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Probably 20 years ago, I was prevailed upon by my late cousin Peg Townsend to write down recollections from my childhood.
At first I was reluctant, but I finally did it.
The following ramblings are excerpted from those memories through what we ate on our farm during the 1940s.
Sweet as sugar. Before the war, Mom made root beer, which we all loved. She bought Hires (I think) Root Beer Extract, mixed it with sugar and water and sealed the concoction in Mason jars that were stored on a shelf in the cellar.
Sometimes a jar would burst because of the carbonation, but most of them turned into excellent root beer. Unfortunately, due to wartime sugar rationing, she had to stop brewing her root beer.
For the same reason, we stopped using sugar in our iced tea. I still prefer my iced tea unsweetened.
Even though we had our own milk, Mom seldom churned butter. It probably just took too much time. Once in a while though, she’d give me a half-gallon jar of milk and tell me to shake it until it turned to butter.
It took a long time and a lot of shaking.
We mostly ate oleo margarine on our bread. In those days, because of the dairy lobby, they weren’t allowed to sell oleo that was yellow colored. The oleo was dead white and came with a small cellophane packet of orange food coloring that you could mix in it if you wanted.
Sometimes Mom would go to the trouble of mixing it, or make either my sister or me do it, but most of the time we spread our bread with white oleo.
I don’t think it bothered us.
My sister and I ate a lot of what we called milk toast for breakfast. It was toasted, homemade bread with butter and sugar and covered with milk. Our favorite snack was a slice of bread with butter and sugar.
We also ate warm rolled oats, probably in the winter, and dry breakfast cereals with milk and sugar.
I remember Wheaties and Jack Armstrong, the “All-American Boy.” We ate Shredded Wheat, and some kind of a Ralston cereal that was promoted by Tom Mix and his “TM-Bar” ranch.
I saved box tops and, when I could either save up or con Mom out of the 10, 15 or 25 cents, I sent away for some of the great offers that were touted on the backs of those cereal boxes.
I had a Jack Armstrong pedometer — a round metal gadget, about 3 inches in diameter, painted blue with a yellow dial — that you hooked over the top of your shoe or sock and it recorded how many miles you walked.
I had at least one Tom Mix pocket knife that had the red and white checked colors of the Ralston Purina Company, along with the brand mark of the TM-Bar Ranch on each side.
I also remember a “Secret Decoder Ring” put out by someone, probably Little Orphan Annie.
My favorite meal was meat, potatoes and gravy and Mom’s homemade bread or rolls. I wasn’t much for vegetables, although I know I ate some of them, and we had lots of corn and tomatoes from our large garden.
I would pull the soft inside out of a fresh, homemade roll, smear butter all over it, and gobble it down. Then I’d stuff the outer crust with meat, or whatever, and eat that.
I loved hot cakes. I had a child’s book called Little Black Sambo in which the small hero ate stacks and stacks of hot cakes and Mom teased me about being just like him.
She used a long black griddle that covered two lids on the coal range. She could probably make five or six cakes at a time.
After everyone had eaten their fill, there was usually a cake or two left over which our dog really enjoyed.
In the spring we ate a lot of dandelion greens. Mom would pick the tender, young dandelion leaves over which she’d pour a concoction of vinegar, crumbled bacon, and hot bacon grease. She also fixed leaf lettuce the same way.
Good pickings. We raised a lot of strawberries. Several of the neighbors came to pick them and presumably paid for the privilege.
I didn’t much enjoy picking strawberries, but I loved to eat ‘em.
Mom sometimes made shortcake, but most of the time she just mashed the berries with sugar and I ate them with bread and butter.
Sunday eating. For Sunday dinner we frequently had pork and baked beans, probably out of a can.
I suppose Mom could put them in the oven before church and they’d be ready when we got home.
In the summer, she’d sometimes pack a picnic lunch and after church we’d take off on a long afternoon drive, stopping along the road somewhere to eat.
I only remember the destination of one of these drives; we went to the Allegheny County Airport and got to see a plane or two land and take off.
I think we also once went to see Brady’s Leap on the Allegheny River northwest of Butler.
We always carried our lunches to school in a tin lunch box with a Thermos bottle. I can’t remember what Mom put into the Thermos, but I remember I often managed to drop mine and break the glass liner, much to my mother’s chagrin.
My favorite sandwich was Velveeta cheese with Heinz brown mustard and leaf lettuce. We usually had carrots, celery or cucumber sticks in the fall.
Once, I was eating a cucumber and one of my small schoolmates, who didn’t speak too plainly, said, “Hey! Where’d you dit dat tutumber, tid?”
It’s fun to write down your childhood memories. I recommend that everyone do it.
Not only will it bring back a lot of memories, but it will afford your kids and grandkids a lot of amusement.
(Send suggestions, comments or questions to Sam Moore in care of Farm and Dairy, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460-0038; or via e-mail to: email@example.com.)
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Will Jobs Report Overshadow Any Bounce in Polls for Obama?
It's not that the economy is perfect. It's just that the president needs more time to fix the mess he inherited.
That's been the dominant message that administration officials and people close to President Obama delivered on-the-ground this week in Charlotte, in an attempt to shift the focus of the campaign away from potentially weak or modest economic indicators like Friday's job numbers.
Now, the Democrats' economic message hinges on voters taking a broader, longer view of job creation, productivity, and consumer confidence: a sentiment that first lady Michelle Obama spelled out in her speech on Tuesday.
Obama "reminds me that we are playing a long game here and that change is hard, and change is slow, and it never happens all at once," she told the audience at the convention arena.
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin echoed the idea of this long-term strategy on Thursday morning. "We've had dramatic improvement in so many different areas, but it's not where we want to be. We want to be where Bill Clinton ended up with 23 million new jobs, expanding and growing economy," he said. "We need more time to do it. That hole is a lot deeper than any of us imagined."
Portraying the economic recovery as a race better suited for a tortoise rather than a hare offers political upsides for the campaign. It attempts to shift the focus off of the unemployment data coming out 60 days before the election: a data point that Republicans such as Newt Gingrich warned could overshadow any bounce following the convention.
The Democrats tried to downplay the Friday jobs report throughout the week. Former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee, called the jobs numbers "highly variable," give or take 100,000 jobs. "Never take one month's number being anything," he said.
White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer tag-teamed Goolsbee's statement, by dismissing a single data point as a make-or-break point for the election. Instead, Pfeiffer said that voters judged the state of the economy on the health of their own pocketbooks. "To the average person, the economy is a very personal decision--if they have a job, if they feel secure in their job," he said.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted the Labor Department report would show a modest increase in payrolls of 125,000 in September after a gain of 163,000. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged at 8.3 percent. Such figures would underscore that the economy is still not firing on all cylinders and that the jobs market remains a major concern.
But, the issue isn't just the type of headlines that Friday's job numbers will generate, regardless of whether they're great or terrible. Instead, the job numbers are a reminder for the American public in an era of hyper-partisan spin. The Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest report will show the number of people unemployed for six months or more--and that many demographic groups like African-Americans, blue collar men, and teenagers have disproportionately borne the brunt of the recession.
These are not just numbers but reflections of the way people view their future economic security. That may be why the campaign tweaked their message this week to cast the recovery as a long, hard slog, one that Obama wants to continue to chip away at, rather hyping a series of successes like the auto bailout or the stimulus. It makes the argument easier to swallow.
Most likely, President Obama will tell Americans tonight and in the coming days that he needs more time to properly right the economy and that changing midstream is a bad idea. That's the inverse of Romney's argument that America needs a new leader to reinvigorate the lackluster economy.
That is, after all, the secret sauce of the campaign: the ability to convince voters that one, single man is up to the job of fixing the U.S. jobs crisis that's lasted for a few years now.
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I love to watch “American Idol” on television. On a recent episode there were two inspiring stories. The first was the story of a teenage girl with bipolar disorder. She stated she was diagnosed in fourth grade. When she would have extremely manic episodes her mother would sing with her. Music became her saving grace. She found peace and solace in singing. She had a beautiful singing voice. The teenager and her mother were in tears speaking about her difficulties with this disorder and how at one point she wanted to give up, but her mother would get her to sing and things would get better. She is now fulfilling her dream of singing on American Idol and, YES, she made it to the next round and is going to Hollywood.
Another contestant on the same show was a young man who was born without ears. According to his father, they were told he would never hear nor speak. Through many surgeries and the grace of God this young man was also living his dream of competing on “American Idol”. He also had a beautiful voice as well and made it through to the next round. He never gave up on his dream and his family supported him and convinced him he could accomplish whatever goal he set in life.
I had someone tell me recently about reading a story of a young lady whose arms were amputated. She learned to fly a plane with her feet. Wow, can you even imagine? She had a dream and wouldn’t let go or give up despite what others may have said.
My son with spina bifida has always loved planes. He would always want to know what every screw on the airplane was for. When he was younger, he collected the little sets of wings the flight attendants give out. He read books on airplanes and liked to play flight simulator video games. It became a passion.
At the fly-in at the LaFayette Airport last fall he went up for a flight in a small four-seater plane. Afterwards we spoke to the owner of the plane who operates a flight school in Hixson, Tenn. We decided it was time to let him spread his wings, literally. He started taking flying lessons last fall and is loving it. He’s doing something he’s always wanted to do. Some people would look at him and say, “How can he fly a plane, he’s in a wheelchair?” I say to those people, “because he never gives up.” That was his dream and he’s living it.
You may not ever fly a plane, record a song or do anything that is special or outstanding in the eyes of the world. That doesn’t mean you can’t fulfill your goals. Be realistic; don’t lose your enthusiasm no matter what others may say. Find your passion. Find a way to make it happen and don’t be afraid to ask others for help.
Pam Rasmussen is a resident of LaFayette. She is a mother of a child with spina bifida and an advocate of special needs children and adults. She can be contacted at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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Send us news by text, start your message Globe News and your send photos and videos to 80360
Wirral enterprise rewarded
ENTERPRISE was rewarded when a group of youngsters from The Observatory School, Bidston survived a Dragon's Den-type grilling to reach the regional stages of an entrepreneurial challenge.
Wirral Partnership Homes hosted the local heat in the brand new Starship Enterprise Competition which is being introduced to Year 10 students across North West and Pennine Regions.
The competition will be part of this year’s Young Flyers Awards ceremony held by the Airport Group, an informal alliance of housing associations.
Based on the Dragon's Den format, three teams of up to six young people from local schools gave a presentation on an idea they have come up with for an affordable, sustainable and feasible service or product that would be funded by WHP.
Competing against The Observatory School, were teams from Meadowside School, Woodchurch and Clare Mount Specialist Sports College, Moreton – all with students who have special or complex needs.
The 'Dragons' on the day were Patrick McCarthy, deputy chief executive at WPH, Jamie Martin, WPH's head of community regeneration and Paul Growney, business development officer at Wirral Council for Voluntary Services.
All three schools performed well but The Observatory School’s idea of producing fibreglass model boats and bird feeders made the best impression.
They now go through to the final at Manchester United Football Club in April.
Patrick McCarthy said: "The Dragon’s Den experience has given these three groups of local young people the opportunity to demonstrate their entrepreneurial flair and imagination.
"We saw three potential new businesses today and hope that they all have a chance to develop into reality."
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State laws in Florida and federal laws protect women from experiencing adverse work-related decisions due to pregnancy and medical conditions that can arise due to a pregnancy. Unfair treatment as a result of pregnancy can come in a wide variety of forms. Reduced hours, demotions, even an unlawful firing can be the basis of a pregnancy discrimination claim under state and federal law.
Recently, the OWN network, which Oprah Winfrey formed, was served with a sex discrimination lawsuit. The action did not occur within Florida, but the story highlights the types of events that can occur at work during a pregnancy.
A former senior executive with the OWN network says that she was on track for a position as a vice president with the network until she became pregnant. When she became pregnant, she says that a temporary employee was brought in to cover her job duties due to the pregnancy and pregnancy-related medical issues.
Her duties were reassigned and she her performance reviews changed. She says in her sex discrimination lawsuit that her superior provided a "negative and untruthful performance" review after she became pregnant. The change in her performance reviews became a potential obstacle to future promotions.
She left on maternity leave in February 2012 and says that the network eliminated her position. The chance of the vice president position also evaporated due to the pregnancy, according to the workplace discrimination lawsuit. The former executive says that the job went to the temp who was brought in to cover for her during the pregnancy.
The woman's attorney recently told ABC News that the lawsuit is against the network itself and not aimed at Oprah. Representatives for the network reportedly have not commented on the pending lawsuit.
Source: ABC News, "Ups and Downs of the Oprah Winfrey Network," Luchina Fisher, Feb. 5, 2013
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Reinhardt Rides Again
The case invovles a student, Tyler Harper, who wore this T-shirt to school after a school-sponsored gay rights day. On the front, it says, "Be Ashamed, Our School Embraced What God Has Condemned."
Seems like a reasonable and reasoned response to a day of sloganeering in support of gay rights, but the court disagreed. Says Volokh:
In other words, one can argue that homosexuality is right, but one can't argue that it's wrong.
The majority "reaffirm[s] the importance of preserving student speech about controversial issues generally." But, according to the constitution, this First Amendment principle somehow omits speech about controversial issues having to do with race, religion, or sexual orientation.
The Gay-Straight Alliance has a constitutional right to argue that homosexuality is quite proper, that same-sex marriages should be recognized, that discrimination based on sexual orientation should be banned, and that antigay bigotry is an abomination. But when the other side of this debate "about controversial issues" wants to express its views, which will often have to rest on the theory that homosexuality is wrong, sorry, apparently it's not important to preserve student speech that expresses that view.
The court also specifically mentioned Confederate flags, meaning angry or provocative speech doesn't have to be a part of it; symbolism is enough. Volokh points to the Mohammed cartoons as the next to fall under this reasoning; I worry more about students' right to wear crosses.
A San Diego Union Trib article from earlier in the legal battle included this:
[School attorney] Chase could have put his view across in a positive way, he said, perhaps with a slogan like, "Love the sinner, hate the sin," but crossed the line with what Sleeth described as a negative saying.
"This is a direct attack" on gays, Sleeth said.
Under the Ninth Circuit opinion, if a gay student wore a T-shirt saying "Breeders are #$!@& idiots who are destroying the planet," the direct attack would go unpunished. That's because the comments are not "directed at students' minority status such as race, religion, and sexual orientation"
What Reinhardt and his ilk are accomplishing is the creation of an over-protected class that will go through school and life as if they were wrapped in cushioning packing material -- no experience of push-back to their ideas, no need to question their belief systems, and an imprimatur, bestowed by the federal government, that they are better than OK, they are valued and protected just the way they are.
No one should have to suffer that. No one should be condemned to have what they believe in high school go unchallenged for the rest of their lives.
And therefore, no one should tell Tyler Harper to take off his T-shirt.
Tags: Ninth Circuit, Reinhardt, Tyler Harper, Gay rights, Gay, Lesbian
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Why watch YouTube?
Watch YouTube because of what you'll see. You'll see humanity. You'll see yourself. Think about your own personality and behavior as I describe what's on YouTube. You'll see People showing off, people who are lonely, people having fun with their friends, people defending themselves against critics, people performing for others, people commenting on other people, people crying, people laughing, ... people living!
Why do so many people watch YouTube?
People watch for different reasons. Some come for a laugh, some come for a break from work, some come to see what others are doing to get ideas for their own videos, some come to see who is popular. People just naturally like to watch other people. For years, people have gone to the park or the mall or the beach, to see and be seen. Now that technology lets us upload videos, people can see and be seen in a new way. YouTube streams millions of videos each day. You'll love some and dislike others. I'll try to point out some of the better clips in this blog.
Why YouTube and not some other video sites?
YouTube is the most popular video site. It has the best videos and the most popular personalities. It has the largest collection of videos and more are uploaded every day. You can watch the videos easily. You don't need to download a video player. You can watch on a slow connection; just click the Pause button and let the video download. Once the gray progress bar reaches the end of its travels, click Play and enjoy the show!
Is YouTube safe for children to visit or post to?
Why read this blog?
I will be discussing the most popular, and in my opinion, some of the best videos on YouTube. It may save you some time if you come here first. There's a lot of dull, inane and even rude clips on YouTube; I'll try to help you avoid those. You might learn of a YouTube member here, and you may become a fan of theirs after watching a recommended video. You might laugh yourself silly and have a huge grin on your face for hours after watching a funny video mentioned here. You might be touched, you might learn something, you might be repulsed or angered, you might even discover something about yourself.
What will the posts be about?
I will be commenting on YouTube videos and members, both old and new. I'll go back and forth between old favorites and new undiscovered gems. Most posts will contain at least one video, embedded in the post, and with a link to the video on YouTube. I'll also be doing interviews of YouTube members so that you can learn more about them!
How can I improve YouTube?
Go make a video! Plan out the scenes, rehearse the performance, edit the scenes, add transitions and titles, and upload it to YouTube! Or, adlib on the spot in front of your cellphone camera. Make something that you think is good, something entertaining or educating, and post it for the world to see. A Note On Comments: I think that it would be helpful to elevate the feedback comments to a more positive level. People can make their feelings known without resorting to personal attacks, crude language and vulgar remarks. Go to YouTube and see what's there. But when it comes to commenting, be nice and be mature about it!
Is there a YouTube Message Board or Forum?
Yes! There is a website called YouTubeTalk.com where you can discuss YouTube members and videos. You must be a member to post; it's free to register. I have a Child Board there, called "Kenny's Column". Stop by and say hello!
Where should I start?
If you told me you were only going to watch one video, I'd tell you to watch "The Evolution of Dance" by motivational speaker, comedian and YouTube member, Judson Laipply. In this hilarious 6-minute video that has already been viewed over 20 MILLION times, Jud demonstrates many dance moves that have come and gone over the last 40 years. This particular video IS SAFE for family viewing and is guaranteed to make you LAUGH!!!
Click the Play button (right pointing triangle) to watch the video. If you don't see the video above, click here to watch it on YouTube.
Judson has been in the news lately! He's been reported on in newspapers and on CNN. He was on ABC's "Inside Edition" last night (June 6). Here is a link to a story about him in USAToday.
I need to have instructions on how I can post video footage on Youtube. What soft/hard-ware do I need, etc. but cannot find any such information.
LOLLLLLLL!!!! GREAT comment!
Kanye West versus Taylor Swift:
I just love Vlogs! Or Video Blogs as some people call them lol!
And I'm holding a competition too :)
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
YouTube™ is a trademark of YouTube, LLC. YouTube Stars and YouTube are not affiliated in any way.
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|Why Trayvon is important|
|Written by Nancy Spencer|
|Monday, April 02, 2012 11:42 AM|
I don’t know about you but the Trayvon Martin case has me riveted. I’ve even allowed myself to watch HLN and actually pay attention to what they are saying.
To read the rest of this article please subscribe or sign in
|Last Updated on Wednesday, February 27, 2013 3:23 PM|
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Tomasso Impresses Importance of Exports in Rhode Island
Exports not only help the local economy, but also create jobs.
In a time when the state of the national and local economies has been constantly scrutinized, explored and reinvented, the Joint Committee on Economic Development in Rhode Island recently offered some perspective on one aspect of the economy with a strong impact in the state: exports.
Last week’s meeting was more than enlightening for at least one lawmaker, Rep. Lisa P. Tomasso (D-Dist. 29, Coventry, West Greenwich), who wants the state to focus more on expanding its exports and State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) practices.
“Rhode Island’s exports have increased by 53 percent in the last two years,” said Representative Tomasso, a member of the committee. “This is something we need to pay attention to. Exports are essential to economic growth, not only in the nation but here at home in Rhode Island. The value of exports per job in 2010 was $181,000. For every $1 billion in exports, there are about 5,000 new jobs being created.”
She referenced the Small Business Administration’s STEP program as the model for export development. Representatives from the John H. Chafee Center for International Business at Bryant University laid out the details of the program at Monday’s meeting of the joint committee, noting Rhode Island received $496,066 from October 2011 to September 2012 to implement the three-year pilot trade and export initiative. The re-application process begins now for year two of the STEP grant.
“Small business owners are sometimes unaware there are programs available for existing businesses,” the representative said. “The STEP program targets small businesses that are already well-established and helps them grow in a way that makes the best economical sense. Targeting our existing businesses is just as imperative to the success of our economic development as attracting new ones.”
The presentation on Monday also included the results from Rhode Island’s November 2011 trade mission to Israel, which resulted in more than $5.2 million in projected export sales, 28 new potential distributors and 146 potential jobs that may be created within the state’s manufacturing and service industries as a result of new exports.
“Those trade missions will continue in Japan, Panama and the Dominican Republic this year,” Representative Tomasso added. “Rhode Island business owners need to know that we are being proactive and aggressive in this stage of the recession. There’s room for improvement elsewhere in our fiscal landscape, but progress in building exports hasn’t been highlighted nearly enough in the big picture.”
The presentation, which included input from the trade partnership among Bryant University, the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and the U.S. Small Business Administration, indicated the group is aiming to bolster the state’s funding to match federal and private monies currently invested in trade programs. Representative Tomasso said with a strong push for high quality products, talent management, marketing and good old-fashioned work ethic, the state’s economy can improve through more investment in these types of programs.
“If we make it our goal in Rhode Island to double our exports in five years, we have the power to create 7,500 jobs for Rhode Islanders,” she said. “Now, more than ever, it’s imperative that we not lose focus on our existing relationships with our Canadian neighbors and abroad. Developing relationships outside of Rhode Island through these programs will continue to benefit our long-term plans for a sustainable economy.”
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What are the differences between browser-based mobile solutions and an app offering?
Gaynor: The basic difference is technology. The browser makes Internet banking available on a mobile device via popular mobile browsers, such as Safari or Chrome. Conversely, a [solution such as] SmartApp delivers banking services via a native app created to leverage all of the Smart phone's capabilities.
From a customer standpoint, the experience is profoundly different; browser-based mobile technology attempts to shrink the Internet down, so that it fits on a mobile device. In the process, the Internet banking site is changed and simplified to work on the small screen, which severely limits capabilities and diminishes customer experience. DuPerrieu: The primary benefit of apps is that the app is easy-to-use. Buttons and finger swipes allow easy, quick access to common tasks, such as bill pay, funds transfers, balance inquiry, etc. Apps are everywhere, and distribution is easy through both direct downloads and app stores. Customers will often share and compare apps with other smartphone users, so an app gives the bank a presence/advertisement on the phone. From a functionality point-of-view, apps are more equipped to handle more complex services. For example, cameras on the phone enable consumer check capture, and NFC chips open the door for cardless payments.
What is involved in implementing mobile banking apps?
DuPerrieu: The most important piece is a good partner or a strong technical staff to develop a set of mobile banking services. If a set of services is purchased from a provider, the internal needs of the bank are impacted much less.
A mobile banking rollout needs to be lead by a person or team interested in and knowledgeable about the new technology, its ability to promote and market to customers, and aware of bank policies. It helps to have bank employees actually using the service so they can aid in customer understanding and advocate for the new product.
Stevenson: Our core processor (CSI) worked closely with the app developer (Malauzai) and our staff on a very aggressive timetable. We were in beta within 45 days of signing our contract. Once in beta our core processor made a major investment in their infrastructure, which allowed them to deliver a top-notch platform to support our mobile banking apps. CSI is very committed to the success of our bank. They aren't just our core processor, they are a partner. We've been with them for 10 years and have a contract for another 10. When we tell them we need something, they come up with a solution.
We have trained the support staff on the product, so not only can they sell it, but they can offer technical support to customers if needed. The majority of our staff uses smartphones, so the training was more of an overview of the app and its capabilities.
Ultimately, how can banks make money or see a tangible return on investment?
Gaynor: Banks can make money by leveraging the mobile channel to cross-sell and up-sell within [apps such as] the SmartApp to mobile customers. This is a very similar story to the learnings of Internet banking. First, a SmartApp increases the customer experience, which raises satisfaction and value and, ultimately, increases revenue. Second, once the bank earns the right to present offers to customers, they can use a mobile marketing framework to cross-sell and up-sell to customers. As social media and banks collide, there will be opportunities for banks to use their customers' friend networks to increase referral opportunities -- social banking.
Stevenson: We believe that it's going to take at least six months before we see the true return. We need to build up a stronger user base before we will see true ROI. We are completing a soft launch to our St. Louis client base before we launch the product nationally. The biggest changes we expect are less foot traffic in our branch and increased mobile transactions. We view our mobile banking platform as a seventh branch. We view our website the same way, but to stay competitive we had to have good mobile banking offering.
We see the ability to constantly improve the organization by conducting primary research within the apps. We are able to send surveys to our customers and ask what new product they are interested in or how we can improve customer service. Would they like us to hold an educational class about first time homebuyers? Would someone like us to hold a class about small business finance? On Thanksgiving, we can send out a message to our clients thanking them for choosing our bank to take care of their family's finances. The app is limitless. It gives us a way to touch the client more, in a cost-effective manner. Plus the app is just fast. I can create a message, read it, proof it and send it within 30 minutes. I don't have to mail it and wait days for customers to get it.
Michael Stevenson is Senior Vice President and Senior Retail Banking officer at St. Louis-based Royal Banks of Missouri. Robb Gaynor is Chief Product officer at Austin, Texas-based Malauzai Software Inc. Steve DuPerrieu is Director of Product Marketing for Paducah, Ky.-based Computer Services Inc. (CSI).
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Laytonville, Mendocino County -- In the mountains of Mendocino County, a middle-aged couple stroll into the cool morning air to plant the year's crop. Andrew grabs a shovel and begins to dig up rich black garden beds while Anna waters the seedlings, beginning a hallowed annual ritual here in marijuana's Emerald Triangle.
In the past, planting day was a time of great expectations, maybe for a vacation in Hawaii or Mexico during the rainy months or a new motor home to make deliveries around the country.
But this year, Andrew and Anna are hoping only that their 50 or so marijuana plants will cover the bills. Since the mid-1990s, the price of outdoor-grown marijuana has plummeted from more than $5,000 a pound to less than $2,000, and even as low as $800.
Battered by competition from indoor cultivators around the state and industrial-size operations that have invaded the North Coast counties, many of the small-time pot farmers who created the Emerald Triangle fear that their way of life of the last 40 years is coming to an end.
Their once-quiet communities, with their back-to-nature ethos, are being overrun by outsiders carving massive farms out of the forest. Robberies are commonplace now, and the mountains reverberate with the sounds of chain saws and heavy equipment.
"Every night we hear helicopters now," Anna said. "It's people moving big greenhouses and generators into the mountains."
Andrew, 56, and Anna, 52, who agreed to be interviewed only if they would be identified by their middle names, live in a rambling house down a trail through tanoaks and Douglas firs. Their electricity comes from a windmill and solar panels, their water from a spring. They cook on a wood stove and use an outhouse with a composting toilet to conserve water for their crop.
Though they are not complete back-to-the-landers - they have a nice car, satellite TV and Internet access - they keep their gardens relatively small, tucked in the trees throughout their property.
Among their plants, they post their own medical marijuana cards so that if they're raided, it looks as though they're growing under the aegis of state law. But because dispensaries generally prefer the more potent weed grown indoors, they still sell mostly to the black market, where mom-and-pop growers now struggle to compete.
"These big commercial growers have really ruined our business," Anna said.
Until recently, life in the hills of Mendocino and Humboldt counties had changed little in the decades since hippies from the Bay Area began homesteading here. The pioneers initially grew marijuana for themselves and to make a little money.
Then in the 1980s, cultivation of high-grade seedless marijuana opened the possibility for big money as it brought a higher premium. Many of the farmers cashed in. But many remained small and discreet to avoid attracting the attention of state and federal agents.
They raised their families where they cultivated. They drove beat-up Subarus and small Toyota pickups, pumped their water from wells and chopped their own firewood.
The mountain hamlets operated like breakaway states. Marijuana farmers paid for community centers, fire departments, road maintenance and elementary schools.
Even today, small cannabis-funded volunteer fire stations and primary schools are scattered throughout the ranges. And the local radio station, KMUD, announces the sheriff's deputies' movements as part of its public-service mandate.
But the liberalization of marijuana laws in the last decade upended the status quo.
From Oakland to the Inland Empire, people began cultivating indoors on an unprecedented scale at the same time that growers from around the world flooded the North Coast because of its remoteness and deep-rooted counterculture.
Now, with the market glutted, people are simply planting ever-larger crops to make up for the drop in price.
Longtime residents complain that the newcomers cut down trees, grade hillsides, divert creeks to irrigate multi-thousand-plant crops, use heavy pesticides and rat poisons, and run giant, smog-belching diesel generators to illuminate indoor grows. They blaze around in Dodge monster trucks and Cadillac Escalades and don't contribute to upkeep of the roads or schools.
"They just don't care," said Kym Kemp, a teacher and blogger in the mountains of Sohum, as locals call southern Humboldt County. "They're not thinking, 'I want my kids to grow up here.'
"Now there are greenhouses the size of a football field that weren't even there last year," she added.
Kemp said she feels her region is being colonized and worries about the colorful, off-the-grid people that small cannabis patches long supported.
"So many people who live here are just different," she said. "They don't fit in regular society. They couldn't work 9-to-5 jobs. But they've gotten used to raising their kids on middle-class incomes. What are they going to do?"
Tom Evans, 61, a small-time grower in northern Mendocino, said the sense of peace and self-reliance he moved here for 30 years ago is disappearing so fast that he may leave for Mexico.
"It used to be a contest to see who could drive the oldest pickup truck," said Evans, a former Army helicopter mechanic who sports a woolly gray beard and tie-dyed shirt.
"There's just been this huge influx of folks who have money on their mind, instead of love of the land. A lot more gun-toters. A lot more attack dogs."
Evans lives in a small, rented home that generously could be called a fixer-upper. He said he doesn't have a bank account or credit card, and his Honda Passport has more than 300,000 miles. "It's 'make a living, not a killing,' " he said.
His friend, a bear of man who goes by the name Mr. Fuzzy, noted that it's not only outsiders causing problems.
"You know the weird part, these are our kids too," he said.
It's a recurring lament among longtime growers. Some of their own children are going for the large-scale grows, big money and fancy cars.
The larger irony is that the marijuana pioneers are being pushed to the margins by the legalization they long espoused.
"Ultimately, we worry about Winston or Marlboro getting some land and doing their thing," said Lawrence Ringo, a 55-year-old grower and seed breeder deep in the wilds of Sohum. "We see it time after time in America - big corporations come in and take over."
Ringo saw the 2010 marijuana initiative, Proposition 19, as a ploy by Bay Area activists to dominate the market with giant warehouse grows in Oakland.
He suspects plenty of people will still want high-quality, organically grown cannabis but fears the big business interests will dictate how marijuana gets regulated. Ringo points out that Colorado, the one state that fully regulates marijuana, helped push most growing indoors and place cultivation under the control of large dispensaries.
"We're afraid of losing what we've been doing for 40 years," he said.
As competition drives prices down, even chamber-of-commerce types acknowledge that the North Coast economy is at risk. Pot kept things afloat as the logging and fishing industries declined. Restaurants, car dealerships, banks, hotels and dental clinics all depend on marijuana money.
"There's probably not one business that doesn't benefit," said Julie Fulkerson, who founded a home furnishings store and comes from a prominent third-generation Humboldt family.
Walk into the upscale Cecil's New Orleans Bistro in small-town Garberville (Humboldt County) and you'll find growers in dirty T-shirts unpeeling rolls of $20 bills to pay for martinis and $38 steaks. More soil supply and hydroponics shops line stretches of Highway 101 than gas stations, and trucks laden with bags of soil and fertilizer kick up dust as they make deliveries on the most isolated roads.
During harvest, hardware stores put out huge bins of Fiskars pruning scissors, the preferred tool for marijuana trimmers. Safeway stocks so many turkey bags that an outsider might wonder how such small locales could consume so many birds. The sealable, smell-proof bags are used for storing and transporting weed.
"I wouldn't survive if it wasn't for growing," said Tom Ochner, 54, who runs a country store and rental cabins outside of Covelo (Mendocino County) - a business called the Black Butte River Ranch. "Owners realize this is what makes their business go."
Concerned about the economics of legalization, Humboldt banker Jennifer Budwig studied the amount of pot money entering the local economy.
Using an extremely high estimate that law enforcement seized 25 percent of the total amount of pot grown in Humboldt, she found that the crop generated at least $1 billion a year - of which $415 million was spent in the county. She said the actual figure could be several times higher.
Legalization "has the potential to be devastating," she said.
Some small growers, like Anna and Andrew, still hold out hope that they can beat back the deluge of industrial marijuana.
There's a market, they say, for sun-grown weed among discerning users who appreciate the nuances of regional variety. A grower just down the road said he hoped to start promoting "Mendocino terroir."
"How can sun-grown not be better medicine?" Anna asked. "If you're sick, you want something that has chemicals in it? You can't grow indoor organically. Not to mention the fossil fuels it burns up."
But even if boutique weed has some potential, the couple still sense that their life in the mountains is changing for good. The next-door neighbor recently had a home-invasion robbery, and a young man down the road was shot in the face during a deal.
Andrew goes back to planting the new crop. He used to have the radio on all day - something to engage his mind during the tedious work.
He doesn't anymore.
He keeps it quiet, listening for intruders.
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Lewisville Leader > News
LHS band hosts middle school night
From staff reports
On Sept. 28, approximately 500 seventh- and eighth-grade band students from DeLay, Durham, Hedrick and Huffines Middle Schools joined the Lewisville High School (LHS) band for its performance during the second home football game of the season. Middle school band night is an annual event designed to connect students of all ages.
"The transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for students as they change campuses," LHS band director Dr. Marty Courtney said. "We have found that interaction with the high school students helps the middle school students feel more at ease as they come to high school. Because they have met and now know high school band students, the can make connections as soon as they come to high school."
There are 270 LHS band students when coupled with the 500 middle school musician it's a coordinated effort to make middle school band night a success.
"The LHS band and each middle school band learns two pieces of music in their own rehearsals on their own campuses," Courtney said. "We put the halftime field component together with the music they have already learned before the game on Friday night on the grass field adjacent to the Goldsmith Stadium."
The LHS band and its feeder middle school bands do various events together throughout the year.
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The Solar Slab area in Oak Creek is no doubt home to the most popular winter climbing at Red Rocks. The Solar Slab area consists of two steep walls separated by a huge plateau on the south side of Rainbow Mountain. Due to the aspect and angles of these climbs, they are considered good winter objectives, thus the name. That being said, Mount Wilson will affect the amount of winter sun on the lower 500’ wall routes at Solar Slab. Many of these lower routes will lose afternoon sun in the winter.
There are nine published routes on this lower section of Solar Slab. This does not count the steep varnished routes on Sunspot Ridge which are further to the west and considered within their own grouping. Several of these routes are considered some of the most popular at Red Rocks, in particular, Johnny Vegas and Beulah’s Book. The most difficult route at the lower Solar Slab area is the unique “block on a pillar” known as the Friar. None of the routes are over four pitches tall. Most of the routes reach the broad ledge system below the upper Solar Slab wall. You can rappel several of the routes, but can also use the Solar Slab gully descent which is the common exit for the Solar Slab routes, both upper and lower. Watch for the Ringtail Cats stealing (sunglasses, whatever) any lunch left at the base of the wall.
Access is via the Oak Creek Canyon Trail head which is the last parking turn off on the right from the Red Rocks loop road. You will actually drive down a gravel road for quite a distance to reach the trailhead. There is a restroom at this location. Many routes are reached from this trailhead, so no worries about various vehicles in the parking lot in regards to who is climbing what. Most folks are there to climb the easier routes like Johnny Vegas, Solar Slab and Solar Gully. There are plenty of good routes to climb that climbers won’t be on. Follow the trail into the canyon and turn right to stay out of the canyon floor and follow the trail until beyond the Friar (unless you are climbing the Friar). There is a well trodden switch back trail that leads to the base of the wall where Solar Gully and Johnny Vegas start. Horndogger is to the right, Beulah’s Book to the left.
Route Description(s)The Routes are Listed Left to Right as you Face the Wall
- The Pamphlet- 165’- 5.8/
- Beulah’s Book- 550’- 5.9/ The arête variation over to the lie back on that 2nd pitch of Beulah's is a fantastic pitch for the grade (5.9).
- Sandstone Overcast- 535’- 5.8 A1/ Sandstone Overcast is another of many obscure and overlooked Larry DeAngelo (along with John Wilder) routes that is definitely worth climbing. Ironically it intersects the very popular Johnny Vegas route on the Lower Solar Slab Wall in Oak Creek Canyon at Red Rocks. Yet who ever climbs it? There has been some recent activity on it however due to its aid pitch going free in 2008 at 5.12a or so. We had no aspirations of freeing the crux roof, but rather following the 5.9 free variation on pitch three circumventing the massive roof above to the left. In fact with proper rope management, you can combine pitches three and four to the top Johnny Vegas anchor. The first two pitches were rather fantastic 5.8 sustained trad climbing with one bolt covering 335’ of varnished climbing. Sandstone Overcast offers a better alternative to Johnny Vegas in my opinion. I have heard of complaints regarding protection available on the first pitch, but felt there was plenty available for the experienced trad leader.
- Johnny Vegas- 480’- 5.7/ Real fun first two pitches. Good to do on a cold day, the holds are huge, but the route steep. The 2nd pitch has to be one of the better 5.7’s at Red Rocks. Great starter trad lead I would think albeit a tad run out at the end of the 2nd pitch.
- Frieda’s Flake- 400’- 5.9/ If you like Beulah’s Book, you no doubt will want to give Frieda a go. The first pitch offers a fantastic heavily varnished chimney that mostly requires stemming moves to overcome several small roof obstacles. The entire route protects very well on good rock. Both of the main pitches are long and sustained at their respective grade. Frieda’s Flake eventually ties into Johnny Vegas at the top of its third pitch making for a total of three pitches.
- Sideline- 500’- 5.9/ Sideline’s 5.8-5.9 climbing is not as sustained as one would like, but the route does sport two nice finger/hand cracks: A short crack involving a fun traverse at the top of pitch two and a vertical crack at the opposite side of a chimney squeeze on pitch three. Sideline does not see much action so the rock is still suspect in places. However the climbing is never such that you feel you are very exposed to a potentially bad hold. The first and forth pitches are mostly just 5th class climbing terrain. The last pitch ends up at the top of Johnny Vegas behind the large boulder. Larry DeAngelo, John Wilder and Gigette Miller put this route up in 2005. There are no fixed pro or stations.
- Solar Slab Gully- 500’- 5.3/ What most of us use for the descent. Watch out for traffic.
- Horndogger Select- 450’- 5.8+/ The first pitch is the crux, although all three pitches are rated at the grade. The first pitch takes some bold moves on suspect rock and can be a little hard to follow through run out terrain. The 2nd pitch is quite interesting climbing up a water groove of sorts with weird pro.
- The Friar- 450’- 5.9+/ The climbing is no more difficult on that 4th pitch than 5.9, but the pro opportunities are not warm and fuzzy to say the least. The problem is not a fall as much as the decking opportunity on top of the pinnacle from where the belay starts. The crux move or two is right off the deck. The bolt is out right and well beyond the difficult moves. We combined those middle two pitches for a full 200' to the belay to start the 4th pitch.
- Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, BLM
- Red Rock Canyon Interpretive Association
- DowClimbing.Com Red Rocks
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Joseph Janangelo is immediate past President of the Council of Writing Program Administrators (wpacouncil.org) and associate professor of English at Loyola University Chicago where he teaches courses in composition, theory, and visual rhetoric. His publications include Resituating Writing: Constructing and Administering Writing Programs (with Kristine Hansen) and Theoretical and Critical Perspectives on Teacher Change. Joe's articles have appeared in such journals as College Composition and Communication, College English, Journal of Teaching Writing, Rhetoric Review, and WPA: Writing Program Administration. A longtime volunteer tutor for children living at Chicago House (a residence for families impacted by HIV/AIDS) and for adults incarcerated at Chicago's correctional facilities, Joe has often seen evincing support for some of the ideas and ideals that get called "diversity." In this blog, Joe and his friend Professor Doug Hesse debate that contested and mercurial concept.
I begin with the saying: “difference is the difference that makes a difference.” Of those words, we might wonder: what makes a difference for whom and to what? In asking such questions, our work both flounders and flourishes.
To me, diversity is not a thing; it’s not a SIG, a journal’s special issue, or a specific initiative. I suggest configuring diversity as viral--everywhere at once--multiply situated (comprising ethnicity, gender, sexuality, faith, experience, age, and aspirations/inhibitions) and peripatetic--always traveling, visiting, planting, threatening and, for some, behaving parasitically.
As teachers, we might ask: if diversity is so complicated, then how can we be inclusive while getting things done? One way is to visit its interests on every committee–to ask as we work--who might see or have problems working and living with the ideas, approaches or artifacts under discussion? That could mean seeing the difficulties, complications, and resentments within the alleged “opportunities.”
Two texts inform this view. One is Karen H. Anthony’s Designing for Diversity: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity in the Architectural Profession. Anthony discusses architecture—the spaces where we live and work—and notes that most structures are made for one kind of user, the able-bodied heterosexuals. She warns that “ironically, unless drastic changes are made, the profession will likely continue to alienate those diverse members that it needs most” (181).
Another text is Harry C. Denney’s Facing the Center: Toward an Identity Politics of One-to-One Mentoring. Denny describes writing centers as sites of diversity in action and in partial hiding, because identities are developed across perceptions of race and ethnicity, class, sex and gender, and nationality. Admirably self-critical, Denny writes that he “tend[s] toward warm and fuzzy conversations about diversity that raise consciousness but rarely upset or threaten—especially myself” (33). Admitting privilege/vulnerability as a white gay man, he wants students and tutors to work together by “parlaying shared experiences to new contexts, rhetorical conversations, and academic genres.” He writes, “The trick to pulling off that sort of conversation is honoring experience without the student coming to feel objectified or patronized” (79).
Anthony's and Denny’s work resonated when Joyce Middleton asked me, “What experiences with the Council of Writing Program Administrators (CWPA) have informed your concept of diversity?” At CWPA, our members, Executive Board, and leaders work to make our organization more open to the needs of the staff, faculty, and student constituencies we serve (in both a responsive and anticipatory sense). Our work includes:
Seeking and Valuing Intake
WPA continually experiments with ways of learning about, and acting on, members’ concerns. Our conference features a session called “WPA Listens,” where members discuss their mentoring needs and volunteer their expertise. In other sessions called “Meet the Executive Board,” members raise their concerns with 4-5 Board members in informal conversations. We also use idea cards (a practice started by past President Shirley Rose) so that members’ needs can immediately direct our organizational actions.
Focusing on the Work, Not the Title
Much WPA scholarship takes university models as tacit design concepts. Jeff Klausman
(Whatcom Community College) and I are currently conducting interviews to learn about WPA work at community-colleges which are often undervalued sites of creativity and instruction.
Since 2009, Tim Dougherty (a graduate student at Syracuse University), Michele Eodice (immediate past president of the International Writing Centers Association), Duane Roen (Arizona State University, Vice-President CWPA), Sheldon Walcher (Roosevelt University) and I have collaborated on “The WPA Mentoring Project.” As co-chairs, we approach mentoring from multiple perspectives. Recognizing that our members are multiply situated, we don’t assume that one definition or approach fits many, much less all, graduate students, adjunct and full-time teachers, Writing Center Directors, and WPAs.
To invite conversation, we circulate online surveys (designed by Sheldon) to get membership input about things WPA needs to change or improve. We then post our findings at http://www.wpacouncil.org/mentoring_report. This post helps us to find members' suggestions for organizational action. So far this has resulted in redesigning signature events (for example, the WPA Breakfast is becoming more interactive than ever), and there are more member-driven sessions at the WPA Conference. Another strategy we use is to thread inclusive comments into our pre-conference institutes. In 2008, WPA offered an institute to help teachers address the needs of English Language Learners. In 2009, we invited Doug Hesse, Susanmarie Harrington and Duane Roen to lead an institute to help experienced WPAs achieve mid-career renewal.
Lest this sound like unfettered good news, let’s remember Anthony’s idea that without major change, organizations “continue to alienate those diverse members that it needs most” (181). Those “warm and fuzzy conversations” (33) may leave people “feeling objectified or patronized” (Denny 79). My hope is that we can use any “progress” as provocations for more change.
The following ideas are on my "keep (re)doing” list:
--Be leery of inherited designs. Re-read your organization’s documents and practices with a critical eye and revise them as needed;
--Make changes, but don’t simply design or re-design changes for people, but with them. Use conversations and technology for intake; then circulate the “findings” (which are also narrations) for scrutiny and critique;
--Understand that people have good reasons to be unhappy with professional organizations. Listen when members say why they are discontent; ask former members why they left. Recognize that struggle and resentment are often fueled by histories of invisibility and mistreatment; recognize that anger can be an energizing source of purpose, creativity and change;
--Become critical readers and authors of your organization’s story. If your organization wants to diversify, ask yourselves, “what are we really trying to do?” If the answer is to grow your organization or to retain members, start again.
A case in point: In the ADE Bulletin (2008), “The Color of Leadership and the Shape of the Academy: Talent Search 101,” Dolan Hubbard notes that African American scholars are in high demand. But he also states that many universities can pay this “talent” more than the HBCUs can. Therefore, Hubbard writes (citing Doug Steward in the ADE Bulletin of 2006) “it is in our enlightened self-interest as a profession to improve ‘the pathways to faculty careers in English for African Americans and other minorities.” Here difference makes a difference, but for whom? What’s really changed when most universities can outbid most HBCUs?
I’ll close by suggesting that it is critical to keep finding and probing the provocations within any successful moment or success story. Teachers and students are optimists; we’re good at giving change and reconciliation many chances to work. But optimism should also embrace vigilance, even if that embrace is painful. If it makes sense that diversity is viral and peripatetic, then learning more about it may give us some unsuspected means for noticing, responding to, and anticipating the many opportunities for indignity--and for dignity and good will--which abound in our students’and our own lives. To be real and to move forward would involve the hard work of re-reading and revising our defining documents (e.g. mission statements, committee charges) and practices to learn more about the founding designs and (de)evolving deployments that helped get us “here” in the first place.
Note: A year ago, I invited Doug Hesse write a response to this blog, but after an extended editing process that required trimming this entry, Doug asked me to cut his section. He's posted it online, and you can read it at https://portfolio.du.edu/portfolio/getportfoliofile?uid=164174.
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The Y strives to provide a safe, welcoming and fun environment for families across the nation. The Y wants families to join them so they can grow healthy kids, healthy families and a healthy community.
So the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee presents the: Passport to Play Program (also Play in the Parks). This grassroots initiative encourages families to get outside, to get moving and to enjoy a night of games and activities. The program is also part of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation and Milwaukee County Parks.
Passport to Play is offered September through May and it’s held at nine Y Centers each week. Then there’s Play in the Parks, which is the summer version of Passport to Play. Play in the Parks is offered June 11th through August 20th at six different parks throughout the Milwaukee area. All of these events are free. The goal is to get families to participate in games that promote physical activity, healthy choices and family bonds.
So I ventured out to the West Suburban Program Center in Wauwatosa during the Passport to Play Program. I spoke with an energetic and passionate group of Y volunteers, as well as some Passport to Play families. Click the podcast below to hear how Passport to Play is keeping Milwaukee’s youth safe, healthy and strong.
Click here to get involved.
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February 29, 2012
Graphics Systems Corp., Milwaukee, has announced a series of product development seminars titled "This March, Eliminate the Madness in your Product Development." These complimentary events give attendees the opportunity to see how experts solve common issues in their product development using the latest technology. They will take place at sporting arenas throughout Wisconsin and Illinois.
Attendees can choose from 16 common critical business issues faced by engineering and manufacturing professionals, such as problems communicating designs or changes with vendors and suppliers, the inability to work easily with all kinds of CAD files, and numerous physical prototypes during design.
The events also will feature time for specific questions and answers, networking opportunities, and venue tours.
Events will be held 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the following dates:
For a full list of events and more details, visit www.gxsc.com/madness.
Graphics Systems Corp. assists companies in implementing 3-D engineering capabilities for design, simulation, data management, and product documentation.
Products in For Engineers
News in For Engineers
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On Thursday last week, the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) seized a large number of polythene bags (buveera) from many supermarkets around Kampala. Buveera of less than 30 microns were banned in June this year and Nema swung into action to enforce the ban last week. We asked people around the city what they think about the ban and if they can do away with using polythene bags.
Ms Faridah Namugenyi (Bread seller)
This is something which is too hard to do away with. For example I'm a person who sells bread, groundnuts and many products, which cannot be displayed in paper bags or the banana leaves they want us to resort to. I feel the government wants to fail us. This is unfair and I totally don't support it.
Mr Paul Iga (Businessman)
The government is just being unfair to us. Sincerely what can we do without polythene bags when they are not even giving us an alternative? And now that they are banned, I don't know what my customers will do because my business of selling clothes will be affected. I can't give my customers clothes just like that, they have to obviously be packed and a 'kaveera' is the most convenient packaging. However, if the government comes up with an alternative and affordable packaging solution it would be okay with us.
Mr Jamil Mbikke Muwonge (Retailer)
We can only abide by the government's rules if they tell us clearly which type of buveera have been banned. And there is no way you can ban polythene bags when many of the things we import into the country come already packed in polythene bags. So unless they also ban buveera in the courtiers where we import our goods, then there is no solution.
Mr Boaz Rutaremwa (Multiple Electrical)
It's right to ban buveera, only that the government should always come up with an alternative before imposing a ban on certain products. All I think the government should do right now is to come up with an alternative for business people who have been using polythene bags like encouraging them to use paper bags.
Mr Salim Musinguzi (Businessman)
We can't do away with polythene bags because not everyone will abide by the law. However, the government should first find an alternative for the people who have been using polythenes and when that is done, they should set up a collection centre for buveeras and encourage people by somehow enticing them with a token for every polythene bag collected. These could then be recycled into some other raw materials, which make plastics and then be sold to industries like Nice House of Plastics or even exporting them.
Mr Benson Kemigisha (Businessman)
This ban on polythene bags would have been good for us and our environment, however, with the corruption in this government, this policy will be failed by one of the ministries. For instance the seat belt policy was put in place and within one month, everyone had taken another direction. So unless the government gets serious in enforcing policies, our environment will not be safe from these deadly polythene bags.
Mr Samuel Sekajjugo (Sells phones)
These polythene bags have been simplifying our work like packing and easy transportation. For example there are some things, which are very small like phones, there is no way you can pack a phone in a large box just because you don't have an alternative. This is funny, take an example of meat, we are again going back to the 80s where our parents used to buy meat in banana leaves.
Ms Evelyn Buwule (Businesswoman)
What (Nema) did was very okay and why not do away with these polythene bags? The environment has been greatly affected by the use of polythene bags. So the government should continue being strict in implementing its policies. However an alternative like the use of paper bags should be put into place.
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Is it possible (and how) to use a computer headset (or speakers+mic) as a hands-free device for my mobile? I bought a bluetooth-dongle but I couldn't get it to work yet. I think I already set this up on an older version of Ubuntu on my laptop.
I'm using Ubuntu 10.10, the phone is an android 2.2 (but I think this doesn't matter) and the bluetooth device is a Integrated System Solution Corp. Bluetooth Device (according to lsusb).
EDIT: I found a project that seams to do just what I want: http://nohands.sourceforge.net. I tried to install it on my laptop but it didn't work. I'll try it again on my computer at home and post a description as soon as it works (or any of you guys could post a solution if you're faster;)
Edit2: I was able to connect my phone, but somehow the audio doesn't work. I think the program has troubles with pulseaudio, as the soundtest fails. Any ideas?
Edit3: I'm still trying to get this to work. I might buy another bluetooth dongle. ATM I'm able to dial numbers in hfconsole - that's all. Somehow I'm shure there is a way to get this to work!
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://askubuntu.com/questions/5282/use-computer-headset-like-a-hands-free-for-cell-phone
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The Morgan City Harbor and Terminal District discussed the possibility and weighed the benefits and responsibilities that would come along with the designation at its meeting Monday.
The foreign free trade zone would be an area outside of the U.S. Customs’ jurisdiction, where certain merchandise would be able to be held at the port, changed into a different product and then exported to another country with no tariff paid on it, said Mike Knobloch, special projects coordinator for the Port of Morgan City.
“It provides a competitive edge for our businesses to compete against other companies around the world,” Knobloch said.
Port Commission President Jerry Gauthier cautioned that the designation would require significant attention from the port. “It is not simple. … It’s going to be a lot of work. It would take someone on our payroll to manage it,” Gauthier said.
Gauthier suggested the commissioners read the report Knobloch presented on the foreign free trade zone closely before the next meeting and then discuss it again. “I’m not putting down the idea, but I think it’s prudent for all of us … to read this report in detail to see what we might be getting into,” Gauthier said.
If the port does decide to become a foreign free trade zone, the port would pay a $3,200 application fee, Knobloch said.
A business applying for port trade zone status would pay an annual fee set by the port, but the fee would probably be in the $10,000 to $13,000 range, he said.
“We don’t want it to be more than what they’d pay in tariff, because then it would not be advantageous for them to do this,” Knobloch said.
Businesses in other parishes could send products through the Port of Morgan City, he said. “Right now, we have some businesses in St. Mary Parish that are going through the Port of South Louisiana, out of Gramercy, for their foreign trade zone.” Businesses pay $13,000 annually to the Port of South Louisiana to use the port’s foreign free trade zone, he said.
The commission also passed a resolution of support for the proposed construction of a new marine safety center at South Central Louisiana Technical College’s Young Memorial Campus in Morgan City.
An approximately $250 million capital outlay bill is being put together in the Legislature for all the state’s community colleges and vocational technical colleges that are not part of a community college, said state Rep. Sam Jones. South Central Louisiana Technical College is trying to get funding out of the bill to build a new $9.6 million marine safety training center. Getting funding for the center would take probably a couple of years and then five to six years to finish building the center, Jones said.
The technical college is focusing on expanding the programs that make it unique, bringing people from all over the world to the campus, said Earl Meador, regional director for SCLTC.
“It looks like a portable building city,” Meador said of the college’s current marine safety training center. “What’s happened is those buildings are getting old, are falling apart … and it’s also due to use. Last year, 2012, we issued over 7,000 training certificates … impacting 3,600 students. … That’s how busy that place is,” he said. “We have just completely outgrown our facility.”
The college offers marine safety and petroleum industry safety training, Meador said. “We are one of the only public schools to offer a commercial diving program in the nation,” Meador said.
Funding from the state capital outlay bill would require a 10 to 15 percent local match with a maximum of $1 million on a $10 million project, Jones said. The first project to come out of the bill will probably be in 2015, he said.
In other business,
—The commission approved a resolution to purchase new doors for a warehouse at the port used by the U.S. Coast Guard at a cost not exceeding $4,000.
—The commission approved Gauthier to sign an agreement with J. Ray McDermott Inc.
—Mike Lowe of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said emergency dredging in the Horseshoe Bend in the Atchafalaya River was completed on March 9. The dredging was timed to coincide with the sail out of a McDermott vessel on its way to West Africa, said Jerry Hoffpauir, port of Morgan City executive director.
—Dredging has been completed in the Atchafalaya Bay Channel, Lowe said.
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Everybody is (or should be) familiar with the KISS principle (keep it short and simple). It is widely applied throughout communications, marketing being no exception. It basically points out that things should be kept to a simple level as complexity only adds an unnecessary experience layer to the scene. This is also true for Online Marketing – the more complex the experience is, the more prone are you to losing your visitors. This applies to banners, sites and even social network interactions.
If you work in the online arena, then a lot of your clients have already come up to you and said, “Well, let’s go into [insert Social Network here]” – most likely Facebook now – and has tasked you and your team to strategize what the brand should do on Facebook. If you are going into a a group logic or just a fan page with some static information, then you should probably think about doing something more. However, if you are creating a more complex interaction, like a browser game or a new tool that you hope will be really interesting for the users, then you’ve got a lot of work ahead. The KISS principle will be your friend when figuring out what you should do, but I’ve got a new rule – the SSS Rule.
The SSS Rule simply stands for “Simple”, “Sharable”, “Scorable”. And it will help you evaluate your ideas before you take them to the client and even support them when you do your presentation. Let’s look into each of these:
Simple – No news here. KISS said to keep it simple. I’m telling you to keep it SIMPLE. The time people spend in Social Networks, although growing, is unbelievably fragmented. From tool to tool, game to game, post to post, users are prone to lose their attention in a very short time span. It’s a stresstetainment consequence. So if you want your tool to survive it has to be really time efficient – only requiring a little while to understand and about 1-5 minutes of the users time maximum. Beyond efficiency, keep in mind it also has to make them come back for more. One such example is Mafia Wars. With more users growing every day, Mafia Wars takes up to a few minutes each time you go in. But it always makes you come back in a few hours to carry on your game.
Sharable – Social Networks are all about sharing – and they make it easy to do it too! All you have to consider is that the tool has to have sharing potential – be it because it’s a natural mechanism such as the ingredient exchange in Restaurant City or because sharing it broadens the experience like adding more neighbors in Farmville.
Scorable – This is probably the hardest to explain. To keep users coming back for more, Social Network tools should create competition in an indirect way (e.g. a score or level that challenges users to develop new skills and ‘up their game’). Not only does competition open up more functionality in the application, it also becomes a status of its own. Consider the quiz craze on Facebook. What makes users crazy about quizzes like the Flixter Movie Quizzes is the fact that they see the results of their friends. This is what I mean as Scorable – it give a score or it contains an evaluation or evolution metric inside the application.
There you have it. The SSS rule will help you conceptualize and evaluate any application you create for a Social Network. Keep in mind, some applications might only fulfill two of the criteria such as Sharable + Simple; as one of the S’s might be more important to your target than another. Ultimately it’s up to you though, where you want to position the brand in the SSS matrix. In any case, using the SSS Rule will help you evaluate where your social application stands and what should you improve or not.
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by Kathy Cronkite
Review by Dianne Rockenstein, M.A. on Jul 1st 2000
"I walk outside... sun shining, breeze wafting, birds singing --- SO WHAT? My baby gives me one of those dazzling smiles --- SO WHAT? My best friend calls with good news, my boss gives me a raise, my husband cooks my favorite meal --- SO WHAT? Little things overwhelm me. I can't find the mate to my sock... the doorbell rings when I'm on the phone... I want to cry..." Living with the "black dog". Can anyone really understand what it's like to live with Major (clinical) Depression unless they have been there themselves? Kathy Cronkite's On The Edge of Darkness provides insights and dispels myths about this very real brain disorder. She utilizes first person accounts of celebrities who live in the darkness and the physicians who specialize in treating them. These self-disclosures are significant and courageous due to the stigma which unfortunately still exists.
Readers who can profit from the information in On The Edge of Darkness include those who are afflicted and need more insight into their illness. Also, those who have friends or loved ones suffering Major Affective or Bipolar disorders can profit from the in depth illustrations of those who have been there. The uninformed can also learn a great deal from the physicians' accounts, especially those discussing genetic predispositions and environmental interactions. There is nothing worse than the (well-intended?) advice of the uninformed such as: "Snap out of it!" "Be positive!" "All you need is a good kick in the butt!". These comments are cruel and only add to the already unbearable emotional pain felt by these individuals.
As with all the mental or psychiatric disorders, information is needed to help alleviate the stigma and bring the general public to better understand these disorders. People who suffer with recurrent Major Depression need the help provided in this book to try to be aware and avoid relapses. Cronkite's book is compassionate and informative in a very relative way with its use of first person accounts. It will help one to learn more about the "black dog" and how to live with him. Dianne is a widow living with her two daughters, two dogs, two cats and two lovebirds in Western PA. She formerly worked in nursing at the VA Medical Center in Butler. After she lost her husband to suicide, she chose to go back to college to study Psychology. She earned her B.S. in Psychology in 1990 and M.A. in Counseling Psychology in 1993. Dianne has worked as a therapist with adult and adolescent trauma clients and in addictions counseling. She has also taught General Psychology on the college level. She is an avid reader, enjoys photography, drawing and painting. She is also an avid animal lover who enjoys horseback riding.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.mhsso.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=book&id=324&cn=5
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The Beauty of Humanity Movement
Published by The Penguin Press
Like the making of good pho (Vietnamese noodle soup), The Beauty of Humanity Movement requires patience. But your patience will be rewarded…like good pho, this book is satisfying and complex and full of flavor. Okay, I’m basing that statement on the reactions of the characters who slurped their way through bowl after bowl of pho, as I’ve never actually eaten it myself (and after reading this book, it practically feels like blasphemy to say that). And sorry if that’s a cheesy analogy, but pho is so central to this story that it’s impossible not to bring it up.
On the surface, this is a story about a young woman who returns to Vietnam to discover her father’s past. Maggie’s father was a Vietnamese artist, killed in a reeducation camp. As she searches for information about him, she befriends Tu’, a young tour guide, and Hung, an elderly pho seller. As the trio searches both for information and to remember, a small piece of Vietnam’s history and culture is brought to life. We see a modern Vietnam struggling to come to terms with both its past and its present, and we see the post-war Vietnam, with all of its hardships and efforts to exert political dominance over practically all aspects of an individual’s life.
Food and art are central to the story, and they’re what made this story so fascinating for me. Pho is described often (heck, it’s practically a character), and in loving detail. In the late 1970′s and 1980′s (I think that’s the right time period), Hung’s pho shop was a meeting place for the Beauty of Humanity Movement, a group of dissident artists and writers. The fictional group is used to illustrate both the resistance to and the brutality of the communist regime.
The best way I can describe this book is as a beautiful fictional ethnography…Gibb is a trained social anthropologist, and this book is a fascinating look into just a small piece of both Vietnam’s past and it’s culture. I loved The Beauty of Humanity Movement…it may not be full of action, but it is full of the historical and cultural details that I love to see in a book.
I read this as part of a TLC tour (thank you to Trish and Penguin!)…be sure to stop by and see what everyone else has to say:
- Wednesday, March 16th: Reading on a Rainy Day
- Thursday, March 18th: Reading Through Life
- Monday, March 21st: BookNAround
- Tuesday, March 22nd: The House of the Seven Tails
- Wednesday, March 23rd: Unabridged Chick
- Tuesday, March 29th: In the Next Room
- Wednesday, March 30th: Rundpinne
- Monday, April 4th: Kahakai Kitchen
- Thursday, April 7th: Booksie’s Blog
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|Posted by dick on October 11, 19100 at 21:04:27:|
|In response to Re: pvc/cpvc glue|
: I noticed the "hot" blue pvc cement I used for cementing cpvc fittings does not speicifcally allow nor prohibit it's use on cpvc pipes (the label says "for use on all PVC products", which may or may not mean including cpvc; probably not though).
: Bottom line, if I previously used this glue to make some cpvc connections, should I be concerned ? (yes, purple primer was used first) Would a plumbing inspection/inspector likely pay attention to the color of cement used?
: Have any tests/studies determined the long term effects of using pvc glue on cpvc pipe?
I wouldn't worry too much about the inspector. It's pretty tough too keep up with different materials and manufacturers and the color is just a particular manufacturers preference. not an industry standard. Just don't get talkative and tell him you used the wrong stuff.
I would take some of this glue and try it on some scrap cpvc and fittings. It should imediately soften the surface of the pipe or fitting so that you can scrape off almost 1/16 of material after 30-40 sec. Then glue some pipe and fittings together and let them sit overnight. then try to get them apart.
if everything seems ok, then i think your safe. This type of glue works by dissolving the pipe surfaces with solvent and mixing it with polymers already dissolved in the glue. it pretty much "welds" the two pieces together rather than sticking them together. The solvent is gone after a day or two. A long term reaction between the cpvc and the polymers in the glue is not likely. The polymers in the glue are there mostly to thicken the glue and there is not enough to affect the joint strength much.
Some manufacturers have been known to market the same stuff in different colors with different labels (and different prices) for different purposes. People might be willing to pay a lot more for super duty CPVC cement to prevent a leak inside the house than they would for PVC cement for there sprinkler system where minor leaks generaly don't matter much. I don't know if thats the case with cpvc glue, but it could be.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife scored the No. 2 spot on a list of the biggest charitable givers in the United States last year, thanks to their record $499 million donation to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, according to a report Monday that points to a growing interest among the super-rich in giving away money before they grow old.
For the first time in more than a decade, the five biggest donors to U.S. charities in 2012 also include two other couples under the age of 40 -- Google (GOOG) co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife Anne Wojcicki, both 39; and Texas financiers John and Laura Arnold, both in their late 30s -- although octogenarian investor Warren Buffett ranked first on the list.
"There's a real change in how people think about philanthropy. It used to be something people would do later in life, but now they're saying, 'I want to start doing good right away,' " said Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper and website that has ranked the nation's 50 biggest donors to charity every year since 2000.
The 28-year-old Zuckerberg
While the amount given by the top 50 still falls short of the total given before the 2008 recession, experts said many wealthy individuals are heeding a campaign by Buffett and Microsoft's Bill Gates, who are encouraging billionaires to share their wealth before they die.
"This is a new phenomenon of 'giving while living,' " said Patrick Rooney, an associate dean at the Indiana University School of Philanthropy. "Historically, people worked for most of their lives before they amassed sizable wealth, so it made sense for them to give it away as an end-of-life strategy."
The nation's biggest givers donated to a variety
Nationwide, giving to community foundations may have been fueled by uncertainty over whether federal tax laws might change in 2013. Some donors transferred funds to community foundations in 2012 so they could be sure of getting a tax benefit before the laws change, knowing the foundations would help them distribute the money in future years, said Teri Hansen, a Florida charity executive who chairs a national panel on community foundations.
But she also said foundations are making a strong argument for supporting local services at a time of government budget cuts. The Zuckerbergs have said they want to support health and education, although they haven't revealed specifically where the money will go.
"We're seeing more interest from large donors," added Hansen, who said groups like the Silicon Valley foundation can help identify worthy recipients for wealthy people who don't want to set up their own foundations to distribute funds.
Unlike Zuckerberg, Brin and his wife have their own foundation, to which they transferred $190 million of their fortune last year. The Brin Wojcicki Foundation supports local and national charities including the Human Rights Foundation and the San Francisco-based Tipping Point Community, which funds anti-poverty programs in the Bay Area.
"One of the big things for them is leverage. They put up $1 million last year" in a challenge grant "to help get other people involved in giving too," said Jen Pitts at Tipping Point Community, which funds health, education and other services in poor communities including East Palo Alto and the East Bay.
Brin and Wojcicki also gave $32.8 million last year to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. Brin's mother has Parkinson's and he has said genetic testing shows he may be vulnerable to developing the disease.
Among other local givers, Ellison gave to research programs through his Ellison Medical Foundation. Oracle's Henley gave to his alma mater, UC Santa Barbara, while Moritz and his wife pledged $116 million to scholarships for poor students at the University of Oxford, which he attended.
Menlo Park financier George Roberts, who co-founded Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company, pledged $50 million to Claremont McKenna College. James Spilker, of Sunnyvale, who helped develop GPS technology, and his wife pledged $28 million to the Stanford School of Engineering.
Contact Brandon Bailey at 408-920-5022; follow him at Twitter.com/BrandonBailey.
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HuffPost Gay Voices is conducting a series of “Voice to Voice” conversations between LGBT authors. They did a few of them for Black History Month. Among them was a conversation between Clay Cane and Janet Mock.
Cane is the entertainment editor for BET.com and the host of Clay Cane Live on WWRL 1600AM in New York City. He’s also contributed to publications such as The Root, theGrio and The Advocate.
Mock is a staff editor at People.com. She earned a GLAAD Award nomination for writing about growing up transgender. This year she was named one of theGrio’s 100 most influential leaders making history today.
In the article, Cane and Mock explore being black and LGBT, homophobia and transphobia. They also discuss their experience with being out as journalists:
Clay Cane: Being out made me a better writer. You can’t sit down with a stranger and get the truth out of them when you’re paranoid about somebody finding out your truth. The truth is, being who I am has never stopped me from getting a job. I wouldn’t have gotten my radio show on WWRL if I had been closeted. What about your coming out as a journalist?
Janet Mock: While making the decision to tell my story, I definitely took on other people’s thoughts about me, internalizing other people’s transphobia. So when I came out publicly, I was armed for people to say awful things about me. Instead, I was overwhelmingly embraced. I wasn’t expecting the love and light that actually came my way, and the opportunities that arose as well because I chose to be open about my journey.
We have come a long way since NLGJA was founded. It’s heartwarming to be reassured that being out as journalists is becoming easier for many of us, although that is still not universally true.
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Probate calendars for modern wills are to go online, as are newly-discovered soldiers’ wills.
The Federation of Family History Societies has sent the following information:
“The following report has been received from Lady Teviot, FFHS representative at the Probate Stake Holders Meeting held in London on 17th April 2012.
“Chaired by John Briden from HMCTS and representatives from Iron Mountain Document Management, much of the discussion centred on the time taken for the production of copies and whether the one-hour service at First Avenue House, which has been discontinued and replaced by a 48-hour service, should be reinstated.
“John Briden said that the service had to cater for different users most of whom were happy with the present arrangement. Another point which took up time was the sealing of wills and resealing and this was from the legal viewpoint and not from [that of] family historians.
“The discovery of 300,000 Soldiers’ Wills in boxes, which have never been entered in the Calendars [and] will become available online by the end of the year, is of great interest. They cover the Crimean War, the 1st World War and the 2nd World War – no mention was made of the Boer War. They apply to non-commissioned officers.
“The order of which it is thought wills and administrations will come online is:
- Soldiers’ Wills
- Probate 2006 to current
- 1996 to 2005
- 1940 to 1995
- 1858 to 1900
- 1901 to 1939
“There was some discussion as to whether the last two were in the correct order of availability. The using of the calendars will be the same as looking at a book and turning the pages.
“After meetings in Birmingham, there will be a further meeting in London on the 8th of May.”
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The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, in New Castle, has unveiled a new exhibit featuring the strong state tournament tradition and history of boys' basketball in the North Central Conference (NCC).
Huntington North High School, which has been a member of the NCC only since 2003, is included in the exhibit - largely through the efforts of Huntington resident Marvin Tudor, a former teacher, coach and principal and currently the president of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tudor, the boys' basketball coach at Huntington North from 1967 to 1978, donated a red blazer that is displayed in the HNHS section of the exhibit. Tudor says that this variety of blazer was worn by players and coaches during his tenure as coach at Huntington North.
Tudor says he has not yet had a chance to tour the new exhibit, but highly recommends checking out the Hall of Fame to any basketball fans.
"Anybody who's a basketball fan could easily spend three or four hours there," he says.
The NCC was founded in the spring of 1926 and, for the next 71 seasons, NCC member schools accumulated far more postseason success and championships than any other conference in the state, including 25 state championship victories and 20 Mr. Basketball winners.
The display features pieces of memorabilia, including photos of state championship teams, from each of the 13 past and present member schools of the NCC and displays the boys' basketball successes of each school.
The exhibit will remain on display through summer 2013. The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame museum is located in New Castle.
A red Huntington North High School blazer (right) is on display in a new exhibit chronicling the proud basketball tradition of the North Central Conference at the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle. The blazer was donated to the hall of fame by Marvin Tudor, the coach of the boys' basketball team at Huntington North from 1967 to 1978, and is the kind players and coaches wore during his tenure with the program.
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Hurricane Sandy is coming and Google has created a crisis map that will hopefully help prepare you for the impact if you live in an area that may or will be affected by it. The map includes multiple layers including the storms current position, 3 day cone forecast, river flood outlooks, emergency shelters and evacuation routes amongst other things. Many layers can also be downloaded as .kmz files for use with Google Maps as well. Here’s hoping that technology can help minimize the effect on human lives. Hopefully all Gadgeteers in the affected areas are safe and prepared.
Keep Track of Hurricane Sandy with Google Crisis Maps
Send to Kindle
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These 2 items have been passing around this week in NJIT mail amongst the Distance Learning Advisory committee and warrant further reading and discussion - maybe even your comments at the bottom.
Michael M. Crow, president of Arizona State University in the interview published in The Chronicle of Higher Education on online learning.
Let's start with the nightmare scenarios, because it's not all good news. What IT issue keeps you up at night? What is your biggest concern when it comes to technology?
Crow: What worries me most is the lack of congruence between the speed with which technology is advancing and the speed with which academe is able to advance. We're not transforming our methodological approaches fast enough. We're still stuck in what I call the "farmer schedule" of 15-week semesters. We have a vision, largely historical, of the "sage on the stage" teaching the class when, in fact, technology offers us opportunities to accelerate and diversify learning, to make learning more of a lifelong process, to change the learning environment significantly. There is a lack of compatibility between pedagogical evolution and technological evolution.
The more a student uses a CMS, the more she or he appears to like it. P. 57
Laptops are emerging as the platform of choice. 76.7 percent of freshmen respondents own a laptop computer. Ownership of laptops rose by 26.7 percent since 2005. p. 35
Most respondents (70.3 percent) never bring their laptops to class, including 16.2 percent of students who said they are required to do so. P. 57
Nearly two-thirds (64.4 percent) of respondents agree or strongly agree that IT has improved their learning, while just under 8 percent agree or strongly disagree. P. 73
Students who report having a positive experience with course management systems agree more with positive statements about academic outcomes than those who report a negative experience with course management systems. P. 73
Older students, business majors, and engineering students are more positive than others about IT’s impact on their academic experience. P. 73 and P. 83
Overall, 51.4 percent of respondents rated convenience as the dominant benefit of IT. Nearly one respondent in seven (14.5 percent) rated improved learning as IT’s paramount benefit. P. 82
Fully 27 percent of respondents agree or strongly agree with the statement “My school needs to give me more training on the IT that I am required to use in my courses.†Since this is just student perceptions, it is likely that far more of the students have inadequate IT knowledge. Bill, you’re probably correct that there needs to be an IT (Information Technology) skills proficiency exam as well as an IL (Information literacy) proficiency exam. Sadly, we certainly can not depend on nearly all of the freshmen and transfer students having these basic skills. P. 36
Also interesting from the summary is page 7 which states the need for further training of instructors in the use of technology. One student comment: "...to move forward in information technology requires training the professors. More than half of the technology that is currently available for use is not even touched. Most professors have no idea how to work things on a simple level."
As well, the lament of students about the assumption that they are proficient in the use of IT. "Profs never teach us to use IT, they just assume we know how and require us to use it, which results in self-teaching, and only enough to get by. I wish they would teach us to use the programs they require us to use (such as Excel and PowerPoint)"
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Fun sandwich ideas and easy wraps make preparing for lunch a breeze!
Start the school year right with these back-to-school treats! From wraps and sandwiches to cakes and cupcakes, earn high marks with these easy-to-make recipes.
These clever snacks, filled with tuna and topped with cheddar cheese sails, carry on the seaside theme.
Small, crustless sandwiches seem very genteel to kids--just the right prop for a spontaneous game of tea time. And just wait until they get a load of a small, crustless sandwich that swirls.
Get your kids to eat their veggies with this tasty sandwich.
These little sandwiches make the perfect finger foods for picky eaters.
One of the tastiest ways to give your children their favorite vegetables is in a pocket bread.
If you're in the mood for something light and yummy that the kids will like then this is the sandwich for you.
Make an out-of-this-world lunch for your young Space Ranger with Toy Story alien cucumbers as a crisp centerpiece.
Make a special lunch for the little princess in your life, complete with jewel berry bracelets and magic wands!
Lunch is more fun when characters like Bambi's friend Thumper make an appearance. This healthy lunch will get your own little bunnies giggling with delight.
This is the coolest lunch ever, not to mention the easiest, and will be the envy of your kids' classmates.
Here's a variation on chicken salad that has a bit of a kick, and a couple surprises, too -- grapes for a sweet accent and cashews for crunch.
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Is Louisiana’s top law-enforcement officer violating the law by hiring private plaintiffs attorneys to pursue litigation on behalf of the state? That’s the fundamental question raised by the recent actions of Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell.
In a case against a well-known pharmaceutical drug manufacturer, Caldwell has contracted out the state’s legal business to a small group of politically connected trial lawyers. Rather than paying the private attorneys a reasonable fee based on their hours of work on the case, he has promised these lawyers a percentage of the state’s award through a contingency-fee arrangement.
The drug manufacturer has fired back, filing a suit of its own to declare the deal illegal. And the questions raised point back to Louisiana’s constitution.
As the Louisiana Supreme Court explained in a 1997 ruling, then-Attorney General Richard Ieyoub had no authority to engage contingency-fee lawyers on the state’s behalf: “under the separation of powers doctrine, unless the attorney general has been expressly granted the power in the constitution to pay outside counsel contingency fees from state funds, or the legislature has enacted such a statute, then he has no such power.” (Meredith v. Ieyoub.)
The basic idea is that funds recovered by the state belong to the state and that it’s the legislature’s job, not the attorney general’s, to decide how, and for whose benefit, the funds are spent. The legislature considered bills in 2009 and 2010 that would have delegated some of its authority over appropriations to the attorney general, but neither passed. It is troubling to have to ask why the state’s chief legal officer would enter into contracts that its highest court has seemingly already declared illegal and unconstitutional.
It is all the more troubling that the suit against the drug manufacturer is quasi-criminal in nature, seeking huge fines, and the arrangement between the attorney general and outside counsel appears to cede a good bit of the attorney general’s prosecutorial authority to outside counsel.
Then there’s the cozy relationship between Attorney General Caldwell and the private firms he’s hired to represent the state. The lawyers in these firms have contributed more than $100,000 to Caldwell’s campaign, and at least two of them hold leadership roles in his bid for re-election. Is this a “pay-to-play” scandal in the making?
Louisiana has made strides in strengthening ethics rules for public officials in recent years, but when situations such as this come to light, we are reminded that we still have a long way to go.
None of this is to say that the attorney general should be prohibited from hiring outside attorneys to pursue legitimate claims on behalf of the state when he lacks the capacity to handle them in-house. But those hired must be selected on expertise and experience, not political connections. Their fees should be based on reasonable hourly rates, rather than the promise of collecting a large percentage of the state’s award.
Private plaintiffs’ attorneys working on contingency fee just cannot be counted on to put the public interest ahead of their own profit motives. The motivation of any outside legal counsel working on behalf of the state must be in line with the attorney general’s sworn duty to protect and serve the people. The taxpayers and citizens of Louisiana deserve nothing less.
Melissa Landry is Executive Director of Louisiana Lawsuit Abuse Watch, a non-partisan citizen watchdog group dedicated to improving Louisiana’s legal climate.
- Guest Commentary: Legal Reform in the Lone Star State
- Guest Commentary: Sound Legal Climate Essential For a Healthy Job Market
- Louisiana Officials Targeted By Obama Lawyers, NAACP in “Motor Voter” Suits
- Guest Commentary: Legislative Battle Brewing Over Legacy Lawsuits
- Guest Commentary: HB 477 Seeks to Stop Double Recovery & Windfall Lawyers’ Fees in Asbestos Cases
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BU’s drug and alcohol policies have changed – but no one seems to know about it.
The words “zero tolerance” can no longer be found in the Lifebook, and in their place are something that looks like medical amnesty and an in-practice (but not in Lifebook) change in marijuana policy.
Aiming for Amnesty
Last March, Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore added a memorandum to the Lifebook which says:
“When the University learns of a student’s illegal possession or use of alcohol or drugs as a result of that student’s seeking medical assistance for him- or herself, or another person, that student ordinarily will not be subject to University disciplinary sanctions for possession or use of that substance so long as the student completes all education and counseling programs recommended by the University.”
This policy is not an explicit medical amnesty policy such as ones found at other schools. The memo avoids the term “medical amnesty” and takes the policy a step down from those at places like Emerson College, which instituted a medical amnesty policy last February. However, the change does prioritize safety over fear of being punished and helps to eliminate any hesitation a students might have when calling for medical help for themselves or a friend, said Nigel Durham, president of BU’s chapter of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP).
“Medical amnesty takes away the fear of calling for help for a friend. You don’t have to have that mental battle – do I call or do I not?” he said.
BU’s policy also includes complete amnesty for any individuals who may have been sexually abused or assaulted in a situation involving alcohol or drugs.
The clarification of BU’s stance on medical amnesty is the result of a long and difficult battle led by Stacy Fontana, head of the student union’s medical amnesty task force and former president of SSDP, and Matt Seidel, former Student Union president. Fontana said that she began working on a medical amnesty policy during the fall of 2008, collecting surveys, testimonials, research reports, and a petition with 2,000 signatures.
“An answer from the administration finally came in March 2009, via a letter from Elmore stating that basically the policy already was Medical Amnesty and that we’d been wasting our time,” said Fontana in an e-mail. “Well then [why] didn’t he say that before? And where was it written in the policy? It wasn’t. So the letter became an attachment on the bu.edu/dos page under ‘drug and alcohol policies’.”
Fontana said she was not satisfied with Elmore’s response, so SSDP reinstated the task force in the fall of 2009 and was successful in having the letter officially written into the policy.
It was a success, said Fontana, although not a complete one — the memo only pertains to alcohol, and she had wanted it to cover all drugs.
Current Student Union president James Sappenfield says that in the long run the memo constitutes a victory.
“We went from having a zero-tolerance policy to a much more modern policy,” he said. “It’s no longer a situation where students should be afraid.”
The Meaning of Medical Amnesty
The memo’s vague wording coupled with the policy of considering students on a case-by-case basis (indicated by the qualifier “ordinarily” in the memo) could lead to potential trouble, said Thomas Nolan, an associate professor of criminal justice and a 27-year veteran of the Boston Police Department.
“It’s troubling because the students are going to receive a message” that says “we do not have a medical amnesty policy, but you are probably not going to get in trouble,” said Nolan.
Nolan said he would like to see Boston University have a clearly defined medical amnesty policy.
“What would be progressive would be to have an absolutely medical amnesty policy. I am not saying that just as a professor of criminal justice but also as a parent,” said Nolan, whose daughter and son attend BU. “If [my children] were in harm’s way and if they hesitated to get medical attention for themselves or a friend, I would be very unhappy to hear about it.”
Arthur Emma, who is running for Student Union president with the RenewBU slate , said he considers medical amnesty a major issue thinks the language should be clearer.
“I think the administration makes it purposely vague because they don’t want to feel completely obligated to give them amnesty,” he said.
“If we could get the university to clarify the language, that would be fantastic, but getting the university to change the policy was the closest negotiation we achieved,” said Sappenfield.
Elmore believes that the policy is clear and fair for students.
“I think that memo lays out what we do,” said Elmore. “We don’t use the term medical amnesty because I think it means different things to different people.”
Students will also no longer be kicked out of housing on a first strike for being around or smoking marijuana, Elmore said.
“We do not kick people out of housing as we used to,” he said. This shift occurred as a response to the passing of Question 2 in Massachusetts in November 2008, said Elmore, which stated that possession of one ounce or less of marijuana is punishable only by civil penalties, specifically a $100 ticket.
However, in the Lifebook section on Drugs and Narcotics, this is not explicitly mentioned.
“Students who possess, procure, consume, transfer, or use illegal drugs in or around the residences will be subject to disciplinary action ranging from expulsion from the residence system to expulsion from the University,” the Lifebook states.
One student experienced these changes at the beginning of last semester when two RAs smelled marijuana, entered his room in West campus and found a handle of alcohol and “a gram or two of weed,” said the CAS sophomore who asked that his name not be used. He was then issued a possession ticket and later met with the residence hall adviser, who determined that he would have to pay a $500 fine, be listed on academic probation, and meet with a person in student health services who would assess his drug use, he said.
This is a stark contrast to Mike Simmons’s experience about a year earlier. In October 2008 he was smoking weed with a friend in the grotto outside of West Campus, what some students know as “the bakery”, when an undercover police officer found them, took their BU IDs and notified the Office of Residence Life.
“I had a trial with [the] head of housing who heard my case and I wrote an apology letter but I already been written up for having alcohol and too many people in my dorm,” Simmons said.
“I was then given a time limit for when I had to be out of the dorms and I moved out,” he said.
An Education in Change
Following the changes in policy came the challenge in educating students about them. SSDP and student union created a card with a quote from the memo, consequences for first and second incidents and BUPD’s anonymous tip line, which they handed out first semester, said Sappenfield.
However, many students remain unaware of the specifics of BU’s drug and alcohol policy.
“A lot of students go through the entire student career without looking at the Lifebook,” said Emma.
Mike Martino, a sophomore in the College of General Studies, said that he had heard that union was trying to get a medical amnesty policy passed last year but had not heard anything about it since then.
Rahul Ahuja, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said that he only knew that a two-strikes policy exists.
Elmore said that students have a responsibility to educate themselves about the school’s policies.
“We put it out there for people to see; it was on our website. But people have to read things,” he said. “At the beginning of each year I point people to the code of responsibility,” he added.
But this is still not enough, says Durham.
“We want a policy of openness where students are made aware of the changes that take place in the BU sanctions.”
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UK banks have been criticised for not giving enough access to finance for SMEs, but new data suggests demand is limited anyway (Reuters)
Fresh research suggests that it is a lack of appetite for lending among small and medium-sized enterprises that is the biggest reason bank lending has been subdued, rather than a crunch on the availability of affordable credit.
The SME Finance Monitor for the fourth quarter, compiled by researcher BDRC Continental, shows that 71 percent of all applications for new and renewed credit facilities, such as loans and overdrafts, were approved in the final three months of 2012. This is in line with previous quarters and is the same as 2011’s fourth quarter.
Three quarters of SMEs were “happy non-seekers” of finance.
These figures come as the Bank of England’s flagship credit easing initiative, the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS), is criticised for not freeing up enough finance for SMEs after total bank lending fell by £2.4bn in the fourth quarter, calling into doubt the narrative that banks are refusing to boost lending to business.
“The current economic climate remained the key barrier for businesses, with fewer mentions this quarter of access to finance as a barrier,” said the SME Finance Monitor report.
“Confidence that the bank would agree to a borrowing request improved slightly after a series of declines, but remained lower than actual success rates.
“‘Future would-be seekers’ of finance remained likely to cite a reluctance to borrow in the current climate as their main barrier to an application, while an increasing minority mentioned discouragement (almost all of it indirect).”
MPs on the Treasury select committee recently attacked the Bank of England over its purported failure in increasing lending to SMEs, with FLS having a significant impact on the mortgage market – where there is much untapped demand for home loans from aspirant first time buyers – but apparently no effect on SME finance availability and affordability.
They ordered Bank of England officials to investigate why SME lending had not been boosted by FLS and report back to the committee.
Separately, MPs on the public accounts committee labelled FLS as one of a number of “expensive experiments” by the Bank of England and Treasury with neither institution having any clear idea of what economic impact they will have.
The SME Finance Monitor found that only 27 percent of SMEs said FLS would make them more likely to apply for credit from a bank.
Other research on SME finance also suggests there is no surge in demand.
In its quarterly Small Business Index, the Federation of Small Businesses reported a falling number of SMEs applying for bank lending in the fourth quarter, and those who did were hitting a better success rate than in the quarter before when FLS has started - rising to 49.3 percent from 42.8 percent.
Just 19.5 percent of the survey’s SME respondents said they had applied for credit in the three months period.
To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail:
To contact the editor, e-mail:
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Energy network upgrades to cost you £88Costs will be added to household energy bills
16 July 2012
Upgrading Britain's electricity and gas network could cost the average home £88 over the next eight years.
Energy regulator Ofgem is consulting on its proposal to spend £22 billion upgrading Britain's electricity and gas networks.
It says energy bills would have to go up to cover this cost and the average additional cost for each household would be around £11 a year for the next eight years.
Which? energy expert Sylvia Baron says: 'Whilst these increases are out of consumers' control, households can still cut their energy bills by much more than £11 a year by switching to a cheaper tariff and taking small steps to save on energy costs'.
Energy bill price increases
Ofgem's proposed increases would be staggered - bills would initially be increased by an average of £7 in 2013, rising to £15 by 2021.
Network costs currently account for about 20% of householders' energy bills.
The majority of the £22 billion would be used to upgrade the electricity network including laying undersea cables.
Ofgem claims these improvements would create 7,000 jobs. The plans also include connecting 80,000 households to the gas network.
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In a review for First Things, writer Helen Rittelmeyer has an amusing take on the sexual culture at elite universities. Students at places like Yale, she argues, are prolific in their hooking up not because they’re hedonists, but because they want to be the best at sex the same way they’re the best at everything else:
It would be more accurate to say that Yale students treat sex as one more arena in which to excel, an opportunity not just to connect but to impress. Every amateur sonneteer secretly believes his verse to be as good as the United States poet laureate’s, and every undergraduate programmer suspects his code rivals the best in Silicon Valley. It’s not very different for Yale students to say that, if pornography is the gold standard of sexual prowess, then that is the standard to which they must aspire.
The book Rittelmeyer is reviewing has a different take. In “Sex and God at Yale,” alum Nathan Harden finds his former classmates to be just plain lascivious. Rittelmeyer thinks this view misses the basic point that high-striving kids today are more about excellence than eros. This raises the question: If prudishness were in vogue, would Yalies be famously chaste?
Could novels heal America?
The political divide in America can be seen as a geographical problem: Red and Blue Americans disagree deeply because they don’t live near each other, don’t work together, don’t bump into each other at the grocery store. And when you don’t share experiences with someone, it’s easy to think of their opinions as arbitrary and wrong.
How to bridge that gap? Perhaps the answer is fiction.
The moral power of fiction has been in the news recently. Last April, Ideas ran a piece by Jonathan Gotschall about how fiction “enhances our ability to understand other people” by training us, through the seduction of narrative, to inhabit others’ perspectives. Much of the research confirming this idea has been done by psychologists, but a thoughtful essay in the latest issue of the culture magazine Eurozine explains that the influential philosopher Richard Rorty, who died in 2007, saw a philosophical reason as well.
As a young professor at Princeton in the 1960s, Rorty made a name for himself in the intensely logical field of analytic philosophy, but eventually underwent a radical transformation as a thinker: By the end of his life, he’d given up hope that reasoned debate was capable of bridging sectarian divides. He came to see reason as a social construct. People who belong to different communities—with different ideas, experiences, and values—will hold different standards of reason. (Or, as Rorty put it, “the community is the source of epistemic authority.”) That’s why it is nearly impossible to use reason to bring together, say, an atheist and an Evangelical.
But fiction might do the trick. The Eurozine article retraces Rorty’s thinking like this: To create a more inclusive society you need to expand community boundaries; you can’t use reason to expand those boundaries because reason itself is parochial; fiction, however, has the power to cross communities and make strangers intelligible to each other. Once a community has been enlarged, it becomes possible for the members of the expanded community to practice politics together using shared standards of reason.
The power that Rorty ascribed to fiction led him to conclude that the novel is “the characteristic genre of democracy.” That a story could truly bring us together may seem like a steep claim, but Rorty, who admired “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” would have said that fiction has moved bigger mountains before.
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Student Appeals and Re-Marking of Written Work
The Marking Process
The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences stands behind its marking process. All care is taken to ensure that marking is consistent and fair and that markers adhere to the assessment criteria as advertised by the Faculty. Marking is regarded as an important part of the teaching and learning experience and markers provide constructive feedback to assist student progress.
Faculty Procedures on student appeals and re-marking
The Faculty respects students’ rights to ‘natural justice’. Transparency, lack of bias, and declaration of special interest are tenets that the Faculty endorses as a matter of course and will apply in all cases of appeal against an academic decision.
The first step in an appeal is for the student to contact the department as detailed below.
Appeal at Departmental level
In some rare cases, a student may be of the opinion that the mark does not reflect the quality of his/her work. If the student wishes to lodge an appeal against the grade awarded, the first step is for him/her to contact the Unit of Study Co-ordinator in writing to arrange for a time to discuss the mark. This should normally happen within twenty working days of marks being made available to students. If the Unit of Study Coordinator is not available the student should contact the Chair of Department or Undergraduate Co-ordinator. Normally this consultative process is productive and the student is satisfied with the outcome achieved at this point.
If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion with the coordinator or chair, then he/she may appeal formally against the grade awarded. The student should first read the Academic Board Resolution on ‘Student Appeals Against Academic Decisions’ and visit the Faculty website for further information and to obtain the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Appeal for Reassessment Form.
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Alaska Airlines started using precision required navigation performance (RNP) approaches into Juneau, Alaska, in 1996, and RNP has been used extensively by other airlines since that time.
Aviation International News » November 2011
Despite the deluge of negative news about Europe’s mounting financial crisis, things are not as bad as they might seem, according to Fabio Gamba, the new chief executive of the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA).
In preparation for its 12th Air Navigation Conference (ANC) this month, ICAO has proposed that to ensure international compatibility and performance improvements, individual member states base their future air traffic management (ATM) systems on a phased program of common aviation system block upgrades, implemented over consecutive five-year periods.
The ultra-long-range Gulfstream G650 is expected to receive FAA certification this year, as originally predicted in the timeline for the program when it was unveiled.
Florida’s Sebring Regional Airport has received a $4.2 million FAA grant to rebuild its main runway, 18/36. The total replacement project, which will clear the 5,224-foot runway down to substrate, is expected to begin before the end of the year and last for the next 12 to 18 months.
Mesa Air Group signed a deal in late September with Goodrich for landing-gear maintenance services on its fleet of Bombardier CRJ700s and CRJ900s. The multi-year agreement covers all scheduled repair and overhaul services, including the use of Goodrich-owned rotable landing-gear assets.
Million Air’s Salt Lake City International Airport location has acquired the assets and airport lease of the Salt Lake City Jet Center, making it the sole aviation services provider on the field. With the purchase, Million Air SLC will control more that 400,000 sq ft of hangars at the airport. The company’s Intermountain Jet subsidiary became a HondaJet dealer in 2007.
Turbomeca plans to reduce the specific fuel consumption (SFC) of its turboshaft engines by 37 percent by 2030, and at the Helitech 2011 show discussed the strategies it is implementing to accomplish that change. While the company plans to make changes to the engine machinery, it expects much of the reduction to come from engine-airframe integration and new practices that make more efficient use of the engine.
The Regional Airline Association has urged Congress to reject two new taxes on airline passengers proposed by President Obama in late September.
California-based New Bedford Panoramex (NBP) has contracted with the FAA to replace the aging incandescent bulb-powered precision approach path indicator (PAPI) systems at 100 airports around the country, according to the initial contract.
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Dean's Kiss Leads to Hostile Work Environment: Webster Prof
"A kiss may ruin a human life"
-- Oscar Wilde.
In February 2009, Tracey McCarthy, a tenured professor for Webster University with a joint appointment with the psychology and legal studies departments, attended a "professional social" gathering, where she happened upon David Wilson, dean of the university's College of Arts and Sciences.
McCarthy, who is African-American, had been employed by the university since 1997. When Wilson saw McCarthy, he greeted her with a kiss -- presumably a "hello, how are you, good to see you" peck to the cheek.
But in a nine-page discrimination lawsuit filed against Webster, McCarthy contends the dean's gesture was an unwelcome harbinger for what eventually became a hostile work environment. She says she complained to both Wilson and the administration, but no action was ever taken.
McCarthy is one of just two African-American professors to have tenure at Webster, out of 180 positions, according to the complaint. She is suing the St. Louis based university on four counts, including race, sex and disability discrimination. She is asking for $25,000 in losses and damages for each count, on top of attorney fees, claiming that Webster allowed, fostered and maintained a racially discriminatory climate.
A month after the kiss in question, McCarthy's lawsuit says she was called into a review meeting with David Conway-Long, then the chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, according to the complaint. McCarthy alleges the meeting was motivated in part by her race.
Dean Wilson, Conway-Long and a Webster University spokesperson all declined comment. Through her attorney, McCarthy declined comment as well.
By November of that year, McCarthy claims she was excluded from a faculty meeting and stripped her of all non-instructional duties, including committee work, search processes and other faculty governance involvement.
According to the complaint, McCarthy was told that such actions needed to be taken to "cool down departmental tensions." But, she notes, none of the white faculty was given such a directive -- and it only served to heat things up; McCarthy's suit says she was "excluded" from a faculty meeting and detained by security, presumably when she insisted on attending.
About a week after being detained, McCarthy filed a charge of race and sex discrimination against Webster with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission. Throughout the next year, she says she continued filing discriminatory complaints with Conway-Long, her supervisor.
On August 20, 2010, McCarthy was terminated from her joint appointment with the psychology department and reassigned as associate professor of legal studies. She is currently on sabbatical.
Read a copy of the complaint here. (On lines 32 and 53 "2008" is meant to be "2009," according to McCarthy's attorney.)
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Camp of Artillery Corps
near Chattanooga, Tenn., Aug 28th 1863"
My darling Maggie,
I am again a soldier and fast settling
down to the routine of Camp life. I arrived here on Wednesday
evening about 6 o’clock and tramped over the country in
the neighborhood of Chattanooga until near midnight before
I succeeded in finding the battery. They had removed
their camp a short time previous to my arrival and no
one could give me positive information as to where I
may find them. I ultimately discovered them about
four miles from town near the Look Out mountain. The
boys were all well and gave me a hearty welcome back.
The dull monotony of camp is somewhat changed
from what it was when I left. [Rosecranz] and his army
is on the opposite side of the river and has made one
attempt to cross over. They commenced shelling the town
last Friday rather unexpectedly and during divine service
for it was fast day. Some few persons were killed and
I am sorry to say amongst the number was a woman
and a little child. I think it is perfect barbarism to
shell a town without giving sufficient time for non-
combatants to leave. Yesterday they resumed the bombard
ment for two or three hours but without any damage except
to the buildings. The citizens have all left and even the
[suttlers] allowed the love of life to overcome their love of
gain and hurried off without waiting to remove their goods."
Of course there will be no general engagement until they
succeed in crossing the river and I think by that time
we will be in condition to give them a good fight – for
we have re-inforcements on the road."
My journey this way was not as pleasant as
on my way home. I was delayed on the road and had not
recovered from the pang of parting from those that are
so dear to me. I would that I could always be with you
darling, but this at present is the post of duty and I know
you could not love me as you do, if I failed to bravely
Each page has been transcribed. To view the page transcription, use the left-side drop down menu and select "page & text". This will open a new window to view both the original item and the transcript; within the window, selecting "next" at the top-right will allow for viewing the next page.
Charles Roberts Collection, Special Collections, University of Mississippi Libraries
This item is free from copyright and may be reproduced without prior consent.
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Khalilullah Ferozi, supposedly under house arrest, settles into a seat and orders a shisha and several plates of rice and kebab. On his wrist sits a diamond-studded watch. As he talks, getting animated, a steady spray of half-masticated kebab flies across the table.
Ferozi, a pillar of the Afghan business establishment, lost his job as chief executive of Kabul Bank last year after the Afghan Central Bank belatedly realised he had been in effect running it, along with the bank's former chairman, Sherkhan Farnood, as a giant pyramid scheme. Yet none of the other well-heeled diners at the shisha bar, largely members of Afghanistan's post-2001 nouveau riche, bat an eyelid. Nobody seems disturbed by the presence of a man who helped drain the savings of thousands of depositors totalling $579m (£359m) in a binge of insider lending by the bank's politically powerful shareholders. Because there was never any obligation to pay any interest on these "loans", the total unaccounted sum is $910m. In a country where GDP is just $12bn, that is an extraordinary figure.
The fallout has been immensely damaging as Afghanistan heads towards 2014, when the foreign presence in the country is to be dramatically reduced. One of the world's poorest nations, Afghanistan has to finance a $820m bailout of the bank and the ministry of finance is ramping up its tax collection efforts to pay for it. Public confidence in the banking system, non-existent under the Taliban, has been shattered – 24,000 safes were sold during the run on the bank last summer, as people hoarded cash at home. Of all the problems in Afghanistan the role of people close to the president, Hamid Karzai, in the scandal has soured support for the war in the US Congress. Foreign donors are refusing to make aid payments until the mess is cleared up to the satisfaction of the International Monetary Fund. If a deal isn't reached soon, the Afghan government will, within a month or so, struggle to pay civil servant salaries. (read more)
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|Grads, where is your masters destination?|
People upgrade their academic qualification mainly because they need to either advance their knowledge about the work or their social status. And Bhutanese are by no means exception to this. In Bhutan getting an opportunity to study far from your family and loved ones is seen as an achievement in life and not without reasons.
The thump rule is - farther you can travel from your country by that degree the venture becomes lucrative. That’s why we have thousand competing for a slot or two to study in foreign soil. This is because in this part of the world, upgrading one’s qualification or the act of upgrading, at least, is seen as a moment to earn some additional income and bring home dollars.
People would not mind washing dishes in a foreign land so that they can comfortably relax and enjoy once they return. There is nothing bad in this and in fact we should applaud them. I really admire their hard work and dedication.
Masters degree can be obtained from three different places for Bhutanese. The first one and the most sought after is the opportunity to study abroad (places other than India, preferably Australia these days). This is the land of opportunities, a place where one’s dream can possibly turn into reality.
There are avenues to earn extra income during off hours in these places, which other places that are closer to home do not provide. Then the stipend is paid mostly at par with international standard. Some are paid as high as 2,500 USD while the minimum is anywhere between 1,000- 1,500 USD. Roughly that is almost an average civil servant’s six-month’s salary. Those on government scholarships are also paid full salary during the first year. Isn’t that a wonderful opportunity? No doubt the course fee is high and same with the living standard.
Then we have masters in India. While we may have many people availing the opportunities to get their masters in India, I am sure many opt out of no choice. Because given the option they would prefer to go elsewhere. And there is no opportunity of working part time in a place where thousands look for jobs. Even if there is, how much do you think they would pay? And lo our people who study in India are paid as low as Nu. 6,000/- as stipend, which is a peanut compared to what their lucky colleagues get for having had the chance to study in other countries.
Although India’s education system is really developed and far more relevant to our setting (to people in Bhutan), there are less people willing to have their masters in India. This is a sad truth. On top of losing the opportunity of making more money abroad, those people we send to India, are paid less stipend. This means we are indirectly discouraging those who avail their masters in India. Tuition fee is less here. Living standard maybe low here. But what is the logic? You see, someone is already losing the opportunity and now we are even paying him less – he/she is losing at both the ends. Our policy it seems is less responsive and supportive to those studying in India.
And now we would have masters programs in our own backyard. Sherubtse College - the nation’s first college - is planning to offer three masters degrees initially while RIM recently announced the introduction of three masters programs between 2012 and 2013. All these are very good signs of growth of our education system. We have come a long way.
But again, applying the same hypothesis - excuse me- we would have even less candidates applying for the homemade degrees because the point is if you stay in the same place, you don’t even qualify for stipend. That’s purely my assumptions here and I don’t know what modalities the authorities have worked out for this.
Let’s talk of relevancy. If we can avail our masters in Bhutan, there is nothing like it. We would have people teaching through their experience and learning through practical and realistic examples, which are closer to home. Same is the case with those who study in India; Indian education system is the closest system that can cater to our needs. This means we have more reasons to send people to India. But I am also not discounting exposure our might get from foreign places and different cultures.
Our policy it seems is discouraging people who travel shorter distance for their higher studies. We need to promote what is relevant to us and to our country. And there is the need to promote what is our own by making them more attractive.
While it does not make sense to pay stipend at par with those studying in Australia or the USA, how about paying at least fifty percent of what they are paid to those who opt to study in India? How about making our homemade courses attractive so that our people have no reasons to leave behind their loved ones and travel abroad.
Given the choice, even if we pay half the amount we spend on those who travel to Australia or the States, we would have many people willing to upgrade their qualification at home or at least closer to home.
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Is 2012 the Year for You to Make a Significant Gift to Your Family Members?
What Makes 2012 Special?
2012 may be the ideal year for Washington residents to make gifts. The combination of the current Washington State tax laws and the change in the federal transfer tax structure presents a unique opportunity for residents to make large gifts to reduce the impact of the State estate tax.
Federal Exemption and RatesThe current exemption from the federal gift and estate tax is $5.12 million through 2012 (as indexed for inflation). However, in 2013, the exemption will be reduced to $1 million, pending further action by Congress to extend the current exemption or establish a new one. The current top marginal gift and estate tax rate is 35 percent. If Congress fails to act before 2013, the highest marginal rate will increase to 55 percent.
State Exemption and Rates
In addition to the federal estate tax, Washington State residents are subject to a State estate tax. There is no tax on the first $2 million in value of assets owned at death. The tax rate is progressive and begins at 10 percent on assets above $2 million up to $3 million and is capped at 19 percent on assets over $11 million. Incidentally, this 19 percent estate tax rate is the highest marginal state estate tax rate in the country.
This means that the estate of a Washington resident who dies in 2012 is subject to the State estate tax for assets over $2 million and the federal estate tax for assets over $5.12 million.
Annual Gift Exclusions
The federal estate tax is coupled with the federal gift tax. In addition to the lifetime exemption noted above, each individual receives an annual exclusion from the application of the federal gift tax for gifts of cash or other assets up to $13,000 in value. In each calendar year, donors can make as many gifts as they want to different people and receive a $13,000 exclusion for each gift recipient. The annual exclusion gifts do not reduce a donor's lifetime exemption.
How Can a Taxable Gift Help My Heirs?
The federal gift and estate tax exemption of $5.12 million and the lifetime exemption of $5.12 million are unified under current law, so that if a donor makes a taxable gift during his or her lifetime above the $13,000 exclusion, the value of the taxable gift reduces the donor's estate and gift tax exemption by the amount of the gift in excess of $13,000. A "taxable gift" is a gift that uses the donor's federal lifetime exemption.
Washington State, like most other states, does not currently impose a gift tax, and the State's $2 million estate tax exemption is not reduced by lifetime gifts.
For example, if the estate of a Washington resident who dies in 2012 is valued at $5 million, the estate would owe $390,000 in State estate tax attributable to the value of the estate in excess of $2 million (Washington State’s exemption). No federal estate taxes would be due assuming no taxable gifts were made during the person’s life that would have reduced the federal estate tax exemption below $5 million. If, however, prior to the person’s date of death, a gift of $3 million was made to the person’s children, the estate would pay no estate taxes, either State or federal, under the current tax structure. Thus, an individual can significantly reduce the anticipated Washington State estate tax by making gifts, and can potentially eliminate all estate tax by reducing the taxable estate below the $2 million State estate tax exemption threshold.
What Else Should I Consider?
Prior to making any gift, a donor should understand the income tax consequences of doing so. When property is sold or exchanged, the owner's gain or loss is usually determined by deducting the basis of the property (usually the initial cost of the property) from the amount received. For example, if an owner sells property for $15,000 that has a basis of $10,000, the owner has a gain of $5,000. Under the general gift rule, the donor's basis in the property carries over to the donee. An important exception to the general rule provides that a donee's basis in gifted property is limited to the value of that property at the time of the gift if the property is later sold for a loss.
These income tax consequences must be compared to a recipient's basis of inherited assets. When an individual receives an asset from a decedent's estate, the income tax basis in the asset is generally equal to the asset's fair market value as of the date of death. Accordingly, it will be important to consider income tax consequences in selecting assets for gifting purposes.
Today's depressed values offer significant opportunities for transfers of wealth. For gift and estate tax purposes, the value of the asset is equal to the asset's fair market value at the time of the transfer. Recently, many individuals have chosen to give real estate or business interests to family members. The current fair market value of real estate and business interests may be depressed as a result of current market conditions. Thus, a donor can give a larger portion of the asset than would have been possible a few years ago. By giving a fractional interest in a piece of real estate or a minority interest in a business, the donor may also explore the possibility of a reduced value for the interest due to the lack of marketability and/or the lack of control associated with such interest. Typically, the valuation determination of real estate and business interests requires a professional appraisal.
Can I Change My Mind?
It is important to remember that gifts are irrevocable. While it may be appealing to make a large gift to avoid estate taxes, a donor should first analyze whether the donor may need the asset or the income from the asset in the future. If so, it may not be advisable to make a significant gift, and perhaps other planning strategies should be considered.
We would be pleased to confer with you to determine whether the time is right for you to make a significant gift or to consider other planning strategies.
This update was written as a follow-up to a recent article published in the Puget Sound Business Journal titled "Washington Residents Have an Incentive to Give," written by Colonel Betz and Steven Schindler.
© 2012 Perkins Coie LLP
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Between the national security cuts in the sequester and the new scrutiny to which foreign aid is being subjected in a time of budget belt-tightening, those abroad looking for American taxpayer cash have something of a hill to climb. And just like with any foreign affairs issue, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict commands its fair share of attention. With regard to foreign aid to Middle East governments, it can be argued that while such aid should come with strings, those checks should still be signed lest rogue regimes fill the vacuum with their own cash and influence.
This is certainly the argument that usually prevails when it comes to the Palestinian Authority. Though some in Congress considered punishing the PA for its unilateral declaration of statehood at the UN, even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued against cutting their funding, which could risk the collapse of Mahmoud Abbas’s government and speed up the rise of Hamas in the West Bank. But there’s another Palestinian interest group in Washington this week to lobby for taxpayer cash, and it will likely not find nearly so sympathetic an audience: the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which has worked for decades to keep Palestinians in squalid refugee camps and radicalizing schools while helping to prop up Hamas, provide terrorists with jobs, and fleece American taxpayers–all while utilizing a definition of “refugee” at odds with American law and practice. Josh Rogin reports on his interview with UNRWA commissioner general Filippo Grandi:
Grandi said that U.S. contributions to UNRWA, which are voluntary, are needed more than ever due to the dire situation of Palestinian refugees caught up in the Syria crisis. Right now, the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration require that all accounts be cut evenly, but Congress is expected to provide the State Department flexibility in deciding what to cut. Grandi said he feels confident State won’t choose to disproportionately cut money for UNRWA.
UNRWA and the refugee issue have been in the news over the past year, as Illinois Senator Mark Kirk has sought to clarify the actual number of refugees from the standpoint of American policy and how they are counted. It’s controversial because UNRWA counts refugees differently than the U.S. does, and in fact differently than other UN agencies do for other refugee populations. Neither UNRWA nor its supporters at the State Department want to conduct such a count, because it would reveal that UNRWA is overcounting refugees by several hundred percent in order to gain funding for them. American taxpayers might wonder why UNRWA is allowed to make up its own rules in order to gain access to more of their money. They might also object to the fact that UNRWA has thrust itself into the conflict as a partisan actor and not as an “independent” or “nonpolitical” aid organization, and ask why they should have to fund its efforts to delegitimize Israel and prolong the conflict on which it depends for its money.
In May 2012, Rogin reported on the initial controversy. The State Department criticized Kirk’s legislation, saying Foggy Bottom “cannot support legislation which would force the United States to make a public judgment on the number and status of Palestinian refugees.” The State Department then expressly contradicted itself by telling Rogin that there were 5 million Palestinian refugees and that the State Department agrees with UNRWA in how to count them, despite being inconsistent with American law. In other words, the State Department absolutely believes the U.S. can and should “make a public judgment on the number and status of Palestinian refugees,” as long as that judgment accords with what these individual officials believe, and that the outcome of certain final-status issues should be pre-judged, as long as those issues are pre-judged in the Palestinians’ favor.
Of course, there’s a reason those considered by UNRWA to be refugees need aid–and it’s not the behavior of Israel or the U.S. Leila Hilal of the New America Foundation told Rogin that (emphasis mine) “to honestly determine which Palestinians remain refugees, one would have to wade into a long, complicated legal and factual analysis about which Palestinians in the region have adequate national protection that would end their refugee status.” And a State Department official told Rogin that Palestinian refugees remain under refugee status “until they return home or are resettled in a third country.”
That is, as long as the Arab states in the region mistreat them, the Palestinians will remain eligible for American “refugee” cash, which will be distributed by agencies who work with the regimes responsible for this racket. As you can see, it isn’t easy to justify making exceptions to American budget cuts to preserve cash that incentivizes and rewards Arab states’ abuse of Palestinian migrants and is distributed to and by Hamas and its allies. But I suppose you can’t blame UNRWA for trying.
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Bernard Derriman, the object of Saturday's post, has another series of animations on-line. The Dinosaurs Song (used for the screenshot above) was created by Bernard for the website Big Green Rabbit though curiously it not featured there - you will have to go to YouTube to discover it. Featuring the voice of David Williams (in a sort of Dean Martin mode at times I feel) it is one of a series of witty, conventional cartoons that tell the story of animals, existing or extinct, who eat the wrong things. Working with a team of animators (Andrew Collins, Lily Dell, Ian Harrowell, and Brian Estanisloa) the series is aimed at children. This weekend I read that the UK is facing an explosion of problems associated with our diets, akin to the threats posed by climate change claimed one government minister. Big Green Rabbit is a USA initiative to address childhood obesity by promoting healthy diets. The series of animated songs is one means by which they obtain publicity though they also aim to attract children and parents to sign up for their health club. Whatever, the videos are fun with lyrics and colourful child-centred animations. Toucan, Rhino, Green Amaconda, Iguana and Mashed Potato (!) await your attention.
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Your weekly issue is 1
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Doubt cast over Better Access ‘success story’
A REPORT trumpeting the success of the $1 billion-plus Better Access mental health program has failed to win over many experts, despite a rise in the number of Australians accessing psychological care.
Evaluation of the program shows more than two million Australians have received Better Access services since it started in late 2006.
“This groundbreaking program has done more than meet initial expectations – it is now one of the success stories in mental health,” Australian Psychological Society executive director Professor Lyn Littlelfield said.
The report, released last week, includes modelling by the Department of Health and Ageing showing the number of people with a mental health disorder treated annually rose from 37% in 2006–07 to 46% in 2009–10.
However, the evaluation, conducted by researchers from the University of Melbourne and University of Queensland, included an admission that the 95% confidence interval indicated “considerable uncertainty” around the estimates (for more detail see MO online).
Professor Ian Hickie, executive director of the Brain and Mind Research Institute, Sydney, said the increase did not represent value for money.
“They say half a million people more are getting services now than before,” he said.
“At a cost of $1.5 billion… that’s over $3000 per head.”
Gavin Andrews, professor of psychiatry at the University of NSW, who performed cost modelling for the analysis, said 46% of people with a mental illness treated was a good outcome.
“It’s a lot of money, but it doesn’t smell of waste, and I certainly thought it would,” he said.
The evaluation showed the Better Access program was failing disadvantaged groups, experts said.
People under the age of 14 were four times less likely to use Better Access services than those aged 35–44, and people living in remote areas were 2.5 times less likely to access care than those in capital cities.
“If you are young, in a poorly serviced region and you’ve got no money, you’re doing very poorly,” Professor Hickie said.
RACGP mental health spokesperson Dr Caroline Johnson said the Federal Government needed to be proactive about addressing equity of access by not “putting all its eggs in one basket”.
“The ATAPS program and the mental health nursing practice program also need to be considered as to whether they are mopping up or catching those gaps,” she said.
Professor Hickie said the Government could no longer delay mental health reform.
“A large amount of money and workforce, largely tied up in registered psychology and to some degree general practice, needs to go under the ATAPS-like framework,” he said.
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Horsemen's Park, located in Omaha, Nebraska opened on January 3, 1998. It is unique in that it is the only TRA track owned by a Horsemen's Group. Upon the closing of Omaha's Ak-Sar-Ben race track in 1996, the Nebraska Horsemen's Benevolent Association, under the leadership of Robert E. Lee, decided to build a new track and simulcast facility in Omaha to help preserve live racing in Nebraska. The inaugural live race meet was run in July, 1998.
Acclaimed as one of the finest simulcast facilities in the country, Horsemen's Park has a seating capacity of 3,000 and over 700 televisions. Through a revenue and purse sharing agreement with the four other tracks in Nebraska, the goal of preserving live racing in the state has been achieved.
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When news happens get involved. Send your pictures, views and video to us by text and email
It's Now Or Never: Preparation is key to success for Appleby and Tobutt
8:55am Friday 18th January 2013 in Sport
THIS week has taught us the importance of preparation and attention to detail.
We are learning that there many elements to a successful sailing campaign – boat handling, racing tactics, fitness, and one of the most important – equipment preparation and maintenance.
We received a timely – and very cold – reminder of this as a small but vital piece of rope snapped, unceremoniously dumping us both in the middle of Portland Harbour while the boat sailed off on its own for about 20 metres before turning itself upside down.
Following a very quick swim, and getting the boat back the right way up, we limped back to shore.
While nothing major or irreplaceable had broken, having something like that happen in a race would ruin an event and waste a lot of time and effort.
Even this incident cost us valuable training time as we spent the next day working on the boat.
On closer inspection, we had damaged a couple of key parts of the boat that needed replacing. With some help from the guys at Bussells Chandlers we were able to get the boat back in working order but ran out of time to get out sailing.
Hopefully we have learnt our lesson and will, in the future, be doing this work before it creates problems on the water.
We were putting the boat back together in the dark and rain, using our car headlights to see what we were doing, which is not a sustainable way of operating.
It will be great when we do get set up with proper workshop in a container at the sailing academy so we get boat work done quickly and make the most of the time we have.
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I find that one of the most common missing ingredients in the leaders I work with is adequate training. I don’t mean that they haven’t received adequate training. I mean they fail to provide adequate training to those they lead.
Leaders like to lead. We love to come up with a vision and then marshal the troops to get the job done. But as leaders, we often fail to explain the why behind the what. The result is often a team that knows what to do but has no clue why they need to do it – or do it that way.
Over the years, I’ve found that one of the most important things that I do as a leader is to pass on the reasons behind the decisions I make and actions I expect others to take. It’s the difference between raising up a team of worker bees or a self-directed team capable of maintaining and operating within a consistent corporate culture and organizational DNA that is so important to long term success. It’s also the difference between a team that can function well in my absence or one that is totally dependent upon my constant physical presence and detailed direction.
So how do you on the whys as well as the whats? It’s really rather simple. Start with asking yourself why? And then ask 3 to 5 more whys? Write down your answers. Then let your team in on your thinking.
- Why did you make that decision? And why is that?
- What is it you want a staff member to do? And why is that?
- Why do you want it done that way? And why is that?
- And so on.
Asking the “Why” and then letting your team in on your thinking will go a long way toward creating a team that is capable of making the decisions you’d want them to make even when you can’t be physically present – a self-directed team that makes decisions and carries out its work based on principles rather than memos.
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First published in 1984, a picture book in which the little mouse will do all he can to save his strawberry from the big, hungry bear, even if it means sharing it with the reader. Illustrated in colour by Don Wood.
This is a lovely story. I first read it to nephews twenty years ago, and it is a delight to share it with my own children now. The story is written in a questioning way that draws the reader in to see what is happening, and once the reader knows what is happening they delight in the anticipation of the next page. They also delight in the ways the mouse tries to protect his strwberry from the big hungry bear and ends up being tricked into sharing it. It is really well written and the illustrations are beautiful and full of detail.
Everytime i pick up this book, i just can't help myself but to smile as i can imagine the look on the little faces at my preschool. CHildren JUST love this book, they share their 'nervous' and 'worried' moment with the little mouse in the book as they imagine the bear will really come out to eat the strawberry. Fun and brightly coloured book.
You can earn a 5% commission by selling The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear (Child's Play library) paperback book / softback on your website. It's easy to get started - we will give you example code. After you're set-up, your website can earn you money while you work, play or even sleep!
Are you the Author/Publisher? Improve sales by submitting additional information on this title.
This item ships from and is sold by Fishpond World Ltd.
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Route 11, Virginia
Route 11 runs from north to south between New Orleans and Rouses Point, New York. This U.S. Highway is 1645 miles long. Its path through Virginia is a great road trip route. Along the highway travelers can enjoy the beautiful views of Virginia, stop in small towns, larger cities, enjoy the wilderness and much more.
Route 11 passes by the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, which are great places to enjoy some outdoor recreation. These National Forests extend across Virginia and into West Virginia. Visitors to the forests can enjoy mountain biking, fishing, horseback riding, cross-country skiing and lots of hiking. Within the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests there are over 2000 miles of trails.
Road trippers on this route will pass through the city of Radford. Here visitors will find some truly beautiful Virginia scenery, and it is a great destination for recreating. Radford is located in the Blue Mountains and is near the New River, making it an ideal spot for biking and canoeing.
Shenandoah National Park is also a great spot to stop on Route 11. Shenandoah National Park is 105 miles long, and it stretches from Front Royal to Waynesboro-Charlottesville. Travelers on U.S. Highway 11 can take a detour on the Skyline Drive, the scenic drive through the park. Shenandoah's visitor centers have plenty of fascinating exhibits, and the park has plenty of hiking opportunities. There are over 500 miles of trails, and much of the parks 196000 acres are open to backcountry camping, nature viewing and more. Old Rag Mountain is also in Shenandoah National park, which happens to be a very popular, challenging and dangerous hike, great for the more adventurous hikers.
Another great destination on Route 11 is the city of Roanoke. Roanoke has lots of culture, arts and entertainment for road trippers to enjoy. Visitors can take in the museums, galleries, live performances, historical sites, wineries and even the Mill Mountain Zoo. Nearby there are also some interesting caverns that are open for tours. The Dixie Caverns are located in Salem, and the Luray Caverns, Luray, are the largest caverns in the eastern U.S. At Luray Caverns visitors can enjoy the wide array of formations, colors, stone columns and vast stone rooms.
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove Historical Park is a good spot for history enthusiasts. This park interprets and preserves important historical sites and events from the Civil War era. Cedar Creek and Belle Grove also preserves the cultural heritage of the Shenandoah Valley.
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March 10, 2004
At California State University, Sacramento, students have several options for stress-busting. First is massage at their health center.
Ben Sloane is one of the two certified massage therapists at the health center five days a week for four hours a day. The massages aren't just for people with a physical ailments or injury. "About 80 percent of the people we see come in with problems related to stress," Sloane said.
Then there are Tai Chi classes, some of which can be taken for credit. And there is a club on campus that gives free yoga and meditation classes.
In addition to holding classes, members of the Yoga and Meditation club participate in activities like vegetarian cooking classes, off-campus hikes and group mediation events.
What CSU is really offering their students is lifelong strategies for health and combating stress. I give them an A+.
Posted by linda at March 10, 2004 11:35 AM
blog comments powered by Disqus
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marzo 23, 2011
Meet Melissa, Scott, and Christopher – their stories are testaments to the power of sport. Do you know champions in your hometown? Send us their stories. Email@specialolympics.org
Being an athlete has increased Melissa Reilly’s confidence.
Meet Melissa Reilly
Melissa Reilly was born with Down syndrome. Instead of letting her life’s challenges hold her back, she confronts them head-on and turns them into dreams. Melissa enjoys training and competing in swimming, biking, running and skiing. Being an athlete has increased Melissa’s confidence. She prides herself on being equal to her peers and has strived for inclusion her entire life.
She was fully included in public education since kindergarten and is taking courses at a community college. She keeps a busy schedule and is currently interning for at her state senate office. When not at school or training for her next competition, Melissa works to give back to Special Olympics as a Global Messenger, representing the organization at public events and sharing her story. Melissa and her family are grateful to Special Olympics for the incredible impact the organization has made on Melissa’s life.
Participation in sports has greatly enhanced all aspects of Scott Merrill’s life.
Meet Scott Merrill
Scott Merrill has been part of Special Olympics for over 15 years. He works hard to fine-tune his skills in bowling and golf in hopes of doing his best in local, state and national competitions. Experiencing success on the links and in the bowling alley has made Scott a more confident and independent individual as well as an outstanding citizen in his hometown.
When he is not out on the golf course or at the local lanes, Scott can be found working as a bagger at a grocery store. He enjoys this experience because it gives him a chance to demonstrate that he is a hard worker while also meeting new people and seeing familiar faces. He is well known on and off the field for his pleasant personality and exceptional work ethic. Participation in sports has greatly enhanced all aspects of Scott’s life.
He is thankful to have opportunities that make him healthy, strong, confident, capable and independent. Although Scott has many years of training and competing under his belt, he knows that it is only the beginning and that many more years of sports await him in the future.
Christopher Drewniak credits Special Olympics with helping him gain confidence and a healthier lifestyle.
Meet Christopher Drewniak
Christopher Drewniak has a few unique speed bumps to overcome on a daily basis, but he faces them with courage and determination. Christopher credits Special Olympics with helping him gain confidence and a healthier lifestyle. Since joining he has participated in basketball, bocce, bowling, golf and soccer. Christopher applies the dedication and drive he has developed as an athlete to all aspects of his life.
He is a high school student and exhibits discipline in his studies. He is a member of the National Honor Society and keeps busy with afterschool activities. Christopher is also involved in his community and church. Christopher is grateful for moments where he is able to demonstrate what he can accomplish not only in sports competitions but also in daily life and for the ability to be included with his peers.
About Special Olympics in North America
Your Donation Matters
Special Olympics transforms athletes’ lives through the joy of sport. Help us make a difference.
Volunteer Near You
Volunteering with Special Olympics is fun and very rewarding, for both the athlete and the volunteer!
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Brazil has been actively fighting to cap the rapid appreciation of the 'real' to help its economy.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Brazil's central bank fired the next shot in what is shaping up to be an international currency war with a sharper-than-expected interest rate cut late Wednesday that pushed down the value of its currency, the real.
It's yet another bullet that Brazil is using to fight the rapid inflation of its currency and jumpstart its sputtering economy, which expanded at a 2.7% rate in 2011 versus 7.5% in 2010.
Brazil's finance minister has repeatedly blamed rate cuts by central banks in the United States, Europe and Japan for unleashing a "monetary tsunami."
The rate cuts and looser monetary policy have devalued the dollar, euro and yen and driven investors to seek yield from Brazil's relatively high interest rates, which now stand at 9.75%. Wednesday's move marked the fifth rate cut by Brazil since August. (See correction below)
"Brazil has been the first and most prominent victim of the currency wars," said James Rickards, senior managing director at Tangent Capital Partners and author of Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis. "The U.S. has been so successful at cheapening the dollar that it's hurt Brazil's exports."
As a country's currency appreciates, it generally makes it more difficult to sell goods overseas because they become less affordable. Since the start of the year, Brazil's manufacturing sector has largely been stuck in neutral.
"The Brazilian government has been so vocal about the fact that Japan, the U.S. and Europe have been pumping money out the window," said Arturo Porzecanski, a professor of Latin America economics at American University. "Now it looks like rather than fighting them, they're joining them."
What surprised economists most about Brazil's interest rate cut was that it meant its central bank is largely ignoring concerns over inflation. Inflation has been running at roughly 6%, and consumer prices have doubled in the past decade.
Meanwhile, Brazil's government has taken other steps to dampen the appreciation of the real. The finance ministry extended a 6% tax on foreign buyers of the real and said it may repurchase its sovereign debt located overseas.
One of the fastest appreciating currencies of 2012, the real's exchange rate rose 10% by early March, but that has since been cut in half.
Brazil, the world's sixth largest economy, is not the only emerging market that's feeling the pain of slowing growth. China announced this week that it expects economic expansion to slow to 7.5% in 2012, down from prior forecasts of 8%.
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated the number of rate cuts since August.
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|Overnight Avg Rate||Latest||Change||Last Week|
|30 yr fixed||3.65%||3.65%|
|15 yr fixed||2.80%||2.78%|
|30 yr refi||3.64%||3.63%|
|15 yr refi||2.79%||2.78%|
Today's featured rates:
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Ferrari has been selling cars in China for 20 years now. The luxury Italian automaker is commemorating its longevity in the world’s largest nation by opening a more-or-less “permanent” exhibit. As part of the effort, the prestigious company will also be making a very limited run of a special-edition 458 Italia model, tailored just for the Chinese motorist.
A limited run of only 20 cars
Only 20 of the special-edition 458 Italias will be made — one for each of the years Ferrari has been selling cars in China. The special edition will be painted “Marco Polo Red,” a new color mixed just for this run and named after the Italian explorer who first opened up trade between Italy and China during the 13th century with the famed “Silk Road.”
‘Longma’ dragon-horse design
The Chinese special edition 458 Italia will feature a curled dragon on the hood on a background of gold and black stripes. The gold trim is carried into the wheels and the front fascia trim. Ferrari’s iconic horse logo is also featured, prancing in the background.
According to the company’s press, the artwork “came from the ‘longma’ theme, which is an old Chinese idiom which means the vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse.”
Price not announced
The special embellishments are carried into the car’s interior. Gold-embroidered headrests commemorate the limited run, as does a special “20th Anniversary Special Edition” plaque set into the dashboard. The dash will also feature a start button, etched with the Chinese characters for “start.”
Automakers are looking to the East
The Maranello, Italy-based automaker sold its first Ferrari 348 TS in China in 1992. China, one of the word’s few thriving major economies, is a prime target for the sales-eager automakers of the world.
A long-term Chinese exhibit
Ferrari also plans to commemorate its 20 years of selling cars in China with a long-term exhibit at the Italia Center of Shanghai World Expo Park. Outside of the Maranello Ferrari museum, it will be the company’s only semi-permanent exhibition.
The exhibit is expected to remain for three years and will include five themes: Ferrari in China, Green Technology, Products, Design and Racing. Exhibits from Ferrari’s Maranello, Italy museum will also be rotated at the Chinese venue.
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The Nature And Limits Of Human Understanding: The 2001 Gifford lectures at the University of Glasgow
Posted: 27 Feb 2007 @ 00:00
Book title: The Nature And Limits Of Human Understanding: The 2001 Gifford lectures at the University of Glasgow
Author: A. J. Sanford, editor
Publisher: T & T Clark
Church Times Bookshop £45 & £18 respectively
SOMEONE once turned up to Alan Ecclestone’s parish meeting with the query, “Is this the place where they like arguments?” This book will appeal to people who like arguments, at least, in the more philosophical sense of that word.
For the 2001 Gifford lectures, five different lecturers gave two lectures each on the topic of human understanding. Half-way through, a round-table discussion was held, of which, unfortunately, this book contains no record.
The contributions are extremely diverse, and only one is from a theologian. The other contributors include three very diverse philosophers, and a psychologist. The latter, P. N. Johnson-Laird, entertainingly sets out many logical puzzles to illustrate the limitations of our understanding which, he argues, centre on our inability to construct correct models of causal relations.
George Lakoff argues that neuroscience has transformed our understanding of all the age-long philosophical puzzles. His argument for fully embodied mind is absolutely congenial to anyone who believes in incarnation, though it sets puzzles for the doctrine of God (something theologians have realised at least since Origen). Non-specialists like myself are bound to treat with scepticism the claim that one or two philosophers have discovered the key to everything.
Michael Ruse argues for an altruistic version of social Darwinism, arguing that evolution equips us for social co-operation. This means, I suppose, that the architects of the Washington consensus are atavisms, something I have suspected for some time.
Lynne Rudder Baker, the only philosophical theologian among this group, argues for the priority of first-person knowledge, which means, among other things, that the knowledge claims of natural science are incomplete. She offers a sophisticated justification for taking reasons of the heart seriously.
I have to confess that I turned to Brian Hebblethwaite with a sense of relief, even though his two chapters read rather like a literature review. He is generous and eirenic, but cumulatively makes a powerful case for the contribution of theology to human understanding, above all by the persistent exploration of difficult questions, which is how the late Herbert McCabe understood Aquinas’s Five Ways.
The book would have been stronger if Hebblethwaite, a defender of theology as “Queen of the sciences”, had tried to respond to the four previous lecturers. As it is, it will appeal to interested enquirers, happy to have the problem of understanding discussed from a variety of angles.
The Revd Dr Tim Gorringe is Professor of Theological Studies at the University of Exeter
To place an order for this book contact CT Bookshop
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Part II: The Roots of SGML -- A Personal Recollection
By Dr. Charles F. Goldfarb
IBM's Document Composition Facility:
In 1975 I took a position as a market planner for IBM's printer products in San Jose, CA. The move accomplished two long-held goals: Linda got to give our sons' snowsuits to charity, and I got a chance to prove there was a business case for a GML-based document composition product. The product was officially called the "Document Composition Facility" (DCF), but everyone called it "Script". It was derived from the language, designed by Stewart Madnick in the late 1960's, that was used in the Integrated Text Processing project.
I developed a cost-justification model, based on market surveys and case studies, that showed the enormous value of generalized markup over the procedural markup that was common at the time. On the strength of this, GML support was added to Script. Geoff Bartlett developed a macro language with built-in SGML functions, including controls for delimiter assignment and association of element types with processing procedures.
Peter Huckle, DCF's Chief Programmer, designed and implemented a notable "starter set" application, the precursor of the "General Document" in ISO 8879. The implementation was done entirely in the macro language, which was also available to the product's users. The application design was driven by the needs of IBM publishing, as chiefly articulated by Truly Donovan, the first professional document type designer. Truly was also the leader of what was surely the first multi-site, multinational, generic markup project.
Here's a markup example:
:h1.Chapter 1: Introduction
:p.GML supported hierarchical containers, such as
:li.Ordered lists (like this one),
:li.Unordered lists, and
as well as simple structures.
:p.Markup minimization (later generalized and formalized in SGML), allowed the end-tags to be omitted for the "h1" and "p" elements.
The DCF GML User's Guide (IBM SH20-9160), which I wrote in 1978, includes the first published formal document type "descriptions" (DTDs), for this "General Document" and also for a "GML Markup Guide" document type. The General Document example, except for the delimiter strings, should look very familiar. It was not only the source for the homonymous DTD in ISO 8879, but also, thanks to Anders Berglund's championing of DCF at CERN, it was the source for the World Wide Web's HTML document type as well. The User's Guide itself became the first working paper of the ANSI SGML committee (X3J6/78/33-01).
Before DCF, sophisticated GML applications existed only in a research environment. DCF was a commercial product, subject to all the constraints of what was then the largest and highest-quality software development organization in the world. And it was designed to support the requirements of the world's second-largest publisher. Though not technical in nature, these considerations proved vital for SGML. The World Wide Web, for example, succeeded commercially while many nobler, more technically interesting hypermedia systems proved only of academic interest, because of the Web's artful compromise in connecting technology to the needs of a real user community. DCF and GML succeeded for the same reason. Chuck Cooper was the product planner who made that vital connection for DCF.
DCF/GML, which is still widely used today, has probably produced more pages of output than any other single generalized markup product. It established beyond doubt the viability of generalized markup, and initiated the major change (still going on) in the way that large enterprises view their document assets. The SGML community owes a real debt to IBM and to the many talented and dedicated (present and former) IBM people who made it possible.
Conclusion: 30 Years of Generalized Markup
This memoir has focused on the roots of SGML: The people and activities that directly influenced the invention of the language and, ultimately, the development of the standard (two very different things). Those roots were solidly planted in the industrial sector, but it is worth noting that there were other descriptive markup activities going on in the academic world.
Brian Reid's Scribe system, for example, begun at Carnegie-Mellon in 1976, had independently arrived at several of the key concepts of SGML, though many years later. Brian, however, personally influenced SGML by encouraging me to write "A Generalized Approach to Document Markup" for SIGPLAN Notices in June 1981. That paper eventually became -- after a global change from "GML" to "SGML" -- Annex A of ISO 8879.
I like to think of the history of SGML as -- what else -- a tree structure. One root -- from Rice to GML to my basic SGML invention -- joined at the base of the trunk by the other -- Tunnicliffe to Scharpf and GenCode. The trunk, of course, is the extraordinary 8-year effort to develop ISO 8879, involving hundreds of people from all over the world. The products and tools that came after are the branches, the many applications the leaves, and they are all still growing.
And for all these 30 years, while the technologies of both computers and publishing have undergone overwhelming and unpredictable changes, the tree continues to bear the fruit that I described in 1971:
The principle of separating document description from application function makes it possible to describe the attributes common to all documents of the same type. ... [The] availability of such 'type descriptions' could add new function to the text processing system. Programs could supply markup for an incomplete document, or interactively prompt a user in the entry of a document by displaying the markup. A generalized markup language then, would permit full information about a document to be preserved, regardless of the way the document is used or represented.
Copyright 2001, Dr. Charles F. Goldfarb
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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Thousands march in D.C. for gun control
Thousands marched for gun control on Saturday from the Capitol to the Washington Monument.
Participants were led by Mayor Vincent Gray and other officials, and the crowd stretched for about two blocks along Constitution Avenue.Continue Reading
About 100 residents were expected from Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six adults at a school in December. The rally was organized in response to that shooting.
Once the crowd arrived at the monument, speakers called for a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan told the crowd it's not about taking away Second Amendment gun rights, but about gun safety and saving lives. He said he and President Barack Obama would do everything they could to enact gun control policies.
"We must act, we must act, we must act," Duncan said.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.C.'s non-voting representative in Congress, said the gun lobby can be stopped. The crowd chanted back, "Yes, we can."
Norton said the nation didn't act after previous mass killings, but she said "we the people," won't give up this time.
"We are all culpable if we do nothing now," Norton said
Participant Kara Baekey of Norwalk, Conn., said that when she heard about the Newtown shooting, she immediately thought of her two young children. She said she decided she must take action, and that's why she joined the march.
"I wanted to make sure this never happens at my kids' school or any other school," Baekey said. "It just can't happen again."
The group One Million Moms for Gun Control, the Washington National Cathedral and two other churches signed on to co-sponsor the march. Organizers have raised more than $46,000 online to pay for equipment and fees to stage the rally.
Lawmakers from the District of Columbia and Maryland were scheduled to speak Saturday. Actress Kathleen Turner was expected to appear, along with Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund and Colin Goddard, a survivor from the Virginia Tech massacre.
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Can a million moms rise up against assault weapons?
In the San Francisco Bay Area, where U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein wrote the first assault weapons law that expired in 2004, it’s more bullish than that. If you look on the Bay Area Facebook page for 1 Million Moms 4 Gun Control, motherhood feels powerful.
“There are currently 4 million NRA members and 80 million mothers in the US,” commented Maribel Andonian, of Cupertino, on the Bay Area chapter page for the One Million Moms For Gun Control. “We ARE stronger than the gun manufacturers but we do have to stand up and fight this fight. We can do this!”
After just five weeks of organizing, Saturday marks the public coming-out of mothers who want to act on the idea that commonsense gun control has a place next to the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms.
Led by Marin moms Cynthia Pillsbury of Larkspur and Amanda Mortimer and moms from Los Altos Hills, Los Altos, Mountain View and Atherton, Bay Area members of 1 Million Moms 4 Gun Control will walk from Crissy Field in San Francisco, supporting the March on Washington for Gun Control, which the group is co-sponsoring.
“The conversations have been dominated by politics and profits—but now moms are speaking out,” said Kim Samek of Los Altos Hills, a mother of two.
“There is no way those things are as important as our kids.”
She and several Peninsula women who define themselves as mothers—just highly educated and high-powered ones—returned Thursday night from Washington D.C. to support Feinstein, who introduced gun control legislation Wednesday. “There are “literally dozens of bills introduced in the House as well,” Samek said. “We want to be part of something where we are actually doing something.”
Samek, an estate attorney, remembers watching the news unfold of the Sandy Hook School shootings in disbelief. The day after that, she discovered Shannon Watts’ Facebook page. It clicked with her.
“On the day of Sandy Hook—I have a six year old—I thought, ‘it could have been me,’” she said. “And those parents, they’re they're dealing with so much. We need to do something so it can't happen again.”
She contacted Watts and asked if there was a chapter in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Watts said, no—would Samek like to put up a local Facebook page? So she did. Then she talked to a childhood friend, Ronit Bodner, and Christine Tachner, a Mountain View mother she met from her kids’ preschool. From there it snowballed... In that classic mom-in-Silicon Valley-networking kind of way. They now have 1,700 “likes” on the Facebook Page. Bodner recruited Sara Smirin of Los Altos and Michelle Sandberg in Atherton. They found themselves talking about what to do—the same way as Watts was in Indiana. They joined forces.
Tachner said she stopped saying, "Why isn't someone doing something about this?" and started asking herself, "Why am I not doing something about this?"
This is the opportunity to make a real change, “instead of talking about it,” Samek said.
“This” is what the moms call “commonsense gun control.” They are not for banning guns, not for taking guns away from people, Samek said. They support guns for hunting, sporting, and personal protection. But, she asked “Do we need semi-automatic weapons with magazine capacity for 30 rounds? Without a background check on the Internet? No.”
They support reporting of large sales of ammunition to the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. "The shooter in Aurora had tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition," Samek said incredulously.
They organized offline, too. Less than two weeks ago, Watts flew out to their organizational meeting at Atherton pediatrician Michelle Sandberg’s home, where Sandberg, a physician at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, has been providing a public health perspective on gun violence. Samek is now general counsel of the national group.
Tachner, Pillsbury and Mortimer are heading up the plans for the walk in San Francisco. With Jennifer DiBrienza of Palo Alto, they are just catching their breaths after their whirlwind, less-than-24-hour-trip to Washington to support the introduction of Feinstein’s bill. Perhaps understandably, the march at Crissy Field will not be a “march.”
“It’s a stroll, we’ll have a lot of mothers with strollers,” Samek said drolly.
With members from Marin County to San Jose and the East Bay, (“and everywhere in the middle”), the group is trying to engage the entire Bay Area. “We're looking to grow our membership even more. How to get them involved as well, to make sure their voices are heard. They are looking to engage more mothers, in ways outside of Facebook, she said.
The stroll may be a way to do it, in a mom-meets-mom-over-kids kind of way. Without much time to organize, the point is not to get a million moms to Crissy Field, it’s awareness, said Bodner. “We want it known, we want our collective voices to gather, and we want to support the moms and dads who are marching in D.C. We want to feel connected and get the word out. We’ll see.
“I’ll be there with my three kids.”
Saturday's walk is 10 a.m. at Crissy Field walking and bike path in San Francisco. Walkers will assemble at the East Beach parking lot near the Beach Hut Cafe & Snack Bar (NOT the Warming Hut on the west end).
Event organizers describe it this way: "This is not a rally or a march, rather a casual walk along the waterfront. It's an opportunity for supporters of this cause to get together, to hold signs and wear hearts, and to show our support and solidarity with those rallying in Washington, D.C. that day. If you arrive late, just start walking and look for our signs."
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I read an interesting report in the Telegraph yesterday that says London is the “social media capital of the world”. This is not hard to believe – a city of 8 million people that the Telegraph claim would rather tweet than talk to each other on the tube.
But with such a focus on social media in London, and the accompanying concentration of “social media experts” popping up faster than a twitter trending topic, one is left to wonder why clients are still scratching their heads about social media, and what they should do.
The current thirst for information on this new topic seems to increase daily. Conference organisers are rubbing their hands together as they organise another “twitter conference” – and are guaranteed a sellout.
But there is a broader issue here. My concern (as happened in the mobile advertising space) is that for all this advice, not much seems to be translating into action.
Why is this? I believe it is because social media for a company probably represents a greater step change than the web and online ever did.
Let me explain why.
A step change is happening in the marketing, advertising, communication and PR space. Why? Because via social media (no matter what the website or service), consumers can now talk back to brands, and tell them what they really think.
The purist market researchers claim that this is “dirty” research, because it has not been “scientifically” conducted in a walled room behind a one way mirror after work for a £40 per diem.
Instead, social media gives brands an unfiltered view of what consumers really think.
As Dave Edwards said in a recent post “Social Business: The New Black”
“Marketing sets the expectation, marketing creates demand, marketing helps a consumer differentiate why one choice is better than another choice. Operations delivers. Any gap between the two drives a conversation on the social Web.”
This last line bears repeating because it is the most concise summary yet of why social media matters
Any gap between [marketing and operations] drives a conversation on the social Web.
Wow – we’ve cracked social media – now what?
What we will face is that very few (if any) of us have formal training in “social media”. We all have a degree in “real life” but this does not translate well to the traditional world of advertising, marketing and PR where everything must be measured and controlled.
With social media, as per the quote above, all the hard work by the marketing team can be undone by a poor customer experience and an angry tweet. Think “United Breaks Guitars”, which wiped $180 million of United’s stock price.
A more recent example is the attempt by Vegemite in Australia to brand a new variant of their product as iSnack 2.0. Overnight Kraft has agreed to scrap the new name due to consumer feedback.
Cartoon credit: Cathy Wilcox and Sydney Morning Herald.
I would argue that a few short years ago this would not have happened as fast. Back then it wasn’t easy to “tell a brand off” in public. You had to get a letter to the editor published that would not offend a one of the paper’s major advertisers, get through to a radio talk show or run the gauntlet of a company’s PR machine trying frantically to hose down bad news.
The game has changed.
Along with this change we need a new breed of social media leaders. Recently Revolution Magazine ran a story suggesting that the lack of social media talent will harm investment.
They have a valid point. In a follow up post, I will outline what I believe are the new skills that marketers and leaders will need to survive in this new world.
In speaking to my local friendly Starbucks Barista, Laura who is studying an MBA majoring in marketing, I asked her what social media subjects or themes were being taught.
Her response did not surprise me, but it did prompt me to write this post, because the rate that social media is starting to impact normal business practices, we need the next wave of graduates thinking NOW about the 4 rules for social media
It’s not too late to learn how to listen.
Yesterday I was fortunate enough to visit the Ogilvy headquarters in Canary Wharf where they were running a social media day. They had a brilliant line-up of speakers such as @jbell99, @PeterFriedman, and @rorysutherland.
You can search the tweets from the event using the hashtag #ogilvysocial (grab some gems before twitter archives them).
One of the posters around the room (above) summarised “CRM in the social age” (click for a larger view) in 4 key words:
Listening, Participating, Activating. Engaging.
When a major advertising agency (or at least their 360° Digital Influence team) starts using this sort of language in front of clients, you know the world is changing.
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The story goes that one day Belshazzar, son of Nebuchadnezzar and king of Babylon, was having a rocking party in his palace with 1,000 of his closest “friends”. Wine of the highest quality was flowing freely and Belshazzar decided to bring the finest wine glasses of the kingdom. These happened to be the gold cups taken by his father from the Temple, the house of God in Jerusalem.
And while they were celebrating and praised the “gods of gold, silver, bronze and iron, the king saw a human hand appear and began writing something on a lamp-illuminated whitewashed wall of the palace. No doubt that when the king saw the disembodied hand writing away he was creep out because the Bible tell us that “he went white as a ghost, scared out of his wits. His legs went limp and his knees knocked.” (Daniel 5:6) - Read More -
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Security firms shrug shoulders over GCHQ cyberattack warning
Spy chief may have over-hyped threats
Security firms reckon GCHQ's well-publicised warnings about the threat from cyber attacks earlier this week are timed to coincide with the run-up to the UK government's comprehensive spending review announcement.
We spoke to several security consultants who believe the threat warnings were aimed at making sure GCHQ's line of funding remains assured. If this was the case, it seems the approach has already been successful.
Iain Lobban, head of the GCHQ, warned that the the UK government is targeted with over 1,000 cyber attacks a month.
Sean Sullivan, security advisor for F-Secure, commented: "Iain Lobban’s comments seem strategically timed to protect GCHQ’s funding ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement on 20 October."
"One could even argue they are over-hyped because the sort of attacks or worms he refers to are very common and have been for some time. They are experienced by all sorts of different organisations failing to implement best security practices - not just Government agencies," Sullivan added.
F-Secure reckon the number of targeted email attacks has risen across all sectors of the UK economy. "The US's cyber command also recently spoke of worms 'targeting' them but, once again, most of these worms target everybody," Sullivan added.
As we reported on Thursday, the government is expected to earmark more than a billion pounds to finance an effort to bolster Britain's cyber security over the next three years, including plans to develop "active defence" capabilities that will surely tap the expertise of GCHQ.
Rik Ferguson, a security consultant at Trend Micro, argued it was important to ignore the "white noise" generated by the random scanning activity of worms such as Conficker in favour of concentrating on targeted attacks. "You need to make a judgement and cut through the stuff that looks like an attack to focus on the stuff that actually is an attack," he explained.
GCHQ's Lobban argued that co-operation between government agencies and the private sector is needed to combat complex and targeted threats, a point welcomed by security firm M86 Security.
Back in July, M86 Security identified a targeted attack aimed at an as yet unnamed UK high street bank and involving the Zeus crimeware toolkit. Since then more than 30 suspects - alleged money mules and organisers of the fraud - have been arrested in the UK, US and the Ukraine. ®
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A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff suggested Sunday that gays shouldn’t be able to openly serve in the US military because no country with openly serving gays has ever defeated the US in a war.
Gen. Hugh Shelton told ABC’s Christiane Amanpour that it’s the servicemen in the Army and Marines who should get to decide whether or not the controversial “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is ended.
“I think it’s time to let’s see what the men and women that are at the basic combat unit — particularly the men in the Marines and Army — have to say when the survey comes in on the first of December,” he said.
“If the men and women in uniform at the fighting level, particularly the Marines and Army, say, ‘No it doesn’t make any difference to us,’ … it won’t break the readiness of our great armed forces,” Shelton continued.
“Why do you think it would?” interrupted Amanpour. “I mean some of the great allies of the United States have. Whether it’s Canada, whether it’s Britain, France, Australia, even Israel allows openly gay men and women to serve in the military. And they have great armies, great militaries.”
“They have great militaries, great armies,” Shelton answered. “But if you check the historical records, Christiane, as you know, we’ve never lost to any of them. We are the top of the pile. We are the best in the world. And we want to stay that way.”
To the best of Raw Story’s knowledge, the US has never fought a war against an army with openly serving gay troops.
Earlier this month, Shelton received attention for saying the Iraq war was a “fiasco” due to Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s “lies.”
“President Bush and his team got us enmeshed in Iraq based on extraordinarily poor intelligence and a series of lies purporting that we had to protect Americans from Saddam’s evil empire because it posed such a threat to our national security,” Shelton wrote in his memoir.
This video is from ABC’s This Week, broadcast Oct. 24, 2010.
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According to government sources, the main Hungarian airport, Ferihegy will be renamed as Liszt Ferenc airport in October 2011, at the latest, commemorating to the 200th birthday of one of the greatest Hungarian composers.
The goal is to bestow the new name upon the airport at the first half of 2011, during the rotating Hungarian presidency, said Géza Szőcs, the Secretary of Cultural Affairs.
“The idea popped out of my head in Warsaw a couple of years ago, when I saw that the Warsaw airport is called Chopin airport. Soon after, I raised the issue of renaming Ferihegy to several people,” said Géza Szőcs; then he added: it is quite common that big airports, around the world, have been wearing the names of famous artists or politicians.
(magyarhirlap.hu – hungarianambiance.com)
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It is an energizing and inspiring thought to consider leading your own company or venture. The possibilities seem limitless as you know you can shape where and how the ideas come to reality. As the leader, CEO/President, founder, etc. you can shape all of the key organizational elements of strategy, structure, workflow, reinforcement and policies. However, having the intended design implemented can be a considerable initial and ongoing challenge. That is why finding the right people to support and enable your ideas is absolutely critical.
-The critical people-
The smaller the size of your organization, the more impact every individual will have upon strategic implementation, normal operations and the future opportunities. With that in mind, the people you initially bring along with you or bring into your new organization will have a huge impact in ways you can imagine and many that you will not.
With the importance of those partners or supporters in mind, what should the aspiring inventors, leaders, and founders look for? The most important element would be if they can enable the key strategic aims of the venture. The recruits should have resources and/or capabilities to complement or augment you abilities and resources, as the person in charge. It is important to know where you, as the strategic powerhouse, need to apply your ideas, skills, resources, and abilities. It may be equally as important to know where you should not be investing your time. This part may be due to lack of experience, ability, resources, or simply interest.
Another important aspect is regarding the structure and workflow of the organization you want to create. The key players involved in carrying out the core strategy will have large impacts into the company culture. Since the key players will be tied to the vital activities, they will be relied upon and their actions will carry weight into how things are done then and into the future. The people you bring into your company or venture should be people you like, want to work with, and know that would work well with you and others. It is important to make the distinction between simply hiring friends and hiring colleagues who are friends. Much like a friend that really should not or just cannot be a good roommate, there are friends that you should not bring into your organization. Those friends may not like to function at the same hours as you (they might be morning people while you’re a night person). They might like a home where laundry is always on display over the couch and bed, while you like home clean and orderly at all times. Styles and approaches may or may not complement each other. It is good to have diversity of approach as long as it adds value instead of stands in the way. There are many more examples where you can find parallels between the way you know them as friends and what is important for your other roles. Ultimately, you and others will need to rely upon them for getting both the strategic and non-strategic work done in a productive and hopefully fun manner.
First know what it will take to achieve your strategic aims and where/how you want to be involved. Second, understand that your new organization will require a certain mix of talent, resources, and intangible attributes to succeed. For those that are dreaming of new horizons, think on whom you know or you should get to know that will help create the future you envision. A new venture requires a lot of hard work, but the rewards can become amazing. Good luck!
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A delicate French pastry is trying to take over New York, one mouth at a time.
On Sunday, more than a dozen bakeries sent thousands of brightly colored, bite-sized macarons onto the streets, offering them free of charge to curious passers-by. The celebration even had a name, Macaron Day. Organized by the baker François Payard, it was inspired by a similar event in Paris the same day.
On the roster were established names like Jacques Torres, smaller outfits like Almondine Bakery in Brooklyn and other bakeries throughout Manhattan, Queens and Westchester County.
“The idea is to promote the macaron,” Mr. Payard said.
Marketing ploys aside, perhaps the event helped clear up an old misunderstanding. More often than not, macarons, a type of petit four, are mistaken for macaroons, the coconut mounds that are traditionally consumed during Passover.
The French macaron is far more fragile, made of crisp shells of almond flour enveloping dollops of flavored cream or chocolate ganache. As small as a button or as large as a palm, they resemble multicolored hamburger buns, with a rainbow strip of cream where the patty might be.
Creating them is a painstaking process — macarons burn easily, the shells crack for no reason at all, and, ideally, they should not be consumed until the day after they are made, Mr. Payard said. But it is this fragility, not to mention the colors and shapes, that make them so enticing.
Since September, Taryn Garcia has had a pop-up macaron business on Fridays and Saturdays at the Eva Scrivo hair salon on Bond Street in Lower Manhattan.
On Sunday, amid bottles of hair masks, she was offering cookies in neon-blue and wedding-dress white; the flavors were blueberry and verbena, and black Périgord truffle and chestnut, dusted with gold flour.
“The color spectrum is all over,” she said. “Pink, blue, yellow, white.”
The first macaron was free, everything after that was $2 apiece, though normally, she charges $3.
Ms. Garcia studied baking in Paris, a daunting undertaking because, she said, pastry chefs would not teach anyone who was not French. “The Parisians guard their recipes — they just don’t teach everyone how to do it,” Ms. Garcia added.
At the Macaron Café on the Upper East Side, the owner, Arnaud Cannone, designed his boxes to illustrate those challenges. Along the sides of the boxes — the parts that would normally be obscured by a lid — was this story, rendered as a cartoon: A woman meets a man for a date, serves him alcohol, steals the recipe and brings it to New York. “He was very drunk” to have given up the recipe, Mr. Cannone joked.
Whatever the challenges, it is Mr. Payard’s hope that macarons will one day enjoy the popularity of pies or even cupcakes. For his part, his two bakeries gave away 2,400 of the delicacies, and as the unofficial master of ceremonies, he spent the day visiting several of his competitors, moving through the bright chill on his motorcycle.
Though not popular yet, macarons seemed to be catching on, as each location saw quite a few people who were already aficionados. “We have a list!” said Stephanie Roit, who planned to visit at least seven locations with her friend, Jennifer Gong.
If all goes right for Mr. Payard, having a list won’t be enough: “Next year, they’ll have to take their bicycles,” he said.
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Sometimes marine insurance companies outright deny claims, but more often, they file what is known as declaratory judgment actions. A declaratory judgment action asks a federal court if an interpretation of the insurance policy -- usually an exclusion clause -- can be used to deny the claim. Depending upon the court's answer, the marine insurance company will either accept or deny the claim.
The reason why marine insurance companies bring declaratory judgment actions is to avoid the punitive damages statute for the wrongful denial of a claim. Declaratory judgment actions, however, are costly for the boat owner as he or she will have to hire an attorney to fight the insurance company. To combat the expense insurance companies place on their customers in pursuing declaratory judgment actions, Florida enacted a statute which holds the insurance company liable for attorney fees should the boat owner win the lawsuit. The purpose of this law is to discourage litigation over insurance policies. Most beneficial to boat owners is that the statute is one-sided and does not allow insurance companies to seek attorney fees if they are successful.
It is interesting to note the law states it does not apply to, "insurance of vessels or crafts, their cargoes, marine builders' risks, marine protection and indemnity, or other such risks commonly insured under marine insurance policies." At first blush, it looks like it does not apply to marine insurance litigation. However, the Florida Supreme Court has found the exclusion only applies to rates and rating organizations and not to boat owners seeking attorney fees if successful in litigation.
In conclusion, if your marine insurance company files a declaratory judgment action in response to your claim, the law provides you the right to recoup attorney fees if the court rules in your favor. If you have a dispute with your marine insurance company and wish to discuss your case further, feel free to contact our board certified maritime attorneys who have vast experience in litigating marine insurance claims.
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dir. Andre De Toth
"You won't find much mercy anywhere in Wyoming."
During the fifties, the American Western experienced a dramatic reworking. Although most associate the Western revisionist phenomenon with the works of Peckinpah and Leone in the sixties, the skewering that this genre received earlier by the likes of Anthony Mann and Budd Boetticher was much more startling. Although it would be disingenuous to imply that the Westerns of classic thirties, forties Hollywood hewed to a single-mindedly escapist vision, there is no denying the optimistic promise of the American West that was presented in these pictures. Throughout the fifties, however, filmmakers, more and more, used the West as a prism through which to view the injustices and moral ambiguities of modern life, while simultaneously deflating the Western myth, exposing much of it as fallacy. While still remaining entertaining, Westerns were becoming much less fun. Even the films of Ford (and to a much lesser extent, Hawks) would take a much darker tone in this period.
To the list of Western revisionists already mentioned must be added Robert Aldrich, Sam Fuller and Andre De Toth. Perhaps the least well known among this group, De Toth carved a niche for himself in the forties and fifties as a director of brutal, hyper macho noirs and westerns. He created worlds of nuanced/blunt moral ambiguity. His was a world in which the lines separating good and evil were frequently blurred. Although a director of relative fame among cineastes, he is in dire need of a re-examination. Due to the previous scarcity of De Toth films on home video, he is a director that I had not much familiarity with until recently. Each De Toth picture I've had the pleasure of seeing has been a revelation. My biggest De Toth discovery is undoubtedly Day of the Outlaw. Coming at the tail end of the fifties, this film is one of the bleakest Westerns of the era.
Day of the Outlaw contains a cornucopia of TV and character actors of the period including: David Nelson of "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" fame, "Gilligan's Island"'s Tina Louise, Burl Ives, Elisha Cook Jr., and Jack Lambert. Rounding out the cast is the distinguished actor and frequent movie heavy Robert Ryan. How a film with such a cast could slip under my radar for so long is mind boggling. The prospect of seeing Ryan, Ginger, and Sam the Snowman in one movie should be reason enough for anyone to check out this picture. Fortunately, De Toth makes particularly good use of these performers in this hard hitting film.
As the film opens, Blaise Starrett (Robert Ryan) and Dan (Nehemiah Persoff) travel through a snow covered landscape to the town of Bitters, Wyoming. Much like the rest of the film, this town's name is a delicious bit of obvious metaphor. In opening on a snowy landscape, De Toth also announces, immediately, the dramatic departure from Western norms that will mark this film. In contrast to the liberating arid wide open spaces of most Westerns, the setting here creates a feeling of suffocating claustrophobia.
De Toth wastes no time in setting up the story. During the opening credits, Blaise and Dan debate the need to murder a farmer, Hal Crane (Alan Marshal). Blaise is a rancher and former gunslinger who is riled up over the Crane's use of barb wire to protect his farm land. This constriction of previously open land has proved extremely detrimental to Blaise's cattle. In these few opening mintes De Toth has set up a classic Western them -- Civilization versus freedom. Blaise's entry into town creates a tense atmosphere, especially after it is revealed that Blaise previously had relations with Crane's wife Helen (Tina Louise).
Blaise and the townsfolk are soon stuck in a tense saloon showdown. Before any bullets have a chance to fly, however, a brutal gang of marauders/thieves and their commander Jack Bruhn (Burl Ives) burst into the drinkery. Seeing his group is on the run from the cavalry, Bruhn decides hold the townsfolk hostage while making a stop in the town. Suddenly, the film has turned into a wholly different beast. The previous enemies, the townsfolk and Blaise, must now join forces in defending their town against the intruders. Although, on one level, this plot development is an extreme departure, it is in keeping with the film's central conflict of freedom versus civilization. The marauders, in their wish to run roughshod over the town and its denizens, represent a perverted distortion of the freedom that Blaise has espoused. The subsequent battle of wills forces Blaise to come to grips with his murderous intentions toward Crane and to question his beliefs. This debate over freedom versus civilization is one that continues even today.
Fortunately for the citizenry, the marauders are held in check by the dying Bruhn. Because he is racked with guilt over his complicity in a previous rampage, Bruhn has made it his duty to prevent any further bloodshed. Sure Bruhn is a thief, but he has standards. Bruhn merely sees this town as stop on his way to a destination. He wants to make his group's stay as hassle/murder free for the population as possible. In this clip, Bruhn's attempt at creating harmony between the townsfolk and the thieves comes off as a little hokey, however:
Also unnecessary is this scene in which the town's womenfolk are forced to put on a show for the marauders:
Sensing that Bruhn will soon expire, turning the city into a rampage free for all, Blaise devises to trick these men into following him down a mountain path to nowhere.
(Artist's rendition of a rampage)
In this, the final third of the film, the thieves traverse a snowy mountainous deathscape. Leading the pack with a suicidal determination, Blaise's goal is to drive all these men to their cold induced deaths. Fortunately for Blaise, their greed aids him in his quest as they soon off each other so as to take bigger portions of the shared loot. Although the film's finale contains redemption for a few characters, this final third of the film is about as cynical a statement on humanity as has been seen.
Like last week's entry, this film is a great example of economic storytelling. De Toth packs a surprising number of plot elements into this ninety minute movie. Day of the Outlaw is essentially three movies wrapped up into one awesome whole. Although constructing a movie in this manner can many times result in a jumbled mess, the story shifts here work surprisingly well. Aiding this is a unity of theme. Despite the abrupt story shifts, Day of the Outlaw remains a treatise on freedom versus civilization. Although the film eventually comes down on the side of civilization it is not before infusing the debate with a purposeful sense of ambiguity. In addition to the unity of theme, the picture has an underlying unity of style. Particularly striking is De Toth's Fordian sense of framing. Equally adept at composing snow-swept fields and crowded interiors, De Toth directs a film in which not a single shot is without purpose. A movie that could have turned into another example of an ambitious failure is instead an artistic success. How De Toth is not more well known is beyond me.
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I recently re-watched an interview that Carson Daily conducted a few years ago with Vice co-founder Gavin McInnes. In this interview, McInnes alleged that the cutoff point for wearing band t-shirts was 30 years old. Upon further research, I found an older interview with Mr. McInnes where he claimed the cutoff point was 40. This got me thinking about the relationship between age and printed t-shirts—how old is too old? Some people, of course, will never be concerned about an age cutoff and some people will put entirely too much thought into it. I don’t necessarily agree with what much of Mr. McInnes said, but I do agree with his views on fashion as a whole when he says, “People who take it too seriously miss the point and people who ignore it miss the point.” So then, what is the point and where do graphic t-shirts fit in?
Nothing but a Number
Your age does not define you. You probably have more responsibilities at 35 than you did at 23, but the number itself is not what has changed you—your life experiences have made you into who you are. What works for someone at the age of 40 might be the same thing that works for someone else at the age of 55. T-shirts are functional and comfortable enough that there’s no definite age cutoff for wearing them, but what about specific kinds of t-shirts? At what age do we have to stop wearing our favorite Smashing Pumpkins shirt? When should we kiss our favorite “Kiss Me, I’m Irish!” shirt goodbye? When is it time to donate that old Big Dog Lord of the Rings Shirt to the Salvation Army? I think it completely depends on the person, their personality and their comfort level.
There are, of course, some stipulations. Take band shirts, for example. A 43 year old man wearing jeans, a leather jacket and a Judas Priest t-shirt is perfectly acceptable. On the other hand, a 33 year old man wearing a Weezer 1998 tour t-shirt in 2012 is going to make him look like he’s stuck in the past. A wardrobe full of shirts with funny slogans is going to work much better for a 20 year old than it is for a 35 year old. For both men and women, it’s less about how old they are and much more about how tasteful the shirt is. A 52 year old woman could easily pull off a Blondie Parallel Lines t-shirt if she wore it in a dignified manner. But what are the rules for dignity and t-shirts?
Mind Your Surrounding
More than the exact number of years you’ve been on this earth, pulling off a t-shirt is about the situation you’re in. A vintage Pepsi t-shirt might not be great for a night out on the town or dinner with the in-laws, but it might be perfect for working out at the gym or mowing the lawn. Common sense easily dictates which t-shirts are appropriate for which occasions, but rest assured that there are plenty of scenarios in which a t-shirt is perfectly acceptable.
There’s not much difference between a blank t-shirt and a t-shirt with an enjoyable graphic on it—both serve the exact same purpose. If a 29 year old woman wants to wear a Guinness t-shirt to the grocery store or to the movies, I think that’s just as reasonable as wearing a plain black t-shirt. There are t-shirts that are outlandish, of course, but what is actually outlandish depends on both the situation and the individual.
Who You Are
A graphic t-shirt should always fit your personality and fit where you are in life. A 32 year old graphic designer can easily pull off a shirt featuring a vintage Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book cover, but it might not work so well for an economics professor. That’s entirely speculative, of course—only you know what fits your personality. The thing about that, though, is that people can easily tell when you’re uncomfortable with what you’re wearing or if you’re just wearing it to fit in.
Confidence and authenticity are the key components of pulling off a graphic t-shirt when you get past your 20s. If the t-shirt you’re wearing is just a relic from your teenage years then it’s going to look out of place, but if it represents something that you’re genuinely enthusiastic about and that is still a part of your life then you’re on the right track. That being said, there is a difference between your age and the age of the t-shirt that you’re wearing.
Know the Material
There’s a difference between classic and dated. There’s a difference between vintage and ancient. These are important distinctions to make. If the shirt is full of holes and its print has faded to illegibility, it’s time to let that shirt go. It might still be salvageable for any number of t-shirt recycling projects, but if it’s a roadmap of stains and rips then it’s time to let go.
It all goes back to that appropriateness and dignity thing. If someone notices how gross and beat up your t-shirt is instead of the cool graphic or logo that’s printed on it then things aren’t working correctly. If someone can look at your shirt and say, “Hey, that’s a cool vintage t-shirt! It’s in such good condition!” then everything is going just fine.
There’s no definite answer to “how old is too old?” when it comes to graphic t-shirts. Every single aspect of that answers depends on you as an individual. Your personality, your confidence level and the occasion you’re dressing for are the most important factors in deciding on what to wear. I think that in the right hands, a great graphic t-shirt never goes out of style.
Adam Farwell is a writer, blogger and designer. He generally blogs about design, fashion, marketing, small business branding and the various creative projects he’s involved in. He currently writes for funnyshirts.org, where you can customize and design your own funny shirts.
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Library tightens Internet policy
July 3, 2008 · Updated 3:38 PM
Starting July 1, Sno-Isle libraries will change their Internet policy in order to comply with the Childrens Internet Protection Act.
That means anyone using a library computer will automatically received filtered access that restricts sites featuring human sexuality, nudity, adult content or pornography. While adults who are 17 and older can request unfiltered access, children cant get unrestricted access, even with a parents permission.
The Sno-Isle board voted several months ago to comply with the federal act. In doing so, the library system is eligible for federal discounts on telecommunications, which amounts to $5,748 for the 2004-2005 period, according to Becky Bolte, island regional manager for Sno-Isle.
For the average kid, the change may actually mean more access to the World Wide Web. The library currently runs the highest level of restrictions in the filtering program for youth under 18 years old. In addition to sexual material, it blocks out e-mail and chat, as well as subjects like drugs, alcohol, suicide, gambling, school cheating and swimsuits. Parents have the choice of overriding the restrictions and allowing their children to have unfiltered access.
But starting tomorrow, the computers will filter out only sites that feature graphic depictions (images, not text) of human sexuality, nudity, adult content or pornography. The entire site, or URL, is blocked and there will be no exceptions for kids under 17.
Bolte said the computers in the childrens room will retain the highest level of restrictions. Even adults who use computers in the childrens room will have fully filtered access. She pointed out that parents who want their children to have highly-filtered access to the Internet can simply direct them to the computers in the childrens area.
According to Bolte, the library system uses a software system called Bess to filter Internet access.
It works pretty well, as well as any filter can, she said.
The filtering system allows for human reviews, Bolte said. If a patron runs across something that is blocked and shouldnt be, he or she can submit the site to be reviewed by a Bess employee.
The system lets the user know that a site is being blocked. Bolte said a picture of a dog with a stop sign pops up on the screen and a message states the site is blocked. It asks the user if he or she wants the site reviewed for possible future access.
The Oak Harbor library currently has 25 computers with internet access. They are in use all the time, Bolte said, which is why there continues to be a two-hour limit on usage.
If a new library is built in downtown Oak Harbor, Bolte said it will likely be built as a hotspot, which is a location with an access point providing public wireless broadband network services to mobile visitors through a WLAN. That means a person with a laptop computer can plug into the internet without wires. She said the library may also loan out laptops.
Who know what technology will bring in five years for libraries or the world in general, she said.
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All of us are used to biweekly shampooing, drying and hair setting, with hair styling products. Some of us use hair tonics and hair balsams. Some of these hair preparations are effective, some not, but they simplify a hair care problem. It's not deniable that professional hair preparations are effective when they are in professional hand.
Have you ever thought about natural way to care your hair? Herbal hair care can be very healthsome and effective.
The simplest way to use herbs is to rinse your hair with herbal infusions and herb teas (herb tea making requires boiling treatment, herbal infusion doesn’t). Use horse gowan, camomile, pot marigold, lime flowers for fair hair. Great nettle, common St. John's-wort, birch leaves are appropriate for dark hair. Hair rinsing invigorates and smooths your hair. Make 10-days courses of treatment once in two months.
Beyond that point you can use floral oils to invigorate hair-roots and to anticipate fragility of hair. It is generally admitted that burdock oil is best of all. Tepefy the oil and put it on your hair, but none too much, muffle up your head with shower cap or cellophane and warm towel. Keep it for two or three hours, or a whole night if your hair is very dry, fractured or damaged. Then wash your hair as usually, but use oil hair shampoo or wash twice to remove oil. You can also use castor oil, linseed oil, calendula oil or olive oil. All of them are appropriate for eyelashes and eyebrows.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests
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Hi everyone! I am a third-year journalism student at Loyalist College. Currently, I am working on a documentary about women on the family farm.
I want to explore how these days, women are taking on more active roles than ever before, while at the same time, running homes, raising children, and in some cases, even working outside of the home. I want to know what they think of this shift, and what it means in terms of lifestyle. How do they do it all? How are their husbands/partners supportive? Why is this change significant? Etc.
If anyone lives around the Belleville area and is interested in doing an interview, or knows anyone in the Belleville area, I would really appreciate your help.
Also, if anyone has any other suggestions on how to approach the story, that would be appreciated as well.
Thank you so much!
I do not live in the Belleville area but I have raised four children as we started our farm, the need for the second income could not be denied as my husband has worked off farm for 25 years. As a result full responsibility for the day to day decisions and planning have become my responsibility. I am 51 and looking back now I wonder how I managed, I guess all I can say is that there were allot of long hours trying to keep house and keep a normal life for my children. I do know that there we times throughout the year that you just had to pick the things that you can live with, maybe a little more clutter and dirt in the house then you would like. I do know that I made the time to go to my children's class trips and let the fields wait. I always knew when I put in too many hours, as I could count on every spring planting season and every harvest my youngest would always crawl into my bed at 3:00 am. I am a grandmother now and when my first grandchild was born my heart ached because I really felt that at this point in my life I should be able to spend more time with them. I have considered a combine with a jump seat. I have been really lucky that I was able to employ my daughter who brings my grandchildren to work, she now keeps my house in shape while I run the employees and the fields.
Hope this helps you.
Hi there Rosemarie,
Whereabouts are you from? Even though you might live far away, I could still interview you for a print story, if you'd be interested?
Thanks for your reply..it sounds like you have lived a very busy life on the farm!
Fenwick Ontario close to the St.Catharines Niagara Falls area
That would be okay! We could do a phone interview sometime..it will give the story a broader voice than just local farmers. I'll give you my email so we can arrange a date for an interview, etc.
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The federal government provides funding for a wide range of activities related to science and research and development (R&D); federal policies also affect the private sector's incentives to engage in those activities. CBO's work addresses science and R&D in energy, pharmaceuticals, space and ocean exploration, weapon development, climate change, and more.
Use this menu to filter CBO's publications by topic. From January 2011 forward, all the agency's products are categorized by topic. Cost estimates released prior to the 112th Congress are not categorized by topic.
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Suez Energy North America (SENA) said that its subsidiary, Calypso LNG, is pursuing
the development of a submerged buoy system off the southeastern coast of
Florida, known as a "Deepwater Port," that would serve as an offshore delivery
point for liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivered by specially-built LNG
On March 1, the company filed a deepwater port license
application with the U.S. Coast Guard, which has jurisdiction for the
permitting, operation, and security for such facilities located in federal
waters. The Calypso Deepwater Port is proposed to be located approximately
10 miles offshore from Port Everglades and will comprise a marine offloading
buoy and anchoring system that will reside approximately 150 feet below the
ocean surface when not in use.
The proposed facility will connect to an undersea pipeline
operated by another SENA subsidiary, Calypso U.S. Pipeline, that will
transport natural gas from the Deepwater Port to customers in Florida.
A similar project was proposed by an affiliate company of Calypso, Neptune
LNG, which filed a license application with the Coast Guard for a
Deepwater Port on February 15, 2005. That project will be located off the
coast of Massachusetts to serve Boston and the greater New England market.
Development of this offshore installation is within schedule and is targeted
to be up and running in 2009.
The Calypso project is proposing to replicate many of the Neptune
project's specifications in order to accelerate its licensing process and
create operational synergies.
"The overwhelming feedback we have received from
Florida customers is that they need additional, LNG-based gas supplies and
they need them as soon as possible," said Zin Smati, president and CEO of SENA. "It is our intention to meet our customers'
needs and be the first supplier of natural gas directly into the southeastern
Florida market derived from LNG. We believe our Calypso project is consistent with Governor Bush's call for
fuel diversification as outlined in his comprehensive 2006 Florida Energy
Suez is currently the only major energy company that owns and operates LNG
facilities on each side of the Atlantic Ocean--at Everett, Massachusetts,
serving the New England market, and at Zeebrugge, Belgium, serving the central
European market. An affiliate of Suez Energy International is also engaged in
a longer-term LNG terminal development project located in Freeport Harbor on
Grand Bahama Island.
"The Florida market is very important to us," said Dirk Beeuwsaert, CEO of Suez Energy International. "As our LNG supply and shipping
portfolios continue to grow, the Calypso project will increase our already
significant position in the Atlantic Basin and give us the critical mass to
serve all of our markets with a level of reliability that will be unmatched in
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How to Be a Fearless Survivalist
Mar 24th, 2012 | By Josh Thomas | Category: Education, Prepping, Top Headline | Print This Article
Fear is a natural and helpful response to danger. Without it you wouldn’t be able to avoid many accidents, which might lead to injury or even death. Fear can be helpful in the first moment or two of a disaster. If a bus is barreling down on you as you’re crossing the street, fear can be a great help in making dive out of the way. But fear can get out of hand. Instead of being your servant and protecting you, fear can become your master, destroying you. There are plenty of times when fear is not what you want controlling you. Fear can paralyze. Fear can make cowards of us all. Fear can stop you from pursuing the best and wisest course of action. Fear can stop you from preparing.
In the world in which you and I live, there are plenty of signals that danger is growing. The economy threatens to go into the tank, even worse this time. The rights and liberties we’ve enjoyed as Americans seems to be falling on our left and right like the little metal ducks at the shooting gallery. The basic decency of our neighbors is likewise going the way of the dodo. What will happen if a disaster strikes? Will the basic cohesion of our society stand the strain? In the face of such realities, it is no surprise that many give way to fear.
But fear is no good at bearing the weight of being a long term motivator. Without controls, fear will eat away like an acid. We need something sturdier. If the foundations of our society begin to crumble then there will be a crying need for courageous and fearless men and women to stand up. The future is deeded to the brave. So we need to learn to deal with fear. We need to practice the art of cultivating fearlessness.
How do you do that? Like any other virtue, courage must be gained by practice. Someone who is characterized by a pattern of fear will not, under the pressure of disaster, suddenly become fearless. Therefore, now, before the storm breaks, is the time to develop the habits of the brave. Aristotle, the great Greek philosopher, said that people can change their basic orientation in life through a process of daily actions. He taught that new practices consistently performed will beget new habits; that these habits, if they are practiced over and over, will produce new dispositions; and that these new dispositions will, over time, mold a renewed character. Every successful man or woman can attest to the wisdom of that scheme. If you wish to dispel a fearful character, you need to replace your fearful actions with courageous ones.
What are the practices that will get the ball rolling? Fearless people are not people who never experience fear; quite the contrary, in fact. Fearless people are often led to pursue vocations or hobbies that place them in danger often. Firefighters are a classic example. Most of us are not inclined to run into a burning building. It takes a special kind of man or woman. Firefighters fear death and injury like anyone else, but they don’t let their fears control them. Can you remake yourself into someone who is fearless in that same way? You can. All brave people have learned to discipline themselves in the face of fear. You can do so as well.
Life is filled with little dangers. Little worries and fears buzz about you daily like a cloud of gnats. How do you respond to the small dangers? If you practice fearlessness on these little worries, you’ll be better able to stand in the face of bigger dangers. If, when you begin to feel that first twinge of fear, you settle your soul and quiet your anxiety, you will begin to develop the habits needed for handling bigger fears. Like a swimmer who’s drowning, your fearful thoughts, like water in your lungs, must be pushed out and replaced with the oxygen of calm. The only way to defeat fear is by replacing it with fearless thoughts. Out with the bad; in with the good. You have to talk yourself out of a panic. Take a deep breath. Remember how seldom things have turned out as badly as you feared. And, as a Christian, remember that God has promised never to leave you or forsake you. Replace your anxiety with prayer, making your requests known to God (Philippians 4:6). And then, count your blessings. As trite and overused as that last piece of advice might be, it remains profoundly powerful. All brave people have the knack for finding the silver lining in the darkest cloud. Don’t fall for the lie that letting your fears control you is the “honest” thing to do. Every fact, including the “fact” that danger is come upon you, is capable of more than one interpretation. Fearless people see through the impending doom to an opportunity. You can do that too. If you continue to daily choose the habit of fighting fear in this way, doing daily battle with your little fears, a new habit of fearlessness will begin to define you. You will become fearless.
Armed with a disposition of fearlessness, you will be better prepared for the difficulties to come. If after all your labors of preparation, whether stockpiling food, or water, or ammunition, moving out of the city, or building a deep bunker, what good will it do if you end up panicking when the hard things begin to fall? Today is the time to begin practicing courage. Now is the time to cultivate fearlessness. With every bag of beans or solar generator you purchase, you can chase away your fears and lay hold of calmness. Choose the path of quiet resolve. Then, when the dark days come on in earnest, you will be fearlessly ready to act.
©2013 Off The Grid News
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POPEYE T Shirts
The History of Popeye
Popeye the Sailor is known for his squinty eye, unique way of speaking, disproportionately muscular forearms with two anchor tattoos, and an ever-present corncob pipe. He battles his arch enemy Bluto on land and sea for the affections of the skinny but alluring Olive Oyl. Popeye made his debut as a minor character in the comic strip Thimble Theatre in 1929 and soon became the star of the strip which was eventually renamed Popeye. The first animated series starring Popeye was launched in 1933. Over the decades this beloved character has been featured in cartoons, comic books, radio programs, video games, and a 1980 feature film starring Robin Williams. Popeye declares in his autobiographical theme song: “I’m strong to the finish ‘cause I eats me spinach, I'm Popeye the sailor-man!"
Like the one-eyed nautical brawler himself, our Popeye T Shirts are strong to the finish and a perfect fit for men, women, and children!
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What is quality?
For The Methodist Hospital System, quality means ensuring a safe patient care environment, in which we provide clinical excellence with integrity and compassion.
We achieve this by providing:
- Highly trained doctors who practice evidence based-medicine
- Our staff members use clinical practice guidelines and protocols whenever appropriate to provide the best care
- A quality-focused, state-of-the art teaching environment
- First-rate patient experience that aims to exceed patient expectations
- Ongoing research into the most effective patient care
- A large percentage of our doctors are Board Certified in their specialties
How is The Methodist Hospital System focused on quality and safety?
The Methodist Hospital System takes a system-wide approach to quality improvement and patient safety activities. Our systems, processes and health outcomes are continuously measured, assessed, and improved.
The Methodist Hospital System always strives to provide the highest quality of care by:
- Improving performance of hospital-wide systems and clinical processes
- Improving clinical outcomes
- Preventing and reducing the risk of medical errors
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"We believe that this investigation is over," McMahon said, qualifying that officials "cannot absolutely, positively confirm it was him." Officials could not "absolutely, positively confirm it was" the rogue ex-cop because the Big Bear Lake cabin where Dorner was allegedly hiding burst into flames during Tuesday's shootout, leaving the body inside charred beyond recognition.
But how did the fire first start? There has been circumstantial speculation, based in part of police radio chatter, that the police set the fire deliberately. "We did not intentionally burn down that cabin to get Mr. Dorner out," McMahon said.
However, the sheriff did say that his deputies had shot pyrotechnic tear gas into Dorner's cabin during the standoff. Conveniently, pyrotechnic tear gas generates heat, causes explosions, and easily ignites fires. As Slate clarified in 1999:
Pyrotechnic tear gas has tactical advantages. First, the smoke cloud obscures the movement of agents as they approach a building or crowd. Second, because the metal casing becomes quite hot, it is difficult for the device to be thrown back at police (a common problem with powder grenades). The disadvantage is that it can start a fire.
The advantage to this disadvantage is a plausible deniability: Law enforcement officials can launch incendiary canisters at a target—like, say, a lakeside cabin where a confessed cop killer with a loony manifesto and a police vendetta is hunkered down—and still claim they didn't "intentionally" set the hideaway into a fiery blaze.
But it's not as if scorching the living fuck out of Dorner's lair was a magical surprise or a freak accident. That pyrotechnic tear gas could start a fire is a likely enough scenario that FBI officials spent six years vehemently denying that agents had used the military-grade weapon in the 1993 attack on David Koresh's compound in Waco, Texas, even though canisters were discovered in the rubble. In fact, Janet Reno had specifically ordered federal operatives not to use pyrotechnic devices and the bureau's eventual admission, in 1999, that it had was what sparked a 10-month internal investigation into the federal response to the siege.
The wrinkle here with the San Bernardino Sheriff's claim that his department "did not intentionally burn down that cabin" is that police voices were heard on Tuesday, in more than one instance, yelling about plans to "burn the motherfucker out." On police radio communications picked up via scanner by reporter Max Blumenthal, San Bernadino Sheriff's official can be clearly heard saying, "We're gonna go forward with the plan, with with the burn. Like we talked about." Later, a voice says, "burners deployed and we have a fire." The voice does not sound surprised or alarmed about the fire.
The verb "burn," in tactical-police lingo, may very well be shorthand for launching tear-gas canisters. (The Guardian, noting that one brand of pyrotechnic tear gas is sold under the name "BurnSafe," suggests that it indeed is.) It happens to be the same verb—and the same canister—one would use for arson.
What if the California cops did use "burn" in the latter sense, and intentionally set fire to the cabin. That would not be legal, right? You can't just go around incinerating suspected bad guys, right?
Absolutely not. "You don't blow up something either by explosives or by fire in order to apprehend somebody," said James A. Cohen, a Fordham University law professor who closely followed ther Dorner situation Tuesday. "It's the very definition of ‘excessive force' and the police aren't able to use excessive force in the execution of their duties."
So why, with Dorner surrounded, and with no certainty about whether or not someone else was inside, didn't the cops just wait him out? "Waiting him out is an increasingly risky proposition because of the possibility of escape," Cohen said. "If he makes a run for it, so to speak, he's already expressed the intention to take down as many police officers as he can. Even if it's not an attempt to escape, it could be an attempt to commit suicide-by-cop."
Besides, what would be the tangible negative consequences of burning down the cabin, assuming they could confirm Dorner was alone? Realistically, just a couple hundred thousand dollars.
"Let's assume [Dorner] has survivors," Cohen said. "Or he has a mother who says, ‘You used excessive force against my son and you killed him' and files a lawsuit." Such a suit's viability would naturally depend on evidence: no evidence, the case doesn't go anywhere; even a shred of proof would almost positively lead to a settlement. Cohen can't imagine more than low six figures being at stake. "The police see this as, ‘We took a dangerous killer off the street who said he was going to keep killing and it cost us $250,000. That's chump change to save lives.'"
Such reasoning, even in a hypothetical situation, is a slippery slope. "We have good cause to be concerned about the inattentiveness of the importance of the rule of law," Cohen said, regarding situations like the Dorner stakeout. "But we may never know—because who's going to admit to it?"
[CNN, photo by AP]
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Lithium Polymer Cells
The picture above was taken from a thread on an E-Zone Forum after the most intense burning had subsided. This was from a single cell. We are not yet where we need to be in terms of safety. We need to get there soon, not just to advance the hobby, but to prevent it from being legislated out of existence.
Enough ranting. Let's talk about using these cells. LiPo cells are generally flat, thin rectangles with delicate-looking tabs on one end. One of these tabs is aluminum with a solderable coating. Don't mess up this coating. Initially, LiPo was popular among the indoor flyers due to their light weight and low current drain. The primary limitation for larger planes was the inability of these cells to discharge at a high rate. This continues to improve with time, but LiPo use in larger planes requires multiple cells in parallel to meet current demands. The practical result is packs that are not substantially lighter, but with very high MAH capacity, and low internal resistance. These packs are also incredibly expensive. For example, my eNobler uses 20xCP1700 cells, about $90 and 7-minute flights. For LiPo I would use 2 3S4P (3 series, 4 parallel, or 12 total cells) packs for $460 and 30-minute flights. It would be great if I could pay $230 for 15-minute flights, but you need the 4P to pull the amps for hovering, etc. Also, I can charge my CP1700's in less than 20 minutes.
I have tested a number of individual cells as well as some assembled packs. Some of the cells are probably already obsolete. I had read nothing but praise for the Thunderpower packs. My testing indicates that they are superior to any of the Kokam or E-Tec cells that I tested, as well as being superior to any NiCad or NiMH pack. This sounds like an endorsement and I guess it is, tempered by the disadvantages listed above. Please note that I paid for this stuff, no freebies!
The winter building season is approaching for many. If you have a popular LiPo pack that I did not include here, I would be happy to test it if you can spare it for a week. E-mail me.
Take a look at the graph below. Each curve represents the internal voltage of a different cell. ElectriCalc uses a representative average of this curve to obtain the cell voltage number used in calculations. Note that the NiCad voltage has been scaled exactly 3 to 1. This indicates that we can consider a Lithium cell to be equivalent to three NiCads. That's a pretty helpful coincidence.
The voltage is pretty much chemistry, i.e. all NiCads and NiMH look pretty much alike, and all LiPo look pretty much alike. The real differentiator for our use is internal resistance. NiCad and NiMH manufacturers generally list this information (albeit too low values). LiPo, on the other hand, seems to come to us through vendors who obtain them from mysterious manufacturers, probably mostly Korea, and with a dearth of useful data (at least for my needs). I began testing presupposing the LiPo cells would have relatively high internal resistance. Well . .
The graph below illustrates the tests that blew me away. I have plotted the resistance of an RC2000 NiCad cell (low resistance) along with a Thunder Power 8000 "cell". This is actually the equivalent of four 2050 cells in parallel. Remember how we talked about paralleling cells to get the current we need safely? This combination weighs about the same as three CP1700 cells (remember the 3:1 ratio?), and definitely less than three RC2000 cells. If you look at the graph you can see that the LiPo resistance is maybe 40% higher than the NiCad's. So the NiCad is better, right? Wrong!!! Remember the 3:1 ratio? We need to figure three NiCads in series to compare with one LiPo. This means that the equivalent LiPo resistance is actually half of the NiCad's!!!
While we're looking at the curves, I'll point out a couple of other interesting things. As the NiCad reaches complete discharge, the resistance starts to increase quite a bit. Since the internal voltage starts to drop off at the same time, the combined effect is dramatic. This is normal for all NiCads (and NiMH). On the other hand, look what the Thunder Powers do. The resistance goes down with use! This appears to be a temperature effect rather than state-of-charge.
Testing: I normally build two end-end soldered packs when testing NiCad and NiMH cells. This tends to average out cell-to-cell variations. With LiPo I chose to buy several types of individual cells. The scientific rationale was that packs cost way too much money. On the other hand, I bought two Thunder Power packs. Main reason was that I could not get individual cells. I chose a 3S4P configuration that made a good replacement for my 10xCP1700 packs. I tested the individual cells at several different discharge rates. My purpose is to come up with an internal voltage, resistance, and MAH for use in ElectriCalc. I do not attempt to validate claims of maximum continuous or peak discharge rates. The Thunder Power cells put out close to their rated MAH capacity. The LiPos proved to really poop out at higher discharge rates. In general, the E-Tec cells were somewhat better than the Kokams. An exception was the little Kokam 340 cell, perported to be good to 20C continuous discharge. Indeed, this cell consistently put out over 300 MAH at up to 20C discharge. The other cells typically were down to 75% rated capacity at 3C. 3C is what I chose to determine MAH. This represents a 20-minute flight. Your mileage may vary. The Thunder Power cells were clearly superior to every other LiPo cell tested. Their reputation is well-deserved. They were tested ao 20 Amps, the limit of my test set.
Results: I have included individual cells as well as some parallel combinations. I included the Kokam 2070, 2670, and 3270 cells since I bought them. They are OK cells but the size is a bit large for most applications. If you want to create your own parallel combination, do the following:
L>>>>>>>>>>*V>>>*V>>>>*V>>>>*V>>>>*V>>>>*V>>>>>L>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> CELLS MAH mOHM DIA. HGT. WGT. MAH/OZ. COMMENTS (typ) (in) (in) (oz) E-Tec250 220 292.8 0.98 1.10 0.20 1094 3.70 0.19T 6C max. 3C measured E-Tec700 650 100.8 1.34 1.89 0.53 1229 3.70 0.19T 5C max. 3C measured E-Tec1200 1000 79.2 1.34 2.36 0.81 1233 3.70 0.24T 5C max. 3C measured Kokam340 330 97.2 1.18 2.17 0.35 936 3.73 0.12T 20C! 3C measured Kokam640 470 106.8 1.34 2.01 0.48 987 3.73 0.16T 8C max. 3C measured Kokam1200 860 70.8 1.50 2.05 0.81 1060 3.73 0.24T 5C max. 3C measured Kokam2070 1400 39.6 2.52 3.74 1.55 902 3.72 0.15T 3C max. 3C measured Kokam2670 1200 42.0 2.52 3.74 1.55 630 3.72 0.18T 3C max. 3C measured Kokam3270 2000 20.4 2.52 3.74 2.26 886 3.72 0.21T 3C max. 3C measured TP-2050 1895 32.4 1.97 2.44 1.34 1414 3.75 0.24T 5C max. extrapolated (Thunder Power) TP-7800 7260 10.2 1.97 2.44 5.36 1354 3.75 1.10T 5C max. 2.5C measured (Thunder Power) TP-8000 7580 8.1 1.97 2.44 5.36 1414 3.75 1.10T 5C max. 2.5C measured (Thunder Power) 2xE-Tec1200 2000 39.6 1.34 2.36 1.62 1233 3.70 0.48T 5C max. extrapolated 2xKokam340 660 48.6 1.18 2.17 0.70 936 3.73 0.24T 20C! extrapolated 2xKokam1200 1720 35.4 1.50 2.05 1.62 1060 3.73 0.48T 5C max. extrapolated
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On 11 November the host cities for the 2017 IAAF World Championships in Athletics and for the 2018 Commonwealth Games will be elected. In both cases the cities competing could scarcely be more different, making direct comparisons very difficult.
For the IAAF the choice is between Doha in Qatar and London. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Games Federation will vote for their event to be hosted either in the Sri Lankan city of Hambantota or in Brisbane, Australia (in fact the bid is formally from the Gold Coast). The fact that both elections are on the same day seems to be pure coincidence.
In the contest between Doha and London, both candidates have websites, athlete ambassadors (such as Yelena Isinbayeva for Doha and Ed Moses for London) and plans for ambitious development programmes. But the two cities themselves are dramatically different in almost every way: culture, geography, size, climate, history, political system, economy, sporting habits and so on.
Commonwealth Games candidates Hambantota and Brisbane are also radically different. Apart from the fact that they are both on the coast and looking to boost their tourism credentials, it’s hard to see what else they might have in common.
The 71 Commonwealth Games Associations with a vote have a 144 page evaluation commission report at their disposal which concludes, with various qualifications, that the Brisbane bid presents a “low risk” whereas the Hambantota bid presents a “medium to high risk”. The report gives a steer on technical aspects such as venues, transport and accommodation but the comparison for voters is not really between the spectator capacities of venues, it is a choice between an established sporting destination and one which is entirely new.
If the voters decide on the new option, Brisbane backers will justifiably feel that their lower risk bid has not been fairly recognised. On the other hand, if Brisbane prevails, Hambantota supporters will question why their bid wasn’t stopped at an early stage, saving the Sri Lankan government a lot of time and money: it’s clear to any observer that much more new construction would be needed to host the Games there.
One possible solution to this issue would be a rotation policy but as the Commonwealth Games Federation possesses the rights to one high profile event every four years, it would be a tough political challenge to develop and implement such a policy.
As the IAAF owns rights to a number of events varying in scale, there is an opportunity to “try out” a new market with a smaller championship but the real interest is in the biennial World Championships. The bid committee from the city which loses out for 2017 will very likely feel that the quality of their bid was a less significant factor in the decision than political considerations.
There is no easy answer for the leaders of the event owning bodies. Limit the bidding process solely to technical criteria and it will be the “usual suspects” among cities and countries which generally host the big events; make an arbitrary decision solely on political criteria and watch the number of bids dwindle next time.
If rights-holders want to maximise the number of bids and to increase the number of countries capable of putting major events, reducing the cost and complexity of hosting should be a priority. In setting up the Youth Olympic Games the International Olympic Committee has made innovations intended to keep down the cost of organisation and others would do well to follow suit.
I make no predictions for the IAAF World Championships and Commonwealth Games host city elections, except that the losers will argue they have been hard done by.
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February 11, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced Monday the arrival in Juba of five South Sudanese soldiers that Sudan handed to the international group on the same day.
- Freed South Sudanese prisoners board a Red Cross plane at the airport in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state on February 11, 2013 (ICRC)
The Sudan Armed Forces announced on 6 February that five soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) would be released on 11 February in Nyala, after their arrest in Kafan Dibi in South Darfur state.
"An aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrived in Juba today with five South Sudanese ex-prisoners of war aboard", said a statement released by the group.
It further said that an ICRC delegate accompanied the five prisoners of war.
"We are glad that these five men were able to return to their country," said Jean-Christophe Sandoz, head of the ICRC delegation in Sudan.
The ICRC has been working since 1978 in Sudan. It opened a delegation in South Sudan in 2011 after the independence of the new country in July 2011.
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate and Sudanese officer signing hand-over documents for the repatriation of PoWs February 11,2013 (ICRC)
In April 2012, the ICRC repatriated 13 Sudanese ex-prisoners of war after the South Sudanese authorities had released them, and in September it helped repatriate 19 South Sudanese prisoners of war released by Sudan.
Sudan had said the five soldiers were captured in mid-2012 in an area called Kafan Dibi, which is part of South Darfur state, during an incursion attempt by the SPLA. It is one of the border regions that are in dispute between Khartoum and Juba.
Darfur rebels fighting Khartoum since 2003 reportedly managed to occupy Kafan Dibi briefly in May of last year before the SAF recaptured it.
Sudan accused SPLA of taking part in the fighting alongside the rebels.
The Sudanese army said releasing the POW’s was made as a gesture of goodwill and urged Juba to do the same and free SAF prisoners in its custody.
Khartoum and Juba accuse each other of supporting rebel groups either side of the border. Also there are several zones on the common border the two parties claim. They have failed to activate a buffer zone they agreed on in September 2012.
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Department of Justice Awards $1 Million to the National Crime Prevention Council to Support Gun Safety Campaign
- Created on Thursday, 07 March 2013 21:09
- Written by IVN
Washington, DC - The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) awarded $1 million to the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) to support the development of a National Public Education Campaign on the subject of responsible gun ownership and safe gun storage.
With the award, NCPC will create, produce, and distribute television, radio, and outdoor Public Service Announcements (PSAs) that encourage gun owners to safely store their firearms so that they do not fall into the wrong hands. The campaign will also emphasize the importance of immediately reporting lost or stolen guns to local law enforcement to ensure public safety.
“As part of President Obama's comprehensive plan to reduce gun violence, the Administration is committed to working with firearm owners and enthusiasts to prevent tragic accidents and keep guns from falling into the wrong hands,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “We are determined to implement the kinds of common-sense solutions that our citizens - and especially our young people - deserve.”
Ensuring the public is educated in responsible gun ownership and firearm safety is a critical aspect to reducing gun violence. Gun owners, community groups and businesses must be aware and reminded to practice safe firearm storage and to make certain that firearms in the home are not casually accessible. This public awareness campaign will endeavor to decrease the threat of gun violence by promoting principles of responsible firearm ownership nationwide and providing guidelines for the safe usage and storage of firearms.
NCPC, founded in 1982, is the nation’s nonprofit leader in crime prevention. For 30 years, they have delivered crime prevention tips and public service advertising campaigns that empower citizens individually and collectively to keep themselves, their families and their communities safe from crime.
It is planned that the PSAs created through this award will be distributed to more than 1,700 television stations, nearly 15,000 radio stations and more than 500 cable networks in 210 markets in summer 2013.
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Reaching out to others can change your life, and is the timeless and universal philosophy of Free The Children (FTC), a Toronto-based non-profit organization that empowers and inspires children to become socially and responsibly engaged — locally and globally.
Charismatic spokesperson Spencer West was the guest of honor at an assembly at on Saturday May 7, challenging the audience to "Be The Change" and make a difference in the world.
West, now 30, was born with a rare genetic disorder that resulted in the complete amputation of his legs at the age of 5. He said his family raised him to think he was no different from anyone else, and that what you believe you can achieve.
"I found if I could get people to laugh, they could see through my legs and in here," West said pointing to his heart.
In his dynamic presentation — he even performed a hand-stand on stage — West moved parents and kids to tears, cheers and a standing ovation.
"This world is empathetic — not apathetic," he said.
Last summer, Jack Kelley, Jacki Kelley and Ashley Kelley, a third grader, helped build a school in a Kenyan village and their lives were changed.
The Kelley family started FTC clubs at South School, andNew Canaan High School where is co-sponsor, and its program director Nicki Jezairian and Jack Kelley serve as advisors.
Eleventh graders Jackie Trager, Elizabeth Kilbride and Lauren Campbell are co-presidents of the club where members spend 50% of their time volunteering in the community and 50% fund-raising to build a school or dig a well in one of eight countries affiliated with FTC.
"We're really excited to be starting this and have Spencer who is such an influential person come to our town," Trager said.
Kilbride said she's looking forward to finishing out the year, and coming back "better than ever" next year.
West said CT is famous around the office because the first Free The Children club in the U.S. was started fifteen years ago in Willimantic.
"This town has unbelieveably embraced volunteerism," Selectman Rob Mallozzi said. "We don't start with a clean slate here — New Canaan has a culture that has already been been nurtured to care."
, , , , the and Pease Septic Company all helped sponsor the event.
Planning has already begun for We Day at Madison Square Garden in April 2013, a rock concert for social change with an incredible line-up of celebrity activists.
Jacki Kelley, a media industry executive and organizer of the event said, "Kids have to earn their way in by forming a club."
"Our goal is to have hundreds of 'shameless idealists,' first in New Canaan and then in the rest of the Tri-State area, volunteering on both the local and international levels," Jack Kelley said.
"We want them to change the world and know, as a result, their lives will be changed too."
YMCA board member Scott Fuller has worked with many global humanitarian causes and his daughter Haley, a fifth grader at , said it best, "Dad, I MUST get my school involved with this!"
The power of we is not the future but the right now.
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Doga: Yoga for You and Your Dog
There are other benefits to teaching your dog to allow you to touch any part of his body, including his paws and toes. Doing gentle doga stretches with my Dalmatian, Darby, helped her overcome a fear of nail clipping. It also came in handy with our young mixed breed, Ginger Peach, who has an impatient and pushy personality. She not only learned to tolerate the stretches, she now offers her legs in anticipation!
Being in close contact with your dog’s body provides an opportunity for a weekly health check as well. Harendorf recalls that one of her students found a lump on her dog’s inner thigh that she might never have discovered without her weekly doga class. (Thankfully, the lump proved benign.) Senior and physically handicapped dogs can also benefit from doga as long as the routine is adapted to their needs.
“Doga brings us back to more simple things,” says Harendorf. “My dogs grew up being city dogs, where there are these big dog runs and people just bring their dogs and visit in their social circle or talk on the phone or read the newspaper. We’re so busy, so plugged in with the cell phone and the Blackberry and the pagers. We can walk our dogs and not pay attention to them. Doga is 45 minutes of undivided attention. It is a gift.”
This article first appeared in The Bark, Issue 51, Nov/Dec 2009
© Brian Lane/Animal House Photography
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|The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs:
away or spirited out of England. Or it might be that it had
been simply a bait to lure Tarzan into the hands of the
With the lodgment of this thought she stopped in wide-
eyed terror. Instantly it became a conviction. She glanced at
the great clock ticking the minutes in the corner of the library.
It was too late to catch the Dover train that Tarzan was to take.
There was another, later, however, that would bring her to
the Channel port in time to reach the address the stranger
had given her husband before the appointed hour.
Summoning her maid and chauffeur, she issued instructions rapidly.
The Beasts of Tarzan
|The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H. P. Lovecraft:
to the foot of the Tanarian Hills. There he dwelt in a grey Gothic
manor-house of stone looking on the sea, and tried to think it
was ancient Trevor Towers, where he was born and where thirteen
generations of his forefathers had first seen the light. And on
the coast nearby he had built a little Cornish fishing village
with steep cobbled ways, settling therein such people as had the
most English faces, and seeking ever to teach them the dear remembered
accents of old Cornwall fishers. And in a valley not far off he
had reared a great Norman Abbey whose tower he could see from
his window, placing around it in the churchyard grey stones with
the names of his ancestors carved thereon, and with a moss somewhat
The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath
|The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from Reason Discourse by Rene Descartes:
removed from truth than the simple inferences which a man of good sense
using his natural and unprejudiced judgment draws respecting the matters
of his experience. And because we have all to pass through a state of
infancy to manhood, and have been of necessity, for a length of time,
governed by our desires and preceptors (whose dictates were frequently
conflicting, while neither perhaps always counseled us for the best), I
farther concluded that it is almost impossible that our judgments can be
so correct or solid as they would have been, had our reason been mature
from the moment of our birth, and had we always been guided by it alone.
It is true, however, that it is not customary to pull down all the houses
of a town with the single design of rebuilding them differently, and
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With New Year's around the corner it has fire officials on high alert. They say the dry windy conditions and certain types of fireworks are the perfect ingredients for disaster.
At American Fireworks in Bastrop County, you can find quite the selection of fireworks including Roman Candles, sparklers and artillery shells. However, if you're looking for skyrockets on sticks or missiles with fins, manager Glenn Davis says you won't find any.
The reason is because they are banned in most counties throughout Central Texas, including Burnett, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties.
"The idea and the principle behind all of these items is when the ball goes up and it bursts, it's high enough that by the time it and it falls to the ground all the embers are out," said Davis, talking about the artillery shells he has for sale at his stand along Highway 71.
Local firefighters say even though other fireworks aren't banned, common sense can't be forgotten.
"Any fire that really gets going has a potential to grow quickly into a large fire," said Battalion chief Thayer Smith with Austin Fire Department.
Smith said if anyone notices any illegal activity that could start a fire, dial 3-1-1.
"In the city of Austin we don't want you using fireworks at all, simply because they are against city ordinance," said Smith. "We will have people available to respond if we do have complaints."
There is a $500 fine for anyone in possession of fireworks within the city limits of Austin. AFD is also asking residents to properly dispose of cigarettes and fireplace ashes.
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BALTIMORE (AP) — Perdue Farms is seeking up to $2.5 million in attorney fees following its victory in a poultry pollution case that had been closely watched by environmentalist and agriculture interests for its potential impact on the industry, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The poultry giant is seeking to recoup attorney fees from the New York-based Waterkeeper Alliance, which sued the company and an Eastern Shore contract grower, Perdue spokeswoman Julie DeYoung said.
The poultry giant said in its filing U.S. District Court in Baltimore that the environmental group continued to litigate what it called a groundless case after learning that an uncovered pile of what was claimed to be chicken manure turned out to be harmless. The company also said the court had noted that while defendants are "not normally entitled to recover their legal fees, such an award would not be unprecedented."
A telephone call and email by The Associated Press seeking comment from the alliance was not immediately returned. Jane Barrett, director of the University of Maryland Environmental Law Clinic, said the motions were not unusual or unexpected. The clinic, which is representing the alliance in the case, would respond, Barrett said.
A federal judge ruled last month that farmer Alan Hudson, who raises chickens on his Berlin farm for Perdue, did not pollute a nearby river as the environmental group claimed. U.S. District Judge William Nickerson ruled the alliance failed to prove its case.
The alliance argued that Perdue, which owns the chickens and monitors their growth, should also be held responsible.
The case was filed after the alliance flew over the farm in 2009 and photographed what it believed was an uncovered pile of chicken manure and later found water samples in the area containing high bacteria levels. The pile turned out not to be chicken manure. The group later blamed nearby water pollution on fans that ventilate the two chicken houses and traffic in and out of the houses, which can hold about 80,000 birds.
The poultry industry has more than 1,600 family farms on the Eastern Shore. Agriculture interests said a ruling against Perdue and the farm could have been catastrophic to farmers and the industry.
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4 Steps to Create a Social Listening Strategy
The first step when considering social analytics is to establish a listening strategy.
In social media, listening acts as a guide through the ever-changing and interesting world of the blogosphere.
Why? Because listening is an ongoing process that is necessary to keep a strategy fresh and competitive. It enables decision-makers to find and better understand opportunities and stakeholders.
So, exactly how do you go about listening?
#1: Determine your target audience
Once an organization has determined whom to target, it’s critical to understand where to engage them online. A common misperception is that all social networks are the same and therefore everyone is on the same platform.
For example, according to Anderson Analytics, Generation Z (13- to 14-year-old) social network users were more likely to use MySpace than Facebook; only 9% used Twitter and none were active on LinkedIn. If your company is targeting Generation Z on Twitter, you’re listening in the wrong place.
An example of an organization successfully targeting and engaging an audience is Seton Hall University. In an effort to increase their revenue and student enrollment, Seton Hall marketers decided to target prospective students using Facebook to build relationships.
They launched the Class of 2014 Facebook page and tagged custom Class of 2014 tabs, making it possible to identify any www.shu.edu visitors who had also interacted with Facebook. Using social analytics and reporting, marketers then examined the behavior of these visitors.
The Seton Hall staff began responding to prospective students’ requests for help, from orientation to deposit status to placement tests to housing. Soon, “declarations” (posts where prospective students announce a decision such as major, orientation date or interest in a club or sport) had risen to 47% of all posts.
The data showed that visitors who interacted heavily with the Class of 2014 pages demonstrated a high level of engagement with the university website as well.
For example, they were more likely to request information and fill out applications than other visitors. The data collected revealed that Facebook was not only important to Seton Hall, but was critical to the following year’s enrollment.
By midsummer (two months before classes were to begin), tuition deposits for the class of 2014 were 25% higher than the previous year at the same time. Moreover, enrollment was tracking at 13% ahead of the previous year’s class.
Audience and location are foundations for a listening strategy; thus, step one is to know who your audience is and where to find them.
#2: Identify the influencers
A research report from Meteor Solutions found that the type of people who follow or friend you are more important than the numbers.
On average, approximately 1% of a site’s audience generates 20% of all its traffic through sharing of the brand’s content or site links with others.
This was backed by a Forrester Research report that showed a minority (about 6% of people) generates 80% of the impressions, and roughly 13% of the online adults generate 80% of the influence posts.
This is where social analytics come into play. Through social analytics, an organization can determine which individuals are sharing content and links and their sentiment about it.
For example, if you were tracking a Java programmer, Java blogs and community forums would provide a stronger platform for listening.
Another example, RTL Nederland (an entertainment company in the Netherlands) is using analytics to help interpret audience (tippers) feedback from a variety of social data sources for reality television programs, including “X Factor” and “So You Think You Can Dance.”
RTL Nederland is able to better understand audience needs and preferences by analyzing blog posts, Twitter feeds, Facebook posts and more. They’ve been able to make real-time changes to the programming, such as choice of candidates, music and the judging panel. This has led to increased viewer satisfaction and ratings.
Finding these like-minded souls is important for success, but can require some digging. In the end though, it’s worth the effort. Determining influencers will make all the difference in a listening strategy and ultimately, a social business agenda.
Analytics tools can paint that picture by analyzing and interpreting vast quantities of data—customer demographics, product-purchase histories, Internet experiences and online transactions—turning information into insight and developing conclusive, fact-based strategies to gain that competitive edge.
#3: Know the keywords and trends
Determine the topics that are important to your business and identify them as potential keywords. Then through listening, establish if that is the language your audience is interested in.
For example, “cost cutting” would seem like a viable term to use during a recession; however, as a result of listening, it’s clear that “cost reduction” is actually the preferred term.
If you’re in the wireless telecommunications industry, you would investigate dropped call, 3G, mobile apps, smartphone, data plan and so forth. Keywords should reflect what’s important to your business.
Though it seems like a simple thing, refining the listening approach to get exactly what you want and constantly searching for new keywords and noting keyword trends can help to better reach a key audience.
Telecom provider XO Communications is using state-of-the-art business analytics tools to predict customer behavior and proactively reach out to customers most likely to go elsewhere.
Through predictive analytic software, XO Communications is able to accurately predict customers who are likely to leave.
#4: Form a social business strategy
An organization’s social business strategy should address the goals and approach the company will take.
Relevancy and reputation management should be part of the goals.
How many times are you mentioned? In what context? By what audience? You can influence this by listening to the things your audience cares about and relating to their needs.
Secondly, how do you set up your organization to both listen to and brainstorm changes based off of the listening feedback?
One solution is to establish a virtual task force for sharing information learned.
For example, within IBM we have an informal Social Media Council with representatives from across business functions who gather to share best practices, comments and sentiment.
Another choice is to have a formal group whose mission is to listen and then respond to information across an organization.
Social analytics starts with listening. The future is all about hearing what your business ecosystem (customers, business partners, constituencies, employees, etc.) has to say and collaborating internally and externally to meet their expectations.
Listening is not just a discipline. It is an embodiment of a social business strategy to address the mass volume of data every company faces today and offer a means for evaluating this information to drive business results.
What do you think? What is your company using for a listening strategy? Leave your questions and comments in the box below.
Sandy Carter is vice president of Social Business Evangelism at IBM. She is also the author of the new best-seller, Get Bold. Other posts by Sandy Carter »
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|There's more than one way to do things|
I am trying to accomplish the following : Say I have a file called info.txt :
I have slurped this into a scalar called $contents using open and my $contents = join('', <FILE>). This all works right.
My objective is then to create a regular expression that captures what comes after "Line3 :" until the end of that line, so basically until it meets a newline after that.
I have tried several things for quite a while now and don't seem to be getting closer. The greedy .* operator seems to get me the closest but sunce I have to ignore newlines using the /s flag I can't get this to work.
I would be grateful for any help.... knowing PM I will be getting a "D'oh why didn't I think of that" answer ;-)
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Wireline Service Out; No One Noticed
Does wireline phone service matter anymore? While the priority here in the Houston area remains on getting power and water pressure back on across the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, there has been far less outcry over the widespread outage of landline phone service. In truth, the high household penetration of wireless phones made it hard to notice. It's proves again how far we've come from the era of regulated telecom monopoly and how much better off we are for it. Communications were difficult in the after the initial storm hit, when a surge in wireless calling, combined with power outages at many cell sites, overloaded the system (if anything this drew more complaints than the extended wireline outage). Still, while wireless service was disrupted, it was never off-line. Text messages got through and you could usually get a call connected on the second or third try, at least to leave a voicemail, By Monday, the wireless network was working normally while wireline service was still spotty. And in areas where power is back on, anyone with a VoIP phone has service. This is not meant to impugn those working to restore dial tone to Houston, it just shows the benefits of multiple providers with different technology platforms. It also serves as another reminder that despite its many benefits, wireline can not be objectively deemed superior to other choices.
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Dec 10, 2007
Started soon after the newforms package started to become stable, the newforms-admin branch allows for a much more modular and flexible admin application. The amount of flexibility allowed in this branch extends to permissions, allowing for user-defined permissions schemes--can you say 'row-level permissions'? It's even flexible enough to require no permissions at all: I needed a quick display interface for work this past summer, and I used some of the hooks in the newforms-admin branch to disable login and permissions and simply display some data publicly.
Also, multiple different admin interfaces are easy with newforms-admin. Group your apps into functional sets and give each functional set its own admin interface. Those who are using this branch know that once you've gone newforms-admin, you'll never go back!
This one flew under my radar until very recently. Their stated goal is "to make it as easy as possible to build GIS web applications and harness the power of spatially enabled data." These guys have done some really amazing things with this branch, including linking of the geographic data to cool widgets that can be displayed in the admin interface (think google maps, openlayers, and more to come as time goes on). I don't personally have a need for any of the capabilities being added in this project, but the scope and quality of what is being produced is impressive to say the least.
As code grows and evolves, it's difficult to stop at a certain point and say, "this code doesn't fit the bill anymore." Malcolm Tredinnick was the one who stopped and said it. Already at this stage, many many bugs have been fixed by this branch. Queryset-refactoring is not just for fixing bugs. Once it's completed, database backends will have a much easier time of customizing their generated SQL. With each change like this, Django becomes more modular.
OK I'm biased on this one. This is the patch that I've been working on lately. It's because every time I create an Django application, I start out with a ManyToManyField and end up breaking that off into a separate model. Once that's done, I have to change all of my code so that it doesn't use the convenient ManyToManyField helpers. Once this patch is complete, you'll be able to specify an intermediary model which will act as the storage for your m2m data. In this way, extra information can be attached to each relationship.
We're entering into 2008 soon, and that will mean that Django has been public for over two years. Some of the core developers have been using it internally for even longer than that. So one of the things which people have started running into, is that app_labels have started clashing. There hasn't been any definitive decision on how to avoid these clashes, but there have been several promising proposals. In any case, expect this functionality to change somewhat in the next few months, so that 'ellington.search' can coexist alongside 'chicagocrime.search'. No longer will you have to worry about naming everything differently!
These are just a few of the developments that are going on which seem interesting and promising. I hope that each and every one of these developing features eventually makes it into trunk, so that everyone can benefit from the hard work that people have put into the project. Also, if you've got a feature that you're excited about, let me know through the comments.
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1. Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers (1961-68, 1970-73)
Any countdown recapping the historical significance of West Virginia University basketball will always be headlined by Jerry West. He is the epitomy of greatness and is a talent on par with the greatest players in NBA history.
“The Logo” had a heralded 14 season career in Los Angeles, amassing a career stat line of 25,192 points, 5,376 rebounds, and 6,238 assists. West was the perfect compliment to Elgin Baylor and then later was a terrific set-up man for Wilt Chamberlain.
Behind West, the Los Angeles Lakers appeared in 9 NBA Finals (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968. 1969, 1970, 1972, and 1973) wining the 1972 NBA Finals.
Jerry West became a staple of the NBA All-Star game, appearing in the game 12 times in his 14 season career. In his appearances in the All-Star game, West compiled 160 points, 47 rebounds, and 55 assists. He would earn 1972 All-Star game MVP honors for his 13 point, 6 rebound, and 5 assist performance.
West went from a Hall of Fame playing career to working as an NBA GM with the Lakers, Grizzlies, and Warriors.
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The Latino2 tour is getting ready to announce its next stop: the Central Coast of California. We’ll be teaming up with two of our new Latino2 gente, Jesse Luna and José Huitron, who share our vision for why the Central Coast is the most logical second stop on our tour of California:
–The Central Coast lies between SF and LA, the de facto centers of northern and southern California. It’s often been said that north and south are actually two different states. I’d argue that the center is a different place, as well — it has its own character, its own history, its own vibe.
–The Central Coast is adjacent to the Central Valley, birthplace of the farm labor movement, also known as “la causa.” A big part of the Latino2 mission is to educate people on best practices in community, communications, and collaboration. We can learn a lot ourselves from the great people in this region.
–The Central Coast is vibrant, beautiful, and culturally important. It’s home to one of the world’s most interesting wine-making markets (the film Sideways was filmed here), home to some of the country’s best universities, and home to some of the world’s most spectacular coastlines. Hey, at one time, it was actually home to the capital of old California, under the flags of Spain and Mexico. There’s a lot here to discover and discuss, and it’s the perfect stop as we make our way up north … to Silicon Valley, to Sacramento, and way up the great “El Norte California” (lots of Latinos up there, 2).
Click here for the full article by @giorodriguez.
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Why do we have a union?
At the University of Cincinnati, we have one of the oldest and strongest AAUP chapters in the United States.
The UC Chapter of the AAUP was organized during WWII. Then and now, the AAUP is the only professional organization whose primary purpose is to enhance the academy by preserving shared governance, faculty and student rights, legal advocacy, and collective bargaining.
In 1974, the UC Chapter decided to become a bargaining unit chapter, that is, a union. In that first round of contract negotiations, members together:
- secured contractually guaranteed health benefits and fair salaries
- fought an attempt to abolish sabbaticals
- secured shared governance through the Faculty Senate
- established faculty governance over reappointment, promotion, and tenure criteria
- established an innovative new grievance system that provides a fair process and Grievance Panel hearing for faculty members
Our task today is the same as it was at our founding: to make ourselves relevant to our society, to engage in the daily experiences of students and faculty at UC, and to cultivate activism and advocacy across generational, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries. Those boundaries should not and will not divide us.
Since those early days, the UC Chapter has worked to preserve those gains, as well as addressing the day-to-day battles that appear. Recently, the Chapter has worked to help stave off a legislative attack on the right to bargain for reasonable health insurance costs and, here on campus, to ensure a real faculty voice in collegiate restructuring. Looking forward, the Chapter will face the challenge of bargaining a good contract for UC faculty -- one that moves the whole University forward in important ways -- in the midst of the worst recession in 70 years.
Your membership will make the Chapter stronger as it faces this latest challenge. Join your colleagues who are already dues-paying AAUP UC members. Membership makes a difference!
|Sample AAUP Dues Amounts|
|Annual Salary||Monthly Dues
|Monthly Fair Share
- Active Membership Dues are .0075 x academic base salary.
- The minimum dues rate for all members is $240/year.
- Fair Share fees are .0059 x academic base salary.
- AAUP dues and Fair Share Fees are paid through payroll deduction.
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Since the 1970s, Lambda Legal has made history through winning legal victories that allowed LGBT people and people with HIV to live their lives with greater dignity, safety and equality under the law.
The cases below offer a broad overview of legal matters Lambda Legal has pursued on behalf of LGBT people and people living with HIV during the most recent decades of our nearly 40-year history.
Case in California arguing that businesses that extend benefits to married couples must also extend them on an equal basis to registered domestic partners
Appeal of a trial court order taking a thriving one-year-old girl away from her lesbian foster parents because the trial judge preferred the adoption placement to be with a "traditional family."
Case representing a transgender girl subjected to verbal and physical abuse because of her sexual orientation, gender identity, sex and disability while in the custody of a secure youth detention facility in Philadelphia.
Case challenging a hospital's decision to keep a lesbian from visiting her dying partner.
Historic case that overturned all remaining state sodomy laws in the United States
Case seeking the right to marry for same-sex couples in New Jersey
Case arguing that New York's state government follows the law by respecting out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
Case arguing in favor of a transgender high school student's First Amendment right to wear a dress to prom.
Amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit in support of asylum protection for Karolina Lopez Berera, a transgender Mexican woman living with HIV/AIDS.
Case arguing federal discrimination after a woman has job offer rescinded because she is transgender
Case arguing against the Foreign Service's policy of not hiring anyone who is HIV positive.
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The other day I attended the Letturato Mass of several good seminarian friends in Rome. The liturgy was an especially important occasion for them because they were making their first profession to be preachers of the Gospel. The Mass was celebrated in the Church of Santa Maria in Trastevere, just outside the center of Rome.
The church is unique among those in Rome, as it is the oldest in the Eternal City dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and the interior reflects in its majestic artwork the important role she has played in the Church’s history. Exquisitely carved marble columns abound, while golden mosaics with brilliant bursts of color fill the apse, culminating in a glorious image of Christ and the Madonna enthroned, dressed in the regal garb of Byzantium.
The stunning artwork so harmonized with the softly echoing chant and fragrant incense floating in the air that I couldn’t help but make a connection in my mind between the liturgy and paradise itself. Later in the liturgy, the seminarians knelt one by one in front of the archbishop who handed them the Gospel, meant to symbolize their new commission. I felt truly humbled that my friends had invited me to be present for such a significant event in their lives. It came at an appropriate time for me personally as well since it renewed my sense of hope for the future of the Church. I was once again reminded that despite the doubts and difficulties I experience or perceive, Christ is always in charge.
Here was a group of young men, normal in every sense of the word, who love the Church unconditionally and are ready to give of themselves completely in service to Christ. Elites of today may seek to dismiss such young people as exceptions even freaks of some kind out of touch with modern trends and the rest of their more “enlightened” secular peers. However the seminarians here in Rome, far from being backward romantics living in a past age, are thoroughly modern young men, filled with energy and enthusiasm for life. They simply understand that there is a different, more meaningful and ultimately more human way of being modern that is perfectly compatible with the Catholic faith. My friends constitute what Pope John Paul II referred to as “signs of contradiction” in the world.
Listening to the cultural and entertainment talking heads of the world, one would be led to believe that the young generation of today is that chosen group which will complete the work of their predecessors in the 1960s. They see the so-called sexual revolution as the first in a series of waves of emancipation and progress that eventually will culminate in a truly free and open society. What they really meant by “free and open” or “progress” remains unclear, but it is apparent now that the entire movement had nothing to do with a genuine search for progress, but was simply a precarious experiment in unbridled hedonism and degeneracy. Whatever they left unfinished was to be carried to fruition, so they envisioned, by their children. However, much to the surprise and chagrin of the leftovers from the 1960s, the generation of youth today, inspired by Pope John Paul II, is moving culture and history in a different direction. The torch has indeed been passed to a new generation, but the results are far different from what may have been anticipated by some. The heirs-apparent of the sexual revolution have proven themselves powerful signs of contradiction in the modern world.
This phenomenon, often referred to as the “JPII Generation,” is motivated by the challenge of the late pontiff to reject the culture of fear and loneliness and “open wide the doors to Christ.” More young people are realizing that the answers to the most fundamental questions regarding the meaning of their lives can only be deciphered through a profound spiritual journey, culminating in an encounter with the Transcendent Himself. Only this interior encounter with the person of Christ brings lasting peace and authentic happiness.
Saint Augustine’s maxim, first pronounced over 1,400 years ago, remains as true today as ever: “Our hearts are made for Thee Lord, and are restless until they rest in Thee.” The slogans and quick-fix solutions proffered by cultural elites have left many, young and old alike, feeling alone, barren and hopelessly bored with life. Modern society’s distorted understanding of freedom and happiness left a good number of people with an acute sense of isolation. Those whose goal was liberation at all costs, did in a sense succeed in severing themselves from everything and everyone around them. And in a most painful and dramatic way, they have even been isolated interiorly from themselves, having lost a sense of identity and awareness of self. The rotten fruits of modernity’s perversion of freedom have resulted in insecurity, loneliness and a sense of purposelessness for many youth.
Pope John Paul II, from the earliest days of his pontificate to his final days of suffering, sought to dispel from the hearts of youth the suffocating fog of despair. Pope Benedict XVI echoed this message of hope at his Installation Mass, when he reminded youth that “Christ takes nothing from you and He gives you everything.” Through his life and teachings, Pope John Paul II redirected and reoriented an entire generation to pursue authentic happiness and fulfillment in a life rooted in unconditional love and gift of self.
The Mass in Rome was a powerful experience and it caught me a little by surprise. I didn’t expect that it would have such a personal impact. Afterward, there was a reception held in the tranquil walled-in courtyard of the seminary not too far from the ancient church. I had the opportunity to talk with several of the seminarians, and all of them were for me strong “witnesses of hope” to the bright future of the Church. One of them related to me his own journey of discernment and how at times it was difficult because, as he described it, “I stubbornly just wanted to hold on to a few pennies, nothing really, while Christ was there all along waiting for me, wanting to give me everything, and I learned to let go.” It’s difficult not to conclude that my friend’s experience is a common one, shared among a new generation, signs of contradiction, seeking lasting happiness, freedom and fulfillment.
© Copyright 2006 Catholic Exchange
Maldonado-Berry is currently studying Social Communication at the University of Santa Croce in Rome. He also works for Vatican Information Service (VIS) and Rome Reports, a news agency in Rome that covers Church events.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) - They agreed on wanting regime change in Iran, but leading Republican and Democratic senators disagreed Sunday on what role the United States should play in tying to make that happen.
Appearing on ABC's "This Week" program, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut both said they'd like to see the current Iranian government fall.
"Absolutely," Graham said, while Dodd said he would "love to see a different regime in Iran."
"Who wouldn't?" Dodd continued. "My lord, what's going on there for the last 30 years has been a disaster for the people in Iran."
However, Graham criticized President Barack Obama for failing to take a stronger public stance in favor of demonstrators protesting the announced result of the June 12 election that authorities said re-elected President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"The president of the United States is supposed to lead the free world, not follow it," Graham said.
He called Obama's statement Saturday for Iran to halt its violent crackdown on protesters the right step, but complained that the president has been "timid and passive more than I would like."
Dodd responded that Obama was taking the correct tone.
"The worst thing we could do at this moment for … these protesters, these courageous people in Tehran, is allow the government there to claim that this is a U.S.-led opposition, a U.S.-led demonstration," he said.
Graham said the United States had an obligation to support freedom movements everywhere.
"They've killed Americans in Iraq, innocent Iraqi people; now they're killing their own people," he said of Iran. "Stand up with the protesters. That's not meddling. That's doing the right thing."
Dodd endorsed a collective international response to Iran that would support both the aims of the demonstrators and the U.S. goal of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
"I think doing it alone … may not achieve the desired results," he said, adding that support from the international community was needed "if your true goal is to stop the Iranians from developing the nuclear weapons."
Graham, however, said a failure to properly support the demonstrators could "lose this moment in history." He called regime change, at this moment, "more important than negotiating about nuclear weapons."
|
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|
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Current State - Current Sports
Most Active Stories
Tue March 13, 2012
Gov says Agreement Retains Detroit Officials' Influence
Governor Rick Snyder says a controversial plan to prevent the appointment of an emergency manager for the city of Detroit allows current city officials to play a significant role in their financial recovery.
The administration disclosed details of a proposed consent agreement with city leaders on Tuesday. The plan involving the state and the city is expected to include cutting some services and privatizing others.
After seeing a draft proposal on Monday, several Detroit officials voiced concerns over a proposal to form a financial advisory board.
But Governor Snyder defends that approach.
"The city council and the mayor have significant input on who goes on that board," he says. "In terms of the appointed people, the mayor's part of the process for the appointment process for those people. And then you look at the roles, it doesn't affect the strategy or policy. It talks about financial oversight and implementation."
A 10 member review team was scheduled to hold a public meeting about the consent agreement Tuesday afternoon. Detroit currently faces a $197-million budget deficit.
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|
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|
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VICTORIA, Australia (CNN) - Several homes are gone and thousands of acres charred amid a bushfire in Australia.
The fire started yesterday and grew to more than 61,000 acres.
At least one family had to be rescued from their home as the flames edged close to the property.
Several firefighters had to take shelter in their truck as the fire passed over them.
It is unknown what started the fire.
Copyright 2013 CNN. All rights reserved.
|
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Stanford is an amazing university. First, the setting is stunning. Every student should be so lucky to attend a school such as this. No matter where you look, the beauty is incredible. Gardens, detailed architecture, design of everything related to everything; one just feels more special, maybe even more intelligent, in this setting.
Dr. Byron Davies, Chief Systems Synthesist, who is in charge of StarShine’s data architecture, graduated with a Ph.D. from Stanford. He was invited along with me to attend a summit of two hundred people to focus on the urgent need to fix K-12 education in America and throughout the world. The Global Education meeting was hosted by the President of Stanford, John Hennessy, and Goldman Sachs (can you believe it?) because they are both saying that for over one hundred years we have ignored K-12 and now if we don’t fix it, America will not be able to survive economically or peacefully. President John Hennessy is calling for every person in America to help K-12 teachers and classrooms as the most pressing economic problem today. He has devoted every department of Stanford to have an initiative focused on K-12. Goldman Sachs predicts that more money will be made in K-12 for a longer, sustained time than in all previous sectors combined in history. They are saying the demand is worldwide and the market has been so ignored for so long it has created an almost unbelievable upside opportunity. And it will save kids and families.
We already knew about it. Maybe it will become the “In” career for the next part of life for the nearly 11,000 people per day, turning 60 years old, with the United States alone having about 78 million baby boomers. This group is the most passionate about saving our education system and is the most educated group on the planet. And according to a recent study, if you make it to sixty years old, chances are 95% that you will make it to eighty-five, so people will need to have something worthwhile to do.
StarShine was the only K-12 school at the conference and we have nine years of statistics to prove and share what we have learned. Our great friend and long-term partner, President Angel Cabrera from Thunderbird Global Management University in Phoenix, was there for the whole time and spent quite a bit of time with us talking about StarShine. We also got to spend time with John Sperling, University of Phoenix founder, and Michael Milken, who spends 100% of his time trying to change medicine and education.
It is going to get exciting around here.
|
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|
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Many were broken, many were saved here.
Beloit's name became synonymous with its girls' reformatory, one of the longest-operating in the country, which for more than a century mirrored the most enlightened reforms but also the cruelest horrors of such places. Now, at its closing, residents and staff members are wrestling with the contradictions.
Beloit was where "bad girls" were sent: That's what Diane Roles had heard as a child. A friend's sister had gone there.
Growing up in the 1960s, Roles endured a seriously dysfunctional family - a chronically violent father and a fearful mother. People didn't talk much about child abuse then, and young Diane's solution was to run away from home to escape beatings.
Once, she said, her father kicked her with his steel-toed boot, leaving her jaw swollen. Another time, her bruised legs prompted a girlfriend's mother and a neighbor to call her family. But nothing changed.
"I got to the place where I didn't even cry anymore," she said. "The more they hit me, the more I laughed."
Her older sister complained to their mother that she had been molested. Roles said her mother slapped the sister, saying, "What am I supposed to do?"
The offense that landed Roles in the juvenile court system was taking her brother's car for a joy ride. After fleeing a foster home, she was offered placement in a "trade school," and she grabbed it.
It wasn't until the frightened 13-year-old was riding across the wind-swept prairie of rural north-central Kansas that it dawned on her the school was Beloit. "I mean to tell you my heart dropped clear down to my toes," she said.
But looking back now, she sees it differently. "Going to Beloit was a safe haven for me," she said. "Basically, I was an abused kid. Back in them days they didn't do anything. They shook their heads."
There is no barbed wire - no fence at all - surrounding the complex of limestone and brick buildings that came to be known as Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility. Across the street is the high school for the shrinking, agricultural town of 3,600. Its two-block long downtown, filled with charming century-old buildings, is less than a mile away.
The institution, right down to its rural setting, is typical of the ones that began opening in the middle part of the 19th century as rehabilitation-focused reformers sought to end the practice of housing juveniles alongside adults in deplorable conditions.
The Women's Christian Temperance Union, a suffragist group that had fought for prohibition, lobbied for the girls' facility in Kansas, soliciting donations of land and money and operating it for its first couple of years before the state took it over in 1890. As was common at the time, girls as young as 8 spent long days toiling in the gardens and caring for the animals that supplied their food. For a time, girls were even indentured to farm families.
But with the high-minded ideals of the reformers, there was a dark side as well, explained Ned Loughran, executive director of the Council for Juvenile Correctional Administrators, in Braintree, Mass.
"These kids were an eyesore for the upper classes of society," he said. "The solution wasn't to change the conditions they were growing up in, the poverty and lack of parental supervision. The view was to get them out of sight. Then people forgot they were there, and abuses crept into the system."
Abuses? Under some administrations, girls were punished with huge doses of vomit- and diarrhea-inducing castor oil,humiliated with forced hair clipping. In the darkest period, dozens underwent involuntary sterilizations.
"It totally infuriates me," said Katrina Pollet, pausing at a box of yellowed photos from years gone by as staff sorted and packed up late this summer. The last superintendent, she's passionate about helping the girls who've left Beloit for good.
"It's so important to me because I could have easily been here," said Pollet, who was herself once a pregnant 16-year-old high-school dropout.
As school records, some in musty leather-bound books, were sorted and stored, the mundane details they contain sketched life at Beloit and the shifting attitudes it reflected.
From the 1930s, a file for one girl described her as "incorrigible" and noted she "associated with Mexican men" and "became intoxicated at dances."
The offense for another young charge was listed as being "immoral (with father)." Later in the record, it shows the girl was taken for removal of venereal warts. It was common practice for much of the facility's history to lock up young abuse victims rather than their abusers.
Both girls spent about four years at Beloit.
All the records detail whether the girls had attended Sunday school. "Yes" is the answer for most.
When the reformatory was founded, girls "were really viewed in our society much more as property," said J. Russell Jennings, commissioner of the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority. "And the expectation for behavior of girls and what occurred with them when they didn't meet those expectations really provided an open door for young girls to be institutionalized for non-crime events. Not even running away but just kind of being a pain in the neck."
The treatment they received varied, as it was not uncommon in the early days for entire staffs to change after elections. Some administrations taught the girls to play musical instruments and barred corporal punishment, while others relied on draconian forms of discipline.
The most infamous superintendent was Lula Coyner, whose cruelty caused the girls to march to the sheriff's office and demand an investigation.
In 1935 and 1936, Coyner undertook a campaign of forced sterilization after becoming enamored with an international movement known as eugenics, a philosophy also popular among the Nazis that sought to prevent those deemed mentally disabled or otherwise genetically inferior from having children.
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