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Boston Garden housed golden age of NBA
I don't remember the first time I paid visit to the Boston Garden in the early 1980s, but I do remember the smell. You walked up the staircases to the upper back of the arena where the incense of boiled hot dogs from the press room gathered with the humidity of the playoff season. The worse the smell, the bigger the series.
While growing up in Oregon as a Canadian son of European immigrants, I would sit on the floor of the family room in front of our TV watching Bernie Carbo homer at Fenway or John Havlicek make basketball look like an incredibly fatiguing sport. A decade later I arrived in Boston to find that the Boston Garden was a "dump,'' according to the growing numbers of Bostonians who wanted to tear it down. I learned to view it as a dive bar, a place judged less by its outfittings than by its patrons. The Celtics locker room was full of personality, self-esteem and intelligence. Among all of their best players there wasn't a single dummy, and Larry Bird remains one of the smartest athletes I've ever known. They (and the Bruins, though I rarely saw them play) brought life to the old building shortly before its death.
In the 1980s the NBA wasn't throwing T-shirts into the audience, there were no dance teams and all of the noise was generated by the customers. The music came from John Kiley playing the organ high up among the cheap seats at a pitch so soft that you couldn't name the tune. During timeouts he would gently play away while the crowd murmured like a symphony audience before the conductor raises his stick. Of course, people would take advantage of the interludes to yell at the referees if things weren't going well. One Sunday afternoon Jake O'Donnell could hear a woman screaming: "You're an ahm-pit, Jake! You're an ahmpit!'" We turned around to see that it was one of the Celtics' wives.
The closest thing to a mascot the Celtics had then, and only for a short time, was an exotic dancer named Busty Heart, who appeared late one regular season in a white tank top walking the aisles while gasping fans pointed as if they'd just seen a phantom of the opera. She followed the Celtics to the 1984 NBA Finals against the Lakers, but I don't remember her coming back the following seasons.
This was the golden era of the NBA, and it was achieved without all of the artificial noise and hysteria that is piped in today. Fans knew when to clap without need of a Gene Hackman video clip on the scoreboard.
The visitors locker room for basketball games at the Garden was every bit as small and overheated as the legends say. During the 1985 NBA Finals, I was assigned by the Boston Globe to write a pregame story about Bob McAdoo of the Lakers. I went into the locker room and he invited me to sit down next to him, and we whispered an interview to each other as his teammates sat shoulder-to-shoulder on the L-shaped bench. Every once in a while I would glance at the celebrities: Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Byron Scott . As we talked I remember a mysterious bouquet of flowers being delivered to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
One night in 1987 I was sitting at the press table behind the basket watching the Celtics struggling to stay with the Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the conference finals. The Celtics turned the ball over trailing by a point with 5 seconds left, and the building was quiet as no NBA arena is allowed to be today. Isiah Thomas inbounded the ball, Bird put a hand on it and pirouetted at the baseline on the far side of the basket near me before feeding Dennis Johnson for the layup that saved the series. As Bird reached out for the ball there was a gasping sound like thousands of natural gas valves opened at once; when DJ's layup banked in there came a roar of 14,000 pilot lights lighting up at once as the fans jumped to their feet. The next day I was on the Celtics' flight on Northwest to Detroit -- they flew commercially back then -- and as Bird walked through the E Terminal at Boston airport he was applauded.
Years later I was driving by the old Garden midway through its demolition to make room for its new replacement arena next door: Half of the building had been torn away, while the remainder was just as it had been. Through its gaping hole I could see the yellow balcony seats and the old advertisements on the walls. It was a strange, sad demise.
2. Fenway Park
3. Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Ill.
4. Peace And Friendship Stadium, Athens
5. Palais Omnisports, Paris
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I am working, doing audits, with a contractor who tends to make basements, crawlspaces into conditioned space. Especially when all or most of the duct work is in the crawlspace. He does this by covering the floor, side walls and piers with heavy plastic. He then uses rigid foam insulation on the walls, foams the joints and above and seals the vents and access hatches. Then we duct seal and re-insulate.
Has anyone been doing this for a while? Any unentended consquences?
Well, there are so many factors to review with your local code enforcement:
1. 3" gap at top of insulation from foundation wall
2. insulation offset from ground
3. appropriateness of foam board insulation in crawlspace (Thermax, for example, seems to be appropriate across NC, but other states require any foam board to be covered for flame spread, etc.)
4. method of conditioning the space. dehum, hvac, return air from home.
Most of the experts (EPA, DOE, Advanced Energy) recommend conditioning an encapsulated crawlspace using 1CFM per 50 sq ft of crawlspace area from existing ductwork if available. We find that is more cost effective than buying and running a dehumidifer. Of course, sometimes ductwork isn't available and you have no choicebut to install a dehumidifier. In any case, most local codes require conditioning the space. The subject is addressed on our web site. wwww.yourcrawlspace.com
As always, check your state code. If you're using HVAC air, you may be required to insulate the walls of your crawl space. That could lead to higher initial costs than just getting the dehumidifier.
While insulated and conditioned with HVAC air is the ideal, it's not always the best solution. Tapping into an existing supply line to condition the crawl is robbing air from the living space, and can put more stress and wear on an existing unit. Also, in some situations it's undesirable to create that slightly positive pressure in the crawl helping lift air into the living space.
In cold climates using the HVAC system to condition the crawl space is in most cases the best way to provide the comfort factor the homeowners expect from a new system. Leaving the crawl space unconditioned leaves the floors cold that can lead to higher setting on the thermostat, uncomfortble seating for the kids on the floor, and generaly less comfort in the home. We always size off the heat/gain calculations to handle the extra load.
I'm curious if anyone has data on conditioned crawlspaces in mild climate zones, like California. It seems all of the responses listed are from areas with more temperature/humidity extremes.
To my knowledge no, though I do have to laugh at "mild climate" & California as that state falls under 7 different climate zones & recall dealing with roads closed due to snow in June.
Like almost everything it depends on where your mechanicals are, location and other factors - got a specific location in mind?
While we are at it - what does Title 24 call for - as I recall they had some info or reqs in there
Should have qualified our location. Climate Zone 2, Santa Rosa where we had 1580 HDD in 2011 and have 1453 HDD to date.
So given "our mild climate zone," does anyone have data that supports the additional expense for a conditioned crawlspaces?
TWO-PART WEBINAR SERIES: California Crawl Spaces: Integrated Solutions for Healthy Homes & Deep Energy Reductions: http://thousandhomechallenge.com/thc-webinars-retrofitting-ca-crawl...
Great and surprising information.
sounds awesome! probably helps keep down radon as well
Actually the one study I know of pulled the plug on a house in Flagstaff due to Radon levels increasing because it lost the dilution ability of a vented crawl. With that said depending on your area it still can be worth doing & just making sure you install radon control measures via a rat slab or something similar
I have a conditioned crawl space. I think it is well worthwhile. You can read more about why I like it here: http://www.greenspirationhome.com/?p=1033
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(CNN) - Steve Preston, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, said Sunday that the country is “pushing through the middle” of the housing crisis.
There is a surplus of homes on the market, but not enough customers, he said.
“We need new homebuyers to come back into this marketplace. And we have to work hard to stem the tide of foreclosures so we don't have more of those homes coming into the inventories,” he said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”
Preston said the roots of the problem are multifaceted and no one person is to blame.
"I think there was confusion at the closing table as to what people were getting into. I think you had builders overbuilding in many of these markets, and as a result, needing to sell that inventory and doing so aggressively.
“And I think at the end of the day, you had mortgage instruments that were poor financial risks that ultimately landed in the hands of investors that they probably should never have bought,” he said.
Preston advised people who fear they are on the brink of losing their home to find a counselor to help them decide if they should restructure their mortgage.
Hud.gov has contact information for housing counseling agencies throughout the country.
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Author Elizabeth Krall sent us the blurb for her lighthearted romance novel, Ship to Shore. In her email, she told us that she had used a variety of blurb-writing tools to get the point of her story across as strongly as she could:
“I have tried to incorporate various bits of ‘blurb writing’ advice, such as the use of ‘power words’, keeping it under 175 words and posing questions.”
In this Pitch Slap article, we’ll dive into this nebulous world of blurb writing tricks and talk about what worked and what sank and what swam in this seaside romance. But first…
Storms at sea and heartbreak on land. Betrayal and frustration. A forbidden journal.
Oh, and bagpipes.
This ‘ship to shore’ love story follows Sally and Dermid, who meet on a tall ship sailing across the Atlantic. Sally is drawn to Dermid, despite what she considers to be his unfortunate passion for bagpipes, but their brief romance ends badly. Very badly.
They are given a second chance when Sally accepts a job assignment on a remote Scottish island. The fact that Dermid is on a nearby island has nothing to do with it. Or so she says.
But when Sally’s assignment is over, will she leave?
Or will she find the courage to build a life with Dermid?
And could she ever learn to love the bagpipes?
Set against the tempestuous North Atlantic and the windswept beauty of the Hebrides, this is a wryly humorous story of two people who must learn to trust their feelings, and to trust each other.
So, initial impressions?
One of the most dangerous balancing acts in blurb writing is walking that tightrope between being general (to avoid drowning in details) and the vague (making a story so broad that it could be about anything). Here, the blurbs totters too far into the latter category. In fact, before I even talk about using power words or questions in the blurb, the blurb itself needs to say more. A reader who is trying to guess what the story is about isn’t directed towards any single premise. All of the following example story summaries could apply to Ship to Shore:
Ship to Shore: Never Trust A Guy with Bagpipes
Ship to Shore: Pregnant with the Mobster’s Lovechild
Ship to Shore: My Bagpipe Rockstar
The fact that I don’t understand what caused the conflict between Dermid and Sally – or even who was to blame, if anyone – makes it impossible for me to understand Sally’s actions in the second section of the story. Sally tracks Dermid down, but why is she in denial about it? What went down between them? Also, why are the bagpipes such a significant part of the story? Are they simply there as comic relief and to highlight the culture clash, or are they truly part of the conflict?
Another thing that sets this blurb apart from some of the ones we’ve looked at in the past is, as I mentioned in the opening, that the author used some of the go-to tools for giving the blurb that extra kick: Questions and Power Words.
Now, the party line on question in blurb-writing is that these are effective in piquing the readers curiosity. The young protagonist is stuck in the attic. How will she ever get out? The dog is on a quest to find his master. What will he do when he discovers his entire life was a lie? The girl’s journal was stolen. What will she have to sacrifice to get it back?
The official CanaryTheFirst position, however, is that they’re the easy way out. Usually, if you set your story up well in the blurb, you won’t need to pose those questions. The reader will already be thinking them. Use questions sparingly.
If you do use them, as Krall had, make sure that you set the story up clearly, so that the things they question clearly make sense. Clarifying the conflict (as mentioned above) will not just let the reader know what he or she is getting into. Without a clear understanding of what the story is about, the questions at the end of the blurb become more confusing than intriguing. Does Sally need courage because she dumped Dermid and now needs to fight to convince him she loves him, or because she discovered he’s a Scottish werewolf? Why couldn’t they just stay together in the first place? Was Dermid married? Did Sally refuse his proposal because he had bagpipes, or was he just not ready for a relationship?
Power words are a great shortcut to grabbing the readers imagination. We all have key words that draw us to the book like moths to a delicious, cotton-candy-flavored flame. Words like “Betrayal”, “Plot”, “Escape”, “Tortured” are all but guaranteed to make me pause and take notice. Like genres and titles, they’re labels that flash out and tell the reader, “Read me.” And every reader has a set of words that are guaranteed to make them pick up the book and look a bit closer.
However, the use of power words/key terms either in the beginning of the blurb or at the end also create expectations. If I see “Intrigue!” at the top of the blurb, I expect to see the blurb elaborate on the delicious intrigue I can expect to see in the story. In Krall’s blurb, we expect the story summary to mention the following elements:
- Storms at sea
- Heartbreak on land.
- A forbidden journal.
However, we only get a hint of 2 and 6. In general, when using power words, make sure they are at least somewhat touched on in the blurb itself, otherwise, they are very firmly entrenched in the too-vague category. Here is a sample blurb that addressed each of the six power-word elements (betrayal and frustration are implied).
Like the previous snippets, I don’t know whether the story told here is true to the book, but it holds together. And with these bare bones laid out, the author can add in questions and power words – but now, the reader will see why the questions are important, and why Sally’s proud heart is pulling her after Dermid, nevermind his crazy penchant for playing bagpipes.
In fact, give her time. She might begin to find them quite quaint after a while!
Do you have a pitch or synopsis that you’d like to send to the sacrificial altar? Email it our way to firstname.lastname@example.org with “Pitch Article Submission” in the subject.
What do you think about the blurb, Canaries? Authors love input!
Check out our sister series, Pitch Pecked, here.
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GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Could smartphones and their weather apps be the end of landmarks like WZZM TV-13's Weatherball?
The Wall Street Journal reports KCCI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa, has turned out the lights on its Weather Beacon. And the locals aren't happy about it, WSJ.com reports:
"Since the lights went out, it has been raining puns on Facebook and Twitter: Weather Beacon black, it isn't coming back. Or: Weather Beacon down, sadness all around."
WZZM Chief meteorologist George Lessons tells WSJ.com Grand Rapids' Weatherball is a highlight of his daily TV forecasts and for many in the community: "When kids come in for tours, that's their biggest thrill: Where do you control the Weatherball?"
The station's General Manager Janet Mason also described how the 16-foot stainless steel ball covered with 288 lights was saved from a scrap metal yard in Kalamazoo in 2003 after it was dismantled in 1987.
Since that restoration, Grand Rapids has not been in danger of losing its Weatherball. Maybe that's because our motto, teaching children and adults alike how to read the forecast on the ball, is clearly superior to Des Moines.
13 Weatherball red, warmer ahead.
13 Weatherball blue, cooler in view.
13 Weatherball green, no change foreseen.
Colors blinking bright, rain or snow in sight.
The TV-13 Weatherball even has its own page on WZZM's website, which details its story with a photo gallery.
As for today, the Weatherball is shining red and blinking bright.
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ALEC HOGG: It's Wednesday January 26 2011 and in this special podcast we speak from Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum with South Africa's Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Edna Molewa. Minister, you've no doubt been engaging with a lot of other government ministers, just take us...nice simple stuff, what would someone in your position be doing over the next five days here in Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum?
EDNA MOLEWA: Thank you very much, Alec. I am glad to be here, first time, as I said but we are a group of five ministers with our President. Each one of us, let me just talk through that - we've got to be in sessions, which are dealing with specific issues. For instance, I would be dealing with issues that deal with sustainable development, environment, water, every other thing, of course, women, naturally. Also, I'll be getting into other sessions where one has got to learn, listen and actually see what you can take back home. The critical thing, I think, for me here is to really say in a big way, how can we get business, government, civil society to work together in partnership. In that regard, I'll also be having private sessions with bi-laterals, like now when I leave here, I'll be holding bi-laterals, where we can talk and reach agreements about what is it that we've got to do post here. It just can't be that I've learnt something and we don't do anything. For instance, we'll have sessions with the World Bank, we'll have sessions with the UNAB [1:44], we'll have sessions with business South Africa and world business leaders to see in these fields of technology, in the field of environment in its entirety. Whether you talk agricultural development, new technology that can actually ensure that we are food secure, what is it that we need to do together so that we can move into Africa. Africa, we'd like to believe is a basket of food but there are problems.
ALEC HOGG: It was so interesting listening in the Africa session this morning that a claim was made that 60% of the arable land on earth is in Africa, is that accurate?
EDNA MOLEWA: It is accurate and yet, it's on the contrary, there isn't that much that we produce. Even in South Africa, if you look at our big farms, there's not much production that's going on. So, we need innovation, we need a new way of doing things. As opposed to the past, where we used to say here's a whole field so many hectares big, irrigation schemes into the river, maybe even wrong placed, losing a whole lot of crop at times like now, we have floods. It's a thing of the past, we've got to say what new technology will bring, GMO stuff, issues of technology for irrigation that can save us water. So that from the demand side you have issues of new ways of doing fertilising, instead of just spraying all over, environment unfriendly stuff and so on. Issues ensuring that environment friendly stuff that are produced can be had by anybody that's not costing any havoc in the lives of the people in health and so on and so on. So, those are the things that we've got to look at and they can't just come on our own, we've got to work together, we've got to really put our minds together and say, what technological innovations, where there's a lot that's happening already back home. I think what's remaining is to get all these into the higher trajectory of working with the real people, the real farmers, including those who are even from the emerging sector because without them we can't even meet the world standards and even come any closer to producing as much as we need, food for Africa. As it has been said earlier on that, in fact, the market of Africa is quite huge. We need partnerships; we need those who are knowledgeable to be able to do things for ourselves. But much more broadly even on other things, we have a growth path at home; we need to fulfill that as well.
ALEC HOGG: It's a place where many people can come together, share ideas and, as you say, take things back home. You mentioned water - in Davos, in the last two years, water has been rising up the agenda, it's becoming increasingly important and one of the economists that I listened to in a session last year was saying, if you make it free, people will waste it. Water is the one thing that we cannot, as human beings, afford to keep wasting. Now, that is your portfolio, the water portfolio in the cabinet, have you found that the water story or the water question has gone still further up on the agenda? I know it's early in Davos but in the discussions you're having?
EDNA MOLEWA: I think the critical discussion on water is happening tomorrow, where we'll go further. In terms of what we have in our plan with WEF, in particular, is to really say beyond the three countries where pilot projects were done, Jordan, India...I can't remember which other country but South Africa would then be coming on board and if South Africa comes on board, it means that we've got to work with Africa because we are a water scarce country. What are we going to be doing? We're looking at demand side, supply side of water. We know that there's a whole lot of water that's wasted in the demand side. So, we've got to find a way of managing the demand side and with WEF we've already begun, from last year's discussions, saying that come April this year, we've got to do something in that line of thinking to really ensure that in a practical way we do learn by doing on the ground. So, that we can then move together.
ALEC HOGG: What about pricing though?
EDNA MOLEWA: Yes, pricing is an issue. Fortunately in South Africa we are reviewing the pricing issue, we're reviewing the allocation issue because let's face it, there are many of our farmers, for instance, who have been allocated water, although it's no longer water rights, it's now entitlements, they're no longer using that water. We now have a New Growth Path, we've got to release it to the new industrial development that are needed for further growth in the country. Not that we're taking [UNCLEAR 1:26] but if it's for betterment of that particular establishment in a farm, we'll still leave it. Yes, this is the demand side I'm talking about, part of managing that. Tariffs of water we're redoing, for instance, the farmers are saying to us that the price of water is too high for us, the cost is too high. Those are the considerations that we'll make. Obviously, we can't say for everybody, it has to be that we look at the various categories if need be that for a particular size of a farm, this could be the tariff and so on and so on. They also have a problem about electricity, I'm sure Minister of Electricity will talk about that but the whole objective is to really make our country and our continent much more productive. So, that we can actually create the jobs that we're talking about, get businesses to grow, get food production to happen so that there's food security in our country.
ALEC HOGG: You mentioned electricity and when we put water, electricity and Africa together, it has to come up, the Inga Project or proposed project in the DRC. I don't know how close you are to it but it's been said that if that project were to go ahead, it could light up the whole of southern and eastern Africa.
EDNA MOLEWA: Absolutely.
ALEC HOGG: I'm not so sure how many South Africans know the potential of this?
EDNA MOLEWA: I don't think many South Africans know about that but it's something that we're beginning...even today here spoke about Inga and I think the sooner we do something about that the better. We have decided, as the three ministers, [Name? 2:56], myself and energy to lift this project to the presidency. So that decisions are made, we work hard on it and decisions are made there. Why is it like that because we've seen a lot of politicking happening there and we can't afford that. Inga has to be the way. It can unleash the potential of Africa in a big way, whether you talk electricity, whether you talk water provision and fortunately, we are at one in this regard. We discussed this at Government Lekgotla, we discussed it at the other Lekgotla of politic [UNCLEAR 3:26]. So, this is the way to go.
ALEC HOGG: It's got another benefit, of course, being hydro-electric...
EDNA MOLEWA: Absolutely.
ALEC HOGG: ...absolutely clean, whereas a lot of the other part of your portfolio on environmental affairs, I'm sure you have your sleepless nights thinking about the pollution that is created when we have to meet this electricity demand?
EDNA MOLEWA: Definitely, definitely, it's got hydro-power but also from Lesotho highlands [UNCLEAR 3:47] where the second phase has with it coming, the hydro-power electricity. We're glad about that but we're also glad about the new integrated energy programme. The whole chain or spectrum of that will help us reduce emissions in our country and in our continent.
ALEC HOGG: Lots is happening, Minister, just to close off with though, the big story on environmental affairs around the world is going to happen in Durban later this year. Those inside the business know it as movement from Cancun to Durban, just give us - for the uninitiated - an understanding of why the Durban conference is so important?
EDNA MOLEWA: Durban conference is very, very important because we...expectations are very high, by the way, I must say...we have a task in our hands to ensure that those important issues that have not been agreed upon, let me say, there are countries that were signatories to the Kyoto Protocol and they have done a lot, let me say. But there are other countries like the US and them, which are outside, which were not committed to the Kyoto Protocol. Well, US was a signatory but they never ratified and just between the two countries, China and US, you find emissions that are there, worldwide over 40...exactly 41%. So, we can't leave them behind, so we need to take them along. Japan is saying that we've been part of Kyoto Protocol, we can't allow it that only certain countries in the world go along. So, we've got to reconcile these views and say, let's get a new order, the legal form, which is what we're fighting for.
ALEC HOGG: Are the Americans coming to Durban?
EDNA MOLEWA: They are coming to Durban definitely.
ALEC HOGG: And the Chinese as well?
EDNA MOLEWA: Next week, Stan [UNCLEAR 5:35] will be there, we'll be engaging with him for the first time. That's now the special envoy of America, we'll be talking to him there.
ALEC HOGG: Great progress and lots for our Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs to keep her eye on. Thank you, it's been a privilege talking with you here in Davos.
EDNA MOLEWA: Thank you very much, Alec.
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The Gas Transmission Investment Programme (GTIP) is Gas Industry Co’s response to industry concerns over the long-term outlook for gas transmission capacity availability in the Auckland region. This work has its origins in 2009, when Vector announced to the industry that it would no longer be able to sell new capacity on its North Pipeline as that pipeline has reached the limits of its capacity.
The objective of the GTIP is to:
The GTIP is structured as a package of interconnected projects:
Two working groups have been developed to provide advice to Gas Industry Co in relation to the GTIP:
The diagram below illustrates the GTIP structure and governance.
Gas Industry Co has prepared the paper: Gas Transmission Investment Programme - Structure and Scope. The aim of the paper is to provide:
The scope of projects identified in the paper will be reviewed by the Panel of Expert Advisers (PEA). Any advice the panel has on revising the scope will be considered by Gas Industry Co before the scope of the GTIP is finalised.
Gas Industry Co has been working on transmission pipeline capacity issues for several years. Our work in this area has sought to address both short and long-term issues that have arisen from the North Pipeline constraint. In relation to the short-term, large end users on the North Pipeline have experienced a reduction in the number of credible bids they receive when seeking a new gas supplier. Gas Industry Co's investigation of this situation prompted key industry members to put in place a set of commitments known as the, 'Bridge Commitments'. Gas Industry Co is monitoring the market to assess the effectiveness of these commitments.
More information on this work can be found here: Short-term Capacity Workstream
In relation to the long-term, Gas Industry Co has investigated Vector's access regime and developed various options for improving the performance of the regime. Stakeholders have participated in this work through various workshops and consultation papers. At an April 2011 workshop, attendees strongly endorsed the need for a more holistic approach to finding solutions to the longer-term transmission capacity issues. It was proposed that Gas Industry Co lead a structured programme of work, and subsequent industry submissions endorsed an outline for the GTIP prepared by Gas Industry Co.
More information on this work can be found here: Long-term Capacity Workstream
Morning session: Transmission Update
Afternoon session: Gas supply/demand workshop
On Tuesday 15th January 2013 a workshop was held relating to Demand Management and Transparency.
Here are two presentations from this workshop
These are issues that the PEA are providing advice on and their work can be found here
Concept Consulting has amended its gas supply and demand study to include an analysis of the demand on the Maui pipeline north of the Mokau compressor. Gas Industry Co has commissioned this addition in response to feedback on the original report. This analysis is contained in Appendix D of the revised report (note that the rest of the report remains unchanged). The analysis develops projections for annual and peak day demands on the Maui pipeline north of the Mokau compressor station, taking account of trends in generation demand, coal prices, and carbon dioxide prices.
The modelling tool has been updated to include the Maui pipeline analysis. To download the model, visit: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B8Fpt8nHFgDZdU1VbzZ6M0pLcjA/edit The model consists of an Excel file and a supporting Access database. The files are compatible with Excel 2007 (and above) and Access 2007 (and above).
Download the two files labelled 'Gas_dem_sum.accdb' and 'Gas_Dem_v22.xlsm' by clicking on them (the folder labelled '20121129 Release' contains the original model and database released in November 2012).
Click 'Download'. A window may appear stating it is too large to be scanned - click 'Download anyway'.
The Access file must be saved to the same folder as the Excel file for the model to work properly. Also, both files should not be marked as Read-only (to check, right-click the file in the file list, click Properties, then make sure that the Read-only box on the General tab is not ticked).
The Access document may open automatically and request a password but can be closed as it does not need to be open for the model to work; simply open the Excel file called Gas_Dem_v22.xlsm. The first tab in the Excel file consists of notes about the model and the second tab is a diagram of the model.
The report has been produced by Concept Consulting Group and is the first substantive look at gas supply and demand in New Zealand. The report includes national gas supply/demand scenarios, regional gas demand scenarios, and peak demand projections that can assist the industry and large users to assess the need for, and timing of, investment in pipeline infrastructure.
In response to requests from submitters, the final versions of the report and associated model include more information on the data inputs and modelling results:
Gas Industry Co has released a draft report, "Gas Supply and Demand Scenarios 2012 - 2027," for public comment. The report has been produced by Concept Consulting Group and is the first substantive look at gas supply and demand in New Zealand. Gas Industry Co commissioned the report to develop a set of national gas supply/demand scenarios, regional gas demand scenarios, and peak demand projections that can assist the industry and large users to assess the need for, and timing of, investment in pipeline infrastructure.
Vector Ltd has commenced a comprehensive consultation with industry participants as part of its process to determine available pipeline capacity, particularly as it relates to the North Pipeline. Details of this process are available on Vector's website
The Backstop information gathering and analysis workstream is currently underway. The work is being pursued in parallel to the GTIP and will apply to all areas of Gas Industry Co's work. With respect to the GTIP, this information gathering process (or any regulation implemented for this purpose) has the potential to assist in the development of market arrangements - that could lead to improved availability of information in the market. More information on this work can be found here: Policy Development and Information Gathering
Purpose of the Market Projects: to provide for efficient market arrangements to allow an efficient allocation of transmission capacity and signal the need for new investment.
In the paper: Gas Transmission Investment Programme - Structure and Scope, Gas Industry Co identified one Market Project, Transmission Access and Pricing.
Analysis of Submissions 5 March 2013
Letter to submitters from Dr Graham Scott, PEA Chair, and Steve Bielby, dated 22 November 2012.
Following establishment of the Gas Transmission Investment Programme in September 2011, a Panel of Expert Advisers (PEA) was established to provide advice on a range of market design issues. The first key deliverable of the PEA Work Plan is presented here. It is a report from the PEA to Gas Industry Co that proposes a 'straw man' for improvement to gas transmission access and pricing arrangements.
Submissions on the PEA report closed on Friday 24 August 2012.
Purpose of the Regulatory Projects: to define appropriate regulatory arrangements that support efficient investment in transmission infrastructure.
In the paper: Gas Transmission Investment Programme-Structure and Scope, Gas Industry Co identified one Regulatory Project, Tesing Investment Options.
The Panel of Strategic Advisers, comprising senior stakeholder executives, provides programme oversight. The PSA is chaired by Gas Industry Co Independent Director Andrew Brown.
The Panel of Strategic Advisers (PSA), comprising senior stakeholder executives, provides programme oversight. The PSA Members and Chair are as follows:
The PSA Terms of Reference can be found here:
|#||Meeting Date||Meeting material|
|3||Wednesday 12 December 2012|
Friday 6 July 2012
|1||Monday 19 December 2011|
On 11 April 2013 GIC held a workshop with industry participants to review and discuss the progress and direction of the Transmission Access and Capacity Pricing project, which is part of our Gas Transmission Investment Programme (GTIP).
11 April 2013 Workshop Presentations (zip folder)
|18||Wednesday 12 June 2013||12 June PEA Meeting Material|
|17||Monday 6 May 2013|
|16||Monday 8 April 2013|
|15||Friday 15 March 2013||15 March PEA Meeting Material|
|14||Thursday 21 February 2013|
|13||Tuesday 29 January 2013|
|12||Tuesday 4 December 2012|
|11||Friday 2 November 2012|
Thursday 14 June 2012
|8||Thursday 7 June 2012|
|7||Monday 7 May 2012|
|6||Monday 2 April 2012|
|5||Thursday 8 March 2012|
|4||Monday 20 February 2012|
|3||Friday 16 December 2011|
|2||Monday 7 November 2011|
|1||Thursday 13 October 2011|
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The Institute of Medicine, one of the National Academies of Science, announced today that John Donoghue, the Henry Merritt Wriston Professor of Neuroscience and Engineering, has been elected as a member. “I am honored to receive this high recognition and to become part of an organization so dedicated to advancing progress in science, medicine and health care,” said Donoghue, who joins four other Brown colleagues as active members of the IOM. Donoghue directs the Brown Institute for Brain Science. He also pioneered and co-leads research on BrainGate, an investigational brain-computer interface now in clinical trials that is designed to help people with severe paralysis regain the ability to communicate and control their environment. In all, the IOM named 70 new members and 10 foreign associates this year. “Through their research, teaching, clinical work, and other contributions, these distinguished individuals have inspired and served as role models to others,” said IOM President Harvey V.Fineberg.
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Up next in How to Line Dance (37 videos)
No need to sit out line dances anymore; Robert Royston teaches you all the right moves in these step-by-step tutorials from Howcast.
Hi, my name is Robert Royston. I'm a five time world champion of country dance, working with artists like Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, and Brad Paisley. I really hope that you learn how to line dance and experience what it's like to move to America's music, and that's country music. So solid steps, camel walks, and slides, three other terms you're gonna come across in line dancing. A solid walk really just means a hard hitting that doesn't have much movement afterwards. You can land it bent leg, boom, boom, that'd be like a solid walk. Or you could land it straight leg, boom, boom, that'd be a solid walk, right? So it's just kind of a hit, hit, hit alright. If you take a solid walk and as you land that straight leg, boom, you took that solid walk and you really over exaggerated the break of the knee as maybe you lock stepped, bam. You get what's called the camel walk. Big exaggerated step, break at the knee, yea, same thing. Big solid walk, really exaggerate the break. Big solid walk, exaggerate at the break. You don't always have to lock step though, you could go boom, bah, boom, bah, that's a camel walk. You could go boom, bah, boom, step, step, break, step, step, break. As soon as we break a solid step with a kind of hard collapse of the knee, it becomes a camel walk, and we can camel walk sideways too. Boom, bah, boom. I can take my grape vine, right, and camel walk them to add a little style to it. So style walks, camel walks, now we have slides, just what it implies. Slide, slide, forward and back, slide, slide, forty-five degree angles,slide, slide, just sliding the step. So we can take solid walks, boom, boom, straight leg, boom, bent leg, boom, boom, boom, camel walks, boom, bah, boom, bah, and slides, slides, slides.
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The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary - A Lakeshore Walk With Impalas
The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary spans about 38 ha. It was created to provide a home for threatened Impalas within Kisumu city and its environs. It also provides a safe grazing area for hippos from the lake.
The sanctuary consists of two portions, separated by private developers. KWS is coming up with ideas on how best to utilize Impala for conservation. Located just a Kilometre from Kisumu CBD, Kisumu Impala Sanctuary
lies close to Hippo Point and features 3km of nature trails and a selection of picnic sites.
This walking sanctuary is a holding area for animals which require special protection in this densely populated area.
The Sanctuary’s focus is herds of impalas and zebras which roam freely in the sanctuary. This is where it derives its fitting slogan: A Lakeshore Walk With Impalas...
Within the sanctuary is an animal orphanage that contains a collection of caged lions, leopard, cheetahs, baboons, hyena, jackals, bush duikers, bush buck and buffaloes.
The sanctuary also provides important open grazing for the local hippo population while the threatened sitatunga antelope exist in the nearby swamps and can be seen early in the morning.
With over 115 bird species recorded, the sanctuary is a delight to birdwatchers especially in the morning and late afternoon. There is a new public campsite in the sanctuary, State Lodge Campsite, which has modern amenities.
There are also several picnic sites within the sanctuary that offer excellent venues for weddings, corporate events and functions.
The Sundowner tower which faces the Railway trail is a perfect area for sundowners on the shores of the second largest fresh water lake in the world.
A new gate (Sunset Gate) connecting the sanctuary with Sunset Hotel has been opened to ease access by the guests from the Hotel.
A shady and peaceful place, with its abundance of birdlife and picnic areas beside the lake the Sanctuary provides an ideal refuge away from Kisumu’s busy town centre. The Sanctuary is open all year round.
The Kisumu Impala Sanctuary was gazetted in October 1992, after which a holding facility for captive animals in the Western Conservation Area (WCA) was developed within the sanctuary to enhance tourism.
For more information on Kenya's Parks and Reserves visit Kenya Wildlife Services
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Today, there have been improvements in the region and many communities are flourishing. Highways now link the mountain towns to cities in the valley, and reduce what used to be day-long trips to a matter of hours. One-room schoolhouses have been replaced by fully-equipped buildings, all of which has helped pull up national achievment rankings. But roughly 40 percent of Appalachia's population in the hills and hollows remains stuck in poverty, still searching for the road to success.
At the start of his senior year, Grim led the state of Kentucky in touchdowns. The star of his high school football team, the Johnson Central Golden Eagles, hoped to use his football prowess to win a scholarship to college.
Grim's family lives in a hollow in Flat Gap, Ky., where thievery and alcoholism are rampant. He was so eager to break away that he moved out of the family's trailer.
"The whole entire hollow is nothing but family, and all of them hate each other, so it's all fighting," he said.
He wanted to be the first in his family to graduate from high school.
"I want to go out here and I want to make everybody proud of me," he said. "And I want to make everybody happy that I'm actually trying something and doing something with my life, and I don't want to mess up."
Over the two years that ABC News spent with Grim, he moved at least eight times. He stayed with assorted friends and relatives and sometimes even slept in his beat-up red truck.
In the trailer in Flat Gap, Grim's mother Tina proudly pointed out the cabinet filled with her son's trophies and showed off scrapbooks of his successes to visitors.
"I want him to have something to pass down to his kids when he does have them," she said.
She also took out the family prescription pills that she locks away with her prized coin collection. If she tried to sell them, she said, these doctor-prescribed pills for nerve and back pain could go for $120 per bottle.
"I lock up all my pain medication and my nerve pills, so that way I don't got to worry anybody else stealing 'em off me," she said.
Grim's football coach and mentor, Jim Matney, does what he can to help Grim succeed. Matney was born in the mountains and traded his high school wrestling skills for a college scholarship. He returned to his hometown and has been coaching for 27 years.
"We want him to be able to trade his gift for football to have a better life," he said.
In another part of the hills, 11-year-old Erica prayed for her mother, Mona, to beat her addiction to painkillers.
"She's almost 50, and if I don't get her out of this town soon, then she'll probably die any day. The future, we'll never know about," Erica said.
Mother and daughter live in the abandoned coal town of Cumberland, Ky., but Erica dreams of moving them to Georgia where a friend lives.
When ABC News first met Erica, Mona was being sent to rehab, but she soon returned home to her daughter and her addiction. To escape, Erica goes on walks through the boarded-up town. She says she knows when her mother is high by the look in her mother's eyes.
"The reason I go on these walks is because I want to get away from my mom when she's like that," she said.
Erica has a guardian angel, a mentor named Karen Engle, the executive director of Operation UNITE.
"She's a very special young lady and has a lot of potential, but she's got a lot of obstacles like a lot of our kids do," Engle said.
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City of Alexandria, VA
Circuit Court is a court of unlimited general jurisdiction in certain matters. It can issue writs of mandamus, prohibitions, and certiorari. Divorce suits are heard in the Circuit Court. It has appellate jurisdiction in all cases, civil and criminal, from the lower courts and original jurisdiction for all felony indictments and for presentments, informations, and indictments for misdemeanors. Appeals from the Circuit Court are either to the Court of Appeals or to the State Supreme Court. In criminal trials, trial by jury is mandatory unless waived by the defendant, the prosecutor, and the court. See Prosecution in Alexandria's Courts for additional information.
Deeds, wills, deeds of trust, and other papers are filed with the Clerk of this Court (703-746-4044). The Clerk maintains and processes land record documents for the City, handles probate and fiduciary matters, issues marriage licenses, and provides clerical assistance to the judges in all civil and criminal matters. Other duties include issuing notarial certificates, administering oaths to elected and appointed officials, and maintaining historical records and statistics for the City. The Clerk is a constitutional officer and is elected for an eight-year term. See additional information on the Clerk of Circuit Court-Court of Record.
Judges are elected by a joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly and are commissioned by the Governor for a term of eight years. The Governor can make interim appointments when the General Assembly is in recess. Alexandria has three Circuit Court judges. The judges are: Lisa B. Kemler, Chief Judge; Nolan B. Dawkins and James C. Clark . Contact Information: Judges' Chambers (703.746.4123). For additional information see Local Procedures.
The Court of Appeals of Virginia provides for intermediate appellate review of all decisions of the Circuit Courts in traffic infractions, in criminal cases, except where a sentence of death has been imposed, and in decisions of the Circuit Court involving domestic relations matters and appeals from administrative agencies. The Court also hears appeals from the Industrial Commission. It sits in panels of at least three judges at locations designated by the Chief Judge, so as to provide convenient access to the various areas of the Commonwealth. The 10 Court of Appeals judges are elected in the same manner as Circuit Court judges and serve a term of eight years. The Chief Judge is elected by the 10 judges and serves a term of four years.
For more information visit the web site of the Court of Appeals of Virginia.
The Supreme Court of Virginia's primary purpose is to review the decisions of lower courts in which appeals have been allowed. The Court, which is located in Richmond, also has the power to issue writs of mandamus, habeas corpus, and prohibition; it has original jurisdiction in cases of judicial censure and removal.
The Court has seven justices who are elected by joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly and are commissioned by the Governor to serve 12-year terms. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the administrative head of the state judicial system.
For more information visit the Supreme Court of Virginia web site.
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Sport 4 Ever
54,713 downloads (10 yesterday) DonationwareSport 4 Ever.ttf
Note of the author
This Type also include new icons for the winter olympic games. Sports involve activities, rules and customs, by competitively there is a possibility of winning or losing what excites the practitioners. Sports also involve equipment and activities organized events tend to bring people together in one goal, to compete. The icons that were created based on different modalities and aims to illustrate the various media: Print, Television and Web.
First seen on DaFont: 02-10-2010 - Updated: 06-04-2010
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I asked her to share another meaningful and genius idea this week.
I love that it is simple, affordable and cute, but most of
all teaches our little ones to think of and care for
those besides themselves.
Enjoy, and let Kristin know when you
incorporate it into your family routine.
Aaron and I try to be intentional about living out our faith for Mackenzie to see so we can teach her to know and love the Lord and live her life for Him. Lately I have been brainstorming some new, fun ways to implement spiritual disciplines and truths into our day.
And I came up with the Prayer Pail.
The plan is to let each of our kids pick one (or a couple) sticks out of the prayer pail while we are at the dinner table and then let them pray for whatever or whoever is on the stick.
Hopefully it will work out well!
Want to make your own prayer pail?
All you need is:
-large craft sticks
-a bucket (or you can use an empty tin can, flower pot, mason jar...whatever really)
-double sided tape
Step 1: Cut out a strip of card stock, add the words "Prayer Pail" with stickers or a pen, and attach to the front of your bucket with double sided tape. Feel free to decorate the back as well with some stickers, verses on prayer or anything else you would like!
Step 2: Write the names of friends, family and any other people or things you want to be praying for on the craft sticks and place in your bucket.
Some of the ideas I added:
-The names of Friends and Family
-The Lost (People who don't know Jesus)
-Missionaries we know
-You Choose (they can pick anything they want to pray about)
Step 4: Cut a bunch of ribbon pieces and tie on the handle to spice things up a bit.
Yeah! Your done!
"These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
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The 13-hour surgery involved a team of 16 surgeons. They came from Hopkins, Walter Reed, the Curtis National Hand Center at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, UCLA and Pittsburgh.
The doctors first attached the bone using metal plates and screws, Lee said. Teams of doctors then sutured the muscles and tendons and then the blood vessels using a microscope. Next they repaired the nerves before attaching the skin.
"It is a very complicated procedure," Lee said in a phone interview. "It involves a lot of precision."
Marrocco is only one of seven patients in the United States to have undergone successful double arm transplants, Hopkins said. It is the first such procedure performed at Hopkins, but Lee and a team of doctors performed other double- and single-arm transplants at Pittsburgh.
About 60 arm transplants have been performed around the world, Lee believes. He and his team of doctors have other patients waiting for donors and are consulting with others to see if they would make good candidates.
Doctors also used a new treatment to prevent Marrocco's body from rejecting the new limbs, which sometimes happens in transplant procedures. The treatment involved infusing bone marrow cells from the donor's body. Marrocco now has to take fewer drugs to fight rejection. The anti-rejection drugs can damage organs and cause infections.
Infusing the bone marrow helps balance the immune system of the donor arm and the patient, Lee said.
Michael Marrocco, who quit his job to help with his brother's recovery, said he hopes the surgery will help Brendan become even more independent. He said his brother also was determined not to let lost limbs slow him down.
"This surgery is probably the biggest thing to happen in my brother's life," he said.
Brendan Marrocco, who retired from the Army as a sergeant last year, doesn't have a job but has earned veterans disability benefits.
Marrocco said he asked Lee if he could give him new legs too. Although doctors in Europe are transplanting legs, Lee is not yet comfortable with the procedure and said more testing is needed.
That's all right with Marrocco. Arms are a bigger deal because they are used so much.
Marrocco's recovery will involve intensive hand therapy, first in Baltimore and later at Walter Reed. Doctors are doing the minimum treatment now as they allow his tissues to recover from surgery.
They say Marrocco is an eager patient who already has found ways to start using his arms. Doctors said his positive attitude should help him in recovery.
"Right now we are the ones holding him back to let the tissues heal," said Dr. Jamie Shores, clinical director of hand transplantation at Hopkins. "I don't think there is much we will be able to keep him from doing."
Lee said his previous patients have gained almost full function. One double-transplant patient can tie his shoes and use chopsticks, he said.
For his part, Marrocco said he looks most forward to eventually driving again. He has a black Dodge Charger waiting for him when that time comes. He also plans to take up swimming and hand cycling when he is strong enough.
Mostly, he just wants to push his arms to the limit.
"I just want to get the most out of the arms," he said.
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Middlesex Masonic Lodge of Framingham
Over two hundred years old, the Masonic Lodge in Framingham was chartered on June 9, 1795 and signed by Paul Revere. Membership is restricted to men and is based on an investigation by the current membership into his character and his belief in a "Supreme Diety."
- Hours: Meetings: third Tuesday of the month.
- Founding Date: 1795
- Parking: Free lot
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Definitions of preen
n. - A forked tool used by clothiers in dressing cloth. 2
n. - To dress with, or as with, a preen; to trim or dress with the beak, as the feathers; -- said of birds. 2
n. - To trim up, as trees. 2
The word "preen" uses 5 letters: E E N P R.
No direct anagrams for preen found in this word list.
List shorter words within preen, sorted by length
All words formed from preen by changing one letter
Browse words starting with preen by next letter
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In the midst of traveling, I listened to news reports of the U.S. Supreme Court’s apparent support for Arizona’s immigration statute — SB 1070. I was a bit surprised by these accounts. Though obviously no decision was rendered during oral argument, most reporters predicted the Court upholding Arizona’s immigration measure. For instance, CNN reported: “Parts of Arizona’s sweeping immigration law received a surprising amount of support from a short-handed Supreme Court Wednesday.” Even Huff Post’s Mike Sacks’ story led with “Supreme Court Appears To Favor Arizona On Controversial Immigration Law.” Having now reviewed the transcript of the argument, I take a slightly different take on the matter. Though I suggest no one take bets on my prediction — for I am no Jimmy the Greek — I believe the Court in large part will uphold the two federal courts that have struck down the Arizona law.
Byway of background, in 2010, federal district Judge Susan Bolton issued a preliminary injunction as to four provisions of SB 1070. In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Judge Bolton’s decision. The injunction, or in other words, the order preventing the implementation of portions of SB 1070, included the invalidation of:
- Section 2, requiring state and local officers to verify the citizenship status of people arrested, stopped or detained. Specifically, Section 2(B) provides that “for any lawful stop, detention or arrest made” by Arizona law enforcement, “where reasonable suspicion exists that the person is an alien and is unlawfully present in the United States, a reasonable attempt shall be made, when practicable, to determine the immigration status of the person.”
- Section 3, making it a state crime for a person to be unlawfully in the United States and for failing to register with the federal government. This section requires non-citizens to carry registration papers showing that they are lawfully in the United States.
- Section 5, making it a state crime in for a person who is not lawfully in the United States to work or seek work. Specifically, Section 5(C) makes it a misdemeanor for “a person who is unlawfully present in the United States and is an unauthorized alien to knowingly apply for work, solicit work in a public place or perform work as an employee or independent contractor in this state.”
-Section 6, authorizing state and local police to arrest without warrants when “the officer has probable cause to believe … [t]he person to be arrested has committed any public offense that makes the person removable from the United States.”
The position of the federal government, the plaintiff in the matter, is that Arizona’s law is in conflict with federal immigration law. And it is the federal government’s position that immigration is a matter within its exclusive authority. Therefore, any state law the conflicts with federal law is void pursuant to the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.
The key opinion on the matter appears to be the Supreme Court’s 1942 decision, Hines v. Davidowitz, where the Court held that immigration enforcement necessarily implicates “important and delicate” considerations of foreign policy and that therefore states cannot “contradict” or “complement” federal immigration efforts. Thus, the question before this Court is whether SB 1070 contradicts federal immigration efforts.
While my reading of the transcript suggests that several of the justices seemed sympathetic to Section 2 of the law, which merely mandates state authorities to confirm a detained person citizenship status after an unrelated lawful stop, especially if such inquiries do not extend the time the person is detained because of the immigration inquiry, I believe the justices may very well uphold the lower courts’ invalidation of the other three provisions. While I remain troubled that Section 2 will invite racial profiling, the profiling issue was not before the Court I suspect because the federal government was aware of unfavorable law in the immigration context. If section 2 is upheld, which it very well may be if the justices vote along philosophical lines, then the racial profiling matter will have to be addressed in the political realm.
Nevertheless, If all the other three provisions at issue are struck down, which I believe they will be, this is a victory for the federal government and opponents of SB 1070. As mentioned above, the key question is whether Arizona’s law conflicts with federal policy, and the Justices of the Court seemed to focus on this point. In the questioning of Arizona’s Attorney, for instance, the following enlightening exchange occurred:
-JUSTICE SCALIA: And the State has no power to close its borders to people who have no right to be there?
MR. CLEMENT: Well, here — Justice Scalia, here’s my response, which is all of this discussion, at least as I’ve understood it, has been about 2(B), and to a lesser extent 6. Now, section 3 of the statute does provide an authority under State law to penalize somebody who has violated essentially the Federal registration requirement. So if that’s — as to that provision, there would be a State authority, even under these hypotheticals, to take action with respect to the individual.
-JUSTICE KENNEDY: I think Justice Scalia’s question was the — was the broader one, just as a theoretical matter. Can we say, or do you take the position, that a State must accept within its borders a person who is illegally present under Federal law?
MR. CLEMENT: I think my answer to that is no. I think the reason my answer is no has more to do with our defense of section 3 and other provisions than it does with respect to the inquiry and arrest authority provisions, 2(B) and 6.
In this key exchange, counsel for Arizona basically admits that the state can penalize someone even if the federal government does not want that person to be detained, arrested or deported under its policy. This exchange alone highlights how and why SB 1070′s sections 3, 5 and 6 should be struck down — because SB 1070 can and will lead to conflict with federal immigration policy. This admission thus seals the case, and even if Section 2 is upheld, the Court will likely leave SB 1070 toothless. This is likely to be the result unless of course the Court cares more about politics than precedent and logic.
The logic: earlier this year, the federal government set immigration priorities that conflict with SB 1070. Just this year the Department of Homeland Security announced that it has “prioritized the removal of people who have been convicted of crimes in the United States.” In this statement concerning immigration, the feds indicated they are not focusing their resources on deporting people who are low priorities for deportation. “This includes individuals such as young people who were brought to this country as small children, and who know no other home.” Yet, the drafters of SB 1070′s section 3, 5 and 6 cared not about such priorities, and made it a state crime for merely being undocumented in the state, or seeking employment in the state. Thus even if the federal policy is that such individuals pose no threat, Arizona law contradicts this national policy and thus should be held invalid.
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Interior designers draw upon many techniques to enhance the aesthetics and function of interior spaces. The main objectives is to work with colors, textures, furniture, lighting, and space to meet the needs of the client. An interior designer designs for almost every type of building, including offices, restaurants, malls, hotels and homes. A great interior design can boost office productivity, increase sales, attract a more affluent clientele and provide a relaxing getaway or increase the value of the property.
Traditionally, an interior designer focuses on decorating while choosing a color palette or style and then selecting appropriate furniture, artwork, floor and window coverings, and lighting. However, an interior designer is increasingly becoming involved in architectural detailing, such as crown molding and built-in bookshelves, and providing assistance in planning layouts of buildings undergoing new or renovated construction.
Whether it's interior design, custom furniture, home furnishings or window treatments, Designs of the Interior has all the capabilities to do just this. Contact us today to get started.
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NEW YORK — An organizer for the New York Encounter, a three-day cultural festival held in January, says this year’s theme of “Experiencing Freedom” is an idea both cherished and deeply divisive in American culture.
“What is it that defines this mysterious thing which we call freedom, which for us as believers is the ultimate reflection of the experience of God himself that’s been given to us as creatures?” reflected Maurizio Maniscalco, the event’s chairman.
“Freedom is the territory where not even God intervenes in our life,” which makes its experience a “pretty compelling thing,” he told Catholic News Agency in a Jan. 9 interview.
The New York Encounter will be held Jan. 18-20 in Midtown Manhattan and is the third annual installment of the event. It is free and requires no registration.
The encounter is organized by the Catholic ecclesial movement Communion and Liberation and by Crossroads Cultural Center. The center aims to explore the relationship between religion and culture and was founded by members of the Communion and Liberation movement.
This year’s encounter will feature reflections from an array of speakers, as well as musical and artistic performances and exhibits on author G.K. Chesterton and the Cristero martyrs of Mexico. Mass will be said Jan. 20 by Cardinal Egan, archbishop emeritus of New York.
Among the speakers is Paul Bhatti, who is Pakistan’s minister of National Harmony and Minority Affairs. He will talk about the life of his brother Shahbaz, who was martyred in 2011 for his support of Pakistani Christians and his opposition to the country’s blasphemy laws, which are primarily used to persecute non-Muslims.
Open to Everyone
Maniscalco said the organizers desire to share their experience of God with those who attend the encounter and that it is for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
“Our ultimate desire is that what happened to us may happen to others. And since it happened to us through human encounters, our hope is that through the human encounter that the New York Encounter is somebody could discover that God is not just an unknown mystery, but is a life; that the Church is not an obsolete organization, but is a life.”
“And for those who already believe, we desire that, God willing, they may return home with more hope, more faith, more charity, more passion, more love for what they are called to do, what they are called to live.”
He said that freedom is experienced not as an achievement, but as a belonging in community.
“We know that the truth will make us free. And the truth has become man, dwelling among us. That is our certainty.”
“And we hope that by spending some time there, listening to witnesses, maybe even seeing the 200 volunteers we have who make this happen, one begins to perceive, to see a glimpse of this possible fulfillment, which is fruit of a belonging.”
New York Encounter is “as Catholic an event as it can be,” Maniscalco said, “in a true sense.”
“Those who make it happen do it with the one and only desire to bring their humble testimony in the public square, in the heart of New York City.”
He said the encounter is in the spirit of St. Paul’s admonition to test all things and “hold fast to what which is good.”
“We invite people; we present things. ... We try to embrace them and retain what is good.”
While being a “Catholic” event, the New York Encounter is not one in which “we sit there to pray the Rosary,” Maniscalco reflected.
“God willing, we do that, but, during the encounter, it’s a sign, an event of openness.” The New York Encounter is the fruit of a “desire to bring our testimony in the heart of the world,” said Maniscalco.
New York Encounter “aims to discover, affirm and offer to everyone truly human expressions of the desire for truth, beauty and justice,” its website says. It is “a meeting point for people of different beliefs, traditions and cultures striving for reciprocal understanding, mutual building and true friendship.”
The organizers of the event are all members of Communion and Liberation, which was founded in 1954 by Msgr. Luigi Giussani. Maniscalco said the movement’s gift to the Church is “a friendship in the name of Christ” and that the New York Encounter “is a little example” of this friendship.
Andrew Whaley will be attending the New York Encounter and is traveling from Colorado to do so.
“I’m fairly new to Communion and Liberation, but am really intrigued so far, both by the thought of Father Luigi Giussani, but also by the way it is lived out so immediately in community,” he told CNA Jan. 10.
“He was always saying ‘Christ is an event that is happening to me now.’ I find it a challenge to do that from moment to moment — to experience my life and my self as a question, in the moment, whose answer is Christ,” Whaley added.
“I am looking forward to being surrounded by an entire community attempting to live that for a few days.”
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When it comes to personal finance, saving, and investing, there are a lot of "it depends" or "your situation may be different."
New superannuation rules increasing taxes for the wealthy and reducing tax for those on lower incomes have been confirmed in the federal government's budget.
The non-financial aspects of retirement planning may be critical
Just because you can doesn't mean your should
We'll show you how to set yourself up to retire in style.
To give gearing strategies the best chance to succeed, the investor needs a long investment horizon - at least 10 years.
The ATO recently provided some clarification to those who invest in property through their self-managed superannuation funds.
Some of these sharemarket losses are going to permanently scar young people's retirement plans.
The reality is many pre-retirees don't know what they are spending now and have given little thought to the cost of their hazy view of retirement.
Silence surrounds significant changes to your superannuation.
MoreNEED TO KNOW TERMS
RESOURCES & OFFERS
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Jewish World Review June 19, 2003/ 19 Sivan, 5763
Jackie Mason & Raoul Felder
All the news unfit to print
http://www.jewishworldreview.com | In most things in life it is impossible to be both the giver and the receiver. If a ball is thrown, there is a thrower and a catcher. In a holdup, there is a robber and the guy with his hands in the air. But the New York Times has managed to be both perpetrator and the victim a victim who blames the perpetrator, who is the same person as the victim.
With all of this happening, the sales of the Times did not suffer, nor did they lose any advertising. In fact, they were able to cut out the middle man in all of this coming and going. They not only made the news, but they reported on it and, in fact, for the most part, gave themselves an exclusive without ever having to leave their desks or even make a telephone call. It turned out to be like a play, with one guy playing all the roles. The rest of the press was relegated to merely reporting the story when the Times itself was the story. Talk about phony reporting the Times was not only the story but it created the spin on the story, so that all of the other media had only second hand reporting.
The Times, because of an affirmative action policy taken to absurd extremes, hired and nourished Jayson Blair, a reporter who was not only guilty of plagiary but who, in many cases, simply made up the news. He was not so dumb. He figured out a way to get an exclusive story and never have to leave his apartment in Brooklyn. The Times' reckless pursuit of a policy of affirmative action cloaked him with protection from all the scrutiny to which a reporter is usually subjected. Maybe at the Times they call it something else, but affirmative action is what it was. It was like when the media accused Mayor Bloomberg of forcing the police to meet ticket quotas, and he angrily denied the charges. He said they certainly did not have quotas to meet, they merely had "performance goals". It was no particular source of comfort to the cops that the tickets they were forced to write were to meet "performance goals" rather than quotas.
Lets get real. Howell Raines, Executive Editor of the New York Times, admitted that in hiring and supervising Blair, he acted "as a white man from Alabama." What does that mean? If he acted "as a white man from Alabama" 150 years ago, Blair would have been his slave. Maybe a hundred years from now if he would act "as a white man from Alabama" he would be Blair's slave. The point being that whether he acted "as a white man from Alabama" or an Albino from Pittsburgh, today it should not have affected his behavior and responsibility as Chief Executive of the world's leading newspaper. It should also be noted that the American Society of Newspaper Editors is now asking newspapers to have 38% employees from minorities by the year 2025. This sounds great if there are 38% capable people looking around for newspaper jobs by 2025. Maybe there should be 90% minorities, maybe 10%, and maybe people should just be hired or fired because of their performance and ability or maybe that the Albino from Pittsburgh should be hired because the supply of them is limited.
There is no question that the Times' was the perpetrator of what occurred. It was their mismanagement policies that were directly responsible for the Blair fiasco. But the Times also played the victim. Media all over the world reported on how the Times (now the victim) was misled and deceived by Blair. After his resignation, the Times (the victim) acted promptly to straighten out the perpetrator (the Times) and deal with those management people who were responsible.
After Blair resigned, at a "town hall" meeting on May 14th, the present publisher, Arthur Sulzberger, Jr. informed the entire staff that he would not accept Howell Raines', the Editor-in-Chief's, resignation even if it were offered. True to the tradition of accurate reporting, Mr. Raines then offered his resignation which, of course, Mr. Sulzberger promptly accepted. At the same time, Raines' second in command managing editor, Gerald M. Boyd, also resigned. Boyd is a black man, and no sooner did he resign then the Association of Black Journalists, through its president, Errol Cockfield, said, "There are many black journalists who are questioning whether, in an effort to restore its credibility, The Times has gone too far." Their clear point is that the Times pushed out Mr. Blair and Boyd because of their race. The unworthy thought crosses our mind that Blair and Boyd were just as black when the Times hired them, as when they got rid of them.
The Times' real underlying problem is in their hiring practices. We have a solution. Since the people they hired to report the news were actually writing fiction, they should have hired a real fiction writer Hillary Clinton. Also, with her they would not have to worry about any plagiarism being revealed. Virtually all celebrity biographies that have a professional writer involved, state, "As told to" or "In collaboration with," or something of that nature. Even politicians are not low enough to not credit the person who worked on the book. But not Hillary. She obviously got some poor sap who needed the money bad enough, or whose ego was beat down, to work on the book without any name credit. Since the writer never claimed authorship, he can't claim plagiarism.
If people thought Jayson Blair was so full of himself that he cared little about the people he hurt, he could take lessons from Hillary. In her book "Living History," she related about when Clinton admitted to her he lied about Monica putting aside the fact that everybody from the guard at the gate to the steward in the White House kitchen knew what was going on in her book she said, "What do you mean? What are you saying? Why did you lie to me?" Never mind that he lied to the whole country, that the government was in a constitutional crisis and was virtually at a stand-still, and tens of millions of dollars of taxpayers' money had been spent on the various legislative and judicial processes set in motion by Clinton's lying. The only question that bothered Hillary is "Why did you lie to me?" The funny thing is that when a man cheats on his wife, the only one he has a right to lie to is his wife. Why should he care if the boys at the bowling alley or a hotel room clerk knows he's a tom cat.
It is clear that both Hillary and the Times were in the business of telling lies. The only difference was the Times cost you $1.00 for a copy and Hillary's lies were for free. Now you have to pay $28 to buy the book and read about it.
Appreciate this duo's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
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- Showing 10 posts published between Dec 01, 2011 and Dec 31, 2011 [Show all]
Increasing restitution for crime victims: A toolkit
The National Center for Victims of Crime recently released a “Restitution Toolkit,” which provides state agencies and external organizations information on instituting or furthering restitution opportunities for crime victims. The information is in-depth and comprehensive, including:
Harper government misguided in its tough-on-crime approach
from the Globa and Mail editorial:
David Daubney, a justice-department adviser, could have gone quietly into retirement. Instead, he tried to talk some sense back into this country. Prison overcrowding will worsen and breed violence, he told The Globe's Kirk Makin in an exit interview. The tough-on-crime route has been tried and failed. The government knows what it knows, doesn't listen to evidence and is reluctant to ask for research to be undertaken.
“The policy is based on fear – fear of criminals and fear of people who are different. I do not think these harsh views are deeply held.” It's a good point. A new poll shows that 93 per cent of Canadians feel safe from crime. Why, then, spend billions of dollars to go backward?
Fearmonger and Through The Glass: Books that undermine Harper's omnibus crime bill
from the review by Matthew Behrens in rabble.ca:
It's a rare event in the Canadian publishing world when non-fiction books line up in sync with current events, but these two titles are perfectly timed as Canadians consider the serious consequences of the Harper government's dramatic omnibus crime bill, one that will radically alter an already deteriorating judicial system.
....Those who'd like an inkling of what could come down the pipe can do no better than read Paula Mallea's appropriately named Fearmonger, an outstanding overview of recently passed and proposed crime legislation.
A restorative lens on violence
....In our 14 years of working together on RJ cases involving violence, we have found that maintaining a focus on RJ as a justice process is fundamental in that it holds central the priorities of reparation of harm, accountability, safety and voice. Justice in this context is not synonymous with the criminal justice system; rather, justice as something people seek in societies and also as individuals on a daily basis, whether within families, workplaces or interactions within communities.
Celebrity chef backs new Scottish Police hate crime scheme
Celebrity chef Tony Singh is backing Lothian and Borders Police pioneering new scheme for tackling Juvenile Hate Crime.
The Edinburgh based TV regular launched the scheme with Deputy Chief Constable Steve Allen, and LGBT Youth Scotland’s Schools Development Manager, Cara Spence, at LGBT Youth Scotland, Leith, on Monday 12th December.
Restorative justice in a case of serious sexual assault
....I was raped twice, at knifepoint, by a man who had been released from prison, just 24 hours earlier. I was his 27th victim. I reported the crime immediately. He had walked off abruptly in the middle of the attack and I was sure of 2 things: he had done this before and he would do it again.
I was believed and the rapist was caught, sentenced and returned to prison. Justice was done. Since the assailant pled “guilty” he was allowed a third off his tariff and the Judge, “to spare me any further distress”, proceeded quickly to his decision. Although I was in court, nobody looked at me and nobody heard me.
Moving beyond sides: The power and potential of a new public safety policy paradigm
Many factors have shaped state and federal public safety policies in the United States over the past twenty-five years. The most notable influence has been the widespread adoption of a tough on crime philosophy. While there is now a wealth of research that shows that tough on crime policies are not the most effective approach to public safety and actually create a serious opportunity-cost for reducing crime and victimization, the tough on crime philosophy has become part of the political and public consciousness across the United States.
Letting victims define justice
....There is a growing myth that for victims, justice requires tougher penalties. If only it was that simple. There is no evidence that punishment is as important to the majority of victims as some would have us believe. When asked in one study why they reported the crime, sexual assault victims listed punishment of the offender very low on their list of priorities.
Is restorative justice possible in cases of sexual violence?
....In early 2010 a restorative justice conference was held which involved a woman called Lucy – the name she has chosen to be known by in this research. Lucy is an adult survivor of rape and other forms of sexual abuse which took place several decades ago. The offender was a male family member who was also a young person at the time.
We investigated the experiences and expectations of four of the conference participants in order to explore the conference process, its outcomes and to understand any lessons which could be learnt from this experience for other victim-survivors. We interviewed Lucy, her Rape Crisis counsellor, the conference facilitator and the senior police officer involved in the case. The offender was invited, but declined, to participate.
Review: Child victims and restorative justice: A needs-rights model
....Combining the right to participate from the Convention on the Rights of the Child with an empirical analysis of a child's need to regain control, participation emerges as a critically important need and right for at least three reasons. First, for immediate instrumental reasons, participation is both an immediate coping mechanism and is expected to improve criminal justice outcomes. Second, for longer term developmental reasons, meaningful participation in experiential learning opportunities is a developmental step toward empowering young adults to master the problem solving skills necessary to make democracy both possible and desirable.
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Nightly News | April 06, 2010
BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: And while the search for the missing goes on, a lot of questions are being asked about this mining company . Massey Energy is well-known in the industry. So is its outspoken CEO. Our senior investigative correspondent Lisa Myers with us tonight from Washington with more on this angle of the story . Lisa , good evening .
LISA MYERS reporting: Good evening , Brian . After the Sago disaster in which a dozen miners were killed, both the federal government and West Virginia toughened mine safety laws. Yet this mine was still operating after repeated and serious safety violations , which experts say should have raised red flags . The Upper Big Branch Mine has been cited for 124 safety violations so far this year, two of them only yesterday. Federal records show some serious violations over the last year involving ventilation, dust and methane gas .
Mr. DAVITT McATEER (Former Mine Safety and health Administration Director): And when you see repeated violations , month after month, year after year, that says the company 's not taking seriously its safety responsibilities.
MYERS: Davitt McAteer , who investigated previous mine disasters, says the scope of violations should have raised red flags , especially those involving ventilation.
Mr. McATEER: It doesn't get any more serious in a mine than that. The ventilation is critical to keeping miners alive, keeping the gases away and keeping the potential for explosions away.
MYERS: Before yesterday, federal records indicate that three workers had been killed in accidents at this mine since 1998 . It's operated by a subsidiary of Massey Energy and its controversial CEO, Don Blankenship . Jeff Goodell wrote a book about the coal industry .
Mr. JEFF GOODELL: Don Blankenship is probably the most politically powerful character in West Virginia right now. He is a throwback to the old coal barons of the 19th century .
MYERS: Today Blankenship defended the mine's safety record.
Mr. DON BLANKENSHIP (Massey Energy CEO): I don't think it would be classified as having issues with safety . It's not Massey 's safest coal mine . It's a large mine, and large mines with lots of people, you know, you get more violations .
MYERS: But Massey has had safety problems. After a 2006 fire killed two miners at its Aracoma mine, the company paid the largest financial settlement in the history of the coal industry for willfully violating safety standards. The new mine safety laws were supposed to improve safety , in part by increasing fines. But critics say some companies have figured out how to work the system. For example, the Upper Big Branch Mine was cited for 500 safety violations in 2009 and so far has paid $168,000 in fines.
MYERS: That's less than Massey Energy earns in an hour from coal mining . Given the number of lives lost in this tragedy, Congress is likely to reassess whether mine safety rules need to be tougher and more vigorously enforced.
Brian: Lisa Myers in our Washington newsroom with that angle of this story . Lisa , thanks.
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Call Toll Free:
The Trader's Pendulum
J.B. Slear and his associates at Fort Wealth Trading Company, LLC are always anxious to share market trading concepts. A good one to learn about is called "The Trader's Pendulum." A review of recent economic history shows how the pendulum swings:
All healthy markets have an ebb & flow pattern to them. The same goes for the flow of money.
During the early 1990’s the flow of money was leaving stocks and entering into the commodity sector of investments.
Many people will recall that some of the grain sector's highest prices in history occurred during the last half of the 1990’s.
In 1997 the flow of money went back into the stock markets. Highlighted by the all-time-highs in the Dow Jones Industrials, the "Roaring 90's" resulted in all time highs being hit by many stock averages in the year 2000.
The stock prices were so high in fact, that George Ure has written at www.urbansurvival.com, "If the Dow were to have its same purchasing power today, as it did in the year 2000, it would have to be at nearly 14,000!"
As the “internet bubble” collapsed, other investments became vogue. The “housing bubble” encouraged excessive speculation in residential housing and stories of “house flipping” were widespread - despite predictions that things would ‘end badly’ – which we see ample evidence of in recent headlines about the housing bubble's collapse.
We believe today, some commodities may have entered into a new bull market phase.
The driving forces are in the headlines almost every day and are reported on leading financial web sites such as Jim Sinclair’s, www.jsmineset.com. Oil seems to be going up due to Middle East tensions. Grains are going up due to increased interest in ethanol production and global demand.
Perhaps due to problems in Europe and increased interest in China precious metals are of continuing interest.
This flow (and periodic reversal) of capital from one class of investment to another has been described variously as "hot money", the "flow of money" or what we call "the trader's pendulum."
Recognizing that there is always a class of investment ascending while another passes its peak and declines, Fort Wealth Trading Company LLC's aim is to provide traders with the broadest range of investment choices possible.
Whether you wish to trade commodity contracts, commodity options, or acquire physical gold or silver, Fort Wealth is only a phone call away from turning your investment ideas and decisions into well-executed trades.
Investors Please note: There is a risk of loss in trading commodity futures, options and foreign exchange products. The lawyers tell us to say that much. But we'll go even better. Don't invest with money you can't afford to lose. Don't invest if a loss could force you to lose your house, not be able to afford meals, etc. Use some sense. Investing can and does involve risk. In certain positions you can lose more than your original investment. Your broker will explain this to you if you're not clear on what we're telling you here.
All contents ©2007 - 2012 Fort Wealth Trading, LLC
For comments or issues with this page: email@example.com
This site designed for MS Internet Explorer 6.0 and compatible browsers, 1024 x 768
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Join the Design Exchange in Toronto for a unique series of talks highlighting the influence of architectural icons and explore how their efforts have paved the way for future generations to explore and live in the world of Design.
On Monday, November 12, 2012, the DX features Dion Neutra, the son of Richard Neutra, who is considered to have been one of Modernism's most significant architects. An architect, consultant and president of the Neutra Company, Dion took over his father's practice in 1970, and has been instrumental in furthering his father's legacy and countless preservation efforts in California.
The event takes place from 6:30pm to 8:00pm at the Design Exchange, which is located at 234 Bay Street in Toronto. All DX Talks are $10 general admission and free for DX members.
To register, please visit http://guestlistapp.com/events/114807
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Becoming a great leader on the dance floor is a lofty goal with many rewards.
It’s also within the reach of anyone willing to pursue this elusive skill.
There are two key ingredients to becoming a great leader:
1) Connection 2) Clarity
On this issue will be concentrating on the first Key ingredient – “Connection”
In order to lead someone you first need to establish a connection with that person.
Without connection any attempt to lead will feel abrupt and unsettling.
In order to establish connection with another person, you first need to be connected
within yourself. The best way to develop your inner connection is by consciously
focusing on your core area (one inch above your waist line to one inch below).
Your core area connects your entire body and provides it with a dynamic tension
that adjust to the speed and power of your movements. As you practice
concentrating on your core area you will feel your inner connection increase.
Establish connection within yourself before asking a partner to dance and
when you touch their hands they will feel that connection and respond to it.
They won’t know why, they’ll just know that for some reason they dance better
when they dance with you. You will be aiming to connect from your core area to theirs; the hands and arms just help transmit that intention.
A good exercise is to concentrate on your core area until you feel your arms and
body connected. Put your hands in front of you (as if you are holding a tray).
Now, with your feet side by side (about shoulder width apart), start transferring your
weight from one leg to the other – make sure as you transfer weight that your arms
and columns are connected and are part of the weight transfer.
Now try this exercise with your partner in front of you; the palms of your hands are
up and your partner’s are down; connect the hands at the fingertips (your arms will
provide a little tension upward and when done properly she will provide a reciprocal
tension downward that will maintain your fingertip connection).
Start moving from one leg to the other making sure that you are communicating
the weight transfer - not merely moving your hands from side to side, but keeping
your body connected and transferring your weight with your entire body columns.
As you practice the above exercise you will feel a connection with your partner as
you move from one leg to the other. Since the hands are moving you might think
the hands are doing the leading – try now disconnecting the core and lead only with
the hands and you will notice that only her hands will follow your hands and not
her entire body.
The above exercise will do wonders for your connection within yourself and with
At the beginning you will feel a bit stiff as you move with your partner from one leg
to the other; this, however, is okay. Soon you will establish a solid connection that
will make this action as natural as breathing.
Connection is an elusive quality; and like a pilot before take off, it’s usually a
good practice to have a check-list of steps to help make sure we dance connected.
* Concentrate on your core area to develop your inner connection.
* Establish a fingertip connection with your partner as soon as you touch their hand by providing a little lift upwards with your arms. You are aiming to connect from your core to their core.
* Make sure you are connected with your partner as you get in dance position by maintaining the upward lift.
* Both of you should lean slightly forward towards each other in order to maintain connection while moving.
* Once you start dancing, you will be alternating between leading and following your partner’s movement to insure you maintain a continuous connection.
Becoming a good leader is not something you learn – it’s something you
continually improve. Work on your connection and you will be on your way
to becoming a great leader and a very popular dance partner.
contact us at....www.savethefirstdance.com
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What's the farthest distance that you've ever driven a vehicle over its lifetime? Logging over 100,000 miles on a car or truck is something to be proud of. Traveling twice or three times that distance is quite impressive. But what about turning over a six-digit odometer by driving a car for a million miles? Pretty unbelievable, right? What about doing it twice?
Well, there's a man on Long Island, New York, who is close to attaining a never-before-reached milestone of three million miles on his car. Meet Irving Gordon, a retired schoolteacher who has logged more than 2,965,000 miles on his 1966 Volvo P1800S. He officially holds the world record for highest vehicle mileage, and his car is still running strong (and because his car is so old, his auto insurance premiums are probably incredibly low).
Gordon purchased the Volvo new in June of 1966 for $4,150, which was about a year's salary for him. He even paid an extra $10 for an AM/FM radio, but he couldn't afford to put air conditioning in the vehicle. Today, he's outfitted the red, two-door coupe with a license plate that reads "MILNMILER." There are pins of his mileage milestones on his front bumper, and his trunk is full of spare auto parts just in case he needs them while traveling. The engine in the Volvo is the same one as when it was purchased, although it has been rebuilt a couple of times.
So how did Gordon amass so many miles? Lots and lots of road trips. The now 72-year old says that he and his family would often just pack up their things and head out to an undetermined destination. Today, he hits the open road alone, and has visited Texas, Michigan, and Montreal in June of this year alone. Gordon even claims to have had a cup of coffee in every state in the union.
But the main reason behind the longevity of Gordon's Volvo is his stringently thorough upkeep of the vehicle. He doesn't let anyone else drive it, and he is obsessive about taking care of it. In fact, his car is in such good shape that Volvo Group has actually sent Gordon around the nation to appear in auto shows.
He hit the one million mile mark in 1987 and surpassed two million in 2002. And it appears that he will become the first person in history ever to drive a car three million miles sometime within the next year. All he needs is another 34,000 miles and change -- though he'll have to get some black tar removed from the carburetor before he can get back on the road again.
Loyalty to other people is considered a virtue. But what about the intense loyalty that a man has for his automobile? For Irving Gordon, it was enough to take him on a ride that lasted millions of miles -- and has driven him into the record books as well.
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7 Deadly Fitness Sins: How to Stop Sabotaging Your Workout
SIN #7: SlothSLOTH: You never miss a kickboxing class or an elliptical workout...
...but you're either in deep conversation with a friend or reading so intently that you barely break a sweat. Yes, some exercise is clearly better than none, but if you can chat freely or be thoroughly engrossed in the newspaper, it means you're not working out hard enough to get the maximum benefits or your time and money's worth, says Freytag.REDEMPTION: Set your priorities.
If talking with your friend or catching up on your reading makes exercising more enjoyable, by all means continue -- but limit these activities to your cooldown when you aren't supposed to be pushing yourself, or grab a cup of coffee after your workout and really move it the rest of the time. "The bottom line is, if you're not getting results, you're going to give up," says Freytag. And that could be the biggest sin of all.
Originally published in FITNESS magazine, August 2006.
What do you think of this story? Leave a Comment.
SAVE EVEN MORE! Say "Yes" to Fitness® Magazine today and get a second year for HALF PRICE – 2 full years (20 issues) for just $15. You also get our new Fitness Band and Total Body Express Band Workout ABSOLUTELY FREE! (U.S. orders only)
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I love when activists use creativity to sell their message, rather than relying on outdated notions of enlightenment ideology to affect chance. We’ve known for decades that the truth will not set us free—and that people make decisions based on both the rational and irrational. And yet, we still get campaigns that focus on the negative, are boring and easily ignored in a sea of countless messages.
Folks like the artist Khaled Jarrar, who created an exhibit space at the Berlin Biennale’s where he stamped visitor’s passports with a specially-designed ‘visa’ for the State of Palestine. The stamp he created featured a Palestine Sunbird surrounded by flowers and encircled with the words State of Palestine in English and Arabic. And it essentially meant nothing—except that it beautifully and symbolically told the story of Israel Occupation of the Palestinian Homeland.
I especially love it when it involves my husband, the activist and media studies professor Stephen Duncombe. Along with The Yes Men labs, his organization The Center for Artistic Activism has launched actipedia.org, a hub for people who use interesting, playful and artist strategies to help build a more just society. People like Jarrar and others can share ideas and document what they are doing, in an age where few mainstream media outlets cover this type of work.
I produced a piece on actipedia for Word of Mouth. Listen.
Last month a gave a talk at the Copy Lab, which is a creative collective for copywriters. (I am thrilled that Kim and Kelley started it—NYC writers need an association in order to learn new skills and advocate for our profession.) For my event, I focussed on tools and tips for creating content for web sites, social media and digital devices. Read a summary of the talk on The Copy Lab Blog.
Also, be sure to check out the Copy Lab. They have lots of great events coming up.
In my copywriting for the web course, I cover banner ads. Bannerblogs.com/au is the source that I use to show interesting work. However, when I tried to find live examples of old-school rotating banners, I came up empty-handed. Now, I am sure they still exist—but they are certainly not as ubiquitous as they once were.
But really. Who ever like banner ads anyways? It was a print/TV approach to interactive marketing that never quite worked.
What this means: the industry is finally getting smarter about engaging people in meaningful conversations via social media. I can already imagine a time when we will say: remember when we had to create all those endless banner ads?
Radio is one my passions. I love how intimate it is to listen—and how the absence of images allows for a different kind of storytelling. So when I was thinking about my New Year’s Resolutions this year, I placed pitching more radio segments at the top of my list.
Witness this segment on Feminist Boot Camp for public radio’s Word of Mouth.
Listen to the segment.
Find out more about Feminist Boot Camp!
I recently worked on a fundraising campaign for my children’s school, PS3 in NYC’s West Village. The creative team had one week to come up with a series of posters for The 3Fund, our annual fundraising effort which significantly supplements the school’s budget and allows for a rich arts-based education. Due to time constraints, photography was not an option.
The result? Text-based posters that playfully called out the very items the 3Fund pays for—and touched upon the community aspect of the PS3′s educational philosophy. The posters, placed throughout the school, helped raise money, and had the added bonus of increased parent involvement—from volunteering at lunch to school leadership positions.
Funny how much I love the pro-bono work that I take on.
(Click on images for larger versions.)
Despite the noise and hype about competing social platforms, Facebook is still a strong leader, as evidenced by this infographic from Mashable. See the whole blog post.
This does not mean things won’t change. The most important thing to remember about social media is that it is constantly changing.
I love this infographic from the Harvard Business Review.
I have fallen for the food blog Smitten Kitchen.
Sure, I am late in the game. By the time I took a good look at Smitten Kitchen, it’s creator Deb Perelman already had a book deal. Regardless, I find myself returning to the site over and over when I am looking for a little inspiration. Like Deb, I like hearty, somewhat healthy food. Plus, I trust her because she has the same size Manhattan kitchen that I do. You have to be a good cook to work in small places.
Anyways, the point being, I am taken with this food blog and it now belongs in my food blog cannon, along with 101 Cookbooks and Chocolate & Zucchini.
My favorite recipe so far? Pancetta, white bean and chard pot pies.
I like Man Repeller’s Tweets. The voice is consistent, strong and a little snarky. Perfect for a post-lunch slump.
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Sunday, October 14, 2012
By The Associated Press
NEW HAVEN — Scott Freiman asks his students to "lend me your ears" and he takes them on a trip through Strawberry Fields, down Penny Lane and into Abbey Road.
Using contemporary computers, vintage video and antique audio, Freiman hopes to teach Yale students some history along with music production techniques and, above all, "inspire their creativity."
The class, which spans two hours over 13 Wednesday afternoons, is "The Beatles in the Studio."
It comes as the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Fab Four's first released recording. That was Oct. 5, 1962, in England when "Love Me Do" and its flip side of "P.S. I Love You" came out on 45 rpm vinyl. Two years later, it found its way onto U.S. shores.
Freiman, a 51-year-old composer, engineer and music producer who graduated from Yale in 1984 with a B.S. in music and computer science, landed the classroom gig following an hourlong multi-media presentation for school officials and students in January.
His plans are to take his students on a "Magical Mystery Tour" of the Beatles, tracing their origins by looking at who influenced them during their musical evolution in songwriting and production techniques, then showing who they influenced before ending with their break-up and initial solo albums.
"So its pretty comprehensive," Freiman said during an interview prior to his Oct. 3 class. "There's a lot of material to get through and far too little time."
This unconventional class at an Ivy League school is not unusual, according to George Levesque, Yale's assistant dean of academic affairs. He said they've been part of the college seminar program's curriculum for 45 years.
"The course topics are wide-ranging, but they usually cover subjects not taught in a traditional academic department, and they are usually taught by instructors who are not traditional academics," Levesque said.
Freiman has three years of experience producing Beatles multi-media presentations and lectures, which he's shown across the country in schools and theaters and to corporate gatherings. But the first took place in his living room before some 40 friends.
Their enthusiasm convinced him to go bigger. He created a website, www.beatleslectures.com, and a brand name, "DeConstructing the Beatles." He's produced four shows: "Deconstructing Sgt. Pepper;" ''Tomorrow Never Knows," which deconstructs the Beatles' Revolver album; "Looking Through a Glass Onion," which deconstructs the White Album; and "A Trip Through Strawberry Fields," which deconstructs three songs -- "Strawberry Fields Forever," ''Penny Lane" and "A Day in the Life."
A fifth, deconstructing the early Beatles, is in the works.
In these multi-media presentations, Freiman explains the techniques and equipment used by the group, explores the background behind a song and discusses choices made and rejected in completing a record.
He said his class is more technical-oriented since the students have had a year of music theory and play an instrument.
"They must also work," he said.
Just this past Wednesday, they had to submit a five-to-10-page paper analyzing a Beatles song released between 1962-65 in terms of harmony, rhythm, production and lyrics. The paper also had to discuss the context in which the song was written.
"I play a lot of interesting music and rare tracks," Freiman said. "Also, the students are listening to non-Beatles music outside of class -- Hendrix, the Beach Boys, the Byrds ..."
For instance, he said McCartney's infatuation with Hendrix led to his including a chord sequence from Hendrix's "Hey Joe" into "A Day in the Life."
"Then Jimi Hendrix returns the favor by performing Sgt. Pepper live the day after the record comes out," Freiman said. "What I'm trying to show the students is that this was a real, real fertile time. ... Everyone was listening to everybody else. ... The Byrds heard something the Beatles did and then the Beatles heard something the Byrds did and Dylan heard both ..."
The influences involved more than just other groups' works.
Take the Beatles song "Back in the U.S.S.R." Freiman said it was composed on a dare by the Beach Boys' Mike Love to parody Chuck Berry's "Back in the U.S.A."
"One of the things I do in the classroom and in my talks is I play the Chuck Berry version and then I play "Back in the U.S.S.R." It's very funny to hear how Paul mimicked Berry's lyrics for the Soviet Union."
And who but a Beatles junkie like Freiman would know that an original line in "With a Little Help From My Friends" was "What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you throw tomatoes at me?"
Freiman said Ringo was afraid the band would get pelted with tomatoes when that line was sung, so he asked Lennon and McCartney to change it. It became "Would you stand up and walk out on me?"
But above all, Freiman hopes to show through his class that the Beatles were "four guys who didn't read music, had no musical training and they became, especially Lennon and McCartney, a Rogers and Hammerstein -- a major songwriting force in popular music. How do you do that when you have no real background? ... It's real interesting so see how that all evolves."
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You gotta hand it to some of those first nursing school graduates at OSU-OKC. They didn’t let their starched white nursing caps get in the way of a good bee-hive.
Portraits of graduating students from the past decades hang proudly on the walls of a hallway in the nursing building. They show a chronology of the school’s growth, and hair style fads through the ages.
But more has changed in the nursing profession than follicle fashion. Training has changed as dramatically as technology, and advanced education is more important than ever.
A few things have remained constant. It’s still mostly women — white women — seeking nursing credentials, although more minorities and men are entering the profession.
What’s your story? When did you become a nurse and why? I want to know more about the many pathways to education, jobs and maybe now, even retirement.
And maybe you can also explain the engineering of the bee-hive. It’s making a comeback, ala Amy Winehouse. But that’s another story altogether.
E-mail me at firstname.lastname@example.org
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
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Nicklaus and Palmer and Their Memories from the Game
As I was digging through the golf section of a bookstore recently I came across a book by Jack Nicklaus that I hadn’t seen before. Since I am a big Nicklaus fan, and I often wander the sports section of all the local bookstores, I was surprised to find a book by Nicklaus that was new to me. I was sure I either had them all or at least read most of them while I sat in one of those comfy chairs that are scattered about those bookstores. Any book by Nicklaus is certainly worth a look and this one was indeed worth it.
This book, “Jack Nicklaus Memories and Mementos from Golf’s Golden Bear”, includes reproductions of mementos and collectibles from the Jack Nicklaus Museum. Nicklaus selected ten special pieces of memorabilia that he collected over his career and included them along with the book. All of the items held a special place in Jack’s career. He includes a copy of his first invitation to the Masters, a scorecard from the 1961 US Amateur at Pebble Beach, letters from Presidents and his scorecard from the 2005 British Open. Those and the other pieces offer a unique insight into Jack’s time spent on the links. These extras alone were enough to convince me to add this book to my collection.
The text itself is a conversation with Nicklaus through the years, he speaks and you listen. He covers his childhood, parents and his early years in the game and all subjects worthy of opinion. Each chapter is dedicated to a single topic and Jack relates an interesting story or gives an opinion that is classic Jack Nicklaus. He is a man of many experiences and beliefs that were shaped by over fifty years in golf. He gives an intimate and inside account of many famous moments that all of us had only seen as outsiders. The Ryder Cup, Augusta, Pebble Beach, St. Andrews, The Duel in the Sun, Bob Jones are but a few of the golf related subjects. Nicklaus also relates stories and his feelings on sportsmanship, music, fishing, popularity and those subjects that were always the most important to Nicklaus, his family and his wife Barbara.
This book will be interesting to any golf fan and is a must have for any Nicklaus fan. You get a long conversation with Jack and he shares some of his treasures with us as a bonus.
Shortly after I found the Nicklaus book, I was given a similar book,” Arnold Palmer, Memories, Stories and Memorabilia from a Life On and Off the Course”. Palmer’s book was actually published earlier and also offers reproductions of memorabilia from Palmer’s life in golf. I thought this to be a fantastic find. Palmer offers fourteen reproductions of pieces from his own personal collection. It may seem corny or sophomoric but looking over some of these pieces is pretty cool. If you are a golf fan or a member of Arnie’s Army, these souvenirs are captivating. Palmer includes reproductions of his 1961 US Open winning scorecard from Cherry Hills, an Arnie’s Army Badge, a golf tip gadget called the “Dial-a-Problem’, letters from Presidents and Byron Nelson, Tiger Woods and more. With one of these props in your hand you can’t help but try to imagine what Arnie was thinking at the time he was holding it. For years all of us try to imitate these golfers on the course and these little gadgets let us get that much closer to them.
In the book Palmer recounts his entire life from growing up in Latrobe to his days at Bay Hill. Arnold gives us a clear picture of his dad and their relationship. He also covers his relationship with President Eisenhower; only Palmer’s dad had a bigger impact on Palmer’s life than Ike. Palmer give us details on his career as one of the most successful product endorsers ever, how he named the modern “Grand Slam”, his days with Mark McCormack, and how he and Bob Hope helped each other for years. Palmer’s love of clubs and planes and golf and partying and friends are each covered in short concise chapters. Foremost in this book is his relationship with his wife and family.
Palmer’s style is easy and direct, much like his life. He gives us many details of a life spent entirely in the spotlight, but still offers a perspective we could only imagine. If you like golf you’ll love the book. If you love Arnie you’ll love him even more.
Note: Both of these books were released years ago and both were found on the “Discount” table of the bookstores. That only made them more appealing.
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A new 15-minute documentary about Library Live and On Tour: THIS is the Library? The Story of LiLi and Smitty. Created by university library technology students as a class project.
LiLi and Smitty are honoured to have been asked to give a presentation at the American Library Association Mid-Winter Meeting (Seattle, January 2013). LiLi will be on display in the Convention Centre Hall and Smitty will be talking about LiLi’s mission and experiences. More in American Libraries Magazine
Good guy Jordan from the FVRL Marketing and Communications department followed Smitty and LiLi for a day. This short video explains why it is important for the library to “take it to the streets”.
Welcome to the home of LiLi, the coolest little library hot rod in the world.
Check out the calendar for upcoming public appearances and enjoy the photos of LiLi’s travels.
If the calendar has a blank spot, don’t worry, she’s still on the road! When not in the public eye, LiLi makes private visits to a variety of community agencies serving marginalized and sometimes socially excluded people (food banks, soup kitchens, transition houses).
We’re working hard to visit as many places as possible so that we can prove that the public library has something for everyone…and that means EVERYONE!
See you out there.
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Simon & Schuster:
656 pps., $35
Simon & Schuster:
656 pps., $35
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday, November 02, 2011 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 4 News Desk 1 inches; 48 words Type of Material: Correction
Steve Jobs: In the Oct. 29 Calendar section, a review of "Steve Jobs," Walter Isaacson's biography of the Apple co-founder, said that Jobs grew up in suburban Pal Alto (a misspelling of Palo Alto). In fact, he grew up in the communities of Mountain View and Los Altos.
He was an abandoned child who grew up with the unshakable belief that he was destined to be a prince. How arrogant and sensible of him.
His personal hygiene was bad. He often wore no shoes and liked to stick his feet in the toilet. His food faddery was so extreme that he sometimes endangered his own health. While in a hospital for a liver transplant in 2009, he refused to wear a medical mask because he couldn't stand the design. His own signature style, which featured jeans and a black turtleneck (Issey Miyake made him a lifetime supply of the latter, which he kept in a closet), was both anonymous and instantly recognizable. He was a control freak and a credit hog who burst into tears when he didn't get what he wanted. He sometimes demeaned his girlfriends and his employees yet such was his charisma that they went on loving him. He lived in a Palo Alto house whose modest scale astounded his rival Bill Gates. He said that he came of age at a magical time, in the early 1970s, when his consciousness was raised by Zen, Bob Dylan, and the drug LSD.
J.P. Morgan or John Rockefeller, in other words, Steve Jobs wasn't. Yet he died with a personal fortune of more than $8 billion (according to Forbes), having been a single-minded pioneer of the PC age, having created and built arguably the world's most famous company, Apple, and having, in some way or another, touched all our lives. He was a visionary as ruthless and driven as any of the great first-generation American capitalists and his story already strikes us as a modern-day fable with a multitude of strange and enchanted details.
Journalist and biographer Walter Isaacson has previously written about Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. Small wonder that Jobs picked him out, and Isaacson gives the Steve Jobs fairy tale a swift, full, and less than utterly flattering airing in a book that Jobs authorized himself and from whose stark white and black Apple-like cover he stares like a Zen digital master.
Jobs personally picked that mesmerizing image, while not having the time, or the health at that point, and maybe not the inclination either, to influence the text as a whole. Again, this is apt. Jobs drove his collaborators insane with his perfectionism yet he enabled them too. He knew the strengths and talents of others and was, for a tantrum-throwing Svengali, surprisingly self-aware. I'd guess that when he died less than a month ago he knew that Isaacson had served him fine.
"The saga of Steve Jobs is the Silicon Valley creation myth writ large: launching a startup in his parents' garage and building it into the world's most valuable company. He didn't invent many things outright, but he was a master at putting together ideas, art, and technology in ways that invented the future," Isaacson writes. "He designed the Mac after appreciating the power of graphical interfaces in a way that Xerox was unable to do, and he created the iPod after grasping the joy of having a thousand songs in your pocket in a way that Sony, which had all the assets and heritage, could never accomplish. Some leaders push innovations by being good at the big picture. Others do so by mastering details. Jobs did both, relentlessly."
That's the nub of the script that Isaacson follows. In assembling it he spent scores of hours with Jobs and interviewed hundreds of other people, including Jobs' widow Laurene; a galaxy of his former girlfriends (among them Joan Baez and the writer Jennifer Egan); Jobs' father by adoption; his blood sister, the novelist Mona Simpson; Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak; Apple design guru Jonathan "Jony" Ive; Gates; Bono; Rupert Murdoch; George Lucas; Yo-Yo Ma; Michael Eisner; Jeffrey Katzenberg; etc., etc.
The list of acknowledged sources is a who's who of shakers and movers, and Isaacson weaves these voices together to guide and flesh out a narrative whose lineaments are already feeling like part of our cultural DNA.
Jobs grows up in suburban Pal Alto with an adopted father he adores and who passes along a love for mechanics and electronics; he becomes a high school geek and freak with a fondness for "King Lear" and "Moby Dick," then a college dropout; travels to India, works for Atari; with his partner Wozniak builds the first Apple computer and makes $100 million before he's 25; plunges like Icarus, losing control of Apple in a July 4 power struggle in 1985; buys Pixar for a song from George Lucas and, with director John Lasseter, turns it into a wildly successful animation brand; gets Apple back and sees the advent of the Net as the conduit along which to build a vertically integrated consumer electronics company, with computers at the hub and a succession of revolutionary new devices -- the iPod, the iPhone, and the iPad -- as the spokes.
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* How Does the Addition of Football Serve the University's Mission? According to the University itself, "Kennesaw State University's mission is to provide educational programs that serve a diverse student body in ... a comprehensive and coherent general education program that promotes internationalized and connected learning in the liberal arts tradition." If this "Mission Statement" is to mean anything, it must be explained exactly how that educational mission of "connected learning" would be served by the addition of an intercollegiate football team.
As Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman long ago observed, universities "do not exist to provide entertainment for spectators or employment for athletes." If the Exploratory Committee agrees with this conclusion, it must at least address what educational purposes major college football would serve.
* What Will It Cost? Two universities, Hofstra and Northeastern, have recently announced the termination of their half-century-old college football programs. Citing high costs, mounting debt and low student interest, these universities are terminating programs which long ago incurred the start-up costs KSU feels its boosters would be so willing to undertake in the most difficult possible financial climate.
"Facts are inconvenient things" and certain facts can only be ignored only at Kennesaw State's financial peril. Last fall, the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics called the system, which Kennesaw State will presumably seek to join, "unsustainable" due to rising costs for facilities and coaching salaries. Hofstra, for example, calculated its expenses to be $4.5 million a year just to participate in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I AA).
Even major programs with a history of success and notoriety have been able to maintain a football program only by access to the University's General Fund. According to The Daily Californian, the University of California-Berkley's General Fund had advanced (and later wrote off) $31.4 million in prior payments to support the football team. An additional $5.8 million subsidy was required to maintain the football program for another year.
Dan Fulks, an accounting professor at Transylvania University, has analyzed athletic finances for the NCAA. For the last fiscal year for which results are available, only 19 institutions in the FBS Division (formerly I-A) football reported a profit from athletics. The 99 other schools lost an average of $8.9 million each. The addition of a scholarship football program will entail costs for compliance with Title IX under federal law relating to aid to women's athletic programs. These costs will be considerable, yet entirely derivative, as well as on-going.
* Is There an Unfilled Need? The establishment of a football program for the Kennesaw State Owls cannot be justified as filling a need for more college football viewing opportunities. None of Georgia Tech's home games have sold out this year and Georgia State will be thrilled if it only has 60,000 unsold seats for each of its remaining games in the Georgia Dome this season. At a time when state funding for Kennesaw State is being slashed, taxpayers and boosters are asked to fund what amounts to no more than a modern day pyramid - an empty monument to inflated egos.
* Does It Matter If No Legitimate Educational Purpose Can Be Identified? Milton Freidman characterized the issue properly: "As long as athletes are admitted at lower standards than other students, sports are a corruptive influence on higher education." How does Kennesaw State hope to avoid the disparity experienced in the state's other major college programs between athletes and the general student body?
According to the most recently available statistics, members of the football team at the University of Georgia had a cumulative SAT score 239 points below the average for the typical undergraduate at the university. Georgia Tech was even worse: the football players scored 315 SAT points lower on average than their classmates. Graduation statistics show similar disparities. Is there any reason to think that KSU's experience would be different?
College sports at too many schools have served primarily to create a gladiatorial culture at the expense of minority students. Students who have not met even the lowest standards are admitted, and then burdened with onerous physical obligations that make it virtually impossible for the football players to devote the time to their studies that would allow them to make up for their academic deficiencies.
In opposing the expansion of existing football facilities at Rutgers University, Dr. William C. Dowling, a professor of English, has correctly summarized the issue: "If you were giving the scholarship to an intellectually brilliant kid who happens to play a sport, that's fine" but to give it to a student who does not meet the minimum requirements for admission, "then make him spend 50 hours a week on physical skills. ... That's not opportunity."
In a world where a B average can earn a HOPE Scholarship, it cannot be seriously argued that KSU's "exploration" is about expanding educational opportunities for deserving students.
What the advocates of "big time" college football at Kennesaw State also need to identify is what major university football programs actually make money and how KSU can emulate them. What program do they want to be like in five years? Exactly what, if anything, would the fledgling program at Kennesaw State hope to have in common with the financially successful athletic departments at Oklahoma, Ohio State or the University of Georgia?
If Kennesaw State is to follow the lead of Georgia State in creating a football program, it will have to do so by burdening students with additional fees and demands upon the university's ever-diminishing educational funds in ever-increasing amounts. Georgia State may have arguably filled a need for a level of football below that played by the University of Georgia or Georgia Tech. There is no longer such a void to be filled.
* Is There a Reasonable Option to Serve All Valid Interests? The University of New Orleans has established the correct path for Kennesaw State if it really wants a football team: Operate a Division III Program. This entails the creation of a non-scholarship football team which would reward students who are interested primarily in securing an education, and only secondarily in enjoying the camaraderie and thrills of football competition.
Scholarships are not given at this level, minimum stadium sizes are not imposed, and participation in 15 intercollegiate sports (which is required to be a member of the Football Bowl Subdivision along with the likes of Georgia and Georgia Tech) are not imposed. Pursuing this avenue would demonstrate that KSU is truly committed to education and not entertainment.
The questions are simple: What tangible educational benefits does a football program bring, and at what cost? In Division III, the University would be demonstrating that the decision is about playing football, not inflating egos. In the higher divisions, the school would be endorsing the gladiatorial schemes of the major conferences which Hofstra and Northeastern have so properly rejected.
If it chooses to pursue FBS or FCS participation, it is possible that Kennesaw State knows something the Knight Commission does not. It is reasonable, however, to ask exactly what that might be.
Without regard to the educational issues, if the current system is not "sustainable" for existing programs, how can it be economically justified for new ones?
Tom Harper is an attorney in Marietta.
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LJWorld.com weblogs Statehouse Live
Even states opposed to Medicaid expansion are working on Medicaid expansion
Topeka — In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback and his conservative Republican colleagues in the Legislature seem to be following the no-way, no-how lead of Texas Gov. Rick Perry on whether to expand Medicaid under the federal Affordable Care Act.
But this story link text in the San Antonio Express-News shows that not all is as it appears in Texas.
While Perry, whom Brownback backed for the Republican nomination for president, is taking a tough-guy stand against Medicaid expansion, key legislators in the Lone Star State are working behind the scenes for a "Texas solution."
And there may be more acceptance in conservative Republican circles for a proposal by Arkansas that has apparently gotten the green light form Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, a former Kansas governor. This bloglink text reports that Sebelius has said OK to the plan to use Medicaid dollars to buy private insurance.
So far, Brownback says he is undecided on whether to opt in to expanding Medicaid in Kansas, although whenever asked he says he worries about the costs and notes the state's budget problems — problems caused by income tax cuts he signed into law last year.
And conservative Republicans in the Legislature are pushing a resolution opposing the expansion of Medicaid. Hospitals and health care groups oppose the resolution. In addition, a statewide poll conducted on behalf of the Kansas Hospital Association found that 60 percent of Kansans support expanding Medicaid.
Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government would pay the entire cost of the expansion for three years, and then that share would fall down to 90 percent after that.
Currently, Medicaid provides health care coverage to about 380,000 Kansans. The largest portion of them, about 230,000, are children. The rest are mostly lower-income, pregnant women, people with disabilities and elderly people. The $2.8 billion program is funded with federal and state dollars.
Medicaid in Kansas doesn’t cover low-income adults who don’t have children. And a nondisabled adult with children is eligible only if his or her income is below 32 percent of the poverty level, which is approximately $5,000 per year. That is about the most difficult eligibility level in the country.
But starting in 2014, the ACA creates an eligibility level of 138 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $15,415 per year for an individual and $26,344 per year for a family of three.
Estimates are that expansion would cover upwards of 150,000 more Kansans.
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(CNN) -- Wendy Duren thought she did everything right.
Wendy Duren says she doesn't get as much sleep but loves her adopted daughter, Madison.
She broke off relationships with men who didn't want to settle down. She refused to get pregnant out of wedlock. She prayed for a child.
Duren's yearning for motherhood was so palpable that her former fiancé once offered to father a child with her. But he warned her that he wasn't ready for marriage.
"I get bored in relationships after a couple of years," he told her, she recalls.
Those events could have caused some women to give up their dreams of motherhood. But Duren, a pharmaceutical saleswoman, didn't need a man to be a mom. At 37 years old, she decided to adopt.
"It's the best decision I could have made in my life," Duren says, two years later. She's now the mother of Madison, a 1-year-old daughter she raises in Canton, Michigan.
"People say I have never seen you so happy," she says, "but it's also the hardest thing I've ever done."
What's driving more single African-American women to adopt
Marriage and motherhood -- it's the dream that begins in childhood for many women. Yet more African-American women are deciding to adopt instead of waiting for a husband, says Mardie Caldwell, founder of Lifetime Adoption, an adoption referral and support group in Penn Valley, California.
"We're seeing more and more single African-American women who are not finding men," Caldwell says. "There's a lack of qualified black men to get into relationships with."
The numbers are grim. According to the 2006 U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 45 percent of African-American women have never been married, compared with 23 percent of white women. Sound Off: What are the biggest challenges for black families?
Yet the decision to adopt isn't just driven by the paucity of eligible African-American men, others say.
Toni Oliver, founder and CEO of Roots Adoption Agency in Atlanta, Georgia, says her agency sees more single African-American women adopting because of infertility issues.
Some of the infertility issues may be related to advancing age or health issues, she says. But the result of not being a mother for many older African-American women is the same: panic.
"Their doctors, friends and family are telling them the same thing: 'You're not getting younger; you better hurry up,' '' Oliver says.
The unfulfilled desire to be a mother can damage a woman emotionally, Oliver says. Her agency provides counseling to prospective mothers who have invested so much of their self-worth into being mothers.
"In many cases, it [the pressure to be a mother] begins to set up feelings of unworthiness, poor self-esteem and the feeling that 'I'm not fully a woman,' " Oliver says.
That pressure can cause some African-American women to rush into a marriage with a man they should not partner with, says Kenyatta Morrisey, a 34-year-old mother of three adopted children in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Morrisey wants to be married, but says she'd rather become a mother now and wait for God to guide her to the right man.
"I am not going to settle and get married just for the sake of being married," Morrisey says. "I'd rather trust God to fulfill all of my dreams instead of relying on a man to fulfill my dreams."
Some single African-American women deal with another challenge: criticism for bringing another African-American child into a single-parent household.
Kaydra Fleming, a 37-year-old social worker in Arlington, Texas, is the mother of Zoey, an adopted eight-month-old girl whose biological mother was young and poor.
"Zoey was going to be born to a single black mother anyway," Fleming says. "At least she's being raised by a single black parent who was ready financially and emotionally to take care of her."
Yet there are some single African-American women who are not emotionally ready to adopt an African-American child who is too dark, some adoption agency officials say.
Fair-skinned or biracial children stand a better chance of being adopted by single black women than darker-skinned children, some adoption officials say.
"They'll say, 'I want a baby to look like a Snickers bar, not dark chocolate,' " Caldwell, founder of Lifetime Adoption, says about some prospective parents.
"I had a family who turned a baby down because it was too dark," she says. "They said the baby wouldn't look good in family photographs."
'You have so much love to give'
Skin tone didn't matter to Duren, the pharmaceutical saleswoman. She says she just wanted a child to love.
She was so natural with children that all of her friends predicted that she would be the first to marry, she says. But adoption was "never an option" for her.
"I wanted my genes, my looks to be passed on," Duren says. "I wanted to see me."
The African-American men she dated, however, didn't want to marry, she says. She dated African-American professionals: engineers, attorneys and managers. But there were so many eligible African-American women, and they still wanted to play, she says.
Time was running out for her. At 37 years old, Duren had earned an MBA degree, a six-figure income and had traveled widely. But she couldn't find the right man to raise a family.
One man she thought she would marry broke off their relationship because he said he wasn't ready to be a father. Then he had a child out of wedlock with another woman, she says.
"He broke my heart," Duren says.
The persistent heartache ate away at her.
"I was struggling," Duren says. "I prayed: 'You know Lord, I worked so hard. I have my integrity, morals -- how did this happen?' ''
A turning point came when she was playing with her niece and nephews. Her brother, their father, asked her why she didn't adopt a child when there were so many black children who needed adopting.
"You have so much love to give," he told Duren.
Duren didn't have an answer. She then went online and learned about Lifetime Adoption, the agency based in California. The agency referred her to a married woman who already had five children, but says she couldn't afford to take care of another.
The woman put her through an interview process. She asked about her family history; how she would discipline her child; and what she would do if her baby woke up screaming in the middle of the night.
The woman eventually picked Duren. When the woman gave birth, she invited her to the hospital and handed Duren her daughter.
The adoption process -- from the beginning to receiving her child -- took eight months, Duren says. It cost about $15,000.
"It was so smooth," she says of the adoption process.
What single moms lose and what they gain
The adoption process will go smoothly if a prospective mother prepares well, Caldwell says.
She suggests that prospective single mothers prepare a notebook that will answer vital questions: Who is going to be the guardian of my child if I get sick? Who are the men in my life that could serve as good role models? Do I have life insurance?
Becoming a single mother means a "complete lifestyle change," Caldwell says.
"You might have to give up getting your nails done," she says.
But you gain something better in return, Duren says. Her life is tougher, but its purpose has shifted.
"Tired is my middle name now," she says. "I'm always tired. Naps don't exist anymore."
And at times, being a single mother can be scary, Duren says.
"When my daughter got sick in the middle of the night in the middle of a snow storm, I didn't have anyone to turn to," she says. "I had to do it. There was no one to talk to."
And at times, there is the temptation for an open-ended relationship with men to take away a little of the loneliness.
One ex-boyfriend came around one day with gifts for her daughter, Duren says. Duren told him to make it his last visit because he was still seeing another woman who had his child.
She told him she wasn't going to be his woman on the side.
"I refuse to be a woman with a man tip-toeing in the middle of my house late at night with toys for my daughter," she says. "No one is going to disrespect me."
Duren says she still wants to be married. But in the meantime, she can barely wait to get home to see Madison.
Her life is now shaped by purpose, not regret.
"I have someone to hang out with. I can never say I'm lonely," Duren says. "She lies across my stomach every night, and I just stare at her."
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Ok, here are my attempts at translating the descriptions of the exercises Mimmi Enoksson recommended. I emailed her asking if she can send me the pictures of the exercises so I can post them somewhere. Otherwise I might try to get my roommate to take pictures of me doing the exercises and put them up. :)
First of all, make sure you are warmed up when you do the exercises. Mimmi had us go for an easy 30-minute jog to warm up.
All the exercises involve using a stick - preferably something that won't bend or break easily, such as a wooden club of constant thickness (2-4ft long) or the shaft of an old hockey stick or perhaps of an old golf club.
"Always make sure to:
- have the stomach tucked in and flat; chest out
- have good posture.
1. Deep knee bend with lat stretch.
Hold the stick over your head with straight arms. Feet at shoulder-width. Slowly lower yourself, bending at the knees and always facing forward. Try to go as far down as you can, with the knees always directly above the feet. (3 sets of 15 reps each)
2. Total rotation with bent knee
Put the stick on your shoulders behind your head, holding it with both hands. Spread the legs. Lean slightly forward with the torso and also slightly bend the knees. Look straight ahead with the head still. Rotate your torso with respect to the spinal cord, going to the position where one hand is directly above the other (both still holding the stick on the shoulders.) After rotating to one side, return to the starting position and rotate to the other side. The knee that the body is rotating towards should be slightly bent and the other one straight. (3 x 15)
3. Side bends
Stick on straight arms overhead. Bend to the side, keping the arms straight, holding the stick. The knee you are bending over should be straight and the other one slightly bent. Bend until one hand is directly above the other. (3 x 15)
4. Hamstring stretch
Lie down on your back, preferably on a mat. Legs up in the air, bent at the knees. Hold the stick with your hands so that one leg is in front of it and the other behind, preferably not right at the knee, but slightly below. Push hard towards the stick with each leg to stabilize and activate stomach muscles. The leg behind the stick should be bent at a 90-degree angle at the knee the whole time. Straighten your other leg (the one in front of the stick, or closer to your face) up in the air as much as you can, pushing hard against the stick to increase flexibility in the back of the thigh. Then slowly lower that leg back down to a bent-at-the-knee position and repeat. (3 x 15)
5. Sit-ups with stick
Lie down on the ground, holding the stick with straight arms behind the head. Legs bent at the knee, feet on the ground. Roll up, bringing the stick towards the feet (arms still straight) and at the same time, bringing the knees closer to your chin, head slightly off the ground. Try to bring the stick over the toes or onto the other side of the toes. (3 x 15)
6. Lunge with stick
Stand straight, with feet at shoulder-width, tucked-in stomach, good posture. The stick is held vertically behind the head, with one hand holding the stick behind the head and the other close to the waist. The upper hand should be of the same side as the leg lunging forward. Luge forward with your leg carefully, not stomping but bringing the foot slowly down, the back still straight. The knee of the lunging leg should be directly over the foot, and the leg should be bent at a 90-degree angle at the knee. The back knee should end up low, close to the ground, with the back heel off the ground. Then bring the forward leg back to standing position, keeping the back straight the whole time and, preferably, not shifting the back foot. (3 x 15 on each side.)"
Ok, i added lots of information and details to the descriptions to make up for the lack of pictures, so hopefully this can be useful. Tell me if any of this makes any sense and ask if something is unclear, I'll do my best to clarify. A comment on the choice of stick: i pulled an orange hard-plastic pole (used, i think, to show where the road goes in case of a blizzard) out of the snow and it worked ok, except during the hamstring stretch (which is awesome, by the way! - my favorite) when i broke it in half pushing against it.
After much thought and agonizing, I decided to take a complete day off today, aside from some stretching. My own training volume the last two weeks sort of scared me and I don't think the first day off in 2006 can do much harm. (Although a couple of hours ago i looked out the window to see a bunch of Linne guys doing some road intervals and was extremely tempted to join....)
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With just six weeks until Republican voters in Iowa head to their presidential caucuses, Mitt Romney is launching his first television ad of the year. Usually, a candidate’s first commercial is a positive, biographical ad, offering a look at his or her background.
The former governor is going a different route.
Mitt Romney’s first television commercial of his second bid for the Republican presidential nomination hits the airwaves Tuesday, but the ad is already creating a controversy.
President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee are both slamming the 60-second spot, saying it takes comments made on the campaign trail in 2008 by then-Sen. Obama out of context.
In October 2008, a month before the president was elected, then-candidate Obama spoke in New Hampshire and told voters, “Senator McCain’s campaign actually said, and I quote, ‘If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.’”
In Romney’s new attack ad, viewers only see Obama saying, “If we keep talking about the economy, we’re going to lose.” The obvious point is to deceive the public — Romney wants voters to think the quote reflects Obama’s current thinking, not McCain’s three years ago.
Romney, in other words, is choosing to mislead voters and hoping they don’t know the difference.
The same ad, by the way, expresses concern for “record foreclosures,” which is a bizarre line for the Republican to take — he’s the one who recently demanded, “Don’t try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom.”
In the larger context, how much more deception can Romney try to get away with before he develops a reputation as a candidate with an honesty problem? Last week, an MIT economist who worked with Romney said the former governor is “just lying” about health care policy. The same week, Romney was caught lying about the makeup of the last Congress, and also got caught lying about a quote from the president.
Three weeks ago, the former governor got caught lying about his tax plan, and several times over the last few months, Romney has also been caught lying about economic conditions and whether the president “apologized for America” (he didn’t).
Over the course of a campaign, it stands to reason a candidate who speaks all the time is going to make some mistakes. He or she will invariably also make occasional claims that aren’t supported by the facts. But it seems as if Mitt Romney, when he’s not wildly flip-flopping or avoiding taking firm positions on controversial issues, is frequently just flat-out lying. These aren’t minor slip-ups; these are examples of a candidate who looks more like a con man than a leader.
Romney is taking a huge risk playing this game. He’s already the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, and the political world is starting to solidify its take on his personality. The more the former governor is caught deceiving the public, the more questions about his character will be unavoidable.
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Blind seek voter independence
BY DANZA JOHNSON Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal
TUPELO - A new voting machine may bring voting independence to blind and other disabled voters in Lee County.
John W. Eads, assistant secretary of state of elections, introduced the Diebold touch screen voting machine to the American Council of the Blind of North Mississippi in Tupelo on Saturday.
Organization President Kenneth Loden was very pleased with the new technology.
"This a tremendous step for the blind when it comes to voting," he said. "If this machine is accepted, it will be the first time that I will be afforded the right vote totally and independently."
In the current system, blind voters have to vote by absentee ballot or someone has to assist them at the polls, which Loden said could be a tricky situation.
"You just have to trust that the person will vote like you tell them to. The current system takes all the privacy out of the vote for the blind and Debold could change that," he said.
The machine gives voice instructions that a person can respond to by pressing buttons on a numbered pad. Because the numbers are arranged like they are on a telephone, it is easy for the voter to respond accurately. Even though more than 5,000 of the new voting machines were ordered for Mississippi, Eads said individual counties must agree to use them.
"Twenty counties have agreed to use the Debold system," said Eads. "It is a uniform voting system that all people will use, not just the blind and disabled. We are providing these machines at no cost to the counties. We are just shooting for a uniform voting system for all citizens."
Lee County has not yet agreed to use the new machines. Because of the Help America Vote Act, the counties that opt not to use them must still provide adequate voting for the disabled. According to Eads, that could be very expensive. For example, if Lee County opts not to use the new machines, it will cost the county $351,000 to comply with HAVA.
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If you have a story call our newsdesk on 01722 426511 or email us. To advertise call 01722 426500.
Victorian day at Dinton primary
2:52pm Monday 15th October 2012 in News
CHILDREN at Dinton Primary School had a Victorian adventure with a local historian.
Ros Liddington, from Learning Goes Live, worked with the children in Eagles class, teaching them about the history of the camera, which was invented in Victorian times, and the first war report from The Crimean.
They also had great fun dressing up and creating scenes from the life of Florence Nightingale.
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Posted: Aug 12, 2010 2:48 PM by Greg Boyce
Updated: Aug 12, 2010 2:48 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Companies hoping to compete for a piece of California's $45 billion high-speed rail project would have to disclose whether they transported Holocaust victims or POWs to Nazi camps during World War II. The state Senate on Thursday voted 31-1 to send AB619 to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.
The bill would require companies to reveal any involvement in transporting people to concentration, prisoner-of-war, labor or extermination camps. It does not authorize the High-Speed Rail Authority to disqualify bidders based on their disclosures.
Supporters say they hope it will encourage companies to acknowledge past wrongdoing. Several international railroads have expressed interest in building California's 800-mile rail system.
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Dell may wait until the end of this year to launch its anticipated public cloud, a vice president with the company told Network World sister site ITWorld, a move that puts the company behind other big-name vendors that are already executing on their cloud strategies.
RELATED: Just what is Dell's cloud strategy?
MORE CLOUD: Gartner's Top 10 cloud storage providers
Nnamdi Orakwue, Dell's vice president of cloud, told ITWorld's Nancy Gohring that the OpenStack platform - which Dell hopes to use as a base for its public cloud - is "not where it needs to be." Instead of prematurely launching a public cloud service based on nascent technology - which he says rival HP has done - Dell will wait until later this year to launch its public cloud services.
If Dell waits until the end of this year to launch an OpenStack public cloud, it will be behind some of the other big names of the OpenStack project in launching a public cloud service though. Rackspace, an original founding member of the OpenStack project, has had an OpenStack powered public cloud up and running since August of 2012. HP launched a public beta of its OpenStack-powered cloud late last year as well. IBM has joined the OpenStack project but has not made any announcements of a public cloud offering yet either.
MORE OPENSTACK: Backers hope '13 is the year for OpenStack adoption
CLOUD SHOWDOWN: Amazon vs. Rackspace (OpenStack) vs. Microsoft vs. Google
Orakwue was critical of HP's cloud strategy, saying that because of the immaturity of OpenStack's code, HP has had to innovate significantly on top of it to launch its cloud. Dell's strategy, he says, will be to stay more closely aligned with the OpenStack code so that users of the open source technology will be able to easily connect their on-premise OpenStack clouds with Dell's public cloud.
Dell has been an early supporter of the OpenStack project; one of the company's principal architects, Rob Hirschfeld, sits on the OpenStack Board of Directors. Thus far, Dell has focused its efforts mostly on private cloud OpenStack deployments, which it encourages users to run on Dell servers using Crowbar, a tool that provides reference architecture to simplify cloud deployments. For public cloud services, Dell has partnered with companies such as Rackspace, and has made its system compatible with APIs from Amazon Web Services. A public cloud offering that the company could roll out later this year would provide that capability natively, without the need to rely on partners. This year, OpenStack backers hope to release two new versions of its code, one in the spring and another in the fall.
Network World staff writer Brandon Butler covers cloud computing and social collaboration. He can be reached at BButler@nww.com and found on Twitter at @BButlerNWW.
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Hon. Maureen Stapleton, former State Representative, MI
For over two decades, Former State Representative Maureen Stapleton (D-MI) has been a tireless and committed public servant whose focus has been on helping children, families and communities prosper.
One of two children born to James and Ella Mae Stapleton, whose public service work came as a Detroit Police Officer and a Detroit Schools administrator, respectively, Maureen grew up on Detroit’s Northwest side. Through their example, Maureen learned the importance of a strong work ethic, the value of community service and the need to affect change.
"I learned at an early age about the need to serve others," says Maureen, who traces her first activism to trips with her mother to help at women's shelters. "I also learned at a very early age to take part in the political process."
That early age was 10 years old, when Maureen began helping pass out flyers for judicial campaigns. While attending Howard University in Washington, D.C., Maureen interned with U.S. Congressman John Conyers, D-Detroit, where she helped draft House bills and resolutions.
After brief work as a bank manager, Maureen’s passion for service and love for children led her to teaching. Maureen served 6 years with the Detroit Public Schools as a teacher and summer youth employment supervisor and in 1994 was tapped by Mayor Dennis Archer to serve with the City of Detroit's Youth Department where she worked on education issues and services for youth. She spent six years in leadership roles with the Youth Department and the Detroit Recreation Department helping to capture federal and local dollars to improve the city's capacity to serve youth. Her work was varied and included assisting community organizations in their efforts to provide programs for young people and helping administer the Recreation Department’s $16 million recreation division budget.
Representative Stapleton continued her public service with the City of Indianapolis' Department of Metropolitan Development in 2000 as an Executive Assistant, and within 6 months was promoted to Administrator of the Division of Compliance, where she managed a 100-person staff, and a $9 million budget, and helped with the agency's training and recruitment. She served in that role for over two years, before making her way back home.
In 2003, she was hired by Wayne County and last served as the Director of Organizational Effectiveness. In 2009, under Maureen’s leadership, Wayne County received an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties for the creation of the division and the work that the division accomplished. Until 2009, the division was responsible for process improvement activities, training and development programs and strategic planning initiatives for the county's 5,000 employees.
In 2010 Maureen was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives representing Downtown Detroit and the near east side. Representative Stapleton, served on three committees: Children, Family and Seniors; Natural Resources, Tourism and Outdoor Recreation; and Local, Intergovernmental and Regional Affairs. During her tenure in the legislature, Representative Stapleton was recognized for her advocacy on behalf of the City of Detroit and for her years of work on behalf of children. She was recognized as an education reformer and noted for her work on teacher tenure reform. While in office, she sponsored a Parent Notification Bill. She was honored to be recognized by Michigan’s Children as a Freshman of the Year and equally humbled by recognition from MIRS, the Capitol source for news and information, as a first term member to watch.
Separately, Representative Stapleton has also operated her own private consulting business since 2003 and is now doing so full-time. Her company helps organizations build capacity to better serve clients and make lasting impacts on the community.
Away from work, Maureen has been active in helping to improve the lives of others. She has worked for 17 years as an advisor with the Co-Ette Club Inc., a leadership development program for high school girls, and is a past board member of the Horizon House, a day shelter for the homeless in Indianapolis. She is a current and active member of the Board of Directors of Karmanos Cancer Center and the Belle Isle Women’s Committee.
In addition to attending Howard University, Maureen completed graduate coursework at Wayne State University and received a Master’s in Organizational Development from Bowling Green State University. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., the Links Incorporated and a member of Plymouth United Church of Christ. Maureen has spent the majority of her adult life as a resident of the District she served in while working in the Michigan House of Representatives and currently lives in downtown Detroit.
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Dec. 9, 2004
A PLUS FOR LNG
TERMINALS?: A little-noticed provision
in the federal year-end spending bill, sent by Congress to President
Bush on Monday night, says that federal regulators -- and not
the states -- should decide where liquefied natural gas terminals
are built, according to a Dec. 3 story in the Los Angeles
Times. The Times says the provision was apparently
aimed at California, and quotes Carl W. Wood, a member of the
California Public Utilities Commission, as saying the language
"shows a complete contempt for the people of California
and their representatives." The provision declares that
the facilities "need one clear process for review, approval
and siting decisions," which reflects the Bush administration's
intent to increase energy supplies, the article says. The bill
would appear to make it easier for companies to set up LNG facilities,
as San Jose-based Calpine Corp. looked into doing on the Samoa
by JIM HIGHT
IT WAS JUST AFTER DAWN WHEN THE DAIRYMAN milked the last cow. Sweaty and tired from three hours of heavy labor, he led his 160 Holsteins back out to pasture, where they'd graze until the afternoon milking.
He said he didn't mind the hard work and the long, strange hours. "I get the satisfaction of knowing that I'm working hard and supporting a family in agriculture," he said. What wore him out was the financial stress. The prices he received were low, while his costs kept rising. He worried about the future of the dairy, which had been in his wife's family for 80 years.
That morning occurred about five years ago, and this dairy farm, like a handful of others on the North Coast, went under in 2002 during a long slump in raw milk prices.
The survivors have lately enjoyed higher prices, but prices are expected to decline next year, too soon to relieve the dairies' chronic economic distress. Faced with mounting debt and declining profits, dairy operators look for ways to control or reduce their costs. And, as Journal readers know, some dairies have begun planting genetically engineered Roundup Ready corn to save money on the herbicides and diesel fuel they'd otherwise use in spraying and tilling their fields to control weeds. The biotech corn variety also produces higher yields per acre.
For an individual dairy owner, planting this crop, already in widespread use around the world, can make a lot of sense, as much sense as it makes for a PC user to upgrade to Windows XP. But in planting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on local dairy ranches, these farmers may be inadvertently downloading an economic virus that could damage the local industry's market position as a supplier of natural products. The market risks are so serious that members of one local dairy association say they will probably seek a ban on GMO planting by members.
While the typical California dairy is a large, polluting industrial facility that confines cows 24/7, the North Coast's 100 dairies keep their cows grazing on pastures most of the time, like herbivores were meant to do. Their fields are also friendly to birds and wildlife. Additionally, all North Coast dairies have sworn off the controversial growth hormone rBST.
These characteristics have become selling points for Humboldt Creamery, Loleta Cheese Co. and Rumiano Cheese Co., the three dairy processors that buy raw milk from dairies in Humboldt and Del Norte counties.
By differentiating many of their products as "natural," "pasture-based" and "rBST-free," the processors have been able to gain loyal consumers in California, Oregon and elsewhere. These attributes have also helped them obtain contracts to supply other manufacturers.
One manufacturer supplied by Humboldt Creamery, San Francisco-based Double Rainbow, highlights North Coast dairies on its cartons: "Their natural environment enables us to provide you with the finest ice cream possible."
Consumers drawn to such claims are a minority of buyers, but they make up a large portion of the people who buy products made with North Coast dairy milk, local industry sources say.
And while opinion polls show that most Americans support genetic engineering in agriculture, these natural-food consumers tend to be viscerally opposed to GMOs.
After the news broke about Roundup Ready corn growing on local dairies, a prominent organic farming educator declared in a letter to the Times-Standard that she would no longer buy Humboldt Creamery milk. Other local consumers will probably follow suit, and word could spread quickly via the Internet, potentially affecting the everyday buying decisions of thousands of consumers and the annual purchase contracts of several manufacturers like Double Rainbow.
People in the dairy community have told me that they see both sides of the issue. On one hand, they respect the rights of other farmers to use whatever growing methods they deem most effective.
But they also think that the GMO issue has real potential to damage their collective market position.
I've also learned that the Humboldt Creamery cooperative -- which incorporates about two-thirds of local dairies -- will probably consider whether to ban GMO planting by its members because of the potential impacts on its market. The dairies that supply Rumiano and Loleta, although not a cooperative, may consider a ban as well.
Such a policy would follow the successful precedent set when the dairies and processors became rBST-free in the 1990s. Given the risks involved, enacting a collective ban on planting GMOs may be the best course for the industry to take.
For the farmers who have planted biotech corn, however, abandoning a technology they've found useful and cost-effective would certainly be tough to swallow.
Perhaps anti-GMO activists could make the medicine go down more easily by reaching out to these and other dairy operators, acknowledging the economic pressures that have led farmers to plant biotech corn, and offering something in the way of compensation for returning to conventional seeds.
They could promise to organize a campaign urging local consumers to choose North Coast dairy products over competing brands. They could also use their activist networks and media contacts to generate statewide and national news coverage of a voluntarily adopted policy against GMO planting in the North Coast milk producing areas. That would boost the profile of the North Coast dairy industry in wider markets.
Such a collaborative strategy could achieve results much sooner than another anti-GMO ballot measure, which is many months, if not a year or more, away.
Furthermore, it's not clear that a county measure to ban GMOs would survive a lawsuit by farmers intent on resisting such a prohibition.
In the three California counties that have passed GMO bans, Mendocino, Marin and Trinity, as well as the city of Arcata, there were no GMO crops when the measures were passed.
In Humboldt County there are several hundred acres planted by seven or eight dairy operators and at least one commercial forage supplier. If an anti-GMO measure passes here, these farmers may be able to make a legal case that the county has no right to circumvent the federal regulations that have allowed GMOs in agriculture.
If, on the other hand, the dairies' cooperative and commercial partners adopted a voluntary ban, they would probably have to go along grudgingly.
Whatever becomes of a second anti-GMO ballot measure, a voluntary ban on GMO crops supported by the dairy industry and local consumers and activists would be a win-win for the North Coast.
In addition to being a former Journal staff writer, Jim Hight has written for Capital Press, a weekly farming trade publication, and authored special reports on local agriculture for farm associations and public-interest groups. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org.
by HANK SIMS
A move by some national retail chains to ban the annual Salvation Army bellringers from their store entrances may be paradoxically boosting the drive's efforts in Humboldt County.
Capt. Ramón Ocaño, pastor of the Salvation Army's Eureka Corps, said that locally, nearly two dozen locations have offered to host the bellringing Salvation Army volunteers that last year raised $58,000 for local charitable programs.
"So many more places stepped up this year," he said. "Last year we only had 14 or 15 spots."
Ocaño said that some of that increase was due to local business owners calling up and requesting that the Salvation Army post bellringers at their locations this year -- some of them after hearing about the Target Corp.'s decision not to let the Salvation Army use its sites this year. The ban has received a good deal of attention in the national press.
[Photo at right:
Mary Barber, owner of Eureka's Grocery Outlet, said that she was moved to ask the Salvation Army to use her store for the kettle drive after becoming angered when she saw a television news story on Target's ban.
"I called up the captain and said, `I have a brand-new store. Send them here,'" she said.
Barber said that she felt that supporting organizations like the Salvation Army was an important part of doing business in a community that must struggle to address problems like homelessness and poverty.
"I have 10 brothers and sisters," she said. "I didn't grow up a rich person, and I'm still not a rich person, but we've been very blessed. It absolutely amazes me how much the community supports us, and I think you need to give back."
Target isn't the only large chain to have banned the bellringers from their premises. Locally, both Costco and WinCo have long followed corporate policies that prohibit solicitation at their stores. Mervyn's (which was once owned by Target) announced earlier this year that it, too, would ban the Salvation Army, but the chain quickly reversed itself when the decision received bad press.
Safeway still allows the Salvation Army to use their stores for the drive, but has placed some restrictions on the hours and number of days that bellringers may work.
Ocaño said that many large retail chains work out deals with the Salvation Army's national headquarters before the Christmas shopping season begins. He added that he bears no ill will toward local store managers whose hands are tied by their bosses.
"If it was up to them, I think they'd have done it," he said. "It's a small town, and we like to take care of each other."
A member of the management team at the Target store in Eureka said that she could not comment on the issue, adding that she had been directed to refer all queries on the subject to the chain's corporate headquarters. The company stated in a press release that it felt it unfair to allow the Salvation Army to ask for donations at its stores while banning other charitable groups.
Ocaño said that all money raised locally during the kettle drive stays local. It is used to fund programs such as meals for seniors and after-schools activities for youth. In addition, he said, the Eureka Corps was hoping to retire some $450,000 in debt it had accumulated in recent years due to sluggish thrift-store sales.
by BOB DORAN
That's how Hugo Papstein, head of the local radio group Eureka Broadcasting, described Auction No. 37, the first open auction of FM broadcast frequencies held by the Federal Communications Commission since 1997. That's when Congress mandated the use of a competitive bidding process for commercial broadcast station licensing.
The bidding battle for FM broadcast construction permits, potentially new radio stations, ran through most of the month of November, putting 288 "vacant FM allotments" on the block. Those were basically unused FM frequencies, many of them in rural portions of western states.
Among them was permit FM026, a license to build a radio station in Blue Lake.
Before it was over the bidding for FM026 soared to more than $1 million, but by the time the auction ended on Nov. 23, after 62 rounds of bidding, that high bid had been withdrawn, and the local frequency was one of 30 nationwide that went unsold.
Bidding for the Blue Lake frequency began at $90,000, which instantly made it "just too much" for Pat Christensen of Redwood Broadcasting, formerly known as Miller Broadcasting, who saw "no economic justification for the bid," he said.
Christensen was one of 456 initial applicants for the auction and the only other local radio station owner beside Eureka Broadcasting who showed interest in the local frequency. Papstein was among 40 bidders who felt that FM026 was worth at least $90 grand. In fact, at one point early on in the proceedings, Eureka Broadcasting bid $398,000 for the frequency.
"It wasn't worth more than that to me," said Papstein after a company called Bigglesworth Broadcasting upped the bid to $478,000.
A few rounds later the bid for FM026 had doubled; by round 19, two firms were dueling with Radioactive LLC's $933,000 bid in round 21, topped by College Creek Broadcasting Inc., which bid over a million -- only to withdraw its bid 10 rounds later.
Prior to 1997, radio frequencies were not sold. They were awarded to those who showed they could best serve the community. That has changed.
"We are in new territory with this groundbreaking auction, introducing new owners into the radio market and bringing increased diversity through new FM radio stations to cities and towns that have not had their own local stations," FCC Chairman Michael Powell said in a press release.
"By placing small businesses on equal footing with other bidders at the auction stage, our policies ensure that more owners have the opportunity to become pioneers in the dynamic media marketplace," Powell said.
While it's true that a number of smaller companies came away with new stations, the overall results seem to paint a different picture regarding "equal footing." As the auction drew to a close, the 288 qualified bidders had been whittled down to 110 "players" as an FCC spokesman described them, with relatively small companies like Eureka Broadcasting falling by the wayside.
At the end of the auction, with winning bidders due to submit payments of $147.4 million, over half of the money bid is promised by just five major players, who between them accounted for $91 million in bids.
"Some of the frequencies went for way over what was anticipated," said Papstein, who saw the whole process as "crazy" in that, "the auction took an unusual form. I've never heard of an auction that doesn't go to the high bidder."
If the highest bid is withdrawn, only active bidders -- those who had not dropped out of the bidding for one or more of the 288 licenses up for grabs -- could continue to bid. But in the case of the Blue Lake frequency, the high rollers weren't interested.
What happens next with the unsold frequencies? Lauren Patrich from the FCC Wireless Department explained, "They are still in our inventory. We will sell them eventually," adding that another FM construction permit auction "could happen as early as next year."
by HANK SIMS
Arcata artist Duane Flatmo rode a custom back-steering cycle onto the Tonight Show stage wearing one of his big-head Cubist masks last Wednesday night. He serenaded Jay Leno with a flamenco number on his guitar, effortlessly reproducing the rapid-fire strum of the genre's masters with the assistance of an electric mixer.
Then he took a bow and was officially named "The Most Interesting Person in California" -- the fourth person crowned in a 50-state search that the show is undertaking in cooperation with shock comedian Tom Green for American's weirdest and wackiest.
During the show, Green -- who is visiting each of the states in alphabetical order -- explained to Leno the rationale for focusing on Humboldt County in the California segment.
"There's a lot of weird people in Los Angeles -- we thought that would be too easy," he said. "So we went up to Eureka, California, and met some more weird people there."
Flatmo's live appearance was preceded by a short video of Green visiting with other local residents who were vying for the award. Ornithologist Rob Hewitt took Green on an owl-hooting expedition, allowing Green to indulge in some of his trademark animal humor. Eureka resident Bob Brown cooked up some garden snails for the comedian in his kitchen and explained the best way to prepare banana slugs for the table. Scott Cocking twirled a ball of fire tied to the end of a long rope at the Old Town Gazebo, briefly catching Green's leg on fire when he attempted to skip over it.
The show's crew visited "Willow" -- the tree-sitter formerly known as "Whisper" -- in his perch in an old-growth redwood near Greenwood Heights Road. The occasion marked the second time this year that a comedian has teased the tree-sitter on national television. In the spring, Sascha Baron Cohen of "Da Ali G Show" upbraided Willow and Earth First! activist "Shunka" for the "crap songs" associated with the movement.
Both comedians took the opportunity to muse about better uses to which the tree could be put, riling the activists in the process. Cohen fantasized about a "hot tub full of honeys"; the usually dependable Green could only come up with "a redwood deck."
Though the cast of characters featured on the segment no doubt caused much of the nation to scratch its head, at least one local was nonplussed. "It's just the people you meet every day," she said.
Comments? Write a letter!
© Copyright 2004, North Coast Journal, Inc.
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You may also like: Did You Ever See a Lassie? Baby's Horse Punchinello (Version 1) This Little Cow Cousin Peter A Sailor Went to Sea Sea Sea Written by: Unknown, Copyright Unknown A sailor went to sea sea sea To see what he could see see see But all that he could see see see Was the bottom of the deep blue sea sea sea Oh, Helen had a steamboat The steamboat had a bell When Helen went to heaven The steamboat went to ______ Hello, operator, Just give me number 9 If the line is busy I'll kick your big ______ Behind the old piano There was a piece of glass Helen slipped upon it And hurt her little ______ Ask me for a muffin I'll give you some old bread And if you do not like it Just go and soak your head. Children's Songs More new and exciting features are coming to KIDiddles! Sign up for our Newsletter today and be among the first to know when they're ready to go. Sign-up and get Free Song Sheets, Activity Sheets and Music Sheets! Copyright © 1998-2013 KIDiddles.com. All Rights Reserved.
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CHRISTIAN McBRIDE, VICTOR WOOTEN, MARCUS Miller, Victor Bailey, Jeff Berlin, Jaco Pastorius, Stanley Clarke, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, James Jamerson, Scott LaFaro, Red Mitchell, Israel Crosby, Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Oscar Pettiford. Th is list of giants suggests a thread woven through the hippest music of the last 70 years. A few thousand names are missing from the list, of course, but the thread leads back to one man: Jimmie Blanton. Even though Blanton died when he was only 23, he’s known as the granddaddy of modern jazz bass playing. Last month, we looked at three classic licks from “Jack the Bear,” a Blanton feature with the Duke Ellington band. This month, let’s check out four more signature Blanton solo lines.
Blanton plays the licks in Examples 1 and 2 on several different versions of “Pitter, Panther, Patter” [Solos, Duets and Trios, RCA/Bluebird], a bass and piano duet that he recorded with Ellington in 1940. Ellington probably taught Blanton the tricky duet arrangement’s basic bass melody by ear, and Blanton added his own twists and turns to his accompaniment and solo lines. Blanton plays many of the same licks—albeit with slight alterations—in the same solo spots in all three takes.
Example 1 comes 0:50 into the track, with Ellington giving Blanton a two-bar break at the end of a chorus. When I first heard these recordings years ago, this lick in particular caught my ear, and I really wanted to “take it off the record.” It remains one of my go-to licks when I’m playing a break on a G7 chord in a medium swing tempo. As proof of the lick’s ear-catching nature, I’ve also heard everyone from Ray Brown to Ron Carter play their own variations.
Example 2 shows Blanton’s next two-bar break, which arrives at 1:00. The high G is not a harmonic; Blanton is fingering the note, pulling hard and yanking the tone out of the gut string. He was obviously used to pulling a big sound out of his unamplified bass with the big band, and he didn’t pull any punches when he got his chance to record with Maestro Ellington in this intimate duo setting.
Example 3 shows Blanton’s lick at 0:22 in “Sepia Panorama”, from The Blanton-Webster Band [RCA]. The band is screaming, and then there’s the abrupt break—Blanton’s got it! He lays into a repeated high F in a triplet pattern, and then springs up into the stratosphere. It was uncommon for a bassist in 1940 to jump up to a high A, but Blanton nails it.
Listen to the original, and hear Blanton somersaulting all over the bass behind Ellington’s tinkling piano solo. Blanton is not primarily known as an interactive bass player, but I think this shows a spark of creative interaction that set him apart from the other bassists of the era. Blanton’s playing underneath Ellington’s lines is clever—like a boxer sparring, jabbing, and punching out beautiful bass melodies everywhere.
Example 4 comes at 2:58, toward the end of the “Sepia Panorama” track. Here Blanton plays alone except for light brush work from drummer Sonny Greer. Beginning on beat four of bar 1, Blanton starts a hemiola, or cross-rhythm: The eighth-note line beginning on beat four is in triplets (rhythmic groupings of three), but the melodic phrase repeats a four-note grouping (Bb, D, Eb, F). The four-note phrase played in triplets creates the feeling of “taking it out” rhythmically, or playing across the bar line.
Wherever you sit on the timeline of bass players, know that your musical bloodline contains elements of the Jimmie Blanton legacy. Bassists have made great technical strides since Blanton, playing incredible grooves and solos, and often taking the bass to the front of the bandstand. However, Blanton was the man who made the current state of the bass possible for all of us.
Plan B: “A Train”
YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE SWING standard “Take the A Train,” which is played by school bands, swing dance bands, and lounge-lizard jump bands everywhere. You might even know that “Take the A Train” was the Ellington band’s theme song for many years. Written by composer Billy Strayhorn, who was Ellington’s right-hand man, the tune was adopted in 1940 as the theme song for legal reasons.
Before “A Train,” the band’s theme song was the Ellington composition “Sepia Panorama.” In 1940, the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) tried to raise the rate that composers received when their music was played on the radio. The whole industry—radio stations, record companies, musicians, and performing rights societies—became embroiled in a legal tussle over broadcast licensing fees. Since Ellington was an ASCAP composer, he wasn’t allowed to play his compositions on the radio for the duration of the legal proceedings.
In order to keep his band performing live on the radio, Duke had to compile an entirely new non-ASCAP band book, and find a new theme song to replace “Sepia Panorama,” which featured Jimmie Blanton. Strayhorn, who belonged to the rival performing rights organization Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), composed many great songs for Ellington during this period, including the new theme song, “Take the A Train.” Imagine if the bass feature “Sepia Panorama” had remained the Ellington theme and had become as ubiquitous as “Take the A Train”—we might still be playing it at dances and hearing marching bands perform it at high school football games!
Check out John playing “Sepia Panorama” and more timeless Ellington/Blanton music with the American Jazz Orchestra on Ellington Classics [Atlantic, 1988], and visit John’s website for bass news and information, plus John’s recording of “Pitter, Panther, Patter.” johngoldsby.com
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The attributes needed to run a successful business include intelligence, relevant knowledge, perspicacity, foresight, an eye for opportunity, willingness to take a calculated risk, skill in innovation, perseverance, and guts. Australian businessmen have these in spades. In simple terms, they are smart. Yet from what we as outsiders can see, they seem to be willing to accept the damaging rhetoric about our economy that Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and the Coalition front bench serve up day after day, with scarcely a murmur of concern, with almost no query about its validity, with no protest about its applicability, with no reservations about its effect on our economy and on the businesses they run.
As detailed in Abbott and Hockey are endangering Australian business
, Abbott seems to be able to talk down the economy with impunity, thereby imperiling Australian businesses, without one word of condemnation from businessmen, without even a whisper of caution from them. Why is this so?
It is hard to believe that their silence is because they believe the rhetoric and accept the validity of the claims, as clearly many of them are preposterous and demonstrably untrue, the dire effects of the carbon tax being an obvious example. There must be other reasons.
It should not be surprising to anyone that businessmen who support entrepreneurship, free markets, competition, light regulation, minimal red and green tape, ‘flexible’ industrial policy, small government, and low taxes, find themselves attracted to Liberal policies that espouse these elements, although not necessarily following them in government. But that does not explain why they allow Abbott, Hockey, Robb and Cormann, the Coalition’s finance spokesmen, to continually talk down the economy, depress consumer confidence, imperil their businesses in the process, and put a brake on their own confidence, which is now lower, much lower than that of the consumers.
I shall attempt to tease out some explanations that I believe may be operating. Many businessmen are Coalition supporters
One explanation is that some businessmen are such rusted on Coalition supporters, such entrenched Labor antagonists, that their support for the Coalition is unconditional. An example that springs to mind is Marcus Padley of the Marcus Today Newsletter
, whose gloomy reports and prognostications about the stock market on ABC Radio every weekday are liberally sprinkled with overt anti-Government sentiment.
Unconditional support is the only explanation I can muster to explain how they can endorse the bumbling, foot-in-mouth, disingenuous Leader of the Coalition, with his overt ignorance of economics, his policy deficits, his shonky costings, and his policy ineptitude in the few areas he has already defined, his Direct Action Plan for climate change being a classic instance.
Some of course may not be unconditionally supportive, but because they accept the predictions of commentators on polls of voting intention that the Coalition is a shoo-in at the 2013 election, believe it is prudent for them to say nothing that would get them offside with what they expect to be the next government, from which they would be seeking favours, policies congenial to their business, and a leg-up when in strife. Perhaps they should pay more attention to polling trends that show a steady narrowing of the gap between the Coalition and Labor. Perhaps they should seriously contemplate the possibility of the Government being returned. If and when they do, they may be more inclined to call out Abbott and Co. when they make outrageous statements. Some businessmen are rent-seekers
Another explanation of the reluctance of some businessmen to criticize the Coalition is that they are rent-seekers who want the Government to ease their burden as we saw when the carbon tax and the MMRT were introduced. Wanting the taxes removed or reduced, advocates were out in numbers with advertisements on TV and in the papers condemning these initiatives. Mitch Hooke of the Minerals Council led the charge, soon joined by Gina Rinehart, Twiggy Forrest and Clive Palmer, the Australian Industry Group, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Business Council of Australia and other employer organizations, all predicting economic disaster for businesses in the wake of the taxes. The carbon tax was about to disrupt, dislocate, and destroy businesses across the nation. As Tony Abbott opportunistically jumped in with a vow made in his own blood that these taxes would be repealed should they elect the Coalition to office, the rent-seekers rallied to his support.
No businessman wants to pay more tax, although some willingly do so for the common good. But there was little concern shown by the rent-seekers for the common good. They simply wanted the taxes removed, and spent millions in advertising to this end, and to hell with the rationale behind the taxes: to reduce pollution and spread the benefits of the mining boom. The spectre of the slaughter of the many geese that were laying the golden eggs was raised before the eyes of the electorate. Apprehension was engendered and scare campaigns mounted of massive job losses, exploding unemployment, and whole industries and towns wiped out.
The rent-seekers were smart. They knew full well that their campaign was disingenuous, but self-interest trumped the common good. Their colleagues in other areas of industry and commerce also knew that their campaign was self-serving, but did they raise a murmur? No. As Ross Gittins put it in his article: What business needs to learn about politics “…big business won't get far until it abandons its code of honour among thieves. That is, when one industry goes into battle with the government to resist a new impost or get itself a special concession, all the other industries keep mum, even though they know the first industry is merely on the make.”
That’s exactly what they did – kept mum. Referring to the MMRT, Gittins continues: “Big business looked the other way as the three big miners connived with the opposition to destroy the Rudd government. Its reward was to have its precious cut in company tax snatched away.”
The colleagues of the rent-seekers could have voiced their concern about one section of the economy seeking benefits at the expense of other sections and the common good. But they chose silence, and thereby gave tacit support to their colleagues and to the party that was promising repeal, the Coalition.
So here is another explanation of why businessmen seem to swallow the ‘talking down the economy’ rhetoric of Abbott/Hockey/Robb/Cormann without a protest, without a murmur, without so much as asking them to tone down the talk that is damaging their businesses day after day, week after week. They are part of the industrial/commercial club that sticks together, that exhibits the age-old ‘honour among thieves’. Unfortunately, it is the public’s rights and benefits that are being thieved. Indifferent relationships exist between business and government
Writing in The Australian
, John Durie
attributes the adverse attitude of some businessmen to PM Gillard and her Government as due to the business community coming to grips with a flat economy that is a tough grind. He noted that some businesspeople are still smarting from policy changes and feel they have borne the brunt of tax changes, including the latest plans to bring forward payments.
He went on to say: “Big business isn't perfect and government bitterness is understandable after watching the big miners in open revolt over the tax changes. The public attacks on the government have died down as the better operators understand no one likes being slagged in public, so if they want to deal with the government it is better to be more cordial. They just wish Gillard would respond on the same terms.”
Durie conceded that the Asian Century white paper was welcomed as it offered a potential bridge between the two sides after a rocky relationship, but at the Business Council's annual dinner last week, he asserts that: “Gillard missed a chance to engage with a broad cross-section of business, welfare groups and community leaders.”
He reported that: “Businesspeople say that in individual meetings Gillard is completely different, engaged and interested, but before big business audiences she speaks right over the top of them, apparently to a different audience…Just as she did last year, she used the occasion to lecture the audience rather than engage a genuinely open audience.”
Whether or not Durie is correct in laying the blame for this dissonance at the PM’s feet, it does seem that some businesspeople do. This is yet another explanation for the willingness of some to hold their tongue when Abbott and Co. are on their negative rampages, talking down the economy at the expense of business. Their antagonism to PM Gillard at the one time encourages them to be critical of her and her Government, while inhibiting them from being critical of the Coalition.
So there it is. Although it is very doubtful that businessmen really believe the rationale of Tony Abbott and his finance colleagues when they talk down the economy, they exhibit a regrettable reticence to pounce on them. Yet when that happens, people defer discretionary spending on their homes and cars, cut back on luxury items, use their clothes a little longer, shop online, eat out less often, take their own lunch to work, defer that holiday, pay off the credit card, reduce the mortgage, and save for the rainy day. And as they do, business suffers. Retail sales decline, restaurants languish, coffee/sandwich shops have fewer takers and some close, travel agents lose business, airlines have fewer flights. All of this distresses businesspeople, erodes profits, reduces dividends, diminishes stock prices, forces closures and bankrupts some, and results in personal dismay and depression. Yet, the business community stays mute.
A reasonable reaction would be to shout from the rooftops: “Shut your mouths Abbott, Hockey, Robb, Cormann, your scaremongering is frightening people; your doom and gloom is driving customers away, it’s killing our business, sending us broke, and driving shareholders to desperation as their pensions erode and their dreams of comfortable retirement evaporate”.
But they say nothing. Why oh why?
Several explanations for this extraordinary behaviour are offered: Many businessmen are Coalition supporters and won’t criticize their own. Others, believing that the Coalition will form the next government, out of self-interest refrain from disapproving their behaviour.
Some businessmen are rent-seekers and because they need the Coalition’s support, will not criticize. Honour among thieves inhibits other businessmen from entering the debate.
Indifferent relationships between business and the current government restrain some businessmen from criticizing the alternative government.
You may have other explanations for this astonishing unwillingness of businesspeople to insist that Abbott and Co. stop talking down our economy, the envy of the developed world, and stop wreaking havoc with their businesses.
What do you think?
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By Barb McKay
Kincardine’s community blood lab is in danger of closing.
South Bruce Grey Health Centre (SBGHC) CEO Paul Rosebush told The Independent Friday that provincial changes to the fee code to medical practices for phlebotomy services make it virtually impossible to operate the lab at the Kincardine and Community Medical Clinic.
“It makes it more expensive to operate these services at medical clinics,” he said. “It’s unsustainable.”
Rosebush said the SBGHC has been corresponding with the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care to get support for keeping the lab in the community.
“Right now they (Ministry) don’t have a solution for Kincardine,” Rosebush said.
There needs to be laboratory service in Kincardine for patients, he said.
“It’s really hard to ask patients to go out of town for blood work,” he noted, particularly the community’s senior population and especially during winter months.
Dr. Lisa Roth, of the Kincardine and Community Medical Clinic, said changes to the funding formula make it difficult to keep the lab open.
“It’s something that caught everyone by surprise,” she said. “No one knows why the Ministry did that. They basically changed the funding and cut it by 90 per cent.”
Roth said Kincardine’s laboratory is a busy one, with between 30 and 50 people having blood work done on any given day.
“If anything we should be expanding lab hours,” she said.
Roth said the lab never made a profit, but until funding changed it remained in the black and was a good service for the community. The Kincardine hospital takes roughly half of out-patient blood work orders, but it does not receive provincial funding to do routine blood work, including blood sugar and cholesterol tests.
To take on all of the outpatient lab work would be impossible, Roth said.
“That would double their budget,” she said. “They don’t have the staff to do that and they don’t have the budget to hire more staff.”
The Ministry is looking at the possibility of bringing in private services. Private services would work much the same as a public clinic in that fees would be covered, in most cases, by OHIP.
Rosebush said the labs will remain open at least until December when the SBGHC is hopeful a solution will be found. He said he will continue to keep up communication with the Ministry.
“We believe in the right care close to home philosophy,” Rosebush said, particularly because of the nature of the community.
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We've all tried it. Adding water to empty shampoo bottle to work up the suds. Ditto for detergent. We've all turned the bottles upside down, hoping gravity will do the work.
And why not?
What we don't use we waste. What we waste costs money. If we get the last drop out we go less often to store to buy replacements. Manufacturers apparently don't want us to squeeze every drop out; it's almost as if products are designed NOT to release their full volume.
In fact, a study by Consumer Reports investigated how much content was left inside popular items when the packaging design prevented users from extracting all of the product.
- Toothpaste 1-13%
- Condiments (ketchup, mustard, etc.) 3-15%
- Liquid detergent 7-16%
- Skin lotion 17-25%
So, how do you get the very last drop? Watch the video and see what happens when a group of local moms show up to The Last Drop Challenge and wrestle with everything from makeup to toothpaste.
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Ask any Apple fan why they love their desktop/laptop/iWhatever and inevitably you’ll hear that Apple Devices Just Work. It’s true that, in Cupertino, hundreds of millions of dollars each year are poured into designing products that are as intuitive and simple as possible, without sacrificing quality. I’m not a member of the Cult of Jobs — I am very happy with my Android smartphone — but I would agree that Macintosh operating systems are easier to configure, use, and maintain, whether you are managing a single workstation at home, five in a small business, or hundreds in an educational environment. Sadly, this is changing.
For home users, the App Store is doing for desktop software what the iTunes store did for music: shortening the time it takes small-scale developers to make their products available to the masses, making physical media unnecessary, and providing immediate gratification to the consumer. Similar to the way mobile device app purchases work, all you need is an account with a credit card, and your new software is automatically and immediately downloaded and installed. Have multiple computers at home? Just attach each of the computers (up to five) to a single Apple account, purchase one license of your software, and install it (legally!) on all five computers. Awesome.
For large groups of users (i.e. those with more than 20 workstations), the App Store is not-quite-so-awesome. Business, non-profit, and education users aren’t allowed to take advantage of the “buy-once-install-five-times” rule; you have to purchase a single license for each and every workstation you want to have that software. This is a minor annoyance but not a change. To make the purchasing easier, Apple has an App Software Volume Licensing program, and educational institutions get a 50% discount on Apple software like OS X Lion, iLife, and Final Cut Pro X (although not on software from third-party developers). Importantly, you can still deploy App Store software purchased in bulk via mass-installation techniques. Set up one workstation exactly how you want it, clone that setup onto any number of other workstations, and you’re good to go. The catch? You have to purchase at least 20 licenses at a time. This usually isn’t a problem for the initial purchase — if you have 24 workstations, just buy 24 licenses and get them for the price of 12. Done. What happens later, though, when your lab expands and you need 6 more licenses? You’ll have to pay full price for those 6, which is a drag, but the real problem is you can’t use the Volume Licensing program at all unless you are making a purchase of at least 20 licenses, even if you have bought in bulk in the past.
So, how do you purchase more than 1 but fewer than 20 licenses in an educational, non-profit, or small business environment? This is where the nightmare really begins. Here’s the process:
- Acquire one email address for every workstation you have. Each AppleID can be used to purchase only a single license of the software, and each AppleID needs a unique email address. I would recommend creating one address for each workstation you have, even if you don’t plan on buying that many licenses right now. Get these from your institution if you can, or just set up a number of accounts using free providers like Gmail, Yahoo, or Hotmail. (Quick tip: Gmail will only allow you to create 10 accounts from a single IP in a short period of time. If you need to create more, just switch computers, or use a different connection method. Also, if Gmail thinks you’re a bot, it’ll want to send you a verification code via SMS or voice call. Have a phone handy.) To keep your sanity, you’ll probably want to set these email addresses up to forward to a single location, which of course means verifying that your forwarding address actually belongs to you, once per email address.
- Manually create AppleIDs using each of your new email addresses. If you have a departmental credit card that you can use to buy software and that you don’t mind entering into each and every account, just go to My AppleID and create the accounts. If you don’t have a departmental credit card, or don’t want to have it stored in a large number of accounts, the process is a little harder. Apple has done a good job of documenting the process of creating an AppleID without a credit card, so I won’t recreate those instructions here. Keep in mind that Apple will only allow you to create 3 AppleIDs from a single IP in a short period of time. If you need to create more, just switch computers, or use a different connection method.
- Associate the new AppleIDs with your workstations. Log into your administrator account on the workstation (whichever one you use to install software), go to the Applications folder, open the App Store, and log in with one of the new AppleIDs. I’d recommend keeping track of which AppleID belongs to which workstation, just to make your life easier moving forward.
- Purchase, download, and install applications on each workstation. If you have a departmental credit card that you can use for this purpose, go ahead and use the App Store on each workstation to purchase, download, and install your app. If you don’t have a departmental credit card to associate with each of your accounts … well, everybody’s situation is going to be different. If you have an institutionally-based Apple Store, you can probably use a purchase order to buy iTunes Gift Cards, which you can then redeem in the App Store. If you don’t have an institutionally-based Apple Store, you may need to use a personal credit card to buy iTunes gift cards and then submit the receipts for reimbursement, or check with your Purchasing office and see if they can use an institutional credit card to buy iTunes gift cards on your department’s behalf. Either way, you’ll want to purchase separate gift cards for each workstation, for the exact cost of the software you plan to purchase, and you’ll need to sit down to purchase/download/install the software separately on each workstation.
For a company that prides itself on making usable, elegant products, this is a complete and total failure. It seems like Apple didn’t think, or just didn’t care, about how the App Store woud negatively impact the medium-sized organizations that use its products. And when we talk about disruptive technologies … this is NOT what we mean.
My institution has been particularly hard-hit by this for a number of reasons, including the fact that we have no departmental credit card, and no longer have a campus-based technology store, but that’s a whole nuther story. I’m interested in hearing from the rest of you: how is this impacting your department or campus? Do you have ideas or information about how lab managers can make this process easier? Have I missed something really obvious? Leave a note in the comments!
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Thirty five Virginia legislators — mostly Democrats, but some Republicans too — have announced that they are not members of a conservative group that has been under fire in recent weeks.
The legislators responded to requests from constituents and the liberal group, ProgressVA, which asked them to state whether or not they are associated with the American Legislative Exchange Council.
ALEC touts itself as a pro-business, free-market organization, and its members include legislators and private companies. Corporate members pay fees, which give them a say on legislative issues.
In the last several weeks, 16 corporations, four nonprofits and over 50 legislators have dropped their support of ALEC following scrutiny of “Stand Your Ground” laws after the slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. The group had lobbied for similar laws in other states.
Last month, the Virginia Progressive Caucus called on their colleagues in the General Assembly to stop using state money to send legislators to conferences hosted by ALEC.
At least 115 current or former legislators have had ties to ALEC, either by sponsoring bills, attending conferences or paying membership dues, according to a study by ProgressVA from last year.
The state has spent $232,000 during the past decade to send legislators, primarily members of the Republican-controlled House of Delegates, to ALEC conferences and meetings.
ProgressVA had used data from a national report to identify more than 60 Virginia bills that ALEC helped author. Those bills included a measure calling for companies that hire illegal immigrants to be shut down, and another that would give businesses tax credits to fund private school tuition for needy students. Virtually all of the bills were introduced by Republicans.
The list of bills also includes one championed by House Speaker Bill Howell for several years that would have helped protect a Fortune 500 company, Philadelphia-based Crown Cork & Seal, from asbestos lawsuits. It was one of the few bills Howell publicly supported, and it died in a tight vote.
Howell (R-Stafford), a former national chairman of ALEC has defended the group, arguing that it has become a victim of intimidation and extortion.
The list of 35 legislators who are not members of ALEC and the 38 who are known members can be found here.
“We applaud these 35 legislators for putting their constituents first,” ProgressVA Executive Director Anna Scholl said. “Unfortunately, a majority of Virginia’s legislators still refuse to respond to requests from constituents to disclose their ties to ALEC. Delegates and Senators are the people’s representatives. They should be putting our interests first — not corporate lobbyists.”
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SEATTLE (December 6, 2012)--Marijuana possession was legal Thursday in Washington State, and pot smokers were celebrating in the streets of Seattle.
Hundreds gathered under Seattle's Space Needle for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect.
When the clock struck midnight, they cheered and lit joints in unison.
A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.
One smoker said she felt "like a kid in a candy store!"
Public use of marijuana is still banned, but the Seattle Police Department is telling officer to issue only verbal warnings "until further notice."
One pot smoker offered an interpretation of the police directive.
“You may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."
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Skip to Main Content
Time series data are often found in diverse fields, such as science, business, medicine and engineering. In this paper, we focus on sequential pattern mining for categorical time series datasets that contain multiple independent timeseries. Frequent patterns are considered important in many applications. However, collected data are generally afflicted with noise. Conventional sequential pattern mining methods that use exact matching may meet difficulties in mining databases with long sequences and noise. We propose a framework that uncovers frequent approximate sequential patterns with multiple widths. A mined pattern in this framework is a representative of a group of sequences (with various widths) that follow the pattern's event flow order. The presentation of the patterns also gives insight into the occurrence of the pattern longitudinally and across the population. The pattern can be recognized as a common pattern across the multiple time series, time, or both. We name this novel framework MWASP: Multiple-Width Approximate Sequential Patterns.
Date of Conference: March 30 2009-April 2 2009
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Activists, Lawyers Tortured In Iran
20 December, 2012
There are reports of torture and detention of activists, lawyers in Iran. There is also a steady stream of refugees seeking asylum in many countries.
A Human Rights Watch report released in mid-December said*:
The space in Iran for civil society has been shrinking since the crackdown following the disputed presidential election in 2009.
Three-and-a-half years after Iranian government forces brutally suppressed largely peaceful anti-government demonstrations, hundreds of activists have sought temporary refuge and an uncertain future in neighboring Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan in the face of harassment and detention at home.
The 60-page report, “Why they Left: Stories of Iranian Activists in Exile,” documents the experiences of dozens of rights defenders, journalists, bloggers, and lawyers whom security and intelligence forces targeted because they spoke out against the government. Some who took part in anti-government protests after the 2009 election had never been politically active before, but suddenly found themselves in the crosshairs of security and intelligence forces.
“The post-2009 crackdown has profoundly affected civil society in Iran,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The images of police beating protesters mercilessly may have faded from television and computer screens, but many Iranian activists continue to make the painful choice to abandon homes and families.”
No truly independent rights organizations can openly operate in Iran’s current political climate. Many prominent human rights defenders and journalists are in prison or exile, and other activists face constant harassment and arbitrary arrest.
Since 2009, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of civil society activists who have applied for asylum and resettlement to third countries. According to statistics compiled by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Iranians filed 11,537 new asylum applications to 44 countries in 2009; 15,185 in 2010; and 18,128 in 2011.
The largest number of new asylum applications was lodged in neighboring Turkey, where there was a 72 percent increase in the number of Iranian asylum seekers between 2009 and 2011. Due to its proximity to Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan is also a significant recipient of Iranian asylum seekers, especially those from the Kurdish minority. The testimony of these activists, many of whom remain politically active as refugees in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, shed light on the unprecedented pressures on civil society in Iran that began during the first term of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, Human Rights Watch said.
Many Iranian refugees and asylum seekers interviewed by Human Rights Watch described difficult conditions and long processing times for their asylum applications during their stay in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. The main concerns of those in Turkey included restrictions on their freedom of movement, burdensome residency fees, their inability to acquire work permits, and lack of access to health services. Refugees and asylum seekers in Iraqi Kurdistan also expressed concern about restrictions on their movements, threats, harassment, and arbitrary regulations imposed on them by Kurdish Regional Government authorities, often because of their continued political activities.
The Turkish government has so far refused the request of Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, to visit the country in his official capacity to meet with and interview these asylum seekers and refugees. Dr. Shaheed’s position was established under a UN Human Rights Council resolution in March 2011.
Human Rights Watch called on Ankara to immediately allow Shaheed access to the country so he can carry out his UN mandate. Human Rights Watch also called on the Turkish government to create conditions that will allow registered refugees and asylum seekers to live and work comfortably while they await resettlement to a third country.
Human Rights Watch urged the Kurdish Regional Government to protect the safety and welfare of Iranian refugees and refrain from threats or harassment against those who continue to pursue nonviolent political or rights activities during their time as refugees in Iraqi Kurdistan.
A few cases
Following are a number of cases from the HRW report:
Abbas Khorsandi, a blogger and political activist, founded the Iran Democratic Party, a small unregistered political party with a handful of members who publish articles on the internet. The group operated openly until Intelligence Ministry agents arrested Khorsandi in January 2005 and accused him of forming an illegal party. Khorsandi told Human Rights Watch that after three months in prison he was released and ordered to dissolve the party. He refused and continued his activities with the group underground.
On September 9, 2007, intelligence agents arrested Khorsandi in Firuzkuh, a small town 140 kilometers east of Tehran. Authorities held him at Evin prison for approximately three months, without access to his lawyer or family members. He told Human Rights Watch that authorities transferred him to section 209 of Evin prison, which is under the control of the Intelligence Ministry, soon after his arrest. He said he faced two rounds of interrogations, including severe physical and psychological abuse amounting to torture. He was eventually forced to sign confessions regarding his activities as the secretary-general of the Iran Democratic Party. Based on these confessions, authorities charged him with “acting against the national security” and “forming an illegal organization.”
He was tried in Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court and sentenced to eight years in prison on March 17, 2008. Branch 36 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court confirmed the sentence on appeal on July 12, 2008. In prison he suffered from several serious health ailments including heart disease, internal bleeding, and diabetes, and was denied proper medical care. He told Human Rights Watch that on May 18, 2009, he received a 10-day medical leave but stayed out of prison until late August 2009, when the Judiciary ordered him to return. In October 2009, Khorsandi was transferred to a hospital, where his doctors told him that if he returned to prison his life would be in serious jeopardy.
Khorsandi eventually decided to flee Iran while on medical leave. He entered Iraqi Kurdistan on February 17, 2010. His wife and two children joined him there in January 2012. He now lives in Germany with his family.
Rebin Rahmani, a Kurdish rights activist, told Human Rights Watch that security forces arrested him on November 19, 2006, in Kermanshah, the capital of the western Iranian province of the same name. He had been researching the prevalence of drug addiction and HIV infections in Kermanshah province. Rahmani spent two months in detention facilities run by the Intelligence Ministry, and was interrogated by intelligence agents in both Kermanshah and Sanandaj, the main city in the adjacent Iranian province of Kurdistan. He told Human Rights Watch that during his time in both facilities, he was subjected to several rounds of interrogation accompanied by physical and psychological torture.
In January 2007, a revolutionary court sentenced Rahmani to five years in prison on charges of “acting against national security” and “propaganda against the state.” The sentence was handed down after a 15-minute trial during which Rahmani had no access to a lawyer. In March 2007 his sentence was reduced to two years on appeal.
Rahmani told Human Rights Watch that during his interrogations after sentencing he was again subjected to physical and mental abuse amounting to torture, and kept in solitary confinement for long periods in an attempt to force him to falsely confess to links to armed Kurdish separatist groups. Interrogators also threatened to arrest his family members, and eventually arrested his brother in June 2008, in part he said to put pressure on Rahmani.
Upon his release in the latter part of 2008, Rahmani learned that he had been dismissed from the university and could not continue his education. He told Human Rights Watch that he decided to join the local rights group, Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), but used a pseudonym to avoid being rearrested. Rahmani interviewed victims and their families and prepared reports for the group; most focused on rights violations by the government in Iran’s Kurdish regions. He also was in charge of Kurdish-language content on the group’s website.
During the crackdown in March 2010 against rights groups including the HRA in Tehran and other major cities, Rahmani escaped arrest because he was not identified as an active member. But in May 2010, after he took part in a rally against the execution of several Kurdish political prisoners, local authorities put Rahmani under surveillance. In December 2010, security forces raided his house shortly after he attended a gathering outside Sanandaj prison to protest the imminent execution of the Kurdish activist Habibollah Latifi.
Because of the harassments of him and his family, Rahmani felt forced to escape to Iraqi Kurdistan and registered with the UNHCR office in Erbil on March 6, 2011.He is living in France.
Shahram Bolouri, 27, participated in protests following the disputed 2009 presidential election. He told Human Rights Watch that he documented violence against peaceful protesters by security forces. He disseminated photographs and videos of the post-election violence and provided witness accounts to various media outlets. Prior to his 2009 election activities, Bolouri was a member of the Kurdish Society, a nongovernmental group in Tehran, and cooperated with other civil society organizations.
On June 23, 2009, security and intelligence agents raided his home in Tehran and arrested him. They held him in Evin prison for almost eight months, including 45 days in solitary confinement. Bolouri told Human Rights Watch that authorities kept him in wards 209 and 240, controlled by the Intelligence Ministry, before transferring him to the general ward. Bolouri said interrogators and prison guards subjected him to severe psychological as well as physical ill-treatment and torture:
My solitary cell [in Ward 240] measured 2.5 by 1 meter. It had a toilet and no windows. Prison guards would often come in and order me to stand, sit, and perform odd tasks just because they could. One of them once said to me, “You look like an athlete. Select your sport. Stand up and sit down for me. One hundred times, and make sure you count!” He made me do this several times even though I had a busted leg. I was sweating profusely but they didn’t let me shower. After two weeks the same guy opened the door to my cell and said, “Why does it smell like shit in here?” He ordered me to go take a shower and wash my clothes.
On February 16, 2010, more than six months after he was detained, authorities released Bolouri on an unusually high US$200,000 bail after preventing his family from posting the amount for weeks. Bolouri said that the financial and psychological pressure authorities put on his family was sometimes worse than what he endured in prison.
Human Rights Watch has documented numerous other instances in which authorities required families to post unusually high bail as part of a systematic strategy to harass detainees and their families.
In October 2010, a revolutionary court in Tehran sentenced Bolouri to four years in prison on charges of “assembly and collusion against the regime by participating in protests and communicating with foreign broadcasts and disseminating news.” Bolouri appealed, but in June 2011, the Judiciary issued another ruling increasing his sentence to four years and six months. Bolouri decided to leave Iran after increasing pressures and harassment against him and his family following the appeals court ruling. He lodged a refugee claim with the UNHCR field office in Iraq on July 15, 2011, and is now seeking refugee status and resettlement in a third country.
Mohammad Oliyaeifard, a defense lawyer, left Iran in January 2012. He is one of at least 42 lawyers who have faced government persecution since 2009. Several lawyers are serving prison sentences on politically motivated charges, while others like the Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi have effectively been forced into exile.
Olyaeifard served a prison sentence for speaking out against the execution of one of his clients during interviews with international media. Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court convicted and sentenced him to one year in prison in February 2010 for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic by conducting an interview with Voice of America’s foreign service.”
Olyaeifard served his sentence in Ward 350 of Evin prison from March 2010 until April 2011. His client, Behnoud Shojaee, had been hanged for a murder he allegedly committed when he was 17 years old.
Olyaeifard told Human Rights Watch that during the past few years authorities have intensified their pressure against defense lawyers by relying on various provisions of the Islamic Penal Code to silence them and prevent them from effectively representing their clients. In addition to propaganda against the state, authorities have increasingly brought charges against prominent defense lawyers such as “publication of lies in an attempt to create public anxiety” and defamation, and banned lawyers from practicing in addition to imprisonment.
* Human Rights Watch, “Iran: Activists Fleeing Assault on Civil Society”, Dec. 14, 2012, http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/12/13/iran-activists-fleeing-assault-civil-society
Comments are moderated
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I recently read The Abominable Showman (by Howard Kissel, 1993), a biography of legendary Broadway producer, David Merrick (1911-2000). Merrick was Broadway’s foremost producer in the thirty odd years of roughly 1955-1985.
The stereotype I held was that he was a difficult producer who put drek on stage, pushed people around and made lots of money. This biography reveals that “difficult” doesn’t begin to describe the man. Merrick was a cauldron of neuroses who easily could have kept a cast of psychiatrists working overtime. He ruled by bullying, intimidation, bluster, withholding payment and filing lawsuits. The writer Tom Jones said, “We had the feeling we were working with a deranged person, but also someone who could use derangement for his own amusement and his own purposes.” Jones attributed Merrick’s eagerness to upset his creative team to a “basic theory that creative people were too often too easy on themselves.” A longtime employee remarked that Merrick was “incapable of a non-volatile relationship.”
Merrick wasn’t any easier on his six wives. One wife, with judgment careening into a ditch called fool, married the tyrant twice.
After Merrick suffered a stroke at age 72, a nurse caring for him assessed her impossible charge: “This man has channeled his self-destructive instincts into something positive – his work in the theatre. It is rare that someone with that much destructive energy can find such a constructive outlet.”
As someone active in the Dramatists Guild today, I can’t help but observe that the reason the Dramatists Guild was founded was to protect writers and composers from powerful predators like David Merrick.
Without his foaming and bubbling cauldron, Merrick would never have been driven to accomplish what he did. And accomplish, give the man his due, he certainly did. In two separate seasons, 1963/64 and 1967/68, he opened no less than eight shows. I cannot imagine any producer today opening eight shows in one season. The mind reels.
While he produced his share of drek, he also put up many fine plays, some of which did good box office. He was an early champion on this side of the Atlantic of British playwrights John Osborne and Tom Stoppard. Osborne’s plays could be a challenge for an audience and Stoppard was still a long way from becoming Sir Tom. Cherry-picking from the West End and other British theatres became a favored Merrick tactic.
His two biggest hits were Hello, Dolly! and 42nd Street. Dolly, opening in 1964, ran for seven years and 2,844 performances; 42nd Street ran for 3,486 performances, from 1980-89. With those hits came wealth. In 1984 Merrick was earning $500,000 a week just from the Broadway and touring productions of 42nd Street.
Any theatre person reading Merrick’s biography today can’t help but be struck at how far theatre’s fortunes have fallen, roiled by demographic forces and eclipsed by media that didn’t even exist 40 years ago. The industry Merrick reigned over was a substantial cultural force in America. Cast albums of Broadway musicals made lots of money and a Broadway producer could appear on the cover of Time Magazine.
Kissel suggests that Hello, Dolly! marked the end of innocent American musicals. The same year it opened, the Beatles began their ascent. Vietnam was about to fracture America. Three years later the musical Hair would upend the identity of a musical and escort rock music to Broadway.
One of the dark alleys in Merrick’s life, according to Kissel, is that this titan, always attired in bespoke Saville Row pinstripe suits, became a cocaine addict in middle age. Kissel plausibly speculates that the cocaine contributed to the debilitating strokes Merrick suffered later. As strokes sapped his strength (he lost much of his speech) and he wasn’t able to rally the lifeforce to produce more shows, he became a sad and empty shell, pathetic to see for those who knew him.
For a historical parallel downtown you could read Free For All: Joe Papp, The Public, and the Greatest Theater Story Ever Told (Kenneth Turan, 2009). Papp (1921-1991) founded the New York Shakespeare Festival (1954) and The Public Theatre (1967), and ruled the nonprofit downtown theatre scene during roughly the same period that Merrick sat on his Broadway throne uptown. While Merrick’s and Papp’s dynasties overlapped, they rarely intersected. This is not surprising considering that Papp, while lacking Merrick’s instinctive hostility toward everyone, did have an ego in the same league. Perhaps they recognized that if they occupied the same room oxygen would quickly run out.
Anyone interested in American theatre history of the mid-twentieth century would be well served by reading these two biographies of titans behind the stage.
P.S. While reading Merrick’s biography, I found on YouTube a fascinating five-minute excerpt of Merrick being interviewed by William F. Buckley, Jr. on his television show (June 6, 1966). This interview entertains as much by Buckley’s faux-British archness as by Merrick’s haughtiness and barely suppressed aggression. (As a boy with intellectual aspirations I was enthralled by Buckley’s shows.) Hear Merrick snarl, “Critics are a necessary evil.”
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Voter Fraud Deniers Ignore the Facts
Barack Obama and Eric Holder should stop attacking states for protecting the integrity of America's elections
June 13, 2012
Twelve thousand noncitizens registered to vote in Colorado; apparently 5,000 of those voted in 2010. A recent report in North Carolina by James O'Keefe's Project Veritas (of ACORN-undercover expose` fame) compared records of registered voters to prospective jurors disqualified due to noncitizenship, but who then voted in North Carolina in 2010. The State of Florida is suing the Department of Homeland Security to obtain a list of noncitizens in order to purge the state's voter rolls before the 2012 election, and was just sued in return by the Barack Obama-Eric Holder Department of Justice with a lawsuit for purging its rolls, which is required by federal law.
Despite the steady reports of election fraud cases, updated regularly on the Republican National Lawyers Association "Vote Fraud Map," there persists a left-wing, Democratic Party-led drumbeat of "vote fraud deniers," who ignore the cases and complain loudly that there is no vote fraud.
And since there is no vote fraud, there is no need to try to prevent it, according to the liberal mantra.
It is a federal crime for an illegal alien to register to vote or to vote in U.S. elections. Yet, rather than enforcing federal law, the Obama-Holder Department of Justice is intent upon punishing states that purge their rolls or enact laws requiring voter ID.
The Obama-Holder Department of Justice ignores the facts. Tennessee recently enacted a voter photo identification requirement. Its experience in its March primary demonstrates the fallacy of liberal opposition to voter ID. There were 645,775 votes cast in the Tennessee primary, and only 266 persons did not show a photo ID at the polls (including liberal activists protesting the law by appearing at the polls without a photo ID). Those 266 individuals were allowed to vote provisionally and if they returned with their photo ID, their ballots were counted. 112 of them did so, leaving only 154 voters of the 645,775 who did not return with a photo ID. That represents .023 percent of the total primary voters.
In America today, a photo ID is required to buy beer or cigarettes, get married, get on an airplane, or enter the Department of Justice to meet with Eric Holder.
Voter and election fraud does exist in America today. The Obama-Holder Department of Justice should be aggressively seeking to ensure the integrity of America's elections, instead of throwing punches at the states who are trying to do the department's job.
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Date: February 4 - March 14
Location: Room, Canzani Center Gallery
Artist talk will be at 6:30 P.M., February 21
CCAD is located at:
60 Cleveland Avenue,
Columbus, OH 43215
Trenton Doyle Hancock is internationally known for his evolving, absurdist narrative of the battle between good and evil—executed across a wide variety of media that includes painting, collage, sculpture, print and the performing arts. In 2000, he was one of the youngest artists ever to be included in the Whitney Biennial, and he continues to exhibit worldwide. We're pleased to feature his work this spring in Room, our project space.
Hancock's singular storytelling vision is expressed through works that incorporate text, drawing, collaged paper, plastic, felt, fur, and paint to create a densely layered collision of symbols and visual tropes.
Hancock’s work is in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, N.Y.; the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; among many others worldwide. Raised in Paris, Texas, he currently lives and works in Houston.
Gallery hours are:
Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M
Saturday & Sunday: Noon - 5:00 P.M.
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Following the recommendation of the Louisiana Tech presidential search committee and a final interview by the full Board of Supervisors, Guice was officially approved by the full Board and will assume office, effective July 1, 2013. Guice will succeed current Louisiana Tech President Dan Reneau, who announced his retirement in September after serving 26 years as president.
“I am tremendously honored to have been selected to lead Louisiana Tech into the future,” said Guice. “The confidence that the Board has shown in me and the support I’ve received from the Tech family has been amazing and so very much appreciated. I am looking forward to working with the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors to advance Louisiana Tech, locally and nationally.”
Guice was one of nine qualified candidates from across the nation who applied for the Louisiana Tech President position. In early November, he was selected as one of two semifinalists who would interview on the Louisiana Tech campus, along with Dr. Duane Hrncir, acting president of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
After interviews and meetings with the presidential search committee and campus constituents last week, the search committee unanimously selected Guice as its finalist for the Louisiana Tech presidency and recommended him to the full Board of Supervisors.
“The Board could not have done a better job of reaching out to applicants nationwide, thoroughly vetting and interviewing the candidates, and selecting the absolute best person to lead Louisiana Tech into the future,” said Reneau. “I am extremely happy for Les Guice and believe that he is the right person, at the right time, and in the right position for Louisiana Tech.”
Guice’s relationship with Louisiana Tech spans four decades – both as a student and 34 years as faculty member and administrator. He earned a bachelor of arts in architecture in 1976 and a master of science in civil engineering in 1978, both from Louisiana Tech. Guice went on to earn a Ph.D. in civil engineering from Texas A&M University in 1986.
Guice began his professional career at Tech as an assistant professor in the department of civil engineering and worked his way up to become dean of the College of Engineering and Science. In 2004, he was appointed Louisiana Tech’s Vice President of Research and Development and led Tech’s rise to a Carnegie Foundation Research University/High Research Activity (RU/H) institution and worked closely with Reneau to establish Louisiana Tech’s research park, Enterprise Campus. In addition to his other duties, Louisiana Tech appointed Guice its Executive Vice President in 2012.
Several of Louisiana Tech’s research programs and major research centers were formed, developed, and focused under Guice’s leadership including the Trenchless Technology Center, the Institute for Micromanufacturing, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Information Technology, and the Center for Secure Cyberspace.
Louisiana Tech will now begin the process of establishing a team to assist in the transition of leadership. Guice will officially assume leadership on July 1, 2013.
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A no confidence motion in Brown's regime, conducted under Brown's placeman Speaker Martin is going to be much harder to win than a no confidence motion when Martin has been forced to resign and a decent and proper Speaker runs the Commons. What is more a debate and vote, whatever it is called formally, on Speaker Martin remaining in place, even if lost will of itself weaken Martin beyond recovery.
So any vote whatever on this Speaker will be resisted ad oltranza - for beyond that bitter end lies Brown's immediate demise. Everything that must be done to remove Brown, by his Party or by the Opposition or by both, which includes pulling down Speaker Martin, must be done at once - within hours, at most days. Time is running out for our known political world.
"What is morality?"
4 hours ago
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I have read The Transition Handbook, so when I discovered that Ottawa has its own Transition, I was thrilled and decided to sign up right away. I want to live in a much more sustainable, compassionate world. I already do things to help the environment, so it seemed pretty logical to join.
If you are from the Ottawa area, in what neighbourhood area do you live (i.e. Nepean, Centre Town, Glebe, Vanier, etc.)
Would you like to be part of a transition initiative in your neighbourhood?
What issues are you interested in (Check as many as apply)?
Home energy power down, Local food resilience, Alternative vehicles, Solar/wind energy, Community building, Greening Ottawa, Public transport, Reskilling, Joyous simple living, Other
What are your skills (Professional and amateur)?
How would you like to see Ottawa look and feel in the future?
1) More farmer's markets, fundraisers, Ottawa-based groups, vegetable gardens, and environmental initiatives.
2) More slow-paced lifestyle in which people can stop and talk on the street, ask favours of each other, etc.
3) Less cars and trucks; more people taking the bus or riding a moped.
What part would you like to contribute to this?
I can participate in the events, go to meetings, and help with a newsletter.
If you could create your ideal participation with Transition Ottawa, what would it be?
I would go to the events and meetings, as well as help raise awareness in the community.
Comment Wall (1 comment)
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Cyberbullying is a serious safety concern for parents today.
According to the National Council of Juvenile Court Judges, each year nearly 3.2 million students are victims of online bullying, a serious Internet safety concern. To address these issues, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has partnered with Sprint to promote online safety resources for teens and parents.
Sprint's 4NetSafety program aims to open the lines of… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on January 24, 2010 at 7:00pm —
One of the best educations a child can receive is a classical education. It is the training that the ancient Greeks received, as well as the Italian nobles of the Renaisaance and America's Founding Fathers. A classical education focuses on the three things which were considered to be the reason for and thus the focus of education up until the 1800s: truth, virtue, and beauty. This is in contrast to today's modern education system which focuses on knowledge as a conduit to a profitable… Continue
Added by J. Lenora Bresler on January 22, 2010 at 9:08am —
Parenting is a great word – one that evokes both immense joy and fear. You cannot feel the joy without having foreboding thoughts about whether you would be able to handle the huge responsibility that God has entrusted you with. Can I be a good parent? This is one of the questions on the top of every parent’s head; no matter how self-assured they look.
What Parenting Method Is the Best?
There are four major types of parenting,… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on January 17, 2010 at 6:30am —
In 40 hours it will be a brand new year, most of us will wake up feeling as though it is just another holiday- a day off from school, a day off from work. Most of us will be planning to do things around the house and spending time with friends and family. This Friday will be the mark of a new decade and as our minds turn towards the future and what the year may hold for us- we need to be aware of the year past- reconciling the weeks and months behind us.
A friend of mine a few days… Continue
Added by Lori Cumberledge on December 30, 2009 at 10:02am —
(ARA) - As the slowed economy has fueled a very competitive job market, more and more adults are making the decision to go back to school to build upon their skills and obtain the knowledge required to strengthen their career prospects.
Many of these students heading back into the classroom are working to earn their bachelors, or obtain a second degree while they juggle class and study time with their work, life and family… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on December 27, 2009 at 1:00pm —
(ARA) - It's no surprise that mothers want the best for their children, but are they setting the bar too high when it comes to their own expectations of themselves as parents? One in three mothers admit to setting expectations for themselves as parents that are "unrealistic," according to the Moms Straight Talk on Parenting survey conducted by the Pepperidge Farm Goldfish brand.
The poll of more than 1,000 mothers with children ages 6… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on December 19, 2009 at 6:30pm —
"Deck the halls" we sing and deck them we do, but have you ever wondered how all that decking started? Evergreen branches have been used as decorations in homes near the winter solstice since Roman times. December 21 was the day to commemorate the death of the sun god and his resurrection every year. Romans gave evergreen boughs to each other as gifts, the green branches symbolizing new life. Early Christians wisely used that pagan holiday as a teaching object lesson about Christ, the true son… Continue
Added by J. Lenora Bresler on December 17, 2009 at 9:27pm —
Darren’s mom said, “This dream made them feel relaxed, de-stressed, Happy, Happy, Happy!! Darren was a totally different kid - HAPPY." Darren says he feels special now, too! Darren is 7 years old with Ectrodoctyly Dysplasia with Clefting Syndrome (EEC). They spent one day at SeaWorld and two days at Walt Disney World. Mom said, “Darren’s favorite part of the dream was the Magic Kingdom , the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad ride and the Train”. His parents Catherine & David Potter and sister… Continue
Added by Sunshine FoundationDream Village on December 4, 2009 at 1:51pm —
My mother, wanting to put on a nice spread at Thanksgiving would always look for something sophisticated to place on the table. We used the fine china, the crystal butter dishes, and gravy boats. There were wine glasses and cloth napkins- my mother spared no detail.
In an effort to create a wonderfully proper Thanksgiving table she looked for new and interesting dishes to prepare. One such dish was creamed onions, small pearl onions swimming in a white cream sauce, served in a… Continue
Added by Lori Cumberledge on November 17, 2009 at 10:57am —
At some point or another you and your children will be faced with death.
It’s important that you teach your children that death is merely an aspect of life, and help them become comfortable with the topic.
One of the best things you can do to prepare your children for the prospect of a death is to talk about it with them ahead of time.
Your approach to the subject may vary a little depending on your spiritual beliefs.… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on November 12, 2009 at 11:12am —
Wow! What a weekend.
My husband and I are the proud parents of two beautiful teenaged girls. The youngest will be 16 this week and our oldest, 18 in February and headed to Florida State University in the Fall. I've been well aware of the fact that my "nest" will be losing one chick soon, but it became very real when we put our signatures on the dotted line of the lease agreement for her apartment yesterday. What an exciting yet sobering moment. Exciting is the fact that this intelligent,… Continue
Added by Liz Craven, WtoW Editor on November 9, 2009 at 10:07am —
CHARITY FAIR & ENTERTAINMENT MARATHON
Sunshine Foundation Dream Village
A major Charity Fair & Benefit to be held on Saturday, 14 November 2009, is being organised to benefit the Sunshine Foundation Dream Village, located in Davenport. The joint organizers, The Shamrock Pub & Grille and U R Hair, hope to raise many thousands of dollars for this truly worthwhile cause and plan to make this an annual event.
The Charity Fair will take… Continue
Added by Sunshine FoundationDream Village on November 4, 2009 at 2:20pm —
Why Not Save Money
With all the talk lately of recession and rising fuel and food prices, families are struggling to find ways to save money and make ends meet. It's possible to drastically reduce your grocery costs and not sacrifice good taste or good nutrition.
*Plan your meals
The first step in saving money on your grocery bill is taking time to plan your weekly meals. Plan each evening meal's… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on November 3, 2009 at 4:00pm —
Your Children Need It
Has the bedtime ritual become a lost parental art? Recent research shows that kids are getting less sleep than they need, and it not only affects their school work, but may make them more vulnerable to drugs and alcohol in their teens.
In a three week study conducted by Brown Medical School and Bradley Hospital, teachers were asked to rate the performance of the 74 children, aged 6-12. One week… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on November 3, 2009 at 4:00pm —
Luke was extremely happy the entire time he was here at the Dream Village. He also loved Fantasy Land at the Magic Kingdom!
Luke who is 5 years old, with Cerebral Palsy, came to see Mickey at Walt Disney World for 2 days and also enjoyed Universal Studios for one day. He flew in with his parents James and Kim Schlink and sister Alexis. They are from Carmel, IN. The family stayed in the Nursery Rhyme cottage at the Dream Village. Mom said… Continue
Added by Sunshine FoundationDream Village on November 2, 2009 at 12:03pm —
Centuries before, women are expected to just stay at home, manage the household and take care of the children. Some will probably do some charity works just to have something that will occupy their free time. There is however no question on what should come first. Relationships and family will always be first priority.
Times have changed. Today, women, and men at that, choose between career and relationships. Surprisingly or… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on October 30, 2009 at 4:30pm —
Whether you are an expectant mom or are shopping for someone who is, maternity clothing is a popular selection to ensure comfort throughout the pregnancy. With cotton being the softest and most breathable fabric, this type of clothing is often quite desirable. In addition, fabric with elastic in the waist and a soft texture will make the mom-to-be comfortable. In addition, the following tips will help you to shop… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on October 28, 2009 at 5:00pm —
Help Your Child Be A Better Reader
It's one of the hardest things to do in this day and age of hyper-active kids and super busy, multi-tasking parents... but spending good quality time with your children doesn't have to be a painful torture tactic.
One of the most enjoyable things you can do with your kids is to read to them. This is a great way to connect with them and to share different parts of your life story in… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on October 27, 2009 at 9:30pm —
The Value of Community Service
A major paradigm shift is occurring about what is truly important in our society. In President Obama’s inaugural address, he urged us to inhabit a spirit of service, to develop a willingness to find meaning in something greater than ourselves, and to recognize our responsibility to the world. What greater way to instill that spirit of service in your children than to volunteer with them. Teaching… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on October 27, 2009 at 12:00am —
9 Useful Tips
Every child whines sometimes, but for most parents, a whiney voice is really hard to listen to. Here are some creative tips for reducing whining at your house.
There are 4 Common Reasons Why Kids Whine:
1) There’s an Underlying/Unmet Need.
Your child may be hungry, tired or hurt.
2) There’s an Underlying Emotion.
Your child may be feeling bored, sad,… Continue
Added by Woman to Woman Magazine on October 25, 2009 at 10:00pm —
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New kind of ‘share’ cropping in Park Ridge brings produce to pantries
Carol Longman and daughter Anne,12, hold up a plate of vegetables grown in their Park Ridge garden. Longman and other Park Ridge Community Church members have been donating their garden vegetables to women and children in need. | Buzz Orr~Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 14, 2012 12:16PM
PARK RIDGE — The tomatoes, zucchinis and a host of other vegetables growing in abundance in a number of Park Ridge gardens haven’t been going to waste this summer.
Thanks to a program organized through Park Ridge Community Church, garden vegetables are finding their way onto the dinner plates of women relying on food-pantry donations for themselves and their children.
Plant a Row for the Hungry was the creation of Park Ridge resident, church member and avid gardener Carol Longman. Longman, a lifelong gardener who always found herself with a surplus of vegetables at the end of each summer, began thinking of ways to share it with others.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if people who otherwise depend on items from a food pantry had access to fresh produce?’ ” Longman recounted.
Aware that other members of her congregation were also gardeners, Longman, former director of Christian education at Park Ridge Community Church, approached Pastor Brett McCleneghan, and the idea of Plant a Row for the Hungry was born.
In short, volunteers are encouraged to plant one extra row of vegetables in their backyard gardens and donate the additional crop to the church. The church has selected WINGS (Women in Need Growing Stronger) in Palatine as the recipient, the produce going directly to homeless victims of domestic violence and their children.
The aim of Plant a Row is to “provide nutritious food to people who might not otherwise have access to it,” Longman said. “The outcome I would love to see is that this continues to grow and we can provide more and more of that kind of food.”
A collection takes place each week at the church, 100 S. Courtland Ave.
This summer there was a bumper crop of zucchinis growing in Park Ridge gardens, with 21 pounds harvested from the church’s garden in just a week. Some of the harvest was used to make loaves of chocolate-chip zucchini bread for the teenagers who took part in a youth mission trip this summer.
During another week in August the church collected 22 pounds of tomatoes, as well as 4 pounds of green beans, six cucumbers, two eggplants, squash and Swiss chard — the majority coming from the large Park Ridge garden of Nan and Chris Parson.
“I think it’s just one more example of a program that allows one to give back to one’s community and there’s not a downside to that, in my opinion,” said Chris Parson who has kept a garden since moving to Park Ridge in the early-1970s.
In the past the garden fed the Parsons’ family of six; more recently Chris and wife Nan found themselves sharing their extra crops with neighbors and friends.
The Plant a Row project has opened this sharing opportunity to an even larger number of individuals.
“We thought we should give it to someone who could use it,” Chris Parson said.
About a half-dozen church families have been predominantly involved in the project, Longman said. Park Ridge Community Church’s own garden, located next to a church-owned house on Crescent Avenue between Prospect and Courtland, has also produced its share — including watermelons — thanks to Longman’s cultivation efforts.
“It’s really turned out great,” she said. “It exceeded my expectations.”
Fresh produce is something not always available from food pantries, so the donations have been a welcome gift, said Beth Gardham, director of community resources for WINGS.
“We are very thankful,” Gardham said. “It came as a great surprise. I didn’t contact them — they contacted us. They’ve just given us some great stuff and it’s just so wonderful to have fresh produce.”
Anyone in the community is invited to make a donation. Fruits and vegetables will be accepted between 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Sunday mornings through Oct. 28 at Park Ridge Community Church, 100 S. Courtland Ave.
For more information go to plantarow.webs.com.
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[Note: Spoilers for all five novels follow!]
Melisandre of Asshai is a mysterious figure in much of the series, and as with all mysteries in A Song of Ice and Fire, she’s beguiling. She’s tall — taller than most knights — and very beautiful, but her hair is an unnatural red hue, and so are her eyes. Is it magic that’s turned them red, or was she born that way, marked — as greenseers were said to be marked — from birth as a priestess of R’hllor? And then there’s the question not just of her origins, but of her purpose and her magic. It’s Melisandre who introduces us to what appears to be a central prophecy of the series, that of Azor Ahai reborn or the prince who was promised, a prophecy that appears to be tied to the worship of R’hllor. Is the magic also R’hllorian magic, however?
These are questions that over time have received partial answers, or at least hints to answers. Perhaps the first thing to get out of the way for those who’ve read the books and watched the show and complained about Melisandre seducing Stannis? Sorry, folks, it did happen! It’s hinted at early on, but in the third novel Melisandre makes it more clearly implicit:
“Is the brave Ser Onions so frightened of a passing shadow? Take heart, then. Shadows only live when given birth by light, and the king’s fires burn so low I dare not draw off any more to make another son. It might well kill him.” Melisandre moved closer. “With another man, though … a man whose flames still burn hot and high … if you truly wish to serve your king’s cause, come to my chamber one night. I could give you pleasure such as you have never known, and with your life-fire I could make…”
There’s a little wiggle room, one supposes. Perhaps it’s a magical ceremony that she conducts in secret, one that causes ecstatic pleasure in the subject, but there’s no actual sex… Or perhaps there’s sex, but that’s what she means to do with Davos, and Stannis’s “life-fire” has been drawn from him some other way to make the shadows that killed King Renly and Ser Cortnay Penrose?
A Dance with Dragons indicates no, not really:
With Stannis gone, her bed saw little use.
Amusingly, that very quote is the one that Carice van Houten has brought out to respond to those who told her that the show was “wrong”. It’s certainly rather definitive, all considered: Stannis is sleeping with Melisandre, at least initially for the purpose of allowing her to create her shadows. The quote does seem to imply that there’s been more occasions than just the two shadow births, it’s true, and perhaps that says something about Stannis. Or perhaps not — perhaps there’s other magic that she’s able to perform with this rather tantric magic of hers, who knows? Although there’s surely something to be said for Melisandre using sex to bind Stannis more closely to her, as she tries to guide him as Azor Ahai reborn. Stannis Baratheon is a stubborn man, not really a true believer, and every hold over him she has must be useful when Melisandre is (in certain lights) a kind of Gandalf figure to Stannis’s Aragorn, not so much advising him to his destiny as forcibly trying to push him into what she conceives as his destiny.
Though she may, indeed, come from Asshai — the place where she was taught her magic, apparently — we’ve also learned in A Dance with Dragons that this is not necessarily her place of actual origin. Her dreams of “Melony” and the repeated crying of “Lot Seven” clearly echoes the slave auction we witness in that novel. It was first hinted in A Storm of Swords that the red priests are generally slaves, and this is certainly confirmed in A Dance with Dragons when we learn of the way the Volantene red priests purchase slaves and train them to be priests or soldiers or servants for the Lord of Light. Martin has hinted that Melisandre — a name she seems to have taken, or was given — was not from Asshai in origin, and many have speculated that she might originally have come from Westeros.
Some have even suggested, in the name of wild speculation, that perhaps she’s Shiera Seastar, a bastard daughter of Aegon the Unworthy who was considered the most beautiful woman in Westeros… and who happened to be lover to Brynden Rivers, also known as Bloodraven, also known as three-eyed crow and the last greenseer. It’s true that there’s a certain similarity to how Martin describes them: trim waists, buxom, heart-shaped faces, unusual eyes, an apparent interest in dark arts… Of course, Shiera Seastar would be over a hundred years old by now, if she lived, and Melisandre doesn’t look anything like that. But… Melisandre is over a hundred years old, at least. Some magic art has kept her alive, and youthful in appearance as well. It doesn’t rule her out as Shiera, does it?
But Melisandre is tall, and Martin doesn’t say Shiera’s tall. Melisandre wears a golden torc with a ruby in it, whereas we’re told that Shiera considered gold vulgar. Still, it’s an interesting idea, however crazed. One hopes that future Dunk & Egg stories might shed more light on what becomes of Shiera Seastar, given that we know Bloodraven’s history into the present reasonably well.
A last detail that seems worth examining, and one that has some basic implications into Melisandre’s purposes, is her magic. We see that Thoros of Myr learned to stare into flames to see the shape of things to come, and in the course of A Storm of Swords we learn that “the last kiss”, a death rite of the R’hllorians, has now allowed him to resurrect Beric Dondarrion. But Thoros says he has no magic, “only prayers”. Melisandre reads the flames just as Thoros did, an art she must have picked up from the red priests… but we’ve no evidence that her kiss can bring the dead to life (not yet, anyways!), and many of her other uses of fire are conjurer’s tricks, using special powders and the like; only the burning of Orell’s eagle in mid-air tastes of real magic.
In fact, her use of substances to reserve her magic for more important things does lead to the speculation that her hair color is the result of art — the dyer’s art — rather than magic. Martin has repeatedly made note of the fact that dyes in the setting are far advanced of where they were in our world, with all sorts of shades and intensities of color possible, including hues that look like silver or gold… or perhaps an unnatural red?
But that’s a digression. The important point is this: nowhere is there any hint that Melisandre’s shadow magic is part of R’hllorian training or doctrine. Thoros of Myr makes no hint of it. Even Moqorro, another magic-wielding (or prayer wielding, if one will) priest of R’hllor, doesn’t seem to control shadows. His magic is the magic of seeing into flames, and of imbuing flames into living bodies to heal or hurt. Melisandre makes note of the fact that she has a fire with her that must never go out, and when we see that Moqorro survives adrift in the sea for a number of days with no apparent ill-effect, it certainly seems that part of the reason for why Melisandre may be so old, and so little lacking in sleep, is because that fire holds or sustains her life. It’s hard not to suppose that in the Temple of Light in Volantis, there’s a fire kept awake by day or night that feeds Moqorro…
But shadows, “the children of fire” as Melisandre calls them… that’s a magic no one but she does, really. Well, she and the shadowbinders. Who come from Asshai, and from the lands of the Shadow. We know very little about the nature of magic and the hows and whys of its differentiation — we don’t even know if gods really exist! — but it seems at least that there’s no coincidence to the fact that Melisandre’s art is most associated with sorcerers from the most legendary foreign city in the world, located next to the most mysterious place in the world, rather than with the magic displayed by other R’hllorians. Melisandre may have been bought and trained by red priests… but somehow, somewhere, she picked up shadowbinding and then attempted to reconcile it with her faith.
To me, this suggests that Melisandre is anything but an orthodox priestess. In fact, she may be considered heretical by other, more orthodox red priests — it’s curious that we’ve yet to hear of a single red priest who remarks on her or what she’s supposed to be capable of. I’m tempted to say that there’s a reason for it, something important that will eventually come out and possibly turn our understanding of Melisandre and her purpose on its head.
Melisandre of Asshai, an international woman of mystery, a beautiful conjurer who knows the art of making glamors, who has an enigmatic past and a zealous belief in her purpose. These details are a recipe for something big, down the road. It’ll be interesting to see what The Winds of Winter brings…
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Study: More Men Than Women Put Off Holiday Shopping
In what will surely come as a bolt from the blue to many people, men are procrastinators, especially when it comes to toughing it out with the holiday throngs at the local mall.
In a survey of shoppers about their holiday shopping plans, the National Retail Federation (NRF) finds that 19.4% of all men hadn't even started shopping as of Dec. 11. The same was true of 13.7% of women, and 17.6% all young adults, ages 18 to 24. And a total of 25 million consumers say they have completely wrapped up all their holiday shopping, which should make for more parking places for the 35 million who have not yet begun to shop.
Timing of gift purchases is always important to retail observers--but especially so this year, with many retailers worrying that sales may come in below already-low projections.
More dawdling signals that consumers are worried about money or that they're holding out for price cuts. And so far, the average person is delaying shopping compared with last year, but not by much. The NRF reports that the average person has completed 52.6% of holiday shopping, compared to 53.1% at this time last year.
The NRF has predicted that holiday sales will increase just 4% this year, to $474.5 billion--and such big retailers as Target and Sears have already sent up warning flares that holiday sales may be weaker than expected.
So far, clothing and accessories are the most frequently purchased gift items, with 44.4% buying at least one item. Books, CDs, and DVDs (41.9%) came in second, followed by toys (35.4%). The two least favorite categories are sporting goods and leisure, with only 11.8% of shoppers saying they have made such a purchase, and jewelry, with 17.1%.
And only 30.2% of those polled have purchased a gift card--the favorite gift of procrastinators everywhere. Typically, card sales increase as the clock runs out.
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Hey Barr Report,
Let me cut the the chase, I have a 5'x2'x32" aquarium holding approximately 700L.
My Specs are as follows:
Lighting: 3x 125W HQI (High Pressure Mercury vapor) Downlights (12 hour photoperiod)
Filtration: 2x EHEIM Pro 3 600
CO2: Milwaukee Controller + Regulator (Splitter regulator, An atomizer running on each cannister for even diffusion)
Substrate: 2 inches of Aquasoil capped off with 2 inches of inert Black gravel.
18W UV (Inline)
1x Hydor 300w heater
Water Sample as Follows:
K - 20ppm
CO2 - 80ppm (La Motte Titration)
KH - 6.5'
GH - 10'
Ca - 40ppm
Mg - 20ppm
PO4 < 0.05ppm
Fe - 0.5ppm
NO3 - 15ppm
When I first set up the aquarium, Everything was all well, The plants frequently pearled and growth was at a fast level that Id expect.
Slowly the aquarium went downhill and the scape's growth halted. Mainly due to the fact that I got lazy and slacked off on water changes and dosing.
I did a rescape with a new layout and once again began testing Elements and adding as I needed them on a proactive basis.
For my effort I was rewarded a brief period of pearling but now has diminished once again to poor growth For whatever reason.
I water change once weekly 50% or more, Dose API leaf zone according to the bottle, KNO3...GH(Mix of K,C,Mg salts).
Now correct me if I'm wrong, But I am led to believe some plants e.g. Certain (for example) Aponogetons among many others have large surface areas and adaptations to cope with nutrient deficient waters in which they live and as such, When they are supplied with excessive amounts of phosphate in Particular (say >0.5ppm) Growth becomes irregular and appears as Holes in the leaf, poor growth ect. The idea is that some plants cannot regulate Their phosphate intake and as such cause's "Hick up" in cellular/metabolic reactions.
I have been told also that some plants for example stems are subject to conditions with reasonable phosphate levels and therefore do much better as they grow faster and need the phosphate on a regular basis if maximum growth is to be achieved. (Liebigs law)
So on trouble shooting this issue previously I places lanthanum based "Phos-out" pads in my filter. I did however notice my Nuphar Japonica which died off previously (Apparently from high phosphates) come back from the Rhizome after my the phosphate pads had removed bulk of the phosphate. Mere Coincidence ?
And I am having no issues with algae, Only growth.
(Perhaps only mild algae on the plants that are not growing)
So finally, I would like some insight into what people think is limiting growth ?
What should be changed or corrected, am I correct to hold the above Statements as correct ? Is there any documented study's on phosphates Reducing growth.
Here is the link to my tank journal if you would like some more information:
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OTTAWA — The Federal Court has ruled in favour of another United States war resister and has ordered Jules Tindungan’s case be returned to the Immigration and Refugee Board.
According to his lawyer Alyssa Manning, this is the 11th time since 2008 that the courts have ruled in favour of U.S. war resisters.
It’s the first time, however, that the courts have not simply been moved by evidence they wouldn’t get fair treatment in the U.S. thanks to an outdated military justice system and the fact that punishment tends to be tougher the more vocal and political the deserter. In this case, she said, the court was also compelled by evidence that the U.S. military has violated international conventions on warfare.
That said, Manning is not convinced the ruling will necessarily result in asylum for the dozens of U.S. war resisters who haven’t already been deported and subsequently imprisoned, but still remain in Canada at the mercy of either the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) or Citizenship and Immigration. She argues the Conservative government has made it clear that war resisters are criminals and she questions the independence of the arm’s-length IRB as a result.
“It’s definitely a good decision from the war resister’s perspective given the clear direction the court does provide to immigration decision makers and I think that legally, the evidence is very clear that these men and women meet the test for somebody who is entitled to refugee protection,” she said.
“That being said, unfortunately the Conservative government has made its position very clear and has even issued a directive to all immigration officers called Operational Bulletin 202 that has instructed them to consider persons such as Mr. Tindungan as criminals despite what international law says about a soldier’s rights, or even obligation, to refuse condemned military conduct.
“As long as there is clear instruction coming from, I guess the minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, that these people should not be given status, it’s going to be hard for them to win despite all of the evidence,” she added.
The 25-year-old California man deserted the U.S. army in 2008 following a 15-month tour in Afghanistan after learning he would be redeployed to combat instead of reassigned as requested. According to the court ruling, his decision was prompted by a “moral objection” to certain things he “witnessed and participated in,” including the torture of detainees, violent house raids on civilian homes, “indiscriminate and routine” firing into populated civilian areas and the strapping of dead insurgents to the front of U.S. military vehicles as a form of intimidation.
He is now married to Canadian Nicole Burton, living in Toronto and employed as an iron worker.
“I’m pretty determined to stay here,” he said in an interview Tuesday. “Me and my wife, we want to start a family here in Canada and I’ve made it my home. I’ve made a lot of friends, a lot of people I consider family.
Tindungan said he’s encouraged by the decision but likely to “take things in stride” given the government’s position. Still, he’s “very happy that one of the highest courts in Canada” found the board erred by not considering the “massive amounts of documentation about breaches of the Geneva convention” he put forward.
“I also feel satisfied that the Federal Court also sees the United States military justice system is outdated and that if I were to go back to the United States military, that I would be treated unfairly and I wouldn’t get a fair trial,” he said.
“Regardless of the outcome, I’m trying to stay motivated and trying to stay confident.”
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney came under fire for calling U.S. war deserters “bogus refugee claimants” in 2009 when Kimberly Rivera, an Iraq war veteran and the first female deserter to flee to Canada, was first ordered to leave the country. She was finally was deported after exhausting all her options last fall.
On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the minister noted claims are assessed on a case-by-case basis by the “independent” IRB, that all of them have been rejected so far and that all of those rejections were ultimately upheld by the Federal Court.
“We do not believe that President Obama’s administration subjects American soldiers to persecution,” Alexis Pavlich added.
“Military deserters from the democratic United States are not refugees under the internationally accepted meaning of the term.”
NDP immigration critic Jinny Sims argued the Conservative government approaches these cases with a certain “ideological bent” or bias. She said the Operational Bulletin issued by CIC raises serious questions about transparency and whether each case is in fact “dealt with on its own merit.”
Meanwhile, a 2008 Angus-Reid poll found 67 per cent of Canadians approve of granting permanent residency to U.S. military deserters.
Manning expects it will take at least six months before Tindungan gets a new hearing before the IRB.
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GOP panel to probe Katrina response
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., yesterday named 11 GOP lawmakers to the remnants of what Congress' Republican leaders originally had intended as a bipartisan investigation, conducted jointly by both halves of Congress, into flaws in the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
With Democrats boycotting the probe and the leader of the Senate's Republicans acquiescing to their complaints by not appointing any members, the select committee is scheduled to begin work today as a creation solely of House Republicans.
The committee's chairman, Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., said the panel plans Tuesday to question Michael Brown, who resigned as the discredited director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) last week, three days after the Bush administration stripped him of responsibility for overseeing relief work in the stricken Gulf area.
Davis said the committee would begin its work by hearing from the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center.
In naming the members, Hastert said, "The American public, especially the people of the Gulf region, deserve to know what happened in the early days of the storm."
The pared-down panel is forming two weeks after Hastert and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said they had agreed to undertake a bipartisan, bicameral select committee — the first such joint probe since the Iran-contra hearings of the 1980s.
House and Senate Democrats swiftly derided the idea, saying a GOP-led Congress could not be trusted to carry out a thorough investigation of mistakes by a Republican administration. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., yesterday renewed Democratic calls for an independent commission, similar to the one that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks.
four trained dolphins
JACKSON, Miss. — Marine biologists have rescued the last four of eight trained dolphins that were swept to sea by Hurricane Katrina.
Before the hurricane hit the Gulf coast Aug. 29, the dolphins were moved to a pool at the Marine Life Oceanarium that had withstood the destruction of Hurricane Camille in 1969. Katrina destroyed that pool and pulled the mammals into the Gulf of Mexico.
"Three of the dolphins were born at the facility and had never been in the wild, compacting our concern for their well-being," said Moby Solangi, owner and director for the Marine Life Aquarium.
Biologists located the dolphins Sept. 10 by performing aerial surveys. They were monitored and fed from boats and four were rescued within days, but the other four had left the area. They were plucked from the Mississippi Sound on Tuesday. All of the dolphins have been reunited.
Federal agency to probe
gas price increases
WASHINGTON — The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether gasoline prices were increased illegally in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and if oil companies have constrained refinery capacity to keep fuel prices high, an agency official told Congress yesterday.
"We are continuing our intense scrutiny of conduct in the petroleum industry in the aftermath of Katrina," John Seesel, FTC associate general counsel for energy, told the Senate Commerce Committee. "The FTC will proceed aggressively against any violations of the antitrust and consumer protection laws that it enforces."
U.S. oil companies have adamantly denied that they have acted to push up gasoline prices or reduce supply.
Police probe: New Orleans Police Capt. Marlon Defillo yesterday said a committee will investigate the whereabouts of almost 200 of the city's 1,750 officers who disappeared after Hurricane Katrina hit and have yet to return. Officers who are returning to work for the first time face mandatory suspension pending a conference with the superintendent.
No British food: Ready-to-eat meals donated by Britain are stuck on shelves at an Arkansas air base because U.S. regulations have prohibited importation of British beef and poultry since a mad-cow disease scare.
Compiled from The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Knight Ridder Newspapers, Gannett News Service and Reuters.
Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company
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The Stolen Elections of 2000, 2004 (and almost 2008)
Ballot Box Thievery
Everyone knows about the hotly contested presidential election of 2000; weeks dragged by with no official winner before the Supreme Court forced Florida to stop counting ballots and essentially handed the election to George W. Bush. Many called that a stolen election but...
2004, it turned out, was an even more blatant election theft than in 2000. The exit polls were predicting a huge victory for Kerry. But, by late that night, somehow Bush had taken a decisive lead and Kerry conceded on the day after. There is no evidence of vote theft or errors on a large scale, the New York Times informed us. The Washington Post called any talk of vote fraud conspiracy theories.
[ Jesse Ventura's Take ]
Electronic voting machines are especially corrupt; they don't provide a receipt when you are done voting. Would you go to an ATM that didn't provide you with a receipt? Well, that's the same thing with electronic voting machines. There's no way to be sure that your vote was counted for the candidate that you actually voted for. I believe that we should all still use paper ballots. If the ballot is incorrectly marked it should simply be thrown out, end of case. Look at it this way: how long have you taken multiple choice tests in your life? Since first grade? If you're not capable of filling out a paper ballot perhaps you aren't intelligent enough to be voting in the first place.
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Important note concerning Mining & Dredging Seasons on this Property
Google Earth Coordinates: 41 52’43.0″N 122 33’18.0″W
To view the content from the link above you will need to have Google Earth installed on your home computer. Download Google Earth
This property adjoins UK-3 at the lower-end. The upper boundary adjoins private property. Watch for our boundary sign on a tree next to Klamathon Road, near the fence which marks the private property (look for the sign which says “Tres Amigos”).
PROSPECTS: The prospects for high-grade gold deposits to be present on UK-3A are excellent. This is because all or most of the gold which Club members have been recovering from the other UK properties during the past 2 years has washed downriver directly across UK-3A. As high-grade gold deposits exist throughout the several-mile stretch of river just downstream, it is a near certainty that they will also exist on this new property.
Recent large winter storms have made fresh cuts into original streambed along the edges of the river on this property. This indicates that the old-time miners overlooked the area, as they did along our other UK properties just downstream, where nearly the entire bottom of the river is virgin of earlier mining activity.
Aggressive sampling will be necessary to locate the rich gold deposits, because this stretch of river does not include any significant directional changes to help concentrate the main gold path along one side of the river or the other. There is a nice natural riffle (short section of faster water) at the top end of the property which should help create some pay-streaks.
Click on Thumbnail for larger image.
Upper Klamath :: Upper-mid Klamath :: Mid Klamath :: Lower Klamath
Elk Creek :: Indian Creek :: Scott River :: Thompson Creek
Salmon River Main Stem :: Salmon River North Fork
Master List of Mining Properties
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It's not common knowledge
, but Hopkins receives more money and does more research for the Department of Defense
than any other school in America
(much of which is done in the "Applied Physics Lab
" in Laurel
, "applied physics" being a euphemism for weapons research). They have had repeated offers to join the Ivy League
, but refused every time, because they'd have to share the DoD bounty with the other schools. Supposedly there is a floor in the Bloomberg Building
--a well-hidden floor--which, if a mere student ever sets foot upon, said student will be instantly expelled.
Hopkins donated the land to the city of Baltimore upon which the Baltimore Museum of Art is built. The BMA's grounds, the Hopkins campus, and Wyman Park all run together pretty much seamlessly.
Hopkins--not Cornell University, as is often claimed--has the highest suicide rate of any college in the United States. This may be attribuited in part to the crushing stress and competition of Hopkins academics. This is, after all, the school that gave us the lovely term "throating," meaning to sabotage someone else's coursework to make your own look better.
Hopkins is also the home of the Space Telescope Science Institute, the ones who offered me a really cool job, waited a week, and then retracted the offer.
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When it comes to getting the shot, sometimes it pays to think “outside the box.” Consider the following story, but please, first indulge me by reading a bit of background information.
You may be familiar with what has become known as “Windstone Arch.” It’s a feature located at Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada and made famous by renowned landscape photographer David Muench. A photograph of the arch first appeared, as best I can tell, on the cover of a publication about the park that was produced in 1968 and also graced the cover of a coffee table book of Muench’s photographs of arches, natural bridges and windows called “Windstone.” It’s from the book’s name that the arch’s unofficial moniker emanates.
The arch is difficult to find—even though it’s located within a few hundred feet of a park road that is traveled by hundreds of thousands of people every year. But a few years ago, for better or for worse, the GPS coordinates of the location started to appear on the Internet. Even with the coordinates, spotting the feature can be tricky, but with a bit of perseverance, anyone can do it.
In May of this past year, I took a photo trip to the desert southwest of the United States—about a three-hour plane ride from my home base in the American Midwest—which included parts of four days at Valley of Fire. It wasn’t the sole purpose of my trip to photograph Windstone, but as long as I was at the much underrated Valley of Fire (it’s spectacular!), I did want to check it out.
The quality of light in the desert is such that it becomes quite harsh within a couple of hour after sunrise and stays that way until sunset approaches. So, while on site, during the hours between the time when the light was good, I was either shooting close-ups in the shade or I was scouting locations for times when the light was pleasing. During this “bad light” period during my first full day on site, I decided to find Windstone Arch.
My pre-trip research had specified that the best time for actually photographing the arch was during the early morning hours, so I didn’t have my equipment with me during the scouting session, which took place early in the afternoon. After a bit of wandering around, I finally found the feature itself, which is tucked away inside a small alcove in a rock outcropping. I had to climb up to this spot, but it wasn’t difficult and I was rewarded when I saw that I had finally found the right place. The small rock opening—the chamber is far too small to stand up in—is open at both ends: on the north side of the arch itself and on the south side. I had climbed up the north side of the rock face and peered in the opening.
What I saw resembled the cover of the book linked above. I immediately saw why it was a morning shot, because early in the afternoon, direct sunlight was already flooding in the small cavity on the south side of the arch…and the north side, for that matter. This was creating all sorts of objectionable hot spots within the alcove and the problem would only get worse as the sun moved to the west.
It’s important to understand that what makes the shot compelling—beyond the obviously noteworthy nature of the arch itself—is the presence of indirect reflected light heading through the openings. This lights the chamber and makes the scene come alive, but without the problem of hotspots. Reflected light would be present when the sun was in the eastern sky—meaning the early morning. By mid-morning at this time of the year, according to my research, there would already be problems with direct light. By the time in the late afternoon/early evening that the hotspots would disappear, so would any possibility of reflected light. No, the shot would have to be taken in the early morning.
Before my scouting trip came to an end, I decided to take a look at the arch from the other direction—the alcove opening to the south. I climbed back down the rock outcropping and climbed back up the other side. Upon crawling into the opening, my eyebrows went up. Wow! I liked this view of the arch much better than the one from the north side opening; I found it much cleaner, less cluttered and more compelling. I couldn’t recall ever having seen an image of the arch from this side and wondered why. Was I the only one who found this perspective more appealing? I wrapped up the scouting session with a plan to return to shoot the formation the following morning.
I was back at Windstone early the following morning, shortly after sunrise. This time I climbed up the rock formation so that I could photograph the arch from my preferred perspective—looking to the north. With my camera gear and tripod in tow, I scrambled up the rock face and into the small alcove on my hands and knees…and I was immediately presented with an answer to the rhetorical question I had posed the previous afternoon. I now knew why I hadn’t seen any shots of the arch from this direction (though I have subsequently discovered a few—more on that below). With so much direct light flooding the alcove the previous afternoon I had failed to notice that there were two openings in the rock above the north entrance, which allowed direct sunlight to flood into the chamber, filling it with hotspots visible from the south side, where I was now crouched. I could see from my position that those openings would have no impact on shooting the arch from the north side—hence the plethora of images from that perspective. What a disappointment! I took a series of shots, that could be assembled as an HDR image, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy with them even as I was executing the sequence. Then I moved over to the north side to take the same image that everyone who finds Windstone takes. That image is immediately below.
As I was wrapping up the shoot, I took another look at the two openings above me that had caused all the problems. I blocked part of one of them with my hand, dampening the impact of the light for a moment. And then I had a brainstorm! Would it be possible to somehow block the openings from the outside? That would take care of the problem! I decided to find out.
Given the nature of the place, I had to exit the alcove by the same opening I had entered through, descend the rock, and then climb back up in a different place to try to find the exterior access to the “roof” of the alcove. I’d estimate the climb at about 1/8 of a mile, but I found myself looking from the outside of the chamber in through the same pair of “holes” in the rock that I’d identified from below. Both were readily accessible to me and neither was all that large. If I could think of something to use to cover them…
And then I remembered that I had brought two diffusers with me on the trip. I’d been on the ground in the Southwest for more than a week at that point and hadn’t used either one at all, but now I might have the need for both. Fortunately I had both of them with me in the car and I ran quickly back down to retrieve them. One was in the form of a white umbrella; the other was a large, round “photo disc” diffuser. I grabbed them and ran back up to the exterior access point. I was able to prop the open umbrella on the rock surface and wedge it into a point where it seemed to cover the higher of the two holes. I then placed the disc partially on the rock and pried it under part of the umbrella to cover the lower hole. It seemed a bit precarious but with a little bit of finagling I was able to make it work and I ran back down to the southern alcove opening. Naturally, I could still see some direct light penetrating one of the holes. I’d closed off most of the openings, but not all of them. I moved over to the north opening to get a closer look. Both diffusers needed to be adjusted, I concluded, and I figured out where the problem was and then ran back up to the exterior to manipulate the diffusers. On the first attempt to do so the entire apparatus collapsed like a house of cards, but retaining a modest degree of patience after uttering an expletive or two, I put things back together and very carefully examined things for any light leakage. I couldn’t see any, so I ran back down to the southern opening. This time, everything looked perfect, and I proceeded to complete several images before breaking everything down and retrieving the diffusers. One of the images from the south opening is below.
As I mentioned, I’ve subsequently seen two other shots taken from the south, but they suffer from the hot spot problem that I faced when I first attempted to complete the shot. It’s certainly possible—even likely—that someone else has done what I did…and long before I did it. But I must confess to feeling pretty smug at the time about pulling off such an ingenious solution to a problem and doing so in such short order. After thinking about it a bit, I realized that I had no reason to feel superior; if I’d really been clever, I’d have recognized the problem during the previous day’s scouting session and would have solved it then and there so that I could have hit the ground running the following morning. What I had been, in fact, was lucky. I just so happened to have those diffusers with me. Had I been aware of the problem in advance, I could have purchased a white bed sheet to easily cover the openings and found a couple of rocks to hold it in place. But I didn’t think of that until long after the fact.
In any event, the moral of the story is to keep an open mind about dealing with in-field photographic problems. Sometimes the solution resides in the form of something that isn’t a “conventional” piece of photographic equipment. Exhaust all of the possibilities before giving up on the shot. You won’t always be able to get what you’re after, but when you do, the satisfaction is sublime.
Thursday Tips is written by Kerry Mark Leibowitz, a guest blogger on 1001 Scribbles, and appears every other Thursday. To read more of his thoughts on photography, please visit his blog: Lightscapes Nature Photography.
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I hope someone can help me with this. I havent found any positive research, but it doesnt make sense. I have these great charts, but when I open the workbook in the wee hours of the night, something terrible happens...the formatting of the data is lost.
Some few nights ago (I think it was a full moon) I decided to take a very large workbook and divide it up into separate workbooks. This resulted in five "sub" workbooks of considerable size with vast amounts of data particular to each unique workbook within. I also wound up with one unique workbook- a book to hold all the charts for the others unique data books. This book was linked to the data.
Now, these charts have graphics to be proud of, but some have table data as well. That was when I first noticed something was wrong. The charts themselves seem to bring over the formatting fine, at least along the y axis, but the table data becomes a number/serial version of any data that is a percentage or date- not the original defined data format. They have "changed" somehow.
The next day I reopened the main chart workbook and the associated "sub" workbooks and alas! It was fine again! The formatting was back to normal. It was the chart I knew and loved.
This must be some kind of a werechart, because every night it resumes its grotesque form, hideous and vile, while in the light of day they are the charts I love and adore again.
Can someone help me restore my charts to their rightful form? Why do they keep changing formats in this manner? Why is the y axis always fine? How can I take a considerable amount of charts associated with many linked workbooks and present them in an intelligent, sensible manner?
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Those planning to participate in this year's Severna Park Independence Day parade should start thinking stars and stripes. The theme of this year's event is "Celebrate Freedom."
Making floats and decorating bikes in anticipation of the procession through The Park is what makes the Fourth of July even more special for the community.
The parade begins at 10 a.m. on July Fourth from and culminates with a festival at Cypress Creek Park. Nonprofit organizations can have booths and activities at the festival to raise money and create awareness for their causes.
The parade is sponsored by the . Applications are now available at www.severnaparkchamber.com, and at the .
A feeling of pride and patriotism for our country and those who served will be enhanced with three wounded warriors, Ryan Kules, Adam Mattis and David Weiner acting as grand marshals.
"We're looking forward to another great Independence Day in Severna Park, and a chance to celebrate our nation's birthday and our sense of community," said Linda Zahn, CEO of the chamber.
Contact Zahn at 410-647-3900 for more information.
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Social Security Payment (SSI) goes green..
This age can correctly be termed the electronic age because everything today can be accomplished at the click of a button through the internet. All you need is an internet connection and you can click away to pay your bills, purchase things and even receive payments in your bank account. Social security benefits are the latest to join the electronic bandwagon.
As per the Government rule if you apply for social security benefits on or after May 1 2011, then you should receive your payments or benefits electronically. This is ideal for the present age as the benefits receiving process becomes safe as well as convenient. If you had not chosen to receive payments online when you applied for the social security benefits, then you should do so right away. The deadline fixed for switching to receive electronic SSI benefits is March 1 2013. If you do not switch to the electronic SSI route then the U.S Department of Treasury may have to send your payments via the Direct Express Card program so that an interruption in the payments is avoided.
3 Different methods of receiving social security payments:
1) Direct Deposit: Prior to the introduction of the electronic payments of social security payments, people could receive their payments through Direct Deposit or the Direct Express Card program. The Direct Deposit method is a safe and comfortable way to receive payments directly in a bank account or a credit union account. To avail payment through direct deposit you should have access to the transit routing number of the financial institution, your account type and your account number. Your bank help desk will help you with signing up for Direct Deposit.
2) Direct Express Card: The other way to receive social security benefits is the Direct Express card program for which you do not need a bank account. The payments are directly deposited into your card account and the Direct Express card works in the same way as a bank debit card. The monthly benefits will be available for use on the payment day. You can very well use your Direct Express card to withdraw cash at many locations, pay bills and make payment for purchases made. There is no charge for most transactions. The Direct Express card payment scheme is safe and very convenient because you do not have to wait for checks in the mail or even worry about checks being stolen.
The electronic method of receiving social security payments is the best way to do so. This method is safe as there is no risk of checks being stolen. Your money is protected as soon as you notify of a theft or loss of your Direct Express card. The e-payments of social security benefits offer ease and convenience to the benefit receiver as the money is directly deposited into his bank account or the direct card account. There are no longer long waits for the check to arrive in the mail. When you receive your federal benefits electronically then it saves you the process of depositing the check in the bank or withdrawing the money. You can use your Direct Express card almost anywhere and the card is accepted at all places where The Master Card is accepted. You can make payment of bills, purchase anything you want with your Direct Express card.
Many people wonder as to how safe the Direct Express card is. This card has many benefits and is very safe. The card account had federal consumer protection and your money is FDIC insured. You card account is protected with your Personal Identification Number (PIN), to which only you have access. In case of a loss or theft of your card, it is immediately replaced.
3) Electronic Payments: The third and final option of receiving social security benefits is through an electronic transfer. There is an electronic transfer account and this account is a low cost federally insured account. It gives you the advantages of enjoying the safety and convenience of electronic payments. You will find lots of information about this electronic payment account by searching the internet. You may also contact a bank, loan or credit union who offers this kind of an account and sign up for it with them.
The electronic way of receiving social security payments has paved a way for safer, economical and convenient receiving social security benefits and everybody should make use of this method.
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As I’m typing on this blog post I’m realizing how well trained I am for the birds in my backyard. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon, I’ll hear the distinctive call of the Red Bellied Woodpecker and run out to the bird feeder and make sure they have some seeds and nuts.
Sure enough, one of the two resident Red Bellied Woodpeckers will appear on the feeder. They’ve become so accustomed to me, I can get rather close to the feeder to take pictures of them.
For what it’s worth, the Carolina Chickadees also have me trained. They will start chirping near the area where I feed them meal worms. Once I hear their chirping, I behave like a well trained rat, run inside to get some meal worms, and place them in their feeding dish.
Lately a Mockingbird has discovered the meal worms and actually started pecking on the window letting us know they are out of meal worms. I don’t mind sharing a few meal worms with the Mockingbird, but this crazy bird will take a mouthful of meal worms, not just one or two like the other birds.
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Marine Cpl. Timothy Read, who lost a leg in Afghanistan and has been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder, is applying some Rustoleum to a new drive shaft for his prized 2003 Mustang Mach 1.
It's more than just a hobby. Working on cars and motorcycles, Read said, fills the aching void in his life left when his war wounds stripped him of the ability to be a combat Marine.
"My hands are meant to be dirty," he said. "I'm meant to be busting my knuckles, doing a man's work."
With other injured Marines, Read souped up a custom-made motorcycle for last summer's Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota.
He'll be in Peru this month as a ride-along mechanic for a Land Rover Discovery for a team of wounded U.S. and British military personnel during the 6,000-mile Dakar Rally. The team is sponsored by an organization called Race2Recovery, supported by the royal family.
And when he's not busy in San Diego at therapy appointments or other things, Read spends time working on his car at the auto center at the Marine boot camp. Other wounded Marines are doing the same on their cars.
"They're putting their cars back together, but what they're really doing is putting their lives back together," said Richard Siordian, assistant manager of the auto center and a retired Navy corpsman.
Read's therapist, a specialist in helping wounded veterans, agrees.
Nancy Kim, a psychologist at the Naval Medical Center San Diego's Comprehensive Combat and Casualty Care center, said that working on vehicles helps Read and other wounded personnel "regain a sense of productivity, purpose and achievement that may have been lost at the time of their injury."
Fixing a transmission or installing new brake pads or maybe finding just the right setting for the carburetor, "can serve as a healthy coping strategy to help the combat veteran manage anxiety, depression, irritability and anger," Kim said.
For Read, the work helps him recapture something that he lost in Afghanistan: a sense that the world makes sense if only you can put the parts together correctly.
"It's easy to accept a physical wound, but it's hard for a Marine to accept that his mind is all (messed) up," said the 23-year-old, who left for boot camp just days after graduating in 2007 from high school in Starkville, Miss.
Read had been in Afghanistan five months when he stepped on a buried bomb on Oct. 15, 2010, while on a walking patrol in Marjah, long a Taliban stronghold. Six weeks earlier he had taken a bullet in his left thigh during a firefight but he had refused to be sent home lest he feel he was deserting his buddies.
The explosion broke both of Read's legs and his left wrist. Shrapnel ripped through his arms and chest. He was temporarily blinded.
Military doctors were forced to amputate his left leg above the knee. He was worried that he might also lose his left hand, but it was saved through reconstructive surgery.
In the U.S., Read has received care at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., the Veterans Affairs medical center in Tampa, Fla., and now, the Naval Medical Center San Diego, where he is an outpatient.
Read has followed a path common to the war wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. First was the anger, depression and sense of being in danger even in America.
"You use your closest relatives as emotional punching bags," he said. "They're called family for a reason. They understand."
Sometimes Read works on vehicles with other Marines; sometimes he works alone.
Working alone, he said, "allows you to do a lot of thinking. It's like a prayer time, when you can think."
Working as part of a team, as he will do in the Dakar Rally, is like being in the Marine Corps, Read said. He went to England to meet with other Race2Recovery members and returned buoyed at the sense of camaraderie.
"You can feel it in your gut," he said. "You're able to sleep well that night. You have a sense of accomplishment. It's like being in a unit: everybody has different jobs, but we all have the same goal."
Motor sports, he said, "are a lot like combat. Lots of quick decisions, physical exhaustion, the sense of being part of a team. It fills that void you have when you get hurt."
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Perhaps this quote holds the key:
'A man wanted to know about mind, not in nature, but in his private, large computer. He asked it, "Do you compute that you will ever think like a human being?" The machine then set to work to analyze its own computational habits.
Finally, the machine printed its answer on a piece of paper, as such machines do. The man ran to get the answer and found, neatly typed, the words: THAT REMINDS ME OF A STORY.' (Gregory Bateson)
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Edinburgh Castle is by far Scotland’s most famous castle and its often viewed as the crown jewel of the Edinburgh skyline. The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th century however construction continued on the caste over the following hundred years. The castle is also home to the crown Jewels of Scotland including the Stone of Destiny as well as other important and priceless artefacts which have played an integral part in the formation of what Scotland is today.
Guided tours are provided by castle stewards, however one can also take an audio tour in one of eight different languages. The tour brings tourists on an journey of exploration throughout the castle, giving insights into its architecture, as well as the dramatic history which surrounds the castle. Tours are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Mandarin. The castle cost £3 to enter for adult and £1 for children.
Please provide this reference number to our customer service center representative on request, so we can help you better
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Lower taxes for Area A
Residents of the Regional District of East Kootenay Area A are going to notice a drop in their Regional District taxes.
At the RDEK Electoral Area A town hall meeting on Tuesday last week, Shawn Tomlin, Chief Financial Officer, went over the five-year financial plan which included the announcement of a 23 per cent drop in the regional district portion of residents’ taxes.
Mike Sosnowski, Director of Electoral Area A, said the tax reduction is a result of a new source of revenue from industry that the RDEK found, and slightly lower housing assessments.
Sosnowski emphasized that the change will only effect the regional district portion of taxes, not taxes as a whole.
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Balance is something that I spend a lot of time thinking about and, as my clients could attest, a lot of time talking about. When I set up my original website, I agonized over the domain name. I thought about what I wanted my website to communicate to people. I thought about my goals when I work with clients. And eventually, I came up with www.HealthyBalancedLife.com–which did a darn good summary of what I hope my clients achieve in therapy: whole person health, and the ability to live in balance.
Balance is an Aspirational Goal
But balance is an aspirational goal. It isn’t concrete and it isn’t permanent. We are in balance for a moment, an hour, a day, a month. Then life hits us and we’re out of balance again. I think that sometimes aspirational goals feel tricky or frustrating. It’s not unusual for clients to push back when I talk about balance. That’s true whether I’m talking about balancing work and health, family and friends, self-protection and ability to grow, self-love with self-criticism. I get rolled eyes, sighs, and statements like, “Does that even exist?”
Just think for a moment about your physical balance. Try to stand on one foot–no, really, get up from your keyboard or set down your phone and try to stand on one foot. So, how did that go? My guess is that, even for those of you whose balance is really strong, there were moments that you were out of your center. Even when you found your center, it wasn’t something that you could hold indefinitely.
The other balances in our lives: social, emotional, vocational, health–they are just as fleeting. So, when I explore balance with clients, I talk about that. I talk about the fact that achieving balance isn’t the same as running a race, or taking a test. There isn’t a finish line. Balance comes and goes. There are lots of different kinds of balance. We can have great work-family balance, but be struggling with the balance between taking care of ourselves and taking care of others.
Aspirational Goals Can Feel Frustrating
I’m guessing that there may be some eye-rolling going on right now. Why even talk about this, if it’s so elusive? Do we need additional challenges in our lives? Why put any energy into achieving balance, if we can lose it in a heartbeat? Indeed, as the character in one of my kids’ favorite books puts it, “Why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why?”
I know that we’re pretty well trained to focus on goals that have clear, measurable steps. We like outcomes that are well-defined and tangible. So, these aspirational goals like balance and health and happiness–they can feel intensely frustrating. It’s hard to understand why we would even seek something that doesn’t last.
I would suggest though, that the list of “things that don’t last” includes most of the good stuff in life. That we need to give ourselves permission to exist as creatures of change, and growth, and forward momentum. Even though it can be frustrating, not connecting to our aspirational goals probably means that we’re stagnating.
A Path to Self-Compassion
And here’s perhaps the most powerful reason to work toward balance (and those other elusive aspirational goals). When we allow ourselves to try and fail and try again–we’re building up our self-compassion muscles. Self-compassion is the powerful tool that both allows us to challenge ourselves with aspiration, and to be gentle when we don’t quite achieve what we’re after. Self-compassion means that we can hold the paradox of being “enough” and of seeking chances to grow.
Self-compassion exists in a powerful symbiosis with our aspirational goals. The more we allow ourselves to aspire toward balance, the more we exercise our self-compassion for the moments that we fail. The greater our capacity for self-compassion, the more likely we are to let ourselves seek those life-giving aspirations.
So here’s my challenge to you. The next time you notice yourself doing a mental eye roll at the suggestion of working toward a balance in your life, try extending a compassionate invitation to stretch, to grow, to aspire.
I can’t wait to hear how this goes for you.
This post was written as part of the Self-Discovery, Word by Word series, which was founded by Dr. Ashley Solomon of Nourishing the Soul. This month’s host is Myrite at Tasty Life and she’s chosen the word balance for the blogging community to reflect upon. Please check out this post to learn more!
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Music Liked by People Who Like Barack Obama
Facebook held a special event today, introducing a big new tool geared toward taming the massive amount of data it holds and providing a better way for customers to use that data. Before the event, titled 'see what we're building', there was much speculation about what Facebook was going to be talking about -- a new Facebook phone, a new mobile solution? When Mark Zuckerberg took the stage a few minutes after the 10am Pacific start time, we soon found that it was neither of these things, and possibly something larger.
"Today is about making new connections. Facebook is a community and a database of people’s lives.”
He started by reviewing the three pillars of the Facbook ecosystem, the first two of which you are already very familiar:
- Newsfeed - What's going on with the people around me
- Timeline - Tell me something about this person
- Graph Search
"Friend connections, locations, likes, comments, tags, it all adds up to indexing all this content and making it so you can retrieve it instantaneously is a really hard technical problem."
Next they looked at how this search can be used for places. By using this tool you can search for places to go based on where your friends have traveled and what they liked. You can refine searches by type, liked by, location, and visited by my friends, similar to Foursquare. Beyond looking at just those topics of interest to the people closest to you, this social search is also an amazing way to make new connections and tap into to the collective knowledge and experiences of friends-of-friends and beyond. For example, it is meant to help you find people you met through a mutual friend or at a party. This type of approach will also be useful for recruiting. For example, looking up 'Friends of current employees' is a great place to start.
"Social graph provides answers, not links."
Moving on next to pictures, they discussed the new ways you'll be able to look up your friends photos. Find the best photos of your friends (based on likes, comments, etc), photos of friends taken at certain locations, photos of friends taken during a certain period of time, even simply 'Photos I've Liked'. This should reveal some interesting results. It's like Google Image search, except it sources your friends' public photos. An interesting spin in this category is rather than people, the option to look up places. For example, 'Photos of Berlin.' While this will only provide results for photos that are public, you are able to get insights about locations based on real-time user input.
The next area highlighted in the presentation was 'Interests.' Until now you had to go to someone's timeline to find out your friends' interests. With Graph Search, you'll be able to query specific topics and find out more broadly, what your friends are interested in, what they like, and what they would recommend. For example, you can search 'movies my friends like' or 'TV shows my friends like.' Taking this out to a higher level, you could look up 'TV shows liked by doctors' or 'music liked by people who like Barack Obama.' Other ideas for searches that were highlighted on stage today:
- 'Dentists liked by my friends' - list of dentists, maps, hours, addresses, and which friends like that person
- 'Restaurants liked by my Indian friends' - list of top-rated Indian restaurants. Can also use tools on the right to narrow down places to one type of cuisine
- 'Bars in Dublin liked by people who live in Dublin' - places the locals like
- 'Countries my friends have visited' - list countries visited, ranked by how many have been there. You can click a country to see which friends have been there.
With all of these new ways of finding information, they next talked about privacy. Looking at the new privacy shortcuts announced a few weeks ago they demonstrated how users can more easily see and adjust what can be seen by friends and what is public. It was also noted that users will have time to review their information prior to public launch.
"People are going to care about what shows up about them through search, so we have some great tools to answer that question."
After the demonstrations, Mark Zuckerberg again took the stage to wrap things up. He emphasized again how early they are in the process of launching this and that it will be rolled out very slowly to allow users to prepare and review their information. He stated that this is not geared toward replacing web search and doesn't think people will use it as such. "Graph Search is a really big project that will take years and years to index the whole map and the graph, but we're really excited about people, photos, places and interests today." The limited beta rolls out today and the public launch will take place over the next few weeks and months.
"We're excited to get it into people's hands. This is who we are. We love building things like this."
Today's event didn't touch a couple of areas that people had thought it might, especially something mobile-related. Since mobile is such a huge concern and opportunity for Facebook, it will be interesting to see how Graph Search is developed for use on mobile devices. At first look it appears to be something users will have to use on their desktop, though as Mark suggested, they are very early in development. The potential that Graph Search has is quite daunting, especially if they can make the design more mobile-friendly and integrate some predictive behaviors that will help guide users toward things they might want to know based on things they've done, places they are going, etc. Graph Search takes Facebook a step closer to harnessing its massive database and making that data work for its users. As Mark stated, this is not meant to replace web search and won't. After all, Google isn't going anywhere. But this functionality certainly is very close to Google's core business. Facebook has an immensely valuable database and each time they take a step toward better using that information, competitors like Google, LinkedIn, and Yelp need to pay very close attention. We'll see what's next!
Photos: The Verge
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This article was written by Jeff Howland - Online Marketing Strategist at Dream Local Digital.
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About the book
Wacky Packages—a series of collectible stickers featuring parodies of consumer products and well-known brands and packaging—were first produced by the Topps company in 1967, then revived in 1973 for a highly successful run. In fact, for the first two years they were published, Wacky Packages were the only Topps product to achieve higher sales than their flagship line of baseball cards. The series has been relaunched several times over the years, most recently to great success in 2007.
Known affectionately among collectors as “Wacky Packs,” as a creative force with artist Art Spiegelman, the stickers were illustrated by such notable comics artists as Kim Deitch, , Bill Griffith, Jay Lynch, and Norm Saunders.
This first-ever collection of Series One through Series Seven (from 1973 and 1974) celebrates the 35th anniversary of Wacky Packages and is sure to amuse collectors and fans young and old.
About the author
The Topps Company, Inc., founded in 1938, is best known as a leading producer of baseball cards and other trading cards and stickers. They are also known for Bazooka bubblegum, which was introduced in 1947.
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist and editor, best known for his Pulitzer Prize–winning comics memoir, Maus.
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http://www.abramsbooks.com/Books/Wacky_Packages-9780810995314.html
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(Editor's Note: Dodd dropped out of the presidential race for the Democratic nomination, following a poor showing in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, 2007, where he got less than 1 percent of the delegates. See a video of his explanation on his campaign Web site. )
In 2002, he voted to invade Iraq, but openly admits to having made a "mistake." He emphasizes diplomacy over any other plan of action. It is time to hand over leadership of Iraq to the Iraqi people. America's resources are not enough to continue military occupation. A year-long mission would successfully bring troops out of Iraq. Post Iraq-involvement includes initiating direct negotiation with the entire Middle East and holding a summit with the countries in the region.
YouTube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9aKEaF34ZA
Dodd talks with Chris Matthews about the direction that Congress must force Bush to move towards regarding the war in Iraq.
YouTube vdeo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdfFln9Rso4
Dodd discusses his position on Iraq and his ideas for post-war U.S. involvement at the South Carolina debates in 2007.
— Las Vegas Sun intern Jenna Kohler contributed to this report.
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The university purchases locally processed coffee, baked goods, and ice cream, as well as some organic food. The grounds department also grows vegetables for use in the dining halls. Preconsumer food scraps from three dining halls are composted, and leftover food is donated to a local food bank. All dining halls are trayless, and waste cooking oil is recycled for fuel. In 2009, UAF held its first “Really Free Market,” a clothing and furniture swap at the end of the academic year.
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http://greenreportcard.org/report-card-2010/schools/university-of-alaska-fairbanks
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TOYOTA, Japan -- The head of the company which makes the Hawk-Eye system -- one of two goal-line technology systems being used at the Club World Cup -- says experience gives the product an edge over the competition.
Hawk-Eye is already used for tracking balls in tennis and cricket. For football, its system uses seven high-speed cameras set up at different angles at each goal to calculate whether the ball has crossed the goal-line or not.
It is being used for Club World Cup games at Toyota Stadium, while GoalRef, a magnetic-field-based system developed by German company Fraunhofer, will be deployed at Yokohama Stadium.
"Our experience that we have consistently delivered over the years makes us a brand that people can trust," Hawk-Eye managing director Stephen Carter said Saturday. "Our system has been installed in more than 230 stadiums worldwide over a period of 12 years."
Another advantage of Hawk-Eye, Carter says, is that it doesn't interfere with the field of play. GoalRef uses magnetic sensors in the goal posts and the crossbar to track a special ball.
"We don't need to interfere with the field of play in any way," Carter said. "It's a totally passive system."
Like GoalRef, the technology of Hawk-Eye can allow an outcome to be delivered within one second.
Before each match, officials will test the system is working in both goals. The referee will continue to have full autonomy in making any final decision during the match, using goal-line technology as an additional aid.
The data from the Club World Cup will be used to help FIFA decide, by the end of March, which technology it will use for the six venues at the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. Now all the tournament needs is a controversial goal.
"It would be nice to have a phantom goal at some point in the tournament so we can prove how well our system works," Carter said.
FIFA decided to introduce both systems after they won "unanimous" support from the International Football Association Board panel. FIFA president Sepp Blatter was a member of the IFAB panel.
Blatter was initially opposed to the idea of using goal-line technology but changed his stance two years ago when he saw England denied a clear goal by midfielder Frank Lampard against Germany at the 2010 World Cup.
Two days later, Blatter said FIFA must reopen the debate, though insisted it must involve only goal-line decisions. Video replay remains off limits for judgment calls, such as penalties or offside.
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Join us this Friday night at the Marvin Gaye Community Greening Center for the presentation of four short documentaries created by the members of the DC Green Corps. Also screening are The Red Line D.C. Project and Disparate City.
The evening will kick off with a cookout from 6-8:00 PM, followed by the Greening Center introduction from 8-8:30 PM. The films will show at sundown.
Free to the public. This screening is supported by Washington Parks & People, in partnership with DeanwoodxDesign.
About Green Corps Documentaries :
During Spring 2011, through a comprehensive media arts residency with Meridian Hill Pictures, the DC Green Corps trainees produced these four short videos to express in their own voice how urban forestry and greening are helping to meet critical needs in underserved communities in Washington, DC. The trainees conducted research, interviews, learned advanced production skills including storyboarding, camerawork, sound and editing. The trainees premiered their videos at the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre in May 2010, and the films have since screened accross the country. The Green Corps trainees and their stories are part of a feature documentary currently in production by Meridian Hill Pictures.
DeanwoodxDesign (DxD) showcases the rich arts, cultural, historical, and green space assets of Deanwood and Ward 7 through a community-wide, intergenerational, and collaborative effort.
DxD highlights one of the District’s earliest African American communities from a design perspective.
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For many DREAMers who find themselves cautiously jubilant about the president’s new deferred action immigration policy, one sticking point has continually been mentioned as an obstacle.
The $465 fee.
In an effort to remove this impediment, organizations across the country continue to spring up with the mission of raising money for the fees or giving loans to the undocumented youth.
Author and liberal activist Tony Diaz partnered with Jacob Monty, a Mexican-American lawyer who has bundled and raised money for George W. Bush and John McCain, to co-found Protectors of the Dream, a Houston-based non-profit which has raised $80,000 in two weeks for eligible youth.
“This has been a student movement for over a decade,” Diaz says in energized tones. “But now they get to see that the business community is behind them as well.”
The $80,000 is an astronomical amount in such a short period of time and will help 160 eligible students. The youth should apply by August 31 – the process includes an essay — and the first round of grants will be released to them by September 17
Monty says that in this battered, fractured and polarized political environment, there aren’t many times where people come together in a bipartisan manner to address an issue they feel rises above petty partisan squabbles.
“I’m a Republican activist, so Tony and I don’t agree on a whole lot,” Monty says. “This is something that is not a party issue. Regrettably, Republicans are on the wrong side of this thing. The business community is embracing it.”
In North Carolina, The Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) has taken it upon themselves to help deferred action eligible-youth as well. They’ve created a “Dreamer Loan” to keep students who qualify from being left out because they don’t have the money to pay the fee.
Luis Pastor, CEO of LCCU, has been a staple in the Latino community in North Carolina with a credit union that counts more than 54,000 members. He and his business see the “Dreamer Loan” as a way to continue this relationship with the community.
“Talking to families on Friday, they said they wouldn’t have been able to access deferred action without this type of support,” says Erika Bell, vice president of strategies and services for LCCU. “They don’t have $500 in savings so it would have been a hardship for many people.”
So far the credit union has given 60 loans. To qualify, a young person only needs to be a member of the credit union and if they’re under 18 they can go with their parents. No credit history is necessary.
Public Interest Projects, Inc. (PIP) is a public charity that created The Fund for Dreamers. The organization is collecting funds from across the country and will distribute them to local immigrant organizations, which will then dole them out.
What we heard from advocates and donors was that a lot of Americans wanted to donate,” says PIP communications director Robert Bray. “They did not know undocumented immigrants themselves, but this was a story reaching them and touching them.”
Bray says people are inspired by the stories of dreamers. “Suddenly there is a new narrative on immigration that is not about Arizona and Sheriff Joe Arpaio and illegals invading the border.”
Monty, the conservative lawyer from Texas says he doesn’t even consider people like Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and controversial congressman Lamar Smith to be Republicans. He calls them nativists.
“This sends a strong message to nativists like Brewer that the business community is behind this,” Monty says.
“The business community is clamoring for this. Hooking up with Tony is a way to get the left and right together on this to send a message to Arizona that Texas and most of the country is much different.”
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<urn:uuid:8c68512e-77ea-4b5e-8b29-f525ba6db777>
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://nbclatino.com/2012/08/20/funding-the-dream-organizations-around-the-country-help-dreamers-with-deferred-action-fees/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=5092e672ce
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Rhodococcus equi infections among hospitalized HIV-infected patients in a new infectious disease centre in Malaysia: a2year analysis
Abstract number: R2353
Adnan A., Mohd Nor F., Leong C., Abdul Wahab Z.
Objective:Rhodococcus equi infection has been regarded as an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised hosts. Although the organism is easily cultivated from specimens, it may be misdiagnosed as a contaminant or commmensal due to its diphteroid appearance. The AIDS epidemic has resulted in an increase in awareness on the part of the microbiology laboratory in identifying cases of R. equi infections. A prevalence study of R. equi infections in our 3 year-old institution is presented.
Methodology: Clinically significant isolates of R. equi that were cultured in the Microbiology Laboratory of Sungai Buloh Hospital, Malaysia between January 2008 until October 2009 were included. The laboratory used the Analytical Profile Index (API) system for the identification of the organism. The case files of the patients were reviewed and discussions with the physician were done to determine the clinical significance of the isolates.
Results:R. equi that was deemed clinically significant was isolated from 10 patients over a two-year period (20072009). The organism was cultured from blood, sputum and bronchoscopy specimens. All the isolates were recovered from HIV-infected patients. Pneumonia was the main manifestation with fever and productive cough being the presenting complaints. Two patients developed the infections while being treated for underlying pulmonary tuberculosis while another two patients had underlying histoplasmosis. Chest radiographs revealed consolidation (without lobar predilection) and in half of the cases, cavitations were seen. Pleural effusion was not present in any of the cases. The average CD4 lymphocyte count at the time of presentation was 10 cells/ml. All the patients were treated with a combination of vancomycin plus either imipenem or erythromycin. No mortality was seen.
Conclusion: Our observation underlines the importance to suspect R. equi pneumonia in patients with HIV who have low CD4 lymphocytes count (<20 cells//ml) and presence of lung cavities on chest radiograph. The microbiology laboratory plays an important role in the diagnosis of R. equi infection as its diagnosis ultimately relies on the isolation of the organism. A prompt identification and notification helps in the management of the patient.
|Session name:||Abstracts 20th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases|
|Location:||Vienna, Austria, 10 - 13 April 2010|
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Dr. Mark A. James First Dean of New College of Public HealthPosted Feb. 25, 2010
Dr. Mark A. James, professor and vice chair of the Department of Tropical Medicine at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, will become founding dean of Kent State University’s College of Public Health on July 1, 2010, announced Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Robert G. Frank. Frank has served as interim dean of the college since its inception in 2009.
“The opportunity at Kent State University is ideal in that it allows one to build the college in the vision of a founding dean, together with a committed administration, faculty, staff and students,” James said.
In addition to his extensive teaching experience, James’ distinguished career in public health includes leadership positions as chair of the Tulane University Health Sciences Center Biomedical Institutional Review Board, secretary of General Faculty for the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and member of the University Senate at Tulane University. Trained as an immunoparasitologist, James’ research interests include the immunology of malaria and Chagas’ disease in Latin America.
“Kent State University’s College of Public Health is poised to prepare students to meet the region’s and nation’s need for trained public health professionals,” Frank said. “Dr. James’ knowledge of what it takes to build an accredited program of public health will guide the college to meet those needs and leverage the educational and research strengths of its faculty.”
James has been recognized by Tulane University on five separate occasions with the annual Excellence in Teaching Award. He also has received the Teaching Scholar Award in the School of Public Health in Tropical Medicine in 1999 and was recognized with the Chancellor’s Teaching Scholar Award at the Tulane University Medical Center. He is an inaugural member of the ASPH/Pfizer Public Health Academy of Distinguished Teachers.
James holds a bachelor of science degree in zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a master’s degree in zoology and a doctor of philosophy in tropical medicine from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Kent State’s College of Public Health is Ohio’s second college of public health. It was established to help meet the demonstrated state and national need for public health professionals. In Ohio alone, the projected shortage of educated and trained public health professionals is estimated to be in excess of 10,000 workers by 2020.
Last Friday, Gov. Ted Strickland and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut announced Kent State as a Center of Excellence in Biomedicine and Health Care for Ohio. Kent State’s Center of Excellence focuses on the health of individuals and communities. The university was awarded this distinction due to its College of Public Health and its College of Nursing.
In October 2009, Kent State received approval by the Ohio Board of Regents to offer a bachelor of science (B.S.P.H.) degree in public health. Currently, 146 students are taking four courses this spring through its Experimental Programs (EXPR) Division, and the university is accepting applications for the B.S.P.H. program for fall 2010. The College of Public Health is also planning an undergraduate certificate in public health. The college has 18 full-time tenure track faculty members with the goal of 25 by 2012.
For more information on Kent State’s College of Public Health, visit www.kent.edu/academics/publichealth.
# # #
Emily Vincent, firstname.lastname@example.org, 330-672-8595
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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:
China is routinely ranked as one of the most repressive nations in terms of press freedoms and free speech, but thanks to a social media site, more Chinese are speaking more freely than ever before. Weibo is China's answer to Twitter. Just four years old, it has hundreds of millions of users and increasingly Chinese are using it to expose corruption and criticize officials.
NPR's Frank Langfitt reports on the Weibo revolution and how China's Communist Party is trying to control it.
FRANK LANGFITT, BYLINE: Were it not for Weibo, you would never know Tang Hui's extraordinary story. She wouldn't be here to tell it. She'd be sitting in a Chinese re-education through labor camp eating porridge. Instead, Tang's back home at her dining room table in Hunan Province sharing her Kafka-esque tale. It began six years ago, when a pimp lured her then-11-year-old daughter into a brothel in the central Chinese city of Yongzhou.
TANG HUI: (Through translator) He said if you cry, I am going to go kill your mom. I know where your mother's business is and I know your mother.
LANGFITT: The fifth grader was forced to service scores of clients. After three months, Tang got a tip about her daughter's location and called the cops. But Tang says the first officer to arrive at the brothel never got out of his car. And even after she convinced police to rescue her daughter, they wouldn't arrest anyone.
HUI: (Through translator) We demanded that they take notes when interviewing my child. They repeatedly refused. They said this was not a criminal case.
LANGFITT: Later, Tang found out why the police were so reluctant. The brothel owner had an uncle who was a top official in the local prosecutor's office. A court did eventually convict the brothel staff. But Tang continued to demand punishment for the police who tried to shield them. In August the police had had enough and called Tang in.
HUI: (Through translator) When I arrived at the police station, I saw they had seven to eight special forces police there to guard me. They asked me to sit in a chair for interrogation. I spent a night in the chair and didn't sleep at all. The next morning, at 7:30, they gave me a paper saying I was going to re-education through labor camp.
LANGFITT: For 18 months - so lawyer, no trial. Seemingly no hope. But before the cops hauled her off, Tang called her attorney. He posted the news to his Weibo account. Within days, Tang's story had reached more than 30 million Weibo users, and they were furious. A torrent of criticism followed, overwhelming the local police.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Speaking foreign language)
LANGFITT: After 10 days, state-run China Central Television announced Tang's release. Tang says a few years ago this couldn't have happened.
HUI: (Through translator) Weibo had a very big impact on my situation because our local government tried to cover up this case and not let the public know. But this time people around China and even around the world found out they put me in labor camp. And the local government couldn't resist so many people's power.
MICHAEL ANTI: Chinese Weibo basically is first ever in the Chinese history the public sphere.
HU YONG: Any local news can immediately become national news.
ISAAC MAO: Weibo is the battleground between the authority and freedom-thinking people.
LANGFITT: That's political commentator Michael Anti, Peking University Professor Hu Yong and Isaac Mao, one of China's first bloggers. Weibo is changing the way Chinese communicate and has become a major source of news here. Hu Yong says Weibo has also become a powerful new tool for ordinary people to protect their rights.
YONG: Before the emergence of Weibo, local people actually they have very limited channels to try to solve their problems. But Weibo is - kind of pressure politics on local government officials.
LANGFITT: In recent months Weibo campaigns have triggered a number of firings. They include officials in western China who forced a woman to abort her seven-month-old fetus, and a safety chief who was photographed wearing various luxury watches as well as smiling at the scene a fatal bus accident. Observers call it Weibo justice.
Why does China's famously thin-skinned regime put up with such criticism? Michael Anti says when it's directed at local officials, those attacks actually serve the central government.
ANTI: Chinese have a long time myth that the emperor is good, all the thugs are local. So that myth is very important to keep the regime their legitimacy. So I think Weibo justice is exactly a showcase for the central government to tell the people that, you know, the emperor is still good.
LANGFITT: On occasion the party will even allow netizens, or Wangmin, as they're known in Chinese, to attack high-ranking officials it wants to get rid of. That's what happened to then-Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai, who was lobbying for a top post in Beijing and had lots of political enemies. After Bo's police chief hid out in a U.S. consulate this year, Anti says it was open season on Weibo.
ANTI: Two months, you can joke about Bo Xilai and Chongqing City, about everything. Weibo became a very convenient platform.
LANGFITT: The party though won't tolerate anything it remotely sees as a threat. Authorities detained a Beijing blogger earlier this month after he jokingly imagined the recent party leadership congress as a horror movie in which the delegates die en masse. Of course like most Americans, most Chinese don't use Weibo for politics. They use it to pursue their interests, and sometimes to help strangers who share them.
RICHARD SEARS: My name is Richard Sears and for the past 22 years now I've been working on a website of the etymology of Chinese characters.
LANGFITT: Sears is a retired computer programmer from Tennessee. He came to China this year to do research for his website, a personal hobby. But he says because of bad information his tourist visa was cancelled in August.
SEARS: They confiscated my passport. I found myself with 10 days to get out of the country. At that point I figured I would have to go home and never come back to China.
LANGFITT: Sears had one thing going for him.
SEARS: I had a few friends on Weibo. I didn't realize how many friends I had on Weibo, but I told a couple of my friends about it and then suddenly, within a couple of days, there were 40,000 re-tweets.
LANGFITT: Job possibilities poured in from Chinese supporters trying to help Sears stay in the country. Last week Sears arrived back in Beijing with a work visa and a job teaching physics and doing Chinese language research at Beijing Normal University.
SEARS: Without Weibo, this would have been impossible.
LANGFITT: Weibo is still in its infancy. China's government and the microblog companies themselves employ an army of censors every day to manage and shape its growth. Sears isn't sure how Weibo will ultimately evolve. But he thinks the potential is huge. Frank Langfitt, NPR News, Shanghai. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
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BEIJING: China and India have "managed well" their differences over the border issue and the presence of the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Dharmsala, a top Chinese official said today, ahead of President Hu Jintao's visit to New Delhi next week.
"We have managed the (both) issues well," Luo Zhaohui, Director-General of Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a media briefing here.
"We have maintained tranquillity and stability at the border areas. We appreciate India's stand that Tibet is an inalienable part of China's territory and India does not allow Dalai Lama to use its territory for any separatist activities against China," he said.
Luo was replying to question on how the bilateral friction over borders and Dalai Lama would impact the BRICS summit in New Delhi from March 28-29 which will be attended by Hu and leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and South Afria.
Besides attending the summit, the Chinese president is also scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss a host of bilateral issues.
"We expect the official launch of China-India year of friendship and cooperation. There will also be some specific contents for bilateral cooperation," Luo said.
Presenting an upbeat picture of Sino-Indian ties, he referred to the March 1 visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi to New Delhi when the two countries launched a new initiative to enhance maritime cooperation, specially relating to the anti-piracy operations and sharing of exploration of seas for minerals and metals.
The two countries have also launched the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China Border Affairs to specifically deal with any incidents between the two militaries during patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LoC).
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|THA SUGAH RAIN |
This ad sponsored by your local sun-worshiping cult? wtf
should have a Cher soundtrack
I'm going to write my govenor
Screw that... I want DST twelve months of the year.
I do hate daylight savings time. But I lived in Arizona, where they don't have it, and it's the worst place I've ever seen, been, or heard of. So I guess what I'm saying is that maybe DST is actually preserving the rest of the country.
I heard Indiana doesn't have it, too? Indiana sucks, guys.
The Dawning of DST in Indiana
Until April 2005, when Indiana passed a law agreeing to observe daylight saving time, the Hoosier state had its own unique and complex time system. Not only is the state split between two time zones, but until recently, only some parts of the state observed daylight saving time while the majority did not.
Under the old system, 77 of the state's 92 counties were in the Eastern Time Zone but did not change to daylight time in April. Instead they remained on standard time all year. That is, except for two counties near Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky., which did use daylight time.
But the counties in the northwest corner of the state (near Chicago) and the southwestern tip (near Evansville), which are in the Central Time Zone, used both standard and daylight time.
The battle between the old system and DST was contentious and hard-won—bills proposing DST had failed more than two dozen times until finally squeaking through the state legislature in April 2005. As of April 2, 2006, the entire state of Indiana joined 47 other states in observing Daylight Saving Time. But it wasn't quite as simple and straightforward as all that—telling time in Indiana remains something of a bewildering experience: eighteen counties now observed Central Daylight Time and the remaining 74 counties of Indiana observe Eastern Daylight Time.
I had no idea the sun could provide me with convenient transportation.
bitch, Apollo's mighty chariot seats two
Daylight savings time was obviously a dirty Commie conspiracy.
why would writing your newspaper editor take precedent over writing your elected governmental official?
Because it was a product of the the liberal media Zionist conspiracy.
I thought it would have something to do with one of those type of people.
|Rum Revenge |
Wait - the whole purpose of DST is to make more use of daylight hours. Follow the sun my ass!
I could not believe such a stupid thing to get angry about exists until I actually watched the video.
This is why I make sure my clock does nothing but flash 12:00.
HAHA, I'm from Saskatchewan!
But falling back is the best part of DST! Let's fall back every year and just skip that whole waking up an hour earlier part in the spring.
Nobody is going to stop you from going to church an hour earlier. In fact, you'd think they'd be thrilled about that. Or something.
I admit I don't know how church works.
|Caminante Nocturno |
It's hard to support someone's cause when they choose such catchy music to convey it with. This video doesn't make me want to write my congressman, it makes me want to cut a rug.
| Register or login To Post a Comment|
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June 10, 2006
Case Law Development: Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals Oks Firing of Teacher at Catholic School who Publicly Advocated Abortion Rights
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled this week against a teacher who was fired from a private Catholic school after she had signed her name to a newspaper advertisement celebrating the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. She had argued that signing the advertisement was conduct protected by 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) and that she was fired for conduct less egregious under Catholic doctrine than conduct of male employees who were treated less harshly. The lower court had ruled that a 1978 law that forbids employers from discriminating against employees who support abortion rights does not apply to disputes involving a religious school The Court of Appeals agreed.
On the day the advertisement appeared, the woman was called into the office of the President of the private school and informed that the school was deeply troubled by her public support of a position inimical to accepted Catholic doctrine and was considering terminating her employment. A few days later she was fired. In her lawsuit, the woman claimed that a provision in Title VII protected her from being fired. That provision reads that “It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees . . . because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter . . ..” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a).2
The Third Circuit rejected her argument saying that the provision was aimed at preventing illegal employment practices but that “basic pro-choice advocacy does not constitute opposition to an illegal employment practice.”
It said that “we are not aware of any court that has found public protests or expressions of belief to be protected conduct absent some perceptible connection to the employer’s alleged illegal employment practice.” An example of protected conduct, according to the court, would be an employee’s appearance on the news magazine “60 Minutes” where the entire show was about allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination within the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Hoffman v. Rubin, 193 F.3d 959, 963 (8th Cir. 1999). However, in this case, the court concluded that the advocacy was simply not connected to employment practices. It also dismissed her gender argument saying that “Congress has not clearly expressed an affirmative intention to apply Title VII to a claim, as asserted here, against a religious employer in the present context.” The Third Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, Curay-Cramer v. Ursuline Academy of Wilmington, may be found by clicking here (last visited June 10, 2006, reo).
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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Case Law Development: Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals Oks Firing of Teacher at Catholic School who Publicly Advocated Abortion Rights:
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Dutch political parties reached an agreement on the budget of 2013. As a result, the Ministry of Finance presented a legislative proposal to the Dutch parliament. This proposal contains the tax measures from the aforementioned deal. These measures will have the following Indirect Tax implications:
- The standard VAT rate will increase effective 1 October 2012. This increase will be partly compensated by lower income and payroll taxes, higher healthcare and child benefits, particularly for low-income households.
- For performing arts and art objects the increased VAT rate will be reversed to 6 percent as at 1 July 2012. With regard to performing arts the following services are considered to be performing arts: providing access to music and theatrical performances (e.g. operettas, dance, musicals and lectures) and the performances by performing artists. Objects of arts are considered to be the following: import or supply of art objects and objects as collector's item and antiques.
- Following case law from the Court of Justice of the European Union, the exemption for medical services will be amended. Some of the services which are currently exempt, will be charged with Dutch VAT, as of 1 January 2013. This involves medical services provided by certain professionals who are mentioned in the Individual Healthcare Professions Act (e.g. chiropractors, pedagogues, alternative medicine doctors and physical therapist who perform complementary services such as acupuncture and osteopathy)
- The taxes on soft drinks will still exist in 2013. Initially, the consumption on soft drinks would be repealed as of 1 January 2013.
- The excise duties on alcohol will be increased. With regard to the excise duty for beer the increase will be 10 percent, for wine 15 percent and for other alcohol products 6 percent.
- The excise duties on tobacco as well as the tariff structure will be amended.
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NRC Confirms 2005 Tritium Leak At Vermont Yankee
Officials with the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission have confirmed that the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant had a leak of radioactive tritium 5 years ago.
That leak was reported by a whistle blower to a member of the Legislative Oversight Panel last week. Now, NRC officials are confirming that report.
In a conference call with reporters today, NRC officials said the 2005 leak is currently under investigation.
Plant officials are trying to determine the source of a tritium leak into groundwater at the reactor that was reported last month.
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For over 100 years, the faculty, staff and students of the Department of Horticulture at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have been serving the University and State of Wisconsin. This department has a long tradition of excellence in horticultural research, instruction, extension and service. Our research and extension programs are recognized worldwide for their contributions to fundamental plant biology and applied horticulture production.
The graduate program was recognized when it was ranked first in its discipline in the January 12th, 2007 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education, based on the number of book and journal articles published by each program's faculty, as well as journal citation, awards, honors and grants received.
It is clear that the mission of the department would not be achieved without the efforts of our support staff. These staff members run many of the administrative functions of the department, as well as travel the boundaries of the state and connect the work of the department to farmers, consumers, commercial horticulturalists, and the general public. They assist with teaching and outreach functions and in many cases serve as a crucial link for our programs in the state of Wisconsin.
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Apache Foundation and corporate engagement
As I remember the story, back in the late 1990's IBM, seeing a need for a http server for the rapidly developing internet market, looked at a couple of alternatives, developing one in-house or adopting the http server developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The NCSA http server project had been terminated at the NCSA, but the http server continued to be supported by a group of eight developers. As I remember it IBM decided that it would be more cost effective and would make more sense from a market perspective to adopt what was the de facto industry standard. But IBM insisted that for this to work there had to be a legal entity with which IBM as a corporation could commercially and and legally engage. And so on March 25, 1999, the Apache Software Foundation was formed and the rest is history. IBM and ultimately many others adopted and distribute the Apache server. As of September 2012 it was estimated that Apache serves about 55% of all active websites. From an industry perspective adopting the Apache server was a much more cost-effective alternative than if HP, Oracle, IBM, Sun, and others had each developed their own http server.
Back in 2005/2006 I was working with Dave McIlhagga to interest Autodesk in becoming a corporate sponsor of open source geospatial software, and I saw a similar scenario played out. It seemed to many of us that it would be more cost-effective for companies to share web-mapping software infrastructure rather than each develop its own web mapping server. At that point there was already well-developed and well-known open source geospatial projects whose code was being used all over the world. The best known examples were the University of Minnesota's MapServer project and Frank Warnerdam's GDAL geo-imagery libraries. Again Autodesk insisted that there had to be a legal entity with which as a corporation it could engage. The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGEO) was modeled loosely on the Apache Foundation and was founded in March, 2006 with Autodesk as the major sponsor. The OSGEO has been incredibly successful. It has grown rapidly to support 25 or so projects, some in incubation, 20 chapters worldwide, and a national conference, FOSS4G, which last year in Denver attracted about 900 participants.
The next step
As a recent article
has pointed out, 15 years ago when open source was just beginning, the
discussion was focussed on the total cost of open source vs proprietary,
alternative open source business models, and open source as an
alternative to monopolistic proprietary.
Since then open source has come a long way. One of the most important developments is the rise of the open source foundation driven by the need for corporate engagement. These non profit legal entities offer projects important benefits that are difficult for a project to fund on its own.
- A host for managing fiscal and intellectual property shared resources such as trademarks and shared copyrights
- An employer for staff serving the community and project
- A guarantor and enabler for governance
- An infrastructure provider
- A liability firewall for community participants
Two examples of such foundations are the Apache Software Foundation and the Eclipse Foundation. These foundation encourage trust in the long term stability of the projects they support and, most importantly for enterprise software, they encourage corporate participation.
The other major development is in the area of licensing. The Open Source Initiative (OSI) lists 69 different licenses that range from the Gnu Public License (GPL) to the very liberal MIT/BSD style licences. Recent years have seen the development of licences in the middle ground that are designed to be business friendly, in particular to allow mixing of open source and proprietary modules. The Eclipse Public Licence (EPL) is an example of such as licence and is a critical reason that large corporations such as IBM and Oracle are important supporters of the Eclipse Foundation.
There is a pent up interest for geospatially enabling enterprise information technology. For open source projects interested in encouraging adoption and support from vendors in this area, doing business implies corporate engagement with companies such as IBM, Oracle, and other major IT vendors.
A number of people advocating for open source geospatial software have seen the need for services and facilitates to enable corporate engagement. In my view, the type of projects that are seeking corporate engagement would be attracted to the Eclipse Foundation. The Eclipse Foundation provides services to reduce friction for organizations to re-use and contribute to open source projects. This supports business developing products and services that depend upon open source and in turn, the open source projects benefit from re-use, investment, and increased credibility.
Based on this thinking Andrew Ross, well known for his work in a variety of open source communities, initiated what is now officially known as the Eclipse Foundation LocationTech Working Group along with a team of representatives from notable companies and open source projects. In my and others view. the LocationTech Working Group fills an important gap in the enterprise geospatial market. A close relationship between OSGEO and LocationTech is advantageous to the broad open source community because they are both serving the community, but in different, complementary ways.
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http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2012/10/the-evolution-of-open-source-geospatial-software.html
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