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Sunday, 20 April 2014
savin' Easter morning
The rabbit led the two cats into the castle, otherwise known as Easter Bunny Headquarters. They went through a great hall and down several flights of stairs. Climbing further and further into the bowls of the castle, Nissy began to wonder if they would eventually reach the centre of the earth.
Finally, their downward ascent stopped and they began to walk through a long tunnel. At the end of the tunnel, they came upon a set of large, iron gates. Beyond the gates were the chocolate eggs meant to be delivered by the Easter Bunny on Easter morning.
The cats stared into the vault. "That's a lot of eggs," they said in unison.
"Four billion, nine hundred and sixty-three million, two hundred and fourteen thousand, eight hundred and eleven to be exact," the rabbit informed them.
The two cats looked at one another and then back at the vault doors. "Yup, that's a whole lot of eggs," they stated again.
Nissy sniffed around him, detecting the smell of chocolate mingling with musty air. "You really ought to get some better ventilation down here," he suggested to the rabbit before inspecting the large lock, firmly adhered to the gate.
Seville sniffed at the lock. "It's just a lock, Nerissa. I think we can maybe break it off if we can't find the key. Don't know why the rabbits didn't think of that before."
"Because the lock is magic," the rabbit informed them. "It's a magic lock. If anyone should attempt to open it without the proper key, the unthinkable will happen."
"The unthinkable?" asked Seville. "What would that be?"
"Well we don't actually know... exactly," explained the rabbit, "because it's... it's... Well, because it's unthinkable. It would be very, very bad. We NEED that key."
"Then let's get down to business," began Nissy. "You told us that the key was either lost or stolen. Let's search the area around the vault in case it was simply misplaced. I know that my peeps lose keys all the time. Quite possible that the key was just dropped or something around here."
Nerissa and Seville quickly searched the area around the vault doors as well as up and down the tunnel but to no avail. There wasn't a trace of a key to be found anywhere and Nissy began to wonder if the Easter Bunny had been wrong to entrust him with the task of saving Easter morning. Leaning back against the tunnel wall, he let out a long sigh.
Nissy's sigh turned into a cry as the wall upon which he was leaning gave way and he found himself tumbling backwards into another tunnel.
Seville immediately came to his brother's rescue, helping him up onto his four paws again. "You okay there, Nissy?" he asked.
"I'm fine Sivvers but look at this. It's some sort of secret tunnel that branches off the main one. Did you know about this?" he asked the rabbit.
"I had no idea this was here." The rabbit squinted, trying to peer down the tunnel. "There's no lighting in there. No self-respecting rabbit would ever use it."
Sure enough, unlike the main tunnel which had been lined with brightly burning torches, the walls of this secondary tunnel were bare. As cats, Nerissa and Seville could see easily enough with only the little light that bled in from the main tunnel but other species would have far more difficulty.
"You stay there," Nerissa instructed the rabbit, "while Seville and I investigate further."
The two cats quietly padded down the secondary tunnel, making their way around chocolate eggs scattered here and there on the floor. Eventually, Seville came upon a small piece of paper. "Look at this," he said to Nerissa. "Appears to have been torn from a notebook or something. There are some numbers scribbled on it and it's covered in stains."
Nissy snatched the paper from his brother's paw and gave it a sniff. "Hmmm.. It smells of chocolate. The stains on this note are melted chocolate. Sivvers, you found a clue!"
The cats continued along at a faster pace. They were in hot pursuit of the missing key and their excitement was mounting. The tunnel took a sharp turn and they found themselves standing before a wooden door.
Nissy pawed at the door knob and the door opened, inwardly with a creak, revealing a small office barely large enough to house the wooden desk and chair, inside.
Nissy jumped up onto the desk to inspect a large book that had been left open. "This book is all about commodity prices," he told his brother. "It's open to a chapter about the commodity pricing of cocoa. And just look at this!" and he pointed to the iron key resting gently inside the book.
"Never mind that. Take a look at the portrait hanging on the wall," Seville suggested to Nerissa. "That egg look familiar to you?"
"Do you know what this means?" Nerissa said to his brother. "That egg who goes by the name of Mr. Egg Sackly has stolen the key to the chocolate vault himself in an attempt to manipulate the world commodity prices of cocoa. And he did so right underneath the Easter Bunny's nose! The audacity of that egg. Can you believe it?"
"What an egghead," piped in Seville.
"And just who are you calling an egghead?"
The cats turned toward the door to see Egg Sackly standing there, blocking their path out of the office. The egg had an evil grin on his face.
"I see you've discovered my plans, you two little meddling furballs. How dare you waltz into my private domain."
"How dare we..." sputtered Nerissa. "How dare you attempt to ruin Easter morning for children all around the world."
"For generations," rambled on Sackly, "Easter Bunnies have been delivering chocolate eggs to children, belittling the perfection of my ancestry. The perfection that is the egg. My namesake. My very being. And every year, those rabbits get all the glory for hopping around the world, delivering wonderful, beautiful eggs. Well it's high time that we eggs see some benefits from Easter morning. If we can't have the glory, we can at least make a profit from it." The egg began to prance around the small office which, for an egg with no legs, was quite a feat.
Seeing an opportunity to escape, Nerissa wrapped his mouth around the iron key and at the very same time he yelled, "RUN!" to his brother. The two cats headed down the secondary tunnel at top speed with Egg Sackly rolling in hot pursuit behind them.
The boys ran as fast as their paws would carry them, skidding into the main tunnel and coming to a halt as they slammed against the tunnel wall. Moments later, Egg Sackly hit the same wall with a loud, resounding crack.
"Ewwww...." Nissy cringed.
"Yup, that's gotta hurt," agreed Seville.
Nerissa handed over the iron key to the chocolate vault to the rabbit before he and Seville explained all they had discovered in Egg Sackly's office.
"We'll get him the help he needs," the rabbit told the cats. "Tsk, tsk, tsk..." the rabbit muttered. "Imagine thinking he could get away with such a thing. Just wait until the Easter Bunny hears about this."
As Egg Sackly was being carted off to hospital Nerissa, Seville and the rabbit made their way out of the tunnel, through the castle's great hall and into the sunshine. Nerissa sniffed the fresh air and revelled in the warmth of the sun, caressing his nose. Seville took a swipe at a butterfly that dared to fly a little too close to him but thankfully for the butterfly, he missed.
The Easter Bunny is ever-so-grateful for all your assistance today, a rabbit informed the two cats. "He says that the two of you really saved Easter morning for children all around the world and wanted me to give you this giant chocolate egg for your Peep #1. She's a little too old to be having the Easter Bunny stop by on Easter morning but he remembers that she always did love her chocolate."
"Did? Did you say did? As in past tense?" asked Seville incredulously. "Ol' Peepers is still currently a true fiend of the chocolate."
"Yeah, I think the Easter Bunny probably knows that, Seville," Nerissa informed his brother before turning back to the rabbit. "We will be very pleased to accept this giant chocolate egg and I'm sure the Easter Bunny will understand how Seville and I will have to tell the peep that it's from us cats. Peep #1 has been cracking down on our teleportin' as we seem to have had a few uh... ummm..."
"We've been gettin' into a lot trouble teleportin' around the world and messin' stuff up, is what Nerissa is trying to say," Seville blurted out. "Honestly, I don't see what the trouble is. So we messed up the space-time continuum a few times..."
"Anywho..." interrupted Nerissa. "SIVVERS.... PREPARE THE TELEPORTATION DEVICE," he cried and with that, the boys climbed into their flying frying pan with the giant chocolate egg nestled between them.
"As long as this egg really is made of chocolate and doesn't sprout arms and a desire to take over the world cocoa commodities market," Nerissa muttered. "As long as it's just a plain ol' chocolate egg, the peep should be pretty pleased with what we've brought her, Seville. Pleased enough to ignore the fact that we've been teleportin' again."
The two cats stared at the giant egg for a moment.
"Yeah, I think it's okay," stated Seville. "It smells like chocolate to me."
34 comments:
Great job, Nissy and Sivvers! Thank COD for you two. Otherwise, our Easter baskets would have been filled with who-knows-what this morning. :)ReplyDelete
Happy Easter!
Hehehehe well done Nissy and Seville,now you know a few secrets,to bad you didn't get meet the big bun hime self,xx SpeedyReplyDelete
We loved this tale! And so timely, don't ya know.ReplyDelete
Wishing you a very happy Easter!ReplyDelete
You saved the day. Happy Easter to our furriends and their humans.ReplyDelete
Truffle and Brulee
What a great adventure ! You saved the world, one more time : good job Nissy and Seville ! PurrsReplyDelete
You two did such a good job. We are so glad you got the right chocolate egg home. We sure do hope you are having a wonderful Easter. Take .care.ReplyDelete
Nessy, Seville and you are heroes. Easter without chocolate's eggs for children will have been a disaster !ReplyDelete
My Nat à Chat said .... not only for children. She loves chocolate.
To bad it's a poison for cats.
Happy Easter to all of you.
You two are heroes and saved the day!ReplyDelete
Happy Easter to you.
Happy Easter!ReplyDelete
You and Seville are awesome! Great ending and my Human would like to know if your Peep will share her giant chocolate egg? Happy Easter, kitties!ReplyDelete
You two kept all the children around the world happy today! Why you saved Easter!!! Concats you are both big heroes!!ReplyDelete
Now you yourself need to have a hippity hoppity happy Easter!
Angels Abby & Grace
- Anonymous20 April 2014 at 18:44
You saved the day again Nissy,have you ever thought of becoming the next James Bond!! Hope peep#I enjoys her Easter egg.Lots of love to you for EasterXXXReplyDelete
Such adventures! You are two amazing super duper kitty heroes!! Wishing you all a great Easter! Take careReplyDelete
Another successfur adventure fur these two space/time gallivanting cats.ReplyDelete
All of us were really happy with this outcome as our Dad is a chocoholic. Just wondering if there was any info on the nip filled eggs?
Happy Easter
A very Happy Easter to you all! We loved your Easter story and our mom is mumbling about a vault filled with chocolate Easter eggs must be in heaven!ReplyDelete
You two really saved the day, and no one will ever know... unless they happened to read this blog, anyhow. Paws up, and happy Easter!ReplyDelete
hahaha!!! I just love your stories!!!! Your a hero of course! Three cheers for the hero kitties! Happy Easter!ReplyDelete
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
I've just *got* to get one of those pans!ReplyDelete
- Anonymous21 April 2014 at 08:29
My Mom's been looking for that chocolate vault for YEARS Nissy...and you and Seville scored! What a great story this has been - BRAVO......I hope all of you had a super Easter!!ReplyDelete
Hugs, Sammy
That was a wonderful Easter Story, the Cats at The ARC sat here and listened intently while I read part 1 and 2 to my friend who hears all your stories through me as she doesn't have a computer. The Story was enjoyed by all Thank you NerissaReplyDelete
That was wonderful pal! I hope you Easter was hopping happy!ReplyDelete
Thanks for saving Easter! What a great tail I mean tale...ReplyDelete
a paws !!! a paws !!!!! N waddya wanna bet de egg be a BURD egg....& knot a fish egg...de furst hint wood bee how ROOD it wuz......we loved thiz storee !!! sew due we finds out on wednesday if it BEE a reel lee N troo lee chcolate egg ???!!!♥ReplyDeleteReplies
It turned out to be a real chocolate egg AND... the peep says it's delicious.Delete
Furabuluss story Nerissa n Seville!!!ReplyDelete
Wow ya kittehz shure go on amazin adventurez!!!
Happy hoppy Egg beatur Eastur to all of ya.
Lub Nylablue n Sherriellen Mum too xoxoxoxo
- Anonymous21 April 2014 at 20:30
Dat's a vewy cute stowwy. Sammy and Timmy bof sent meez ovew tu meet you. Hope you hav a Pawsum Munday!!ReplyDelete
Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses :)
Yeah! Thanks so much for saving Easter! All the family Peeps had a wonderful day thanks to you guys! You are the best!ReplyDelete
Luvs and purrs
Marty and Mom
- Anonymous22 April 2014 at 03:20
Our boggie héros for sure :-)ReplyDelete
That was just wonderful. Hope it was a Happy Easter!ReplyDelete
Oh! A TRUE FIEND of chocolate! YOu GUys! I want to go on an adventure with you! - Crepes.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous23 April 2014 at 06:07
That was quite an adventure you had!ReplyDelete
Chocolate is to humans as nip is to cats. We are sure Peep #1 was quite pleased with the gift. XO, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giuletta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista JoReplyDelete
- Anonymous26 April 2014 at 19:12
clapping paws! Brill, simply brill Nissy. You and Seville saved Easter for all the children and peep#1 got some chocolate in the deal; not bad I say!ReplyDelete


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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Folks, FYI
Ishq Kills didn't telecast today on Star Plus and instead Iron Man 3 in Hindi has been telecast.
– We cannot ascertain whether Ishq Kills has ended at this point of time (we saw Times of India reporting a bit that the show will end soon and abruptly close to the time of IPL finals).
– We expect to hear some news from Star Plus about it or it might be telecast next week.


text:
tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79966045131397020052023-10-02T02:08:57.805-07:00Patchwork Nation: Provo, UtahPatchwork Nation: Provo, Utahhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-67732920392601003042011-01-14T09:30:00.000-08:002011-01-14T10:01:32.840-08:00Condoleezza Rice visits Utah and shares some interesting thoughts

Residents of Provo, Utah heard yesterday from Condoleezza Rice, former United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor to President George W. Bush. Dr. Rice spoke at a special Brigham Young University forum that took place on campus. I thought I would share some interesting thoughts she had with members of the audience:

As Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009, Dr. Rice kept the portraits of four former Secretaries of State in her office: Thomas Jefferson, George Marshall, Dean Acheson and William Seward. She hailed the men, saying they were often underestimated and heavily criticized in their time, though history would show that their accomplishments to America and the world were invaluable. (For example, William Seward was deeply mocked in his time for organizing the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire. His critics called the purchase a waste of money — Alaska would eventually become the 49th state, and an economic and national security bastion for the U.S.)

We are so very fortunate that American men and women volunteer their time and, sometimes, their lives to protect us. Dr. Rice also noted that if we abandon the people of Afghanistan, we will pay for it.

Dr. Rice hailed democracy and noted that when democratic institutions are not in place, only violence exists to change the status quo. "Authoritarian regimes are always fearful of the moment when their people are no longer fearful of them," she said. Democracy is the product of the creativity and innovation of human beings.

Dr. Rice said that the key to economic recovery in America is lower regulation and lower taxes for businesses.

China will never overtake America in economic and political power, despite what the pundits of today may theorize. China's political system is much too rigid. Dr. Rice wondered aloud: Is a country like China, that is so terrified of the Internet and going to extreme lengths to censor and imprison obscure political dissidents in far-away provinces, really confident enough to lead today's knowledge-based revolution?

America's only real threat is America itself…an America that rejects exceptionalism, creativity, risk-taking, innovation and democracy.

Our greatest national security threat doesn't come from Al-Qaeda, but from the poor state of our K-12 educational system.

We need energetic and ambitious immigrants to continue coming to the United States.

Our intellect and our spiritual faith are not enemies of one another. To integrate the knowledge of "what is" with the belief in "what might be" is the essence of being human.

We must stay true to the defining principle that every other country admires about America: It doesn't matter where you come from, it only matters where you're going. This idea (the American Dream) is what binds us together as a people. We the People are not held together by religion, blood or nationality, but by the ideals of freedom, prosperity and individual progression.

Americans are optimistic by nature, and we must stay that way. There are so many times this country should have never succeeded when it did. Dr. Rice said that America is an extraordinary testament to turning what seems impossible to what becomes inevitable (she cited examples like America's victory in its revolution against Britain, the peaceful end to the Cold War and the successful desegregation of the American South in the 20th Century).

And finally, Dr. Rice said that just because someone disagrees with you it doesn't mean he or she is morally flawed. In fact, if you're only around people that agree with you all the time, you should find someone else to talk to. Then you can learn how to respectfully debate and formulate arguments…and you might just change your mind about something, which may not be a very bad thing at all.

What do you think about what former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Provo? Do you agree? Disagree?

email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-34360436154413466102010-02-01T13:45:00.000-08:002010-02-01T15:18:03.096-08:00In Utah, Jobs are Scarce and Patience is ThinHealthcare who?

The past month has given political pundits much to talk about. Republican Scott Brown's victory in Massachusetts seems to have critically injured the Democrats' healthcare ambitions, galvanized President Obama's populous agenda and thrown 2010's congressional election into a whirlpool of speculation. The cable news pundits and editorial writers are tantalized by the relentless healthcare drama.

Utahns where I live couldn't care less.

This Ruthless Recession, like a slow, demonic vacuum, has sucked the talent, energy and hopes out of so many men and women in Utah and across America. Callous, constant and crushing, the Recession has created a new kind of cynical culture in Provo, a college town known for its youth and innovation.

Two examples:

I have a close friend who moved here from Arizona to take advantage of the exceptional educational opportunities Provo has to offer. He's an outstanding student at Brigham Young University, ranking in the top of his class, with a particular prowess for finance and accounting. He volunteers at his church. He's a newly-wed. He's everything this nation needs--bright, hard-working, driven, kind. And he couldn't find a good job if his life depended on it. Last I heard, he was struggling to make ends meet as a flower delivery boy. Every bank, accounting firm and grocery store in the Provo area turned him down for a job. Three years ago, such a talented student with so much potential could easily find a good internship or part-time gig that corresponded with his academic pursuits.

I have another friend living in Salt Lake City that completed law school and is currently searching for employment in her field. She's disillusioned by all the work, money and time she put into law school with nothing to show for it after a year of looking for a job. She doesn't know what to do. She's considering leaving Utah to find work elsewhere. There's no dignity for her here.

No, nobody I talk to anymore really cares about healthcare reform battles, Supreme Court decisions or climate change legislation. Eyes are glazed over to partisan politics and ears are numb to words like stimulus, job creation and recovery. The Recession has lasted too long, done too much damage. Defeatism is the new reality for so many young people, all members of an astute, modern-day Joad family. Their only message to Washington: It's the economy, stupid. Fix it. Now.

firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-65940382047835444352009-11-18T11:11:00.000-08:002009-11-18T11:22:32.501-08:00Tourism in Utah still suffers from economic downturn
The state of Utah is a stunning exhibition of vast mountain ranges, lush forests, deep canyons and the most spectacular rock formations found on our planet. Its five national parks, numerous resort towns and countless cultural attractions give it a unique place in American tourism. But is Utah's renowned recreation and otherworldly beauty enough to keep tourism strong during the recession? Apparently not.<o:p></o:p>

<o:p>I was speaking about the economy with a nice man yesterday in the mountain town of Heber, just down the road from trendy Park City (and about 30 miles from Provo). He owns the Invited Inn, a bed and breakfast in the quiet Swiss village of Midway, Utah—a lovely alternative to Park City's winter hustle and bustle, soon to swell for the ski season. But all is not well in his fairytale town. Tourism has been heavily hit by the economic downturn, and few people come to stay at his once-packed inn. He talked about how it's now just him and his wife (both of whom are in their 60s or 70s from what I can guess) that manage the inn. They would love to hire some outside help to assist in the cooking and cleaning and landscaping, but they can't afford any additional staff unless tourism picks up.</o:p>

<o:p>Other hotels and resorts in Midway are suffering too, he admits. Larger establishments are laying off everyone from cleaning staff to administration. So he's grateful his little bed and breakfast has less upkeep and he and his wife are still able to get by for now. He thought the summer would bring more guests, but business was slow. He hopes the upcoming ski season will help his business.</o:p>

<o:p>And so the recession continues here. Like always, folks are optimistic things will eventually improve. And when tourists finally do return to Utah, our tremedous scenery will be waiting.</o:p>
firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-55745898868289241132009-10-07T10:36:00.000-07:002009-10-07T16:31:43.692-07:00Boycotting the Great Recession, one by one
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said last month that the recession in the United States is likely over. He may be right on technical grounds, but it is painfully evident here in Provo that the local economy will not return to its pre-2008 glory for quite some time.

<o:p>High-rise developments in downtown Provo are postponed. Plans for a new shopping center, once hailed as a vital addition to the local economy, are stagnant. And north of Provo in the small town of Lehi, proposals for a hotel complex designed by Frank Gehry (which would have included the tallest building in the state) have all but disappeared.  </o:p>

<o:p>People around here are still optimistic about the future. There is no panic in the streets. But nobody really knows when recovery will come.</o:p>

<o:p>I personally know of at least five individuals that decided to boycott the recession and start their own business. It's also what I did. After graduating from Brigham Young University at the end of 2007, bright-eyed and delighted with my fancy PR degree, the world quickly told me it wasn't hiring. I searched for a job over the space of a year, traveling from Washington to Los Angeles and interviewing with dozens in between. There was nothing.</o:p>

<o:p>I finally decided to start my own business with a colleague of mine. Using skills and experience I already possessed, and turning my back on an ugly economic reality, I founded my own social media agency earlier this year.</o:p>

<o:p>Moral of the story: Folks here are tired of the recession. They want economic change, even if they have to fuel it themselves. They hear Mr. Bernanke say the recession is over, but their pockets and purses tell a different story.</o:p>

<o:p>For now, at least.</o:p>
firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-84563271187832521032009-09-19T23:21:00.000-07:002009-10-02T12:40:22.360-07:00Can't We All Just Get Along?<meta name="Title" content=""> <meta name="Keywords" content=""> <meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"> <meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"> <meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 2008"> <meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 2008"> <link rel="File-List" href="file://localhost/Users/Cheri/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_filelist.xml"> <link rel="Edit-Time-Data" href="file://localhost/Users/Cheri/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_editdata.mso">
President Obama's speech to school children on September 8 and his remarks to a joint session of Congress on September 9 regarding health care reform have inspired scores of strange and unenlightened remarks from the House floor, on blogs, on community comment boards, and for me . . . in the dentist's waiting room. These remarks all have something in common: they are a reflection of U.S. politics as usual. Here's what I mean:<o:p></o:p>

A few days ago I drove my daughter's friend, Emily, to the dentist to have her wisdom teeth pulled; I had brought a friend's crime-fiction manuscript along with me to edit while I waited for Emily, knowing she might be awhile. When I sat down near a coffee table full of magazines, I noticed a recent Newsweek on the top of the stack with a baby's photo on the cover and the headline, "Is Your Baby Racist?" spread across the top. I rolled my eyes at the dramatics of magazine journalism, and went to work on my friend's manuscript with my green pen.  <o:p></o:p>

I'd read through maybe eight pages when a man in his fifties wearing a blue cap and dusty work clothes sat across the table from me. Even before he sat down he started cataloging the selection of magazines before him, directing his comments to me, so I looked up just long enough to acknowledge him before turning back to my work. <o:p></o:p>

But he was not so easily appeased and continued our conversation without me, saying in a loudish voice, "You gotta love Newsweek." Then, "Is My Baby Racist?" Slurpy laugh. "Well, some people would say my baby probably is because I listen to Rush Limbaugh every afternoon." Another slurpy laugh. <o:p></o:p>

I glanced up again, to be polite, and he sort of smile-chuckled at me—which is when I noticed he had an upper tooth missing. Probably why he came to Emily's dentist, I thought.<o:p></o:p>

Again, I turned back to my friend's manuscript, trying not to engage this man about whom I'd already made some instant judgments like uneducated, narrow-minded, ultra-conservative. And who, it seemed, was relentless in his pursuit of an audience. Preferably one that agreed with him. <o:p></o:p>

I kept working, ignoring his chatter. <o:p></o:p>

So he threw out his piece de resistance: "Oh, here we go," he said and picked up another magazine with a photo of Ted Kennedy as a young man on the front.  He held it up to me. "What I want to know is how well he could swim with all the windows rolled up and the doors locked." I didn't get his meaning exactly, but I understood the implication all too well. <o:p></o:p>

I stared at him for a second. "You mean Chappaquiddick?" I said. <o:p></o:p>

"Yeah, Chappaquiddick. He couldn't swim any better than his brother . . . but I guess his brother saved all those men in his boat."<o:p></o:p>

I raised an eyebrow and continued to stare without saying a word, not knowing if he wanted me to agree or if he was trying to start something. He didn't say anything either, and I wondered if he'd assumed something about me, too. <o:p></o:p>

The nurse called his name before I had the chance to confess my thoughts, so he walked out as happy as he'd walked in. Slurpy laugh, still chattering away until he disappeared behind a door. <o:p></o:p>

His ad hominem comments pushed my mind back to my girlhood in Kansas, when the iconic stories of the Kennedy family always had a seamy bent, when political discussions degenerated too quickly into choosing up sides, with everyone jumping into their traditional camps like the Hatfields and the McCoys. <o:p></o:p>

Even on the ride home I couldn't purge my mind of this chatty, opinionated man with the chip on his shoulder. I had also chosen sides, though, whichever one he wasn't on; I recoiled at what I considered to be his ignorant opinions, and refused to see him as a person worth listening to. I think he left the dentist's office believing I agreed with him because, after all, we're both from the same red state, aren't we?<o:p></o:p>

My maternal grandparents didn't agree on politics; Grandma is a democrat and Grandpa was a republican. They'd been married for nearly 70 years before my grandfather died, and I never heard them argue about anything as silly as platforms. They'd say their piece, and be done with it. Back to work.<o:p></o:p>

My Utah friends and I have differing opinions about President Obama's health care plan: those who are chronically ill are hopeful and positive and eager for change in the current system, regardless of which party brings it about. Those who are more conservative but don't currently have health insurance are softening toward President Obama's ideas, waiting with a jot of skepticism to see what happens. They're worried about what the public option will lead to if it ends up in the bill, and they make occasional references to Socialism and FDR. <o:p></o:p>

I'm generally supportive of the reform versions I've seen and am willing to give President Obama a chance, as are many others in my circle. Still, there are those who can only see the Hatfields and the McCoys and so line up with their traditional party. End of discussion. <o:p></o:p>

But the strangers who call into Talk of the Nation on NPR and my students and friends (conservative and liberal) and that random woman interviewed on the six o'clock news and me and my family agree on one thing: we are sick of the fighting between political parties. We're sick of the name-calling and the nose-pulling and the eye-gouging and the decades of stalemate.

And we'd all like to get out of the waiting room.
<o:p></o:p>
 Cheri Pray Earlhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-70838348351214684912009-09-07T13:08:00.000-07:002009-09-07T13:26:49.994-07:00Obama's Problems Run Deeper Than a Simple Speech to Students
Not only is the honeymoon over—the in-laws are livid.

<o:p>President Obama has a lot on his plate this week and he gets little sympathy from the people of Utah. His speech on Tuesday to the nation's school children is ruffling more feathers than he anticipated, and nobody seems to be looking forward to what the U.S. Department of Education calls an "historic" event. Parents are angry. School administrators are nervous. Students are indifferent.</o:p>

<o:p>To its credit, the Obama administration released the text of the President's speech. And from what I can see, it contains nothing overtly political or controversial. I actually liked it.</o:p>

<o:p>But to understand why so many Utahns mistrust Mr. Obama, one must recall the 'Farmington Fiasco'. About ten days ago, the principal of an elementary school in Farmington, Utah was lambasted by incensed parents and teachers after showing the controversial (and creepy) "I Pledge" video to the students in her school. In the video, celebrities are shown pledging their service to President Obama along with a few controversial political causes. Perhaps movie stars don't understand that the President serves the people? It's not the other way around.</o:p>

<o:p>The video, created back in January, wasn't sponsored by the Obama administration. And for some, it's quite an inspiring message. But for many parents in Utah it was a palpable case of political propaganda. Orwellian, even.</o:p>

<o:p>The speech the President will give to schoolchildren on Tuesday has nothing to do with that video, but the Farmington Fiasco, combined with the now-retracted curriculum sent to teachers from the DOE encouraging students to write letters about "what they could do to help the President", has left a sour taste in the mouths of Utah's parents and teachers. They loathe the President's alleged Big Government 'socialist' agenda. They don't like that he hires people like Van Jones, a professed Marxist, to work in his administration. They can't understand the moral justification for income redistribution or trillion-dollar government entitlements during a recession. They hate that he downplays or mocks conservative healthcare protesters. And they don't trust him to speak to their children. </o:p>

<o:p>Is it all unwarranted hysteria? Probably. But Mr. Obama has brought this mess on himself. </o:p>
firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-82405526451699530742009-08-24T13:09:00.000-07:002009-08-24T13:42:18.811-07:00The Debate: Mormonism and Healthcare Reform
I was on Facebook the other day and I saw something extremely unusual. A colleague of mine posted a note urging his friends to support the President's pitch for healthcare reform. [Insert shock and whispers here.]<o:p></o:p>

Why is that so unusual? Because 70% of my 520 Facebook friends live in Utah and 99% of those individuals are devout Mormons, including my note-posting friend. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are notoriously conservative, and the vast majority are opposed to President Obama's healthcare reform policies. Traditional principles of self-sufficiency and individualism, fiscal prudence and suspicion of Big Government combine to deter most Mormons in Utah from supporting a large, federal takeover of the healthcare system.

<o:p>But enter Steven Thatcher. Steven's pro-Obama Facebook note got me thinking about those few Mormons in the area that are vocally supportive of the Democrats' healthcare agenda (he's the only one I know of—and I know a lot of people). Who are these political outsiders? Are they frustrated by Utah's shameless conservatism? Does their Mormonism have anything to do with their liberal-leaning ideologies?</o:p>

<o:p>Well, Steven had answers to all those questions. He runs a blog at crownbrown.net where he often posts about his dedicated passion toward healthcare reform, frequently using his Mormon upbringing as the basis for many of his political views.</o:p>

<o:p>"Mormon theology is very interested in city and community-building—that we can't get where we're going without each other," says Steven. "This principle underlies my belief that societies are richer and, in the long run, better off by healing the medically uninsured."</o:p>

<o:p>Steven believes that a good Mormon is one that helps others in need, and that the 45 million or so Americans without health insurance are unquestionably in dire need. He insists it is society's responsibility to care for those that cannot care for themselves, and that his Mormonism only augments his petition for universal healthcare. Steven's background as a Special Ed teacher and his wife's job as a nurse also contribute to his outlook, he says.</o:p>

<o:p>Steven doesn't expect Obama's original healthcare plan to pass easily in Congress, and neither to I. Town hall meetings and angry constituents are just the tip of this sizzling iceberg, especially here in Provo. Folks here are troubled with the idea that the government may play a larger, more expensive role in America's healthcare system.</o:p>

<o:p>So do all those conservatives in Mormon Country chase Steven around with pitchforks and hymnals? Nah.</o:p>

<o:p>"I'm pleasantly surprised by how many of my LDS peers are friendly, if not supportive, of President Obama. Many seem unsure of their commitment, since Utah is the reddest state in the nation, and very likely the majority of them have conservative parents who do not support the President's agenda. And though I'm sure I am still in the significant minority in Utah with a liberal leaning, I feel comfortable and open in expressing my views."</o:p>
email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996604513139702005.post-46085337149633695872009-07-23T14:47:00.000-07:002009-07-23T17:15:32.864-07:00Waiting for Another ShoeMy close friend moved herself and her children and two dogs out of the house she's lived in for over 10 years because she couldn't sell it, and after her husband left she drowned in the mortgage. She didn't exactly flee in the night taking only what she could carry, but she did try to move her belongings in small installments and at odd hours so the neighbors wouldn't notice. I asked her why. "I'm humiliated," she said. "I've lost my house. Maybe other people don't feel this way but it's embarrassing to me." She's renting for the first time since she was a newly wed.

Another day, another good friend. I asked him if he ever planned to move from the house he raised his children in, the same house he was raised in. I was just making conversation while we walked the neighborhood, but he surprised me by answering honestly. "No . . . unless I lose it." Later he tried to poo-poo what he'd said, but I know he's worried. He's self-employed and not only has his business yellowed and withered, but over the last several years the mysterious, successive medical disasters that have visited his family would overwhelm a plague doctor. And so would his insurance payments and prescription costs.

Yet another friend is hoping the bank that holds his mortgage is so overwhelmed with foreclosures they won't notice he hasn't met his payments for the last quarter, at least not until he can figure out a way to catch up. Or find a place to move his family. He's also self-employed and I've seen two separate emails from him lately outlining ways he can, with his friends' help, defibrillate his business. Because he's desperate.

My friends move forward and hope, but they're waiting for the other shoe to drop. As am I.

My husband is also self-employed and I teach part-time at a university. Needless to say, our work is coming in teaspoons these days--and so is the money. Luckily, we rent right now. Unluckily, we may be renting much longer than we had planned but we seem to be more secure than our neighbors and friends whose homes are on the block.

My neighbors are all educated people, highly educated even. But Utah Valley is full of highly educated people who can't afford to eat and pay their mortgages and pay utility bills and make their car payments and meet their insurance premiums and sock away three months worth of salary not to mention long-term savings, and help their children pay for college and missions and weddings, and . . . so on. Some blame low salaries or zero job opportunities in a place they love and want to live in, others are entrepreneurs whose markets dried up last fall, and still others have lost their jobs. But so many more bought homes they hoped to be able to afford in maybe 3-5 years, a risky and as it turns out tragic gamble. I hear that sad story most often in Utah Valley, which has seen a steep increase in real estate prices over the last 10 years. Now what's left after the neo-1920s speculative fury are brand new developments, in the heart of Provo and all over Utah Valley, full of beautiful expensive but empty homes. Twenty-first century ghost towns.

So I shouldn't be surprised when I read that Utah County has one of the highest foreclosure rates in Utah; according to RealtyTrac (http://www.realtytrac.com/), 667 properties foreclosed in June in Utah County, which is about 1 in 207. That's a startling statistic for a predominantly LDS community whose fiscal ethic is conservative, whose mantra is "live within your means."

Sound advice, as it turns out.

Cheri Pray Earlhttp://email@example.com


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2014 BCS Championship Game
#2 Auburn Tigers vs #1 Florida State
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California
Monday, January 6, 2014, 8:30 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN
All Props and Odds Courtesy of Pinnacle
The #2 Auburn Tigers and #1 Florida State Seminoles meet Monday night for the BCS National Championship in the Rose Bowl. As with most big sporting events, many of the offshore and Vegas books offer props on both the teams and players in addition to the standard wagering on sides, totals, m0ney lines, first halves and second halves. Props can be a fun and profitable way of adding even more excitement to the game. Here are some props I like for the game with odds courtesy of Pinnacle Sportsbook.
Team to score first Auburn +140 / Florida State -165
Both of these teams have explosive offenses and after having a month off, they will be anxious to score quickly. I think this is pretty much who gets the ball first will score. Auburn at +140 is worth a play.
Will there be a score in the first five minutes of the game? Yes -108 / No -108
Again I think there will be a lot of scoring in this game, and I think it will start early. I like yes in this prop.
Will there be a defensive or special teams touchdown in the game? Yes +145 / No -170
These two teams have combined for 12 defensive or special teams touchdowns this season, so I think yes at +145 is worth a shot. Auburn got to this game partially by returning a missed field goal 109 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the game to upset Alabama 34-28.
Longest TD of the game will be over or under 60.5 yards? Over +110 / under -130
Both of these teams are certainly capable of busting off a big play at any time. I like over 60.5 yards at +110.
Will either team score 3 or more unanswered times? Yes -280 / No +230
Florida State is a 10 point favorite against Auburn. The Seminoles have won every game by 14 points or more, and the last 9 by 27 or more points. They haven't played a team of the caliber of Auburn though besides maybe Clemson. If you think FSU will blow out Auburn, then yes is the play.
Total passing yards by FSU quarterback Jameis Winston over 312.5 (-110) / under (-110)
Winston won the Heisman Trophy. He has gone over 312.5 yards passing 7 times in 13 games, including in the last two against Florida and Duke. The Auburn pass defense is #102 out of 125 FBS teams giving up 259.3 passing yards per game. I like the over in this prop.
Total Touchdown Passes by Winston Over 3 (+116) / under 3 (-136)
Winston has thrown at least 3 touchdown passes in 8 games this season, including 3 in a row. The fact that Pinnacle made it exactly 3 leads to a good possibility of a push, but I would take the chance on the over.
Total Combined Passing and Rushing Yards by Auburn QB Nick Marshall. over 235.5 +116 / under -136
Auburn leads the nation in rushing at 335.7 yards per game but are #109 in passing at 169.6 yards per game. In the Tigers' last game against Missouri in the SEC Championship, Marshall threw for 132 yards and rushed for 101 yards. Of course, Auburn running back Tre Mason rushed for over 300 yards in that game. Florida State has one of the top defenses in the country. I like under 235.5 yards for Marshall.
Those are some props I like, but I am sure you can find others to wager on as well.
Maddux Sports Is Crushing The College Football Bookmakers This Year, Click Here To Start Winning Today!


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What Is Safety Management System (SMS) On Ships?
The safety management system (SMS) is an organized system planned and implemented by the shipping companies to ensure safety of the ship and marine environment.
The safety management system (SMS) therefore ensures that each and every ship comply with the mandatory safety rules and regulations, and follow the codes, guidelines, and standards recommended by the IMO, classification societies, and concerned maritime organizations.
What is included in the safety management system (SMS)?
Every safety management policy should satisfy some of the basic functional requirements to ensure safety of every ship. They are:
- Procedure and guidelines to act in an emergency situation
- Safety and environmental protection policy
- Procedure and guidelines for reporting accidents or any other form of non-conformities
- Clear information on level of authority and lines of communication among ship crew members, and between shore and shipboard personnel
- Procedures and guidelines to ensure safe operations of ships and protection of marine environment in compliance with relevant international and flag state legislations
- Procedures for internal audits and management reviews
- Vessel details
In short, a safety management system would consists of details as to how a vessel would operate on a day to day basis, what are the procedures to be followed in case of an emergency, how are drills and trainings conducted, measures taken for safe operations, who is the designated person etc.
Safety management plan is mainly the responsibility of the owner of the vessel, or the designated person, or the person appointed by the owner. However, the ship's master and the crew are the best people to make an SMS as they know the vessel inside-out.
An SMS is divided into sections for easy reference. They are:
- General
- Safety and environmental policy
- Designated person (DP)
- Resources and personnel
- Master's responsibilities and authority
- Company's responsibility and authority
- Operational procedures
- Emergency procedures
- Reporting of accidents
- Maintenance and records
- Documentation
- Review and evaluation
These are the main parts of a basic SMS; however, the plan might vary according to the type of the vessel and the cargo carried by the same. SMS play an important role in the process of ISM code implementation on ships.


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Those who love government, love it, in part, for its authority to regulate evil private sector industries. Of course this is redundant, because as we know, all private sector endeavors are inherently evil. All private sector corporations would purposely poison, maim and/or kill all of their customers if it weren't for government regulation forbidding them from doing so.
So when our government watchdogs sniff out a company which has produced a faulty product or otherwise swindled the innocent, you can bet a hefty financial penalty will follow suit.
Yet, as we've known for years, and others are now discovering, the Obama government was not as much an industry watchdog as it was possibly the world's largest crime syndicate.
Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire reports on a Fox News story that broke just Wednesday. "Advocates for big government and progressive power are using the Justice Department to extort money from corporations," Tom Fitton of Judicial Watch told Fox. "It's a shakedown. It's corrupt, pure and simple."
So what's this all about? Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh explained the basic parameters of the slush fund scheme, and it would make the Mob proud.
Obama's Department of (In)Justice, under both Loretta Lynch and her crooked predecessor Eric Holder, would file a federal complaint or suit against a corporation they deemed was doing something they weren't supposed to be. And as they are the arbiters of everything Just, their judgment of wrong-doing was/is without question.
The thugs at Justice would then publically announce the several billion dollar fine they would impose on the evil-doers. It's now out there in the press, which satisfies the public that our government has our backs. Case closed – right? Wrongo!
Publically the case appears closed, but not for Obama crime family. Justice would then quietly approach the offending corporation and make them an offer they would be wise not to refuse. Holder or Lynch would give the company a choice to either pay the multi-billion dollar fine (in some cases) in full to the feds and/or the aggrieved victims, or take what's behind curtain number two. The second option was to pay a fraction of the fine amount, but "donate" it to one of the administration's chosen radical leftist "non-profit" organizations.
A few of these are the National Council of La Raza, National Urban League and National Community Reinvestment Coalition. The others aside, you don't get any more radical than La Raza.
Fox reports that, "So far, investigators have accounted for $3 billion paid to 'non-victim entities.'"
We often wonder just where these organizations seem to find what appears to be unlimited funding to power their perpetual protest and antagonist machines. Well, wonder no more. Our own government is conscientiously forgoing fines to the general fund, or to wronged victims, to instead funnel millions to their partners in crime at these lefty activist groups. But the democrats care about the little guy. Right!
It appears to me to be just another eminent domain scheme, but instead of the government seizing property for use by another, or to prevent something from occurring, like drilling, the federal government is seizing cash for several radical leftist activist groups. It's really no different than what Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton have been doing for decades – shaking down corporations for cash. And why would it be. Jesse and Al are just glorified community agitators, just like our former president. You do what you know – right?
But really – now that I think about – Jesse and Al have kind of gotten the shaft. They have to at least work to obtain there ill-gotten cash. These other groups don't have to lift a finger. They have the most powerful syndicate on the planet extorting on their behalf. They just sit back and watch the bags of cash roll in.
If I were Al or Jesse, I'd be deeply offended!Tags: Barack Obama fox news


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Can you hear it? Over the cries, accusations and rehashing of drama, they're there, in the distance, Bachelor in Paradise wedding bells!
During the season five finale of Bachelor in Paradise, not one, but two couples got engaged. Krystal Nielson of The Bachelor season 22 and Chris Randone of The Bachelorette season 14 are engaged to be married, as are Jordan Kimball of The Bachelorette season 14 and Jenna Cooper from The Bachelor season 22. Jenna and Jordan even have a wedding date and are talking baby names. "The names that I pick are going to be the names," Jenna said before Jordan rattled off some potential names. (Tucker was Jenna's choice earlier in the season.)
In the video above, Jenna and Jordan also detail what it's like existing as a couple after leaving Paradise. "I think I'm going to be the one to leave Florida," Jordan told us. "I think I could use a new chapter in my life, so, we're literally in talks about that right now."
"I think we're being really realistic about it too. It makes sense for our careers, where we're at right now," Jenna added about the move.
The duo set June 9th as their wedding date. Why? It's Jenna's birthday and the day they met while filming Paradise, Jordan revealed. Say it with us: "Awww!"
As for who's in their wedding party, expect plenty of familiar faces.
Meanwhile, Krystal and Chris showed off the engagement ring to E! News ("I love a man who listens," Krystal said.) and revealed they've not set a date, but they were looking forward to all the planning and spending time together.
"I'm very passionate," Chris said, "and I like to be around the woman I'm in love with." He said it's been difficult to not be able to be there for Krystal, who memorized Chris' number when they were on Paradise, in person.
"It was really hard being apart," Krystal said. "Because we spent so much time with one another in Paradise, 20 hours a day for a month, and the distance was hard, but we have each other's back."
She said she's excited to take the distance out of the equation because their lives are "so compatible."
Both of those proposals went down on the beach in Mexico, but one couple didn't fare so well. Annaliese Puccini was ready to go all in with Kamil Nicalek, and professed her love in a heartfelt speech, clearly expecting a proposal in return. Kamil admitted he wasn't there yet, and needed to take their relationship at his own pace.
His pace turned out to involve dating Annaliese for weeks after filming ended, only to then dump her on stage in front of the audience and all of their former Paradise pals during the reunion. Of all the rude things that have happened on this franchise, that was actually up there with the worst.
He explained right there on the couch that he might not be the guy for Annaliese, and while she's an amazing woman, he didn't want to string her along. Annaliese then pointed out that he had just booked them an Air BnB to stay together for the week, and he had no real explanation. Annaliese took a second to cry backstage, but then came back with the fury of a thousand dogs and bumper cars.
"I tried to break up with you..." she said, and apparently he said he wasn't ready to let her go. Chris then sent Kamil away. Good riddance!
In much happier news, Joe Amabile and Kendall Long revealed that they reconciled after their breakup during Paradise, and are now together, though long distance. To help with that long distance problem, Chris Harrison surprised Joe with an offer to join season 27 of Dancing with the Stars, and he said yes! ABC has also already announced that The Facts of Life star Nancy McKeon and Disney Channel's Milo Manheim will be dancing along with him, and sources tell E! News that singer Tinashe will also hit the dance floor. The full cast will be revealed on Wednesday, Sept. 12 on Good Morning America.
Bachelor in Paradise aired on ABC.


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Sweeping condemnation of Transport Canada's approach to aviation safety
May 6, 2008, Ottawa - In the rush to hand-off responsibility for air safety to the airlines themselves, Transport Canada failed to assess the risks inherent in this approach and maintain safety.
May 6, 2008 By Carey Fredericks
May 6, 2008, Ottawa – In the rush to hand-off responsibility for
air safety to the airlines themselves, Transport Canada failed to assess the
risks inherent in this approach and maintain safety during this transition to Safety Management Systems (SMS), according to the Auditor General of Canada.
The Auditor General also found that Transport Canada does not know what
is the appropriate mix of proper safety oversight of the industry and how many
aviation inspectors are required to deliver it.
"Transport Canada has thrown caution to the wind when it comes to safety.
For the past 3 years, Transport Canada has reduced safety oversight in favour
of giving responsibility to the industry itself without any knowledge of the
risks involved for the travelling public or ways to mitigate them," said
Captain Greg Holbrook, chairman of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association.
Sheila Fraser also found that Transport Canada has failed to measure the
impact on safety of the shift of resources to SMS.
"Without understanding the risks, Transport Canada cancelled key
oversight programs like the National Audit Program, and canceled enforcement
actions on serious infractions of safety regulations in order to implement
SMS," Holbrook said.
Sheila Fraser found that Transport Canada's aviation inspectorate of
licenced pilots and engineers has declined by 8% even though the Department
lacks a national human resources plan to ensure adequate staffing, recruitment
and training of safety inspectors.
In her sweeping condemnation of Transport Canada's implementation of
Safety Management Systems, the Auditor General found these shortcomings:
– 15% of Transport Canada inspectors have not received initial basic inspector training and an additional 15% have not received recurrent training;
– There is no national data base tracking inspectors qualifications;
– Transport Canada has not identified how many inspectors and engineers it needs with what skills.
The Auditor General's review of Transport Canada's aviation safety
oversight did not examine the second main pillar of SMS – delegation of
licencing and oversight to industry lobby groups.
The first such delegation occurred in January 2003 when Transport Canada
handed off licencing and safety oversight to the Canadian Business Aviation
Association – a lobby group for business aircraft operators.
A startling review of the CBAA's Safety Management System has found that
business aircraft like the corporate plane that crashed last month near
Wainwright, Alberta have operated without any independent safety oversight for
more than five years, according to documents obtained via the Access to
Information Program.
The March 2007 audit found its safety program, known as a Safety
Management System or SMS, "does not provide any planned or structured
oversight of private operators".
The Transport Canada audit and related documents which have only now come
to light also found that the CBAA:
– does not collect and analyze safety data and risk factors
– does not punish private operators for safety violations so there are no
consequences for violating the rules
– lacks procedures for suspending or cancelling an operator certificate
in the event of serious safety problems
– does not track its own safety program to ensure it meets government
The CBAA does not have a team of aviation inspectors which travels to audit individual operators of business aircraft, as Transport Canada once did.
Instead, the business aircraft operators contract the audit service from a
private supplier, thereby eliminating third party independence in the audit
process altogether.
Transport Canada will soon delegate safety oversight to lobby groups in the helicopter sector and airports.
"These findings make a mockery of Transport Canada assertion that Safety
Management Systems are an additional layer of safety and their insistence that
this is not a shift to self-regulation of aviation safety," said Holbrook.
Recent revelations of widespread safety violations and maintenance
problems among airlines in the United States and concerns that The Federal
Aviation Administration – the US aviation regulator – has become too cozy with
the industry should give Canadians pause because Canada's regulator is giving
away it responsibility for safety to the industry itself.
What is SMS?
According to Marc Grégoire, Transport Canada's ADM for safety and
security: "SMS is very much based on a partnership between the operator and
the regulator…"(1)
It's a partnership deal in which the airlines and other aviation licence
holders take more responsibility for safety. Determination of acceptable risk
levels is handed off to the airlines which decide what is safe enough for the
traveling public.
In turn Transport Canada agrees to back off direct regulatory oversight
and in some cases delegate licencing and supervision to industry lobby groups.
Transport Canada has already killed key oversight programs and closed
enforcement proceedings for companies with an SMS as incentives to encourage
In addition, Transport Canada has put in place a number of "incentives"
to encourage the industry to self-report violation of safety regulations.
The deal features a "get out of jail" free provision: airlines which
self-report violations are guaranteed immunity from Transport Canada
enforcement. The airlines are supposed to fix safety problems themselves, with
little intervention from the regulator.
Amendments to the Aeronautics Act which are currently before Parliament
in Bill C-7 would ensure that any violations or problems that are reported to
government will never be available to the public or media for public scrutiny
under the Access to Information Act.
Even thought these "incentives" are intended to encourage operators to
provide Transport Canada more safety information these data will be unverified
because TC no longer has enough inspectors to check-up as they once did.
Under SMS, Transport Canada inspectors become desk-bound system auditors,
inspecting more paperwork than airplanes and relying on information supplied
by the industry.
(1) House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities Transcript, June 15, 2006.
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- Barry Rempel Named Chairman of the Canadian Airports Council
- Bombardier announces strategic marketing agreement with Ultimate Resort Luxury Destination Club


text:
Interviewer Effects in Standardized Surveys
Concerns about interviewer effects in interviewer-mediated surveys have accompanied survey research for a long time. As interviewers are involved in nearly all aspects of the survey implementation process, they can affect almost all types of survey errors, including sampling error, nonresponse error, measurement error, and, to a lesser extent, error resulting from the coding and editing of survey responses. Building on the existing literature, this survey guideline provides an overview of interviewer effects and their estimation. It consists of two parts: first, an introductory text using the total survey error (TSE) paradigm as a theoretical framework to provide a general overview of interviewer effects; second, a brief introduction to calculating interviewer effects using multilevel analyses.
Ackermann-Piek, D., Schröder, J., Kluge, R., & Bieber, I. (2019). Interviewer Effects in Standardized Surveys. Mannheim, GESIS - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (GESIS- Survey Guidelines). DOI: 10.15465/gesis-sg_en_027
Related Survey Guidelines and Materials:
Schröder J., Schmiedeberg C. & Castiglioni L. (2016). The effect of interviewers' motivation and attitudes on respondents' consent to contact secondary respondents in a multi-actor design, Survey Methods: Insights from the Field. Retrieved from https://surveyinsights.org/?p=7587,https://doi.org/10.13094/SMIF-2016-00005


text:
Improving your web sites could be challenging because you have to improve your backend code significantly to ensure your pages function much faster. On the other hand, there are ways to improve your website's performance, without having to modify anything at all in the background. By means of the Website Acceleration Tools, included in the Site Control Panel, you could help your web–sites stream and operate faster than in the past. This will not only reward your users (everyone likes the website they're visiting to open fast), but will even help your web site rank higher in search engine results.
Working with the Website Acceleration Tools is really effortless. Only log into your Site Control Panel and check out precisely how each website accelerator program functions.
RAM–storing as a substitute for database calls
The Memcached system is fantastic for improving website streaming speeds by memorizing the database data that is requested from your site visitors. It is a robust distributed memory object caching platform, which allows for info and objects to be stored within the RAM as an alternative for getting querried whenever an individual opens a website.
This system is great for your database–loaded websites or apps in which your visitors invest a lot of time searching and reading content. Memcached is found in the advanced resources section of the Site Control Panel.
RAM–storing as an alternative for HTTP requests
Utilizing the Varnish web accelerator tool integrated into the Site Control Panel, you can make your site webpages run quicker for your website visitors. All of the adjustments are done using an easy to use interface, without the need to produce any kind of direct corrections to the back–end code of the site.
Varnish is definitely an HTTP accelerator that can help all pages run more quickly by storing them inside the server memory. This way, after a page has been opened by a customer once, it doesn't have to be delivered from the hosting server anymore, which reduces loading time and then speeds up your web pages. It's been tested that Varnish commonly increases delivery times with a factor of 300 – 1000x.
Construct scalable web applications effortlessly
Node.js comes with a contemporary development platform for building adaptable apps and sites in record time. It could be used for almost everything – from dealing with API calls, streaming data files and also parsing emails to transforming photographs, audio files, online videos and office documents.
It's powered by the Google V8 JavaScript engine and also makes use of an event–driven, non–blocking I/O pattern that makes it lightweight and useful. In addition, Node.js has got a large supporting community that creates constant improvements to the program and is constantly ready to offer advice.


text:
Our Patron Saint
About Saint Anthony
Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1195 and from an early age wished to become a missionary. He joined the Franciscan order in 1220 and was sent to Morocco, but ill health forced his return to Europe. In order to attend a general chapter of the Franciscans, he visited Assisi in 1221, when Francis was still alive.
He then taught theology in Italy and travelled throughout France, and later Italy again, preaching (he was the foremost preacher in his day) and furthering the work of his order. He died near Padua in 1231. Here the Basilica del Santo was built to house his relics, and this remains an important pilgrimage site today. Anthony was canonized only eleven months after his death, the fastest canonization in Church history. For his learning and rhetorical gifts, he was in 1946 proclaimed a Doctor of the Church.
Several legends are associated with Anthony, some resembling legends about Francis. One story has him preaching so eloquently on the beach at Rimini, in Italy, that the fish stick their heads out of the sea to hear him. Statues of Anthony as a young Franciscan holding a lily (of purity) and also the infant Jesus (sometimes sitting on a book) are common in churches throughout the world. This portrayal refers to an occasion when a fellow friar believed he saw the child Jesus in the saints' presence. A nineteenth-century charity, St. Anthony's Bread, dedicated to feeding the poor, is still active today, particularly in the Third World. Hence, the saint is sometimes shown distributing bread.
Anthony is popularly invoked for the recovery of lost articles – a tradition deriving from a story that a novice, having borrowed his prayer book without permission, had a frightening vision and so returned it immediately.
Prayer for Something Lost
"Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony come on down (insert lost item here) is lost and cannot be found."
Prayer to Saint Anthony of Padua
O' Holy Saint Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (inset your request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle; even so, you are the Saint of Miracles. O 'gentle and loving Saint Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms; and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours. Amen.


text:
News Segment
November 14, 2005
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Having racked up an improbably successful reunion tour this year, Motley Crue is heading back on the road in 2006.
The hard rock quartet will close out the year with a December 31 New Year's Eve show in Auburn Hills, Mich., and then resume touring February 10 in Columbus, Ga.
The trek will focus on secondary markets such as Evansville, Ind., Roanoke, Va., and Sioux Falls, S.D., where it will wrap up on April 1. It will also visit Lincoln, Neb., on March 31, where drummer Tommy Lee filmed his recent reality series, "Tommy Lee Goes to College."
Afterward, Motley Crue plans to begin work on its first new studio album since 2000's "New Tattoo." A handful of new songs were included on the compilation "Red, White & Crue," which debuted in February at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
The band's 2005 roadwork has grossed more than $33 million from 84 shows reported to Billboard Boxscore, 40 of them sell-outs. Saturday (November 19), Motley Crue begins a swing through Japan and Australia that also includes a December 14 show in Honolulu.
Here are Motley Crue's 2006 tour dates:
February 10: Columbus, Ga. (Columbus Civic Center)
February 11: Ft. Myers, Fla. (Germain Arena)
February 12: Columbia, S.C. (Colonial Center)
February 14: Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Wachovia Arena)
February 15: Baltimore (1st Mariner Arena)
February 17: Erie, Pa. (Erie Civic Center)
February 19: Dayton, Ohio (Nutter Center)
February 21: Ft. Wayne, Ind. (Memorial Coliseum)
February 22: Evansville, Ind. (Roberts Stadium)
February 24: Rockford, Ill. (Metro Center)
February 25: Kalamazoo, Mich. (Wings Stadium)
February 26: La Crosse, Wis. (La Crosse Center)
March 6: Lewiston, Maine (Central Maine Civic Center)
March 7: Springfield, Mass. (MassMutual Center)
March 8: Providence, R.I. (Dunkin Donuts Center)
March 11: Richmond, Va. (Coliseum)
March 12: Charleston, W. Va. (Civic Center)
March 13: Roanoke, Va. (Civic Center)
March 15: Atlanta (Philips Arena)
March 24: Houston (Toyota Center)
March 25: Jackson, Miss. (Jackson Coliseum)
March 26: Baton Rouge, La. (River Center)
March 28: Huntsville, Ala. (Von Braun Center)
March 30: Tulsa, Okla. (Convention Center)
March 31: Lincoln, Neb. (Pershing Center)
April 1: Sioux Falls, S.D. (Sioux Falls Arena)
Courtesy of www.billboard.com


text:
Law360 has ranked Haynes and Boone, LLP as a Top 10 law firm for minority attorneys and minority equity partners. The 2018 Diversity Snapshot surveyed more than 300 law firms and highlighted the firms who met or surpassed the national average of minority representation for their size brackets.
Among firms of 300 to 599 lawyers, Haynes and Boone ranked 8 for having 10.43 percent minority equity partners. Additionally, the firm tied for 6th for its 19.5 percent of minority attorneys.
Diversity and inclusion are core values at Haynes and Boone. The firm seeks to attract, retain and promote individuals who reflect the global marketplace, the firm's clients and the communities it serves. Haynes and Boone further strives to create an environment in which all individuals at every level, have the opportunity to succeed professionally.
The Diversity Law Institute, a nonprofit international association committed to inclusion in the legal professional and justice systems in the United States and Canada, recognized Haynes and Boone for the firm's "excellence, involvement and efforts" to further diversity within the legal profession at the 2017 Diversity Law Institute Summit & Awards. In 2017, Vault ranked Haynes and Boone in the Top 20 in the United States for diversity.
To read the full Law360 article about the best firms for minority equity partners, click here.
To read the full Law360 article about the best firms for minority attorneys, click here.


text:
Notify me!
Recent Posts
Stack Exchange MQ Q&A
- Connecting to MQ from Java using SSL fails with error MQJE001: Completion Code '2', Reason '2397' – stackoverflow.com
- IBM MQ call failed with compcode '2' ('MQCC_FAILED') reason '2009' ('MQRC_CONNECTION_BROKEN') – stackoverflow.com
- Connecting to ibm MQ via liberty server config failed due to SSL handshake issue – stackoverflow.com
- Issue with context data – stackoverflow.com
- How to set MQOO_INPUT_EXCLUSIVE option for IBM MQ Connection Factory in Camel Consumer with Spring boot? – stackoverflow.com
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Category Archives: MQMFT
Command Server Gotcha
The title of my last post, Client-based runmqsc gotcha, was a bit of a misnomer. Although I stumbled onto it using runmqsc client, the root cause of the issue really lies with the Command Server. That means anything that drives … Continue reading
MQ V8 Certification
Would it surprise you to know there's an MQ V8 System Administration certification? Normally I run down and take the test as soon as it's available but this one has been out since January 14th and somehow I missed the … Continue reading
Posted in IBMMQ, MQ AMS, MQMFT, News, Security, WMQ ESE, WMQ Security Tagged Admin, Best Practices, certification, IBM MQ, MQ AMS, WebSphere MQ, WebSphere MQ Security, WMQ, WMQ FTE 24 Comments
Configuration backups: the forgotten WMQ security control
Update: IBM has reconsidered and has announced that dmpmqcfg will be fixed as a defect! Subscribe if you would like a notification when the fix is announced. But please do read the post, especially if you are using amqoamd for … Continue reading
Posted in Fail, General, IBMMQ, IIB, MQ AMS, MQMFT, Security, WMQ ESE, WMQ Security Tagged Best Practices, commentary, IBM, News, security, WebSphere MQ Security, WMQ, WMQ Security Leave a comment
Administering FTE from stand-alone explorer
Rich Cumbers posted a mini how-to describing the procedure to install the WMQ File Transfer Edition plug-in into the stand-alone WebSphere MQ Explorer. Should be very useful.
Posted in IBMMQ, MQMFT, News Tagged Hursley, IBM, News, WebSphere MQ, WMQ, WMQ FTE Leave a comment
The Deep Queue – Episode #8: The good news and the bad news
This episode of The Deep Queue contains news about the new MSoT stand-alone WMQ Explorer SupportPac, yet another payment processor data breach, updates to some items we've covered in the past and breaking news about a WebSphere MQ interim fix … Continue reading
Posted in DeepQueue, Errata, IBMMQ, MQMFT, Podcast, Publications, WMQ Security Tagged DeepQueue, IBM, News, Podcast, WebSphere MQ, WebSphere MQ Security, WMQ, WMQ FTE, WMQ Security 1 Comment
MSoT: Stand-alone MQ Explorer download
More good news for WMQ users! WMQ Explorer is now available as a Category 3 SupportPac, which means it is free, can be downloaded separate from the install media and is supported for customers with a valid WebSphere MQ license. … Continue reading
Posted in IBMMQ, MQMFT, News Tagged News, WebSphere MQ, WMQ, WMQ FTE Leave a comment
WMQ File Transfer Edition launched
I've been haunting the Vienna MQ list server for long enough to have seen the topic of moving files over MQSeries, and later WebSphere MQ, raise it's ugly head on many occasions. I say "ugly" because creating a general-purpose program … Continue reading
WMQ meta news
Good to see Ben Mann has a new blog. You may know Ben as the Product Manager for WebSphere MQ but his blog is all about the new Managed File Transfer product being developed in Hursley Labs. For years people … Continue reading
Posted in IBMMQ, MQMFT Tagged colleague, development, File Transfer, FTE, FTP, Hursley, WebSphere MQ, WMQ, WMQ FTE Leave a comment


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What is CHIP?
CHIP is short for the Children's Health Insurance Program - Pennsylvania's program to provide health insurance to all uninsured children and teens who are not eligible for or enrolled in Medical Assistance. There are a lot of reasons kids might not have health insurance - maybe their parents lost a job, don't have health insurance at work or maybe it just costs too much. Whatever the reason, CHIP may be able to help. All families need to to is apply today.
Okay, so what's Cover All Kids?
Cover All Kids is the initiative that lead to the expansion of the CHIP program. With Cover All Kids, all uninsured children and teens in the commonwealth who are not eligible for Medical Assistance now have access to affordable, comprehensive health-care coverage. Now, no family makes too much money for CHIP. It's the same great program, now available to all families. All families need to to is apply today.
I thought CHIP was only for low-income families?
Parents may think their kids can't get CHIP because they make too much money. Not true! CHIP has expanded to cover all uninsured kids and teens up to age 19 who are not eligible for Medical Assistance. No family makes too much money for CHIP because there is no income limit.


text:
IS399 Cuban History and Culture Accepting Applicants
IS399 Cuban History and Culture is now accepting student applications. This three credit hour summer course will allow SIUE students to visit the University of Havana next June from the fourth through the fourteenth. The course will look at the politics, history, and geography of Cuba focusing on events from the 1959 revolution until present.
"You think about where Cuba's located which is just 90 miles from the US, but it's a whole different world," Wendy Shaw shared, "it's developed over the last fifty years with a completely different social economic system."
Shaw and Larry LaFond will be the first faculty to teach the course, having been chosen in part due to their experiences with the Cuban initiative so far, as well as their individual areas of expertize. In coming years the plan is to offer the course with a number of different professors who can offer unique experiences for students. The IS nature of the course is specifically designed to allow students from all across CAS to benefit from the course, carries no prerequisite requirements, and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.
"We're envisioning a nice mix in this group," said LaFond.
Participants will be expected to cover material on Cuba prior to the trip to help ground them within the subject matter. While in Cuba students will visit various historic sites, cultural hot spots, and museums, along with attending University of Havana lectures.
"This is not a vacation plan and you're not going to get a superficial look at things," Shaw shared, "We want a rich educational experience from this."
The cost of the trip is $3200 on top of regular summer tuition. Students will also be permitted to enroll in independent studies within their respective departments for an additional three credit hours to allowing for full summer enrollment. The application deadline for this course is December 1.
Filed Under: Misc


text:
Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — Big sodas can stay on the menu in the Big Apple after New York state's highest court refused Thursday to reinstate the city's first-of-its-kind size limit on sugary drinks. But city officials suggested they might be willing to revisit the supersize-soda ban.
The Court of Appeals found that the city Board of Health overstepped its bounds by imposing a 16-ounce cap on sugary beverages sold in restaurants, delis, movie theaters, stadiums and street carts. The appointed board tread on the policy-making turf of the elected City Council, the court said.
"By choosing among competing policy goals, without any legislative delegation or guidance, the board engaged in lawmaking," the court wrote in a majority opinion. "… Its choices raise difficult, intricate and controversial issues of social policy."
Indeed, debate over the soda size cap pitted health officials who called it an innovative anti-obesity tool against critics who considered it unfair to businesses and paternalistic toward consumers. Even a Court of Appeals judge, during arguments earlier this month, wondered aloud whether regulators would target triple-decker burgers next.
The American Beverage Association, which led the legal fight against the measure, welcomed Thursday's ruling against a measure it said would have "limited New Yorkers' freedom of choice." Curbing obesity should start "with education — not laws and regulation," spokesman Christopher Gindlesperger said.
But city leaders signaled they might not give up the fight. Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city was "actively reviewing all of its options to protect the health and well-being of our communities"; officials wouldn't immediately specify what those might be. The city hasn't said whether it plans to try to appeal, but the case doesn't raise federal issues that would make it a likely choice for the Supreme Court.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said in a statement that the big-soda ban would get a hearing if it were brought up in the council. It's unclear how any such measure might fare in a vote, as she and numerous other council members oppose it.
New Yorkers, meanwhile, greeted Thursday's ruling with mixed feelings.
"I think it's up to the individual" what size of soft drink to buy, said Constance Jong, a cashier in her 20s.
But Hazel Plunkett, a 51-year-old fundraiser for a public health group, was disappointed that the regulation remains blocked.
"I don't mind the controversy over it. It's got to get people's attention," she said.
Soda has been under fire for years from health advocates, who say the beverages are uniquely harmful because people don't realize how much sugar they're guzzling. A 21-ounce Coke, McDonald's medium size, has 200 calories and 55 grams of sugar, for instance.
Amid the publicity, U.S. soda sales have dropped for nearly a decade. But consumption of other sugary beverages, such as sports drinks and energy drinks, has grown.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the soda ban a signal piece of his assertive public-health agenda.
"Due to today's unfortunate ruling, more people in New York City will die from obesity-related impacts," he said in a statement Thursday.
A trial court struck down the measure days before it was to take effect last year. Some eateries had already swapped out cups and adjusted menus to comply, and some proprietors decided to stick with the changes. But others were glad Thursday that they hadn't.
"I thought it was ridiculous" — and unfair, said midtown Manhattan cafe manager Young Shin, 30. The measure would have applied to his workplace but not to bars and groceries under state regulation, including 7-Eleven, the home of the Big Gulp.
Lawmakers and health advocates around the country have proposed soda taxes in recent years, but none has succeeded. A California measure that would have slapped warning labels on sodas was recently defeated.
Meanwhile, Coke and Pepsi have rolled out smaller cans and bottles, some as small as 7.5 ounces.
Klepper reported from Albany. Associated Press writers Candice Choi and Rachelle Blidner contributed to this report.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
When they restructured the old hayloft, the Nannetti family created three individual rooms all with a bathroom with shower and independent heating; great care is paid to the rustic furnishing that characterises the house.
The Rimessa 2 twin room is on the first floor.
All the rooms can make use of a shared kitchen.
• Shared kitchen
• Mini-bar in room
• Guided tours of the farm
• Mountain bike hire
• Trekking in the vineyards
• Farm product tasting


text: Wu Tsang (born 1982) is one of the most distinguished performers, artists and filmmakers of her generation. She studied at UCLA, Interdisciplinary Studio MFA, Los Angeles and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and lives and works in Berlin, Los Angeles and New York. Her works have been presented at art institutions, including 2016 Berlin Biennial, Julia Stoschek Collection (Berlin, Düsseldorf), Tate Modern (London), Stedelijk Museum (Amsterdam), MCA (Chicago), Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), amongst others.


text:
We obtain building permits, land development decisions, and change local spatial management plans. We represent Clients in expropriation proceedings, and apply for concessions and licenses in the sphere of an economic activity (e.g. permit for performance of the occupation of the road transport operator, community licence to undertake international transport) as well as within private interests (permit for weapons). We obtain permits for dangerous animals and inform about safe breeding conditions required by law (e.g. some species of spiders and snakes).
We seek claims for relatively high lump-sum compensation for delayed or cancelled flight and inform about other entitlements in such cases (e.g. opportunity to purchase a meal at the expense of an airline). On special Client's request, we seek refunds of costs of not provided meals. We maintain the entire communication not only with a carrier, but also in case of the lack of response from the airline, we represent the Client before the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority. We look after the proper course of initiated administrative proceedings while representing the Client before administrative courts.
Benefits from cooperating with Mariański Group:
- We ensure professional legal support in administrative and court and administrative proceedings,
- We seek the recovery of costs of not provided meals and drinks in case of delayed or cancelled flight,
- We maintain the entire communication with public administrative authorities and focus on the goal indicated by the Client,
- We have a creative approach to the presented expectations (e.g. we obtain a permit for weapons for collection purposes),
- We are constantly at your disposal even in the most unusual cases.


text:
Giveaway | Vera Bradley Hanging Travel Organizer (ENDED)
Giveaway | Vera Bradley Hanging Travel Organizer
You may have missed the giveaway, but you can still buy the organizer by clicking: Vera Bradley Hanging Organizer
(ENDED) Enter the giveaway below to win one of four Vera Bradley Hanging Organizers! These hanging organizers are great for traveling all of your toiletries and/or jewelry while on the road.
- Metal hanger tucks away
- Top zippered, quilted compartment plus two taffeta-lined, clear plastic compartments
- Gusseted, plastic-lined bottom compartment opens wide when unzipped
- Easy-tie closure and two carry handles
Care Tips
Wipe clean with a damp cloth.
Tune in to TripKnowledgy for tons of great giveaways and the latest travel tech reviews!
My name is Spencer Howard, and I'm an Concierge/Host/Drunk who has spent the majority of the past 9 years on the road, hopping from hotel to hotel for months at a time. Through trial and mostly error, I've become what the airport security line calls an "Expert Traveler." (It makes my Mother proud) But for those of us who go beyond occasional puddle jumper and enter the world of Hotel Homebody, it takes more than a complimentary mint and a flat screen TV to warm the cockles of our hearts. I hope you have insurance, because I'm gonna be throwing some knowledge bombs at your face. **Feel free to contact me with your questions about Travel Gadgets & Gear**
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