s Diamond Discovery Center to have it weighed and certified.
Nearly 500 diamonds have been found at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2012.
According to Park Interpreter Waymon Cox, “Mr. Lay’s diamond is topped in weight this year only by the 1.99-carat yellow Stacy Diamond, which was discovered in March by a ninth grade student from Garland, Texas.”
Lay’s diamond is the largest brown gem registered at the park since the 3.65-carat Kings Mountain Pinnacle Diamond was discovered on November 21, 2010.
Cox continued, “No two Crater diamonds are ever completely alike, though they all share similar characteristics. Mr. Lay’s diamond has a bright, metallic shine indicative of most Crater diamonds, but it also features an unusual pitted surface which gives it a unique appearance. Even in the rough, each Crater diamond is beautiful and interesting in its own way.”
According to Lay, the diamond’s overall shape and texture remind him of a musket ball. He has not picked a name for his diamond yet but says he plans to keep it at this time as a souvenir of the time he has enjoyed outdoors with his dad.
A total of 493 diamonds have been found at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year, 13 of which have weighed more than one carat.
Other large notable finds from the Crater include the Star of Arkansas, a 15.33-carat white diamond discovered in 1975, and the Star of Shreveport, an 8.82-carat white gem unearthed in 1981. In April 2011, the 8.66-carat white Illusion Diamond became the third-largest gem registered at the Crater since it became an Arkansas State Park in 1972.
Another notable diamond from the Crater of Diamonds that has received much national attention is the 1.09-carat D-flawless Strawn-Wagner Diamond. Discovered in 1990 by Shirley Strawn of Murfreesboro, this white gem weighed 3.03 carats in the rough before being cut to perfection in 1997 by the renowned diamond firm Lazare Kaplan International of New York. The gem is the most perfect diamond ever certified in the laboratory of the American Gem Society. The diamond is on display in a special exhibit in the Crater of Diamonds State Park visitor center.
Diamonds come in all colors of the rainbow. The colors found at the Crater of Diamonds are white, brown, and yellow, in that order.
Other rocks and minerals found at the park include amethyst, garnet, peridot, jasper, agate, calcite, barite, and quartz, making it a rock hound’s delight!
The park remains open year-round, seven days a week, closing only on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Park staff provides free identification and certification of diamonds. Park interpretive programs and exhibits explain the site’s geology and history and offer tips on recognizing diamonds in the rough.
Visitors may choose to bring their own mining tools (no battery-powered or motorized equipment) or rent equipment from the Diamond Discovery Center. Other park services include a campground, picnic areas, walking trails, gift shop, museum, and a seasonal water park and restaurant. Motels, hospitals, and other conveniences are available in nearby towns.
Crater of Diamonds State Park is located on Arkansas Highway 301 in Murfreesboro.
For more information about RV parks and amenities in Arkansas, such as Wi-Fi service, checkout Woodall’s inspected RV campgrounds.
Crater of Diamonds State Park
Crater of Diamonds State Park is one of the 52 state parks administered by the State Parks Division of the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism.
Search area last plowed: December 4, 2012
Most recent significant rainstorms: 1.5 inches on November 16
Total diamonds found in 2012: 511
Operating Hours: Visitor Center/Diamond Discovery Center is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m., extended summer hours
Admission: Adults $7.00, children (age 6-12) $4
Location: From Murfreesboro, take Arkansas 301 and go 2.5 miles southwest to the park
Address: 209 State Park Road, Murfreesboro, AR 71958
Phone: (870) 285-3113
Angels are like diamonds. They can’t be made, you have to find them. Each one is unique.
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The NC Center of Excellence for Integrated Care aims to integrate patients' physical and behavioral health care, whether the care is delivered in an office or clinic, a hospital or mental health agency.
Deploying a small interdisciplinary team, the Center is a resource for assessment, training, and technical assistance to health care professionals and organizations. To assure that standards of care applied by the Center are broadly agreed upon and evidence-based, the Center works with stakeholders across North Carolina to determine best practices in clinical assessment, clinical tools, and techniques.
The ICARE Partnership is committed to creating a healthcare system that is Integrated, Collaborative, Accessible, Respectful, and Evidence-based by offering:
Customized training based on the needs of providers
Collaborative learning for groups of providers to allow them to test integrated care tools and techniques within their own quality assurance programs
Technical assistance and troubleshooting to help providers initiate and implement integrated care techniques
Resources for providers to investigate evidence-based tools and techniques in integrated care
The Center continues to support the goals expressed by Governor Perdue: to “establish the national model for an integrated approach to behavioral and primary health services for patients with mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse problems.”
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Alex, This is exciting technology with many implications for the future. I heard that Sandia National Labs is doing work in this area and checked out their website. Readers might find their website of interest since it provides a good overview of areas of concentration: http://mems.sandia.gov/. Great stuff.
Sounds like a really robust program and definitely a hot topic for today's engineering applications. I'm still a little fuzzy on MEMS' exact role and some of the key design concerns so I'll look forward to lots of great reports and posts based on the discussions at the summit.
We looked at a number of sources to determine this year's greenest cars, from KBB to automotive trade magazines to environmental organizations. These 14 cars emerged as being great at either stretching fuel or reducing carbon footprint.
Healthcare might seem to be an unlikely target application for the Internet of Things technology, but recent developments show small ways that big-data is going to make an impact on patient care moving into the future.
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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Ball State's president honored as one of Indiana's most influential women
Topics: Administrative, President
November 15, 2007
Ball State President Jo Ann M. Gora
has been named one of the most influential women in Indiana, according to this week's issue of the Indianapolis Business Journal. Nineteen women were selected by the publication's editors from 120 nominations submitted by readers.
"The purpose of this recognition is twofold," Chris Katterjohn, Indianapolis Business Journal publisher, told attendees at the Nov. 9 awards breakfast. "Certainly, we want to recognize women who have risen to the top in their respective professions, their civic activities and their philanthropic work. But we also want to inspire young women with role models who wield successful influence through their hard work, determination, patience and optimism."
Gora was one of only two women in education to receive the honor. She was cited for Ball State's Education Redefined strategic plan, which guides the university's direction through 2012; for expanding Ball State's educational offerings; and for transforming the university's image and taking it to new levels of visibility.
Gora said she defines success as inspiring others. "Success is creating opportunities for people to be their most creative and innovative," she said. "When people are inspired and doing their best work, that's the best I can do as president."
Gora has been Ball State's president since August 2004. She is a member of the American Council on Education's Committee on Leadership and Institutional Effectiveness and has served on the board of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. She serves on the executive committee of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, where she chairs the governance committee. She is a board member of several state organizations, including the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, First Merchants Corp. and Ball Memorial Hospital. She recently was named co-chair of the Indiana Chamber's Business-Higher Education Forum.
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In my perspective… Telephone tapping crosses the line
Friday, April 13, 2012, 22:28
By Rayford Young
In the United States, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, federal intelligence agencies can get approval for wiretaps from the United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, a court with secret proceedings, or in certain circumstances from the Attorney General without a court order.
Under United States federal law and most state laws, there is nothing illegal about one of the parties to a telephone call recording the conversation, or giving permission for calls to be recorded or permitting their telephone line to be tapped. However the telephone recording laws in most U.S. states require only one party to be aware of the recording, while 12 states require both parties to be aware. It is considered better practice to announce at the beginning of a call that the conversation is being recorded.
The Belize Perspective - Belize Telecommunications Act
This was contained in a document published in the Nov 6 2011 issue of the Reporter, as a letter sent by the then Minister of Public Utilities, Information, and Broadcasting to the phone companies that says: “4 January 2011...This letter serves to inform that the Government of Belize intends to accomplish the registration of cellular phone users and equipment and access call records for reasons of national security. These measures are sought pursuant to the powers granted to the Minister of Public Utilities under Section 75 (1) of the Telecommunications Act. “[The company] is hereby advised that it shall require all new and existing customers to register their cellular phone...phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number, and require proof of identification (Passport or Belize issued Social Security Card only). Furthermore, [the company] is required to capture and store Call Detail Records (CDRs) for a period of no less than 24 months. CDRs include - the cellular number of caller and receiver - subscriber identity module (SIM) number of caller and receiver - IMEI number of caller and receiver - date, time and duration of call - the result of the call (whether it was answered, busy etc.) - call type (voice, text) - the content of voice mail and text - the location of cell site(s) used to transmit from cell site(s) to cellular equipment used to transmit or receive the call and all applicable data pertaining to foreign cellular phones operating under “roaming”.
My Perspective -
The Country of Belize has such a small population I’m puzzled why we need this kind of intrusion in our private lives. A phone call or our text messages are so personal knowing that Big Brother might be listening or have access to my conversation or messages is appalling indeed.
The reason given for this draconian law is National Security and the ability to listen in on conversations that might lead to criminal activities. Our population in Belize is so small everyone knows everyone all you need to do is to go to any street corner and you can find out who the thugs are or who are the gang members and drug dealers. You don’t need a law to register everyone that owns a cell phone or who texts to find this out. This is especially demeaning and degrading to all the law abiding citizens that have not committed a crime in their lives to now have their conversations recorded and listened to by some government hack and should alarm everyone. This is such an over reach by government I’m not sure why this is not discussed or covered in the media more. Are we in this country so timid or fearful of the government that we just sit back and allow them to roam through our messages and phone calls and do nothing? Are we so beaten down? It’s amazing.
In many developed countries there is a special court set up so the government has to show a judge that there’s a reasonable cause to wiretap or listen in on someone’s private conversations before they can proceed. I don’t see the Belize government putting forward any guidelines or safeguards to assure the Belizean public that this practice is for the purpose they claim it to be; and that they won’t use this method to go after their enemies or the opposition. This is where trust comes in. Do you trust your government with your private text messages or telephone conversations? From the silence I guess the answer is yes, and this is a sad day indeed. Another one of our freedoms taken away and we just sat back and did nothing. The silence is deafening...
Rayford Young is a Belizean-American, who currently lives in Michigan, U.S.A. Send comments to email@example.com
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How to Get Rid of Slirsredirect
Hackers are always looking for new ways to steal people’s personal information. One malicious action they take is to implant slirsredirect on your computer.
The purpose of slirsredirect is to redirect your browser to an infected site. Then, all this malware on your site is downloaded and your computer is infected. The end result usually is you are more vulnerable because now stored passwords, e-mails, phone numbers, addresses, and more are stolen.
This is one reason why you should always delete your web surfing history. This is also a reason it is not recommended that you store passwords to sites on your computers. Likewise, this is a reason you should not ask Windows (or other operating system) to remember any passwords.
If you have not taken enough preventative measures-and even if you have tried to protect yourself-you may need to know how to remove slirsdirect. Some steps are shown below to help you with this process.
1. Begin the steps to run a virus removal program. Right now we are specifically referring to the steps to run the Malicious Software Removal Tool that comes with Windows 7. Just press “R” and “Windows” at the same time. The “Run” box should appear.
2. Type “MRT” into the Run box. Of course, “MRT” is short for Malicious Software Removal Tool. After you have typed these initials into the appropriate place, just wait for the MRT tool to open. Then, you would choose which scan option you want, and a recommendation is made in the next step.
3. Start the scan. Usually the “full scan” option is recommended, and will appear after you have pressed “Next” to proceed to the can options page. Once you have clicked “full scan” the software should begin searching your computer for all kinds of mal ware, including “slirsdirect. “
4. Wait until scan is finished. Do not be surprised if this process takes an hour or two. This is not a fast mal ware removal tool. However, it often is preferred just because it is very thorough, searching through every file on your computer. (Of course the quick scans would not require as much time but then you risk not removing all harmful objects.)
5. Be more careful in the future. You should especially be cautious when attempting to visit websites of publishers you do not know. Oftentimes these as well as e-mail links and attachments are loaded with viruses. Furthermore, never give away your username and password and clear your web browsing history as often as possible. Do the same with your temporary internet files where too much information is also stored.
6. Install reliable virus protection software. The best ones will automatically detect and/or remove all kinds of malicious programs. You should, however, make sure you know that it can remove slirsdirect which is one of the most dangerous and exploitative of mal ware that is sold today.
7. Schedule automatic scans. This will help you keep your computer protected at all times. You can set the scans to be conducted in the middle of the night if you want. That way, it will not slow your computer down while you try to work.
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I have received several emails on the Michigan Farmers Market listserv urging us to contact our representative in the U.S. House of Representatives not to pass the U.S. Senate bill Hunger-Free Kids Act, S. 3307. People are concerned because the bill, as it stands, pays for its $4.5 billion price tag by cutting $2.2 billion from the SNAP (food stamps) program.
The bill needs to be finalized this week before the current funding for certain school nutrition programs expires on Sept. 30. The House version of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, HR 5504 includes more provisions for summer meals and eligibility, but does not allocate funding for the $8 billion increase.
According to the Michigan Farmers Market Food Assistance Partnership (MIFMA), $297,000 in food stamp benefits were redeemed at Michigan farmers markets last year. MIFMA has done a lot of work supporting Michigan farmers markets to be able to accept bridge cards/food stamps this season.
All four farmers markets in Washtenaw County accept bridge cards. To date, the Westside Farmers Market has accepted nearly $1,000 in government nutrition benefits. That is $1,000 going into the hands of our local farmers and providing fresh food to our citizens versus a small step toward fighting the 30 percent obesity rate in American children by working toward healthier lunches.
Both the Senate version and the House version of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act will increase funding for school lunches by six cents, up to $2.44 per meal. It is also the first time there has been an increase in 30 years.
Is the six cents a meal for the children worth cutting food stamp benefits for the whole family? If I were in Congress, I would pay for the six cents by taxing the “edible food-like substances” that line the shelves of convenience stores. In fact, I would increase school lunches by as much as I could tax, because I have taught in an inner city charter school and seen the difference in the attention span of a student subsisting on marshmallows and Cheetos and one who had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. (Alternatively, we could scale back the subsidies that hide the real price of what food costs.)
As Stephen Colbert said recently, in his testimony to Congress about the plight of the migrant workers picking Americans fruits and vegetables, “The obvious answer is for all of us to stop eating our fruits and vegetables.â€
That is one solution, but perhaps our representatives have another one. If you care about this issue, contact your Representative.
Here is the article on annarbor.com.
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Designed by award-winning architect Gunnar Birkerts, the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston's stainless steel building safeguards a multitude of work designed to intellectual engage viewers and invoke complex reactions. The museum's two galleries, the Brown Foundation Gallery and the Zilkha Gallery, collectively host 8–10 free exhibitions every year.
The Brown Foundation spotlights work by internationally renowned artists and pieces organized around themes; past exhibits include a Kiki Smith survey and a showcase of performance art by black artists. The Zilkha, meanwhile, hosts the museum's Perspective Series, which gathers the work of emerging artists. The museum's Teen Council curates a biyearly edition of Perspectives, unveiling work by young, Houston-area artists that mine for deeper feelings than the normal teenage angst toward parents, teachers, and singing animatronic bears. The Teen Council also contributes to the museum's numerous programs, which include lectures and discussions for each show, as well as Musiqa concerts based on each Brown Foundation Gallery exhibition.
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John Barnard looks out across the Vale of Evesham to the Bredon hills, drawing by Mike Barnard
To view other similar items in the archive click on the hyper-linked words below.
|Title||John Barnard looks out across the Vale of Evesham to the Bredon hills, drawing by Mike Barnard|
|Notes||Artist's impression drawn by Mike Barnard of a story his father John Barnard used to recall. |
When John finally arrived home after his service during the First World War he was so disoriented that he left Evesham station late at night and turned the wrong way for Badsey, his home, about 3 miles away. He was put in the right direction by someone, and as he walked over the fields and lanes he looked over the Vale of Evesham in the moonlight and vowed never to leave Badsey again.
Unfortunately he had had a hard time during the war. He had been over the top many times, and was in many burial parties “ (the things he saw were nobody's business! Mike Barnard, John's son). Frequently he would wake up screaming, sometimes shouting out pals' names. He relived experiences in his sleep. He would be found sleep walking over the fields, wandering the ground around his home village of Badsey in the middle of the night.
He married in 1926, and gradually these nightmares subsided, but his son Mike can remember them happening during his childhood. In one of the battles he took part in 22,000 were killed - yet John survived - although forever haunted by his experiences.
Part of a collection relating to Lance Corporal John Barnard (52258 Worcestershire regiment), market gardener of Badsey near Evesham; and his son Mike's drawings and newspaper articles relating to the First World War.
|Copyright||The Great War Archive, University of Oxford / Primary Contributor|
|Digital repository||The Great War Archive, University of Oxford|
|Contributor Name||Alun Edwards|
|Contributed on the behalf of||Mike Barnard|
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If there’s a criminal in town call on the COPS – or ‘Canines on Patrol’ – who police are now looking to involve in the fight against crime.
A new initiative from Lincolnshire Police will encourage dog walkers to report any suspicious activity they spot when outside with their pets.
An event to launch the COPs scheme, and promote the authority’s Lincs Alert community messaging service, is being held on the weekend of February 2-3, at Witham Country Park, Tattershall Road, Boston, 9.30am-2pm.
Pcso David McPherson, who is behind the scheme, said: “Dog walkers are a section of the community who are in an excellent position to spot suspicious activity. Dog owners tend to be out walking their pets late at night or early in the morning and often follow the same route so are able to easily spot when something is amiss or out of the ordinary.
“In the past, they have spotted signs of drug offences, criminal damage, robberies and thefts. You name it, they’ve seen it.”
Police, the anti-social behaviour team from Boston Borough Council, RSPCA and a local vet will be in attendance offering a dog micro-chipping service.
Those signing up to the Lincs Alert scheme will be entered into a prize draw or dog gifts from Pets and Home and Animal Magic.
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- What does birth control really cost anyway?
It varies dramatically, from $9 a month for generic pills to $90 a month for some of the newest brands -- plus a doctor's visit for the prescription.
Want a more goof-proof option? The most reliable contraceptives, so-called long-acting types like IUDs or implants, can cost $600 to nearly $1,000 upfront to be inserted by a doctor.
That's if you don't have insurance that covers at least some of the tab -- although many women do. And if those prices are too much, crowded public clinics offer free or reduced-price options. But it might take a while to get an appointment.
Questions about cost and access to birth control have been swirling for weeks now, intensifying after a Georgetown University law school student testified before congressional Democrats in support of a new federal policy to pay for contraception that she said can add up to $1,000 a year, not covered by the Jesuit college's health plan. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh's verbal assault on her comments became the latest skirmish in the birth control wars.
Soon, the new policy will make contraceptives available free of charge as preventive care, just like mammograms, for women with most employer-provided health insurance. Churches are exempt. But for other religious-affiliated organizations, such as colleges or hospitals, their insurance companies would have to pay for the coverage, something that has triggered bitter political debate.
A major study of nearly 10,000 women that's under way in St. Louis provides a tantalizing clue about what might happen when that policy takes effect.
Consider: Nearly half of the nation's 6 million-plus pregnancies each year are unintended. Rates of unplanned pregnancies are far higher among low-income women than their wealthier counterparts. Among the reasons is that condoms can fail. So can birth control pills if the woman forgets to take them every day or can't afford a refill.
Only about 5 percent of U.S. women use the most effective contraceptives -- a matchstick-sized implant named Implanon or intrauterine devices known as IUDs. Once inserted, they prevent pregnancy for three, five or 10 years. But Dr. Jeffrey Peipert of Washington University in St. Louis says many women turn them down because of a higher upfront cost that insurance hasn't always covered even though years of pills eventually cost as much.
"How can we cover Viagra and not IUDs?" wonders Peipert, who is leading the new study.
Called the Contraceptive CHOICE Project, the study is providing those options and a range of others for free. Participants also can choose from birth control pills, a monthly patch, a monthly vaginal ring and a once-every-three-months shot. They're told the pros and cons of each but that the long-lasting options have a lower failure rate.
About 75 percent of women in the study are choosing the IUD or the implant, Peipert says. After the first year of the ongoing study, more than 80 percent of the women who chose the long-acting contraceptives are sticking with them compared with about half the pill users, he says.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, the average woman who has two children will spend three decades trying to avoid an unintended pregnancy. The Institute of Medicine says that's one reason that women tend to incur higher out-of-pocket costs for preventive care than men.
Yes, there already are some options for more affordable contraception, such as public clinics or Planned Parenthood.
About 55 percent of local health departments offer some family planning services, according to the National Association of County & City Health Officials. Many of those receive federal Title X funding, which means they can offer contraception on a sliding fee scale. The poorest women may get it free, while others may pay full price or somewhere in between.
There are cheaper generic pills. Peipert says there's little difference between them and pricey new brand-name versions like Yaz.
But some women go through a number of brands before finding one that doesn't cause uncomfortable side effects, says Sarah Brown of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Her organization operates a website, http://www.bedsider.org , that details options along with the price range.
"Not every woman can use generic pills, by any means," Brown says. "Do we say to people, 'Just go get generic cardiac medicines. Hope that works out for you?'"
Peipert notes that contraception is cheaper than what insurers or taxpayer-funded Medicaid pay for prenatal care and delivery. He says economic studies have found that every $1 spent on family planning can save nearly $4 in expenditures on unintended pregnancy.
Do women ask about the price?
"Oh, my gosh, absolutely," exclaims obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Monica Dragoman of New York's Montefiore Medical Center.
Just last week, she saw a woman whose heart condition could make another pregnancy life-threatening but who couldn't afford the IUD that Dragoman wanted to prescribe, and chose a cheaper option.
If a family's already struggling financially, "sometimes contraception is one of the first things to fall off," Dragoman says.
EDITOR'S NOTE -- Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.
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According to Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona. And not just reproductive rights in general but those of African-American women in particular:
FRANK: In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long. And now we look back on it and we say "How brave were they? What was the matter with them? You know, I can't believe, you know, four million slaves. This is incredible." And we're right, we're right. We should look back on that with criticism. It is a crushing mark on America's soul. And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted. Far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?
What does it take to get us to wake up? I bet he's not thinking about offering more support for women who have children, more support for schools and health care and so on for families who are struggling. I bet he's thinking about banning abortion altogether.
As Think Progress points out, Franks' comment may be linked to a new anti-abortion campaign. It aims to make abortion illegal, as all of them do, but this time it is aimed specifically at the African-American community. Today's New York Times has a piece on this new campaign. I'm not qualified to discuss the assertions it makes about Planned Parenthood, for example, and neither am I qualified to judge the history of racial oppression in this country and how it affects the present.
But my impression is that the writer too easily accepted the conservative framing which offers the removal of women's reproductive rights as the solution to cutting abortion rates within the African-American community, without looking at the economic support people need to have children in the first place or how much the conservatives have been willing to offer such support in the past (not much) or the availability of contraception to young people in general and so on.
A post-script: This statistical page gives information on birth rates and total fertility rates by race. The African-American community is not decimated because of reproductive choice. That, after all, seems to be the campaign's argument.
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Ken Jost, the Supreme Court editor at CQ Press, has put together a lengthy and comprehensive analysis on all things “Cameras in the Court” in a new report for CQ Researcher. I’ve seen a copy–which includes a sidebar interview with me among its 20-plus pages–and the report really achieves the impossible by making the otherwise well-trod topic quite interesting by exploring its unnoticed nuances and taken-for-granted history. An excerpt introducing the report is available at CQ Researcher’s blog:
[E]xcept for the working press, members of the Supreme Court bar and invited guests, all visitors to the Supreme Court face a time-consuming process in trying to see the justices in action. Would-be spectators typically line up hours in advance to claim one of the 250 seats available for the general public. At least 50 spectators are allowed to stay for an entire, hour-long argument, but others are ushered in for only a few minutes.
Camera-access advocates have been making their case over the past decade in large part by emphasizing the public’s limited access to the courtroom. “There is no reason why in the 21st century the American people should not be able to watch their democracy in action, and the Supreme Court should not be an exception,” says Nan Aron, president of the liberal Alliance for Justice. The alliance was part of a 46-group coalition led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that urged the lame-duck Congress last year to pass legislation either requiring or calling on the Supreme Court to permit live TV coverage.
The pressure from Congress and outside groups has helped prompt the court to make audio recordings of arguments available sooner and more widely than in the past. But the justices have not allowed camera coverage of proceedings, whether live or delayed.
The three justices vocally opposed to cameras — Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas — warn that TV coverage could hurt collegiality on the court and endanger the justices’ personal security. Scalia has also complained that TV coverage would reduce the Supreme Court to “entertainment.”
This excerpt, however, hardly does justice to the breadth and depth of the full report, which you can purchase in print or electronic format at CQ Press.
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PARIS - Tens of thousands of French took to the streets on Saturday, November 17, in protest at government plans to legalize same-sex marriage in the southern European country.
"I'm here like everyone else, like the Protestants, the Catholics, the Muslims, the philosophers, Lyon Cardinal Philippe Barbarin was quoted as saying by Reuters.
It's a message to politicians so that a debate is organized on such a fundamental issue.
Marriage in Islam
Gay Marriage: Islamic View
Dealing with Homosexuality (Special Page)How Islam Views Homosexuality
More than 200,000 French took to the streets in several cities in protest at plans to legalize same-sex marriage.
The protestors carried banners calling on the government of President Francois Hollande to protect traditional marriage between a man and a woman.
Don't touch civil marriage, all born from the union of a man and a woman and one father + one mother for all children were among banners carried by the protestors.
The Socialist-led government approved a draft law earlier this month to legalize same-sex marriage in France.
The bill, which will be debated by France's National Assembly in January, would grant gay couples the right to adopt children.
The bill has invited popular anger in France, with Catholic bishops leading the opposition against the plans.
France's top Catholic prelate, Paris Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, earlier this month criticized the government for forging ahead with the plans at a time when the country faced urgent economic concerns.
In August, Vingt-Trois launched the Catholic campaign with a national prayer day against same-sex marriage.
Passing the law would make France the 12th country around the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
It is already allowed in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden.
Protestors warned that legalizing same-sex marriage would undermine family life in France.
"It's scandalous that the government wants to institutionalize a state lie by hiding the fact that the basis of every child is a dad and a mom," Jean-Marie Barbiche, who came with his wife and four children, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Protester Beatrice Bodji said she had come because "children are taken hostage" if same-sex marriage and adoption are allowed.
The French demonstrations against the gay marriage plans have won support of the Vatican.
Pope Benedict told French bishops visiting the Vatican on Saturday not to be "afraid" of spreading Christian teachings.
"In the important debates about society, the voice of the church must make itself heard relentlessly and with determination," he said.
The Vatican pledged this month never to stop fighting attempts to "erase" the privileged role of heterosexual marriage, which it called "an achievement of civilization".
Same-sex relationship and marriage are totally prohibited in Islam, Christianity and all divine religions.
Islam teaches that believers should neither do the obscene acts, nor in any way indulge in their propagation.
The Catholic Church teaches that homosexuality is not a sin, but considers homosexual intercourse as sinful.
In January, Pope Benedict XVI said that same-sex marriage threatened "the future of humanity itself."
In March, he denounced moves to legalize the same-sex marriage in the United States, where President Barack Obama has since come out in its support.Catholic Church leaders in England and Scotland have also spoken out against gay marriage this year after Prime Minister David Cameron and the Scottish regional government both announced plans to legalize it.
Reproduced with permission from OnIslam.net
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I’m a big sci-fi fan. Something about the unknown fascinates and terrifies me. But it’s a good curiosity, a safe fear, because I expect little in the world of science fiction to ever happen. When I suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, I faced a different kind of unknown. Why couldn’t I keep any food down? Why would my body reject even drinking water? Would my baby survive? These fears were not safe because they were real, and they terrified me.
Recently, I viewed a trailer for Will Smith’s upcoming scifi film, After Earth. The story of two soldiers lost on a dangerous planet, facing unbelievable odds, must survive. Sounds fun. The voiceover, however, struck something deep inside my mind. Smith’s character says, “if we are going to survive this, you must realize that fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create… danger is very real, but fear is a choice.”
Think about that for a moment. Is fear a choice? Yes, fear is an instinctual reaction we have to danger. In some situations, it can be very healthy and help us protect ourselves. Yet the fear I felt while suffering through my hyperemesis gravidarum pregnancy– on the bad days, when I lay in bed crying, weak, and so very nauseous– was not healthy. I tried to remind myself that my doctors (and I had a team helping me through my hyperemesis gravidarum pregnancy), said the baby was doing well. But these logical thoughts seldom overcame the fear that overwhelmed me.
Toward the end of my pregnancy, I remember discussing my zofran pump with my doctor in her examination room. Suddenly, I felt faint. I passed out, had what I felt was at least a forty-five minute dream in which I road different rides at a sea-side carnival, and then woke up to my doctor saying my name. I instantly became terrified and started to cry. When I asked what happened, my doctor said that I had just had “a little seizure.” I had been out for less than a minute. I was so worried that the seizure would have somehow hurt my baby. Luckily, he was fine. But as my pregnancy continued, the sharp memory of that fear stabbed at my mind. It was growing stronger. I knew that I had to fight to overcome my fearful thoughts. Some days I was successful. Other days, I failed terribly.
Having survived a hyperemesis gravidarum pregnancy, I feel qualified (at least on some level), to give those who are in the midst of suffering some advice. So here it is, dear ones. Will Smith is right: fear isn’t real. It is a product of our thoughts. It is a choice. Sometimes, that choice is made for you by your body’s instinctual reaction to danger and the unknown. When that happens, recognize what you’re feeling. Try to understand why you’re afraid. Know that it’s okay to be scared. But don’t wallow in fear. When you feel unable to overcome those emotions, it’s time to start fighting. How can you do that when you’re an exhausted, vommity mess?
Start with distraction. Immerse your mind in something else. Browse online stores for baby clothes, listen to a book on cd, call a friend, or watch a comedy. Districting your mind is a great way to give it rest.
Next, gather information. When I was pregnant, I read every blog, every journal article, every website about hyperemesis gravidarum I could find. The unknown is always scary, so the more you learn about what’s going on with your body the quieter your fears will become. Forget about being annoying and call your nurse, doctor, a psychologist—anyone who can offer you information— three times a day if you need to. You’ve got one of the toughest jobs known to humanity: carrying a child. If you need to know something, do not hesitate to ask.
And lastly, be cognizant of the tiny moments when things are okay. It may seem like life is a constant, grueling, miserable experience. Even so, look for the good: feeling a kick, going a day without vomiting, being able to eat a potato. Notice these times and remember them. Write them down on post-it notes if it will help. And when you’re feeling scared, recall those moments and know that you will have them again. Hyperemesis gravidarum comes with an array of complicated and miserable symptoms. It’s downright awful. But it is survivable, and you are a survivor. You will do anything you need to produce a healthy baby. That may mean facing your fears of blood draws, medicine pumps, PICC lines, and even hospitalization, but if that’s what it takes to keep your child alive you will do it. And you can do it.
Help others by sharing some of the fears you face. How do you overcome them?
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Here’s an animated music video worth checking out. Jeremy Galante, who worked for a time with Animatus Studio in Rochester, is a co-director on the piece, and it’s a feel-good love story about a mad scientist and his robot-woman creation.
“(Baby) It’s You!” is a stop-motion tribute to B-movie monsters and classic sci-fi/horror movies. It was produced at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania by faculty members Jeremy Galante and Brad Pattullo, in collaboration with artist David Cowles in Rochester.
The song itself is by The Boys, and was recorded back in the 1970s. Cowles knew Danny Shonerd of the group, and asked if he could make a video just for fun.
Cowles approached Galante, whom he had worked with on several projects before (including videos for They Might Be Giants and an amazing promo for the RPO) and asked about doing it in stop motion.
According to Galante, “I knew just the guy for the job – Brad Pattullo, my colleague, who specializes in it. So Dave conceived the idea, boarded, designed the characters, and made all of the backgrounds. Brad built all of the props/puppets and animated the more complex stuff (bricks). During pre-production, I tagged along, looking over Brad’s shoulder (since I was new to stop-mo) and helped him where I could. During production, I also animated, and eventually, did all of the editing in After Effects, and composited the special effects.”
The three communicated over email, directing and editing over a six month period in off-hours and on weekends. Animation was shot using a DSLR and the Dragon Stop-Motion program. Mike Genz, (another faculty member) helped out, as did Rob Sassi, an Edinboro student. Victoria Rose Zalewski (who worked on the stop-motion feature Coraline) did the costumes.
See plenty of behind-the-scenes photos and videos at http://baby-itsyou.blogspot.com.
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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
What is the treatment and can it get better
I`m 34. I`ve had a droopy eyelid since I was really young. Recently I had noticed that it`s getting worse. I went to my eye doctor last week, and he suggested upper eyelid sergery. Does that help this situation????? I have more people notice and say what`s wrong with my eye, and I say that I don`t know yet. I went to a neuologist yesterday and they said that it`s probably Myasthenia or Anuerysm. I have to do a whole bunch of test to see what the problem is. Could it get worse if untreated later????? Thanks for your time.
There are many problems that cause a droopy eyelid and MG is only one. I would recommend that you continue to work with your eye doctor and neurologist to come up with the most secure diagnosis that you can get. They should be able to rule in or rule out possibilities by reviewing your history, considering your exam and perhaps ordering a test or two. Then, they will be able to recommend treatment or, if the problem is mild, just see how you do with follow up visits.
John G Quinlan, MD
Professor of Neurology
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati
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When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones and Santa began to feel Pre-Christmas pressure. Then, Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed poor Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out -- Heaven-knows-where. As Santa began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked and the toy bag fell to the ground, scattering the toys.
Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had enjoyed all the cider and hidden the rum. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom, only to find the mice had eaten all the straw off the broom.
Just then, the doorbell rang and irritated Santa marched to the door and yanked it open. There stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said very cheerfully, “Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?”
And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree!!!
A married couple was in a terrible accident where the Man's face was severely burned. The doctor told the Husband that they couldn't graft any skin from his body Because he was too skinny. So the wife offered to donate Some of her own skin. However, the only skin on her body That the doctor felt was suitable would have to come From her buttocks.
The husband and wife agreed that they would tell no one about where the skin came from, and they requested that the doctor also honor their secret. After All, this was a very delicate matter. After the surgery was completed, everyone was astounded at the man's new face.
He looked more handsome than he ever had before! All his Friends and relatives just wen t on and on about his youthful Beauty!
One day, he was alone! with h is wife, and he was overcome with emotion at her sacrifice. He said, 'Dear, I just want to thank you for everything you did for me. How can I possibly repay you?'
'My darling,' she replied, 'I get all the thanks I need every time I see your mother kiss you on the cheek.'
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Wabash to the Rescueby Richard Rose '54
|Printer-friendly version | Email this article|
It begins with a vodka martini at Jaco Beach.
It was February, 1981. I was vacationing in Costa Rica with my (now ex-) wife, Gisela, and two young daughters, Christine and Cathy, ages eleven and nine. We had been to Costa Rica before, not only to enjoy the warm climate, lovely scenery and hospitable inhabitants, but to visit my good friend Jim Adams ’54, a fellow Phi Delt.
Jim settled in Costa Rica after three years in the U.S. Army, most of which was spent as a Counter Intelligence Corps agent in Panama. Jim spoke fluent Spanish, which served him well in his clandestine activities for Uncle Sam. After his discharge, Jim decided that Costa Rica offered more opportunities for a flamboyant entrepreneur than Columbia City, his hometown in Indiana. With the help of savvy investors, Jim set up factories manufacturing metal roofs and textiles. He branched out into real estate that included an apartment building, the penthouse of which he occupied with his two young daughters and wife, Carmen, a dark-haired beauty who could have given Sophia Loren a run for her money.
My family and I had planned to travel to the Jaco Beach Resort on the Central Pacific Coast to put in a little suntan time. It was not a resort of lavish proportions, to say the least, consisting of a dozen one-story motel-like rooms, an open dining area, and a beach bar sheltered from an occasional tropical shower by thatched roofs. It was also remote. By land it was a four-hour trip through mountainous terrain from San Jose to the beach and even required fording a river to get there.
This ordeal was spared us by Jim. An experienced pilot, he flew us there in his single-engine Cessna, which only took about three quarters of an hour. It was a scenic trip, the lush green mountain landscape broken only by an occasional river or coffee plantation. We had to fly in the morning to accommodate the tide; there was no landing strip other than the beach, which provided a perfect runway when the tide was out.
As the plane circled in a landing approach, I could see stingrays gliding beneath the cobalt blue water of the Pacific like gigantic bats. Jim brought the plane down smoothly and taxied up to the beach bar, where a bartender greeted “Don Jimmy” with a cold bottle of Corona. Jim joined us for a scrumptious lunch before flying back to San Jose with a promise to pick us up in three days.
The next evening Gisela and I were having cocktails—mine being the aforementioned vodka martini—at the beach bar, while the kids played nearby in the sand. That’s when Christine first complained about a pain in her lower stomach. We thought it was nothing serious. But the pain intensified during the night, and by morning Christine was burning up with fever, so much so that we had her put in the cold shower to reduce her temperature. We were able to determine that the pain was now located on the right side of Christine’s abdomen. It was further aggravated when she coughed or moved. The resort manager informed us that there were no doctors in the vicinity to examine Christine. But it didn’t take a degree in medicine to diagnose her symptoms: appendicitis, possibly acute.
Christine needed medical attention as soon as possible. The best medical facilities were in San Jose, but there was no time to make the long, arduous trip by land. It was urgent to get Christine to San Jose quickly, and the only way to do this was by plane. Jim was our first and best option to fly her there.
There was no telephone service to Jaco. Communication with the outside world was only by short wave radio. The manager used it to notify the police in San Jose about Christine with instructions to contact Jim. They did, and Jim acted swiftly. He lined up a doctor to examine Christine and a surgeon in case an appendectomy was necessary. Then he notified the airport to have his plane fueled and ready for takeoff. It was crucial that he leave as soon as possible so he could land at Jaco while the tide was out.
Jim was in the air an hour later. By mid-morning he was touching down on the beach.
Christine and I boarded the plane with one overnight bag between us and buckled up. Jim wasted no time getting the Cessna into the air. The flight back to San Jose wasn’t pleasant. The wind currents were stronger than usual. At times the plane would get in the grip of a down draft and plunge like an elevator with a broken cable. There was also a “heart-in-your-throat” moment when the engine sputtered. Jim assured us there was no problem. Something to do with the fuel being too rich, he said. In any event, he made some adjustment on the mixture control, and the engine behaved itself for the rest of the fight.
Chris bore the flight like a trooper. She was in terrible pain—aggravated by the turbulence—and frightened. However, she wasn’t as frightened as I was. I knew that if she had a case of acute appendicitis, and the appendix burst, her life could be in peril.
Of course, I didn’t tell her this. I held her hand and tried to assure her that everything would be all right—an assurance accompanied by a silent prayer.
The flight seemed to take forever before the welcome sight of the San Jose airport finally came into view. Jim radioed for landing clearance, emphasizing it was an emergency. Other planes were delayed until we landed. Minutes later we were speeding to the hospital in Jim’s car. The doctor Jim had arranged to examine Christine was waiting. It didn’t take him long for him to confirm our fears: acute appendicitis, and there was no time to lose. An immediate operation was imperative.
The surgeon was, according to Jim, the best in Costa Rica. For the first time Christine shed a few tears, but the physician’s soothing words gave her comfort. The truth is I was in worse mental shape than she was.
The operation was the work of a virtuoso with a scalpel. The incision was only three-quarters of an inch. After the operation, he came to the private room where Christine was sleeping peacefully to inform me that she would be just fine and could leave the hospital the next day. He also gave permission to the hospital to allow me to spend the night in the room on a couch. As we talked, I learned that he had taken some of his early training at The Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, which as irony would have it, was only a mile or so from where we lived.
Before he left, I thanked him for saving my daughter’s life. The doctor told me to thank Jim. Had it not been for his rapid response, Christine’s appendix would have ruptured, causing peritonitis. “Which is?” I asked. The contents of the appendix spills into the abdominal cavity, causing serious inflammation, he explained. Without prompt medical attention…he shook his head. Translated: Christine wouldn’t have made it.
I absorbed this reality with moist eyes as I sat at Christine’s bedside. Although the crisis was over, I was still a nervous wreck from the experience. Too bad I hadn’t thought of getting a tranquilizer from the doctor, preferably one that was 80 proof. Jim to the rescue again! That evening he paid us a visit with flowers for the patient. And for Jim and me, a large shaker of martinis. Sipping its welcome contents from paper cups, we celebrated the rescue mission and drank to a speedy recovery for Christine.
Never before or since has a martini tasted so good.
Richard Rose’s novel The Lazarus Experiment is being published later this year by Savant Books: www.savantbooksandpublications.com
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TOKYO (AP) -- Just when Tokyo was getting a boost in its bid to host the 2020 Olympics, a scandal surfaced within the Japanese sporting culture and threatened to undermine the nation's hosting hopes.
Tokyo bid officials were thrilled last month when a poll showed that public support for the bid had risen to 73 percent, given that low public support had derailed the 2016 bid.
But on the same day the new figures came out, the Japan Judo Federation revealed that the head coach of the women's Olympic team, Ryuji Sonoda, had used violence against athletes at a training camp before the London Olympics.
For Tokyo 2020 organizers, the timing couldn't have been worse -- an IOC evaluation committee will visit Tokyo in March. One of the main themes of Tokyo's bid is "athletes first."
The Judo federation revealed 15 female judoka sent a letter to the Japanese Olympic Committee at the end of last year complaining they had been subjected to harassment and physical violence by Sonoda at a pre-Olympic training camp. The federation, which knew about the problem since September when some of the women first raised the issue, even renewed Sonoda's contract.
Sonoda tried to justify his behavior by saying he was under tremendous pressure to produce gold-medal winners in London, and later resigned. He said he didn't think slapping was considered violence and that he was trained in the same way.
Sports minister Hakubun Shimomura has described the situation as the most serious crisis in Japan's sports history.
"The sports community must make concerted efforts to go back to the fundamental principle that violence should be eradicated from sports instruction," Shimomura said.
Days after Sonoda stepped down, two-time Olympic judo champion Masato Uchishiba was sentenced to five years in prison for raping a female member of a university judo club in 2011.
Naoki Ogi, a former teacher and popular social critic, attributes the corporal punishment to poor coaching techniques.
"Corporal punishment is an easy solution for instructors who lack leadership and skills, who know they won't be challenged," Ogi wrote on his blog. "It's a dirty trick."
Ogi suggests the JOC and the judo federation coordinated their responses to the scandal.
"They must be colluding," Ogi said, adding that the JOC should have launched its own investigation a long time ago. "There is no doubt this ongoing scandal will affect (Tokyo's) Olympic bid. It's a pity."
The complaints by the 15 women were initially ignored by the judo federation, which has no women on its 26-member executive board, so they decided to take it to the JOC.
"We were deeply hurt both mentally and physically because of violence and harassment taken upon us by former coach Sonoda, in the name of guidance. It went far beyond what it should have," the women said in a joint statement released through their lawyers. "Our dignity as humans was disgraced, which caused some of us to cry, and others to wear out. We participated in matches and training as we were constantly intimidated by the presence of the coach while we were forced to see our teammates suffer."
Sonoda was in London for the Olympics, where Japan won only one gold medal in women's judo. Many in Japan have pointed out that his actions go against the Olympic charter which bans violence.
Judo, literally translated as "gentle way," was invented in Japan and was the first Japanese martial art to gain widespread international recognition, and the first to become an official Olympic sport at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
At the time of Sonoda's resignation, the issue had already been in the spotlight following the suicide in December of a Japanese high school student who endured repeated beatings from his basketball coach.
The student told his mother the day before he died that he had been struck 30 to 40 times by his coach. The 47-year-old coach, whose name has not been disclosed, admitted slapping the teen when he made a mistake and said it was intended to "fire him up."
Corporal punishment at school is prohibited under Japan's Fundamental Law of Education. According to the Education Ministry, about 400 corporal punishment cases are reported at public schools every year. In 2001, about one third of the cases resulted in injuries, mostly cuts and bruises to the head or the face. About a quarter of the school corporal punishment cases involve sports teams.
In 2009, a former sumo trainer was sentenced to six years in prison for his role in the fatal beating of a young wrestler during training. Former trainer Junichi Yamamoto ordered three wrestlers, in the name of instruction, to beat 17-year-old wrestler Tokitaizan, hitting him with beer bottles, a baseball bat and hosing him with cold water.
Tokitaizan, whose real name was Takashi Saito, collapsed after practice and died in June 2007. An autopsy showed bruises and injuries that prosecutors said showed his ordeal was not training.
Tokyo governor Naoki Inose has said he doesn't think the scandal will hurt Tokyo's bid and the JOC issued a statement saying it would conduct an investigation into the use of physical violence in judo and all sports.
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'Barbie drug' catching on despite warnings
Published Thursday, May 10, 2012 8:58PM EDT
An injectable tanning drug dubbed "the Barbie drug" is being used in Canada, despite not being approved by authorities.
The drug is called Melanotan II and is said to cause tanning of the skin by mimicking hormones in the body that darken skin when exposed to ultraviolet light.
Reports have emerged that since using the product, some users have experienced the appearance of new moles on their body.
The product is available to buy online, but has not been approved for human use by Health Canada or by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S.
The drug, which must be taken regularly, is not recommended by health care professionals or the Canadian Cancer Society.
In an interview with CTV News Channel, the head of dermatology at Toronto Western Hospital Dr. Cheryl Rosen warned against using the drug
"We don't know in the long term what stimulating the pigment cells of your skin, if that will end in just a benign stimulation, whether it will end in these unusual moles that have been reported or it could even end up in a cancer," she said Thursday, noting the lack of research into its effects.
"We just don't know because the studies have not been done."
Users of the drug also claim it also helps to curb hunger and raise sexual appetites, she said.
"There are reports that it increases libido and decreases appetite," said Rosen. "So you can see that some people might find this an interesting combination of results."
Rosen recommends "absolutely" staying away from Melanotan II, and says that if you are interested in having a tanned appearance to stick to spray-on self tanners.
This message was echoed by the Canadian Cancer Society.
On their website the CCS wrote the following of products such as Melanotan II: "Health Canada has not approved the use of any of these products for tanning purposes. Until they have been reviewed and experts believe they are safe, these products should be avoided."
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November 12, 2010
RSU Partners with PepsiCo to Place Recycling Dream Machine on Campus
Rogers State University has partnered with Pepsico to place a Dream Machine recycling kiosk on its Claremore campus, providing students and faculty with a convenient and rewarding method of recycling their bottles and cans while on-the-go.
The Dream Machine kiosk is located in the Centennial Center and static recycling bins have been placed in various locations on the Claremore campus to capture the plastic bottles and aluminum cans used by students, faculty and visitors.
The Dream Machine recycling initiative, created by PepsiCo in partnership with Waste Management, is introducing thousands of recycling kiosks at locations across the U.S.
The Dream Machine kiosk is a computerized receptacle that includes a personal reward system, operated by Greenopolis, which allows consumers to earn points for every bottle or can they recycle in the kiosk and redeem those points for discounts on entertainment, dining and travel.
The more bottles and cans people recycle in Dream Machines, the more support PepsiCo will provide to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a national program offering free training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities.
"Providing access to recycling bins is a critical first step in increasing the beverage container recycling rate, and we are so pleased that RSU has decided to partner with PepsiCo to make Dream Machines available on its campus," said Jeremy Cage, PepsiCo's head of the Dream Machine recycling initiative. "By recycling in Dream Machines, students and faculty can be proud that their efforts are helping make a real difference for our planet and in the lives of U.S. veterans."
"Experience tells us that people are much more likely to recycle if it's convenient, and they are rewarded for doing so," said Paul Ligon, managing director for Greenopolis, a Waste Management subsidiary. "We look forward to working with RSU to provide their community with a recycling experience that is fun and rewarding on many levels."
PepsiCo has also entered into a partnership with Keep America Beautiful, Inc., to encourage community involvement in the program by engaging nearly 600 local affiliate organizations in communities nationwide, including three in Oklahoma.
In addition to RSU, Dream Machines can be found at Oklahoma State University and Oral Roberts University, as well as Reasor's Grocery stores and other locations in northeastern Oklahoma.
To learn more about the Dream Machine, please visit www.facebook.com/DreamMachine.
About the Dream Machine
The Dream Machine recycling initiative, introduced on Earth Day 2010, will make thousands of new recycling kiosks available in popular public venues such as gas stations, stadiums, and public parks.
Dream Machine kiosks are computerized receptacles that include a personal reward system that allows consumers to collect and redeem points for each bottle or can they recycle in the kiosk. The multi-year partnership with Waste Management enables the local capture and recycling of PET and Aluminum, using both technology enabled and non-technology enabled recycling kiosks. The Dream Machines are provided by GreenOps, LLC, a subsidiary of Waste Management, and operated by Greenopolis, the first interactive recycling system that brings together online and on-street technologies. People who recycle their beverage containers in kiosks can redeem points they collect and receive awards when they visit www.greenopolis.com.
PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.
About Waste Management
Waste Management, based in Houston, is the leading provider of comprehensive waste management services in North America. Our subsidiaries provide collection, transfer, recycling and resource recovery, and disposal services. We are also a leading developer, operator and owner of waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Our customers include residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers throughout North America.
Greenopolis LLC, is a subsidiary of Waste Management. Greenopolis.com is the first interactive community that connects the online conversation about recycling and resource management with opportunities to track the products that consumers use and recycle through recycling kiosks located in public venues and other on the go locations. Through Greenopolis, environmentally responsible individuals can earn rewards for recycling and resource-conscious companies can better understand the lifecycle of their products. "Rethink. Recycle. Reward. Closing the Loop Together." For more information: www.greenopolis.com.
About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,200 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that prevent litter, reduce waste, increase recycling, and create greener public spaces. To learn more, visit www.kab.org.
The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) is a program first created by the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, designed to provide training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities resulting from their military service. The mission of the EBV is to open the door to business ownership for our veterans, by developing skills that relate to the many steps associated with launching and growing a small business. Today the EBV is offered by a network of world-class business schools across the U.S., that includes Syracuse University, Texas A&M University, Florida State University, UCLA, Purdue University, and the University of Connecticut. The training is provided at no cost to eligible veterans.
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2013 Christmas Ornament
Mount Vernon Official Guidebook
Sign Up for Email Offers
Silver was an important part of the 18th century household and collecting charms and small silver mementos was as popular then as it is today.
This sterling silver design was inspired by or adapted from artifacts in the collection at Mount Vernon.
The sterling silver pineapple is the colonial symbol of hospitality. The three-dimensional pineapple charm is ¾” tall and 3/8” wide. An O-ring for easy attachment to a charm bracelet is included.
Hand made in the USA.
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Get the full color PDF of this classic now out of print book!
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Pseudotropheus saulosi are delightful little mbuna that are a joy to keep and breed. Not only do they have sweet temperaments and are very interactive with their keepers, they are also compact in size and therefore can be kept in a smaller aquarium than many of their larger counterparts require. My saulosi presently live in a 200 liters tank (55 gallon) tank along with a group of similar sized Labidochromis caeruleus and a few small synodontis. Though males are fairly tolerant of each other if given adequate space for territorial disputes, I find that having one male with a group of females provides a very happy environment. In the lake, female Pseudotropheus saulosi will school together to feed in groups as large as 50 individuals, and likewise, they get along exceptionally in the aquarium.
I purchased my group from a local distributor when they were juveniles. They grow very quickly when given clean water and good quality food. I feed crushed OSI Spirulina Flake, romaine lettuce, frozen daphnia, frozen cyclops, and crushed snails, which they absolutely love! If you really want to see your young males start to show some color, the snails will do it. Female Pseudotropheus saulosi are bright orange in color showing only very slight darker bands when stressed or excited. They will also get a bit of black lining the front half of their dorsal fin. Males will turn bright blue with wide black vertical bands and black lined fins, though if they are feeling subdominant or are not in the spawning mood they can show a uniform blue. As juveniles they all show female coloration with young males starting to show blue color at about four centimeters (inch and a half), where they will turn a orangy purple for a few months before finally turning their full beautiful blue.
Spawning starts at about 7 months or five centimeters (two inches) and they will usually carry their first brood to term. The fry are very small and already have their bright orange coloration when released from their mother's mouth, usually after brooding for 24-34 days. I have found them to be quite variable in brooding time depending on the particular female. I have one that holds to around 34 days every time and just when I threaten to finally strip her, a light tempting of brine shrimp seems to convince her that it is time for the fry to be on their own. Which by the way, is exactly as they need to be. Females will eat their young if left with them for very long. It is very helpful to clip a bushy plant to the side of the tank for the fry to hide in. In addition, the nursery tank should be filled with small rocks and caves for the fry to hide in until the female is removed. I remove her as soon as I am sure all fry have left her mouth and she has eaten a meal. She is easily re-integrated back into the main tank at night after the lights have been turned off. Take care that the tank temperatures are the same and that the pH is within a reasonable range so that you do not shock her as she is still weakened from holding fry. Also, having a good number of rocks piled up to form caves gives her somewhere to hide and feel secure. Females recover lost weight quickly and are ready to spawn again in a month or so. I find that my male will pretty much leave the females alone until they are ready for spawning, at which time he can be as persistent as any full sized mbuna!
Pseudotropheus saulosi are very forgiving fish in the aquarium, and will tolerate any of the acceptable Rift Lake cichlid water parameters. I keep mine at a pH of 8.0 maintained by Seachem'sTM Malawi/Victoria Buffer at a rate of 1/4 teaspoon per 15 liters (four gallon) bucket. Temperature is kept at 26.5-27.5°C (80-82°F), and hardness is 220ppm, which is moderately hard. Like many of the Pseudotropheus types, they can be sensitive to varying water temperatures resulting in pop-eye so be sure to have a good quality heater in your tank. I use an Ebo Jäger 150 watt. To see their most brilliant color and ensure consistent spawning, good filtration is essential as is a good quality bulb. I use a CoralLifeTM 50/50 Daylight/Actinic bulb and try to change the bulb once a year. I do weekly water changes of 25% and filter the tank with a UGF run by two AquaClearTM 500 powerheads and a PenguinTM 160 backfilter.
Fry are raised in the same water conditions in a 40 to 80 liters (about 10 or 20 gallon) tank filtered by an AquaClearTM 200 with a sponge prefilter to prevent the tiny fry from being sucked up the filter intake. Once I have removed the female, I usually take out all the rocks and plants except for one rock for the fry to pick at. This seems to make the fry less skittish and also it is nice to be able to watch them. The fry grow very quickly gaining 6 mm (1/4") in a few weeks. I feed them baby brine shrimp, frozen cyclops, and crushed OSI Spirulina Flake. They also get a few crushed snails to pick at which seems to give them the determination to pick at live ones with more gusto as they mature. Like the Labidochromis, they will suck the snails right out of their shells once they put on some size. After keeping Pseudotropheus saulosi you start to look at snails no longer as pests, but as free fish food!
Contraction of Malawi Bloat is often a concern when keeping any of the primarily vegetarian Pseudotropheus. However, I have not had any problems with this in my group of Pseudotropheus saulosi. They seem quite able to tolerate a wider range of foods than some of the other dwarf Pseudotropheus such as demasoni. This is not to suggest that you go wild and feed them on krill or bloodworms, as their primary food should still be a good quality green flake accompanied by small particles of acceptable higher protein foods such as the ones I mentioned above (cyclops, daphnia, crushed snails, and baby brine shrimp).
Pseudotropheus saulosi are certainly one of my favorites and continue to entertain me from fry to adulthood. The little ones will eat directly from your hand from a few days old, and always appear happy to see you whenever you walk into the room. Of course they are just anticipating the satisfaction of their healthy appetites, but it still makes you feel good to be greeted so happily.
© Copyright 1998 Jessica Miller, all rights reserved
Miller, Jessica. (七月 25, 1998). "Pseudotropheus saulosi Konings, 1990". CichlidRoomCompanion网站. 检索 五月 23, 2013, 从: http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=258&lang=cn.
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Students beg board for help
The East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted on Thursday to close EBR Lab Academy at the end of this school year, sparking tears from more than a dozen students who made emotional pleas to keep their school open.
“Shutting us now is like saying, ‘Well you all improved but you’re just not good enough to stay open,’ ” said Ciara Jenkins, a sophomore at the small independent high school that was formed in 2007.
“I’m in shock,” said Amy Cohen, who teaches Spanish and social studies, as she stopped to give tearful hugs to one student after another after the board’s vote to close the school.
School Board Vice President Tarvald Smith, who was originally an opponent of the school but later became an ardent supporter, said decisions like the one facing board members on Thursday was “the hardest part of our job.”
Voting to close the school were board members Jerry Arbour, Connie Bernard, Jill Dyason, Barbara Freiberg, Craig Freeman, Kenyetta Nelson-Smith, David Tatman and Evelyn Ware-Jackson. Smith and board member Vereta Lee abstained, and board member Randy Lamana was absent.
The school’s future was cast in doubt last week when the state-run Recovery School District announced it was taking over Istrouma High School. Since EBR Lab is housed on the Istrouma High campus, the school of 203 students was facing imminent loss of its space.
Closing EBR Lab Academy will eliminate 13 positions, saving an estimated $1 million, according to school system administrators, and was one of dozens of cuts the board approved Thursday, totaling an estimated $24.6 million.
The budget cutting isn’t done yet.
Interim Superintendent Carlos Sam is suggesting the board cut enough to plug a $29 million hole from its general operating budget for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
Sam said he’s taking a closer look at three other suggested cuts, namely closing Polk Elementary, cutting back life insurance benefits for future retirees, and changing bus pickup times and therefore start times for parochial schools.
The spending isn’t done yet either.
The board also on Thursday approved $1 million in new spending and is contemplating more to deal with fallout from the Istrouma takeover and a proposal to reopen Lee High School and perhaps use Prescott Middle, which the state plans to empty of students.
EBR Lab supporters tried to highlight these newly empty spaces as potential new homes for their school in hopes of sparking the interest of board members, a majority of whom voted to keep the school open a year ago.
Cohen suggested the board let EBR Lab take over former Lee High and use its model to serve as the basis for a new south Baton Rouge high school.
“Is it cheaper to keep the existing school running rather than starting it over?” she asked.
After the meeting, Cohen said she and other faculty are looking for ways to stay alive, perhaps by persuading RSD officials to take the school into their district.
EBR Lab has struggled academically. Its school performance score has declined the past two years, and earned an F under the state’s new letter grade school rating system.
On the other hand, 87 percent of the students who entered the school as freshmen graduated four years later, the second-highest percentage in the parish school system. That achievement won’t be reflected in its school performance score until this fall, after it’s closed.
The school also has a small but passionate group of defenders in local education circles, who say it’s a better school than its scores indicate.
Jon-vielle Williams, the school’s 2012 valedictorian, urged the board to reconsider.
“AT EBR Lab, we have a relationship with our principal. At some schools you never get to meet your principal unless you’re bad or if you’re one of the top students,” Williams said.
Williams said if the school system gave the school its own building and time to grow, it would bring students and revenue to the school district.
“To throw away something that could be a viable asset to you is a stupid choice in my opinion,” Williams said.
Carnell Washington, president of the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers, suggested the school system could keep the senior class together by keeping them all together at one school without much expense, an idea a couple board members said they would consider.
The school system cutbacks on the table so far steer clear of layoffs and increases to class size.
The ones approved Thursday, however, eliminated dozens of specific jobs, many of them instructional positions created over the past several years to help schools. The people holding those jobs are either leaving already or will transfer to other vacant jobs in the system.
Several of these positions grew out of initiatives started during the much more financially flush tenure of Superintendent Charlotte Placide. For instance, an elementary math initiative, which placed math coaches in many elementary schools, is being cut in half, with just 12 coaches staying in schools, a savings of nearly $1 million.
Another cutback approved Thursday calls for merging two small alternative schools, Northdale Magnet Academy and the EBR Acceleration Academy, into one school on the Northdale campus.
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Therefore, Do I prune now, or wait until after they bloom? Do I get aggressive and cut massive portions of limbs down, or spread it out over two seasons?
Secondly, I want to order more fruit trees and perhaps a filbert tree. Do you recomend a mail order company for these items? If so, whom?
Pruning isn't hard, but you should do it right to have the best effect on your trees. For rehabilitating a standard apple, you want to remove 1/3 of the branches a year so that over 3 years you restore the tree. You want to prune most fruit trees when they're dormant (peaches are an exception). Don't go at it with a chainsaw. Radical pruning can harm a tree. The goal of pruning is to stimulate the tree to fruit and to shape the tree so it is productive and easy to take fruit off of.
Check out Pruning Made Simple
by Lewis Hill for more information . It's worth owning this book because he explains how to properly prune fruit, nut, berry and even hedges.
You mentioned dead limbs etc. There is a particularly nasty apple disease is called Fire blight. [I had a link here to a site with good info on fireblight at the University of West Va, but because I'm a newbee the server made me take it out. Do a google search and you'll find it.]
It's a bacterial infection that's spread by bees during pollination. It makes the limbs of the trees look like they've been scorched by fire. If you see signs of it on the trunk of the tree, you should consider turning the tree into firewood.
If you don't get rid of diseased trees nearby, you risk infecting any new trees you put in.
Lastly, we've had really good luck buying from Miller Nurseries they're online at millernurseries.com. I live in upstate NY, so having stock from the fingerlakes area is good because it's even colder there than where we live.
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As the World Cup (excuse me, the 2010 FIFA World Cup) was officially declared open last week amid great colour and emotion, one man in particular beamed with pride. That man was Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, the long-standing President of FIFA, whose bold decision to award the most prestigious competition in world football to South Africa had paid off – in every sense of the term.
While Blatter somewhat unnecessarily reminded us that “the FIFA World Cup is in South Africa,” he could be forgiven for heaving a huge sigh of relief when it started on schedule. It’s not so long ago that experts confidently predicted that FIFA would make a loss on the 2010 World Cup in contrast to the large profits the 2006 tournament generated in Germany. The President had revealed his anxieties earlier this year in yet another of his bizarre outbursts when he accused the “Old World” of “anti-Africa prejudice” in response to the accusation that slow ticket sales were due to security concerns and high travel costs.
Although Blatter spoke movingly in Soccer City of “a dream coming true” and “the spirit of Mandela”, he had revealed his organisation’s priorities a few weeks earlier when he boasted that FIFA’s excellent 2009 financial report justified awarding the World Cup to South Africa as a “good financial and commercial decision.”
You can say that again. FIFA is now projecting record earnings of $2 billion, but this is in stark contrast to the losses that have been incurred by the host country. Financially, it’s a great deal for FIFA, as virtually all of its revenue is contracted in advance via the sale of television and marketing rights, while South Africa has to foot the enormous bill for infrastructure improvements. In fairness, FIFA has made a contribution of around $500 million to the Local Organising Committee and the South Africans retain the net income from ticket sales (the only risky revenue stream), but this is small change compared to the money needed to fund new stadiums, improved transport networks and better security. This financial imbalance has given the expression “a game of two halves” a whole new meaning in Johannesburg.
"You'll never walk alone"
So just how much cash does FIFA expect to pocket? It has budgeted truly impressive revenue of $3.2 billion with event-related costs of $1.2 billion, leading to a “surplus” (please don’t call it a profit) of a cool $2 billion for the 2010 World Cup. Some reports talk of a profit of “only” $1 billion, but that is after allocating half of the gross profit to the budget for development programmes, financial assistance to national associations and other events. In any case, it’s a shedload of money, but it was greeted with unusual understatement by Blatter, who said, “We are comfortable. I wouldn’t say we are rich. A good result has been achieved.” FIFA General Secretary, Jerome Valcke, toed the party line, “Yes, it’s a lot of money, but just to be clear, we are not sitting on profit. All the money is going back to be football.”
While this could be considered a feeble attempt to mask their discomfort at being thought of exploiting South Africa, actually they do have a point. Finance Director, Markus Kattner, said that 95 per cent of FIFA’s total revenue comes from the sale of rights relating to World Cup, leading to a “high exposure” and this was again confirmed by Jerome Valcke, “We are not rich. We are making quite good money thanks to the World Cup, but that’s the only money we have.”
These executives obviously have a vested interest in under-playing their large profits, but the independent analysts Sportcal have supported their views, “FIFA is quick to point out that its profits from the World Cup go towards funding its many other activities over the four-year cycle between World Cups, including less lucrative competitions such as junior and women's World Cups and the quadrennial Confederations Cup between continental national teams champions.”
These tournaments tend to make losses, which are only covered by the profits from FIFA’s premier competition. For example, in 2009 alone, FIFA incurred significant expenses for the Confederations Cup in South Africa ($44 million), the U-17 World Cup in Nigeria ($43 million), the Club World Cup in UAE ($30 million) and the U-20 World Cup in Egypt ($21 million). Not to mention $30 million for women’s competitions the year before.
If we take a look at FIFA’s complete profit and loss account, this is easier to understand. The budget for the four-year cycle leading up to this year has the $3.2 billion revenue from the 2010 World Cup, but the overall profit is only $0.2 billion after deducting costs for all events, football development and operational expenses. Of course, let’s not forget that these are very big numbers, so the profit is still a far from shabby $240 million, which every Premier League club would regard with envy. Having said that, this profit is actually considerably lower than the $0.7 billion recorded in the previous cycle, but then again the 2003-06 financial period was FIFA’s best-ever overall result.
Many of you might be wondering why I am presenting the financials for four years, but this is simply because this is how FIFA views its budget, given the total reliance on the World Cup for its revenue. It works with a four-year financial period, beginning on 1 January of the year following each World Cup. That’s why FIFA’s $2 billion profits from the 2010 World Cup are more than a little misleading, as they have to cover expenses for four years. Alles klar?
Revenue and expenses directly related to the 2010 World Cup are recognised in the income statement using the percentage-of-completion method, so 2009 marked the three-quarter stage in the 2007-10 cycle. Nevertheless, 2009 was notable for being the first time annual revenue reached the threshold of $1 billion, due to increased revenue from the sale of TV and marketing rights, which lead to a profit of $196 million last year.
Analysing the phased analysis above, I wouldn’t mind betting that FIFA’s revenue will be a good $0.5 billion higher than the budgeted $3.2 billion, but this may well be matched by a similar increase in costs, leaving the anticipated profit for 2007-10 unchanged.
Most of FIFA’s revenue is derived from the sale of broadcasting rights and this has increased by nearly 50 per cent for this World Cup to $2 billion, mainly due to improved contracts in the USA with the Walt Disney company (which owns ABC and ESPN) and Univision paying a combined $425 million for exclusive broadcasting rights for 2010 and 2014. The growth also reflects the success of FIFA’s decision to sell TV rights on a country-by-country basis for the largest European markets instead of the previous consolidated deal with the European Broadcasting Union.
These are considerable sums of money, but the television companies do get a lot of bang for their buck. According to FIFA, more than 26 billion viewers watched the 2006 World Cup. As Kevin Alavy of international analysts, Initiative Futures Sport + Entertainment, said, “No other media property delivers the same spikes in audience delivery, day after day, sustained over a month as the World Cup.” If I’ve understood that correctly, that’s a very good thing. The same agency believes that the final on 11 July could be the second-most watched live televised event in history – only behind the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in 2008.
"Jerome Valcke in good company"
FIFA also earns $1.2 billion from the marketing of the World Cup rights, though there has been no growth since the previous event (unlike TV), as hospitality packages have been affected by the economic downturn and possibly fears of crime. Nevertheless, its new commercial strategy of classifying marketing partners into three categories (FIFA Partner, FIFA World Cup Sponsor and National Supporter) can be considered a success. In fact, some believe that it is likely to produce more money than budgeted with some estimates as high as $1.6 billion.
A Partner enjoys the highest level of association with FIFA, which means they own international rights to a broad range of FIFA activities as well as exclusive marketing assets. The six partners are Adidas (Jabulani!), Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai-Kia, Sony and Visa, paying an annual fee of $24-44 million for the 2007-10 period. The eight Sponsors, including the likes of McDonald’s and Budweiser, pay $10-25 million a year over the same period, but their rights are limited to the World Cup. The lowest tier, National Supporters, pay $4.5-7.5 million a year, but their rights are only available in the host country.
Visa signed a $200 million sponsorship deal in 2006, leading to MasterCard suing FIFA for breaching their agreement, before this was settled out of court. As per usual, Blatter glossed over this minor inconvenience, “We also managed to end the contractual dispute with MasterCard, thus opening the doors to partnership with Visa and completing our pool of partners”, conveniently failing to mention that the settlement cost FIFA more than $90 million.
"Put your hands up for Cape Town"
Similarly, the collapse of FIFA’s former marketing partner ISL (International Sport & Leisure) in 2001, leading to losses of at least $42-46 million, was recently presented by Blatter as beneficial to the organisation, “It was for us, I would say, a very positive moment. We are masters of our own rights and we do not need any agency to work for FIFA. Our partners like the direct contact with us.” Right. You get the impression that he only just stopped himself from saying “masters of the universe” à la Bonfire of the Vanities, but he’s probably right to cut out the middle man, even though the circumstances were not the cleanest.
In fairness, FIFA needs to generate a lot of money to pay for its vast cost growth. Total expenses for the latest four-year cycle are budgeted at $3 billion, which represents a 58 per cent increase over the $1.9 billion in the previous period – more than double the 27 per cent revenue growth.
Almost half of the expenses are event-related at $1.4 billion. In terms of the 2010 World Cup, that includes a budget of $423 million for the Local Organising Committee, though this has been recently increased by $100 million following unforeseen costs on the teams’ training facilities. The other major expense is the prize money of $420 million, which is a 60 per cent increase from 2006’s total of $261 million and is almost three times as much as the $154 million paid in 2002. The winners will pocket a cheque for $30 million with $24 million going to the runners-up. Every team at the World Cup will receive at least $9 million: $1 million as a contribution to preparation costs plus $8 million even if they are eliminated at the group stage.
FIFA is keen to emphasise that the majority of its expenditure is on football, though it would be fairly surprising if it weren’t. In fact, their most recent financial report notes that 73 per cent of FIFA’s overall expenditure in 2009 was invested directly in football – defined as the World Cup, other events and development. This is entirely consistent with FIFA’s stated objective of “organising international competitions as well as constantly improving and promoting football.”
Of course, that’s not enough for President Blatter, who went much further in a recent magazine article, when he pompously wrote, “FIFA is no longer merely an institution that runs our sport. It has now taken on a social, cultural, political and sporting dimension in the struggle to educate children and defeat poverty.” Just in case, his doubters in England were unclear on his motivations, he also put the boot into the greedy Premier League, while extolling FIFA’s noble virtues, “Richard Scudamore is working to make money, while I’m working to have football as a social, cultural event around the world, being a school of life, bringing hope, bringing emotions. That’s the difference.”
So how well has FIFA done in its attempt to emulate Mother Theresa? To be fair, they have dedicated $700 million to the development of football in the latest four-year budget. Indeed, they take great pains to highlight the fact that spending on development programmes in 2007-10 was 50 times greater than the $14 million in 1995-98, while the revenue growth was “only” 12 times greater over the same timescale. Impressive stuff, but I can’t help noting that total expenses have risen by $1.1 billion since the 2003-06 period with only $0.2 billion of this increase attributed to development.
It’s difficult to know how to react to this. On the one hand, there is no doubt that FIFA has spent a lot on development, but on the other hand, there is a feeling that it could have done a lot more with the funds available. Although there is no shortage of worthy-sounding projects, it does feel a little like this merely camouflages the relatively low investment and certainly not enough to support Blatter’s outlandish claims, “We resolved to instigate a range of projects designed to aid the entire African continent. Football is a force for change. For Africa, for the game, for the world.”
The snappily titled “Win in Africa with Africa” initiative is designed to leave the continent with a proper football legacy, including laying many artificial pitches, and has a hefty $70 million budget, but other projects seem less meaningful. For example, FIFA’s contribution to the Football for Hope centres in 2009 amounted to just $2 million, while the Goal programme, described as the “cornerstone of FIFA’s development work” has completed more than 400 projects in the ten years since its launch, but the expenditure averages out to only $17 million a year.
Blatter has frequently declared that FIFA can make a difference, but I would suggest that it could have an even stronger impact if it cut its own costs. After all, the organisation spends more on operational expenses ($0.8 billion) than football development ($0.7 billion), including $0.3 billion for “governance” (congress, committees and administration). That’s no surprise, if you have seen FIFA’s palatial new offices in Zurich, which cost around $200 million – or more than the $170 million spent on the Goal programme in its ten-year life. Of course, we cannot say whether FIFA’s 360 employees are over-paid, as they do not publish details of their salaries. Three years ago, Blatter confessed that his salary was “$1 million”, which admittedly does not seem that steep for a man in his position, but then again we only have his word for it.
"A load of ..."
FIFA is classified as a non-profit organisation in Switzerland, though, as we have seen, it has a highly commercial outlook, e.g. it has its own official range of FIFA branded merchandise. Its status allows it to enjoy a tax-free lifestyle, though this does oblige it to spend its profits on fulfilling its football objectives. This is probably why they say that the media should not describe the surplus from the World Cup as profit, but as a reserve to insulate the organisation from any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.
Fair enough, but do they have to sit on quite so many reserves? They budgeted an increase in equity to $800 million, but have already reached $1.1 billion. Furthermore, cash balances are an incredible $1.4 billion, up $0.7 billion in just one year. Franco Carraro, chairman of the internal audit committee, defended this amount, “While equity of over a billion dollars seems high, it is necessary as the financial risks exceed it many times over.”
The biggest risk to the financial position would clearly be the cancellation of the World Cup, as almost all contracts with commercial partners are related to this event, so FIFA has an insurance policy in place. However, since 9/11, it has been practically impossible to fully cover the revenue risk, so their $650 million policy now only covers the cost of postponement and/or relocation of the event in the case of natural disasters, war and acts of terrorism. The event’s cancellation is not fully covered by the insurance, so would have to be compensated by FIFA’s own reserves. The caution is therefore understandable, but I still think they could spare another $250 million on developing the game.
"Free Nelson Mandela"
Or they could give the poor host country some more cash. The South Africans do not share in the colossal television or marketing deals - the World Cup’s main money spinners – and their only direct funding comes from the net revenue from ticket sales and a predetermined contribution from FIFA. Although this could amount to $1 billion, it’s a drop in the ocean compared to the cost of hosting the event.
Around three million tickets were made available for the 64 matches of the World Cup and while FIFA’s eternally optimistic general secretary, Jerome Valcke, claimed that the tickets were at least 97 per cent sold out, many empty seats have been clearly visible in the sparkling new stadiums. This has been attributed to poor transport systems, but there is a suspicion that many tickets have been sold to international agencies who have been unable to shift them.
Even Valcke had to admit that FIFA had made mistakes in its ticketing procedures, most notably granting the Match agency the exclusive rights to sell tickets for the 2010 and 2014 tournaments. The high commission charged by Match to travel agents and hotels has been a spectacular failure, which should cause Sepp Blatter some discomfort, as the company is part owned by his nephew, Philippe Blatter.
At least FIFA have stepped in to boost the amount they will pay to the host country from $423 million to $523 million with the additional $100 million funding being used to help improve some of the training facilities, following complaints by some of the participating teams. Interestingly, only $40 million of that had been spent by May, leaving the remainder to be retained by the South African Football Association for the “development of the game”.
"Smile like you mean it"
As a popular supermarket’s advertising would say, every little helps, but the South African government has spent considerably more preparing its country for this footballing extravaganza. They have incurred major costs on building five new stadiums and refurbishing the same number, while every aspect of their transport network has been upgraded, including a new international airport in Durban and a high-speed train link between Johannesburg airport and the city centre. Estimates of the total cost vary, but the BBC calculated $5 billion, while some think it could be as high as $8.6 billion. In any case, it has clearly been one of the most expensive World Cups to stage.
Even though FIFA has thrown a few meaty scraps their way, there is understandable resentment in South Africa that FIFA will make so much money while their own country ends up with a huge debt. Furthermore, local street vendors have not appreciated FIFA’s strong-arm tactics in protecting their precious brand, while the limited availability of tickets for Africans is another source of anger, as the lack of internet access and credit card ownership prevented online purchases.
Stefan Szymanski, an economist who has been advising the South African government, complained, “It’s completely wrong and deeply improper that FIFA is making money out of this”, especially as South Africa has been forced to protect FIFA’s earning from tax. Meanwhile, a Sowetan journalist was even more outraged, “The World Cup is a colonial playground for the rich and for a few wannabes in the South African elite.”
"Two eyes good, four eyes better"
In contrast, former South African president Thabo Mbeki suggested that the 2010 World Cup would be the moment when the African continent “turned the tide on centuries of poverty and conflict.” The current president Jacob Zuma was rather more pragmatic, “we have an opportunity to promote foreign investment, tourism and trade”, as he focused on the boost to South Africa’s image worldwide, which would also be enhanced by the improvements in infrastructure.
In the past, host countries have relied on growth in tourism to help compensate the additional costs. The evidence from previous tournaments is that all the publicity adds at least 10 per cent to the number of tourists over the next 10 years. The accountants Grant Thornton initially estimated 483,000 visitors during the World Cup, but later revised that down to 373,000, largely because of the recession, while South Africa Tourism’s chief executive thought it might be as low as 250,000.
In fact, many now believe that the economic benefits of hosting major sports events are limited. Stefan Szymanski pointed out the opportunity costs to an economy, “The gain in sport is a loss on spending in cinemas.” While criticising FIFA’s excessive expenditure, he asserted, “There’s so much evidence that there’s not even an argument any more – mega events don’t deliver the financial extravaganza that is promised.”
However, FIFA’s gravy train shows no sign of being derailed with their provisional budget for 2011-14 increasing revenue to a staggering $3.8 billion, of which $3.2 billion is already contracted. Just in time for next year’s presidential election, Sepp Blatter promised to double the funding to national associations over the next four years. The healthy finances also allowed him to award each of the six confederations an extra $2.5 million, while every national association will be given a $250,000 bonus. Blatter smilingly explained, “It is a gift, if we can say this.” While others might find different words to describe these payments, Blatter was unperturbed, “The whole family of football is happy.” If you’re in FIFA, there’s absolutely no reason to disagree, though the South Africans might beg to differ.
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The changing face of UK schools: annual fitness tests, CCTV monitoring and fingerprints *
By Daniel Martin
Warning - your child is unfit: Parents of pupils who fail school fitness tests to get letters from health police
Parents of children deemed unfit are to be sent warning letters from schools.
Secondary pupils will be forced to take an annual fitness test.
If they fail, their parents will be told they are at risk of heart disease, brittle bones and obesity. The scheme was outlined yesterday by the Government’s chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson.
The proposal is expected to be piloted at a small number of schools before being extended across the country. Under the scheme pupils will take so-called ‘bleep’ exercise tests which will see them perform a series of shuttle runs used to measure stamina and fitness.
Sir Liam also revealed ministers were planning to unveil recommendations on the amount of exercise children aged three and four should be doing, because ‘many spend too much time on sedentary activities’.
He acknowledged his plans would be ’shocking’ to many parents, but insisted action was needed.
Parents in England are already sent letters about their children’s weight as part of the National Child Measurement Programme.
They are informed if their children are overweight for their height in their first and last years in primary school.
But the scheme has been heavily criticised for stigmatising children and labelling them as fat at a young age. In one recent example, five-year-old Lucy Davies, from Poole, was told she was at risk of health problems despite weighing just 3st 9lbs and standing 3ft 9 ins tall.
Parents said they feared their children would be bullied and made to feel inadequate by the new fitness tests.
However, Sir Liam said: ‘We might get a few shocks in some parts of the country but I think it’s well worth doing.
‘I was very keen that as part of this it should not just be used for national statistical planning purposes, but there should be a personalised letter going to every parent.’
Margaret Morrissey, founder of the Parents Out Loud pressure group, described the warning letters as ‘absolutely disgusting’.
‘If the Government goes any further they will be completely intrusive in every aspect of the way parents bring up children,’ she added.
‘If they were to suggest that about my child, I would probably sue them for defamation of character for basically calling me a poor parent.
Dylan Sharpe, from campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘While it is important that children are fit and healthy, these proposed annual tests are yet more Government interference and yet more tests for a generation of children who are already constantly under assessment.’
The Department for Children, School and Families said: ‘We think it’s an interesting idea and we will consider it.’
By Graeme Paton
Schoolchildren ‘routinely monitored’ by CCTV
Schoolchildren are as likely to be monitored by CCTV as prisoners or international air travellers, according to research.
Surveillance cameras are now installed in most UK schools, despite little warning given to parents or pupils, it was claimed.
As many as 85 per cent of teachers have reported the use of CCTV in their schools and one-in-10 said cameras had even been placed in toilets.
According to the study, some schools are also using other techniques such as fingerprinting, metal detectors, electronic identity cards, eye scanners and facial recognition systems.
Research funded by Salford University said that schools were increasingly becoming a “hotbed for surveillance practices” in the UK as children were subjected to checks for often mundane reasons such as borrowing a book from a library or paying for lunch.
But Dr Emmeline Taylor, the report’s author, also suggested many schools were collecting CCTV images illegally by failing to inform pupils and visitors that they were being monitored under the Data Protection Act.
She also said the effectiveness of CCTV remained “extremely dubious”.
“Surveillance has burgeoned in UK schools without too much concern or commotion,” she said
“Not only are UK pupils subjected to surveillance rivalling that in airports and prisons, but the law apparently protecting our civil liberties is so impotent that it offers nothing by way of protection.
“It is a common misconception that the processing of all personal data must take place on the basis of consent. The dearth of concrete legislation permits ever more invasive surveillance practices to be introduced in schools.”
As part of the study, carried out as part of a PhD, Dr Taylor examined existing research into the subject of CCTV in schools.
She also surveyed 24 secondaries in one local authority in the north-west of England. Dr Taylor found that 23 of the schools had CCTV.
An earlier survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers found that 85 per cent of teachers worked in schools with spy cameras.
In most cases, schools had an average of 20 cameras around the school site, with some installed in toilets.
Last year, it emerged that as many as 100 cameras were being used as part of a £60,000-a-year surveillance system at Stockwell Park High in south London.
“The reasons for implementing CCTV in schools are extremely varied, ranging from crime prevention, to tackling bullying, deter smoking, teacher training, prevent truancy or simply to monitor pupil behaviour,” said Dr Taylor.
“The effectiveness of CCTV in preventing and detecting crime remains extremely dubious, and its impact upon more trivial behaviours such as playing truant has not been measured.
Dr Taylor said an estimated 3,500 schools in the UK – around one-in-seven – also used fingerprinting technology, usually in canteens or libraries.
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: “There are no grounds for suggesting that schools are being used as ‘testbeds’ for surveillance.
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Putin said he will not attend the G8 summit at Camp David, but will send Medvedev instead
Forty-eight hours into his third term, President Vladimir Putin has backed out of a high-profile meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama and other G8 leaders in a snub that raises questions about whether he is re-establishing the chilly relationship with the West that characterized his first two terms as president.
The Kremlin confirmed Thursday that Putin had telephoned Obama to say he would not attend the Group of Eight summit in Maryland next week and would send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his stead.
In a short statement, the White House said Putin explained in the phone conversation Wednesday that he was busy finalizing a new government after his inauguration this week.
“Noting his responsibilities to finalize Cabinet appointments in the new Russian government, President Putin expressed his regret that he would be unable to attend the G8 summit at Camp David on May 18-19,” the White House said.
Analysts were skeptical about the official explanation, given that the Kremlin has presumably been preparing for the Cabinet reshuffle at least since Putin won the presidential election in early March.
G8 leaders have angered the Kremlin recently by criticizing elections in December and March and a crackdown on subsequent pro-democracy protests.
Obama, who is hosting the summit, would seem to be the most immediate target, given that the meeting would have been the first between him and Putin as presidents.
To make matters worse, the Obama administration reportedly moved the G8 summit from Chicago, the site of a NATO summit on May 20-21, to Camp David at Putin’s request, although White House officials have denied this.
The announcement provided clues about what Putin’s return to the presidency could mean for Russia’s relationship with the West, especially coming after four years of friendly posturing by his predecessor and protege, Medvedev.
“Putin is sick of diplomatic routines and protocols,” said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the Russia in Global Affairs journal. “He prefers meetings with business leaders, who have concrete goals, rather than with politicians.”
Under the banner of the “reset” policy, which Obama and Medvedev embraced in 2008, Russia and the United States concluded the New START treaty, boosted partnership on terrorism and nuclear proliferation, and paved the way for Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
But Putin’s decision could prove a win-win for the new president because it allows him to express his disapproval of the West’s perceived support for recent pro-democracy protests and get a political bump at home.
“It’s soft retaliation for their criticism of the regime’s handling of the elections and subsequent protests,” said Gleb Pavlovsky, an analyst and former Kremlin insider. “At the same time, it will please Putin’s base, which tends to be anti-Western and isolationist.”
Putin, who has grown angry at criticism in the past, may have been displeased that a U.S. State Department spokesman on Tuesday said he was “disturbed” by reports of a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Alexei Malashenko, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, speculated that Putin wanted to avoid facing criticism at the G8 summit over the Kremlin’s tough crackdown on this week’s protests, which began Sunday after a two-month lull.
But Lukyanov disagreed, saying: “This is not a factor. He really doesn’t give a damn about their criticism and hasn’t for a long time. … He thinks that the protesters are marginal and under control.”
Arkady Dvorkovich, an economic aide to Medvedev, said the speculation was baseless “idle chatter. … I don’t think that Putin is afraid of anything political,” he said, RIA-Novosti reported.
The change of plans also signals that Medvedev will likely continue in his role as the Kremlin’s representative abroad, a niche he cultivated as president, Pavlovsky said. “Medvedev is being given more authority than a typical prime minister. He’s becoming something more like a vice president,” he said.
Putin might have decided that now is not the time to make deals: Obama is facing an election in November, and Russia and the United States are still deadlocked over the Obama administration’s planned missile defense system in Europe.
“There’s nothing to talk about until after the U.S. presidential election in November,” Lukyanov said. “The meeting is a formality; nothing significant will happen.”
During Obama and Medvedev’s last meeting as presidents in Seoul in March, Obama was overheard telling Medvedev that he would have more room to maneuver on missile defense after the November election. Medvedev replied that he would relay the information to Putin.
“Putin is very unhappy with America’s position on anti-missile defense,” Pavlovsky said. “It was understood in advance that there wouldn’t be any breakthrough on this issue. Why go?”
Putin’s first meeting with Obama is now scheduled for a G-20 summit in Cabos, Mexico, on June 18-19.
Alexei Mukhin, an analyst at the Center for Political Information, said Putin would have a stronger bargaining position there.
“By all appearances, the G8 will discuss a range of problems that Vladimir Putin is not yet ready to discuss from the position he considers necessary,” Mukhin said, according to Kommersant. “Russia’s position is strengthened by the presence of its natural allies [at the G-20] — China and other countries. That’s why he’s going.”
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Hundreds of workers have staged a protest at a Bangladesh factory where 112 people were killed by a fire, demanding compensation for their lost salaries.
An estimated 300 workers chanted slogans in front of the closed Tazreen Fashions factory in a Dhaka suburb. They said they wanted the owner to reopen the factory as quickly as possible or to pay them wages for several months.
The factory was making clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other major global retailers. The companies said they did not know their clothes were being made there.
A garment industry group has promised to pay compensation to the families of those killed in the blaze. The factory, which was guarded by police, has been closed since the fatal fire last weekend.
Police have arrested three factory officials suspected of locking in the workers during the blaze. Fire officials said the factory had no emergency exits and workers said yarn and clothes blocked part of a stairway.
But in a sign of how important such jobs are in the impoverished country, the protesters want the factory to reopen.
"We want the owner to reopen the factory as soon as possible or pay us a few months of salary because we have nowhere else to go right at this moment," said Hasan, a worker who escaped the fire and uses only one name.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said it would pay 100,000 takas (£800) in initial compensation to the families of the dead and would then give them their deceased relative's monthly salary for at least 10 years.
The £12 billion a year garment business represents 80% of Bangladesh's exports.
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A strike by about 500 unionized clerical workers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach halted most work at the nation's busiest harbor complex Thursday, with calls for presidential intervention in what threatens to impact the economy.
The combined ports complex moves $1 billion daily in goods and 40 percent of the country's seaborne cargo, including petroleum products. Workers from across Southern California have port-related jobs that drive the regional economy, with 10,000 ILWU dockside workers at the L.A.-L.B. ports, economists say.
And the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles warned that a longer work stoppage posed risks for not just the harbor workforce but hundreds of thousands of other jobs directly or indirectly linked to the ports.
"We are starting to see ships divert to other ports, including to Mexico," announced Geraldine Knatz, executive director of the Port of L.A., in a 3 p.m. statement. "This dispute has impacted not only our Port work force but all stakeholders who ship goods through our complex and potentially the hundreds of thousands of jobs that are directly and indirectly related to port operations. In today’s shipping environment, we can’t afford to lose cargo or our competitive advantage.”
Several dozen longshore clerks, who have been without a contract since June 30, 2010, walked off the job Tuesday at the Port of L.A.'s busiest terminal. The strike grew dramatically Wednesday to all but one of the L.A. port's terminals and three of six terminals at the Port of Long Beach.
Thousands of longshoremen -- also represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union -- have honored the picket line, bringing container cargo movement to a stop. The strike is the largest work stoppage at the ports since 2002, when a lockout by shipping companies caused President George W. Bush to seek a court injunction to resolve the labor standoff.
The strike has raised fears of ripple effects throughout the economy. The ports combined move about 40 percent of the nation's seaborne cargo, an estimated $1 billion worth of goods per day. The Los Angeles Times reports that the union's picket lines had at least the tacit approval of the larger, 50,000-member ILWU of dockworkers, clerks and other workers who handle all of the cargo on the west coasts of the U.S. and Canada and in Hawaii.
John Fageaux, president of ILWU Local 63's Office Clerical Unit, said he requested late Wednesday that the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor Employers Association come back to the negotiating table.
"They refused by saying they were not prepared to make any movement from their current position," Fageaux said late Thursday morning. "We're prepared to strike as long as it takes."
The clerical workers union accuses the Harbor Employers Association, which represents 14 of the world's largest shipping companies, of using technology to outsource workers' jobs. John Berry, the lead negotiator for the employers, strongly disputed the claim.
"Not one OCU job has been sent overseas, or anywhere else," Berry said. On the contrary, Berry argued, the employers have guaranteed that no OCU workers will be laid off under a new contract and that they will be paid every week of the year.
The employers are also offering to self-impose fines every time a non-union employee performs union work, barring exceptions in the contract, Berry added.
The National Retail Federation called Thursday for President Barack Obama to step in to end the stalemate in contract negotiations. "A prolonged strike at the nation's largest ports would have a devastating impact on the U.S. economy," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay wrote in a letter to Obama.
"We call upon you to use all means necessary to get the two sides back to the negotiating table." The 10-day lockout in 2002 led to significant retail supply chain disruptions, which took six months to recover from and cost the economy an estimated $1 billion a day, according to the Retail Federation.
"An extended strike ... this time could have a greater impact considering the fragile state of the U.S. economy," Shay wrote.
White House officials were not immediately available for comment. The strike has raised the concern of local political officials, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and U.S. Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, who issued statements Wednesday.
"The City of Los Angeles needs both of you to get back to the bargaining table this week, to work with a mediator, and to hammer out a settlement before further harm is done to our local economy," Villaraigosa said. "There is no time to waste."
From the Port of L.A.'s home page Thursday:
"Due to labor action, seven container terminals at the Port of Los Angeles are not in operation as of Thursday, Nov. 29. Those terminals include China Shipping (Berth 100), Yang Ming (Berths 121-131), Yusen (Berths 212-225), Evergreen (Berths 226-236), APL (Berths 302-305) , APM (Berths 401-404) and California United (Berths 405-406). One container terminal, TraPac, remains open.
The Port is urging the parties involved in the dispute to work diligently toward finding a mutually agreeable solution."
Rep. Janice Hahn, D-Los Angeles, issued a statement siding with the striking clerical workers. "I stand in solidarity with the hard-working clerical workers, most of whom are women, of the ILWU Local 63's Office Clerical Unit who are striking today to prevent their jobs from being sent overseas," Hahn said. Berry said Wednesday that the Harbor Employers Association requested assistance from the National Mediation Board.
--City News Service and Nancy Wride contributed to this report.
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This War Must not be in Vain.
Steven Shamrak. July. 17, 2006
Since the Israel's Withdrawal from Gaza several months ago, Gaza became a launching pad for various Arab terror groups. Over 1,000 rockets and an uncountable number of mortar shells were fired toward Israel. Last months attack on the security post and the kidnapping of an Israeli solder by Hamas was the last straw. If anyone thinks that all of this is just a random act of terror - they are mistaken.
The coordinated war against Israel had been waged even before the inception of the Jewish state. It had been carried out on the fields of battle and in the corridors of the United Nations (and League of Nations). It is a well co-ordinated, greased by oil and anti-Semitism, effort!
Immediately after the military escalation in Gaza, Hezbollah was prepared for military operations, with well planed attacks on Israeli border patrols and the firing of hundreds of long-range missiles. At the same time, the diplomatic war was activated, as well. It did not take long for Qatar to prepare and table an anti-Israel resolution in U.N. Security Council. Contrary to the beliefs of many, the US support for Israel will not last long. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has already urged Israel to exercise restraint, as has President Bush.
Arab neighbours forced Israel to fight many wars against them. A while ago the late president of Egypt Saddat said: "We only need to win one war!" Fortunately for Jews, Israel has won each of them, so far. Every time Israel was about to end conflict by decisive victory over her Arab enemies, the International community, including the USA, stepped in and denied Jews the victory by threat of military, economical and political actions against Israel.
The Lebanese government is responsible for Hezbollah's hostility against Israel. Since Israel left Lebanon in 2000, it disarmed all militias but Hezbollah. The Lebanese army was not deployed in the Southern Lebanon and for years the group was given complete freedom of action. At the same time, the Olmert government, as the executioner of a Disengagement plan, is completely responsible for the escalation of Arab terror from Gaza. It is a well know fact that for Arab Palestinians nothing is going to be enough, even if Israel gives up it all: Judea, Samaria, Gaza and Jerusalem. But gutless, self-hating and corrupt Israeli politicians chose to ignore this fact!
For how long do Jews have to tolerate the stupidity of their own governments, the duplicity and blatant anti-Semitism of the International community and, the openly expressed, intentions of Arab countries to destroy Israel? The time has come to use the military advantage Israel has at the moment and crush our enemies once and for all. Otherwise, with the rising oil crises and the worlds oil dependency, as well as possible development of the Islamic WMD, it will be too late. Israel must regain full control over Jewish land and remove terror infested, hostile populations from our land - Eretz-Israel. Israel must not miss this opportunity. We must act now!
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All these years later I thought I would try the experiment again. And on Wednesday evening I placed a 1980s Bush clock radio inside my loop antenna and tuned around. I had no idea how high this radio could tune, so imagine my surprise when I came across the famous voice of Jan Tabak - on 1650 kHz. Most domestic radios are not set to receive stations above 1620, but this one certainly is, and Jan Tabak was coming in loud and clear. Perhaps some people will think it is impossible to receive foreign pirate stations on such a radio, but I made a short video for everybody to see . . .
A few minutes ago I was trying out the clock radio again and heard Jeneverstoker playing some records. It just goes to show that as long as you have a decent antenna, any radio will do! And you can make your own loop antenna for MW very cheaply. Have a look here.
And now for a few recent logs from this side of the North Sea . . .
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
1620 2043 Kolibrie 35333 music programme
1650 2109 Jan Tabak 45444-55555 music programme
1638 2110 Bluebird 45444-55544 music programme
1645 2128 Noordzee 43433 report for Kolibrie
Monday, May 13, 2013
1633 2129 Barcelona 55444-55555 music programme
1655 2129 Relmus 45434 music programme
1663 2130 Readymix 43443 music programme
1657 2148 Jan De Roos 45444-55444 music programme
1640 2209 Monte Carlo 35333 report for Barcelona
1648 2229 Casablanca 45434 qsoing
1653 2244 Jeneverstoker 35333-45343 report for Jan De Roos
1655 2321 Pluto weak signal testing
1636 0004 Pandora 55555 music programme
Sunday, May 12, 2013
1620 0515 Zonnester 35322-45444 music programme
- Jan Tabak's broadcast was something of a marathon. He is usually on air for only a few minutes - using this or one of his many other names - but it was gone 0400 Dutch time in the early hours of Wednesday morning when he finally shut down the transmitter. I really enjoy his style of broadcasting as you never quite know what to expect next - from the music to the talk, literally anything could happen! More long broadcasts please
- The weather on Monday evening was not good, especially in the north of the Netherlands. Relmus was experiencing a thunder storm while he was on air, and he reckons it might have been lightning that caused his abrupt departure from the airwaves. He expects to be back on air soon though
- At around midnight on Monday there was a big signal on 1636 - and some powerful audio to match. It was Pandora, who was on air for around an hour playing plenty of English music. He often signs on the band quite late and when I listen to him I often think how I must be one of only a few people in the world tuned in as most people are in bed sleeping!
- On Sunday morning Zonnester was busy with his weekly programme on 1620. I didn't manage to get out of bed early enough to listen live, but I left the computer recording the frequency and listened back to about an hour of his broadcast. It always amazes me how many messages and calls he receives while on air. This must be one of the most popular regular pirate broadcasters
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A bill that would provide long-term health care coverage and compensation for those sick or injured from 9/11 passed another hurdle after being approved on May 25 by The House Energy and Commerce Panel.
The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act would not only provide health care for first responders and those who are sick because of the attacks but would also make permanent federal program to provide medical monitoring for those exposed to toxins released by the World Trade Center Towers.
“Today’s successful Energy and Commerce vote is a major victory for the responders and survivors who have waited so long for health care, compensation and justice,” West Side Rep. Jerry Nadler said.
No date has been chosen for when the bill will come to a full House vote.
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Last Updated: 9:16 AM, October 13, 2012
Posted: 1:03 AM, October 13, 2012
It’s a building for billionaires — but it qualifies for a low-income housing tax break!
Residents and developers of One57 — a luxury high-rise across from Carnegie Hall that will be the tallest residential building in the city when it’s finished next year — stand to get a whopping $4.8 million annual tax break under a controversial plan that allows abatements in exchange for building low-income housing, financial documents show.
The program, known as a 421a, gives developers long-term tax breaks, and the savings can be passed on to big-bucks apartment buyers.
The 421a program generally grants developers tax abatements, usually for 20 years, in return for sponsoring affordable housing equivalent to 20 percent of a building’s units.
Under the plan, the buyer of One57’s $90 million, 13,554-square-foot penthouse on the 75th and 76th floors would pay just $20,000 a year in taxes, instead of the estimated $230,000 without the break.
The taxes gradually go up as the abatement is phased out.
City Council member Brad Lander, who has battled to stop tax breaks for luxury buildings, called the plan “an outrageous giveaway.”
“We can’t afford to be giving away millions of dollars in tax breaks for nothing,” Lander told CNBC.
The 421a program expired last year but is up for renewal in Albany.
One57, owned by prolific Manhattan developer Extell, applied for the 421a program and then withdrew its application but can reapply at any time, city records show.
Extell — like other large New York developers — has already made lucrative use of the abatement plan.
At five buildings — the Avery, Orion, Aldyn, Rushmore and Ariel East — annual taxes in the first year came to a total of $567,337, according to calculations by Miller Samuel Inc. CEO Jonathan Miller, based on Extell’s original offering plans.
Without the break, the estimated taxes on those five buildings would have been $22,430,543, Miller noted, resulting in $21.8 million in lost taxes to the city.
Extell yesterday defended its use of the program.
“This is not a tax break for billionaires but rather a well-established program designed to provide funds for affordable housing,” an Extell spokeswoman said. “It has provided thousands of units while in effect.
“It has also provided more economic basis for developers to build new buildings in NYC including One57, which has and will generate thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity.”
Extell does not build the affordable housing itself. Rather, it buys “421 certificates” on the open market from the builders of the low-income units to whom they are originally issued. The luxury developer then essentially trades the certificates it buys for a 421-a abatement.
The certificates Extell planned to use for One 57 funded about 244 low income housing units in the Bronx, records show.
The 421a program has come under fire by critics who contend the huge tax breaks draw much needed funds from city coffers.
In 2010, the abatements resulted in nearly $755 million in foregone taxes, according to the Pratt Center for Community Development.
IN 2011, the breaks “would have been enough...to prevent all the teacher layoffs, keep every firehouse open, prevent a $100 million cut to city libraries and still leave $150 million in change,” Pratt Center claimed.
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You use your vehicle to drive around the city and out of town. Whether you're a student who drives to school or a businessman embarking on a provincial business trip, you definitely encounter various road conditions. Your vehicle's wheels and tires require protection from whatever the road can throw at them. The fender fulfills this role by housing both the wheels and tires.
Located on the side portion of an automobile in front of the doors, this sheet metal assembly provides a number of benefits. Keeping dust, dirt, and various road debris away from the wheel and front brakes are the responsibility of fenders. A good number of these have tiny wings or flaps that add to this protective function. This sheet metal assembly also prevents debris from hitting other parts of the car, which is useful when your vehicle throws up a rock from the road. It also prevents the buildup of accumulated foreign debris on the wheel opening.
Some car fender designs are even designed to make a vehicle more aerodynamic. Most sports cars have sleek fenders for this purpose. Other designs even boast features such as grooves or grilles that help improve the car's performance at high speeds. On the other hand, these sheet metal assemblies cover the frame and sides of the engine block. Adding that extra bit of style gives your vehicle a distinguished look to separate it from the rest. A number of companies provide custom designs by adding details such as pinstriping. Not only do automobiles benefit from this part, but it can also be found on motorcycles, bikes, and other forms of wheeled transportation machines.
Depending on the brand and model of your vehicle, fenders can be constructed using steel, fiberglass, carbon fiber, or other materials. These modern materials are designed to crumple during a crash. By managing crash energy and directing it away from the passenger cabin, a vehicle's occupants are kept safe. Some of these parts can even be bent back into shape, while most will be replaced. Indeed, a large number of minor car accidents usually have the fender involved.
Whether you're driving a sedan, truck, or SUV, there's a replacement fender available from Parts Train. You can purchase a universal or custom-fit model, depending on your preference. From trims to skirts, we've got them all. Our extensive product catalogs are easy to browse, so you can spot the right part from the get-go. If you're unsure on what the size and fit will match your vehicle, our experienced customer support team will help you. All our products are guaranteed OEM-spec and are covered with a comprehensive one-year warranty. There's also a price-match guarantee for that additional peace of mind.
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Using this little tape recorder has been the favorite activity for a few weeks now, ever since we made a short radio show. Pete got this in college, I think. I'm not even sure. We still have a box of tapes and the girls got busy right away.
We got the idea to do a radio show from this book, World War II Days: Discover the Past with Exciting Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes , by David King. There are several books in this series and we really like them.
There are so many books and resources we have been using for the WW II theme we are working on, I have been snapping photos of book covers as a quick way to keep track. I will try to list some favorites at some point. This topic is huge and can also be sad and depressing so we mix it up with fun stuff—like learning the jitterbug, listening to big band, planting a victory garden, and learning about radio shows from the 1940s and making your own show, like we did here, with the emphasis on sound effects. There are a ton of amazing shows and music from Old Radio World that we listen to—it's an amazing resource. We laugh hard at The Baby Snooks Show (but you might want to listen first before the kids do). The Benny Goodman show is great to teach swing dancing to.
We wrote a quick script, the oldest child was a natural at the telling. The middle child was the sound maker, and was all business, and the wee one got her one scream in, although not without some micro-managing from the oldest sister. There were bowls filled with water, empty cups, rulers, metal cans and all sorts of random items all spread out. It was so fun and reminded me so much of recording when I was little.
Now they keep the recorder in their top bunk, or hide with it under the bed, whispering secrets and singing softly into and playing it back. It's so sweet.
Here's one of the shows we did. (Here's the direct YouTube link if the video below is busted.)
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Poetry in Motion
An old man whispering surreptitiously to a house plant." – from Nick St. John's "How I Came To Work at the Wendy's"
Transportation often finds itself at the heart of poetry; something about the metaphors of motion keeps the two entwined.
But it's more rare we find poetry in the heart of transportation. We treat our buses and trains … well, train, singular … as a means to an end, ignoring some of their innate beauty.
Thanks to a new partnership between Capital Metro and the Austin Poetry Society, though, that could soon change. The transit authority is giving over unused ad space inside its fleet to signage featuring poems.
In a new contest called Poetry With Wheels, Austinites 18 and older are encouraged to submit original poems of 50 words or fewer (maximum: eight lines, but in English or Spanish) about the subject of their choosing: work, Austin, family, even the buses themselves. There's no limit to the number of submissions a person can make. Email entries to firstname.lastname@example.org, or mail them to:
Poetry With Wheels
Austin Poetry Society
PO Box 684672
Austin, TX 78768
As Cap Metro CEO Linda Watson put it: "Our buses are the perfect backdrop for art and poetry. … We can support the cultural arts in our community while also giving a little something back to our riders."
See the society's website for complete submission guidelines, and look around next time you're on board a Cap Metro bus: You might not see any poems up yet, but there's other beauty to be found on both sides of those windows.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/m/Blogs?oid=oid%3A1336915
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Could sand that sits east of Interstate 75 be trucked to Longboat Key for use on the north end of the island?
Longboat Key officials sure hope so.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) concluded that 600 cubic yards of coarse, white sand near the Venice shore cannot be placed on the north end of Longboat Key because it contains too much shell.
Public Works Director Juan Florensa received the news last week, but has not given up hope that sand will be found somewhere to replace some of the beach that disappeared this year near the North Shore Road beach access.
Florensa said the town is still exploring three other sand sites, which include two sites near the shores of Manatee County and south Hillsborough County.
And, a new sand site is being explored in East Manatee County.
“A borrow pit that Schroeder-Manatee Ranch uses to extract rock, shell and sand in the Lakewood Ranch area looks very promising,” said Florensa, who is hopeful the state will approve a permit to take 600 cubic yards of coarse, white sand for placement near the beach access.
The beach access at North Shore Road was closed in March because the lack of a beach there created dangerous conditions for beachgoers.
FDEP, Florensa said, expedites permits for high-erosion areas when 600 cubic yards of sand or less is used for beach placement.
The town would like to renourish the hot-spot area until a major renourishment is performed in 2012 and a permit is approved for offshore breakwaters that will help stop the sand from eroding so quickly.
The cost of the potential project is unknown until a sand site is approved. But Florensa said the town could save some money by transporting the sand to Longboat Key using dump trucks.
West Coast Inland Navigation District would like to dredge sand this fall in Longboat Pass and east of Jewfish Key that is compatible for use on the island’s beach.
Both maintenance projects, which have been stalled because of permitting, funding and bureaucratic hurdles, will clear the waterways for safer boat traffic in that area, while dredging potential beach-quality sand for Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key.
But town officials are doubtful the sand is white and coarse enough for placement on the north end.
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Hat's off to Dee Pelton, volunteers
Dee Pelton held a luncheon that will be tough to top.
Youth sailors descend on City Island
Approximately 250 people hit the water Saturday, April 20 through Sunday, April 21, for Sailfest. The regatta, Sarasota Youth Sailing's biggest fundraiser of the year, included four classes of competition — Optimus, 420, Laser and Multi-hull — and a barbecue feast.
Book club sunsets for the season
The Sunset Beach Book Club, in its 10th year, ended this season with a luncheon and discussion of the book “Gone Girl,” by Gillian Flynn, April 18, at Lazy Lobster. Discussion moderator was Ricki Carroll. Together, the group read five books this season.
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Valley service seeks to keep elderly in homes
Deciding the best situation for an elderly parent is never an easy thing, but when they live alone in a city with no family, it gets even tougher.
One Valley charity, Duet, services seniors who can no longer drive by helping them run errands, effectively allowing them to stay in their home as long as possible.
"One particular person that comes to mind...can't get to the store, so we have found a volunteer who takes her to the store once per week," Duet Dir. of Volunteer Services Sue Reckinger told News/Talk 92.3 KTAR's Mac & Gaydos on Wednesday.
Reckinger also said volunteers also spend time visiting with seniors to combat the loneliness that comes with living on their own.
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"Sally Clarkson does a great job of reminding us that God is bigger than all of our concerns" -- The Old Schoolhouse Magazine
One Saturday last month, we had a rather regrettable morning. We were quickly packing six bikes, seven suitcases, seven people, and one dog into two cars. It was barely morning, and I am not a perky morning person. My husband is, however, and he was having difficulty motivating the rest of us. When the last item was shoved in place, and the cranky parents were separated into their two vehicles, we took off down the highway. I had decided to listen to Sally Clarkson’s WholeHearted Mother Conference tapes on the drive, but then I looked at the title. “PEACE AT HOME?” I moaned loudly. “What is THAT?” My daughter asked what I was grumbling about and I showed her the title of the tapes. What could she do but giggle? I was afraid the contrast between Peace At Home and Wheelers At Home might be too much for all of us, but I kept to my plan. Cynically pushing the cassette into the tape deck, I announced, “Okay, kids, it is time for peace at home!”
I am not sure what I expected, but was I surprised! Rather than getting slammed with “shoulds”, “oughts” and “if you would onlys,” I was met with support, encouragement, understanding, and the gentle prodding of God’s word. The opening story of the first tape is beyond hilarious. Instead of the tears of depression, comparing our lives to the mythical victorious homeschool life I thought would be proclaimed, we were laughing until we cried. Sally Clarkson understands the hassles, the temptations, and the realities of the homeschool life. She takes those experiences and gives messages filled with reality, humor, and the power of God’s word. When I finished the first two tapes, I felt like I had spent a few hours in a cafe with a dear friend, and Sally’s words of encouragement had
motivated me to love God and love others more deeply. Isn’t friendship and encouragement what we all need on this narrow road?
The titles for the five tapes are Finding Peace at Home, Giving Peace through Discipleship (The Model of Jesus in John), Centering on the Peace of God at Home, Lifegiving Is a Spiritual Choice (Phyllis Stanley) and A Peace Worth Keeping (Clay Clarkson). You can order these tapes by calling Whole Heart Ministries at 1-254-797-2142 or you can visit their website at www.wholeheart.org.
If you need some encouragement in your walk with the Lord, or if you need to be revived as a homeschooling mother, I recommend you listen to Keeping Peace at Home by Whole Heart Ministries. May you be encouraged as you focus your eyes on the Lord, the Source of true peace. Sally Clarkson does a great job of reminding us that God is bigger than all of our concerns and that He can be trusted with our hearts. Enjoy!
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Partnership program saves sight of 200,000 athletes
Warsaw, Poland, September 19, 2010 – Today, Lions Clubs International celebrates 10 years of global partnership with Special Olympics on the Opening Eyes program. During the 2010 Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Regional Games, taking place in Warsaw this week, Lions expect to screen the 200,000th athlete through the partnership program. View photos from the event.
Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) has a long history of supporting initiatives to help disabled populations. Through Opening Eyes, a partnership program between Lions Clubs International and Special Olympics, Lions clubs members around the world volunteer at Special Olympics games, registering athletes, conducting vision screenings and fitting glasses. More than 12,000 Lions have volunteered in the Opening Eyes program, and LCIF has contributed more than US$12.2 million in funding in support of this program.
Through the partnership, Lions are helping to improve eye care services. In addition, the partnership is helping to train additional vision care specialists on how to provide better vision care to this population. The need is great. Research has shown that among Special Olympics athletes, 68 percent have not had an eye examination in three years, 37 percent are in need of eyeglasses and 18 percent wear clinically incorrect eyeglasses.
“We have never had more significant partnership in the history of Special Olympics than the partnership we have today with the Lions Clubs,” said Tim Shriver, Chairman & CEO of Special Olympics International.
The partnership is a model of collaboration, with Lions Clubs volunteers and Special Olympics volunteer Clinical Directors and volunteers working side-by-side. The partnership is also strengthened significantly through the support of optic industry leaders. Essilor International is the global exclusive supplier of lenses to Opening Eyes, and Safilo, S.p.A serves as global exclusive supplier of ophthalmic frames and sunglasses. Opening Eyes provides life-changing clinical intervention through the provision of prescription eyeglasses, while also helping athletes with more urgent eye care needs receive a referral to an eye care specialist in their community.
“This partnership is a natural for Lions, given our mission of saving sight and helping the disabled. It is truly is a collaboration between four organizations with a shared mission,” said Eberhard J. Wirfs, Chairperson of LCIF. “More than 12,000 Lions have given their time to support this program, and we are dedicated to continuing this partnership.”
The games run from September 18-24. Wirfs will attend the event and participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony with Shriver, officially opening the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program, of which Opening Eyes is one of the flagship initiatives. Together, they will officially launch the Opening Eyes screening at the games. More than 1,600 athletes from 58 countries will complete in the 2010 Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia Regional Games in Warsaw.
This month, Lions and Special Olympics also commemorate Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day, which will be officially marked on September 25. Eunice Kennedy Shriver Day is an annual celebration of her life and a global call for people to commit actions of inclusion, acceptance and unity for and with people with intellectual disability. What started as an inclusive sports camp in the early 1960s has blossomed into a worldwide movement transforming lives in over 170 countries. She helped transform the lives of the 200 million people worldwide with intellectual disabilities. The participation of Lions Clubs volunteers at the 2010 Special Olympics European Regional Games is just one example of how Lions worldwide will mark this day.
Lions Clubs International Foundation
Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) is the charitable arm of Lions Clubs International, the world’s largest service club organization with 1.35 million members in 207 geographic areas and countries. LCIF was ranked by a Financial Times' study as the number one non-governmental organization with which to partner. Through LCIF, Lions have helped to save or restore the vision of more than 30 million people worldwide. Learn more about LCIF at www.lcif.org.
Special Olympics is an international organization that changes lives by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect worldwide. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown from a few hundred athletes to nearly 3.5 million athletes in over 170 countries. Special Olympics provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to realize their potential, develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship. Visit Special Olympics at www.specialolympics.org.
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