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- Posted April 23, 2013
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Judges sue Social Security over case 'quotas'
By Stephen Ohlemacher
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Judges struggling to handle a surge of disability cases sometimes award benefits they might otherwise deny in order to clear cases faster so they can meet quotas imposed by the Social Security Administration, according to a lawsuit filed by the union representing the agency's administrative law judges.
The Social Security Administration says judges should decide 500 to 700 disability cases a year. The agency calls the standard a productivity goal, but the lawsuit claims it is an illegal quota that requires judges to decide an average of more than two cases a workday.
The lawsuit says the requirement violates judges' independence, denies due process rights to applicants and further strains the finances of a disability program that is projected to run out of money in 2016.
Once the trust fund that supports the disability program runs dry, the system will only collect enough money in payroll taxes to pay 79 percent of benefits. Congress could redirect money from the retirement program to shore up the disability program, as it did in 1994. But that would worsen the finances of the retirement program, too.
"Case quotas prevent judges from devoting necessary time to the most complex cases, resulting in waste and abuse," said a statement by Randall Frye, president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges and a judge in Charlotte, N.C.
"Many administrative law judges find themselves pressured to grant more claims than they otherwise would because a decision awarding benefits is less complex and time-consuming than a decision which denies benefits," the statement said.
The lawsuit was filed by the union last week in federal court in Chicago. It names the agency and Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin as defendants. Colvin took over in February after Commissioner Michael Astrue's six-year term expired.
In an interview, Astrue disputed the union's claims.
"What's really happening here is that the judges' union doesn't want accountability of its members and it's been trying to sell this story to the media and to the Congress and to the agency for a very long time," Astrue said. "And no one's buying it because it's not true, and no federal judge is going to buy this story, either.
"There are a very small number of malcontents who want to litigate or put political pressure on the agency rather than do their work," Astrue said.
The union represents 1,400 administrative law judges. Its lawsuit describes a disability system in crisis.
About 3.2 million people applied for disability benefits last year, a 25 percent increase from a decade before. Claims have increased in part because of aging baby boomers. As people get older, they become more prone to disabilities.
Disability claims also typically increase when the economy sours. Some people who manage to work despite their disability get laid off and apply for benefits, while others apply out of economic desperation.
When people apply for Social Security disability benefits, their cases are initially reviewed by state offices, which reject about two-thirds of claims. If your claim is rejected, you can appeal to an administrative law judge. But the hearing process takes an average of 373 days -- a little more than a year -- according to agency statistics.
Astrue said the average processing time for a hearing peaked at 542 days shortly after he took over the agency. He said public outcry over the backlog led him to adopt productivity standards in 2007, which helped reduce the wait time.
The hearing process, which is closed to the public, is different from a civil lawsuit or a criminal trial. There is no lawyer for the government. Instead, judges are expected to be impartial decision-makers while protecting the interest of taxpayers and ensuring that applicants get fair hearings. Most applicants have legal representation by the time their claim results in a hearing, the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says judges are expected to meet their quota, regardless of how complicated their cases are, even though many case files exceed 500 pages. Judges have been disciplined for missing the quota, including formal reprimands and removal proceedings, according to the lawsuit.
"The pressure exerted on ALJs by the quota is reflected in the substance of their rulings," the lawsuit says. "Some ALJs respond by tending to grant more claims. For other ALJs, the quota impedes their ability to render carefully reasoned, impartial decisions based on a fully developed factual record."
Frye's statement says: "The cost of such decision-making adds up. When a judge finds in favor of a claimant, the average lifetime disability payment exceeds $300,000 per individual."
Astrue countered that approval rates actually dropped since he adopted the performance standards. In 2011, the approval rate was about 35 percent, down from 46 percent a decade before.
Nearly 11 million disabled workers, spouses and children get Social Security disability benefits. That's up from 7.6 million a decade ago. The average monthly benefit for a disabled worker is $1,130.
In 2011, Social Security disability paid about $129 billion in benefits.
Published: Tue, Apr 23, 2013
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35 Dope Snaps From The OC's Coolest Office Space: Quiksilver!
When we pulled up to Quiksilver's massive compound, there was a lone wetsuit hanging from a tree, still dripping with water from the Pacific. The image couldn't have been a more fitting intro to the legendary surf brand's space: It's a brilliant blend of corporate hustle-and-bustle and the organic hang-loose vibe that the company has managed to keep intact since its '60s inception. Housing 800 employees in three buildings — which range from standout state-of-the-art architecture to a musty old warehouse (a 12,000-square-foot skate park sits inside) — this isn't just a workspace, it's a spot where Tony Hawk, Kelly Slater, and Rob Dyrdek often pop their heads in, to showcase their mad skills.
Though we've had our fair share of Orange County office envy this year, we haven't had quite as many giggles or left more elated than we did this time 'round. Quiksilver's casual attire (90% flip-flops) and friends-and-family atmosphere make for a lighthearted work day (even when there's a heavy load on the staffers' plates), and made us loath the minute we had to hit the 405 home. Luckily, we can relive it all right now. Click through to hit our pro circuit, and you'll see why we left our hearts in Huntington Beach!

subset: commoncrawl


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What irritated me this afternoon was driving into Secret Sainsburys at Holywood Exchange, carrying my wee daughter across to the waiting trolleys and lifting her into the seat.
While struggling to do the buckle up (and wondering if it was worth it) a flash-looking two-door car came to a halt beside the trolleys. The window on the driver's side smoothly rolled down and a middle aged woman tipped a still-burning half finished cigarette out the window and onto the ground about a metre or so from my feet.
What possessed me to yell "Litter lout" at the fast closing window, I don't know. It was instinctive, stupid, and did no good as it wasn't heard. She'd put the car into gear and turned sharply into an empty parent and toddler parking space – the one closest to the store's main door. She and her female companion got out, and sauntered into do their shopping.
While there was a car seat in the back of the car, there was no child in it. Maybe the seat was being used as an ashtray and was full up?! Maybe she was so used to having a child with her that she automatically pulled into the space without realising? But I doubt it.
When I got out of the shop about 20 minutes later, their sporty car was still there. Short of bringing fake Sainsburys-branded notices saying "Next time you park here inappropriately you'll be clamped …" there's not a lot anyone can do.
On a busy Saturday afternoon, she'd no thought for those around her. And no thought for the anger that she was stirring up inside those witnessing her loutish behaviour.


text: Welcome to the interactive web model of the Solar System, a simple astronomical simulator and predictor of planet orbits that displays dynamic view of the Solar System as seen from the north ecliptic pole. This Solar System simulator is an entertaining, and educational astronomy program that provides an excellent way to learn about the Solar System from a particular point of view. You can zoom in and out to view the entire Solar System, or just the inner planets. By pressing the STOP button a text entry box allows you to enter new values for the date.


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300 ml warm water
2 tsp active yeast granules
1/2 tsp brown sugar
300 g rye flour
200 g high grade flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp molasses
1 tsp caraway seeds
Place the warm water in a large bowl, add the yeast and brown sugar then set aside for 5 minutes. When the yeast starts to bubble, add both kinds of flour, salt, molasses and caraway seeds. Work into a dough for about 10 minutes using your fingers; it will be quite sticky so knead it in the bowl. Shape into a ball, sprinkle it with rye flour and leave to rise in the bowl, covered with a damp tea towel, for about 2 hours. Punch the dough and knead it for 1 minute. Form into an oval shape (this time I made it into a long loaf instead), sprinkle with more rye flour and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Leave the dough to rise for 1 1/2 hours. Bake in a preheated 230°C oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the loaf makes a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.


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I want to buy my 14-year-old niece a dildo, some lube, and an age-appropriate book about sex. (Can you recommend one?) I have her mother's permission, but I wanted to double-check on whether there are legal issues I should be concerned about. (I live in Oregon.) Do you think it would be inappropriate for me to cross that boundary with my niece? I figure it would be less awkward to get these items from me than from her mother, and I would include a thoughtful letter on love, sex and life with the promise that I will never bring the "gift" up, but that I will always be happy to talk if she wants to. Any other advice on how to handle it appropriately would be appreciated. —Wanted Toys Too
P.S. I am motivated to do this due to my own teenage experience of not wanting a penis to be the first thing of substance put in my vagina. I had to resort to a plastic banana, no lube. Ouch!
A: "Your niece is lucky to have a mom and an aunt who are invested in her sexual well-being," says Jennifer Pritchett, the owner of Smitten Kitten, a sex-toy shop in Minneapolis and a frequent Savage Love guest expert. "She's also lucky to live in a time when sexual health information geared toward young adults is readily available."
And why shouldn't penetration toys be readily available to your niece? All any 14-year-old boy who wants to experiment with penetration — for his own pleasure, to build up his confidence in advance of partnered sex — has to do is make a fist. Girls who are curious about penetration shouldn't have to resort to plastic bananas.
Pritchett recommends that you get your niece a copy of Heather Corinna's book S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-to-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College, which is terrific, and that you make sure your niece knows about scarleteen.com, an amazing, comprehensive, and sex-positive independent sex-ed website.
"Share these resources with her," says Pritchett, "but do not write an awkward letter! All you are going to do is communicate your own insecurities about the 'gift,' and trust me, she's got enough weird cultural hang-ups about sex and pleasure to deal with! It's admirable that you want to save her from the plastic banana, but be careful not to inadvertently project your own sexual choices onto her experience."
Pritchett also suggests that instead of selecting a sex toy for your niece, WTT, you take your niece to a sex-toy shop so she can make her own selection — because, hey, what could be awkward about that? "If you really want to empower her to make her own decisions about her body," says Pritchett, "take her to an education-based shop, such as Portland's She Bop (sheboptheshop.com), where their trained sex educators can help her figure out what she might like to try."
If your niece would like to go sex-toy shopping with you — and that's a big if — you'll need to call She Bop in advance and make an after-hours appointment. "We are an 18-plus shop," says Jeneen Doumitt, co-owner of She Bop, "but we have made special arrangements in the past for younger teens. We would need to get written consent from the legal parent or guardian and the parent or guardian would have to accompany them."
There is also the option of going on their website and shopping together with your niece, or you could send your niece to any number of female-sex-positive websites and she can pick the toys she wants you to buy — no letter from parent or guardian required, no embarrassing small talk.
I have a fetish for sweaty, smelly, stinky female feet, but I don't know how to approach strange women and ask them to fulfill my wishes. It sucks that the only way to maybe get what I want is to hire an escort or go to one of those foot parties that are always held in huge cities hundreds of miles away from where I live. How can I realize my dreams in the small hick town where I live? Any suggestions? —Desperate For Feet
Sorry, DFF, but you're just gonna have to move to a big city (or travel to one) to realize your dreams of sweaty, smelly, stinky female feet. And if your dreams revolve around servicing the feet of more than one loving, indulgent woman, then you're gonna have to pay nice ladies to make your dreams come true. Approaching strange women in hick towns or big cities and asking them to indulge your fetish isn't going to get you anywhere other than a sex-offender registry.
I recently found out my husband once responded to an online ad from some guy seeking to give blow jobs to other men. He actually went to the guy's apartment but chickened out after meeting him. This was 10 years ago, long before we were even dating, and it was during an extremely long (five-year) dry spell for him. I don't know whether I'm turned on or creeped out by this, but I am definitely having a reaction to the secret he shared with me. Can you help me make heads or tails of all this? Should I be worried he'll end up getting rest-stop blow jobs one day? —All Mixed Up
During an extremely long (four-year) dry spell of my own, AMU, I responded more than once to offline offers of blow jobs from girls. I was horny, I was desperate, and my powers of concentration were such that I could close my eyes and pretend — and I'm really dating myself here — that Bo Duke was blowing me.
Desperate men do desperate things, AMU, and just as my teenage, closeted desperation drove me into the arms, beds and mouths of some nice young women, similarly desperate straight guys have been known to accept blow jobs from gay or bi dudes. And just as the concentrate-on-Bo-Duke blow jobs I got from girls back in the '80s didn't make me straight, the concentrate-on-Sofia-Vergara blow jobs straight guys get from dudes today don't make them gay.
It's possible, of course, that your husband will wind up getting rest-stop blow jobs one day — anything is possible — but that one time he almost got a blow job from another dude doesn't make rest-stop blow jobs any more or less likely. (I'm assuming your husband is telling the truth about not going through with it.) And as your being turned on by the thought of the husband getting a blow job from another man doesn't make those rest-stop blow jobs any likelier either, AMU, I think you should go ahead and let yourself be turned on by the idea.
After 20 years of boring vanilla-ness with my ex-husband, I'm tickled pink to be with a GGG guy who's into some fun stuff and encourages me to explore. The problem: One of his kinks is a smoking fetish, and I don't smoke cigarettes. Inhaling is a big part of the excitement for him, but I cough if I inhale, which ruins the mood. Any advice for ways to be GGG with this kink? —Cigarette Inhaling GGGirl
There are limits to being GGG — self-harm being one of them. Give him permission to explore this particular fetish with someone stupid enough to smoke. If he pouts, CIGGG, remind him who inhales his dick.
Find Dan Savage's weekly podcast every Tuesday at thestranger.com/savage. Send mail to [email protected], @fakedansavage on Twitter.


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2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
TRIM | Original MSRP | 5-Year Cost to Own | Compare |
2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Expert Review
Staff Writer
The 2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid adds some eco-friendly credibility to the crossover with a powertrain that combines a gas engine with an electric motor. Together, they produce a net horsepower figure of 280, while boosting fuel economy to 28 mpg in the city and 28 mpg in the highway over the previous Highlander Hybrid. The gas engine models range from 17 to 20 mpg in the city and 22 to 25 mpg on the highway.
From there, the Highlander Hybrid is virtually identical to its gas-powered counterparts. Visually, the hybrid is fitted with a slightly modified front fascia with a single bar grille and hybrid badges on the front fenders and rear tailgate. The Highlander Hybrid Limited is fitted with unique, 10-spoke, 19-inch wheels. Inside, the hybrid features three rows of seats, which seats seven passengers. The instrument gauges are backlit in a blue color, while the gas-powered Highlanders feature red. Additionally, the hybrid's instrument cluster features a hybrid system power meter that provides info on the amount of power the batter is receiving from regenerative braking.
Body style: Sport/utility vehicle
Engine: 3.5L V-6 + electric motor
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Models: Highlander Hybrid, Highlander Limited Hybrid
The entire Toyota Highlander lineup has been carried unchanged from the 2011 model year. Like its gasoline-powered counterparts, the hybrid received a sizable facelift last year, which included updated front fascias. The Highlander Hybrid now features a single-bar grille that blends into headlights that wrap around the front fender. The rear was also slightly reworked, with a new taillight design and metallic accent bar that sits above the license plate.
The Highlander Hybrid features simple, yet handsome styling that is accented with chrome touches on the bottom of the door and on the bottom edge of the front bumper. The front also features a hybrid-specific grille that is a one-bar design with the Toyota logo centered below the hood line. Further setting the hybrid apart from the gas-powered models are badges affixed to the front fenders and the rear tailgate.
The Highlander hybrid comes standard with a long list of tech features including Bluetooth, Sirius satellite radio, an auxiliary jack, a USB port with iPod connectivity, and 12V power outlets. The Limited model adds a number of luxury items such as perforated leather seats with heat function, three-zone climate control, wood-grain style interior trim, and chrome-like interior door handles. A rear seat DVD player with a 9-inch screen and two wireless headphones are optional for both hybrid models.
The Highlander hybrid's powertrain features a 3.5-liter V-6 engine supplemented by an electric motor that not only enhances fuel efficiency, but also performance. Together, the powertrain is rated 280 net horsepower with a 0-60 mph time of just over seven seconds and a combined EPA rating of 28 mpg. Aside from the powertrain, the hybrid shares the same underpinnings as its gasoline counterparts, which means it has four-wheel independent suspension that ensures a comfortable and car-like ride.
Toyota's Star Safe System is standard fare for the Highlander Hybrid and includes the following: four-wheel anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution, Vehicle Stability Control. Traction Control, and Smart Stop Technology, which cuts off engine power if both the gas and brake pedal are pushed simultaneously. Additionally, seven airbags are standard and provide protection for the front, front side, side curtain, and driver's side knee.
Highlander Hybrid: 28 mpg city/28 mpg highway
- Fuel economy
- Unique Styling touches
- Seven passenger capacity
- Only available in 4WD
- Costly with options
Excellent people-hauler with almost 30 mpg.
- Volkswagen Touareg TDI
- Mazda CX-9
2012 Toyota Highlander Hybrid Specifications
Engine Name | V6, Hybrid, 3.5 Liter |
Trim | Base 4WD |
Horsepower | 231@5,800 |
Torque | 215@4,800 |
Number Of Cylinders | 6 |
Front Headroom | 40.6 in |
Rear Headroom | 36.3 in |
Front Legroom | 43.2 in |
Rear Legroom | 29.9 in |
Front Shoulder Room | 59.7 in |


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Imperial Bush A closer look at the Bush record -- from the war in Iraq to the war on the environment
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By Robert Parry February 18, 2006
Nor does the press corps tie Bushs remarkable abrogation of both U.S. and international law together in any coherent way for the American people. At best, disparate elements of Bushs authoritarian powers are dealt with individually as if they are not part of some larger, more frightening whole.
Whats even odder is that the facts of this historic power grab are no longer in serious dispute. The Bush administration virtually spelled out its grandiose vision of Bushs powers during the debates over such issues as Jose Padillas detention, Samuel Alitos Supreme Court nomination and the disclosure of warrantless wiretaps.
For instance, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has defended the wiretapping program in part by citing the inherent powers of the President to override laws during war time, an argument that the administration also has applied to detentions without trial, abuse of prisoners, launching foreign military operations and committing extra-judicial assassinations.
All Bush has to do, it seems, is deem someone an enemy combatant or an affiliate of some terrorist group and that persons life and liberty are delivered into Bushs hands, without any impartial evaluation of the evidence.
Unique Authority
But what makes Bushs assertion of authority uniquely dangerous in U.S. history is that his claim of plenary or unlimited powers as the Commander in Chief are not made in the short-term context of a national crisis or a war with a definable end.
Rather these presidential powers have been asserted during what administration officials are calling the Long War against terrorism, a conflict that could well last for decades and quite possibly forever. Instead of the Long War, it could really become the Endless War.
In other words, the American system of government as the world has known it for two-plus centuries with its unalienable rights and its checks and balances has effectively come to an end.
Yet this earth-shaking development is barely a news story in the United States. Even when prominent Democrats and some Republicans draw troubling conclusions about Bushs megalomania, the major news media barely mentions the protests.
For instance, Sen. Russ Feingold observed in a Feb. 7 speech to the Senate about Bushs warrantless surveillance, this administration reacts to anyone who questions this illegal program by saying that those of us who demand the truth and stand up for our rights and freedoms have a pre-9/11 view of the world. In fact, the President has a pre-1776 view of the world.
But Feingolds declaration, implicitly comparing Bush to King George III, got far more attention on Internet blogs than in the mainstream news media.
Another of the few political leaders who has sounded the alarm is former Vice President Al Gore, who addressed the issue of presidential power in a largely ignored speech on Jan. 16, the holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
An Executive who arrogates to himself the power to ignore the legitimate legislative directives of the Congress or to act free of the check of the judiciary becomes the central threat that the Founders sought to nullify in the Constitution an all-powerful Executive too reminiscent of the King from whom they had broken free, Gore said.
As the Executive acts outside its constitutionally prescribed role and is able to control access to information that would expose its actions, it becomes increasingly difficult for the other branches to police it. Once that ability is lost, democracy itself is threatened and we become a government of men and not laws. [See Consortiumnews.coms End of Unalienable Rights.]
Info War
The Bush administrations obsession with controlling the flow of information also carries a foreboding sense of doom to anyone who believes in a vibrant democracy. It now appears that Bushs concept of a terrorist affiliate is sliding inexorably toward covering people who present facts that undermine Bushs information warfare goals.
On Feb. 17, in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld declared that the battle over information will be a decisive front in the War on Terror and juxtaposed the enemy and news informers as part of the problem.
We are fighting a battle where the survival of our free way of life is at stake and the center of gravity of that struggle is not simply on the battlefield overseas; its a test of wills, and it will be won or lost with our publics, and with the publics of other nations, Rumsfeld said.
We'll need to do all we can to attract supporters to our efforts and to correct the lies that are being told, which so damage our country, and which are repeated and repeated and repeated.
Let there be no doubt, the longer it takes to put a strategic communication framework into place, the more we can be certain that the vacuum will be filled by the enemy and by news informers that most assuredly will not paint an accurate picture of what is actually taking place.
Already, Bushs allies in the right-wing news media have taken to accusing news informers and other critics of Bushs policies of aiding and abetting the enemy and of committing treason.
At times, the White House has coordinated these right-wing media attacks with government leaks to target critics, such as the disclosure of CIA officer Valerie Plames identity after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, challenged Bushs case for war in Iraq.
Throwing Down the Gauntlet
So, in big ways and small, the Bush administration has thrown down the gauntlet to Americans who want to protect individual liberties and preserve the democratic Republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers.
But a major obstacle to any unified resistance to Bushs authoritarian model is the failure of the news media to explain these historic developments to the public. More often, the big newspapers and networks have bowed to the administrations news management.
The New York Times, the Washington Post and other key U.S. news outlets only grudgingly admitted that they let the country down before the Iraq War by swallowing Bush administration claims on Iraqs weapons of mass destruction.
But little has really changed in the past three years, either in the medias structure or in the pecking order of elite columnists. With only a few exceptions, the commentators who bungled Iraq's WMD have survived and are still shaping or misshaping public opinion.
Indeed, most elite columnists are still acting as if all is normal that its not so strange that Bush is saying that he or his successors can do whatever they want to anyone in the world for the duration of the so-called Long War.
Even after the WMD debacle, most of these editorial writers and commentators continued to behave as Bushs cheerleaders, for instance, praising his Second Inaugural Address on Jan. 20, 2005, for its endless invocation of the words freedom and liberty.
The pundits also have kept spotting glimmers of hope in the Middle East, even as the U.S. position has grown grimmer and grimmer. A year ago, these commentators were hailing Bush for unleashing the cleansing winds of democracy across the Middle East.
But the pundits missed the fact that many of those regional developments were unrelated to Bushs invasion of Iraq. They also didnt catch the possibility that elections might not bring the blessings of peace and moderation that Bush promised.
Like many of his U.S. press colleagues, New York Times foreign policy columnist Thomas L. Friedman pronounced himself unreservedly happy about the Iraqi election of Jan. 30, 2005, adding: you should be, too.
But there was always a dark potential to the pleasing images of Iraqis voting with stained fingers. Rather than pointing toward an exit for the United States from Iraq, the election actually was a way for the Shiite majority to consolidate its sectarian control of Iraq, further isolating and alienating the rival Sunni minority.
However, this sobering possibility was banished mostly to the Internet and other fringes of American media.
At Consortiumnews.com, we wrote that if the Sunni-based insurgency doesnt give up in the months ahead, American soldiers could find themselves enmeshed in a long and brutal civil war helping the Shiite majority crush the resistance of the Sunni minority. The Sunnis, who have long dominated Iraq, find themselves in a tight corner and may see little choice but to fight on. [See Sinking in Deeper.]
But the big media was busy waving its pom-poms.
Tipping Points
After those Iraqi elections and several other regional developments, Friedman was perceiving historical tipping points that foreshadowed incredible, positive changes in the Middle East. [NYT, Feb. 27, 2005]
To Friedman, this expected transformation of the Arab world would also be a personal vindication for his endorsement of the bloody Iraq War, which has now killed nearly 2,300 U.S. soldiers and tens of thousands of Iraqis.
The last couple of years have not been easy for anyone, myself included, who hoped that the Iraq war would produce a decent, democratizing outcome, Friedman wrote. [NYT, March 3, 2005]
A lead editorial in the New York Times struck a similar tone, crediting Bush for supposedly inspiring democratic changes in Lebanon and Palestine, not to mention Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Bush administration is entitled to claim a healthy share of the credit for many of these advances, the editorial said. [NYT, March 1, 2005]
Over at the Washington Posts Op-Ed page, there was similar applause for Bush and the neoconservative vision of imposing democracy on Arab nations by force.
Could it be that the neocons were right and that the invasion of Iraq, the toppling of Hussein and the holding of elections will trigger a political chain reaction throughout the Arab world? marveled Post columnist Richard Cohen. [Washington Post, March 1, 2005]
Another influential Post columnist, David Ignatius, also was swept up in the excitement.
The old system (in the Middle East) that had looked so stable is ripping apart, with each beam pulling another down as it falls, Ignatius wrote. Crediting the U.S. invasion of Iraq for the sudden stress that started the collapse, Ignatius wrote, Its hard not to feel giddy, watching the dominoes fall.
Ignatius hailed what he called the Middle Easts glorious catastrophe and urged the United States to do what it could to accelerate the process.
We are careening around the curve of history, and its useful to remember a basic rule for navigating slippery roads: Once youre in the curve, you cant hit the brakes. The only way for America to keep this car on the road is to keep its foot on the accelerator, Ignatius wrote. [Washington Post, March 2, 2005]
(Its not clear where this Post columnist went to driving school, but few instructors would tell their pupils, who find themselves sliding into an icy curve, to step on the gas.)
Another Washington Post columnist, neoconservative Charles Krauthammer, sounded like a modern-day Trotsky and Robespierre, urging an escalation of Bushs radical strategies. Revolutions do not stand still, Krauthammer wrote. They either move forward or die. [Washington Post, March 4, 2005]
This conventional wisdom of Bush bringing democratic enlightenment to the Arab world also permeated the news pages.
A powerful confluence of events in the Middle East in recent weeks has infused President Bushs drive to spread democracy with a burst of momentum, according to supporters and critics alike, reported the Washington Post in an awestruck page-one article. [March 8, 2005]
Failed Promise
Just a year later, however, it is clear how off-the-mark these columns were. Many of the developments viewed by the pundits as interrelated and inspired by the Iraq War were actually reactions to distinct local conditions.
The Lebanese protests against Syrian occupation were not influenced by Bushs invasion of Iraq or his freedom Inaugural Address, but rather by growing impatience with the longtime Syrian presence. Those tensions were brought to a head by the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and suspicions of Syrian complicity.
A year ago, a brief revival of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks was sparked by the death of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat and the desire of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to leave behind a more positive legacy. [See Consortiumnews.coms Neocon Amorality or Bushs Neocons Unbridled.
Another giant hole in the conventional wisdom was that elections which would likely reflect the angry mood of Muslims at this time could well take the region in the opposite direction, toward greater religious fundamentalism and extremism.
Contrary to Bushs happy rhetoric about how history has proven that democracies yield the peace, the reality can be the opposite. Historically, voters in democratic societies often have responded to fear, hate, religious fervor or some other irrational stimuli in supporting political demagogues who provoke unnecessary wars.
Historians can trace this pattern from Ancient Athens to the war fever that Bush released in the United States in 2002 before invading Iraq. While democracies have many admirable qualities, moderation and peacefulness are not always among them.
Anyone with a sense of history and an awareness of the animosities in the Islamic world should not have been surprised that some recent elections served to exacerbate sectarian tensions and bring religious fundamentalists to power.
In Iraq, elections indeed did solidify the power of the Shiite majority over the Sunnis. The pro-Iranian Shiite parties and their Kurdish allies also have consolidated their control of the nations oil riches, leaving the Sunnis without either political power or oil wealth and thus creating new incentives for them to fight on.
The year-ago optimism about Palestine also proved to be misplaced. Not only have prospects for peace talks foundered, but a stroke removed Sharon from power and a new crisis has emerged after Islamic militants in Hamas defeated the more secular Fatah movement in a Palestinian election.
Now, rather than hailing those blessings of democracy, Israel and the United States are considering ways to isolate, bankrupt and destroy the elected Hamas government.
Blind Media
So, instead of democracy ushering in a new era of peace and moderation in the Middle East, the opposite appears to be occurring.
By pushing for elections while simultaneously stirring up Islamic fury over Iraq and other issues, Bush is opening the door to more violence, more extremism and more anti-Americanism.
All of these possibilities were logical outgrowths of what was occurring a year ago. Indeed, it should have been obvious to U.S. analysts that elections represented a huge risk amid Muslim animosity over the Iraq occupation, the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, and long-term U.S. support for Israel and corrupt Arab leaders.
But many leading U.S. columnists were caught off-guard by these developments, much as they were duped by Bushs claims about Iraqs WMD. Yet these error-prone columnists havent been fired or replaced.
Now, the danger is the medias failure to react to Bushs unprecedented assertion of power inside the United States.
Just as the nations elite editorial pages misunderstood the reality in the Middle East, most columnists are missing the extraordinary transformation now underway toward a system of American authoritarianism.
The pundits would rather bathe in the feel-good rhetoric about Bush spreading freedom and democracy around the world than face the harsh reality of Bush eradicating constitutional safeguards at home.
[For more on Consortiumnews.coms reporting on the media crisis and the Middle East, see Politics of Preemption, Giving War a Chance, The Bush Rule of Journalism, Washingtons Ricky Proehl Syndrome, LMSM the Lying Mainstream Media, Iraq & the Logic of Withdrawal, Explaining the Bush Cocoon, Alito & the Point of No Return, and Alito & the Media Mess.]
Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Secrecy & Privilege: Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq, can be ordered at secrecyandprivilege.com. It's also available at Amazon.com, as is his 1999 book, Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth.'
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Consortiumnews.com is a product of The Consortium for Independent Journalism, Inc., a non-profit organization that relies on donations from its readers to produce these stories and keep alive this Web publication. To contribute, click here. To contact CIJ, click here.


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The Shakespeare Institute will be hosting two open afternoons for prospective students on Thursday 24 January 2013 and Thursday 14 March 2013.
These dates coincide with our Thursday Seminars, giving you an opportunity to attend a seminar by a visiting speaker, followed by a question and answer session. On 24 January, you will have an opportunity to see Gregory Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, while the seminar on 14 March will be led by Professor Neil Corcoran, Emeritus Professor, University of Liverpool, and looks at 'Hamlet in the Cold War: Zbigniew Herbert's 'Elegy of Fortinbras' and its Contexts'.
During the open afternoons we will also offer tours of the Institute and the chance to meet current students and speak with programme convenors. You will be able to see the Institute at 'work' and experience what it is like to study here.
If you would like to find out more or attend either of our open afternoons, please contact Juliet Creese on email@example.com.


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Sierra Leone parents seek answers in adoption case
FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) Balia Kamara's mother sent her to a center in northern Sierra Leone so the 5-year-old could receive an education and food, and stay out of harm's way during the West African country's brutal civil war.
The mother visited Balia at the Help A Needy Child International center, known as HANCI, regularly for two years until 1998, when the children there were taken to Sierra Leone's capital for medical examinations. They never returned.
Parents of about 30 children at the center say they only later learned that the children had been adopted by Americans and sent abroad without permission.
"We were reluctant to hand over the child," recalled Balia's mother, Mariama Jabbie, in an interview with The Associated Press. "When they told us that they were going to educate her up to college level, we decided to hand her over. That was how they were able to entice us to do so."
In 2004, the center's director and two of his employees were arrested and charged with conspiracy to violate adoption laws. Those charges against them though ultimately were dropped and the case disbanded, according to court records.
Now more than a decade after the children disappeared, Sierra Leone's government said late Wednesday it is setting up a national commission of inquiry to re-examine the case of the HANCI children following years of pressure from their biological parents.
The American agency that facilitated the children's adoptions maintains it has no knowledge of any wrongdoing on the part of their staff in the West African nation.
Last month, the children's biological parents stormed the office of Sierra Leone's social welfare minister, demanding the government help them find a way to communicate with their children. A spokesman for the parents, Kassim Kargbo, said they had traveled from villages in the north nearly 100 miles from the capital.
The parents also published an open letter to President Ernest Bai Koroma in a local newspaper. They asked Sierra Leone's government to reopen the case against those who ran the HANCI center where the children were staying.
Sierra Leone is not the only country where there has been controversy over whether parents have given sufficient consent for adoptions. Guatemala suspended international adoptions for nearly two years after the discovery that some babies were being sold.
In Argentina, the government confirmed that hundreds of children were taken from dissidents and raised by military families or others that supported the ruling military junta in the 1970s and early 1980s. El Salvador has worked to reunite children who were also separated from their families during that country's civil war and adopted by foreign families.
The HANCI adoption case in Sierra Leone began amid the country's devastating decade-long war that ended in 2002, a conflict dramatized in the film "Blood Diamond."
Rebels burned villages, raped women and turned kidnapped children into drugged teenage fighters. Tens of thousands of civilians died and countless others were left mutilated after rebels cut off body parts with machetes. The U.S. State Department says 134 children were adopted between 1999 and 2003, the year after the war ended.
Abu Bakarr, who is now the coordinator for the birth parents of the adopted children, said that the HANCI center in Makeni refused to return the children to their parents in 1998. Those who ran HANCI said reducing the number of children at the center would affect its funding, Bakarr said.
HANCI ultimately contacted Maine Adoption Placement Services (MAPS) to foster U.S. adoptions, and MAPS says it placed 29 of the 33 children from the home with adoptive parents in the U.S. HANCI maintains the parents gave informed consent. It said the agreements also were taken to Makeni's magistrate court for clearance
"It was made clear to the parents that all the children kept at the center were for adoption," HANCI said in a statement released late last year. "Each parent completed and signed a document to the effect."
When reached by The Associated Press, Maine Adoption Placement Services' chief executive officer said she stood by earlier statements about the case.
"MAPS has no knowledge of any wrongdoing on the part of our Sierra Leone staff and are cooperating fully with the investigation," Stephanie Mitchell said.
The legal process for the adoptions was approved at the time by Sierra Leone's government, as well as by the U.S. State Department, she said. "We've heard nothing officially from anyone from Sierra Leone for years," she added.
But the children's birth parents say that adoption was never mentioned, nor was a trip out of the country. For years they never knew what had become of the children and feared they may have been killed during the war. Not until 2004 did they learn they were adopted by Americans, Bakarr said.
"I only thumb-printed the form to the effect that the center was going to take care of my two children," said Pa Brima Kargbo, whose 6-year-old daughter Adama and 3-year-old son Mustapha were placed at the center. "Now we want to see our children whether they are dead or alive, even if it is for two days."
Chuck Johnson, the acting CEO of the National Council for Adoption, said Sierra Leone requires annual post-adoption reports until the child reaches the age of 18.
Mitchell said MAPS has been diligent in sending annual post-placement reports, along with photos of the adopted kids, to authorities in Sierra Leone as required.
"We can produce copies of those," she said. "We've been very rigorous."
While Sierra Leone is opening a national commission of inquiry, it is highly unlikely to bring the closure the birth parents are seeking. Mitchell said if the government requests contact be established between the adoptive families and birth families: "I think they would have the right to say no."
Johnson doubts the U.S. would try to enforce anything beyond the post-adoption report requirement.
"It would be up to the agency to try and convince adoptive families to do more than initially required of them," he said.
It's been nearly 15 years since Sulaiman Suma last saw his 4 -year-old daughter Mabinty and 3 -year-old son Sulaiman. Both are now young adults believed to be living in the United States.
"We want our children who were sold to these white people," Suma said. "We want to know whether they are alive or dead."
Carley Petesch reported from Johannesburg. Associated Press Writer David Crary in New York contributed to this report.


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Becoming an Actor or an Actress is the dream of many people. Stardom is the goal of many, but the reality of few. You'll need Strong Will, Perseverance, Time, Talent, Commitment and Dedication.
Becoming an Actor or an Actress is often a long road with many sacrifices along the way, however it is possible. Get all the experience that you can, and take every opportunity and role possible. Get your name and face out there. That is how you get known and this is where we can help!.
Here is the basic road to becoming a star:
The first thing you need to do is to get in contact with a talent agency and set up an audition. This will establish you with an agency before uprooting yourself and moving with only a dream.
You will instead have a foundation to build on.
The second thing you need to do to become an Actor or Actress is to enroll in some professional acting classes. Do this near your home. Also, get involved in some acting at the local scene. Join your community drama club or theatre and get a little experience under your belt.
We can advise you on the possibilities that you have around your area.
Now that you have got involved with a talent agency and found a path for experience in your city. You will need to be readily available to attend all auditions or casting calls that your agent sets you up with.
Jump at nearly every opportunity that comes your way. Take every role you can get, for experience if nothing else. Expect to start at the bottom and work your way up. Not everyone becomes a breakthrough artist right away.
Now, become a star!
Make your dreams come true and become part of the celebrity world!
Work and work hard, and it can happen.
We are always seeking for Acting Roles (Cast) and associated support roles:
- Male Lead Actors
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… and support people for Actors:
- Dialogue coach
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At ICONS INTERNATIONAL, the specialists in emerging markets and innovation, we will be glad to present you the opportunities and help you to be successful in this fascinating business.
Please forward your inquiries to firstname.lastname@example.com . We will be glad to inform and assist you.


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Our Poetic Asides inaugural Poet Laureate, Sara Diane Doyle, has been busy-busy-busy this summer working with teen writers. But not too busy to share with her fellow Poetic Asides crew a new poetic form she developed with one of her students, David Edwards. Since Sara knows the form best, I'll let her explain the form to you in her own words.
Pasted from http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides/poetry-craft-tips/new-poetic-form-the-roundabout
A few months ago I began exploring various poetic forms. With each form I tried, I would post my attempt on a forum for teen writers, where I am a mentor. One of the teens, David Edwards, got interested in forms, especially the "created" forms. He asked if anyone could invent a form and I said "sure!" Then, he got the crazy idea that we should create a form together.
To start, we wanted to throw in every poetic element that we really liked. David came up with the meter and feet and I added in the repeating line. We came up with the rhyme scheme and length together. The result is a form we call the Roundabout. In this form, the rhyme scheme comes full circle while offering repetition of one line in each rhyme set.
The Roundabout is a four stanza poem, with each stanza consisting of 5 lines. The poem is written in iambic and the lines have 4 feet, 3 feet, 2 feet, 2 feet and 3 feet respectively. The rhyme scheme is abccb/bcddc/cdaad/dabba. Roundabouts can be on any subject.
Several of the writers on our forum have written Roundabouts and have had a blast." We would love for other poets to give it a try! Here are some examples to get you started.
by David Edwards
Around around the carousel
across the circles face
we cry we shout
we crash about
across the circles face
and ever always breakneck pace
by this unending route
and twists and turns
and breaks and burns
by this unending route
of ever always in and out
the yearling quickly learns
to run and yell
at ocean's swell
the yearling quickly learns
to run and leap and then he earns
but he will never tell
there's not a chase
that wins the race
but he will never tell.
When Spring Trips 'Round
by Sara Diane Doyle
When wildflowers bloom once more
and raindrops touch the earth,
the faeries come
to start the hum
and raindrops touch the earth!
Come join the song, the dance the mirth!
Enjoy the juicy plum.
beneath the sun
'til day is done-
enjoy the juicy plum!
The clouds let out the beating drum-
rejoice with us as one.
Our joy we pour
for pain we bore-
rejoice with us as one.
Of gleeful hope, the snow knows none,
but speaks of faeries lore,
of magic birth,
the greatest worth
but speaks of faeries lore.
My Thanks to Poetic-Asides.
Specifications restated:
Roundabout is:
A 20 line poem, attributed to David Edwards
Stanzaic: Consisting of 4 five-line stanza
Metered: Iambic with feet of 4/3/2/2/3 per line
Rhyme Scheme: aBccB bCddC cDaaD dAbbA
Refrain: L2 is repeated as L5 in each stanza
My Example
The driver thought he'd save some time.
although the sign said no.
he'd always say
he knew the way
although the sign said no.
His load was long but even so
'twas shorter this-a-way.
He drove enough
and knew his stuff —
'twas shorter this-a-way.
He shrugged and said "I'll be okay",
he put the truck in gear.
He took his time
and did the crime;
he put the truck in gear.
Half through the loop, he could not clear;
it cost him many dime
to learn what's so;
when he could go
it cost him many dime.
© Lawrencealot – January 20, 2015
Photo credit: taken by poet.


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I'll start off with the bits I like: F05 give a nice demonstration of how the choice of prior can have a significant influence on the resulting pdf in a probabilistic estimation, especially when the observational evidence is quite weak. Furthermore, markedly different results can be generated by different, but apparently natural and plausible, ways of describing initial ignorance. Therefore the same evidence could be used to draw quite different conclusions due to what are ultimately fairly arbitrary choices. It's obviously an important point that doesn't appear to have been adequately considered in at least some previous work.
If they'd stopped there, I'd have had nothing to complain about. But now on to the bits I don't like so much. Firstly, they present what they see as the solution to this problem - they assert that we should choose the prior to be uniform in the variable which we are trying to estimate (ie uniform in climate sensitivity, if we are wishing to estimate this). This, in their words, "resolves" the "arbitrariness" and allows them to generate what they describe as "objectively determined" estimates. "Objective" is a dangerous word to use here, as the probability cannot be objective in the sense of a frequentist probability - what they presumably mean is merely that they are providing an automated rule that removes this element of choice from the procedure (or perhaps, imposing their own subjective judgement in place of anyone else's). But that's not the biggest problem I see in their suggestion. Where their method really falls down is that it generates results which are not self-consistent. As we demonstrate in our comment, their method will generate the pair of results P(X>3)=2.3% and P(X4>34)=7.8% from a single observation of X=2+-0.5. Under any standard definition of Bayesian probability, P must be a function, which (again by definition) means it must be single-valued. But X > 3 and X4 > 34 are precisely the same proposition (there's no sleight-of-hand with negative values here: X is positive definite, and I could equally have used X3 or X5). Therefore their P cannot be a probability at all!
There are some generalisations of probability (Dempster-Schafer theory) in which probabilities are defined as taking a range of values. Elmar Kriegler is the only person I know who's gone any distance down this path within climate science. Arguably, this provides a better framework in situations of deep uncertainty, but handling these issues correctly is far from trivial (note that a uniform prior in X does not actually represent a state of true "ignorance", but rather the specific belief that 10 < X < 20 is ten times as likely as 2.5< X < 3.5, for example). It is not at all clear to us that F05 have provided adequate theoretical justification and underpinnings for what is in fact a rather drastic challenge to the standard view of Bayesian probability, and they certainly haven't (IMO) drawn sufficient attention to the radical implications of their work.
The other complaint we have about their paper is in their description of the sort of problems that we are all attempting to answer. They say:
Unless they are warned otherwise, users will expect and answer to the question "what does this study tell me about X, given no knowledge of X before the study was performed?"(and they use "no knowledge" to justify their choice of a uniform prior). In context, this could reasonably be re-written as (A) "what would our estimate of climate sensitivity be, if we had no data and knowledge other than that directly considered by this study?"
However, it seems clear to us that what users really want to know is (B) "what is our estimate of climate sensitivity, using all of our data and knowledge?"
The answer to question A will necessarily have greater uncertainty than the answer to question B. If someone wants to generate an estimate of climate sensitivity, they should use all of the data, either by explicitly considering it, or by the use of a prior which encapsulates (as accurately as possible) the information which the study doesn't directly look at! This is precisely the issue that our recent paperaddresses, so perhaps it is a bit harsh to pick on F05 in this respect (rather than the numerous other papers that have apparently mixed up the two questions in a similar way). On the other hand, these guys are specifically presenting a theoretical analysis of probabilistic estimation, together with recommendations as to how we should all go about it in future (rather than just having a go at producing an estimate themselves), so it's surely more important that they get it right. We certainly don't think that their opinions should be accepted by default, without some meaningful debate over the issues.
Inevitably, given the space constraints of a 2 page comment, it is hard to get the points across clearly without running the risk of appearing overly hostile. That's life, and I'm sure they have thick enough skins to cope. Indeed, depending how they reply, our comment might end up in the bin anyway - unlike most papers, where I only have to convince some neutral referees and can therefore be pretty confident of publication, in this instance there is (at least potentially) an opponent who will try their best to point out weaknesses in our case.
Both these comments, and the contents of our recent paper, are summarised on our poster for the EGU in a couple of weeks. It will be interesting to see how they go down. Unfortunately I'll not be there, so jules will have to face the angry horde by herself :-)


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What can a movie about a male stripper teach you about engaging your audience and giving them what they really want?
With a fistful of dollars and a few free evenings you could probably work it out on your own, but to save you an embarrassing conversation with your spouse or accountant, I'm going to give you a shortcut.
All the lessons you need to know are available in the new movie Magic Mike, the tale of a male stripper at a popular club in Tampa who trains his fellow dancers in the art of seducing from the stage.
On the surface it is two hours of beefcake drama. But by paying attention to more than just the muscles you can learn how to build a frenzy of excitement and loyalty from your own audience — no G-string required.
Cue the music, and let's get started.
Know what you are really selling
Dallas: [to Mike] "You are the husband they never had! You are that dreamboat guy that never came along!"
The naked men aren't the reason women flock to the strip club (well, not the only reason). Magic Mike knows these women are looking for an attractive, attentive man who is focused only on pleasing them, momentarily suspending their everyday responsibilities and routine. It's a welcome break from commutes, bills, and caring for others.
Magic Mike isn't selling beefcake, though it is a feature of his product. What he's really selling is escape from reality and an injection of excitement and attention into everyday life.
What are you selling?
When you know the intersection between your expertise and what your audience most desires, you can create an irresistible product for them. Your book, course or service isn't what you are selling; the end result the user gets is what is important: escape, confidence, comfort, knowledge, entertainment.
You know your target audience already. By digging through this demographic and psychographic information, you can find out what makes them tick and, more importantly, where they have problems.
The intersection of those problems and your expertise is the sweet spot.
- You are not selling a fitness product to baby boomers; you are selling continued independence and mobility as they age.
- You are not selling a location finder app to traveling sales people; you are selling confidence to show up to sales appointments on time.
- You are not selling a package tour to busy people; you are selling the ease of a worry-free vacation.
(Keep in mind people will not always buy what you think they need, so 'customer need' is not a good enough answer. They must also be willing to spend money for it.)
Case Study: Authors Sean Platt and David Wright of Collective Inkwell were early adopters of eBook self-publishing. These two quickly recognized the different formats in which eBooks could be consumed by busy people. They matched their delivery to something most people can relate to: television. Their 99-cent weekly "episodes" are hot property in a market most writers didn't even know existed.
When you know what your audience wants and why, you can create an irresistible product.
Grab their attention
Magic Mike: [Dressed as a police officer] We keep getting complaints about noise and underage drinking. Everybody sit down, we're gonna be here for a while. You don't have anything sharp on you that I can stick myself with, do you?
Kim: No.
Magic Mike: Good. 'Cause I do!
[rips off pants, women scream with delight]
The way you introduce your wares is almost as important as what you sell.
Imagine the only exterior sign at the strip club saying "Naked Men Inside." How many women do you think would go in? As a card-carrying woman, I can tell you the answer is close to zero.
In a scene from the movie, the strippers were hired to look like cops responding to a noise disturbance at a party. It shocked and titillated the women to first believe they were naughty enough to be in trouble with the law and then to be treated to a naughty show. These were good girls pretending to be bad girls for the night, and Magic Mike knew just how to bridge the gap for them.
Whether on stage or making house calls, Magic Mike knows how to make an entrance.
What is your opening act?
Surprising and delighting your readers with an attention-getting opener will entice them to keep reading and clicking around in your website.
Your headlines, email subject lines, and offers must appeal to your audience specifically, whether that means being saucy, academic, funny, heartfelt, or snarky. Your tone should match your audience profile.
The more general or mass appealing you decide to be, the less impact you'll have. Your target audience should know from the moment they arrive your content is specifically for them.
When you know you're alienating some people, you are probably doing it right.
Case Study: Danielle LaPorte knows her audience wants business success in a personally fulfilling, holistic way. She starts her messages with statements like this: "This is your guarantee of failure. Proceed anyway." For a mostly female audience of solo entrepreneurs who struggle with the idea of failure, this is the permission slip to do it anyway, especially when she shares how her own failures have shaped her eventual success.
If you can't first get your audience's attention, they'll never hear your message.
Provide consistently compelling content
Paige: [sees Mike counting money] Wow. That's a lot of ones.
Magic Mike: There are some fives in there.
Paige: Oh, ok. No twenties?
Magic Mike: Oh, you don't wanna know what I have to do for twenties.
When your basic content is a quality act, readers assume your paid products and services are of the same or higher quality.
When you provide inconsistent blog content, it sends a similar message about your paid offerings.
Imagine Magic Mike waiting for inspiration every night before the show, never knowing what he was going to do on stage until he got there. What if he only worked out when he felt like it instead of every day?
If the shows at the club were mediocre, or the men were no more buff than the average guy on the street, it would no longer be the destination of every bachelorette or 40th birthday party in the area. People would lose interest. Magic Mike would be Just Mike.
The show has to be great every night, and Magic Mike does the behind-the-scenes work to make this happen.
How do you provide consistently compelling content?
To make your content a total beefcake, you have to work out regularly. An excellent strategy is an editorial calendar, mapping out posts, eBooks, and courses on subjects most appealing to your audience. By giving it a few hours' thought, you can plan a series of strong, related content over the coming months to solidify your reputation as a reliable expert. This calendar also helps you create a basic "workout" schedule to get it done.
Your content becomes less about standalone instantaneous inspiration and more about ongoing expert execution. You go from occasional viral hits to steady traffic and sales week in and week out.
Case Study: Peep Laja of Conversion XL writes compelling, actionable, and heavily researched information on converting traffic. Every article is carefully crafted to give practical value to the reader in a subject many people don't understand. He never veers from his area of expertise, and he always adds live examples to illustrate his points. He doesn't have filler content on his site.
Peep's show is good every night, which is why his consultation services are in such high demand.
Anyone can write occasional compelling content in a burst of inspiration, but a pro knows how to turn that burst into a lucrative creative habit. An audience can definitely tell the difference.
Reward loyal fans
Dallas: Fact is, the law says you cannot touch!
Dallas: But I think I see a lotta lawbreakers up in this house tonight …
Treating all your traffic the same is a mistake.
That's why grocery stores and casinos have loyalty cards and your local car wash gives you a free wash after you buy 10. They want to encourage your continued patronage.
At the strip club, the person who is tucking bills in the G-string gets more attention from the dancers and wait staff than the person who doesn't tip. The party planner who often brings bachelorette and 50th birthday groups around gets better pricing and seating. A regular patron gets a discount drink card or half-price admission for bringing a friend.
Magic Mike wants his best customers to feel special so they will keep coming back with friends. They are the lifeblood of his business, and he doesn't forget it.
How do you reward loyalty?
Your email subscribers and customers have either paid you or given you permission to market to them. What can you offer them the occasional reader can't have? How can you give them that virtual punch card and reward for loyalty?
One effective way is with an original content newsletter, bonus report or short autoresponder series of valuable information. You can also give them discounts and coupons not available to the general public.
In my business, we write a more personal article every week for our email subscribers and run contests and giveaways that don't make it to the website. We have similar perks for our Facebook fans. We want them to know we appreciate their loyalty to us and highlight to occasional readers the value of subscribing.
Case Study: Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income does an excellent job with this in his email list, giving his subscribers first look and insider peeks on how he successfully runs his business. His emails are like notes from a friend — a smarter, more successful friend who really wants you to succeed, too.
When there is no distinction between an average reader and a loyal fan, you'll have a hard time creating the rabid fan base that will grow your business.
Promote new talent
Dallas: Will you welcome to the stage, the one, the only… Magic Mike!
Stripping is not a long-term career, and the club owner Dallas in the movie knows this. He went from figuratively 'owning' the stage when he performed to actually owning the entire club, bringing in fresh talent and expanding his business.
Your peers in the industry are not strictly competition, and acknowledging and promoting them does not diminish your standing.
You'll never become a leader in your industry without at least meeting the other leaders in your industry. When you reach out and get to know your peers, you'll find more opportunities for cross-promotion, guest posting, and joint ventures than trying to go it alone. In addition, by bringing in new talent you look more confident in your own core knowledge to your audience.
How do you promote your peers?
Don't assume your act is the only one, because it isn't. Your audience already knows this, and you should, too.
Reach out to a few bloggers in your sphere via email and start getting to know them. Stay up-to-date on what other people are saying and doing in your niche through Google Alerts and forums. Attend live events and tweetups to find your peers and introduce yourself.
Start thinking of them as collaborators instead of competition and see how many opportunities open up in front of you.
Case Study: Corbett Barr of Think Traffic has taken a similar route to club owner Dallas by promoting various experts on website traffic generation and retention on his site, and his monthly traffic reports are proof this strategy is working.
When you band together to create quality content and encourage up-and-coming talent, your audience will be even more committed to you. You have gone from the opening act to the owner of the club, emceeing the show on a nightly basis to a packed house.
Make the ask
As the show comes to a close, the emcee comes out to remind people how much fun they've had and to be sure to tip the staff. He will also call out special upcoming events to give people reason to come back with their friends. The audience is most inclined to take action on a request like this immediately at the end of a good show, and the emcee knows this.
Every bit of content you create is capable of seducing your audience, but it all leads up to your close. At the end of every performance, don't forget the call to action. It isn't seduction if you don't seal the deal, and the most frequent reason this doesn't happen is simply not asking for it in the first place.
- Like this? Share it on Facebook.
- Need more info on X, Y, or Z? Sign up for our e-course.
- Get more in-depth help on X by buying our latest book.
After a performance like that, your fans are perfectly primed to take the next step if you just ask.
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Tip your server by sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.
Just keep your hands where we can see them …


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Universal Orlando Surprises Fans with Access to Wizarding World of Harry Potter After Midnight Screening of "Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
Jul 15, 2011
Fan Events
Universal Orlando gave Harry Potter fans the surprise of a lifetime following the midnight screening of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" at Universal CityWalk's AMC theater.
More than 3,000 fans were given complimentary access to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter when the film ended at 3 a.m. All 20 screens playing the movie at the AMC Universal Cineplex were sold out. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter remained open for these select guests until 5 a.m.
Images of fans celebrating and entering the theme park in the early hours of the morning can be seen at this link!


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Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(CNN) — The first time Meredith Tollison's family attempted to take a group holiday photo, the effort ended in blood, sweat and tears.
Dressed up in jeans and white shirts, the Tollisons sat on the front steps of their Tupelo, Mississippi, home and brought their two cats and two dogs out for the happy family portrait.
"Our cats did not like being outside, especially next to the dogs, and we had a 5- or 6-year-old kid who was hating every second of it," Tollison said.
The photo shoot resulted in one of the cats scratching Tollison's husband across the head; the stress sent her stepson into a meltdown and Tollison worked up a sweat trying to wrangle the animals.
The portrait was "really disappointing," she said.
It did, however, inspire the Tollisons to take matters into their own hands. "We should just take separate photos of everyone and PhotoShop them together so we are one big happy family," Meredith said.
The next year, the family took a series of photos in the peaceful comfort of their house, where the animals could lounge around and be photographed in familiar spots. Soon, a holiday card emerged from the family computer.
"We ended up with our four animals plus one we had added and the three of us in the 'Brady Bunch' grid," she said, "with everyone looking in different directions like they did at the beginning of 'The Brady Bunch.' "
It was the start of a new tradition that has people begging to get on the Tollisons' holiday card list.
We don't have any kids, so our dog is our kid. Every year for the last 10 years he's been our card rather than us.
–Jeff Hielsberg, pet owner
Plenty of people eschew pre-packaged holiday cards for a more personal holiday photo greeting. While parents know that getting kids to sit still long enough for a good picture is a challenge, for pet owners taking the perfect portrait can be an even greater challenge. But it gives pet parents a chance to be creative and to capture their pet's personality.
"All my friends have kids, and they simply send the pictures of their kids," said pet owner Jeff Hielsberg. "We don't have any kids, so our dog is our kid. Every year for the last 10 years he's been our card rather than us."
Hielsberg describes the family dog, Dooz, as a patient holiday card model, who knows he's an only child. Quiet and analytical, he's the kind of dog who will beg to go outside and then steal Hielsberg's chair when he goes to get the leash.
Their holiday card routine consists of Hielsberg's wife, Kim, dressing Dooz in holiday costumes like reindeer antlers or a Santa suit, then holding down their dog and jumping out of frame as Jeff crouches down to doggy-eye-level. His SLR camera on sport mode, Jeff takes as many pictures as possible in one or two seconds.
Hielsberg then prints the cards himself. He looks for Dooz's personality to shine through in the winning shot.
He said: "90% of the pictures we can't send out because the eyes alone tell a story of, 'Help me!' "
"I've seen owners try to get pictures (of their pets) and I laugh," said Rupa Kapoor, a professional photographer who specializes in high quality pet portraits. Kapoor said many of her clients at Puparazzi Portraits get pretty animated trying to elicit a certain expression from their pet while they're in her studio.
Kapoor's approach is to bring her own energy way down when she's behind the camera. "I actually don't talk to the dogs very much," she said. The less she talks, the better the shots, she said.
She even makes sure to spell out the word T-R-E-A-T when she's photographing a dog, to make sure not to break the mood with an exciting word that many dogs will recognize.
The process of getting a personalized, pet-centric holiday card is worth the hijinks, said Jacob Stickann, the proud owner of two cats and a new dog.
"The first year I made a card it was rather impulsive, so I took the photo myself," he said. With his camera on a tripod and the timer set, he tried to take a self-portrait with both cats next to him. He cleverly put cat treats on the ground so the cats would be in frame, but the ruse didn't work.
"The cats would eat the treats too fast and then get away before I was able to hold them or they would squirm out of my arms and out of the frame before the timer went off," he said.
The photo he ended up with showed one of his cats batting at a silver garland behind him and the other squirming out of his arms.
The group portrait wasn't perfect, but families never are.
The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


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Courtney Love ran off with borrowed jewels.
A celebrity jeweler says Courtney Love hasn't returned nearly $114,000 worth of borrowed baubles, and the gem dealer is suing to get them back.Jacked from Access Atlanta
The rocker borrowed two white gold and diamond chains, a white gold, floral-design mesh bracelet and a pair of white gold and diamond pave hoop earrings on Sept. 21, Jacob & Co. said in a lawsuit filed Monday. The suit says she has returned only the bracelet, despite demands for the other pieces.
She indicated to the jeweler that she'd lost the items, but their agreement specified that she was responsible for them "regardless of loss or damage," said the company's lawyer, Jeffrey Klarsfeld. Love's spokesman and lawyer didn't immediately respond to messages.
The lawsuit seeks the gems or their $113,700 value.
Love fronted the platinum-selling, grunge-punk band Hole in the 1990s and was half of one of grunge's most famous couples: She is the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain, who killed himself in 1994. Also an actress, she has appeared in films including "The People vs. Larry Flynt" and "200 Cigarettes."
Love, 46, has had a series of legal and drug problems. She was sentenced in 2005 to 180 days at a drug treatment facility for violating probation in misdemeanor drug and assault cases. More recently, she's drawn attention for ranting online at a former bandmate and others, including a fashion designer who sued her over some remarks last year.
New York-based Jacob & Co. was founded by "Jacob the Jeweler" Arabov, also called Jacob Arabo. He gained cachet in hip-hop circles and became known as the "King of Bling" before going to federal prison in 2008 for lying to investigators looking into a multistate drug ring.
Notorious B.I.G., Madonna, Kanye West and Elton John have all worn his work; West name-checked him in songs including "Diamonds From Sierra Leone."
Prison records show Arabov was released in September.


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There aren't a ton of system tweakers for Linux, but we have to give a shout out to the very useful Ubuntu Tweak. It can change tons of extra settings in Ubuntu, make applications easy to install for beginners, and clean up unnecessary files on your system.
Ubuntu Tweak
Platform: Ubuntu
Price: Free
Download Page
View basic system information about your distribution, kernel, CPU, memory, and more
Tweak the session menu and the way Ubuntu handles logout, restart, and shutdown
Choose programs to auto-start at boot
Quick install popular applications, including those not in the Ubuntu Software Center (and easily add new repositories)
Clean up unneeded packages or cache to free disk space
Edit the splash screen, desktop icons, mounted volumes, and other visual tweaks
Tweak certain window manager settings
Much, much more
Where It Excels
Ubuntu Tweak makes it really easy to fix some of the tiny annoyances Ubuntu can have, or just tweak certain things to act the way you like them. What makes it better than, say, the Terminal is not only its ease of use but the fact that you can "browse" through its menus and see if there are any tweaks you might not have thought of. It also makes installing applications super easy (and contains many not available in the Software Center), not to mention it has a few convenient system cleaning features. It's especially fantastic for beginners that don't know much about Linux and just want to fix a few tiny things or install new applications.
Where It Falls Short
Ubuntu Tweak, like any tweaking application, can only do so much. Eventually you'll have to turn to the command line for certain tweaks, and while Ubuntu Tweak is great for beginners, one could argue it hinders them from actually learning how Linux works, which they'll have to do eventually. It also only works on Ubuntu, which is a big downside for users of other distros that don't get quite as much attention.
The Competition
Ubuntu Tweak doesn't have a ton of competition from what we could find. A program surfaced a year or two ago called Ailurus that really gave Ubuntu Tweak a run for its money, despite its smaller selection of applications. It's available for multiple distros and has a ton of extra settings, but it seems to have been abandoned recently—so unless you're a version or more behind on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Fedora, or Arch, it might not work on your system.
The command line is truly the best system tweaker on Ubuntu (though picking that for our App Directory entry would somewhat defeat the purpose). It can tweak anything on your system, as long as you look up how to do it, and the fact of the matter is that with Linux—unlike with Windows and its complicated Registry—it's almost impossible to use without learning the more advanced ins and outs. So, while something like Ubuntu Tweak might get you by at the beginning, don't be afraid of turning to the command line when Ubuntu Tweak falls short.
Know of any Linux tweaking apps we missed? Let us know about them in the comments.
Lifehacker's App Directory is a new and growing directory of recommendations for the best applications and tools in a number of given categories.


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Testosterone prescriptions for older men in the United States have increased more than three-fold over the past decade. Recent studies linking testosterone use with increased risk of heart attack and stroke have caused widespread concern among patients and their families. A new U.S.-based study of more than 25,000 older men shows that testosterone therapy does not increase men's risk for heart attack.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, examined 25,420 Medicare beneficiaries 66 years or older treated with testosterone for up to eight years. It appears in the July 2 issue of the Annals of Pharmacotherapy.
"Our investigation was motivated by a growing concern, in the U.S. and internationally, that testosterone therapy increases men's risk for cardiovascular disease, specifically heart attack and stroke," said Jacques Baillargeon, UTMB associate professor of epidemiology in the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health and lead author of the study. "This concern has increased in the last few years based on the results of a clinical trial and two observational studies," he said. "It is important to note, however, that there is a large body of evidence that is consistent with our finding of no increased risk of heart attack associated with testosterone use."
In recent years, the testosterone therapy market has grown to $1.6 billion annually as men seek to supplement low testosterone counts with products that may increase muscle tone and sex drive. Previous safety investigations presented conflicting findings. A few of these studies suggest testosterone is linked with increased risk of heart attack, although some critics have questioned the quality of these data. Doctors, researchers and government agencies all agree that more research into this issue is necessary.
The Food and Drug Administration decided June 20 to expand labeling on testosterone products to include a general warning about the risk of blood clots in veins. The FDA and European Medicines Agency are also further examining the safety of these products. This newest FDA warning comes shortly after the announcement that several testosterone treatment manufacturers, including Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie Inc., Eli Lilly and Company, Pfizer and Actavis, are facing a consolidated multidistrict litigation in Federal Court based on claims that they hid the risks of using testosterone treatments.
This new UTMB study evaluated enrollment and claims Medicare data for a clinically and socioeconomically diverse national sample treated with testosterone from 1997-2005. Men of the same age, race, Medicaid eligibility, and health status who did not receive testosterone therapy were used as a control group for comparison.
The analyses show that testosterone therapy was not associated with an increased risk of heart attack. Further, testosterone users with a higher probability of cardiovascular problems had a lower rate of heart attacks in comparison to equivalent patients who did not receive testosterone therapy.
"This is a rigorous analysis of a large number of patients," said Baillargeon. "Our findings did not show an increased risk of heart attack associated with testosterone use in older men," he said. "However, large-scale, randomized clinical trials will provide more definitive evidence regarding these risks in the coming years."
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