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I attended (and loved) NYC's first LGBTQ Comic Con, FlameCon! It took place during Pride Month on June 13th at the fancy Grand Prospect Hall in Brooklyn. Geeks OUT presented the con, which is a NYC based nonprofit dedicated to building a better community for LGBTQ geeks. For more about FlameCon read my recap and check out the amazing cosplay.
My favorite panel at Flamecon was Secret Identities: Transgender Themes In Geek Culture. It was moderated by Charles Battersby (Astonishing Adventures) and the panelist included Jennie Wood (Flutter), Lawrence Gullo (Baritaria), P. Kristen Enos (Web of Lives) and Marguerite Bennett (DC Comics, Marvel and Boom).
Transgender Narrative
Transgender narrative was a big part of the discussion. It's to no surprise that the further a character is from being heterosexual, cisgender and white, the more they are misrepresented… if they are represented at all. A common and inaccurate transgender narrative is, "I am a man, what if I wanted to be a woman?" Lawrence Gullo suggested the following narrative instead, "I am a woman, what if no one believed me and I had to prove it to people my entire life."
Sci-Fi & Gender
Science Fiction is known to use aliens and androids as representations of LGBTQIA people instead of actual humans. This not only suggests that the creator views those groups as "The Other," either subconsciously or consciously, but it also reinforces negative stereotypes about LGBTQIA people. Gullo suggests a way to combat this as a SF creator is to make humans LGBTQIA and gender fluid as well, not just the aliens.
Creators should also stop assigning gender to androids, especially self-aware ones. When you really think about it, it's completely unnecessary, inaccurate and almost always reinforces gender stereotypes. Assuming that AI would have the same gender notions as humans is more than presumptuous, it's pretty egotistical.
Positive Trans Media
The panel wasn't only about the negative media representations of trans people. Steven Universe, Dragon Age: Inquisitions, and Saints Row 3 were all praised for being positive trans media.
- Dragon Age: Inquisitions ran their script for a transgender character, Cremisius "Krem" Acclasi, by trans people and changed it based off their input.
- Gullo shared an anecdote about his transgender friend who cried when she saw Stevonnie in Steven Universe because she identified with them. Although Stevonnie doesn't have a gender and Garnet described their fusion as "a conversation", the character has resonated strongly with genderfluid and trans people.
- In Saints Row 3, you can have a male voice actor for a female body and even go to a surgeon and change your sex at any point in the game. It's completely up to the player.
When In Doubt, Ask
Some advice if you're a cisgender creator nervous about inadvertently misrepresenting a transgender character: When in doubt, ask. It isn't a creator's responsibility to make their work diverse, but it is responsible. Jennie Wood summed it up best, "We just want to see ourselves."


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Toucan Card - Happy Birthday, Classy Bird!
Regular price £2.50
Illustrated Toucan greetings card, perfect for sending your Happy Birthday wishes to a classy bird. This card is left blank inside for your own personal message.
Printed in England, on high quality FSC certified card.
- Card size: 12.7 x 17.7cm
- Brown kraft envelope
- Blank inside
- 300gsm
To send this card directly to the recipient, leave your message in the 'Notes' section at check out and we'll hand write it for you.

subset: commoncrawl


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Deadline in the sand: School board candidates cry foul
Applications for the three open seats on the Charlottesville School Board were due June 2. Unlike late homework assignments that get students in trouble, City Council has a more flexible attitude. Last week, Council voted 4-1 to extend the due date until June 6.
Two of the five candidates who got their applications in on time are irate that the door was propped open for latecomers.
"It's kind of aggravating," says Kenneth Jackson, who also applied for the board last year. "I feel like the majority of City Council is waiting for their cronies to step up."
Councilor Rob Schilling, the lone Republican, cast the dissenting vote. "This is punitive to people who got their application in on time," says Schilling. "I'm very distressed by this. I think it's bad public policy."
In fact, City Council has a pattern of extending the deadline for school board applicants– and did so in both 2001 and 2002. Mayor Maurice Cox defends the practice because its goal is an expanded pool of candidates for a more competitive slate. He recalls years in which there were 22 candidates vying for three positions on the school board.
"Asking for a larger pool sounds like code language for 'We don't like the current candidates,'" counters Schilling.
On-time candidate Sue Lewis agrees: "It's because certain people on Council don't like the applicant pool. That's why they're out recruiting. That's it in a nutshell."
There's been some grumbling that the Democratic-heavy City Council wants additional candidates who are part of the Democratic machine.
"That's nonsense," exclaims Cox. "I fought so hard to make this not about being Democrat or Republican. To put it in terms of party patronage is so off base. It makes me cringe that people think we make decisions based on party affiliation."
While would-be candidates Jackson and Lewis are well-known, non-machine Dems, Cox points to last year's appointments of Bill Igbani and Michael Heard. "I'd never heard of them before," says Cox. "Both had kids in the system and both made a strong impression."
(Heard created one of the current vacancies when he resigned to become the city schools' director of human resources.)
As for Peggy Van Yahres, who has a well-known name in Democratic circles, Cox cites her work in the school system and in the PTO Council, and says, "It was a major coup to get someone so engaged."
Dede Smith and Muriel Wiggins, who currently sit on the school board and whose terms expire June 30, also are applicants. So is John Santoski, who served one term on the board and was not reappointed in 2002.
Santoski is more understanding about the deadline extension. "I always think it's a good idea to have more candidates," he says. Besides, "I had waited until the last moment to decide."
By the June 6 deadline, five additional candidates– Bill Lucy, Kenneth Young, Laurine Bennett-Moore, Bradford Lamb and Byron Brown– had applied for the three open positions, raising the field to ten.
Mayor Cox says that for him, the public forum is the ultimate proving ground for candidates. "Candidates tend to stand or fall in how they present themselves," he says. The League of Women Voters held a candidates' forum June 9, and a public hearing will be held June 16.
Of course, some object to the fact that Charlottesville's school board is appointed rather than elected. Frequently outvoted Schilling campaigned for an elected board.
"If we had an elected school board, so what if we only had two candidates?" asks Lewis, a financial adviser who's served on the City Planning Commission and the Housing Authority Board. "This is the only thing I've really wanted to do, and unfortunately, it's a political appointment."
City Council will vote on school board appointments at the end of June.Read more on: city council


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Picnic Time Virginia Tech Hokies Urban Folding Picnic Basket, Black
$36 $40
This Picnic Time Virginia Tech Hokies basket makes it easy to transport groceries, picnic goodies and more. Removable floor board can also be used as a divider Folding design allows for compact, space-saving storage Snap closure keeps the basket folded Stationary aluminum handle 9.5"H x 15.8"W x 8.5"D Polyester, aluminum Wipe clean Imported Shop our full assortment of Virginia Tech Hokies items here. When you're a fan, you're family! Size: Onesize. Color: Black.
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2194 S Pleasant Valley Rd
2194 S Pleasant Valley Rd
Winchester, VA 22601


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Ski chalets 63m2 ukkohalla (1005)
cottage, Ukkohalla, Hyrynsalmi, 4+2 persons
Hotel apartment located in the Ukkohalla tourism centre, 4 + 2 persons, 62,5 m2, built in 2011, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, sauna, shower room/toilet, separate wc. Bedrooms 2 x 80cm bed and bedsofa in the livingroom. Ski-/equipment storage and ski maintenance room available. Free Wi-Fi. View to lake Syväjärvi. Ukkohalla: Tourism centre located by Lake Syväjärvi, with an information centre, store, restaurant, spa, slope centre, snowmobile tracks, ski tracks, programme services, Cable Wakeboard, beach (further information at www.ukkohalla.fi). Distance to the Ukkohalla services 0.1 km. Kajaani airport 86 km, Oulu 170 km, Helsinki 650 km, bus stop Hyrynsalmi 18 km, railway station Kontiomäki 66 km. Pets prohibited. View over the slopes. Cottage is available at 4.00pm on arriving day - till 12.00 on departure day. Final cleaning and bed linen are included to the price.
Basic information
| Hyrynsalmi
Show location on map
|Type of holiday home:
|Name of holiday home:
|Ski chalets 63m2 ukkohalla (1005)
|Living area:
|63 m²
|Number of bedrooms:
|Number of beds:
|Number of additional beds:
|Year built:
|Features of the destination:
|indoor sauna, electric sauna
|Rental number:
|Pets allowed:
|not allowed
|Internet connection, DVD player, TV
|Kitchen equipment:
|microwave oven
|Facilities and equipment:
|laundry machine, dryer closet, WC, shower
|Leisure-time activities:
|swimming, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, ice skating
Pricing information
|Prices shown as provided by the landlord. The final price will be confirmed upon reservation.
| Hinnat alkaen
The destination is rented out by
00500 Helsinki
Tel. 0306 502 502


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Revered anchorman Knowlton Nash was remembered Wednesday as a devoted family man and top-notch journalist who always had time to help a colleague and steadfastly believed in the CBC.
Peter Mansbridge, Lloyd Robertson and Sen. Pamela Wallin were among the broadcasting stars who attended a funeral for the man known affectionately to viewers of "The National" as "Uncle Knowlty." Nash died Saturday at age 86 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease.
"Knowlton chose to share his life with his family," said his grandson, Rev. Jesse Parker, adding that although Nash once braved war zones to deliver the news, he was even braver in real life.
"That braveness lives on in our lives, in the life of the CBC, in the life of Canada, in all the lives that Knowlton chose to share his life with."
Others who packed Grace Church on the Hill in the city's leafy Forest Hill neighbourhood included CBC journalist Alison Smith and former governor-general Adrienne Clarkson.
At the front of the church, a framed photo of Nash sat next to a pale blue box of broadcast videotape containing his remains. Outside, Mansbridge said that it took some time to find the vintage box, but it was the broadcaster's wish.
"As a friend, as a colleague, as a mentor, all of those things, he was an incredibly kind person. He was willing to share his time and knowledge with not just me, but with anyone who wanted it," he said.
Mansbridge, who also acted as a pallbearer, said it was like a "hall of fame" inside with all the CBC personalities who had come to pay tribute. He said Nash had thought hard about the future of the struggling public broadcaster in the final years of his life.
"He's going to be remembered as a great journalist, a real believer in public broadcasting and the CBC," he said. "That never left him. He was passionate about the corporation in the good times and the difficult times."
Nash started his news career before the age of 10, when he created his own weekly newspaper and sold ad space to local merchants in exchange for bubble gum and chocolate. By the Second World War, Nash was hawking the Toronto Star and Telegram on a Toronto street corner.
He went on to have a 37-year career with the public broadcaster, including a stint as a Washington correspondent in which he interviewed Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. During his years helming "The National," between 1978 and 1988, the news program became an unassailable jewel in the CBC's lineup.
Nash's large family, including wife Lorraine Thomson-Nash, as well as children and grandchildren, warmly welcomed supporters inside the church.
Parker recalled one night when a complete stranger embraced Nash, yelling, "It's Knowlton Nash, the Walter Cronkite of Canada!"
Nash quickly quipped back, "Well, at least I'm the Knowlton Nash of Canada."
Another grandson, Robert Parker, said Nash was a generous and warm grandfather, but one who also commanded the same kind of natural respect from his grandkids as he did his audiences. He never thought to disobey his grandfather — not out of fear, but simply out of love.
Robert Parker recalled that even after a 14-hour day at work, Nash was happy to stop and talk to people in the street who would ask him, "What was on the news tonight?" He was so devoted to reading the news he'd stop and give them a "private broadcast," Robert said.
"He cared. He made people around him care," said Robert. "He was a unique man and it was truly an honour and a privilege to be a part of his life."
Robertson, now a CTV host, first met Nash long before he was an anchor. As a CBC manager in the 1970s, Nash was orderly, hard-working and a mentor to younger journalists, Robertson said.
"The service reflected him so well. It was calm, it was simple and yet it was sophisticated. That to me was Knowlton Nash — and he was such a force for quality journalism in this country," he said. "He put so much quality journalism together at the CBC, and it sort of devised a path that we all follow still to this day."
Robertson added: "I have such fond memories of him. The smile, the patience that he always brought to the table with the newcomers like myself. He was a quality individual. That was Knowlton. He cared about the news and he cared about his country and he wanted the best for both."
Smith, CBC Radio "World at Six" host, said she remembers Nash not only as a great newsman but also a devoted grandfather, father and husband. He conveyed that humanity in his broadcasts, she said.
"What you saw on the air with Knowlton was who he was in person," she said. "He was someone who recognized that people were inviting him into their homes every night to tell them the news of the day, and that that was a privilege and you had to behave in a certain way.
"He was thoughtful, gracious, truthful, trustworthy — everything you hope to be as a journalist."
Wallin recalled that during her years as a CBC television host in the mid-1990s Nash would often call the studio after the show — but only to deliver praise, never criticism.
She said that Nash represents the highest ideals of journalism: seeking the truth while maintaining integrity in that pursuit.
"I think he just represented an era in which you did your homework and you asked all the right questions. It wasn't always comfortable, it might have been difficult, but he led by example," she said.
"He taught in the process of doing. I think that's sometimes what we miss and why he's being remembered today so fondly."


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Printed Memorials
Peaceful Skies Bifold Funeral Program Design & Print (Pack of 25)
- Availability:
- Package of 25 Funeral Programs at $2.50 ea. Ships the next day after your final approval of proof. Can ship same day if proof approval is given before 12noon CST.
An amazing sky landscape with soft, billowy clouds and light overhead accented by a white dove of peace with white flower in its mouth. The colors of this design are soft blue hues with touches of light blue and white. We will print your program on the highest quality, paper in the heaviest weight before going card stock. Choose from our signature matte finish or our popular UV gloss coated finish. Programs delivered to your door, shrink-wrapped and distribution ready.
We do it all for you, this is our complete package--from typesetting and creating your program to the final printed product, you can rest assured you are in good hands. Our trusted design and print service is available to assist and take the burden off your shoulders. This is our center fold program design available in a small, medium or large layout. The choice is yours or you can contact us for a recommendation if you are not sure. There is no template to purchase here, just our quality design and print, making your finished program a work of art! Your front photo background will be removed and seamlessly integrated into this faith based backdrop
Complete Full Service, All-Inclusive Professional Design & Printing; Package Price for 25 Funeral Programs
Printed on Best Premium 32 lb. Paper (Heaviest Weight Before Card stock); Includes Edge-to-Edge Printing; Matte or Gloss, Letter, Legal or Tabloid
Email Us Your Content/Photo(s) On Address Written On Your Receipt or upload your file here
FREE 2 day FEDEx shipping included with coupon code "FREE2SHIP" for orders over $200. Overnight shipping available at our discounted rate.
Returns Policy
PERSONALIZED MEMORIAL PRODUCTS are not refundable due to the nature of the custom created product. Products incorrectly ordered, not reading the full description on our product details page, received AFTER your date needed by, a result of not giving us enough time for production, no due date was specified, or an incorrect ship time was selected is not eligible for a refund. You may return most new, unopened NON-PERSONALIZED items within 10 days of delivery for a full refund, less the shipping. Please phone our customer support line for assistance AND clarification if you are unsure or have questions before ordering.
You should expect to receive your refund within 3-4 weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return a non-personalized item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
TEMPLATE DOWNLOADS are non-refundable due to the nature of the digital product. If you experience any download problems, please contact us via phone or email asap so we can manually send you the template in an email instead of a download link. This request can be made 7 days a week via email. You will receive your template within 1-2 hours or sooner, depending on the off hour time.
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations. FEDEX shipping business days are Monday-Friday only. If you want a Saturday delivery, please call to upgrade your shipping day. Saturday delivery is not given in online checkout.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound. Make sure you select the correct ship time at checkout so you receive your products in time. We are not responsible for refunding any orders that selected the wrong shipping time, please make sure you select the correct ship time and indicate DATE NEEDED BY. Orders not noted with a date needed by cannot be delivered on a date not indicated.


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Each piece of Native American Indian Jewelry is hand made and unique. - Authenticity
We only have one of each item pictured - it will sell to the first person who sends payment.
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S terling Silver and Turquoise
Bears are the main figure in the Mountain Way, an important Navajo ceremony. Bear claws are a traditional adornment to pendants and bracelets.
This pendant contains one Bear Claw which is hanging from a setting which includes one turquoise stone with matrix, one coral stone, leaves and raindrops. Swinging bail.
This is the style of pendant worn by warriors, with the bare claw hanging down.
Crafted by Navajo artist Ernest Spencer.
Bear Claw Pendant
(Note: Almost all natural bear claws have a slight imperfection - many of them have a rub mark, a scratch, a crack or even a piece missing. Like the lines in people's fingernails, these imperfections are just part of the claw. In fact, that is one way you can tell that the bear claw is authentic and not man-made.)


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Pete La Roca - Basra
Label: BLUE NOTE
Catalog: 0838650
Format: LP
Guitar - Pete La Roca
Malaguena Candu Tears Come From Heaven Basra Lazy Afternoon Eiderdown
It is strange to realize that drummer Pete La Roca only led two albums during the prime years of his career, for this CD reissue of his initial date is a classic. La Roca's three originals ("Basra," which holds one's interest despite staying on one chord throughout, the blues "Candu," and the complex "Tears Come From Heaven") are stimulating but it is the other three songs that really bring out the best playing in the quartet (which is comprised of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson, pianist Steve Kuhn, and bassist Steve Swallow in addition to La Roca). "Malaguena" is given a great deal of passion, Swallow's "Eiderdown" (heard in its initial recording) receives definitive treatment, and the ballad "Lazy Afternoon" is both haunting and very memorable; Henderson's tone perfectly fits that piece.
Price: $39.98


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Budget Title: Resident Hall Director (SL-2)
Salary: $35,803 (10 month, college-year appointment) with potential for additional compensation for summer opportunities.
This position has a 10-month work obligation from 8/1 through 5/31 annually, requiring the staff member to live in the provided on-campus apartment; and comes with a salary of $35,803 and excellent benefits.
Offers of employment may be contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment background check and verification of degree(s) and credentials.
Binghamton University is a tobacco-free campus.
Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor's Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com
Payroll information can be found on our website http://www.binghamton.edu/human-resources/payroll/
Cover letters may be addressed "To the Search Committee."
Postings active on the website accept applications until closure.
For information on the Dual Career Program, please visit:https://www.binghamton.edu/human-resources/dual-career-program/
Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action EmployerThe State University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. It is the policy of Binghamton University to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.
As required by Title IX and its implementing regulations Binghamton University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the educational programs and activities which it operates. This requirement extends to employment and admission. Inquiries about sex discrimination may be directed to the University Title IX Coordinator or directly to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Contact information for the Title IX Coordinator and OCR, as well as the University's complete Non-Discrimination Notice may be found here.
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"Today I mixed lots of vibrant colors-hot pink salad plates and a scarf that I wore with a gown acts as my runner. I placed large rectangle white plates from Ikea on top of green chargers from Kim Seybert. The placemats are woodcut from Home Depot (I had Home Depot custom cut some woodcut panels for me) and I glued leopard fabric on top to complete the look. The vase is vintage from the 20's and the napkin rings are from Pier One Imports. I try not to restrict myself to what really goes together. Its more about creating a table that works with my attitude for the day!" Shelly Anteby.
Check out Shelly n Renee's sale of the day!


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Twice per decade, the USDA releases its Census of Agriculture, so the 2012 version, which was released May 2, was literally five years in the making. The report is full of stats and trends, and it generally serves as a good "State of the Union" for the agriculture industry.
So what insights did the 2012 Census of Agriculture reveal?
First, a look at principal operators. Eighty-six percent of them are male, 48% listed farming as their primary occupation, and 78% of them have spent at least the last decade farming. Two-thirds of secondary operators are women, the vast majority of whom (90%) indicating they are the spouse of the principal operator.
Women as principal operators declined about 6% since 2007. However, the farming profession can claim a slight increase in diversity, with the number of black, Hispanic, American Indian and Asian principal farm operators all on the rise.
The average age of farmers continues to rise. The latest increase went from 57.1 years in 2007 to 58.3 years in 2012. Here's a breakdown by age groups.
So what does the average farmer look like today, anyway? The USDA admits, "although average describes no single individual exactly, it is a useful way to look at some similarities and differences" between the 48% who reported farming as a primary occupation versus the 52% who reported farming as a secondary profession.
The total number of all operators declined slightly from the 2007 Census of Agriculture, down 3.1% to 3.18 million. Operators farm about 915 million acres in the U.S., down from about 922 million in 2007. However, these acre losses are not uniform across each state – in fact, some states saw an increase in farm acres over the past five years. This map highlights the biggest farm acre increases and decreases.
As the total number of farms and farm acres continues its gentle decline, those farms' output nevertheless keeps going up. The value of all agricultural sales jumped 32.8 percent higher from 2007, for a total of $394.6 billion in crop and livestock sales.
But as income saw double-digit gains, so did agricultural production expenses, which grew 36.4 percent since 2007. Farmers spent the following percentages* (total, not per unit) more on the following inputs:
*change from 2007. Increases represent total amount spent, not a per-unit increase.
For more information about the 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture, visit http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2012/.
Or, visit the AgWeb discussion boards to continue the conversation.


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Sept. 16, 2012
By Florida State Sport Information
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Play continued on the third day of competition at the Bedford Cup on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The Seminoles have doubles partners Andres Bucaro and Benjamin Lock play in tomorrow's final match.
The semifinal doubles match today was Garnet vs. Gold as Bucaro and Lock faced off against their own teammates Cristian Gonzalez Mendez and João Gauer. Playing against very familiar opponents, the two teams went back and forth but Gold, Bucaro and Lock, walked off the court with the 8-5 win. They play Florida's Alford and Diep tomorrow.
"One of our goals was to have an individual or a team in the finals," head coach Dwayne Hultquist said. "Benjamin and Andres have done that and will have a tough match in the finals against the Florida team who won Southern Intercollegiate last week. We know it will be a tough match. I like how they have played their return games and have picked up their serves. I'm pleased with the progress they've made so far."
Sophomore Dominic Cotrone's impressive singles run ended in the semifinals as he lost in a tight three set match. USF's Federico Sabogal won 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
"Dominic had a great tournament here," continued Hultquist. "He had a top 20 win which is the highest ranked win of his career. To do it on the other team's home court and in straight sets was a really good showing on his part. He was a little bit tired today; he played a real good first set but didn't have enough to quite finish it off."
Playing a consolation match was freshman Michael Rinaldi who topped Florida Gulf Coast's Tianyu Bao 7-6, 6-4.
For results of the tournament, check back on Seminoles.com. You can also follow the team at Twitter.com/FSU_MTennis.


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Richard Ketchum, CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), omitted a crucial detail in a recent interview he gave.
While he was forthcoming in revealing that FINRA was abandoning its fight to have the House Financial Services Committee revisit this year the SRO bill championed by the committee's former chairman, Rep. Spencer Bachus, which would have given FINRA the right to take over advisor oversight, he craftily failed to mention the fact that FINRA had shifted its fight to the Senate.
Indeed, as I learned from several industry sources, FINRA is now trolling the Senate for SRO backers.
"FINRA has been trying for several months to quietly obtain sponsors for an SRO bill in the Senate, rather than in the House" where the self-regulator failed to have Bachus' bill come up for a vote at the committee level last year, said Ron Rhoades (right), assistant professor and chairman of the financial planning program at Alfred State College.
Karen Nystrom, head of public policy and advocacy for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), confirmed that rumors have indeed been swirling that FINRA is seeking Senate sponsors for an SRO bill. However, she said, no supporters have surfaced yet.
Another industry executive told me this: "Keep watching" what happens in the Senate. "This [SRO] issue isn't going away."
Comments made by Ketchum to Reuters in early February seemed to give advisors a glint of hope that FINRA had decided to abandon its efforts to become the SRO for advisors. Ketchum said that FINRA would forgo, for now, its attempts to get the House Financial Services Committee to revisit this year Bachus' SRO bill, particularly since newly christened chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, has taken the helm. "I'm not a big believer in beating a head against the wall," Ketchum told Reuters. "We'll focus on things we can impact."
A FINRA spokesperson told me a day after the Reuters story was published that "while there is shared concern about the lack of resources devoted to IA oversight, there is clearly a lack of consensus about how best to address that problem. It remains a critical investor protection issue and our views remain that it should be addressed as soon as possible."
While "other issues" are closer to the top of Congress' agenda, the advisor SRO issue "will likely not be resolved in the near term. Hopefully for investors who entrust their funds to investment advisors, the issue will get another look in the not-too-distant future," the spokesperson said.
Hensarling, who took over in January, is said not to be keen on Bachus' SRO bill and is likely to focus on other issues this year, such as reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as certain aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Another reason FINRA likely shifted its SRO strategy to the Senate is the fact that the Financial Planning Coalition is—and has been—seeking senators who would back a user-fees bill.
Nystrom said in November that the Coalition planned this year to thwart passage of an SRO bill by ensuring a "bipartisan bill" originates in the Senate allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to collect user fees from advisors to fund their exams. She told me in early February that the coalition—which includes NAPFA, the CFP Board and the Financial Planning Association—"still believes" user fees are the best way to ensure advisors are examined more often.
"The coalition very much takes the investor protection issue" of advisor exams "seriously, and wants to improve the examination process and increase the frequency" of advisor exams, Nystrom said.
The coalition, she continued, "is not backing off its position now." FINRA and the coalition, she said, "have had different approaches and agree that given that there was little appetite in Congress for an IA SRO, wasting resources is not prudent."
While the advisory industry would indeed breathe a collective sigh of relief if FINRA decided to flat out abandon its efforts to become the SRO for advisors, industry officials say FINRA will continue its crusade.
David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) in Washington, said Ketchum's remarks signal that "FINRA recognizes the reality that Congress has other priorities, that the SEC has not been united on the [SRO] issue, and that FINRA has determined that, for the time being, it may be more fruitful to pursue other initiatives."
However, Ketchum "makes it clear" that the SEC's difficulties in adequately examining advisors "have not disappeared," Tittsworth (right) added. As Ketchum told Reuters: "When you don't go in and examine an entity on a regular basis, the potential for a Ponzi scheme is much greater," citing a lack of manpower and financial resources at the SEC as the root of the problem.
Rhoades added that he fully expects FINRA "to continue to adjust its policies and procedures and try to take over the investment advisor space over time," noting FINRA's recent move to open up its arbitration process to investment advisors.
FINRA's lobbying course "can swiftly change," Rhoades said, pointing to FINRA stating "very clearly" in 2007 "that it had no interest in oversight of RIAs, only to pursue that agenda a few years later. Hence, all independent investment advisors should remain on guard."
Tittsworth said IAA "will remain vigilant" regarding FINRA's potential expansion of its jurisdiction, and will "continue to support ways to ensure that the SEC has adequate resources to enhance its oversight of investment advisors," such as the user-fee legislation that was introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., last summer.
While FINRA is making a "sensible move" by deciding to back away from further lobbying in the House on the SRO issue, said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America, "unfortunately Congress continues to ignore its responsibility to adequately fund the SEC to do its job, in this case police investment advisors, leaving investors vulnerable to fraud."
Rhoades agreed that it's time for the SEC to refocus its exam efforts. "The SEC's current examination program treats independent fee-only RIAs without custody—the purest of the 'white hats'—as criminals," Rhoades said. "The SEC needs to use its limited resources to go after the actual criminals, rather than camping out for weeks doing an overbearing examination of an RIA in an attempt to find even the smallest transgression of its onerous rules." By focusing on actual fraud, he continued, "rather than technical violations of rules, the SEC can substantially increase the frequency of exams and, in so doing, assist in restoring the trust of individual investors to our financial system."


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Red Sox - 010 100 100 - 3 11 1***
Blue Jays - 001 050 00x - 6 10 0
Tim Wakefield (3.99, 122 ERA+) / Casey Janssen (4.50, 190 ERA+)
Note: Tonight's game thread is here.
The Red Sox lead the AL East by one-half game. The Blue Jays have lost nine games in a row, the team's worst road skid since two losing streaks of 10 games in 1979.
Janssen's last start -- May 23 at Atlanta (6-8-3-1-0) -- was his first major league appearance since 2007 and his first start since July 24, 2006.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona was examined by emergency medical technicians to check on his blood pressure not long after being ejected from Thursday's game in Minneapolis, The Boston Globe reported. ...
According to the Globe, Francona was pacing in his office, agitated and "worked up" because of the ejections of himself and Varitek when a member of the Red Sox training staff suggested that Francona, who has a history of medical issues, be examined before the team left the Metrodome ...
"I'm fine," Francona said. "I just got a little worked up and my blood pressure shot up."


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(Pocket-lint) - Hard drives are good for backup, but they are also good for sharing content around your home on the plethora of PCs and Macs you've probably got. Unless you've stumped for Apple's Time Capsule, Western Digital believes it has the answer with the 1TB My Book World Edition Network Home Drive.
The hard drive is called My Book for a very good reason: it looks like a book. The glossy white casing wraps around the drive like a cover of a book, while the white venting top, bottom and rear is designed to look like the pages. Completing the look, the indicator light, which tells you how full your drive is, is on the spine as if it were the title. The design is very clever, very minimal and very smart. It's not your average grey/beige box you need to hide.
The design also helps with space on your desk or bookshelf. Because it looks like a book you'll be pleased to know it takes up as much space as one. It's not a thin short story more Harry Potter's last outing, but it's still small - especially when you consider it packs up to 1TB of space within it.
Around the back the connections are as minimal as the design. There is the "all important" Ethernet, USB socket, power adapter and Kensington lock slot so you can attach it to your desk. Western Digital is clearly keen to keep it simple although a Wi-Fi connection would have been even better saving you from having to place this near your router.
Once you've connected the drive to your network it is visible for all connected to see and the drive comes pre-formatted to be read for both PC and Mac users.
Besides coming with UPnP support for connecting to your network to be read by your PC or Mac, the drive also comes with DLNA support so you can stream content to devices such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, wireless digital picture frames, and Samsung mobile phones making this a far more useful proposition to just backing up your computer.
Those interested in backup can do so on both the Mac and the PC in the guise of WD's Anywhere backup solution (powered by Memeo). Once installed the software allows you to automatically backup elements of your computer to the drive when connected. You're able to choose folders, or as the software calls it "SmartPicks", such as all "Files from Home Folder" or just your "Address Book". There is nothing stopping you from backing up everything.
Backup is done over the air and you can set-up multiple backups from multiple computers all saving to the same drive.
Restoring a file is as easy as clicking on it and the benefit here is that you can do it over the air without the worry having to buy a Time Capsule from Apple. Yes, you can make this drive work with Time Machine, but only with some coding workaround. We like the ability to backup just specific folders either way.
PC users get their own array of software, including a PC version of the backup software, MioNet Remote Access, and WD Discovery Software. MioNet is a paid for service that allows you to access files remotely as long as you've got a connection to the web. You can access all your folders and files, however it will cost you $80 a year for the privilege.
Speed and performance was good. As with any network drive it is hard to tell how it will perform over your own network as these things tend to vary based on whether you are connecting via wires or wireless. That said, we experienced good enough transfer rates over our own network not to warrant worry on this side of things.
Small but powerful, the Western Digital MyBook World Edition Network Hard Drive does what it sets out to do - allow you to access your files around the house with little bother or hassle on a wide range of devices not just your computer.
We especially like the fact that it comes with an easy-to-use backup solution for both Mac and PC and the DLNA support means you can share media with plenty of devices including your phone and maybe even your TV.


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Overseas program recognized by U.S. News & World Report
September 09, 2013
For the second year in a row, U.S. News & World Report has recognized Lewis & Clark's overseas and off-campus program as one of the best in the nation. The college is also one of the top 75 liberal arts colleges in the country, according to the U.S. News rankings.
The 2014 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges issue recognizes "schools with outstanding examples of programs that education experts, including staff members of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, agree are key." Lewis & Clark is the only school in the Pacific Northwest to make the 2014 study abroad list, which also features Dartmouth, Georgetown, and Stanford.
The overseas study program is one of the most distinguishing features of the college, attracting students from—and sending students to—every corner of the globe. More than 60 percent of Lewis & Clark students end up studying abroad, often in countries outside of Western Europe.
Learn more in "Around the World in 50 Years," published in the Chronicle magazine.
Overseas and Off-Campus Programs Lewis & Clark Admissions


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Hoyer: Sequester Is An Irrational, Stupid And Harmful Policy That Must Be Changes
April 25, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) spoke on the House Floor this morning about the urgent need to stop the irrational sequester. Below are his remarks and a link to the video:"Mr. Speaker, seven weeks on, America has begun to feel the effects of the Republican policy of sequestration. Sequestration defies common sense and is irresponsible. It is happening because the Tea Party faction of the Republican Party, frankly, is bent on cutting spending no matter what the consequences, no matter how irrationally it is done, and no matter how adverse the consequences of these cuts. These arbitrary across-the-board cuts to federal programs without regard to our priorities was never, never meant to be a solution, but rather a deterrent to Congress failing to reach one.
"Since coming into effect on March 1, Americans are seeing why sequestration is not a policy we should follow or continue. This week, the FAA began furloughs for 47,000 employees. I've talked to the Secretary. I've talked to the Deputy Secretary. They do not have an option under the policies that this Congress has adopted. Thirteen thousand air traffic controllers are among those 47,000. Already, delays of up to two hours at major airports are disrupting travel, which impacts business and produces major headaches for American families trying to get to where they need to go. Some flights have been diverted because our air traffic control system is being overwhelmed with limited personnel.
"In addition to its effects on the FAA, sequestration is also placing a heavy burden on small business. According to an article in POLITICO on April 16, just a few days ago, small businesses are being hit the hardest by sequestration's cuts. The Small Business Administration is being forced to cut $16.7 million in loan subsidies. Those are guarantees. That means $167 million in loans – capital – not available to small businesses. At the same time, the article goes on to report as many as 956,000 small business jobs could be at risk from sequestration as employers lay off their workers in anticipation of further cuts. We ought to abandon this stupid policy.
"Also at stake are critical research programs in medicine and science research that fuel American innovation and advance life-saving treatments. They're at risk because of sequestration. Cuts to the National Institutes of Health are already leading to a reduction in research grants, including tens of millions of dollars that will halt innovative genomics and cancer research at some of America's top universities, including Harvard, Penn and Johns Hopkins in my state. And the National Science Foundation will have to award 1,000 fewer grants this year to researchers who are helping keep America on top of technology and innovation.
"How irrational. This is a stupid, harmful, future-hurting and America under-cutting policy. It must be changed.
"Sequestration is also reducing our military readiness and putting civilian defense employees at risk of being furloughed – and, more to the point, putting at risk our own national security. Communities in my district, across Maryland, and throughout the country, whose economies depend on a strong military, are going to be hard hit.
"But the good news is there is an alternative. Congress has the power to end sequestration by reaching a big and balanced solution to deficits that can replace these irrational cuts. But to do so Democrats and Republicans will have to work together in a bipartisan way. We ought to go to a conference on the budget, adopt a fiscally responsible balanced plan, and eliminate the sequester for this year and the eight years to come.
"We offered an alternative to sequester four times in the last month, and four times we were not given the opportunity to have it voted upon on this Floor. This was supposed to be an open, transparent, and we would consider alternatives. We did not. But I believe we can do it. Our economy, our ability to create jobs and the success of our country in the decade ahead is dependent on our jettisoning these irrational cuts we call sequestration. Too many jobs, lives and livelihoods are at stake for Congress to engage in partisan games.
"As the weeks and months continue without turning sequestration off, its effects will only get worse. Let's act now. Let's act together. Let's act in a bipartisan way before our people and our businesses feel the full effects of this irrational and senseless sequestration policy. Let's work together to achieve the big, balanced solution the American people deserve from their Congress and that we owe to our country."


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(Please forgive the not so great photos. I took these quickly on my way out the door to go give these to Jennifer and almost forgot to photograph them!)
Punchline: "From very far away!" Punchline: "Because it was programmed to do so!"
Punchline: "You can't tuna fish!"
(You can find that fish stamp in THIS set and the background stamp HERE.)
Punchline: "Donut ask me any silly questions!"
Hee Hee. Hope you enjoyed these silly jokes. Do you have a favorite? Would love to hear what it is.


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The 100 Moments of TSU Athletics presented by Taco Bell® series continues by remembering one of the premier special teams player in Tennessee State football history.
In 1981, Herman Hunter first stepped foot onto TSU's campus. Like any other young player, Hunter was delegated a role on the Tigers' special teams. Hunter was fast and elusive, so Coach John Merritt let him return kicks.
Hunter seized the opportunity and by the time he left TSU in 1984, he had become the school's all-time leader in kick return yardage.
In fact, Hunter's 2,285 yards on kickoffs alone still stands as a Tennessee State record to this day. He is currently ahead of second placeholder, Carlos Wright by nearly 700 yards.
During Hunter's sophomore season, Hunter broke TSU's record for most all-purpose yards during a game with 453 yards against Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 13, 1982. He also set the mark for most kickoff return yardage with 262, helping the Tigers whip the Devils, 63-41.
Hunter also played a big role in TSU's Black College National Championship in 1982- the team's second in as many seasons.
A year later, Hunter, along with Golden Tate, led TSU in scoring. Hunter totaled 13 touchdowns on the season for 78 points.
Also in 1983, Hunter rushed for 104 yards in the memorable 7-7 tie versus Grambling in what would be Merritt's final season.
Hunter was an All-American during his senior season and was later drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the eleventh round of the NFL Draft.
Hunter played in the NFL for three different teams in three seasons. He totaled nearly 1,000 total yards for his career and had three touchdowns.
The 100 Moments of TSU Athletics presented by Taco Bell® highlights some of the greatest moments in honor of Tennessee State's centennial celebration. A new moment will be released each weekday for a total of 100. These moments were chosen by the TSU 100 Moments committee, which consists of alums from various departments. TSU has so many great moments, not all can be represented in these 100.
Follow TSU Athletics on Facebook.com/TSUTigers, Twitter @TSU_Tigers and YouTube


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Visit the By-laws, Policies and Technical Regulations page to download a copy of the Acrobatic Gymnastics Technical Regulations.
Download the following manual produced by Gymnastics New South Wales to learn more about calculating the value of skills under the 2013-2016 Tables of Difficulty.
A guide to reading the Tables of Difficulty


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The night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Santo Domingo (today Haiti and the Dominican Republic) saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. In accordance with the goals of the intercultural project "The Slave Route", it should offer an opportunity for collective consideration of the historic causes, the methods and the consequences of this tragedy, and for an analysis of the interactions to which it has given rise between Africa, Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean.
The slave trade which, from the 6th to the 20th century seized millions of Africans from their homeland to deport and enslave them in different parts of the world, has long been a hidden history. In order not to forget this tragedy, UNESCO launched in 1994 in Ouidah (Benin), The Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage, whose aim is to meet the historical and moral obligation of tackling in a holistic, methodical and consensual manner this painful chapter in the history of humankind.
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition was first celebrated in a number of countries, in particular in Haiti (23 August 1998) and Goree in Senegal (23 August 1999). Cultural events and debates too were organized. The year 2001 saw the participation of the Mulhouse Textile Museum in France in the form of a workshop for fabrics called "Indiennes de Traite" (a type of calico) which served as currency for the exchange of slaves in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
On this Day of Commemoration, UNESCO invites people around the world to remember, to reflect on the consequences of the past on our present, on the new requirements of living together in our multicultural societies and on the fight against contemporary forms of slavery of which millions of human beings are still victims.
Source: UNESCO
The Brussels based United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe - UNRIC provides information on UN activities to the countries of the region. It also provides liaison with institutions of the European Union in the field of information. Its outreach activities extend to all segments of society and joint campaigns, projects and events are organized with partners including the EU, governments, the media, NGOs, schools and local authorities.
United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe (UNRIC Brussels)
Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 155, Block C2,7th and 8th floor, Brussels 1040, Belgium
Tel.: +32 2 788 8484 / Fax: 32 2 788 8485


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Although medical science has advanced immeasurably in the last century, many preventable diseases still claim lives due to ineffective vaccination programs. This map shows when and where that happens.
The Council of Foreign Relations Global Health Program began tracking vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks in 2008, and now it's produced an interactive map that visualizes the data. The maps shows the known number of recorded cases of diseases like measles, mumps, whooping cough and more—all preventable by vaccination—which occurred between 2008 and 2014.
While there are understandably many instances of disease outbreaks in developing countries—the majority a result of the unavailability of the MMR vaccine, as the LA Times points out—there are also a surprising number in developed regions. Pertussis—whooping cough to those unfortunate enough to know it well—was rife in the US over the six years of data collection, with the state of California alone reporting 10,000 cases of the disease between 2011 and 2013. There were similar outbreaks across the rest of the US, and even in the UK and Australia.
You could claim that the map is inherently biased: it is, after all, built up from data collected from international news, which means that more cases may well go reported in developed countries. But even so, the prevalence of some preventable diseases in the developed world is more than a little shocking, and one can't help but think that anti-vaccination movements are at least partly responsible. Regardless, you should go explore the map. [CFR via LA Times via Verge]


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Probing Question: Are we running out of helium?
Probing Question: Are we running out of helium?
Party planners, take note: the atmosphere may become a little deflated at gala events in the future.
Some scientists are sounding the alarm about the wastefulness of using helium -- a rare, non-renewable gas -- to fill party balloons. Why? As an essential resource in technologies such as medical imaging, rocket engines, and surveillance devices, it turns out that helium does a lot more than give our balloons a lift. And despite being the second most abundant element in the universe, most of our supply in the Earth's atmosphere simply floats off into space and is lost.
Are we running out of helium on Earth?
Moses Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics at Penn State, explains that the world's supply of helium is a byproduct of natural gas production, with the Texas Panhandle arguably being the helium capital of the world. However, says Chan, "Very few natural gas wells in the world have enough helium in the well to make it economical to separate helium from natural gas. The gas wells with the most helium have only about 0.3 percent, so it is in short supply."
In response to the element's scarcity, the United States has been stockpiling helium since the 1960s in a National Helium Reserve called the Bush Dome, a deep underground reservoir outside of Amarillo, Texas. By the mid 1970s 1.2 billion cubic meters of the gas was stored there. The current reserve is approximately 0.6 billion cubic meters, or roughly 4 times the current world market.
But, Chan notes, in 1996 the Helium Privatization Act mandated that the Department of the Interior sell off all the stockpiled helium by 2015. "As a consequence," he says, "the United States government is selling the equivalent of 40 percent of the world market of helium at a below-market price."
"This action discourages the active exploration of helium," Chan explains, "since companies can buy it from the United States at a cheap price and sell it at a premium." Chan, who served on the National Research Council's Committee on Understanding the Impact of Selling the Helium Reserve and co-authored its report, adds that the shortages in the last couple of years are also due to the small number of helium plants worldwide (12 at last count) and maintenance and construction problems in plants in Qatar, Algeria, and the United States.
In May of 2012, Chan testified before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and pointed out that, in recent years, over 20 prominent research programs at universities and national laboratories had reported shortages of liquid helium, impeding research, sometimes for extended periods.
The solution, he believes, may involve new legislation that allows the Bureau of Land Management to continue to manage the Federal Helium Reserve beyond 2015 to avoid any sudden disruption of the market. "There should be a plan to gradually reduce and curtail the sale of the federal helium for industrial and recreation use," says Chan. "But the federal reserve helium should continue to be made available for national strategic and scientific needs at a price that is in the national interest. When the federal helium is no longer available for non-strategic industrial use," Chan adds, "the market price of helium will likely go up and there will be more incentive for the gas industry to explore new gas wells with helium." Rising prices might also mean "the industries that rely on helium -- semiconductor, fiber optics, welding, etcetera -- will start to conserve and recycle it."
It should be noted, he adds, that natural gas from the Marcellus shale has no helium because the rocks are porous and any helium that was once there leaked out a long time ago.
"Although scientific use accounts for only 3 percent of all the helium, for scientists who want to cool their experiments to cryogenic temperature, there is no alternative to liquid helium," concludes Chan. "For MRI machines that need a stable high magnetic field, there is also no alternative. It is estimated that if cost was not an issue, the amount of helium gas trapped in current and future gas wells worldwide could last between 200 or 300 years." That would buy us some time to figure out how to ensure helium sticks around. However, brace yourself for costs to soar "very high," he predicts. How high? "It depends on how quickly all major helium users adopt ways to conserve and to recycle. When the current helium-rich gas wells are used up, the price could easily soar tenfold."
With that kind of ballooning inflation, it seems likely that we'll be inflating far fewer balloons.
Moses Chan, Evan Pugh Professor of Physics, can be reached at email@example.com.


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Mr. Speaker, today the House deals with one of the largest changes regarding controlled substances in my lifetime. Throughout the debate on the larger issue of legalizing recreational marijuana, I have discovered that the issue is not as black and white as some members have put forward in their arguments. I agree with many of the points my colleague from Markham—Unionville raised. However, I said that it is not as black and white, and I will give an example. Every time the Liberal MPs talk about how marijuana legalization would keep the substance out of the hands of youth, it is asinine. For anyone to think that youth currently do not have ready access to illegal marijuana is also rather absurd. I am well aware that Canada has some of the highest rates of adolescent marijuana consumption in the world. It is available far too often in our high schools and I have heard horrible stories of how marijuana consumption has led to disastrous life decisions.
This can also be said of alcohol. It can also be said of crystal meth, fentanyl, and cocaine. I do not for a moment believe that marijuana is in the same column as the illegal substances I just referenced, and it is not my intention to degrade those who consume marijuana for recreational purposes. My intent is to emphasize that we parliamentarians should wade very carefully into legalization of recreational marijuana, which would soon allow every household in Canada to grow four plants.
I have carefully reviewed many of the submissions to the health committee, such as by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Medical Association, the Canadian Nurses' Association, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. These are just a handful of the over 185 briefs tabled with committee members, and in many respects the concerns these well-respected organizations put forward were almost identical to those voiced by my constituents during the five town halls I hosted on this topic this summer.
The best way to describe Bill C-45 is by quoting a Brandon Sun article published the morning after one of our town halls. I can assure those who think the Brandon Sun is under the umbrella of Postmedia that it is not. The article stated, "If a consensus could be drawn from a wide-ranging town hall in Brandon about the proposed legalization of marijuana, it's an acknowledgement the legislation is flawed."
I fully agree with what the article said. That is why I submitted a brief not only to the justice and health ministers, but also to the entire committee tasked with studying this legislation. It was not surprising, but still unfortunate, to report that I received a boiler-plate response from the Minister of Justice that did not even acknowledge the recommendations I put forward. If a duly elected member of Parliament cannot even get the correspondence team in the Minister of Justice's office to go above and beyond just copying and pasting a response, it begs the question of whether the current government has any intention of listening to concerned Canadians.
For a government that pretends it listens, the only way to get its members to back down from a proposal is for thousands upon thousands of angry taxpayers to show up en masse at town halls and write some of the funniest tweets I have ever read. For example, during the taxpayers' revolt this summer, many farmers took pictures of themselves sitting in their combines while harvesting, referring to them as their tax shelters.
I ask the government not only to implement my recommended change to push back the bringing-into-force date of Bill C-45 to 2019, but also that its members listen to the brief by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which stated, "Canadian police services will not be equipped to provide officers with the training and resources necessary to enforce the new regime within the existing contemplated timeframe," or to the Canadian Medical Association, which recommended a comprehensive public health strategy with a health education component before Bill C-45 is implemented.
If the government thinks that police services, the medical community, and our education system will be ready within the next six months, and that municipalities and provinces will be fully prepared for July 1, I would humbly remind it on its own part, two years later, it still cannot accurately pay public service employees.
It is sad to say, but the government's credibility in implementing and executing effective policies within a reasonable time frame is not that believable. My hon. colleagues across the way have essentially ignored the plea by provinces and municipalities for more time to properly prepare for the government's politically driven July 1 deadline.
Not a single member of this House has any idea what the rules will be in their communities, because their municipal governments have yet to determine what they will be. It will cost serious money for municipal governments to properly train their law enforcement and bylaw officers, and even more, they will not receive adequate financial assistance to do so. They will be stuck with all of the headaches, while the Prime Minister, on Canada Day, will proclaim that marijuana is now legal.
To expand on my recommendations to the government, the majority of my constituents believe that the federal government should not look to marijuana as a cash cow, but should provide a significant portion of the federal taxes it collects from marijuana directly to municipalities in the same manner as it does with the gas tax fund.
For any of my colleagues who believe that police and law enforcement agencies will see cost savings from the legalization of recreational marijuana, it would be naive at best to think that such a highly regulated, controlled substance that will have even more strings attached to it than alcohol will somehow free up their time. Any time a government has decided to legislate, regulate, and control something, I have failed to see the resulting cost savings.
Regardless of the flaws of this piece of legislation, there is still no overall consensus among my constituents that marijuana should be legalized for recreational use. There were many questions about the effects on someone's cognitive abilities and the lack of general education about its long-term impacts.
While we debate this legislation and put a heavy emphasis on educating our youth, we must not forget that millions of middle-aged adults have next to zero experience with recreational marijuana and, therefore, that any educational programs must include this demographic.
It is absolutely imperative that the legalization of recreational marijuana not be rushed until the various law enforcement agencies, provinces, and municipalities are fully prepared.
I urge the government to rethink how the tax revenues will be distributed to those who will have to absorb many of the costs of regulating and policing marijuana use. I ask the federal government to heed the advice of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities not to move forward with this legislation until it receives further direction from its municipal partners.
In closing, I am under no illusion that the government has any intention of listening to the concerns of the good people of Brandon—Souris. It would be an understatement to say that I have hesitations regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana. Regardless of my personal trepidations, it is clear that the country is not ready for the July 1, 2018 implementation date. It is my hope that even if the government ignores every other concern or recommendation put forward, either by me or stakeholders, that it at the very least would push back the bringing-into-force date to allow more time to properly prepare for legalization.
With that I will finish my remarks and urge my Liberal colleagues to break ranks with their whip and the government to listen to its local law enforcement agencies, provinces, and municipalities to do the right thing.


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Event Calendar
This is an informal group of folks getting together to make ourselves better paddlers. Paddlers of all abilities are welcome. Both men and women, prone and SUP, 12'6 or 14 foot, Outrigger it doesn't matter just bring it whatever it is. Here's what it's about. If you want premium board rental is available for $35 flat fee paddle as long as you want.'
This fun practice geared to make you a better paddler
First we all meet at the shop at 115 third st. We arrive by 7am and hit the water promptly at 7:30am. The shop is then closed and locked until 9:15am. As long as you keep hold of all of your personal items you can leave whenever you want.
The group will generally all stay together for the first mile doing drills and practicing skills as we paddle the canal.
As we exit the canal the paddlers pick up to their own personal pace and we generally spend 30-45 minutes in the bay paddling and working on skills.
We then tend to regroup at the mouth of the canal and do the last mile together. We usually go as hard as we can this last mile.
There is no RSVP required. If the event is listed on the 101 Surf Sports Calendar the day before then its on. YOU NEED TO CHECK THE CALENDAR THE DAY BEFORE to make sure no cancellation has occurred.
Paddle and Board Rentals are available. Unlimited paddle time on a high end board and paddle for $35+tax.


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Mr Vegas Baby Mamma Drama, Shorty Pregnant W/ Gaza Member?, Tommy Lee Vs Bounty?,Mavado, Lisa Hyper
Konshens Sex Ad, Popcaan T-Shirt, Chino & Yendi Phillips, Vybz Kartel Urged Tommy Lee To End Beef
Vybz Kartel's Book, Busy Singal Gets Six Months, Beres Hammond New Album, Sept 2012
Are You A Wife?
Posted by G-Mark On 5:34 PM 0 comments
Are You Really A Baller?
Posted by G-Mark On 5:33 PM 0 comments
Jerk Chicken Footlong
Posted by G-Mark On 5:33 PM 0 comments


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Dance Classes for Boys in NYC: Ballet, Hip-Hop and Beyond
My now eight-year-old son had happy feet in utero, and happy (and apparently tasty) feet as a baby. As soon as he learned there was such a thing, he began asking for dance lessons. It seems he didn't get the memo that, in America at least, dance is not considered a cool activity for boys. (Not that he would have cared—he's very much a waltz to the beat of his own drummer kind of dude.)
In order to counter this attitude, lots of dance studios have launched special boy-centric or boys-only classes in the hope of appealing to all of the Billy Elliots out there. Bonus: Some of these programs are subsidized or even free!
Since my son is particularly interested in ballet, we started him off at Ballet Hispanico on the Upper West Side. The program offers two separate Saturday boys workshops, one for 6-8-year-olds, and another for 9-10-year-olds. Thanks to the Ted Snowdon Foundation, class fees are 50% off regular tuition.
The School of American Ballet's primary division boys classes are completely free, but require an audition. Interested boys ages 6 to 10 are invited to try out in the spring for admission the following September. You can either pay $35 to audition at SAB, or register for one of the free and open community auditions held all over the city, including Harlem, Chinatown, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. April 2012 dates and locations are posted on SAB's website.
Other ballet options for boys include:
Dance Theatre of Harlem's Jete Program for boys ages 7 to 17
Alvin Ailey's Bounding Boys for 4-6 year olds and Athletic Boys Dance for 7-10-year-olds
Joffrey Ballet School with classes for 6-9-years-olds and kids 10 and up
American Ballet Theater for boys ages 5-11
Ballet Academy East, which begins separate boys classes once they reach Level 4
Another, lesser-known option is Ballet Tech, NYC's only public school for dance. From fourth to twelfth grades, Ballet Tech offers professional dance training to boys and girls for free, alongside traditional academics. To apply, students may either participate in a qualifying Beginners Program with introductory classes in more than 700 NYC public schools, or attend an open audition for non-affiliated third graders from all five boroughs.
If ballet isn't your boy's thing, there are plenty of other types of dance on tap. Tribeca's Downtown Dance Factory offers a number of boys-only classes in ballet, jazz and hip-hop. Peridance Capezio Center in the East Village also offers the super-athletic Movement for Boys. And of course hip-hop is probably the one dance that is cool for boys to do, which is why we wrote about our favorite hip-hop kids' classes a few years back.
For more cool kids' programs, check out our Classes Guide.


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Miscellaneous from the World of Catan
Newspaper articles, the Catan World Championship, Catan on TV – here you can find all the other things you want to know about Catan.
November 13, 2012
Catan Board on Mashable, More than 1000% Funded, and Approaching $300k
Read this great story about "Catan Board on Mashable! Last week there was a story published by Fran Berkman, Mashable writer and Catan fan, about the Catan Board Kickstarter project. It's a great read and the story even held the coveted "Trending Story" top position, making it the most popular story for a while. …
November 7, 2012
"No Wheat Means Defeat" T-Shirt/Poster Combo
"No Wheat Means Defeat" combo added to the Catan Shop. This preshrunk 100% combed cotton 4.3oz. Catan shirt comes with a matching 18" x 24" poster. Use both to proudly remind your friends or coworkers that there's more important things than sheep in the long run. Find it in the Catan Shop: …
October 19, 2012
Catan Halloween Picture Contest
It's Halloween on the island of Catan! We want to see which fans have the most Catan spirit during Halloween. We'll reward one lucky fan, who sends us the best Halloween-themed Catan photo, with a copy of Star Trek: Catan! Your photo could be of a Catan costume, a Catan pumpkin carving, or even some spooky Catan treats. The only requirement is you must represent both Catan and Halloween in your photo to be eligible to win! > …
October 16, 2012
Catan Game Assistant - Free iOS/Android App to learn "The Settlers of Catan"
You want to learn "The Settlers of Catan" effortlessly, without having to read the game rules? Then the free "Catan Game Assistant" is just the right thing for you! From game setup to independent play, our innovative tutorial introduces you step by step to the game in an entertaining manner. All you need is the "Settlers of Catan" board game, 2 or 3 opponents, and this app, which one of the participating players runs on his tablet or smartphone. [Click here to find out more and download the app for free]> …
October 13, 2012
Klaus Teuber Signing at Essen - Internationale Spieltage SPIEL
We're excited to be at Essen Internationale Spieltage, the largest game fair in the world, next week! It's time for Spiel at Essen again and we are very excited about attending this year. We have many exciting announcments and new things to present. Klaus Teuber will be signing games on Friday at Noon in the Mayfair Games booth(Hall 9-72). …
October 12, 2012
We Built this City on Rock & Wheat Shirt Poll
"We Built this CIty on Rock & Wheat" Shirt Poll! Tell us which "we Built this City on Rock & Wheat" shirt we should make for the Catan Shop. Is it shirt "A" or is it shirt "B"? Tell us your thoughts on Facebook in the comments section of this page here: …
October 10, 2012
Win a Walnut Catan Board - Enter on Facebook!
We're giving away a "Limited Edition Walnut Catan Board" with a "Viking Wood Combo Set" on our Facebook Page! The "Catan Board" Kickstarter Project has been over 300% funded so far, and continues to rise. To celebrate, we're giving away a "Limited Edition Walnut Catan Board" with a "Viking Wood Combo Set" starting today(Entry valid for US(50 States, Puerto Rico excluded) and Canada(Quebec excluded) residents only, see "Official Rules" for details)! …
September 25, 2012
Catan HD for iPad Giveaway!
We're giving away Catan: The First Island HD for iPad to 5 lucky winners! Enter to win a code for a free Catan HD for iPad app. The giveaway begins today, Sept. 25 at 1:30 PM PST and ends on Sept. 27 at Noon(PST). Only one entry allowed. To enter contestants must supply their full name and email address. …
September 24, 2012
Do you "Hex" Catan?
If you "Hex" Catan like we do, then you can show it by wearing this long sleeve shirt from the Catan Shop! The "I Hex Catan" shirt is one of the many items in our recently launched Catan Shop, at It's a great way to let others know how you feel about your favorite game, when you aren't sitting in front of the board. If you'd like to purchase this shirt, you can find the "I Hex Catan" shirt here. > …
September 20, 2012
A Look at the Catan Sun™ Trophies
Learn more about the magnificent Catan Sun™ trophies, awarded to the final four players in the Catan World Championship 2012. Winning the Catan World Championship™ comes with a cornucopia of rewards. There is of course the sheer pride of the title "best Catan player in the world" and an eight day, seven night Caribbean Gamer Adventures cruise. …


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NEW YORK - DIY Network premieres the sixth season of the popular "crowd sourced" renovation show, Blog Cabin, on Monday, Aug. 13 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT. The series that promises viewers "You Design It, We Build It, You Could Win It!" is showcasing a gorgeous 1880s Cape-style farmhouse in Waldoboro, Maine, as it undergoes a complete renovation. A record-breaking six million viewers voted on all aspects of the renovation -- from kitchen tiles and bathtubs to window treatments -- on the network's companion website DIYNetwork.com. Viewers are encouraged to visit DIYNetwork.com/BlogCabin from their computers, mobile devices, phones and tablets to participate in interactive blogs, videos and photos, check out the winning design elements and to enter for a chance to win DIY Network's Blog Cabin, beginning Monday, Aug. 13.
Hosted by tools expert and do-it-yourself enthusiast, Chris Grundy , this season's Blog Cabin also features such DIY Network experts as House Crashers ' Josh Temple , Bath Crashers' Matt Muenster, Yard Crashers' Matt Blashaw and the first lady of the Crashers family, Kitchen Crashers' Alison Victoria. Experts Jason Cameron , host of Desperate Landscapes , and Anitra Mecadon of Mega Dens , are also on hand to transform this nineteenth-century home, situated on 21 acres along the scenic Medomak River, into a dream vacation retreat.
"This is truly a unique experience for our viewers," says Grundy. "Nowhere else on television can viewers interact with our experts, weigh-in on the renovation and then enter for a chance to win the home they helped design. Our commitment to viewer engagement is what separates DIY Network from everyone else!"
Blog Cabin , an original groundbreaking multimedia experience launched in 2007, asks Internet users and viewers to vote and blog on the design features of the ultimate vacation home and offers a chance for one lucky viewer to win it. Throughout the series, Grundy documents the miraculous transformation of this four bedroom, 2-bath, 3,000 square foot home that boasts 450 feet of waterfront property. Viewers can also become fans of DIY Network and interact with other home improvement enthusiasts and do-it-yourselfers through Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. DIY Network is available nationwide on DISH Network Ch. 111 and DIRECTV Ch. 230, and additional cable channel designations may be found by checking local listings and www.DIYNetwork.com/tv.
DIY Network's 2012 Blog Cabin is being built in cooperation with GMC, Lumber Liquidators, Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Quicken Loans Inc., Budget Blinds, Inc., James Hardie Building Products, Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, Trex Company, Inc., GAF, Kohler Co., Petco Animal Supplies, Inc., and Liberty Mutual Insurance.
Source: DIY NETWORK
Have something to say? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.


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the original Big Gun Sprinkler
For over 4 decades, Nelson Irrigation has been manufacturing "THE ORIGINAL" BIG GUN® SPRINKLER.
In the field of large-volume sprinklers, Nelson is recognized the world over as the leader in quality, performance, and technical support, and our Big Gun Sprinklers are engineered and manufactured with precision for reliability and long life. Every Nelson Big Gun is subjected to the toughest inspection testing and quality control standards in the industry — including individual water testing at the factory. Nelson pioneered the concept of a slow, steady, and uniform forward and reverse drive action, and the Big Gun's drive vane automatically compensates through a full range of nozzle sizes and pressures. A simple, reliable adjustment allows you to set the arc to within 1 degree without overriding the stops; a setting that will not change over time, as proven by years of use in the field.


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Distinguished Lecture Series: Zainab Salbi
This event occurred in the past
Date and Time
- Thursday, October 6, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice Theatre
Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International, a grassroots humanitarian organization, serves women survivors of war by helping them rebuild their lives through education, rights awareness and vocational training. Salbi discussed the challenges she faces in finding "practical solutions" to protecting women's rights in the political sphere, as well as her goals for the future of her organization, as part of the Joan B. Kroc Distinguished Lecture Series and the Jane Ellen Bergman Memorial Lecture Series on Women, Children and Human Rights.
Salbi advocated the power of utilizing media to change our realities and raise awareness. However, she argues that when there is war, the women's story tends to come from the victim's story. To prove this untrue, Salbi drew on anecdotes of strong women who, in spite of war, kept life going for their families and their communities. She says, "war is a microcosm of what happens in peace," as people still fall in love, have parties and go to school. Too many times, she argues, this backline perspective of war is overshadowed by the frontline perspective of fighting.
Currently, Salbi is working to bring women's voices to the political and economic sectors, and out of the social sectors where women typically remain. She believes that this is a practical way to address the most pressing women's issues in non-Western nations, as this approach respects both the identities of those women and their cultural narratives. Peace and progress cannot be built if women, who make up over half the population, are not allowed to be a part of decision-making processes.
She encouraged the audience — especially young women — to serve other women by representing women's rights outside of the civil sector. Going back to grassroots, she emphasizes that more than anything, it is important to start by building small bridges between individuals.
This lecture was part of the Joan B. Kroc Distinguished Lecture Series, the Jane Ellen Bergman Memorial Lecture Series on Women, Children and Human Rights and the Women PeaceMakers 2011 symposium "Women, Media, Revolution."
Contact Information
Degheri Alumni Center 228
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
Phone: (619) 260-4724
Fax: (619) 260-4790


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- This event has passed.
Annex at the Eastern Area Agency on Aging
November 1, 2019 @ 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
An event every week that begins at 8:00 am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, repeating until November 1, 2019
(Airport Mall, Suite 30, 1129 Union St., Bangor) Daily wellness activities, including exercise, socializing, and studio art classes. To check out the schedule and to pre-register, call 941-2865.
The schedule is also posted monthly at http://www.eaaa.org (click on Wellness) and on EAAA's Facebook page.


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Currently Browsing: Michael Imperioli
TAO, Beauty & Essex, Avenue, & Luchini are Coming to LA! Katie Holmes, Cindy Crawford, Orlando Bloom and More Attend Grand Opening
by tips6247
4 years ago
Los Angeles – Drawing some of Hollywood's biggest names, TAO Group, along with real estate developers Richard Heyman and Grant King of Relevant Group, celebrated the highly-anticipated TAO, Beauty & Essex restaurant, Avenue, and Luchini LA Grand Opening with an exclusive invite-only block party. Katie Holmes, Cindy Crawford, Orlando Bloom and Hailey Baldwin were among […]


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Resource Guide for Lipid Disorders
]]>Main Page]]> | ]]>Risk Factors]]> | ]]>Symptoms]]> | ]]>Diagnosis]]> | ]]>Treatment]]> | ]]>Screening]]> | ]]>Reducing Your Risk]]> | ]]>Talking to Your Doctor]]> | ]]>Living With Lipid Disorders]]> | Resource Guide
American Heart Association (AHA)
National Center
7272 Greenville Ave.
Dallas, TX 75231
Internet Address:
Description of Services Provided:
The American Heart Association provides educational materials about high cholesterol and other heart disease risk factors. This national voluntary health agency's mission is to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
American Family Physician
11400 Tomahawk Creek Pkwy
Leawood, KS 66211
Internet Address:
Description of Services Provided:
Provides informational sheets on health topics and disease management.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Building 31, Room 5A48
31 Center Drive MSC 2486
Bethesda, MD 20892
Internet Address:
Description of Services Provided:
The NHLBI is a part of the National Institutes of Health. The site provides information about cholesterol, heart disease risk factors, and various heart conditions. The institute conducts and supports research related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases as well as sleep disorders.
National Institutes of Health
Cholesterol Guidelines (2002):
Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). Final Report. NIH Publication No. 02-5215. September 2002.
Internet Address:
Last reviewed April 2009 by ]]>Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, MD ]]>
Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Copyright © 2007 EBSCO Publishing All rights reserved.


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Asalaams and Salutations,
So I've been looking at Bint Qamar for a while. I like some of their hijabs and some of their styles. They have great prices...so I decided to buy a hijab or two..or three. Well.............I mean they are hijabs, BUT they are nice and light for the summer time. Check me out this week wearing my Bint Q hijab?
B Beautiful,
Umm Amirah


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Were the Atomic Scientists Spies?
Special Tasks: The Memoirs of an Unwanted Witness
A Soviet Spymaster
When wars end the belligerents begin to speak and write about what happened—indeed, their willingness to tell the truth is one sign that the fighting is really over. Truth-telling about the cold war took a new turn following the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and there has been no pause since in the flood of memoirs, documents, and declassified files published or simply opened to the public in Moscow and other capitals of onetime members of the Warsaw Pact. The Soviet murder of thousands of Polish army officers at the Katyn Forest in 1940, Stalin's agreement to let Kim Il Sung's armies invade South Korea in 1950, the crimes and triumphs of the KGB and other Soviet intelligence organizations, and a long list of other revelations, large and small, eventually will make it possible for scholars to write a true history of the cold war.
But this relentless exposure of the past is not merely useful for tidying up the record of what happened; it also helps to restore peace by feeding the public hunger for truth after decades of accusation, lies, and secrecy. "Conjecture abounds when the truth is hushed up for political reasons," said the Soviet physicist and bomb-builder Yuli Khariton in a lecture in Moscow a year ago. "If there is no truth today, there will be myths tomorrow."1 But if truth heals, it also hurts, as the Poles and the Germans have discovered from secret files proving that all sorts of people—some once considered heroes of principled resistance—in fact were reporting to the police, betraying friends and allies.2
A painful disclosure of the kind already familiar in Europe was visited on Americans by Time magazine on Monday, April 18, with an eight-page excerpt from a new book claiming that leading scientists involved in the Manhattan Project to invent atomic bombs—J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, Leo Szilard, and the Danish physicist Niels Bohr—had served as spies for the Soviet Union during the Second World War. That evening a twenty-minute report on the Mac-Neil/Lehrer News Hour repeated the sensational claims without qualification or reservation and presented filmed interviews with the books' four "authors" along with archival footage of Oppenheimer and other atomic scientists, Stalin and his Politburo, the Red Army goosestepping through Red Square, and similar images of the red menace of yesteryear. The principal "author" or "source" of these charges—we shall consider below which if either should apply—was also on camera: a shuffling, stoop-shouldered, rambling former officer of Soviet intelligence3 named Pavel Sudoplatov, whose "special assignments" for Stalin and Lavrenti Beria included the assassination of Leon Trotsky in addition allegedly to managing the flow of intelligence concerning the Soviet scientific program to invent atomic bombs during and immediately after the war.
That Oppenheimer was a Soviet spy was not the most shocking of Sudoplatov's claims. A substantial literature has argued and re-argued similar charges brought in the early 1950s which prompted a formal hearing by the Atomic Energy Commission and…
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Isaac Moses Gomez was born on 28 July 1768 in New York City into a sephardic Jewish family. His father, Moses Gomez (1728-1789) lived his whole live in New York. His mother, Esther Gomez, daughter of Isaac and Deborah De Leon Gomez was born in Barbados in 1739. Isaac married into a Jewish family from Newport, Rhode Island, when on 26 May 1790 he married Abigail Lopez (1771-1851), daughter of Aaron and Sarah Rodriguez Riveira Lopez. He and Abigail became the parents of 10 children.
In looking into the family tree of Isaac, the influences from the Islands of the Caribbean become very apparent. In the family record that has been preserved in the papers of Malcolm Stern (FHL Film #1013428) Isaac gives details on some of his own ancestry. Included within those are;
- Mordecai Gomez married a Miss Esther Compas of Jamaica by whom he had three sons, Moses, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses married in Jamaica, and Isaac married Esther Jesurum in Curacao.
- Daniel Gomez (his grandfather) married Rebecca De Torres, daughter of Joseph and Simha De Torres, of Jamaica. They had 2 sons before she died. He then married Esther Levy of Curacao.
- Isaac Gomez married Deborah De Leon of Barbados.
- Benjamin Gomez married Esther Nunes of Barbados.
This proves once again how research into early United States families must begin with a search of the records of the Caribbean Islands.
The records of the Gomez family have been added to the Knowles Collection- Jews of South America and the Caribbean and will be available after the next update.


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I went to the Eastbourne Airshow with my mum while I was at home last weekend. Borrowed my Dad's SLR avec telephoto lens to take some snaps. I think they came out rather well after some judicious cropping.
Archives for August, 2012
More Castle
I spent last weekend visiting some northern acquaintances in Yorkshire. On Saturday we went on an adventure to Richmond Castle via Darlington. And a very pleasant castle it is too! It's got a nicely preserved keep which you can climb to the top of for some excellent views of the quaint market town and surrounding […]


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I had a long conversation with a reader whose brother seemed to be caught in an endless cycle of payday loans.
He works about thirty hours a week earning about minimum wage at a convenience store. About two years ago, his car broke down and in order to get it back on the road very quickly, he took out a payday loan.
The problem, of course, is that the loan he took out – say, $200 – charged a significant fee for the service. The average payday loan charges somewhere around $50 in fees, according to this article, which also outlines habitual payday loan practices:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that the average consumer took out 11 loans during a 12-month period, paying a total of $574 in fees — not including loan principal.
So, let's take a look at the brother in question. He takes out a $200 loan and, after all of the fees and interest are paid, let's say he's on the hook for $240.
Now, his weekly check for his minimum wage job at thirty hours a week adds up to about $200 a week. If he gets paid on Friday and takes out that loan on Tuesday, he's in a bind. Let's say he's agreed to pay half of the total money this week and the other half next week.
So, he's got his car fixed on Tuesday, but on Friday, he's only keeping $80 of his paycheck, which has to last him the following week. After that week, on Friday, he gets another paycheck, but he can only keep $80 of that check, which again has to last until the following Friday, at which point he's free of the loan.
In other words, our friend here has to go through a seventeen day period where he's only bringing in $160. If it's perfectly timed, he's not going to have to be late on any bills.
But let's say that seventeen day period crosses the first of the month, meaning he's going to be late on rent? Or, let's say it crosses the due date for his electricity bill?
In both cases, he's probably getting hit with a late fee, meaning the burden of his bills is even steeper.
He's also likely not in a position to explore other forms of credit due to a poor or very short credit report.
His other option? Another payday loan. It's a vicious cycle that's very hard to escape from.
So, what can he do?
The first step is to borrow less each time you borrow money. Your goal shouldn't be to break free immediately – that's essentially impossible. The goal should be to borrow less each time you return.
So, let's say, instead of borrowing $200 the next time, he finds a way to borrow only $180. At the same fee rates, that adds up to $36 in fees, bringing his total to only $216 rather than $240. If he lives the same way during the following weeks, the next loan can go down by $56 – the $36 saved on that loan plus the $20 saved as he did before. Suddenly, his next loan is $124 rather than $180.
That's a perfect situation, of course, but even if he can just drop the amount he borrows by $20 per loan, he's going to escape the cycle before too long.
What this does is it turns the focus on the here and now. Can you find a way to spend $20 over the next couple of weeks? If you can, then you can borrow $20 less the next time you're in a tight situation. That puts things in much easier terms to handle than trying to solve the big problem all at once.
The second step is to swallow a little pride. Use community resources that are meant for people in these kinds of tight situations. People who are struggling like this are the reason that food pantries exist. They're why soup kitchens exist, too.
Some people have negative views on those resources, but they're out there for a reason. A lot of people have used them as a helping hand when they're in a very tough financial spot.
If some food from the food pantry and a meal from the soup kitchen can save you the $20 you need to lower your next loan, then it's a move you need to make.
The final step is to put some cash in the bank for emergencies once the loan is gone. You've been surviving on less than your paycheck for a while to be able to pay back the loan, so keep doing it for a while longer. Put part of your pay into a savings account and just leave it there until the next emergency strikes.
When that emergency does happen, you don't have to head to the payday lender. Instead, you can head to the bank, withdraw the cash you've been saving, and use it to deal with the situation.
This is an emergency fund, and it's a vital tool for anyone to have.
Those three steps are the path out to any cycle of debt, but they work particularly well for those earning very little and finding themselves caught in a payday loan cycle.
Good luck.