text:
When it's time for your annual physical, you know how you typically think of medical stuff to ask the doctor?
Well, don't do that anymore. Stop thinking. And keep your mouth shut unless you have a serious health concern, such as erectile dysfunction or pending death.
That was the lesson learned by Diane R., a 52-year-old Boylston resident who didn't want her name used, lest her health care provider suddenly decide that hey, those important tests actually aren't covered under section R2D2, and she also happens to need a daily colonoscopy.
Diane underwent a physical in November, now called a wellness visit, which is covered under her health insurance plan with no co-pay. During the visit, she happened to mention a minor ankle pain. The doctor looked at it and the ankle appeared normal, so he basically told her she could get an X-ray if the pain didn't subside.
Two months later, Diane and her husband were surprised to receive a doctor's bill for a $45 co-pay for the physical. Her husband called UMass Memorial Medical Center and was told that, yes, the exam was free. But the co-pay was charged because Diane had the temerity, during her annual physical, to ask about a medical condition. If you can believe the nerve. So in a nifty sidestep of the space-time continuum, she was charged for a second visit within the same time frame of the original visit.
Diane's husband was understandably baffled. He followed up with a call to Tufts Health Plan, his wife's insurer, and got the same answer. He was also told that Tufts was billed $277 for the "physical," and $188 for the casual ankle question, which took her doctor a whopping two minutes to answer. The bills reflected two visits on the same date and time.
"According to Einstein, this time-multiplier phenomenon doesn't exist, but I guess it does in the world of medical billing," Diane's husband said.
Clearly, we laypeople lack the advanced medical training needed to understand that a medical exam should not include actual medical questions for the doctor. These days, annual "wellness visits" are intended for basic maintenance, and you're not supposed to bother the doctor with arcane problems such as back pain, fatigue, your bum knee or the 12-inch machete protruding from your forehead. All of those issues cost extra.
Free annual wellness visits have been offered by Medicare since January 2011 as part of the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Barack Obama, and Medicare's protocol often becomes standard throughout the health care industry. The ACA targets waste, fraud and abuse, and the Department of Health and Human Services has been instructed to impose "quality and efficiency" measures on hospitals and doctors.
"The bottom line is, (wellness visits) are indeed a tricky area," said Dr. David Fairchild, senior vice president for clinical integration at UMass. "The annual physical doesn't cover problems. The doctor is obligated legally to bill those as separate complaints because they're not a health maintenance issue."
I told Dr. Fairchild about another instance in which a patient at a wellness visit tried to tell her doctor about a medical problem, but the doctor told her to stop talking or he'd have to charge her.
"As gruff as that sounds, that may be the most appropriate way to communicate," he said. "Most people don't know what their insurance covers. Doctors and patients need to talk about the billing implications."
Dr. Fairchild said he's sympathetic to Diane R. and understands her confusion.
"I'd be mad, too, if I was that patient," he said. "But we as providers are having it drilled into us that if we provide a service, you have to charge for it. Medicare makes a big deal out of fraud. And it's actually fraud to provide a service and not bill for it. We have to make sure we're billing and coding appropriately."
But Diane's husband called the system a scam and wondered if it was a way to get around the "free" wellness visits. Regardless, he said both doctors and patients are now caught in a medical Catch-22.
"If they warn the patients not to speak because of extra costs, it inhibits the care and makes patients angry," he said. "If they don't say anything, patients get billed later on and get angry. Am I ticked off about paying the $45? Nope. I'm ticked off that an environment is set up that makes a patient think twice before speaking up about a health problem. I don't think we should be getting health care for free, but we should have a fair, transparent system."
He thanked me for listening. I told him his first sentence was free, but I'd have to charge extra for the rest.


text:
Jackson calls for gun controls in annual Chicago jail sermon
By SOPHIA T AREEN
The Associated Press
Posted Dec 25, 2012 @ 06:34 PM
CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson advocated anti-violence and gun control Tuesday
during his traditional Christmas Day sermon at a Chicago jail, where he challenged inmates to
help get weapons off the streets.
Jackson has long been a supporter of gun control, including an assault weapons ban. He called
the deadly Dec. 14 shootings at a Connecticut elementary school a tipping point for the nation
when it comes to gun control.
"We've all been grieving about the violence in Newtown, Connecticut, the last few day s,"he told
reporters after addressing inmates at the Cook County Jail. "Most of those here today … have
either shot somebody or been shot. We're recruiting them to help us stop the flow of guns … We
need their awareness of the dangers of more guns and more drugs."
The civil rights leader didn't further detail his plan to involve inmates, say ing only that inmates
could provide insight.
Jackson walked around the jail auditorium and shook hands with inmates before taking the stage
to deliver a rousing sermon. Gospel singers and a band performed as Jackson covered a range of
topics, including crime and guns. He encouraged the hundreds of inmates to get tested for HIV,
register to vote and pray for forgiveness.
At one emotional point, Jackson called on inmates to get on their knees and ask for guidance to
turn their lives around.
"Y ou want to turn your jail cell into a classroom,"he told them. "Turn your jail cell into a pra er
Several inmates, with heads bowed, wiped away tears.
Jackson, 7 1 , has delivered Christmas Day sermons at jails for y ears. He say s the idea is to inspire
and invest in inmates so they don't return to jail. He was joined by other Chicago pastors and
U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a Chicago Democrat who also supports an assault weapons ban.
Davis has attended Christmas services at jails for more than two decades.
"It's a highlight of the day ,"Davis said. "I leave with a renewed spirit."

subset: commoncrawl


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The First DH&S Executive Family Seminar Talking, Listening, Sharing Firm history was made the first week in June at Stouffer's Inn in White Plains, New York, arid the 124 new partners, directors and their wives who were present appeared to have enjoyed the experience. The event was the first national Executive Family Seminar heid by Deloitte Haskins & Sells, with the emphasis on the husband-wife teamwork that becoming a partner or director implies. For the better part of the three days and evenings of the seminar the group was helped, through a carefully struc-tured program, to become aware of the possible ways of coping with conflicting pulls between their pro-fessional and their private lives. The seminar members listened to dis-cussion leaders, watched films and video tapes, read, wrote down their own thoughts, talked privately, spoke up publicly and conversed in small groups. They became immersed in the subjects under discussion. When it was all over several participants were heard to comment: "This is the most valuable meeting we have been to in years!" It was this accolade that marked the seminar as a resounding success. And to the best of the firm's knowledge, it is the first meeting of its kind in the public accounting profession. Bob Pivik, PiC-personnel, outlined the origin and purpose of the seminar when he opened the first day's proceedings: "Previously this meeting for new partners was called the Management Seminar, which was one part of our overall management education pro-gram for partners and directors. This year spouses are attending. [Editor's note: throughout the seminar the term "spouse" was used regularly, al-though this year all spouses happened to be wives. 1 Changes were made to accommodate that fact and the program was renamed the Executive Family Seminar.... "Becoming a partner or director is not something that happens on June 3, 1979, or on any one day, for that matter. The process started the day you joined the firm. And some time after that your spouse began to share to some extent whatever happened during the time that followed — your success, your disappointments, your joys, your frustrations, your growth, your doubts. It seems only fitting, then, that this time at this meeting should also be shared." Bob went on to explain that the sem-inar had evolved from similar programs, without spouses, started in the 1960s and changed in recent years to meet the needs of new partners. "Back in •1973 when we were converting the program primarily to the needs of new partners," he said, "the specific slant of those changes was conceived by Charlie Goldsmith (management Training specialist in EO continuing education) at the suggestion of his wife Yvonne. She had attended a similar pro-gram at the Harvard Business School under the direction of Dr Barrie Greiff. In a combined effort Barrie and John Drake developed and conducted the program at the 1974 management seminar, and at every seminar since, "I believe one of the objectives of this seminar is to help us cope with some of the realities of life. Certainly the firm contributes its share of encounters with business realities: career am-bitions versus perceived opportunities, relocation, travel, stress — to name a few. Within our personal lives we deal with other challenges: keeping com-munication lines open with family members, handling upsets, staying healthy mentally and physically and finding out more about ourselves. In simple terms, we have to keep up with the 'current developments' of life," Attendance of wives at the seminar was remarkably high, in view of the 13
Object Description
Talking, Listening, Sharing: The First DH&S executive family seminar
|Personal Name
Greiff, Barrie
Drake, John
MacDonald, Jenny
MacDonald, Neil
Nunan, Patrick
Sokota, George
Everson-Davis, Godrey
Steele, Charles G.
Steele, Shirley
Goldsmith, Charles
Kuntz, William E.
Haskins & Sells. Executive Office
|Photographs not included in the Web version.
DH&S Reports, Vol. 16, (1979 no. 3), p. 13-19
|Originally published by: Deloitte, Haskins & Sells
|Copyright and permission to republish held by: Deloitte
|PDF page image with corrected OCR scanned at 400 dpi
|Deloitte Digital Collection
|Digital Publisher
|University of Mississippi Library. Accounting Collection
|Date-Digitally Created


text: EU releases cybersecurity strategy Cybersecurity Law Alert Share this 15 FEB 2013 By: Jim Halpert Understanding the increasing threat of cybercrime and its potential impact on the economy, the EU Commission has published its proposal for a European cybersecurity strategy, together with a draft directive for consideration by the EU Parliament. These documents, which are at a much earlier phase of policy development than the Obama Administration's Cybersecurity Executive Order, were released on February 7, five days before that Executive Order. The strategy outlines the Commission's vision, clarifies roles and responsibilities between agencies and sets out the required actions to make the EU the safest online environment in the world. The strategy also sets out the principles that should guide cybersecurity policy in the EU and internationally, including the protection of fundamental rights of expression and privacy, access for all, democratic multi-stakeholder governance and a shared responsibility for security. The strategy sets out to achieve this through five strategic priorities to address the challenges. These are: To achieve cyber resilience by establishing, strengthening and modernising the resources available to prevent, detect and handle incidents. This will include agencies such as ENISA, the European Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-EU), national Network and Information Security (NIS) competent authorities and improve the preparedness and engagement of the private sector. The proposed legislation will ensure that players in key areas, such as energy, transport, banking and ISPs, assess the risk and ensure networks and information systems are reliable and resilient to attack. There will also be a general requirement to raise awareness regarding the risks, including through the conduct of coordinated publicity campaigns with the US commencing in 2014. Reducing cybercrime through establishing strong and effective legislation and an enhanced capability to combat cybercrime. Critical to these efforts will be the coordination and collaboration of efforts among the recently established European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) within Europol and national and regional law enforcement and judicial authorities. Developing cyberdefence policy and capabilities within the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Capability development will concentrate on detection, response and recovery form sophisticated attacked to increase the resilience of the ICT systems supporting the defence and national security interests of the member states. Developing industrial and technological resources for cybersecurity by encouraging a domestic EU-wide market for highly secure products and providing incentives for the private sector to adopt secure systems. This will be achieved in part by fostering more investment in R&D and innovation. Establishing a coherent international cyberspace policy for the EU and to promote its core value, including active participation in international efforts to build cybersecurity capacity and a renewed emphasis on working together with countries that have a like-minded approach and who share the same values. In this respect, cooperation with the US will be particularly important, notably in the context of the EU-US Working Group on Cyber-Security and Cyber-Crime. The proposed legislation is a key element of the strategy with the aim that it will improve protection for consumers, business and governments against NIS incidents. It would be used to ensure adequate preparation is achieved at a national level which would contribute to a climate of mutual trust and provide co-ordinated responses to cross-border events. The legislation would also be used to create a strong incentive to manage security risks effectively, by placing an obligation on public bodies and businesses to take "appropriate technical and organisational measures to manage the risks posed" to the security of NIS they control and use. They would also be obliged to notify the national nominated authority of any event having a "significant impact" on the security of the core services that they provide. These obligations would be supported by the power of the national nominated authority to investigate non-compliance and to impose sanctions that are required to be "effective, proportionate and dissuasive". In addition, the proposed legislation indicates that the national authorities have the power to make public information disclosed about security incidents and also to share the information with ENISA and the national authorities of other members states. It is important for US readers to understand that not only is the European Union strategy still in formation, but also that EU directives do not take effect upon passage and must be transposed into member states' laws through national legislation. For further information please contact [email protected] or Stewart James at [email protected]. WE ARE ALSO THINKING ABOUT What companies need to know about the Obama Administration's Cybersecurity Order FROM THE ARCHIVE UK: The real risk of cyber attack


text:
The unrest in the Middle East appears to have sparked a rising level of cyber attacks targeting both Israeli and pro-Palestinian entities, a US government agency said Friday. "Known targets have included Web sites operated by the Israeli government and military as well as Web sites operated by pro-Palestinian organizations including Hezbollah and Hamas," the National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) said.
The NIPC, a US government task force headed by the FBI, said that US Web sites could also be targeted. "Due to the credible threat of terrorist acts in the Middle East region, and the conduct of these Web attacks, recipients should exercise increased vigilance to the possibility that US government and private sector Web sites may become potential targets," the NIPC said.
It said the attacks are "transitory in nature, and do not pose a threat of lasting damage to Web sites." Israeli Web sites were hit by "automated e-mail floods and high volumes of coordinated requests for Web services by pro-Palestinian sympathizers," the statement said. Some of the e-mail flood attacks reportedly involved users of US free Web-based e-mail providers Yahoo and Hotmail, the agency said.
"While there are currently no indications that any specific US Web sites have been or will be targeted as a result of this activity, the NIPC recommends that recipients of this assessment remain vigilant to the possibility that there could be some spill-over activity and that US sites could become targeted."
Officials in Israel said Thursday the Internet site of Israel's foreign ministry crashed after it was flooded with information "attacks" from around the world. An Israeli official said one of the parties involved in the attacks "is controlled by the Shiites in the United States." The Web site of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, crashed for the same reason, he said, while the Israeli army's site has also been attacked but has not crashed. — (AFP, Washington)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)


text:
Cognitive Dissonance (BSP Extra)/
I am putting Episode 43 of Books and Ideas into the Brain Science Podcast feed because it should be of interest to BSP fans. This episode is an interview with psychologist Carol Tavris.
We talk about the relationship between psychology and neuroscience as well as cognitive dissonance, which is the subject of Dr. Tavris's recent book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts.
Post your comments in the thread on the BSP Discussion Forum in Goodreads or send me feedback at gincampbell at mac dot com.


text:
Moderators - firstname.lastname@example.com (will go to all moderators)
Email/Hangouts - email@example.com
Good decision really, gives Cullen a chance to show what he can do on possibly some helpful conditions. This is probably his last chance of international cricket for a little while, atleast until Hogg or Warne retires so he should really make the most of it.
The Future of International Cricket - Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravi Bopara, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Salman Butt, JP Duminy
Proud Supporter of the Bangladeshi Tigers
Ryan ten Doeschate - A Legend in the Making
MSN: firstname.lastname@example.com
Meh...Cullen is not a very good bowler. If he gets a game I will be surprised, I'll be even more surprised if he does well.
Cricketweb Colts Captain
I'm a member of Club KerryOriginally Posted by Richard
I'm Green
The color of immortality, nature and envy - you are truly a unique person. While clearly the color of nature, you also symbolize rebirth, fertility and hope in the world. On the other side of the spectrum, a natural aptitude to money with green coming to signify money and possibly even *********!
I think he is a decent long term prospect but it is a waste of time taking him to India. They should have picked Hayden or Jaques to keep the heat on Katich, the opening position is about the only debatable one left to fill for the WC.Originally Posted by Mister Wright
It's simple. He struggles to take wickets, why is he even in the Australian frame? It is ridiculous.Originally Posted by Great Birtannia
Phew! I thought I'd be the only one...Originally Posted by andyc
The way people go out of their way to support these young guys just because they are young borders on ridiculous. Good to know there are some out there who still value players on their performances and not their age.
I think its a good decision Cullen is a good bowler he was bowling well but the luck wasn't there.
So all of last season when he wasn't getting wickets against the top order and had to wait until about his 30th over and then took cheap tailend wickets he was bowling without luck?Originally Posted by pietersenrocks
I would have preffered if they took a development player like moises henriques.
No offense to Moises Henriques but I know that Australia do really want to win the Champions Trophy and by taking somebody like Henriques they would be weakening their chances. This is not the time to blood an Under 19 player at International level, they need to pick a player who could really perform for them and not someone as untested as Henriques.
A poor decision, but won't make a difference. I would be surprised if he gets a game as we all know that Hogg is a much better bowler..Originally Posted by James
Member of the AAAS
Member of CW Green | Stedingham Jets Grade Cricket Team | Northside Power
Manager of South Australia (WCC)
Winner of AFL Tipping 2006 | Winner of Wimbeldon Prediction 2006
James Hopes or Cameron could have been called up instead.Originally Posted by Perm
make it three here, i hope he comes good and i'm sure you do as well since when Warne, MacGill & Hogg goes Australia's spin resources will be very limitied at both levels of the game.Originally Posted by Mister Wright
TBH looking at Cullen bowl he doesn't look too much better than Nathan Hauritz who everyone seems to think was crap.
He definately seem to be a young prodigy in the making but unlike some of the Asian countries especially Australia wont normally expose such players that early.Originally Posted by brockley
If he has good season this year & next I expect to see Henriques pretty close to international selection by the end of 2007.
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With Eye on ObamaCare, Companies Move to Cut Workers' Hours
The list of companies moving to cut hours for part-time workers continues to grow, as employers look to keep staffers below the 30-hour threshold set by the Affordable Care Act.
Continue Reading Below
The Obama administration announced in July that it would delay the so-called employer mandate until 2015. ObamaCare requires that companies with 50 or more employees provide health insurance benefits to every full-time worker, considered to be anyone who logs an average of 30 or more hours a week.
Employers will be hit with a penalty for each full-time employee who isn't covered and instead purchases insurance through a federally subsidized exchange.
Although the administration delayed implementing the rule until 2015, the penalties for that year will be based on staffing levels recorded in the second half of 2014 at the latest.
As a result, several large companies and a long list of smaller businesses have changed their policies to cap weekly hours at 29.
According to an April survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 41% of 603 small business owners said they have delayed hiring because of the federal healthcare law. One in five already cut hours, while 20% have reduced payroll.
Mercer, a human resources consulting company, said its own survey found that 12% of all U.S. employers reported plans to reduce workers' hours as a direct result of the Affordable Care Act. The impact was more pronounced in the retail and hospitality industries, with 20% of employers saying they will cut part-time hours.
Most recently, theme-park operator SeaWorld Entertainment (NYSE:SEAS) revealed that it reduced its cap on weekly hours for part-timers to 28 from 32. The company does plan to add full-time hourly positions next year across its 11 parks, it said in a statement. Those full-time jobs will include healthcare benefits.
"The move is intended to bring consistency to the part-time designation across the SeaWorld Parks system," SeaWorld said.
A company spokesperson didn't comment beyond the statement when asked if the move was also intended to prevent part-time or seasonal employees from being classified as full-time under ObamaCare.
On Wednesday, the Huffington Post website reported that Trader Joe's, which currently providers healthcare benefits for its part-time workers, sent out a memo to staff detailing the company's plans to roll back the policy for employees who work less than 30 hours a week.
The California-based grocery chain determined that providing coverage for part-timers who log 18 hours or more will not be worth the cost under ObamaCare, since low-wage workers will be eligible for tax subsidies to buy insurance next year.
Also according to the memo, Trader Joe's will cut a check for $500 in January to help cover the cost of insurance purchased on the subsidized exchanges.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe's didn't respond to requests for comment.
Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE:WMT) made headlines early in the summer when a Reuters survey revealed the world's largest retailer was only hiring temporary employees in many of its stores, something it would normally do just during the holiday season.
Walmart said less than 10% of its workforce is temporary, compared to between 1% and 2% before this year. Chief Executive Bill Simon told a group of reporters in June that workers' hours "flex by the needs of the business from time to time."
Battling ObamaCare
Other companies have been more forthcoming, whether in public comments or internal directives, when it comes to ObamaCare's influence in the decision to reduce hours.
Apparel maker Lands' End has also turned to cutting hours to no more than 29 a week. WKOW in Madison, Wis., reported on a staff memo that notified employees of the change.
In the memo, Lands' End told its workers, "For some of you, working less hours may be what you wanted. For others, these new governmental guidelines may be very difficult. These guidelines applies (sic) to all companies in the US (unless they have less than 50 employees or are non-profit)."
Lands' End spokeswoman Michele Casper told FOX Business the company doesn't comment on internal employee practices.
"We plan to continue to employ part-time employees to best match our workforce to our workload," Casper added.
Regal Entertainment (NYSE:RGC) sent out a similar internal memo, according to a report from FOX News. The nation's largest movie theater chain, which operates more than 500 theaters in 38 states, blamed ObamaCare requirements for capping hours below the 30-hour threshold.
"To comply with the Affordable Care Act, Regal had to increase our health care budget to cover those newly deemed eligible based on the law's definition of a full-time employee," the company said in its memo. "To manage this budget, all other employees will be scheduled in accord with business needs and in a manner that will not negatively impact our health care budget."
Regal Entertainment didn't respond to a request for comment from FOX Business.
New England Motor Freight, a New Jersey-based trucking company, implemented in June an hourly cap for about 400 part-time employees, saying the company can't afford to offer them health insurance benefits.
Ripple Effect?
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican, has been one of Washington's sharpest critics of the Affordable Care Act. He recently remarked that the string of companies cutting hours is evidence of ObamaCare's negative impact on workers.
He also highlighted congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who told lawmakers that employers are hiring part-time workers to avoid the employer mandate.
"This is one instance in which Bernanke is right," Cruz said.
Mike Montgomery, a senior economist at IHS Global Insight, said data has yet to show that the average workweek is getting shorter because the incentive structure works in both directions. Fewer hours for part-time workers can be compensated by an increase in hours for employees considered full-time under the law, he explained.
"We are not saying that no one is reducing workweeks, but that some may be raising the average but with fewer workers," Montgomery added.
There is so far "absolutely no evidence that this is happening," he said, referring to changes in the average workweek nationwide. But any shortening in the workweek now or in the future may be "invisible in the data since the data only exists to one decimal place and bounces around."
The private sector isn't alone in cutting hours for part-time employees, with more than 200 public-sector employers reducing hours to avoid ObamaCare penalties, according to a list compiled by Investor's Business Daily.
In fact, the effect of ObamaCare thus far appears to be more pronounced in the public sector. Many U.S. towns and counties have joined in and cut part-time hours, and the business newspaper tallied 34 universities and colleges, including college systems, that are doing the same for part-time or adjunct faculty.
There have also been signals that the law's impact stretches beyond headcount. At a Heritage Foundation seminar in March, Five Guys Burgers and Fries franchisee Mike Ruffer, a former Marriott International (NYSE:MAR) executive who owns eight of the restaurants in North Carolina, warned that consumers will pay a higher price in the long run.
"Any added costs are going to have to be passed on," Ruffer said.


text:
Another little linked snippet, this time for folk who don't read the Mail on Sunday (perish the thought)...
"Bank bail-outs to be kept secret
Dan Atkinson, Simon Watkins, Mail on Sunday 27 April 2008, 8:59am
The Bank of England has imposed a permanent news blackout on its £50bn-plus plan to ease the credit crunch.
Ferocious and unprecedented secrecy means taxpayers will never know the names of the banks that have been supported through the special liquidity scheme, which was unveiled by Bank Governor Mervyn King last week. Requests under the Freedom of Information Act are to be denied. Details will be kept secret even after 30 years - the period after which all but the most sensitive state documents are released.
Any Bank of England employee leaking the names of institutions involved will face court action for breach of contract..."
but, remember, anyone who tells you that it's the bankers who are really running things is a mentalist


text:
Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds to perform at FTC
As a kid, any time Arleigh Kincheloe dropped a piece of food on the ground, her mother had a funny saying to keep her daughter from letting it go to waste.
"She used to tell me, `Pick that up and eat it -- you've got to eat a pound of dirt before you die,' " Kincheloe recalled, laughing.
That aphorism took on deeper meaning for Kincheloe as she transitioned from living in the Catskill Mountains, where she was raised, to Brooklyn, N.Y., where she moved in 2008.
At the time, she had her share of late nights, rocky romances and false steps as she adapted to life in the bustling borough.
"Coming to Brooklyn and realizing how gritty and raw it is -- it's a little jarring," said Kincheloe, 25, during an interview last week. "But you have to embrace it."
It is that transformational experience that propels the songwriting on the latest album from Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, a nine-piece, Brooklyn-based brass band that performs at Fairfield Theatre Company's StageOne on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 24 and 25, and Mohegan Sun on Thursday, Jan. 31.
Named for mama Kincheloe's infamous adage, "Pound of Dirt" (Modern Vintage Recordings) is an 11-track blend of dirty funk, earthy blues and Southern rock performed by a fiery lead singer (Kincheloe) and a flock of versatile musicians (including Kincheloe's harmonica-playing brother, Jackie Kincheloe, and her cousin, drummer Bram Kincheloe).
While all the members of the N'awlins-style outfit shine, it is Kincheloe, with her scorching howl and uninhibited lyricism, who rules the roost.
On "Pound of Dirt," Kincheloe's rugged intensity is apparent from the get-go. "Just put a paper bag up on your head, get naked and shake it til your legs are red," she sings on opener "Make It Rain," a boast of her party popping credentials.
She can be romantic, too -- as tenuous as some of her romances seem to have been. On "Lasso," she unleashes on a boyfriend who is leading her on. ("You shine like you're a golden penny in the mud / When I lift up my boot I see you're chewing gum.") There's also plenty of liquor-happy reflections on the temptations of city living and being led astray. "Then I found my way into the big city / Always riding subway trains, I find myself in Queens / And I don't wanna be," she sings on "Another Ride."
For Kincheloe, adapting to life in Brooklyn has involved some trial and error (or, in the words of her mother, eating some dirt). But then again, those experiences have helped Kincheloe find her way after leaving the nest.
"It's all about finding my inner sparrow, harnessing the power of that character and embodying the force that I've always wanted to create," Kincheloe said of the album. "The songs on a `Pound of Dirt' have helped me become Sister Sparrow."
email@example.com; 203-964-2238; http://twitter.com/scottgarg
StageOne at the Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield. Thursday and Friday, Jan. 24 and 25, 7 p.m. $26. 203-259-1036, www.fairfieldtheatre.org; Mohegan Sun, 1 Mohegan Sun Blvd., Uncasville. Thursday, Jan 31, 8 p.m. $30. 800-745-3000, www.mohegansun.com.


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Agenda: April 15, 2013 Education and Youth Success PEG Meeting
Education and Youth Success Policy Expert Group Meeting #10
Date: Monday, April 15, 2013
Time: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Location: 1900 SW 4th Avenue, Portland, 7th Floor - Conference Room 7A
Meeting Goals
- Gather final PEG feedback on the Working Draft Comprehensive Plan goals and policies
- Introduce Part 2 of Comprehensive Plan update: maps and systems
- Reach agreement on PEG final report / outcomes
Welcome and Announcements (5 minutes)
Facilitator: Clark Worth, Barney & Worth
Description: Re-introductions; review meeting objectives; announcements from group members
PEG DISCUSSION: Comprehensive Plan Working Draft Review (50 minutes)
Facilitators: Clark Worth; Deborah Stein, BPS
Description: Final PEG discussion and feedback on Working Draft Part 1 - Review of specific goal and policies for effectiveness at addressing issues of interest to the Education and Youth Success PEG, explore potential outcomes, and consider how they achieve or hinder aspirations for a more equitable city. See handout for discussion questions.
Introduction to Part 2 – Maps and Systems (30 minutes)
Presenter: Deborah Stein, BPS
Description: An overview of the next stage of the Comprehensive Plan that includes an update of land use maps and systems planning—to prepare for May 20 mapping workshop.
- How does the city's land use map affect the physical and social health of youth?
- What changes to the city's land use map and capital systems plan should we consider to advance goals and policies related to youth success?
- What information do PEG members need to inform this exercise?
PEG DISCUSSION: Process Outcomes (20 minutes)
Facilitator: Clark Worth
Description: PEG discussion on their preferred outcomes and work product(s)—group recommendations, report, individual comments, other options
Public Comment (10 minutes)
All guests are welcome to address the PEG at this time.
Wrap-up and Next Steps (5 minutes)
- Next PEG meeting Monday, May 20: mapping workshop / final PEG meeting
- Opportunities for further PEG member involvement
For more information, please contact either Deborah Stein (BPS) at 503-823-6991 or email@example.com or Clark Worth, Facilitator at 503-222-0146 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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A rhythmic loop created with an ensemble from the Reaktor
User Library. This loop has a nice electro feel and the typical higher
frequency bell like content of frequency modulation. A nice minimal
electronic loop. The tempo is 110 bpm and it lasts 1 measure 4/4. Mastered within Cubase SX and Wavelab using several plugins.
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Shale Oak Wines
2013 Petit Verdot$40.00ea.
A wine that is often hidden away in blends, this varietal shines on its own when grown here in Paso Robles. Full bodied and rich in color, this bottling isn't vegetal or overly tannic as can often be the case. It is beautifully balanced, rife with fragrant spice aromas and supple dark fruit flavors.


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S4 E23 Always
Beckett is hanging on for her life as she clutches the outer edge of a tall building. Her fingers are slipping. If she falls, she's dead. A voice is heard in the distance. Beckett calls for Castle. Will he get there in time? We'll have to wait to find out as we jump back three days to see how she got here.
Alexis is having a hard time writing her valedictorian speech. As for Castle, he'll have the house to himself after the graduation ceremony. He plans to do a John Woo double feature. Beckett happens to be a fan of the acclaimed action director, so she gladly accepts her partner's invitation to join him for a movie date. First things first though. Yes, there's another one of those pesky murders that needs solving.
Orlando Costas is found dead in alley. He was shot in the shoulder with one gun, but the kill shot was done execution-style with another. The victim used to be part of a street gang, but he cleaned up his active to serve honorably in the military. Orlando's girlfriend, Marisol, says he'd been under financial pressure lately. The victim broke into a house before he was killed. That's where he was shot in the shoulder. He stole files belonging to someone the team knew very well: Captain Roy Montgomery.
The new twist in the case leads everyone to believe that the mystery surrounding Beckett's mom's murder is about to be revisited. Castle knows that his partner will be in grave danger if she starts digging again. He assures Beckett that he's there for her as they briefly hold hands. As for the case, the victim called a member of his old gang before he was murdered, but this guy didn't do the killing. In fact, DNA found under the victim's fingernails match DNA found at another crime scene. The team realizes that the man who killed Orlando Costas is the same person who shot Kate Beckett.[break]
Beckett wants to keep this investigation between the immediate team only. Ryan doesn't feel right about this. Castle isn't thrilled either, especially after getting a call from the mystery man who warned him to keep Beckett away from her mom's case. As for the current case, Beckett learns that Orlando was hired by someone from his military days. Someone dangerous. They met at a church where surveillance footage provides an image of the man the team seeks.
Esposito sees that the suspect was holding a keychain from a rental company. Beckett wants to follow this lead, but Castle wants her to stop. He tells her why. Castle spills the news about how Montgomery's friend struck a deal to keep Beckett safe. He's been trying to keep her safe, too. Beckett is angry that Castle kept this from her. She wants to know how he could do this. It's because he loves her. This is something she's known for about a year.
Castle finally lets out all the things he's been holding back for so long. He says, "Four years I've been right here. Four years just waiting for you to just open your eyes to see that I'm right here. And that I'm more than a partner. Every morning I bring you a cup of coffee just so I can see a smile on your face because I think you are the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person I've ever met. And I love you, Kate, and if that means anything to you, if you care about me at all, just don't do this."
Castle's heartfelt speech doesn't stop Beckett from wanting to go after the people who shot her. That's not something he can watch happen. Castle tells Beckett it's over. He's done. As for the case, the now-undermanned team learns that the shooter is going by the name Cole Maddox. They track his car to a location. Ryan's desire to assemble backup is quashed as Beckett and Esposito head to the scene. He dials Castle's number, but the call goes unanswered.[break]
Beckett and Esposito find a room containing Montgomery's files. Maddox gets the drop on them. He knocks Esposito unconscious. Beckett gives chase. She engages in a violent confrontation with Maddox on a rooftop, but ultimately loses the battle. That's how she ends up hanging over the side of a building. Beckett cries out for Castle. Finally, a hand pulls her up to safety. It's not Castle though. It's Ryan. He brought backup, including a very angry Captain Gates.
Gates lets Beckett and Esposito know they are on administrative leave effective immediately. They both hand over their badge and gun. Beckett tells Gates to keep hers. She resigns. As for Esposito, it doesn't look like he's going to be forgiving Ryan anytime soon. All this happens as Alexis gives her valedictorian speech. It's about moving on. It's about the people who will be with us no matter what. She says, "They are our solid ground. They are our North Star. And the small, clear voices in our hearts that will be with us always."
Later that night, there's a knock on Castle's door. Beckett is on the other side. He wants to know what she wants. She finally tells him what's in her heart. She says that what she wants is him. Beckett says she's sorry. She says the killer got away and she didn't care. She almost died and all she could think about was him. This is the moment we've all been waiting for. Castle and Beckett finally, finally, finally give in to their passion.
As we mentioned, Maddox got away. He makes his way over to home of the mystery man who has been contacting Castle for the past year. He's identified as Mr. Smith. Maddox wants the sensitive information Smith holds about his employer. He assures Captain Montgomery's friend that after he gets it, he's going to put Kate Beckett in the ground once and for all.


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Apple iPad Unveiled
Apple shows off its newest handheld, the iPad.
Apple shows off its newest handheld, the iPad.
Q&A: EA VP Keith Munro explains 15-year-old racing series' long and winding road to sales mega-milestone; latest installment posts decent Sept. showing in US; Need for Speed World Online due ...
Full coverage of gaming on iPhone/iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Palm Pre, Google Android, and Windows Mobile devices begins today.
[UPDATE] Madden publisher's earnings report shows huge fiscal year 2009 losses despite increased sales; Lord of the Rings: Conquest sells 1 million, Warhammer Online subscribers now 300,000.
Like Skate 2, Need for Speed Undercover won't go without downloadable content just because EA made substantive cuts at its developer, EA Black Box studio. Today, EA announced that two ...
Customers can now "deauthorize" computers to get around SecuROM's five-machine limit on Spore, Mirror's Edge, and 17 other recent games.
Top Downloads of the Week1. Gears of War Certification Patch This update fixes an expired digital signatures issue that prevents all earlier versions of the game from launching. This is ...
Publisher posts disappointing holiday quarter, increases job cuts; game delays pull down full-year guidance to $4.2-$4.25 billion; Warhmmer OL subscribers drop to 300,000.
Q&A: Publisher trifurcating its street-racing franchise into trio of new properties: the MMOG NFS World Online, the Nintendo-only NFS: Nitro, and NFS: Shift for the PS3, 360, PSP, and PC. ...
At least 80 employees of Skate 2 and Need for Speed developer given walking papers; online reports put number at nearly 200.
[UPDATE 2] Publisher widens staff reductions to 10 percent, will reap $120 million annual savings; Need for Speed Undercover studio moving in with EA Canada, label will remain intact.
Valve's downloadable game service welcomes a full slate of publisher's PC titles; Mass Effect, Need for Speed among new additions.
Publisher's disappointing guidance revision sparks sell-off of stock and analyst downgrade; shares lose 12 percent of value in a single day.
Check out this video covering the launch party for Need for Speed Undercover.
Nailing a police car in Need for Speed Undercover.
Street racing in Need for Speed Undercover.
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GODLEY - For a moment, they are standing in a timeless place.
It almost seems possible that the buffalo herds that once roamed the plains could reappear, that the men who worked the Chisholm Trail might materialize on the ridge of the neighboring hill in North Texas.
Bobby and Maureen Green stood on their back porch. They have lived on this hilltop just outside of Fort Worth for decades, a spot where the sloping green hills of the prairie meet the vast expanse of the plains.
The last rays of the sun shot over a neighboring hill, covering their small corner of the world with soft pink light. Even the twisted metal of 12 natural gas well-heads looked beautiful in the glow. The light cast a delicate tangerine tint onto the white painted sides of the natural gas compressors.
Maureen Green, a slim, hazel-eyed woman with a Roman profile, shivered in the breeze and Bobby Green slid an arm around his wife while his clear eyes scanned the view stretched out before them.
With a clatter, the compressors came to life, shattering the stillness and the illusion of suspended time.
They live on top of the Barnett Shale, a dense formation rich in natural gas that stretches beneath 5,000 square miles of 24 counties in North Central Texas. The Barnett Shale formation became the hottest play in the nation a decade ago. It's thought to be the largest natural gas field in the country.
Since then, the Greens have been living on top of what some see as a gold mine and others a curse. Money has rolled in, towns have been revitalized and the nation has seen natural gas reserves increase for the first time in 20 years. But some say the price is too high, citing health concerns, demolished roads, water contamination and depletion, and battles over property rights.
The Eagle Ford Shale play is a direct successor to the Barnett Shale. DeWitt County Judge Daryl Fowler had heard some stories from the Greens, his aunt and uncle. When he learned that a wide swath of the Eagle Ford stretched beneath his county, he went to his family to find out what to expect.
Maureen Green's family has lived on this land for generations in this small community of cattle ranchers and dairy farmers. With deep roots in the land, it only made sense that she and her husband came to live on this hill and raise their children in Godley, a town where children grew giddy with excitement waiting for the day a train would roar through and every Lions Club meeting closed with the recitation of a poem.
Maureen became a teacher in the school and, later, principal. Bobby worked as a truck driver, living for the weekends when he got the chance to smear on paint and run around arenas as a rodeo clown.
They built a nice life for themselves on top of this hill - they never imagined what was under it.
To the Greens and the rest of the 6 million people who live on top of the Barnett Shale, the consequences of the discovery were complex.
Yes, it brought unforeseen riches to the area, but it also put these people in the crosshairs of history. Suddenly, they were having to negotiate a world they never anticipated, one where valuable hydrocarbons lay beneath their feet and people clamored to get at it, a game they were all playing without knowing the rules, because they hadn't been written yet.
The Greens were surprised when a landman showed up to lease their land. Everyone was talking about this new play, but they'd always been told no one could get at the part of the formation that ran beneath their land. More than 20 years earlier, an oil man had pulled out a map and showed Bobby the spot that was Godley.
"There's a whole lake of oil down there," the man said. "But we don't know how to get it."
There was natural gas trapped down there, too. Lots of it. In the late 1990s, after almost 20 years of work, Texas petroleum engineer George Mitchell finally figured out how to get it out of the ground cheaply enough to make it worthwhile. By drilling horizontally through the shale formation and then using hydraulic fracturing to shatter the dense rock, he unlocked the natural gas trapped there for countless years.
Then the Barnett Shale started flowing.
It started in Wise County. Next, they found that the formation stretched under Parker, then Tarrant and Johnson counties, on and on until 24 counties were found to be sitting on top of the Barnett Shale.
By 2002, energy companies were swarming across the land, leasing as fast as they could and drilling as quickly as they could get rigs in place to poke the holes in the ground and get this new play producing.
Texas energy production, once a powerhouse, had been in decline for decades when the Barnett Shale began producing. The play took many by surprise. It was a new frontier, of sorts.
That meant tackling problems energy companies never had to contend with before. Rigs cropped up across the region, countless numbers protruding into the sky from suburban backyards, schools, churches, in the middle of downtown Fort Worth and along every road and highway - wherever they could get a lease to drill.
Energy companies were drilling in urban and suburban areas, places where the people living there weren't accustomed to the smell of exhaust or the clatter of a drilling rig in their backyard.
"There are always problems. If I was in the Eagle Ford, I'd learn about roads, get good relationships going, watch water supplies and try to learn from the Barnett Shale. Learn from what we went through," said State Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford.
King was one of the first state legislators to deal with the complications that arose from a shale play in his district. District 61 was right in the center of the play.
Water was the first issue. The region was in the midst of a drought when the Barnett Shale started, and the aquifers and wells used to supply fracking water were feeling the strain.
"Lots of wells, including my own, were low and sucking air," King said.
As concerns grew, King and other government officials had to learn to work with the energy companies to deal with their difficulties - everything from the water use to figuring out who would pay for the damage to roads torn up by oil field traffic. Figuring out how to cooperate and communicate was key.
"Learning to work together, learning what the real facts were and preventing unintended consequences, that was the challenge," he said.
Lawmakers also found themselves struggling to balance between the rights of the property owners and the needs of the industry.
"No one likes a pipeline going through their property," he said.
Most cities and towns thought oil and gas production had petered out 50 years before, and they didn't have any ordinances governing where companies could drill. Another sore spot was that people living in suburban neighborhoods didn't typically own the mineral rights beneath their property, thus giving them little say about what was going on beneath their homes.
Meanwhile, the Barnett play boomed.
Most of the problems related to the Barnett Shale had to do with the newness of the technology, which proved to be safe, King said.
However, some who have lived on the Barnett Shale disagree.
Sharon Wilson, a woman with striking grey eyes, the same color as her hair, has been voicing her concerns about the environmental impact of drilling in the Barnett for almost a decade. She has spoken before city councils across the formation, protested in Austin, and made a name for herself questioning and recording every aspect of the Barnett Shale play's progress.
Wilson was living on 42 acres in Wise County, the center of the play, when she heard about the Barnett Shale.
Wilson, a single mother, watched as her neighbors began buying new trucks and putting up new fences and taking vacations. She thought she wanted to get in on that.
"I wanted to be a shaleionaire," Wilson remembered with a sharp laugh.
Drilling activity skyrocketed during the next few years, and the Barnett Shale was booming. But Wilson was watching what happened as millions of gallons of water and chemicals were pumped into the formation to shatter the brittle shale and unlock the natural gas.
"People said I was crazy, but now water is one of the biggest issues," she said.
She looked at her own water well and worried that the companies now surrounding her tract of land would suck it all up in their quest to frack the wells. She kept putting off leasing her own mineral rights and, when no one could answer her questions, she started a blog to bring her concerns to public attention.
As her blog grew in popularity, people began contacting her. The same things were happening to them, and they sent her their stories, their photos and videos, asking her to tell their story, too.
When the Marcellus Shale play began booming in Pennsylvania, even more stories and requests for help came flooding in.
"There wasn't anyone out there telling this story from the viewpoint of the landowner," Wilson said, so she started helping them get organized.
As the Barnett Shale play rolled on, the stories kept coming.
Calvin Tillman, the former mayor of Dish, made national news when he fled the Texas town of 200 people and 60 natural gas wells last year. The town of Dish is in the middle of the Barnett play. The faint odor of exhaust from the wells greets you when you step out of your car and breathe in. High levels of benzene, which is known to cause breast cancer, have been recorded in the town.
Last year, Tillman gave up his position as mayor and moved away out of concern for his children's health, he said. Their noses were bleeding every night.
There were anecdotes about companies that tore down fences to drill, about headaches and coughing that never stopped, about animals that lived near drilling sites dropping dead for unclear reasons, about companies caught dumping untreated fracking wastewater directly into streams.
Wilson and other newly minted environmentalists were out there, taking pictures of every alleged incident and posting it online.
Wilson looked tired as she sat waiting to be introduced at the Cuero Municipal Park Clubhouse in March. It was her third trip to Cuero in as many months. Wilson turned her activism into a career and now she represents Earthworks, an organization that promotes accountability and regulations for the oil and gas industry.
Once she has been introduced, she tells her story and then hammers home the same points - people need to educate themselves, watch the companies, test their water, test their air, realize that everything has changed.
She uses videos, photos and testaments of those who have lived on top of the Barnett Shale to tell people living on top of the Eagle Ford Shale what could be in their future.
"This is your fate if you do nothing," she tells them. Sometimes she gets a response. People will raise their hands and ask questions during the meeting, and hang around once it's over to have intense conversations about what the future may hold. Other times she's left alone after speaking, and she'll gather up her printouts and handouts from Earthworks, throw her gear in her car and head back to North Texas.
Like Midas' touch, the Barnett Shale play altered everything it came in contact with.
Just before the Barnett was discovered, there had been talk of pulling the railroad tracks up and doing away with the line, but as the Barnett got going, Godley became a hub where pipeline and fracking sand arrived from across the country.
Truck drivers barreled through town at all hours of the day and night - many of them were inexperienced - and Bobby Green, a volunteer firefighter, began expecting the worst when he was called out to accidents.
In the first days when the drillers first arrived in Godley, Bobby glanced out the window and saw a scene that looked like a glimpse of the past - buffalo were stepping daintily across his driveway; they were accidentally released when one of the company men left a gate open down the road, allowing buffalo to wander out of their pasture.
One day in 2008, Bobby stepped out his back door and, breathing in the cool air from a south wind, he got a whiff of something that smelled like tar. It burned his nostrils, and he couldn't catch his breath as he stumbled back inside the house, where he stayed in bed for three days.
There was a leak in the well, and company men came out to fix it, but never acknowledged Bobby. That's not how things are done in a small community like Godley.
"They never said a word to me, never even walked up to the house to apologize or check and see if I was OK," Bobby said, shaking his head.
The Greens have learned to be careful who they do business with. Some companies, the smaller outfits, have a reputation for sloppy work, the kind of people who leave gates open and trash at the drilling site.
In the months after that, he began suffering from allergies and breathing problems severe enough to land him in the hospital. The well is required to be 200 feet from their home, but it's only about 100 feet from their barn. It got to the point he could spend only a few minutes at a time down there. The doctor tested him and told him he was allergic only to chemicals.
"I thought about suing, but it would cost too much money. Maybe they'll buy us out or something. I hate to leave here. I've lived here since 1971, and Maureen has been here since 1943," he said. "I don't know what we'll do."
When Judge Fowler asked his aunt and uncle about their experiences in the Barnett, they also had some good things to say. Once a company started drilling on their place, they began getting royalty checks in the mail for nice chunks of the money because of the high price of natural gas. They used the money to buy some bucking bulls and to travel. The Greens attended a retired rodeo clown convention in Deadwood, S.D., an experience Bobby grows misty-eyed about whenever he mentions it.
But it has come with a price. The Greens didn't realize that when the drilling started, but they know it now.
The play has slowed, too. The Barnett Shale was the first natural gas rich shale formation to start producing, but it wasn't the last. Natural gas prices were high when the play started a decade ago, but they dropped in the midst of the economic slowdown in 2008 and have never recovered. The Barnett Play shuddered and slowed to a crawl.
Cheap natural gas has been a boon in some ways, leading to a resurgence in U.S. manufacturing as companies build plants made to run on cheap natural gas. Natural gas production has grown so much that a Houston-based company plans to begin exporting it for the first time in decades.
The energy market is a complex system of cause and effect. Unlike the Barnett, the Eagle Ford Shale is rich in crude oil, and that has made all the difference in the world. Even as sinking natural gas prices dulled interest in the Barnett, the Eagle Ford has been booming because of high oil prices.
But every play has an end, and this one will end, too, someday. Fowler knows that.
As the Barnett Shale play thundered along, Fowler watched his family and the people he has known since childhood dealing with the kind of money they had never dreamed of. Families that had struggled on the old dairy farms in Godley were living the American Dream with unanticipated wealth flowing into their pockets.
"It's no different than what's been happening to people down here," Fowler said. "People that slaughtered their own hogs and did for themselves, who survived without electricity until the 1950s, their lives have been transformed."
But the Barnett is still a cautionary tale in some respects. Fowler gives companies the benefit of the doubt and hopes they will continue to choose to do the right thing. People also are better educated about what to watch for than they were when the Barnett Shale play started - the publicity from the Barnett has taught property owners what to look for, and the backlash that followed the massive British Petroleum oil spill has made companies more cautious, Fowler said.
"There's a lot of good that comes with this, but it's measurable, and you have to weigh it against the bad things that creep in," Fowler said. "You know, it's like I've always said: 'Nothing is free. There's no such thing as a free lunch.'"
Maureen Green noted that she and her husband never got in the habit of depending on the money. As they have watched the size of their royalty checks shrink, that proved a smart thing to do.
"We never let ourselves count on it. It's a good thing, but that's what you have to remember," she said, glancing out at her land as the last of the light faded away into an indigo darkness. "It's done good things, but it didn't last."
To read previous installments of the special series, "The Play," click here.


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Islam in Mughal India
Michael H. Fisher
The history of the Mughal Empire (1526–1858) reveals much of the diversity among Muslims and the complexity of Islam as variously envisioned and as practiced in India. The empire's ruling Timurid dynasty was patrilineally Sunni; many of its original core supporters were also Sunni immigrants or descendants of immigrants from Central Asia, especially Turks and Mongols. But Mughal emperors married women from families who were Shiʿites or who either converted to Islam in India or remained Hindus; similarly, the imperial army and administration also broadened its composition to include such families. Each individual emperor developed his own religious ideology, including Sunni, Sufistic, strongly influenced by Shiʿism, and eclectically drawing upon diverse Islamic and non-Islamic Indic traditions (i.e., Hindu devotional bhakti, Zoroastrianism, Jainism). Roughly a quarter of the Mughal dynasty's subjects were Muslim, but these also followed an array of diverse Islamic ideologies and social and religious practices (many functioning much like "castes"). Conversely, many non-Muslim officials and subjects of the dynasty adapted its Persianate patterns of culture and belief. Over the 16th and 17th centuries, the Mughal dynasty conquered most of the Indian subcontinent (except the southern tip of the peninsula), but then its empire fragmented over the 18th and early 19th centuries. Evidence for the variety of Islamic expressions within the Mughal Empire comes from many types of sources. Imperial officials, accountants, and scribes compiled Persian-language records in detail, extent, and preservation that exceeded previous states in India. Emperors, courtiers, and authors whom they patronized created sophisticated works of history and literature that described events, rituals, and values, using Persian and also Sanskrit and regional Indian languages. Additionally, various types of material evidence have survived—including architecture, paintings, coins, weapons, and clothing—that display the dynasty's religious expressions, values, and technologies. Muslim and Christian visitors from Central and Western Asia and Europe also wrote down their observations and assessments while traveling to the imperial court or through the Empire's provinces. The relationships between Islamic beliefs and practices and the Mughal Empire that travelers, commentators, and historians noted and evaluated varied over time.
Paul B. Donnelly
Along with Yogācāra, Madhyamaka (Middle Way) is one of the two foundational doctrinal systems of Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism, which flourished from the 3rd century
The name "Middle Way" references a fundamental assumption in Buddhism that stakes a middle position between the idea that the self is an irreducible, enduring entity and one in which it is wholly reducible to the physical body and perishes after death. Though central Madhyamaka ideas, such as the doctrine of the Two Truths, Dependent Origination, and Emptiness, can be found in Nikāya Buddhism and in Mahāyāna sutras, it is in the treatises of Nāgārjuna (2nd–3rd centuries
Naikan: A Meditation Method and Psychotherapy
Clark Chilson
"Naikan" 内観 is a self-reflective form of meditation founded by Yoshimoto Ishin 吉本伊信 (1916–1988), who developed it from a lay Shin Buddhist practice called mishirabe身調べ. After Yoshimoto used it to help prisoners in the 1950s, psychiatrists in the 1960s started to use it as a psychotherapy. Today in Japan it is the most popular psychotherapeutic method that originated in Buddhism.
Naikan involves self-reflection on three questions: What have I received from a significant other? What have I given back to that person? What troubles and difficulties did I cause that person? People doing Naikan ask themselves these questions in relation to a family member or some other person during particular times in their lives.
There are two types of the practice: intensive Naikan (shūchū naikan集中内観) and daily Naikan (nichijō naikan日常内観 or bunsan naikan分散内観). The former is done continually for a week at a Naikan training center, of which there are about twenty-five in Japan and several outside Japan in Austria, Germany, and the United States. During intensive Naikan, those doing Naikan report individually eight or so times a day their answers to the three questions to an "interviewer" (mensetsusha面接者). Daily Naikan is done as part of a person's everyday normal routine for as short as a few minutes or as long as two hours a day. Intensive or daily Naikan is offered as a therapy at about twenty medical institutions in Japan and another fifteen in China.
Intensive Naikan is commonly done for one of four reasons. First, it is done to solve a specific problem, such as alcoholism, gambling addiction, a psychosomatic disorder, or a bad relationship with a family member. Second, it is used to train employees so they can interact better with customers and colleagues. The Toyoko Inn, for example, which has over 230 hotels throughout Japan, requires all its full-time employees to do intensive Naikan. Third, it cultivates greater self-awareness with regard to, for example, how our minds work. Finally, it is done to discover the true nature of our lives through a spiritual awakening, which commonly entails the realization of how we live due to the care of others and how we suffer because of our own self-centeredness. This final purpose is in accordance with Yoshimoto's view of Naikan as a method for learning how to live happily regardless of one's life circumstances. Those who do Naikan for non-psychotherapeutic purposes sometimes use the term "Naikanhō" 内観法 (Naikan method) to distinguish their aims from Naikan therapy (Naikan ryōhō) 内観療法, which is used to solve a particular problem. But regardless of whether Naikan is done for self-developmental, spiritual, or for therapeutic reasons, the Naikan method of reflecting on the three Naikan questions is the same.
The Philosophical Works and Influence of Dignāga and Dharmakīrti
Dan Arnold
The Indian Buddhist philosophers Dignāga (c. 480–540
Eisho Nasu
Rennyo was a Japanese Pure Land Buddhist priest and eighth head priest of Honganji (1457–1489), the central institutional complex of the Jōdo Shinshū tradition. He is often considered the "second founder" of the tradition due to his efforts in propagating the Jōdo Shinshū teachings; expanding the institution; and negotiating conflicts with the military, political, and religious authorities of the time. His prowess as an institution builder and religious teacher laid the foundations for Jōdo Shinshū to become one of the largest Buddhist denominations in Japan.
Rennyo was born as the first son of Zonnyo (1396–1457); the seventh head priest of Honganji; and was a ninth-generation descendant of Shinran (1173–1262), the founder of Jōdo Shinshū. Neither the name nor background of Rennyo's mother is known, but it is believed that she may have been a servant attending at Honganji. When Rennyo was six years old, his mother left Honganji, perhaps because of Zonnyo's official marriage in 1420. There are no further records of her after that time. In 1431, at the age of 17, Rennyo was ordained at Shōren-in, one of the major monzeki (noble cloister) temples of the Tendai school. Rennyo received transmission of the Jōdo Shinshū lineage from Zonnyo. At Honganji, Rennyo assisted his father's missionary work.
In 1457, Rennyo was appointed as the eighth chief abbot of Honganji, which had been established at the mausoleum of Shinran on the outskirts of Kyoto. Under Rennyo's leadership, Honganji began to expand its institutional reach beyond the areas surrounding the capital. However, the rapid growth of Honganji met with interference by the forces of the Tendai school on Mt. Hiei. In 1465, Honganji was destroyed by Enryakuji priests, and Rennyo was forced to retreat from Kyoto.
After leaving Kyoto, in 1471, Rennyo reestablished Honganji in the city of Yoshizaki, located on the border of Echizen and Kaga provinces (currently Fukui and Ishikawa prefectures). In order to propagate the teaching effectively to the faith communities scattered around Japan in rural areas, Rennyo wrote numerous instructional letters (ofumi, or gobunshō) in which he explained Shinran's teaching in colloquial Japanese, and distributed six-character myōgo scrolls of Amida Buddha's name (na-mu a-mi-da-butsu) as the main object of worship. He also reformed ritual practice by adopting the recitation of Shōshinge (The Hymns of True Faith) and Wasan (Japanese Hymns), both composed by Shinran, as a standard religious service to be performed by priests and lay followers together.
In Yoshizaki, Rennyo first put his institutional vision into practice by redeveloping the area into a religious township equipped with residences for both priests and lay followers. The town provided lodgings and other services, rapidly attracting large numbers of pilgrims mainly from the northern provinces as far away as Dewa and Ōshū (modern-day Tohoku region). His success at Yoshizaki, however, also drew him into conflicts with local religious and political authorities. In order to avoid these conflicts, he decided to leave Yoshizaki in 1475. After exploring various sites, Rennyo relocated Honganji to Yamashina, directly east of Kyoto.
Construction of the Yamashina Honganji started in 1478 and took five years to complete. The site included massive buildings of Shinran's Memorial Hall and Amida Hall side by side, which would become the standard architectural form of the temple henceforth. Rennyo also developed the surrounding area into a jinaichō (temple-city) as he did at Yoshizaki, but on a much larger scale. In 1489, Rennyo, at the age of 75, ceded the position of head priest of Honganji to his fifth son Jitsunyo (1458–1525). Rennyo remained active in missionary work after his retirement. He directed the construction of another large temple, the Ishiyama Gobō in Settsu, Ōsaka, completed in 1497 as an outpost for further institutional expansion to the western regions.
Rennyo died in 1499 at the age of 85. His cloistered title is Shinshōin. In 1882, Emperor Meiji (1852–1912) awarded him the title of Great Master Etō (Etō Daishi).
The Sangha as an Institution
Thomas Borchert
Along with the buddha and the dharma, the sangha is one of the "three jewels," the core aspects of Buddhism in which a Buddhist "takes refuge." The sangha is responsible for taking care of and propagating the dharma, the teachings of the buddha. It can also be considered more broadly as the Buddhist community, which in turn can be thought of as the group of people who either take refuge in the three jewels or follow the teachings of the buddha. Given this, the sangha has generally been conceptualized in two ways. Most often, it refers to the community of men and women who have been ordained as monks and nuns under the auspices of Buddhist disciplinary teachers. At the same time, it can sometimes refer more broadly to the four-fold community of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
While the sangha may be discussed in the singular, generally speaking it is appropriate to think of sanghas in the plural. In this sense, the term refers not to an ideal community that maintains the teachings of the buddha but rather to the communal and institutional structures through which people define themselves as Buddhist and maintain their Buddhist identities. A particular sangha is revealed by interrogating the linkages (i.e., lineages) between different Buddhists, the kinds of educational structures in place to train adherents, the ways that Buddhists discipline themselves (for example, through the vinaya rules), and the ways in which external governing bodies seek to regulate Buddhist communities.
The Six Nara Schools
Mikaël Bauer
During the Nara period (710–794), the Japanese religious and political landscape saw tremendous change. A new capital was built, Chinese legal codes were implemented, and the Buddhist temples grew in size and number. Traditionally, Nara period Buddhism has been described in terms of the so-called "Six Schools." It is certainly the case that the 8th century became the cornerstone of later doctrinal and ritual developments, but the Buddhist context was more complex and intertwined than these six forms of Buddhism.
Sōka Gakkai
Andrew Gebert
The Sōka Gakkai is a lay Buddhist movement, originating in Japan, that bases its religious practice and worldview on the Lotus Sutra-centric teachings of the Kamakura-era priest Nichiren (1222–1282). Following Nichiren, members of the Sōka Gakkai consider the practice of reciting Namu-myōhō-renge-kyō—the Daimoku, or title of the Lotus Sutra—to a copy of a character mandala (Gohonzon) originally inscribed by Nichiren to be the fundamental means for attainment of enlightenment. Also modeling themselves on Nichiren, the membership takes an active interest in the social and political realities of this world. In Japan, this engagement has taken various forms, including electoral support for a political party made up largely of Sōka Gakkai members, and globally, as activities in the fields of nuclear disarmament, sustainable development, human rights education, and humanitarian assistance.
Founded in 1930, the organization was suppressed during World War II. In the postwar era, its rapid growth, driven by a campaign of aggressive proselytization, as well its ongoing involvement in politics, has generated considerable controversy within Japanese society. Even as the organization has matured institutionally, and in its relations with other faith traditions, an exclusive commitment by members to a single faith practice makes it an outlier within the Japanese religious landscape.
The Sōka Gakkai in Japan currently claims some 8.27 million member families, making it the nation's largest and most active religious movement. Outside Japan, under the rubric of Sōka Gakkai International (SGI), official statistics give membership totals of 1.75 million in 192 countries and territories, with 94 organizations incorporated under local national laws. More than half of the membership outside Japan—slightly more than 1 million—are said to be in Asia and Oceania, with South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore among the sites of large and active memberships. Other countries with significant national movements include Brazil, the United States, India, and Italy.
While the Sōka Gakkai was originally associated with the Nichiren Shōshū sect, long-standing tensions over the respective roles of priesthood and laity came to a head in a decisive schism in 1991, since which the two groups have pursued independent paths. Following the schism, the Sōka Gakkai has given more central emphasis to the "mentor-disciple relationship," in particular as this relates to the first three presidents of the organization: Makiguchi Tsunesaburō (1871–1944), Toda Jōsei (1900–1958) and Ikeda Daisaku (1928–).
Theravāda Buddhism
Sven Bretfeld
Theravāda Buddhism is a neologism denoting a variety of historically connected religious traditions. Today these traditions are predominantly spread in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and parts of Vietnam. More recent communities in other parts of the world (e. g., Europe, the United States, India, Nepal, Australia) are directly or indirectly connected to the traditions of these countries by migration or adaptation processes. These local varieties do not constitute a homogeneous entity. Nevertheless, the use of a common denominator is justified by their interconnected religious histories and a common stock of liturgical, ritual, exegetical, and narrative traditions.
Prior to the 20th century theravāda (or theriya, theravaṃsa) was understood as a nikāya, an institutionalized monastic lineage primarily defined by a specific system of ritual and legal regulations for monks and nuns (the vinaya). This specific lineage became increasingly associated with Sri Lanka during the first millennium
During the first half of the 20th century the nikāya name Theravāda was detached from its technical monastic meaning and became reinterpreted as a type of Buddhism, idealizing the doctrinal content of the canonical scriptures of this lineage—the so-called Pāli Canon—as a binding belief system for all "Theravāda Buddhists," monastic or lay. In anachronistic extension of this typology, the compound "Theravāda Buddhism" was further understood as the most ancient, or even "original," form of the Buddhist "creed."
The adjective form of Theravāda is Theravādin, which can also be used as a noun to denote a follower of Theravāda.
Tibetan Buddhism and the Gesar Epic
Solomon George FitzHerbert
In both eastern Tibet and in Mongolia, the Buddhist cult surrounding the figure of Ling Gesar (Gling ge sar) or Geser Khan in Mongolian versions is an outgrowth of Gesar's standing as the eponymous hero of an elaborate oral epic tradition. Today, the epic and the Buddhist cult exist side by side in a relationship of symbiosis. Gesar's sanctification as an enlightened being—as the combined manifestation of the Three Bodhisattva Lords and as an "emissary" or "manifestation" of Padmasambhava—whose tricksterism is enacted on behalf of the forces of goodness, justice, and the White Side in its perennial battle against the forces of evil, injustice, and the Dark Side—is both an outgrowth but also a source of nourishment for the epic tradition as it has continued to adapt and develop up to our own times.
The Gesar/Geser epic, in all the three main regions in which it survives (eastern Tibet and its neighboring regions, the Mongolic regions as far west as Kalmykia, and Ladakh and neighboring regions), is a living and mobile tradition of oral recitation and improvisation. The available textual corpus of this epic is very large, though none of it is very old (the oldest available epic texts in Tibetan are from the 17th century and in Mongolian are from 18th century). Thanks in part to sustained state patronage in the PRC, there are now over 200 published volumes of non-duplicating Gesar epic narrative and song, mostly from eastern Tibet. A lot of this material is of a directly oral provenance. Many modern volumes are the direct transcriptions (with some editing) of the oral repertoires of contemporary bards, some of which have been very lengthy. To take one example, the recorded repertoire of the bard Samdrup (Bsam grub) (1922–2011) was over 3,000 hours long, much of which has now been published. As for literary versions, the authors of Gesar epic texts often make explicit the debt that their tellings owe to oral renditions that they have heard. The mid-18th-century author of the famous Horling Yülgyé (Hor gling g.yul 'gyed), for example, mentions that he based his telling on the oral repertoires of "some twenty bards," several of whom he cites by name. Due to the heterogeneity and sheer volume of this available textual corpus, it is hard to make categorical assertions about the relationship between Buddhism and the epic tradition, since that relationship varies from version to version. However, some general observations may be offered. In the ritual cult devoted to Gesar that evolved from the epic tradition, matters are somewhat clearer. In the ritual texts devoted to Gesar—which are mostly offering texts—the unruly polyphony of the epic (many bards, many characters, many perspectives) is replaced with a neater integrated vision, in which the hero is praised as a totalizing culture hero and enlightened lord—a hero in every register, both worldly and spiritual, both chivalric and shamanistic.
The Vajrakīla Tantras
Martin Boord
Belonging to an esoteric corpus of Buddhist texts known as the teachings of secret mantra (Skt. guhyamantra), the tantras of Vajrakīla have been carefully guarded through the centuries and handed down from teacher to disciple under a strictly ethical code of conduct. Although the texts themselves often seem to advocate a violent and unrestrained lifestyle, under the skillful guidance of a suitably qualified guru, who must be seen by the disciple as none other than the Buddha himself, one who seriously engages in the systematic practice of their profound series of meditations becomes quickly and thoroughly purified in body, speech, and mind.
The wrathful deity Vajrakīla is described in all the tantras that bear his name as the manifestation of heroic power for the overthrow of Māra. During times of peace he manifests as Vajrasattva, and his mind abides in tranquility. During times of activity he manifests as "Vajra of Total Destruction" (Skt. *Ativināśanavajra) and, when manifesting as a bodhisattva, he is Vajrapāṇi, "the One with a Vajra in his Hand."
With regard to his name "Vajrakīla": vajra as a prefix is found everywhere within the Buddhist tantras. Originally meaning "the hard or mighty one" and referring in particular to the thunderbolt as a weapon of Indra, it subsequently became so intimately associated with the development of tantric ideas in Buddhism that the entire system of practice came to be known as the Vajrayāna or Vajra Vehicle. Indeed, as a symbol within the Buddhist tantras it is as pregnant with meaning as the very texts themselves. Characterized as abhedya, "unbreakable," and acchedya, "indivisible," the term may be said to represent nothing less than the full enlightenment of the samyaksaṃbuddha, who himself came to be referred to as Vajradhara, "Holder of the Vajra." The Sanskrit word kīla means "nail," "peg," or "spike," and thus Vajrakīla may be taken to mean "the unassailable spike" or, on a higher level, "(He who is) the nail of supreme enlightenment."
Introduced to Tibet during the 8th century
The roots of Kīla mythology, however, may lie buried deep within the pre-Buddhist religion of ancient India where, in the Ṛgveda, the story is told of the god Indra who slew the demon Vṛtra. It is said that, at that time, Indra stabilized the earth and propped up the heavens with a kīla and thus, at the outset, we have clearly discernible indications of a path along which a simple wooden stake might travel so as eventually to become deified as a terrifying god of awesome power, one by whom all demons are vanquished and enlightenment realized for the benefit of the world.


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One of the greatest collaborations in the making of a garden is that of Vita Sackville West and her husband Harold Nicholson.
Here's a peek at Sissinghurst, one of the most famous and loved gardens in the world.
For the history of Sissinghurst, visit The National Trust website.
More about Vita and a love letter she wrote to Virginia Wolf in the book The 50 Greatest Love Letters of All Time at Brain Pickings.….one of my favorite blogs.


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Big banks have picked their candidate, and it's Romney
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The country's biggest banks are overwhelmingly supporting Mitt Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination, an analysis of federal campaign contributions shows.
Employees at the five largest U.S. banks by assets, including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., had given Romney about $600,000 through the first three quarters of 2011, according to the most recent filings available from the Federal Election Commission.
The second-largest recipient of bank employee contributions, President Barack Obama, had far less, about $200,000, the analysis showed. The Republican presidential hopeful with the second-highest total, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, dropped out of the race in mid-August.
Romney received more from employees of those top five banks than all the other candidates combined, helping make the former Massachusetts governor the best-financed candidate in the Republican nomination battle, which is heating up in South Carolina ahead of Saturday's primary.
The contributions are the tip of what observers say will be the most expensive presidential race on record, and the first in which corporations are not limited in what they can spend.
Big banks have long been among the top givers to political campaigns. Part of what's behind this year's spending is the debate over regulating the financial sector, which is driving money to Republican candidates for president and Congress.
Charlotte-based Bank of America's employees and PACs have given more than $1 million to candidates for president and Congress this cycle, according to the latest data from the research group Center for Responsive Politics. That's half of what peer Goldman Sachs has donated so far.
The commercial banking industry as a whole has donated more than $10 million, the center's data show. The entire finance, insurance and real estate sector is the top political giver this election cycle, with more than $135 million so far.
"The financial sector at large is continuing to be the largest sector in terms of campaign contributions and trying to influence policy through political money," said David Donnelly, national campaigns director at Public Campaign, an organization that pushes for campaign reform. "Even as the economy is not doing so well, campaign contributions from the banking sector seem to be increasing."
To be sure, more money could flow to Obama and Democratic congressional candidates once the hard-fought GOP presidential primary is over. But at this point, Republicans have the edge in donations from bankers.
Donations from commercial bank employees and PACs to Republican candidates for president and Congress made up 68 percent of the total so far. Should that pattern continue, it would mark the most skewed to one party the spending has been in more than two decades. For all of the 2008 cycle, bankers gave 52 percent of their money to Republicans.
The donations have occurred amid debate over banking regulations and the implementation - or possible ultimate repeal - of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law passed in summer 2010. Its provisions range from capping the swipe fees banks can charge merchants on debit card transactions to creation of a new regulatory agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Banks also were on pace to spend more than ever before on lobbying to try to weaken or repeal those regulations through the first three quarters of 2011.
"We've seen a massive shift from Obama to the Republican candidates on the part of the financial industry," said Carmen Balber of Consumer Watchdog, a California nonprofit that advocates for taxpayers and consumers. "Obviously, part of that has to do with a competitive primary. But we've definitely seen the financial services industry publicly chastise the president for going after financial reform."
Romney has vowed to repeal Dodd-Frank, though he has said there are certain parts of it he supports, such as regulating complex financial instruments called derivatives.
It's not just his policy on regulation that draws bankers to him, observers say. As the former head of Bain Capital, another top financial industry political donor, he comes from their world. Romney says his business acumen is one reason he's best suited to lead the country.
"Romney really is the candidate of Wall Street," Donnelly said. "He's the most comfortable in the board rooms of any of those."
In Congress, commercial bank employees and PACs have given $5.4 million to Republican candidates, while giving $2.4 million to Democrats, according to the latest data from the Center for Responsive Politics. That's a 69 percent edge to Republicans so far.
"They have really shifted their giving to Republicans more so than in previous cycles," Donnelly said. "There hasn't been a huge amount of difference between Republicans and Democrats on financial deregulation in the past. Now there is."
The influence of deep-pocketed donors is under particular scrutiny this year with the growing influence of super PACs. Those organizations can accept unlimited contributions from corporations or individuals so long as they do not coordinate directly with a candidate.
They were created after the landmark Citizens United case in 2010, in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that campaign contributions are political speech protected by the Constitution.
Although corporate contributions to individual candidates are still barred by law and giving from a bank's traditional PAC is still capped at $5,000 per candidate each election cycle, super PACs offer companies an avenue to influence an election more than ever before.
But companies, banks in particular, have been hesitant to wade in quite yet. Still, many super PACs have yet to disclose their donors.
"I think corporations are somewhat reluctant to give directly to these groups or spend directly for ads themselves," said Viveca Novak, communications director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "They risk offending the other side. That's not good PR for the company."
Wells Fargo policy prohibits contributing company money to candidate committees or independent expenditure organizations, a group that includes super PACs. A spokesman said the company has "affirmed" that policy this year and will not donate to super PACs.
Bank of America's corporate policy states that the company does make donations to non-candidate organizations in "appropriate circumstances."
In 2010, Bank of America donated $405,000 to a number of Democratic and Republican legislative, governors and attorneys general associations, including campaign committees.
Bank of America did not respond to inquiries about whether it would contribute to super PACs this year. Observers generally agree that banks are unlikely to pour money into those groups.
"Brand-sensitive companies would be very cautious about their executives or the companies themselves giving in any disclosed manner," Donnelly said. "They will probably co-host events and raise money from their colleagues, but as far as pouring millions of dollars into outside groups, I don't know if that will happen."
But with the stakes so high, some consumer advocates believe the financial services field will take advantage of the unshackling afforded by Citizens United.
"We have no doubt that the industry will wade in significantly once the players are set," Balber said.
The influence of corporate money has long been decried by consumer advocates, and giving from banks even more so in the wake of the financial meltdown.
The final report from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission cited the fact that between 1999 and 2008, the financial sector spent more than $1 billion on campaigns as a factor.
"What troubled us was the extent to which the nation was deprived of the necessary strength and independence of the oversight necessary to safeguard financial stability," the report reads.
Some shareholders, too, question the practice because of its riskiness.
Yes, a company might make the regulatory landscape more appealing, but it could also become the target of boycotts and outcry, as Target Corp. did in 2010 when it gave to a political organization that contributed to a gubernatorial candidate who opposed same-sex marriage.
"The reputational risk and potential gain are disproportionate to the amount of money that is spent," said Jon Lukomnik, executive director of the IRRC Institute, which advocates for shareholders. "It is what I'd call high impact, high risk spending."
Lukomnik said there might ultimately be backlash among company executives that leads to diminished political giving.
But don't count on it this year, he said.


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