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Madam Speaker, Mr. Senate President, Madam Chief Justice, honorable members of the House, Senate and Executive Council, my fellow citizens:
New Hampshire stands at the threshold of a bright new future. We are as well positioned as any state to lead the country in innovative economic growth that will lift all of our people and define the 21st century.
In recent years, our people and our state have faced immense challenges. The recession has left no family, no business, no community unaffected.
And though there are still challenges to address, today we can say confidently that New Hampshire has emerged in a better position than most other states.
But we cannot sit back and wait for the innovation economy to develop.
We must lead the way.
Now is the time for New Hampshire to choose our own path forward, to build the foundation for a stronger, more innovative economic future that harnesses the greatness of our people and allows all of our citizens to succeed.
Today I present to you a balanced budget - with no income or sales tax - that is fiscally responsible and focused on innovation, economic growth, and creating good jobs to support a strong middle class.
A budget that begins rebuilding, based on the priorities that are critical for an innovative future: ensuring that all of our people can receive an education and develop skills for good jobs, attracting and growing cutting-edge businesses, and sustaining our high quality of life by keeping our communities and people safe and healthy.
It is a budget that reflects what I have heard from communities, families and businesses across New Hampshire, and from so many of you here in this room.
But it is also a budget that recognizes that we cannot address all of our challenges all at once in these uncertain economic times. We must still make difficult choices to protect our priorities while living within our means.
Let me take a moment to thank our dedicated department heads and all of our state employees, who have worked so hard to serve our citizens well in difficult times.
In preparing this budget, we cut agency budget requests by more than 500 million general fund dollars, keeping general fund spending seven percent below fiscal year 2008 for fiscal year 2014.
At the same time, our budget includes only two percent baseline revenue growth in the first year of the biennium and 1.9 percent in the second. These conservative projections were made with the guidance of our Consensus Revenue Estimating Panel, a nonpartisan group of experts who have volunteered their time to help ensure that our revenue estimates are as accurate and reliable as possible - to members of the panel, thank for your service. Revenues are also reduced moving forward as we begin to reverse the significant tax increase made in the last biennium on our hospitals.
In addition to slow revenue growth, we were forced to address a deficit for fiscal year 2013, caused by shortfalls in Medicaid Enhancement Tax revenues, as well as unrealistic saving estimates for the implementation of Medicaid Managed Care and the changes to the retirement system. This budget balances 2013 through the use of surplus dedicated fund revenue and by working with agencies to continue to delay spending and increase their lapses.
Slow revenue growth made the task of balancing the budget more difficult.
But by making tough, fiscally responsible choices, and by encouraging new innovations to make government more efficient, we have been able to balance the budget while making critical investments in public safety, higher education, economic development, and health care.
The budget I present to you today puts New Hampshire back on the path to a strong and innovative economic future.
First and foremost, to attract the innovative businesses and good jobs that will drive our economy forward, we must ensure that our workforce is the strongest in the nation by making higher education more affordable and more accessible for all of our people.
Nearly every business I have visited has told me that a skilled workforce is critical to their ability to grow. Many are ready to hire right now but are having trouble identifying the workers they need. Others have partnered with our colleges and universities to build a workforce pipeline themselves, with numerous innovative programs across our state.
The Energy Services and Technology program at Lakes Region Community College is giving students hands-on training for jobs in a rapidly expanding field.
The partnership between Great Bay Community College and Albany/Safran in Rochester helped attract these high-tech manufacturers to our state, where they will create 400 or more good jobs.
The dynamic Regional Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Keene State is giving students experience with some of the most innovative technologies available today, such as three-dimensional printing and high-precision cutting devices.
And I have visited businesses throughout the state, like Hypertherm in Lebanon, Globe Manufacturing in Pittsfield, and Nanocomp in Merrimack, that need workers with the right skills.
New Hampshire will not be able to help these businesses grow or attract new companies if we do not demonstrate that we are serious building the skilled, educated workforce that businesses need to compete.
The drastic cuts made to higher education in the last budget have hurt our ability to train a highly skilled workforce and to give our people the bright future they deserve.
Our students and families face one of the highest in-state tuition rates for public universities in the country. The price for classes at our community colleges is also prohibitively expensive for many working students.
And I have too often heard stories like the one told to me by a woman in Londonderry, whose daughter went to UMass Lowell because Massachusetts' out-of-state tuition is lower than New Hampshire's in-state tuition.
That is unacceptable.
We need to make it possible for our middle-class families to compete and share in the American dream. Ever-rising tuition rates can force many families to avoid even considering New Hampshire's public colleges and universities, hurting our competiveness. If we hope to encourage job creation and innovative economic growth, we cannot keep losing our young people or fail to develop our workforce.
That's why our budget substantially restores the cuts made to our community college and university systems. The University System will receive an increase of $20 million in fiscal year 14 with an additional increase of $15 million in fiscal year 15, bringing the system back to 90 percent of where it was before the cuts.
And we have not only fully restored funding for the Community College System in the first year, but added $3 million in the second.
In exchange, the leadership of both the community college and university systems have assured me they will go to their boards with a plan to freeze tuition for the next two years.
We also recognize the important role our private colleges play in attracting and keeping new workers. This budget includes $4 million in UNIQUE funds to support need-based scholarships that can be used at both public and private colleges.
But ensuring that our workforce is ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow also means that at each step along the way, New Hampshire's young people must be developing the skills, knowledge, and innovative thinking needed in a 21st century economy.
This budget protects our state's commitment to our public K-12 education system by fully funding the existing Adequacy formula. And in the second year of the biennium, this budget fully funds the building aid formula and increases catastrophic aid and tuition & transportation assistance to local schools.
In addition, this budget will help encourage innovation by providing funding to allow new charter schools to open and to allow existing charter schools to accept new enrollees.
At the same time, these charter schools have a responsibility to live within their budget, and so this budget sets new parameters and provides authority for the Department of Education to prioritize new charter school approval to underserved communities.
To help pay for these investments, this budget repeals the voucher tax credit that would have diverted millions of dollars in taxpayer money to private and religious schools with no accountability.
Our budget also seeks to bring together teachers, local schools, higher education and the business community to ensure a robust and rigorous education for all of our students, especially in the STEM fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.
In an innovation economy, building skills in these fields is more important than ever and can lead to higher paying and more stable careers. We need to support engaging programs and curricula to help students understand how far they can go and how much they can accomplish if they stick with STEM education.
New Hampshire is the birthplace of one such inspiring program, FIRST Robotics, which has awakened in thousands of students an interest in science, math and technology while teaching them the valuable life skills of teamwork, collaboration and innovative thinking. This budget includes $200,000 in incentive grants for communities to launch robotics teams, because FIRST should be an opportunity available to every New Hampshire student.
Just as we need to prepare our workforce for 21st century jobs, we need to lay the groundwork and provide the support innovative businesses need to create those jobs.
Our economy is changing rapidly with growing sectors like clean energy, biotech, and IT. There are many businesses looking to expand or move to New Hampshire; existing businesses who could use targeted tax credits to develop new products; entrepreneurs who, with just a little guidance, are ready to turn a creative idea into a burgeoning business.
I have seen these stories throughout New Hampshire, and I know that our business community is ready to lead the way to a more innovative economic future - if their elected officials are ready to stand by them.
This budget doubles funding for our Research & Development tax credit to help businesses invest in new technologies that can lead to growth and job creation. The Senate has already taken action on this important measure, unanimously passing a bill that will double the R&D tax credit and make it permanent, creating more predictability for businesses. I encourage my friends in the House to do the same and make this measure one of the first bills I sign into law as Governor.
This budget also funds business incubators, like the Innovation Research Center and the Green Launching Pad at UNH, which have helped numerous entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. Incubators can provide needed early funding and infrastructure, but most importantly, they offer basic support and advice to guide new businesses through the most treacherous early stages - leading to stronger companies and more jobs here in New Hampshire.
This budget also recognizes that investing in travel and tourism promotion pays dividends for workers, businesses, and our economy, and so it provides for an increase in travel and tourism funding over the next two years.
Our budget also begins rebuilding our stagnating economic development efforts and revitalizing our International Trade Office to provide businesses with the technical support they need to compete. Let's help our businesses, both new and established, enter new markets. Let's make New Hampshire a leader in selling our services and goods around the world.
With these measures, and your ideas, together we can make New Hampshire an innovative economic leader.
Our economic success, however, will depend on our efforts to maintain our high quality of life as one of the safest states, healthiest states and most livable states in the nation. We cannot walk away from our responsibility to provide the basic services that are critical to the overall well-being of our families, our businesses, and our communities.
This includes ensuring that all of our citizens are able to live healthy, productive lives with access to quality, affordable health care.
Our state continues to experience some of the most expensive health insurance rates in the entire nation. Too many of our citizens are unable to access basic, preventive care, forcing them to wait for an emergency before seeking help.
But with the federal Affordable Care Act now the law of the land, we will have new tools to help reduce costs and improve the health of our citizens, while adding $2.5 billion to our economy.
An independent study by The Lewin Group concludes that these funds will help thousands of individuals and families access health coverage, create an estimated 700 jobs, and save Granite Staters more than $92 million.
Uncompensated care at our hospitals' emergency rooms increases costs for everyone. By moving forward with Medicaid expansion, we can reduce that uncompensated care and save the average New Hampshire household an estimated $145 per year.
The federal government will provide 100 percent of the funding for the first three years and no less than 90 percent thereafter, and the federal government has historically fulfilled its commitments to the Medicaid program. Our budget includes Medicaid expansion; it is the right thing to do for our economy, for our state's finances and for our families.
As both Democratic and Republican governors around the nation have said, it's a good deal, one that will, among other things, allow us to save money in existing state programs, while increasing state revenues.
Under federal law, people insured through Medicaid expansion will receive coverage parity for mental health and substance abuse treatment. This parity is smart and it is right, and so this budget provides for mental health and substance abuse treatment coverage for our existing Medicaid population as well.
As we implement the Affordable Care Act, which guarantees coverage to all of our people, regardless of preexisting conditions, we must also re-examine some of our existing efforts and programs. As part of that effort, this budget includes a commission to consider what type of Retirees Health Program we should offer to new employees in the future.
And as we undertake Medicaid expansion, we should use this as an opportunity to work together - hospitals, providers, insurers, state government and patients - to find new, innovative ways to improve our health care system and health care outcomes for all of our patients.
But to maximize the potential of expansion and our health care dollars, this budget continues the implementation of Medicaid Managed Care. In order for New Hampshire to move forward, providers must continue to innovate and assist the state with managing care for our residents. Our providers must take a leadership role in Medicaid care management. Now, more than ever we need their cooperation.
I also recognize the concerns inherent with such a big change, and in the next several weeks, I will establish a commission to advise me on implementation to make sure we are protecting patients and providers.
And we need to reexamine the massive tax increase imposed by the last budget on New Hampshire's hospitals. This has understandably put a strain on their ability to maintain their operations, and has caused a delay in implementation of Medicaid Managed Care. And it has led, in part, to the deficit we face in 2013.
Our budget begins to restore those funds by reducing Medicaid Enhancement Tax revenues to the general fund and provider payments, making more funding available for uncompensated care payments.
We must also meet our commitments to our most vulnerable citizens to ensure that they can live independently and contribute to our economy and civic life. That is why this budget fully funds the waitlists for services for people with acquired brain disorders and developmental disabilities.
And this budget begins to shore up our public health infrastructure by restoring some funding to community health centers along with vital family planning dollars.
We must also honor our responsibilities to care for and serve those who have bravely sacrificed for us: our veterans. This budget attempts to fully - and honestly - fund our state Veterans Home. And it adds an additional Veterans Services Officer to the State Veterans Council to help meet the needs of our growing number of new veterans and to ensure that they have the support they deserve.
But as we work to improve the health of all of our citizens, we must address one of our most pressing public health challenges: the need to restore our mental health system.
This budget helps us move forward with implementing the state's 10-year mental health plan. That is critical for the safety of the public, and the health and well-being of individual citizens.
Each of us knows of someone, a friend, a family member, a neighbor who has suffered from mental illness.
Right now, many children who are suicidal are stuck for days in emergency rooms because there is nowhere else for them to go. Dozens of people are waiting on a daily basis for critical mental health care. Without proper facilities or treatment, many have been restrained or even sedated. Some leave without care at all, often putting themselves and those around them at risk of harm.
That's not the kind of state we are.
We can all agree that our mental health system is deeply strained. And though we won't fix all of our challenges at once, it is time to resume our efforts to repair our mental health system. We must phase in changes with a systematic approach that will strengthen all aspects of mental health care in our state and move us toward more community-based care.
And that is what this budget does. Over the next two years, it will add a new designated receiving facility to take the pressure off local emergency rooms and provide more appropriate critical treatment environments. It will add new acute psychiatric residential treatment beds, in addition to the beds at the state hospital.
And it will focus on treating people in their communities, with 75 new community residence beds, housing and support services for 100 additional people, more peer support services and assistance to older adults, and ten new Assertive Community Treatment teams to help adults and children in crisis.
While this won't solve all of the challenges facing our mental health system, it is beyond time that we make real and meaningful investments in helping those in desperate need of care.
Supporting the health and well-being of all of our citizens also means ensuring that they can work, live, and raise their families in the safest possible communities.
But like our health care system, our public safety infrastructure took too many hits in the last two years. We need to reverse course and we need to do it now if we want to keep New Hampshire the safest state in the nation.
From mental health professionals, from parents, from educators and from law enforcement, I have heard over and over again that the loss of the Children in Need of Services program was devastating to the hopes and dreams we have for our young people and for public safety.
I appreciate the work being done by the legislature to study the program and improve these services, and this budget includes some reforms.
But we cannot neglect our duty to help those at risk and keep our communities safe, and so this budget begins to restore funding for the Children in Need of Services program.
Public safety is truly our most important responsibility, so we need to make sure we maintain the basic public safety infrastructure that allows local officials to keep us safe. Over the last few years, we have taken 30 state troopers off of our roads and out of our communities. People in our most rural areas should not have to wait more than an hour for the nearest state trooper to arrive.
To improve the safety of our people, this budget puts 15 more troopers on the road.
Our drug task force teams are also critical, supporting the efforts of small police departments to combat the growing problem of drug crimes, particularly those involving prescription drugs. But because of federal funding cuts, we were going to be forced to drop to just one drug task force team. This budget provides $500,000 per year in general funds to allow us to continue operating three drug task force teams.
Ensuring public safety also means adequately recognizing that search-and-rescue is an integral state responsibility. That's why this budget provides $200,000 a year in general funds to pay for search-and-rescue operations at the Department of Fish and Game.
As we discuss public safety, we must also acknowledge the importance of our judicial system. Let me take a moment to recognize the hard work of Chief Justice Dalianis and the New Hampshire courts. The courts have led the way in working to become more efficient and modern. Their new state-of-the-art call center has reduced costs and improved customer service. Our courts are moving toward a paperless system, and the capital budget will allow them to continue these efforts.
But at the end of the day, we still need judges for trials and for justice. That is why this budget restores funding for two Superior Court judges.
Public safety goes beyond the dedicated work of our police, firefighters, and EMTs and beyond our judicial system.
We must ensure that our corrections system is as effective as possible, with modern facilities to keep dangerous criminals off of our streets and programs to prevent those who serve their punishment from returning to a life of crime.
For too long, our corrections system has woefully neglected women. Like our men's prison, our women's prison must offer facilities that can provide the programs that help individuals safely move back into society when they have served their sentences.
To ensure justice and to improve our public safety, this capital budget includes the funds necessary to build a new women's prison. It is time, we cannot delay this any longer.
And as we strengthen and protect our communities and grow our economy, we must always preserve what has made New Hampshire such a special place to live, work and raise a family: our beautiful natural resources.
The Land and Community Heritage Investment Program has been so important for protecting our natural, historical and cultural resources, a responsibility that has not been met in recent years. That's why this budget restores $1 million for LCHIP in the first year of the biennium, and fully restores the program in the second.
This budget also begins restoring funding for our local communities. In fiscal year 2015, this budget provides $3 million to help pay for delayed and deferred water treatment projects for communities, and increases meals and rooms distributions to communities by $5 million.
But as we make this progress, we must continue to reform state government, and this budget moves forward with efforts to make state government more innovative and efficient. It continues to consolidate the state's office functions, such as accounts payable, and to centralize some of the human resources process.
It remakes the Liquor Commission, moving from a three-member commission to a single commissioner model.
It continues the effort to move our services in support of New Hampshire businesses into a centralized online environment through the Business One Stop. And it will move all of our boards and commissions to one licensing system, modernizing the system for the agencies and for the public.
But we need to think bigger in terms of how we best position state government for the demands of the 21st century. We must always be looking for new ways to innovate in state government in order to cut red tape and save taxpayer dollars. And we should harness the expertise of the private sector to come up with new ideas and approaches.
To encourage this process, I will soon be issuing an executive order to create a Commission on Government Innovation, Efficiency and Accountability. The commission will be charged with making recommendations to modernize state government for the 21st century, and it will include members from the business community and non-profit sector to determine how we can improve services by working together.
In addition, this budget creates the Office of Innovation and Efficiency at the Department of Administrative Services, which will lead the effort to implement commission recommendations and work with state agencies on streamlining, implementing recommendations of performance audits, and developing transparent performance measurements.
Together, these steps will help us increase efficiency and re-position state government for the future.
But we cannot balance the budget through efficiencies alone. We must identify sufficient revenue to protect our priorities and help build an innovative economic future.
Cutting the cigarette tax in the last budget has put added strain on our state and put the health of our young people at risk. New Hampshire has the highest youth smoking rate in the Northeast, with 19.8 percent of high school students who smoke cigarettes. Cigarette taxes nationwide have proven to be one of the most effective ways to prevent youth smoking, and my budget proposes reversing the cigarette tax cut and increasing the tax by an additional 20 cents, which will still keep our cigarette tax below those of our surrounding states.
In addition, the elimination of auditors and document processers at the Department of Revenue in the last budget has led to unacceptable delays in the processing of returns and refunds and cost the state millions of dollars. This budget restores some of those important positions.
In the last biennium, the legislature also made a number of promises for tax law changes, but pushed off to the next legislature the job of paying for them. Our uncertain fiscal times mean we must further delay some of those changes. This budget suspends the implementation of un-paid for tax law changes, with the exception of the increase in the net-operating-loss-carry-forward, which this budget pays for in fiscal year 15.
However, even these steps are not enough to ensure that we can responsibly invest in the priorities that will create jobs, strengthen our communities, and ensure a brighter economic future.
That's why to fund our most pressing priorities, especially higher education and mental health, my budget includes $80 million from licensing one high-end, highly regulated casino.
I know expanded gambling has been an on-going and difficult debate. But the social costs many are worried about are already here, and with Massachusetts moving forward, we can no longer pretend that expanding gambling isn't coming to our communities. It is.
The question is: will we allow Massachusetts to take revenue from New Hampshire's residents to fund its needs, or will we develop our own plan that will allow us to address social costs and invest in our priorities?
I believe we should move forward with one high-end casino, while at the same time protecting New Hampshire's brand as a family-friendly state with a great outdoor economy.
The revenue from one casino would mean tens of millions of dollars a year that can be used to strengthen our economy and address our priorities, such as freezing in-state tuition and addressing our mental health crisis, as well as funds to address social costs like substance abuse and gambling addiction.
A high-end casino would also bring a significant economic boost, creating more than an estimated 2,000 jobs during construction and 1,000 long-term jobs, while attracting new businesses and economic development.
With the intense competition for casinos in Massachusetts leading to 11 applications for only three licenses, it's clear that there is more than enough room in our region for a New Hampshire casino.
Senators D'Allesandro and Morse have introduced a bipartisan bill that serves as a good starting point for the process, and so this budget does not include legislative language authorizing a casino. I want to continue working with members of both the House and Senate to develop a final bill that addresses concerns, protects what's special about New Hampshire, and invests in our priorities.
Though this may be difficult, I ask that you keep an open mind as we all work together to advance the priorities that will help us build a more innovative economic future.
And to truly seize the promise that innovation presents, we must come together and take on one of our most difficult long-standing challenges: New Hampshire's deteriorating roads and bridges.
The American Society of Civil Engineers gives our roads a C minus, and the I-93 expansion project remains unfinished.
Hundreds of our bridges are on the "red list" of bridges in critical need of repair - risking public safety and our economy.
Just three weeks ago, we all saw the price of years of neglect and under-funding of the highway fund when the Department of Transportation was forced to abruptly close the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge. This comes on the heels of the immediate closure of the Memorial Bridge in 2011.
With the Memorial Bridge already out of service, we were left with only one way to cross the Piscataqua River into and out of Maine, snarling traffic and impeding the flow of goods that is so critical to our economy. In addition, without being able to lift the Long Bridge, oil tankers were stuck in place.
If it weren't for the quick work of our dedicated public employees at the Department of Transportation, work that was extremely dangerous hundreds of feet above open water in bitter cold and high winds, we might have seen a significant spike in energy prices as our oil supply sat idle on the water.
Maintaining and repairing our state's roads and bridges and funding transportation projects are crucial for our economy. Creating a solid, modern infrastructure will attract new businesses and industries, while helping our existing businesses grow, transport their goods, and create new jobs.
But as it stands, we barely have enough to do the very minimum: patching roads and bridges together, plowing our highways, and keeping state troopers on the road. Our transportation trust fund faces a $740 million shortfall over the next ten years. There are no more one-time fixes.
We must develop strategies for a long-term solution, for both operations and road construction, and we must do it together, working towards a consensus solution. There have already been proposals offered in both chambers, and I thank Senator Morse and Representative Campbell for the work they have done.
I stand ready to work with any member of either party who is willing to bring constructive, long-term ideas to the table so we can build a consensus solution that will help us begin to improve our roads and bridges and finish I-93.
As you can see, though we continue to recover from the worst of the recession, our challenges are not yet over and they cannot be ignored.
I know we won't agree on everything, and I am ready to work with you to develop a final budget plan. But let me be clear, we must end this process with a balanced budget, and I will veto anything else.
The fiscally responsible budget I deliver to you today is a difficult budget with difficult choices and shared sacrifice. But it is a balanced budget that relies on conservative revenue growth and responsible decisions.
Most importantly, it is a budget that refocuses our state on the priorities that are critical for driving innovation and strengthening our economy: building a strong, highly skilled workforce ready for 21st century jobs; supporting and attracting growing businesses; and providing the basic support and services that keep our people safe, healthy and productive.
I believe the approach that we have taken puts our state on the right path and will help set the foundation to build a more innovative economy. An economy with more good jobs that can support a growing middle class. And an economy where all of our citizens can share in our success and prosperity.
We cannot ignore our challenges and hope they go away. And we cannot just assume the good jobs of the innovation economy will simply appear if we do not act.
I am ready to roll up my sleeves and work with you, because we have the opportunity and the capacity to build a bright economic future for our people.
We must lead the way and work together to build a stronger, more innovative New Hampshire.
Thank you.
Speech from http://www.governor.nh.gov/media/speeches/budget-address-2013.htm.


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New Oracle FLEXCUBE Upgrade Helps with FATCA Compliance
Oracle, the California-based hardware and software solutions provider, recently announced an update to its FLEXCUBE core banking solution that will help banks address FATCA compliance with new functionality, according to a release by Oracle.
In addition to supporting FATCA compliance, the new FLEXCUBE release also includes tools to help banks meet local regulatory and auditing requirements regarding court order recoveries and asset classification norms, Oracle said in the statement.
The new FLEXCUBE update is able to process 24,377 online transactions per second. It can complete end of day batch processing for 100 million accounts in 128 minutes and end of period batch processing for that many accounts in 236 minutes.
[See Related: Global Core Banking Market Growing]
To help IT staff deal with the pace of innovation today, the new release also includes additional system development and management tools designed to help banks quickly and easily create and manage functions, extend maintenance screens, add batch processing activities and launch new web-based services. It also includes features to help banks improve existing fund management, compile a flexible lending portfolio and quickly adopt new channels.
"With changing regulatory requirements, consumer demand for enhanced experience, and growing competition, banks need solutions that help them achieve new levels of flexibility and performance," Chet Kamat, managing director and CEO of Oracle Financial Services Software Limited, said in the release.
Zarna Patel is a staff writer for InformationWeek's Financial Services brands, which include Bank Systems & Technology, Insurance & Technology and Wall Street & Technology. She received her B.A. in English and journalism from Rutgers University College of Arts and Sciences in ... View Full Bio

subset: commoncrawl


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Lawmaker: Cyberattacks Against U.S. Getting Worse
The U.S. is vulnerable to cyberattacks that could shut down financial services or destroy information that companies need for daily operations, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee said Sunday.
Rep. Mike Rogers says 95 percent of private sector networks are vulnerable and most have already been hit.
What's being stolen? Personal identities, Social Security numbers, money from banks, blueprints for next-generation jobs. At risk are private companies and public agencies. Some estimates put the value of information hacked at up to $400 billion a year. But many companies are reluctant to admit they've been attacked to keep a competitive edge and avoid reactions from shareholders.
The Michigan Republican says hackers have stepped up attacks since the fall, and he points to China and Iran.
"They're taking blueprints back, not just military documents, but civilian innovation that companies are gonna use to create production lines to build things," Rogers said. "They're stealing that, repurposing it back in nations like China and competing in the international market."
Rogers tells CBS' "Face the Nation" that the U.S. government has, essentially "set up lawn chairs, told the burglars where the silver is ... and opened the case of beer and watched them do it."
A bipartisan bill to shore up the nation's cyberdefenses passed the House, but died in the Senate in the last Congress. Similar legislation could be introduced again as early as this week.
For Rogers, the fix is "very simple."
"Share information about threats online," he said. "The senior leadership in the intelligence community said that they think that we can stop 90 percent of our problems by just sharing classified cyber threat information."
This program aired on February 10, 2013. The audio for this program is not available.


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Republican voters may have saved the best for last in terms of the latest obstacle they've placed between Mitt Romney and what was supposed to have been his inevitable march to the 2012 Republican presidential nomination — Newt Gingrich.
Essentially written off after his campaign seemingly imploded last summer and because of the manifest personal baggage he brings to a presidential campaign, Gingrich stuck around long enough to have his moment, to catch fire after Herman Cain flamed out.
With Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota — each of whom briefly challenged Romney for frontrunner status — many Republican voters clearly had difficulty, for one reason or another, seeing those candidates standing toe-to-toe with President Obama in a presidential debate.
But Gingrich doesn't have that problem. He is one of the glibbest politicians of the age, who rattles off full sentences, even paragraphs effortlessly even if some content might be immediately suspect.
While he can often cause the brains of his listeners to fade, overwhelming them with the sheer torrent of words he can emit, his apparently doesn't.
He's also already had the experience of facing off against a Democratic president, Bill Clinton, during the 1990s, with mixed results certainly as House speaker but it's still an important part of his resume. And Romney can make no similar claim.
So the most immediate problem Gingrich confronts Romney with is that, at the very least, few question his ability to not just show up but probably even score points in debates against Obama. Romney no longer looks like the one on the Republican stage of candidates with the most realistic chance to do that.
But there's a bigger problem. Gingrich is also justified in making the claim that, since the 1980s, he has been an important contributor to the conservative movement, with his ideas not only influencing his party's direction in Congress but also, arguably, Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign and later presidency.
Indeed, at the same time that Gingrich was at the zenith of conservative power in 1996 as speaker, Romney was moving to the left in Massachusetts in an unsuccessful attempt to unseat Sen. Ted Kennedy, the liberal legend.
Romney initial attempt to stomp out the Gingrich boom is to brand the former speaker as a Washington lifer, a soft jab he made Tuesday night during an interview with Brett Baier on Fox News:
ROMNEY: "Speaker Gingrich is a good man. He and I have very different backgrounds. He spent his last 30 or 40 years in Washington. I spent my career in the private sector. I think that's what the country needs right now."
Romney suggested that Obama being a "life-long politician" it would be best if Republicans nominated someone who wasn't, like himself, the implication being Gingrich can't make the same claim.
Of course, having made millions of dollars in the "strategic advice" business, Gingrich has shown himself to be quite the entrepreneur as well who can claim his own private-sector success.
Romney is ultimately is likely going to have to come up with a far tougher negative message against Gingrich than the argument that he's a Washington lifer. Gingrich has been called far worse and survived politically. Thrived, even.
A new Insider Advantage/Majority Opinion Research poll out of Florida that was done for NewsMax shows Gingrich with a 24 percentage point lead over Romney in that critical state, 41.4 percent versus 17.4 percent.
Meanwhile, polls are showing Gingrich leading in the other early primary states of Iowa and South Carolina.
Romney still has significant advantages over Gingrich, such as money, organization and much of the GOP establishment aligning itself with him.
And he'll need all of that. Because he's probably not going to be able to outargue Gingrich. And he probably won't be able to out Reagan Gingrich, either.
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My Mother having grown up in the mofussils, where everything from rosogolla to chingri'r chop(shrimp cutlet) was made at home, had an uncanny fear of Kolkata street food. Actually any street food.
All through the 80's, she stymied my attempts at street food with a vengeance that matched a NRI mother who washes her hands with Bisleri and rubs Purell before a meal at Flury's. She thought anything cooked and served along the streets could bring nothing but cholera, jaundice and disaster. My school days were thus spent, longingly watching the alu-tikki and chole chaatwala serving myriad of school girls in badly washed steel plates. All I was allowed to buy, once a month, was a packet of spiced up potato chips in a transparent plastic packet or a bar of Golden ice cream from the yellow ice cream cart.
It was her good fortune that we did not live in Kolkata or its suburbs where phuchka and telebhaja(fried stuff) by the road side was easier to find than a S23( a bus) in service. On our annual visits to my Dida's home in Kolkata, my Ma would ease a little and allow an alur chop here and a phuchka there. Those brief sojourns were so rare that the taste of those treats ached my memory until we came back to visit Dida next year.
My Ma however compensated for this behavior of hers by cooking a lot of those things which we were denied outside at home. She would make shingara, dim er devil, khasta kochuri and bhejetebil chop all through winter.
Once the Northern winds started blowing and it was time to take out the napthalene scented hand-knit sweaters and Kashmiri shawls; the deep red beet, flame orange carrots and green peas flooded the vegetable market.Those were the days my Mother made vegetable chop, lots of it. With the freshest and sweetest of beet and carrots, those chops would be delicious. If I am allowed to be totally honest, I will say that I still missed the chops fried in stale oil, dusted with grime and carrying the germs of cholera but my Mother's vegetable chops were the best you can do in a clinically hygienic condition.
Now while I had the vegetable chop down to the last peanut theoretically, I have always made it when my Ma is visiting us. Only that means she cooks the beet, the carrots, the potatoes, makes the stuffing, fries the chop while I eat them. My Ma thinks they are good for the kids, a good way to make them eat veggies she will say and so makes them quiet frequently while she is here. Once she had boarded her flight, I just make a stew with the same vegetables.
Last week however I made vegetable chops just by myself. I did not even think "kids", I only thought about myself and okay a little about the husband and how it will be nice to have some vegetable chops for breakfast for a change.
It is pretty easy and though involves some frying in gallons of oil is not too bad for you. You are eating vegetables you see. Yeah, keep chanting that. With some planning you can cook the vegetables beforehand and make the croquettes and refrigerate them for 4-5 days. That way you can fry up some as needed and enjoy them with a cup of chai.
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I think this recipe made about 24-30 vegetable chops but I can never be sure. Also my chops were smaller in size than standard
Cumin Seeds -- 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds -- 1/2 tsp
Corriander seeds -- 1/2 tsp
Clove -- 6
Green Elaichi -- 3
Cinnamon -- 1/2" stick
Peppercorn -- 12
Red chili -- 2-3
Bay leaf -- tiny
Roast the above on stove pop, cool and then grind to a fine powder. Do not char. Note: If you are feeling extremely lazy pop in toaster oven instead of stove top roasting. You can store this powder in a air-tight jar for months.You can use it to sprinkle on chutneys and make more chops.
Now we will chop the following vegetables in chunks
2 medium beet ,
2 carrot (if carrot is the thin kind use 4 else 2 should be fine),
2 large potato
Cook the above vegetables till they are mash-able. I usually cook them in the pressure cooker. Note: Sometimes I grate the beet instead of boiling it and then cook it while making the stuffing.
Once cooked, drain water and mash the vegetables. It is okay if the texture is little grainy and not totally smooth
Note: My Mother used to grate the beet and have her veggies a bit coarsely mashed, there shouldn't be any bite-able veggies but they can be a notch lower smooth.
Now heat a little oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan
Roast 1/4 cup of halved peanuts, remove and keep aside
In the same oil add
2 tbsp of minced or grated ginger
3-4 green chilli chopped in rounds
Next add
the mashed vegetables,
3 tsp of Bhaja masla,
1/4-1/2 tsp of red Chili Powder,
salt to taste
sugar if needed
Saute the mashed veggies, mixing with the masala till the excess water dries up and the veggies come together, leaving the sides. Add 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves/dhone pata if you wish.Also add the roasted peanuts. Check to see the spices are right.
Note: If needed add 1-2 tbsp of bread crumbs or maida for binding.
If you have grated your beet instead of boiling it, add the grated beet to the pan before adding the mashed carrots and potatoes. Once the beet is cooked, add the mashed carrots+ potatoes and spices and follow the previous step.
When this mixture cools, grease your palms and fashion croquettes out of them. Add a golden raisin to each.
The usual shape is oblong or oval but I have made small slightly flattened balls.
Vegetarian Coating
Make a batter of 1/3 cup of chickpea flour/besan + 4-5 tbsp of water. The batter should be thin, thinner than the pakori batter.
Dip the croquette/chop in above Besan mix, roll in seasoned breadcrumbs. Refrigerate the croquettes/chops for an hour. You could refrigerate these for about 4-5 days in a closed container. Only don't forget about them and go on a vacation. They need to be used sooner than later.
Egg Coating
I prefer this breading more than the former. I dredged the balls in all-purpose flour, dipped them in egg wash(2 eggs beaten with a tsp of water) and rolled them in bread crumbs. I then refrigerated them for a few hours/overnight before frying
In a Kadhai heat enough oil for frying. Once the oil is hot, check if it is right temperature by putting a tiny piece of bread in it.
Roll the croquettes lightly again in seasoned breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil till golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and keep aside in a plate lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.
Note : If you had added besan as a binder you might get a scent of besan in the chop. In that case fry a little more at medium heat till it is cooked through.
Sprinkle some chat masala or beet noon and serve with some ketchup and a salad of onion, cucumber.
Notes: First time Vegetable chop makers please read the note
1. There is two kind of Bhaja Masla that Bongs make. The one in the recipe is how my Ma, her Ma, me etc. does it. The second kind is one where Cumin Seeds + Dry red Chili is roasted on stove top and then grind to a powder.
2.The besan coating for the chop should be a VERY thin coating. It SHOULD NOT be thick as in a Alu Bonda/Vada.
3. If you do not like besan coating you can make a thin batter of white flour + water. You can also do dip in egg wash and then roll in breadcrumbs like here in Maacher Chop
4.My Ma-in-law grates the beet instead of boiling and mashing all veggies, that gives a nice texture to the chop.
5.Many people say that drying the mashed vegetables takes considerable amount of time. To avoid this, drain the carrots, beet and potatoes well and only then mash it when they cool a little
Updated on May15th, 2013: -- Recently I made a version of this same chop where I deviated from being completely niramish. To the mashed veggies I added some crispy fried onions(from a box). Also for the coating I dredged the balls in all-purpose flour, dipped them in egg wash(2 eggs beaten with a tsp of water) and rolled them in bread crumbs. I then refrigerated them for a few hours/overnight before frying. I clearly prefer this method.


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Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Southwestern-Style Potatoes Roasted with Peppers and Herbs
From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...If you like roast potatoes, chances are you'll love this version which has a slightly Southwestern twist. The potatoes are topped with a medley of herbs and absorb additional flavor from three types of fresh peppers that roast along side them. There are a couple of tricks to making this dish work, but I assure you they are simple. To prevent the peppers and onions from releasing juices that would braise, rather than roast, the potatoes, hot becomes the operative word. The oven must be hot and the pan on which the vegetables roast must be hot enough to sizzle when the vegetables are dumped onto it. To assure a hot pan, place it in the oven as it preheats. Spray it with a nonstick vegetable spray or olive oil just before you place vegetables in it. Resist the temptation to oil the pan while it preheats. You'll end up with enough smoke to set off your alarms. This lesson comes from the been there, done that school of life which I've completed with high honors. These potatoes are a wonderful accompaniment to steaks and roasts and can make a plain meal sparkle with flavor. If I can get you to make them, I know they'll become a favorite of yours as well. While I make this with baby Yukon Gold, any small potato, including fingerlings, can be used with similar result. Leftovers can be warmed the following day and served with poached or fried eggs for a quick and easy feast. Here's the recipe for roast potatoes made new again.
Southwestern-Style Potatoes Roasted with Peppers and Herbs...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite
2-1/2 to 3 pounds small new potatoes, cut in half lengthwise
1 large red bell pepper, cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 large poblano pepper, cut in 1/2-inch dice
1 large jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and cut in very thin crosswise slices
1 large sweet onion cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika (pimenton)
1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Juice of 1 large lemon
1) Place a large baking sheet into oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2) Place potatoes, red pepper, poblano pepper, jalapeno pepper, sweet onion, basil, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and lemon juice in a large bowl and toss well to coat all ingredients. Quickly spray hot pan with nonstick spray. Dump potato mixture in a single layer onto pan. Return to oven.
3) Bake, turning mixture every 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft and brown, about 50 minutes. Yield 6 to 8 servings.
You might also enjoy these recipes:
Savory Roasted Potatoes for a Crowd - One Perfect Bite
Mustard Glazed Potatoes - One Perfect Bite
Caramelized Potatoes (Brunede Kartofler )- One Perfect Bite
55 comments :
- Louis la Vache said...
Mary, «Louis» gained five pounds just reading the recipe...
- April 27, 2010 at 12:07 AM
- The Kitchen Masochist said...
I love the flavors. Just beautiful! This is definitely something I'd love to try. There are more than enough variety of chillies to substitute for the missing poblano.
- April 27, 2010 at 12:11 AM
- T.W. Barritt at Culinary Types said...
I just love the tiny potatoes that are available now. Potatoes sometimes get a bad rap, but I think they are one of the best things the Earth offers.
- April 27, 2010 at 12:18 AM
- Unknown said...
What a lovely recipe! Great tips on the hot pan and oven.
- April 27, 2010 at 1:20 AM
- Angie's Recipes said...
What a great potato recipe! I am going to give it a try! The colour of this dish is just so happy and sensational!
- April 27, 2010 at 1:49 AM
- Joe Ambrosino said...
I love potatoes, Mary. This is a really fine recipe which I will try. I like your little touch of adding Worcestershire too!
- April 27, 2010 at 2:10 AM
- Sushma Mallya said...
Quick,Easy & a beautiful dish...just loved it....have a wonderful day mary..
- April 27, 2010 at 2:13 AM
- giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•. said...
Buongiorno Mary,
le patate arrosto sono uno dei miei piatti preferiti, anche se devo dire che mi piacciono in qualsiasi modo vengano cotte le patate.
E' un piatto che faccio spesso, però al posto dei peperoni io metto i pomodorini fatti a ciliegina e non metto la paprika ( al suo posto metto i semi di peperoncino piccante )e ne la Worcestershire che per noi italiani rimane troppo dolce.
Buona giornata - April 27, 2010 at 2:20 AM
- Unknown said...
My mouth is watering so much I am keeping it clamped shut! Potatoes and red peppers are on the shopping list for tomorrow.
Fingers crossed my attempt ends up just like yours! - April 27, 2010 at 2:50 AM
- Coleens Recipes said...
I could EASILY made an entire meal out of this...delicious.
- April 27, 2010 at 2:58 AM
- Ana Powell said...
Very easy to make and so flavoursome.
Awesome colours x - April 27, 2010 at 3:57 AM
- Cherine said...
Love potatoes!! This recipe is fantastic!
- April 27, 2010 at 4:00 AM
- Deb in Hawaii said...
I keep craving potatoes lately. ;-) these look wonderful--love the southwest flair.
- April 27, 2010 at 4:29 AM
- Diane said...
Yummy, yummy, yummy, if I did not still have toothache I would be in the kitchen cooking this recipe! Diane
- April 27, 2010 at 4:52 AM
- Mags @ the Other Side of 50 said...
I love roasted vegetables. What a beautiful dish and thank you for the tip of heating the pan first. I'd never have thought of that.
- April 27, 2010 at 5:07 AM
- From the Kitchen said...
The smoke alarm going off is what alerts my family that dinner's almost ready! I am going to do this recipe very soon. I do roast a lot of potatoes but usually with just S&P, olive oil and, sometimes, rosemary. I like the additional layers of flavor you have. I've recently been finding the small potatoes in purple, a mottled "magenta", golden and red. They make a spectacular-looking dish out of a potato. Thank for the recipe.
Bonnie - April 27, 2010 at 7:07 AM
- Penny said...
I love this recipe Mary. I have small white potatoes in the pantry and the other ingredients on my grocery list. Thank you.
- April 27, 2010 at 7:28 AM
- Sarah @ Mum In Bloom said...
Mary these look delicious. They would be wonderful served with breakfast. I love all the herbs in the recipe. Thanks for sharing :)
- April 27, 2010 at 7:37 AM
- 3 hungry tummies said...
This is such a happy looking dish! this is going to be perfect with my next roast dinner!
- April 27, 2010 at 7:45 AM
- Martha said...
I'll have to try this -- looks yummy and would go well with a grilled steak!
- April 27, 2010 at 7:51 AM
- Sweet Southern Prep said...
Yum! Hoping to make this soon! Thanks!
- April 27, 2010 at 8:05 AM
- Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...
Excellent pictures! My mouth is watering!
- April 27, 2010 at 8:12 AM
- Joanne said...
I love the crispiness of potatoes prepared this way. And with all of these good herbs and spices, they must be out of this world good!
- April 27, 2010 at 8:45 AM
- Janine said...
This looks YUM!!!
- April 27, 2010 at 9:16 AM
- Unknown said...
ohhhh Mary that looks absolutely wonderful.....I love roasted potatoes and never thought to even make them southwest...what a great idea. I am going to definitely have to try that.
Have a great day!! - April 27, 2010 at 9:31 AM
- Carla and Michael said...
Mary, I love the use of all of the peppers and the smoked paprika in this dish. Especially the poblano, which has come to be a favorite of mine. Great reading too, who of us hasn't been initiated into the been there,done that school of life, especially in the kitchen. I'm having a hard time wiping the smile off of my face now. Thanks.
- April 27, 2010 at 9:39 AM
- Valérie said...
This is certainly a change from the usual rosemary and garlic roasted potatoes... Definitely a keeper!
- April 27, 2010 at 10:17 AM
- Inspired by eRecipeCards said...
on my list to make... love the idea of all the peppers!
- April 27, 2010 at 10:52 AM
- Sue said...
What a beautiful recipe. I sometimes boil the potatoes just for a bit before I roast them to make things go a little faster. But they're never as good as when they're done the proper way, as you did them. Yum!
- April 27, 2010 at 11:27 AM
- michelle said...
I am just discovering the MANY varieties of Paprika available!
Love the idea of the roasted potatoes with hot peppers. - April 27, 2010 at 11:40 AM
- ♥ Kathy said...
I love potatoes any way you want to cook them and I love paprika too..win-win :)
- April 27, 2010 at 11:44 AM
- Bob said...
Oh man, those look perfect. I love all the peppers in there, I bet they add a fantastic flavor.
- April 27, 2010 at 11:45 AM
- Ann said...
Awesome! love the color and it looks so perfect.
- April 27, 2010 at 11:57 AM
- The Blonde Duck said...
I needed a new way to fix potatoes. And this is it.
- April 27, 2010 at 12:04 PM
- My Little Space said...
Absolutely fantastic! Love the colour combo and the flavour as well. Hmm..mm... Something i shouldn't miss!
Have a great day!
Cheers, Kristy - April 27, 2010 at 12:13 PM
- Bonnie said...
The perfect side dish. Oh heck, I could eat these as the main event. A whole plate of them!
- April 27, 2010 at 12:30 PM
- Shaheen said...
Those potatoes look absolutely scrumptious!
- April 27, 2010 at 1:17 PM
- Khadija El Mary said...
What a happy dish! Nothing better than roasted vegetables and my children love potatoes, I have to bookmark this. Thanks and have a nice day Mary.
Cheers - April 27, 2010 at 1:29 PM
- Mary Bergfeld said...
Mamakamal, welcome to One Perfect Bite. I'm delighted you found us and hope you'll be back often. Mary
- April 27, 2010 at 1:40 PM
- Joan said...
Mary, I can't wait until the weekend to try this recipe. And I could kiss you for the information about the hot pan and oven. Now, I know one of the things I am doing wrong when I try to oven roast potatoes. Thanks you!
- April 27, 2010 at 1:42 PM
- La Bella Cooks said...
Oh wow, it is so hard to type while drooling. It's not pretty but these potatoes are calling my name. How delicious.
- April 27, 2010 at 4:36 PM
- Jen_from_NJ said...
Thank you for the perfect potato tips! These potatoes look so delicious. I love the color from the peppers.
- April 27, 2010 at 5:04 PM
- Christine said...
I've never met a potato I didn't like. These are simply beautiful and will go on my list of recipes to make soon.
- April 27, 2010 at 5:06 PM
- Michelle said...
Wow! Those look soo good!
- April 27, 2010 at 6:12 PM
- ~ ~ Ahrisha ~ ~ said...
Hello Mary~ ~I've saved your recipe and can't wait to try it with a grilled steak. We are looking forward to 80* weather this weekend.
~ ~Ahrisha~ ~ - April 27, 2010 at 6:57 PM
- ann low said...
Sounds so flavorful and healthy. Already bookmarked it.
- April 27, 2010 at 8:55 PM
What a delicacy! This would be my favorite side dish of all!
- April 27, 2010 at 9:01 PM
- Gayle said...
The potatoes look so yummy. Definitely a dish I will have to try. Thanks for stopping by my blog. I so appreciate your kind words.
- April 27, 2010 at 9:03 PM
- We Are Not Martha said...
Wow! I'm not even THAT into potatoes, but these look absolutely fabulous!
Sues - April 27, 2010 at 9:06 PM
- Jeannie said...
Beautiful dish! I love it!
- April 27, 2010 at 10:22 PM
- Kim said...
The potatoes look wonderful Mary! I would love to have them as a side for breakfast tomorrow.
- April 27, 2010 at 11:39 PM
- Karen said...
I love the jalapeno and poblano chili's in this - looks very good!
- April 28, 2010 at 11:04 AM
- Terrianne, Call me Ree said...
This is very similar to a dish I make. Only I use red potatoes. I love it. Very delicious. Great post, Mary. =)
- April 28, 2010 at 5:15 PM
- Terrianne, Call me Ree said...
Ooh, yummy! This is similar to a dish I make. It's one of my favorites. Another great post, Mary. You're just going to have to get used to me saying that. =) Blessings.
- April 28, 2010 at 5:18 PM
- Andrea at Opulent Cottage said...
We made these for dinner last night and they were incredible! We love poblano peppers and anything spicy. In the future I'll share a poblano cream sauce recipe that I bet you would like, too.
Thank you for a fantastic dish that I know is going to become one of our favorites.
Cheers, Andrea - May 7, 2010 at 9:47 AM


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Take 1 large bowl of of fabric - like so:
add 1 large bowl of fabric - just like so:
Mark .. sew .. sew.. ✂ cut .. presss .. trim .. press.*
Repeat until both bowls are empty.
By the end of the weekend this bowl should be overflowing. That's the plan. Do you have any weekend sewing plans?
Happy Stitching,
* Whilst doing so you may notice threads, fabric dust, and trimmings almost everywhere you turn. This is a completely normal part of the process. Do not be concerned.


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In keeping with our founder's vision, chapters and members of Iota Phi Lambda Sorority implement and execute programs and projects throughout the year to further the aims and ideals of the organization.


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Christianity and the Dark Side—What about Halloween?
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
October 30, 2013
Over a hundred years ago, the great Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck predicted that the 20th century would "witness a gigantic conflict of spirits." His prediction turned out to be an understatement, and this great conflict continues into the 21st century.
The issue of Halloween presses itself annually upon the Christian conscience. Acutely aware of dangers new and old, many Christian parents choose to withdraw their children from the holiday altogether. Others choose to follow a strategic battle plan for engagement with the holiday. Still others have gone further, seeking to convert Halloween into an evangelistic opportunity. Is Halloween really that significant?
Well, Halloween is a big deal in the marketplace. Halloween is surpassed only by Christmas in terms of economic activity. Reporting in 2007, David J. Skal estimated: "Precise figures are difficult to determine, but the annual economic impact of Halloween is now somewhere between 4 billion and 6 billion dollars depending on the number and kinds of industries one includes in the calculations." As of 2012, that total exceeded $8 billion.
Furthermore, historian Nicholas Rogers claims:
Halloween is currently the second most important party night in North America. In terms of its retail potential, it is second only to Christmas. This commercialism fortifies its significance as a time of public license, a custom-designed opportunity to have a blast. Regardless of its spiritual complications, Halloween is big business.
Rogers and Skal have each produced books dealing with the origin and significance of Halloween. Nicholas Rogers is author of Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. Professor of History at York University in Canada, Rogers has written a celebration of Halloween as a transgressive holiday that allows the bizarre and elements from the dark side to enter the mainstream. Skal, a specialist on the culture of Hollywood, has written Death Makes a Holiday: A Cultural History of Halloween. Skal's approach is more dispassionate and focused on entertainment, looking at the cultural impact of Halloween in the rise of horror movies and the nation's fascination with violence.
The pagan roots of Halloween are well documented. The holiday is rooted in the Celtic festival of Samhain, which came at summer's end. As Rogers explains, "Paired with the feast of Beltane, which celebrated the life-generating powers of the sun, Samhain beckoned to winter and the dark nights ahead." Scholars dispute whether Samhain was celebrated as a festival of the dead, but the pagan roots of the festival are indisputable. Questions of human and animal sacrifices and various occultic sexual practices continue as issues of debate, but the reality of the celebration as an occultic festival focused on the changing of seasons undoubtedly involved practices pointing to winter as a season of death.
As Rogers comments: "In fact, the pagan origins of Halloween generally flow not from this sacrificial evidence, but from a different set of symbolic practices. These revolve around the notion of Samhain as a festival of the dead and as a time of supernatural intensity heralding the onset of winter.
How should Christians respond to this pagan background? Harold L. Myra of Christianity Today argues that these pagan roots were well known to Christians of the past:
More than a thousand years ago Christians confronted pagan rites appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. Halloween's unsavory beginnings preceded Christ's birth when the druids, in what is now Britain and France, observed the end of summer with sacrifices to the gods. It was the beginning of the Celtic year and they believed Samhain, the lord of death, sent evil spirits abroad to attack humans, who could escape only by assuming disguises and looking like evil spirits themselves.
Thus, the custom of wearing costumes, especially costumes imitating evil spirits, is rooted in the Celtic pagan culture. As Myra summarizes, "Most of our Halloween practices can be traced back to the old pagan rites and superstitions."
The complications of Halloween go far beyond its pagan roots, however. In modern culture, Halloween has become not only a commercial holiday, but a season of cultural fascination with evil and the demonic. Even as the society has pressed the limits on issues such as sexuality, the culture's confrontation with the "dark side" has also pushed far beyond boundaries honored in the past.
As David J. Skal makes clear, the modern concept of Halloween is inseparable from the portrayal of the holiday presented by Hollywood. As Skal comments, "The Halloween machine turns the world upside down. One's identity can be discarded with impunity. Men dress as women, and vice versa. Authority can be mocked and circumvented, and, most important, graves open and the departed return."
This is the kind of material that keeps Hollywood in business. "Few holidays have a cinematic potential that equals Halloween's," comments Skal. "Visually, the subject is unparalleled, if only considered in terms of costume design and art direction. Dramatically, Halloween's ancient roots evoke dark and melodramatic themes, ripe for transformation into film's language of shadow and light."
But television's "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" (which debuted in 1966) has given way to Hollywood's "Halloween" series and the rise of violent "slasher" films. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff have been replaced by Michael Myers and Freddy Kruger.
This fascination with the occult comes as America has been sliding into post-Christian secularism. While the courts remove all theistic references from America's public square, the void is being filled with a pervasive fascination with evil, paganism, and new forms of occultism.
In addition to all this, Halloween has become downright dangerous in many neighborhoods. Scares about razor blades hidden in apples and poisoned candy have spread across the nation in recurring cycles. For most parents, the greater fear is the encounter with occultic symbols and the society's fascination with moral darkness.
For this reason, many families withdraw from the holiday completely. Their children do not go trick-or-treating, they wear no costumes, and they attend no parties related to the holiday. Some churches have organized alternative festivals, capitalizing on the holiday opportunity, but turning the event away from pagan roots and the fascination with evil spirits. For others, the holiday presents no special challenges at all.
These Christians argue that the pagan roots of Halloween are no more significant than the pagan origins of Christmas and other church festivals. Without doubt, the church has progressively Christianized the calendar, seizing secular and pagan holidays as opportunities for Christian witness and celebration. Anderson M. Rearick, III argues that Christians should not surrender the holiday. As he relates, "I am reluctant to give up what was one of the highlights of my childhood calendar to the Great Imposter and Chief of Liars for no reason except that some of his servants claim it as his."
Nevertheless, the issue is a bit more complicated than that. While affirming that make-believe and imagination are part and parcel of God's gift of imagination, Christians should still be very concerned about the focus of that imagination and creativity. Arguing against Halloween is not equivalent to arguing against Christmas. The old church festival of "All Hallow's Eve" is by no means as universally understood among Christians as the celebration of the incarnation at Christmas.
Christian parents should make careful decisions based on a biblically-informed Christian conscience. Some Halloween practices are clearly out of bounds. Others may be strategically transformed, but this takes hard work and may meet with mixed success.
The coming of Halloween is a good time for Christians to remember that evil spirits are real and that the Devil will seize every opportunity to trumpet his own celebrity. Perhaps the best response to the Devil at Halloween is that offered by Martin Luther, the great Reformer: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him for he cannot bear scorn."
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther began the Reformation with a declaration that the church must be recalled to the authority of God's Word and the purity of biblical doctrine. With this in mind, the best Christian response to Halloween might be to scorn the Devil and then pray for the Reformation of Christ's church on earth. Let's put the dark side on the defensive.
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R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me using the contact form. Follow regular updates on Twitter at @albertmohler.
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Your course requires an ELE Actual libro del alumno A1 workbook and a Vamos Activity book. This book covers 3 courses (levels 1 to 3) and we have a separate Activity book for each level..
There is an additional cost of £10.95 for the ELE book and Activity book which are supplied at the school.
Your Activity book is emailed as a PDF on the day your course starts and the A1 ELE libro del alumno workbook should be purchased from Amazon after your first lesson. For help please contact firstname.lastname@example.com or call us on 020 7242 3436.
At the end of your course you can download a course certificate from your student portal.
¡Hola! I'm Alberto from Burgos, in the north of Spain.
I studied at Complutense University of Madrid where I obtained a Degree in English Language and Literature and a Masters Degree in Teaching Spanish as a foreign language.
I follow the communicative approach in my lessons, creating a relaxing and friendly environment in class where everyone feels comfortable and eager to participate and interact with each other.
Teaching my native language is an amazing experience that gives me the chance to meet people from all over the world and share the Spanish language and culture with them.
Looking forward to seeing you in class at ¡Vamos!
We're a little different from other language schools. Our roots lie in the Spanish further education sector and here at Holborn our students have as much fun learning as we have teaching. That's why our courses are so effective and why our students say our lessons are rewarding and so much fun.
This is part one of 3 levels that form the A1 starting point to learning Spanish.
It's a 20 hour course. You will follow an established model of teaching through spoken and written activities, extra reading, tests, reviews, ideas, and games in pairs or groups.
We use powerful learning tools such as presentations, images, videos and audio tapes that stimulate our lessons and encourage students to engage with each other in developing the four essential skills – reading, speaking, listening and writing.
See the technical syllabus for this course
Course Materials: | See above |
Age Range: | 18 upwards |
Class size: | Min 6 Max 10 |
The course has been fantastic! I have been learning Spanish with Vamos since last year and I am amazed at how much I have learnt. This is mainly due to the excellent quality of the teaching. Sonia is an inspiring and highly skilled teacher who makes the lessons fun and engaging. She also provides a very structured framework of grammar and language skills which we build on each session. She shares her knowledge of Spanish culture and makes lessons really enjoyable and great fun. I am really inspired to keep learning.
It feels like a safe space to learn and ask questions. The activity book is very helpful and Sonia is friendly and knowledgeable.
Sonia is a brilliant teacher. I started at level 1 and have made so much progress thanks to her support, patience and friendly teaching style.
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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Sometimes in the evening in Cairo, Egypt, people take a sailboat ride on the Nile. I got to do this once, Renee. It's amazing. The river cuts through the center of the city and you can see the lights of Cairo spreading along each bank. Except, of course, when the lights are out.
MONTAGNE: And power outages are a feature of daily life, I gather. The electrical grid needs repair. Power plants need fuel. And the government is short of money to respond, partly because of political turmoil. NPR's Leila Fadel has more.
LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: This is a common scene in Cairo these days, people in the dark talking about how to get the lights on.
FADEL: It's an upscale Lebanese restaurant in a wealthy district of Cairo a group of young professionals eat dinner and chat to the light of flickering birthday candles that the server scrounged up when the power went out.
FADEL: The typically dazzling street is pitch black, save a few spots of light powered by generators. And that's great for Fadi Wassef's business in downtown Cairo.
FADI WASSEF: (speaking Arabic)
FADEL: He can't keep generators on the shelves at his hardware store as power cuts plague the capital of more than 17 million people. Wassef says his customers used to just be farmers out in the country and off the grid. But now it's families purchasing the generators to keep the refrigerators and air conditioning on.
WASSEF: Now everybody wants to have a generator in his own house, because, you know, summer is coming and we have very hot summers. So you in your house, you're going to have to get one generator.
FADEL: He says his customers are angry that they have to shell so much cash just to keep the lights on. And experts say there is no quick fix to a problem that has been years in the making.
MOHAMMED SHOEIB: This summer, as we said, it is the darkest summer in Egypt have ever Egypt saw before. But this is not the end of the life. We should prepare ourselves to avoid that next summer.
FADEL: That's Mohammed Shoeib, Managing Director for the Energy Sector at Citadel Capital. Here's the problem, he says. The power infrastructure is deteriorating but the state doesn't have the money to upgrade it because it is already in debt. And the oil and natural gas that Egypt depends on for power generation is heavily subsidized. But the state doesn't want to raise the prices and anger a population already frustrated by more than three years of political unrest and economic turmoil, making for a wasteful system that's just not working.
SHOEIB: Because most of its revenue, which is huge, is going directly to the subsidy. Then - and this subsidy is not directed properly to the poor people who deserve it.
FADEL: And if people get too angry about blackouts and soaring temperatures, it could lead to further political upheaval.
JUSTIN DARGIN: As we saw during the ouster of the previous administration, power cuts did play a role, even though it wasn't the only reason. But it did play a role.
FADEL: That's Justin Dargin, an Energy and Middle East scholar at Oxford University. Now, Dargin says, Egypt's military chief turned presidential candidate, Abdel Fattah el Sissi, knows he has to do everything he can to stave off power cuts in the heat of the summer or possibly face mass unrest against his expected rule.
DARGIN: The Egyptian government is doing everything in its power in order to make certain that doesn't happen and that there's no repeat of mass protests that occurred during the ouster of the previous administration.
FADEL: He says the government is diverting natural gas that would typically be exported for a much higher profit, to use it internally for power generation. But it's not enough to keep up with the demand of some 80 million people, and that demand is growing by eight percent a year.
DARGIN: We have significant erosion of the state's ability to even provide basic electricity services, and then we also have, on the other hand, this increased consumption that occurs during the summer. So it's going to be a tough time.
FADEL: Meanwhile, foreign investors are alarmed by the billions of dollars Egypt owes to energy companies. The government is negotiating new timetables to pay off the debt while signing exploration deals to restore confidence in the energy sector. But for now, people seem willing to live with outages because they still have confidence in the military leadership. But their confidence will be tested by a very long, very hot summer. Leila Fadel, NPR News, Cairo. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Why Trust Diamond Certified Bathtub and Shower Companies Rated Highest in Quality?
You are the customer. If your goal is to choose a bathtub and shower contractor that will deliver high customer satisfaction and quality, you'll feel confident in choosing a Diamond Certified bathtub and shower company. Each has been rated Highest in Quality in the most accurate ratings process anywhere. And you're always backed by the Diamond Certified Performance Guarantee. Here's why the Diamond Certified ratings and certification process will help you find a top-rated bath tub and shower contractor and is unparalleled in its accuracy, rigor and usefulness:
1) Accuracy: All research is performed by live telephone interviews that verify only real customers are surveyed, so you'll never be fooled by fake reviews.
2) Statistical Reliability: A large random sample of past customers is surveyed on an ongoing basis so the research results you see truly reflect a Diamond Certified company's top-rated status.
3) Full Disclosure: By clicking the name of a company above you'll see the exact rating results in charts and read verbatim survey responses as well as researched articles on each qualified company.
4) Guaranteed: Your purchase is backed up with mediation and the Diamond Certified Performance Guarantee, so you can choose with confidence.
Click on the name of a Diamond Certified company above to read ratings results, researched articles and verbatim customer survey responses to help you make an informed decision.
More than 200,000 customers of local companies have been interviewed in live telephone calls, and only companies that score Highest in Quality in customer satisfaction–a 90+ on a 100 scale–as well as pass all of the credential-based ratings earn Diamond Certified. By requiring such a high score to qualify, the Diamond Certified program eliminates mediocre and poorly performing companies. Read detailed information about the ratings and certification process.


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1. WikiWikiWeb
A WikiWikiWeb is a collaborative hypertext environment, with an emphasis on easy access to and modification of information.You can edit any page by pressing the link at the bottom of the page. Capitalized words joined together form a WikiName, which hyperlinks to another page. The highlighted title searches for all pages that link to the current page. Pages which do not yet exist are linked with a question mark (or a different rendering in bold red): just follow the link and you can add a definition. That is also the way to create a new page: add a new WikiName to an existing page, save your modification, click on your new link and create the page (more details on HelpOnPageCreation).
You are encouraged to edit the WikiSandBox whichever way you like. Please restrain yourself from editing other pages until you feel at home with the ways a wiki works.
To learn more about what a WikiWikiWeb is, read about WhyWikiWorks and the WikiNature. Also, consult the WikiWikiWebFaq and OneMinuteWiki. This wiki is also part of the InterWiki space, which means you can easily refer to a wealth of information available through other public wiki sites.
Good starting points to explore a wiki are
RecentChanges: see where people are currently working
FindPage: search or browse the database in various ways
TitleIndex: a list of all pages in the wiki
WordIndex: a list of all words that are part of page title (thus, a list of the concepts in a wiki)
SiteNavigation: a page leading to the different indexing schemes of the wiki
WikiSandBox: feel free to change this page and experiment with editing
For more help, see the HelpContents and the HelpIndex pages.
2. Wiki Names
A WikiName is a word that uses capitalized words. WikiNames automagically become hyperlinks to the WikiName's page. What exactly is an uppercase or lowercase letter is determined by the configuration, the default configuration works for Latin-1 (ISO-8859-1) characters. See below for how to handle Asian, Hebrew and other non-western character encodings.
When you click on the highlighted page title (i.e. HelpForBeginners on this page), you will see a list of all pages that link to the current page. This even works on pages that are not defined yet.
A question mark before a link, or a different rendering in bold red, means that the page is not yet defined: you can click the question mark to offer a definition (e.g., ?NoSuchPageForReal). If you click on such a link, you'll see a default page that you can edit; only after you save the page will it be created for real. A list of all pages that are not yet created but referred on another page is on WantedPages.
To escape a WikiName, i.e. if you want to write the word WikiName without linking it, use an "empty" bold sequence (a sequence of six single quotes) like this: Wiki''''''Name. Alternatively, you can use the shorter sequence "``" (two backticks), i.e. Wiki``Name.
To learn more about wiki markup, see HelpOnEditing.


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We offer a Free quote and UK design service, get in touch today.
As specialists in the installation of outdoor flooring, we install multisport synthetic surfacing in Craigavon BT67 0 for multi-activity areas. The multisport flooring which we supply is available in a variety of colours making it perfect for young children. Needlepunch is often seen in primary schools since the flooring is quite soft, which means that the children won't get hurt if they fell over.
A number of sports and activities are played on needlepunch synthetic surfacing which means that there is no need to construct a number of different facilities, as the games could be carried out in a single space; this is one of the reasons why it is so popular across the United Kingdom.
get in touch today for the best deals
CONTACT US NOWNeedlepunch is also highly used for athletics areas. To learn more about the athletics surface options please click here https://www.impact-absorbing-surfaces.co.uk/facilities/athletics/craigavon/ We install the multisport surfacing for long jumps, high jumps, running tracks, compact athletics facilities and plenty more.
If you'd like to have needle punch synthetic surfacing installed or you are looking for details on costs, please fill out our contact form. We will get back to you as soon as possible with more information and a quote if required.
Needlepunch sports flooring is a fibre bonded synthetic surface which is installed to create multi-activity areas. The carpet is available in a number of bright colours to appeal to children of different ages. Needlepunch synthetic surfaces are great for primary nearby schools due to the impact absorbing properties the surface provides. We install needle punch over a shockpad if necessary. We will distribute sand fill to the base of the surfacing in order to keep the grass fibres upright. Multisport synthetic surfacing is becoming more popular than regular grass pitches, as it does not become muddy when wet; needlepunch is an all-weather surface type which means it is suitabke to be used all year round. Needle punch looks similar to grass due to its synthetic fibres; however this is a permeable surface which allows water to drain through. If you require more information on the multisport flooring, fill in your details on our enquiry form.
If you'd like safety surfacing installed for your multi-purpose area, our local professional contractors closest to you may install needle punch multi-activity areas. The fibre bonded carpet can be installed to create a sports facility with added grip which makes it perfect for younger people. Needle punch multi-activity areas are a great way to get young children involved in outdoor sports and games, since the new facility will attract them and make them want to take part. The surfaces that we install meet up to Q26 360 requirements so you can be sure the surface is of good quality.
We carry out our installations to the best standard and pride ourselves to give clients great value for money. By carrying out the correct maintenance of you multi-activity facility and its surrounding areas in Craigavon BT67 0 you will be able to increase the life-span of the surface and keep the area in great condition.
We adapt our multisport flooring specifications and designs to meet your individual requirements. If you have any individual preferences which you'd like us to know about, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our main goal is to make sure our consumers are happy with the finished facility, so we would be more than happy to hear your thoughts and ideas prior to installation. You can discuss the different specifications available with our team now by simply completing the contact box provided.
We are able to install a needlepunch carpet in a range of specifications to meet your individual needs. We may alter our specs if necessary in order to match your financial budget. The fibre bonded carpet is great for a variety of sports including football, hockey and tennis. A selection of schools around the UK have had multisport synthetic surface installed, as money is saved in the long run since only one sports facility will need to be installed. Along with multi-purpose sports, needlepunch fibre bonded surfacing can be installed for children's play areas where multiple activities are enjoyed and participated in.
The fibre bonded carpet may also be used for LEAP areas. If you need information on LEAPs please visit this page https://www.impact-absorbing-surfaces.co.uk/facilities/leap/craigavon/ The local equipped areas of play need to have a specialist surface like needlepunch installed so that the kids are safe when playing.
If you're interested in finding out more about the needlepunch multisport surfacing which we can install for schools and sports clubs in Craigavon BT67 0 please fill in our contact form. Once we receive your enquiry we will get back to you as soon as possible with a helpful response and more details on costs, prices and anymore info you require to know.


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June 10, 1997, New York, NY -- The UNESCO World Heritage Centre today announced its support for BikeAbout's educational Internet adventure in the Mediterranean as they endeavor to increase awareness of, and access to, World Heritage sites in the region.
BikeAbout-the Mediterranean is the first fully "wired" circumnavigation of the Mediterranean Sea by bicycle. The all-volunteer, international expedition and team effort is designed to foster an understanding and sense of unity in the Mediterranean through the use of modern technology and cycling. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre will help make it possible for BikeAbout to access and learn more about World Heritage sites in the region and then share that information with an Internet-based web of schools and partner organizations in the Mediterranean and the U.S.
Beginning in September, a team of four (or five) BikeAbout riders equipped with computers will set out eastward along the Moroccan coast and bicycle the full circumference of the Mediterranean, finishing in Gibraltar in June, more than 10,000 miles later. The journey will take BikeAbout and an excited Internet network of schools and enterprises through Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, the Gaza Strip, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia (Montenegro), Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Monaco, France, Spain, and Gibraltar. (Unfortunately, current political and security considerations will require the riders to make detours around Algeria and Libya.)
The many World Heritage sites in these countries located along the BikeAbout itinerary will serve as points of interest and activity for the BikeAbout riders. Nation- and region-specific issues, as well as discussions of the more general notion of world heritage, prompted by the historical, cultural and natural importance of these sites, will be built into the various activities depending on BikeAbout's presence in the Mediterranean.
BikeAbout is a non-profit organization specializing in Internet adventures that promote education, peace and cooperative understanding through bicycling and the improved use of technology in all learning environments. BikeAbout aims to increase awareness of and access to world regions and their people by traveling by bicycle, meeting the people, and using the unique capabilities of the Internet to share information with students, teachers and other on-lookers around the world. Networked schools and enterprises following the Journeys via the BikeAbout site on the World Wide Web (http://www.bikeabout.org) join in a shared educational adventure of discovery and exchange. The subsequent web of contacts spun by BikeAbout riders and collaborators helps make it possible to continue to share information about the world with the world.