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Criminal Justice Reform Long Overdue
The South Dakota Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at creating alternative sentencing for nonviolent offenders. The language of the bill would establish new courts designed specifically for alcohol and minor drug offenses.
The move was prompted by the concern that current trends in incarceration would require the state to build two new prisons in the next decade. The bill was proposed by Governor Daugaard and has broad bipartisan support as it moves to the House.
Advocates for drug policy reform have long called for changes in how nonviolent offenders, usually with reference to those arrested for simple possession of marijuana, are treated in the criminal justice system. Decades of "cracking down" and "getting tough on crime" have done little to reduce drug use, but have resulted in the US having the world's highest incarceration rate.
We are not just barely number one; the competition isn't even close. We lock people up at a clip more than 4 times higher than silver medal winning Russia. If this seems absurd, it is because it is.
A 2011 study revealed that South Dakota had the highest growth in recidivism rates in the nation. While each case is different, rather than being scared straight, there is ample anecdotal evidence of originally nonviolent offenders learning to become career criminals by being exposed to the gang heavy environment of the prison population. Upon release from prison these individuals find little waiting for them on the outside other than a life of crime.
Breaking this cycle before it starts by keeping nonviolent offenders out of prison may not be a cure all, but it seems like a better prospect than a status quo that leaves untreated addicts in the welcoming hands of prison gangs.
It is unfortunate that budget concerns, rather than a desire to see treatment, not punishment, for drug and alcohol addicts, is the driving force behind this bill; but better late than never.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Church Of Scientology Uses Copyright, Trademark, And Cyberbullying Laws To Silence Critical Parody
from the still-not-a-religion dept
For faith-based hilarity, you just can't do any better than the Church of Scientology. These photoshop masters have built for themselves the kind of reputation normally reserved for Stasi-style secret police. The constant target of Anonymous, ex-members, and every critical-thinking person on the planet are best known for gobbling up shallow celebrities, creepily persecuting critics and ex-members, and possessing the monumental testicles required to include a freaking space opera in their faith. As part of their attempts to silence critics, they've regularly run up against the wider internet, often using IP laws to gag speech.
Well, it turns out you just can't teach a kinda-old non-religion religion new tricks. Reader John alerts us to a case in which the Church of Scientology is using copyright, trademark and cyberbullying laws to silence a parody criticizing the "church", Will Smith, and the attempt to destroy film making commonly known as After Earth. Recently, they demanded that GoDaddy nix cheerupwillsmith.com, which parodied the church and the film, over the use of their logos, a letter from church-leader David Miscavige, a photo of the same Miscavige, and a parody portrayal of Mr. Miscavige.
Pointing to the presence of CSI logos and a photograph of Mr. Miscavige on the site, CSI told GoDaddy the site violated CSI's copyright and trademark rights, and asked the company to take it down. GoDaddy promptly complied. CSI also claimed that the creators of the site had violated California Penal Code section 528.5, which forbids the credible impersonation of a human person online. Section 528.5 was intended to be used to combat cyberbullying; as we anticipated, however, it's now being used to target political speech.As the EFF notes while placing the Church of Scientology on their takedown hall of shame list, we have some major problems here. First, the copyright claim fails on the grounds of fair use, since the use was critical parody, with only the necessary usage used therein. The trademark claim is also pitiful for many of the same reasons, though we can add that the website was not attempting to compete in the market of religion with the "church." As for the penal code claim, it is true that that law was meant to combat cyberbullying, but I think the EFF might be off when they say:
Finally, the claim that the site violated the California Penal Code is equally absurd. Section 528.5 applies only to "credible" impersonations. No viewer would think the site offered a credible impersonation of Mr. Miscavige.Au contraire, bonjour. Given the absurdity of the actions by these clowns, it would take a great deal to convince me of anything in which they are not capable. However, I don't think their own depravity is reason for which they could be charged with cyberbullying.
So congratulations, Scientologists. You've now made the EFF hall of shame. And if you don't like how you're portrayed there or here, you can go audit yourselves.
Filed Under: censorship, copyright, cyberbullying, scientology, trademark


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The bottom side inflicted their only Irn-Bru Third Division defeat so far this season at Forthbank in October on what was an embarrassing day for the Light Blues, but goals from David Templeton and Andy Little secured the victory on Saturday and allowed Ally McCoist's men to make amends.
Hutton said: "There was a slight feeling of wanting to get our own back on them after beating us at their own ground. We went out there and certainly got our own back."
Stirling survived wave after wave of pressure from Rangers in the first half before Templeton opened the scoring after 59 minutes. Little then sealed the win in the final minute but only after Albion substitute Josh Flood hit the woodwork in a tense moment for Gers.
Hutton said: "When you don't get that early goal and you keep pressing for a goal, you start to worry slightly and wonder if it's going to come. But we were confident if we kept playing the way we were playing it would eventually come. We should have won by more, we had a good few chances, but we just wanted a good performance and a good win. Apart from not getting more goals, I thought we did that and had a good game."
Hutton knew Rangers had to deliver the points on a day when a crowd of 49,913 packed into Ibrox as the club celebrated 140 years, with around 40 former players back in Glasgow for the occasion, including John Greig after a self-imposed 14-month exile.
Hutton said: "The gaffer said to us beforehand that he wanted us to go out and give a good account of ourselves and get the win and do it for the fans. We did that so we are happy."
The midfielder was also happy to see Templeton on the scoresheet in his first start since suffering ankle ligament damage in mid-September. He said: "He's had a couple of tough months after being out injured and was frustrated by that. It's good to have him back and for him to be on the scoresheet as well. We're delighted for him. I'm sure he will go on to score a few more."
Stirling manaer Greig McDonald said: "We knew we were coming to a party atmosphere with 50,000 (spectators). I said to the guys that Rangers were going to come out of the traps and we would have to weather that storm. Rangers were going to have chances and possession but, credit to my guys, I thought we weathered it early on and grew into the game."


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Gojira is a progressive metal band formed in 1996 in Bayonne, France. The band was known as Godzilla until 2001. Gojira is composed of Joe Duplantier on vocals and rhythm guitar, his brother Mario Duplantier on drums, Christian Andreu on lead guitar and Jean-Michel Labadie on bass. Since its first studio album, Gojira has had no changes in lineup, and has released five studio albums, one live album, one single, and two DVDs.
Gojira, known for their environmentally-themed lyrics, "have risen from utmost obscurity during the first half of their career to widespread global recognition in the second, including regular mention amongst the genre's leading new millennium upstarts", according to Allmusic.
5/18 @ Sonic Temple Music Festival – Columbus, OH


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Christians may pretend to think that we atheists are all "this" close to committing rape and murder, but the fact is we don't commit rape and murder, any more than they do.
When people ask "why should atheists be moral?", that is a misleading question. They should really ask, why ARE atheists moral? [Why do they hardly commit rape and murder at all ...?]
Good question. Why.
Why do you, personally, always try and do the right thing? Why do you, personally, sometimes do the wrong thing? Do you go against your own moral code?
Christians seem to spend a lot of time agonising over moral issues. I think that is great. We do the same thing here on Think Atheist. Both Christians and atheists explicitly feature the study of morality as part of their belief systems. I think it's fair to say that the two groups are roughly equal in moral standards and behaviour.
I'm not looking for theories about society or stuff Richard Dawkins says or anything like that. I just want to hear about your personal experiences of yourself. I'm hoping some patterns might emerge. After all, we're all human beings, and there's only a limited number of reasons why we do things.
The reasons I try and do the right thing are probably that: I want a clean conscience and an orderly life. I don't want to s*** in my own bed. I think I derive confidence from feeling I'm doing the right thing morally. I feel empathy for other people and don't want to hurt them unnecessarily. If I love someone, I'll move heaven and Earth for them. If I have a strong belief that something is right, I will aim to uphold that belief.
I would go against some of my normal moral beliefs if I thought it was justified and wouldn't cause too much trouble. There would have to be a very good reason - beyond just getting my end away, for example.
Views: 1433
@MikeyMike1 "Are you saying that the animals are mimicking? What's your evidence?"
I don't have any evidence, because I'm not saying they consciously mimic. It appears you're strangely unaware of mimicry in nature. Read this.
But actually, I was referring to us reading in meaning we can never ever verify. Humans consciously mimic (we call it acting). Animals just do what they do. We don't know why and it's absurd to think that they do what they do as a conscious strategy.
I always laugh when I see a nature show where a statement like this is made: "The salmon swim upstream in an effort to reach their birthplace in order to spawn." I imagine a photo of a salmon swimming upstream with a cartoon balloon over its head showing its thoughts: "Gee, I really gotta try hard to get back to my birthplace so I can meet another salmon for sex." It's less absurd to think that animals just do what they do as a result of evolutionary processes and not imply Walt Disney emotions to them.
Like I said, animals do what they do. We have no idea what's going on in their heads and analogizing to human behaviors is a leap of faith that can't be justified scientifically.
Apes may have behaviors that mimic (appear similar) to human behaviors, but what underlies them is something we'll never be able to know. Fish will tend to their eggs as a human would care for and defend a child, so is that LOVE? or is that simply a behavior nature found favorable to the survival of the species.
'"The salmon swim upstream in an effort to reach their birthplace in order to spawn." What is wrong with this sentence? Isn't this exactly what they are doing? There is nothing implicit in this sentence that indicates the fish is conscious of its goal. You have read in the 'Walt Disney' anthropomorphic intent yourself - quite ironic really.'
And yet, you scoff at my implying that we know no more about what motivates a chimp than we do what motivates a fish.
I don't need to produce evidence for a denial (ref the impossibility of "proving" a negative). Rather, you are the one who must produce proof.
I think the burden is on you to prove a positive, and that is because positives are in principle provable. Asking me to prove a negative is a well-known dead end. Give me a reason to believe your point of view, I'm not asking you to adopt mine but just to demonstrate the truth of yours.
It's hard enough to be sure (much less know) what another person feels (actors, liars, sociopaths). Assuming or even extrapolating or speculating what other creatures feel seems a bit of a stretch.
I only say we'll never know what other creatures feel because we can't even feel what other people feel. You can see their behavior but you can't feel their pain, their joy, or their confusion. Maybe science someday will allow me to somehow be inside your head while simultaneously being in mind, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Given that it seems impossible for people (key word "seems") I don't hold out much hope I'll ever feel what a chimp, salmon, or diatom feels.
Once again, an apparent emotion is no proof of an emotion. Fish run from certain stimuli, single celled organisms can gravitate toward one. Those can be explained as instinctual rather than fear or eagerness. Dogs and chimps are just more complicated.
I had a dog as a boy, but I know dogs can read human emotions and know how to play to their owners' feelings, but I see no proof that emotions are involved, and if there are emotions involved they are doggy emotions,not human emotions. Dogs have people figured out. That's what makes dogs different from wolves.
I've seen research showing girls responding to cute robots just as if they were real puppies or kittens. Even reminding the girls that the robots were artificial only modified their behavior for a few minutes. We are suckers for certain behaviors.
The key point is that behavior does not = emotion. Behavior is behavior. Emotion is emotion. We can see behavior in others, we can only experience our own emotions.
I think and believe other people have emotions, you included. But that isn't knowledge, it's speculation based on the fact that they, like me, are human beings.
@MikeyMike1 "Why do you ask me to prove non human aninals have emotions, prove I have a basis for moral decisions, prove there are no duties other than legal."
Because there's a difference. You obviously would like us omnivores to change our eating habits. We (I) don't give a shit. If you think I should believe what you believe, I require proof. I really could care less whether you join us in eating meat so I don't feel I need to prove anything to you.
Say what?
MikeyMike1 - you obviously haven't read the right text books. You need to go back to the library and read up what the other people have said.
Don't worry mate, I was taking the mick
It's refreshing to come upon someone who thinks for themselves
I agree with you on your measurement of behavioral likelihood atheists are an inch away from raping or murdering is a dubious argument put forward by Christians. But I do have a question...
You assume rape and murder are "wrong." Why? For you, what is the basis for being able to declare this assumption? Majority consensus? Is all morality relative?


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Well mr. Warhead, you should definitely buy a lottery ticket, 'cuz you guessed me latest idea!Warhead wrote:Zahru II, you need to think about hosting for forum battles, I sense you are strong in the power of the farce.
Tough times have cometh for the Empire. Their northern garrison province, Direwood had fallen to a mysterious wizard, calling himself Malekim, The Red Majistik.
The Majistik were powerful wizards who once guided the footsteps of the early human kingdoms, but left after they were able to stand on their own. Recently some have returned, like Majisto, the Blue, who gladly aided the Empire in such troubled times.
Yet, he had disappeared when the first orkish uprisings surfaced at the border princes (look: Dark Shadows Campaign). The orkish invasion seemed to have halted with the warboss's death, but it was then when the ill news from Direwood finally arrived. With a month delay. During this time, Malekim managed to fortify his rule in the land, and began to amass armies, possibly planning to invade the rest of the empire. In order to prevent this, the King ordered Niol, force commander of the united armies to march to Direwood, and put a swift end to this 'Majistik's' maniacal plan.
Unforeseen by the wisest's was the swift resurfacing of the orks. Led by a cunning warlord, Kensai, the clans quickly overrun the weakened lands. However, this was just a mere campaign of vengeance to get the boys into the proper fighting mood. Kensai's plan was bigger: he wanted to cripple the empire, and to do so, he has to annihilate the army which went to Direwood.
The armies gather around Skull Mountain, a volcano summoned by Malekim himself. The Empire's fate depends on who shall win this fight...
Yes folks, the time has come: this'll be me first forum battle evurrr!
So the scenario is given: 3(+1) armies, free for all fighting.
Choseable factions:
The Empire-- Bragallot
A balanced and massive force, led by RuneKnight Niol. Their main objective is eliminating Malekim's forces.
Orks-- Theblackdog
Kensai's forces might be small, but he has tools with which he can turn the fight favorable for their cause. Their main objective is damaging the imperials, and for fun's sake, bashing some undead as well.
The Undead-- Warhead
Malekim's evil horde. Their main objective is pushing back the invaders.
Secret faction-- gamey353
They're a secret! (though don't expect much)
So, there's that, write me a pm for which side you'd pick. I'll give you unit descriptions and stats aswell. I'll set up the field tomorrow and post it here. Once it's up, you can send your orders.
May the mightiest strategist win!
Chapter selection:
Turn 1: http://www.brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4690
Turn 2: http://www.brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4697
Turn 3: http://www.brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4713
Turn 4: http://www.brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4727
Turn 5: http://www.brikwars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4755


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Friday, May 14, 2010
Time once again for the Tennessean Three-Star Forum Banquet
Once a year, The Tennessean newspaper holds a sit-down dinner to honor the people who wrote the best letters to the editor of the previous year. It's been held almost every year since back before World War II. In my 14 years at the paper, I think I went to maybe 8 or 10 of them. And for the last several years I was at the paper, I was the idiot in charge of coordinating the newspaper's this-is-almost-as-big-as-the-Second-Coming coverage of the event.
Now, I could get all syrupy here about what a wonderful time it was to spend in the company of the people who wrote in letters to the editor -- and I did indeed have some very nice times and meet some interesting people at the tables I hosted. But more than anything, I came to love the Forum Banquet as part ritual, part family reunion, part theater of the absurd.
I'm not old enough to have lived through The Supposed Good Ole Days when Halberstam and Wicker and Kovach were regular bylines, but when I came to the paper as an intern in 1994, The Tennessean still thought of itself as a family. And one of my first assignments in my first week on the job was learning how important The Forum Banquet was and being part of the crew that covered it.
If the paper was, and is, a family, then the Forum Banquet is the annual family reunion. One night a year, everyone puts on their Sunday clothes and hauls over to the Maxwell House, dons the red flower and nametag in their lapel, looks on the board to find the table they're hosting, and hopes they get good people at their table.
Times change, people come and go, the size of the paper gets skinnier and there's a redesign every few years, but the Forum Banquet remains. And at the end of the night, everyone gets up and sings Auld Lang Syne. Mr. Seigenthaler did it, Halberstam and Wicker and Kovach and all those guys probably did it. I believe it is the newspaper's single most lasting tradition in the community. (For a more complete history of the Forum Banquet, I would point you to the piece written a few years ago by my friend and colleague Andy Humbles, if you can still find it online. There was also an interesting piece in Time magazine published in the 1940s that is online.)
I did meet some very nice people at the tables I hosted. I talked about what was going on at the legislature with a volunteer lobbyist for a local advocacy group. I once had three older gentlemen at my table, all in their 70s and 80s -- all of them repeat Forum Banquet attendees -- and, in conversation, we discovered that two of them had been in attendance at a legendary Vanderbilt football game in the early 1950s or so, and the third gent had listened to the game on the radio. At my last Forum Banquet, in 2008, I had at my table Mr. Foster Shockley, who was at either his 24th or 25th Forum Banquet.
The people who write letters to the editor are the most regular readers we have. In an era of news from TMZ.com on your iPhone, they not only read the paper, they take the time to write something and -- gasp! -- they attach their real name to it. Not drunkdawg68 or govolsgo2005. Their real names. Remember when people actually had to stand behind the things they said and wrote? And if they responded to someone else's opinion, they had to say something more substantive than "You and your whole family are s---heads"?
It's like finding out somebody somewhere still actually takes the effort to make Coca-Cola with real cane sugar in it. You think, this is great. This is so much better than what we have now. Why did this ever go away?
And like all newspaper traditions, the Forum Banquet has its own folklore. Several longtime newsroom staffers claimed to have been the person who had a lady at their table who, in an earlier era when wine flowed freely at the banquet, got drunk. Maybe as many people claimed to have hosted that lady at their table as claimed to have been the victim of one of Jerry Thompson's backward-named fake obit jokes. (There's just no way you could all be telling the truth. When I was younger, I believed all of you who told me that. Now that I'm older, I don't think I believe any of you.)
The quality of the guest speakers varied, though they almost always spoke on the importance of the First Amendment and free speech. More than the content of any of the speeches, I remember when the speaker for the evening was to be a retired high-ranking military man originally from Nashville, whose father had headed Metro's water system when our editor, Frank Sutherland, had been a young reporter covering City Hall. When Mr. Sutherland introduced our speaker that night, he recalled how our speaker for the evening had been taken prisoner during the Vietnam War, and how Mr. Sutherland had gotten a bracelet bearing our speaker's name, the type of which was commonly distributed back then in remembrance of American POWs. Mr. Sutherland said he had kept that bracelet all those years, and that night at the podium at the Forum Banquet, he pulled out the bracelet and gave it to the man whose name was on it.
But nice gestures and small talk with longtime readers aren't all that the Forum Banquet offers. It's also the wildest show in town.
The greatest tradition of the Forum Banquet has to be the open-mic period: Every letter writer in attendance is given the chance to stand up at a microphone and talk for one minute on any subject of their choosing. Some don't, but most of them do, and the resulting hour or so makes the American Idol tryout shows look like MacNeil and Lehrer.
Some of the letter-writers make totally comprehensible statements taking traditional left/right stances on major issues like education, the war on terrorism, city government and the like. Yeah, yeah, yeah, boring, boring, boring. Bring on the crazies!
One guy got up a couple years ago and asked that we all listen to one minute of silence, after which he stood at the microphone for the remaining 45 seconds or so and said nothing. Another got up and observed that it was Arbor Day, and said that people in the Netherlands referred to it as "Plant a Wooden Shoe Day."
People say whatever comes to their minds, or whatever obsession or rant they're on that day. Some of it's comprehensible. Some of it isn't. The story we used to publish in the following Sunday's newspaper -- in which we were instructed to quote each letter-writer who spoke -- always had a substantial section at the end that could have easily been subheaded "miscellaneous," because we couldn't group the joke-tellers and thank-yous and randomness under any other topic heading.
Sometimes people get up and respond back to what an earlier letter-writer had said at the mic. Thankfully, no punches were thrown at the banquets I attended, though I was concerned at the 2008 Forum Banquet, when one speaker got up and told us that he thought most of us in the room were guilty of sedition that he wanted to meet another letter-writer on the battlefield and put a bullet between his eyes. And then, as the dude left the mic and sat down, he hurled a few comments back at an earlier speaker at another table who had dissed President Bush, ending with the very adult command "So shut up!" (The guy was a Metro employee. Doesn't that make you feel better now?)
Some people go up to the mic to thank the paper for picking their letter and inviting them to the banquet. One lady wrote and recited her own poetry. Yes, about the banquet. Some people shoot questions out at the Tennessean editors on the dias or spew criticism at the paper.
People also ask questions of the prominent figures delivering the keynote address. I remember when the speaker a few years ago was Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas. Most of the letter-writers had had their say and sat down, but there was an older lady who got up and went to the microphone on the right of the ballroom. She addressed her comments to the police chief. Her name, she said, was Virginia Trimble.
Say whatever you want to say, but say it in 60 seconds, or you'll get gonged. Yes, they time it. Religiously. well, there's no gong, but there is a brass bell that's rung at the end of your time.
And when all the letter-writers who want to speak have spoken, it will be time to sing Auld Lang Syne. The lyrics are printed in the program in your chair, and the pianist for the evening will give everybody some idea of the tune. And then it will be time to go home. At least until next year.
4 comments:
- Ellen said...
First, whippersnapper, you should always believe your elders.
Secondly, this is a great piece. I was the idiot-in-charge for many a year, and it was often difficult to impress upon my young reporters that they had to get people's names spelled correctly. They also pulled all-nighters transcribing tapes because the mgrs INSISTED that every one who spoke had to have their photo and a quote in Sunday's paper.
It's worth noting that there was more than one lady who got drunk at the banquet over the years. Often they were Tennessean employees.
It's also worth noting that it was not Jerry Thompson who pulled the backwards-name obit trick, it was Dwight Lewis. Or maybe Dwight got it from Jerry. At any rate, I have personally witnessed Dwight run this gag on at least a half-dozen occasions. Done it myself once or twice. Ha! Take that, interns!
And, finally, you must remember that Serpas is our EX police chief now. The city flooded and he high-tailed it back to New Orleans. Which, if memory serves, he fled in the first place after it flooded. Apparently the boy cain't swim.
Nice remembering there, JP.
- May 14, 2010 at 5:17 PM
- ricky said...
I loved the Forum Banquet... This year's must have been hard.
One of the best things I did as city editor was assign up an A1 story about what a cool tradition it is. I think newspapers generally do a poor job of covering themselves as an institution...
Here's Andy's story (which JP edited!)
- May 14, 2010 at 10:14 PM
- Frank said...
From Frank Sutherland:
Jennifer, a really nice piece.
The man to whom you referred was Capt. William Lawrence when he was shot down over Vietnam. He was an admiral when appeared at the banquet.
Like you, when I started, I was assigned to learn about the Forum Banquet. It remains one of my favorite events. -- Frank
- May 15, 2010 at 5:26 PM
- JP said...
Thank you all for your kind words. Mr. Sutherland: I could not remember the former POW's name until you reminded me. I tried Googling him to no avail. Thank you!
- May 17, 2010 at 8:58 AM


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Mar 26, 2004
March 26, 2004
The women's fencers finished 14th overall as a team at the NCAAs, held at Brandeis College. Erica Korb finished 11th in the epee, while Alisa Mendelsohn came in 14th in the foil.
Korb, who was Yale's top fencer in the epee category all season, won 13 duels overall, earning a .565 winning percentage and finishing 11th overall in the women's epee. Wayne State's Anna Garina won the event with 20 wins.
In foil, Mendelsohn won 9 of her battles to achieve a .391 percentage and 14th place out of 24 fencers. Alicja Kryczalo from Notre Dame won 21 to take the competition.
The Elis sent no one to compete in saber, but Valerie Providenza from Notre Dame was the champion.
The men's competition is set to start on Saturday.


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Keeping America safe from terrorism begins abroad. In the race to protect the United States and stay "one step ahead," we must develop innovative strategies, creative diplomacy, and even stronger partnerships. How do we do it all? Here are ten things you should know about the new Bureau of Counterterrorism.
1. We build foreign counterterrorism capacity. We build international partner counterterrorism capacity in the civilian sector and contribute to efforts in the military and defense sectors. We develop and support implementation of antiterrorism assistance in the law enforcement, rule-of-law and counterterrorism finance sectors, on topics ranging from cyber-security to money laundering prevention to crisis response to prison de-radicalization.
2. We stood up and co-chair a new multilateral counterterrorism body. In 2011, we established the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). With 30 founding members (29 countries and the EU), the GCTF is a major initiative within the Obama Administration's broader effort to build an international architecture for dealing with 21st century terrorist threats. Two major deliverables announced at the September launch demonstrate the GCTF's action-oriented nature. The first was approximately $100 million, contributed by several members, to develop rule of law institutions. The United Arab Emirates announced the second: its intention to host the first ever international center of excellence on countering violent extremism, slated to open in Abu Dhabi in the fall of 2012. The forum is co-chaired by Turkey and the United States.
3. We counter violent extremism. To defeat terrorists, we must undermine their ability to recruit. We work to delegitimize the violent extremist narrative, to develop positive alternatives for populations vulnerable to recruitment, and to build partner government and civil society capacity to counter violent extremism themselves.
4. We engage with foreign governments. We hold regular bilateral, regional, and multilateral dialogues on shared counterterrorism issues and consult with foreign governments on urgent and emerging threats. Through bilateral and multilateral engagement we work with our more capable partners to enhance the abilities of countries around the world to counter terrorism and to cooperate more effectively together. We exchange intelligence, information, and best practices and procedures to ensure that we all are in the best possible position to thwart terrorist plots and take and keep terrorists off the streets. We help draft foreign counterterrorism laws. We routinely advise foreign governments on best practices for counterterrorism crisis management, and maintain cooperative research and development agreements with partner nations.
5. We respond to crises. We lead an interagency crisis response team, known as the Foreign Emergency Support Team (FEST). Established in 1985, the FEST is ready to travel at four hours notice to the scene of an overseas emergency and provide round the clock advice and assistance to Ambassadors and foreign governments facing crises. The FEST's interagency team has responded to real-world bombings, kidnappings, and other crises around the globe, and also supports and participates in training exercises for such incidents. FEST training and response activities have occurred in Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Europe. We have deployed a FEST 31 times since 1989.
6. We strategize. We work closely with the National Security Staff and other agencies to develop, refine and implement U.S. counterterrorism strategy and operations to disrupt and defeat the networks that support terrorism.
7. We designate. We prepare designations that carry legal sanctions of State Sponsors of Terrorism, foreign terrorist organizations, entities and individuals, and countries not fully cooperating with U.S. counterterrorism efforts for consideration by the Secretary of State.
8. We support research and development. We co-chair (with the Department of Defense) the interagency Technical Support Working Group (TSWG). TSWG conducts the National Interagency Combating Terrorism Research and Development Program whose purpose is to enhance the counterterrorism technology and equipment capabilities of U.S. government agencies involved in counterterrorism activities.
9. We support the safe recovery of hostages. The Hostage Policy Subgroup refines and implements official U.S. government policy toward Americans taken captive abroad. We work closely with interagency partners to shape and guide implementation of hostage policy in a way that accomplishes the safe recovery of hostages, bringing of hostage-takers to justice, and the prevention of future incidents.
10. We strengthen homeland security. We work in partnership with DHS, as well as other agencies and bureaus, to strengthen international cooperation on a wide range of homeland security issues, including transportation security, the interdiction of terrorist travel, and critical infrastructure protection.
Bujar L. in Kosovo writes:
Would like to talk to officials related to the point 3. Please advice.
Maureen in Massachusetts writes:
Introducing Secretary of State Clinton's Quadrennial Diplomacy action agenda in full swing with the New Year. Now just how often do we get to say "Quadrennial Diplomacy� I mean, wow! So if your on an interview...
And in keeping with the effective slogan "Ten Things You Should Know†and Rhonda Shore's introduction and reminder that terrorism begins abroad and that we must stay one step ahead-
The Bureau of Counterterrorism working multi and bilateral diplomacy channels. Les atouts unique to the State Department all the while helping to secure the homeland.
Ambassador Benjamin Special briefing Jan.4:
Well, we're the State Department; we have a set of tools and a set of activities that others don't do. No one else does the bilateral kind of diplomacy that we do with others on a number of different issues, whether it has to do with how we reduce the space that terrorist groups have to fundraise, to operate. We provide a lot of training. We fund other agencies of the U.S. Government to send their experts out to do it in countries around the world, whether it's anti-money laundering, counterterrorism finance, border security, rule of law with regional resident-led legal advisors – a whole range of different things that are really in the diplomatic toolkit and that we work with our partners in the government to do. So these things couldn't be done without a strong State platform for carrying them through.
Ambassador Benjamin also spoke to international cooperation as the unsung hero underscoring the role it will play adapting as necessary- Ambassador Benjamin:
Our ability to oversee and implement CT programs, which cover, by the way, everything from police training to countering the al-Qaida narrative, will be strengthened by the establishment of the bureau. The new bureau will lead the Department in U.S. Government efforts to reduce radicalization and mobilization abroad. It will work with the recently established Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications to de-legitimate the violent extremist narrative, to develop positive alternatives for populations that are vulnerable to recruitment, and it will work to partner with governments and civil society in building capacity to counter violent extremism.
Thank you for the post Rhonda Shore. The Special Briefing was very informative. Readers can walk away with an example of responsible resource management at the Dept. of State as no additional funds have been spent for the new bureau. Impressive, creative. What would Secretary Nides say?
"with just over one percent of the entire federal budgetâ€... ah.
Donald M. in Virginia writes:
Has Osama in ladens right hand man been captured or killed yet? The Egyptian Doctor?
Daniel V. in California writes:
To Rhonda Shore
Based on my more than 50 years of studies and researches of insurgency and all types of violent crimes from Asian countries, the entire United States (except Alaska), Canada, Australia, Mexico and Western Europe, your items 1 to 10 are all wrong.
Here are a few items why your analysis and strategies are wrong:
1) Keeping America safe from terrorism begins at home;
2) Counterterrorism is counter-productive, ineffective, costly, creates casualties (civilians, military troops, law enforcement)
3) Counter violent extremism - the same as item 2.
4) Respond to crises - an effective counter-terrorism should have no crises
5) Engage with foreign governments - all governments are sharing the same ineffective strategies
6) Establishing the GCTF without ineffective, costly and counterproductive strategies is useless
7) Sanctions is a slow process
8) Support research and development - it is not possible to yield productive results as long as outdated law enforcement and military basic fundamentals are not changed
9) Co-chair with the Department of Defense - if the DOD is not capable of defeating the Talibans for 11 years, spending billions, creating casualties: civilians and troops, this effort is useless
10) If America can not even stop violence (Aurora, Colorado and Chicago, Illinois shootings); or the FBI's report that violence is down but the killing of officers is rising and they do not know why - with all these items unresolved, it would be impossible to strengthen homeland security.
Fortunately, my more than 50 years of studies allowed me to develop this kind of program:
"Control terrorism and all types of violent crimes, reduce prison population, create jobs to reduce the budget deficit, without raising taxes".
I do presentations, and I can answer all of the above items. I can also explain how the Department of Defense need only to spend only 10 percent out of the $87.7 billion dollars allocated for Afghanistan for 2013 and still defeat the Talibans; Stop the shootings in big cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, etc.);
Respectfully yours.


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Jurors at the Casey Anthony murder trial heard testimony on Wednesday from a grief expert who was called by defense attorneys to try to explain how a young mother might respond to the death of her child by partying at bars, getting a tattoo, renting movies, and going on shopping excursions.
Sally Karioth, a professor at Florida State University, said no two people grieve in exactly the same way. She said young adults, like Ms. Anthony, can sometimes be "reluctant grievers."
The testimony came on the 31st day of the Orlando trial of the Florida mother accused of killing her two-year-old daughter, Caylee. If convicted, Ms. Anthony could face the death penalty.
The testimony is important because it sought to address one of the most perplexing questions raised in the Anthony case. How could a young mother fail to tell her family, friends, and the police about her dead or missing child for 31 days while she partied with friends and acted as if nothing was wrong?
To set up Professor Karioth's testimony, Defense Attorney Dorothy Sims presented an elaborate hypothetical example which was actually a detailed description of certain factors in Casey Anthony's life as viewed under the defense theory of the case.
The woman in the hypothetical case was described as a 22-year-old mother of a young child who had a loving bond with the toddler. The woman also lives at home with her parents, who resisted the reality of her unwed pregnancy. Also living in the house was an older brother who was angry for being excluded from any discussion of the pregnancy.
"Add to it that during the 31 days after the child is gone, the mother leaves the home, rents movies, goes shopping, goes to bars, and gets a tattoo that indicated 'Beautiful Life,' " Ms. Sims said.
Karioth said that a young person in such a situation might respond by saying that nothing had happened. They will often engage in risky behaviors, like drinking too much and spending money they don't have. She added that some hope they can shop their way out of the problem.
Karioth said that people who come from uncommunicative families that don't talk or feel or share, may engage in denial and what she called "magical thinking."
As Karioth continued her testimony, Casey Anthony's eyes turned red. Soon she had a Kleenex out and began dabbing tears away. What made that reaction particularly striking to many observers is that only a few hours earlier she had sat at the defense table cold and expressionless – appearing almost bored – as her father, George Anthony, sobbed on the witness stand while describing his decision to try to kill himself in January 2009 because of his own grief over the loss of his granddaughter, Caylee.
During cross-examination of Karioth, Assistant State Attorney Jeffrey Ashton offered a hypothetical example of his own. In his hypothetical the young mother – within a half day of the child's death – goes to her boyfriend's house, rents a movie, spends the night with him, returns secretly to her parents house, and then over the next month doesn't tell anyone that the child has died or is missing. Then, for the next month, she lies to her mother and her friends by suggesting that the child is with a baby sitter.
"Is that conduct consistent with the type of denial you see in mothers," Ashton asked.
"I would call that more magical thinking," Karioth said. "If I can keep all these balls in the air, maybe it won't be true that I'm fearful may have happened," she said, suggesting a grieving mother's possible reasoning.
Ashton asked the professor to consider an additional element to the hypothetical. "Let's add that the mother deliberately killed the child," he said.
Sims objected. She told the judge there was no evidence that the mother killed the child.
The exchange underscored the surreal aspect of offering "hypothetical" testimony to a jury that isn't hypothetical at all.
Karioth said denial can be a coping mechanism.
"For guilt," Ashton asked.
"It can be," the professor said.
Ashton then asked about compartmentalization.
"Compartmentalizing traumatic episodes is a typical way of going on with your life," Karioth explained.
"So one could compartmentalize an unspeakable act, put it in a box, and then go on and act as if nothing happened," Ashton asked.
Karioth said questions dealing with psychology were beyond her expertise. But she said she has worked with people who engage in "magical thinking."
She described a mother who had recently lost a child. The mother was concerned because it was dark outside and the weather was turning bad. The little boy had never been in the dark and the rain alone. Karioth said she told the mother she'd be right over. She found a blanket and some umbrellas and sat with the grieving mother until the rain stopped.
"Now that is magical," she said, "but it is something we needed to do."
Ashton asked one last question: "You will agree that the bond between a mother and child is hard to break, even with death."
"I don't think it breaks," she said.
The trial is expected to continue on Thursday.


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ISO 527-2:2012 Tensile Properties of Plastics
This test method was designed to determine tensile properties of plastics based on the general principles given in ISO 257-1:2012. These properties include tensile strength, strain at break, modulus, and yield.
Products that may be tested in accordance with this standard include thermosets, thermoplastics, and fiber-reinforced plastics. Test specimens may be rigid, semi-rigid, molded, or extruded plastics and are commonly in the shape of a dumbbell or dog bone.
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- Repeatable strain measurement
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- Reporting calculations in compliance with the standard
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For labs with a high volume testing, Instron offers both the robotic 6-axis AT6 and the non-robotic 3-axis AT3 automated testing solutions.
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How China's Superbank redraws globe
Book Review: Two journalists probe special role of China Development Bank
- |
- Written by Ed Blount
- |
- Comments: DISQUS_COMMENTS
As the western market economies, in response to the 2008 financial crisis, have moved closer to state control of private finance, so China has moved closer to market-based finance for its newly private enterprises.
One of the great financial stories of our time is the awakened power of the Chinese worker. Much of that story is told in China's Superbank--but much that one might expect is also missing.
One wonders how an entire book on China's economic and trade development can avoid mentioning, even once, the names Walmart, Apple, John Deere, or any of the other global enterprises that so thoroughly depend on Chinese factories--and upon whom those factories depend for their revenues.
The answer is that Sanderson and Forsythe, two Bejing-based Bloomberg journalists, have sourced over 500 bond prospectuses for local government financing vehicles. The authors' interest lies in describing the restructuring of the Chinese state balance sheet and only indirectly in tracing the development of its income statement.
China Development Bank creates the Chinese powerhouse
In recent months, a virtual army of Western investment managers has raised the alarm about China's feared overspending on infrastructure. At the same time, many of these managers have preached the need for China to develop its domestic consumer market. This book explains how the Chinese political leadership is approaching the challenge, and how the leaders have tasked the China Development Bank with moving China from a rural to a semi-urban state in just 15 years.
For anyone who has taken in the glitzy skyscrapers and choked expressways in the megacities of the new China, this is a compelling story of supply-side (but still communist) domestic economics attempted without the benefit of a middle-class nor its traditions.
Sanderson and Forsythe have presented a worthy history of the role played by the China Development Bank in less than three decades of urbanization. A slim and highly readable volume, China's Superbank is more a series of essays tinted with prospectus statistics than the kind of in-depth analysis produced by the IMF or World Bank.
Although their beat is financial, Sanderson and Forsythe also give us vignettes of the human side of the economic explosion, from the disorientation of millions of displaced farmers to the headlong rush into venture capital and private equity of US-educated children--princelings of the revolutionary leadership.
Buildup to world banking power
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After Chairman Deng Xiaoping pushed for market reforms after the Tiananmen Square protests, rampant inflation in the early 1990s led to strict budget laws that prevented local governments from running deficits or borrowing directly from overseas investors. The Asian financial crisis at the end of the decade led directly to the development of the "Wuhu Model" of finance, which Sanderson and Forsythe credit with transforming China from a rural Soviet, agri-industry economy into an urbanized, market-tilted model of state capitalism.
In essence, the Wuhu Model relies on phased land sales by local governments. These sales used special-purpose financing vehicles (LGFVs) to fund infrastructure investments and commercial development. Western bankers well know that approach to municipal finance, since the local government gains more tax revenue through the rise of market-driven economic activity.
However, the Chinese approach differs in that the local government can also sell nearby land as property values soar once enterprises bring projects to fruition.
Remember, the state owns all the land.
So the local People's Congress has two revenue sources for repaying the LGFVs: higher taxes and more land sales. That property values rose 140% in the dozen years after 1998 seems to cement the wisdom of the model. China Development Bank (CDB) legitimizes and guarantees the project with mezzanine financing, then the commercial banks take up the rest of the credit.
Sanderson and Forsythe recap China's efforts to tie down the energy resources needed to fuel its commercial revolution, through several mechanisms. These include the China-Africa Development Fund; loans for energy deals in Venezuela, Bolivia, and elsewhere; and investments in alternative energy firms financed with CDB lines of credit.
Marketing efforts of Chinese telecommunications firms are reinforced through deferred payments and below-market interest rates. For example, Huawei Technologies Company, the world's second-largest telephone maker after Ericsson AB, received a $10 billion commitment from CDB on Dec. 27, 2004.
According to China's Superbank, this was "the first of many CDB credit lines to its customers across the developing world that would allow it to gain significant market share. It was also the beginning of CDB's support of Chinese firms to 'go global'."
One year later, Vodaphone Group, the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer at the time, appointed Huawei as its first Chinese-approved supplier of network equipment "and Huawei's road to global domination had begun."
By 2012, Huawei's success was being challenged in the European Union and elsewhere on the basis that its vendor financing represented an illegal government subsidy. Huawei retorted that Ericsson's customers benefited from similar arrangements through Sweden's export financing agency. However, the authors argue that state-owned CDB's ability to raise funds at sovereign rates distorts the competition.
"Only when CDB pays the proper price to get money and China liberalizes interest rates will it start to price its giant loans at market-based rates," they conclude.
Not your "friendly neighborhood banker"
And yet, despite China's global success, the authors paint a worrisome picture of subsistence farmers forcibly relocated to state-financed megacities without the prospect of gainful employment nor the skills to acquire productive jobs in commercial environment.
And who will be hurt if China's urbanization experiment fails?
Consider that the new apartments of the unemployed masses may have been built by LGFVs, but the largest investor groups were Chinese bank depositors. With few other choices, Chinese savers are captive to an economy where the state controls not just interest rates but also capital flows.
The authors complain that so little disclosure accompanies the financing activities of CDB that it's "a large black hole in global finance."
Since CDB is a political institution, not just a bank, its managers answer only to state shareholders. That structure may work against CDB and help the project finance teams of competing Western banks when facing off against CDB for projects.
As a result, "as much as it pushes into commercial, international deals for top-tier companies, it is held back by its origins," state the authors. "It still operates with a top-down hierarchy and an often time-consuming approval process. To some of those who work with the bank it can move at the speed of a government department rather than an international bank."
De-stating a state-run monolith
The greatest challenge to the WuHu model lies in the Chinese capability to move beyond creative financing for industrial outsourcing, as with CDB and Huawei, to the creation of brand identities for the ultimate consumer, in the way of Kia, Samsung, and other South Korean manufacturers.
It may be a long time before Chinese brands can compete with Chanel, Tiffany, Coach, and the other luxury retailers so evident in the fashionable districts of Beijing.
But only by lifting its pricing model can China's producers bear higher financing costs and still compete in domestic and export markets, while meeting the coming challenge to the low-cost model prompted by the growing demands of its waking labor classes.
How the superbank's top banker began
"Chen Yuan inherited a basket case. Always ambitious, from day one he was determined to change [China Development Bank] from a bureaucracy to a proper international bank. He introduced the idea of choosing projects, doing official credit appraisals and internal credit ratings, as well as many complicated procedures many in the bank apparently did not understand."
If you'd like to review books for our online book column, or have recently read a book that you found helpful that we haven't already reviewed, please e-mail [email protected]
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European Commission - Press release
EU highlights trade-led growth as central to modern development agenda
Brussels, 27 January 2012 - A range of proposals to make trade and development instruments work hand-in-hand to ensure real poverty reduction across the world are presented by the European Commission today. The proposals aim at reinforcing the trade capacities of developing countries by making trade part of their development strategy. And to ensure we hit our target, the EU is currently looking into better ways of differentiating between developing countries to ensure the world's poorest countries receive our biggest help. The role of trade is underlined in the proposal as one of the key drivers to support development, stimulate growth and to lift people out of poverty. Furthermore, today the EU calls for all developed economies to match its significant levels of market access to developing countries.
While the EU already provides more trade-related development assistance than the rest of the world put together, the Communication "Trade, growth and development" assesses the main next steps. For example: the traditional group of "developing countries" is outdated amid the rise of emerging economies. More tailor-made trade and development policies are needed that go beyond reducing customs duties at borders (tariff reductions), and tackle the major problem of improving the 'business environment'.
To achieve this goal, the proposal underlines that developing countries' leadership must also face up to their responsibilities. Developing countries need to undertake domestic reforms to ensure that the poor do indeed benefit from trade-led growth.
European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht said "The rise of emerging economies like India, China and Brazil shows that trade-driven development is possible and that open markets can play a major role in generating growth. Yet those trailing behind need help. World tariffs have never been this low and the EU already offers very favourable market access to poor countries. What will make a difference are non-tariff issues - such as standards, services, intellectual property rights, public procurement, infrastructure and packaging facilities. None of this can work without political governance."
European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, said: "The integration of developing countries in global trade is a powerful lever for growth and the fight against poverty. It has helped to lift millions of people out of poverty in the last decade and will remain key to our development work." He added: "We now need to make sure that our aid for trade focuses on those most in need even more - concentrating our support on our least developed partners, helping them to reinforce their capacities, and adapt their economies to be able to join the global and regional economy."
The Commission proposes a number of ways to improve the effectiveness of EU trade and development policy including:
It also calls on emerging economies to assume more responsibility for opening their markets to LDCs through preferential schemes but also on a non-discriminatory basis towards the rest of the WTO membership, of which four-fifths are developing countries. At the same time, the EU offers emerging economies a more mature partnership that includes regulatory cooperation and engagement on global issues which are essential for development such as food security, sustainable use of natural resources, green growth and climate change.
The EU leads the way in providing trade support to the developing countries:
For further information:
Memo with background and figures
Communication "Trade, Growth & Development: tailoring trade and investment policy for those countries most in need":
Staff Working Paper:
EU Trade and Development policy
Publication on Aid for Trade: Aid for Trade
EU Accountability Report 2011 on Financing for Development (Annex on EU Aid for Trade Monitoring Report 2011)
Side Bar


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The basics
Kansas City Wizards (3-8-3, 12 points, sixth in the East) vs. Columbus Crew (8-2-4, 28 points, first in the East), at Crew Stadium.
All-time series: The Crew lead 19-16-5 and are 11-7-3 in Columbus.
TV info
7:30 p.m. ET; ONN-TV, MLS Direct Kick
What's at stake
The Wizards are coming off a third straight loss after suffering a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Chivas USA. Against Columbus, KC have suffered six defeats and two ties in the past eight games, including the playoffs, so things don't exactly look too good for them.
The Crew, meanwhile, are 2-0-1 since the end of the World Cup break and have won three straight in the series against the Wizards. They will be looking to kick off their three-game homestand on a positive note.
Last meeting
Reserve Emilio Renteria buried a header off a Guillermo Barros Schelotto corner kick in the 64th minute and William Hesmer had six saves to help the Crew to a 1-0 victory over the Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark on May 23.
Remember when...
…Columbus turned around an early – and quick – two-goal deficit to eventually tie Kansas City 3-3 at Crew Stadium on July 17, 2008? The Wizards struck for goals in the 22nd and 24th minutes – a Frankie Hejduk own-goal and a Roger Espinoza redirect – to stun the home crowd momentarily. But the Crew rallied behind strikes from Schelotto, Alejandro Moreno and Chad Marshall to take the lead before Josh Wolff equalized for the Wizards in the 75th.
Heroes & Villains
Jimmy Conrad vs. Crew forwards – Conrad is the heart and soul of the Kansas City defense, but he had a subpar outing against Chivas USA. Whether it's Jason Garey or Steven Lenhart starting for the Crew, their work rate and physicality present problems for any opposition. Conrad can't afford to have another bad night.
Crew defenders vs. Kansas City attack – The back line had an uncharacteristic off-night at Houston last weekend but still managed a shutout with the aid of some amazingly poor finishing from the Dynamo. The Wizards have to hope the Crew flubs are a trend and not an aberration, and will have to finish any open chances around the goal.
Stat that makes you go "Hm…"
The Crew have a bit of a pattern going in the goals-allowed category over the past four games: 1, 0, 1, 0.
He said it
"We are fit. You could see that at the end of the game [on Saturday at Houston]. Even in the last minutes, we didn't go to the corners to just hold the result. We were attacking." – Crew coach Robert Warzycha, on his team's play despite three MLS and two US Open Cup matches in a span of 15 days.
Preview: Crew vs. KC
The basics


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The gas flaring byproduct of shale oil and gas drilling can now be seen from space, the FT's Ed Crooks and Ajay Makan observe.
Here's what Bakken, North Dakota — home of the country's most intense shale oil drilling — looked like in 2003:
And today — way more lit up.
The situation is actually not ideal, the pair say — flaring in North Dakota has increased the state's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent. Bismarck legislators are considering laws to help curb the practice, they write.


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Are you all recovering from Fourth of July this morning? I don't know about you, but we go all out. BBQ with the family, water gun fights (kids vs dads), the whole enchilada. We pretty much rocked Fourth of July in the "W" Household. That being said the little redheads are recovering from a day in the sun and a late night of firework bliss. Those bright lights never get too old to those littles do they? Heck us Moms are thoroughly impressed as well:) So while we vegge out today and recover, I wanted to answer some questions that have been filling up my inbox this past weekend.
It is time for How Does She do a Budget Q and A
All of these questions are in response to
my How Does She Live on $14,000 a year post.
Question 1:
"Great post! I've been thinking for awhile about making my own bread (that would be my baby step 1, I suppose). How do you store your bread and how long does it last? Thanks!"
-from Amanda
Great question! I get bread storage bags from Wal-Mart. They are sold by all the other baggies. They come with twist ties and everything. You can also get gallon size freezer bags as well. I store my bread in those also. I usually have one loaf out at a time. Any other loaves I have that are baked will go in the freezer, until we are ready to eat them. Usually bread doesn't last more than a week here. It is gobbled up way too fast. I think though I have left it out for at least 2 weeks and it was still good. After that it starts drying out and stuff, Very similar to store bought bread.
Question 2:
"Loved this post. We also make our own bread, etc. Your tips also work great on an ecological scale too! I think you might have done a post like this before, but if not can you post about how you do your monthly grocery shoppings in depth? "
- From Stevie
Absolutely I can! I have a post on my grocery shopping. You can find it here.
and here is how I do Costco.
Question 3:
"Thanks for this post! I really need to buckle down and set a budget. I'm generally not a big spender, but I like to splurge on things for my girls, and they're both too young to notice it. (They're both under 18 months). I also was wondering how you get the internet so cheaply. We're paying over $50/month, and it'll go up to about $75/month when our first year runs out, which I think is outrageous. Any tips there? Thanks!"
-From Sharon
Good Question....
Let me think. Hubby is usually the one who takes care of the internet. I know that we get the Internet through our local cable provider. Our cable company offers a few different Internet choices, when it comes to the speed of the Internet. I would call your cable company and ask what type of internet you are signed up for. You may be singed up for something more expensive and not even know it. Other than that the $35 was just what we were signed up for when we moved and hooked up the internet in our current house.
Question 4:
"This is so awesome! thanks so much for sharing! i always luv to read how people budget, live within their means, etc. i know some people say - just do it, but it's so much harder than that! any ideas how to get your spouse on board with helping make the budget?"
-From Michelle
This is a hard one. I actually have a friend who is going through something similar. He has big ideas for them to save money, but his wife does not want to do it. She is all for it in her words, but not in her actions. I can tell you I was very similar when I started on this journey with my hubby. I was raised in a family where I literally got what I wanted. I was privileged. I didn't want for anything. Both of my parents made very good money and were able to splurge on things for my brother and I. I had no clue what bills and hard times were before I got married. It took my hubby literally showing me where every dollar was going in the month. He showed me what we were paying on fast food, groceries, bills,clothes, etc. He asked me what my goal was for us financially and what my goals were for the future. Then we talked about weather my spending habits would support our ultimate goal. It wouldn't have. I needed to change. Hubby was only asking me to watch my spending and stick to a budget. Once I got that done, then I started in with the monthly meal planning, homemade everything and such. I took baby steps. Once I had the basics down it become fun trying to think of ways to save money. It still is!Talk with your spouse and be honest, but firm. Say that it is important for you to make a change and you want to make it together. I hope this helps. If any one else has some tips for Michelle please comment below. This is a tricky question.
Question 5:
(more of a comment but needed to be addressed)
"I think that you have some good ideas but most are not manageable! My husband and I both work and have to drive to work. Only living on one tank of gas a month is not realistic where we live! "
- Anonymous
First of all I wish I could personally e-mail Mr/Mrs Anonymous. If you have not linked up your e-mail please do so. I love to write everyone back, but need your e-mail to do so. Now Mr/Mrs Anonymous I understand why you may feel the way you do, but there is no need to get frustrated. Having two people going to work is totally different. My hubby only goes to school and I am a stay at home Mom. Obviously me filling up once a month works for me, but wouldn't work for you.What I would say is try other ways to save money. Don't pick out what wouldn't work, but look at my tips and see what could work. What little change could you make. Those little changes will add up overt time and make a big difference. I know they will:) Also I live in Nevada. Gas prices are different everywhere. Again just take my advice as suggestions. I am just sharing what has worked for my family. Also the once a month filling the gas tank is for both Hubby and I.
I Wanted to make sure everyone knew that.
Question 6:
"Wow, I'll have to come back to this post - definitely want to invite you to join in on my Wednesday homemaking link up. :) We lived on 12,000 a year, but had help from family and did NOT own our own home. I'm curious as how you own a home... Shared with Pinterest - wishing you lots of great traffic and admirers".
This was a popular question. First off remember we planned for buying a house and paying cash. We saved the whole 5 years my hubby was in the military. He served 2 deployments to Iraq, where he received something called "war pay". We got a little extra each month. We put that extra towards paying off our car and saving for a down payment on a house. We also live in Nevada. If you pay attention to the news, than you will know Nevada is one of the top ten states for unemployment. Unemployment means lots of foreclosures. People have lost their homes like crazy here. It is now a buyers market and not a seller's. This is sad, but it did work in our favor. We were living in an apartment and knew that with Hubby's next semester in school we would not be able to afford the rent without dipping into the $32,000 we had saved for a house. That being said we hated thinking of spending that hard earned money on rent in an apartment. That is when Hubby decided we should buy a foreclosure. He started looking up homes. We ended up buying a manufactured home for $30,000. We used the rest of our money for moving and fixing up the house. You can see here everything we did to fix up the house. So that is how we bought our house and paid cash. We knew we only had $32,000 to spend on a house. We only looked at homes within our budget and we stayed within that budget. That was the key to making it work. I didn't need a big house. I just wanted a place for my family and that is exactly what we have and we are happy. I think people get too caught up in wanting bigger and better. We just wanted something we could afford and we could be together. That is what was important. We were looking ahead and I am so glad we did.
Also I wanted to include some of the tips you all gave.
They are awesome and need to be shared.
Here we go:
"Mint.com is an awesome website to help with learning to budget. It shows exactly where you are spending your money and will spell it all out in graphs so you get the visual. "
"You guys are absolutely amazing!! I am so inspired by you right now. We have always struggled with budgeting and have spent the last 2 years getting ourselves back in line. It has been SO hard to only have one car, move in with our inlaws and all the other sacrifices we made...but the day we could shout from the rooftops that we were debt free made it all worth it. The thing that helped us most? Definitely the cash envelope system. I am a very visual person so actually seeing when I was out of money worked wonders for me :) I loved this post and LOVE this series!"
-From Toni
"Great advice. I have a budget and stick to it. Paying in cash is the biggie for me. Thanks so much for sharing at the All Star Block Party."
- From Holly
"What a great post, thank you for sharing. My husband and I are currently following the Dave Ramsey method. We use cash for groceries and we have a budget spreadsheet that we follow. Everything is laid out on the spreadsheet every penny is accounted for. Since we started using cash and following a strict budget we have been able to pay off our cars and have started to pay off other debt too. I really need to check out thrift stores I would love to find a bread maker and make my own bread at home."
-From Shirley
"AMAZING post girl!!!
We also BUDGET down to the very last penny! And I will second that a BUDGET IS KEY!! We do our own version of the Dave Ramsey envelope system. It was very hard at first for me. I fought it hard. BUT once I saw where all our money went-vs-where it could go I was on board. Now I can't see life any other way!!! And I will second also paying CASH is a must. It seems to hurt a little more than using a debit/credit card!"
-From Tasha
"This is a really interesting post with good ideas. There is a TV show called "Til Debt Do Us Part" and she says pretty much the same. She gets talking to couples really in debt and gives them tasks to get out of debt. I don't know if it is available in the USA because it is Canadian but it is worth checking out. However, I would NEVER be able to pay cash for a 200,000$ house, because this is what houses cost over here. Nevertheless, I enjoyed your post. I am already very thrifty and, aside from my house, I am debt free and intend on staying that way. I think everyone should buy only what they NEED instead of what they desire. It takes a lot of restraint at first but, if you are creative, it becomes a game and a lot of fun ! "
So there we have it...the burning questions answered. I hope this all helps and I look forward to doing more in the How Does She series. All your comments and e-mails inspire me and keep me wanting to create and write. Thank you always for your kindness and for taking some time out of your day to come here to my piece of blog land.
Want to find out more ways to save money?
Check out some of my other posts:
Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half
Freezing Your Milk
Living on $14,000 a year
How Does She Q and A
Breakfast and Lunch: Meal Planning and Saving Tips
Fresh Produce All Month Long
Save Money at Costco
Menu Planning: Pantry Staples List
Weekly Menu Plans + Printable Shopping Lists
I also love these books for great money saving inspiration
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Guard shoots at boy, 15, at FDA office in Bothell
BOTHEL -- A security guard opened fire and wounded a 15-year-old boy at a FDA's Food and Drug Administration regional facility in Bothell early Friday, according to police.
It was around 7 a.m. when two security officers approached a teen acting suspiciously in the building's parking lot, said Shari Ireton with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.
The teen ran away, but then came back a short time later and got into a car in the parking lot. As the security officers approached the car, the teen backed out and struck one of the security officers, who in turn fired at the car, Ireton said.
Bothell Police Sgt. Cedric Collins said earlier the teen crashed into another vehicle about a mile away on the Bothell-Everett Highway, but Ireton said officers found the teen at a home.
The teen had a gunshot wound to his foot and minor cuts to his face, Ireton said. He was taken to a a local hospital for treatment and was later released into police custody.
People who were in the area at the time of the shooting said they heard multiple gunshots, and tire tracks could been seen leading from the street in front of the building and across a grassy median.
Northshore School District spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht says the 15-year-old is a student at the Secondary Academy for Success, an alternative high school adjacent to the FDA office building.
The school was placed in a modified lockdown after the shooting due to the nearby police activity.
Langford said the guard who fired at the boy is employed by a company contracted by the FDA to provide security at the laboratory, which is at 22201 23rd Drive S.E.


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Boys Room: Storage
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Weekend LOL Video
Karate Santa Very Funny - Amazing videos are here
9 comments:
- Jason said...
This is a great site you have here. It's pretty funny. I have a humor blog as well and I'd like to exchange links with you. This will spread some traffic around between us. Let me know if this is cool.
HilariousHeadlines TALK
- December 12, 2009 at 11:13 PM
- ♥ Kathy said...
I love how many people tried to act like he just wasn't there LOL and the man taking a drink was too funny :p Hope you're having a great weekend!
- December 13, 2009 at 12:42 PM
- choochoo said...
But if that was pooch in that one clip, santa woulda lost his bells.
- December 14, 2009 at 6:28 AM
- Laura said...
This made my Monday morning!
- December 14, 2009 at 11:39 AM
- A Real Housewife said...
i want to find this santa IRL!!!
- December 14, 2009 at 2:29 PM
- Momma Chae said...
- December 15, 2009 at 1:42 AM
- Frau said...
OMG that was awesome people are really going after him! Love it!
- December 15, 2009 at 7:54 AM
- Julia said...
Awe-some, although I'm still confused. Is he selling lessons or trips to Mexico? Either way, I'm signing up.
- December 15, 2009 at 8:58 AM
- Former Fat Chick said...
is it wrong that I love him so much, I may want to have sex with him....I NEVER want to have sex, just ask the HUBS! bwahahaha
- December 15, 2009 at 11:44 AM


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Green almonds have always had cachet – to find them, you really had to know somebody who knew somebody. But nothing stays hidden for long in today's food world and this year, for the first time I'm aware of, almond producers are making an effort to get green almonds into the marketplace. They're still pretty tough to find, but at least they're not hidden under the farmers market tables anymore.
Green almonds are immature nuts. They look like almonds covered in a fuzzy green wrapping. The edible part is inside that husk, a somewhat sweet, slightly gelatinous milky, jelly-like substance. They're almost like pale grapes.
You get to the fruit by carefully slicing the almond along one edge and then popping it open. In the Middle East, they're a popular snack, but in restaurants, because of the work involved, they're usually used just as a garnish – scattered around a dish a few at a time.
If you want to try them, you have to hurry – they're only harvested for a few weeks in early spring. After that, the nuts begin to harden. You can still find them at some farmers markets and at Middle Eastern markets, such as Star Kosher Meat Market in Santa Monica. They're also available online from Stewart and Jasper Orchards.
What wine for a BLT? How about Arneis?


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Welcome to Snip-its of Encino
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Snip-its is a full-service hair salon for kids just off Ventura Blvd. We serve the Encino, Sherman Oaks, and Van Nuys areas of Los Angeles. Kids love going to Snip-its for the interactivity and entertainment, providing parents with a stress-free experience. We Speak Kid™ at Snip-its of Encino, so everything in our salon is designed to entertain your child, making the haircut experience fun!
Every Snip-its offers interactive computer games, magic box prizes, and more! Kids enjoy coming to Snip-its so much, we also provide manicures, pedicures, and birthday parties. We also offer great coupons for you to clip. Drop by Snip-its of Encino, CA at your convenience, and experience the magic with your child.
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We'll make your next birthday the best party ever. We will provide a cake or cupcakes, dress-up outfits, party favors, a choice of styling—even a special gift for the birthday boy or girl! If you have a special request, just ask one of our Party Planners. Take your pick from our fun party options.
Glamour Party
Fairy tales do come true when you choose our Glamour Party option. Snip-its Party Planners will help each guest get ready for the big ball with special party hairstyles, princess gowns and crowns, and sparkly makeup. Once their makeover is complete, everyone can walk a catwalk that's fit for royalty, posing for all to see!
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We've set the stage for your rising star to shine! Once your birthday boy or girl and their guests arrive, they can choose fun rock star outfits, hairdos, and makeup. When they're ready to get front and center, the concert begins, and everyone can sing their hearts out with karaoke and dance under our disco lights. This party will be epic!
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Everybody deserves a little pampering, especially on their birthday. Let our expert Party Planners make this day one in which everyone feels special and looks fantastic. Spa packages can include manicures, pedicures, and facials. It's always a great party when EVERYONE can get in on the fun!
$360 for up to 8 kids, $45 for each additional child.
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Why just go to a movie when you can host a party where everyone's a movie star? Your guests will be whisked away for a wardrobe change where they will get dressed to impress with a fancy Hollywood outfit, makeup, and hairstyle. Once they're ready for their close-up, they'll make their way down the red carpet, complete with flashing lights and paparazzi!
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