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Mountain Charley
The Devil & Whitechapel
Meet our Cast
Mike & Jerry
October 2018 Cast
February 2018 Cast
Mike and Jerry each brought a wide variety of talents and experience to the table when they decided to form The Sigman Brothers Theatrical Production Company.
Mike has 5 degrees in music and has made a long career as a rock performer and song writer. He has established a strong reputation and a large following.
Jerry was an opera singer, actor, writer and sleight of hand artist known throughout the Chicago area.
They wrote several screenplays together, sent them to agents, and competed in contests. Their work generated strong interest , but they did not want to pick up stakes and move their families out of state.
Then, Mike had the brilliant idea of putting their talents to the task of transforming one of their screenplays into a musical for the stage. That is how their first show Etude was born, and that was the beginning of The Sigman Brothers.
For both of them, it felt like "coming home" and no wonder... for Mike and Jerry discovered they are related to another creative musical artist, Carl Sigman.
See his fascinating story below.
Carl Sigman 1909-2000
(Bio info.)
Which 20th century songwriter had a six-decade-long career with work recorded by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Louis Prima, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, The Four Coins, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Brenda Lee, Sonny and Cher, Andy Williams, Sammy Davis Jr., Sarah Vaughan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell -- among others?
Why Carl Sigman, of course. But most people would ask, "Carl who?" And that's just the way he liked it, explained his son, Michael Sigman, who just released a three-CD set featuring the remarkable career of a man who preferred to let his music speak for itself.
"The interesting thing about doing this whole package was (by his own design) he didn't want people to really know him or even his work as the work of one person," Michael Sigman said. "He just wanted people to like each individual song."
Well, people certainly did like Carl Sigman songs -- and not just the artists whose voices poured out of radios and records for years. Sigman's life very much followed the ebbs and flows of mid-century American pop music created in and around New York City for people who enjoyed a dash of wit, sophistication and urban style.
Born in 1909 and raised in Brooklyn, Carl Sigman's career had humble beginnings. While giving piano lessons, he started writing his own melodies. He found Johnny Mercer, best known for working with Duke Ellington, and Mercer became his friend and musical mentor.
"After playing softball together in the Brooklyn schoolyards, we'd spend long nights writing what seemed to be Isham Jones songs," Mercer wrote in his memoirs. "But we had only one song published, "Just Remember," and it was not a hit. But I loved Carl's tunes. As it turned out, he was also a great lyric writer, which he later proved."
Michael Sigman says his father soon focused on lyrics and tried to write songs that sounded like snippets of conversation. The titles attest to his success: "All Too Soon," "What Now My Love?" "Losing You." Of course, hearing artists such as Nat King Cole implore a disappointed lover to "Come Out Of The Rain" added a timeless touch.
Before World War II, Sigman tended to get assignments from big bands to write lyrics. He would go to the Brill Building in Manhattan and write. The CD features "It's Square But It Rocks" from this era, performed by Count Basie and his Orchestra with Helen Hume. The title refers to the dance floor and a hip club, said Michael Sigman.
After the War, Carl Sigman continued writing on his own, but also began collaborating with Bob Russell and Bob Hilliard, They often spent hours together writing music and lyrics, Michael Sigman said. Then the music publishing business changed yet again.
"As he got older and the business changed, it became much more that he would not necessarily meet the person that he was collaborating with, but would get -- even in the mail, or by messenger -- a whole bunch of melodies from a publisher, with a note saying, 'Carl, can you write lyrics to any of these?'" his son recounted. "He wouldn't do the two-hour-a-day discipline thing. He would just obsess on them until they were all done."
Sigman remembers his father sitting at the piano at their Long Island home, playing the key phrases of a melody over and over. "He always said if you come up with a title, you're halfway there," Michael Sigman said. "And what he would try to do was get a title of those venacularese words -- if I can say that -- with a melody."
As you might suspect, Frank Sinatra was his father's favorite singer. Sinatra recorded 13 Carl Sigman songs, starting with "Love Lies" in 1940 to "What Now My Love," in a duet with Aretha Franklin in the 1990s. What Carl Sigman liked best about Sinatra was what everybody liked -- his amazing vocal phasing, Michael Sigman said.
What's been most gratifying to Michael Sigman about the project has been the reaction by artists who know his father's music -- and in some cases still perform it. Sigman got a surprise phone call this winter from Keely Smith, who told him, "I knew your dad wrote "Bongo, Bongo" but I didn't know he wrote all that other stuff!"
"My favorite one from someone who is on the disc is a hand-written letter I got from Brenda Lee, which said that "Losing You" is one of her favorite songs and she still does it whenever she plays. It shows the value of great songs," Sigman recalled. "It was signed 'Love, Brenda.' That was a thrill."
Carl Sigman was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1909. After a childhood highlighted by baseball games and classical piano lessons, he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, and his mother gave him the ultimatum of becoming a doctor or a lawyer. Since he did not like the sight of blood, he chose law. He attended NYU Law School and was admitted to the New York State Bar. But music was his love, and he never practiced law. As his wife Terry Sigman would later put it, Carl felt music was more up his (Tin Pan) alley.
One of Carl's friends as a young man was Johnny Mercer, already an important songwriter. Carl's first published song was "Just Remember," a collaboration with Mercer that became a hit in England in 1936. Although he loved Carl's melodies, Johnny advised him to write lyrics, on the theory that he had already shown he had a way with words and tune writers were a dime a dozen. Mercer moved to Los Angeles, embarking on one of the most remarkable careers in the history of popular music, while Carl continued to make his way in New York.
Before World War II, Carl had his first smash hit, collaborating with Glenn Miller on "Pennsylvania 6-5000," which remains a standard to this day. Carl was drafted in 1942 and was attached to the glider division of the 82nd Airborne. He received a $25 war bond for writing what became the 82nd's official song "The All American Soldier." Awarded a Bronze star for his service in Africa, he was a true World War II hero when he was discharged in 1945.
In 1946-1947, amazing things started to happen for Carl. In quick succession, he wrote "Ballerina," "Crazy He Calls Me," "Enjoy Yourself," "Civilization," and a number of other songs which reached to top levels of "Your
Hit Parade." He also wrote his one and only Broadway Show, "Angel in the Wings," which ran for almost a year and gave Elaine Stritch her first big break.
In 1948 Carl met his future wife and best friend, Terry, who was working as a personal assistant for Louis Prima in the legendary Brill Building. They were married after a whirlwind courtship, and three sons and a myriad hit songs followed over the next several years. "My Heart Cries For You," "It's All In The Game," "Answer Me," and "Careless Hands" were among the future evergreens written during this period, as Carl wrote both lyrics and melodies with collaborators including Peter De Rose, Bob Hilliard, Bob Russell, Duke Ellington and Tadd Dameron.
As the 50s passed into the 60s, Carl wrote some of his most well-known and enduring songs, including "Ebb Tide," "Shangri La," "Arrivederci Roma," "Till," and "Buona Sera." By this time Carl's songs had been recorded by virtually every major star, including Frank Sinatra (who eventually recorded some 15 of his songs) Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Presley, Mel Torme and Ella Fitzgerald.
The 1960s were a turbulent time in pop music, as the Beatles and other rock groups swept many of the more traditional songs off the charts. Nevertheless, Carl continued to thrive during this period, writing such hits as "What Now My Love," "The Day The Rains Came," "You're My World," "A Day In The Life Of A Fool," and "(Over And Over) The World We Knew."
In 1970 Carl wrote what would become his most popular song, and one of the most popular songs internationally of all time, "Where Do I Begin (Love Story)," the theme from the Ryan ONeal/Ali McGraw blockbuster film. This song sold a huge amount of sheet music and was recorded by hundreds of artists, including Andy Williams, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, and Shirley Bassey. Later in the decade, Carl wrote hits for Andy Williams ("Music From Across The Way"), Elvis Presley ("Fool"), and Frank Sinatra ("The Saddest Thing Of All").
Over the past two decades, right up to his death at the age of 91 in 2000, Carl continued to write new songs while reaping the benefits of continued success for this many standards. During his period his songs were even recorded and performed by many rock and reggae acts, including Mink DeVille, Bad Manners, The Specials, and Deep Purple.
Carl Sigman's catalog numbers some 800 songs and has become, to quote the recent MIDEM Daily News, "one of the most important US catalogs."


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Honoring all our service men and women from the past and present every Memorial Day is such a pleasure and honor.
This postcard is from my personal nautical and anchor collection of vintage postcards. The card says it all.
Hoping that you and your family have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

subset: commoncrawl


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PALO ALTO, Calif. (KGO) -- Friday was a big day for some Bay Area teenagers. 25 teenagers, as well as a few adults, took the oath of allegiance and received their citizenship certificates today in Palo Alto.
For many of the kids, the ceremony was just a formality, but special nonetheless.
"Because their parents have done all the work, if they are under 18 at the time their parents naturalized, then the child obtains US citizenship at the same time," said Roland Lyons, the District Director.
Recipients at this ceremony come from 11 different countries, including India, Iraq, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
Effective immediately, they'll have U.S. passports and will be able to vote when they're 18.
25 teens sworn in as U.S. citizens in Palo Alto
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All, Please take a look at: http://www.meetupalliance.com/SemanticWeb Do register if you can. Our monthly Cambridge Gathering is now plugged into the rapidly growing alliance of Semantic Web meetups. -- Regards, Kingsley Idehen Weblog: http://www.openlinksw.com/blog/~kidehen President & CEO OpenLink Software Web: http://www.openlinksw.comReceived on Tuesday, 9 December 2008 02:58:27 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 19:41:28 UTC


text: "Broken Dreams" pt. 2/2 By Cindy firstname.lastname@example.com It was eleven o'clock by the time Sam returned to his office from a meeting with Toby and Leo. He had just set his briefcase down on his desk when there was a soft knock on his door. "Sarah?" Seaborn said in surprise as he opened the door. "Sorry I didn't call first, Sam," the Marine Colonel replied quietly. "But I didn't want to tell you this over the phone." "You found out who killed Zoey didn't you?" Sam asked as he stepped aside to allow her entrance into the office before shutting the door behind her. Mac nodded as she sat down in one of the chairs. "Yes, but there's also a good chance that Zoey could still be alive." Sam had walked around his desk while she had been talking and now quickly sat down as he felt his knees go weak. "What?! Sarah, I saw the limo explode....." "I know," Mac replied grimly. "We don't know all the details yet but Webb's informant is reliable." Sam's head snapped up. "Webb?" he repeated sharply. "You're basing this on Webb? Sarah, after what I dug up on this guy I wouldn't let him sell me the Brooklyn Bridge." Mac shook her head. "Don't believe everything you read, Sam. Yes, Clayton's done some questionable things in the past but when push came to shove he came through for us. He's saved my life more than once." Sam sank back into his chair shaking his head in disbelief. "How could she possibly be alive, Sarah? Everyone saw her get into the limo.....hell Charlie was talking to her ten minutes before the door closed." "We have reason to believe the Secret Service was involved," Mac replied grimly. ******** "I thought you had some pull around here."Webb muttered darkly as he sat slumped in one of the chairs in Harm's office. Harm glanced up from a file. "Our lab's not as high-tech as the CIA's. It'll take them some time to run the tests." "I just have a bad feeling about this whole mess, Rabb."Clayton replied candidly. "If Bartlet is alive she's in the hands of a group of people who'd rather blow themselves up then hand her over to us." "We'll get her out."Harm replied firmly as he set the paperwork aside. Webb shot him a look. "When aren't you an optimistic Boy Scout?" Just then Bud knocked on the open office door. "Sir, here are the results on the map." "Finally."Webb stated as he stood and snatched the file folder from the younger man. Rabb nodded at Bud. "Thank you, Lieutenant." Robert's glanced at Webb before closing the door. "You're welcome, Sir." "Well?"Harm prompted as Webb read the results. "It's real."Clayton replied as he grabbed his coat from the back of the chair. "Let's go." Harm quickly stood and grabbed his own coat from the coat rack before catching up with the operative in the bullpen. "Does it give us a place to start?" Webb glanced over his shoulder at him. "Georgetown." ********* "That was Butterfield."Sam replied as he hung up the phone twenty minutes later. "He can't find Koening at any of his usual posts." "Do you have a last known address for him?"Mac asked as she leaned forward. "It'll take a phone call."Seaborn replied as he stood. "What do you have in mind?" Sarah stood. "You might want to cancel the rest of your meetings this afternoon. It might take us a few hours to track him down." Sam nodded as he came to stand next to her. "I'll have to come up with an excuse to tell the President. I don't want to get his hopes up about Zoey if this turns out to be false." Sarah placed a hand on his arm. "I think we can come up with something. Let's go." ******** It was nearly one o'clock before Sam and Mac arrived at Koening's apartment in Dupont Circle. The small apartment was located above a trendy new-age art gallery. "You sure this is the right address?"Sarah asked as they climbed the metal stairs on the right side of the building. Sam double-checked the small piece of paper he was holding. "Yeah, why?" Mac glanced at him over her shoulder. "Just doesn't strike me as the type of place where a Secret Service agent would live." "Mr. Koening?"Sarah called as she knocked on the yellow door. To Sam and Sarah's surprise the door swung inward easily at her touch. Sam exchanged an anxious glance with Mac. "Isn't this the part in the movie where the bad guy jumps out with a gun?" "Stay behind me."Mac ordered quietly. "And let you have all the fun?"Sam replied with a smile as he moved to her right. "Sam...."Mac protested. "I work for the President remember?"Sam replied with a grim smile. "Do you think we haven't had defense classes?" Sarah nodded and pushed the door all the way open. Sam was close on her heels as they stepped into the apartment. "Knew this wasn't going to be easy."Mac replied in frustration a few minutes later when they discovered that all the rooms of the apartment were empty. "And I thought Josh's apartment was badly decorated."Sam commented with a shake of his head as he walked past Sarah and into the tiny bedroom. "This isn't badly decorated,"Mac replied from the living room as she started to sift through the papers on the small oak desk. "This is sparse." "All his clothes are here."Sam stated as he joined her in the living room. "So if he skipped town he's planning to burn up his credit limit." "He's not gone."Sarah replied softly as she turned to face Sam holding a piece of paper. "If he has Zoey he has every reason to stay." "Very accurate deduction."A cold male voice stated from the front doorway causing both Sam and Mac to whirl around. "Especially from a pair of government employees." Sam's gaze was frozen on the gun in Koening's hand. "Where's Zoey?" "You're about to find out, Mr. Seaborn."Peter replied as he waved the gun motioning for them to move out of the apartment. "And no hero moves. I have no problem with killing both of you....as you already know I have nothing to lose." ******** Zoey Bartlet fought the wave of dizziness and weakness that threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn't remember the last time her captors had brought her anything outside of a piece of bread and a glass of water. She leaned back against the cold wall wishing she knew what was going on. Or at the very least knew what day it was. Her parents had to be beside themselves with worry right now. She wondered if her kidnappers had made any kind of contact with them. Just as Zoey was about to drift off to sleep the door swung inwards with a loud clang causing her to jump. She shielded her eyes against the harsh florsant light as two human shapes were shoved into the small room. "Sarah, you okay?"Sam asked as he scrambled to his feet, as the door was slammed shut behind him. "Yeah, you?"Mac replied as she brushed dirt off her uniform. "Oh just great considering we've been held at gunpoint and now we're locked in a small cold room with no windows."Seaborn replied sarcastically. "Sam?"Zoey asked weakly causing the conversation to come to a dead halt. Sam quickly followed her voice and sat down next to her pulling her into an embrace. "Zoey, thank God. Are you alright?" The young woman nodded. "A little weak but otherwise okay. Who's your friend?" Sam pulled back from her slightly as Mac knelt next to them. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie, she's with JAG. Are you sure you're okay?" "It's nice to meet you, Zoey."Sarah commented quietly. "I just wish it was under different circumstances." "You and me both."Zoey replied with a weak grin before turning her attention back to Seaborn. "Sam, what's going on?" Sam sighed inwardly. "How much do you remember?" "I remember the fundraiser and sitting in the limo talking with Charlie about dinner the next day."Zoey replied softly. "Then suddenly the door behind me opened and I was yanked out of the limo and thrown into a van." "There was a bomb in the limo, Zoey."Sam replied grimly. "We thought you were dead." "Oh God," Zoey replied shakily as she realized what her family must be going through. "Was any one else hurt? Charlie?" "Charlie was the closest to the limo when it exploded so he was in the hospital for a few days, but he's fine now."Sam stated wishing they had more light in the room so he could get a good look at her. "He misses you terribly." "My father?"Zoey asked anxiously. "He wasn't hurt."Sam quickly assured her. "Zoey,"Mac interjected gently,"What can you tell us about the men who brought you here?" Zoey shook her as she drew her knees to her chest. "Not much.....they kept behind me when they brought me here. I haven't been out of this room so I've only seen the ones who've brought food." ********** By three o'clock Harmon Rabb was beginning to wish they had taken a helicopter to follow the map instead of a car. If they had they wouldn't have been stuck in gridlock traffic for the past hour somewhere between L street and New York Avenue. If they could just get on the Baltimore-Washington expressway they'd make it to Baltimore in no time. "That's it!"Clayton Webb exclaimed as he unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed the door handle. Harm snagged his arm as he kept one hand on the wheel. "Where do you think you're going?" Webb glared at him slightly. "To tell them it's a national emergency and that they have to get out of our way." "If you want to cause more delays go ahead."Harm snapped as he gestured toward the construction crew five cars ahead. "But if you had taken the time to look you'd notice that they're opening all lanes." Webb broke free of Rabb's grasp and rehooked his seatbelt. "I'm going to call Mac, see if she's making better progress than we are."He replied as he pulled out his cellular phone. ****** Toby Ziegler knocked on CJ's open office door causing the press secretary to jump slightly. Toby flashed her a sheepish look. "Sorry, CJ, didn't mean to startle you." CJ nodded. "What do you need?" Toby closed the door behind him and sat down in one of the chairs. "We're going to have to talk with the President about making a statement about the bombing." CJ took a container of fish food out of her desk drawer. "He did that already, the day after." Toby shook his head. "He still needs to send out a message to the American people that we are a hundred percent behind catching the people who did this." CJ paused in her task of feeding Gail. "Toby, you saw him during the first press conference he barely made it through. I don't think he can handle another one. Not with everything still so fresh." "I know,"Toby replied quietly,"But he has to do this. It's part of being President." CJ nodded as she reached for her phone. "I'll call Mrs. Landingham and see if he has time this afternoon." ********** "Mac's not answering," Webb reported a few minutes later as Harm passed a slow moving semi-truck. "Nearly forgot, she mentioned this morning that her cell's on the fritz," Harm replied sheepishly. "Try Seaborn." Webb just shook his head as he pulled out his computerized address book and began searching for Seaborn's cellular phone number that Mac had given them earlier. "Once we get to Baltimore go to Water Street," Webb ordered as he glanced down at the map. "Only problem is it doesn't tell us what warehouse she's in. The line ends at a cluster of buildings." Harm nodded, "Shouldn't be too hard to narrow it down. I have a feeling these guys aren't as smart as they think they are." ********** Zoey sank back against the wall, the last few days starting to make sense now. If everyone thought she was dead the kidnappers had no need to contact her family. "How many agents were killed?" Zoey asked quietly as she glanced at Seaborn. "Three," Sam replied sadly. Zoey buried her head in her hands for a moment before meeting Sam's concerned gaze. "Why would anyone do this, Sam? Was this because of me and Charlie?" Sarah shook her head. "We thought so at first but later discovered that the bomb wasn't directed at you." Zoey looked at her in surprise. "Why go to the lengths of blowing up the limo and taking me if this wasn't because of the threats I've been getting?" "This was a personal vendetta against your father, Zoey," Sam replied grimly as he scooted closer to the younger woman. "They figured taking you like this would cause him the most pain." "Tell her the rest, Sam," Mac urged quietly. Sam shot her a look. "Sarah, we don't need to go into that now. Let's concentrate on finding a way out of here." Zoey glanced at Sam to Sarah and back again. "Tell me what? Is this about my father? You said he wasn't hurt...." "He's fine," Sam quickly assured her. "Physically anyway." "Zoey," Sarah began gently. "We have hard evidence that the man behind your kidnapping is a secret service agent who was assigned to guard your family." ******** "Seaborn's not answering either," Clayton stated as he tried to conceal his anxiety. This case just seemed to be getting worse and worse with every turn. Harm frowned as he pulled off the highway at the Baltimore exit. "Koening might have given them some trouble when they went to bring him in. Give me the phone, I'll call the Admiral and see if they're there." Webb handed him the small phone as he watched the road signs. "Another mile and we should be at Water Street." Harm nodded in acknowledgement as he dialed the familiar number to JAG headquarters. ********* Zoey stared at them in shock for a moment before shakily rising to her feet. "One of our dispatch? That's not possible, Sam." Sam watched Zoey with concern as she walked toward the door, "I didn't think so at first either, Zoe, but its the only thing that makes sense." "He had motive," Sarah added quietly as she stood. Zoey whirled to face them. "So that makes it okay?!" Mac shook her head, "No, of course it doesn't. But a lot of times tragedies happen without reason. All I'm saying is that this one had a reason." "And what was that reason that turned my life upside down?" Zoey demanded as she walked back toward them. Sam stood and crossed the space between them gently pulling the shaking young woman over to the side of the room and placing an arm around her shoulders. "Zoe," Sam began gently. "When your father was Governor he had to make decisions that sometimes affected peoples lives. He...." Sam broke off his sentence as Koening entered the room. The door swung inward with a loud clang. Sam instantly stepped in front of Zoey pushing her closer to the wall. "You have no way out of this, Koening. Killing us will just make it harder for you to get away." Peter Koening smiled but didn't acknowledge Sam's statement. Mac, however was ready for Koening when he lunged toward her. As his arm weaved its way around the Marine's neck, Sarah responded with a sharp right kick to Koening's stomach. Koening doubled over in pain but recovered quicker than Sarah had planned on. Before she could make a counter attack Peter slammed the butt of the gun heavily across her forehead. The blow sent Sarah sprawling backwards into the far wall. "Sarah!" Sam cried and started toward her but stopped when Koening spun back toward him gun aimed at Zoey. "I told you before no hero moves!" Koening shouted clearly becoming unhinged. "You will do what I say and play by my rules." "What do you want?" Sam demanded amazed that his voice didn't shake. He moved slowly back toward Zoey. Koening laughed as he glanced at Zoey. "To have the kind of ultimate power that your father held over my brother. For now you'll just have to sit here and wait." Sam felt Zoey jump as Koening left the room slamming the door shut behind him. "What was he talking about, Sam?" Zoey asked struggling to keep the fear out of her voice. "I'll explain in a minute, Zoe," Sam replied as he scurried over to Sarah MacKenzie's still form. Seaborn winced as he saw the large gash across the middle of her forehead that was bleeding heavily. "Oh God," Sam whispered as he yanked a handkerchief out of the chest pocket of his suit coat. "Sarah? Can you hear me?" "Give me your coat," Zoey ordered quietly as she knelt next to him. "What?" Sam asked as he watched Zoey gently maneuver the Marine Colonel so she was laying flat. "Zoe, I don't think we should move her." "Sam, just trust me," Zoey replied as she gestured for him to take off his coat. "I learned a few things from my mother." ******* "Are you sure she's not there, Admiral?" Rabb asked as he pulled the car into a hard left having missed one of Webb's earlier instructions. "Commander," Chedwiggen began as he stood and turned to look out the window behind his desk, "I like to think I know where all my officers are when they're on duty. And as I said before Colonel Mackenzie isn't here. Last time I saw her was at the briefing this morning." Harm tried to keep his emotions in check. He knew Mac could handle herself under any situation. But this was different, she hadn't had any backup and Koening was crazy. "Has she checked in since she met with Seaborn?" Harm asked as he maneuvered the car through the light afternoon traffic on Water Street. The hair on the back of the Admiral's neck started to rise and he turned away from the window. "Commander, is there something going on that I should be aware of? Did Mac run into trouble with the Secret Service agent?" "We don't know, Sir," Harm replied as he glanced at Webb who motioned for him to pull the car over to the right side of the street. "Webb can't reach either Mac or Seaborn." "I'll call the White House and see if they've heard from Seaborn," Chedwiggen stated as he hit the intercom to gain Tiner's attention. "If they haven't I'll send backup over to Koening's. You two keep in touch and watch your backs." "Always do, Admiral," Rabb replied grimly as he ended the conversation and threw the car into park. "This is it," Clayton said quietly as he folded the map and put it in the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Harm glanced out the window at the small gray painted warehouse across the street. It was practically falling apart; paint peeling, parts of window panes missing, graffiti all over the doors. "You're sure?" Rabb asked as he looked back at the operative. Clayton nodded and pointed to a barely visible telecommunications antenna on the left corner of the roof. "Call the FBI and the Baltimore police," Rabb ordered quietly as he looked over the warehouse once more. "But tell them just enough to keep them on stand by. I don't want Koening spooked." Webb nodded as he picked up the cellular phone. "Then we storm the castle?" "Something like that," Harm replied grimly as he double-checked his ammunition. ******* "There's got to be a way out of here," Sam stated firmly as he tried the door handle for the fifteenth time. "Don't you think I tried that a million times, Sam? The only way out of this room is when they let us out," Zoey replied as she gently wiped blood away from Sarah's forehead. Seaborn gave the door a final kick of frustration before turning and walking back to Zoey. "She should be in a hospital," Sam said with concern as he knelt next to Sarah's still form. Zoey glanced at her friend for the first time wondering if Sam and Sarah were more than friends. "It looks worse than it is, Sam," she assured him quietly. "She should be just fine." ********* "Hey Boss," a brown haired man in his mid-twenties called as he turned away from the window of what used to be the warehouse's office and moved farther into the room. "We might have trouble. A sedan with D.C. plates sat across the street for a few minutes then drove down by the pier and turned around." Koening smirked as he stood and reached over to turn off the small television set. "I was wondering when the cavalry would arrive. Tell the others to prepare for phase three." The youth nodded. "Yes, Sir," he replied with a wide smile before turning and scurrying down a small hallway. ********* Josh Lyman glanced up as Toby knocked on his open office door. "What's up?" Toby came into the room and leaned against the doorframe. "Have you seen Sam?" Josh set down the file he was working on. "Not since this morning. Why?" "Got a call from JAG," Toby replied quietly."They were wondering if we had seen him." Josh frowned. "Do they think he's in trouble?" Toby shook his head. "They didn't give me too many details. But something's going on that's for sure." Lyman nodded seeing the helplessness he was feeling mirrored on Ziegler's face. Their friend could be in serious trouble and they couldn't do a damn thing about it. The communication's director cleared his throat as he pushed himself away from the doorframe. "Oh, the President's going to give a press conference in half an hour." Josh blinked in surprise. "On what?" "Saying that this administration will not rest until the people responsible for the bombing are caught and prosecuted," Toby replied wearily as he paused in the doorway. Josh stood behind his desk resting his hands on its edge. "Toby, he's in no shape to do that." "I know," Ziegler replied quietly as he left. "But the country needs to be reassured. Stay close, CJ might need your help." "Okay," Josh replied softly as he sat back down, wondering not for the first time that week what the world was coming to. ****** "Okay let me get the details straight," Webb began as he and Rabb got out of the car, which was parked two blocks away from the rundown warehouse. "We have a witness who saw Koening lead Mac and Seaborn away from the apartment. But they haven't turned up at JAG so we're assuming that Koening brought them here. And we're assuming that because....?" Harm smiled grimly as they walked quickly through the back alley between the warehouses. "Koening's going to want to keep things where he can control them. If this is his headquarters like we think it is Koening will want to keep all the hostages together so he can make a power play." "And we don't know how many men Koening has in there," Webb finished. Harm shot him a dubious look. "Since when do the odds matter to you, Webb? Getting soft in your old age?" Webb glared at Rabb as he stepped in front of the navy officer. "I'm just remembering the numerous times your hero moves nearly got me killed." Harm's eyes narrowed. "That street goes both ways, Webb. Do I need to remind you about Russia?" "My hands were tied on that," Clayton replied quietly. "I did everything I could to help you and Mac. Besides you weren't there on official JAG business." Rabb waved him silent as they arrived at the back of Koening's warehouse. Using hand signals Harm motioned that they should enter the building through the small loading bay a few feet from the dock. Webb nodded and the two slowly moved toward the warehouse, weapons drawn. ****** JAG Headquarters Falls Church, Virginia Admiral A.J. Chedwiggen tried to concentrate on his seemingly never ending pile of paperwork but he just couldn't get past the first page. The waiting was sometimes the worst part of being in command. After the orders were given there was nothing else to do. And it was times like these that A.J. regretted not being able to be out in the front lines. "Come," A.J. replied wearily to the sharp knock on his office door. Tiner poked his head in. "Admiral, you might want to turn on the TV. President Bartlet's about to give a press conference." Chedwiggen raised an eyebrow. "Thank you, Tiner." ******** As Peter Koening stepped into the room Sam instantly stood putting himself between Koening and Sarah and Zoey. "If you let them leave," Sam began as he stepped forward. "it'll work greatly in your favor." As a reply Koening merely fired a shot that landed just inches from Sam's left shoe causing Seaborn to jump back several feet. "There will be no negotiations, Mr. Seaborn," Koening stated coldly as he took a small object out of his right coat pocket. "The cavalry you've been waiting for was spotted in the area but I'm afraid they won't get here in time." Sam heard Zoey gasp in fear and he reached behind him and down to place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He couldn't believe that after they had found Zoey and everything else that had happened over the last week that this would be the end result. There just had to be a way out, he just wasn't seeing it. Sam wished Sarah was awake. He could really use her help right about now. "As fun as this experience has been I think its time I left this party," Koening replied as he opened the door. Sam rushed forward hoping to catch the door before it closed but Koening didn't close the door like Sam expected him to. The next thing Seaborn saw was Koening's fist as it connected with his jaw. "Sam!" Zoey cried out instantly running toward her fallen friend's side. "I-I'm okay."Seaborn assured her groggily as he struggled to sit up. Koening watched the scene with an amused expression. "How touching, but I assure you in a few minutes the pain you're feeling will be forgotten." He held up the cigarette lighter that he had taken out of his pocket earlier. "This building has been coated with gasoline......all it will take is one tiny flicker of this flame." Sam and Zoey could only watch in helpless horror as Koening dropped the active lighter against the right wall. Koening glanced at Zoey before exiting the room. "Ms. Bartlet, it's been a pleasure." ******** "Good afternoon," CJ Cregg greeted the room full of reporters as she stepped up to the familiar podium. "The President will make a brief statement, there will be no questions taken at this time."The Press Secretary turned to her left. "Mr. President." Josiah Bartlet nodded and stepped up to the podium. "Thank you, CJ." Bartlet glanced down at the statement that Toby had prepared and then over at his wife who was standing to his right. Abby smiled at him and Jed turned back to face the room full of reporters. He put the statement back in his pocket. Yes this was a matter of national security that the nation needed to be reassured about. But this was also about his family. Somebody had shattered his family and that would not be tolerated. "Barely a week ago I was dancing with my youngest daughter at a fundraiser."Bartlet began instantly pulling the room into a deep silence. "The next instant Zoey was taken away from me. This administration will not rest until the people responsible for this tragedy are caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law." ***** "Did that seem a little too easy to you?" Harm asked in a whisper as the duo moved through the back hallway of the warehouse. They had taken out four of Koening's men when they first stepped through the door and nobody else had stepped forward to stop them. "Yes,very," Webb replied as they paused in a bend in the corridor. Harm nodded as he glanced around the corner. "What do you think? Bomb?" Clayton shook his head. "From the information you guys pooled about Koening he doesn't strike me as the suicidal type." "Agree," Harm replied as they cautiously moved around the corner. "But I'm still not putting it past him to have traps set. He's got some very important hostages." Webb placed a hand on Harm's shoulder yanking the former aviator back against the wall. "Do you smell smoke?" Harm stood still for a moment but then he noticed it too. "Damn," he replied angrily as he broke into a run. ******* Sam tried to reach the door handle but the fire had quickly engulfed the left wall. The door wasn't on fire yet but the intense heat made getting to it impossible. He backpedaled toward Zoey his eyes watering from the smoke. "Stay low to the ground," Seaborn ordered his voice raspy from the smoke. "I'll try to find us a way out." Zoey snagged his left arm as he turned to leave. "Sam! Sarah's coming to." Seaborn instantly dropped to his knees next to the fallen Marine and saw her trying to sit up. "Take it easy, Sarah," Sam stated as placed a gentle hand on her left shoulder easing her back down."You hit your head pretty hard." "Where's Koening?" Mac asked hoarsely as she sat up, more slowly this time. Her head felt like an elephant was sitting on it, but otherwise nothing seemed to be broken. "He's gone," Zoey replied quietly handing Sarah Sam's handkerchief. Sarah flashed her a grateful look as she pressed the cloth against her forehead. It was only then that she noticed the flames. Mac quickly stood which she realized too late was a mistake as the world immediately began to swim. Sam and Zoey instantly reached out and steadied Sarah as she started to fall. "You okay?" Sam asked worriedly before risking a glance at the growing fire. Sarah nodded. "Yeah, but we won't be if we can't get that door open." Sam shook his head sadly. "I tried, but the heat's too intense." Mac glanced at their only exit and then back at Sam. "There's a way out of here," she assured them quietly."There has to be." ******* Harm and Webb stepped into the main room of the warehouse just in time to see Koening open the front door. "If you think you're going somewhere, you're gravely mistaken," Rabb stated coldly as he walked toward Koening his gun leveled at Koening's head. The dark haired man slowly turned around a smile on his face. "You're too late to save them." "That's your opinion," Webb replied quietly as he came to stand next to Rabb. Harm grabbed Koening by the front shirt collar and slammed him up against the door. "You have less than ten seconds to tell me where they are." Koening smirked. "Do you think I'm scared of you?" Rabb shook his head. "No, but I don't think you want to die. And that is what will happen if you don't start giving some answers that I like." ******** Mac looked from Sam and Zoey's worried faces to the rapidly growing fire and back again. There had to be an escape route that none of them were seeing. Sarah scanned the room once more. The fire had completely engulfed the left and right walls and was working on the front wall licking the door. Mac whirled around ignoring the wave of dizziness that nearly toppled her. The room had no windows but the back wall might be their ticket out. It was mostly cement but there was a section of it near the right corner that was wood. And since the wall was close to the harbor the wood was exposed to the salt air and the elements. If their luck held the wood might just be rotten enough for them to break their way through. Sarah grabbed Seaborn's arm and gestured toward the back wall. "We might have a chance to break through the wood if it's rotted away enough." Sam nodded and turned back to Zoey. "Zoey stay close to the back wall and stay as low to the floor as possible. We're going to try to break through the wood section." The young woman nodded and scurried toward the cement wall where she quickly crouched down into a sitting position. Sam met Sarah's gaze. "Think this will work?" Mac shrugged. "It's our only chance, Sam, it has to." "If we get out of this I owe you at least a couple dinners," Sam replied quietly as he knelt next to the back wall. Despite the grim situation Sarah smiled briefly. "I hope you're not planning on cooking those dinners." Sam shook his head as he tested a board for its weakness. "I wouldn't put anybody through my cooking." ******* Harm nearly stopped dead in his tracks when he and Webb reached the section of the warehouse where Koening said the hostages were. Heavy smoke was billowing through the hallway and Harm could feel the heat of the fire even though he couldn't immediately see any flames. "Webb," Harm said between coughs. "Take Koening and get out. Backup's already on the way but this fire won't wait for them." The operative shook his head. "Not a chance, Rabb. Think I want to risk the Admiral's wrath for letting two of his prize officers get killed? Koening's fine where he is for the moment. Let's get them and get out of here." Harm nodded and the duo quickly moved down the hallway. Halfway down the corridor they spied a room nearly engulfed in flames. "Mac!" Harm shouted as he raced toward the door praying that they weren't too late. Webb made a grab for the door handle but instantly yanked his hand back from the hot metal. "Mac?!" Rabb called again struggling to keep a reign on his fear. They'd been in tougher situations than this. She had to be okay. "Door handle's too hot," Webb reported trying not to choke on the smoke that surrounded them. Harm nodded. "On three we'll break it down. One.....two.....three!" The door protested at first but finally splintered and fell inward allowing Webb and Harm entrance. The smoke was so thick in the room now that Harm could barely see his hand in front of his face. "Mac?" Rabb called out as he and Webb moved farther into the room. "Here!" Mac replied with relief as she, Sam and Zoey stood. "Harm, we're by the back wall." "Everybody okay?" Rabb asked as he reached his partner's side. He winced inwardly seeing the nasty gash across Mac's forehead. "Despite the fact that we've been kidnapped, shot at, and trapped in a burning room, we're fine."Sam replied sarcastically as he placed an arm around Zoey's shoulders helping her to her feet. "Can we possibly get out of here, now?" Just then a burning piece of the left wall gave way and fell inward with a loud crash nearly taking Webb with it. Sparks and small pieces of wood flew everywhere. "Webb, you okay?" Mac shouted as she moved to stand next to Harm. "Yeah," Clayton replied as he moved toward the door. "Let's move before anything else falls." Mac fell back slightly so Zoey and Sam would be between her and Harm as they left the burning room. The group moved quickly through the burning warehouse. Once in the main room of the warehouse Harm opened the small broom closet and unhandcuffed Koening from the door handle. Harm shoved the former Secret Service agent ahead of him as they walked quickly out of the building. Once outside men and women of the Baltimore police department and the FBI instantly surrounded them. Zoey, Sam and Mac were immediately put into a waiting ambulance and whisked away to a nearby hospital. Harm and Webb stayed at the scene just long enough to hand Koening and his men over to the FBI. For a moment Rabb stood next to the circle of police cars watching the fire department douse the flames. "Zoey Bartlet owes her life to you, Webb," Harm said quietly as the CIA agent came to stand next to him. Webb shook his head. "I just happened to have the right informant. The kid was just lucky that Koening was egotistical enough to stage her death instead of just killing her on the spot." He turned to face Rabb. "You heading back to D.C.?" Harm shook his head. "Not right away. I want to head over to the hospital and make sure they're okay." Webb nodded as he turned and started to walk in the direction where they had parked the car. "I'll fill Chedwiggen in when I get back." "Thanks," Harm replied as he walked toward one of the FBI agents. He paused and turned back to Webb's retreating form. "Sure you don't want to come work for JAG?" Webb stopped and turned back to face Rabb. "No thanks, the CIA's a lot safer." Harm laughed as he got into the car. ******* Jed glanced up from his desk as his wife stepped into the Oval office. He was worried about her. She had been strong for everyone throughout this whole ordeal but she had yet to really talk about it with him. "Hi," Bartlet greeted softly as he stood and walked around his desk. "Hi," Abby replied quietly as she crossed the space between them. "I thought you were going to come back to the Residence for dinner." Jed pulled his wife into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, time just got away from me." "God, Jed," Abby whispered as she rested her head on his chest. "What are we going to do without our little girl?" Bartlet tightened his hold. "We will pull through this, Abby. I promise you, somehow we will." Jed looked up as his chief of staff knocked apologetically on the door. "Sorry to interrupt but I have some news." Leo stated softly. Bartlet shook his head. "Whatever it is it can wait until tomorrow Leo." "You'll want to hear this, Mr. President. It's about Zoey." McGarry replied quietly. ******* "Hey," Sarah called softly as she turned slightly in the front seat of the car. "You okay back there?" Sam nodded wearily as he glanced down at Zoey's sleeping form. "Yeah. How's your head?" "A little sore, but I'll be okay," Mac replied quietly. "I'm sorry, Sam, this got a little hairier than I expected." Sam smiled briefly. "Not your fault. I knew what I was getting into. Besides I was willing to do whatever it took to get Zoey back home." "Speaking of which," Harm replied quietly as he made a right turn. "You might want to wake Zoey. We're almost to the White House." ******* "Hey Charlie," Jed Bartlet called as he and the First Lady stepped into the living room of the Residence. "Have you eaten yet?" "Does coffee count?" Charlie replied as he crossed the span of the room. "No," Jed replied as he placed a supportive arm around the young man's shoulder's steering him toward the dining room. "Did my daughter let you get away with that kind of thinking?" Charlie smiled sadly. "No, Sir, she didn't." "Daddy?" a familiar voice called from the doorway causing the trio to whirl around. "Zoey?" Jed replied weakly not believing what he was seeing. Even though Leo had told them she was alive it hadn't really sunk in yet. His daughter stood in the doorway of the living room flanked on one side by a disheveled looking Sam Seaborn and on the other by a young brown haired woman in a Marine uniform. Behind them stood a tall brown haired man in a Navy uniform. Bartlet vaguely recalled that the two military officers worked for JAG. "Oh my God," Abby stated softly tears streaming down her face as she ran across the room. "Zoey! Baby, are you alright?" "I'm okay, Mom."Zoey replied tearfully as Abby enveloped her in a huge hug. Bartlet and Charlie joined them. Jed touched his daughter's shoulder pulling her away from her mother slightly. Jed wanted to say something, anything to convey to his daughter how happy he was that she was home. But his throat was so thick with tears that he couldn't speak. Zoey nodded in understanding and jumped into her father's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I missed you, Daddy." "I missed you too, baby," Bartlet replied hoarsely as he gently stroked her back. Charlie stared at Zoey in complete shock. He quickly reached behind him and thankfully found an armrest of a nearby chair. He leaned on it heavily as he watched Zoey be reunited with her parents. "H-How?" Young asked quietly as Seaborn came to stand next to him. "She was kidnapped," Sam replied his gaze never leaving the reunion before him. "Because of me?" Charlie asked with concern. Seaborn placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "No, this was a revenge plot against her father. I'll fill you in on the details later." "Charlie?" Zoey called softly as she stepped away from her parents. He looked tired and pale but otherwise unhurt and for that she was grateful. Zoey could only hope that he could forgive her. "Thank God," Charlie whispered as he pulled Zoey into an embrace that took her off her feet. He buried his face in the base of her neck. "Charlie," Zoey replied. "I can't breathe." "Sorry," Charlie apologized quickly releasing her but he didn't let her go. He gently reached up and caressed her left cheek. "I thought I had lost you." Zoey shook her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him close. "Never." End


text:
Arxiu de l'etiqueta : projects
Cooperation / Culture / Education / EU / European Comission / European programmes
EVE: a new electronic platform for exchange
Eve is the French acronym of "Espace virtuel de Echange", meaning virtual platform for sharing information on projects and results from European Educational and Cultural programmes. Eve is the single information point on European education, culture and youth projects. It … Continue reading


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A Human Rights Perspective on Climate Change: What Value Can it Add to International Efforts to Mitigate Climate Change? Part I
By Genevieve Fox, Guest Contributor
The interrelationship between human rights and climate change has become fairly well articulated and embraced over the past decade. Nonetheless, proponents of a human rights perspective to climate change have yet to demonstrate how it can be used to establish legal obligations or a functional response to the climate change problem. Part I will discuss various impediments that prevents human rights perspective from serving as more than a complement to broader international efforts to respond to climate change. Part II will discuss how a human rights perspective to climate change remains valuable despite these impediments.
Climate change is a pressing international concern;[1] nonetheless, little substantive international law directly addresses the issue.[2] Additionally, those most responsible for causing climate change are least likely to suffer from it,[3] while those who contributed least to it stand to lose their homes, livelihoods, and access to such necessities as food and water due to its effects.[4] Given the failure of the current climate change framework and the realization that the effects of climate change threaten these and other basic human rights, various actors have begun to examine the potential for using human rights law, principles and mechanisms to develop a more just and effective climate change response.[5]
Fundamentally, the human rights perspective to climate change rests upon the notion that the impacts of climate change threaten the enjoyment of human rights and, furthermore, that "human rights can provide a basis for apportioning responsibility and liability as between those who have caused climate change and those who will suffer from it most."[6] While a recognized link between human rights and the environment dates back to the 1972 Stockholm Declaration,[7] this interrelationship was largely ignored until the mid-2000s, when scholars, States, international organizations, and civil society began using it to better understand and respond to climate change.[8]
"Human rights can provide a basis for apportioning responsibility and liability as between those who have caused climate change and those who will suffer from it most."
In 2005, the Inuit people initiated the first case linking climate change to human rights violations.[9] In their submission to the Inter-American Commission, they asserted that climate change, driven in part by the United States' failure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, violated their recognized human rights to, inter alia, the enjoyments of the benefits of their culture, land and property, as well as their health, physical integrity and security.[10] Although dismissed without prejudice, the Inuit's petition brought attention to marginalized peoples' vulnerability to climate change, and launched the development of a human rights perspective to climate change.[11] In 2007, the Small Island Developing States took up the Inuit's human rights framing of climate change and requested that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) study the effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights.[12] In the two years that followed, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted two resolutions. Together, they state that climate change "poses an immediate and far-reaching threat to people and communities around the world and has implications for the full enjoyment of [such] human rights" as the rights to life, adequate food, the highest attainable standard of health, adequate housing, self-determination, safe drinking water, and sanitation.[13] Moreover, Resolution 10/4 acknowledges "that human rights obligations and commitments have the potential to inform and strengthen international and national policy-making in the area of climate change."[14]
Along with UN committees, communities such as the Inuit, and developing States, international tribunals,[15] scholars, and organizations[16] have indicated support for moving from a scientific to rights-based climate change perspective. Through litigation and direct advocacy, these actors have asserted that under international law, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), State parties have binding obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill in good faith the rights contained thereunder.[17] While this rights-based response to climate change has wide support and solid grounding in existing international law, various theoretical and practical problems are likely to prevent it from serving as more than a complement to broader international efforts to respond to climate change.
Such impediments as causality, asserting liability, and global politics problematize a truly legal, or hard law application of the human rights perspective to climate change.[18] With respect to causality, many actors recognize that while climate change impacts affect human rights, "it is less obvious whether, and to what extent, such effects can be qualified as human rights violations in a strict legal sense."[19] Such a legal claim would be tenuous because determining the relationship between a State's greenhouse gas emissions, its climate change-related effects, and their impact on human rights is essentially impossible.[20] While scholars have attempted to overcome this flaw by asserting, "responsibility could be allocated according to states' shares of global emissions of greenhouse gases," this theory has its flaws.[21] Allocating responsibility for human rights violations in this way ignores States' widely varying per capita emissions and would either necessitate States being held accountable retroactively or impose emissions restrictions that ignore historical emissions imbalances.[22]
"Such impediments as causality, asserting liability, and global politics problematize a truly legal, or hard law application of the human rights perspective to climate change."
Asserting liability poses an additional impediment to holding States accountable for climate change-induced human rights violations. International human rights law imposes vertical, not horizontal or diagonal obligations upon States.[23] As such, holding States accountable for extraterritorial human rights violations caused by climate change "would require the idea of human rights developed in the post-1945 world of nation-states … to give way to a recognition that, in the globalized world, … personal cause and effect no longer respect traditional concepts of sovereignty."[24] Such a radical reformulation of international law is not likely to develop within the timeframe necessary for responding to climate change.
Additionally, because "human rights law evolved before man-made climate change was recognised as a global concern,"[25] for this perspective to be legally tenable, "existing treaties would need to be reinterpreted in a fashion not envisaged at the time when they were negotiated."[26] In fact, despite the perspective's grounding in international human rights law, few if any human rights instruments actually recognize an explicit environment-related human right.[27] Moreover, none of the international climate change instruments contain explicit human rights obligations.[28] Implementing this perspective would thus require re-conceptualizing and, moreover, integrating existing climate and human rights agreements.[29] Further complicating this implausible task is the fact that the existing human rights framework is a patchwork of texts and obligations pursuant to which countries recognize different kinds of rights, e.g. civil and political, or economic, social and cultural.[30] This incongruous conception of human rights and attendant obligations has historically impeded the development of the human rights and climate change regimes,[31] and this obstacle is unlikely to be resolved by linking the two together.
Part II will discuss how a human rights perspective to climate change remains valuable despite various impediments.
[1] See, e.g., Edward Cameron, Moving from an Intrinsic to an Instrumental Approach, 38 Ga. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 673, 693 (2010).
[2] See International Bar Association, Achieving Justice and Human Rights in an Era of Climate Disruption 44 (2014) [hereinafter IBA Report].
[3] See, e.g., id. at 45.
[4] See Submission of the Maldives to the OHCHR, 18 (Sept. 25, 2008), http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/climatechange/docs/submissions/Maldives_Submission.pdf (last visited Nov. 11, 2014).
[5] See, e.g., Timo Koivurova et al., Climate Change and the Law, 21 IUS Gentium 287, 288 (2013).
[6] David Hunter, Human Rights Implications for Climate Change Negotiations, 11 Or. Rev. Int'l L. 331, 340 (2009).
[7] 1972 Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment, Principle 1.
[8] See Marc Limon, Constructing A Case For Political Action, 33 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 439, 440 (2009); See Daniel Bodansky, Climate Change And Human Rights: Unpacking The Issues, 38 Ga. J. Int'l & Comp. L. 511, 512-13 (2010)
[9] Koivurova, supra note 5, at 289.
[10] Petition to the IACHR Seeking Relief from Violations Resulting from Global Warming Caused by Acts and Omissions of the United States (Dec. 7, 2005), http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/library/legal_docs/petition-to-the-inter-american-commission-on-human-rights-on-behalf-of-the-inuit-circumpolar-conference.pdf (last visited Dec. 11, 2014).
[11] See, e.g., Margaux Hall and David Weiss, Avoiding Adaptation Apartheid, 37 Yale J. Int'l L. 309, 340-41 (2012).
[12] Male' Declaration on the Human Dimension of Global Climate Change (2007), http://www.manystrongvoices.org/_res/site/file/Background%20docs/Male_Declaration_Nov07.pdf (last visited Sept. 11, 2014)
[13] Human Rights Council Res. 7/23, March 28 2008; Human Rights Council Res. 10/4, March 25 2009. [hereinafter Res. 10/4].
[14] Res. 10/4, supra note 13.
[15] For an overview of human rights tribunals' decisions examining applicants' environmental claims in the context of human rights treaties, see: http://ieenvironment.org/regional-decisions/.
[16] E.g., The Mary Robinson Foundation (http://www.mrfcj.org/about/).
[17] Lavanya Rajamani, The Increasing Currency and Relevance of Rights-Based Perspectives in the International Negotiations on Climate Change, 22 J. Env't L. 391 (2010).
[18] See IBA Report, supra note 2, at 6.
[19] Human Rights Council, Jan. 15 2009, at paragraph 70.
[20] Hall & Weiss, supra note 11, at 342; Cameron, supra note 1, at 706.
[21] John Knox, Linking Human Rights and Climate Change at the United Nations, 33 Harv. Envtl. L. Rev. 477, 489 (2009).
[22] Id.
[23] Hall & Weiss, supra note 11, at 342.
[24] Limon, supra note 8, at 473.
[25] IBA Report, supra note 2, at 67.
[26] Rajamani, supra note 17.
[27] Id.
[28] See Cameron, supra note 1, at 715.
[29] Rajamani, supra note 17.
[30] See Cameron, supra note 1, at 700.
[31] Id.


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Lach's Antihoot - anti-folk night imported from NYC
- Nicola Meighan
- 30 July 2010
This article is from 2010.
Birthplace of Beck, Regina Spektor and Jeffrey Lewis comes to Fringe
'The Antihoot is the heartbeat of the anti-folk revolution,' explains its infamous founder, Lach. 'It produced US acts like Regina Spektor, Beck and Jeffrey Lewis, and inspired UK practitioners like Kate Nash and Laura Marling.'
It also prompted many to christen our singer-songwriter and raconteur a 'living legend' on account of his unplugged, punk-spirited Antihoot – New York's longest-running open-mic night (it's been going since the early 80s), and a gig that's won him fans like Eddie Izzard, Bob Dylan and Meryl Streep.
Lach is set to transport said ad-hoc open-stage from NY to Edinburgh for the first time: any clues as to who might appear in the spotlight? 'Hard to say, as I don't know who'll be in town,' he replies, then hints at names like Thomas Truax and Chloe Philip. 'Everyone from John Taylor of Duran Duran to Suzanne Vega has appeared at an Antihoot event, so I'm sure it'll be a crazy mix of songwriters, comics and weird misfits.'
'I'd love to see UK anti-folk scenesters show their stuff,' continues Lach. What he's most looking forward to, though, is the party. 'That incredibly magic moment of union, of camaraderie, and celebration – and you can't stop grinning.'
Lach's Antihoot, Gilded Balloon, 622 6552, Fri 6–Sun 29 Aug (not 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24), 12.30am–3am, £10 (£9).


text: Presidential Image Gallery Presidents George WashingtonJohn AdamsThomas JeffersonJames MadisonJames MonroeJohn Quincy AdamsAndrew JacksonMartin Van BurenWilliam HarrisonJohn TylerJames K. PolkZachary TaylorMillard FillmoreFranklin PierceJames BuchananAbraham LincolnAndrew JohnsonUlysses S. GrantRutherford B. HayesJames A. GarfieldChester A. ArthurGrover ClevelandBenjamin HarrisonWilliam McKinleyTheodore RooseveltWilliam TaftWoodrow WilsonWarren G. HardingCalvin CoolidgeHerbert HooverFranklin D. RooseveltHarry S. TrumanDwight D. EisenhowerJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonRichard NixonGerald FordJimmy CarterRonald ReaganGeorge H. W. BushBill ClintonGeorge W. BushBarack ObamaDonald Trump End of Buchanan Presidency October 16, 1866 Source: National Archives James Buchanan's endorsement of a proslavery constitution for Kansas sparked a rift with many of his fellow Democrats who, in turn, did not nominate him for the 1860 presidential election. This split enabled the relatively unknown Republican Abraham Lincoln to win the White House. Buchanan later wrote a memoir, Mr Buchanan's Administration on the Eve of the Rebellion, which was published in 1866 and largely ignored by the public. ← Return to James Buchanan Gallery


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Raiding the Census Piggy Bank
Terri Ann Lowenthal | The Census Project Blog
November 28, 2011
Monthly Archive for November, 2011
Raiding the Census Piggy Bank
Cohabiting Couples and Their Money
D'Vera Cohn | Pew Social & Demographic Trends
November 22, 2011
This note discusses how the new alternative measure of poverty released by the Census Bureau treats cohabiting couples.
Under the traditional measure of poverty, unmarried couples who live together are counted as separate units. Under the alternative metric, called the Supplemental Poverty Measure, the assumption is that cohabiting couples pool their funds and share expenses just as married couples do. The result: A lower share of cohabiting couples is considered poor under the alternative metric than under the official measure.
A Guide to Statistics on Historical Trends in Income Inequality
C. Stone, H. Shaw, D. Trisi and A. Sherman | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
November 28, 2011
This resource is from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. It provides information on the (a) commonly used sources and statistics, including a discussion of relatives strengths and limitations; (b) an overview of the trends over the last ~60 years; (c) an overview of how the most well-off Americans and doing; (d) an overview of how the least well-off Americans are doing.
The 1967 Census of the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A Digitized Version [tabular]
In the summer of 1967, just after the Six-Day War brought the West Bank and Gaza Strip under Israel's control, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics conducted a census of the occupied territories. The resulting seven volumes of reports provide the earliest detailed description of this population, including crucial data about respondents' 1948 refugee status.
In recent decades, these volumes of tables — over 300 tables in all — have received little or no attention from historians of the occupation, not least because it is not easy to use the reports in print form and in any case the volumes are not widely available even in good research libraries.
The Levy Economics Institute of Bard College is making the contents of these volumes available in machine-readable form for the first time, free of charge to anyone with access to the internet. The tables can be downloaded in Excel format for intensive research.
Many tables provide information cross-tabulated with several social characteristics at once (for example, education or occupation cross-tabulated with age, gender and refugee status) and presented for small geographic locales as well sub-totaled for regions.
Also, in conjunction with the Palestinian Authority's censuses of 1997 and 2007 these tables help provide an understanding of trends over 40 years. We hope that the data can be exploited by researchers interested in a fuller understanding of the social history of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
For an overview of our project and to access the hundreds of tables contained in the 1967 Census database.
The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-being: The Old Prosper Relative to the Young
By: Richard Fry, D'Vera Cohn, Gretchen Livingston and Paul Taylor
Source: Pew Research Center
From Overview:
Households headed by older adults have made dramatic gains relative to those headed by younger adults in their economic well-being over the past quarter of a century, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of a wide array of government data.
In 2009, households headed by adults ages 65 and older possessed 42% more median1 net worth (assets minus debt) than households headed by their same-aged counterparts had in 1984. During this same period, the wealth of households headed by younger adults moved in the opposite direction. In 2009, households headed by adults younger than 35 had 68% less wealth than households of their same-aged counterparts had in 1984.
Ottawa Needs to Repair Damage to Census-Gathering Process: Ivan Fellegi
Jim Day | The Guardian
November 8, 2011
Fellegi, Canada's chief statistician emeritus, spoke on statistics, public confidence and lessons from t he 2011 Canadian Census at this years Symons Lecture on the state of Canadian Confederation.
Suggestions include embeddding "The United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics Act."
The first principle emphasizes the need for impartiality, but provides no guidance on how to achieve this goal, he said while giving the Symons Lecture on the State of Canadian Confederation Tuesday in Charlottetown.
The second principle, he says, would be used to retain trust in official statistics by Statistics Canada using strictly professional considerations, including scientific principles and professional ethics, on the methods and procedures for the collection, processing, storage, and dissemination of statistical data.
"This has clearly been violated,'' he said, lashing out at the Harper government for scrapping the mandatory long census form for the 2011 census and replacing it with a voluntary national household survey.
Fellegi spoke about the problems with a voluntary response and the implications this has for the usefulness of the data.
"Without this information, we cannot make informed decisions about where to plan the next extension of public transit, or where to target different types of health resources…the knowledge it offers forms the backbone of our society, an information society that needs and wants to know about itself.'' [quoting Armine Yainizyan]
"If you can't trust the evidence, you would be stupid to make decisions based on that evidence,'' he said.
He concludes with a great quote about the appropriate treatment of official statistics.
Like clean water, he explained, the public expects clean official statistics when needed.
To keep official statistics clean, notes Fellegi, requires proactive maintenance through legal safeguards and on-going public vigilance.
Supreme Court to hear in vitro case
David G. Savage | Los Angeles Times [Washington Bureau]
November 15, 2011
If reproductive technology allows a child to be conceived after a father's death, can the child claim Social Security survivor's benefits? Justices will decide a mother's case [Astrue vs Capato]
The newest example of a funding cut leading to the loss of data and information comes from the Department of Agriculture.
Government Counting Sheep? Now, Only in Its Dreams
William Neuman | New York Times
November 8, 2011
Budget cuts are leading to self-imposed cuts to agricultural surveys and reports.
The government began producing regular crop reports in 1863, the year after Lincoln created the Agriculture Department. One of the reports being eliminated, an annual sheep inventory (5.5 million head on Jan. 1), can trace its roots at least as far back as 1866. Also ending are reports on bees, honey production, flowers and nursery crops.
The statistics service said it was forced to reduce the frequency of some reports and eliminate others because its budget was cut for the fiscal year that ended in September and it expects further cuts for the current year. The eliminated reports will save $11 million a year.
"These are not cuts we wanted to make, but budget reductions by Congress made it necessary," said Matt Herrick, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department.
Do farmers – and others – appreciate the data and information?
But the Agriculture Department is saying, in effect, that the nation can get by just fine, thank you, without knowing how much hops brewers are holding in storage (46 million pounds in September) or the value of honey sold by North Dakota beekeepers ($70 million in 2010).
Farmers say such data is crucial — and not just because it helps them decide how much to plant or how many animals to raise.
There is also an issue of trust. Having the government collect the data and provide reports removes bias and political interference. Here's an example of the issue from one of the smaller industries:
"The mink industry has its opponents," said Michael Whelan, executive director of Fur Commission USA. "In order to counter some of their misinformation, I have to inform the legislators that mink production in their state is an important component to the economic base."
With the elimination of the mink report, which cost taxpayers $130,000 a year, the industry will have to compile its own numbers, raising credibility questions. "People may ask if I'm inflating or deflating the numbers for political purposes," he said.
Cuts to the reports and surveys have happened in the past [Reagan-era] and were restored.
Many of the reports being cut today, including those on mink, catfish, trout, flowers and honey, were eliminated during an earlier round of budget tightening in 1982. A year later, most of the reports were restored by Congress because of appeals from farm groups.
Not sure that we can count on a restoration this time.
The Senate passed the FY 2012 Census Bureau budget. This was for less than in the original White House request and is likely to lead to cuts to Census Bureau programs.
Press Release
The Census Project | November 2, 2011
While the Senate action preserved a trimmed-back version of the 2012 Economic Census of the nation's businesses, the bill leaves the Census Bureau with insufficient funding "to complete measurement of undercounts and overcounts in the 2010 Census, information that state and local governments are anxious to see, and other evaluations that will improve planning for the 2020 enumeration," according to a letter sent to both Senate and U.S. House of Representatives leadership by scores of census stakeholder organizations.
Stakeholder letter to Barbara Mikulski (November 2, 2011)
The Senate version of the Census appropriations is $88 million less than the Obama administration requested. It will also lead to other cuts:
. . . the Bureau also would eliminate coverage of group quarters (such as military barracks, college dorms, nursing homes, and prisons) in the American Community Survey (ACS), undermining the accuracy of some characteristics data, such as poverty, age, household composition, and educational attainment, for many communities.
The more drastic House vote will be next.
The Wall Street Journal comments on potential cuts to the Economic Census.
Census Confronts Budget Ax
Ben Casselman |Wall Street Journal
October 31, 2011
House lawmakers, facing record budget deficits, have proposed cutting some funding for the Census Bureau. The bureau says if the cuts go through, it would have to cancel the economic census, a once-every-five-year snapshot of the economy, due again next year, that is the basis for much of the country's economic data.
Time to Get Down to (Census) Business
Terri Ann Lowenthal | The Census Project Blog
October 6, 2011
At a Senate hearing last spring, Census Director Robert Groves laid out the agency's guiding principles for designing the next decennial count. At the core of all of them is the stark fiscal reality facing the country: the Census Bureau will have to do more with much less.
No matter how little it is willing to spend on the 2020 census over the long haul, Congress must invest some money upfront for research, testing and design development. The alternative will tie the agency's hands behind its back until it is too late for meaningful innovation, end-to-end testing to support outcome-based decisions, and timely interaction with community-based partners.
Census: Learning Lessons from the 2010, Planning for the 2020
Robert M. Groves | Director of the Census Bureau
April 6, 2011
See also:
House Bill Guts the Census Bureau Budget


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OTTAWA - Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the following changes to the Ministry at a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall:
The Honourable Julian Fantino, as Minister of International Cooperation, will keep advancing efforts to make Canadian aid effective and accountable.
The Honourable Bernard Valcourt, as Associate Minister of National Defence, will ensure the Canadian Armed Forces have the equipment needed to be successful in their missions. Minister Valcourt will continue his work as Minister of State (Atlantic
Canada Opportunities Agency) (La Francophonie).
"These changes to the Ministry ensure continuity as we focus on creating jobs, growth and long-term prosperity," said the Prime Minister. "Mr. Fantino and Mr. Valcourt bring strong leadership experience to these important positions."


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Childhood deaths from two leading bacterial causes of pneumonia and meningitis, pneumococcus and Hib, declined sharply during the period 2000 to 2015, especially as vaccines against these pathogens were introduced in high-burden countries, according to new estimates from a team led by scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The findings, published in The Lancet Global Health on June 11, highlight the success of the global fight against these illnesses, and also provide a clear picture of the remaining disease burden, now largely concentrated in South Asia and Africa.
[...] Wahl and colleagues developed updated estimates -- on a country-by-country basis, for each year from 2000 to 2015 -- of the numbers of Hib and pneumococcal disease cases and deaths in children. They used country-specific figures of children who died of pneumonia and meningitis, along with field-based evidence on the fraction of those deaths caused by pneumococcus and Hib, and WHO/UNICEF estimates of vaccine coverage to estimate the burden of pneumococcal and Hib deaths and cases.
Their primary findings were that both Hib and pneumococcus caused far fewer cases of severe disease and death in children ages one to 59 months in 2015 compared to 2000. For Hib in 2015, there were approximately 29,500 child deaths, and for pneumococcus an estimated 294,000 child deaths. These figures suggest declines of 90 percent and 51 percent, respectively, from the estimated deaths in the year 2000.
[...] The researchers estimated that during 2000-2015 PCV prevented a total of about 250,000 child deaths -- mostly after 2010 -- while Hib vaccines prevented 1.2 million child deaths. These figures do not include the prevented cases of pneumococcal and Hib deaths among children who were HIV-infected.
The new estimates will guide ongoing efforts to reduce the burdens of Hib and pneumococcal diseases, which together still kill approximately 900 children per day around the world. The estimates suggest, for example, that about half of the pneumococcal child deaths in 2015 occurred in just four countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Pakistan. "The pneumoccocal disease burden is now limited to a small number of countries that have not introduced the vaccine or have not yet fully scaled the vaccines," Wahl says.
We can replace them with a fiber optic robot.
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|About Meher Spiritual University
Meher Spiritual University or MSU is a online University imparting short courses based on the teachings of Meher Baba - One of the greatest spiritual masters of our time. MSU aims to impart real spiritual education on various spiritual subjects. Real spiritual education gives the gift of spiritual knowledge and the real spiritual knowledge fills the heart of the recipient with love for God. Real spiritual education brings about a total value reorientation in the daily life of the recipient. His or her daily life becomes the living precept.
MSU is a seminary of Meher Baba's words aiming to preserve and disseminate in its purest form, spiritual knowledge given by Meher Baba as a gift to humanity. It is a place where tired travelers can rest and rejuvenate finding purpose in their lives by reconnecting with the Eternal Beloved God. It is a place where anyone can lift the mighty sword of knowledge crafted by Meher Baba's words and cut through the forest of illusion to find their way back home - to God.
Courses offered by the MSU are completely free and are available to anyone irrespective of their faith or religious orientation. Meher Baba greatly stressed on Love and it is in the same spirit of love that we offer these courses.
Headquatered at Meherabad, Ahmednagar, India, MSU is being coordinated by Prof. J.S. Rathore, a renowned educationist and former Vice-Chancellor. He can be contacted at : Click here for email address
Dedicated In Meher Baba's Love and Service
The MSU Rainbow Logo (appearing on the top left of the MSU home page) has been designed by Glenn Magrini. The rainbow represents a bridge from the gross to the transcendental. The seven colours - with red at the base and the blues at the top - also appear on Meher Baba's flag representing the ascent of human consciousness from the gross to the divine through spiritual endeavour. Symbols of all religions in the MSU logo - signifying One God and the unity of all religions - also appear on Meher Baba's logo which is inscribed with the words - Mastery in Servitude. The MSU logo aptly encapsulates MSU's vision of providing spiritual education aiming to create a heightened understanding of the Self to one and all. MSU is grateful to Glenn for his contribution.


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Here's an article from today's Wall Street Journal that I wrote with my CEO, Jeffrey Gedmin.
The article appears on the WSJ website at the following link: http://on.wsj.com/UcZuZz
U.S. Prosperity Is in Decline
The latest data on economic well-being show the biggest slide in entrepreneurship and opportunity. Businesses' start-up costs are rising in the land of pioneers and patents.
When asked once about the state of the Russian economy, then President Boris Yeltsin responded with one word: "Good." When asked to expand, Yeltsin paused, and responded gruffly with two words: "Not good." A week before going to the polls, American voters have some idea of how this feels.
Earlier this month the Obama administration received good news: U.S. unemployment seems finally to be coming down. This week, however, the news is not so good. In fresh data on economic prosperity from countries around the world, the U.S. has fallen out of the Top 10 for the first time ever. If elections were decided by data, today's findings would spell trouble for President Obama.
The 2012 Legatum Prosperity Index captures not simply the quarterly or annual ups and downs of the national economy, but rather long-term underlying components of national prosperity. Our findings suggest that the American Dream is in jeopardy.
The first problem is well-known. America has saddled itself with crippling debt and soaring entitlement spending. Couple these with projections of low growth—and possibly even another recession—and a bleak picture emerges.
But there's more. For three-quarters of a century, gross domestic product has been single most important framework for evaluating economic success. In recent years, though, a "beyond GDP" debate has started. An increasing number of academics and policy makers around the world have been exploring the idea that there may be a more comprehensive and meaningful way to look at national prosperity. With 142 countries currently included, the Prosperity Index aims to paint a more complete picture of global prosperity than any other tool of its kind.
How does the picture look for the U.S.? The index identifies eight "foundations" for national success, including factors such as effective and accountable government, personal freedom, national security and personal safety. The news is not good for America. Across the eight components that make up the Index, the U.S. declines in five, including the economy, personal freedom, and entrepreneurship and opportunity. The biggest fall is in entrepreneurship and opportunity, which has declined eight places in the last four years. Businesses' start-up costs are rising in the land of pioneers and patents. Fewer Americans believe that working hard will get them ahead.
The next U.S. president will also face a rapidly changing global environment. The rise of China speaks for itself, but the Prosperity Index also has Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Malaysia ranking within the top 15 countries in its economic rankings this year. Our index also reveals a new group of Asian up-and-comers: Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are on the move. Indonesia, the word's most populous majority-Muslim nation, has experienced the largest increase in prosperity globally since 2009.
Times do change. It seems that even parts of Old Europe, the euro crisis notwithstanding, can teach America a thing or two. Norway, Denmark and Sweden top our rankings this year. Once upon a time the Scandinavians were world champions in big government and social spending. But bloated welfare states have been brought to heel in recent years. There has been deregulation and privatization: The Swedes even privatized air traffic control. Today Denmark has one of the most flexible labor markets in the world.
The path to prosperity is not a mathematical formula or an engineering problem. A country's size, history and culture all matter. Nevertheless, the Index confirms what experience tells us. Decent, accountable government, rule of law, competition, opportunity and a regulatory environment and culture that promote liberty, responsibility and entrepreneurship are drivers of prosperity everywhere.
It is up to U.S. voters to decide next week whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney have the right compass for America's journey forward. We think the data of the 2012 Prosperity Index may offer a helpful map—and some warnings about the road ahead.
Mr. Gedmin is president and CEO of the London-based Legatum Institute, where Mr. Gamester is program director for the Prosperity Index.


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BEIJING, April 30 (APP): China cherishes its time tested relationship with Pakistan and is committed to further strengthen it in the best possible and most meaningful manner.
The China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said here while talking to a group of journalists from South Asia during a brief meeting with them at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office.
She said her country and its people can never forget the cooperation extended by Pakistanis to China over the years, including those in difficult times and while China is now on a new path of prosperity and growth it wishes the same for one of its most cherished friend and neighbor.


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Communication Pitfalls for Parents
A few weeks ago I received an introductory type letter that is actually a form letter from the Director of the Company that will be providing Behavior Training to me for dealing with Matthew's behaviors in the home. This letter was insulting to parents making it seem that a Behavorist's time is more important than the parents, who are the clients.
Here is a sentence from this letter - " In order for Behavioral Health Consultants to provide you and your child with the best possible services, we will need your full cooperation." That sentence was in the second paragraph with the following sentence appearing in the last paragraph of the letter. "Once your appointment(s) are made, please make every effort to not schedule anything that might conflict with the Assessment." Most of that sentence was in italics as well.
An entire paragraph in italics preceeded the final paragraph and stated the following, "The Behaviorist has a limited amount of time available in which to schedule his/her appointment with you. Each Behaviorist has to meet with many other families and their children, so scheduling time is often very tight. Please be considerate of the Behaviorist time and day restraints."
I was stunned to receive this letter, that also happened to be dated one month later. I telephoned the Regional Center where the funding would come from and read this letter to the Service Coordinator, who suggested I send an email response to it.
I also typed up the letter in an email and my response and shared it with several yahoo groups to get feedback. I wanted to make sure I was not alone in my reaction to this condenscending letter. Here is a portion of my email sent the same day I received the letter.
I am contacting you to give feedback on the letter that was sent to me by you. I am not sure if this is a form letter sent to all parents within the Regional Center system or all your clientele, but I must say I found it to be demeaning to parents. I doubt this letter is considered a welcome letter because I did not feel very welcomed by your organization after perusing it.
Maybe it is classified as an introductory letter, in which case I would hope the Behaviorist and other representatives of Behavioral Health Consultants LLC would treat families with respect, especially considering they are entering our homes.
I have never received a letter from any organizations, and was surprised to read such a condescending message. My days are busy filled with meetings, Doctor appointments, training sessions, therapy appointments and the like. I did not appreciate a letter addressed to me that has such little regard for forming a relationship between professionals and families.
I hope the Behaviorist will be considerate of my family obligations as well and our day restraints with school. It is my hope that the person(s) entering my home that will be working with us will be professional in nature.
I have my doubts that the service will be the best possible if this is how clients are treated. I would suggest an overhaul into this letter if it is sent to new clients. I did not appreciate being told to give my full cooperation, be considerate and to make every effort.....
Perhaps Behavioral Health Consultants LLC needs to be made aware of the time restraints and scheduling that families with children on the Autism Spectrum and other disabilities have. We are just as important as professionals and should be treated appropriately.
As of this date I have yet to receive a reply to that email. When I received a phone message from the Case Manager I made a note of the time she called and when I returned the call and left a voice mail message. I was ready for a battle, all based on the tone of the letter that was sent. I even had the Case Manager read the letter, who replied to me that the Director talks to everyone like this.
Luckily I will never have to deal with that man - but I sincerely hope all other parents and future clients of that company responds via email giving feedback on the rudeness of the letter.
The other incident has to do with Nicholas's social skills appointments. For a few weeks we were not able to make them due to my having an emergency skin situation, then Bronchitis and Matthew being sick for a week. The appointment for Social Skills coincides with Matthew's Feeding Therapy. I telephoned each week to let the office staff know we could not attend.
I learned through the Regional Center that someone within the Social Skills program called the Regional Center to report that Nicholas was not attending. This had happened a year earlier with another person at that office who has since left. I mentioned that to her replacement stating there was no reason for someone to call the Regional Center and not me to inquire where we were.
Not only that, but I called each week to Regional Center who funds the service - what am I, chopped liver? I will not continue services where I am not treated with respect.
I called their offices and spoke with the office personnel and then the Program Specialist. Neither made the call and were not even sure one was made, yet I had a date and time that a call was made from the Service Coordinator at the Regional Center. I proceeded to call the Regional Center back to get the name of who left the message and returned the call to inform them the name of this person.
The following day when we arrived at the room where the Social Skills takes place a young girl who looked to be fresh out of high school giggled a bit about her being sorry for making the call. I had never seen this girl before who then tells me her title - one that I forgot and could care less about. So she goes on about how she was told to form a relationship with the Regional Center.
Somewhere in the training manual they forgot to mention the actual clients should not be alientated. I don't care who pays for the service, I will not take my children anywhere that lacks crucial communication skills with the family.
The other day at school I wanted to let Matthew's aide know about something I put in his lunch, yet she was busy speaking Spanish with another aide and could not stop to acknowledge Matthew's presence, although the other aide took the second to do so. This aide looked at me like I was out of line for speaking to her. I cannot wait for the day we say ADIOS to this clueless woman.
The final incident that took place this past week was through the school Nurse at Matthew's school. At least once a week I get inside his backpack a small white paper that is stapled and has notice of first aid written on it. That is about all I can comprehend as the Nurse has the most atrocious handwriting I have seen. I had to call to ask her what two notes had written on them.
She then went on to tell me that " she got her hand stuck in the chair". I thought she was talking about the aide and trying to figure out what this had to do with Matthew when she indicated she was talking about my son. This woman was using she and her to discuss my son. Why is a school Nurse not schooled in the English Language?
I will be writing a seperate article about an Incident Report that was filed and sent to the Regional Center last week from the Floor Time session Matthew had. I learned of this through the Service Coordinator after the fact. I called and argued with the person who did the Assesssment over the handling of this report.
Educational Autism Tips for Families 71 page resourceful ebook for families entering the school system with a recent autism diagnosis. Find out what issues take place over the course of a school day and meet these challenges head on.
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