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Taxes PDF
What is the Problem?
America's federal tax system is a well-intended system put in place to pay for essential government services. The problem is that it has grown into a massive and complex behemoth.
Not only do these taxes burden America's businesses and families with their sheer cost, but today's tax regime also attempts to direct our behavior.
Entrepreneurs are the primary source of job creation in our country. But higher top tax rates make it difficult to do so.
With government spending only deepening our financial crisis, working families may face remarkable tax hikes to simply maintain our nation's debt. This will damage the economy even more.
What Must Be Done?
We need money to run government, not to create further burdens to businesses trying to create jobs. So tax reforms should simplify the code, increase transparency, and ramp up economic growth.
Raising corporate tax rates means raising the price of things we buy. Washington must move to reduce the corporate tax rate and adjust other tax rates to help make America's economy more competitive. State legislatures need to control spending because state and local taxes also impact job creation.
To create a tax system that encourages job creation, Job Creators Network Foundation supports:
- Cutting the Corporate Tax Rate to 25 percent
- Simplifying the tax code to cut compliance costs
- Expanding IRS forbearance and support programs for small business
- Extending accelerated "bonus" depreciation of equipment purchases
Regulations PDF
What is the Problem?
Today, regulations are strangling American business. From the dry cleaner on Main Street to the large scale manufacturer, job creators are crying out for relief.
American regulations cost $1.75 trillion annually – more than the entire economic output of Canada. Regulatory burdens in the new health care law, in Dodd-Frank, and virtually autonomous and unaccountable government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency kill jobs.
Washington must take fundamental regulatory reform seriously by employing our best minds to root out wasteful and onerous regulations throughout government. This will help create jobs.
What Must Be Done
An ideal government regulatory climate would have oversight, accountability and quality control.
While some noble efforts to curb regulation have been made throughout the years, such as the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 and 1981's Task Force on Regulatory Relief, they simply didn't go far enough to curb wave after wave of government regulation.
We encourage working with our policymakers to root out wasteful and onerous regulations throughout government, without compromising the health and safety of the American workforce or people. This will help create jobs.
Job Creators Network Foundation believes serious regulatory reform in Washington should include the following:
- Use existing mechanisms to repeal unnecessary or redundant regulations, and simplify ones we want to keep.
- Support regulatory reform efforts already in the works like the Regulatory Improvement Act of 2013 and encourage others like it.
- Enact "sunset" legislation, meaning after a period of time, regulations face review and possible elimination if deemed no longer necessary or cost-effective.
Debt & Deficit PDF
What is the Problem?
Today the United States owes almost $17 trillion and the debt is rising $3.8 billion each day. The current administration is projected to spend enough to add another $13 trillion to the debt in a decade. This is unsustainable and guarantees higher taxes and interest rates in the future.
Increasing government debt thwarts job creation by driving up interest rates on business borrowing, making expansion plans more expensive. World Bank studies have also shown high-debt countries running deficits are more likely to suffer lower economic growth. The combination impedes job creation.
The United States will not experience true and sustainable economic growth as long as our government spends far beyond our means.
What Must Be Done
Policymakers must make the courageous decisions necessary to cut spending and reform and preserve Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. To help create jobs, Job Creators Network Foundation believes Washington must:
- Commit to limit the national debt to 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)
- Make meaningful reductions in entitlement programs
- Enact enforceable pay-as-you-go budget rules
Debt and Deficit Facts
- Federal debt is now about 73 percent of the economy's annual output, or GDP, higher than at virtually any point in US history and twice what it was at the end of 2007.
- In 1980, the U.S. national debt was less than $1 trillion. Today, it is almost $17 trillion.
- During President Barack Obama's first term, the federal government accumulated more debt than our nation did under the first 42 U.S presidents combined.
- The federal government takes more than 100 million dollars from our children and grandchildren every hour of every day.
- Every man, woman and child in America bears more than $50,000 in federal debt. That's enough to buy every American a brand new Mercedes Benz – even those too young to drive.
Health Care PDF
What is the Problem?
A system that retains and improves upon the President's goal of universal coverage but also restrains costs is what American workers and employers really need.
But the problem with the Affordable Care Act is not what it tried to do, but what it failed to do: stop runaway healthcare costs.
The effort to provide insurance for 30 million more Americans did not fix the runaway cost problem that made health coverage too expensive for too many in the first place. This primary threat to American health coverage has existed for decades and remains unsolved by the ACA.
This cost problem is why reform was needed. If not addressed, the ACA will fail.
What Must Be Done
Job Creators Network Foundation believes changes to the health care system should include the following elements:
- Fix the cost problem by putting patients – rather than insurance company or government insurance bureaucracies – in charge of the dollars being spent for their care
- Improve upon the President's goal of universal coverage by giving a basic minimum contribution of health care expense dollars to every adult American and family, regardless of income and job status.
- Reform medical malpractice to a system similar to workers compensation where all injured patients can find access to relief not just patients who attract powerful attorneys. This reform would virtually eliminate the practice of defensive medicine which increases health care costs exponentially.
- Ensure portability of insurance and by letting the individual or family choose and own their coverage with the dollars given to them and under their control.
- Protect against rejection for pre-existing conditions when an individual or family switches to different coverage.
Energy PDF
What is the Problem?
American technical innovation has unlocked a huge oil and natural gas opportunity that will allow us to soon become the largest energy producer on Earth and basically independent of the rest of the world for our energy needs.
This energy abundance can fuel an economic and manufacturing Renaissance, putting millions of Americans to work, keeping the price at the pump under control. The challenges:
- State-level efforts to prohibit the technology used for oil and gas drilling.
- Federal government efforts to restrict coal use, drilling offshore and on federal land.
- Federal government refusal to approve pipelines (Keystone XL) and other energy transportation needs.
What Must Be Done
Job Creators Network Foundation supports an "all of the above" energy strategy that pursues every option and encourages – not subsidizes – alternative energy sources.
The choice of energy resources must come from free market demand and not from the preferences of policymakers, lobbyists or special interest groups picking winners and losers.
- Abundant and cheap energy means a million high paying manufacturing jobs and millions of other jobs.
- Energy Independence: If government just stays out of the way, the USA will soon become a net exporter of oil and natural gas – and the world's largest producer of both.
- Environment: Americans are already using less and creating less carbon – precisely because of our new energy opportunities. Picking winners and losers with costly mandates and taxpayer subsidies on experimental green energy programs is not a solution to our environmental or economic challenges.
Education PDF
What is the Problem?
An American mind not reaching its potential leads to less prosperity for that individual and less for all of us.
There is no more important competitive advantage for the United States than a highly educated workforce where everyone involved is personally empowered to innovate and solve problems.
What Must Be Done
Job Creators Network Foundation believes education reform means the value of every school – and every public education dollar – must be judged primarily upon what it teaches students who are least likely to find their place in the workforce and seize the American Dream:
- School boards need to behave like trustees of education and not politicians.
- Closing the achievement gap between most and least successful students means rethinking how we allocate resources. This means getting the most "bang" for the buck and not using a child's ZIP code to determine a student's academic opportunity.
- One size never fits all. Communities must be empowered and encouraged to create a diverse portfolio of education options, including conventional public school districts, charter schools, independent schools, special needs instruction, tax-deductible business scholarships, and access to college credits.
- Skilled trades must be a priority, not an afterthought. The nation faces a huge gap in the number of new skilled tradespeople. Jobs for electricians, plumbers, welders, and others are often well-paying and pave the way for entrepreneurial-minded students to become job creators and business owners.
- Students and teachers should be held accountable for what they know and what they have learned. Mastery of subject, rather than seat time, should be the standard for promoting students in a subject. Talent and results, rather than time served, should be the standard for teacher promotions and compensation.
- Every school must have minimum instruction standards. A definition of learning standards and assessments should be created and required so as to ensure accurate accountability for student and teacher results.
Immigration PDF
What is the Problem?
We have a broken immigration system that presents many challenges to entrepreneurs seeking to hire the people they need. One of the most needless obstacles is the restriction placed on the number of highly skilled immigrants permitted to receive work visas each year. Rather than importing the world's most talented and skilled workers, we are exporting their high paying jobs to other nations.
Additionally, we educate the world's best and brightest at our universities. Many will be world leaders in business and high skill job creation. The U.S. Patent Office reports that immigrants invent new ideas at twice the rate of nativeborn Americans. More than 40 percent of the Fortune 500 were founded by immigrants or first generation Americans, and if these companies were a separate nation they would be the planet's fourth largest economy. Yet we make it difficult to keep more of these American trained brains here creating prosperous American jobs.
What Should Be Done?
Comprehensive immigration reform that addresses border security is an important concern, but a common sense solution preventing a "brain drain" of highly skilled workers should not need to wait for a resolution to all of the nation's immigration challenges. America's high-tech job creators support the Immigration Innovation Act, a bipartisan Congressional plan to increase opportunities for bringing highly skilled workers to the United States and entice the best and brightest foreign students at our universities to use their valuable talent to create prosperity right here at home.
Job Creators Network Foundation supports enactment of the Immigration Innovation Act, which includes the following highlights:
- The annual cap on H1B visas for highly skilled immigrants would be increased to 115,000. (The current cap is too low, as the slots for an entire year are sometimes filled within a single day, leaving many applicants unserved.)
- The annual H1B visa cap will automatically adjust each year, based upon demand from that year and the previous year, allowing American employers to compete against the world for the best brains, rather than against each other for an artificially limited supply of high skill work visas.
- Candidates for advanced degrees from U.S. universities will be granted worker visas apart from and exempt from the H1B visa cap, allowing U.S. firms to efficiently recruit and hire them without concern for resolving work and immigration status.
- Recipients of advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics degrees at U.S. universities will be exempt from caps on employment based green cards, allowing U.S. firms to efficiently recruit and hire them without concern for resolving work and immigration status.


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Happy new year to all old and new friends from me and the partydog (who is very happy everything is, nearly, back to normal)! My blogging time is minimal these days since T works at home and we have only one computer. We will have to move to ge more space, he needs an office and we need a proper bedroom (sitting here in the dark trying not to wake up the little one who refuses to sleep in the kids room). I hate the thought of packing and having to put away my sewing stuff for weeks again. All those ideas getting lost in that awful chaos... But its also a new start, just need to find that perfect house soon! Sigh.
Crafting. I'm trying to figure out a simple and good pattern for a bag. I try to convince myself it does not have to be perfect at the first try...
Outdoors. The weather is very strange, its like November, dark and rainy. And it is impossible to take pictures. I want snow and sunlight, how hard can it be?
Surfing. I haven't spent so much time at the computer lately, but I did some window shopping on etsy, my wishlist:
* a necklace
* a chair
* a chandelier
* a tee with scissors
* art for the walls and more
* and a tee for him
This will be a great year, I can feel it!
4 comments:
- kirsten said...
happy new year and happy house hunting!
- Wednesday, 03 January, 2007
- Peter said...
Happy new year to you too! :just some random guy popping in from somewhere afar:
- Friday, 05 January, 2007
- tiel S-K said...
hi K, Happy NY to you and your family. Good luck with the house hunting, I hope that you will be able to find something you are happy with...and something that has space!
- Monday, 08 January, 2007
- Rachael Herbert said...
Best wishes for the New Year. Love your little party dog pouch, it is so adorable!
- Monday, 08 January, 2007
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subset: commoncrawl


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It's time for that most important time of the year, March Madness. It comes at a time when I need total immersion into something that isn't health-related and sitting around munching chips, guzzling sugar-free and sodium-free Mandarin Orange soda while watching what I hope will be a steady procession of exciting games is enough to put me to bed happy tonight.
And, it's a year where ANYBODY in the top THIRTY in this bracketologist's nightmare has a chance to get past this weekend. Win a championship? Well, that's another thing.
A week ago, I was all over Oregon to dark horse their way to the title. Admittedly, the Canadian content, including local kid Dylan Ennis, had something to do with that. But I saw an Oregon team that was ready for the NCAA's before the year turned over. Sure, the Ducks got bored to the point of losing to non-title contenders. But the talent and the 'arrogance' that a title team needs was in plenty evidence. But this past weekend dealt the Ducks a cruel blow. Chris Boucher out for the rest of the season with a blown-out knee. Quack!!!!
So, if not Oregon, who? The guard theory certainly made me immediately think of Kansas. Then Josh Jackson did whatever he did and Kansas lost in the Big 12. There will be extra motivation for Jackson to atone for his ... whatever he did. And Frank Mason III has been other-worldly this year. But here's the thing. Like my previous infatuation with Florida, Kansas tends to disappoint with the notable exception of Mario Chalmer's comeback kings back in the 'Aughts. I think it's time to move Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk back to the Bin of Dreams I keep in the attic. Oh, this undoubtedly makes them almost automatically the favourite, but over time, I think it's best not to let my heart get broken into even smaller bits.
Can Malik Monk go all Aaron Harrison on the tournament and play six top-calibre games? I'm guessing not. So, not Kentucky, which somehow got drawn into the Region of Death, the South, with heavyweight road-blocks in UCLA and (if I am wrong) North Carolina in the way. Besides, John Calipari (The Grayson Allen of coaching) is still coaching there and his in-game coaching is .... NOT NEAR A MATCH for his recruiting.
Defending champs Villanova, the team after a short man's heart? Again, save for the Florida Repeatin' Gators from earlier this century, defending champ means "which round do they lose in?" And I think I have the one Big 10/16 team that will be a surprise this year. Wisconsin doesn't shoot free throws all that well, which will be okay for the first 37 minutes of the second-round game between the Wildcats and the Badgers. I think the Wisconsin lead at that point will be large enough to survive the intentional foul onslaught. 'Nova is worthy of the top overall seed. But with the Curse of the Champeen hanging like the Sword of Damocles, I'm calling on Wisconsin to dispose of the Champs.
Hmmmmm, North Carolina? Certainly from the Tobacco Road neighbourhood in the dominant ACC. Experienced up and down the roster. Joel Berry II might only be two-thirds of Mason III, but he's been very, very good ... most of the time. Justin "I'm not Josh and was NOT going to be confused with him ... until THIS year when all things JJ were great!" Jackson gives the Tar Heels TWO honourable mentions in the coming Mason III coronation as Player of the Year. But North Carolina needs Isaiah Hicks to play six relatively foul-free games in a row. Well, make that five. Sorry Texas Southern fans, both of you. Hicks and the UCLA front-line are not a match in Tar Heel heaven. So that's, what, three number one seeds down?
The fourth to fall and the one to go the farthest (well, tied with Kansas for the farthest), is the "finally-respected by the Bracket committee" Zags/Bulldogs of Gonzaga. They have major league front-court talent, which will have the needed neutralizing effect on Arizona when they meet in the West Region final. But an unfunny thing will happen in Phoenix in the Final Four. The Zags will discover that height matters ... unless the opponent can shoot over that height.
Which means a Duke-UCLA championship final. Which feels right in this year of bad, REALLY BAD pre-season rankings. Sure, injuries had an incredibly negative effect throughout the nation, including taking Harry Giles out of the Player of the Year discussion. And off the starting five for Coach K's Dookies. He'd be smart to stay in school and earn an even BIGGER pay cheque in the summer of 2018. But, history keeps banging us over the heads to take the money when you can. Losing one season means that BIG free agent contract is just another year away. All that said, Giles HAS to play big for the ... let's call them height-challenged Blue Devils.
And that's because the UCLA front-line is NBA-sized. And T.J. Leaf and his NOT height-challenged teammates will have Lonzo Ball creating lay-ups. Ball, however reminds me of Chris Paul. And Paul's exit from the college game was messy piled upon messy. And that was despite having more experience than Ball. Plus, it's not really Ball that I have issues with. It's his lightning rod of a father who will somehow dominate the Final Four stage from off-stage by saying something bizarre thanks to a willingly complicit Media. In fact several somethings in an unacknowledged battle with Comrade Donald for attention. The task of staying focused amidst the pressure of "CBS' One Shining Moment in the making," along with trying to neutralize his father's fodder of foolishness will prove a step too far.
Which brings me back to Duke. The "why nots" for Duke are easy to figure out. A bit of a tallness issue. The issues with Grayson Allen. That swoon when Coach K left the team for pain-relieving surgery. And EVERYBODY in the country seems to have a long-term dislike for the confidence (read AIR-oh-gantz) that seems to permeate every Blue Devil once the kid accepts the scholarship.
To me, surviving the injury bugs (Allen, Giles and Amile Jefferson, as well as The Coach), the ACC tournament, and yes, the confidence, combined with the experience, makes me think the Blue of Duke will outlast the Blue of UCLA in an entertaining final, 81-77. Why? I love Luke Kennard's game. With Allen back, the Bruins cannot swarm Kennard to force the ball out of his hands. Allen is the release valve for that plan. (and yes, Allen's well documented dirty play difficulty will dominate the media scrums in Phoenix for the rest of the questions beyond Mr. Ball.). I wouldn't relish playing Kennard straight up. And that is why I think this is yet another banner/pennant to rise to the rafters at Cameron, Duke's Tobacco Road home.
So, beyond UCLA and Duke upsetting their ways to the Final Four, what other water-cooler upsets do I see making tongues wag? I honestly, rarely go against chalk on the weekends. But in this year of multiple teams getting to that top ranking, I think I have to throw away tired old ideals. It's also the year of the Virginia commonwealth popping up in near-record numbers.
I think that the sweetheart that gets past the first weekend will be Middle Tennessee (knocking off Minnesota in a 5-12 game, and then Butler. Wisconsin's weekend whacking of Villanova (an honorary V-school) will be the upset of most importance as the tournament quarters the field. Otherwise, there's a LOT of Virginia action that will make the wahoos proud of their state. Virginia getting past UNC Wilmington won't be an upset, but a win over Florida WILL be, albeit a slight one. Vanderbilt, an honorary V-School, will win the 8-9 West matchup with Northwestern.
Virgina Tech will be Wisconsin's first victim, falling to the Badgers in an 8-9 game. VCU's loss to Saint Mary's is expected in a 7-10 clash. But I think that game might be amongst the tourney's best in the round of 64.
I like Marquette to top South Carolina in a 7-10 pairing. That, and the Wisconsin toppling of Villanova accounts for all the East upsets. I'm passing on the popular picks of SMU to down Baylor this weekend and East Tennessee beating Florida because everybody picks on Florida ... including me. But not THIS round.
The West upsets are positively going to be rare. Vandy over Northwestern and then pfft! Maybe it's the Xavier Rathan-Mayes fan in me, but I can't see Florida Gulf Coast beating Florida State, although it'll be fun to watch. The FGC Eagles do have upset momentum in a LOT of brackets. Not mine.
Lots of opening upsets in the MidWest. Michigan State gets the 8-9 nod over the higher-seeded Miami for no other reason than picking against Tom Izzo is dumb. If they weren't playing Kansas in the second round, I'd like the Spartans to make a run. Michigan, not to be confused with Izzo's squad, will drop a decision to 10th-seeded Oklahoma State. And in keeping with the upsets that will dominate talk Saturday morning, will be Rhode Island taking out Creighton. I passed on the trendy Nevada over Iowa State 5-12 upset. Other-wise, it's Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk to the Final Four. Literally.
Now, the South is going to be uber-entertaining. Not only do the Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee back their supporters in taking the 5-12 game, but also eliminate 4th-seeded Butler before succumbing to North Carolina. The last of the opening round upsets is the usual 8-9 pot boiler as Seton Hall stops Arkansas. I wanted to have Wake Forest in the 6-11 game with Cincinnatti, but the Deamon Deacons failed in a First Four matchup with Kansas State. So, I will take the Bearcats over the Wildcats. Lastly, I passed on another trendy pick, 10th-seeded Wichita State, which will be shocked by the 7th-seeded Dayton Flyers. Shocked, if you go by the Hail, Mary pickers who believe explicitly in the KenPom ratings. After the games Thursday and Friday, UCLA does the upsetting, nabbing 2nd-seeded Kentucky, top-seeded North Carolina and then ANOTHER One seed in Kansas.
Duke wins, and I already have the shirt for that.


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From Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991: A History, by Orlando Figes (Metropolitan, 2014), Kindle Loc. 2532-2548:
The outcome of this wholesale seizure of the harvest—encouraged by exaggerated surplus estimates from local officials eager to win favour from Moscow—was widespread famine in 1932–3. The number of deaths is impossible to calculate accurately, but demographers suggest that up to 8.5 million people died of starvation or disease. The worst-affected areas were in Ukraine, where peasant resistance to collectivization was particularly strong and the grain levies were excessively high. This has prompted some historians to argue that the 'terror-famine' was a calculated policy of genocide against Ukrainians—a claim enshrined in law by the Ukrainian government and recognized in all but name by the United Nations and the European Parliament.
Stalin had a special distrust of the Ukrainian peasantry. He was more than capable of bearing grudges against entire nationalities, and of killing them in large numbers, as he would demonstrate during the Great Terror and the war. The Kremlin was undoubtedly negligent towards the famine victims and did very little to help them. If it had stopped exporting food and released its grain reserves, it could have saved million of lives. Instead, the government prevented people fleeing from the famine area, officially to stop diseases spreading, but also to conceal the extent of the crisis from the outside world. Perhaps it used the famine as a punishment of 'enemies'. In the reported words of Lazar Kaganovich, who oversaw collectivization and grain procurements in Ukraine, the death of a 'few thousand kulaks' would teach the other peasants 'to work hard and understand the power of the government'. But no hard evidence has so far come to light of the regime's intention to kill millions through famine, let alone of a genocide campaign against the Ukrainians. Many parts of Ukraine were ethnically mixed. There is no data to suggest that there was a policy of taking more grain from Ukrainian villages than from the Russians or other ethnic groups in the famine area. And Ukraine was not the only region to suffer terribly from the famine, which was almost as bad in Kazakhstan.


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William Maley
Editor/Reporter - CheersandGears.com
January 14, 2012
To those who are worried about Nissan abandoning the SUV market with Pathfinder moving to a crossover, worry no more. Car & Driver has learned that Nissan isn't going to a unibody frame for the Xterra. Enginners familiar with the development of the Xterra told the magazine the Xterra will continue to share its DNA with the Frontier pickup.
This means people who want something durable when going off the beaten path, Nissan will have a vehicle for them. Those who want something won't be heading into the trails can always goes towards Nissan's Rogue crossover.
Source: Car & Driver


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State of the State Advice: Try for Understated
If something seems funny about Jerry Brown's first State of the State Address tonight (well, his first SOS this time around), you're not imagining things.
Traditionally, a California governor gives the big speech within the first two weeks of January. The roll-out goes something like this: Stage of the State on Monday or Tuesday, big bad budget announcement on Thursday, q&a at the Sacramento Press on Friday, then four-and-a-half weeks of tedium until the budget's "May Revise" (translation: adjusting the January forecast for the reality of April revenues).
So why would Brown break with standard operating procedure, and opt instead to give an address closer to Groundhog Day than national hangover-and-college-bowl day?
My guess:
1) Practical Politics. Assuming Brown gives a lengthier oration than his 17-minute inaugural address back on Jan. 3, then it's safe to say he'll get into more than the sad state of California's fiscal affairs. Twenty-seven days ago, this would have been a problem as it would have risked overshadowing priorities number one, two and three for the new Brown administration: convincing enough legislative Democrats and Republicans to get on board with a package of spending cuts and tax cuts, then getting said package on the ballot by mid-March, for a June special election. Sure, Brown will start with the budget tonight. But part of the fun is figuring where he goes after that. For nearly four weeks, it's been all budget mess, all the time. The governor's made his point. Now it's safe to broaden the conversation.
2) Practical Mechanics. Having written a few of these speeches myself (for Pete Wilson, back in the late '90's), I can assure you that Brown would have had yet another problem had he tried this back on, oh say, Jan. 9 or so. In drafting the SOS, you look for input from the governor's appointees out in Agencyland. Moreover, you need those appointees to fact-check what assertions you choose. In case you haven't noticed, this governor hasn't been in a rush to fill those vacancies. Imagine the fun of this:"So today I'm calling on my Secretary of Business, Transportation and Housing to . . . Huh? What's that? I don't have a BT&H secretary. Hey, skip that thought." It was amusing when the governor lost his way in his inaugural. We called it quirky. Less amusing if it happens again. He'd look downright disorganized.
3) Practical Magic. We expect our leaders to show vision. Done majestically, like Ronald Reagan, and we fall in love. Done skillfully, like Barack Obama, and we're willing to give a first-term senator with scant achievement the benefit of the doubt. Jerry Brown is unusual in this regard: he breezed through last year's gubernatorial race and his early days office with little emphasis on the future. Californians chose not so much a chief executive last fall as a CFO — someone to make sense of California's finances. With tonight's address, Brown now gets a promotion: to CEO. Tell us where you see California five years from now, sir, not five months.
A couple of other thoughts, from the ex-speechwriter's peanut gallery:
1) It wouldn't kill Brown to say a few words about the unrest in Egypt. Simply because it's a reminder that people are willing to risk their lives for freedom. A lot of words have been devoted on this blog and others to the running-down of the state of democracy in California. I'd like to see the governor remind us that our system, though flawed, is precious nonetheless.
2) McKinley Elementary. If you haven't been following the saga of this struggling school in Compton, I suggest you read up on it. Parents at school have attempted to use California's "Parent Trigger" law to rescue their kids from the clutches from a chronically failing public-ed system. Compton Unified, in return, has done its best (or worst) to keep McKinley from being converted into a charter school. Noticeably absent in this debate: the new governor (and Kamala Harris and Barack Obama). If Jerry Brown wants to prove that he's a common-sense education reformer, here's a good place to start.
3) Brevity. For goodness sake, brevity. President Obama's State of the Union speech was a sprawling, attention-challenging 62 minutes in length — it look Lincoln less than three minutes to deliver his Gettysburg Address. It started as a theme ("Win the Future" . . . yes, "WTF" for those of you who like to speak in Internet code). It turned into a back-and-forth on all things focus-grouped. The president reached out to his base, he reached out to spending skeptics. He hugged teachers. He saluted the military. He sent a shout-out to gay donors ("don't ask, don't tell") . . . he quickly pivoted and called for expanding ROTC on college campuses. And so it went. A State of the Union, yes — if you define "union" as swing voters in Ohio and Florida. Gov. Brown's inaugural address was, for all practical matters, the budget part of tonight's speech. He can devote less time to it tonight, if he likes, and more to that elusive vision.
Then again, I thought Obama could have delivered a different speech last week — devoted entirely, as Brown did in sticking to the budget, not to the state of the union but to the state of Washington's finances (the President facing a mid-February face-off on the budget, and a debt-ceiling pas de deux beginning in March). Once he settled the debt ceiling, the president could have marched back to the Hill for that "WTF" agenda.
There's no need for 62 minutes of consternation, triangulation and self-adulation in Sacramento tonight. Jerry Brown should strive for quality, not quantity.
A State of the State that's . . . tastefully understated.


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Birches Serviced Apartments
|Prices will be charged in AUD
|Full Rate
|Thu 19 Jul 2018
|Fri 20 Jul 2018
|Sat 21 Jul 2018
|Sun 22 Jul 2018
|Mon 23 Jul 2018
|Tue 24 Jul 2018
|Wed 25 Jul 2018
|Thu 26 Jul 2018
|Fri 27 Jul 2018
|Sat 28 Jul 2018
|Sun 29 Jul 2018
|Mon 30 Jul 2018
|Tue 31 Jul 2018
|Wed 01 Aug 2018
|Move the mouse over the price for inclusions, occupancy and minimum stay
Property Information
Birches Serviced Apartments has brand new pillow top beds so dreamy you won't want to go home!
Birches Serviced Apartments is conveniently located within walking distance to
- Rod Laver Arena
- Victoria Street which is famous for Vietnamese restaurant
- Brunswick Street (cafes, bars and restaurants)
- A multitude of parks and gardens, Fitzroy Gardens
- Bridge Road shopping precinct and warehouses
- Many major hospitals (Peter Mac, Freemasons, Epworth, St.Vincents, and Mercy Private).
- A short tram ride to CBD, Etihad Stadium (Telstra Dome), Queen Victoria Markets, St Kilda, Lygon Street,
Crown Casino and Chapel Streets. Tram line is on our corner on the stop no.17.
Trams no.109 will bring you to Melbourne CBD within 10 min.
We are certified by HMAA and AAA Tourism for Victorian Accommodation Industry Award for Excellence 2004, 2005 and again 2006. We are also awarded for 2007 finalist for Excellency in Sustainability and for Best Back of the House.....and AGAIN 2008 Award for Best House-keeper. Birches Serviced Apartments has been proudly awarded 4 stars by RACV for our environmentally friendly practices in 2004. We are one of the first serviced apartments in Victoria to be awarded by RACV. We try our best to carry out "Environmentally Awareness." At Birches Serviced Apartments, WIRELESS Internet is available in your apartment. With the special arrangement with local traders, you as being our guests will have a special 5% discount at IGA Supermarket and Bottle shop which is located only 3 minutes walk.
It is very important you let us know your arrival time as our reception hours are as follows. If you are arriving outside these hours, we will need to give you instructions.
Monday-Friday 7.30am - 7.00pm
Saturday 8.00am - 4.00pm
Sunday 8.30am - 4.00pm
Property Features
- BBQ Area
- Pet friendly
- Broadband Internet Access
- Dry Cleaning Service
- DVD Library
- Security Parking
- Guest Laundry
- Non-Smoking Property
- Gym
- Tour Desk
Accommodation Details
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here. I haven't been able to get to the full review yet. I'll have to try to get it through my own library. The first page is positive though.
[Update: not available from the library until a year after publication. I don't want to spend $34 just for my own ego, which is doing just fine today, thank you. I've written the author of the review to see if she will send it to me.]
Email me at jmayhew at ku dot edu
"The very existence of poetry should make us laugh. What is it all about? What is it for?"
--Kenneth Koch
"El subtítulo 'Modelo para armar' podría llevar a creer que las diferentes partes del relato, separadas por blancos, se proponen como piezas permutables."
13 ago. 2011
Yet another review
Posted by Jonathan at 10:23 a. m.
2 comentarios:
- Spanish prof dijo...
Can't you ask for the article through Interlibrary Loan? That's what I do when there is an article I really want to read but the journal has a one year embargo on the databases. It works for me.
- 10:50 a. m.
- Jonathan dijo...
I have the review now. ILL can take a while and I wanted to read the review NOW.
- 10:52 a. m.
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Sunday, April 11, 2010
The Star Wars Soundtrack That Wasn't
Massive Attack (from their 1994 Virgin CD "Protection")
Protection 7:51
Karmacoma 5:16
Weather Storm 5:00
Fluke (from their 2001 Virgin CD "Progressive History X")
Tosh 6:31
Bullet 7:46
Whale (from their 1995 Virgin CD "We Care")
Pay For Me 4:24
That's Where It's At 4:15
Photek (from their 1996 Virgin CD "The Hidden Camera")
The Chemical Brothers (from their 1995 Virgin CD "Exit Planet Dust")
Leave Home 5:32
Chemical Beats 4:50
F**k Up Beats 1:25
I thought of this recently since The Chemical Brothers have a new album due out that's getting lots of attention. What I didn't know until now was that they were originally called the Dust Brothers and only changed their name to The Chemical Brothers on their "Exit Planet Dust" album. Since dust can contain a lot of lead, I thought an illustration of Atomic Number 82 - the chemical symbol for Lead - was appropriate here.
Posted by Lucy Autrey Wilson at 11:33 AM
Labels: Music
2 comments:
- Ryan said...
Chemical Brothers are a London-based group, Dust Brothers are LA. They are not the same group.
- April 13, 2010 at 12:21 PM
- Lucy Autrey Wilson said...
The Chemical Brothers were called Dust Brothers in London before they changed their name, motivated by the original US Dust Brothers who threatened legal action over the use of the band's name per wikipedia and also Virgin websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chemical_Brothers
- April 13, 2010 at 5:08 PM
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Every day, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, you can witness the huge arrivals and departures of the so- called "bagong bayani" or new heroes . This is what the government of the Philippines called those Filipino expats or OFWs working in different fields abroad, in short, "dollar earners." The high volume of dollar remittances that OFWs sent to the country, prompted the government to coin an ambiguous label to all overseas Filipino workers.
On line dictionary, defines, Hero as follows:
1. In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
2. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.
3. A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine. See Synonyms at celebrity.
4. The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.
Now, based on the above definition, which one applies to us expatriates? I think we have to add a number 5, such as, "a person who send dollar remittances to his country." And this is exactly what our government wants us to do. Otherwise, there is no use to call a guy a hero unless he sends dollar thru bank remittances. How about "door to door" services? Perhaps, it is not included in this category and I am sure you will not be called a "hero," simply because remittance here is to an individual and not thru banks.
The question arises, what does a "hero" gets in return for helping our economy grow?
Before going further, let us have a flashback since you departed as well as in your first vacation. I have not experienced in my life going back and forth the international airport that someone ever told me personally that I am a "hero". I read the word only in the newspapers. I believe, majority of the expats have the same feeling with me on this issue, except for those guys especially nominated and awarded this honorable distinction in various "bagong bayani" selection categories. But for the majority, I have no idea what the government has given in return. But as an OFW, I kept paying the OWWA, POEA and Insurance fees and reduced travel tax for family members.
Returning OFWs could not escape the rising prices of basic commodities and a country in turmoil over political feuds, and a sick system. Once, an economic giant in the Far East, but now ranks at the bottom and economy in shambles.
The only solution, perhaps, is total overhaul of the political system. People should always be reminded that if we want a change in our system, we have to install a fresh, qualified and highly educated "servant" to occupy our political chambers. Forget about this "padrino" or "compadre" system, if we would like our country to restore its credibility and economic prestige once we possessed. Change will come only if we have courage to remove all those in power serving their own interest. My advise to these old folks, why not give chance to younger generations of political "heroes."? You are more than old enough to stay. Leave your futile years behind and enjoy your remaining life. We have vast reserve of untapped resources of talented professionals ready to take over and reign for the love of country and not for the love of one's self. It is a shame that we shall serve our country for money. Our sublime right of suffrage should be preserved and guarded, not to be tarnished with a 100 peso bill distributed on Election Day.
Note: Above piece is a personal blog only.


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I can't do a post on my garden without showing my girls. Currently I have 4 poodles and I will introduce them to you here.
This is in way of explaining the state of my grass.............these girls really do a number on it.
This blog is about my garden and the outdoors. I am new to photography but I am trying to show some of the pretty things that grow here in Michigan. I love the wild things who visit me and I dont mind if they eat a bit here and there. I like it more if they let me take their picture. As time goes on I think I will try to show you around the beautiful area that I live in as well as my garden. I try to use my own pictures as much as possible but will also use pictures from the web. If I inadvertently use your photo or work without permission please email me and I will remove it or give credit if you prefer. I will give credit when I know who the owner is. I would ask that anyone using my pictures do the same.
... I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.......Psalm23:6
... I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.......Psalm23:6
If you do not have a blog and wish to comment (I love comments) you can join google and comment via that, It's free
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
My Poodles.
Posted by Janice Kay Schaub at 10:26 PM
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I found it interesting that in the interest of educating the people for self-government, both George Washington and James Madison during their presidency suggested the establishment of a national university in Washington, D.C. to be supported by public funds resulting from the sale of public lands. Congress' response?
We have seen that the Founders considered education to be of a massive importance, of the highest importance. We have seen that they found ways to subsidize it on a huge scale, but ways that preserved the ability of people engaged in education--ultimately parents, students, and teachers--to manage it themselves. They did this for reasons having to do strictly with education itself. They did it also for the sake of the central reasons behind the American Revolution. (p. 13)
I find this interesting. Today, we talk about "original intent" and what our founding fathers meant in their writings. We argue back and forth about the language of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and letters written between its authors. Or we just declare it a "living document" and maleable to our intents and purposes. Here, Congress could have simply asked the President. One was the chairman of the convention that approved the Constitution and the other was its principle author. But neither were kings and both were subject to and limited by the same principles of government they helped to establish.
It was necessary to consider whether Congress possessed the power to found and endow a national university. It is argued, from the total silence of the Constitution, that such a power has not been granted to Congress, inasmuch as the only means by which it is therein contemplated to promote the progress of science and the useful arts is, by securing to authors and inventors exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries for limited times. The Constitution, therefore, does not warrant the creation of such corporation by any express provision.
--House Select Committee, "which relates to the establishment of a seminary of learning by the National Legislature," Report to the House of Representatives, read by Samuel L. Mitchill, February 18, 1811.
Or, as Alexis de Toqueville would later write in Democracy in America,
Often the European sees in the public official only force; the American sees in him right. One can therefore say that in America man never obeys man, but justice or law. (p. 57)Even our founding fathers did not have the last say in what government could or could not do. The Constitution did.
Related Tags: education, government, Liberty and Learning, homeschooling, self-government


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I know there are some of you who lie directly in this massive storm's path and my prayers go out for the safety of you, your loved ones and your property.
Since the running joke in Cleveland, OH is "If you don't like the weather, give it 15 minutes and it will change.", we're used to extreme heat, cold, rain and snow. And sometimes all in the same day. If you look at a map of the storm, you can see that we lie right on the outer edge of the system but that outer edge still packs a pretty mean punch.
I stopped at Whole Foods Market tonight on the way home from work to buy some soup because a cold, stormy night is the perfect time for tomato soup! I was waiting to checkout and the cashier, a young man in his early 20's, was lamenting about the storm to every patron that went through his line. At first, I felt sorry for him but by the time I got to him, I wanted to slap him across the face and say, "Get a hold of yourself, man!"
I hope he didn't see this picture of the Shoreway on Lake Erie, taken this afternoon.
My sister bought me this portable power station a few years back and I remembered wondering what the heck I would ever do with it. Well, tonight, I might find out.


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The holidays are coming, and this means one thing. It's time to start shopping for those all-important gifts. There's no doubt that for most, Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But it's also the most expensive. If you're keen to boost your holiday shopping fund this year, here are some brilliant ideas.
Image from Pixabay
Generating extra income in the run-up to Christmas
Work overtime
Most of us could do with a bit of extra cash when it comes to Christmas time. If you have a job, it may be worth enquiring about overtime. You could offer extra help over the weekends, for example, or increase the number of shifts you work. If you don't work, or you're already working full-time, consider these options. If you work part-time, you could also consider taking on a seasonal job, for example, working at a gift store on a Saturday. In some lines of work, it may also be possible to increase earnings by working antisocial hours. If you're a nurse, for example, you may earn more by working night shifts.
Have a clear out
Have you ever thought about how much all your possessions are worth? Has it been a while since you had a good old-fashioned clear out? Are your wardrobes full of clothes you never wear? Have you got ornaments collecting dust on the shelves? If so, why not devote a weekend to going through your closet and having a stock check in the attic? You may be surprised at what you find. Make separate piles for things you want to keep and those you no longer want. If you have items in a saleable condition, put them to one side. If you don't think things will sell, you could always donate them to a thrift shop.
Once you've got a pile of items for sale, there are various options open to you. You could sell them on an online auction site or investigate buy-back websites. Using the Internet, you can send off your books, electrical items or DVDs in exchange for money. If this sounds appealing, you'll find information about sites like BuyBack Express detailed online.
You may also wish to consider hosting a yard sale at home. Individually, your items may not be worth much. But you might be surprised at how much you take in an afternoon.
Image source: Flickr
Rent out spare rooms or parking spaces
Do you have a spare room you never use? Have you got ample parking close to the city center? If so, you could maximize your earnings by renting out the space you have available. Even a short-term let could make a massive difference to your bank balance. If you're not keen to share your home with a stranger, ask around to see if friends or colleagues need a room. If you have additional parking available, do some research to see if there's demand for spaces in your local area. If you live close to town, you may find that commuters are desperate for a good deal.
Making savings at home
One way to boost your holiday fund is to make savings at home. By doing things differently, you can often increase your disposable income significantly. Here are some examples of how you can save money in the months before Christmas.
Switch providers
Many of us have dealings with several companies. We have cell phone contracts, TV and broadband bundles, and insurance policies. Add gas and electricity into the mix, and you've got plenty of areas where you could save. Switching providers could save you a huge amount of money, and it's easier to do that ever before. You can use the Internet to shop around for the best deals and take advantage of incentives that are designed to lure in new clients. If you've been with the same companies for years, take a couple of minutes to research other options.
Change your credit card
Are you paying interest on your credit card every month? If so, why not look into making a balance transfer? Often, banks will offer an interest-free period for those switching from one card to another. This means you can save on interest payments, and avoid additional fees for purchases you make in the coming months. Before you switch, make sure you check the terms and conditions carefully.
Image from Flickr
Cut those energy bills
When it gets to fall, most of us increase our energy usage. Before we know it, our bills have doubled, and the holiday fund is depleted. Most of us could save money on energy bills by making our homes more efficient, and being less wasteful. Do you leave the lights on or the taps running? If so, turning them off will make a world of difference. If your home is cold, there may be simply things you can do to improve heat retention. You can buy sealant, for example, for windows and doors for a few dollars from the hardware store. You could also replace old bulbs and electrical appliances with energy-efficient versions.
Make savings on grocery shopping
If you add up how much you spend on groceries in a month, you may be shocked. Thankfully, there are ways of eating well for less. Planning ahead is always better than doing a spontaneous shop, especially if you go to the store when you're hungry. Write a list for a menu for the week ahead, and stick to it. Look out for offers, and make use of coupons and vouchers. Try and avoid buying more than you need. If you do buy too much, try batch cooking. This involves making large volumes of food and then freezing portions for later in the week. This is a great idea if you're busy and you find it hard to fit in cooking after work. Ideal recipes for batch cooking include chili, cottage pie, and casseroles. You can also save money by shopping online. When you add foods to your virtual basket, you get a running total on your screen. This makes you more aware of what you're spending. There's also no temptation to stock up on things you don't need because they catch your eye on the shelves.
Image credit Flickr
Budget, budget, budget
If you don't already budget, now is a perfect time to start. Budgeting enables you to keep tabs on your spending, and it gives you an idea of how much you have available each month. Once you have a figure in mind, you can work out what you need to buy, and what else you can afford. When you're buying presents, it pays to spread the cost. This way, you can cover everyone without bankrupting yourself in December and January.
Image via Pixabay
Savvy shopping tips: how to get great gifts for less
We all want to spoil our friends and family at Christmas. Sadly, buying amazing gifts often comes at a price. Thankfully, there are some ways you can save on shopping and still get fantastic presents.
Online shopping is a revelation for those looking to save money and enjoy hassle-free browsing. Gone are the days of wrestling your way through crowds and waiting hours to pay. Now, you can order gifts online in an instant with absolutely no stress involved. As well as being convenient, online shopping can also work out a lot cheaper. Do you have a specific gift in mind? For example, a toy your nephew is desperate for or a coffee maker your mom has been hinting about for months? If so, you can use the Internet to find the best price. All you need to do is enter the name or product code, and you can compare offers from different retailers.
As Christmas approaches, you'll often find that shops and stores host shopping events. If you sign up to mailing lists, you'll get details sent to you via email. You may find that you get a 20% off code or a voucher for your next purchase, for example. Keep your eyes out for promotions like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
When you're shopping for gifts, take advantage of offers like 3 for 2. If you have lots of sisters or cousins, for example, you can buy a bundle of gifts, and this will save you money. If you're ordering online, try and buy presents together to reduce shipping costs.
Image courtesy of Flickr
The holidays are coming, and most of us are looking forward to buying gifts and celebrating with loved ones. Christmas is fantastic, but it's also pricey. If you're eager to add to your shopping fund before the holidays, now is the time to make some changes. You can make savings at home, and also take advantage of savvy shopping tricks. Think about taking on extra work for the next few weeks or have a clear out and sell some stuff you don't want. Shop around for the best prices on TV and cell phone contracts, credit cards, and consider changing provider. Make sure you get the best deals on items you want for friends and family by comparing prices online. If you take these tips on board, you'll have extra money for shopping before you know it. You may even have a little left over to treat yourself!


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Tuesday, January 22, 2013
By Shilpa Chopra
New Fiat Linea 2013 hits the Spain car market; India arrival in 2014
Fiat Motors is going places with its new Linea sedan model. The 2013 Fiat Linea sedan recently hit the Spain car market with a price tag of 11,900 Euros. The car has been built in turkey and is exported to Spain and in other countries of Europe. Apart from the launch in Spain, Fiat Linea 2013 model has already been rolled out in Turkey and Greece. Apparently, this model might also come to India by next year, which a raised price. The facelifted version of Linea will be coming with a whole lot changes. The exteriors are refreshed big time. You would see new grille design along with refreshed bumper. The rear profile of the car will also be seen with new boot lid design along with some highlighting chrome finishes here and there. On the other hand, the interiors of the 2013 Fiat Linea sedan have also been enhanced. The car model will now feature some high quality material and more comfortable features and impressive color schemes. The dashboard of the car has also been refurbished in order to enhance the overall ambiance of the car.
Get Fiat Linea Price
Right now, if we look at the Indian car market, Fiat India hasn't seen its best phase so far. The reason behind this is the high competition. The Fiat Linea sedan in India is pitting against Ford Fiesta, which is a major success in the country. Therefore, it is a possibility that the new Fiat Linea might able to establish itself in the Indian car market and fetch some more appreciation and sales figures for the firm. The ongoing model of Linea in India is offered in both diesel and petrol and these engine options will be continuing in the 2013 Linea as well.
See More Fiat Linea Pictures


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Okay, not so seriously, but the analysis perhaps highlights how overseas analysis premised upon the claims of Beltway journalists and pundits can result in their exaggerated belief in the importance of palace intrigue on U.S. elections.
You see, Alex Spillius has a rather intriguing scoop in the Telegraph this morning, alerting the world to the possibility that the American President's Chief of Staff may leave the White House before two years of Obama's first term are up.Like Colin Powell's resignation as Secretary of State, if it is actually to occur after the election it won't affect the election. (This stuff needs to be explained?) Rumors of resignation are, for some reason, being treated as news today - to the extent that people care, they will be stale in November.
He seems cheesed off at not getting his way.
It's hard to overstate the extent to which Republicans, already feeling that they've got the wind in their sails ahead of the mid-term elections, will jump on this as a sign of administrative failure in the White House. That would be a great shame, not least because it is partly true.
His departure would be interpreted by a large portion of the American populace, and many of the right wing cable channels and radio stations, as a sign that things are at breaking point in the Oval Office, and not enough is getting done.A "large portion"? Again, seriously?
More realistically the average American voter will react by asking, "Rahm who? Who did what?" As important a role as the White House Chief of Staff can play, I'm skeptical that Emanuel has much national name recognition and, to the extent that people know who he is, I'm skeptical that more than a handful could describe his job title and, of those, only a fraction would know what the job entails. Perhaps the resignation, should it occur, would be highlighted by right-wing commentators and Beltway concern trolls as signs of problems in the White House, but it would be just another talking point - useful to advance a predefined narrative, and of interest only to people who believe the narrative, as opposed to being of actual significance.
Emanuel is a man whose reputation enters a room long before he does; and he was appointed to that post specifically because he was a fixer with a record of getting things done.Okay, so Emanuel has a reputation, "deserved or not", for "getting things done," but since he took his present position he has failed to "get things done", so he's angry at the President? That interpretation seems to explain Emanuel by a combination of the Peter Principle and narcissistic injury, which I'll grant is quite possible given the personalities often at play in Washington, but how is it anybody's fault but Emanuel's if he can't live up to his reputation.
President Obama wanted to pass healthcare reform in his first year in office. Emanuel reportedly got cold feet, and urged Obama to abandon comprehensive reform in favor of a modest bill. Obama ignored Emanuel and Obama got things done - and if somebody can be said to have been Obama's fixer on the issue, it would seem to be Nancy Pelosi.
This story from the Telegraph is the source of all the buzz... An unnamed person says that Emanuel may resign in six to eight months, and another unnamed person would "bet on" that happening.
Friends say he is also worried about burnout and losing touch with his young family due to the pressure of one of most high profile jobs in US politics.With absolutely no disrespect intended to the @1% of cases in which this is true, "I'm resigning to spend more time with my family" is the cover story given principally by people who know they have no chance of keeping their job, either because they're about to lose an election or because they're about to be fired. I have no more reason to start a rumor that Emanuel may be fired than I do to believe a badly sourced rumor that he plans to resign, but if we're going to resort to doublespeak explanations for why one or the other might occur let's at least translate that doublespeak accurately.


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Fall is normally my favorite season but this year the idea of it getting cold makes me sad, mainly because of all the butterflies disappearing and the flowers dying. So the other day when I was in my studio I began thinking about how beautiful it would be if you could see butterflies and flowers in the snow. Picture this, the morning right after a large snow storm when the whole world is asleep under a shimmering white blanket of snow, when the sky is that deep brilliant blue and the air is completely still. Imagine how amazing it would be to see a vibrant orange Monarch or a bright yellow Swallowtail flutter and glide about and then land on a snow covered branch. I think that would be absolutely breathtaking.
If I could build a snowman on that winter's day this is what she would look like.


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Card I made was cut on silhouette .a stunning design made byAmanda Davies.....I added bird themed die cuts and roses that I
Absolutely stunning Rita! I have mine cut out ready to decorate lol! xx JanReplyDelete
it's gorgeous Rita, beautiful done.
greetings karin
That's stunning. Thanks for sharing it! Cheers, HolleyReplyDelete
So pretty Rita, what fabulous detail.
Ooh Rita it's lovely, fabulous work
P x
OH MY GOODNESS!!!!! This is absolutely STUNNING!!!!!!ReplyDelete
This is awesome - absolutely beautiful
lovely Rita, it all looks so delicate xReplyDelete
Beautifully elegant and so stunningly delicate xReplyDelete
Beautifully elegant and so stunningly delicate xReplyDelete
Pure elegance, wonderful, hugs txxReplyDelete
O wow there all stunning and so elegant xxxReplyDelete
both cards are breathtaking! xReplyDelete
beautiful u have some great cards xxReplyDelete


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Given the great deal of attention that has been paid to the conflict in Syria and the ensuing refugee crisis in neighboring countries, Oktay Durukan and Zaid Hydari of SRLAN member agency in Turkey, Helsinki Citizens Assembly–Refugee Advocacy and Support Programprepared the following overview of the current situation facing displaced Syrians in Turkey. The authors would like to note that this information is current as of time of submission, 23 March 2012.
16,000 and counting …Since the Syrian conflict began over one year ago, the Government of Turkey has kept its borders open to individuals who have fled the turmoil. According to latest official figures, over 22,000 Syrians entered the camps erected in Turkey's Hatay province near the border with Syria, and approximately 16,000 Syrians currently remain in the camps. News reports over the last two weeks have cited a dramatic increase in arrival numbers. To date, the Syrians arriving in Turkey have been Sunni Arabs exclusively, mainly from towns near the Turkish border.
While Turkey shares 900km of land borders with Syria, stretching across six southern provinces, the refugee arrivals from Syria have so far been almost exclusively concentrated in the border province of Hatay. Very quickly following the first arrivals at the end of March 2011, the Turkish Red Crescent set up camps in Hatay to accommodate increasing numbers of refugees. According to information available to the Helsinki Citizens Assembly (HCA) about the camps and reports by several international visiting delegations,[i] the camps appear to be well-equipped in terms of providing for the basic needs of the displaced Syrians.
While refugees from Syria are allowed to cross the border and enter Turkey, the nature of the protection regime the Government of Turkey has put in place for the Syrians and their legal status according to national and international law remain uncertain.
'Temporary protection'In the beginning, the group was referred to as 'guests' by the Government (similar to what has been reported about Jordan) — a position which was heavily criticised by Helsinki Citizens Assembly-Refugee Advocacy and Support Program (HCA-RASP) and other asylum advocates in Turkey. In November 2011, the Government officially revised its position and declared at a UNHCR conference in Geneva that the Syrians are beneficiaries of a 'temporary protection' regime, loosely inspired by the EU Directive regulating response to situations of mass influx of refugees.
According to UNHCR Turkey's interpretation,[ii] this policy entails unobstructed admission to Turkish territories for all Syrian nationals without any travel or ID document requirement, no forcible returns to Syria, and accommodation and coverage of basic needs in the Turkish Red Crescent camps in Hatay. As a prerequisite to benefiting from 'temporary protection,' all newly arriving Syrians are required to report to the authorities in Hatay, register with the Foreigners' Police in the province and go into the camps. Living outside the camps by their own means is not an option, nor are they given the option of living in any location other than Hatay.
Once across the border, the newly arrived Syrians are escorted to one of the six camps in Hatay. In the beginning, freedom of movement in and out of the camps was severely restricted. However, in recent months it has been reported that residents of the camps can leave the premises during daylight hours with permission.
While the principles of this policy seem to be in broad compliance with minimum international standards, there is no basis in Turkish domestic law basis for such a 'temporary protection' arrangement, clearly defining the legal status and rights of beneficiaries. As such, Turkey's accommodation of Syrian refugee arrivals continues to be rooted entirely in political discretion and devoid of proper legal safeguards.
Suspension of RSD for newly arrived Syrians & UNHCR's roleThe legal uncertainties about Turkey's 'temporary protection' policy notwithstanding, UNHCR expresses strong support for the Government's policy of keeping the borders open. In the fall of last year, UNHCR adopted a policy of suspending individual refugee status determination for any Syrians who have arrived since the Government's 'temporary protection' scheme has been in place. UNHCR considers that all Syrians in Turkey in need of international protection can benefit from the Government's 'temporary protection' regime. Therefore, UNHCR does not register the newly arrived Syrians and essentially 'froze' the processing of previously registered Syrian asylum seekers — in much the same way UNHCR dealt with Iraqi asylum seekers in the 2003–2006 period following the fall of the Saddam regime. Thus, no resettlement opportunities exist for the recently displaced Syrians.[iii]
Transparency and oversight, role of Turkey's NGO watchdogsA compounding problem concerns the Government's continued reluctance to involve nongovernmental stakeholders and international organisations, and the related issues of transparency and oversight regarding the practices and procedures in the border areas and the camps. From the onset the Government has entrusted the management of the camps exclusively to the Turkish Red Crescent, a semi-governmental agency, and turned down offers from NGOs to participate and contribute. Neither UNHCR nor IOM were involved in the registration and processing of the arrivals and administration of the camps. Up until February 2012, UNHCR Turkey did not have any permanent presence in Hatay. Instead they relied on sporadic mission visits to the region and gave advice from the Government's corner. Since February, UNHCR has deployed a small team to Hatay for the purpose of assisting the Government authorities in an 'advisory' capacity.
The absence of NGOs and international agencies in the camps raises concerns, particularly with regards to oversight of the reportedly thousands of 'voluntary returns' to Syria since the beginning of the influx in March of last year. Recently a number of news outlets made troubling allegations concerning the apparentrefoulement of two high profile Syrian dissidents and the maintenance of a separate, secret camp for 'problematic' Syrians, which has allegedly been used for the forcible yet ostensibly 'voluntary' returns. While the latter allegations are yet to be investigated, the problem remains that without any independent agencies watching over the practices in the camps, there is the troubling possibility that violations of this kind take place regularly and with impunity.
In the face of such allegations, HCA-RASP and its NGO partners under the TurkeyRefugee Rights Coordination (TRRC) reiterate their plea for transparency and access. NGO monitoring could play a critical role in verifying such stories, and maintaining adherence to national and international standards. Not terribly surprisingly, throughout the process, the Government has largely ignored recommendations and critical voices from Turkey's civil society. Despite the Government's repeated refusals in response to requests to have access to the camps, the TRRC has made a number of visits to the Hatay region. The TRRC has also released a number of press statementsand sent out letters to key Government agencies and UNHCR registering continued concerns regarding the legal uncertainties about the Government's 'temporary protection' policy, and the associated problems of access and transparency.
Syrians outside the camps in HatayIn addition to the roughly 16,000 Syrians accommodated in the camps in Hatay, a smaller number of Syrians who entered Turkey legally through other routes (and there are many who took advantage of Turkey's visa exemption policy for Syrian nationals) continue to find their own accommodation and stay outside the camps, under the radar. But once the three-month visa exemption period runs out their only options are either to return to Syria or to go into the camps and regularise their status in Turkey as beneficiaries of 'temporary protection.' There are also smaller numbers of Syrians who enter Turkey irregularly and somehow avoid being spotted by Turkey's border guards and taken to the camps in Hatay. Some of these individuals go underground to wait because they do not want to go into the camps. Others try to cross to Greece in order to seek refuge in EU territories. In HCA-RASP's observation, it appears that such irregularly present Syrian nationals who are apprehended by Turkish authorities during an attempt to transit to Europe are not deported to Syria and are eventually released with instructions to go to Hatay and register in the camps.
Prospects for the futureWhile there are no indications that the Government of Turkey's policy of keeping the borders open will change any time soon, a dramatic increase in arrival numbers might bring about a change in Turkey's position. Since the early months of the Syrian refugee arrivals, high-level Government representatives, including Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, have expressed on a number of occasions the possibility of creating a UN Security Council-authorised buffer zone inside Syria if the conflict deteriorates further. The inspiration for this idea is the safe haven that was imposed in the North of Iraq in the 1991–2003 period, which was established by a UN Security Council Resolution and consequently enforced by NATO.
With the turmoil and violence in Syria getting worse daily, refugee flows toward Turkey have the potential of reaching massive proportions. Although there have been media reports of a concerted effort on the part of Syrian security forces to block escape routes to Turkey, including by means of landmines the past few weeks have seen a renewed increase in arrivals. HCA-RASP and Turkey's other asylum advocates continue to do their best to brace for more challenging times, monitor developments in the border region, and keep the pressure on the Government and UNHCR.
[i] See for example CoE Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population, 'Syrian Refugees on the Turkish Border: Report on the Visit to Antakya', 26 July 2011.[ii] UNHCR Turkey Information Notice regarding Syrian Nationals Seeking International Protection, UNHCR BO Ankara, 23 November 2011.
[iii] For background information on Turkey's asylum system centred around a resettlement scheme mediated by UNHCR, follow this link.
[iii] For background information on Turkey's asylum system centred around a resettlement scheme mediated by UNHCR, follow this link.


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West End Premier Cricket
The West End Premier Cricket competition has a rich and diverse history dating back to 1897. The competition currently offers 21 various grades, including two-day, one-day and Twenty20 formats for men, and one-day and Twenty20 formats for women.
For more information regarding the West End Premier Cricket competition, click on the sub menus below or contact the one of our SACA Competitions staff listed here.
|Contact email
|Competitions Manager
|Aaron Tuckfield
|Competitions Coordinator
|Jack Campion
| email@example.com


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Moro Human Rights Group Assails AFP Probe Of Sulu MassacreFebruary 28, 2008 at 3:19 pm | Posted in 1 | Leave a comment
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 28, 2008) – A Muslim human rights group on Wednesday accused the Philippine military of covering up soldiers accused of killing 8 people in Sulu province.
The Philippine military absolved dozens of members of the Army Light Reaction Company and Navy Special Warfare Group in the murder of seven civilians and an off-duty soldier during a raid on the village of Ipil in Maimbung town on February 4.
The Western Mindanao Command's Judge Advocate General's Office absolved all the soldiers involved in the killings and said the attack in the village was a legitimate operation. "It was a legitimate encounter with the Abu Sayyaf and that is according to the report and findings of the JAGO," Army Major Eugene Batara, a regional military spokesman, said.
Colonel Fred Lleosa headed the JAGO team which investigated the killings, he said.
Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan said among those killed in the raid were two children, two teenagers and a pregnant woman, including a seaweed farmer and a village councilor. He also accused soldiers or murdering innocent villagers.
He said a fact-finding board was created Wednesday to study and file appropriate criminal charges against the soldiers and their commanders implicated in the killings.
"There should be no cover-up to the killings. We want justice and justice we will get. We will file criminal charges against those involved in the killing of innocent people," he told the Mindanao Examiner.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) which held separate investigations into the raid also accused the soldiers of killings innocent civilians.
But the Philippine Commission on Human Rights said was no Abu Sayyaf in the village and that seven of those slain in the military attack were innocent civilians.
"None of them was an Abu Sayyaf member. Seven civilians and a government soldiers were killed in that attack," CHR Regional Director Jose Manuel Mamauag said.
The Suara Bangsamoro, an umbrella organization of Muslim human rights groups, urged the Philippines Congress and the Senate to investigate the killings and reports that four US soldiers were spotted on a navy boat just off the village of Ipil as local troops were firing on civilians they mistook as Abu Sayyaf militants.
Amirah Ali Lidasan, national president of Suara Bangsamoro, her group has long expected that the military will absolved the soldiers. "We believe the CHR's findings because they were based on testimonies of survivors and the whole seaweeds-farming community of Ipil. We have long feared that the Western Mindanao Command investigation will want to whitewash the investigation and absolve their soldiers for the crimes," Lidasan said in a statement.
"The Philippine should be concerned in giving the Moro people the long-awaited justice that the military deployed in our communities have time and again have been absolved. This cycle of injustice is only one of the many reasons why the Moro people cannot stomach the Arroyo administration and her anti-terror and militaristic policies," she said.
The Western Mindanao Command had previously said, even before the start of investigations, that those killed in the raid were either members of the Abu Sayyaf members or coddlers of the group and in several occasions claimed the victims were killed by the Abu Sayyaf or hit in the cross-fire.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, also criticized the findings of the military investigation.
"The findings are sanitized aimed at lessening the burden of responsibility to members of the elite troops under the Light Reaction Company and the navy's Special Warfare Group. Acting as judge for itself will lead to nowhere and no justice is expected forthcoming," the MILF said.
The MILF also praised Mamauag for his unbiased report of the CHR investigations into the killings. "Conscience-guided men, like Mamauag, deserved to be commended by everyone, despite differences of loyalties and orientations," Muhammad Ameen, chairman of the MILF Secretariat, said.
The CHR findings detailed how troops attacked the village and plundered houses owned by civilians. Mamauag has recommended the filing of criminal charges against the soldiers involved in the raid.
Survivors of the carnage testified in investigations that soldiers opened fired on villagers as they pleaded for their life. Four of those killed were shot at sea as they fled for safety on boat.
One of the survivors Rawina Wahid, wife of the slain soldier, Pfc. Ibnul Wahid, said her husband was hogtied and tortured by soldiers before being shot at the back of his head.
"My husband told the soldiers that he is a member of the Philippine Army, but they never listened and dragged him out of the house, bound his hands behind his back and then shot him. They did not listen to our pleading and they killed my husband," she said.
She said she also saw four US soldiers on a navy boat where the body of her husband was brought. "I saw four American soldiers on the boat before Filipino troops blinded folded me," she told reporters. Wahid said she boarded the boat that took her husband's remains to a military base in Jolo town.
One of the victims had been shot at close range in the forehead, his right eye was gorged out and right ear missing. One had a missing finger while another had burns on his body and legs.
The slain civilians were identified as Marisa Payian, 4; Wedme Lahim, 9; Alnalyn Lahim, 15; Sulayman Hakob, 17; Kirah Lahim, 45; Eldisim Lahim, 43; Narcia Abon, 24. Two of the raiders were also killed and five others wounded when they mistook each others as enemies and traded gun fires, according to the CHR report.
Reps. Yusop Jikiri, of Sulu province and Mujiv Hataman, of Basilan have separately called for a congressional investigation into the killings in Maimbung town.
Muslim religious groups and human rights advocates are reportedly planning to hold a series of street rallies to demand justice for the victims. But many are worried that Muslims, angered by the cover-up of the military into killings, may mount sympathy attacks targeting government soldiers in Sulu.
Dozens of Christian soldiers had been killed in Sulu in random machete and gun attacks the past years by angry villagers because of atrocities and human rights abuses of the military on the island of over half a million Muslims. (Mindanao Examiner)
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The Pope is calling for it, and so is North Korea (NYT, WaPo).
Just to make it clear, North Korea is calling for a peace agreement to end the Korean War of the early 1950s. There is only an armistice. Still.
And, yeah, I'll jump in the Obama tank with Helmut. I'm looking forward to the O years.


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Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued guidance documents concerning food facility registration renewals. Due to the delay in implementation of biennial registration renewal for the 2012 cycle, FDA plans to exercise enforcement discretion with regards to facility registration renewals submitted after December 31st, 2012, for a period of 31 days, ending January 31st, 2013. Facilities have been encouraged to renew their registrations early.
To review each recently issued facility registration guidance document per the December 12th Center for Food Safety and Nutrition (CFSAN) Constituent Update, click here.


text: Second of 14 parts Shortly after 11 p.m. Aug. 1, 1970, Mishawaka police officers Jay "Pete" Stebbins and Charles Culp arrived first on the scene at 817 W. Borley Ave. Elkhart police already had told them that a man they had in custody, Michael Grant, had claimed to have beaten two boys, the sons of his girlfriend, Vicky. They arrived to find the storm door closed and the front door open. Culp looked into the house and saw something move in the hallway. It was a small boy's head rising from the floor. That boy, 5-year-old Thomas, was bleeding on his face and hands. In a bedroom near the foot of the bed, the officers found another boy, Thomas' brother, 3-year-old Scott, lying on the floor. Blood and vomit were coming from his mouth, and he appeared to have been beaten in the head. Culp felt for Scott's pulse but found none. His body was cold. As paramedics were loading Thomas into an ambulance, his mother pulled up and was stunned to find police swarming her house. She was told to accompany the ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital. A few minutes later, St. Joseph County coroner Dr. Harry Ludwick arrived at the house and pronounced Scott dead. He ordered his body taken to the hospital for an autopsy. Grant would later tell police that he only slapped Scott in the buttocks and face, after Scott urinated on him in apparent fear, then struck him in the back and in the lungs several times trying to restart his breathing. But his claims did not jibe with the autopsy report, nor with what police found at the crime scene. Blood was on the walls in the bathroom and master bedroom, as well as on the hallway floor. Pieces of the thermostat were lying on the floor and in both bedrooms, and particles of hair were found on the thermostat. There was a dent in the wallboard in the bathroom, 3 feet from the floor. Chips of wall paint lay on the floor. Jim Boussum, a retired Elkhart police officer who grew up with Grant and helped work the case, would later say that Grant swung Scott by his feet "like a baseball bat" into walls. Dr. Robert G. Reed, the pathologist who examined Scott's body, concluded he had been struck by a blunt object at least 11 times about the face and neck, and suffered many bruises: in the back of his head, on his right arm, between his shoulder and right elbow, and on his abdomen, back and knees. Some 36 years later, Stebbins, who retired as Mishawaka police chief in 1978, can't describe the grisly scene without his emotions overcoming him. "It was just a mess," he said recently. "A lot of ... you could tell the boys had really been beaten bad. It's in your head, and you'll never get rid of it." Stebbins, sitting in his Mishawaka home, paused and stared off into the distance. His eyes started to water. "I've seen a lot of gruesome stuff, but with kids, it's different," he said. Thomas was treated for severe bruises and released from the hospital four days after the beatings. Twelve days after the crime, Vicky let police interview him. "Mike killed Scotty," the boy told police. He added that Grant pushed both boys' heads under the water. Thomas said that after Grant took Vicky's 15-year-old brother, Jim, home, he returned and turned off the television that Thomas and Scott had been watching. Grant then called Thomas over to him and socked him in the belly and told him to get in the bathtub. Thomas said Grant then ordered Scott into the bathtub with him, despite Grant's assertion to police that their bathing together was the rule violation that set him off in the first place. After holding their heads under water, Thomas said Grant removed Scott from the tub, pushed his head into a wall hard enough to create a hole, and stepped on his stomach. Thomas said Grant lately had been hitting them regularly, often in the stomach. When his mother asked him why they had never told her about the abuse, Thomas said Grant told them not to. Sickened by what he had seen and heard, Stebbins hoped Grant would face a first-degree murder charge and life in prison. The officer would be sorely disappointed. He would also be disheartened years later to hear another boy claim that Grant abused and tormented him for years. Coming Tuesday: Master of his fate


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Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Posted by kookaburra at 3:17 PM
1 comment:
- Raining Acorns said...
Yet another beauty . . . and I note, too, you're just a little over a month shy of completing the year! I like very much the ability to zoom in and better see all the delicate details. Most of all, I'm looking forward to viewing the works "live," and to meeting their creator, on June 26.
- April 22, 2010 at 9:56 AM
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Medicare Supplement PlansHelp pay for "gaps" in Original Medicare.
Include minimal standard coverages.
Offer different enhanced coverages.
Approved by each state they are offered.
14, 2014
Will Cancer Patients Benefit from Obamacare?
11, 2013
Seniors Overspending Due To Drug Company Greed
Because of the significant out-of-pocket payments required by traditional Medicare, a booming market of private-sector insurance products has grown up around the government programs. These Medicare-related insurance products are one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. health insurance industry, and they are the part of the market on which a smart consumer should focus his or her attention. Medicare Providers is here to help seniors, and other Medicare eligible individuals, understand these products and provide tools to assist in the decision making process.The market for private-sector Medicare-related coverages can be described as including:
In order to qualify for most Medicare-related plans, you must meet the standard Medicare eligibility requirements and live in the "geographic service area."
If you move out of your geographic service area during a plan's coverage term, you will usually have a Special Enrollment Period that allows you to enroll in another Medicare-related plan approved for sale in your new location or switch to back to traditional Medicare.
The number of Medicare Supplement, Part C and Part D plans available in a given area can be overwhelming. Combine that with the difficulty of finding reliable consumer information in an easy-to-understand format and you have a recipe for confusion. It's more than most people want to know about health insurance. The purpose of this web site is to give you the tools and information to make good decisions.


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Yeay, it's here! The Better Homes and Gardens "Holiday Crafts" magazine is out on newsstands now!
The cabinet door that I painted for Terrye French's "Painting With Friends," is on page 21. It has all the instructions on page 32 and, the pattern in the middle, of course. :) There are lots of other terrific crafts for the Holidays,too! I love the paper
This is the original piece. I had already
sold it on Etsy.I painted
a second one to send to BHandG.
We ran across the magazine quite by accident, as we were checking out at Wal Mart. Hubby saw it first. (Thank you, dear!) I had to buy at least 5 copies! I was so excited that I had to show it to the cashier and the lady in line behind us! LoL!
In case you'd rather buy the e-pattern directly, and INstantly start painting, just head on over to the Painting With Friends site, OR my Etsy shop... Oakleaf Hollow Primitives.
I want to send a BIG Thank-You to Terrye French and the Painting With Friends Folks....also the sweet ladies over at Holiday Crafts magazine who helped me through the whole process!
I am still on Cloud 9!!
Hugs to all!


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|Art by Richard Richardson
This day will go down in history – the day of the Scottish Independence Referendum.
For much of my life I have been A-political, not really fussed one way or the other who I voted for because my vote didn't really make much of a difference. Today I believe my vote counts – as do so many others.
I am proud to be voting YES – not least because of the positive campaign. We truly do get more of what we focus on. And in the months running up to this day we have been focussed on a Scottish Community that cares about our future.
If by some freak of chance the NO vote wins, it will not be an end. I believe that today is the dawn of a new era for Scotland. The Scottish people have been given a voice – and once realised – we're not about to let go of the issues that effect us most.
Never more proud than to be a Scot from Paisley. (A YES Town).
|Some Paisley Threads by Me


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A few weeks ago, at the beginning of the Olympics, I posted that I was going to complete a small tapestry as I watched the games. Well, I did not get it done before the games were over. Sometimes that is the way it is with the Olympics: the one who was supposed to get gold doesn't medal at all, the one to get silver throws a giant unsportsmanlike pout, and the one who gets bronze realizes he/she is the third best in all the world, and celebrates with teary smile for the whole world.
My Olympics include a bit more than a week with the gymnasts and swim team shown above. They were so busy and fun, that I missed a great deal of the 'real' games, preferring to try to keep up with the ones I was hosting. I even missed seeing all but one synchronized swimming broadcast, and that sport does fascinate me. I watched just enough with one grand-daughter for us to speculate on how they keep all that make-up on underwater.
So, my Olympic 'goal' went by the wayside as I chose to do better things.
That is often how it goes. I have been filling my roles as wife, mother, daughter, grandmother, housewife, and teacher for the past few months, and have lost control of my role as artist. There are many reasons why most successful female artists were unattached. But I would not want to sacrifice my attachments, even for my art. Now, I am in a position to be able to regain my artist identity. So I have today and yesterday turned my back on the dirty house and piles of laundry, my husband and I have eaten leftovers and hot dogs, and I have finished the small tapestry of incoming waves. It is not blocked, the ends are not trimmed, and it is not in any way 'finished', but it is off the loom.
I am not sure if I consider it to be 'successful' or not, in depicting water. I will determine that later. I have other things in the studio that have been on hold that I need to attend to, before my other roles distract me again. I need to finish the tapestry commission that is on the loom, and I need to do a painting (possibly two) for an upcoming exhibit that I always participate in.
In the meantime, here are some images from our 'closing ceremonies,' including the last bit of the Olympic Flame, which we toasted marshmallows over.