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Over recent decades the right to strike in Australia and elsewhere has been steadily eroded. The consequence: a lack of bargaining power for workers under pressure from aggressive employers and Conservative/neo-liberal governments. In this latest 'Left Focus' article, life-long labour movement activist, Chris White reviews Joe Burns 'Reviving the Strike: How Working People Can Regain Power and Transform
' (2011 IG Publishing) The implications of this review for Australian unions are obvious and important. America
nb also: If you find this article interesting PLS join our Facebook group - to link up with other readers, and to receive regular updates on new material.
A review by Chris White
Joe Burns has a stimulating analysis and conclusion in this readable and topical book on US strikes.
I conclude as well that we can revive the strike in
and working people can regain power and transform Australia . Australia
Our corporate and state rulers dominate the labour law system, and as in the
PM Gillard's regime the 'Fair Work Act' retains the 'Work Choices' excessive legalistic penalising of strikes and the Building Industry Act (2005) with the
ABCC severely threatens and penalises building and construction workers organising. (See arguments on my blog http://chriswhiteonline.org and put in search ' ABCC' and 'the right to strike'.)
After reading this book, the same arguments apply in
US and
The task is how the strike revival is to be done.
This is a serious challenge for Australian unionists in this era of capitalist instability, corporate attack, a likely Abbott government and more repression.
Yet resistance grows, the
Occupy Wall Street movements and strike waves in many countries against severe austerity and/or dictatorships and strikes to improve workers economic and social lives.
More workers power
Burns argues that
history shows the working class became more powerful and improved their lives by winning strikes. US
"By wielding the threat of a powerful, production halting strike, trade unionists forged a better way of life for millions of working class Americans during the roughly fifty year period from 1930 though 1980. …The strike is by far the most important source of union power…Collective bargaining made little sense unless it was backed by the threat of a strike that halted production."
Burns cites US labour relations scholars with stories of union leader militancy, solidarity and secondary boycott strikes, industry-wide and pattern bargaining strikes, mass pickets to stop 'replacement workers', sit-down strikes and occupations. Such strategies are to cripple economically the corporations and force management to negotiate until union demands are met.
From the 1930s unions organised militant strikes in response to management's serious class war. Unions defeated employer solidarity. Industrial action ensured wage increases and standardisation.
Unions defied unjust anti-strike laws. Despite key defeats some worker control prevailed against management despotism.
From the 1980's, with capital's fierce attack on unionism, union leaders retreated from these strike tactics. Unions became weaker. The employers' counter offensive cut wages and conditions.
"Unions need their only true weapon—the right to strike. Without that weapon, organized labour in
will soon cease to exist." (p20) America
labour control system, like US , allows only a limited lawful strike. Australia
Arbitrators and judges interpret labour laws within the acceptably narrow 'free market' enterprise bargaining. Orders are made for strikers to return to work and legal sanctions against industrial action deemed "unlawful" are enforced. Corporate lawyers with the state's legal forces penalise strikers and their unions. Withdrawing your labour is risky and largely ineffective.
The effective picket?
Burns gives one illustration with the legal restrictions on the picket line - similar to
, e.g. at Baiada – see posts http://chriswhiteonline.org). Australia
Due to the law, the picket as practiced is ineffective with protesting strikers having to walk around in a circle with placards, while watching scabs walk through taking their jobs.
Burns goes through the legal decisions that enforce for the employer the right to use 'replacement labour', scabs.
Pickets to be effective have to peacefully block all access for the strike to win.
But judges rule the effective picket line 'unlawful'.
In past strikes, winning meant defying judicial injunctions.
Despite the strengths of today's union leaders, Burns argues they do not use the strike to seriously challenge employer power - stopping production and work is a fringe idea.
Young radical union organizers today organize social campaigns with community support. But union leaders working within the system do not allow these organizers to plan industrial action to defy the law as being too risky.
Earlier, industry or pattern bargaining with mass strike pressure to make labour costs uniform was achieved. But this is union bargaining is also 'unlawful' and rarely attempted today – the same as in
. Australia
The extreme Tea Party Republican Governors in 2011 passed legislation where the public service unions are denied the right to collectively bargaining at all, leading to mass protests such as in Wisconsin - but this movement, with some success, was channelled into community organizing for re-call ballots and Democrat politics, but not strike action. (See
in http://chriswhiteonline.org ). Wisconsin
Solidarity strike?
Burns regrets the demise of the solidarity strike. "Solidarity Forever" is indeed just a song.
"Solidarity is the heart and soul of unionism—the only force capable of confronting power and privilege in society. To revive unionism, we must recover labour's long-lost tools of workplace-based solidarity."
Today, union activists join each other's picket lines and hold fundraisers for striking workers. While important, these acts of solidarity are largely conducted away from the workplace.
In contrast, labour's traditional forms of workplace-based solidarity allowed workers to join across employers and even industries to confront bosses with tactics of secondary strikes and industry-wide solidarity strikes.
What's a secondary strike? Say workers at a small auto parts plant in
In the past, solidarity tactics allowed workers to hit employers at multiple points in the production and distribution chain. By impeding the flow of supplies into a plant, unions pressured the employer to settle a strike or recognize the union. Similarly, secondary boycotts pressured retailers to stop selling struck goods.
Solidarity tactics expanded the site of the conflict, allowing workers to confront employers as a class." http://www.labornotes.org/2010/10/secondary-strikes-are-primary-labor-revival
Burns documents how the
"At a deeper level, modern labour law forces unions to bargain with individual employers rather than establish standards on an industry basis."
US labour control system
As I have a law degree and write on labour law, I learnt from Burns' recounting the history of the
labour control legislation. Burns discusses the Taft-Hartley 1947 Act know as the 'Slave Labor Act', the judicial cases against basic union organising such as allowing companies to move to defeat union drives and years of courts penalizing union action, such as employers' rights to permanently replace strikers, see in Chapter 6. US
The corporate lawyers and judges have indeed worked remorselessly to limit unions' ability to have workers organize and win.
The US restrictive labour control shows how difficult it has been for unions getting workers to join - let alone assisting members to organize a successful strike.
Today union leaders do not risk defying judicial injunctions against strike activity because of the penalties.
But union leaders did so before - with some wins and some serious defeats depending on the contested conflict.
Burns makes this telling point.
"To be clear, the downfall of solidarity cannot be attributed solely to legal factors. Unions willingly agreed to no-strike clauses.
Over the years, many focused on just the needs of their own members, failing to embrace a social unionism that looked out for the interests of all workers. In the 1980s and afterwards, unions often failed to defend their pattern agreements, allowing special deals for particular "troubled" employers until the pattern was no more. And union officials all too often squashed rank-and-file attempts to join together across bargaining units, even at the same employer."
What has occurred with current union leaders is an abandonment of the practice of the strike and class politics.
Although the AFL-CIO is strong rhetorically, the labour movement is trapped in no strike business and social unionism.
Burns looks at inadequate union alternatives to the strike in chapter 4.
"With the production-halting strike becoming a relic of the past, union activists of the last 20 years have had to turn to other mechanisms to try to pressure employers during collective bargaining. Thus, we have seen the rise of strike 'alternatives' such as the one-day publicity strike, the corporate campaign and the inside strategy. "
Each strategy, while supposedly an attempt to revive trade unionism, instead adheres to a system that has been established over the past 75 years to guarantee labour's failure.
Without the traditional tactics of solidarity and stopping production behind them, none of these strategies had proven powerful enough to make an employer suffer economically.
In many ways, these strategies are a reflection of the current state of the labour movement.
Rather than putting forth bold ideas calculated to challenge the current system of labour relations in this country, contemporary trade unionists have instead adopted a philosophy of pragmatism, of making do with what the existing system offers, instead of trying to break free of that system, as traditional trade unionists once did. (p71)"
"Nonetheless, in recognizing the limitations of these tactics, we must still acknowledge how creative and refreshing they have been in an era of union busting and decline. They have kept alive the fighting spirit in the labour movement, particularly in situations where a traditional strike would have meant crushing defeat."
One-day publicity strikes
"In a one-day publicity strike, the union informs management that its workers will be going on strike, but will return to work in 24 hours. Due to the short duration of the 'strike' and the advance notification of the return to work, there is no opportunity for the employer to permanently replace the strikers.
However, due to their limited timeframe, one-day strikes have little impact on the operations of a company. Since the union announces its intention to strike in advance, the employer is typically able to make alternate arrangements to cover the work for the day that the workers are on strike.
The main goal of the one-day publicity strike is, as the name implies, publicity, as the union tries to bring public and media attention to the grievances of its workers. Consequently, one-day publicity strikes have generally been used against employers who are susceptible to public pressure. Frequent targets have included hospitals, universities and public employers. (p72)"
The one-day protest strike strong in the public sector became the only strike action for many US unions, with some gains, but anti-union employers survived, as the union economic pressure was not sufficient.
"…The one-day strike supplies the illusion of struggle, distracting from the real problems facing the labour movement, which is the lack of an effective traditional strike. (p73)"
Working to rule keeps within employer boundaries but has limited success.
On the job go-slows or the ceaseless rolling intermittent strikes, in and then out and return and effective bans - again made illegal - have greater bargaining force.
Union strategists for decades used anti-corporate campaigns, with a range of community and public lobbying tactics to pressure the employers and governments. Despite some impressive wins, they are not as effective as the strike weapon.
Social unionism ineffective
Burns supports the organising strength of social unionism with union and community coalitions, union media and public pressure on employers.
But he argues such a strategy, without the strike, has not seen the union renewal promised.
"Social unionism is not a replacement for direct struggle against employers. In social unionism, the strike is abandoned, and in the process, the central role of workers at the point of production is lost.
Although appearing progressive, social unionism in fact represents a shift in power from workers to union officials and non-profit staff…social unionists also sidestep the key economic concerns that must be at the centre of labour's revival, namely that any trade union strategy must be capable of redistributing wealth and power. Organization and community ties alone do not lead to power. (p81)"
Burns' criticism is levelled not only at the conservative and right wing 'business unionist' leaders but the left union leaders and progressive labour academics.
As I implemented with other unions social unionism in Australia with many good campaigns, Burns' arguments means I reconsider past practices.
Burns takes us through key examples of successful strikes with members' democratic control of the union and the militant strike struggle. Strengthening unions relies on internal union democracy (p92).
Organizing model not working
Chapter 5 "Why organizing cannot solve the Labor crisis" is important for the debate on new strategies.
Despite union leaders successfully shifting resources to organizing the un–unionized sectors from the 1990s until now, Burns argues this strategy has failed to revive unions.
"In fact, the idea that the labour movement can resolve its crisis simply by adding new members - without a powerful strike in place - actually constitutes one of the greatest theoretical impediments to union revival (p95)."
Burns does not reject the practice of increasing union density and organizing in the industry of competitors. He argues it is not sufficient without the effective industry or pattern-bargaining strike and the ability to have sufficient power at work to force the collective agreement. Unions may succeed at times with skilled or professional workers able to control the supply of labour in any industrial action.
But with the low levels of unionization continuing, union leaders - and I was one of them – just advocating organizing the unorganized is not good enough. I admit more clearly past weaknesses in my union practice.
Even when union density increases, the power to beat the employer does not necessarily follow. In the US, the labour laws allow aggressive employers to wage successful anti-unionizing drives and to defeat union elections.
Burns accuses the union reformers' organizing model as "abandoning the goal of creating the type of labour movement capable of transforming society (p113)."
He gives historical examples of militant strikes that had surges in workers joining unions. In 2011 during the Wisconsin struggles many workers joined unions.
In Australia, employers and particularly those powerful corporations that used AWAs under Work Choices still have in the FWA many legal weapons to weaken unionism.
What about amendments to labour legislation?
President Obama promised unionists labour law reform 'The Employee Free Choice Act'. Such a reform was to make it easier for workers to unionise and bargain. Burns argues that this is not sufficient for union revival. In any event, President Obama failed to even look like delivering.
Labour rights
In Chapter 7 Burns cites principles of labour rights.
"Labour must develop a working class perspective that establishes a set of principles that clearly justify the refusal to follow unjust and illegitimate restrictions on the right to strike. (p137) …it was labour's agitation and the open and principled defiance of judicial orders, that won workers the right to strike and stop production."
Unionists use key principles to argue the case - such as
"labour is not a commodity",
"labour creates wealth",
"the right to strike is a basic freedom that distinguishes us from the slave or bonded labour"
Regarding progressive principles from socialists and those political activists with a class analysis: these principles are returning. But the struggle is to reform the labour relations system so these principles predominate over HRM ideology and employer power.
"Trade unionists need to envision a world where labour's conception of striking prevails over that of management. Otherwise, labour can construct a solidarity grounded in weakness."
International strike action
The US government constantly ignores international labour rights from the ILO, but Burns does not take this breach up. Australia agreed to the ILO standards to protect workers' rights to strike, but our FWA is in breach (see my posts).
With the power of giant US multi-national corporations, the unions challenge is not only to develop the ability to take strike action locally but internationally. International strike action is done but mostly limited to a day's protest stoppages or across regions industrial action for collective agreements.
International labour solidarity has to challenge global corporate power. "The real question is whether a strike based on stopping production and international work-place solidarity could successfully combat global corporations.(p134)" Can the effective strike be organized across countries?
Where do we go from here?
Burns in chapter 8 argues a labour movement in the US is possible if we learn lessons.
The details are instructive and the conclusion is critical - rejecting the whole labour control system is necessary.
I conclude by citing sections from Chapter 9 "Where do we go from here?"
"After watching the labour movement—and the strike—wither over the past 30 years, trade unionists today need to answer several big questions if they wish to revitalize unions in this country. How should the labour movement deal with the current system of labour control? How should human labour be treated in relationship to capital? How can workers act as a class to advance their common interests? What are the best forms of organization to carry on the fight for workers' rights? And finally, what is the role of the strike?"
The answers—or non-answers—to these fundamental questions will shape labour's future in America."(p171)
"To point the labour movement in a new direction will require a large group of people willing to challenge the status quo, people who have the ideas, organizational skills and self-confidence to give voice to a workers' movement capable of transforming America.
This will have to start with the activists in the movement—shop floor militants, progressive union staffers and officers, worker centres' activists, and friendly academics.
However, the debate over the future of trade unionism must grow beyond this committed, but small group if the there is to be a true labour revival in this country."
So how does one build such a trend? Again, we can learn from labour history.
In the 1920s and early 1930s, the labour movement was stuck in a narrow form of craft unionism that was unable to win gains from employers. Craft unionists viewed only skilled workers as deserving of union representation, and they rejected attempts to organize all workers into one union.
However, a counter current developed that argued that industrial unionism was the road forward for the labour movement. This trend industrial unionism toward was driven by the political left of the era (socialists, anarchists and communists), who had a program that, although varying in its approaches, shared one guiding principle: the strength of the overall trade union movement.
Eventually, the years of agitation paid off as the idea of industrial unionism gained popularity, first at a grassroots level, and then broadly within the entire working class. Thus, when the economic crisis of the 1930s hit, workers were ready to embrace a new form of unionism…
The task today is to build such a broad-based understanding within the labour movement of the need to change the present system.
How can this be done? During the decades-long push to establish industrial unionism in the first half of the twentieth century, industrial union activists repeatedly raised their issues at union conventions.
Following their historical lead, trade unionists today could adopt the position that the system of labour control is illegitimate, and support efforts to break free from it. Just as it was once official AFL policy to disobey injunctions, trade unionists today could debate whether or not to comply with the different facets of the system of labour control.
No matter the issues, reviving the strike — and by extension, the labour movement — will require a single-minded focus by trade unionists.
Right now, the left wing of the labour movement lacks a common agenda, as it advances a hodge-podge of ideas of what it will take to save unionism in this country. If one agrees with the analysis in this book, then the one unifying factor that can achieve the myriad goals of the labour movement is the revival of the effective, production-halting strike. This must become labour's primary focus.
Additionally, if trade unionists ever decide to embrace a new militancy in order to smash the system of labour control, they will need the support of their union brothers and sisters.
Historian Nelson Lichtenstein, in the conclusion of his influential history of the labour movement, 'State of the Union', lists the failure to support militancy as one of the major weaknesses of the modern labour movement. Discussing what the movement needs to succeed, Lichtenstein writes,
'The first is militancy. The union movement needs more of it, but even more important, American labour, as a whole needs to stand behind those exemplary instances of class combat when and if they occur.
The 1980s were a tragic decade for unions, not because workers did not fight, but where labour did take a stand…their struggles were both physically isolated and ideologically devalued.
Instead of being engulfed in the solidarity of their fellow trade unionists, workers today who choose to fight back often do so on lonely picket lines, with little support from the official labour movement. Without a broad trend that promotes effective tactics, striking workers are not exposed to ideas that can help them win strikes, nor are they supported when they engage in militancy."
While the strike might seem like a relic of the past too much of the contemporary labour movement, as labour historian Peter Rachleff writes,
"it would be a mistake to leap to the conclusion that strikes are on their way to the dustbin of history. As long as the capitalist economy rests on the employment and exploitation of labour, the organized withdrawal of labour is bound to remain a central expression of working class protest and power."
Remember that the strike is only a means and work resumes with greater strength for workers. Whether workers control prevails is another project.
With militant right-wing management attacking workers with the lock out, then workers have to also learn militancy by winning the strike. Such education will take years – such as the preparation in Australia in the 1960's that defeated the then penal powers with the O'Shea national strike. We can do it again.
If working people are to regain power and transform the US and Australia, the winning strike has to be revived.
Chris White was the Secretary of the United Trades and Labor Council of SA and worked for unions for 30 years. He now lives in Darwin. Read his daily Left Union blog on http://chriswhiteonline.org


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Holiday seder is conduit for environmental activism
Published January 9, 2014
A simple way to celebrate Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year for trees, is to grow a plant or eat some fruit. But those seeking a deeper experience with the holiday may choose to take part in a "Tu B'Shevat seder"— not to be confused with the Passover version.
"Tu B'Shevat needed a major ritual, and the seder provides us with that," said Rabbi Jason Miller, an entrepreneur, educator and blogger. "Based on the seder of Passover, this is an educational forum and symposium in which we can discuss and recommit ourselves to the environment."
Kabbalists from the northern Israeli city of Safed created the ritual of the Tu B'Shevat seder to celebrate the idea that even God's smallest creations—be they tree, pomegranate, or date—are all equal within nature's grand web. The initial ritual was outlined in "Peri Etz Hadar"(Fruit of the Goodly Tree), part of an anthology of Kabbalistic customs called the "Heindat Yamun."
While Tu B'Shevat is widely celebrated in the Jewish world as the religion's counterpart to Arbor Day, fewer Jews employ the seder ritual on this occasion. Many Jews are troubled by the seder's apparent roots in the texts written by followers of the 17th-century false messiah known as Shabbatai Zvi.
Like the Passover seder, the Tu B'Shevat version relies on the recitation of blessings and the drinking of wine, with a greater emphasis on fruit. Each group of fruit eaten at the Tu B'Shevat seder represents different ways that trees provide for us. Before eating each kind of fruit, a blessing is said and a spiritual question related to that kind of fruit is asked.
To fully appreciate nature's bounty, Kabbalists matched up Israel's regional fruit to symbolize the four physical elements: air, earth, water, and fire.
• Assiyah (earth) is symbolized by fruits or nuts with an outer shell and fruit within. This includes walnuts, pomegranates, pistachios, and coconuts.
• Yetzirah (water) is symbolized by fruits with edible outer flesh and inedible cores. This includes cherries, apricots, olives, and plums.
• Briyah (air) is symbolized by fruit that is entirely edible. This includes apples, pears, figs, and raisins.
• Atzilut (fire) is not symbolized by fruit but by things that represent God's presence around us. This can include smelling something natural such as pine, cedar or spices.
It is no coincidence that the fruits included in the seder don't fall far from the tree. The constant imagery of trees is intended to invoke our connection to the earth and our Jewish responsibility as its stewards. Looking from the roots at the bottom to the fruits among the leaves acts as a reminder that when everything is connected, each small action by a human reverberates throughout the universe.
"Trees are so important in Jewish thought that the Torah itself is called 'a tree of life.' Perhaps this Torah wisdom can help us think more wisely about using these resources carefully and living in a more sustainable way," write Dr. Akiva Wolff and Rabbi Yonatan Neri in their article "Trees, Torah, and Caring for the Earth" as part of Jewcology's "Year of Jewish Learning on the Environment."
Though the origins of the Tu B'Shevat seder may be hazy, the intention to deepen our connection with nature and assure the preservation of its bounty has lead to the increased relevance of environmental activism within the context of celebrating the Tu B'Shevat holiday.
"We are living in God's creation, which makes us equal to one another and makes us all equal in what we need and what we share equitably," said Sybil Sanchez, director of the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL). "The seder is an important time to ritually recognize our values, but it is also a time to take action."
Incorporating environmental mindfulness can easily become part of Tu B'Shevat, according to Sanchez, who suggests checking whether your family is using locally sourced fruit, ecologically minded dishes and dining ware, installing energy-efficient light bulbs, and turning off appliances when not in use.


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U.S. President Donald Trump's push to withdraw from an international postal treaty could have a big impact on Canadian e-commerce companies and their American customers.
The U.S. threat to exit the Universal Postal Union in October unless more balanced shipping fees with China and other countries can be reached this month means online retailers could see direct-to-consumer delivery prices shoot up.
The 145-year-old treaty, which sets the rates that nearly 200 national postal services pay one another to complete deliveries, mandates wealthier countries to pay more than developing countries, including China.
Todd Coupland, an analyst at CIBC World Markets, says the Trump administration's move for the United States Postal Service to set its own rates would affect drop-shipping, which refers to retail deliveries made directly to the buyer from a manufacturer or wholesaler.
Many drop-shippers in Canada use Shopify Inc. as their retail platform, meaning a dip in deliveries and more shuttered online storefronts could dent Shopify's bottom line, which relies on payment-processing fees and user subscriptions.
In an email, the U.S. Postal Service says it supports the goals of the Trump administration to secure a more balanced remuneration system for small goods shipments, and that it will not leave the postal treaty if better terms are set before the union's next meeting in mid-October.
The Canadian Press


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Will the Dow and S&P 500 continue their record run Thursday?
U.S. stock futures were in a holding pattern amid a fresh batch of economic data and more quarterly results.
The government released its weekly report on initial jobless claims before the open, showing that claims totaled 346,000 in the week ending April 6, a drop of 42,000 from the week before.
Retailers were also reporting February same-store sales -- a key metric used to gauge consumer spending.
Sales at Costco (COST) rose 4%, missing forecasts, while Gap (GPS) reported same-store sales that rose a better-than-expected 3% in the latest month. Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares rose 2% after reporting a sales increase.
Shares of Yum Brands (YUM) fell about 2% in premarket trading after the restaurant operator revealed that its same-store sales in China dropped in March amid an ongoing food safety scandal.
Related: Fear & Greed Index heads back into greed
On the earnings front, drugstore chain Rite Aid (RAD) swung to a profit in the latest quarter, trouncing forecasts and sending shares up 11% in premarket trading.
Pier 1 Imports Inc (PIR) reported earnings in line with forecasts but issued lower guidance. The stock was down more than 3% in premarket trading.
The first of the big banks, JPMorgan (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC), will report their results ahead of the opening bell Friday.
Shares of PC companies continued to sell off following news that PC sales fell 14% worldwide last quarter. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT), Intel (INTC) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) were all lower.
U.S. stocks booked strong gains Wednesday, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing at new record highs.
Related: Wall Street sours on gold
European markets were higher in morning trading, supported by Wall Street's record-breaking run.
Asian markets also ended higher. The Shanghai Composite added 0.1%, the Hang Seng increased 0.3% and the Nikkei jumped 2%.
Toyota (TM) shares were higher in premarket trading, despite the company's recall of 1.7 million vehicles because of airbag defects. Honda (HMC) shares also rose, after the company said it was recalling 1.1 million vehicles with airbag problems. Airbag supplier Takata Corp closed down 9% in Tokyo.


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I'm wondering if it would be easier to have this running with a HDD and kubuntu installed... Would I be right?


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Ever since Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage — which he adorably spun as an adorable lesson he learned from his adorable daughters — and called the Department of Justice off defending DOMA, he's been on his gay-marriage game. Which is great, he damn well should be.
Today, he issued statements in both Washington and Maine with just slightly different wording.
For Washington it was:
While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect. Washington's same-sex marriage law would treat all Washington couples equally, and that is why the President supports a vote to approve Referendum 74.
In Maine:
While the president does not weigh in on every single ballot measure in every state, the president believes in treating everyone fairly and equally, with dignity and respect. The president believes same-sex couples should be treated equally and supports Question 1.
The Daily Kos notes:
Three years ago President Obama was silent on Maine's citizen referendum to overturn the same-sex marriage law that had been passed by the state legislature and signed by Democratic Governor John Baldacci. The referendum passed, meaning the marriage law was repealed. It was a shitty day in Maine history, especially since our opponents (NOM, Frank Schubert, the Catholic church leading the charge) ran one of the most dishonest and sleazy campaigns the state has ever seen.
This year, everyone's hoping for much happier results, and also for NOM to fall down a well and for Lassie to leave it there.
Obama's also spoken out in favor of marriage equality in Maryland and Minnesota, the two other states with the issue on the ballot.
It's important to note that not only is Romney against same-sex marriage, he also backs the constitutional amendment to ban it. IN THE CONSTITUTION. This fucker doesn't get the fucking constitution at all.
[UPDATE: Just saw that he also endorsed in Maryland. Now we're just waiting to see if he'll issue a statement opposing the amendment in Minnesota that, if passed, would define marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman. My guess is he did release something, we just haven't seen it in a local paper yet.]
President Obama Says Approve r-74 [The Stranger]
President Obama Supports Marriage Equality in Maine [Daily Kos]


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Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Where I'm at.
34 comments:
Oh bugger to the vomits! Swept through here last week...not pretty!!! What a brilliant night time adventure you had. Sounds awesome. And yay for your shop opening. I will certainly put my little hand up for some of those fat quarter bundles! Not alot happening here...baking, knitting, mending...snuggling my babes. Wishing you a lovely rest of your week :) xReplyDelete
"The night was inky black, the grass was crunchy with frost and the kangaroos thumping around the forest sounded like dinosaurs."ReplyDelete
I LOVE that sentence. You made me crave fresh air and the kind of darkness one can't find in the city.
I hope everyone feels better next week, yourself included, when you wake to a fresh white house.
Oh my goodness I'm terrified of the vomits...I hear it's been going around our small town and I wanna keep my children home from school to avoid it.... :-(... My house is painted in antique white and I'd do it again in a heartbeat... It's fresh and clean and I love that feeling :-)... I'm hibernating at the minute...just waiting for the sun to start shinning...and my hands to defrost....Im not a fan of breathing in heated artificial air.....xxxReplyDelete
Plans Schmans! I reckon if I get through the week without become a mental wreck at the moment, that's an achievement!ReplyDelete
Hope Pepper feels better, and enjoy your "new house" with the lick of paint!
- AnonymousJune 20, 2012 at 3:02 PM
Poor little darling looks sick as. Hugs heading her way.ReplyDelete
I really feel sick when my little ones are really sick. Absolutely a feeling of hopelessness.
tidying, moving branches, getting the old house ready for sale, knitting... not too much xxxxReplyDelete
Oh goodness, what a week ... not sure whether it's better that these things all happen at once or spread out a bit. Pretty sure it's a good thing that your weepy week and Ms Indi being "... 11 ... yep" occurred at different times though :)ReplyDelete
So very excited about your shop re-opening! My cousin loves the dress I got for her baby and between family and friends there are now more on the way so I know where I'll be heading. Also, I've started playing with the sewing machine myself so I'll be sure to snap up some fat quarters if they become available too. Will definitely be watching that space!
Nothing like a fresh coat of paint in the house!ReplyDelete
Looking forward to see the dressed pipes, what a good plan.
Moving plants about the yard, painting the hallway and closet door with the loveliest sea foam green that just pleases me no end. I have Crystal Water blue for the ceilings so it feels like we are outside all the time. I celebrate 55 today and so my week is a happy one regardless of all else happening. Both the husband and wife of my faovrite couple across the country called to wish me a happy and that sent me over the moon with joy. "A Double Lonsdale Birthday" has enlivened and invigorated me.ReplyDelete
I hope your Antique White makes your synapses hum and that the vomits find their way right back out of your home. Picnics are fun, aren't they ?~!
Wow... it always amazes me how things really really dump at the same time.ReplyDelete
The worst is when the kids are sick though. I hope Pepper and Jazzy are feeling better soon.
Take good care! Kx
p.s. are they pancakes on your stove? They look fabulous! Think I might duck out to the kitchen now and whip up some! ;)
We're all sick here too. And every night I plan my to-do list which becomes my didn't-do list and carries over to the next day. Actually, that's been happening for a few months now LOL. I love antique white usa too. I am sure that will brighten up things. xxReplyDelete
Antique White USA is something to look forward to! Your cooking looks and sounds wonderful especially the pikelets (or pancakes?) I hope health returns to your house soon. At this end we are home schooling, guarding our vegetables from the frost and cooking; baked custard and beef shanks tonight!ReplyDelete
Oh I do hope Pepper and Jazzy feel much better soon. I cant believe Indi is 11 already. Isabelle will be 11 in August and keeps telling me how many days she has left until her birthday! Mona sounds like she bakes delicious things. I hope your keeping nice and toasty warm eating your meals by the fire. Hope the newly painted walls makes you very happy, it is always nicer with a fresh coat of paint isnt it. Have a wonderful week with no tears!ReplyDelete
I think you're doing really well to be sewing amongst the painting and sick and injured people. It is annoying when things don't go as planned. Getting the painting done is a huge job though so I think your week is very productive already. I will be doing a post on my activities in the next couple of days. Hope everyone is better soon. xxooReplyDelete
I hope Pepper is on the mend soon and a big hooray for the shop reopening.ReplyDelete
Yay for white walls too ;-) xx
To me it sounds as though you are getting HEAPS done. It might not be things on the list but they need doing & you are doing them :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 20, 2012 at 7:54 PM
My plan to have a great week have included doing little of anything but snuggling with my wee one. It's been freezing here so we've been rugged up with books galore, it's been wonderful and just what my soul needs.ReplyDelete
Hope both your girls are feeling better soon.
White walls rock, they are an awesome back ground for treasures.
Hooray to your shop reopening :)
Sounds like a brim-full week that couldn't possibly be added-to!ReplyDelete
Hugs to your poor little sick girl...
I hope the girls are both on the mend (11 cannot be mended, I'm afraid). Does that mean that there has been a birthday? Balloony birthday?ReplyDelete
Antique USA is my colour of choice too. So exciting that you have someone in to paint just like that! It was definitely meant to be.
Keep enjoying those dinosaurs, Kate. x
My eldest is 11 too, it's a beautiful age, all that cleverness ad ability with the simple joy of still being a kid. Love your shop creations. Hope the lane is filled with newly painted cheer and good health soon, positively foxy.ReplyDelete
Hooray for Antique white USA - and temperamental cookers!ReplyDelete
I hope your girls get better soon, and that Indi is so beautiful!
Crikey, I'm exhausted just reading it all. 11 hmmm, less said the better (at least with my 11 year old daughter...where oh where did I go wrong?). I'm dying to repaint antique white, I suspect it will be a big job in our little old farmhouse as we have lots of rotting bricks as well. Enjoy!ReplyDelete
Your poor little Pepper..x You won't believe how amazingly different and refreshing a paint job is Kate, SO excited for you! And excited you're starting up your shop again too, perfect! My week..whirlpool of 'big', I can't gather my thoughts clearly enough to blog about it, but we're all good..xReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 21, 2012 at 10:09 AM
Hope pepper feels better soon. And consider making some dresses/tops for small adults (big kids). I would SO wear those dresses!ReplyDelete
Hope your girls are on the mend soon. I have my big one home today with a nasty cold. Happy birthday to Indi - we hit double numbers in our house for the first time this week. Scary.ReplyDelete
Antique White USA is a brilliant colour! Timeless, and classy. And had it better be - it covers the insides of my house too and I'm not painting it all again any time soon!ReplyDelete
Amazing when you're in a great head space how you can handle all that life throws at you - a sick child or sudden need to do something different with the house. The cold, i love it, dress for it & embrace the change of seasons. Our baby chicks & ducklings are proving themselves to be very robust in Canberra's blustery days, always blue skies, but freezing cold, love PosieReplyDelete
We too are fostering our deep love for all that matters and cleaning our space for change.... Winter must do this to us. Hibernation and growth and change. It's all good. xxReplyDelete
you have two good children. I hope that they get better soon.ReplyDelete
our house in entirely painted in Antiuque white USA except for one room which will be doing soon. I love it. I hope Pepper is better soon, poor love. xReplyDelete
Hope your week has ended better than it started and you are enjoying fresh clean walls. Not much cooking here this week and my fingers have been itching to crochet but have tired children and one more week of school. Hope we make it!ReplyDelete
Midnight walks with your honey....mmmm sounds fun. Hope there is wellness returning to your home very soon. Happy weekend to you. xReplyDelete
We are having awful weather here in the UK but we should be having SUMMER! Never mind. I have my boy and his family staying from New Zealand - it is chaotic, crowded, noisy and exhausting - but I am content. I just wish we had some sunshine for them.ReplyDelete
Love your Esse, we have a Rayburn and I wouldn't swap it. You soon get used to cooking a different way, with a bit of forward thinking and planning. Your winter casseroles are going to be so succulent! Enjoy!
"and the kangaroos thumping around the forest sounded like dinosaurs". How fabulous to be able to write that sentence about your real life! Good luck with your re-openingReplyDelete
Thanks so much for stopping by...
I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.


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East West Petroleum Provides Update On California Operations
February 21, 2013
Vancouver, British Columbia: February 21, 2012 East West Petroleum Corp. (TSX-V: EW, the "Company" or "East West") has provided the following update on its California exploration program in the San Joaquin Basin of California.
After drilling the Pass Exploration well, on budget, to a total depth of 7,550 feet to test the Tejon Extension prospect, a total of four zones were tested. A small amount of light oil was recovered in one test at depth between 7,120-7,180. North American Oil and Gas Corporation (OTCBB:NAMG), the project operator, has released the rig, pending more detailed petrophysical and geological studies. Additional testing of a shallow zone is anticipated at a later date. East West Petroleum, through its 100%-owned U.S. subsidiary Avere Energy Corp., holds a 25% participation interest in the Tejon Extension prospect, with NAMG holding the remaining 75% participation interest.
The Company also announced that ongoing leasing activities in the southern sector of the San Joaquin Basin with NAMG have now built the Company's total acreage position to more than 8000 gross acres. The majority of the new acreage additions have been acquired in an emerging new play area named the Project Lani, where East West holds a 50% participation interest.
About East West Petroleum Corp.
East West Petroleum (www.eastwestpetroleum.ca) is a TSX Venture Exchange listed company which was established in 2010 to invest in emerging unconventional resource plays, leveraging management's knowledge of international opportunities and unconventional play technical expertise. In its first 18 months of operations, the Company has built an attractive platform of assets of over 1.6 million Acres. An oil-prone, exploration block, of 100,000 acres in the Assam region of India with the three largest exploration and production Indian firms ONGC, Oil India and GAIL; four exploration concessions covering 1,000,000 acres in the prolific Pannonian Basin of western Romania with a subsidiary of Russia's GazpromNeft; a 100% interest in a 500,000 acre exploration block onshore Morocco with conventional and unconventional potential, three exploration permits in New Zealand with partner TAG OIL( TAO :TSX) and a joint venture exploration program covering 5000 gross acres in California. The Company is now poised to enter operational phases in Romania, where it will be fully carried by its partner Gazprom-controlled Naftna Industrija Srbije in a seismic and 12-well drilling program expected to commence in 2013. The Company expects to commence drilling operations in New Zealand with up to 10 wells to be drilled in early 2013. The Company is well funded to cover all anticipated seismic and drilling operations through 2013.
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the ability to raise sufficient capital to fund exploration and development; the quantity of and future net revenues from the Company's reserves; oil and natural gas production levels; commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates; capital expenditure programs and other expenditures; supply and demand for oil and natural gas; schedules and timing of certain projects and the Company's strategy for growth; competitive conditions; the Company's future operating and financial results; and treatment under governmental and other regulatory regimes and tax, environmental and other laws.
This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect our forward-looking information. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
David Sidoo, Chairman
telephone: +1 604 682 1558
fax: +1 604 682 1568
Greg Renwick, President & CEO
telephone: +1 972 955 7251
fax: +1 604 683 1585
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.


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I tried, through my previous posts, to adequately cover the reasoning, and process, of quitting my job. One thing that I didn't cover, however, was the mistakes I made along the way. I think that, partially, I couldn't because I hadn't had enough time to ruminate on them. I also think that I couldn't because I didn't want to expose my weaknesses. Now, I've had time to think about it, and I think I can easily identify the things that I would do differently should I have the opportunity to try again. Maybe they aren't all mistakes (I don't count some of them that way).
Quitting Your Job The Right Way
One of the biggest changes I would likely have made would have been to quit the right way. The decision I made, while necessary, was made quickly (over two days), and without much fore-planning. Part of the motivation was that I had wanted out of the job for quite some time. How much I wanted out wasn't really clear until after I was out. In hindsight, I should have started making moves well before I did. Unfortunately, I was mired in the comfort of a position that I had held for over seven years. Lesson learned: comfort is nice, but freedom is nicer.
Have a Full Plan B
Because of the hastiness of my departure from my position, I didn't have a full plan B. I had no idea where the money was coming from to even partially replace my income. What income I had wasn't dependable. In a way, I was smart enough to at least get a part-time job. But, without a full plan B, I think it was likely doomed to fail.
Get After IT
This is probably the biggest mistake I made through the whole ordeal. I quit my job, without a plan B, and then didn't get after it nearly as much as I could have. I wanted to focus entirely on my blogs and websites and grow them to at least a part-time income. I severely underestimated the time it would take to do so, and should have spread my roots a bit and taken on other small projects to fill in dead time, and especially, fill in dead income spots. Towards the end of this round of self-employment, I started to realize that I needed to pick up my game, but by then it was too little, too late.
Have an Exit Plan
Nobody likes to think that they are going to fail. Just like nobody likes to think that they are going to get into a car accident or die, but we still buy car insurance and life insurance anyways. While you can't just go out and buy entrepreneurial failure insurance, you can have an exit plan so that you not only know when it's time to move on to the next thing, but you also have a plan on how to get there. I had none of that. As a consequence, I probably waited several weeks too long to even begin looking for a new full-time job, and risked not getting something in time to fill in the income I needed when our savings was depleted. I got lucky. My first paycheck at my new position came only a few days after the last transfer from the savings account happened. Even so, we're still struggling to keep up without that cushion that we had grown accustomed to.
I Would Do It All Over Again
Despite all those mistakes I made, I would still do it all over again. I know the mistakes I made, and am better able to prepare myself to not make them again. I'm not afraid of failing. At least not to such a degree that it prevents me from trying. It's a little bit like riding a bike. You're going to fall off. It's going to hurt. But, you're going to get back on the bike because you like riding your bike. I like riding the entrepreneurial bike!
img credit : Crystl, on Flickr
I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I've met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.
You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.


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"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water."
- Ray Charles


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Table of contents | How to Obtain this Publication | Contact
ISBN Number: 9789264080317
Welcome to the entrepreneurial economy: small firms are playing an ever-increasing role in innovation, driven by changes in technologies and markets.Whilst some spin-offs and high growth firms are having remarkable success, however, the broad bulk of small firms are not capitalising on their advantages.
This book explores how government policy can boost innovation by improving the environment for entrepreneurship and small firm development and increasing the innovative capacities of enterprises. Policy findings and recommendations are presented in three key areas: embedding firms in knowledge flows; developing entrepreneurship skills; and social entrepreneurship. In addition, country notes present statistics and policy data on SMEs, entrepreneurship and innovation for 40 economies, including OECD countries, Brazil, China, Estonia, Indonesia, Israel, the Russian Federation, Slovenia and South Africa.
SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation is part of the OECD Innovation Strategy, a comprehensive policy strategy to harness innovation for stronger and more sustainable growth and development, and to address the key global challenges of the 21st century. For more information about the OECD Innovation Strategy, see www.oecd.org/innovation/strategy.
Executive Summary
Chapter 1 Introduction
What is new about innovation in the 21st Century?
What is the role of SMEs and entrepreneurship in innovation?
Policy implications
Plan of the book
Chapter 2 SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation: An Overview by Country
All 30 OECD members plus accession and enlargement countries: Brazil, Chile, China, Estonia, India, Indonesia, Israel, Russian Federation, Slovenia, South Africa.
Chapter 3 Knowledge Flows
How knowledge affects entrepreneurship
The systemic approach to innovation
The geographical clustering of knowledge-intensive activities
The role of local knowledge flows for spatial agglomerations and local innovation systems
The role of global knowledge flows for local innovation systems
Conclusions and policy recommendations
Chapter 4 Entrepreneurship Skills
The importance of entrepreneurship skills for SMEs and start-ups
Skills for entrepreneurship
How are entrepreneurship skills acquired?
Local skills ecosystems
Policy recommendations
Chapter 5 Social Entrepreneurship And Social Innovation
Social entrepreneurship
Social innovation
Preliminary recommendations
How to obtain this publication
Readers can access the full version of SMEs, Entrepreneurship and Innovation choosing from the following options:
For further information, please contact the OECD LEED Programme.
Related Documents


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Despite being a tiny island and a former fishing village, the modern city of Singapore is filled with so much to explore! Visit the iconic symbol of Singapore at Merlion Park and enjoy views of the waterfront before heading off to Gardens by the Bay where you can witness various flora in bloom. For the best views of the Singapore cityscape, head to the Marina Bay Sands.
If you're looking for adventure, spend a day at Sentosa Island and indulge in various outdoor activities or head to Universal Studios Singapore for some heart-pumping fun. You can even visit animals at the Singapore Zoo or the Night Safari, the world's first nocturnal zoo.


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Elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide accelerate carbon cycling and soil carbon loss in forests, new research led by an Indiana University biologist has found.
The new evidence supports an emerging view that although forests remove a substantial amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, much of the carbon is being stored in living woody biomass rather than as dead organic matter in soils.
Richard P. Phillips, lead author on the paper and an assistant professor of biology in the IU College of Arts and Sciences, said that after nearly two decades of research on forest ecosystem responses to global change, some of the uncertainty has been lifted about how forests are storing carbon in the wake of rising carbon dioxide levels. "It's been suggested that as trees take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a greater amount of carbon will go to roots and fungi to acquire nutrients, but our results show that little of this carbon accumulates in soil because the decomposition of root and fungal detritus is also increased," he said. Carbon stored in soils, as opposed to in the wood of trees, is desirable from a management perspective in that soils are more stable over time, so carbon can be locked away for hundreds to thousands of years and not contribute to atmospheric carbon dioxide increases. The research was conducted at the Duke Forest Free Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment site in North Carolina. At this site, mature loblolly pine trees were exposed to increased levels of carbon dioxide for 14 years, making it one of the longest-running carbon dioxide enrichment experiments in the world. Researchers were able to calculate the age of the carbon cycling through the soil by growing roots and fungi into mesh bags that contained uniquely labeled soils. The soils were then analyzed for their organic composition. The authors also report that nitrogen cycled faster in this forest as the demand for nutrients by trees and microbes became greater under elevated CO2. "The growth of trees is limited by the availability of nitrogen at this site, so it makes sense that trees are using the 'extra' carbon taken up under elevated CO2 to prime microbes to release nitrogen bound up in organic matter," Phillips said. "What is surprising is that the trees seem to be getting much of their nitrogen by decomposing root and fungal detritus that is less than a year old." The two-fold effects of microbial priming, where microbes are stimulated to decompose old soil organic matter via an increase in new carbon and other energy sources, and the faster turnover of recently fixed root and fungal carbon, are enough to explain the rapid carbon and nitrogen cycling that is occurring at the Duke Forest FACE site. "We call it the RAMP hypothesis -- Rhizo-Accelerated Mineralization and Priming -- and it states that root-induced changes in the rates of microbial processing of carbon and nitrogen are key mediators of long-term ecosystem responses to global change," Phillips added. "Most ecosystem models have limited representations of roots, and none of them include processes such as priming. Our results demonstrate that interactions between roots and soil microbes play an underappreciated role in determining how much carbon is stored and how fast nitrogen is cycled. So including these processes in models should lead to improved projections of long-term carbon storage in forests in response to global environmental change'" he said. Funding for this work was provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy. Phillips and his research team in March received a $398,000 National Science Foundation grant to fund testing of the RAMP hypothesis in mixed hardwood forests of Indiana.
This free educational webinar will provide a detailed process for climate-driven "pre-response" in a variety of key areas including: Supply Chain Disruptions, Employee Safety and Productivity, Regulatory and Compliance Risks …and many more areas.


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Memorial Park Crit Series - Cat 4/5 - Week 1 (June 4, 2008)
Guests can change the display format of this gallery by selecting a different style from the drop-down menu found on the top right corner of the page. There is also a larger version of the photo by clicking on the photo. Each order will be "proof" check electronically before shipping to ensure you get the best quality. Feel free to contact me with any questions at email@example.com More


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Mayor Michael Bloomberg ignited a firestorm of debate with his proposal to ban super-size sugary drinks in New York City. Critics bashed his nanny-statism, but supporters like first lady Michelle Obama hailed his courage.
Nationally, just 24 percent of American adults think the ban is a good idea, while 65 percent oppose it. This response is similar to the high level of opposition found for efforts to impose so-called "sin taxes" on soda and junk food. People never like it when the government picks winners and losers, and they are especially resistant to having the government determine what foods we should eat.
Those who advocate sin taxes or plans like Bloomberg's often express frustration that voters don't seem to realize the seriousness of the nation's obesity problem. However, the facts suggest that the American people are well aware of reality. Sixty-two percent recognize that exercise, diet and lifestyle choices have a bigger impact on someone's health than health insurance and medical care. Nearly half consider themselves overweight. Eighty percent see childhood obesity as a serious problem.
To some, numbers like that should naturally translate to support for government regulation to fix the problem. They simply can't see other possible solutions.
Harvard professor Daniel E. Lieberman writes in The New York Times that there are only three options in the obesity debate. The first is to do nothing. The second is better nutritional education. "The final option," he says, "is to collectively restore our diets to a more natural state through regulations." This approach is consistent with the way America's political class likes to frame every debate as a choice between doing nothing and letting the government do it.
In the case of nutritional issues, most Americans see a fourth option, one that is consistent with traditional American values: Let individuals make their own choices, and then let them bear the burden or reap the reward of those choices. That's the reason Americans overwhelmingly support the notion that health insurance companies should be allowed to offer discounts to non-smokers.
The same logic applies to other lifestyle choices. Sixty-three percent think insurance companies should offer discounts to individuals who exercise regularly. By a 54 percent to 34 percent margin, Americans think those who eat healthier also should be eligible for insurance discounts.
With such an approach, people who exercise and eat better would not only end up feeling better, they'd save money along the way. Those who don't take care of themselves would pay extra for the right to do so. People would quickly see which behaviors help them save money and how much other behaviors really cost. It would lead to a much healthier nation and a much healthier relationship between individuals and the government.
Ultimately, Bloomberg's ban on large sugary drinks highlights the gap between the American people and their political leaders. Most Americans are looking for ways to change the system so that they can make their own health care choices rather than have decisions imposed on them. The political class wants to make those choices for us. That's the key question in the health care debate. Who do you trust more with important decisions: the government or the people?


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Taxes aren't just a function of income. According to a survey conducted by the District of Columbia, a hypothetical family of four in Bridgeport, Conn. with household income of $75,000 paid an estimated $13,272 in income, property, sales and auto taxes in 2003. That's nearly five times more than they would have paid in Cheyenne, Wyo.
The study, which was released in August, looked at the tax burdens of hypothetical families in the largest city in each of the 50 states and D.C. For families with household income of $75,000, the study based property tax estimates on property valued at $254,737.
See the full study for an explanation of other assumptions as well as estimates for families with household incomes of $25,000, $50,000, $100,000 and $150,000.


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Tasha and Cody Rogers of Lufkin named their daughter Chloe Amanda -- partly for Angelina County Sheriff's Deputy Amanda Lee.
A spokeswoman for Memorial Health System of East Texas in Lufkin says mother and daughter were doing great Tuesday.
The Rogers were hospital-bound early Monday when a downed tree blocked their route. The Lufkin Daily News reports the couple's emergency call was answered by Lee, who's been with the county since February.
Lee delivered the baby in the back seat of the couple's truck. The Rogers also have a year-old daughter.
Lee has two children of her own delivered by cesarean section.
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The FDA just released results of a study it conducted to observe any effects that Apple iPods have on implantable pacemakers, and concluded as follows: "The measured voltages induced inside an ainstrumented-cana pacemaker were below the noise level of our instruments. Based on the observations of our in-vitro study we conclude that no interference effects can occur in pacemakers exposed to the iPod devices we tested."
Howard Bassen, a researcher with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Md., led a research team that measured the magnetic fields produced by four different iPod models: a fourth-generation iPod and an iPod with video, and an iPod nano and iPod shuffle. They also measured the voltages delivered inside the pacemaker by the magnetic fields from the iPods. All measurements indicated there would be no effects on users with cardiac pacemakers.
Over the past year, a spate of media reports speculated on iPod interference with cardiac pacemakers. These reports, however, were based on a single incident where a patient with a cardiac pacemaker suffered dizziness while using an iPod. Cardiologists operated an iPod during the patient's examination, and noted interference with the pacemaker.
The cardiologists published their results in the medical journal, Heart Rhythm.
After publication, there was talk of warning labels for portable music and video players, although a subsequent clinical study failed to show any dangerous connection between the music devices and patients with pacemakers.
Now, Bassen's more detailed study demonstrates that iPods are not capable of producing electromagnetic interference in implanted pacemakers.
Using a 3-coil sensor, the team measured the magnetic field produced by the iPod at a distance of around 5 to 10 millimeters. They obtained readings for the magnetic field at various specific and small regions 10 mm from an iPod. The peak magnetic field strength was 0.2 millionths of a Tesla, a value hundreds of times lower than the levels capable of interfering with a pacemaker.
In addition, Bassen's team attempted to detect any voltages these fields might produce within the protective "can" of a pacemaker. The can was placed inside a simulated human torso used by pacemaker manufacturers for interference testing. Bassen and his team found that the voltage levels within the pacemaker can were well below the detection limits of their highly sensitive equipment.
New research shows that iPods do not interfere with cardiac pacemakers …
Full article in BioMedical Engineering OnLine…


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Atheist Shoe Company Accuses Postal Service of Discrimination
A German-based atheist shoe company is accusing the United States Postal Service of discrimination, claiming that when using "atheist" branded packaging tape on its shipments, the company's packages arrived to their U.S. destination at far greater delays compared to when they used a generic packaging tape.
The company, known simply as ATHEIST, explains on its official website that it conducted a trans-Atlantic experiment to determine if "atheist" packages were actually experiencing longer delays in the U.S. than "non-atheist" packages.
"We have lots of customers in the USA, but sometimes the shoes we send them take longer than they should to arrive, or even go missing," the company, which is based in Berlin, states on its website.
"And, when some of our customers asked us not to use ATHEIST-branded packing tape on their shipments, we started to wonder if the delays were caused by the US Postal Service taking [offense] at our overt godlessness…"
ATHEIST then decided to conduct an experiment in an attempt to prove its discrimination allegations against the USPS.
As the company explains on its website, it sent 178 packages to 89 people in all 49 U.S. states on the same day in November 2012.
Each person received two packages, one sealed with the "atheist" branded tape and one sealed with standard shipping tape.
The company claims that the results of their experiment found that on average, atheist branded packages took three days longer to reach their destinations and atheist packages were 10 times more likely to disappear.
Additionally, the company claims that nine atheist-branded packages went missing, compared to one generically branded package, and in the case of Michigan, the atheist branded package arrived 37 days later than expected.
"The results demonstrate a significant bias, in quality of shipping, against atheist branded packages," the company claims.
The company also argues that it conducted similar tests throughout Europe and found no bias, implying that the problem must be with U.S. postal workers and their attitude toward atheism.
Additionally, the experiment found that there exists no pattern in the delay of packages; traditionally more liberal states also saw high levels of delay.
As a result of the company's findings, ATHEIST has now discontinued its use of atheist-branded shipping tape, and has announced via its Facebook page that it plans to pursue the issue further.
"Some of you have asked if we'll be sharing the findings of our USPS discrimination study with anyone official, and yes, conscious that tampering with post is a federal offence, we will be contacting the Office of the Inspector General of USPS," the company said on its website.
The United States Postal Service has not responded to the German company's claims of discrimination.
ATHEIST is a small company founded nearly a year ago which seeks to appeal to the atheist shoe market by creating handmade footwear which bears an atheist message on the sole, such as "Ich Bin Atheist" or "Darwin Loves Sole."
The company gained international attention after a post on Reddit, and often uses vulgar descriptions to advertise its products.


text: When Bill Badertscher arrived at Georgetown University three years ago, campuswide security was handled in several departments with little coordination among teams. It was time for a change. Badertscher is Georgetown's senior engineer for facility and safety control systems and leader of a new IT team that focuses on the same areas. The goal is to address enterprise risk management (ERM) by redefining it to include nontraditional systems. Understanding that security is mission-critical has led the University Safety and Information Services departments to work together in unprecedented ways.Badertscher spoke with CSO about the program, as well as the challenges and changes he's encountered in helping bring Georgetown's ERM strategy up to speed.CSO: Let's start with an overview of where Georgetown's ERM program was before you came on board. What were some of your first steps when you started in your current role?Bill Badertscher: Georgetown had experienced several significant security project failures and data security breaches. So at a high level, it was recognized that a strategy was needed to address systems in the facilities and security spaces. That strategy was led by our CIO Dave Lambert and resulted in the formation of several new groups within IT.When I first came on board, a budget was established to immediately replace some legacy systems, including access control and video surveillance. However, early assessments identified a much wider range of needs; initial wish lists totaled more than $60 million in new spending. That level of funding isn't available, so it's been key to do risk assessments to prioritize our needs. These have focused our efforts on access control, video surveillance, emergency response and fire-protection systems.What are some changes you've made?Georgetown recognized early on the need for IT to take a leadership role in the replacement of departmental systems and independent cabling networks. Our data network has sufficiently matured to accommodate the power and communication needs of security and other systems. This is important because nearly all new systems today interface with the data network. Our philosophy is to leverage the data network as much as possible and closely manage data security along the way.Our ERM program is not just about facility and security control systems. Along with my group, we have new groups responsible for scholarly information systems; research and regulatory administration; data security and policy; and advancement. So it's not just my group. It's actually a collection of new initiatives that are reaching out across the university to address enterprise risk. That includes facility and security control systems, but a lot of others as well.What have been some of the bigger challenges along the way?One of the bigger challenges when I got to Georgetown was the roles and responsibilities issue. In a very siloed environment, facilities have their own administration and they are very independent. So one of the immediate reactions was a lot of defensiveness among the folks in the departments wanting to know why information systems was stepping into what they thought of as their turf.As a result, there's been a lot of education. We specifically are not trying to take over operations in those spaces, but we need to understand what their business needs are so we can put the proper technology in place to meet those business needs.We've come up with a simplified model. The business units describe to us what they need, and then we describe how that is accomplished through technology. That's been very successful in helping to communicate to key stakeholders that we are actually partners.You say legal principles are a driving force in your ERM strategy. Can you explain what you mean?\u00a0It goes back to prioritizing our risks. A lot of security spending decisions are\u00a0made on an emotional basis or in response to incidents. But at the end of the day, the most significant risks we face are incidents that lead to lawsuits or have a negative impact on our reputation. Like our peers, Georgetown has defended against its share of lawsuits and has endured scrutiny by the media and parents. A key element that comes into play, for us, is understanding due care, which is the care that a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances. Further, we practice due diligence to make sure the security controls we put in place are effectively operationalized and maintained.There is also the matter of foreseeability. For example, if students were getting assaulted in particular areas of the campus, we can't turn a blind eye to those incidents. There is a lot of established case law that outlines what universities should be doing to protect parking lots, for example, or residence halls. So we have to make sure we are evaluating what our peers are doing and staying on top of best practices. The very real connection between what we are doing and how well it mitigates our risk is based on the legal consequences of what we do.Various stakeholders across the university have their own ideas about what good security means. Some people want to put card readers everywhere. Some people want to put cameras everywhere. And some don't want either. We base our decisions on a clear understanding of the risks involved. This includes identifying our assets and assessing the threat environment and our vulnerabilities\u2014and then communicating our plans.


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March 9, 2013
The Car Chasers' Jeff Allen and Perry Barndt
Jeff and Perry are the hosts of the new TV show "The Car Chasers." The guys buy, fix and flip classic and exotic cars. They talk about the show and then we check out a Beck Speedster they just picked up.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Show Credits
Producer: Jeff Fox
Audio Engineer: Chris Laxamana
[nggallery id=254]


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Al-Rehab Roses Concentrated Perfume 6ml
Attar Al Rehab Concentrated Perfume 6 ml Roll-on Perfume Oil : Free From Alcohol
Roses perfume has Lovely flowery rose fragrance.
Al Rehab Crown Perfumes is one of the leading fragrance company in the Middle East, they produce very fine traditional Arabic and oriental perfumes.
Al Rehab fragrances are made from precious natural essences such as Oud, Rose of Taif, musk, sandalwood and rare spices.
Our fragrance was made for the body, not the air.
This genuine World famous Al Rehab concentrated perfume oil is high quality and longer lasting and is free from alcohol; a little of this delightful, high quality, exotic, longer lasting concentrated perfume oil goes a long way, safe to use and safe to carry in your pocket or handbag. Surely this perfume is a true delight to wear. Comes in a roll-on vials, makes it easy to anoint.


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Philip Elmer-DeWitt from Fortune Online provides one relevant statistic and one April Fool's joke about the Macintosh. First, the relevant bit, which is of course close to my heart:
According to IDC, Apple's worldwide market share grew from 2.4% in 2006 to 2.9% in 2007. Piper Jaffray's chief Apple analyst Gene Munster is conservatively modeling global market share to remain flat this year, but he notes that enterprise sales account for 70% of the worldwide market, a segment Apple is not aggressively targeting. In the consumer market, where Apple does compete, he estimates the Mac's share is now 10% worldwide and an impressive 21% in the U.S.
Put another way, once we contort the numbers in two ways in Apple's favor (first, by focusing solely on the US market, where Apple's market share is highest for obvious economic reasons, and secondly by completely ignoring a full 70 percent of all PC sales), suddenly, Apple's market share doesn't look so bad. (Actually, there's a third contortion here, as "consumer sales" aren't easy to measure, so this is mostly an educated guess on the part of Munster and IDC.)
These kinds of manipulations may seem unfair and, of course, they sort of are in the sense that statistics can be used to show anything. But let's be honest: Apple mostly targets the consumer market with the Mac. (On the flip side, when Apple targets the business market with the iPhone this year in order to reach its promised 10 million units sold milestone, few Apple fanatics will draw this distinction or have a problem factoring in business sales when they tout that machine's successes. They're cute like that.)
So what does this all mean? In Apple's strongest market by far, and by guessing at what consumer sales are, the Mac gets about 21 percent of the market. Despite the dubiousness of the measurement, I'm willing to accept this as relevant and "true": About 1 out of every 5 PCs sold to consumers (i.e. students and other individuals) are Macs.
Here's the April Fools bit:
Although consumers and investors tend to believe Macs cost 20% to 30% more than comparable PCs, according to Munster, he did some price comparisons and found that on average, the price difference is closer to 16% for desktop machines and 9% for laptops — essentially unchanged from a similar comparison he made two years ago.
This is completely irrelevant if cunningly argued. There's a myth of there that Macs and PCs are comparably priced. But this isn't true. What's true is that "comparable" PCs and Macs are comparably priced. But Apple only sells a few different models. When John Q. Consumer shops for a PC, he's doesn't compare Macs with comparable PCs. He compares Macs and PCs. And what he will find, for example, is that he could buy a low-end Macbook notebook for as low as $1099. Or, he could buy a low-end Dell Inspiron 1525 notebook for just $499, less than half the price of the Mac. Are they comparable? No, not from a specs perspective. But that's not the point, nor is it how people shop. (It's like arguing that BMWs are comparably priced to Fords. Maybe they are, for "comparable" models, if there are such things in that market. I don't know.)
PCs are still less expensive than Macs because there are far more choices in the PC market. One of the choices you get is to buy a less expensive machine with fewer options.
Anyone who believes otherwise is, well, a fool.


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Rihanna Poses Naked for Nivea's 'Skincare for Life' Campaign
Pop star, Rihanna is aligning herself with Nivea.
No, not the singer Nivea, but the skin care line that is celebrating its 100th birthday.
The German company Beiersdorf that owns the skin care product is planning to invest $140 million to boost its presence, and part of that investment is sponsoring Rihanna's upcoming LOUD tour.
Markus Pinger, member of the board, responsible for Brands, commented on the reason for enlisting Riri,
"Over the past 100 years, NIVEA has been an iconic skincare brand across the world. Rihanna is a music icon and her digital footprint will help us bring our anniversary celebration to consumers wherever they are."


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- This event has passed.
Prado IDPA on 4th Sunday
July 23 @ 7:30 am - 5:00 pm$42.00
8 Stages of IDPA shooting.
The match is limited to 91 shooters. Use the Practiscore link to sign up online.
You must pay to register and ensure your spot in the match.
Match fee paid online is $42.
If the match is full when you register online you will be placed on a waitlist. The people on this waitlist will be approved into the match in the order of registration if others drop out.
If you choose to walk-up and take a chance on there being a place at the match you will be placed on a waitlist until 8:30am.
At 8:30 we will approve shooters from the online waitlist first and then the shooters on the walk-up waitlist into the match until we reach the maximum of 91.
Match fee paid at the match is as follows;
IDPA member (must have number) $35
Non-IDPA member $40
IDPA members who pay online will get a $5 refund at the match.
There is no charge to observe the match. Please sign a waiver at the registration desk before going onto the range.
If you are new to our match there is a mandatory 'New Shooters' briefing at 8:00am in the rifle range. Please have your unloaded pistol in your holster before coming to the briefing.
If you have shot other pistol games or attended a Front Sight or other shooting school pistol course then you are in good shape to learn the IDPA way.
If you have just bought your first gun and want to participate in IDPA you will need a class to help you gain the necessary skills. FFT, LLC offers a beginning class for competition shooting. This will supply you with the necessary skills to enjoy IDPA.
Definitely come out and observe a match. You will find our staff and shooters happy to answer questions or explain our sport. Identify yourself as an observer at the sign-in table so we can give you some attention. It is OK to attend the 'new Shooter' briefing as well to get a base perspective of the range rules.


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There are many end-of-relationship rituals. One classic is the tossing of certain items that remind you of the person you now miss too much. (Or setting them on fire. Or putting them in a box labeled "EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE. NEVER OPEN.") Perhaps you keep other things that don't seem to matter till later. As we grapple with a national economic crisis, it's a particularly appropriate time to mull over the significance of our possessions and the lack thereof: what they mean, how they haunt, why they hurt. In Important Artifacts and Personal Property from the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, and Jewelry (Sarah Crichton/FSG), Leanne Shapton does just that. (A film version is set to star Natalie Portman and Brad Pitt.) Part graphic novel, part novel, part pretend photo album, Important Artifacts is a personal auction catalogue that maps out the time line of one fictional couple's relationship. When I reach Shapton — an illustrator and the art director of the New York Times' op-ed page — by phone at her New York apartment, she explains how newspaper columns, stolen salt shakers, love notes written on playbills, and a burnt backgammon set function as clues, cracking open the mysteries of Lenore's heart and Hal's without fully unlocking either one.
What prompted you to tell the story of a couple through their belongings?
I really like the idea of objects being haunted and holding more history than they appear to. I also wanted to talk about how we keep these things. What do you take from one relationship and bring into a new one? What can you not throw away? I was interested in the life and the romance of things, of objects that didn't have any value but sentimental value.
How did you go about selecting the things that suited Lenore and Hal? Did their personalities or their possessions come first?
I was writing a four-year love story and thinking very universally: what happens to people in four years? I had to distill certain points into things. Then I had to produce that napkin with the number on it, or I had to produce that photograph of them. So it was story first, objects later. But as I got more of the story or more of the objects filled in, I would see things at Goodwill or at thrift stores or my own things and go, "I want to include this fake snow-spray-painted Christmas tree!" So I'd throw that in there for texture, or to fill out a theme, so to speak.
What would you say is the most telling lot, one that sums them up as a couple?
One that just sprang to mind was a really innocuous one, which is the photo of the spice jars with the quarters in them. It happens later in the book, but inventing that lot, I really wanted something to emerge out of their lives. Hal travels a lot, he drives a lot, Lenore is a cake columnist, she bakes, and that was a nice little quiet merging of their lives that I like. The spice jars with the quarters in them just would not exist in any other relationship. It was just like everything aligned for these spice jars.
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Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche teaches through verse, pointing out the essence of a teaching. Enjoy the quotes.
Buddhas & Sentient Beings
Khenpo Tsültrim
Gyamtso Rinpoche
Quote of the Week
June 20, 2014
Buddhas & Sentient Beings
The suffering of sentient beings does not truly exist. The Buddha himself taught that buddhas and sentient beings are of the nature of equality, that they are no different. It was not students who said that we are the same as the Buddha in order to bring the Buddha down. The Buddha himself said that.
Composed by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche, in 2005 on Holy Island, Scotland.
Translated by Ari Goldfield.


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Font Designer – Albert Boton
1952–55: trains at the Troy studio in Paris. Attends a course in calligraphy at the Ecole Estienne in Paris. 1955–57: type designer for the Deberny & Peignot type foundry in Paris under Adrian Frutiger and Ladislas Mendel. 1957–58: works in the graphics department of the Technès design studio. 1958–66: type designer and graphic designer for the Hollenstein studio in Paris. 1966–68: works for the Psycho agency in Paris. 1968–73: art director of the Delpire agency in Paris. Designs for Cacharel, Citroën and Schlumberger, among others. Since 1968: teaching position for calligraphy and type design at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Design in Paris (ENSAD). 1973: self-employed designer. 1978–81: Guépard agency in Paris with Roger Saingt. Since 1981: art director to the Carré Noir agency. Since 1988: teaching position at the ANCT, Imprimerie Nationale in Paris.
* TYPOGRAPHY – An Encyclopedic Survey of Type Design and Techniques Throughout History by Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott (Editor), Bernard Stein, published by Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH.