text:
Hummer Cars
GM Concepts 2003
GM Concepts 2002
GM Concepts 2001
� 1998 - 2005
Copyright &
General Motors: Hummer H3T
Video Clip: The HUMMER H3 Unveiling at the California Auto Show 2006
HUMMER introduced the ruggedly refined H3T concept vehicle at the 2004 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, providing a glimpse at a growing family of expressive, versatile vehicles.
"The H3T concept expresses a vision of the potential of future HUMMER vehicles, targeted at enthusiasts who desire the HUMMER image and capability, but in a smaller, non-SUV configuration," said Clay Dean, design director for small trucks and HUMMER. "It also provides a visual clue to the evolution of HUMMER's design."
Innovative features abound in the H3T: The pickup box incorporates side-access doors, along with drop-down assist steps that also double as weather-tight storage compartments. The H3T's unique tailgate forms an unbroken load surface when down, contributing to the H3T's versatility.
There's also a large, power-operated folding canvas sunroof and drop-down rear window that combine to offer an open-air driving experience.
There wouldn't be a HUMMER badge on the H3T if it didn't have the capability to dive into twisty terrain that would leave lesser 4x4s spinning their wheels. Its wheels-at-the-corners stance, along with 34-inch-tall tires and 11.5 inches of ground clearance, gives the H3T a 51-degree approach angle and a 50-degree departure angle - critical measures on HUMMER's internal "off-road performance metric" of capabilities.
And while the H3T delivers on the promise of its familial looks, it does so with a youthful, masculine flair.
"Regardless if you're a man or woman, it brings out a rebellious side to you that harks back to younger days," said Dean. "It's an irreverent vehicle - a bad boy in a black tie."
Riding on a 118.6-inch wheelbase and measuring 74.5 inches wide, the H3T embodies the classic HUMMER proportions - wide stance, low roofline, and wheels at the corners - that have made the H1 and H2 instantly recognizable around the world. And like the H1 truck, the H3T incorporates the cab and bed in a single structure for enhanced strength and an integrated appearance.
Design collaboration
To complement the H3T's solid structure with a "go anywhere, do anything" aesthetic, GM and Nike designers collaborated on several key aspects of the vehicle's design.
The H3T's tires evolved from discussions between GM Design and Nike Design regarding the question of off-road performance footwear influencing off-road performance tires. The result is the innovative ACG TA tire, which addresses multiple traction environments with sand paddles, traction pads and multiple durometers of rubber defined by different-color breakouts - much like the design of Nike's ACG trail and hiking shoes. BFGoodrich partnered to engineer and build the striking, groundbreaking tires.
Nike's influence on the interior includes the use of its Sphere material on the H3T's seats. The lightweight material, used by Nike in specialized clothing, can cool or warm the body without mechanical means. It also conveys a technical aesthetic that looks perfectly at home in the H3T. The seats also are enhanced by Nike Epic backpacks, which are integrated into seat-back clamshells and released with elastic bungees.
"The Nike collaboration is unique and exciting," said Dean. "It allowed us to share ideas and thoughts, while comparing our design process with a world leader in design innovation. The experience has enhanced the whole H3T project."
HUMMER design language
The H3T's classic proportions reflect its off-road ability, but also symbolize HUMMER's expressive styling - an American design that says as much about driver freedom as HUMMER's off-road experience.
"It's a minimalist approach that conveys purpose," said Dean. "The H3T represents the continual approach to HUMMER's overall design theme - simple in appearance yet strong to the touch. From parts like the door handles to the dashboard details, the H3T looks and feels as if it's been milled from a solid billet of steel or aluminum."
That purposeful appearance is delineated from the HUMMER H1's military roots.
"We evolved the HUMMER design language with the H2," said Dean. "But we're continuing that vision and progressing the brand."
The H3T's purposefully premium interior environment includes a rugged shifter handle that folds completely forward and military-inspired toggle switches for various controls. An altimeter, compass and inclinometer also are mounted on the dashboard.
The technical leather and Nike-designed Sphere seat fabric continue to support the athletic, performance theme of the H3T, as do the chamois, petrol and paprika orange interior colors.
"It's not necessarily a luxury environment in the classic sense - it's a new type of luxury," said Dave Lyon, interior design director for body-on-frame vehicles. "The expression of quality through the use of specific materials conveys a premium look without the use of traditional luxury appointments like wood or leather."
The same goes for the H3T's exterior, which features high-tech, yet durable, LED headlamps and taillamps, an integrated winch and tow hooks, as well as front and rear skid plates that are stamped out of aluminum and joined with side "rock sliders." There also are control arm and rear axle skid plates, along with a carbon fiber skid plate/belly pan, which protects the vehicle when off the road and aids aerodynamic efficiency on the highway.
A brush guard is integrated with the front skid plate and the taillamps have integrated lens protectors. Driving/marker lamps are built into the side-view mirrors.
The exterior colors, Petrol Blue Metallic and Satin Titanium Alloy, fuel the H3T's theme of a rugged vehicle with serious attitude. The forward-opening hood is aided by trigger-operated latches, which integrate into the trademark HUMMER hood louvers. An exposed radiator is another classic HUMMER styling cue and a camera mounted on the hood can be used to record off-road excursions in DVD format.
At the rear, the tailgate features exposed hinges (with integrated gas struts) and cantilevers to provide an unbroken load platform for the bed. The bed is more than 4 feet wide and has very small fender intrusions.
"The H3T supposes a new realm of rugged, yet premium choices for drivers who find larger vehicles don't fit their needs," said Lyon. "With the H3T, a whole new group of driving enthusiasts benefits from the relevance of HUMMER's unflappable capability. There simply is nothing like it in the midsize truck market."
Purposeful powertrain
The H3T is built on a modified GM midsize truck platform, including the coil-over front and rear suspensions. Fox remote-reservoir shocks are used for the ultimate in off-road dampening. An automatic transfer case locks the vehicle into four-wheel drive when needed.
The locking front and rear axles on the H3T are borrowed from full-size GM trucks. Braking is accomplished with four-wheel discs from Alcon. The 15-inch-diameter rotors are clamped down upon with Baer six-piston calipers in the front and four-piston calipers in the rear. Nineteen-inch wheels are mounted at all corners.
A 350-horsepower, turbocharged version of GM's new Vortec 3500 inline five-cylinder engine powers the H3T, and it's backed by the heavy-duty Hydra-Matic 4L65-E electronically controlled four-speed transmission. The turbocharged five-cylinder produces more power than most six-cylinder engines, but is more compact. The engine also makes 350 lb.-ft. of torque, which helps the H3T tackle steep terrain with ease.
Fuel-saving variable valve timing technology, which is available on some of GM's four-, five- and six-cylinder engines, boosts the five-cylinder's efficiency by varying valve timing, lift and duration. It also improves emissions and overall performance.
Although currently a concept vehicle, the H3T was built with production-type components, including chassis and suspension components that were leveraged from existing GM truck architectures.
"Everything about the H3T says HUMMER," said Dean. "The package may be a little smaller, but the personality, functionality and, most importantly, the off-road superiority is all there."
all photos: General Motors


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Angels 2, Dodgers 1
Hank Conger has had a brief taste of the major leagues in each of the previous three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels. The main thing that held him back was his inability to throw out basestealers consistently.
He's worked out his problems in that regard. And now that he's been given the job as backup catcher to Chris Iannetta, Conger is making sure he doesn't squander this opportunity.
He pinch hit for designated hitter Josh Hamilton and smacked a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Angels a 2-1 victory over the Dodgers in the teams' final exhibition game Saturday night. It was his fourth homer of the spring and team-high 16th RBI.
''It was sort of a rollercoaster this whole spring,'' said Conger, whose three-run homer in the 2010 All-Star Futures' game at Angel Stadium earned him MVP honors. ''I got off to a good start this spring and felt good at the plate. Hopefully I can carry it on into the season.
''I'm really excited. I know there's still a lot of work that needs to be done, but it's going to be fun. Whatever my role is, I'll just try to contribute any way possible. I've learned the past couple of years not to get too ahead of myself and worry about whatever comes along.''
Manager Mike Scioscia likes what he's seen so far, emphasizing that the improvement the 25-year-old Conger has made defensively is what enabled him to stick with the club.
''Hank's had a terrific spring and certainly worked his way onto our team,'' Scioscia said. ''From the offensive end, there's no doubt that Hank showed he's ready for the challenge of the major leagues. Defensively, in the last couple of weeks he's figured some things out mechanically as far as throwing the ball. And that made him more consistent. He had a rough time early in camp, but as spring went on there's no doubt that he found his release point and threw much better.''
The teams agreed to end the game after nine innings if the game was tied. Then Yimi Garcia struck out his first two batters before Conger drove a 1-0 pitch a few rows into the right-field seats.
''Just from looking at his warmups, he was throwing three pitches,'' Conger said. ''Luckily I laid off that slider on the first pitch, and then I just tried to zone-up and tried not to chase. In a pinch-hit situation, you want to try to be aggressive and do something to get the rally going.''
Tommy Hanson gave up a run and three hits in 6 1-3 innings and struck out six in his fifth start this spring, finishing 0-2 with a 5.89 ERA. Ernesto Frieri (2-2) got credit for the victory with a perfect ninth.
Dodgers starter Zack Greinke threw 81 pitches over five innings, allowing a run and three hits with five strikeouts in his fourth spring start. The 2009 AL Cy Young Award winner, who signed a six-year, $147-million deal in December, gave up eight earned runs in 13 innings overall and was 0-1 after coming to camp with a sore elbow. He made 13 starts last year with the Angels, going 6-2 with a 3.53 ERA after he was acquired in a trade with Milwaukee on July 27.
Hanson walked his first batter, Carl Crawford, who stole second and scored on Matt Kemp's sacrifice fly. The Angels tied it in the third when Iannetta led off with a double, advanced on a wild pitch and came home on Mike Trout's groundout.
The Angels concluded spring training with a 10-20-4 record. Albert Pujols batted .333 with three homers and nine RBIs. Trout, last year's AL rookie of the year, hit .350 with two homers and 14 RBIs. Hamilton, who signed a five-year, $125 million contract as a free agent in December, hit .267 with two homers and 11 RBIs.
''I stopped setting goals after the 2010 season,'' the 2010 AL MVP said. ''If you think about it, you just limit yourself - because if you get there, then you kind of relax and pull back. At the end of the season, the numbers are going to be where they're supposed to be if you're on the field, play safe and play smart.''
The Dodgers finished the spring schedule 13-20-3. Kemp, who continued to have shoulder issues at the start of camp, hit .250 with a homer and nine RBIs. He underwent surgery last Oct. 5 to repair a torn labrum and damage to the rotator cuff, which he injured while crashing into the into the center field wall at Coors Field on Aug. 27.
''That spring training was pretty long, but I'm kind of happy it was long because it gave me some time to work on some things and get that confidence in my shoulder that I need to start the season,'' Kemp said.
The Angels start their season Monday on the road against the Cincinnati Reds in the first interleague game ever played on opening day. The Dodgers also begin their schedule that day at home against the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants.
NOTES: Clayton Kershaw, who will make his third straight opening day start for the Dodgers, has allowed just one home run by the Giants' entire 25-man roster. That was by Brett Pill, who is beginning the season on the DL after undergoing knee surgery on March 14. ... With the passing of longtime Angels public address announcer David Courtney on Nov. 26 at age 56, the Angels filled the vacancy with Michael Araujo, who has handled those duties for the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer club since 2002. ... Hamilton played in 38 games at Angel Stadium with the AL West-rival Texas Rangers and hit .260 with five homers and 19 RBIs in 150 at-bats. He also played at the ''Big A'' in the 2010 All-Star game. ... The Angels begin the season with a rotation of Jered Weaver, C.J. Wilson, Joe Blanton, Jason Vargas and Hanson. The Dodgers' rotation consists of Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Josh Beckett, Greinke and Chad Billingsley, who will be eligible to come off the DL on April 6. ... Angels INF Luis Jimenez was named recipient of the club's annual Fred Haney Award as the outstanding rookie in spring training. ... Dodgers OF Yasiel Puig was named the winner of the franchise's Jim and Dearie Mulvey Award as their top rookie of the spring.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
- Syphilis test, RPR
- Rapid plasma reagin, a blood test for syphilis that looks for an antibody that is present in the bloodstream when a patient has syphilis. A negative (nonreactive) RPR is compatible with a person not having syphilis, but in the early stages of the disease, the RPR often gives false negative results. Conversely, a false positive RPR can be encountered in infectious mononucleosis, lupus, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, hepatitis A, leprosy, malaria and, occasionally, pregnancy. See also syphilis; syphilis test, VDRL.
Medical dictionary. 2011.


text:
Download Camino 1.6 Multilingual
Please click here to start downloading Camino 1.6 Multilingual.
Installing Camino
Once you've finished downloading Camino, follow these simple instructions to install it on your Mac.
- Open the disk image
- Drag Camino to your Applications folder
- Eject the disk image
Having Problems?
If you're having trouble, see our Help section for more information.
Release Notes
See the release notes for more information about changes in this release.
Release Date
April 17, 2008
Available Languages
- Dutch
- English (US)
- French
- German
- Italian
- Japanese
- Norwegian (Bokmål)
- Polish
- Portuguese (Brazillian)
- Russian
- Swedish


text:
Here are the opening paragraphs of the review:
Ever since the 1790 immigration laws defined citizenship as being the prerogative of "free white persons," notions of American citizenship and American nationality have contradicted each other regularly. While the legal apparatus defines the parameters of citizenship, nationality is defined through various cultural, ideological, and political discourses that compete within the U.S. cultural imaginary. Representing the psychic and social dimensions of citizenship, "nationality," writes Robert G. Lee, "contains and manages the contradictions of the hierarchies and inequalities of a social formation."[1] Unlike citizenship, which is fixed within the state, nationality is an unstable and contested concept. The difference between these two notions mirrors the difference between race and ethnicity in nineteenth-century America.
Nowhere is the contradictory relationship between citizenship and nationality clearer than during the intricate pas de deux performed by the Irish repeal and American abolition movements in the United States during the 1840s. Angela F. Murphy's timely book, American Slavery, Irish Freedom, presents the first in-depth treatment of this transnational ballet. While the work is not specifically aimed at exposing the differences between citizenship and nationality, it does so with admirable clarity.
You can find the rest here.
Hat tip: H-Law


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The official Twitter page for the Japanese city of Yokohama announced that "North Korea has launched a missile."
This would be scary if true, but because it didn't actually happen, it's just kind of embarrassing.
The tweet, which was sent out to 40,000 followers, had been drafted in case, you know, North Korea actually did attack. It had blank spaces to indicate the time of the rocket launch.
The city deleted the tweet and apologized to its followers.
The tweet shows the angst in Japan over the increasingly erratic behavior of North Korea, which has been on a threat binge in recent weeks. Japan has assault missiles at the ready and sea-based interceptors in the Sea of Japan.
[Source: AFP]
Google Submits Concessions to EU
At long last, Google has submitted to European Union regulators a package of concessions that could help it settle — without a fine — a two-year antitrust investigation.
In December, the EU had set a January deadline asking for proposals from Google, which has been under investigation for abusing its market dominance in Europe and unfairly thwarting competitors. Google did indeed deliver proposals in January, but this week's offer of concessions could be a watershed in the investigation.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission concluded a similar probe earlier this year and ultimately ruled that Google did not manipulate search results to the detriment of consumers. The FTC's decision, however, does not necessarily mean anything for European competition regulators, who have a different stance on what, exactly, competition should entail.
Earlier this week, a coalition of companies formally complained to the EU that Google uses Android as a "Trojan Horse" to funnel users to its own sites.
In an effort to allay fears that it manipulates consumers into using its products, Google has offered to label its own services in search results, Reuters reported.
If the EU really laid down the law, as its has with Microsoft — twice — it could fine Google up to 10 percent of last year's revenue, which would amount to US$5 billion.
Lately, Google has had its fair share of litigation in Europe. Several countries, including Germany and France, have been discussing legislation that would force Google to pay for displaying snippets of news articles. Google was also part of a cohort of U.S. tech companies grilled by the UK over clever, if legal, tax practices.
[Source: Reuters]
German Internet: Slower Than Advertised
Germany's broadband service was called out in a government report Thursday for being too slow — or at least too slow compared to speeds claimed by the providers.
In one of the largest studies of broadband service ever conducted, the Germany communications regulator measured 250,000 consumers from June to December. The results: A mere 15.7 percent of users with fixed telephone lines, and just 21 percent of those using mobile devices, reached advertised max speeds.
About 50 percent of users received Internet service that was half as fast as the advertised maximum.
The European Commission is reportedly working on a similar report that, according to sources cited by The New York Times, has much the same verdict: Slooooow.
[Source: The New York Times]
Galaxy, iPhone Trumped by Cheaper Devices in India
In India, cheap smartphones from companies such as Karbonn Mobile India and Micromax Informatics have an edge over Samsung and Apple smartphones.
Karbonn and Micromax have phones available for less than $75. This, according to Bloomberg, accounts for their popularity, which — for now, anyway — dwarfs Samsung and Apple devices.
The iPhone 4, for instance, is $490, a hefty price anywhere, but especially India.
India is expected to be the world's third-largest smartphone market by 2017.
[Source: Bloomberg]


text:
200 Series Optimount
200 Series Flanged Reducer
Part No – F247D-14-B11
Output Style – Hollow
Ratio – 14:1
Input HP (Class I) – 10
Torque CAP (LB-IN) – 4736
Bore Code – B11 – 210TC/250UC
Boston Gear 200 Series Optimount combines the unique benefits of a shaft mount gear drive but also the flexibility of a base mounted reducer. Because of its precision machined external surfaces, the 200 Series can be integrated directly into an OEM piece of equipment or, with the addition of an output shaft kit and horizontal/vertical base, be converted to a parallel shaft base mounted gear drive.
Click on link below to see Drawings and Specs:
Boston Gear Drive – Helical Gear 200 Series PDF


text:
Simplicity does not precede complexity, but follows it. - Alan Perlis, Epigrams In Programming
|Constructors in general
|Construct Object using class name
|Copy constructors
|Initializing fields to 0 false null is redundant
|Beware of mistaken field redeclares
|Constructors shouldn't call overridables
|Don't pass 'this' out of a constructor
|Constructors shouldn't start threads
|Avoid JavaBeans style of construction
|Implementing compareTo
|Implementing equals
|Never rely on finalize
|Implementing hashCode
|Implementing toString
|Avoid clone
|Designing for subclassing
|Consider composition instead of subclassing
|Overridable methods need special care
|Remember styles of inheritance
|Assert is for private arguments only
|Assertions in general
|Assert use cases
|Force enabling of assertions
|Ways of iterating
|Encapsulate collections
|Use for each liberally
|Use interface references to Collections
|Remove from a collection
|Prefer Collections over older classes
|Choosing the right Collection
|Iterate without an index
|Use standard Collections
|Exception translation
|Checked versus unchecked exceptions
|Pass all pertinent data to exceptions
|Avoid empty catch blocks
|Avoid @throws in javadoc
|Exceptions and control flow
|Use template for repeated try catch
|Beware of unknown root causes
|Finally and catch
|Be specific in throws clause
|Javadoc all exceptions
|Stack trace as String
|Buffering usually appropriate
|Reading and writing binary files
|Copy a file
|Delete a directory tree
|Copy a directory tree
|Reading and writing text files
|Reading and writing Serializable objects
|Recursive file listing
|Console input
|Always close streams
|Some classes need readResolve
|Implementing Serializable
|Serialization and subclassing
|Data integrity first
|Read write locks
|Perform N tasks in parallel
|Prefer modern libraries for concurrency
|Query host for the number of processors
|Always shut down an ExecutorService
|Handle InterruptedException
|Use finally to unlock
|Dump thread information
|Remember the types of intrinsic lock
|Stop threads through cooperation
|Document thread safety
|Synchronize access to mutable fields
|Launch thread is just another user thread
|Objects communicating across threads
|Avoid ThreadGroup
|Thread priorities are not portable
|Schedule periodic tasks
|Synchronized is implementation detail
|Compile regular expressions once
|Multiple return statements
|Coding conventions
|Overloading can be tricky
|Minimize ripple effects
|Don't declare local variables before use
|Consider code generators
|Avoid null if possible
|Separate public and private members
|Defensive copying
|Test using main method
|Use enums to restrict arguments
|Design by Contract
|Use static imports rarely
|Use boxing with care
|Class for constants
|Extra space in argument list
|Quote dynamic text when logging
|Package by feature, not layer
|Try alternatives to ResourceBundle
|Validation belongs in a Model Object
|Beware of DecimalFormat
|Beware of floating point numbers
|Include 'from', exclude 'to'
|Passwords never in clear text
|Fields should usually be private
|Use @Override liberally
|Avoid raw types
|Avoid basic style errors
|Use final liberally
|Use a fake system clock
|Tag or marker interfaces
|Don't use tab characters
|Structs are occasionally useful
|Beware of Byte Order Marks
|Wisdom, not rules
|Nest classes with care
|Prefer modern date classes
|Short public methods
|Hide .html and .jsp
|Return Optional not null
|Varargs for 1 to N
|Uncommon classes need explicit imports
|Beware of instanceof operator
|Interface for constants
|Use a testing framework (JUnit)
|Output parameters
|Do not break portability
|String concatenation does not scale
|Know the core libraries
|Validate method arguments
|Generating unique IDs
|Naming conventions
|Prefer empty items to null ones
|Validate state with class invariants
|Use javadoc liberally
|Conventional name for return value
|Conditional compile
|Construct classes from the outside in
|Consider immutable forms for dates
|Use System.exit with care
|Clarifying method
|Self encapsulate fields
|Refactor large Controllers
|Use Model View Controller framework
|Always maintain HttpSessions
|Session scope objects often Serializable
|Do not synchronize doGet, doPost
|JSPs should contain only presentation logic
|Beware of custom cookies
|Repel invalid requests
|Parse parameters into domain objects
|Thread safety in web apps
|Loss of data during restart
|Prefer JSTL tags
|Use templates to standardize layout
|Pre populate forms
|Prevent self linking
|Send trouble ticket emails
|Validate email addresses
|Forward versus redirect
|A Web App Framework WEB4J
|Manage sessions closely
|Struts seems mediocre
|Choose form validation style carefully
|Beware of doubly escaped ampersands
|Use Cascading Style Sheets
|Beware multilingual submit buttons
|Prefer UTF 8 in all layers
|Beware of common hacks
|Understand details of FORM tags
|Consider Controllers for redirects
|Reuse login page for errors
|Wrap file upload requests
|Use extensions for fine grained security
|Beware of URL rewriting
|Serve binary content
|Version links to CSS and JS
|Sessions shared across tabs
|Apply correct redirect code
|Minimize site response time
|Web usability guidelines
|Emit flexible URLs
|Escape special characters
|Validate generated HTML
|Measure web app performance
|Pattern match lines of a file
|Representing money
|Arrays as String
|Logging messages
|Send an email
|Examine bytecode
|Fetch text from the web
|Determine if Strings are equal
|Compare and sort Strings
|Modernize old code
|Read jar version information
|Implement code tables
|Command line operations
|Open file in native directory
|Run in debug mode
|Memory stats
|Define app name once
|Copy an array
|Measure application performance
|Recovering resources
|Generate random numbers
|Replace a substring
|Clipboard copy and paste
|Get size of object in memory
|Time execution speed
|Parse text
|Type Safe Enumerations
|Abstract Factory
|Command objects
|Template method
|Model Objects
|Factory methods
|Plugin Factory
|Wrapper (Decorator)
|Immutable objects
|Lazy initialization
|Private constructor
|Lambdas only for simple cases
|Understand the functional style
|Static import of Collectors
|Annotate functional interfaces
|Prefer standard functional interfaces
|Beware forEach terminals
|Look and Feel guidelines
|Splash screen
|Standardized dialogs
|Verify input with regular expressions
|Swing utility tasks
|Swing threads
|Preferences dialogs
|Using preferences
|Observers and listeners
|Using JavaHelp
|Change theme
|Sort table rows
|Filter table rows
|Swing in general
|Layout Managers
|Input dialogs
|Render table cells
|Align menu items
|A Swing App StocksMonitor
|Don't subclass JDialog or JFrame
|Provide an uncaught exception handler
|Don't bury dialogs
|Minimal Swing application
|Verify input with Model Objects
|Consider JGoodies Forms for layouts
|Launch other applications
|Keep SQL out of code
|Don't perform basic SQL tasks in code
|Consider data layer tools
|Get database connection
|Consider using standard SQL
|Encapsulate connections
|Simplify database operations
|Use template for transactions
|Business identifiers as String
|Consider wrapper classes for optional data
|Try pseudo persistence for mock ups
|Data is king
|Prefer PreparedStatement
|Remember the basics of database design
|Data access objects
|Connection pools
|Reduce database code duplication
|Data exception wrapping
|Using Ant for build scripts
|Use Version Control tools
|Using Tomcat for servlets
|Using Maven for builds
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text:
I hope those who celebrated Halloween had a great time yesterday. I am sure there will be plenty of photos of the event for you to scrap.
Today we introduce a new Guest Creative Team member for the month of November, the talented Gina Rodgers.
Hi my name is Gina Rodgers and I live in the Huon Valley in Tasmania with my partner Mark and our
two girls; Rhiannon (15) and Jemma (12).
I've been scrapping for 4 years and love the inspiration, challenges, satisfaction and friendships it offers. I find it hard to define my style, but I guess it's kind of arty, messy with a few clusters and some white space thrown in..
When I'm not scrapping I love to make cards, mess around in art journals as well as tennis, gardening, cooking and beach combing.
And onto the new sketch:
Hope you have a great week.


text:
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For now, Memphis City Council members have more questions than consensus about which end is up on the proposed city budget for the fiscal year that is three weeks away.
Beyond the questions awaits a significant difference of opinion among council members about the general direction city finances should take with the new fiscal year and beyond.
The difference has been there since a majority of the seats on the 13-member council changed hands in the 2007 elections. Most of the council members elected in 2007 were returned to the council in the 2011 elections.
Of the six budget plans put forward this month by council members, they vary from council member Kemp Conrad's plan to further privatize or outsource sanitation services to council member Janis Fullilove's call to fund a Cooper-Young parking garage as well as city funding for a renovation of Southbrook Mall.
The plans are proposals for both sides of the city budget ledger – operating and capital improvements. Each is financed in different ways and paid for with different dedicated parts of the city property tax rate.
The difference of opinion translates into vote margins that are close enough that both sides have victories and take losses depending on the line item.
And then there are the distractions and events that have an impact even though they aren't planned.
Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. was not present Tuesday, June 4, when the council budget committee got to how his administration would reset city finances in the wake of a state comptroller's report critical of city financial practices.
Wharton prepared the weekend before for the presentation but wasn't aware that the council budget committee session had been expanded and moved up to Tuesday morning instead of Tuesday afternoon.
As the budget committee started at 9 a.m., Wharton was at The Pyramid for an editorial board meeting with The Commercial Appeal.
"I'll be big enough to say this. I have got to do a better job of communicating. There was no real mystique on this," Wharton said the next day. "My staff was shocked when they really got right into it. … We were kind of let down because I put on a pretty good suit yesterday, combed my hair. We were going to go down and put out that budget proposal. But boom – plans changed."
Council budget committee Chairman Jim Strickland has kept a tight rein on time limits in the budget presentations. Time is allotted for presentations by the administration and then for council members to ask and get answers to questions. A constant feature of the committee sessions has been a series of beeps as Strickland constantly set and reset a digital timer.
The tight time constraints have meant little time for the PowerPoint presentations that are a standard feature of budget season. And Strickland hasn't been shy about telling division directors to get to the changes in their presentations and avoid the descriptions of everything the division does and its record of service over the years.
That doesn't mean there haven't been distractions.
Council member Joe Brown has over his years on the council warned that layoffs of city employees and even cuts in their benefits would prompt an increase in crime. Last week, he argued the prospect of a county property tax hike and a city property tax hike together would do the same.
And he didn't like the idea of increased city fees, as he turned his attention to Conrad who was seated nearby.
"Conrad, you'll become a victim," Brown said. "They'll rob you because you look like you've got money. Whitehaven is overloaded with crime. Damn it, I wouldn't want to live there."
Council member Harold Collins, whose district includes Whitehaven, pointed out that Brown represents the super district that includes Whitehaven as well.
"They're going to listen to me, Harold," Brown replied. "They are not going to listen to you."
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by The Daily News Publishing Co. Inc. - All Rights Reserved


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Home Laptop Batteries COMPAQ Presario v3025au battery
Brand new replacement compaq presario v3025au laptop battery.This rechargeable laptop battery is tested throughout the manufacturing process to match original presario v3025au battery specifications for form and workmanship.The 10.8V, 4400mAh capacity, Li-ion compaq laptop battery is 100% compatible with original equipment and comes in 1 year warranty.
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Borneo - Into the Heart of the Rainforest
|Overview • Detailed Itinerary • FAQ's • Testimonials • Dates & Prices
"I was very happy with all elements of the Borneo trip, including the pacing of the different activities.
"It was a memorable, challenging and super experience – so very glad I did it. I especially treasure the experience with the native people, visiting their longhouse and learning a little more about their culture.
"It was absolutely an interesting experience that I wouldn't have missed! I especially liked the local restaurants charm that were frequented by locals, not tourists."
"I loved the trip. It was everything I had hoped for and more. Thank you."
"All-in-all, I couldn't have had a better 65th birthday ... loved all aspects of the trip, the wildlife, the cultural experience! The Danum Valley Extension is truly a must. Re: the local guides, all of whom were terrific and excellent communicators - a real bonus was their indigenous backgrounds/heritage and their willingness to share family stories and traditions, all of which contributed to a greater understanding of a beautiful country filled with beautiful people. "
"As always we come home from a trip so charged up from the experience, Borneo is the best place to have an adventure."
1-800-741-7956 North America • 0808-234-1714 United Kingdom • 416-588-5000 Worldwide


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United for a Fair Economy's economics education workshops are designed to tranform dry economic statistics into memorable learning experiences. The goal is to help people connect economics and politics to their personal lives and experiences and lead to action.
All of UFE's workshop materials and supplementary resources are available for free download. You may also order hard copies of all workshop materials from us, including full-size flip charts (learn more here). You may also request a presenter.
NOTE: You may find that our workshop download links are out of order. We appreciate your patience as we work to fix the problem. In the meanwhile, please email Steve Schnapp at [email protected] to request PDF files of these workshop materials.
The Growing Divide Workshop
Over 35,000 people across the nation have participated in this highly acclaimed workshop. This workshop reviews recent changes in U.S. income and wealth distribution and examines policies—or "rule changes"—that have fueled inequality. Lays out a range of strategic initiatives and specific and immediate steps we can take to reverse the growing gap between the rich and everyone else.
Closing the Racial Wealth Divide
This workshop helps participants critically examine the way in which race shapes the distribution of resources and privilege in the U.S. We use several participatory activities and dialogue to analyze the role of government in supporting (for people of European descent) or blocking (for people of color) the accumulation of assets and, in effect, helped create economic apartheid in the U.S. The workshop also reviews strategies, campaigns, and actions that will help close the racial wealth divide and promote create greater economic equality in general.
The Massachusetts Budget Crisis
This workshop reviews the Massachusetts budget and the current crisis, with an emphasis on Question 1, the 2010 ballot initiative to eliminate the state income tax. The workshop also considers how the worsening budget crisis has impacted our communities, demonstrates that unwise tax cuts in the 1990s was a major cause of the current budget crisis, and explores opportunities to advocate. This interactive workshop is designed to last 60 to 90 minutes.
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Our new workshop uses participatory activities to show the economic structures and recent trends underlying the current financial crisis. It's for anyone interested in helping create an economy that is more fair and sustainable.


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Delve Behind The Scences of Woodland Rituals Autumn Winter 19 Campaign
Last friday we launched our Autumn Winter 19 collection with our newest Fashion Cases, inspired by Scandinavian scenery and those last stunning rays of autumnal light. If you haven't already be sure to take a peek HERE and find your favourite design(s)!
A Calling For Nature Behind The Scenes
Immerse yourself in the breathtaking beauty of Scandinavian landscape and delve into the magical story as we bring you behind the scenes of our Autumn Winter 19 collection. This collection is inspired by the beauty of Swedish landscape and nature, along with a sense of peace, harmony and freedom. The story behind our Autumn Winter 19 Collection is reflected as a memory from home, set against the scenic Gotland nature to capture the last rays of autumnal light.
Working with photographer Jaclyn Adams @jaclynadams and film artist Joseph Eriksson @sephsson, we captured the essence and story behind our AW19 collection. This latest campaign connects storytelling, nature and designs harmoniously, and transports us with magical beauty of Scandinavian landscape. Our latest AW19 designs play off with setting to create the beautiful narrative of our Woodland Rituals Campaign. When looking at the campaign, you reflect back to these moments of serenity freedom harmony and serenity.
The Story behind Woodland Rituals AW19 Campaign
A group of friends embark on an idyllic weekend escapade in the countryside, together they celebrate the last days of summer light. For Woodland Rituals 19 campaign, we are captured the most beautiful moments of nature and the essence of home. As a whole, this campaign depicts a relatable sentiment we've all felt once, the wholesome feeling of home and cosy sentiment that falls upon us at the start of autumn.
Photographer: Jaclyn Adams @jaclynadams
accompanying film, Film : Joseph Eriksson @sephsson
Cast: Chanelle Törnqvist @chanellemademoiselle
Fanny Gustafsson @fannygustaafson , Victor Van gysel @victorvangysel
Hair & Makeup: Elvira Brandt
Styling: Natalie Olenheim
Location: Gotland - interior location: Burge Gård Fadludden, Gotland


text: A Turkish hacking group managed to tamper with Internet addressing records over the weekend, redirecting dozens of websites belonging to companies including Microsoft, UPS and Vodafone to a different web pages controlled by the hackers.According to Zone-H, a website that tracks defacements, 186 websites were redirected to a page controlled by "Turkguvenligi." A message on the redirect page read: "4 Sept. We Turkguvenligi declare this day as World Hackers Day - Have fun ;) h4ck y0u."All of the websites were registered through NetNames, which is part of NBT group. NetNames provides DNS (Domain Name System) services for the websites, which is the system used to translates a domain name into an IP address that can be called into a web browser.Turkguvenligi managed to hack NetName's DNS servers through a SQL injection attack, which involves putting commands into a web-based form to see if the back-end database responds. If those commands aren't scanned for malicious code, an attacker could gain access to the system.In the case of NetNames, Turkguvenligi put a redelegation order into the company's system and changed the address of the master DNS servers that served data for the websites, according to a statement from NetNames. The attack occurred around 9 p.m. BST on Sunday."The rogue name server then served incorrect DNS data to redirect legitimate web traffic intended for customer web sites through to a hacker holding page branded Turkguvenligi," the statement read. "The illegal changes were reversed quickly to bring service back to the customers impacted and the accounts concerned have been disabled to block any further access to the systems."The hack accomplished by Turkguvenligi is a powerful one. Although it appears the goal of the group was just to vandalize the sites for a while, the group could have set up lookalike sites for the real ones, tricking users into thinking they were on the legitimate site and possibly stealing logins and passwords.Two of HSBC's banking sites -- one with a country-code Top Level Domain in South Korea and one in Canada -- were targeted, according to the list compiled by Zone-H.Other websites affected were those belonging to The Telegraph newspaper, The Register technology news site, Coca-Cola, Interpol, Adobe, Dell, several Microsoft country sites, Peugeot, Harvard University and the security companies F-Secure, BitDefender and Secunia. The website for Gary McKinnon, the so-called NASA hacker who is appealing extradition to the U.S. on hacking charges, was also hit.The Register wrote that its website was not breached and that service was restored about three hours after the attack."As far as we can tell there was no attempt to penetrate our systems," wrote Drew Cullen . "But we shut down access\/services - in other words, anything that requires a password - as a precaution."DNSSEC, a security measure now being deployed by many registrars to guard against DNS tampering may not have prevented this kind of attack, said Paul Mutton , a security analyst with Netcraft.DNSSEC uses public key cryptography to digitally "sign" the DNS records for websites. It is designed to stop attacks such as cache poisoning, where a DNS server is hacked, making it possible for a user to type in the correct website name but be directed to a fake website."If the attacker was able to change the DNS settings held by the domain registrar, presumably they could also have changed other settings, such as disabling DNSSEC, or rather, simply change the DNS settings to point to nameservers that do not support DNSSEC."NetNames described the attacks against its systems as being "sustained and concentrated." "We will continue to review our systems to ensure that we provide our customers a solid, robust and above all secure service," it said.Send news tips and comments to email@example.com


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Patrick Stappleton
Bexhill Property Market – Q4 Update
Well, hasn't 2016 been eventful.
The ups and downs of Brexit, the Queen's 90th, Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, Trump, Bake Off to Channel 4 and something close to the hearts of every buy to let landlord and homeowner in Bexhill … the Bexhill Property Market.
So, let's look at the headlines for the Bexhill property market…
In the last month, Bexhill property values rose by 0.63%, leaving them, year on year 10.8% higher, whilst interestingly, Bexhill asking prices are down 2% month on month. All three statistics go to show the Bexhill property market has recovered well after the summer lull, which was worsened by the uncertainty surrounding the EU vote back in June. Irrespective of all the issues, the average value of a Bexhill home now stands at £288,200.
Generally, Bexhill asking prices continue to hold up well, as asking prices are 4.7% higher year on year. At this time of year, asking prices tend to drop in the run up to Christmas and locally, they have dropped by 2% this month (November 2016), although this compares well with last year's drop in Bexhill asking prices, as we saw asking prices drop by 1.1% in November 2015.
Now it's true to say, after chatting with fellow property professionals in Bexhill, all of us have seen the number of property sales fall slightly, suggesting a slowing market but it is very early days and it could be the time of year. Also, the numbers are limited, so it's interesting to take note from a recent survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), stating new buyer enquiries and new instructions are falling at the same rate, suggesting that there will not be a downward pressure on property values.
Looking at the figures for the UK (as we can't just look at Bexhill in isolation), property values are generally rising slower than a few years ago, but on a positive note, there's still growth across the UK. You see, slowing property value growth isn't solely Brexit related, but after several years of double digit rises in property values, affordability has weakened and cooling price growth is widely seen to be a natural correction of the market.
On the other hand, interest rates being at a record low of 0.25% are helping the property market. The cut in interest rates in the late summer was the medicine for the post-Brexit worry and will, as a consequence, ensure that the UK economy continues to be underpinned by buoyant property prices.
So, what will happen in 2017 in the Bexhill property market?
Some say until we know what type of exit the UK will make from the EU it is hard to evaluate the outcome. Although, I believe, the whole Brexit issue is a sideshow to the main issue in the UK (and Bexhill) housing market as a whole. As I have mentioned time and time again over the last few months, the biggest issue is demand outstripping supply when it comes to the number of households required to house us all. Bexhill has an ever-growing population: with immigration (we still have at least two years of free movement from EU members into the UK), people living longer and the fact we need thousands of additional households as the country has nearly 115,000 divorces a year (where one household becomes two households). These are interesting times ahead!
#EastSussex #AskingPrices #Economy #Brexit #2016 #Bexhill #Sussex #Property #2017


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One of my goals this year is to find and eat more healthy meals. I found this Cranberry Spinach Salad recipe and it's really delicious and simple to make. I'll have it with a bowl of tomato soup and rolls.
Cranberry Spinach Salad
1 tablespoon butter
3/4 cup almonds, blanched and slivered
1 pound spinach, rinsed and torn into bite-size pieces (If I don't have spinach, I use romaine lettuce)
1 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons minced onion
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and stir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat, and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the toasted almonds and cranberries.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sesame seeds, poppy seeds, sugar, onion, paprika, white wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and vegetable oil. Toss with spinach just before serving.
Note: I didn't have the sesame seeds or poppy seeds available, and the dressing still tasted great. I also sometimes add chicken to the top. This recipe came from allrecipes.com.


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WASHINGTON — Obamacare lives.
America's historic health care overhaul, derided by Republicans as intrusive, costly "Obamacare," narrowly survived an election-year battle at the Supreme Court Thursday with the improbable help of conservative Chief Justice John Roberts.
The 5-4 ruling now makes it certain that major health care changes will move ahead, touching virtually every American's life. And Democrats, who have learned to accept if not love the GOP label for the law, heartily praised the decision.
But the ruling also gave Republicans unexpected ammunition to energize supporters for the fall campaign against President Barack Obama, the bill's champion — and for next year's vigorous efforts to repeal the law as a new federal tax
Roberts' vote, along with those of the court's four liberal justices, preserved the largest expansion of the nation's social safety net in more than 45 years, including the hotly debated core requirement that nearly everyone have health insurance or pay a penalty. The aim is to extend coverage to more than 30 million people who now are uninsured
The decision meant the huge overhaul, still taking effect, could proceed and pick up momentum over the next several years, with an impact on the way that countless Americans receive and pay for their personal medical care.
The ruling handed Obama a campaign-season victory in rejecting arguments that Congress went too far in approving the plan. However, Republicans quickly indicated they would try to use the decision against him.
At the White House, Obama declared, "Whatever the politics, today's decision was a victory for people all over this country." Blocks away, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney renewed his criticism of the overhaul, calling it "bad law" and promising to work to repeal it if elected in November.
Demonstrators for and against the law crowded the grounds outside the Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill as Roberts, sitting at the center of the nine black-robed justices inside, announced the decision to a packed courtroom.
Breaking with the other conservative justices, Roberts wrote the judgment that allows the law to go forward. He explained at length the court's view of the insurance mandate as a valid exercise of Congress' authority to "lay and collect taxes." The administration estimates that roughly 4 million people will pay the penalty rather than buy insurance.
Roberts, appointed by Republican President George W. Bush, opposed by young Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and much-criticized by Democrats in recent years, sided with his court's liberals on a major case for the second time this week as the justices concluded their 2011-12 term.
On Monday, he had voted to invalidate parts of Arizona's tough crackdown on illegal immigrants.
In the health care case, Congress had referred to a penalty, not a tax, on people who don't obtain insurance. But Roberts said the court would not get hung up on labels. Among other indications it is a tax, Roberts said, "the payment is collected solely by the IRS through the normal means of taxation."
"Because the Constitution permits such a tax, it is not our role to forbid it, or to pass upon its wisdom or fairness," Roberts said.
Many Republicans oppose the law, arguing that it marks a government takeover of health care at the same time it curtails Medicare spending and raises taxes. They also point to studies that predict private employers will be forced to reduce or eliminate coverage and that the legislation will wind up costing far more than estimated, raising federal deficits as a result.
Stocks of hospital companies rose and some insurance companies fell after the ruling.
The decision should help hospitals by adding millions of people to the rolls of the insured, expanding the pool of health care consumers. But by the same reasoning, insurance companies will also gain millions of premium-paying customers.
The court found problems with the law's expansion of Medicaid, but even there it said the expansion could proceed as long as the federal government does not threaten to withhold states' entire Medicaid allotment if they don't take part.
Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor joined Roberts in the outcome.
Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Kennedy summarized the dissent in the courtroom. "In our view, the act before us is invalid in its entirety," he said.
The dissenters said in a joint statement that the law "exceeds federal power both in mandating the purchase of health insurance and in denying non-consenting states all Medicaid funding."
The justices rejected two of the administration's three arguments in support of the insurance requirement. Roberts agreed with his conservative colleagues that Congress lacks the power under the Constitution's commerce clause to put the mandate in place.
"The federal government does not have the power to order people to buy health insurance," he said in a part of his opinion that the liberal justices did not join. But his crucial bottom line was: "The federal government does have the power to impose a tax on those without health insurance."
In all, the justices spelled out their views in six opinions totaling 187 pages. Roberts, Kennedy and Ginsburg spent 51 minutes summarizing their views in the courtroom.
The legislation passed Congress in early 2010 after a monumental struggle in which all Republicans voted against it. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said Thursday the House will vote July 11 on whether to repeal the law, though such efforts have virtually no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the health care law makes it harder for small businesses to hire workers. "Today's ruling underscores the urgency of repealing this harmful law in its entirety," he said.
But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., heaped praise on the court's decision, and the 2010 law, in a Senate speech. "Passing the Affordable Care Act was the greatest single step in generations toward ensuring access to affordable, quality health care for every American, regardless of where they live or how much money they make," he said.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi cast the decision as vindication for her work to secure passage of the far-reaching legislation.
"This decision is a victory for the American people. With this ruling, Americans will benefit from critical patient protections, lower costs for the middle class, more coverage for families, and greater accountability for the insurance industry," Pelosi said.
After the ruling, Republican campaign strategists said Romney will use it to continue campaigning against "Obamacare" — the name the GOP gave the plan In derision, though many Democrats now accept it — and in attacking the president's signature health care program as a tax increase.
"Obama might have his law, but the GOP has a cause," said veteran campaign adviser Terry Holt. "This promises to galvanize Republican support around a repeal of what could well be called the largest tax increase in American history."
Democrats said Romney, who backed an individual health insurance mandate when he was Massachusetts governor, will have a hard time exploiting the ruling.
"Mitt Romney is the intellectual godfather of Obamacare," said Democratic consultant Jim Manley. "The bigger issue is the rising cost of health care, and this bill is designed to deal with it."
Ginsburg, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, said in her opinion that "Congress followed Massachusetts' lead."
More than eight in 10 Americans already have health insurance. But for most of the 50 million who are uninsured, the ruling offers the promise of guaranteed coverage at affordable prices. Lower-income and many middle-class families will be eligible for subsidies to help pay premiums starting in 2014.
There's also an added safety net for all Americans, insured and uninsured. Starting in 2014, insurance companies will not be able to deny coverage for medical treatment, nor can they charge more to people with health problems. Those protections, now standard in most big employer plans, will be available to all, including people who get laid off, or leave a corporate job to launch their own small business.
Seniors also benefit from the law through better Medicare coverage for those with high prescription costs, and no copayments for preventive care. But hospitals, nursing homes, and many other service providers may struggle once the Medicare cuts used to finance the law really start to bite.
Illegal immigrants are not entitled to the new insurance coverage under the law, and will remain one of the biggest groups uninsured.
Obama's law is by no means the last word on health care. Experts expect costs to keep rising, meaning that lawmakers will have to revisit the issue perhaps as early as next year, when federal budget woes will force them to confront painful options for Medicare and Medicaid, the giant federal programs that cover seniors, the disabled, and low-income people.
The health care overhaul focus will now quickly shift from Washington to state capitals. Only 14 states, plus Washington, D.C., have adopted plans to set up the new health insurance markets called for under the law. Called exchanges, the new markets are supposed to be up and running on Jan. 1, 2014. People buying coverage individually, as well as small businesses, will be able to shop for private coverage from a range of competing insurers.
Most Republican-led states, including large ones such as Texas and Florida, have been counting on the law to be overturned and have failed to do the considerable spade work needed to set up exchanges. There's a real question about whether they can meet the deadline, and if they don't, Washington will step in and run their exchanges for them.
In contrast to the states, health insurance companies, major employers, and big hospital systems are among the best prepared. Many of the changes called for in the law were already being demanded by employers trying to get better value for their private health insurance dollars.
"The main driver here is financial," said Dr. Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, which has pioneered some of the changes. "The factors driving health care reform are not new, and they are not going to go away."
The Medicaid expansion would cover an estimated 17 million people who earn too much to qualify for assistance but not enough to afford insurance. The federal and state governments share the cost, and Washington regularly imposes conditions on the states in exchange for money.
Roberts said Congress' ability to impose those conditions has its limits. "In this case, the financial 'inducement' Congress has chosen is much more than 'relatively mild encouragement' — it is a gun to the head," he said.
The law says the Health and Human Services Department can withhold a state's entire Medicaid allotment if the state doesn't comply with the health care law's Medicaid provisions.
Even while ruling out that level of coercion, however, Roberts said nothing prevents the federal government from offering money to accomplish the expansion and withholding that money from states that don't meet certain conditions.
"What Congress is not free to do is to penalize states that choose not to participate in that new program by taking away their existing Medicaid funding," he said.
Ginsburg said the court should have upheld the entire law as written without forcing any changes in the Medicaid provision. She said Congress' constitutional authority to regulate interstate commerce supports the individual mandate. She warned that the legal reasoning, even though the law was upheld, could cause trouble in future cases.
"So in the end, the Affordable Health Care Act survives largely unscathed. But the court's commerce clause and spending clause jurisprudence has been set awry. My expectation is that the setbacks will be temporary blips, not permanent obstructions," Ginsburg said in a statement she, too, read from the bench.
In the courtroom Thursday were retired Justice John Paul Stevens and the wives of Roberts, Alito, Breyer, Kennedy and Thomas.
Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Charles Babington, Jessica Gresko, Jesse J. Holland and David Espo contributed to this report.
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text: OK, I have experienced this twice so I can confirm the problem. When I create a domain and add e-mail users everything is fine for about 1 week. On all e-mail users I enable the follows: mailscan, SPAM, and Antivirus. After about 1-2 weeks the account that I have enabled as "admin" starts to get blank e-mails with "No Subject and No Sender". My clients are very frustrated by this. I can turn off mailscan and this rememdies the problem but leaves "holes" open. To be safe I have adopted a new philosophy: create all my mail users with all safeguards enabled and then create an "admin" account. This seems to remedy the problem but does not seem like the proposed method of operation for the "admin" setting. If anyone has any clue to why this is happening or wants to check it out first hand I am more than willing to open up the server. TeleRiddler


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Bodie Island Sunset
Beautiful sunset at Bodie Island Lighthouse.
Cliffs of Aquinnah
Late afternoon at the cliffs of Aquinnah.
Gayhead Lighthouse
A detail shot of Gayhead Lighthouse just after sunset.
Gayhead Sunset
Sunset at Gayhead Lighthouse and the Cliffs of Aquinnah.
Conimicut Lighthouse
The full moon rising behind Conimicut Point Lighthouse.
Bodie Island Lighthouse
A cloudy late afternoon at Bodie Island Lighthouse in North Carolina.
Sakonnet Sunset
I digitally developed this one with a bit more saturation than the rest of the series.
Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse
Beavertail Lighthouse
Ned's Point Lighthouse
Sunset at Ned's Point
Conimicut Point Lighthouse
Pomham Rocks Lighthouse
Castle Hill Lighthouse


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Since the forecast is so critically dependent on the exact position of the low, we need to watch that today. There is still a chance this could end up as a wet event....snow turning to rain, particularly over the southwestern portion of WA.
And there is something else...ANOTHER pulse of snow will occur on Thursday.
Cutting to the chase, Seattle may well get 6+ inches of snow during the next two days. SW Washington could get more. The mountains, particularly the central Cascades southward could get feet--like 3-4 feet. In short, one of the biggest events we have had in years.
This has been a hard forecast for the models because there are two airstreams battling it out...one from the north and one from the south. Small displacements of the low (order of a few hundred miles) makes all the difference. Consider that the system has developed and moved over thousands of miles...this is not an easy thing to do.
There has been some hype about this event...it is NOT going to be as bad as December 1996. I remember that well. We had two snowstorm the last week in December and I had 21.5 inches on the ground at my house. Then it got very warm and windy and heavy rain rapidly melted the snow. Just a disaster, with collapsed roofs and slope failures.
|Heavy snow followed by warm rain collapsed Edmonds boat shelters
You want to see some weather maps! You bet.
Tonight and tomorrow a weak disturbance is moving through with lots of snow showers. (see radar image below). Substantial snow shadowing in the lee (west) of the Olympics. Some folks out of the shadow will get a few (2-4) inches. Child's play compared to what will happen on Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday AM a low center, with an associated warm front will approach our region, and by 10 AM (42h forecast chart below) will be reaching the coast, while cool air remains in place over most of western WA. Another weaker low will follow on Thursday AM. Two snow events. Clearly, we are just on the edge of the interface between the cool and warm air, which makes the forecast much harder.
Here are the predicted snowfall maps for 24h ending 4 PM Tuesday (first one) and 4 PM Wednesday (second one). During the next 24h, there will be light snow over the western lowlands (less in the central Sound) and lots of snow in the mountains. For the subsequent 24 h, there are huge amounts in the Oregon and southern Washington Cascades and heavy amounts (8-12 inches) over the western lowlands. Eastern Washington and Oregon also get hit hard.
Bellingham gets cheated! And did I mention strong winds coming out of the Fraser River Valley and hitting NW Washington? Here is what is forecast for 1 PM on Wednesday:
I am exhausted thinking about all this weather action. Anyway, lets watch this carefully tomorrow....looks solid...but no forecast is certain and if this prediction goes south, it won't be the first time. The southern part of the Washington could see snow turning to rain. Keep in mind EVERYTHNG is dependent on the location of the low pressure...if it moves farther north than our models suggest we could see much more rain in the mix.


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5 Things You Didn't Know: Batman
Tim Burton's Batman Turns 25 Today + 5 Other Facts You Didn't Know About The Dark Knight
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4. Batman is perpetually 34 years oldBeginning with his 1939 debut, Batman has worn a number of capes in the comics, depending on the times. In the '40s he sold war bonds; in the '50s he taught criminology courses and experienced his own baby boom with Bathound, Batmite, Batwoman, and Batgirl. In the '60s he entered the space race by fighting aliens; in the '70s he developed a cocaine habit — just kidding, actually he returned to his dark, comic-book roots and in the '80s Frank Miller revived him with anger and vigilantism. The rough 'n' tumble '90s earned him a broken spine and a wheelchair (from which he made a full recovery).
Bruce Wayne may be stuck at age 34, but at least he has a well-rounded history. Batman passed some of his teen years at establishments like Cambridge and the Sorbonne; and his 20s began at the FBI, then led him to Korea, Japan and China for martial arts training, including a lessons in stealth from some friendly ninjas.
5. Batman and Robin shared a bed
The Caped Crusaders have battled charges of homoeroticism since at least 1954, and psychiatrist Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent, which attacked not just Batman but a number of comics. His accusations ran the gamut, from valid to dubious to absurd, and at the time the industry laughed at his conjectures about Batman.
Perhaps it was one of those uncomfortable laughs. After all, Batman's creators responded by introducing Batwoman (arguably the first intentional beard in comics), and later, Batgirl. And even a cursory look at Batman through the years offers up numerous examples of, if not homosexuality at the very least, Batman's hidden identity as a pederast — an older man interested in young boys. Batman No. 84 Ten Nights of Fear! finds the duo sharing a bed at a time when doing so was still unsafe for married TV couples. Batman then recommends a shower for his young ward, although it is not known if they were meant to share that too.
The first Robin, Dick Grayson, was an 8-year-old circus acrobat orphaned when, conveniently, the murder of his parents landed him in Batman's cave. The second Robin's name was Jason Peter Todd, and he continued the tradition of being the son of acrobats orphaned by a killer, as well as the tradition of his name featuring a phallic slang (readers actually voted this Robin dead). The final Robin, Tim Drake, ended those traditions, but his girlfriend Stephanie did dress up as a superhero called, appropriately enough, The Spoiler. For the pederast, girls ruin everything.
Naturally, not everybody reads these things in the same way. Yet one person that at least pokes fun at it is SNL writer Robert Smigel, the creator of Gary and Ace, the Ambiguously Gay Duo.


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iRing, iWatch, iTV: Making Sense of Today's Apple Rumors
Here's a new one: Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White is making headlines today with a bold new bauble-based prediction about Apple's long-rumored iTV. White has been making the rounds in China, having talks behind closed doors with supply chain tipsters. What in the world would an "iRing" be?
The analyst believes that Apple will utilize a ring accessory that will be worn and used as a pointing device for the iTV. The TV will have sensors for motion detection, and the accessory will be used to navigate the interface. White also thinks that it will come with a "mini iTV" screen with a 9.7-inch display that can be used to view secondary content. The primary iTV size is pegged at a 60-inch display, but White thinks a couple smaller options will be available as well. Overall, the analyst expects the iTV to "revolutionize the TV experience forever."
On top of all of that, the rumored iWatch may also tap into the iTV ecosystem, complementing features of the iRing. The total price for this package is estimated in the range of $1,500 to $2,500, depending on how many "mini iTV" screens are included, with White thinking customers can order up to four. White expects all of this to happen by year's end, and is sticking by his buy rating and Street-high price target of $888.
The iRing interface idea doesn't sound like something Apple would realistically pursue. This is the company that wants to make interface as intuitive as possible by removing as many intermediary devices as it can. Steve Jobs famously bashed the use of a stylus on smartphones, saying people are already born with 10 of them on their hands.
Having to wear an iRing all the time sounds strange if it's mainly used just for navigating a TV interface, and it would be small and easy to lose if you don't wear it all the time. None of that sounds like Apple.
Especially with motion-gesture technology advances in recent years, an extra accessory seems superfluous. Microsoft has a hit on its hands with Xbox Kinect, which requires nothing more than the stationary sensor. Kinect was launched in 2010 with much fanfare, and the software giant recently said it has reached 24 million in Kinect sales. It's conceivable that Apple took note of the device's popularity and has been secretly developing similar technology.
The secondary screen idea also sounds suspiciously unnecessary. White believes they will be less functional and won't threaten iPad sales, but Apple has also long enjoyed the "halo" that its products create for each other. By simply integrating the iTV with existing iPads, the company could see an uptick in iPad sales without the need for a secondary display with a limited feature set.
Some of White's rumblings don't pass the sniff test.
There is a debate raging as to whether Apple remains a buy. The Motley Fool's senior technology analyst and managing bureau chief, Eric Bleeker, is prepared to fill you in on both reasons to buy and reasons to sell Apple, and what opportunities are left for the company (and your portfolio) going forward. To get instant access to his latest thinking on Apple, simply click here now.
The article iRing, iWatch, iTV: Making Sense of Today's Apple Rumors originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, owns shares of Apple. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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Editor's Note: Dean Ornish, the founder and president of Preventive Medicine Research Institute, is clinical professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Tune in to the documentary film, "Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare," tonight on CNN at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET.
Story highlights
Dean Ornish: Health care costs are out of control, let's try to deal with the real causes
Ornish: Lifestyle choices make a huge difference in reducing diseases and illnesses
He says when lifestyle changes are offered as treatment, significant cost savings occur
Ornish: On March 16, watch CNN at 8 p.m. or 11 p.m. ET to learn more in the film "Escape Fire"
The debate on how to reduce health care costs that are out of control seems more polarized than ever. Many Republicans are recommending that Medicare be privatized or even abolished since Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children's Health Insurance Program accounted for 21% of the federal budget in 2011, or $769 billion, and even more in 2012. Many Democrats are advocating raising taxes and letting the deficit increase in the near term. There's not much common ground when the issues are framed in this way.
Here's an alternative: Let's address the underlying causes of what make us sick and what make us well. This is a radical approach "Radical" comes from the Latin word meaning "root." When we address the root causes of a problem, we are more likely to solve it.
We can make much better health care available for more people at far lower costs when we treat the causes rather than the symptoms. So what are the root causes?
They are the lifestyle choices that we make each day: What we eat, how we respond to stress, whether or not we smoke, how much we exercise, and how much love, intimacy and social support we have in our lives.
Opinion: U.S. manages disease, not health
Stay up to date on the latest opinion, analysis and conversations through social media. Join us at Facebook/CNNOpinion and follow us @CNNOpinion on Twitter. We welcome your ideas and comments.
Currently, over 75% of the $2.8 trillion in health care costs are due to chronic diseases, such as coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes, that can be largely prevented by making comprehensive lifestyle changes. We don't need to wait for a new drug or laser or high-tech breakthrough; we simply need to put into practice what we already know.
For example, one study of 23,000 people shows that walking for just 30 minutes every day, not smoking, eating a reasonably healthy diet, and keeping a healthy weight prevented 93% of diabetes, 81% of heart attacks, 50% of strokes and 36% of all cancers. Bigger changes in diet and lifestyle can do even more.
In another of study of 30,000 men and women in 52 countries in all seven continents, lifestyle factors accounted for almost all of the risk of heart attacks in both sexes and in all ages.
Think about it: Heart disease and type 2 diabetes, two of the biggest killers in the United States, are completely preventable by making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Without drugs or surgery.
In addition to preventing chronic diseases, comprehensive lifestyle changes can often reverse their progression.
My colleagues and I first proved that lifestyle changes alone can reverse even severe heart disease. At any age. We also found that the same program of comprehensive lifestyle changes can reverse type 2 diabetes and may slow, stop, or even reverse the progression of early-stage prostate cancer.
CNN special report: 'Escape Fire'
When comprehensive lifestyle changes are offered as treatment (not just as prevention), significant cost savings occur in the first year because the biological mechanisms that control our health and well-being are so dynamic.
For example, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield found that overall health care costs were reduced by 50% in the first year when people with heart disease or risk factors went through our lifestyle program in 24 hospitals and clinics in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Nebraska. In another study, Mutual of Omaha found that it saved $30,000 per patient in the first year for those who went through our lifestyle program.
At a time when the power of comprehensive lifestyle changes to prevent and reverse chronic diseases is becoming better documented, the limitations and costs of high-tech medicine are becoming increasingly clear:
– Recent studies have shown that angioplasties and stents do not prolong life or prevent heart attacks in stable patients, costing $60 billion per year.
– Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes will affect half of Americans in the next eight years at a projected cost of $3.3 trillion. Lowering blood sugar with drugs does not fully prevent the economic and human costs of diabetes (including heart attacks, strokes, amputations, impotence, kidney failure, and blindness), but lowering blood sugar with diet and lifestyle prevents all of these human and economic costs.
– Only 1 out of 49 men treated for prostate cancer lives longer because of the surgery or radiation treatments; the other 48 often become impotent, incontinent, or both. Because of this, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended that men not even be screened for prostate cancer, since there is such pressure to undergo treatments that, for most men, do not benefit them but may cause them harm in the most personal ways. But intensive lifestyle changes can be an alternative solution.
Changing your lifestyle can change your genes. It turns on genes that keep you healthy, and turns off genes that promote heart disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and diabetes. People often tell me, "Oh, it's all in my genes, there's not much I can do about it." Knowing that changing lifestyle changes our genes is often very motivating – not to blame but instead empower ourselves.
On March 16, tune in to CNN at 8 p.m. or 11 p.m. ET to watch the extraordinary documentary film "Escape Fire: The Fight To Rescue American Healthcare," which vividly highlights what's broken about our health-care system and what can be done to help rescue it. Our work about the power of lifestyle changes is featured in two segments in the second half of the film. If you're a doctor, you can even receive continuing medical education credit by watching it.
Medicare is now covering "Dr. Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease" after 16 years of review. This had bipartisan support. Why? Because these are human issues that affect all of us and transcend our polarized political process, enabling us to find common ground.
For Republicans, this approach appeals to their core values of empowering the individual and taking personal responsibility. For Democrats, it appeals to their core values of making better health care available to more people at lower costs. It's a win-win situation.
And the only side-effects are good ones.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Ornish.


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Future of human rights court must not be decided by shadowy late night deals – Angela Patrick
13 March 2012
This post, by Angela Patrick, Director of Human Rights Policy at JUSTICE, is the fourth in a series of posts analysing the UK's draft "Brighton Declaration" on European Court of Human Rights reform.
It's a busy week for the debate on human rights reform. Today at 2:15pm, the Joint Committee on Human Rights will question the UK judge and current President of the European Court of Human Rights, Sir Nicolas Bratza. Sir Nicholas returns to the UK in a hailstorm of UK reporting – accurate and inaccurate – on the perceived failings of the Strasbourg Court and its judges.
His visit coincides with the expected production of the second draft of the Brighton Declaration which will set out the latest list of reforms to the Strasbourg Court the UK Government asking the Council of Europe to consider. It also follows the departure of Michael Pinto-Duschinsky from the Commission on a Bill of Rights, citing irreconcilable differences and his concern that criticism of the Strasbourg court's lack of democratic legitimacy was falling on deaf ears.
Not quite on a par with Rupert Murdoch and "pie-gate", but for those of us engaged in the human rights debate, the exchanges between Sir Nicholas and the members of the JCHR are likely to be essential viewing.
What's all the fuss about?
JUSTICE – together with other international and domestic NGOs – last week published a first response to the leaked Brighton declaration, highlighting the corrosive relationship between its most damaging proposals and the politicisation of the human rights debate at home. There are too many parallels to avoid the corrosive link between the increased calls for repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 at home and the UK attempts in the Chair at the Council of Europe to change the function of the Court from enforcer to advisor.
The draft starts well. We welcome the continued recognition of the important role of the Court – and the right of individual petition – in the protection of rights across Europe. Together with the proposed commitment by States to improve national implementation of the Convention, including through the involvement of national parliaments, this is a solid foundation for the future. For us all to enjoy the rights guaranteed in the Convention, work must begin at home. Integrating the Convention into domestic decision making is the only way to make rights work first time. It is also the principal means of reducing the demand on the Court's time and resources by diverting cases away from domestic and international courts alike.
Unfortunately, at the heart of the draft Declaration are a series of proposals which would irrevocably change the function of the European Court of Human Rights and reduce its effectiveness.
Ousting the jurisdiction of the Court
The draft proposes to change the admissibility criteria to oust the Court's jurisdiction except where there is a 'serious' question of interpretation or where domestic courts have 'clearly erred'. This reflects political rhetoric in the UK which calls for greater focus on domestic interpretation of the Convention. However, the Convention sets universal standards binding across Europe. Without a right to ask for an authoritative interpretation, the Convention loses its teeth.
This proposal has two possible outcomes: either the Court shifts its resources in order to conduct an effective qualitative analysis of the decision made at a domestic level (which would slow down its work significantly) or it adopts a twin-track approach, excluding cases which are now admissible without any significant degree of substantive review. This second approach would fundamentally undermine the credibility of the Convention. The Government has not been able to give any examples of cases it would see kicked out under the new criteria. However, it is clear that the Government intends that this new approach to admissibility would significantly reduce the jurisdiction of the Court.
Amending the Convention: Subsidiarity and the Margin of Appreciation
The draft proposes amending the Convention to include direct references to the principles of subsidiarity and the margin of appreciation. This proposal would be far less political (and possibly more convincing) if it were accompanied by accurate descriptions of either judicial principle. Instead, the draft Declaration inaccurately describes a "considerable" margin of appreciation with no distinction drawn between different types of Convention rights, including those where no margin is appropriate. Together with the description of the Court's jurisdiction as subsidiary as opposed to "supervisory" and its providing "an" authoritative interpretation of the law, this proposal lays bare the political ambition of the draft Declaration to change the functions of the Court substantively.
Advisory Opinions
The draft Declaration explores the possibility of the Court taking the jurisdiction to offer domestic courts advice on request. This seems innocuous, but the draft's proposes to oust the right to individual petition in any case where an opinion is sought. This is in stark contrast to the impact of judgments in references to the CJEU, which have direct effect in our law, binding our courts. Under the proposals in the draft, it would be open to any Government to ask the Court to ask for an Advisory Opinion.
If an Opinion is given, the domestic courts are not bound by its terms, but the putative applicant is locked out from the Court. So, in, for example, Othman, the UK courts could have asked for an interpretation and then choose to disagree. It could apply the Opinion to the facts in a way which appeared inconsistent. Regardless, Abu Qatada would be deprived of a remedy. Expanding this approach across Europe could ultimately lead to the demise of the right of individual petition, in favour of a judicial dialogue where the Strasbourg Court is used as a sounding board rather than an authoritative voice.
Another day, another Commission?
The UK Government again shows its fondness for a Commission on Human Rights. This time, the draft Declaration proposes the creation of a standing Commission on the future role of the European Court of Human Rights. Sir Nicholas Bratza has already called for the Court to enjoy some "respite" after this round of discussion. While we welcome the recognition in the draft Declaration that any future discussions should involve representatives of applicants, their lawyers and civil society, we query why the UK Government feels the need to include a future hit list for discussion while this one remains so controversial. Proposals which appear to have been too marginal for discussion this time round appear to be parked for discussion by the Commission, including
We agree that there needs to be time for the existing efficiency measures – and the full impact of Protocol 14 – to be properly evaluated. Without evidence for any further reform, it begs the question what purpose any Commission will serve. However, its inclusion may be the lesser of many evils and designed as a political compromise which will allow the Coalition Government to claim a success.
See no evil; hear no evil; speak no evil? (or Who's afraid of Brighton Mark II?)
Unfortunately, the lack of transparency in the debate about the protection of human rights is frustrating debate both at Strasbourg and in Westminster. Responding to the Commission on a Bill of Rights' discussion paper earlier in the year, we called on that body to recognise the limits of its functions. Wholly unrepresentative, with a political remit, and with strictly limited resources, the Commission lacks the legitimacy to engage in a real, informed and engaged public discussion of the kind needed to create a Bill of Rights for the UK. Mr Pinto-Duschinsky has complained that his voice was passed over in favour of "NGOs" and the "human rights establishment". Speaking from the heart of the "establishment", the Commission has remained as closed and remote from our input as to others.
A year in, we know that the Commission is looking to find a more effective means of consulting with the public. However, we only know this from their own obscure minutes, published two months after their meetings have happened.
The draft Brighton Declaration suffers from the same behind-closed-doors secrecy. Subsequent drafts are to be produced by the UK but published as official Council of Europe documents, which may only be disclosed on agreement of all 47 States. In the Chair, it would be open to the UK to suggest that all members agree to publish.
As it stands, until drafts are leaked, civil society, the press and others are unable to contribute effectively to the speedy negotiations. The future of the European Court of Human Rights must not be determined in a shadowy late night deal in a Brighton hotel. We have written to each of the permanent representatives of the delegations participating in the discussions to call for greater openness in the run up to the Brighton Conference. Without that commitment, we can only watch from the sidelines until the latest leaks appear… Watch this space.
Angela Patrick is Director of Human Rights Policy at JUSTICE.
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Read more
- Part 1 – Who should have the final word on human rights? – Dr Ed Bates
- Part 2 – Reforming or redefining the European Court of Human Rights? – Noreen O'Meara
- Part 3 – Law, politics, and the draft Brighton Declaration – Dr Mark Elliott
- Is the Attorney General right on prisoner votes and subsidiarity? – Dr Ed Bates
- A grown-up speech on human rights reform
1 comment;
"The draft starts well. " I agree.
"..Court shifts its resources in order to conduct an effective qualitative analysis of the decision made at a domestic level." The UK would really dislike this outcome (should it arise) since the E Ct HR would then be "taking apart" decisions of the UK Supreme Court.
"This proposal would be far less political (and possibly more convincing) if it were accompanied by accurate descriptions of either judicial principle." Absolutely right. It is a political gambit to minimalise the court's influence.
"but the draft's proposes to oust the right to individual petition in any case where an opinion is sought." Yes – and this must not be allowed to happen. (There is also the point that States will have to "Opt in" to the Advisory Opinion process – it was not really clear whether an "opt in" is once and for all or just in relation to individual cases?)
I think the proposed Commission is unnecessary. From time-to-time the Council of Europe holds conferences (e.g. Izmir, Interlaken, Brighton). Should suffice?
"Wholly unrepresentative, with a political remit, and with strictly limited resources, the Commission lacks the legitimacy to engage in a real, informed and engaged public discussion of the kind needed to create a Bill of Rights for the UK. " Could not agree more. Even though the Terms of reference require consultation with the public, there has been only minimal attempt to engage with the general non-lawyer public. Of course, this may well be due to (a) lack of resources and (b) the workload which most of the Commission members have.
"As it stands, until drafts are leaked, civil society, the press and others are unable to contribute effectively to the speedy negotiations." What have they to hide? Well, given the leaked 1st draft, we see through a glass darkly and have some feeljng for the UK government's (devious) tactics. However, we do not see "face to face" though "we know in part."
1 Corinthians 13:12
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California has 12% of US Population, 33% of Welfare Recipients; Texas is Best State to Do Business; California, Illinois, and New York the Worst; Where Does Your State Rank?
Mish Moved to MishTalk.Com Click to Visit.
Chief Executive's eighth annual survey of best states to do business shows Another Triumph for Texas
In Chief Executive's eighth annual survey of CEO opinion of Best and Worst States in which to do business, Texas easily clinched the No. 1 rank, the eighth successive time it has done so. California earns the dubious honor of being ranked dead last for the eighth consecutive year.Bottom 10
This year, 650 business leaders responded to our annual survey, up from 550 in 2011. CEOs were asked to grade states in which they do business among a variety of areas, including tax and regulation, quality of workforce and living environment. The Lone Star State was given high marks foremost for its business-friendly tax and regulatory environment. But its workforce quality, second only to Utah's, is also highly regarded.
Florida moved up from number three last year to number two.
It is perhaps no coincidence that Texas and Florida have the highest net migration of people to their states from 2001 to 2009. (By contrast, New York and California lost over 1.6 million and 1.5 million in net migration out of the states, respectively, over the same period.)
It may be no accident that most of the states in the top 20 are also right-to-work states, as labor force flexibility is highly sought after when a business seeks a location.
California's enduring place of perpetual decline continues in this year's ranking. Once the most attractive business environment, the Golden State appears to slip deeper into the ninth circle of business hell. The economy, which used to outperform the rest of the country, now substantially underperforms. And its status as the most ruinously contentious place to operate remains undisturbed in eight years. Its unemployment rate, at 10.9 percent, is higher than every other state except Nevada and Rhode Island.
With 12 percent of America's population, California has one-third of the nation's welfare recipients. Each year, the evidence that businesses are leaving California or avoid locating there because of the high cost of doing business due to excessive state taxes and stringent regulations, grows.
Please consider a Slideshow of the Bottom 10.
Illinois is trying hard for that top spot, but California and New York are tough competition.
Mike "Mish" Shedlock
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