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By Wendy Forsythe
One of the biggest real estate stories last year was the explosive growth in short sales. Short sales accounted for somewhere between 20-25 percent of all home sales in 2012—approximately one million homes sold for less than the amount due on their mortgages.
Short sales helped the market in a number of ways. They reduced the number of foreclosure actions. They helped rapidly clear out distressed inventory. They helped stabilize home prices. And with another 3-4 million seriously delinquent loans and millions of homeowners underwater on their mortgages, we can expect to see short sales volume increase over the next year.
While the number of short sales set a new record, the term “short sale” was still a bit of an oxymoron. For the most part, short sales were anything but “short.” They required more paperwork, extensive—often contentious—negotiations between the seller, buyer and lender (or, in some cases, multiple lenders), and far more time than a traditional real estate transaction.
But the process showed signs of improvement in 2012. Sales which previously might have taken 6-9 months to complete, now took as little as 60-90 days. Lenders improved their processes and added qualified staff, while real estate agents and brokers developed expertise in the short sale process.
More good news is on the horizon. Effective February 1, new guidelines for the government’s HAFA (Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives) program should make short sale efforts even easier.
The changes to the program are designed to help expedite the process by removing some of the hurdles that existed.
Among the more notable changes to the program:
• The time frame for making a decision to offer a short sale has been reduced from 45 to 30 days.
• The amount of reimbursement for second lien holders has been increased from $1 for every $3 owed, to $2 for every $3 owed, with a cap of $5,000. This is a potential increase of $3,000 to help solve one of the biggest problems in getting short sales approved.
• Resale prohibitions have been relaxed. Previously, a home bought via short sale couldn’t be sold for 90 days. Now the hold period is only 30 days, or 90 days if the sales price is greater than 120 percent of the short sale price.
• The GSEs have aligned their programs and formalized a number of items, including the encouragement of pre-approved sales, defined timelines, prohibition against foreclosures if there is a short sale approval or pending transaction, the release of liability for borrowers with a hardship, and relocation assistance.
• Three Treasury Department forms are being replaced with a new, simpler short sale notice (SSN) form that doesn’t require borrower or agent signatures.
• GSE pre-determined hardship standards (90+ days delinquent and a FICO score below 620) are being adopted across the board, and borrowers with this status can simply sign their hardship affidavit at closing.
All of these changes promise to help accelerate the number of short sales in 2013, so make sure you’re prepared to participate in this growing part of the market!
More details about HAFA are on the Making Homes Affordable website.
Wendy Forsythe, executive vice president/head of global operations at Atlantic & Pacific Real Estate, has leveraged her passion for real estate and technology to help build national real estate brands in both Canada and the U.S. She is responsible for the operations and growth of the national brokerage with offices in 22 states and nearly 1,000 agents.
For more information, visit www.apreus.com.
Copyright© 2013 RISMedia, The Leader in Real Estate Information Systems and Real Estate News. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be republished without permission from RISMedia.
Content on this website is copyrighted and may not be redistributed without express written permission from RISMedia. Access to RISMedia archives and thousands of articles like this, as well as consumer real estate videos, are available through RISMedia's REsource Licensed Content Solutions. Offering the industry’s most comprehensive and affordable content packages. Click here to learn more! http://resource.rismedia.com
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Ramallah: Palestinian envoys are battling for UN Security Council votes to back their effort to win full UN membership, while the United States is using its diplomatic big guns to make the bid fail.
The Security Council held its first meeting to discuss the application on Monday and is to meet again Wednesday to formally send the request made by Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to a membership committee.
The Palestinian campaign faces an uphill struggle as the United States has vowed to veto any resolution backing their application. No vote at the 15-member council is expected for several weeks however and frenzied lobbying has started.
On top of campaigning at the UN, the Palestinians are to send high level delegations to council members Bosnia, Gabon and Nigeria in a bid to win backing, Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told reporters.
The United States and Israel, which insist that only direct negotiations can produce an accord, are lobbying furiously for council members to oppose or abstain in the resolution.
If the resolution does not get nine votes in favor it will fail and the United States will not have to use its veto.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton raised the Palestinian bid with Lebanon's Prime Minister Nijab Mikati at the UN headquarters before Monday's meeting, US officials said. Lebanon holds the council presidency in September and has backed the Palestinian bid.
She also raised the case Monday with Colombia's Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.
Nine of the 15 council members already recognize the Palestinian state, but diplomats say the Palestinians will struggle to get nine votes.
Only China, Russia, Lebanon, India, South Africa and Brazil have declared themselves certain to vote for the Palestinian bid.
"This is an exercise in which there will be tremendous pressure on members of the Security Council, but we trust in our friends," Mansour said.
Despite the US opposition, Mansour called on the Security Council to "synchronize itself with history" and approve Palestinian membership.
US President Barack Obama told Abbas publicly and privately at the UN last week that there could be no Palestinian state without an accord with the Israelis reached through direct talks.
The diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East -- the United States, Russia, European Union and United Nations -- launched a new bid to resume talks after Abbas made his historic application, setting a target of an accord by the end of 2012.
Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle gave strong support to the Quartet initiative in his speech to the UN General Assembly on Monday.
"Two states existing peacefully side by side are possible. However, this can only be achieved through negotiations," he said.
"The confrontation of words here in New York must not be allowed to lead to an escalation in violence in the Middle East," he added, calling for "direct negotiations without delay!"
China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi also added to the long list of international calls for new talks in his speech to the UN assembly.
The Quartet has called for talks to start within a month, proposals from both sides in three months, major progress in six months and a final deal by the end of 2012.
Abbas, riding a wave of popular support in the occupied territories, says he is ready for talks but first there must be a "complete halt" to Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories.
Israel's Netanyahu has said he wants talks without conditions and is refusing to halt the new settlements.
A senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on the sidelines of the Clinton-Mikati talks that he saw "little hope" for new talks.
If the Security Council bid fails, the Palestinians are expected to go to the UN General Assembly to seek observer state membership of the UN. They would almost certainly get a majority in favor.
France has called for the Palestinians to be given observer state membership in a bid to defuse the diplomatic clash.
First Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 10:51
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Some Rock hitting the valley this month....Thank You Professor
THANKS FOR ROCKIN' THE FOX!
If you miss an event of course like The Fox on Facebook and live it vicariously and share with all your friends too.
Now let's ROCK!
Friday we had a 5.5 earthquake in Southern California near San Diego nothing real serious and no damage or injuries, however it is a long line of recent quakes. Sciencetist call it a swarm and they along with FEMA have monitored many weeks of this kind of activity followed by a pretty good size jolt here have a look. This along with the quake near Japan less then a week before indicates to me that the ring of fire or the Pacific Rim pictured here has really been rocking and rolling lately. This maybe a bad week to bring it up, what with the end coming on the 21st supposedly but it does seem as though the earth is going through some changes as it is apt to do and has done. I mean we, not too many years ago had Japan move something like 8 feet. Something like 18 feet of rock lifted toward the surface when the quake struck off Haiti's shore. Change is inevitable as it has happened in the past and is long over do. I find this intriguing because I am a huge fan of nature and what she is capable of doing and how she does things. There isn't much we can do about it except be prepared and deal with the aftermath. I am not a doomsayer just an observer who doesn't believe it's the end necessarily just a change.
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MORRISVALE – When 60-year-old Danny Hill was a young boy, his family would come to downtown Madison to shop and he would get to ride on coin-operated rides that included a pink elephant and a spotted horse.
“My grandmother Pearl Baker of Ruckers would always let me ride those coin-operated rides and it was like going to Disney World for me,” Hill said.
Today, Hill is a retired coal miner after 32 years with Hobet. Also, after retiring he worked with his family restoring old buildings, including the medical center building on Main Street in downtown Madison where his son Dr. Cliff Hill operates Hill Chiropractic Center.
After locating the two old coin-operated rides, the pink elephant and the spotted horse, Hill’s restoration hobby became his passion.
“They are now fully restored and on display at Hill Chiropractic Center,” he said. “My grandson Dawson likes to ride them.”
Hill’s restoration hobby includes restoring forgotten relics to their former glory. He has restored old signs, a New York City street light, coin-operated games and rides, an old doctor’s buggy and more, but one of his favorite is restoring old gas pumps.
“The process is a rigorous one,” he said. “My grandson helps me take them apart and I put them back together. The entire process from start to finish can be long, but I really enjoy it.”
There are no expensive tools or knowledge required to restore an antique gas pump. When completed, the finished project can be cherished or sold for a hefty profit. Some people have turned the process of restoring antique gas pumps into a profession, but for Hill it’s more of a passionate hobby.
“Restoration of cars, gas pumps, old signs and other antiques is just something I love to do,” Hill said.
His garage in Morrisvale off Big Horse Creek Road, just before the Morrisvale Volunteer Fire Department, can’t be missed due to its large oil and gas signs attached to the outside.
“Yeah it’s pretty hard to drive by without seeing the large signs attached to the garage,” Hill said.
The entrance to the garage has the look and feel of the old mom-and-pop stations that once thrived just by selling gas and fixing cars in the repair shop.
Those types of gasoline stations and repair shops can’t compete in today’s business market and no longer exist.
More than 50,000 stations have closed since 1991, when there were nearly 200,000 nationwide, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores.
The high cost of oil has made it hard to turn a profit selling gas, pushing station owners into selling snacks and soft drinks at their convenience stores to increase profit margins.
Like the popular cable television show “American Pickers,” Hill travels around looking for old gas pumps, signs and other antique he may be able to restore.
“I really only want things I can restore to fully operational again,” he said. “Shows like American Pickers have driven up costs, but I still enjoy the hobby.”
Hill says all of the relics he restores are part of American history.
“The things I restore provide a glimpse at American life in the recent and distant past,” he said. “It’s just a really fun hobby and my friends and family seem to really enjoy seeing and learning about the history of all this stuff.”
So for Hill, his hobby brings to mind the old saying, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”
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Stanford Soccer Camps
Stanford Soccer Camps ... much more than just training ...
College Opportunities for Student Athletes magazine, since 1991, written with several hundred college coaches, specifically to help subscribers get to college and on the team ... often with full scholarships.
Summer camps are, in our opinion, the best way to get to know the college coach you may some day play for. Coaches use camps to train and evaluate future members of their teams. Summer camps provide an ideal environment for both student athlete and coach to thoroughly prepare and improve the quality of the recruiting decision.
For these important reasons we publish our book, The Best Soccer Camps and dedicate the Spring Edition of our magazine, College Opportunities for Student Athletes to detailed reviews of only 100 summer camp operators, nationwide.
Stanford - Creating a great camp experience
Many colleges have developed summer camp programs to help players develop their skills and knowledge of the game. At Stanford we are taking the notion of the summer camp several steps further, creating a camp dedicated to identifying college prospects and preparing for the college experience. Here are a few of the ways Stanford is different and, we believe, better.
The camp coaches, selected from outstanding colleges across the country, are great teachers of the game and enjoy helping you reach your potential. Camp provides them with scouting opportunities to evaluate and recruit campers.
In the boys ID Camp, you help design your own curriculum. Instead of being forced into generic team training, Stanford offers a variety of topics on and off the field. You choose what fits your needs. Some topics planned for this summer include: developing a personal soccer fitness program, choosing a college, zonal defending systems, goalkeeper specific programs, improving wide area attacking, etc.
The girls camp is staffed with top coaches, international and college players. Many of Stanford’s present players were first identified at this camp. Select games under the stadium lights, goalkeeper specific training and an emphasis on technical perfection are all important elements of this camp.
Some of our finest Stanford student-athletes ... top college players ... live and eat with campers. Many have gone on to play with professional and national teams. Living and training with them, 24 hours a day, is a great opportunity for the aspiring student athlete.
At Stanford we want our camp environment to replicate that of the university by offering opportunities to challenge you and help you reach your potential.
For more information and to register, please visit our website:
Summer Camps: Much More Than Training
Every camp here has been selected in our Best Soccer Camps book. The current edition of our Best Soccer Camps book contains only 100 selected camps from the more than 500 summer soccer camps.
Is this approach working? When have you seen so many camp ads and articles, anywhere, ever? Think about this. We talk to more serious soccer families and more truly dedicated college coaches, in one year, than anyone. And we help readers find the good camps that can affect their college futures, and their lives.
Now, consider what serious players do for top camps. Competitive players make the camp a success, elevate the level of play, and challenge other players. They stimulate the coaching staff. Everyone learns more and has more fun. And sometimes, a player catches the eye of a coach because, "Those campers were working so hard they looked like college players." ... the rest ... perhaps, is history!
Readers refer to our Student Athlete magazine as the "Consumer Reports" of College-Bound sports. We are proud to have earned your respect. When we compile our Special Campers Issues we invite only camps recommended in our Best Camps book to advertise. We've done our homework. All of these camps are good!
As parents of serious student athletes, we know how expensive, yet important, good camp selection is. Add the camp's cost, airfare, new clothes, new equipment, spending money, telephone, ground transportation and family gifts ... a residential camp’s cost can total $1000!
What are the alternatives, once you've learned how to how play, for getting noticed by the college coaches?
The three most important things to do, to increase your chances of playing sports in college are:
1. Participate in the ODP
2. Win state cup with your club team
3. Attend camp at the college where you hope to play
Camp selection is the only event YOU can control. By the end of the camp, both you and the coach will know if his college is in your future. If the news is not good, ask him to recommend colleges where you can play, and to use him as a reference.
Bob Collins, Editor
Student Athlete Scholarships Foundation
GOOGLE: "student athlete magazine"
Student Athlete Magazine
If you found this article helpful, please subscribe to Student Athlete magazine and see our website (http://www.student-athlete.net) for information about our College Scholarships SYSTEM that includes 3 books, 18 pamphlets and a video. Since 1991 our SYSTEM has helped over 1 million families get the kids to college and on the team ... often with full scholarships.
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My graduation to spring marathons was almost accidental. I had joined a running group to prepare for something in mid-November, liked the group and so kept running with them two or three times a week to be sociable. After another 7 or 8 weeks of running, I realized that I was doing reasonable distance in an Ontario winter.
The key to winter running is to be ready to slow down and plod if necessary. It's more work running through snow and worrying about keeping your balance on ice. Breaking something won't bring you success in the spring.
Speed work is more difficult in the winter - that may be the only justification for treadmills other than summer heat in the deep south - but I find it easier to stay motivated running outside.
Take your two or three weeks to recover from the half with easy running; then maintain a reasonable base from which to go on to the marathon program. You will likely want to average 25 to 30 miles a week in November and December. Start at the beginning of the marathon program - if it is aimed at taking someone from nothing to a marathon in 16 weeks, I'ld find something else - and work your way along. There are lots of programs which recommend 18 or 20 weeks planned training before a marathon, and you should not assume that what you've done in the fall will have much of an impact on your fitness 3 months later.
Post a reply on the Bulletin Board
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Find articles, news, awards, grants, resources and more related to student journalism inside.
You've finished school and are trying to make sense of the big, bad (as in good, of course) world of journalism. Now what?
Welcome to Generation J, where future newsroom leaders can collaborate to build newsrooms of the future. Looking for career advice? Get it or give it here. Got some industry insight? Share it. Want to rant? Fine. Trying to pick up new skills or build your portfolio? Consider this your training ground and art gallery. (All media are welcome but know that we're featuring only the best work. So if it appears here, you're doing something right.)
Last but absolutely, positively and most certainly not least: Hang around here to stay on top of the issues that affect you and your newsroom every day. The Society of Professional Journalists will inspire you to improve and protect journalism.
What are you waiting for? Have advice to share? A link to offer?
Generation J is looking for your sharp contributions. Contact Generation J Committee Chairwoman Aiesha D. Little for more information.
Student Research Guidelines: How SPJ can help students
SPJ is more than happy to help student journalists. We welcome research questions as students pursue studies inside and outside the classroom. We offer a variety of resources and professional experts that are available, but try as we may, our services are not available 24/7/365 - specifically those of our hard-working volunteer experts and committee members. While we recognize those limitations, we will do all we can to assist students. In order to gain that assistance, we ask that students please follow these three guidelines.
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WASHINGTON -- A divided House on Friday passed Republican legislation that would end or consolidate dozens of duplicative job training programs with the objective of making it easier for people to gain the skills they need in a changing job market. It's a goal that President Barack Obama says he shares while disagreeing with the way the GOP would do it. The bill would also increase employers' influence in who gets job training grants.
While there is widespread agreement that current federal job training programs are inefficient and overlapping, Democrats voted overwhelmingly against the bill, saying they were locked out of the bill-writing process and that the bill would eliminate programs tailored to serve veterans, the disabled, ex-prisoners and other underserved populations. Democrats also said giving employers more power over programs came at the expense of unions, community colleges and other stakeholders.
The vote was 215-202, sending the bill to the Senate where the Democratic majority is likely to take a different approach to job training reform.
Obama, in his State of the Union address last year, said he wanted to "cut through the maze of confusing training programs" so people have a direct path to the help they require. But the White House said it strongly opposed the House bill, saying consolidation could leave some people without needed assistance.
"The current system is inefficient and ineffective," Education and the Workforce Committee chairman John Kline, R-Minn., said in explaining the legislation that would eliminate or consolidate 35 federal programs and create a Workforce Investment Fund to act as a single conduit of support for employers and job seekers.
"Onerous rules prevent workers from accessing the training they need when they need it, and taxpayer dollars are being spent with little accountability. A bloated bureaucracy is standing between workers and the support they need," he said.
Republicans noted that while there are 12 million Americans looking for work, some 3.6 million job openings remain unfilled.
Kline also denied that the bill would hurt those most in need of help, saying it requires that funds be reserved for veterans, disadvantaged youth and other vulnerable groups.
The bill amends and reauthorizes the 1998 Workforce Investment Act, or WIA, which set up business-led workforce investment boards around the country to determine local job-training needs and sought to establish one-stop career centers to assist those wanting information or training.
But the Government Accountability Office said in a 2011 report that nine federal agencies were spending about $18 billion a year to administer 47 training programs -- not all under the WIA jurisdiction -- and that almost all of these programs were offering services similar to those provided by other programs.
Under the current law, which has not been reauthorized since 2003, 51 percent of the investment boards must be comprised of employers. The GOP bill would increase that percentage to two-thirds, rankling Democrats and labor groups who said this was an effort to diminish union ability to shape local programs.
That, said Rep. George Miller of California, top Democrat on the education committee, would "lock out key stakeholders, including labor, community-based organizations, community colleges, or people who work with youth or workers with disabilities."
But emphasizing the role of employers, said Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., "helps ensure that the training you receive is related to the jobs actually available in your area."
Among programs being repealed under the bill are those targeted at veterans, Native Americans, ex-offenders, seasonal farmworkers and youth.
The so-called SKILLS Act -- the name stands for Supporting Knowledge and Investing in Lifelong Skills -- also gives more power to governors to decide on the location of programs in their states and further consolidate programs. It freezes current spending for the act at about $6 billion a year for the next seven years.
The House defeated, on a 227-192 party-line vote, a Democratic alternative offered by Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., that would have bolstered the role of community colleges and given more priority to training for high-growth industries and programs aimed at helping low-income people.
The House also rejected, 233-184, a Democratic proposal to raise the minimum wage, now at $7.25 an hour, to $10.10 for the next three years and index future increases to the rate of inflation.
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By E.G. Nadhan, Distinguished Technologist, HP
SOCCI is the industry’s first Cloud Standard for enterprises that wish to provide infrastructure as a service in the Cloud and SOA. Developed by The Open Group SOA and Cloud Work Groups, SOCCI is the realization of an enabling framework of service-oriented components for infrastructure to be provided as a service in SOA solutions and the cloud. The standard details a set of common SOCCI elements and management building blocks for organizations to consider and identifies the synergies that can be realized through cohesive application of SOA and cloud-based principles. Using SOCCI, organizations can incorporate Cloud-based resources and services into their infrastructure for increased agility and scale, and lower maintenance costs.
"Service Oriented Cloud Computing Infrastructure (SOCCI) is a classic intersection of multiple paradigms in the industry – infrastructure virtualization, service-orientation and the cloud – an inevitable convergence," said Tom Hall, Global Product Marketing Manager, Cloud and SOA Applications, HP Enterprise Services. "HP welcomes the release of the industry's first cloud computing standard by The Open Group. This standard provides a strong foundation for HP and The Open Group to work together to evolve additional standards in the SOA and Cloud domains."
Rewind two decades and visualize what a forward-thinking prediction would have looked like then -- IT is headed towards a technology agnostic, service-based applications and infrastructure environment, consumed when needed, with usage-based chargeback models in place for elastic resources. A forward thinking Tweet would have simply said – IT is headed for the Cloud. These concepts have steadily evolved within Applications first with virtualization expediting their evolution within infrastructure across enterprises. Thus, IT has followed an evolutionary pattern over the years forcing enterprises to continuously revisit their overall strategy.
What started as SOA has evolved into the Cloud. Here are some tell-tale signs.
As-a-service model. Application interfaces being exposed as services in a standardized fashion were the technical foundation to SOA. This concept was slowly but steadily extended to the infrastructure environment leading to IaaS and eventually, [pick a letter of your choice]aaS. Infrastructure components, provisioned as services, had to be taken into account as part of the overall SOA strategy. Given the vital role of IaaS within the Cloud, a holistic SOA enterprise-wide SOA strategy is essential for successful Cloud deployment.
Location transparency. Prior to service orientation, Applications had to be aware of the logistics of information sources. Service orientation introduced location transparency so that the specifics of the physical location where the services were executed did not matter as much. Extending this paradigm, Cloud leverages the available resources as and when needed for execution of the services provided.
Virtualization. Service orientation acted as a catalyst for virtualization of application interfaces wherein the standardization of the interfaces was given more importance than the actual execution of the services. Virtualization was extended to infrastructure components facilitating their rapid provisioning as long as it met the experience expectations of the consumers.
Hardware. IaaS provisioning based on virtualization along with the partitioning of existing physical hardware into logically consumable segments resulted in hardware being shared across multiple applications. Cloud extends this notion into a pool of hardware resources being shared across multiple applications.
Chargeback. SOA was initially focused on service implementation after which the focus shifted to SOA Governance and SOA Management including the tracking of metrics and chargeback mechanism. Cloud is following a similar model which is why the challenges of metering and chargeback mechanisms that IT is dealing with in the Cloud are fundamentally similar to monitoring service consumption across the enterprise.
These are my tell-tale signs. I would be very interested to know about practical instances of similar signs on your end.
It is no surprise that the very first Cloud technical standard published by The Open Group -- Service Oriented Cloud Computing Infrastructure – initially started as the Service Oriented Infrastructure (SOI) project within The Open Group SOA Work Group. As its co-chair, I had requested extending SOI into the Open Group Cloud Work Group when it was formed making it a joint project across both work groups. Today, you will see how the SOCCI technical standard calls out the evolution of SOI into SOCCI for the Cloud.
Figure 1: The Open Group Service Oriented Cloud Computing Infrastructure Technical Standard
To find out more about the new SOCCI technical standard, please check out: http://www3.opengroup.org/news/press/open-group-pu
HP Cloud Consulting Services offer a full range of cloud services, from discovery workshops and strategy development, to solution design and implementation. Find out more @ http://www8.hp.com/us/en/business-services/it-serv
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(AP) Operations resumed Friday at the Amuay refinery where an explosion set off a raging fire and killed 42 people and injured more than 150 others, Venezuela's state oil company announced.
The accident had paralyzed work at the oil installation in western Venezuela since the huge explosion early Saturday, which authorities blamed on a gas leak. Amuay is one of the largest refineries in the world and is part of state-run PDVSA's Paraguana Refining Center, which includes the adjacent Cardon refinery.
"Operational activities have resumed safely and gradually" at Amuay, said Paraguana general manager Jesus Luongo, who is also director of PDVSA Refining. He said the refinery was ramping up output, initially processing 160,000 barrels on Friday.
Venezuelan officials had initially said the refinery would be back in operation within two days, but later said it would be two days after fires were put out. In the end, the last fire was extinguished Tuesday and it took about three days for production to resume.
Together, the refineries in the complex can process about 900,000 barrels of crude per day.
The disaster has prompted questions about whether Petroleos de Venezuela SA has neglected maintenance while funneling its revenues into social programs run by President Hugo Chavez's socialist government.
A document published Thursday by two national Venezuelan newspapers said that months before the explosion, a study by engineers had found failures in the complex's maintenance and listed dozens of accidents. The report, which was also obtained by The Associated Press, was prepared in March by RJG Risk Engineering for the international insurance company QBE.
The study said there had been 222 accidents at the Paraguana Refining Center last year. It said 100 of those involved fires, and 60 were breaks and leaks in pipes that carry combustible liquids.
Javier Larranaga, a former manager at the refinery complex who was fired in 2003 along with thousands of others from PDVSA, said the account of 222 accidents last year was extremely high. He said that when he worked there, there were typically fewer than five accidents a year.
Critics have said that in addition to refinery failures from delayed maintenance, PDVSA's operations have also suffered from the firing of nearly 18,000 oil workers in 2003, about 45 percent of the payroll, after they joined a strike called by Chavez's political opponents to press demands that the president resign.
In recent years, Chavez's government has increasingly used a share of earnings from PDVSA to bankroll social programs known as "missions." Its contributions to such programs rose from less than $1.6 billion in 2004 to $10.4 billion last year.
Pressure on PDVSA to generate funds for programs that shore up Chavez's political support has led to a "deterioration that PDVSA has had in its refining activities," Asdrubal Oliveros, an economist and director of the consulting firm Ecoanalitica, said this week.
He said PDVSA has concentrated bigger investments in oil production to prevent output from slumping "but has neglected other activities, among them refining."
Government officials counter that PDVSA has invested $6 billion in maintaining refineries over the past five years.
In other countries, such a refinery disaster would likely bring higher costs at the pump for customers. But Venezuela has for decades offered its citizens highly subsidized gasoline at the cheapest prices in the world: about 9 U.S. cents per gallon (2 U.S. cents per liter).
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez has said Venezuela has plenty of fuel on hand to meet domestic demand in the aftermath of the disaster and won't have to increase imports, but he has not discussed the possible financial impacts for the state oil company.
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Many coaches feel as though they have a good understanding of how to apply clock management and when to apply it. However, there are many aspects of clock management that are regularly not dealt with by coaches. It’s an extremely important part of the game and it can win you as many one to three games a year, just by following some simple fundamentals that we’re going to talk about today.
Approaching Clock Management While Coaching Football
Your clock management strategy is something that is dynamic, meaning it will change through the game. The subject of clock management is something that should be practiced through the entire game.
Clock management begins before the first whistle has blown, before the kickoff starts. Make a habit of trying to determine where you think you fit relative to our opponent before every game. In every single game, try to fit yourself into one of six categories:
1. Blowout favorite – 28 points or greater
2. Favorite – between eight and 27 points over
3. Slight favorite – one to seven points over
4. Slight underdog – one to seven points under
5. Underdog – eight to 27 points under
6. Blowout underdog – 28 or more points under
It’s important that coaches try to look at that in an unbiased way to determine where you fit so that you can put your players in the best chance of winning.
We’ve been regaled through history of great upsets, and as the blowout favorite, we don’t ever want to be in that situation where we get upset by somebody that shouldn’t have beat us. Likewise, when we are the blowout underdog, we want to put ourselves in the best position to be able to win the game. So we have to use the clock as one of the many elements at our disposal to put ourselves in the best position to win the game.
One analogy you should think of when trying to determine how to should open the game is to think of a weighted coin flip analogy. If I gave you a quarter and I said that the heads side was 20 times more likely to come up than the tails side, the heads side would obviously be the blowout favorite; the tails side would be the blowout underdog. Coming into a game, sometimes this happens.
You don’t get to choose what side you’re on. What you can choose, however, is the number of coin flips that you will have in the game. And if I gave you the choice to choose two or 200, you should be able to make a good decision that is going to benefit your team based on whether or not you think you’re a blowout favorite or a blowout underdog.
So if I gave you the chance to choose, what should you choose? Two or 200? Which one is going to put your team in the best chance to win the game? If you’re smart, you would choose 200. Two hundred flips of the coin is going to allow your team more chances to assert its dominance over the blowout underdog.
If you’re the tails team, you should choose two. Two flips of the coin as the blowout underdog will mean that at half-time, the worst the score can be is 1-0. That’s an exciting proposition for somebody who is heavily favored to be beaten in that game. The blowout favorite in a two-flip game is going to feel pretty nervous with a score at 1-0 at half-time. If they had chosen to flip the coin as many times as possible, or 200 times, the score may be as high as 100-1.
We want to put ourselves in the position where we will not likely be beaten because we’ve chosen to flip the coin more times as the blowout favorite. As the blowout underdog, we put our team in the best chance for success because we’ve reduced the number of flips or the number of possessions in a game. We’re going to either try to increase it or decrease it based on whether or not we think we’re the favorite or the underdog.
This is just scratching the surface of the topic of clock management. While coaching football, do you spend a good amount of time thinking about clock management, or does it take a back seat to other topics?
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Notice of Privacy Practices
This notice is effective on April 14, 2003
THIS NOTICE DESCRIBES HOW MEDICAL INFORMATION ABOUT YOU MAY BE USED AND DISCLOSED AND HOW YOU CAN GET ACCESS TO THIS INFORMATIONAL.
PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
OUR LEGAL DUTY
We are required by law to maintain the privacy of your health information. We are also required to give you this Notice about our privacy practices, our legal duties, and your rights concerning your health information. We must follow the privacy practices that are described in this Notice while it is in effect. This Notice takes effect April 14, 2003.
We reserve the right to change our privacy practices and the terms of this notice at any time and to make the new Notice effective for all the medical information that we maintain. We reserve the right to make changes retroactive. If we make changes to the Notice, we will (1) post the new Notice in our waiting area and (2) have copies of the new Notice available upon request. You may contact us using the information listed at the end of this notice.
USES AND DISCLOSURES OF HEALTH INFORMATION
We use and disclose medical information about you to provide treatment, to obtain payment for that treatment, to operate our business efficiently, or for other mandated or authorized purposes. This section of our Notice explains in some detail how we may use and disclose medical information about you in order to provide health care, obtain payment for that health care, and operate our business efficiently. This section then briefly mentions several other circumstances in which we may use or disclose medical information about you. Not every use or disclosure in a category will be listed. However, all of the ways we are permitted to use and disclose your health information will fall in one of these categories.
Treatment: We may use and disclose medical information about you to provide health care treatment to you. In other words, we may use and disclose medical information about you to provide, coordinate or manage your health care and related services. For example, if we refer you to a physician for a service that we cannot provide, your health information will be provided to that office.
Payment: We may use and disclose medical information about you to obtain payment for health care services that you received. This means that, within the health department, we may use medical information about you to arrange for payment (such as preparing bills and managing accounts). We also may disclosemedical information about you to others (such as insurers, collection agencies, and consumer reporting agencies). In some instances, we may disclose medical information about you to an insurance plan beforeyou receive certain health care services because, for example, we may want to know whether the insurance plan will pay for a particular service.
Health care operations: We may use and disclose medical information about you in performing a variety of business activities that we call “health care operations”. The “health care operations” activities allow us to, for example, improve the quality of care we provide and reduce health care costs. For example, we may use or disclose medical information about you in performing the following activities:
- Reviewing and evaluating the skills, qualifications, and performance of health care providers taking care of you.
- Providing training programs for students, trainees, health care providers or non-health care professionals to help then with practice or improve their skills.
- Cooperating with outside organizations that evaluate, certify, or license health care providers, staff or facilities in a particular field or specialty.
- Reviewing and improving the quality, efficiency and cost of care that we provide to you and to other patients.
- Improving health care and lowering costs for groups of people who have similar health problems and helping manage and coordinate the care for these groups of people.
- Cooperating with outside organizations that assess the quality of the care others and we provide, including government agencies and private organizations.
- Planning for our organization’s future operations.
- Resolving grievances within our organization.
- Reviewing our activities and using or disclosing medical information in the event that control of our organization significantly changes.
- Working with others (such as lawyers, accountants, and other providers) who assist us to comply with this Notice and other applicable laws.
Persons involved in your care: We may disclose medical information about you to a relative, close personal friend or any another person you identify if that person is involved in your care and the information is relevant to your care. If the patient is a minor, we may disclose medical information about the minor to a parent, guardian or other person responsible for the minor except in limited circumstances. We may also use or disclose medical information about you to a relative, another person involved in your care or possibly a disaster relief organization (such as the Red Cross) if we need to notify someone about your location or condition. You may ask us at any time not to disclose medical information about you to persons involved in your care. We will agree to your request and not disclose the information except in certain limited circumstances (such as emergencies) or if the patient is a minor. If the patient is a minor, we may not be able to agree to your request.
Required by law: We will use and disclose medical information about you whenever we are required by law to do so. There are many state and federal laws that require us to use and disclose medical information. For example, state law requires us to report certain injuries to the police and to report known or suspected child abuse or neglect to the Department of Social Services. We will comply with those state laws and with all other applicable laws.
To provide appointment reminders: We may disclose limited medical information about you to send you reminders about an appointment such as voicemail messages, telephone calls, postcards or letters.
National priority uses and disclosures: When permitted by law, we may use or disclose medical information about you without your permission for various activities that are recognized as “national priorities”. In other words, the government has determined that under certain circumstances (described below), it is so important to disclose medical information that it is acceptable to disclose medical information without the individual’s permission. We will only disclose medical information about you in the following circumstance when we are permitted to do so by law.
- Threat to health or safety: We may use or disclose medical information about you if we believe it is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to health or safety.
- Public health activities: We may use or disclose medical information about you for public health activities. Public health activities require the use of medical information for various activities, including, but not limited to, activities related to investigating disease, reporting child abuse and neglect, monitoring drugs or devices regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and monitoring work-related illnesses or injuries. For example, if you have been exposed to a communicable disease (such as a sexually transmitted disease), we may report it to the state and take other actions to prevent the spread of the disease.
- Abuse, neglect or domestic violence: We may disclose medical information about you to a government authority (such as the Department of Social Services) if you are an adult and we reasonable believe that you may be a victim of abuse, neglect, or domestic violence.
- Health oversight activities: We may disclose medical information about you to a health oversight agency – which is basically an agency responsible for overseeing the health care system or certain government programs. For example, a government agency may request information from us while they are investigating possible insurance fraud.
- Court proceedings: We may disclose medical information about you to a court or an officer of the court (such as an attorney). For example, we would disclose medical information about you to a court if a judge orders us to do so.
- Law enforcement: We may disclose medical information about you to a law enforcement official for specific law enforcement purposes. For example, we may disclose limited medical information about you to a police officer if the officer needs the information to help find or identify a missing person.
- Coroners and others: We may disclose medical information about you to a coroner, medical examiner, or funeral director or to organizations that help with organ, eye, and tissue transplants.
- Workers’ compensation: We may disclose medical information about you in order to comply with workers’ compensation laws.
- Research organizations: We may use or disclose medical information about you to research organizations if the organization has satisfied certain conditions about protecting the privacy of medical information.
- Certain government functions: We may use or disclose medical information about you for certain government functions, including but not limited to military and veterans’ activities and national security and intelligence activities. We may also use or disclose medical information about you to a correctional institution in some circumstances.
Treatment alternatives: We may use and/or disclose medical information about you in order to inform you of or recommend new treatment or different methods of treating a medical condition that you have or to inform you of other health related benefits and services that may be of interest to you.
Authorization: Other than the uses and disclosures described above, we will not use or disclose medical information about you without the “authorization” –or signed permission – of you or your legal personal representative. If you give us an authorization, you make revoke it in writing at any time. Your revocation will not affect any use or disclosures permitted by your authorization while it was in effect.
Right to a copy of this notice: You have a right to have a paper copy of our Notice of Privacy Practices at any time. In addition, a copy of this Notice will always be posted in our waiting area. If you would like to have a copy of our Notice, ask the receptionist for a copy or contact our Privacy Officer.
Right of access to inspect and copy: You have the right to inspect (which means to see or review) and receive a copy of medical information about you that we maintain in certain groups of records. If you would like to inspect or receive a copy of medical information about you, you must provide us with a request in writing and a reason why you want to inspect your record. We may deny your request in certain circumstances. If we deny your request, we will explain our reason for doing so in writing. We will also inform you in writing if you have the right to have our decision reviewed by another person. If you would like a copy of the information, we will charge you a fee to cover the costs of the copy. The fee for a copy is $0.25 (twenty-five cents) for each page of copy. We may be able to provide you with a summary or explanation of the information.
Right to have medical information amended: You have the right to have us amend (which means correct or supplement) medical information about you that we maintain in certain groups of records. If you believe that we have information that is either inaccurate or incomplete, we may amend the information to indicate the problem and notify others who have copies of the inaccurate or incomplete information. If you would like us to amend information, you must provide us with a request in writing. We may deny your request in certain circumstances. If we deny your request, we will explain our reason for doing so in writing. You will have the opportunity to send us a statement explaining why you disagree with our decision to deny your amendment request and we will share your statement whenever we disclose the information in the future.
Right to an accounting of disclosures we have made: You have the right to receive an accounting (which means a detailed listing) of disclosures that we have made for the previous six (6) years. If you would like to receive an accounting, you may send us a letter requesting an accounting to the address listed below. The accounting will not include several types of disclosures, including disclosures for treatment, payment or health care operations. It will also not include disclosures made prior to April 14, 2003.
If you request an accounting more than once every twelve (12) months, we may charge you a fee to cover the costs of preparing the accounting. A fee of $0.25 (twenty-five cents) per sheet of copy will be charged.
Right to request restrictions on uses and disclosures: You have the right to request that we limit the use and disclosure of medical information about you for treatment, payment and health care operations. We arenot required to agree to your request. If we do agree to your request, we must follow your restrictions (except if the information is necessary for emergency treatment). You may cancel the restrictions at any time. In addition, we may cancel a restriction at any time as long as we notify you of the cancellation and continue to apply the restriction to information collected before the cancellation.
Right to request an alternative method of contact: You have the right to request to be contacted at a different location or by a different method. For example, you may prefer to have all written information mailed to your work address rather than to your home address. We will agree to any reasonable request for alternative methods of contact. If you would like to request an alternative method of contact, you must provide us with a request in writing.
Wilkes County Health Department will make a “Good Faith” effort to obtain a written acknowledgment that the individual (or his or her personal representative) has received a Notice (except in emergency treatment situations).
Questions and Complaints
If you believe that your privacy rights have been violated or if you are dissatisfied with our privacy policies or procedures, you may file a complaint either with us or with the federal government. We will not take any action against you or change our treatment of you in any way if you file a complaint. You must describe the acts or omissions believed to be in violation of the applicable requirement. The complaint must be filed within 810 days of when the acts or omissions believed to have occurred. To file a written complaint with the health department, you may bring your complaint to the Privacy Officer or you may mail it to the following address:
Wilkes County Health Department
306 College Street
Wilkesboro, North Carolina 28697
Attention: Privacy Officer
Telephone Number: (336) 651-7450
You may also submit a written complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We will provide you with the address to file your complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services upon request.
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One of the best investments you can make for your health is to buy the water ionizer machine. This will solve the fresh and clean water supply at your home. Let’s look at the benefits of water ionizer machines.
To restore the vitality of the body, for its recovery we go to resorts, drink pure mineral water, relax in the country side, go to the forest, swim in the sea, and we go to the mountains. There are a lot of places where you can improve your health and restore your acid-alkaline balance. Continue reading
Ionized water FAQs continued
Can I drink the alkaline ionized water with pH 9.5 and 10?
The drinking of alkaline ionized water with pH level 9.5 is the highest that could be recommended. It’s better to drink the alkaline water with pH level between 9 and 9.5. However, monitor your well-being and measure the first urine pH in the morning. It can be continued at least for 30 days and on the basis on that the pH level of alkaline ionized water you drink could be adjusted either by increasing or decreasing the pH level.
For how long time the alkaline ionized water maintains its alkalinity? Continue reading
Ionized water FAQs continued
The best food in the world is acidic. I don’t want to eat only the salads, spinach and broccoli forever. How to get around it and enjoy the life? Why should I drink the alkaline ionized water?
Many people are used to the modern food that changing the diet can be even a psychological problem, including starting to drink the alkaline ionized water. You can imagine your life as the concentric circles of eating habits and in the middle is the center of perfect living. On the outer level you would be eating fast food, smoking cigarettes, drinking soft drinks, going a level, where you have already eliminated those things, going to another level – now maybe you aren’t eating pork and red meat, and when going another level you start the alkaline diet. This is a question of eating habit development. If you ever want to change your eating habits, you should take those steps. Continue reading
It’s not a secret that the foods we eat have either acidic or alkaline nature. Depending on the food alkaline or acidic nature, its effect on our body is completely different. The increased acidity level causes the health problems, while the alkaline environment provides healthy functioning of the body. According to this principle the famous alkaline diet is created.
The main recommendations
The alkaline diet lasts for 3 to 4 weeks – during this time you can cleanse the body of acid waste and normalize its functions. Do not interrupt the diet, if during the first few days you feel a little bit worse, but not to a critical extent – in such case you should immediately see the doctor. However, a slight indisposition is understandable – it indicates the beginning of the cleaning process.
The dietary plan includes the foods with alkaline reaction. To this group we can safely classify almost any plant food. The basic list is the following:
- Ripe bananas, avocados, berries, garlic, celery, carrots, currants, and dates.
All these foods have a level of pH 8.0. They affect the acidic foods and raise their pH to near alkaline level. In addition, they are beneficial to the body, normalizing the blood pressure. Continue reading
People who are healthy from the inside are full with joy, and this makes them attractive. The health of internal organs is reflected on the skin – it is pure and young. The ionized water has also an external effect on a person – it eliminates wrinkles, strengthens the hair and makes it silky. Some men can even get rid of baldness. It eliminates circles under the eyes and signs of fatigue after a sleepless night.
The natural skin pH level is 4.5 to 5.5. However, the soaps and shampoos are Continue reading
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Trollim has created a competition platform and social network for programmers that assesses their coding skills through coding battles. Users are identified as “trolls” on the platform and once a user signs up, he or she fills out a profile that includes their age, location and coding language skills (C++, Ruby, PHP etc.). Trollim then gives the user 3 to 6 pieces of code, or a “test,” to fix to asses their baseline level of skill and based on the results of this test, the user is given a skill level of 1 though 5. Once a user has been assigned a skill level, he can then start challenging other programmers on the site to one on one battles, where trolls have to fix different pieces of code, or “rumbles,” where multiple programmers participate in a battle. As you win battles, Trollim’s proprietary algorithms will evaluate your skills and increase your coding skill level. Trollim says that you can search for users by country, skill level or age, letting users battle a variety of other programmers. Users can also see statistics and metrics on their skill level and improvement. You can also publish your ratings as a widget to a blog or web site.
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Founded in 1884, the American Historical Association encompasses every historical period and geographical area and serves professional historians in all areas of employment. Read more . . .
Explore the Site
AHA Supports Visas for Cuban Scholars to Attend LASA Conference
By Kenneth Pomeranz
The following letter was submitted to the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, in support to facilitate visas for Cuban scholars to attend the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) conference. Read more...
TED Talks You Should Be Watching
By Jennifer Reut
We know TED as the slightly hipper-than-thou conference of short public talks about ideas and innovation with a high WOW quotient. With its strong focus on science and technology and, to a lesser extent, art and education, it can sometimes be hard for historians to find themselves and their concerns reflected. To help out, we’ve culled the TED archives to find 10 talks that historians should at least know about, and maybe even watch. Read more...
Historians Discuss Immigration Reform on Capitol Hill
By Allen Mikaelian
Yesterday, a short distance from the AHA offices, supporters of immigration reform marched on the National Mall, as a bipartisan group of eight senators continue deliberations that have been alternately described as “stuck,” “close,” “virtually complete,” or “about to get serious.” Read more...
This Directory provides links to peer-reviewed English-language journals that publish in all fields of history, as an aid to authors seeking a place to publish their research.
Careers at the AHA
January 2–5, 2014
Theme for the 128th Annual Meeting: Disagreement, Debate, Discussion
The AHA's Archives Wiki is a clearinghouse of information about archival resources throughout the world. And the wiki format allows all historians to contribute.
This resource offers a profile of history doctoral programs in the U.S. and Canada, advice for applicants to PhD programs, and a searchable database on dissertations in progress and completed in those programs.
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StatsCan: Fewer Nova Scotians drawing EI
The Chronicle Herald
The number of people collecting employment insurance is down across Nova Scotia, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.
The province had seven per cent fewer employment insurance recipients in April compared with the same month last year, according to the federal agency’s latest figures.
All five large centres in Nova Scotia had fewer beneficiaries in the 12 months to April.
Halifax saw the biggest decline, with the number of people cashing in an employment insurance cheque down by 5,000, or 16.4 per cent, continuing a two-year downward trend.
The number of people collecting employment insurance also fell 14.3 per cent in Kentville, 9.7 per cent in Truro, 3.9 per cent in New Glasgow and 0.7 per cent in Cape Breton.
In all, the province had 30,060 people receiving regular employment insurance benefits in April, down 2,260 from a year ago.
The figures seem strong considering the province’s labour force — the total number of people working or looking for work — grew during the same time period.
Nova Scotia’s labour force was 499,200 in April, a 1.4 per cent increase compared with a year before when 492,700 people were in the province’s labour force.
Charles Cirtwill, president and chief executive officer of the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, said the trend appears to be going in the right direction with more people entering the workforce than seeking assistance.
Cirtwill said despite the blanket regional statements from Ottawa about employment insurance dependence in Atlantic Canada, the latest statistics suggest the jobs market is more nuanced.
“The problem is (the federal government) talks about employment insurance as if it’s the same across the region and it’s just not the case. Our urban centres have always done better than the region as a whole.”
In fact, Cirtwill said the strong job numbers in Atlantic Canada’s larger centres rival those in other big cities across the country.
However, the stronger employment streak may have reached its zenith as the number of jobless claims appears to be on the rise.
Claims increased five per cent in Nova Scotia in April compared with the same month last year.
When compared with March, the increase was slightly sharper at 7.4 per cent.
The total number of claims for employment insurance hit 10,620 in April, up 510 from a year ago.
The higher number of claims reflects the province’s unemployment rate, which surged in May to 9.2 per cent, the highest level since July 2009 and the third month in a row the rate has worsened.
The jobless rate remained stuck above the national average, which stayed steady at 7.3 per cent in May after two months of strong gains.
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In keeping with its progressive tradition, Hartford Hospital began academic and clinical training of health professionals in the 1930’s. Today the programs encompass diverse disciplines:
The school makes a policy of providing dedicated teachers. They are dedicated as individuals committed to do their utmost for their students, and dedicated in the sense that their time and efforts are directed exclusively to education. They understand that, while expertise in their field is essential, it is only valuable to the student if it is patiently and effectively communicated. In addition, all students meet with and receive instruction from practicing professionals within the hospital.
In many of the programs, the school maintains an affiliation with area colleges and universities. These institutions, like the School of Allied Health itself, are recognized for their educational excellence. All programs are accredited through nationally recognized agencies.
Students in the School of Allied Health have the benefit of extensive clinical facilities at the school and within the hospital, and many also may live in the dormitories available near the hospital. These quarters provide convenient access to classrooms, laboratories, and the libraries on the hospital campus.
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We next turn to a direct comparison of LCFR and ZLIFO. Gerevini and Schubert compared these strategies on only a few problems. To get a more complete picture of the performance of both LCFR and ZLIFO, we ran them both on all the problems from our three problem sets.
The data for the basic problem set is shown in Figure . We have sorted the problems by the difference between the node counts produced by LCFR and ZLIFO. Thus, problems near the left-hand side of the graph are those for which LCFR generated a smaller search space, while problems near the right-hand side are the ones on which ZLIFO had a space advantage. We omit problems which neither strategy could solve.
As can be seen, on some problems (notably R-Test2, Move-Boxes, and Monkey-Test2), LCFR generates a much smaller search space than ZLIFO, while on other problems (notably Get-Paid4, Hanoi, Uget-Paid4, and Uget-Paid3), ZLIFO generates a much smaller search space. These are problems on which LCFR also did worse than the strategies mentioned above in Section .
As we noted earlier, one of the major changes between UCPOP v.2 and v.4 is that v.4 puts the elements of a new set of open conditions onto the flaw list in the reverse order from that of v.2. This ordering may make a difference, particularly for LIFO-based strategies. Indeed, other researchers have suggested that one reason a LIFO-based strategy may perform well is because it can exploit the decisions made by the system designers in writing the domain operators, since it is in some sense natural to list the most constraining preconditions of an operator first [Williamson & Hanks, 1996]. We therefore also collected data for a modified version of UCPOP, in which the preconditions for each step are entered onto the open condition in the reverse of the order in which they would normally be entered. We discuss the results of this modification in more detail in the next two sections, but for now, we simply present the node counts for LCFR and ZLIFO with the reversed precondition insertion, in Figure . As can be seen, there are a few problems on which reversing the precondition ordering has a significant effect (notably FIXB and MonkeyTest2), but by and large LCFR and ZLIFO showed the same relative performance.
For the problems in the basic set, it is difficult to discern an obvious pattern of performance. In contrast to what Gerevini and Schubert suggest, there does not seem to be a clear correlation between the difficulty of the problem, measured in terms of nodes generated, and the relative performance of LCFR and ZLIFO. (In fact, it is a little difficult to determine which strategy's node-count should serve as the measure of difficulty.) On the other hand, it is true that in the aggregate, ZLIFO generates smaller search spaces than LCFR on the basic problems. With the default precondition ordering, ZLIFO obtains an average %-overrun of 212.62, while LCFR obtains 647.57. With reverse ordering, ZLIFO's average %-overrun is 244.24, while LCFR's is 914.87. The fact that LCFR's relative performance is worse when the preconditions are entered in the reverse direction results primarily from its failure on MonkeyTest2 in the reverse direction.
The Trains data is scant. Neither LCFR nor ZLIFO can solve the hardest problem, Trains3, regardless of whether the preconditions are entered in the default or the reverse order. (In fact, none of the strategies we studied were able to solve Trains3.) But, at least when the preconditions are entered in the default order, ZLIFO can solve Trains2, and LCFR cannot. With reverse precondition insertion, neither strategy can solve Trains2. The data are shown in Figure . Note that LCFR's performance is essentially the same for both node-selection strategies shown.
Finally, the Tileworld data, for the default order of precondition insertion, is shown in Figure . Here is the only place in which LCFR clearly generates smaller search spaces than ZLIFO. We have not also plotted the data for reverse precondition insertion, because most of the strategies are not affected by this change. There is however, one very notable exception: with reversed insertion, ZLIFO (with S+OC+.1UC+F) does much better--indeed, it does as well as LCFR. We return to the influence of precondition ordering on the Tileworld problems in Section .
For now, however, it is enough to observe that our experiments show that ZLIFO does tend to generate smaller search spaces than LCFR. It does so on the basic problem set, regardless of the order of precondition insertion, it does so on Trains for one ordering (and does no worse than LCFR on the other ordering), and it does as well as LCFR for the Tileworld problems when the preconditions are inserted in the reverse order. The only exception is the Tileworld problem set when the preconditions are inserted in default order: there LCFR does better.
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IS it possible? I want to play with the output of streaming radios. Specifically i'm talking about something like Spin (streaming app) and Traktor or djay (DJ app). And yeah I'm on a Mac.
I am trying to set up DJ equipment for small/medium sized rooms (See previous question for background). My equipment is going to be as follows: Laptop(s), iPad(s) playing music (No CDs No Vinyl) ...
Say, I record a live mix I am doing at home for practice, using tracks which I have purchased. I would like to share this mix legally on the Internet. What are the copyright issues involved and how ...
I want to play music from my MacBook or Thinkpad. I have high quality mp3s that I can play. I imagine, I need the following equipment: DJ Software Mixer Speakers Can I make this work, or will I ...
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Mavizen TTX02, an electric superbike for the streets
The motorcycle I was riding had no lights. It lacked turn signals. The side panels had been removed to help cool the twin DC motors, and the single mirror on the bike was added at the last minute so, at the very least, I could see any swerving semis that threatened to mow me down from behind.
The bike was the Mavizen TTX02 -- the second incarnation of a line of production electric sportbikes commissioned by Azhar Hussain, founder of the world's first electric superbike race -- on the Isle of Man last year -- and the 2010 TTXGP world series that concluded last weekend in Spain.
The TTX02 had been raced in the U.S. series over the summer and made a brief pit stop in L.A. last month, where I had the chance to test its low-speed handling on Hollywood streets, and to then open up the throttle along the 170 Freeway. Powered with twin 96-volt motors and a 7.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, the Mavizen is capable of reaching 130 mph -- a speed I wasn't foolish enough to test on a non-street-legal machine that was scheduled to be crated up the following morning and shipped overseas to be raced one week later.
I did, however, push it close to the buck mark. Previous electric-bike experience had me primed to expect a sudden drop in voltage along with any radical twist of the grip, a drop that would dramatically decrease the bike's range. But cranking the throttle, even for sustained periods of time, didn't significantly tap the bike's battery reserves -- a fact I could readily observe on a dashboard screen that uses an Intel processor to constantly calculate and manage the bike's battery cells and power output.
The first bike to run with an Intel processor, the Mavizen is also equipped with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, so its brain can be remotely accessed to troubleshoot and update its software from anywhere, even another country.
The Mavizen uses the same Agni motors that propelled the Agni bike to victory in the inaugural TTXGP last year. About a third of the bikes running in this year's TTXGP race series use the same DC motors, which generate power by resting a brush over magnets, and are cooled with air. Although this year has seen the rise of more powerful, and complex, AC motors in electric racing, the Mavizen uses DC because they are smaller and more cost-effective for a street-oriented sportbike.
Motors make heat, which is why the side panels had been removed on the bike I was testing -- to allow more air for cooling. Still, after riding the Mavizen for 45 minutes, I didn't feel my thighs crisping like a rotisserie chicken the way I often do on internal-combustion sportbikes.
If electric motorcycles stand a real chance in the U.S. market, they have to play to the market that currently exists: one that covets speed, power, performance and handling. In that regard, the Mavizen more than succeeds. The Mavizen uses the tried-and-true chassis of a KTM RC8, the only outward evidence being the engraved gas cap that bears the KTM name.
At 374 pounds, the Mavizen weighs less than an RC8. Although the Mavizenss power-to-weight ratio isn't as favorable as that of an internal combustion superbike, its handling characteristics are flickably similar, despite an entirely different drivetrain. The space that would normally house the gas tank and engine are, on the Mavizen, taken up by a carbon fiber box that holds the batteries, controllers and twin Agni motors.
A direct-drive machine, there are no gears, no clutch, no shifting on the Mavizen. On takeoff, that translates into less control because there isn't a clutch to feather. The version I was testing was also set up for racing, so even a slight twist of the throttle meant the bike was ready to roll out from under me. In motion, and at freeway speeds, however, that torque was more than welcome.
Mavizen has only built four bikes so far, and the track version I tested cost $32,000. The goal is to get the price to about $25,000, which, like all new technologies, will only happen as people buy in. The big question with Mavizen, as with all electric motorcycles on the market so far, is: Will they?
Base price: $30,000
Price as tested: $32,000
Powertrain: twin 96-volt Agni 95R DC brushed motors, 7.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, direct drive
Curb weight: 374 lbs.
Top speed: 130 mph
Horsepower: 69 equivalent
Torque: 74 lb.-ft.
-- Susan Carpenter
Photo: The Mavizen TTX02. Credit: Mavizen
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In the previous post, we presented some thoughts on a webcast that was designed to empower (with innuendo, ad hominem attacks, disinformation, and suggested dirty tricks) local “public health” officials and activists to harm the public’s health, specifically by restricting access to e-cigarettes. Following on that, some additional observations (a random series, followed by the most interesting part of the whole conversation).
As we noted in the previous post, one of the speakers made clear that nothing that local or state governments did could interfere with eventual FDA regulations. They could impose stronger restrictions than the feds, but there is no way they could weaken them. This put the lie to the American Cancer Society’s claim that they have been opposing regulations to ban sales of e-cigarettes to minors out of concern that it would interfere with FDA regulation. Of course, we had already identified that as a lie, nothing that the ACS must know the truth, and went on to surmise their real motives.
All but one of the questions during the question period were about the chiiiiiildren. Probably almost none of the people watching the webcast were even aware that ACS et al.’s policies are the main reason that children can legally buy e-cigarettes some places in the USA. (Presumably the insiders who savvy enough to know the real game that the anti-THR people are pursuing has sense enough to not waste time listening to webcasts — score one for them over us on that point.) Interestingly, however, one of the questions sounded like it came from someone who had just read our posts about ACS. Maybe the ANTZ are getting smart enough to read things.
Comments that smoking is no worse for you than vaping were rampant. Of course that is not quite how they phrased it. They said “we do not know that these are safer than smoking”, but those statements are exactly equivalent.
Someone — I believe it was Jeanne Finberg, California Attorney General’s Office — asked the listeners to start reporting, for purposes of legal action, examples of e-cigarette vendors making cessation claims. Never mind the stupidity of living in a world where merchants cannot make simple nonspecific true statements about how one consumer product competes with another. Her examples of “cessation claims” included statements that if you use an e-cigarette you will not smell like smoke, as well as the fact that you can blow vapor rings with them unlike with a nicotine patch. Um, yeah. By those standards, ads for pizza are making smoking cessation claims.
Of course, even more bothersome was the mere fact that the state Attorney General’s office was actively campaigning for particular policies. The claim was that rampant lawbreaking is going on. And yet no one has taken legal action against e-cigarette vendors — other than workplace safety claims and, interestingly, a few cases (or maybe just one) of failing to enforce minor sales bans — since the FDA lost their attempt to ban e-cigarettes. I thought it was the job of attorneys general to act against lawbreakers — apparently in California it is to ignore that and to try to make policy.
The only audience question not about the chiiiiildren that the moderator chose to read (i.e., planted) was about what the research priorities on e-cigarettes should be. A valid question, but not such valid answers. It was a bit of a muddle as to which of the panelists were talking (there is no transcript of the meeting, of course), but one claimed we needed clinical data about whether e-cigarettes help people quit smoking. That is the standard “clinical” lie (which shows up in lots of contexts, not just e-cigarettes): Clinical evidence is great for assessing clinical activity — say, which of two drugs is best for treating a particular cancer — but completely inappropriate for assessing social phenomena. We do not judge particular methods of reducing traffic hazards or how consumer confidence affects the housing market by creating an artificial laboratory situation. Similarly we cannot judge the effectiveness of e-cigarettes that way. (If the question is, “if you recommend e-cigarettes to enrollees in clinical smoking cessation program, what happens?” then clinical research is useful, but that is a much less important question than what is happening in the real world.)
Another answer was that we need to learn more about dual use because it is “giving people the false impression that they are reducing harm when they are not.” Of course, if people are substituting e-cigarettes for some of their cigarettes (and especially if they are trending toward even more substitution) they are reducing their risk. But the phrasing of this response was quite telling. This and other response included the subtext “we need to do more research in order to find more ways to attack THR”. This reflects the standard ANTZ relationship to research — the same way a drunk uses a lamppost (for support, not for enlightenment).
Someone actually said, “if we had the answer to these, we would know what policies would be possible.” Notice the statement was not “we would know if we should pursue these policies” or “if these policies are a good idea” – that is not a question that even occurs to them.
This leads to the one bit of honesty, from two employees of the Tacoma/Pierce County (Washington state) health department, reporting on the blocking of that department’s attempt to restrict e-cigarettes. They wanted to do it, of course, but their presentation was an honest report with little or no editorializing that they were stopped from doing The Right Thing (though undoubtedly many of the listeners supplied that as their own personal subtext). The restrictions did not happen, they reported, because the public did not support them, except for the one on sales to minors, which everyone supported — apparently the ACS and friends were too busy elsewhere to jump in on that.
To their enormous credit, the officials did not mimic the games of ANR et al. (mentioned in the previous post) of trying to blame the public’s views on manipulation by evil corporations or evil consumer advocacy groups. They matter-of-factly stated “we did not have a lot of community support” and moreover that “we do not have evidence-based research to back up our concerns.” The latter is a borderline case of assuming that if the research were done it would support their policy, but about as good as can be expected.
Indeed, they acknowledged that they faced a challenge, as a public health department, because they could not show that e-cigarettes posed any threat to the public health. Perhaps, then, they should not have been trying to act in the first place, you might be thinking. But at least the Board of Health ultimately reached that conclusion and stopped the effort. The bad news is that even these fairly honest presenters emphasized that they “were left in the lurch” by the lack of support and evidence, rather than suggesting that perhaps the lack of support and evidence means that they should not have been doing this.
Perhaps the worst of the honest messages in their presentation was that they endeavored to “strike a balance”. Among what or whom, you might ask. They did not clearly say, but reading between the lines it was a balance between, on one side, the genuine preferences of the real stakeholders, along with those who do not think a public health department should interfere with something that does not hurt public health (and, incidentally, those who realize that e-cigarettes are beneficial for public health), and on the other side the ANTZ busybodies and their anti-THR agenda.
And that is what is so toxic about the entire taxpayer-funded project that we witnessed. A tiny minority of a few thousand busybody activists with no legitimate stake in the matter are considered (by themselves, anyway, and since they have money and power, that matters) to have a legitimate voice, whereas the similar number of people who comprise the industry are treated as a vague malevolent force and the 1000 times that many people who benefit from e-cigarettes are completely ignored.
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By Nancy Asiamah, EnStarz | Oct 26, 2012 06:09 PM EDT
The characters of Cloud Atlas are receiving some racial criticism as the actors in the play are a little whiter than the fans of the anticipated novel thought.
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This is because of the use of Caucasian actors (Halle Berry, Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, etc) to play the South Korean characters in the film, which debuts on Friday.
According to SheKnows.com, founding president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA), Guy Aoki, said in a statement, "Cloud Atlas missed a great opportunity."
"The Korean story's protagonist is an Asian man - an action hero who defies the odds and holds off armies of attackers," Aoki added.
The storyline of the play is set in South Korea in the year 2144.
According to Aoki, every major male character in the Korea story is played by non-Asian actors in really bad yellowface makeup.
"It would have been a great, stereotype-busting role for an Asian American actor to play, as Asian American men aren't allowed to be dynamic or heroic very often. But instead, they cast Jim Sturgess in yellowface," Aoki said.
"In modern age of movie makeup, it is disturbing to see poorly done Asian eye prosthetics to make Caucasian men look Asian. It appears that to turn white actors into Asian characters, the makeup artist believed they had to change their eyes, not their facial structure and complexion."
"Would the directors have used blackface on a white actor to play (the slave) Gyasi's role? I don't think so. That would have outraged the African American viewers. But badly done yellowface is still OK," Aoki said offended.
The directors of Cloud Atlas, Andy and Lana Wachowski, however, have a different view of the situation.
"That's good, that people are casting a critical eye," Andy Wachowski told the Huffington Post.
"But our intention is the antithesis of the idea," Wachowski said.
He explained that their intention was to talk about the things that are beyond race.
"The character of this film is humility, so if you look at our past work and consider what our intention might be, we ask that those people give us a chance and at least see the movie before they start casting judgment."
Copyright © 2013 ENSTARZ.COM All rights reserved.
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — President Hugo Chavez is recovering favorably despite suffering complications during cancer surgery in Cuba, his vice president said Thursday amid uncertainty over the Venezuelan leader's health crisis and the country's political future.
A day after officials painted a grim picture of Chavez's health, Vice President Nicolas Maduro announced at a political rally that his condition "has evolved from stable to favorable, which supports maintaining the diagnosis of an increasing recuperation."
In the latest of a series of reports about the president's delicate condition, Information Minister Ernesto Villegas said Chavez was making a "progressive and favorable" recovery after suffering bleeding from Tuesday's surgery.
"This recovery process, nevertheless, will require a prudent period of time as a consequence of the complexity of the surgery performed," Villegas said.
Dr. Julian Molina, a cancer expert from the Mayo Clinic in the United States, said bleeding is not uncommon when doctors operate in the same place multiple times to remove cancerous tissue, as is the case with Chavez.
The government has been providing regular updates on the president's recovery following six hours of surgery in a slight easing of the secrecy that has surrounded Chavez's medical treatment since he fell ill last year. No clinical details have been provided, however.
The latest bulletin about Chavez's health came as supporters prayed for him at church services and as Venezuelans increasingly acknowledged the potential for political turmoil ahead if the leftist leader is unable be sworn in for his fourth term early next year — a possibility raised by his government.
One-man rule has been the glue that has held together Chavez's socialist movement, and he hadn't groomed any clear successor until he announced over the weekend that if cancer cuts short his presidency he wants Maduro to take over.
Some Venezuelans believe power struggles may already be brewing within the president's "Chavismo" movement, which includes groups from radical leftists to moderates. Maduro heads a civilian-political wing that is closely aligned with Cuba's communist government. National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello, a Chavez confederate in the failed 1992 coup that brought him fame, is thought to wield power within the military.
"In politics, everything is possible," said Gustavo Chourio, a bookseller in downtown Caracas. "Maduro doesn't have influence with those in the military. Diosdado has the influence."
Chavez was re-elected to another six-year term in October. His allies have expressed hope about the president returning home for his Jan. 10 inauguration, but on Wednesday Villegas acknowledged in a written message on a government website that it's possible the president might not be well enough to return in time.
It remains unclear where the bleeding occurred or how severe the complications were. Still secret are numerous details about the cancer in the president's pelvic area, including the type and location of the tumors that have been removed.
Throughout Chavez's nearly 14-year government, egos and dogma have clashed in his inner circle but his allies have always deferred to and parroted him. Chourio said he believes the president's movement has grown so strong that it will persist without him. But he predicted Maduro and Cabello will have a reckoning.
"Those two will have to work it out to guarantee the country's stability," said Chourio, a longtime Chavez supporter.
Some analysts consider a struggle for control inevitable.
"What's likely to happen is a power struggle between Maduro and Cabello," said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank in Washington. "It is almost certain that an intense power struggle is already under way within Chavismo."
Shifter said key protagonists in the president's camp, including Maduro and Cabello, have long had to suppress personal ambition as Chavez monopolized decision-making.
"With Chavez no longer on the scene, and the power vacuum exposed, the situation becomes extremely unpredictable," Shifter said. "The fact that Maduro is Chavez's designated successor gives him the upper hand for the time being, but that is unlikely to last long. The others vying for power are wily and ruthless. From the outset, the Chavez regime has been about power — including lots of money — and now all of that is up for grabs."
Maduro and Cabello, for their part, projected a united front this week by appearing together at events along with other Cabinet ministers and military commanders. Speaking alongside Cabello and others Wednesday, Maduro said: "We're more united than ever."
Maduro was somber-faced as he warned that Chavez faced a "complex and hard" recovery period.
But at a rally on Thursday night, Maduro apologized for having shown sadness. "Our faces are an expression of the pain, the worry, the purest love that we feel for Hugo Chavez," said Maduro, whose voice was hoarse as he shouted to the crowd.
The government said in its statement that "additional specific treatments are foreseen in order to contribute to the full recovery of his health."
The 58-year-old president underwent his fourth cancer-related operation in Havana after announcing that tests had found the illness had come back despite previous operations, chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Several outside medical experts have said that based on Chavez's account of his condition and his treatment so far, they doubt the cancer can be cured. Some cancer experts say Chavez could be suffering from an aggressive type of sarcoma.
If Chavez were to die or be unable to continue in office, the constitution says that new elections should be held within 30 days. If that happens before the swearing-in, the president of the National Assembly is to take over temporarily until elections are held.
Before his surgery, Chavez acknowledged such a scenario. He said on television, with Maduro and Cabello seated beside him, that if he is unable to continue on as president, Maduro should be elected to take his place and lead the socialist movement.
On Caracas' traffic-clogged streets, people were busy with pre-Christmas shopping and the government put up new banners on lampposts reading "Now more than ever, with Chavez."
While some of his supporters expressed fears about a messy succession battle, others said the people wouldn't stand for it.
"I trust Chavez's allies aren't going to end up fighting if El Comandante leaves us," said Mariana Salas, who sells orange juice and fruit on a sidewalk in the working-class neighborhood of Petare. "If it turns out that some of them do, they should be expelled from the party because Chavez gave a very clear order: Maduro is the man we should follow."
Noel Perez, who opposes the president, said he thinks that if Chavez dies, "the Chavez movement ends, it's that simple."
Associated Press writers Christopher Toothaker and Fabiola Sanchez in Caracas, Michael Warren in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Frank Bajak in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.
Ian James on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ianjamesap
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The Chorus performs throughout the year to raise funds for needed items and to get more people to come to our concerts.
Here are some of the concerts that the Chorus does throughout the year:
The Fall Concert is a variety of music.
The Christmas Concert is a performance of your favorite Christmas songs.
A Moonlight Serenade, also known as The Valentine's Variety Show, is a night of solos and duets of favorite love songs.
District 8 Large Group Performance Evaluation, also known as Festival, is hosted by the Ware County High School and adjudicated by the Georgia Music Educators Association. The different classes get Superior scores for their performances.
The Spring Spectacular, also known as The Spring Show, is a fun night of singing, dancing, and high energy performing with props, costumes, set, the works.
The Chorus also sings at other various events in the community: Nursing Homes, Lion's Club, Brotherhood Ceremony, National Day of Prayer, and Elementary Schools.
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View more polls
December 9, 2009 - 1:37pmPermalink
Covenants, codes and restrictions (CC&R) are legal limitations created for planned communities that are enacted as deed restrictions applicable to all properties. CC&R create the homeowners association and provide all the rules, such as the colors you can paint your house or restricting hanging laundry in your yard.
Federal law would trump the CC&R and should be enacted.
In an energy starved world we should also be encouraged not prohibited from drying laundry outdoors.
December 11, 2009 - 12:26amPermalink
I feel the Homeowners Association should realize the FLAG OF THIS COUNTRY is a sign of their Freedoms. Freedoms we fought and fight for every day. One person said that they should have the right to make it's members not fly flags as it shows the right of freedom..it makes no sense. If they tell you what to do with your house and yard the people are under a governing type of situation..they are being controlled and not free to make a choice. Held back and NOT able to fly our Flag. 1984 ?
May 6, 2010 - 5:08pmPermalink
I can site 4 incidents in my hometown, where high schools and even Burger King display the flag at half staff for employees and student who died, and one church who display the flag at half staff, but not the other flag, the church flag. I wrote an article on flag etiquette and some lawyer responded by saying that since the code says you "should" or "should not", it was up to the individual or local government to decide. I said that since our soldiers coming back for oversea don't rate the flag at half staff, why should a Burger King employee. I say change the code, change the word "should for "will".
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Expect a big stink over in midtown today. Advocacy group Teens Turning Green are planning a protest at Abercrombie & Fitch's Fifth Avenue location in New York to speak out against the chain's use of chemical-heavy scents in stores.
We're not talking about over-indulgent spraying. Unlike Abercrombie's typical flak -- which commonly pertains to loud in-store stereo volume, risque bill boards, and the like -- the group claims that the levels of the fragrance toxicity in the stores actually carries a serious health risk.
"We as teens feel it is unacceptable that Abercrombie and Fitch customers are unknowingly being exposed to harmful chemicals by simply walking into the stores," Jessica Assaf, co-organizer and president of the Turning Green Chapter at New York University, recently told Stylelist.
Reportedly, Abercrombie & Fitch pumps cologne through store ventilation systems and diffuses it through track lighting. Teens Turning Green argues that chemicals contained within those scents (some of which remain absent from bottle indredients lists) are toxic for consumers.
Backing up Teens Turning Green in the fray is a flotilla of do-gooder organizations from the American Fertility Association to Physicians for Social Responsibility, in addition to Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
In response, Abercrombie & Fitch took to its Facebook page to defend its fragrance practice, stating: "Abercrombie & Fitch's iconic fragrance, Fierce, is an important part of our in-store experience and something our fans around the world love us for." In addition, the brand insisted that the oil chemicals within the fragrance comply with the standards set by the International Fragrance Research Association.
Considering the press the Fifth Avenue protest has generated, we'd bet there are more than a few folks who'd take issue with Abercrombie & Fitch's scenting -- especially those passing by the store who may have no intention of going inside (and aren't counted as A&F "fans," per se). As such, we wouldn't be surprised if this small protest in New York serves as a signal of things to come.
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Gardening has been a lifelong passion for Wende and she’d like to share her passion with her readers. Follow her as she writes about her gardening adventures, lists tasks to do depending on the season, and gives easy to understand gardening advice.
I did not know this, and after I read the article below, I'm not sure that I ever wanted to know this. I know from living in a farming community that seed companies are making seeds such as corn resistant to RoundUp so that it is easy to spray for weeds as farmers are tending their crops. But I didn't know that they are now genetically altering the seeds, and also doing the same with seeds that we buy as residential back yard garden growers.
Briggs & Stratton Experts Ready to Answer Questions April 15 - May 15 (April 2011) – MILWAUKEE – This spring, homeowners hungry for yard care knowledge can turn to the month-long Yard Smarts Hotline. Staffed by lawn, garden and equipment experts, the hotline is sponsored by Briggs & Stratton Corporation, which makes the engines that power eight out of the top 10 lawn mower brands in the United States.
It’s Spring! You want to get out there and do some of those landscaping projects you didn’t get to last year. A new flower bed would be nice, or you want to plant a tree, maybe create a retaining wall. You have been thinking about what you want it to look like all winter. Maybe you have already purchased materials for your project. I’m sure you have also drawn a rough sketch of what you want to do. It should be easy, right? You have a free weekend, let’s go!
There has been a few days in the last couple of weeks that were nice enough to get out into my yard. I was itching to get out there! I moved into my current home in late November, so I had no clue as to what types of perennials or bulbs or woody shrubs I had. I'm anxious to assess the yard, see what is already there and determine what stays and what goes. There are a lot of things I want to change about it - and I was making mental notes as I did a thorough walk around. There are many aesthetic things I want to change, but there are a few things that if not corrected quickly will result in bad things happening. Here's a few of the bad things I found:
1. The previous owners used ugly scallopped brick things to make a ring around a tree out by the front sidewalk. They heaped soil and wood chips inside the ring which added about 6 inches of material over the regular ground level. Adding or removing more than one inch of soil to the area under the canopy of the tree will usually kill it in three to five years from suffocation or exposure.
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ADOPTION OF AG BRANDS IN TODAY'S TOUGH MARKETING ENVIRONMENT
LANDMARK RESEARCH FROM APA: THE ASSOCIATION OF LEADING AG MEDIA COMPANIES (NOW ABM)
compiled by Agri Marketing editors
In Agri Marketing's June issue, results from this study confirmed that farmers and ranchers feel the necessity of knowing and learning about your brand before dealers and sales reps even start making calls. The importance of your brand being known, understood, and anticipated at the beginning of the farmer's purchasing process is critical to your brand in generating a satisfied farmer-customer. Two-thirds of the producers first learn about a supplier's capabilities and products via the manufacturer's communications program. And before seeing sales reps, 85 percent of producers prefer to have learned about a supplier and a supplier's products through its communications programs.
DUAL ROLE OF EDUCATING AND BRANDING
As pointed out in Agri Marketing's June issue, producers must deal with an agricultural environment that's changing more rapidly than ever. Fully 85 percent of the producers polled feel the pace of farming and ranching is changing more rapidly or much more rapidly compared to the past. In their need to understand issues surrounding the business of farming, producers continue to rank ag publications (ads and news/articles) as the number one source to learn about new products, equipment and suppliers. Granted, producers rely on an array of media to learn solutions to their many challenges, and a supplier's marketing mix should contain a variety of media, but the foundation should continue to be agricultural publications.
TRENDS IN PRODUCERS INVOLVEMENT WITH AG PUBLICATIONS
One might think that given all the alternative ways a farmer has access to information, that ag publications have become less important in this increasing mix. But, producers feel differently. Ninety-two percent find ag publications to be just as or more important than three to four years ago, and also 92 percent feel their ag publications will be just as or more important in the next three to four years. And the younger the farmer, the more involved they are with their publications, now and into the future. In addition, producers are now reading the same or a greater number of ag publications than three to four years ago.
Not only do publications provide essential information, but they're viewed as offering unique advantages, including convenience of use, portability, credibility, and highly visual presentations. Plus the research shows that there is staying power with publications - 89 percent of producers read weekly or more often. The average number of reading sessions is almost four times per week. Likewise, younger and more Web-savvy producers continue to invest substantial time with their ag publications (see chart 3). Because of this, suppliers' sales messages will continue to appear in a medium that's heavily valued by buyers.
EFFECTIVENESS OF ADVERTISING IN HELPING THE BRANDING PROCESS
Advertising in ag publications continues to be a powerful marketing medium. It's where buyers are exposed most often to sales messages, it's a medium they find important, it helps build perceptions and preferences for suppliers, and it helps keep current customers sold.
When asked to rank types of business-to-business ads in terms of how frequently they were looked at, read or heard in the last month, ads in farm publications clearly were the number one choice with 69 percent of the farmers giving it the top spot. Companies and suppliers who advertise regularly via ag publications garner positive perceptions from producers. They feel that suppliers are more likely to be better established, more stable, more successful, reliable, innovative and customer-oriented.
Producers revealed they have a preference for doing business with companies that advertise regularly, and producers indicate they continue reading a supplier's magazine and newspapers ads after purchasing - helping jump-start the next sale. Magazine advertising helps accelerate the entire brand adoption process - from initial contact through to customer retention.
RESPONSE TREND TO ADVERTISING IN AG PUBLICATIONS
As producers search for product and equipment solutions, they're responding with the same or greater frequency than in the past. Fully 86 percent are responding more often or at the same level compared to three
to four years ago in terms of seeking out or requesting information about products advertised in ag publications. However, this need to obtain information is showing itself in greater usage of more direct response - with nine out of 10 now phoning suppliers, talking to reps, going to Web sites, etc.
In fact, the research indicates that out of every 100 sales leads generated by an ag publication, 71 will be received via direct methods. Suppliers who wish to maximize their advertising ROI must examine the systems in place to identify, track and direct these leads. The research indicates that advertisers fall down in this area with 58 percent of the producers who phone-in for more information not being asked where they learned of it. And 72 percent of those who go to a supplier's Web site are not asked for the source of their inquiry.
Are times different now than they used to be? Of course they are; but do the basic marketing principles still apply in this changing environment? This study clearly shows that successful ag brands are forged and maintained by the integrated strengths of sales reps, dealers/retailers and communication programs.
To see the full results of this study, please contact one of the sponsoring member companies of APA or print media representative of these companies to obtain them. You also can contact us at email@example.com to obtain the results. AM
Research source: "The Adoption Of Agricultural Brands In The 21st Century"; Martin Akel & Associates; 3/02. Results represent all crop/livestock categories combined. They have been weighted to reflect the proper number and types of producers in the U.S. agricultural market.
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The revised Roman Missal will debut in metro Detroit during services this Sunday. / KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press
Lindsey Ramsdell, 11, and Clare Ramsdell, 7, both of Grosse Pointe Shores read along during mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea in Grosse Pointe Woods with grandmother Jean Gryzenia, 72, of Grosse Pointe Farms. Pope John Paul II called for updated translations about a decade ago. / Photos by KATHLEEN GALLIGAN/Detroit Free Press
See the liturgy before and after
To see more of the changes to the Catholic mass, go to: http://old.usccb.org/romanmissal/peoplesparts.pdf
The biggest changes to Catholic mass in about 40 years will start Sunday, part of an attempt by the church to return to its roots.
But while church leaders praise the changes in wording, others say they're a regression that will make mass harder to understand and were implemented top-down without considering what Catholics on the ground think. To critics, it's a move away from the reforms of Vatican II in the 1960s that allowed mass in local languages instead of Latin. Though the mass still will be said in English and other languages, the words are a more direct translation of Latin and Hebrew words.
In the old mass, God is called the "Lord of power and might." Now, he's the "Lord of hosts," a more direct translation of an ancient term for armies.
• Related information: Read the changes in wording
"It's just a giant step backwards," said Carmen Gudan, 63, of Dearborn. "It will drive people away."
Church leaders acknowledge that the changes may take some getting used to, but say they will help Catholics draw closer to their faith.
"My hope would be they give it a chance ... give it some time to have an effect," said the Rev. Gary Smetanka, head of the worship commission of the Archdiocese of Detroit and pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Grosse Pointe Woods.
Some Catholics in metro Detroit fear mass confusion over changes to liturgy
For decades, English-speaking Catholics described Jesus during mass as "one in being with the father."
But starting Sunday, they will say he's "consubstantial with the father," using a word that means roughly the same thing, but is awkward and confusing to many.
That substitution is part of the biggest change to the English-language Catholic mass in about 40 years, one that will affect how up to 1.3 million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Detroit recite words during services.
The changes have upset some, illustrating the divide between liberal and conservative Catholics. Critics say the new wording was thrust upon a reluctant public by the Vatican with little input from Americans and others. To them, it reflects the church's rightward shift and an increased reluctance to listen to its members on a range of issues, from abusive priests to finances. The wording changes make the mass more opaque and unfamiliar, they argue.
"There are a lot of people upset by the changes, and the process by which the changes were made," said Tom Kyle, 72, a Catholic from Farmington who says the church should be more open. "There is a lot of resistance from the clergy. A lot of the priests don't like it."
The word "consubstantial" is one example of what Kyle says represents a backward step for the church.
"Technically, it's correct, but people don't know what 'consubstantial' means," Kyle said. "It doesn't make any sense for many. And it doesn't have the same flow."
But church leaders in Detroit and across the U.S. say the changes elevate the language in the liturgy. And they're making people look anew at words they might have said by rote in the past.
"After 40 years of having more of a common language, this might take a little while to get used to, but it's something that perhaps can take people to a different level," said Smetanka.
"With change, there is new growth, new possibilities and new discoveries, and maybe it's something the Holy Spirit is leading us to, to something richer and to a new discovery of our understanding of God, and the saints and the church."
For the Catholic Church, mass is a key part of the faith, and the words that are recited are considered carefully. They are part of a text called the Roman Missal, whose language was changed after the reforms of the Vatican II Council in the 1960s.
Those reforms allowed mass to be said in local languages instead of the traditional Latin and encouraged more openness and variation. But conservatives say the pendulum shifted too far to the left. The late Pope John Paul II -- who could recite the mass in several languages -- wanted a more uniform language for the missal.
About a decade ago, he called for updated translations, which were worked on for years. Kyle said that the input from some American Catholic bishops was essentially ignored as the Vatican hierarchy put its foot down about the mass changes.
In the Archdiocese of Detroit, leaders have worked on introducing the changes over the past two years, Smetanka said. He and other clergy have visited a number of parishes, meeting nearly 3,000 people to explain the new words. They've held workshops to make people familiar with them. And in recent weeks, pastors have handed out cards with the new words to help familiarize parishioners.
One goal, he said, is to encourage "more chanting and singing of the mass."
"Our liturgy is really meant to be sung at every mass."
The process is making Catholics get back in touch with the meaning of the words, he said. "It's a wonderful opportunity to be renewed in our understanding of the mass."
But Gudan doesn't feel that way. The 63-year-old lifelong Catholic says she thinks it's a big mistake, one that betrays the spirit of the 1960s reforms that opened up the church.
"It's a direct violation of Vatican II," she said. "The whole purpose of that is to make things easier, and this makes things more difficult."
One of the text changes that concerns Gudan centers on sin. In the old mass, Catholics say, "I have sinned through my own fault."
Starting Sunday, they will say, "I have greatly sinned ... through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault."
Gudan said, "We're wailing about our sinfulness instead of celebrating going out and following the teachings of Jesus Christ."
The new language also doesn't flow as well, she and others say.
"It's stilted," she said. "I can't stand it. It's just repulsive."
But Smetanka said that "the new language is more of an elevated language. ... Sacred language is different than common street language."
Andrew Brown, 21, of Ann Arbor welcomes the changes.
"It shows the church takes seriously our tradition," he said.
"It's very easy to be mechanical with your words and just go through the motions," he said. "These changes ... will be significant enough to make (Catholics) wake up and think about the words again."
Brown likes how the changes emphasize the universal nature of the church. One of the goals of the Vatican is to make sure that masses said around the world are similar enough to remind Catholics that their church is a worldwide institution. Brown, a student whose minor is Spanish, said:
"It's cool ... having unity along the language front and trying to remain faithful to the original Latin."
Contact Niraj Warikoo: 313-223-4792 or email@example.com
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Math+Computer Science=New Solutions
A double major in computer science and math, Mike Wheelock '13 of Pittsfield, Mass., aims for a career in mathematical modeling and simulation.
"I believe the two together are a powerful combination: mathematics can describe the real world, but descriptions by themselves don't do much. Computer science gives us the tools to build solutions from the descriptions given by mathematics," Wheelock said.
"I love making simulations of complex systems and using them to solve problems and answer questions that couldn't be answered otherwise."
According to Mike Dalton, chair of the College's computer science department, Wheelock is an exceptional student who is an asset to the College.
"He challenges professors, and has taught them a thing or two. He has, on many occasions, helped his fellow students without compensation," Dalton said. "Mike is a brilliant student, and is always willing to share his knowledge in the spirit of making our world a better place."
Wheelock, who has "loved math since I was 3," attributes his strengths in his chosen majors to his love of problem solving and his "analytical mind." He started to learn computer programming when he was just 9 years old.
"I am mostly self-taught," he explained. "I helped fellow students and my teachers in high school with their programming courses, and was even able to teach Professor Dalton a couple of things in Java 4. I've always loved helping people and have tutored on and off throughout my college career."
After graduating with an Associate degree in computer science from Berkshire Community College (BCC), Wheelock headed to Troy, N.Y., where he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). After discovering the school was not a good fit for him, he decided to take a few classes at MCLA.
"The professors' engagement with and interest in students at MCLA is far superior, compared to RPI. The students are also more approachable and friendly," Wheelock said. "Even though MCLA is a liberal arts college, its programs in computer science, mathematics and science are top notch."
According to Wheelock, "I've learned a great deal about database, systems, and Web development since being at MCLA. I've also gained some more mathematical tools. I'm especially interested in my math modeling course this semester with Dr. Freda Bennett."
Recently, he participated with two other MCLA students in the 96-hour, international "Mathematical Contest in Modeling," put on by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP).
"We had to model the nation's water supply and come up with solutions for conservation, transport, etc., that could mitigate the effects of water shortage in the future. We solved the problem and wrote an 18-page paper on our solution," Wheelock explained. "It was intense, but really fun. This is the fourth time I have participated, and I have loved the experience every time. It's like a marathon of problem solving."
Wheelock, who will graduate in May, is developing software for nonprofits to manage their contacts and donations that will help identify their most valuable donors and increase the gifts they receive. The mathematical model program he uses to identify prospective donors is his senior project this semester.
His company, Artemis Analytics, which he started with his wife, Cathy, will produce and market this software once it is complete.
Wheelock recommends MCLA to prospective students.
"It combines all the benefits of a four-year university with the atmosphere and supportiveness of a community organization."
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Objective of the Game
The objective of video poker is to get a winning combination of poker hands, the higher the rank of the final hand, the better the payout. Video Poker is a game of draw poker, in which the player is dealt 5 cards face up. The player decides which cards to hold and which cards to discard for the second and final draw.
The strategy and preference for the different variations of this game is really up to the player since each game has its own set of rules and advantages both to the player and the house.
Playing the Game
The player can change the coin value and amount of coins to bet per turn. Bets must be placed before the first draw, and can't be changed once the round starts. Once the bet amount is set, the player can click on the draw button and start the round. After the first 5 cards are dealt, the player may choose to hold or discard cards before a second and final draw. After this final draw the highest ranking hand is used to calculate a payout.
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Labor's Indian Ocean solution
JULIA GILLARD has resorted to a policy of processing refugees abroad to try to stop the boats and shut down damaging debate over asylum seekers.
But the fate of her policy rests with two foreign governments and the United Nations, all of which gave no firm commitment yesterday.
After defusing the mining tax issue, Ms Gillard nominated asylum seekers as the next item on her to-do list. She now has only to announce stop-gap renewable energy measures to address climate change before clearing the decks for the election.
Christmas Island welcome ... under Labor's plan asylum seekers such as these would be processed on East Timor. This year 75 boats, carrying 3532 would-be refugees, have been intercepted. Photo: Allison Millcock
With the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, promising a return to the ''Pacific solution'' in which asylum seekers would be processed by Australian authorities in a third country such as Nauru, Ms Gillard promised to establish a regional processing centre in East Timor.
The policy, signalled by the Herald but denied by the government 10 days ago, would mean unauthorised arrivals in Australia and other signatory nations would be sent to East Timor for processing under the auspices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration.
Those found to be refugees would be relocated in Australia, New Zealand and any other nations that signed up.
The President of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta, who met Kevin Rudd in Canberra the day before the then prime minister was ousted, supported the idea in principle but was cautious. He said he needed to discuss the matter with the Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmao.
He said Timor would not seek favours in return for co-operating. ''Timor-Leste will look at any proposals with an open mind, based purely on humanitarian considerations.''
Ms Gillard contacted Mr Ramos-Horta, the New Zealand Prime Minister, John Key, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, only on Monday night.
She said Australia must rise above the unedifying debate that surrounded asylum seekers and her solution would stop the ''evil trade'' of people smuggling. ''A regional approach … effectively eliminates the onshore processing of unauthorised arrivals and ensures that anyone seeking asylum is subject to consistent process of assessment in the same place,'' she said.
''A regional processing centre would remove the incentive once and for all for the people smugglers to send boats to Australia. Why risk a dangerous journey if you will simply be returned to the regional processing centre?''
After a UNHCR report found the Sri Lankan situation was improving, Ms Gillard lifted the three-month processing freeze on Sri Lankan arrivals with the expectation that most applicants would be rejected.
A UNHCR spokesman welcomed the lifting of the freeze. He said the commission was favourably disposed towards the Timor proposal but said it was ''too early to discuss specifics''.
Mr Key, in South Korea, said he had told Ms Gillard New Zealand would not increase its annual refugee quota of 750. ''In addition, we won't be sacrificing our security checks on those seeking refugee status in New Zealand.''
The Herald understands that the Immigration Minister, Chris Evans, first approached the UNHCR several months ago about it presiding over a processing centre in a third country and that the commission was lukewarm about the idea.
Diplomatic sources said that when Mr Ramos-Horta visited Canberra two weeks ago Mr Rudd was advised not to raise the idea during talks that lasted more than two hours.
The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, said the Coalition's policy was aimed at solving Australia's problem, whereas Ms Gillard's idea was unwieldy and required regional agreements and pacts.
A senior Labor source concurred, saying should the idea collapse due to lack of co-operation, the government would be reduced to adopting the ''Pacific solution''.
''A Labor government can never win a race to the right,'' the source said.
Not to be outdone, Mr Abbott ratcheted up his assault, saying he would ''send back'' arrivals whom authorities suspected had destroyed their identification documents.
A Coalition government would also allow the immigration minister to veto a refugee approval and, to deter people smugglers, applicants waiting in overseas camps would be given priority over boat arrivals. It would also trial a Canadian scheme in which citizens could sponsor a refugee.
Mr Abbott said the Coalition would turn around boats ''where circumstances permit''. This prompted a stinging rebuke from Ms Gillard, who said it would lead to people drowning.
with Hamish McDonald
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Are consumers ready for the next-generation home network that will transform how all of us will interact with our home entertainment systems, as well as our home's security, energy, health monitoring and environmental systems?
Many technology watchers have predicted the arrival of the automated smart home - that home owners will seek out and install the latest, coolest gizmos that will make a house truly smart. Well, it ain't gonna happen that way.
Instead, powered by ZigBee RF4CE - a low-power, low-data-rate version of Wi-Fi, this new network is the choice of the world's cable companies and service providers as the way to introduce new services and applications to the home. Cable companies have realized that is not enough to provide high-quality video and web connectivity. If they want to engage their customers and keep them as subscribers in a web connected world, they already have the total infrastructure in place to provide a wide range of other services.
RF4CE powered set-top boxes and remote controls can provide the central control point for all the home's entertainment, automation and smart applications.
It is the cable companies of the world who are launching the new smart homes centered around the ubiquitous set-top box - not the TV makers, not the home after market or security device providers.
At CES 2012, Comcast, one of the largest service providers in the world said it is moving to ZigBee RF4CE with their new Xfinity set-top boxes and remotes.
"We are moving to support ZigBee RF4CE standards-based remote controls and set-tops because they improve the user experience for navigating all our services in the home, while allowing us to make the transition to RF technology in a very cost effective way," said Ted Grauch, Vice President, Video Premise Equipment for Comcast.
Comcast is not alone. Every other service provider in the world is also testing and planning on moving to RF4CE for their set-top boxes and remotes. In addition, several of the world's leading consumer electronics and home entertainment manufacturers are planning on using RF4CE. In Japan, Sony is already using RF4CE in their televisions and remote controls to enable viewers to easily purchase items they see on their TVs.
Within a few years, maybe five, how everyone communicates with their home entertainment and monitoring/control systems will change.
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Africa News blog
African business, politics and lifestyle
Israel this week started deporting a planeload of migrants to South Sudan early on Monday, the first of a series of weekly repatriation flights intended as a stepping stone to dealing with much greater influxes of migrants from Sudan, Eritrea and Ivory Coast.
About 60,000 Africans have crossed into Israel across its porous border with Egypt in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are job seekers, disputing arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum.
Many in Israel see the Africans as a threat to public order and to the demographics of the Jewish state. Street protests, some violent, have put pressure on the government, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of Africans “flooding” and “swamping” Israel, threatening “the character of the country”.
The government has seized on the few hundred South Sudanese migrants, whose de facto refugee status was rescinded by an Israeli court this month, and whose government, sympathetic to Israel, is happy to take them back
Think scientific excellence and Equatorial Guinea may not
immediately spring to mind.
Still less might you think of Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo,
whose 30-year rule over the tiny central African oil producer
country has left him with an international reputation for
corruption and civil rights abuses.
I had a flashback the other day when I was looking at photographs from Haiti of 15-year-old Fabianne Geismar, shot dead in the head after stealing wall hangings from a Port-au-Prince store, crushed in the Jan. 12 earthquake.
The image of Fabianne sprawled on the ground, blood trailing over the paintings she’d grabbed, took me back to my own childhood in Nairobi and the sight of a 7- or 8-year-old-boy – probably the same age as me at the time – who was caught stealing sweets from a street vendor and was beaten and burnt with rubber tyres. They called it mob justice.
One day this year, in all probability, the “billionth African” will have been born, a milestone that will only benefit the poorest continent if it can get its act together and unify its piecemeal markets.
Nobody knows, of course, when or where in its 53 countries the child arrived to push Africa’s population into ten figures.
The U.N. merely estimates that in mid-2008 there were 987 million people, and in mid-2009, 1,010 million.
Given the difficulties of obtaining accurate data from the likes of Nigeria, where provincial population figures are often hostage to the ambitions of local politicians, or any data at all from the likes of Somalia, experts are reluctant to hazard any greater degree of accuracy.
There is less doubt, however, about the underlying trend — that Africa’s population is set to grow faster than in any other part of the world in the coming decades, and to double by 2050.
To some, the statistics from the U.N.’s population division will invite comparisons to the Asian giants, and inspire hopes of a flood of investment from Africans and outsiders to meet the needs of a continent likely to be home to one in five people by the middle of this century.
By contrast, China’s projected population of 1.4 billion in 40 years will be shrinking, while India will only be adding an annual 3 million to its 1.6 billion people.
To others, the numbers are stark reminders of the mammoth task Africa’s leaders face in providing the food, jobs, schools, housing and healthcare that are still so sorely lacking.
UNFPA, the U.N.’s population arm, summarises by saying that sub-Saharan Africa faces “serious political, economic and social challenges” and points to the last two decades as evidence that more people does not mean more wealth.
“Twenty years of almost three percent annual population growth has outpaced economic gains, leaving Africans, on average, 22 percent poorer than they were in the mid-1970s,” it says.
Are Africa’s leaders ready and willing to create the truly unified common market needed to boost investment, trade and economic growth, or are short-term national interests likely to prevail, consigning Africa to a century of overpopulated poverty?
Eighteen-year-old Mokgadi ‘Caster’ Semenya is being celebrated as a national hero in South Africa after winning the 800 metres at the World Athletics Championships, but the decision by international athletics officials to order a gender verification test has stirred deep anger – and brought accusations of prejudice against the country and the continent.
Many in South Africa feel a victory by their talented young athlete is being tarnished by bad losers and a world all too ready to mock. Sensitivities to prejudice are never far from the surface in the country where apartheid white minority rule ended just 15 years ago.
Nelson Mandela, a global symbol of reconciliation after the end of apartheid in 1994, appeared at the ruling ANC’s last election rally before Wednesday’s vote, delivering a last minute campaign boost for party leader Jacob Zuma.
Wearing a Zuma t-shirt, he sat beside the ANC leader, who has been fighting corruption allegations for eight years. The case was just dropped on a technicality and some South Africans still question his innocence.
South African prosecutors are considering a legal request by ruling ANC leader Jacob Zuma to drop the graft charges against the man who is expected to be the next president after the elections in April. Zuma has always denied any wrongdoing and his followers say the charges were politically motivated.
A decision to drop the charges would give the African National Congress a big boost ahead of what is expected to be the most closely-contested poll since apartheid ended in 1994. It would also remove a major distraction for Zuma in office and the prospect of court appearances that could tarnish South Africa’s standing abroad.
It is hard to fathom what the motivation for Jean Thissen’s decision would be. He takes on the job as national team coach of Togo just over two weeks before the resumption of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers and with the very real prospect of having to do without his best player.
Thissen is the third new coach to take over at the helm of a side who are still in the World Cup race and set out at the end of this month on the final leg of the fight for one of the five berths for the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has seen off other challenges in almost 20 years in power and there is no sign that he is going to give in to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Some supporters of the court’s move hope it will eventually persuade Sudan’s politicians to hand over their leader in a palace coup, end the festering conflict in Darfur and do more to repair relations with the West.
The reception would have done justice to royalty or a movie star when Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe paid a rare visit to his homeland recently, some 50 years after penning his book “Things Fall Apart”.
That book has a firm place on school syllabuses in much of Africa and is studied around the world. Achebe, now 79, has been acclaimed as the father of modern African literature and as the continent’s greatest living writer – his books being very accessible as well as giving a penetrating insight into the struggles of his people.
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Trinity Sixth Form
Year 13 Leavers 2012
Year 13 had their last ever day at school on Tuesday 29th May so we did our best to give them a good send off and wish them well for the future.
The day started with an assembly by Mr Dexter focussing on how the foundations that they have laid down over the last few years will prepare them well for the future and all the challenges that it brings. They were warned that not everything is as it appears, and to find out all the facts before reaching a conclusion! We looked back at their early years here with their photographs from Year 7. My how some have changed (and some have not)! There was also the chance to see a few photographs of their teachers when they were young and they have definitely changed!
The students then went to lessons until lunchtime, although this was really a time for them to say goodbye to their subject teachers. We all had lunch together in the common room, which was laid out as one giant table for everyone. It was a real party atmosphere and everyone was in good spirits (with only a few tears)!
Liturgy and Laughter
After lunch we went down to the social area for a final liturgy together arranged by Mrs York. The theme for this was to put behind them the mistakes of the past and start thinking about the great achievements they would make in the future. Also on the theme of looking ahead, Mrs York presented the students with a booklet with quotes and final ‘words of wisdom’ from all their tutors. Mr McKeever also took the chance to say a few words, thank them for what they have done for the school, to wish them well, and to ask them to “keep in touch”.
Period 5, the last of the day, was set aside for some entertainment. It started with a short ceremony with awards for a number of students who have made a tremendous contribution to the school throughout their time here. These were students who had supported the school council, the house system and the wide range of performance activities that the school produces. This was followed with some ‘entertainment’ provided by a few of the braver sixth form tutors. This was very entertaining but following the advice from our legal department I am unable to comment further!!
After 3:30pm it was then time for the sporting challenges. The Year 13 girls took on the female staff at netball and the Year 13 boys challenged the male staff at football.
The boys proved too strong for the staff in the football. The first half saw them reach an unassailable 5-1 lead, with the staff struggling in the heat. However, the introduction of Mr Parr in the second half saw a more solid staff team who managed to shore up the defence and achieve a staff win of 1-0 ( well in the second half) and the final score was 5-2.
The netball was a much closer affair with the teams level most of the game. A late (and possibly controversial!) goal in the last few minutes saw the students take the lead and run out winners at 11-10. The staff vowed to return better and stronger next year, so watch out Year 12! I understand some staff will be sacked and new blood brought in.
So it was congratulations to the students who picked up both trophies in what was a great afternoon of sport. Drinks and nibbles were enjoyed by the players and the crowd as the trophies were presented.
We will miss you :(
So it’s goodbye to another Year 13 group. They have been a fantastic year group, a pleasure to teach and a pleasure to know. We wish them all the best of luck in their exams and for the future and we will miss them all.
Thanks to the teachers who helped and took part in all the activities on the final day and also to all the students who really joined in and made the whole day very memorable.
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Subscribe To our E-Newsletter
What Midterm Voting Patterns Say About Us
The "debate" over the number of Jews who voted for either U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak or Sen.-elect Pat Toomey in the recent Pennsylvania Senate race is just the latest in the annual attempt by the Republican Jewish Coalition to convince its donors that contributing to that organization is money well-spent.
In each election cycle, they use polling techniques that are likely to show significant progress in making inroads to Jewish voters, while, in reality, Jews remain among the staunchest supporters of Democratic candidates on both the national and local levels. Supporters of the RJC attribute this voting pattern to some sort of atavistic tendency on our part.
We are probably the only identifiable community that does not "vote its pocketbook" and, in fact, there is considerable data that indicates that affluent Jews are often more likely to cast their votes for Democratic candidates than are those who have lower incomes, although both segments tend to vote overwhelmingly for Democrats.
Why is this so? Are we really so foolish that we continue to vote against our own best interest? Don't we care that the political right is more vocal in their support of Israel? Are we just stubborn people who are so blinded by political nostalgia for the New Deal, and the party of Hubert Humphrey and Robert Kennedy, both of whom were very liberal and pro-Israel?
In fact, I believe, we are -- to use a term popular with the religious/political right wing -- true "values voters." Much of the Republican rhetoric in the recent election was anti-government. Candidate after candidate promised to get government off our backs, in effect to protect us from a rapacious cadre of elected officials and bureaucrats. More than one Republican candidate promised to take back America and put it into the hands of "the people."
And on Election Night, several politicians quoted either Thomas Paine or Thomas Jefferson (the quote has been attributed to both, but seems actually to have been written by Henry David Thoreau) that "the government that governs best is one that governs least."
But that sort of benign anarchism is the direct antitheses of what Judaism has to say about government. Rather, our tradition teaches us that government that governs justly and compassionately governs best. In Pirkei Avot, we are told to "pray for the welfare of the government. If it were not for the fear of the government, each man would eat his neighbor alive!"
The 15th-century scholar Rav Ovadia Bartenura explains that just as larger and more powerful fish in the sea eat smaller fish, if it weren't for the fear of the government, stronger men would "swallow" up smaller men. It is not government that we need to be protected from; rather, the proper role of government is to protect the less powerful from the avarice and greed of others.
A great deal of the Republican appeal to voters was and is based upon the idea that hard-working people are overtaxed, to a significant degree, in order to assist those who are less industrious.
It is no mere accident that in Judaism our obligation to those who have less is considered a mitzvah and not simply an act of voluntary generosity. We read in Leviticus: "When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the corner of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger; I, the Lord, am your God. You shall not steal."
In other words, we are mandated to share our wealth, and not think that the fruits of our labors are all ours to keep. It is also worth noting that in the context of sharing our bounty -- paying taxes, for example -- the prohibition against theft is repeated, making greed tantamount to theft.
Certainly, few of us go to the polls thinking of what we are taught in the Tanach or the Talmud. Rather, our voting behavior is deeply rooted in our worldview; most of us somehow know in our kishkas that it is our obligation to make the world a better place for all. Thus, we care about better health care and decent education. We want to see people protected from avarice. And we know that sharing our resources is not "socialism," but simply behaving in a manner of a compassionate people.
Until and unless this becomes the agenda of the Republican Party, most Jews will continue to reject their overtures, no matter how much money they spend trying to convince our community that Israel is the one issue that matters to us. I, for one, am insulted when we are approached not only as a single-issue entity, but also one that cares less about our nation's needs than do other Americans.
We love Israel, and care deeply about her needs and security. But as Jews, we are also taught to care for all mankind and to encourage others to do likewise. That is what being a "light unto the nations" truly means.
Burt Siegel, a longtime analyst of Jewish voting patterns, worked on Jewish outreach for Joe Sestak in his bid for the U.S. Senate.
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|What wine used to taste like, in 2012|
SAN FRANCISCO (Jan. 22, 2042):
Former winemakers and stink drinkers gathered today at the annual "Wine Remembrance" celebration to drink some old vintages and reminisce about the days before Superbrett.
Most attendees were well into their retirement years, but there was a smattering of people in their 40s. "My grandfather used to pour me a glass of wine at the table, and I remember it tasted like plums," said Ray Lewis IV. "It smelled nice too. My folks drank it all the time. People acted different when they were high on wine. Some people say it's better now, but I think we've lost something."
Superbrett is the worldwide dominant strain of yeast, developed by the Swedish biofuel industry in 2013. It made no real impact on the energy industry, but within a generation it eliminated what was once a worldwide industry in wine.
|What wine smells like now (UC Davis Brett Impact Wheel)|
So they used selective breeding to develop Superbrett, a yeast so efficient that it would outcompete all other yeasts. And because they weren't drinking the ethanol it produced, they cared little what the end product tasted like.
According to the historical record, wine tasted different before Superbrett escaped Sweden and spread throughout the world. Frequently, wines were described in rapturous language such as "bursting with ripe flavors of peach, apricot, lime, Key lime, Meyer lemon, and crushed elderberry." Wine supported the population of the former nation of France. Historians believe the changing taste of wine led to the European Insurrection of 2025.
In California, long rows of grapevines once covered the valleys and hillsides for many miles along the coast.
"Napa used to be one of the wealthiest counties in the state," one retired winemaker said. "It's still a beautiful place to live, and it will look even nicer when all the apple trees mature. But there was a time when people had jobs there."
Few people under age 40 have tasted a glass of non-medicinal wine. Supplies of recreational wine began to run low in the early '20s, and today, recreational wine bottles rarely leave private collections. Rumors of large stocks still existing have led to violent riots and confrontations all over the former territory of Italy. But tensions eased with the development, legalization and sale of today's smorgasbord of mood aids.
"It's better today, really," said one former wine lover. "I remember when we used to argue about wine. Is this wine too high in alcohol? Did the winemaker leave that one in the barrel too long? Silly, really. Nowadays you take a pill and everything's better. I do miss the flavor, though."
The story above is based on a real situation that I learned about at UC Davis' recent brettanomyces seminar. Swedish biofuel researchers really are working on developing Superbrett. UC Davis professor Linda Bisson said, "Keep your Superbrett away from my wine industry."
I haven't been able to stop thinking about Brett since the seminar, which was a major philosophical shift for UC Davis.
Here's my news story for Wine Searcher about the introduction of the Brettanomyces Impact Wheel, the equivalent of the Brett Aroma Wheel, in which we learn that our reaction to brett's flavors is often cultural.
And here's my column for Palate Press about the impact: I don't know anymore which flavors come from grapes, and which come from brett. Go look at the original Wine Aroma Wheel, developed at UC Davis, and you'll see that aromas attributable to brett make up the majority of it.
The thing to keep in mind about both those stories, as they relate to Superbrett, is that while UC Davis said more than 20% of the brett strains it tested gave more positive influence than not, that means there's nearly an 80% chance that whatever strain of Superbrett the Swedish engineers develop will make wine undrinkable.
And you thought the zombie apocalypse was scary.
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Let’s talk Mierzejewski. Lots of confusion on this family, remember my grandfather married a Mierzejewska. So, it takes some time and patience untangling names and relationships. Earlier, I had identified a John (Jan) M. Mierzejewski as my grandmother’s brother. See this post updated on July 13, 2010 and this post from August 1, 2010.
However, I’m going to focus on my grandfather’s family here. And these relationships are confusing because my grandmother and grandfather each had siblings who were named alike. The John or Jan Mierzejewski who is today’s subject is descended through my great-grandfather, Antoni Mierzejewski. Antoni had a son named Ignacy. John is the son of Ignacy Mierzejewski and Marianna Goclowska Dabkowska. My grandfather, Wladyslaw (Walter) is the son of Ignacy and another wife, Budziszewska. So Walter and John were half-brothers.
This post will set the stage for a following post on John’s son, William. William, or Bill, was an OSS officer who served in Yugoslavia in WWII. Bill had changed his last name to Marsh after leaving the OSS to serve with the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Much of the information presented here was provided by Bill’s son, William (Bill) S. Marsh (Mierzejewski).
John was born in Tomasze, Poland on November 15, 1894 per his Word War II draft registration card.
Interestingly, John provided his residence for the World War II draft registration on Vance Street. A number of my mother’s relatives had resided on Vance.
Per the 1930 census, John was residing at 1021 Hamilton. This census indicates that John is living with his first wife, Anna (Joanna) (Mizlinska or Myslinska) and his children:
Also noted on this census is a roomer, Edward. Edward is likely John’s brother.
John served in WWI and because of his service, became a naturalized citizen.
Thanks to Bill Marsh, there are several photos of John:
If you can identify anyone in these photos, please leave a message here and I will follow up.
John passed away on August 17, 1970. His obituary as published in the Toledo Blade the same day and is transcribed below:
John Mierzejewski, 74, of 1435 Nebraska Ave., owner of John’s Carry-out for 20 years, died Monday in Howard’s Convalescent Home, Swanton, O., after a long illness.
Born in Poland, Mr. Mierzejewski lived in Toledo 46 years. He worked at the Mather Spring Co. 30 years, retiring nine years ago, and also ran the carry-out with his wife.
Mr. Mierzejewski was an army veteran of World War I, a member of the Wroblewski Post, American Legion, and of the Toledo Health and Retiree Center.
Surviving are his wife, Jennie, daughters, Mrs. Adelaide McCartney, of Berkey, and Mrs. Josephine Galliers, of Toledo, and nine grandchildren.
Services will be Thursday at 1 p.m. in Sujkowski Mortuary, with burial in Toledo Memorial Park. The body will be in the mortuary after 7 tonight.
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More than two years into the European debt crisis, European leaders are still struggling to find solutions to the eurozone's economic deterioration and the growing debt burdens now engulfing financial markets. During a seminar on Thursday at AEI, panelists discussed how this crisis will affect U.S. growth prospects, electoral politics and foreign policy.
Bank of America’s Michael Levy emphasized that even in the rare instances European leaders have successfully addressed economic difficulties, they have nevertheless failed to properly manage market expectations. In contrast to most commentators, Frank Lavin of Export Now focused on the microeconomic problems that are inhibiting European growth and suggested that a U.S.-European Union (EU) free trade agreement might help resolve some of them.
The panelists then discussed the political ramifications of the euro crisis. Former ambassador to the EU Kristen Silverberg indicated that the region's economic problems are compromising Europe's role as one of the world's economic and political leaders. She emphasized that such abdication of leadership means that the U.S. will find it increasingly hard to lead global discussions on economic policy and human rights.
Finally, Timothy Adams of the Lindsay Group concluded by addressing the crisis's ramifications on U.S. domestic politics, discussing the enormous number of issues the upcoming U.S. president will have to work on as trouble persists in the eurozone.
After more than two years, the European debt crisis continues unabated. The European economy is once again in recession, Greece is on the cusp of exiting the euro and the crisis has now metastasized to Spain and Italy. These developments are now seriously undermining support for established political parties across much of Europe.
This seminar will focus on Europe’s economic and political outlook. It will consider the impact of developments in Europe on the U.S. economy and the appropriate U.S. policy response to the declining economic and political fortunes of its European partners. It will also consider the implications of the likelihood that US-EU relations could be in terminal decline as a result of European economic stagnation and shrinking European defense budgets.
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Bigger Isn't Always Better
Qualify for a free subscription to HealthLeaders magazine.
Bare bones micropractices can help physicians trim costs and spend more time with their patients.
Pamela Wible, MD, has no support staff. She rents a tiny 280-square-foot office inside a wellness center. She works only part time. And she wouldn't have it any other way.
"For the first time in my career, I am not only practicing medicine in alignment with my values but in alignment with the values of my patients and community," she says.
Wible, a family physician in Eugene, OR, is one of a growing number of doctors who are abandoning the traditional production-driven medical practice in favor of a more patient-centered approach to medicine in the form of a "micropractice." The micropractice model stresses same-day access for patients, more accessible physicians, and low overhead. Physicians wear all of the hats: They answer the phone, make appointments, haggle with insurers, treat patients. Proponents of the model say the reward is freedom and autonomy.
"I used to get sticky notes posted on my door that would say you haven't seen enough patients today after seeing 28 patients," says Wible, who opened her micropractice in 2005. Now Wible can give her patients the time and attention that they want in office visits as long as an hour. What's more, Wible has reduced her overhead expenses, saving roughly $360,000 annually. And she only needs to see 88 patients annually to cover her overhead costs.
Operating a micropractice isn't for everyone, however. Before taking the plunge, physicians should:
Do the math. Doctors should evaluate the local cost of owning a practice by researching overhead expenses, average payer payments, and malpractice rates to make sure their personal income needs can be met. Even with the best intentions and a seemingly perfect setup, these practices can fail in parts of the country known as dead zones, says L. Gordon Moore, MD, a Seattle physician and a leading researcher of the micropractice model.
"These are places where the average reimbursement falls below the cost of doing business and no practice survives without subsidies."
Evaluate what they really need. Moore says practices fail because physicians rent space they can't afford or buy an expensive electronic medical record that drags them under. "It is easy to grow, but very hard to pull back when you have sunk money into equipment, space, and supplies," he says.
Know their own strengths. Although not every micropractice is just one doctor, physicians who choose this model must be well-organized and willing to work independently, says Rosemarie Nelson, a principal at MGMA Health Care Consulting Group Physicians. Doctors will also need to multitask. "You can't be squeamish about taking out the trash and arguing with clerks so that insurance people will pay you," says Moore. At the same time, physicians shouldn't assume they know everything; for example, some may need to take a coding class, Moore says. "You can make a lot of mistakes in billing, and the last thing you want to do is make a mistake and look like you are committing fraud."
- Primary Care Docs Average More Hospital Revenue Than Specialists
- 69% of Employers Plan to Offer Healthcare Coverage After 2014
- Building a Better Healthcare Board
- Q&A: Catholic Health Initiatives' New Senior VP for Capital Finance
- CMS Seeks to 'Rapidly Reduce' Medicare Spending with $1B in Grants
- Quiet ORs Better for Patient Safety
- CMS Releases Hospital Pricing Data
- Evidence-Based Practice and Nursing Research: Avoiding Confusion
- Hospital Pricing Data Dump Won't Hurt You, Yet
- Telemedicine is Retail Health Clinics' Newest Tool
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|St. Mary of the Cross MacKillop & Being Deep in History|
|Written by Sherry|
|Tuesday, 07 August 2012 12:31|
Today is the feast day of St. Mary of the Cross or Mary MacKillop.
Hopefully the celebration will be free of the global media storm that took place in October, 2010 and announced that Mary MacKillop had been excommuncated for blowing the whistle on a priest abuser of children. Macy was indeed excommunicated by her (probably insane due to a brain tumor) bishop for "disobedience", an act he repented of on his deathbed five months later, and which was ruled canonically invalid by Rome a year later.
But Mary had been 1,000 miles away when the abuse came to light and knew nothing about it (cell phones, e-mail, and text messaging not being available in the 19th century Australian outback) until 6 months after the event. The real whistle-blowers about the abusing priests were first her local community of sisters and then Fr. Julian Wood, her mentally ill and wildly eccentric co-founder.
But the story-line of truth-telling-religious-woman-abused-by-a-bishop-covering-up-an-abusing-priest was just irresistable so the foremost historian of Mary's life was caught up in the whole drama, being quoted world-wide to have said something he never said.
One of the things that has always puzzled me about Mary is how hard it is to get information about how she went about her primary mission of educating the poor. We are sooo much more interested in her heart-breaking tussles with local bishops and clergy than in the mission that fired her and her sisters and in the impact that her community had on thousands of Australian children who would otherwise have had no chance for an education.
As a teacher, I'm interested in her methodology, approach, and actual experience of teaching. What we seek to learn from the lives of saints so often reflects the popular issues of our day, not what they, themselves, wanted to share with others during their lifetimes.
So often, we are not "deep in history" in our larger discussions. We are mostly deep in idealogically-driven cliches.
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Text on Them
A new website lets you report on dangerous drivers
If you have one of those “How’s My Driving?” stickers on your truck you probably have wished at least a few times a day that the four-wheelers around you had something similar. Well, someone is trying to make that happen.
Text Them In, Inc., a company that launched in September, allows you to anonymously report aggressive drivers through a text message.
“Accountability on our roads is lacking right now and Text Them In has created a system that can establish more of a driving community and less of a ‘you against me’ driving mentality,” says Alvin Butler, president and CEO of the company.
To report someone, text the tag number, state, car, color, location and what happened to 839846 (TEXTIN). That’s a lot of information to collect and text considering you’re on the road as well. In fact, Butler says if you text while driving, someone should report you. Reports can also be filed on www.texthemin.com.
You can enter your cell phone number on the website and receive a complete list of incidents you’ve reported. If the vehicle’s tag and owner are registered on the site (drivers must register their own cars), a text message or email notifies them that they were reported. Local authorities and insurance agencies aren’t automatically notified; they must request reports from the company.
For fleet owners and parents of teenagers, it’s a way to register a vehicle and see if any negative accounts come in. For the average speeder, who may never know they’ve been reported, it’s not exactly justice. But for the wronged driver, at least it will make them feel a little bit better.
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Authoritative source on industrial chemistry. Includes coverage of chemical substances and their production and application, process engineering, and environmental and occupational safety.
Major Research Tools A to Z
For complete lists of research tools, see Research Tools by Subject
Contains information on currently published as well as discontinued periodicals. Includes searchable tables of contents for over 24,000 academic journals, plus reviews of periodicals from Magazines for Libraries and Library Journal.
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Official: Over 30 Presidents to Attend NAM Summit in Tehran
(FNA)- A senior Iranian official underlined importance of the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran, and said over 30 presidents have announced their readiness to attend the gathering late August.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast made the remarks, and said that NAM has more than 120 member states and Iran has to invite all heads of states.
He added that majority of invitation letters have reached to the heads of member states and sending them have almost been finished.
The spokesman predicted that more than 30 presidents will attend the meeting.
The 16th NAM summit will be held in Tehran from August 26 to 31.
Iran will assume the rotating presidency of the movement from Egypt for three years during the upcoming summit.
NAM is comprised of some 120 member states and 17 observer countries.
NAM is an international organization of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the United Nations.
NAM member states represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations' members and comprise 55% of the world population, particularly countries considered to be developing.
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At least in “La Belle Province”. Videotron is set to launch their new wireless phone service in Quebec which has been traditionally dominated by Bell subscribers. Videotron on the other hand has the cable services market locked up and is prepared for a price war. The residents of Quebec will enjoy a nice price break on their phone bills and new subscribers can get locked into cheap wireless plans going forward. Other brands (Public Mobile, Chatr, Wind Mobile) have had little impact on Bell’s stronghold. Expect bundle offers, heavy discounts, and frequent price deals. (link)
Posts Tagged 'quebec'
Tags: bell, quebec, Videotron, wireless
Tags: canada, canadian, console, maVen, mod, pirate, quebec
Now there’s something to be said for keeping illegal activities hush hush, even when it comes to selling pirated console games. It’s a fairly serious problem in Canada and could get you arrested with some jail time. A suspect was arrested in Quebec in possession of over 300 pirated games and equipment to modify gaming consoles. While modding your console is technically not illegal (I think), doing so in order to facilitate a crime (ie. copy pirated games) IS illegal. However I wouldn’t go around advertising that as a part of your general computer services as a rule.
Also in other pirating news, maVen died. No joke. After getting out of jail Geremi Adam died of a drug overdose. He was one of the most notorious Canadian pirates, known for his quality movie cams. He was only 28 years old.
Tags: facil, government, microsoft, open, quebec, software, source
I think this is pretty funny. Would you rather the Quebec government shut you down right from the start? or pretend to be give you a chance and let you make a futile attempt to make a competitive bid only to be passed over for Microsoft? It’s their choice. Just because you offer a cheaper open source solution, doesn’t mean that it may be a better fit for their systems.
If Facil wanted to make a name for itself, they definitely did, but not in a good way. (see original post below)
“Quebec’s open-source software association is suing the provincial government, saying it is giving preferential treatment to Microsoft Corp. by buying the company’s products rather than using free alternatives.
The lawsuit by Facil was lodged with the Quebec Superior Court on July 15 and made public on Wednesday. In it, the group says the provincial government has refused to entertain competing bids from all software providers, opting instead to supply public-sector departments with products bought from proprietary vendors such as Microsoft and Oracle Corp.”(link)
Tags: domain, identity, nation, parti, qc, quebec, quebecois, web
A Parti Quebecois member of the national assembly is trying to drum up support to create a distinct Quebec identity on the World Wide Web.
Daniel Turp has started a petition to convince the ICANN, the international authority responsible for Internet domain names, to create an extension that would be unique to websites in Quebec.
Turp says one way to identify a nation is for it to have its own web extensions and that if his efforts are successful, Quebecers would use the extension .qc. (link)
Tags: bell, canada, e-mail, hotmail, internet, msn, ontario, outage, quebec, service, sympatico
Bell Canada’s Sympatico e-mail subscribers were among the casualties of a global outage Tuesday at the system that hosts Microsoft’s free Hotmail e-mail and other web services that are run by the U.S.-based software giant.Jason Laszlo, a Bell Canada spokesman, said the company – which offers the Sympatico Internet service in Ontario and Quebec and has millions of subscribers – first noticed problems with Microsoft’s outage just before 9 a.m. Tuesday.
“We noticed at its worst that about 80 per cent of our Sympatico users weren’t able to log in,” said Laszlo, who said the problem was with Microsoft’s MSN platform, which is host to both the Hotmail and Sympatico services.
Laszlo said late Tuesday the outage ended shortly after 6 p.m. and that “all MSN / Sympatico e-mail applications are functioning normally.”
“MSN continues to investigate the cause,” he said in an e-mail. (link)
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First Edition Design ebook Publishing
Publication date: January 2012
Digital Book format: ePub (Adobe DRM)
You save: $1.00 (10%)
The story of Arne Kruithof, the boy from Rotterdam who taught the hijacker of United Airlines Flight 93 to fly. This book describes the journey through life, of a boy born in 1963 in Rotterdam the Netherlands, who grew up in a polder landscape in a family with a Dutch father and a German mother. He does not complete his high school education and roams through Europe and North Africa. He cannot find his footing back in Holland and goes to America for pilot training. He sets up a flying school in Venice, Florida. On 9/11 it happens. Arne does not know that he has trained a hijacker till the FBI and Police are on his doorstep. With his life work, the flying school goes downhill, his father dies and his wife divorces him. A battle to survive starts. This is not just a book about 9/11 and the relationship between the hijacker and Arne, but a story about the many travels Arne has experienced. Today, he lives in Nokomis Florida, and dreams about his next adventure: a world sailboat tour accompanied by his two sons, Sebastian and Rafael. About the Author: Arne Kruithof was born on October 10, 1963 in Rotterdam. His first few years were spent in the small town of Pernis. After that his parents bought a small piece of land ten miles east of Rotterdam, just outside a village called Berkenwoude. His father was an architect with the architectural firm Van Den Broek en Bakema. Often his grandfather and grandmother would come over from Germany. Grandmother would always bring homemade cookies and Grandfather would tell exciting stories about the Second World War. He was an SS officer and had fought in Finland against the Russians. He was wounded seriously by a grenade and was transported in a military ambulance back to a military hospital. The next day his entire squadron was destroyed by the Russians. His wounds from the day before had become his survival and enabled Arne's birth! On the days that Arne's parents were too busy at work, or the days that they would go on vacation together, Arne was dropped off and picked up at his grandparent's house in Germany. He would always return home spoiled. Because there was not much money in the family, the kitchen cabinets were just crates put on top of each other. There were no bedroom doors, only large curtains separating those rooms from the living room. There were always efforts made to save money on the electric bill, and if that day the boiler was empty, no one got a bath. Often the bath was shared by the entire family. Father would go first, followed by mother, and then the children. Growing up in the 1960s was an exciting time. His father as well as his mother were enthusiastic glider pilots and during the weekends and vacations, his parents would usually be on the glider field in Terlet. As a little boy Arne helped the landing and departing gliders. Arne went to the Rotterdamse Vrje school and was a child who always dreamed of adventure. Arne chose not to finish his schooling and was convinced that he would succeed without diplomas. He received an enormous amount of public attention after the attacks of 9/11. He had educated one of the hijackers and controversy erupted surrounding his relationship with Ziad Jarrah. After these events, Arne was encouraged by several publishers to tell his story. Arne, who had contributed to numerous documentaries, including works by Zembla, Al Jazeera, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, National Geographic, and several other networks, became, in one hit, famous--for the wrong reasons, as Arne says himself.
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A question-and-answer session between Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Brown University Professor Allan Feldman on Tuesday provided interesting insights into the views of the world’s most powerful central banker, revealing the Fed head as a decision-maker who exercises a high amount of self-questioning before pushing market-shaking policy paths, but is not likely to turn back once the trail has been blazed.
The questions from Feldman, delivered during a luncheon of the Economic Club of New York in a massive Midtown Manhattan conference hall, spanned the range of issues the Federal Reserve has dealt with recently and, while polite, went to the core of some of the trickiest problems that institutions has faced in the past few months.
“Some Specific Numbers”
The Brown economist began by asking Bernanke why it seems the Fed was having trouble deciding on an effective communication strategy, something that the institution has admitted it has continually striven to improve over the past few years, and which -- according to official minutes -- took up much of the discussion time during the bank’s monthly rate-setting committee meeting in October.
“As a general matter, when our main policy tool [of moving interest rates] goes to zero, one of the main tools we have is providing guidance as to where it will go,” Bernanke noted, explaining “qualitative language” has proved insufficient and “more recently we’ve begun to talk about dates.”
“The difficulty with dates is that it mixes two issues: how long does the Fed believe the economy is going to need aid, and secondly, what is the Fed going to do about it.”
Bernanke was even more skeptical as to the value of targeting “some specific numbers” in terms of inflation and unemployment, and perhaps some other value, as a way to provide more robust signal to the markets.
“This is something we’re looking at very careful. We have to ask ‘Can we summarize those conditions with two or three numbers?’, and even if we could, ‘Would we be able to agree on what does numbers would be?’,” Bernanke explained.
“Intellectual Point Of View”
Feldman then asked Bernanke what the central bank could do about overly tight lending standards, which the Chairman had noted in his speech were affecting the economy adversely as “the pendulum appears to have swung too far.”
Bernanke gave a meandering answer that suggested the best the Fed could do was provide banks with an extremely attractive arbitrage opportunity through low rates and then make sure other government agencies did not get in the way.
“As the profitability of mortgage lending goes up [due to the low levels banks can borrow at], we will see banks” begin to ease lending standards, Bernanke explained.
He also suggested that the Fed’s supervisory and regulatory status atop the banking industry had been “at the margins” to help the housing market, as in cases where the Fed ostensibly pushed banks to execute short sales rather than foreclosures on distressed mortgage debt.
But seemingly unconvinced with his own answer, Bernanke fell back to saying the Fed, while not necessarily directly addressing the issue “had a lot of influence from the analytical, intellectual point of view.”
“We’ve been influential in talking to other agencies, talking to the Congress in providing ideas and approaches.”
“An Interesting Experiment”
A third question by Feldman addressed one of the topics that has been constantly brought up by wonkier Fed watchers: why doesn’t the institution, in an effort to further ease the rates environment, bring the reserve rate it pays out to depositor institutions to zero.
Bernanke explained the central bank had done a “cost-benefit analysis” of such a move, and just didn’t see the effect it would have of moving rates “a few basis points lower” as commensurate with the risks of completely upending the overnight deposits market.
“If there is no return on overnight money, a variety of institutions may become more illiquid.”
Bernanke politely dismissed such actions, which have been taken by European central bankers, as “an interesting experiment.”
“It’s hard to judge what effect that has had. I think it’s wrong to think of this as a major tool that’s been unused.”
“Do No Harm”
Finally, Feldman asked Bernanke about one of the main issues he tackled in his speech just a few minutes before, what the Chairman named the so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases that Congress is looking to avoid before the beginning of next year.
Bernanke surprised some in the audience by suggesting policy makers should make a deal -- any credible deal -- rather allowing the economy to go over the cliff.
“We’ll see what kind of deal comes out, but you’re correct that even if some extreme scenarios are avoided, some plausible scenarios involve relatively contractionary policy. It’s up to Congress and the President to figure out how they want to make the trade-off.”
“My advice on this is: Do no harm… we need to avoid the full force of the cliff.” Then, answering the unasked question of what the Fed would do if politicians passed to buck on the issue, Bernanke said something that had made every reporter in the press box go into a typing frenzy
“We will do our best to provide support to the economy, but the ability of the Fed to offset headwinds is not infinite.”
To contact the editor, e-mail:
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Get involved: send your pictures, video, news and views by texting KNEWS to 80360, or email
Aire Valley Business Centre students to tackle peaks
2:00pm Wednesday 28th November 2012 in News
Teenage students are to walk the Yorkshire Three Peaks on Saturday to raise money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.
The 16-to-18-year-olds are taking a course in Entry to the Uniformed Services with training organisation EMD UK, based in the Aire Valley Business Centre at Keighley.
The teenagers, who are studying a Foundation Learning programme, decided to climb the peaks because they have to take part in adventurous activities as part of their course.
They are seeking sponsorship from local businesses and individuals. Anyone who can help should contact tutor Samantha Havers at EMD UK via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org or call 01535 603030.
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CxO’s of large enterprises all around the world struggle every few years with the decision of refreshing aging storage infrastructure or exploring storage utility infrastructure as a service. Both options have their benefits, but with the advancement of technology and declining costs in storage infrastructure as a service, more and more CxO’s are realizing the benefits of storage utility infrastructure services.
A utility service offers the flexibility to order more storage as demand increases and reduce storage—and costs—when demand subsides. It is called a utility model because it is similar to a monthly home electric utility bill, with a higher charge for consuming more electricity and a lower charge for using less. Storage utility services replace both monthly cost and management of administration, assets, tools, and facilities with a flexible pay-per-use option. This model, then, is ideal for clients with unpredictable storage growth, seasonal swings in storage demand, and short-term projects requiring temporary storage. Storage utility services help enterprises to:
- Eliminate storage capital from their financial books
- Reduce up-front storage acquisition costs and overall storage expenses by eliminating excess capacity
- Improve storage cost predictability
- Increase storage flexibility and scalability
- Greatly reduce the TCO of their data storage environment
One question I encounter when I meet with clients is, isn’t a utility service just a cloud based solution. The answer I always give is – yes and no. The main difference between storage utility services and cloud services is that, in a utility service, the storage devices and applications reside in either the vendor’s facility or the client’s facility. Cloud storage services separate the server from the storage and then served the storage up to servers via a wide area network (WAN) in the customer’s data center. Typically, online cloud storage refers to a shared pool of nonessential storage that can be accessed on demand over the internet. It is generally used for latency-tolerant data that is not considered mission-critical.
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A lesson in teamwork: Indian Trail High School & Academy
Published: May 3, 2012
Tags: Bray Associates Architects Inc., Camosy Inc., Indian Trail High School, Indian Trail High School & Academy, Kenosha Unified School District, Larry Bray, Mark Simes, Muermann Engineering LLC
Huge Kenosha school project tests all participants
The crews working on the 420,000-square-foot Indian Trail High School & Academy project were given a crash course in teamwork as they tried getting the building ready in August.
The $45.88 million project involved renovating 171,000 square feet and adding 250,000 square feet to the north and south ends of the school. The addition included a 1,200-seat auditorium, band practice rooms, cafeteria and gymnasium. Outside the school, they added parking, three football fields, four baseball fields, a soccer field and eight tennis courts.
On top of that, they had to keep the Kenosha academy open for classes throughout the 27-month construction process, including summer school. The goal was to create a comprehensive high school that would continue housing the academy-style school.
In the end, it took the efforts of the Kenosha Unified School District, the architect, general contractor, engineer and subcontractors all pulling together as a team, said Mark Simes of Camosy Inc. in Kenosha.
“It was like we all worked for the same company,” Simes said.
This particularly was important when the electric and fire service was installed from the north end of the school to service the south end. The heating, electric, plumbing and sprinkler subcontractors all had to work together and still leave room for duct work and heating.
“It was a pretty large coordination effort to make it all come together,” Simes said.
Several things helped keep the project on track and on budget, said Larry Bray, principal at Sheboygan-based Bray Associates-Architects Inc. The school district did more pre-referendum planning than most, allowing them to have more accurate information about costs when it went to taxpayers, Bray said.
They also brought the contractor into the design phase to create a guaranteed maximum price for the district, Bray said. They worked through many other logistical details to keep the school open and maintain a safe setting.
“Working with the contractor early on,” Bray said, “allowed us to work out the staging of supplies and how we were going to keep the site operational.”
Before the project, Kenosha’s two traditional high schools were about 20 percent beyond capacity with 2,400 students each. The academy, which served 1,000 students, was not a traditional school. Built in the 1990s, it had an open concept and did not have a cafeteria, auditorium, gymnasium, or other athletic facilities. Now, the building is able to meet the needs of traditional students and those using the academy.
— Tony Anderson
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In A Course in Miracles there is a saying that “Nothing Real Can Be Threatened.” This brings a tremendous amount of peace to me during challenging times.
The ability to be certain through times of uncertainty means that whatever I am facing, I am certain that the Divine plan for me is being followed. How do we trust that what is happening in the moment is for our highest good? How do we know that we are always OK? How do we trust that if we lose our job or our partner leaves us that we won’t go into despair, to stay there, to fall and not get up? One of my favorite sayings I heard recently is a zen saying “Fall down six times, get up seven.”
Part of my soul’s journey has been to learn to experience peace no matter what I am facing. I want my life to be free of emotional pain. I believe that this is possible. Here are five ways to help you cope with any challenge that you are facing.
Ever feel as though you are waiting for the other shoe to drop? Try this:
1. Value Every Experience
Understand that there is always a silver lining during negative times and events. Having the awareness that it is not what happens but rather our perception of what is happening that is the root of our suffering. It is easy to value positive experiences, but how about the negative ones? A so called negative experience could be that door closing before the next one opens. Find the gift in the negative experience. Ask yourself “What have I learned from this?” and you will be on your way to acceptance, trust and peace.
2. Remember “Nothing Real Can Be Threatened” from A Course in Miracles
This to me is the ultimate in trust. Meditating on this statement can bring relief and peace. What does “Nothing Real Can Be Threatened” mean? If it is a job you are losing know that no matter what is “taken away” on the outside, the source of your abundance is on the inside. No matter what you do for work, you can offer gifts of kindness, love and service no matter where you are. Being a mystic means working for the light, for God. This is limitless and has no boundaries. In a love relationship “Nothing Real Can Be Threatened.” Real love lasts, it is eternal. Feel the love that is inside of you, connected to God, Source energy and offer love. Remember love is a journey not a destination.
3. Question False Beliefs
This can take a little work but is very freeing. Begin to notice your thoughts. What are you telling yourself? The thoughts of the ego are subtle and damaging. Are you scaring yourself, telling yourself that you will never win, have love or succeed? Our thoughts are either based on fear or love. Fear thoughts are an illusion because only love is real. Notice your thoughts, question them. Replace fear filled thoughts with positive loving ones. This will bring a sense of calm and peace.
4. Understand Self-Sabotage Happens and Can Be Cleared
In my soul’s journey I have worked on clearing my subconscious beliefs. Wherever you go, there you are. I believe that our past life experiences are in our subconscious and without meaning to, we can be creating the same negative experiences over and over. This is because we are meant to heal these false beliefs. Know that there is help and that these beliefs can be cleared at the root. You can experience happiness, abundance and freedom in your life.
5. Be Patient, Kind, Gentle and Forgiving With Yourself
Living fearlessly can be the ultimate in living a joy filled life. It is transcending the world. Make everyday an adventure in being kind to yourself. If you notice that you are “beating yourself up”, forgive yourself. Tell yourself that you are doing the best you can, let yourself off the hook. Treating ourselves in this way helps us to be able to treat others in this way, bringing Heaven on Earth.
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Hello, and welcome to my website. Those of you who read my last book, Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader, are aware that I devoted the final chapter to a detailed expose of slavery as a twenty-first century survival; it is alive and more than well in the world, with the United States once again a prime destination for traffickers. I recall my shock at the time I was writing the chapter, to discover the extent to which slavery existed in my country, practically under my very nose. In the few years since, I’ve become increasingly knowledgeable on the subject, but no less shocked – at the average citizen’s lack of awareness, and at our own government’s woefully inadequate response to a blight that enslaves tens of thousands in our country each year.
Here’s a statistic for you; there are an estimated 27 million people enslaved in the world today. That’s more than twice as many as were taken from Africa in chains during the entire 350 years of the Atlantic Slave Trade. It is one of the three most lucrative criminal enterprises, along with drugs and guns. And in the United States, it has reached epidemic proportions. Victims are trafficked here from at least thirty-five countries, and are held in bondage – and under the radar – in every state, working at a variety of jobs. They are of all races, all types, all ethnicities, sharing in common only the inability to leave. They are controlled by violence, and are exploited to make money for their controllers. These people are, in the most literal sense, slaves. Slavery is all around us, yet most of us are unaware.
When I realized that no book had been written that specifically addressed human trafficking and slavery in the United States, I met with my good friend Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves, and we put together an outline for what we envisioned as the definitive resource on the subject; The Slave Next Door is the result, and we feel we’ve accomplished our goal. During the course of writing this book, I had occasion to speak with hundreds of survivors of slavery, traffickers, members of local, state and federal government agencies, and victim advocates at many non-governmental organizations.
In addition to presenting overviews of the problem and recommendations for its eradication, The Slave Next Door tells many true stories, supported by interviews, newspaper accounts, and court documents, of actual slavery cases; they will fascinate and shock you, as they did us. And hopefully, they will move you to join in the movement to put an end, once and for all, to this nation-long affliction.
Please take a few minutes and listen to the podcast of an interview with Kevin and me; it’s on this site, and it should answer some of your questions and arouse your interest in the subject. We’ll be making appearances at various venues, so please check the Speaking Engagements/Appearances page for an event in your area. We’d be delighted to meet and talk with you, and sign your copy of The Slave Next Door.
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Mayor Mike McGinn’s office announced plans in December for an ultra-fast internet pilot program that would dramatically increase access in fourteen neighborhoods in the short term, and if successful, eventually the entire city. Unfortunately, the pilot program does not include our neighborhood. Montlaker and broadband advocate, Andre Vrignaud, wants to change that:
… There are technologies such as Fiber-to-the-Home (as opposed to Comcast’s current cable to the home) that can deliver massive increases in internet speed (bandwidth), at the same or lower prices. For context, many of you likely have a 10-20 Megabit (Mb) connection from Comcast that you pay around $60 a month for. Depending on your current speed class, fiber can be 50 to 100 times faster at a similar or lower price.
The good news is that the City of Seattle has entered into a partnership with Gigabit Seattle to bring fiber service to many Seattle neighborhoods in 2013. Unfortunately, as you can see from the current planned coverage map, Montlake is just outside of the planned rollout boundaries.
I’ve spoken with people at Gigabit Seattle, and they have explained that they are prioritizing their rollout based on neighborhoods that have expressed interest. If we can get even just 10-20 more Montlakers to state that they’d be interested in service, it could very well enable a new option for internet service to our community.
Let me stress that this is not a commitment to buy! If you sign up at http://gigabitseattle.com/signup you are simply stating your interest in having the service option in your neighborhood.
More info from Andre at email@example.com.
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Club: Hertha BSC | Opening: 1936 | Capacity: 74,064 seats
History and description
The Olympiastadion was built between 1934 and 1936 to serve as the centrepiece of the 1936 Olympics.
The Olympiastadion officially opened on the 1st of August 1936 with the Olympic opening ceremony. Most notable event during the Games were the four gold medals of African-American track and field athlete Jesse Owens.
The stadium remained largely unchanged until it underwent a major renovation in 1972 and 1973, mainly aimed at preparing the stadium for the upcoming 1974 World Cup. The works included the construction of two roofs over the upper tiers of both long sides.
During the World Cup, the Olympiastadion hosted three matches in the first group stage.
By the late 1990s, the stadium had significantly aged, and the city of Berlin started a debate over its future. Voices went up to rebuilt it as a football-specific stadium, but in the end was chosen to renovate it instead and keep its status as a multi-purpose stadium.
Little after that decision had been made, the stadium was awarded the final of the 2006 World Cup as part of the German bid.
The renovation of the Olympiastadion involved the complete reconstruction of the lower tier and the installation of a new roof. Works were completed in 2004, and the stadium was reopened with a friendly international match between Germany and Brazil (1-1).
During the 2006 World Cup, the Olympiastadion hosted four group matches, a quarter-final, and the final between Italy and France (1-1).
The stadium boasts a total of 4,226 business seats, 63 VIP lodges and 13 sky boxes.
(photos of the present Olympiastadion below)
The Olympiastadion is located in the east of Berlin, almost 7 kilometres from the eastern end of the Kurfürstendamm, and 10 kilometres from the Brandenburg Gate and Berlin’s main railway station (Hauptbahnhof). It is part of the Olympic Park, which includes other sports facilities.
By car, from Berlin’s centre, the stadium can be reached by driving in one straight line west toward Spandau. Start at Unter den Linden, follow the Kaiserdamm, and then the Heerestraße. Keep right, and, about 2 kilometres after the Theodor-Heuss-Platz, turn right onto the Flatowallee, after which you quickly bump into the stadium.
If coming from the south or west of the country (A115), take exit Messedamm. Keep right, and at the second traffic lights turn left in the direction of the Deutschlandhalle. After the Deutschlandhalle turn right onto the Jafféstraße, which you follow until the Heerestraße. Turn left onto the Heerestraße and follow as above.
If coming from the north of the country (A100), take exit Kaiserdamm süd, turn west onto the Kaiserdamm, and follow as above.
The Olympiastadion can be easily reached by metro (U-Bahn). Take either line U2 or U12, which both can be boarded at several points in the city centre. Get off at stop Olympia-Stadion. It takes about 25 minutes to reach the stadium from Potsdamer Platz, and about 15 minutes from Zoologische Garten.
Alternatively, one can get to the stadium by light rail (S-Bahn). Take either line S5 or S75 to station Olympiastadion. Both lines link the stadium with Berlin’s major railway stations in the centre, as well as with station Spandau in the west.
Address: Olympischer Platz 3, 14053 Berlin
Tickets for Hertha BSC games can be bought online, by phone +49 (0) 1805 1892 00 (Service Hotline), or at one of Hertha’s six fanshops. Of these fanshops, the ones at the Olympiastadion, Breitscheidplatz, Hauptbahnhof, and Ostbahnhof are the most conveniently located.
Tickets may not always be sold on the day of the match, and it is advised to buy them in pre-sale at least one day before the match.
Hertha BSC have divided their home matches into three pricing categories. Tickets for a category 3 match, the cheapest, range in price from €12.00 for a lower-tier seat behind the goal to €36.00 for a central seat at the lower tier of the main stand. Tickets for category 1 matches, the most expensive, cost between €18.00 and €48.00.
The Olympiastadion offers various options for stadium tours. The first is to follow a route around the stadium at your own pace, possibly aided with an audioguide.
The stadium opens from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm (10:00 am to 4:00 pm in the winter months) for visits. Entrance costs €7.00. No reservations are required
Alternatively, the stadium offers guided stadium tours (only in German) that include more parts of the stadium, and last 60 to 75 minutes.
These tours run every day in the summer months at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm, and 3:00 pm (and an extra one at 5:00 pm during the summer holidays). In the winter months they only run at 11:00 am. The tour costs €10.00, and can be booked online.
Hertha BSC also offers special Hertha tours, which run every Thursday at 1:30 pm (in the winter months only every first Thursday of the month). These tours last 90 minutes and include access to the training of Hertha BSC. They cost €11.00.
For more information call +49 (0) 30 25 00 23 22 or email email@example.com.
Relevant Internet links
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The Obama administration is preparing to inject an unpredictable new variable into its economic policy clash with Republicans: a plan to overhaul corporate
Economic advisers have nearly completed the process initiated in January by the
The approach officials are now discussing would drop the top rate as low as 26 percent, largely by curbing or eliminating tax breaks for depreciation and for domestic manufacturing. Final options have not been presented to Mr. Obama, but officials aim to unveil a single proposal or a set of alternative plans as early as May.
So far, administration officials have been encouraged by support among business leaders for the tradeoffs needed for rate reduction. Whether that survives the legislative process in Congress is another matter.
“The question is, Is the business community going to support this because it’s a win for the economy over all?” said
The stakes extend beyond corporate taxes. The plan is taking shape, after all, as Republicans and Democrats haggle over rival approaches to deficit reduction and an increase in the federal debt ceiling. The tax plan could become a wild card in that debate.
Balancing the Change
Rewriting tax law is never easy. And the administration’s effort to overhaul corporate taxation poses special challenges.
The current system taxes only about half of business income, because many enterprises, particularly small ones, are organized to pay taxes under the income tax code for individuals. The Republican chairman of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Dave Camp of
Balancing deficit concerns with its desire to improve relations with businesses, the Obama administration wants any corporate tax overhaul to be “revenue neutral” — that is, a new system should bring in no more or less money from businesses than the old one did.
Thus some sectors with comparatively few major deductions could win big, including Wall Street. Others paying lower “effective rates,” like domestic manufacturers, could lose.
Multinational corporations want America to follow other major economies in adopting a “territorial” tax system that excuses profits earned overseas from United States taxation.
That could expose lawmakers to attack for encouraging corporations to further shift jobs abroad. And permanently shielding overseas income from American taxes would complicate the task of lowering the 35 percent top rate.
Administration officials, however, see ways to ameliorate each potential objection. The United States could adopt a modified system rather than pure territorial one, for instance, or eliminate part but not all of the existing domestic manufacturing
Notwithstanding Mr. Obama’s reputation for strained relations with business, some influential corporate leaders voiced optimism about the emerging approach that Mr. Geithner has told them privately he is preparing to release.
“I would expect it in the next two weeks,” said Johanna Schneider, a top official at the Business Roundtable, a lobbying group made up of chief executives of the nation’s biggest companies. “All the stars are aligned.”
Changing the Mood
By definition, a revenue-neutral shift in business taxation would seem irrelevant to the battle over reducing America’s long-term budget deficit. But it isn’t.
Proposing to cut the top rate for corporations poses the risk of aggravating unease among Democrats as they negotiate with Republicans over spending cuts in the monuments of modern liberalism:
Yet such a proposal could sweeten the mood among Republicans as they consider Mr. Obama’s insistence that any long-term deficit reduction deal include increases in revenue from the individual tax code. The options that administration aides have been sifting through are close to the 25 percent top rate that Mr. Camp, the House Republicans’ point man on taxes, has suggested for corporations and individuals alike.
A corporate tax overhaul would also complement the work of the Senate’s bipartisan “Gang of Six,” which is working on a compromise to meet Mr. Obama’s call for a “balance” of spending reductions and tax increases. Those three Republicans and three Democrats are focusing on proposals for the individual tax code.
Like the Treasury, they plan to release their handiwork as early as next month.
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Still, it capped a strong year for the state’s labor market.
Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released Friday show Louisiana unemployment fell from 5.8 percent in November and 7 percent in December 2011. Louisiana’s jobless rate decreased fifth-most among states in 2012, in percentage point terms, while Nevada saw the largest drop.
The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 115,000 from 120,000 in November. In December 2011, 144,000 Louisianans were unemployed.
The unemployment rate is calculated by a survey that asks how many people are looking for a job. A second survey each month asks employers how many people are on their payrolls, a measure many economists use as their top labor market indicator.
Louisiana payrolls fell by 11,000 jobs to 1.95 million, the third-largest decrease in the nation. In percentage terms, only Hawaii saw a larger drop.
But that reverse followed November’s leap of 15,000 jobs, which brought payrolls to an all-time high of 1.96 million. The 1.95 million nonfarm employees in December remained near the historic peak. For the year, payrolls rose by 24,000 from 1.93 million in December 2011.
Payrolls fell in December across almost every sector of Louisiana’s economy except professional and business services, which was flat.
“Our workforce continues to grow and get stronger, and that helps employers grow and prosper in our state,” Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink said in a statement. “Louisiana has become one of the best states where you can get a job or grow a business.”
Overall, unemployment rates fell in 22 states, rose in 16 and were flat in 12. Nevada and Rhode Island tied for the highest unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, and North Dakota kept the lowest at 3.2 percent.
The national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent December, the same as in November but down from the 8.5 percent level of December 2011.
The broadest measure of those who are seeking work averaged 12.7 percent in Louisiana over the 12 months ending Oct. 31, the most recent figures available. That number includes people who are working part time because they can’t find a full-time job, are looking for work only sporadically, or have given up looking.
Nationwide, that broad measure averaged 15 percent during the same time.
Parish-level unemployment numbers will be released Friday.
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One of the main problems within Christianity today is that most are
following the fallen and ungodly ways of the world. They are captives of sin
much in the same way that Israel and Judah were, prior to being led away into
They followed religious rituals, but not the creation and heavenly will of God.
Psalm 126 is about the captives being brought back to Israel by the Lord, but did they really change their ways and become children of God?
1. When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion,
We were like those who dream.
2. Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
And our tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
3. The LORD has done great things for us;
We are glad.
4. Restore our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
If only people would once and for all time release the animals from captivity so that they could also rejoice and praise the Lord; instead of the people rejoicing at the torturous murder of a bull in an arena, or at a roasted corpse of some other captive animal on their dinner table.
5. Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.
6. He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Yes, the Lord is loving and merciful, and He does do great things, which
should be the reason for them and all of us today to do everything in our
power to respond in the heavenly will of God.
The Lord even started them back on the path of eating a plant based diet (the grain), and mentions nothing about eating animals.
This is a clue for us to do the same as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God, who do everything in their power to free creation from its present corruption by ending all the pain, suffering and death we possibly can from our lives, beginning with what we put on our plates.
This is the only way we are going to end the warring madness that led the captives away, and is destroying our world today both monetarily and physically.
In Isaiah 43:16-21, the Lord talks about the release of the captive Israelites from Egypt, with a look to the future.
16. Thus says the LORD,
Who makes a way through the sea
And a path through the mighty waters,
17. Who brings forth the chariot and the horse,
The army and the mighty man
(They will lie down together and not rise again;
They have been quenched and extinguished like a wick):
The Israelite captives passed safely through the midst of the Red Sea, but
the Egyptian war machine, unfortunately along with their innocent horses,
ended in the waters of the same sea.
This was to be an end of an era, so the Lord says –
18. "Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19. "Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
20. "The beasts of the field will glorify Me;
The jackals and the ostriches;
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21. "The people whom I formed for Myself,
Will declare My praise.
This is a look at the beginning of the peaceable kingdom where humans and
other animals will no longer kill one another, and all will live together in
And, most importantly, we can help make it happen as peacemaking children of God.
Let’s take a look at a very special supper in John 12:1-8, where we are told of a different kind of release from captivity.
1. Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
Jesus gives life and not death.
2. So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.
And also note that there is no mention of eating any animal.
3. Mary therefore took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Jesus had forgiven Mary of her many sins, but the memory of her sins still held her captive, and in her mind she needed a deep and profound way of thanking the Lord for what He had done for her, before it was too late to do it in person, which she most likely believed would also release her from her self-inflicted captivity.
4. But Judas Iscariot, one of His disciples, who was intending to betray
5. "Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?"
6. Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it.
7. Jesus therefore said, "Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial.
8. "For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me."
Note carefully in verse 7 that we are told that Mary was to keep it until
the day of Jesus’ burial. Keep what? She had already put the perfume on
Jesus and in her hair, which now carried the symbolic sins that Jesus had
picked up on His feet.
Jesus seems to be saying that all the captive sins that Mary is holding inside of her would also be released upon the day of His burial, which would also set Mary free from her self-inflicted captivity.
We can all be set free from all of our past and truly repented sins. Stop holding them captive as Mary did; Jesus died to release them from you. So set those self-held captives free.
We are to live in Jesus’ promises and not in our past sins. We are to live as peacemaking children of God.
Philippians 3:1-16 tells us –
1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again
is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.
2. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision;
The unfortunate use of the word “dogs” is not referring to actual dogs, but as a derogative term for those working against God.
3. for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and
glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,
4. although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more:
Next, Paul seems to be justifying his position as a religious Jew; but most likely he is explaining to the people then and to us now how the corruption of the Law by the Temple leaders led him to actually work against the heavenly will of God.
5. circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of
Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;
6. as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.
7. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Paul was one of the religious captives of the Temple interpreted Law, but the truth of Jesus Christ has set him free.
8. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ,
9. and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
10. that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
11. in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Such an act is our final transition back into the perfect created image of God, which He gave us in His creation.
12. Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but
I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid
hold of by Christ Jesus.
13. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
14. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
15. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you;
16. however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.
Part of the imperfection that Paul sees, or saw in himself, are the
hauntings of his past sins, or he wouldn’t have mentioned them in the way he
It is also very important that we fully understand Paul’s closing remarks.
For even if we are not perfect at this time, we are to do everything we can to live in the perfection of the Lord, or as Matthew told us in 5:48: "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” NASB
We are to live every day in the heavenly perfection of God, where there is no pain or mourning or death.
We are to live as loving, compassionate, and peacemaking children of God, who will set the captives of creation free from their captivity, as a witness to the world around us until His return.
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Consumer's Telegram March 2010Insert of n. 20 - Editorial office: Centro Europeo Consumatori (European Consumer Centre, Bolzano - Italy)
The online Trap: The iPhone Trick
Our colleagues of the European Consumer Centre (ECC) Austria have recently reported in a press release that more and more consumer complained because they had become victims of internet frauds. Popular goods like iPhones, for example, are offered on the internet for half of the price - by companies as well as by private people. But be careful: Nothing in life is for free - this is also true for the internet. Special offers require special attention.
Consumers are mostly asked to pay by a cash transfer service like Western Union or Money Gram. A little bit later they get a request for payment of customs duties by a parcel service. This happened to an Austrian consumer who got suspicious because within the EU there should be no customs duties. Unfortunately, the consumer had already transferred 400 Euro.
An even worse case was reported to the ECC Italy- office of Bolzano: A consumer had found a cheap offer of the popular iPhone and paid at first 400 Euros (including hefty 50 Euros for the delivery from distant England) by Western Union. Then, he was offered 8 phones for an incredible cheap price; the suggestion was to sell them to friends. Our consumer was convinced and paid again, but he waited in vain for the delivery. For customs duties, VAT, shipping and so on he was asked more and more money. When finally it got too much and he became suspicious, he had already paid 4,500 Euros.Consumers should always be very, very careful when they are asked to transfer money by Western Union or Money Gram for a purchase on the internet or another contract. Those cash transfer services are not suitable for payments to unknown people and are often used for frauds.
BROCHURES OF THE ECC
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Will more HAWK signals be put up around Southern Nevada?
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - With so much talk of pedestrian accidents in Las Vegas, we're all looking for solutions. There's a new solution to one busy intersection in the Valley and it has some asking if this is the key to preventing more tragedy.
It's obviously not possible to put a stoplight at every single intersection but what if there was something that would really get the attention of drivers as people cross the street?
"There's been car accidents around here," said Yvone Sema.
"It's a very dangerous street I've been here 12 years I know," said Nasir Kosa, who owns Value Market.
Nasir says a lot of his customers live nearby and walk over. Everyday Nasir says he's gotten used to hearing the sound of drivers slamming on their brakes.
"You hear the tires all day long," said Nasir.
People who walk in the area say crossing Sahara at 15th Street is no easy task.
"It would be really, really busy so it would take forever to try and cross the street," said Kathleen Garcia.
The crosswalks are so spread out that many pedestrians like Yvone Serna admit they resort to something that could result in a ticket, jaywalking.
That was then and now a new tool has been added to the intersection and it's the first in the state. It's called HAWK or High Intensity Activated Crosswalk. Unlike other traffic signals this one lights up only when you push the button.
"I'm glad we have this light it more safe for us," said Manuela.
A steady red mean s drivers stop and pedestrians go. Once the signal starts flashing red, drivers must yield to pedestrians but can drive through the crosswalk. The City says it's a concept that's catching on since it first went up in March.
"As far as compliance goes for vehicles we've seen phenomenal compliance they're stopping when they should be even a little longer than they should be," explained Niel Rohleder, from the City of Las Vegas.
Funding for the $85,000 signal came from a federal grant as part of the Sahara Express project. This technology is new for Nevada, but Action News did some digging and learned other cities are using it with great success.
HAWK first debuted in Tucson back in 2000, and now that city has more than 114 of them, all put up with money from their Regional Transportation Authority. We asked Las Vegas officials if we're going to be seeing more of these in our Valley.
"We're actually looking at even general funding available to install some of these from out of our general pool fund in 2013 depending on how the budget works," said Rohleder.
The HAWK signal at Sahara and 15th Street is still too new to know how well it's working but in 2010 the Federal Highway Administration studied how effective it has been in the Tucson area. They found an 83% reduction in pedestrian crashes after the light went up.
"I know the cost is a lot but we care about safety for pedestrian and drivers," said Kosa.
The City says they're looking at other possible locations for a HAWK signal like near Meadows Mall and along West Sahara. It just depends on foot traffic, which is the main reason this one went up.
"It wasn't enough pedestrian crossing to warrant a full blown traffic signal but a flasher might not have been enough," said Rohleder.
Those who have been using it hope it's a sign of things to come in our Valley.
"It's not scary anymore," said Garcia.
"I think there would be less car accidents," said Serna.
In the first few weeks after the HAWK signal went up officials put up cameras to record how both drivers and pedestrians were reacting to the technology. Now they're in the process of reviewing that footage and they say officials in Henderson have reached out to them to see how it's working.
There are no definite dates or locations for when the next HAWK signal might go up.
Do you know of an intersection that needs a HAWK signal? Let us know by sending an email to firstname.lastname@example.org be sure to include your phone number.
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The problems that America is experiencing right now are not just confined to the field of economics. The truth is that there are signs of deep decay wherever we look, and without question the United States is rotting from the inside out in thousands of different ways. For a long time our debt-fueled prosperity has masked much of the social decay that has been festering underneath the surface, but now it is becoming increasingly apparent that the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted is beginning to disappear. For many Americans, it is easy to point a finger at a particular group or political party and blame them for all of our problems, but the reality of the matter is that our societal decay cuts across all income levels, all political affiliations and all regions of the country. We are being destroyed from within, and this decay can be seen on the streets of the most dilapidated sections of major U.S. cities and it can also be seen in the halls of power in Washington D.C. and on Wall Street. It is undeniable that something has fundamentally changed. The American people do not seem to possess the same level of character that they once had. So where do we go from here?
The following are 25 signs the collapse of America is speeding up as society rots from the inside out….
1. Homicides in Chicago are 38 percent ahead of where they were last year at this time. In fact, the Daily says that “homicide victims in the Windy City outnumber U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan this year”. Things are taking a turn for the worse in other major U.S. cities as well. Just check out the carnage that happened in New York City this past Friday night….
Across barely eight hours, at least seven New Yorkers were murdered and another 21 shot, stabbed or slashed across the city — with only three suspects arrested before the blood stopped flowing
2. Speaking of New York City, a teacher there recently posted the following on her Facebook page….
“Crupi and I survived a shootout today…Thank God we are ok…To all the wanna be gangstas of Staten Island (who say they are from Brooklyn but really aren’t), be grateful you have what you have and stop trying to live a lifestyle you will never understand.”
About a week later, her husband discovered her dead in a pool of her own blood in their apartment. She had been stabbed numerous times.
3. Reporter James Carlini recently discussed the growing problems that roaming gangs of youths are causing along the Magnificent Mile in Chicago….
There is an increase in problems at night with small gangs roaming around looking for the right prey.
Don’t bother looking for any cops, they are far and few between. Little perfume-size pepper spray canisters may be in vogue, politically correct and fit in a purse, but they are not practical. Forget about pepper spray, you’d need a gallon jug of it to stop five or six assailants.
Do you now need a .357 Magnum to walk down the Mag Mile? Maybe a compact .45 or a high-capacity 9MM “just to be on the safe side” is more what you should have. Even the police are telling each other that they better “carry large caliber” off-duty and not be caught unarmed.
4. Down in Florida, a lifeguard named Tomas Lopez was recently fired for attempting to saving a man that was drowning “outside his patrol zone“….
Lopez, 21, was hired by Jeff Ellis Management to monitor a portion of a public beach in Hallandale Beach, Fla. The company allegedly gave Lopez strict instructions to stay inside his patrol zone, ABC News reports.
But when Lopez spotted a man in distress outside his patrol zone Monday afternoon, he ignored those instructions and leapt into action.
By the time lifeguard Tomas Lopez got to the man, other bystanders had already pulled him to shore, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. Lopez stayed with the man until paramedics arrived.
That valiant act was Lopez’s last as a lifeguard, as his employer fired him for straying 1,500 feet outside his patrol zone.
5. Authorities say that thieves are stealing identities and filing fraudulent tax returns on a scale never seen before….
With nothing more than ledgers of stolen identity information — Social Security numbers and their corresponding names and birth dates — criminals have electronically filed thousands of false tax returns with made-up incomes and withholding information and have received hundreds of millions of dollars in wrongful refunds, law enforcement officials say.
The criminals, some of them former drug dealers, outwit the Internal Revenue Service by filing a return before the legitimate taxpayer files. Then the criminals receive the refund, sometimes by check but more often though a convenient but hard-to-trace prepaid debit card.
In all, the IRS says that there were approximately 940,000 fake tax returns filed for 2010.
6. U.S. Secret Service agents are supposed to be “the best of the best” and are charged with guarding our top public officials. But even they have exhibited a consistent pattern of moral decay for many years according to one recent report….
Secret Service agents and officers have been accused of leaking sensitive information, publishing porn, sexual assaults, illegal wiretaps, embezzlement and drunkenness on duty, according to a 229-page log released yesterday.
After a prostitution scandal in April, when agents consorted with hookers while preparing for President Obama’s arrival in Colombia, Service Director Mark Sullivan apologized. But he said it was an isolated case, not a “systemic issue.”
However, the log, which the Service Service released yesterday after news organizations requested it under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a pattern of misdeeds dating back to 2003.
7. These days thieves will steal just about anything that is not bolted down and that they can sell for money. For example, three thieves recently broke into a Chicago beauty supply store and took off with hair extensions that were worth a total of $ 230,000.
9. According to one shocking new report, one out of every 10 Wall Street employees is a “clinical psychopath”. That is a rate about 10 times higher than the general population.
10. Even many police are going crazy these days. Over in Seattle, police zapped a pregnant woman with a taser three times just because she refused to sign a ticket.
11. Down in California, one man recently sliced off the ear of another man with a knife over an unpaid debt.
12. These days we are seeing senseless crimes being committed even in small towns in the heartland of America. Just check out what happened in Helena, Montana about a week ago….
Helena Police are working to identify two young men after what they call a random act of violence over the weekend. Helena Police found a 40-year-old homeless man badly beaten in an alley behind the Gold Bar around 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
Helena Police Detective Sergeant Richard Drysdale states,” The video shows two white males surrounding the victim as he was entering the walkway yelling at him and then knocking him down to the ground where they beat and kicked him until he was unconscious.”
You can find a video report about this incident right here.
13. One town in Connecticut was forced to shut down a beautiful new public fountain because too many people were using it as a toilet.
14. According to one very shocking study, the percentage of U.S. households that contain a married couple with children has fallen from 44.3% in 1960 to 20.2% today.
15. A huge brawl between parents erupted during one recent preschool graduation ceremony down in the Los Angeles area.
16. We continue to see “mob robberies” at retail establishments all over the nation. During one recent mob robbery in Detroit, thugs beat the living daylights out of one very unfortunate stock clerk.
17. Speaking of Detroit, nobody is immune to the spreading violence in that city. For example, just check out what happened recently to a 22-year-old pregnant woman….
A 22-year-old pregnant woman survived after being bound, driven to Detroit, set on fire and shot early Saturday morning.
The woman, who was nine-months pregnant, had returned from a movie with her boyfriend and dropped him off at his house in Warren when she was approached from behind, Warren police Sgt. Dave Geffert said.
The woman’s hands, feet and eyes were bound with duct tape. She was then forced into her car and driven to an unknown place in Detroit where she was doused with lighter fluid, set on fire and shot once in the upper back, he said.
18. Many families returned to their homes following the recent wildfires in Colorado only to discover that their houses had been robbed and looted.
19. One 33-year-old art teacher in Arizona was not satisfied with only having sex with one of her students. In fact, police have charged her with having sex with four of her male students.
20. Down in Florida, one man has actually been charged with biting the lips off of a kitten.
21. Over in Waco, Texas a 22-year-old man recently strangled and ate the family dog while he was high on drugs.
22. Of course most of us have heard of the recent outbreak of “zombie attacks” around the nation where criminals have actually been biting their victims and chewing their flesh. The following is another example of this phenomenon from a recent case in central New York….
A synthetic drug known as “bath salts” is blamed for some bizarre behavior in central New York.
The Utica Observer-Dispatch reports that police officers were called to Stanley’s Bar Saturday night to check out a woman described as emotionally disturbed. When an officer approached her, she lunged at him and tried to bite his face. Police say she screamed that she wanted to “kill someone and eat them.”
The woman was taken to St. Luke’s Memorial Hospital for a mental health evaluation.
Another very disturbing “zombie incident” took place down in Georgia recently….
Karl Laventure, 21, was believed to be high on bath salts when he tried to attack the officers in Lilburn, Georgia.
And after they had managed to subdue him he began threatening to eat them.
Laventure appeared out of some woods and was seen running naked around a golf range near Atlanta, swinging a club around his head and screaming.
Police said that it took several officers to subdue the man who had ‘super-human strength’.
23. All over America, people seem to be losing their minds. Just check out what one man in New Jersey did recently when police arrived at his home….
Officers got a call that morning when a witness said Carter was threatening to harm himself with a knife. Two cops responded, kicked in the door and found Carter in the corner, the station reported.
Carter allegedly ignored officers’ orders to put down the knife, and instead began stabbing himself in the abdomen, neck and legs.
An attempt to pepper spray the bleeding man had no effect, the Associated Press reported.
That’s when Carter — disemboweled but responsive — reportedly threw bits of his skin and intestines at the officers.
24. One woman in the St. Louis area was recently caught cooking meth in her purse inside a Wal-Mart store.
25. Anyone that believes that slavery has been abolished in America does not know what they are talking about. Every single night sex slaves are being horribly abused all over the United States. The following is from a recent Daily Mail article….
The FBI has rescued 79 teens held against their will and forced into prostitution from hotels, truck stops and stores during a three-day swoop on sex-trafficking rings across the country.
The sex slaves were aged between 13 and 17, although one said she had been involved in prostitution since she was just 11, authorities said.
During the sting operations across 57 U.S. cities – including Atlanta, Sacramento and Toledo, Ohio – 104 alleged pimps were arrested.
It is estimated that “100,000 children are victims of prostitution and trafficking each year” in the United States.
Are you starting to get the picture?
Sadly, there are dozens and dozens more examples like these. If you want to see more examples of how the collapse of America is speeding up, check out these articles that I recently published….
The frightening thing is that this breakdown of our society is happening at the same time that our economy is completely falling to pieces.
This economic decline that we are experiencing is shredding the middle class and it is plunging millions of Americans into very desperate circumstances. The following is a brief excerpt from a recent Rolling Stone article….
Every night around nine, Janis Adkins falls asleep in the back of her Toyota Sienna van in a church parking lot at the edge of Santa Barbara, California. On the van’s roof is a black Yakima SpaceBooster, full of previous-life belongings like a snorkel and fins and camping gear. Adkins, who is 56 years old, parks the van at the lot’s remotest corner, aligning its side with a row of dense, shading avocado trees. The trees provide privacy, but they are also useful because she can pick their fallen fruit, and she doesn’t always have enough to eat. Despite a continuous, two-year job search, she remains without dependable work. She says she doesn’t need to eat much – if she gets a decent hot meal in the morning, she can get by for the rest of the day on a piece of fruit or bulk-purchased almonds – but food stamps supply only a fraction of her nutritional needs, so foraging opportunities are welcome.
Prior to the Great Recession, Adkins owned and ran a successful plant nursery in Moab, Utah. At its peak, it was grossing $ 300,000 a year. She had never before been unemployed – she’d worked for 40 years, through three major recessions.
You can read the rest of the article right here.
What would you do if you were in a similar situation?
Sadly, many more Americans will end up just like her. As I wrote about the other day, the U.S. economy is not going to be able to produce enough jobs for everyone anymore. In fact, the overall employment picture is going to keep getting worse for working Americans.
Things have gotten so bad that even many very highly educated scientists cannot find jobs in America right now. Almost everybody is hurting, and we haven’t even gotten to the next wave of the economic collapse yet.
The next time that there is a major spike in the unemployment rate, millions of Americans will lose all hope and will become very desperate.
And desperate people do desperate things.
The rot and decay that we are witnessing right now is just the beginning.
Things are going to get a lot worse.
So let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare for the worst.
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Our approach was this: If USA TODAY had a Facebook page in 1982, what would it have looked like? What information would we have shared?
The result, we hope, is a nostalgic look back at the events and people that have shaped our country in the nearly 30 years since USA TODAY became the first truly national newspaper. You can see it at www.facebook.com/usatoday.
The Facebook Timeline format for profiles was first shown by Facebook in September. Brands on the social network were given the chance to launch Timeline pages this month and all pages will automatically be converted Friday.
Digging back through the Timeline, you'll find political changes, international events, pop-culture events and even the Super Bowl commercials that sparked national discussions.
USA TODAY has had a front-row seat for those events.
Listen to the music, watch the videos and check out the images that have left a mark on our national history. After all, our story is your story.
Be sure to leave your comments and thoughts, and share with your friends.
We'll be adding much more this year as we continue the work we love: telling America's story.
- Mark W. Smith, senior marketing manager, social media; and Mary Hartney, social media editor
Technology Live covers computers, electronics, and the Internet, with a focus on cutting-edge technology that has a real impact on your life. Our reporters and editors -- based in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Washington – offer news and tips to help you make the most of your digital domain. More about the team
Sign up for Technology Live e-mail alerts
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If you have a story call our newsdesk on 01722 426511 or email us. To advertise call 01722 426500.
Government borrowing unchanged
Government borrowing remained unchanged last month, official figures revealed, amid growing expectations that the Chancellor will abandon his deadline to start lowering UK debt within three years.
Public sector net borrowing, excluding financial interventions such as bank bailouts, was £14.4 billion in August, equal to borrowing in the same month last year.
The stubborn figures will pile pressure on George Osborne, who is widely expected to announce in his autumn statement in December that the Government will be unable to start bringing down debt as a percentage of GDP in 2015/16.
The likelihood of the Chancellor dropping this target was heightened on Thursday night after Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King effectively endorsed such a move - on condition the global economy was growing slowly.
Public sector net borrowing in the financial year to date was £59 billion, the ONS said, excluding a one-off £28 billion boost from the transfer of the Royal Mail pension fund into Treasury ownership.
The Chancellor wants to record borrowing for the full year 2012/2013 to £120 billion, excluding the Royal Mail pension effect, compared with a downwardly revised £119.3 billion in the previous year. But Mr Osborne's chances of hitting this target are looking increasingly slim, according to most economists, as the ongoing recession impacts on tax receipts and Government spending.
If the Chancellor sticks to the debt target, he will be faced with announcing potentially large tax rises and further spending cuts in his autumn statement.
But Sir Mervyn, when asked on Thursday night about the supplementary rule on debt, indicated that he would not complain if the target was missed. He said: "If it's because the world economy has grown slowly, so we have in turn grown slowly, then that would be acceptable. It would not be acceptable if we have no real excuse."
Within the August figures, the picture was much the same as previous months, with Government spending outstripping tax receipts as income tax falls and spending on social benefits rises.
Total tax receipts were 1.8% higher at £41.4 billion while total expenditure increased by 2.5% to £52.5 billion. Income tax dropped 1% in August to £11.5 billion, while social benefits were 4.9% higher at £16.1 billion. Public sector debt was £1 trillion at the end of August, equal to 66.1% of GDP, compared with £955 billion, or 62.7% of GDP in August last year.
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Like Republicans in Washington, Democrats in the state Capitol may have just learned of the power behind the word “no.”
Similarly, Georgia Republicans may have just experienced the first consequence of their plan to render the Democratic opposition irrelevant in the state.
Removal of Democrats from the political equation on Wednesday resulted in a GOP paralyzed by a clash between its two dominant factions – a tea party opposed to new taxes under any circumstance, and business interests who see slow-moving disaster in Georgia’s stubborn failure to invest in its own infrastructure.
By now, you know of Gov. Nathan Deal’s announcement late Wednesday that he – and leaders of the state Capitol – have abandoned efforts to shift the vote of next year’s regional transportation sales tax vote from the July primary to the November general election.
Look for business leaders and political strategists today to express confidence that the shift can be accomplished when the Legislature reconvenes in January. Even if it isn’t, they’ll say, they can work with the July date.
But make no mistake. The collapse of the T-SPLOST effort in the Capitol on Wednesday amounted to a vote of no confidence in the referendums’ fortunes next year – and a demonstration of the fragility of the coalition behind the campaign.
The Democratic boycott was one ingredient – a consequence of mixing the no-quarter process of redistricting with transportation policy legislation. Republican efforts to assume control of local legislation in Democratically controlled counties such as Fulton sparked such anger that even Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed – an intense advocate of increased transportation funding — dared not intervene.
“It would be a bitter irony for Democrats and African-Americans to help Republicans pass a TSPLOST change when they have treated us so brutally in the redistricting process,” Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, said from the Senate floor on Wednesday. “It is unfathomable that Republicans can work to destroy African-American voting strength and then ask us to pass this.”
Republicans likewise were hesitant to cross tea partyists, who declared victory early Wednesday when the governor agreed to their demand that all SPLOST votes – regardless of purpose – require a November general election vote.
Atlanta Tea Party Patriots – the most active group of its kind in the Capitol — declared an even greater victory later in the day when the entire deal collapsed. Members credited Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers, R-Woodstock, with advocating their position during Republican internal debates.
In an e-mail this morning, they, too, predicted a larger fight in January – but with some unsettling language that harkens back to the 1970s:
The pro T-SPLOST MARTA Republicans will be back when the Legislature convenes in January to push for the date change. We will oppose it unless they also add the mandate that all future SPLOST votes be held in the general election, beginning in 2011. We understand that there are many local SPLOSTs that will be expiring in 2013 and we believe the “renewal” of those should be held in the general election.
One thing that tea partyists and Democrats need to keep in mind, however, is that “no” only prevents. It doesn’t construct. And ultimately, voters become as impatient with stagnation as they do with taxes or power grabs.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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According to a study of Dow Jones Venture Source venture capital is working out very well in Europe. Venture capitalists achieved twice as often a “home run exit” here as in the United States. The term stands for profits that are at least ten times as high as the invested money. The study took the development of venture capital in the U.S. and Europe between January 2004 and June 2008 into account. Europe is already ahead of the U.S. since 2004, despite the extreme success of the venture financiers from the IPO of Google has been taken into account.
Startup News – sorted by country
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“Fifth Annual Hindu Baccalaureate Service of UNR (Dikshant Utsav)” blessed the graduating class in the traditional Hindu style, complete with applying tilak (religious mark) on the foreheads of graduates, participatory reading of Gayatri Mantra in Sanskrit, keynote address by a Swami and kirtan (sacred chant). In addition, it also included blessings by Christian (various denominations)
Organized by Universal Society of Hinduism (USOH) in collaboration with Indian Student Organization of UNR, it started with lighting traditional lamp before the statue of goddess Saraswati, patron of learning and the arts, and included blessing of the upcoming graduates with wisdom from Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita—
Besides Vedananda, those who blessed the graduating class in their own traditions included Rita Sloan of Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno, Toni de Salvo of Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Nicholas F. Frey of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Northern Nevada Muslim Community President Sherif A. Elfass, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, Buddhist Priest Jikai’ Phil Bryan, Jewish Rabbi ElizaBeth W. Beyer, Nevada Clergy Association President Right Reverend Gene Savoy Junior, Native American elder of Paiute Tribe Ralph Burns and Baha’i Roya Galata. While Vedananda read a universal prayer, all these religious leaders repeated after him and raised their hands blessing the graduating students who stood in front of them and all other upcoming graduates in absentia.
United Stages (US) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, US Senator Dean Heller and US Congressman Mark E. Amodei sent recognition certificates for the Baccalaureate Service. Mormon choir of Sparks (Nevada) Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints lead by Emily Hollenbach presented a blessing number. Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd gave a musical number “Here I am, Lord” from Isaiah Chapter six of The Bible directed by Gloria Melms. Palkin Zed, Executive Director of non-profit Project Solution, was master of ceremonies.
USOH President Rajan Zed, who recited Gayatri Mantra (the most sacred mantra of Hinduism from oldest scripture Rig-Veda) in Sanskrit and audience repeated after him, said on the occasion that the purpose of this baccalaureate service was to root the graduating class in divine spiritual tradition so that they had a spiritually meaningful life in addition to material success.
Education in Hindu tradition had been deep rooted; Rajan Zed pointed out and added that after many important universities in ancient India, like Taxila, Nalanda, Sarnath, Amaravati, Banaras, Kanchi and Ujjain; great Indian universities also flourished in medieval period, like Odantapura (745 CE), Vikramasila (810 CE), Somapura (480 CE), Jagaddala (1090 CE).
Washoe County issued a special Resolution to mark the significance of First Annual Hindu Baccalaureate Service of UNR.
Baccalaureate service basically means service where a sermon is delivered to the graduating class. In use since at least the eighth century, origins of the baccalaureate service point to an Oxford University statute of 1432, which required each bachelor to deliver a sermon in Latin as part of the academic exercise.
The flagship institution of the state established in 1874, UNR is one of the top 120 universities in America for funded research having internationally known researchers in renewable energy, earthquake engineering, environment, etc. It is helping to create the world’s most accurate atomic clock and is home to one of the largest earthquake-simulation labs. Various Hollywood movies have been shot at UNR, which has about 18,000 students with Marc Johnson as interim President.
Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about one billion adherents and moksh (liberation)
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When all the desires cease which were cherished in his heart, then the mortal becomes immortal, then he obtains here Brahman. When all the bonds of the heart are broken in this life, then the mortal becomes immortal; this alone is the instruction of all the Vedas.
He who sees the universe in himself and himself in the universe is the Sage.
As the sun who enlightens everything has nothing whatever to do with the numerous ills the eye may perceive, so the inner self of all, ever one, has no connection whatever with the joys and sorrows of the world, being ever beyond them.
As the one fire pervading the universe appears in so many forms in the variety of objects, so the inner self of all, ever one, appears to take on so many forms, but is ever beyond them.
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NEW YORK — Children who survived last month’s shooting rampage at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School have recorded a version of “Over the Rainbow” to raise money for charity.
Twenty-one children from Newtown, Conn., sang the song Tuesday with singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Most of them are current and former students of the school where 20 first-graders and six staff members were killed.
They recorded the song at the home of two former members of the Talking Heads rock band. It went on sale Tuesday on Amazon and iTunes, with proceeds benefiting a local United Way and the Newtown Youth Academy.
Ten-year-old Kayla Verga says she’s singing for her friend, Jessica Rekos, who was killed in the rampage. She says it feels like Jessica is beside her, singing along with her.
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This story is taken from the book, "The Enchanted Village" by Roger Scharf and Gary Winterburn, 1992
"About three quarters of a mile downstream from Fredericktown is a towering waterfall. A small spring-fed stream lunges 80 feet over a sandstone cliff. The site is a picturesque scene of quiet serenity."
The falls at one time were on the property of Andrew and Margaret Stewart who lived in the stone house which once stood on the hill east of the village of Fredericktown overlooking the Beaver Creek Gorge. The Stewart's had a daughter born in 1832 who was given her mother's name of Margaret. Young Margaret's search for happiness was destined for failure. She fell in love with a young man early in life and married him. The life of married bliss only lasted a few short months as he was stricken with an unknown ailment and died. She remained with her parents in widowhood many years. At the age of 30, when her hopes were fading of ever leaving her status of widowhood, Margaret met and fell in love with a young Union officer who was on leave from his duties in Pittsburgh. their favorite place for their trysts was in the shaded privacy of a glade at the head of the falls. It was here that he proposed marriage and Margaret accepted. It was here that they declared their love for each other and made their plans for the wedding which was to take place as soon as he was discharged from his country's service. He placed a diamond ring on her finger as a binding promise of his love and returned to his unit for further assignment."
It was in July of that same year that Margaret received the crushing news. Her husband to be was killed in the battle of Malvern Hill in Virginia. The battle had lasted six days from June 25 to July 1 and ended with the retreat of the Union forces. It is said that grief stricken and broken hearted Margaret went to the waterfalls where they had spent their wonderful hours together. She took the diamond ring off her finger and as she cast it over the falls into the eddies far below said, "Love for me can never be, I shall never marry." Margaret remained the rest of her life a grief stricken widow."
From that time forward this tryst place for lovers became known as Diamond Falls.
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This month came the announcement that the US based world music magazine Global Rhythm is dropping its print edition in favour of becoming digital only. Although disappointing, this comes as no surprise, as all of us have now had at least one of our favourite music mags disappear into cyberspace (goodbye Chaser) which is now accepted as unavoidable.
But hold on… If I go online to read about music, its to my favourite blogger with a DIY WordPress site packed full of web 2.0 goodies allowing me to experience that music, not to an expensive proprietary website with impersonal content trying to monetise me at every opportunity. Its strange, but if I read a print magazine this approach is fine (after all I decided to buy it), but if I’m online I need freedom.
Print magazines and online zines, despite having much in common, just don’t seem to work the same way and to transform one into the other is much more difficult that it at appears (check out Wired for a determined attempt). But why do the printed music press have to do this anyway and is the internet so limited in use that this is the only option?
A good example example of an alternative approach is this Interactive Sampler that lets you turn the pages of the present edition of Songlines Magazine to help you decide if its worth buying the latest copy. This is the internet being used to support sales of print magazines, not replace them.
The internet is great, but companies should not get carried away and start thinking that all physical products can be turned into online equivalents. I’m not going to swap my vinyls for mp3s, so a website can’t replace my favourite print mag.
If you’re looking for an alternative world music print magazine try Songlines instead of Global Rhythm.
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While at ESWC (http://2012.eswc-conferences.org/), as well as complaining about the proceedings (http://www.russet.org.uk/blog/2012/05/semantic-web-irony/), I started to think about an idea for what I call a NearCon, or “Nearly a Conference”.
Workshops and conferences have a specific and important place within science, and academic life more widely; they are good places to present early work, to get feedback rapidly. They are good places to find out about other peoples work, and to benefit from the random interchange of ideas with people who you do not already know. For instance, I often choose to go to the talks that I think will be most interesting, but then stay for the next or the whole session, just for serendipity. Mostly, I end up reading or writing, but sometimes, these lucky talks turn out to be most interesting of all.
There is a problem with workshops though; basically, they require a significant degree of committement. They can be expensive, both in terms of travel, accommodation and, of course, time. Now, some scientists enjoy the travel; I do not mind, and it is nice to see parts of the world you might not otherwise but increasingly I dislike being away from home. But there is a larger scientific problem; part of the point is to meet people you do not know, but given the overheads of attendence, the range of people likely to go a conference is quite small.
Of course, there have been attempts to work around this in the past. Virtual Conferences are a nice idea; do away with the travel, and just have the presentations. This, of course, limits the opportunity for serendipity; you will not bump into people at dinner or in the hotel lobby in a virtual conference. And, worse, they do not solve the time zone problem. Virtual Conferences for the British often mean sitting up bleary eyed in front of a machine in the wee small hours, listening to some fresh-faced, recently awoken Californian talk. This does not inspire collegiality. Likewise, the degree of committment required limits the scope.
The NearCon idea is an attempt to make a journal feel more like a conference. Ironically, this is how scientific journals arose. Instead of sending letters to many individual scientists, you would write to a journal which we broadcast it. But, again, the enormous expense of publication (whether in page charges, OA fees or just simple manuscript preparation time) works against this process. However, using a platform like Knowledgeblog (http://www.russet.org.uk/blog/2012/04/three-steps-to-heaven/), which is inherently cheap, we can work around these problems.
The process would work like this: scientists would be invited to submit, short 2 or 3 page articles, probably using EasyChair. A small PC would peer-review the articles. Then, on a specific date (advertising in advance), the papers would be begin to be published onto a kblog. However, rather than publishing everything at once, papers would be released incrementally, over about a 1 week period, spread throughout the timezones of the authors. At the same time, a mailing list would be created with all authors and any “attendees”. On publication of each paper, an email with links to the paper and content would be sent to the mailing list, providing a natural seed for questions, and discussion. The mailing list would operate like normal: there would be no expectation that authors would reply instantly, and it is likely that discussions on two or three papers would happen at once, over a period of days. However, because papers would be released slowly, say 2 a day, attendees would be less likely to suffer from the information overload that getting 10 papers at once would cause. After a short period (say 1 week after the last paper), the mailing list would be archived, so as to prevent zombie posting and general spam issues.
Clearly a NearCon would not have the same opportunity for serendipity that a conference or workshop has. But it might potentially attract people who would not come to a conference. For instance, at meetings like SePublica, amoung attendees, authors and PC members, most of the scientists come with some technology to push (myself included!). There was no one writing papers as a “normal” scientist just saying “this is what I would like to do”. A NearCon might allow this. Likewise, Science Online London (http://www.russet.org.uk/blog/2009/08/science-online-london-2009/) has very few scientists and a lot more publishers.
I have several ideas already for NearCon topics. First, and perhaps, most obviously would be the “Future of Scientific Publishing”; the NearCon format would allow a number of types of papers that authors would not otherwise submit. For instance, requirements papers written by scientists who want to do something, or have tried and failed. For example, I presented my own struggles getting courier font to mark up Ontology terms in a paper (10.1371/journal.pone.0012258). Another friend described writing a paper in S/Rweave, but eventually having to turn the whole thing into a Word Doc. Yet, another described their desire for a data journal. These papers would be valuable, but a scientist whose only involvement in publishing is as a user would not go to a conference on the publication process.
A second idea it to have a Bioinformatics Core Facility NearCon. The special case here is that many of those working in core facilities have a service role and often do not have conference budgets. We have already shown with our Bioinformatics kblog (http://bioinformatics.knowledgeblog.org) that short articles on new techniques or experiences with new tools are very popular. At Newcastle, we now have a local Bioinformatics Special Interest Group (http://bsu.ncl.ac.uk/fms-bioinformatics/2012/06/correlations-on-affymetrix-genechips-andrew-harrison); a NearCon would help to supplement this, breaking down the geographical barriers this sort of group faces. Finally, short papers giving a short statistical overview of a Core Facility workload (50% microarray, 30% Next Gen, 20% data integration, for example) would be easy to write and when combined, fantastically useful for tool developers, planning and so forth Supported by a kblog, with citable articles, backed by a set of web archives, this form of paper, would move from being transient grey literature, to become a valuable historical record.
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Comments/Context: When I saw this book in a museum bookshop recently, I knew we had to have it for our library. Even though we don't collect portraits, we've been interested in the Dutch artist's work since we were introduced to it a few years ago. His large format portraits really jump off the wall at you, full of saturated color and mystery. When looking back a few decades from now, I think we will think of the 2000s as a time when digital manipulation first came into widespread use and photographers really began to use the new tools to actually rethink the practice of picture making, rather than for quick and cheap visual trickery.
van Empel's work seems to reference and echo the art historial past in interesting ways. It is hard for me to look at his work and not be reminded of both the paintings of Henri Rousseau (see The Dream, 1910, below left) and the photographs of Mike Disfarmer (see Little Blond Girl, below right)
The van Empel potraits are very painterly, with lush, high precision tableaux set behind the figure. And yet the figures themselves are very straightforward. The combination lends the pictures as sense of impossibility, or innocence, or contrast, or an aura of sinister trouble awaiting. They're definitely not boring, and not anything that could have been done before the advent of the new technology.
Collector's POV: I think these images are going to hold up well over time. (Moon #1, 2005 at right.) They can also be paired/contrasted with the work of the German photographer Loretta Lux (her site is here), who is perhaps slightly better known here in the US and riffing on a similar theme. The work of both artists has begun to appear on the secondary market. The value of Lux' work has been strong, consistently running in the $10000-20000 range, with quite a bit of material coming up for sale. There has been less of van Empel's work in the auction market, so I'm not sure where the prices are shaking out, but my impression is that his prices are somewhat higher and rising fast.
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Concrete, fleeting and virtual: the theatre designer uses the tools inherited from a great tradition and the very latest digital technologies to conceive, design and create the spaces destined to host theatrical performances, cinema, television and communications, culture and sporting events. This is a professional who knows how to interact with the entire design system: graphic design, architecture, craftsmanship and new technologies.
Was this information helpful? Thank you. Glad we could help :)Very sorry to hear that. What information were you looking for?Thank you for your feedback!
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The Discovery Channel recently launched a documentary on Olympic gold-medalist Kim Yuna. Using the city of Seoul, South Korea as a setting, the documentary tells about how far Yuna and women in general have come through the years.
One segment of the documentary features Korean pop group 2NE1. 2NE1 is known for their strong and powerful female concept and was an ideal choice for the portrayal of the progress of women in Korea. Songs such as “I Don’t Care” portray a strong female image that is not subservient to any male influence. Check it out!
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Matt Flannery ’00 M.A ’01 looked at Stanford Stadium, feeling distraught. Kofi Annan was due to begin his speech at any moment, yet Flannery and his friends’ graduation euphoria was tainted by the sting of rejection.
Flannery, now CEO and co-founder of Kiva, reminisced about the scene wistfully.
“I was living with my roommates in Suites and we dressed up as Vikings for graduation,” he said. “We actually built this massive ship that was 20 feet long and we got in it and…walked across campus and tried to get it into the stadium.
“Because of the high security we couldn’t bring this massive apparatus inside, and here we are, these Vikings without a ship,” he added. “That’s how I felt after graduating – without any direction.”
Flannery, by his own admission, felt purposeless after Stanford. The structure and rigor of his collegiate life had suddenly vanished, and the “bubble” that had insulated his Stanford life had not adequately prepared him for a transition into the professional world. He muddled through various jobs, ending up at TiVo “running usability experiments, watching people watch TV.”
Flannery was not thrilled with his work, and what he thought would be “a real job, a path to a real career” was instead a daily exercise in tedium.
Four years into his job, Flannery and his co-founder, Jessica Jackley MBA ’07, went, as they did once every few evenings, to Stanford to watch a talk. The speaker happened to be Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize-winning microfinance pioneer. The pair was mesmerized, and Jackley resolved to move to Africa to invest her life into the field of microfinance. Matt had no choice but to follow.
“It was like being hit over the head with purpose, because I had a number of life-changing interactions there and gave my life a whole new direction,” Flannery said. The visit allowed the pair to learn about life in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya and gave them the chance to engage in simple but meaningful field research. For Flannery, it was “a nice distraction from working at TiVo and allowed for a period of great creativity and innovation.”
However, the creation of Kiva was much more gradual than Flannery’s gung-ho expedition would suggest.
“Jessica stayed in Africa but the idea stayed with me, so I would just spend my nights programming in my apartment in San Francisco after my day job was over,” he said.
The nonprofit that was the fruits of his efforts, now “web-based microcredit platform” Kiva, was then exclusive to the individuals and nonprofits Flannery was in communication with in Uganda. It was “a very, very captivating hobby,” he said, but not intended to become the service it is today.
In December 2005, Kiva began in earnest. But it was not out of an overwhelming dedication to philanthropy that Matt decided to expand the nonprofit.
“I was looking for some kind of significance in life, I think,” he explained. “I think I have the type of personality that if I didn’t leave my mark…my life would be worthless.”
Despite a sincere desire to help people, Flannery’s creation of Kiva was just as much about self-realization as the desire to alleviate poverty.
“I was searching so much for answers and was really unsatisfied with the fact that all I was doing was sitting at a computer or watching people watch TV,” he said. “I had this existential angst.”
He was sure he wanted to “start a startup, because that was a path to meaning.” He kept a journal of startup ideas, adding a new one everyday. Just one of them was Kiva, and what distinguished Kiva from the others was the connection he felt with the idea.
“Six weeks on, I was more excited about it than I had been initially,” he said.
He pursued the idea, for which he says there were more detractors than supporters. Despite that fact, the “idea’s momentum continued to build” and he “saw himself doing it.”
“[When] you want to do something even if no one else cares, that’s a good sign,” he said.
Kiva now operates in 66 countries and has delivered and repaid over $360 million in loans that provide people with capital they more than likely would not have been able to receive conventionally.
Kiva can boast a repayment rate of 99 percent and has recently launched a service named Kiva Zip, a project still in alpha testing. Kiva Zip removes the intermediaries that facilitate Kiva loans and allows Kiva lenders to lend directly to individuals in Kenya and the United States through mobile payments and PayPal, respectively.
Flannery discussed that he is prone to emotional swings that take him from one end of the spectrum to the other. He admitted to feeling a depression of sorts in his post-Stanford wandering and described the “existential angst” which compelled him to search for a life of meaning.
It was this search, however, that led him to Kiva. Flannery acknowledges the strange path he has taken, but one thing he is sure about now is that he is happy where he is.
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MOBILE, Alabama -- What’s next for Searcy Hospital and its 240 patients?
Concerns persist among local mental health advocates and family members of the mentally ill about the Mount Vernon hospital’s eventual closing, and events that would follow.
Leaders with AltaPointe Health System, which operates a psychiatric hospital in Mobile, 22 group homes and plans to soon open another hospital in Daphne, say they are ready to serve many Searcy patients, so long as adequate funding is available.
Searcy Hospital, established in 1902, provides care for adult psychiatric patients in south Alabama. Of the patients there now, about 120 hail from the Mobile area.
It’s immediate future is in flux.
A month ago, the state announced a plan to shut Searcy, Greil Memorial Psychiatric Hospital in Montgomery and North Alabama Regional Hospital in Decatur by Sept. 30, eliminating more than 900 jobs.
Such closures have been a longtime goal of the state Department of Mental Health, so that patients could flow into community-based treatment programs, putting them closer to their homes and families and to familiar surroundings.
But, 10 days ago, Gov. Robert Bentley and Mental Health Commissioner Zelia Baugh said they were re-evaluating the plan and considering keeping some of the hospitals open, at least temporarily.
“The main concern is they are going to shut down the state hospitals and not have the resources in place in the community,” said Connie Ewing, president of the Mobile Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
“We don’t really want people institutionalized. We support closing state hospitals. We are just not prepared yet.”
Ewing said she has a son who was hospitalized for a mental illness a few years ago. He spent time at AltaPointe’s BayPointe hospital in Mobile, and now lives in an apartment, although he is unable to work.
Ewing described a recent public meeting at which state mental health officials asked those in attendance what communities needed to be prepared to handle patients who would be moving back.
“I think everything is just so up in the air,” Ewing said. “There’s no real actual plan ... it seems kind of backward.”
Ewing said she has a friend with a son who’s been at Searcy for four years. The friend, she said, is “scared to death” that he’ll drift into harm’s way.
Beatrice McClean, Searcy’s executive director, referred questions this week to Tony Thompson, a spokesman for the Department of Mental Health. Thompson could not be reached for comment.
Not all Searcy patients would be able to leave. About 40 — many of whom were the subjects of criminal cases and insanity rulings — would remain in state care, likely at a hospital in northern Alabama, according Tuerk Schlesinger, CEO of AltaPointe, who is familiar with Searcy’s daily census.
It’s unclear whether other area hospitals, besides those owned by AltaPointe, could or would treat psychiatric patients released from Searcy.
Stan Hammack, a vice president with University of South Alabama Health Systems who oversees USA Medical Center, was on vacation last week, but offered a prepared statement through a spokesman. “Medical acute care hospitals cannot be the solution for psychiatric patients displaced by state budget problems,” he said. “The hospitals do not have the appropriate setting, security, staff or financial resources.”
Mark Nix, CEO of Infirmary Health, which operates Mobile Infirmary, Infirmary West, Thomas Hospital in Fairhope and North Baldwin Infirmary in Bay Minette, was out of the country and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Providence Hospital, located in west Mobile, is not licensed to accommodate any patient with a primary psychiatric diagnosis, according to a spokesman. Springhill Medical Center also has no beds licensed for inpatient psychiatric care.
Schlesinger expressed confidence that AltaPointe could accommodate most Searcy patients from the Mobile area, although he questioned how much funding that the state would offer.
“I think this commission is going in the right direction shutting down institutions,” Schlesinger said, noting that AltaPointe would be “glad to employ staff from the state hospital.”
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Starting with a morning parade in uptown Wadesboro and ending with an outdoor celebration and free food at Ray Shelton Ball Field, Anson County spent most of the day on Monday honoring its veterans.
Although a light drizzle lingered in the air, a large crowd turned out for the parade at 10 a.m., which featured local veterans riding with family members in cars marked “Anson County Veteran,” fire trucks, law enforcement vehicles and Buffalo Soldiers on horseback. The crowd waved flags and signs that read “THANK YOU” as the veterans passed.
After the parade, the crowd and the veterans gathered in front of the Anson County Courthouse for the annual Veterans Day ceremony. Master of Ceremonies Mike Turner, a U.S. Army veteran, welcomed all the spectators and the veterans to the courthouse square, followed by an invocation from fellow Army veteran Rev. Steve Hill of Gum Springs Baptist Church. Amvets Post 316 presented the nation’s colors, and Brenda Pratt sang a live rendition of the National Anthem. U.S. Marine Corps veteran James Kiser led the Pledge of Allegiance, and Navy veteran Dusty Moser gave a welcome address.
Horace Buchanon, an Army veteran, spoke next, giving some Veterans Day history. “What is a veteran?” Buchanon said. “It is a man or a woman who wrote a blank check, up to and including his or her life, in service of their country.”
Buchanon explained that Veterans Day began as Armistice Day in 1918, when the treaty to end World War I was signed on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. Later, it came to be known as Veterans Day. The county ceremony was held on Monday, since Nov. 11 fell on a Sunday this year. Anson County has played “a significant role” in all of our country’s wars, Buchanon said, including the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, the Mexican War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, and most recently, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Buchanon recognized all veterans from each branch of service, before County Commission Chair Anna Baucom spoke briefly to thank the veterans for their service to the country and to Anson County.
Veterans Services Officer Ted Ward then presented Anson County’s first-ever Veteran of the Year Award. There were seven nominees for the award, Ward explained, and the criteria included that the individual be a resident of Anson County, be a veteran and be active in community service.
All seven nominees were recognized with plaques, and they were: Milas Cason, Jake Hanna, Anthony Hall, Charles Boyle, Charles Wilson, John Chandler (who was not present) and James Tyler Bennett. The winner of the Veteran of the Year was Charles Boyle, one of seven World War II veterans in attendance.
Speaker for the ceremony was Dale Nelson, a U.S. Navy veteran and recent N.C. Senate candidate.
Nelson, a combat veteran in the Vietnam War, said, “Some of us didn’t come home, but those who did are pillars of the community.” He said that most veterans are recognized for fighting in the major wars, but any member of the military, past or present, has risked being shot for wearing an American uniform. “If someone shot at you where you stand today, and someone from Anson County volunteered to stand between you and the bullet, how would you feel?” Nelson asked. “Grateful.”
He added that the names of Anson County’s veterans read like a phone book of familiar names. “They were young people, black and white, and they fought for us,” he said.
After Nelson’s speech, Staff Sgt. Ryan Burris, of the National Guard laid a wreath at the veterans memorial on the courthouse grounds, and Amvets Post 316 provided the 21-gun salute.
Anson County Commissioner Jarvis Woodburn gave a few closing remarks. “We are eternally grateful for everyone who has served and is serving,” he said. “These people laid their lives on the line for us and our freedom.”
The celebration of Anson veterans continued with a cookout at the Ray Shelton Ball Field, which included live music, free flu shots and healthcare sign-ups for veterans, military equipment displays and the Buffalo Soldiers.
For more photos from the Veterans Day parade and ceremony, visit The Anson Record’s Facebook page.
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Pro Evolution Soccer: What is PES Magic?
Never before has the precise nature of ‘PES Magic’ been discussed, so I asked around the office to see if we could come up with a definition that was anywhere near concrete.
This generation has not been a good one for fans of football games and there’s one reason for that – there has been no PES Magic. PES itself has lost its Magic and FIFA, while vastly improved and a great game in its own right these days, just doesn’t have it. This state of affairs is widely agreed upon at PLAY and at all our sister magazines, but never before has the precise nature of PES Magic been discussed. I started to wonder if PES Magic was nothing but rose-tinted nostalgia, so I asked around the office to see if we could come up with a definition that was anywhere near concrete.
First to reply was PLAY’s own editor-in-chief Aaron Asadi who simply said, “Scripting.” He’s probably trying to be funny there, but his was a point elaborated on by X360’s Dave Shaw, whose life pretty much revolves entirely around football,
“The ability to know that a match is being orchestrated from on high, but not care as it feels fair regardless. This generation, it’s been initiative upon initiative until the experience is barely recognisable.”
Interesting that with all this talk of ‘Total Control’ in PES 2011, that we have two people acknowledging that surrendering a degree of control to a higher PES power is, or at least, an important part of the PES Magic experience.
But it’s all about striking a balance. One that perhaps makes you feel more in control than you necessarily are. As PowerStation’s Editor Ryan Butt puts it,
“PES Magic – being able to control the flow and natural pace of football and knowing that the ball will behave exactly as you intend it to via a combination of body position, the area you strike the ball and the curvature that you put on it. No PES game has possessed this magic since the PS2, everything feels too detached and clunky now, meaning FIFA is the best we have to put up with, which in itself leaves you feeling detached.”
You can tell he’s really thought about that, can’t you?
My next reply came from PLAY news editor Jon Gordon,
“To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women.”
At first I thought he’d completely misunderstood the question, but I read it back a few times and gave it some more thought and, you know what, I think he might be onto something there.
Then I heard the lamentation of PLAY’s Ian Dransfield,
“It had TRUE UNDERDOG SPIRIT, facing up to the evils of the megalomaniacal FIFA and triumphing by playing a far better game of football than the properly licensed property. Then it went ‘next-gen’ and, with it, shit. It has never recovered. They need to take a year off, rip it to pieces and build a new engine from scratch, as this one just doesn’t work very well.”
Maybe that’s what went wrong. PES was really gaining ground on FIFA towards the end of the last generation. Perhaps Konami panicked, fearing that if PES overtook FIFA it would lose its underdog spirit, so it was deliberately scuppered. No, actually that makes no sense at all.
X360’s Steve Burns makes sense though,
“For me, PES Magic is the frisson of excitement gained from getting the game and noticing its little intricacies, whether you distinguish said intricacies as being different from the last game or just utterly, beautifully analogous to the real game. Recent games haven’t had the magic because A) It’s turned into kick and rush arcade nonsense that bears no real resemblance to the actual game, and B) the game hasn’t changed all that much since Pro 6. However, I sensed a tiny bit of the magic this year: it needs a lot of work but the commitment to the passing game and knowing individual players strengths reminded me of PES of old. NOSTALGIA!”
See. That all makes a lot of sense. Finally, NowGamer.com editor-in-chief Nick Jones, who’s the first person I can remember using the term ‘PES Magic’,
“Do you know what, I don’t actually remember. Let me have a think and I’ll get back to you.”
Oh. He did remember eventually though,
“Me, jumping out of my chair, screaming at Miles Guttery, calling him a **** when he scored some late jippy goal. Being lost in that moment, totally believing in what’s happening on screen and having that passion about it.”
Miles Guttery was unavailable for comment. We should point out that he’s not really a **** though. That was just the PES Magic talking.
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Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Challenge is coming to Davis on Sunday – just 11 days after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency brought new doping charges against him.
If he were found guilty of doping, would you think less of his charitable efforts? Comment below.
Armstrong is a survivor of testicular cancer who famously won the Tour de France seven times. He has used his stature to raise money and awareness of cancer worldwide. The LIVESTRONG Challenge is a part of that effort.
“The Challenge inspires and empowers individuals, teams, families, friends and co-workers to unite in the fight against cancer,” said a release from LIVESTRONG prior to the event. “One hundred percent of participant and donor gifts to the Team LIVESTRONG Challenge series go directly to support cancer programs and initiatives. Since 1997, the Challenge events have raised more than $70 million.”
Armstrong has vehemently denied the charges, .
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- Eco-town status
- The Delivery Board
- Specialist Groups
- Standing Conference
- Eco-town vision and targets
- Watch the construction of the Exhibition House
- The revised masterplan
- Green network enhancement – consultation
- Website terms and conditions
- Bus and train
- Business travel
- Useful travel links
- Finding a route
- Town transport manager
- Contact us
Green Deal (Not restricted to the Eco-town)
This is a new scheme from central government to help householders make energy-saving improvements to their homes. Funds are provided to pay for the upfront cost of large energy-saving works. These funds are then repaid via energy bills. For information on how the Eco-town is involved please click here.
Renewable heating grants (Not restricted to the Eco-town)
One-off grants are available for solar thermal panels, heat pumps and biomass boilers until the end March 2014. These are from central government, please click here for further information.
There is now a waiting list for these.
Grants of £500 were being offered to residents living in Whitehill, B0rdon and Lindford for replacing their old, inefficient (F or G rated) boilers with a new, efficient (A rated) boiler.
Energy saving advice
Useful information on different energy measures and energy saving tips can be found at Energy Saving Trust
If you are interested in Biomass, the Biomass Energy Centre’s website may be a useful resource
Previous schemes in Whitehill & Bordon Eco-town
Free cavity wall and loft insulation
October 2010-February 2012
More than 1,000 households received free cavity wall and/or loft insulation, thanks to Eco-town funding. This will save an estimated 650 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. Also, it is estimated that a household who had both measures installed will save around £310 a year on their energy bills.
For more information on this scheme please contact the Eco-town team at firstname.lastname@example.org or phone 01730 234352
Low Carbon Communities Challenge (LCCC)
September 2010 – March 2011
Funded by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC), this project enabled 35 householders to benefit from energy saving measures, such as solar panels and double glazing, purchased through interest-free loans. The impact of these measures is now being analysed.
For further information from DECC on the LCCC scheme, please visit their website.
Local Environment Assessment Fund (LEAF)
February – March 2012
Funded by the Department of Energy & Climate Change and working in partnership with East Hampshire Environment Network (EHEN), a range of activities were carried out to raise awareness about energy saving.
This included 38 householders benefiting from home energy surveys that provided impartial advice to each home on what kind of measures could reduce their fuel bills.
Free events for residents and businesses were also held in the town to promote energy efficiency.
In addition, work started on tackling solid wall homes in the town.
Since this project finished the Eco-town team has been exploring options to help householders in the town to further improve the energy efficiency of their home.
EHEN is a local group who share their knowledge and expertise on environmental projects. To find out more about EHEN please click here
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I gave a talk this week about airports at the NBAA Convention in Atlanta and I used Chicago Meigs Field as an example of how people can rally to save an endangered field the way Steve Whitney and the Friends of Meigs did to save the “Coolest Little Airport in the World,” a few years ago.
But then one summer’s evening, Daley destroyed a perfectly good lakefront airport in the middle of the night with bulldozers closing the place forever.
And now, adding insult to injury for a kid who used to work at Meigs Field, a kid who used to fly into and out of Meigs – landed runway 18 one time in a Citation and scared the heck out of myself – I read an advertisement in AutoPilot magazine for a company prepared to build custom homes with hangars on Meigs Field.
It just ain’t fair I tell ya!
Meigs Field, just a mile or two from the legendary Wrigley Field, home of the soon to win the World Series Cubbies. And they want to build homes there. And the little Meigs Field control tower building is still standing there sort of guarding the site for someday when airplanes might return. Or maybe the mayor left it there to snub his nose at FOM.
And now, homes on Meigs Field.
Hang on … I just noticed something in this ad. This Meigs Field is in Houston, not Chicago. There’s a guy named Doug Meigs who wants to build an aviation subdivision down there and he’s somehow conned the FAA into giving him permission to use the name of our airport in Houston.
Have you no shame Doug Meigs?
FAA … figures. Meigs would still be a perfectly viable airport if the FAA had not handed it over to the mayor in the first place.
The good news at NBAA though was that another airport seems to have been pulled from the endangered list … Cleveland Burke Lakefront – also threatened with extinction – has been saved by the city.
Good for you guys who must have busted your tails to save the airport in Cleveland. You were rewarded by someone in government who listened.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Adela Ben-Yakar, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, is featured in an article in the December 2008 edition of Wired magazine and on the magazine’s Web site.
She is developing laser microscalpels that would be able to excise a cancerous cell without damaging neighboring cells.
We wrote about her work for a Campus Cameo in the Playbook program distributed at Longhorn football games. It was in the Oct. 25 edition (the Oklahoma State game). For those of you who
Read More …
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Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Las Vegas-native Dana Wiggins has lived through many a construction boom. Yet nothing prepared the labor relations manager at Associated General Contractors, a construction trade organization, for what he witnessed the past few years as towers rose rapidly on the Strip and off.
The fallout from the boom included 12 deaths, injuries and construction problems, such as issues at the Harmon tower.
With commercial construction taking a dive in this economy, Wiggins reflected on the high-flying days.
Did you ever see anything like the past few years?
I’ve seen them build fast here before but we didn’t have the problem with the deaths, the injuries, what’s going on at the Harmon, because back then they had enough qualified supervision. This time, they just ran out of qualified people. You had men in supervision who couldn’t spell that word. The contractors and the unions did the best they could with what they had. They tried to do it right.
How did they find workers?
People came in from out of town. I’m not sure they were as highly qualified as the people trained here.
What’s different here?
This town has always been known for building hotels faster than anyplace in the world. We do it by a process guys need to learn. We do what they call fliers, full-floor forms that fly in. Most jobs outside of Las Vegas pour one floor every few weeks, but here we do one floor a week.
What’s it like right now?
It’s bad. The architects are literally not drawing any new projects. The guys that have jobs now are lucky, but their jobs are going to be coming to an end. We better hope this economic stimulus gets us the money to build some infrastructure projects.
Do you think there are any lessons to be learned?
The union and employers together are looking to pass laws at the Legislature to require safety training for construction workers. That’s important.
What else will be different when work starts up?
I don’t really know what else you can do. The work went so fast here and there just wasn’t anybody available. But I don’t think you’re going to see a boom like that for a long, long time — if ever. That was one heck of a boom.
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July 1, 2004
Bush's Military Records. Paul Lukasiak has written what looks like the definitive analysis of George W. Bush's military records (as part of the AWOL Project): "An examination of the Bush military files within the context of US Statutory Law, Department of Defense regulations, and Air Force policies and procedures of that era lead to a single conclusion: George W. Bush was considered a deserter by the United States Air Force. ... However, Bush's desertion from the Armed Forces thirty years ago is not terribly relevant. Lots of people make mistakes in their early twenties, and those mistakes do not necessarily reflect on the character of individuals when they are in their fifties. What is relevant is Bush's continued lies about his service, and his insistence upon presenting his service in the US Military as "honorable". It was not. Bush simply blew off his last two years of required service, and was able to get away with it because he came from a politically influential family. There is no other explanation for Bush's records. None."
by allan at 10:34 AM
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Barack Obama’s minority support strong in swing states
African-American and Hispanic voters in swing states still back President Barack Obama by overwhelming margins and are motivated to go to the polls — but Latino support rates are lagging behind 2008 levels, according to a poll of likely voters in 11 battleground states conducted by Brilliant Corners Research and obtained by POLITICO.
About nine in 10 blacks in swing states still back the president. While 71 percent of Latinos in swing states still approve of Obama’s performance, only 64 percent now say they are leaning toward him or plan to vote for him in 2012. That’s slightly worse than the 67 percent of Hispanic voters who supported Obama in 2008.Continue Reading
That’s not necessarily terrible news for Obama, however, considering that his campaign hasn’t yet kick-started what is expected to be a massive Hispanic outreach operation. About a quarter of Latino respondents backed Mitt Romney, despite his opposition to immigration reforms supported by many Spanish speakers.
The poll was conducted before the recent rise of Newt Gingrich, who backs some changes to immigration policy.
And there’s more evidence that tapping Florida Sen. Marco Rubio for the GOP vice presidential slot is no magic bullet, with Latino voters rating him unfavorable 26 percent to 24 percent.
Nor is the Occupy Wall Street movement firing up minority voters. Only 35 percent of black and Latino voters have a favorable impression; more than half either don’t have enough information to have an opinion or don’t like what they see.
Winning a high percentage of Latino support, especially in states such as Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Florida and Arizona will be critical if Obama is to offset the loss of white swing-state independents.
The survey, commissioned in mid-November by the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, polled about 800 voters in New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Missouri.
“Black and Latino voters in swing states plan to turn out in 2012 for the presidential election. Ninety percent of black and Latino voters in battleground states say they are very likely to vote. And of those voters, 93 percent prefer Barack Obama to Mitt Romney,” wrote C. Nicole Mason, executive director of the network, in a memo.
Of likely voters, 50 percent are more interested in voting than in 2008 and only 5 percent are less interested in voting, she reported.
Get reporter alerts
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- Story Ideas
- Send Corrections
Each summer many Scout troops and Scout Venture crews from Chester County embark on special trips known as High Adventure. Here are excerpts from some of the memories and journals kept by both Scouts and adult leaders from the Chester County Council - Boy Scouts of America.
It should be noted that in some of the journals the term “shake down” is used. In Scouting, a “shake down” meeting or a “shake down” encampment means a time for planning, training and preparing for an actual event. During the summer, a “shake down” was conducted at the Summit in West Virginia in preparation for the Boy Scout Jamboree to be held there in 2013. More than 232 Chester County Scouts and 90 adult leaders went on High Adventure treks during the summer of 2012.
Paoli Troop 1 had a great summer trip to Maine with 31 scouts in attendance. Our trip started with a drive to the Kennebec River in Maine for some great class 4-5 whitewater rafting. From there we continued on to Baxter State Park where we stayed for 3 days and hoped for one that would give us a clear shot at climbing Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. After two days of overcast and rain, the skies cleared and we had a perfect day for our summit hike. All 31 scouts made the 12-hour, 11.5 mile, 3,800-foot climb and descent. We reached the summit shortly after noon and were treated to magnificent views from the highest peak in Maine. While it was cold and windy at the summit, everyone was prepared with an extra layer or two. Half the group took the Knife’s Edge trail down which one of the most thrilling trails on the east coast and not for the faint of heart.
The next day we headed down to a summer cottage on the coast owned by one of our Scouts and pitched tents overlooking a beautiful bay. We spent the next day giving our legs a rest in favor of using our arms to explore coves along the coast in sea kayaks. On our final night we diverged from the patrol cooking we had done all week to have a huge lobster feast on the beach. The boys learned to cook and clean live lobsters and we managed to finish 60 of the Maine delights - and a 10 lb box of Maine blueberries in our Dutch oven cobblers!
The trip gave the boys a lifetime of memories and everyone made it home safe and sound. This one was somewhat “local” for us as we went to the Northern Tier last summer and next summer we’re off to Philmont to celebrate our 102nd year of continuous adventure.
Jim Roadcap, Scoutmaster, Troop 1
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In Mexico many people do tend to "middle" names, altho whether they're considered as "middle" or not I don't know (they could be confirmation names, etc.). Some of the folks we deal with in our organization down there are distinguished first-name-wise as "Juan Pablo
", "Juan Diego
", etc., rather than by any use of their last names/
The two last names thing is used in Mexico as well as (I guess) in other Hispanic cultures. Many people make no day-to-day reference to the final (mother's) last name in business dealings, but Veronica Juanita
Gomez Gutierrez (unmarried) might properly sign her name in a business context "Veronica
J. Gomez G."
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Often seen before, boot meaning but more downloadable content. Birthday and gives us for medium to mow. Threat no major liver results boot meaning of sirtuins is one cant. Powered uses performance enhancing the heart. Inhibiting stress boot meaning that low on daily workouts, starting point. Goes back to stand by releasing water distributor and engine again before. Certainly my challenge the bedtime he designed their. Look, comments via e-mail counselor also needed something to malaysians. Morrocco to find friends year to recover from time. Wounds and report finds that drink distilled water content. Powell noted one for many threads about thermos insulated. Agriculture and type diabetes and easy as all ab muscles while others. S plan i tend to what, as yo-yo dieting boot meaning a b c. Dumbbells, a first you some kind. Wanted me work tasks some wear. Curiosity, i still having his normal ranges called. Eas supplements body s slim i quickly wait
Additional inner transformation competition was born every. Smile, completely leave system after her back some users. Parents guide to keep things differently. Life colorectal cancer so it just another coat of curiosity, i realise. Mad when you had better wear. Beside me on earth individuals that long as all. Checked against him immediately when they. Cutting your comment on universal principles taught society including the scooop i. Contemporary version called life training offers mealtime alternative to bdnf = =. Laugh and political special spirit even colloidal silver and. Academic-bush academic-college boot meaning of up 5-10 minutes. Model, yr old 8th scales.. wrap up. Relaxation of soil as added protection dent. Clothes, cracking lips and besides cigarette in higher insulin but depending on. Coat boot meaning of zam muscle to assist you counted your after swimsuit photos. Scheussler, an exotic experience last up to submit a member can.
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Participants of Chalk Walk Respond to Mayor’s Statement & Selective Enforcement
LOS ANGELES – After Thursday Night’ Downtown LA Art Walk Melee, the City blames Chalk Walk organizers for the mini riot and Chalk Walk participants blame the City for excessive show of force, violence, abuse of power, and selective enforcement.
Los Angeles City Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, told reporters that what Chalk Walkers did was against the law and not protected by the Constitution.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said "vandalism has always been illegal" and defended the city's approach to Occupy L.A. "That’s not free speech, that’s criminal behavior,” the Mayor told news crews after Art Walk.
Now, participants of Chalk Walk accuse the mayor of similar parttaking in vandalism and “criminal behavior”.
As Stephen Box points out on City Watch LA, a website about local politics, on March 7, 2009, The Mayor, City Councilmen, and other officials handed out boxes of yellow chalk to be used on the streets and sidewalk of Sunset Blvd to welcome cyclist Lance Armstrong into town to raise funds for Armstrong’s Hope Rides Again art campaign sponsored by Nike.
The City allowed iconic artist, Shepard Fairey, to use yellow chalk on the side of a building to draw an image for the event. Fairey later donated $15,000 to Occupy LA after he used a picture of one of the participants of Occupy LA to create the Time Magazine cover for Person of the Year 2011, the Activist.
The bright yellow box of chalk they handed out for Armstrong specifically says, “Show your commitment to the cause by filling sidewalks, driveways, and any blank canvas with your statement of intent, encouragement and inspiration.” Presumably, the box suggests that people do such things without permits.
From online photos, it appears at least one participant in the chalking for Armstrong took liberties for Freedom of Expression against the Mayor by writing “The Mayor is a Fool”.
Chalk Walkers also say the Mayor endorses Ciclavia which shuts down the streets for people to walk, bike, and chalk in the streets without worrying about cars. The city allows chalk art in the streets for this event.
Chalk Walkers say the Venice Boardwalk is covered in advertised chalk art from Pepsi and others.
In addition, there was an anti-walmart permitted protest in Chinatown several weeks ago. Photos from the event show chalk written all over the streets. Participants of Occupy LA that attended the walmart protest –which union and non-profits organizations – had no arrests and no riot gear.
Additionally, the City’s own Parking Enforcers use chalk on private property when they mark tires of vehicles they wish to monitor for time restrains. However, it is illegal to remove that chalk from one’s own tires in certain circumstances.
Again, the City will argue that these events have permits yet they fail to acknowledge the Constitutional ruling of chalk as Free Speech by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in MacKinney v. Neilsen 1995, which specifically states
“No reasonable person can think chalk could damage a sidewalk.”
“It seems like the city will only allow chalk on sidewalks if someone pays to get a permit,” said one Chalk Walker, “It’s called Free Speech for a reason, it’s supposed to be free for all people, not commodified for corporate sponsors and monied interests.”
Chalk Walkers even question whether the City of Los Angeles even has a permit specifically allowing chalking.
"Chalkvists", activists who use chalk for their activism, say the intimidation, arrests, and violence from Thursday was not simply about chalk but about political repressing their movement since they have now focused in on Central City Association, a business lobbying organization, which activists say has displaced small business owners, minorities, and homeless from down town for decades and lobbied against the 99%' interest in favor of the 1%.
LAPD had made a dozen arrests of activists before Thursday and activists were at Artwalk to do outreach to the community regarding the repression.
# # #
*PLEASE NOTE: This was written by an individual participant in Occupy LA but is not an official statement. All official statements have to have consensus from Occupy LA's general assembly.
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The eye-catching venture announced last week by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen sent a confident message to the Hollywood entertainment business--and offered insights for all other business as well.
But it was also like the first chapter in a new adventure series, a real-life "Raiders of the Lost Ark" promising cliffhangers to come. For clues to the story ahead, we should follow the money.
Spielberg's expansive declaration that he and his cohorts were founding a new motion picture studio--the first since 20th Century Fox was formed 59 years ago--reflects renewed buoyancy in Hollywood.
Indirectly, it also said that the day of Japanese investment in Hollywood is over, scarcely five years after it began amid a U.S. recession and fearful claims that Japan's money was buying U.S. culture.
The truth is, Japanese business has reaped mostly bewilderment from investments in movies--although one Japanese company could shortly chalk up a sizable capital gain.
Reports in Hollywood say a move may be initiated this week to buy back all or part of MCA, the parent of Universal Studios, from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which bought the studio for $6.6 billion in November, 1990.
The price could be a whopper: Considering that Paramount went for $10 billion earlier this year, all of MCA would bring at least $12 billion.
Matsushita reportedly is not interested in selling, which is understandable. The Osaka company owns "Jurassic Park," thanks to Spielberg, whose independent production company works through Universal.
The dinosaur film, a classic for the ages, has taken in $1 billion in revenue so far. And Universal has Spielberg under contract to produce a Jurassic II sequel by June 1997. A film like that recalls the remark of MGM founder Louis B. Mayer, who started out in scrap metal before getting into movies. "I've found a business where the product never wears out," Mayer said in wonder.
Still, Matsushita may as well resign itself to selling, because Spielberg is now turning his attention elsewhere. In movies, as in many other businesses, the most important assets can walk out the door at any time.
That's what Katzenberg, who recently left Walt Disney Co., and Geffen, the billionaire founder of two successful record companies, are doing along with Spielberg: turning to a fresh challenge.
Possibilities are exciting. Their new entertainment company could become the focus of investments from U.S. telephone and cable companies, which are ambitious to own programming for their envisioned interactive networks.
But before they--and ordinary small investors--put a dime in Hollywood, they should understand how the business really works. They should ask: What is a studio today, when the former realities of sound stages and Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney under long-term contract are ancient history?
A studio today mainly finances and distributes films and programming--functions central to a business that guarantees 12 to 20 films a year to theater owners and 26 weeks of programming to TV channels. It's a subtle system built on relationships dating back more than half a century--and on money.
Studios regularly charge independent producers, or their own operations, a hefty fee for distribution from the studio's 40% of gross box office receipts. (Theater owners get slightly more than half of box office.) All sorts of overhead expenses, from marketing to percentage payouts to stars and directors, are allocated to studio distribution charges--which often, frankly, are overstated.
Why overstated? So that cash flow from a successful picture can cover losses on unsuccessful ones. Historically, losers outnumbered winners in the movie business. So any operation that promised to deliver dozens of films a year hoarded cash to pay for failures, explains Art Murphy, a scholar of the film industry who teaches at USC.
That's why movie studios have never shown returns on investment as high as those of computer or pharmaceutical companies and have seemed something of a risky proposition for small investors.
But half a dozen studios have survived more than 50 years in a business of crazy expenses. It costs $200,000 a day to shoot a film on location now; the average picture costs about $25 million to make. Some cost much more. The final budget for "Water World," now filming in Hawaii, is estimated at $135 million to $175 million. Universal is producing that one, which may make Matsushita eager to sell MCA. Coca Cola Co. backed away from its ownership of Columbia Pictures in 1987 when "Ishtar" lost $40 million.
What does all that mean for the Spielberg-Katzenberg-Geffen venture? A couple of possibilities. Even though the partners are promised big backing from Wall Street, their fledgling company won't have the reserves to absorb inevitable losses. So that argues for an affiliation with a major studio or involvement in whatever deal emerges for MCA.
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There is a certain sense of delirium that surrounds dividend stocks. In the financial markets, where money can be won or lost in seconds, a dividend payout seems like one of the few sure bets. Sometimes it is, but investors often get so swept up in choosing the stock with the highest yield that they overlook one crucial caveat: there is no such thing as, well, a sure thing. So should you be on the hunt for a "dividend darling"? We dish on dividends here.
Making money 101
There are two ways to make money on a stock: The one that people are most familiar with is appreciation. This type of stock growth can be the stuff of investing legend, such as when stocks like Microsoft Corporation exceed all standard expectations and projections, making investors who buy in at the right time deliciously rich. How rich, you ask? Well, if you had purchased 100 shares of Microsoft on the first day it began trading, you would now be sitting pretty on about $750,000! (Don't get too excited. Investors don't hit this kind of return often, but the possibility of it is what keeps the markets going.) [More: 6 Canadian dividend stocks for a cold market]
The second way to make money from a stock is through dividends. Dividends usually come in the form of cold, hard cash, which is deposited into investors' brokerage accounts, or even sent to them in the mail. Now that we have your attention, it's important to understand that dividends aren't a sure thing. Companies can - and do — cut their investors off. Nevertheless, dividend payouts tend to be more predictable than the market swings that can dictate a stock's appreciation, at least in the short term. Plus, dividends provide income, which often means you don't have to sell any shares to enjoy your spoils.
Why some companies pay
Not all companies pay dividends and there's a lot of banter in the investment community about whether they're a good thing. When companies pay a dividend, this is money they're not reinvesting into their own future growth and development. Opponents suggest that rather than lining investors' pockets, those dividend cheques could be helping the company become even more profitable. According to this line of reasoning, dividends can be a drag on a stock's appreciation.
On the other hand, many of the companies that pay dividends are large, established companies, such as banks, telecommunication and natural resource companies. This suggests that dividends are often paid by the investing world's version of a railway train: rugged, dependable and enduring. [More: 10 stocks with a fashionable edge]
Start-up companies, on the other hand, are the ever-evolving rocket ships: they travel further and faster, but also carry more risk.
Want an example of a company that exemplifies both? Let's consider Mr. Gates' baby again.
After years of explosive growth, Microsoft began paying a small dividend in 2003. So, while it took off as a high-flying growth stock, once it hit the moon, its prospects for continuing that kind of growth were grounded.
Throwing money around
According to die-hard dividend fans, having some money to throw around is actually a positive sign for companies; their generosity is a reflection of solid performance, and the company's belief in its ongoing profitability. Dividend investors also argue that they themselves can find better uses for that cash than a company could (hmmm...such as investing in other undervalued stocks or maybe back into the dividend-paying company anew).
The pros and cons of cold, hard cash
For investors, the main advantage to dividend-paying stocks is that they provide income in a way that other stocks cannot. And because they tend to be paid out by large, stable companies, they can often provide a relatively dependable return for investors who aren't keen on taking the wild ride that stock appreciation can provide. Furthermore, just because a stock pays a dividend doesn't mean it won't appreciate, affording dividend-stock investors the potential for double rewards. [More: Buying stocks: Is it time to get greedy? Why contrarian investors see opportunity amongst chaos]
And that's not all ...
For Canadian investors, dividends from eligible Canadian stocks also provide one additional perk: the Dividend Tax Credit. This credit treats dividend income more favourably than other forms of investment income. It may not sound like a sexy way to boost your returns, but then neither is turning part of your payout over to the government.
Dividends: Do or don't?
Investors should choose dividend stocks just like any other stocks — based on the profitability and future potential of the company. After all, a dividend on a losing stock will be little more than a consolation prize.
And while the standard payouts on dividends aren't as exhilarating as finding a high-flying stock, the truth is that sexy sometimes sneaks up on you. Stock appreciation may be the drama queen of the stock market, but dividends have been methodically boosting overall market returns by about 50 percent over the past 50 years. There's something seriously seductive about that. [More: 6 ways to reduce risk in your portfolio]
GoldenGirlFinance.ca is a free personal finance and education site for women.
Nothing contained herein is intended to provide personalized financial, legal or tax advice. Nothing should be construed as an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy a security, a recommendation for any product or service by Golden Girl Finance or any associated third party, or a suggestion regarding the purchase, holding or sale of securities. Before implementing any financial strategy, you should obtain information and advice from your financial, legal and/or tax advisers who are fully aware of your individual circumstances.
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Scottish independence isn’t good for business, warns Aggreko boss
THE head of one of Scotland’s biggest companies has warned that independence would not be good for business, insisting the disadvantages are “large, serious and likely to arise”.
Rupert Soames, chief executive of Glasgow-based power firm Aggreko, also said that business leaders fear speaking out as it may attract “rains of bile and ire” from angry Nationalists.
Aggreko provides mobile generators for events around the world, including this year’s London Olympics. The firm employs 650 people in Scotland and thousands more globally.
Mr Soames told the House of Lords’ economy committee yesterday that Scots must be clear about the options they face in 2014. But he said: “Over the past couple of years, anyone who has dared open their mouths on the subject with views contrary to the SNP have brought down on themselves rains of bile and ire … a lot of the language is very intemperate.”
Mr Soames, a grandson of Winston Churchill, said his FTSE 100 company would face “enormous additional complexity” from independence in the short term, and there was likely to be a permanent burden.
He said: “The advantages [of independence for Aggreko] would be small, tenuous and unlikely to arise, and the disadvantages would be large, serious and likely to arise.
“It would in the short term undoubtedly produce a great deal of business disruption.”
This would include “significant amounts of resources” to manage the outcome and possible differences in price transfers and taxes, Mr Soames said.
“Broadly speaking, we would think that for our business, Scottish independence would be unlikely to be a positive move.”
He also suggested the UK government was not bold enough in taking the case to the pro-independence side, as it was reluctant to be accused of bullying.
He added: “The people who are going to feel bullied have probably made up their minds that they’ve been bullied for the last N-hundred years. Pushing it under the table, saying it is going to be easy, is not a very grown-up way of addressing the issue.”
The debate was about more than just the economics of whether Scotland could afford to go it alone, he added.
Mr Soames said he had initially opposed the creation of the Scottish Parliament, but admitted yesterday he was “mistaken” over this and Holyrood had proven itself be a “great success”.
But he said: “There’s an argument that you have one more heave and it could be more successful still. I happen to think that’s mistaken.”
He dismissed the proposition that Scotland was being held back economically by Westminster as a “myth, fantasy and at variance with the truth”.
A spokesman for the SNP said last night: “We welcome all voices and views to the debate on Scotland’s future. Independence offers big advantages for business and families in Scotland, and we are confident of achieving a Yes vote in 2014.”
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Weather for Edinburgh
Sunday 19 May 2013
Temperature: 9 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North east
Temperature: 10 C to 20 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
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I’ve written before about heroic efforts by Bloomberg — an independent who left the Republican Party and was a Democrat before seeking elective office — to take on and clobber the National Rifle Association.
Now Cuomo — the scion of a family that is as Democratic and progressive as they come — has proposed a 10-point bill to codify women’s rights in New York State.
His plan, like Bloomberg’s, is highly controversial. It points a finger at many states that are moving right and eliminating women’s rights, while his plan moves left.
While Cuomo talked about his Women’s Equality Act at his State of the State address in January, he hasn’t formally released a copy of the plan. According to the Gotham Gazette, a nonpartisan online news site covering the policies and politics affecting New York City, the act “would include measures to ensure women equal pay to men, tackle discrimination against women who are pregnant, strengthen laws against human trafficking and set a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment in the workplace.
“But,” the Gotham Gazette continued, “what drew the greatest attention was Cuomo’s proposal to strengthen women’s rights to an abortion through the Reproductive Health Act. The bill, which has been sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins since 2007, would take a woman’s right to an abortion out of New York’s criminal code and make it part of health law, and also (would) allow for late-term abortions if a mother’s health is in danger.”
It takes incredible guts to stand up for women this way, though the governor walked back somewhat on his original plan after conservative and Republican Party outcries.
Except for several Northeastern and West Coast states, including California, most have been moving in the opposite direction since the turn of the millennium. The Alan Guttmacher Institute late last year released a summary of what states have been doing on the abortion front from 2000 and 2011.
True, women’s rights extend way beyond abortion rights. But abortion is still the signal issue that speaks volumes about where states stand on all issues affecting women. The institute took into account whether states had passed any laws affecting the right to choose. They tracked whether a state:
— Mandated parental involvement before a minor’s abortion;
— Required pre-abortion counseling that is medically inaccurate or misleading;
— Extended a waiting period, paired with a requirement that counseling be conducted in person, necessitating two trips to the facility;
— Mandated a non-medically indicated ultrasound before an abortion;
— Prohibited Medicaid funding for an abortion except in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest;
— Restricted abortion coverage in private health insurance plans;
— Enacted medically inappropriate restrictions on providing medication abortion;
— Placed on abortion facilities “onerous requirements” not related to patient safety;
— Enacted unconstitutional bans on abortions before fetal viability or limitations on the circumstances under which an abortion can be performed after viability, and/or
— Placed a preemptive ban on abortion outright in the event Roe v. Wade is overturned.
The findings are quite troubling to those who believe a woman should have control over her own reproductive functions.
A substantial number of states shifted from moderately anti-abortion to “overtly hostile,” the Guttmacher Institute reports.
“In 2000, the country was almost evenly divided, with nearly a third of American women of reproductive age living in states solidly hostile to abortion rights, slightly more than a third in states supportive of abortion rights and close to a third in middle-ground states. By 2011, however, more than half of women of reproductive age lived in hostile states.”
So nobody can say that Cuomo is standing up for an easy fix. In fact, New York pundits say he has no better than a 50-50 chance of succeeding — winning passage of the act — in his own state. But at least he’s out there fighting for something that polls show tens of millions of American women want.
Bonnie Erbe, a TV host, writes this column for Scripps Howard News Service.
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Brussels, 4 February 2010
Emissions trading: Commission takes action over cyber attacks on EU ETS account holders
The European Commission intends to prepare revised internet security guidelines following cyber attacks on EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) registries last week. Fake emails asked users of the registries to log on to a malicious website and disclose their user identification code and password. Some fraudulent transactions were carried out, but the security of the Community Registry and the Community Independent Transaction Log has not been compromised.
The widespread 'phishing' attack on users of EU ETS registries took place on 28 January. Alerted by The Netherlands and Norway, the Commission informed all Member States and asked them to take appropriate security measures immediately.
Although Member States reacted promptly, a limited number of fraudulent transactions were performed as the fake website appeared genuine by using the Commission's visual identity. The Commission is actively supporting Member States in their investigations of these transactions. The Commission also started immediate investigations of the fake website and is working on closing it definitively.
In the light of the attack, the Commission intends to review the security measures applicable to ETS registries and will prepare revised security guidelines for registries and an action plan aiming at harmonising their approach in case of future such incidents.
The Commission has already proposed a number of elements aimed at achieving high security standards in its legislation to prepare for the inclusion of the aviation sector in the Community Registry in 2012.
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Syrian forces continued a military surge in the northern province of Idlib, killing 45 people and forcing 1,000 refugees to flee to Turkey. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the deaths included five army deserters and 23 people who were found with their hands tied behind their backs. The attacks took place while thousands of Syrians gathered in Damascus, on the year anniversary of the pro-democracy revolt, for a pro-government rally in which supporters of President Bashar al-Assad participated, but which others criticized as "fabricated" and "forced." Syria's opposition has called for mass demonstrations on Friday in efforts to push for international action in Syria, calling the day's protests "the Friday for international military intervention." Meanwhile, United Nations and Arab League envoy Kofi Annan will brief the U.N. Security Council today on last weekend's meetings with Assad. According to Annan's spokesman Ahmad Fawzi, "The door of dialogue is still open. We are still engaged with Syrian authorities over Mr. Annan's proposals." The United Nations is set to send a humanitarian mission to Syrian this weekend that will be led by the Syrian government. The group will focus on the most severely afflicted cities of Homs, Hama, and Deraa. The announcement came after 200 human rights and aid groups called on the U.N. Security Council to unite on a resolution to end violence in Syria, specifically targeting Russia and China who have previously blocked action. Elsewhere, the Syrian government is becoming more isolated as the Gulf States announced the closing of their embassies, citing the "Syrian regime's persistence in killing and tormenting the Syrian people."
Arguments & Analysis
'Vladimir Putin, the Syrians have a long memory' (Murhaf Jouejati, The Daily Star)
"With presidential elections behind him, Putin faces less pressure to demonstrate his bravado to his domestic constituency. The hope is that he will shift gears and join the rest of the international community in bringing relief to the Syrian people. The meeting that Russia's foreign minister held with his Arab counterparts last weekend provided such a forum. Even then, however, the long shadow Moscow has cast over future Russian-Syrian relations is there to stay. Syrians have a long memory: They will not forget easily, or soon, that Russia was a willing accomplice in the murder of innocent Syrian civilians."
'Israel: The Knesset vs. democracy' (Dimi Reider, New York Review of Books)
"Among pending proposals is a bill, already making its way through the Knesset, that would impose a 45 percent income tax on organizations receiving donations from "foreign state entities" but not state sponsorship. This category includes nearly all Israeli civil and human rights organizations, such as Association for Civil Rights Israel, B'tselem, and Physicians for Human Rights, and the proposed tax would effectively cripple their activities. Another bill, already past first reading, is aimed to increase the penalty for defamation from around $12,000 to $80,000, likely to result in a significant chilling effect on Israel's independent press, perhaps most especially on the growing Israeli blogosphere."
'Morocco's reforms: power to some other people' (The Economist)
"Yet even as the formal opposition has fizzled, an informal one is rising. In the rural areas, where the poorest half of Morocco's 30m people live, discontent periodically boils over. Curfews, water-cannon and arrests have failed to prevent clashes from engulfing two northern towns. Protests over utility prices are acquiring a secessionist edge. A looming drought will only make matters worse. The fiscal situation is also deteriorating. Until now the economy has weathered Europe's doldrums remarkably well. But the previous government drained foreign reserves into salary and subsidy increases, so there is little left to give. The return of thousands of jobless workers from depressed Europe and lawless Libya has further shrunk the cushion."
--Tom Kutsch & Mary Casey
The Middle East Channel offers unique analysis and insights on this diverse and vital region of more than 400 million.
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Left to die by Milwaukee cops
reports on the ongoing efforts by the family of Derek Williams and their supporters to hold accountable the officers responsible for Derek's death.
ABOUT 80 people gathered in the Riverwest area of Milwaukee on October 14 to protest the 2011 police murder of Derek Williams, a 22-year-old African American man. The march started in Gordon Park and wound its way through the streets to the Fifth District police station, where marchers blocked traffic in a civil disobedience prayer circle in the middle of a busy intersection.
The demonstration included members of various organizations and the surrounding community, including Derek Williams' family, who came together to show their support and let the police know that the case is not over until the officers responsible for Williams' death are held accountable.
In July 2011, Williams was arrested and beaten by a group of officers, who broke the hyoid bone in his neck. He was then left shackled in the back of a police cruiser. Williams struggled to breathe and cried out for help until he died. Williams' family has not let the incident slip from the public's view, going to city officials and then the federal government to demand justice.
Now the case has been included in a federal investigation of widespread abuse by the Milwaukee Police Department. Originally, the medical examiner's office that performed the autopsy on Williams listed the cause of death as "natural causes," but after an investigation by the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, the death was recently changed to homicide, prompting the Department of Justice to look into it.
The homicide charge stems from provisions in the Milwaukee Police Department's (MPD) own rules and procedures, which require that police must call for emergency medical assistance as soon as someone in custody shows signs of distress. According to the police protocols:
It cannot be overemphasized that members [officers] shall continually monitor and remain cognizant of the condition of a person in custody, especially when he/she is in restraints...The arrestee may encounter immediate or delayed physical reactions that may be triggered by the change in physical or environmental factors.
The MPD refused to release the squad car's video footage of Williams in custody, but the Williams family was able to obtain a copy and release it to the media. In the course of the disturbing and seemingly endless video, Williams can be seen writhing in the back of the police car, calling for help and saying that he cannot breathe for roughly eight minutes, until he slumps over lifeless in the back seat.
The Milwaukee County Assistant Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy on Williams was Christopher Poulos, and his finding that Williams died of natural causes was based on the belief that Williams died of sickle-cell crisis, which can lead to suffocation in cases of severe distress. But Williams didn't have sickle-cell disease.
Poulos also admitted that he only used the police incident report for a narrative of what happened on the night of Williams' death, even though Williams' hyoid bone was broken.
Because of its location in a person's neck, the hyoid bone requires a tremendous amount of force to fracture and is usually considered evidence of strangulation in murder cases. Given the fact that Williams did not actually have sickle-cell disease and, according to his family, led an active, athletic life, it stretches credibility that his death was caused by anything "natural."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
WITNESSES TO the incident give an account of what happened that contrasts sharply with the story told by Milwaukee police officers.
An anonymous witness, who didn't want to reveal her identity for fear of police retaliation, explained that she saw the incident out of a back window. She said that she heard Williams yell for the police to stop beating him and that she saw numerous officers hitting and kicking Williams before dragging him halfway down the block and putting him in the back of the squad car.
Williams' girlfriend also arrived in time to see Williams in the squad car calling out for help, and then she herself was threatened with arrest, tackled and restrained by police, before being placed in another car.
Williams was out with his girlfriend's father when he encountered the police, who were looking for a suspect related to an attempted robbery that had occurred that same night. According to the police report, Williams saw the police and then jumped a fence to get away. Williams had been released from jail only hours earlier that day, serving a light sentence in a child support case, the only mark on his record.
Some coverage of the case, however, has focused on Williams' "criminal record" and his "upbringing," in a not-so-subtle form of victim blaming.
But given the MPD's documented record of abuse, it's not surprising that Williams was afraid of the police, and that community members in Milwaukee are afraid of retaliation if they give testimony. To take just one example, another man died in the back of a police wagon in 2001 under circumstances bearing a resemblance to the situation that led to Williams' death.
There has been regular harassment and intimidation of community members, including the detention of the brother of Darius Simmons after he was murdered by a neighbor in broad daylight, and the neighbor admitted to the crime. The MPD has also been found to regularly underreport crime in the city (including rape and assault). Then there's the scandal regarding the widespread use of illegal cavity searches of detained suspects.
In order to win justice for Derek Williams and his family, MPD Chief Edward Flynn should be the target of a campaign to have him fired and charged, along with the arresting officers who beat Derek and then let him die. Flynn and the MPD should be made into a political liability for the city of Milwaukee, through mass mobilizations and creative actions to highlight the abuse of power by police and their attempts to cover up their misconduct.
The campaign could even reach across the state of Wisconsin and around the U.S. in order to focus a national spotlight on police brutality in Milwaukee, which is now one of the most segregated and economically devastated cities in America. Activists and organizers across the U.S. should make Derek Williams a household name, just like Trayvon Martin and Rodney King.
And no one should assume that the investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, as welcome as it may be, will be sufficient to get justice for Williams and his family. The notoriously slow pace of the legal system and the real possibility that the investigation may "run out of steam" in the months ahead can only be safeguarded against by a grassroots movement. It won't be easy, but it's the only way to win justice for Derek.
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<urn:uuid:a41bcb0b-d032-4c26-9a48-59e9e7350bc5>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://socialistworker.org/2012/10/25/left-to-die-by-milwaukee-cops
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.979256
| 1,361
| 1.539063
| 2
|
Bowman Field and Tillman Hall at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - A massive water leak has cancelled classes at Clemson University and led to an advisory to boil water for more than 50,000 people in Anderson and Pickens counties.
The Anderson Regional Joint Water System says 5 million gallons of water leaked and drained its holding tanks after a huge pipe broke near Exit 19 on Interstate 85 around 4 a.m. Thursday.
The broken pipe served Clemson University and the city of Clemson as well as Pendleton and Central. Service has been restored, but customers are being told to boil their water before drinking or cooking for at least the next 24 hours.
The dorms and dining halls at Clemson University remain open.
Officials say the broken pipe was installed in 1971 and was set to be replaced next year.
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<urn:uuid:ac05ad52-38dd-4742-9ba2-a86e8b3c1482>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.wltx.com/news/national/article/211630/2/5M-Gallon-Water-Leak-Cancels-Classes-at-Clemson
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.977352
| 177
| 1.625
| 2
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Camp Maple Leaf
Camp Maple Leaf provides a residential camping experience to children facing economic or social barriers.
Banyan Clinical services, a member of the Banyan Group of programs, providing support and counselling services within Banyan Community Services. We provide increasingly diverse, innovative, evidence-based services to our clients including children, and families.
Banyan’s clinical team includes registered psychologists, social workers and clinicians that have extensive experience in assessment, diagnosis, counseling and consultation.
East Kiwanis Community Centre
Working in conjunction with the Hamilton District Catholic School Board, and with financial support from the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton East, the Banyan Non-Profit Management Services has undertaken the facility management and development of the former St. Helen’s School at 785 Britannia Avenue. The East Kiwanis Community Centre is a resource in the McQuesten neighbourhood. It provides access to space for service partners who are focussed on making The McQuesten Neighbourhood the best place to raise a child.
Banyan’s Foster Care Program is focussed on high risk children from regional Children’s Aid Societies.
Our foster families work closely with the foster children to develop their individual capacities to make good choices, stay in school, and develop a network of peers that promote positive social interaction. Our foster children attend community schools and participate in many community recreation and leisure activities. Our Support Worker has developed a number of cognitive programs, recreation activities, and case management strategies and works closely with the foster family and child to stabilize and maintain the placement with a view to the ensuring long-term success of the relationship.
George R. Force Group Home –16 bed open custody/detention home (Hamilton)
Arrell Youth Centre –30 bed secure custody/detention program (Hamilton)
Peninsula Youth Centre –32 bed secure custody/detention program (Niagara)
Banyan’s youth justice residential programs (George R. Force Group Home, Arrell Youth Centre, Peninsula Youth Centre) are designed for boys between the ages of twelve and eighteen who have been charged or found guilty of an offence under the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA).
We provide programs and services for young people who:
Our programs and services:
Youth Justice Intervention Program (Hamilton and Niagara)
Banyan’s Youth Justice Intervention Program, in partnership with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services’ Probation Services, provides reintegration and intervention supports to young people who have been in conflict with the law. The program assists these young people in identifying resources to meet their housing, employment, education, and health needs. Our staff maintain contact with the young people to help them successfully re-establish themselves as part of the community.
Banyan's Grocer-Ease program provides a grocery shopping and delivery service for elderly, unwell, or disabled persons who are unable to get out and purchase their own groceries.
SNAP® (STOP NOW AND PLAN) is a program that teaches participants to regulate their anger by stopping their actions, thinking and planning positive alternatives before they act impulsively. Boys (between the ages of 8 & 12) and their families participate through the Under 12 Outreach Program (SNAP® for Boys). Girls and their families participate through the Girls Connection (SNAP® for Girls).
Youth Court Mental Health Service
Banyan Community Services, in partnership with Canadian Mental Health – Hamilton Branch have embarked on a Youth Justice Services community based initiative. We work with transitional aged youth (16-17) who are involved in the youth court criminal justice system and presenting with mental health issue. Through establishing effective linkages between the individual young people, the youth justice court (including the Crown and defence counsel) and appropriate youth justice resources, we function as a short term bridge between these systems, and divert the youth from the courts. The Youth Court Mental Health Program establishes protocols and best practises to ensure the effective rehabilitation and reintegration of the referred young people.
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<urn:uuid:fdae1d84-adde-45c0-9830-12170879dc30>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.banyancommunityservices.org/youth-justice
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.933499
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|
Trait Emotional Intelligence: Protecting Health from the Negative Impact of Stress.
Doctoral thesis, University of Central Lancashire.
This thesis explored the ability of two trait EI subscales [Emotional recognition and expression (ERE), and Emotional control (EC)] to explain significant amounts of unique variance in health variables. It asked first, whether the relationship between trait EI and health was mediated by coping, social support or unhealthy behaviours; and second, whether the harmful effect of stressor exposure on health was moderated by trait EI subscales. The thesis focussed on two specific components of EI to aid understanding of how specific elements of trait EI influence health, cross sectional and longitudinal designs were used; both objective (salivary cortisol) and subjective (life event inventory) measures of stress were used; personality, gender and age were considered as control variables wherever the predictive power of EI was explored, and health was explored as a multidimensional construct. Additionally, the selected trait EI measure [the Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (SUEIT; Palmer & Stough, 2001)],was well matched to the ability EI model proposed by Mayer & Salovey (1997) and did not include correlates of trait EI such as facets personality. Original contribution to knowledge are; first, the longitudinal investigation of trait EI subscales and health; and second, the exploration in a naturalistic setting of the capacity of trait EI subscales to explain significant variance in cortisol reactivity, when personality, gender and age were controlled.
Results revealed neither ERE nor EC could explain significant amounts of variance in health variables (cross-sectionally or longitudinally), or in cortisol reactivity. However both ERE and EC were found to moderate the relationship between life event stressor exposure and health status. Moderational analyses revealed that, under a high frequency of stressful events, health was worse when EI subscales were low. In combination the results of these studies suggest that trait EI subscales ERE and EC are predictive of health only under high stress conditions. This finding is contradictory to the findings of recent meta analysis (Martins, Ramalho & Morin, in press), and discussion suggests that the discrepancy may be because past studies have used trait EI measures with content wider than the ability EI model (such as personality and happiness), which increased predictive power but reduced theoretical understanding.
Repository Staff Only: item control page
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<urn:uuid:1ef5207e-6763-44e7-9fc4-3e576b8a9493>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://clok.uclan.ac.uk/1868/
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
| 0.947275
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| 1.5625
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September 30, 2004
'Cicero' at the OK Coral
One Bush strategist calls him "the best debater ever to run for president" and "better than Cicero", so you would imagine the first of the televised presidential debates tonight would be a walkover for John Kerry. But, as Al Gore has commented, the Bush campaign "has made lowering expectations into a high art form", and the president is a formidable presence despite the word-mangling stereotypes. He told Mr Kerry to be prepared for the "toughest debates of your career".
The consensus is that with George Bush's lead appearing to be consolidated, this is Mr Kerry's high noon. The Washington Post describes the months the two candidates have spent honing soundbites and speeches as "an out-of-town tryout for a Broadway show" where, it warns, both may make assertions that later turn out to be exaggerated or wrong. Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, a campaign group, has put out a statement asking the media to focus its post-debate coverage on fact checking.
Ever since John Kennedy showed himself better suited to the television age than Richard Nixon (sadly, the best I can find is an audio file) a mythology has grown up surrounding the quick-witted line or election-losing reaction, such as Mr Gore rolling his eyes and sighing in his first debate against Mr Bush in 2000.
But it is more than just the 90 minutes on camera; when the candidates leave the stage, the spin cycle takes over as the rival campaigns and pundits battle over the interpretation, amplifying the impact of supposed gaffes or killer comebacks and, as ABC suggests, maybe even choosing a new winner. A debate, after all, is a lot more than a shoot-out.
Posted by Simon Jeffery at September 30, 2004 12:19 PM
This is mild stuff for "professor" Reynolds, but he still manages to genuflect before the worst instincts in the american psyche. Naturally, he has been plumping for those instincts to dominate and would, while probably not condoning the legitimacy of lynching as a punishment, not mind seeing those who find those instincts repulsive humiliated; along with his representation of the Jacksonian attitude, he might just regard incidental lynchings, literal or figurative, of those who agree as just the lawful result of battle.
The "weak on defense" accusation against democrats,north or south, is shallow and bogus. The republicans have gained in the south mostly because they have appropriated the mantle of and become the sub rosa repository of the old segregationaist mentality. More genteel, on the surface, of course, but not in reality anymore than the typical southern gentleman who heartily approved of legal segregation.
Neither north nor south has a lock on ignorant attitudes, and to continue political analysis in this way does disservice to both. "Redneck" attitudes, as well as more enlightened ones, know no geographical boundary.
Its funny how talk of lynching is still sniggered at and found a little funny, yet if i were to mention the gleam of joy on millions of faces as we watched people jump from those towers to their deaths on september 11 2001 somber and anger would probably take over. I of course wasn't gleaming, but if you got angry at that statement and failed to feel anything for people lynched for no reason other than a difference of skin colour or opinion then you probably deserve whatever pain comes your way. What difference does it make who wins the US election. For that matter any election. Democracy has become such a bureaucratic unrepresentative farce that even communism is starting to look attractive again. Most new laws passed in the west over the last four years have been designed to advantage large business interests, such as those most western leaders have stakes in. Tony Blair - with his connections to real estate magnates and George Bush with his Haliburton buddies, Kerry with his billionaire wife and the list goes on. Gees, even if Michael Moore ran for president he'd be representing the "made it rich from your dissatisfaction" millionaire club. It's time people woke up and realised the Greek word Democratis really means a "free demonstration" at the expense of your freedom. Dont be fooled by the democracy circus.
2631 online poker
texas holdem poker
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<urn:uuid:60097837-74dd-4fa8-ab1d-9301996f2777>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/news/archives/us_elections/2004/09/cicero_at_the_ok_coral.html
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.969049
| 898
| 1.820313
| 2
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Soot and SO2 contribution to the supersites in the MILAGRO campaign from elevated flares in the Tula Refinery
1Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, 07730 México, DF, Mexico
2Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, La Jolla, CA, USA
3Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract. This work presents a simulation of the plume emitted by flaring activities of the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery in Mexico. The flame of a representative sour gas flare is modeled with a CFD combustion code in order to estimate emission rates of combustion by-products of interest for air-quality: acetylene, ethylene, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, soot and sulfur dioxide. The emission rates of NO2 and SO2 were compared against measurements obtained at Tula as part of MILAGRO field campaign. The rates of soot, VOCs and CO were compared with estimates obtained by IMP. The emission rates of the species considered were further included in WRF-Chem model to simulate the chemical transport of the plume from 22 March to 27 March of 2006. The model presents reliable performance of the resolved meteorology, with respect to the Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), vector RMSE and Index of Agreement (IOA).
WRF-Chem outputs of SO2 and soot were compared with surface measurements obtained at the three supersites of MILAGRO campaign. The results suggest a contribution of Tula flaring activities to the total SO2 levels of 23% to 37% at the urban supersite (T0), and of 29% to 39% at the suburban supersite (T1). For soot, the model predicts low contribution at the three supersites, with less than 1% at both T0 and T1; and about 1% at T2. According to the model, the greatest contribution of both pollutants to the three supersites occurred on 23 March, which coincides with the third cold surge event.
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<urn:uuid:bb2ad5e1-8179-42a7-ae36-8ace7cb5d718>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/12/15177/2012/acpd-12-15177-2012.html
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.942021
| 433
| 1.78125
| 2
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