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On Nov. 6, Berkeley voters will decide whether to approve a controversial ordinance to ban, in most cases, sitting on sidewalks in the city's business districts from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Measure S is Berkeley's second attempt to pass a law limiting where and when people can sit on sidewalks. (A 1994 attempt, which included lying on the sidewalk as well, later was repealed by the City Council, after initial approval by voters. The ACLU challenged the law before it went into effect and, in 1997, "a newly elected Berkeley City Council voted to repeal the sit-and-lie ban.")
Supporters of Measure S have poured more than $90,000 into the campaign, while those opposed have raised just under $16,000, according to campaign reports filed with the city clerk's office. (See a breakdown of the contributions at Berkeley's Voter's Edge.)
The proposed ordinance counts among its proponents developers such as the Beacon Group (which owns 2150 Shattuck, the old Power Bar building) and Panoramic Interests (which sold its large property holdings to Sam Zell's Equity Residential REIT and now is involved in infill development); opponents include the ACLU of Northern California and Patricia Wall of the Homeless Action Center.
Posts related to the measure have resulted in more than 1,000 reader comments on Berkeleyside. The proposed ban has spurred coverage in local, regional and national media outlets.
Supporters say Measure S will clean up Berkeley's business districts to make them friendlier to shoppers, while helping connect those in need with social services.
Those rallying against the proposed ban on sitting say it's part of an increasing trend to criminalize homelessness, and that its passage would in no way bring help to those living on the street. Rather than passing laws to hide or criminalize the homeless, advocates say, cities would be better served by investing in services and supportive housing to address the root causes of the problem.
Those in favor of Measure S point to stories from other cities, such as Seattle and Santa Cruz, that similar bans have improved conditions. Opponents counter that evidence of purported improvements is scant, and say the data that do exist indicate no significant changes.
Measure S: FAQ
The Measure S item on the Nov. 6 ballot is complicated. Here are some commonly asked questions about what the measure would do and how the two sides differ.
What does Measure S restrict?
If passed, Measure S would prohibit sitting on sidewalks in commercial districts from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. except in a medical emergency; when using a wheelchair or other mobility device; during a permitted street event; or when using seating such as fixed benches or café chairs. The law would apply to any sidewalks next to commercially zoned property, such as Telegraph Avenue, much of Shattuck Avenue, University Avenue, San Pablo and Solano avenues, and the streets surrounding the UC Berkeley campus.
What is the penalty for someone found sitting in these areas?
Someone violating these rules would first be advised of the ordinance, multiple times, by one of the city's Hospitality Ambassadors and asked to move along, "so that police get involved only in rare cases," said John Caner, who runs the Downtown Berkeley Association. Next would come a warning from a police officer and a chance to comply. Warnings would be in effect for 30 days; on the 31st day, for example, a new warning would need to be given. Those found in violation a second time, within 30 days of a warning, would receive a $75 fine or community service. Additional citations may be charged as infractions or misdemeanors. The ordinance would go into effect July 1, 2013. Caner said "very few citations are ever written" in cities with similar ordinances, and that the existence of the law will spur the homeless to settle elsewhere: "The day the ordinance went into effect in Seattle, people basically disappeared." Caner said "95%" of the interactions with homeless individuals will involve Berkeley's Ambassadors rather than police.
Bob Offer-Westort, coordinator for the No on S campaign, said the law is not so benign, as small fines could escalate and send people to jail. When court costs are taken into account, the initial fine is really $200, he said. Later violations could cost up to $1,000 and lead to six months in jail, he said. Court appearances would take place in Oakland, he added, making them hard to reach for those on limited budgets. Court dates would likely take place months in the future, making them difficult to keep track of; missing court dates could lead to bench warrants and jail time, he said.
So where could people go to rest if Measure S does pass?
Caner said there are "over 30 benches and planters" for people to sit on downtown. They can also go to parks, public spaces like the library, or "they can go outside the business districts."
Do other cities have laws forbidding sitting in certain instances?
The National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty surveyed 234 cities with ordinances about various types of prohibited conduct; 33% of them, as of the November 2011 report, had a prohibition against sitting or lying in particular public places. Law center staff surveyed 154 service providers, advocates, and people experiencing homelessness, and said 19% reported arrests, citations, or both, for sitting on the sidewalk.
Do these laws work?
According to the Yes on S campaign, 60 cities, including Santa Cruz, Santa Monica and San Francisco have passed similar ordinances: "All cities have seen improved merchant areas. We expect even better results because Berkeley has two important advantages: an existing Ambassador program and a commitment to waive citations for persons entering services."
Santa Cruz passed a civil sidewalks ordinance in 1994. Former five-time mayor of the city, Mike Rotkin, said that, while it has not solved all the problems, the net result has been a "dramatic reduction in problematic behaviors with few citations ever issued in the process." In an Opinionator piece published on Berkeleyside, he writes, "Pacific Avenue is now a vibrant commercial district… Business tax receipts bear witness to the success of the turnaround… Santa Cruz has maintained its soul… but [is] now just a bit more welcoming with mutual respect for everyone."
Opponents disagree that the laws are effective.
Are there any data on whether these laws achieve their goals?
Opponents of the law say there isn't much evidence to show that the ordinances help businesses, or the homeless. Offer-Westort pointed to a March 2012 report from the non-partisan City Hall Fellows that looked at the impact of San Francisco's 2010 sit-lie ordinance. According to the report, most business owners surveyed in the Haight, the area most targeted for enforcement, reported no improvement or a worsening in the street scene, that the ordinance did little to change behavior of the homeless, and that the same people were cited repeatedly. The report noted that there had been no misdemeanor convictions as a result of the ordinance, and that police said "the law provides a tool to ask people to move along without having to issue a citation." In most cases, wrote the City Hall Fellows, people left and no citation was issued, though they sometimes just sat on another sidewalk nearby. The fellows found that homeless individuals were not consistently offered services, and that there wasn't a reliable system in place for tracking individuals who had been connected to services.
Several Berkeley Law students released a report last week, after being approached by a "coalition of community groups and individuals opposed to Measure S," that found "no meaningful evidence to support the arguments that Sit-Lie laws increase economic activity or improve services to homeless people." The students surveyed "key stakeholders" in 19 sit-lie jurisdictions. They acknowledged "the scarcity of data" but said, given supporter claims about sit-lie laws, they expected more: "Our literature review did not reveal any evidence of Sit-Lie's efficacy in other jurisdictions, and of the fifteen survey responses we received, none directed us to any evidence in support of their views about the positive or negative impacts of Sit-Lie."
Do homeless people on the streets affect businesses?
Hundreds of business owners have signed up in support of Measure S. Alberto Malvestio, whose ALMARE Gelato sits next to the BART plaza at 2170 Shattuck, is one of them. He said his sales drop off 30% when groups of homeless people gather in front of his shop to party and play music. He said he's tried both to speak with people outside and, when that didn't work, to call police. It had no effect, he said.
"I can see the feeling of the customers when they sit here with their kids, that bad things are going on. They don't like it. They take the kids away. They are shaking their head, saying 'Oh my god, what's going on here?"
Malvestio said he wouldn't have opened at his current location had he known how big an issue the homeless youth would be. (He provided the video above.)
A 2011 survey of UC Berkeley students said cleanliness and safety concerns were among factors that caused at least half of them to avoid Telegraph Avenue and downtown most of the time. Offer-Westort, however, cited a 2010 report that found downtown and Telegraph seeing smaller decreases in sales tax revenue than many other business districts in Berkeley. In the report by then-City Manager Phil Kamlarz, five steps are suggested to improve the economy: support a "Buy Local" campaign; encourage night-time businesses on Telegraph and downtown; help market available commercial space; improve the permit process for new retail; and continue to support Business Improvement District efforts. Offer-Westort said any of these solutions likely would have more of an impact on improving the city's business climate than would Measure S.
What's the size of Berkeley's homeless population and what services exist?
According to a June 2012 report prepared by the city manager, Berkeley had a population of 680 homeless residents in 2009, the most recent year available. The city operates 135 year-round emergency shelter beds, 70 emergency beds in the winter and 163 transitional housing beds. The city also pays for additional seasonal emergency shelter services; through one, 50 people can receive shelter for up to 40 nights. In another, the city provided 393 nights in hotels for 49 families and 20 individuals. Berkeley funds daytime drop-in centers through programs such as Building Opportunities for Self Sufficiency, the Women's Daytime Drop-In Center, the Berkeley Drop-In Center, and Berkeley Food and Housing. In 2011-12, the city spent $2.8 million on homeless services. Learn about the city's Mental Health division here.
Will this law help homeless people get connected with services?
Caner, of the Downtown Berkeley Association, said Measure S will help connect people to services in multiple ways. Fewer people will come to Berkeley to live on the street because of the law, he said, freeing up existing services for those who are here. Additionally, Measure S will give downtown Hospitality Ambassadors, many of whom have lived through addiction and recovery, more of a reason to speak with the homeless and learn about their needs: "The fact is, if you have more boundaries, you have more reason for interacting and encouraging people into services." Caner said Ambassadors receive training from Berkeley's Mental Health division and that agreeing to services would result in waived penalties for violations. Offer-Westort, of No on S, said there is no language in the ordinance itself to guarantee services or the waiver of penalties. He said the city's Ambassadors are not qualified to help connect youth or those with mental health problems to care they might need. Offer-Westort said penalties such as jail time and warrants also could result in people losing access to key services or losing their spot in line for housing. He added that the city has limited services available specifically for youth, who make up a large portion of the population living on the streets in the business districts.
But a lot of homeless people don't actually want services, right?
Offer-Westort said, of the "literally hundreds" of homeless people he knows, the vast majority would like to be in housing, and many others would like to be in shelters. But the shelters are full, he said. Some of these people, those with addictions, for example, may not be interested in housing that forbids all substance use, smoking or drinking. "They don't want a 'tough love' approach," he said. "But saying that certain services are inappropriate is different from being across-the-board service-resistant."
Davida Coady, who runs Options Recovery, an organization that aims to help people escape homelessness and drug addiction, said Measure S would "give teeth" to Ambassadors to help them make a better case for offering services. Coady said she's been concerned to find that some advocates are "more into the wants of the homeless" than interested in providing structure and intervention. She said people generally do not get into treatment without some kind of intervention, such as from family or a job. People who are homeless aren't likely to have these kinds of support systems, she said, so they need more structured intervention that can arise from repeated interactions and growing relationships with the city's Ambassadors.
Will the law be selectively enforced, and used to target the homeless?
Advocates for the homeless say Measure S would be one of a growing number of local ordinances passed nationally to target the rising homeless population. Offer-Westort described the ordinance as "a law plus a wink and a nudge," which would not be used, for example, to stop a lemonade stand or Girl Scout cookie sales: "It's trying to make it a crime to be a certain kind of person. It's extremely problematic in a democratic society to apply laws only to one group of people and not to others." Caner, of Yes on S, said, "It needs to be equally enforced. If somebody is sitting down on the ground eating an ice cream cone, an Ambassador will inform them: Go sit on a bench." Sitting in the Cheese Board median on Shattuck Avenue, which already is prohibited, would not be impacted by the ordinance, he said. It's already prohibited under current city code, and that won't change. Alan Schlosser, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, said it's not that simple: "Most people in Berkeley know it's not going to be enforced against them. It clearly is a law that is punishing conduct that's innocent. Sitting on the sidewalk should not be a crime."
So will Girl Scouts be able to sell their cookies, or not?
Caner said Measure S does not address where sales can, or cannot, take place. He said the city handles permit applications for vendors who sell items, such as arts and crafts, on the street or sidewalk. Measure S, he said, does not relate to that activity. He said the city also has free speech zones, which allow for other types of behavior. He said, theoretically, Girl Scouts who wanted to sit while they sell cookies could set up in front of existing benches or planters.
Doesn't Berkeley already have laws to address problems, such as lying down, aggressive panhandling and the like?
Caner said existing laws are tough to enforce; lying down isn't allowed, but "if you have an elbow up it doesn't count as lying." Blocking the sidewalk isn't allowed, but "you have to block the entire sidewalk." Drinking is not allowed "but it's difficult to catch people." Caner described the law against aggressive panhandling as "pretty subjective" and "difficult to enforce."
Offer-Westort said asking police to focus on these kinds of "quality of life" laws keeps them tied up from dealing with more serious crimes. Added Schlosser of the ACLU, "There are plenty of laws on the books that deal with the kinds of conduct that are causing the problems. I don't think the city should expand police power to target innocent conduct."
What do some members of the homeless community think?
Drew, 23, who goes by the name Purple, said, to him Measure S is just another way to criminalize the homeless. He described himself as "normal" — "not crazy, not a drug addict, not violent" — and said he'd chosen to live on the streets and travel, essentially, to drop out of the rat race and pursue a life of "infinite freedom." He said the real culprits hurting local businesses are the landlords who are driving up rents, and that homeless people are just the scapegoat.
Luke, 22, said Berkeley's "been around too long" to change the culture: "People have been coming here for years and years and years." He said he once had a house and went to college, but didn't like it, so he decided to travel and sell jewelry on the street. He said many of his friends are watching Measure S closely, and plan to leave town if it's passed rather than risk being sent to jail for minor offenses. As for himself? "I'd go to Oakland."
In a nutshell, why is Measure S the answer?
Said Caner: "We really need to help out the local merchants. We need to improve our public spaces. Unfortunately, with the encampments of street people that often are on Telegraph and Shattuck avenues, and often there are drugs and alcohol involved, it has a chilling effect on people coming to downtown and to Telegraph and the merchants suffer accordingly. The encampments often involve sitting in groups, often with dogs, often with pitbulls. That can cause a lot of discomfort. And people sort of feel a lot of times that they have to walk the gauntlet when there are these large groups…. If we're effective in changing behaviors and also discouraging Berkeley as being a mecca for certain types of activity, hopefully we'll see less strain on city services, and can actually focus a lot of our services and our funding on those who are truly in need." He said Berkeley is "the only progressive city on the West Coast" without a sit ordinance.
If Measure S isn't the answer, what is?
Said Offer-Westort: "Young homeless people are a group that has been tremendously alienated by society already. The good solution is creating options where people are able to get back into society, and enter situations where they are able to be tolerated. Using the criminal justice system, it's more like they're being shunned. Demonizing homeless youth has been tremendously counterproductive."
Said Schlosser: "I think some people would prefer for there to be no homeless people in the city. That just is not tolerated in our system. We can't prohibit people who are poor from being visible. Panhandling is as protected as soliciting donations for charities. As long as there are people in need, that's going to be part of our world."
Who's for it and who's against it?
See a full list of supporters here, and a list of those against Measure S here.
How can I learn more?
- Yes on S (Berkeley Civil Sidewalks) website
- No on S (Berkeley Standing Up for the Right to Sit Down) website
- League of Women Voters Nov. 6, 2012, Pros & Cons pamphlet
- Voter's Edge Berkeley guide to the Berkeley measures produced by MapLight and Berkeleyside.
Op/Ed: Say yes on Measure S: help those living on the streets [10.29.12]
Op/Ed: Five lies about Measure S — from both sides of the debate [10.24.12]
Op/Ed: Yes on Measure S mailer is full of falsehoods [10.24.12]
Op/Ed: Measure S is a step backwards for Berkeley [10.10.12]
Op/Ed: Measure S: We can do better with civil sidewalks [09.19.12]
Mayor Bates defends his handling of raucous meeting [07.12.12]
Berkeley sitting ban goes to ballot after raucous meeting [07.11.12]
Opponents of Berkeley sitting ban gear up for fight [07.09.12]
Berkeley sitting ban progresses toward November ballot [06.13.12]
Proposed sidewalk sitting ban prompts debate, protest [06.12.12]
Mayor seeks to put sit-lie ordinance on November ballot [06.01.12]
Police step up patrols on Telegraph to clear sidewalks [05.01.12]
Newly cleaned up downtown hopes to attract more retail [04.04.12]
Anti sit-lie campaigners take protest to City Hall [04.27.11]
Clarification: The original story reported that the 1994 ordinance was withdrawn by the Berkeley City Council. This was changed shortly after publication, but has been returned to its original state. We have included some additional context about the earlier ordinance.
Read more about Measure S. Visit Berkeleyside's Voter's Edge Berkeley for complete coverage and tracking of the city's 10 ballot measures. Visit Berkeleyside's Election 2012 section to see all our coverage in the run-up to Nov. 6.


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Trust you had a great Thanksgiving with your family and friends. All, I have to say is yummo! I am still full.
I been working on my Christmas tree for the last three days and I decided I was going to change it up a bit. As I was taking out my ornaments, I saw these small glass ornaments I purchased last year. However, I notice they where tarnished and I was not happy. I decided not to trash them, but upcycle them and give these ornaments a face lift.
|You can see some of the ornaments are not a bright gold.
|Do you see the ornament on the top left? I took Mod Podge and covered the ornament, then covered it with Epsom salt. I love this look, however I plan on crushing the epsom salt to make it more fine and adding it to the rest of the ornaments
|I also added glitter to two other samples and I love the way they look too, but its messy.
|How do you like my ornament holder? Its clothespin and a toilet paper roll. It works great.

subset: commoncrawl


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'I, Too, Am Harvard': A Mantra For Recognition Becomes An Anthem
You might expect students at one of the world's top universities to have occasional moments of doubt about their studies. But at Harvard, some minority students say they feel discomfort that has nothing to do with academics. It has to do with being black on an overwhelmingly white campus. A new photo montage about being black at Harvard has gone viral. NPR's Tovia Smith reports it is giving new momentum to an old issue.
TOVIA SMITH, BYLINE: W.E.B. Du Bois felt that as a student in the late 1800s, he said he was in Harvard but not of Harvard. More than a century later, many black Harvard students say they still feel the same way.
ABIGAIL MERIAM: We've been made to feel like we don't deserve to be here, and our place here is questioned. Oh, well, you know, you got in because you're black.
SMITH: Junior Abigail Meriam says it's often the little things like people constantly touching her big curly hair.
MERIAM: Things like that, like, oh, my gosh, like complete strangers.
KIMIKO MATSUDA-LAWRENCE: Strangers.
MERIAM: It's, like, what exactly am I? Am I a novelty?
SMITH: Harvard sophomore Kimiko Matsuda-Lawrence nods. Anyone who's black at this elite university, she says, has had those moments.
MATSUDA-LAWRENCE: You know, being locked out of the dorm and people being scared to let them back in because they don't think that they're Harvard student, or some, you know, drunk person in the yard asking me, can you read, you know?
SMITH: One comment might be easy to shrug off. But junior Tsega Tamene says it's constant.
TSEGA TAMENE: They aren't just slips by innocent people. They are symptoms of a larger nationwide disease. And so you have to address them.
SMITH: It's why Matsuda-Lawrence started collecting the comments, from the idiotic to the insulting, and created a photo montage that immediately went viral.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: I, too, am Harvard.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: I, too, am Harvard.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #2: I, too, am Harvard.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: I, too, am Harvard.
SMITH: That was followed by a live performance on campus of stories that Matsuda-Lawrence says really resonated with students watching.
MATSUDA-LAWRENCE: The whole theater goes, mm-hm, and snaps. You know, everyone was like moaning and snapping like just - like I've been there. I felt that way. So I feel like that, mm, we're hearing that, like, around the world.
SMITH: Indeed, in just one week, the campaign inspired copycats all the way to - I, too, am Oxford. And other students who've been trying to get heard like at University of Michigan or UCLA are suddenly getting a second wind.
EEAN BOLES: Well, yeah, that's incredible.
SMITH: UCLA law student Eean Boles says a video posted last month by his black law students association suddenly spiked this week to three times the hits. The video shows the emotional toll of what he calls the alarmingly low number of black students - just 33 out of 1,100. It's hardly a new issue but Bowles says new pressure from social media is why UCLA administrators are now moving to address it.
BOLES: It does put a little bit more of a fire under them to make some changes and to be more quick with their responses.
MATSUDA-LAWRENCE: Without millions of people seeing these photos are Harvard, of all places, we couldn't have gotten in the room with the administration because, like, everybody is watching Harvard and saying, like, get your act together, you know?
SMITH: Harvard's Matsuda-Lawrence says, administrators who weren't answering her before have now agreed to talk.
DONALD PFISTER: What the students are doing is pointing out to us that perhaps we need to work even harder and that's what we plan to do.
SMITH: Harvard's interim dean, Donald Pfister, says social media is a game-changer.
PFISTER: I think we see that everywhere, from Egypt to Syria.
MEREDITH CLARK: There's also a certain degree of public shaming.
SMITH: Meredith Clark is studying Black Twitter, or minority use of social media, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She says the viral posts can also be an effective way to nudge students' attitudes by holding up a kind of mirror.
CLARK: It's not shame for the purpose of marginalizing, it's shame for the purpose of getting a person to think twice about whatever it was they were doing or saying.
SMITH: Students say they've already accomplished that by getting the conversation going at Harvard and beyond in a way it wasn't before. Tovia Smith, NPR News, Boston. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Editor's note: This article includes hyperlinks to a variety of source documents, some of which contain expletives.
Jon Vranesh left his office at Walnut Grove Elementary School so quietly on Oct. 25, 2013, that not even the people closest to him on staff knew he had been asked to leave. It wasn't until parents started asking about his whereabouts that people came to learn Vranesh had been put on paid administrative leave from his position at Walnut Grove, where he'd been principal since August 2011.
On Nov. 5, in response to the inquiries, Pleasanton Unified School District superintendent Parvin Ahmadi sent an email to parents, but it never mentioned Vranesh by name. "Mr. Rich Puppione is serving as an interim administrator of Walnut Grove Elementary School. Mr. Puppione served the District for over thirty years as a teacher, principal and district administrator," the email read. "We are confident our programs at Walnut Grove are in very good hands. Mr. Muniz will continue as the vice principal at Walnut Grove."
Actions in the early morning hours of Dec. 18 only added to the questions and frustration over lack of information.
After a school board meeting that lasted until 3 a.m., Ahmadi said in a statement, "In a 4-1 vote, the board found merit to complaints against an administrator. The board instructed the superintendent to issue a written decision to the parties in this matter, and directed that a future meeting include an item on appointing a new principal of Walnut Grove Elementary School."
"There were teachers, parents and members of the community that came forward in strong support of Jon Vranesh," said Sharrell Michelotti, one of Vranesh's supporters and a family friend. "Their strong support for him was not taken into consideration by the board or the administration while they were making a decision on his fate."
In addition to not naming the "administrator," Ahmadi and the members of the school board, including then-president Jeff Bowser, refused to comment on the complaints and who made them, citing privacy concerns.
Ahmadi addressed the speculation around Vranesh's departure in an email to parents after the Dec. 18 decision, stating the district is limited in what information it could release.
"I respect your right to know whether the recent appointment of an interim administrator at Walnut Grove involves questions of student safety," Ahmadi's email said. "While I am not legally permitted to discuss any personnel issues, I can assure you that these changes are not related to the safety of any of our students."
Documents provided to the Pleasanton Weekly by the district in response to a Public Records Act request shed light on the allegation, but also revealed that Vranesh had his own set of grievances against the school district.
One document was a Nov. 7, 2013, letter from the district's attorney -- Kim Kingsley Bogard of the Folsom law firm Kingsley Bogard -- to Vranesh's attorney, Paul Kondrick, in which Bogard states, "As previously stated, the allegations are that (Vranesh) created a hostile work environment at Walnut Grove through, among other things, the use of vulgar/derogatory terms to describe female employees of the district."
The letter also claims these allegations were made by "several women" and that Vranesh also "made statements to subordinate employees which were interpreted as threatening and intimidating in nature."
Through his attorney, Vranesh has denied the allegations, both in person at closed sessions of the school board and in written documents, including a statement he submitted to the district that he signed under "penalty of perjury" on Dec. 17 denying using the derogatory terms or threatening and "violent" language.
The search for a new principal at Walnut Grove left Vranesh, still a district employee, on paid administrative leave. That changed Jan. 28 when the school board approved moving Vranesh into an "itinerant principal" position.
The change in title and responsibilities might have gone unnoticed if not noticed by Michelotti. The new status was in a summary of personnel changes included as part of the board's consent agenda, in which a list of items is voted on as a whole and without discussion. Vranesh's name was listed in the document as a personnel change from K-5 principal to "itinerant principal."
Assistant superintendent Bill Faraghan sent a letter to Vranesh on Feb. 20 that said, "It is the District's practice to notify employees prior to Board action to allow them the opportunity to resign from administration in lieu of release. Consistent with that practice, the District is willing to accept a letter of resignation any time prior to commencement of the Board meeting."
In a Feb. 21 letter to Bogard, Kondrick responded to Faraghan's letter by stating, "Under the not so veiled threat of his 'release' or indeed termination as an administrator within the school district, Dr. Faraghan magnanimously presents Jon Vranesh with the 'opportunity to resign' rather than to be fired from the position.
"Jon Vranesh will not be resigning as an administrator within the district," Kondrick's letter continued. "Moreover, there is no objective reason for him to be released, removed or terminated as a PUSD administrator. Moreover, he will not allow himself to be beaten into submission by continued retaliatory, arbitrary actions by the District, including Superintendent Ahmadi and Dr. Faraghan. In other words, Mr. Vranesh has no intention whatsoever to go 'quietly into the night.'"
Many sides
The events and circumstances prior to Vranesh's removal as principal are not completely clear.
After Ahmadi's first email to parents and the resulting story in the Pleasanton Weekly, Vranesh left a voicemail at the Pleasanton Weekly stating, "I put the Pleasanton Unified School District on notice months ago regarding situations that negatively affect staff safety, working conditions and a conducive environment for instruction and student learning," he said. "Rather than taking effective action to eliminate those conditions, they put me on administrative leave."
Ahmadi responded to the Weekly, "It is true that Mr. Vranesh has been placed on administrative leave. The reasons for this leave, however, are not those listed by Mr. Vranesh in his statement. We have explained the reasons for this personnel action to both Mr. Vranesh and his attorney. The rules covering employee privacy do not allow us to comment on them publicly at this time.
"Our district can, however, comment on the typical administrative leave process. In situations where employees are placed on leave, a thorough investigation is conducted. Information shared during the investigation may be limited. This is done both to maintain the integrity of the investigative process and to respect the privacy rights of all parties involved. The district's goal in this and all such cases is to achieve a fair and appropriate outcome."
The investigation was done by Shon Davidsen, an investigator paid by the district. Among the documents obtained in a second Public Records Act request by the Pleasanton Weekly -- which were placed on the district's website in response to the request -- were a number of witness statements taken by Davidsen during the investigation.
These statements offered a mix of criticism and praise. Vranesh is described as "a very honorable man" by one, and a "pathological liar" who hates strong women by another interviewee.
Some staff members mentioned in witness statements were taken aback to learn they were part of the statements at all, since they said they had never been interviewed by Davidsen. Linda Pipe, Amador Valley High School registrar, and Mary Snell, Walnut Grove health clerk, addressed the school board March 11 to make public that they had never been interviewed.
"Imagine my shock, confusion and anxiety to discover myself named as a participant in acts of retaliation by two teachers (redacted) and (redacted), as a result of Jon's removal," Snell wrote in a letter addressed to board members.
"I am very angry that words, actions and intentions supposedly attributed to me were included in the printed 'investigation' of Mr. Vranesh without ever contacting me to ascertain the veracity of these words, actions or intentions," Pipe wrote in her letter.
Vranesh started his tenure as principal at a time of change at Walnut Grove. Class sizes were about to rise to 30 and a popular Walnut Grove effort, the Discovery Program, was on the chopping block.
The Discovery Program, in which teachers stayed with students for two years -- in kindergarten and first grade, for example -- was ended in 2012. In March 2013, Vranesh was called to a meeting where he was told some teachers of non-Discovery classes at Walnut Grove complained they hadn't been consulted about plans to end the program.
According to a timeline presented at the Dec. 17 school board meeting by Vranesh and Kondrick, "Discovery teachers themselves approached Jon Vranesh and voted to close the program," noting those teachers said they couldn't do the same work with bigger classes.
The timeline notes other occurrences and conflicts after the cancellation of the Discovery Program, including an anonymous note left in Vranesh's office in the fall 2012 hinting Vranesh and another person at the school may have been involved in an intimate relationship (an allegation Vranesh denies).
Also that autumn, a conflict reportedly arose between Vranesh and a custodian whose performance was being questioned. Vranesh also said that teachers told him they were becoming overwhelmed with additional duties, including the impending implementation of the Common Core State Standards, a new district-mandated grading system and additional training requirements.
According to Vranesh's timeline, the conflict between Vranesh and some teachers seemed to escalate in May 2013. At that time, at least one teacher tried to "undermine his authority" and "personally attack and defame" him.
In mid-June 2013, amid ongoing complaints that teachers' rooms weren't being cleaned, Vranesh alleged an unnamed district official ordered him to "surreptitiously stake out" the custodian responsible for the duties in question to see if that person was leaving early, according to the timeline.
Capping off the school year was a request for Vranesh to prepare a "summary of understanding" with the custodian. The summary stated the worker was "expected to come every assigned work day ... and work the entire shift according to the specified cleaning schedule."
The timeline shows that, in Vranesh's opinion, communication between Vranesh and some of the teachers remained tense when school resumed in the fall of 2013. In addition to continuing dismay about the elimination of the Discovery Program, a conflict arose on Aug. 27 with a staff member concerning the placement of a student, and there was angst among some teachers regarding the restructuring of a special education program.
Complaints of falsifying time cards by the custodian whose performance was being monitored the previous school year were verified through Vranesh's "district ordered 'stakeouts,'" he said, and were reported to the district in fall 2013. However, according to Vranesh, the district declined to fire the custodian, which reportedly caused more resentment from the teaching staff who felt their concerns were not being addressed.
Fall 2013
Between Oct. 1 and 16, Vranesh said he met with other site administrators either one-on-one or in small groups. On Oct. 8, according to Vranesh's timeline, the district's elementary school principals met informally off-site to "discuss the lack of support from the district, lack of trust, lack of forum within the district to present ideas, and fear of retaliation from (redacted)."
On Oct. 16, Vranesh had what he described in the timeline as a "courageous conversation" with a few Walnut Grove visitors who appear to be district employees about the "health of our district," specifically the site administrators' inability to "effectively discipline and even remove unsatisfactory teachers and classified staff."
Vranesh said he told the visitors that "teachers and classified unions get 'worked up' on any adverse personnel affecting their members, and the 'downtown' abandons administrators." When he was asked by one of the visitors to explain that statement, Vranesh said, "Well, my school is filthy; students sat in filth during the entire last school year." He continued that there were refusals to follow direction and the official cleaning schedule and that someone or something was causing "fear," but "still (redacted) is not fired."
This, according to Vranesh, was "just the most recent example of unions running the district, and the administrators system wide in the district had no confidence that any teacher or classified employee reprimand or discipline would be supported..." He told the visitors that the Walnut Grove teachers were "extremely angry at him for being ineffective and not even able to get basic services at WGE."
On Oct. 17, the timeline notes, Vranesh met with someone presumed to be a teacher who described an interaction earlier in the month. The teacher reported that he or she was in the classroom after school and another district employee said a third employee had been insulted when the teacher called the third employee "my trash fairy." The employee also brought up other actions the teacher had made that were perceived as disrespectful.
According to the teacher, the employee who confronted him or her got very emotional and "told me that there was stuff going on at our school and (redacted) was documenting everything and (redacted) had already called into a labor person to notify them about what I did and said. I suggested that perhaps I should notify my union rep," the teacher reportedly told Vranesh. The interaction left the teacher feeling "uncomfortable," "targeted" and intimidated.
On Oct. 18, the first allegations of inappropriate language emerged. According to Vranesh's timeline, he was told in a phone conversation that someone had "claimed that Jon Vranesh used 'B' and 'C' words with someone in the workplace," to which Vranesh responded, "WHAT!?! That is crazy! That is outrageous!"
At a meeting on Oct. 21, Vranesh was informed about accusations he used expletives about teachers, and Vranesh said he responded that the accusations were false and "outrageous."
According to Vranesh, on Oct. 24 a site meeting was held with Walnut Grove teachers who were asked to "raise their hand as a group if they ever disagreed with Jon Vranesh, or if Jon Vranesh said anything that they did not like, or if Jon Vranesh have ever said anything bad about anyone." The group or individual that called the meeting was redacted from the document.
On Oct. 30, Vranesh filed a complaint of his own, alleging, among other things, that the district failed to act on safety issues including the intimidation of Walnut Grove teachers, retaliation for reporting safety concerns, failure to conduct an investigation, defamation of character, harassment, intimidation and discrimination. Vranesh filed an official complaint alleging "discrimination, harassment and retaliation based on gender" with the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing on Nov. 5.
Throughout November and December, supporters attended school board meetings, asking that Vranesh be returned to the school and questioning his being placed on paid leave.
Richard Puppione, who took the helm at Walnut Grove when Vranesh was placed on leave, stepped down Nov. 21 due to health issues. Steve Maher came out of retirement as the school's interim principal until a new principal was named May 13.
A 17-page letter dated April 16 informed the school board members and the superintendent of Vranesh's "claims for money damages and injunctive and other relief against your local public or other entity, for amounts totaling significantly in excess of $10,000."
Claims are generally required before a lawsuit for money damages can be brought against a public entity.
The letter states that "PUSD and its agents and employees defamed Jon Vranesh" by "making or publishing false statement(s)," and by "making statements to third persons that disparaged Jon Vranesh's skills and services, especially to the public." It also claims Vranesh's right to privacy was violated.
In addition to naming the district, Ahmadi and assistant superintendent Luz Cazares, the claim also names the president of the Association of Pleasanton Teachers, Peggy Carpenter, as allegedly conspiring to "intentionally interfere" with the employment contract and the economic relationship between Vranesh and the district.
Meanwhile, Vranesh is still acting as "itinerant principal" and doing data entry work at the district office at his administrator's salary of $125,000 a year, according to his attorney, and his fate is unclear. His contract as an administrator will not be renewed for the 2014-15 school year, but Ahmadi would not comment about whether Vranesh will be an employee of the district next school year and, if he is, what his role will be.
"He was one of the best administrators in the district," said Michelotti who, like many others, still follows the school board for information about this situation. "The parents and community members were not happy with the outcome of this decision."


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When Apple released its updated laptop line in the fall of 2008, there were oohs and ahhs at the shiny new unibody enclosure and buttonless trackpad, but there were also groans and eye-rolling over what appeared to be yet another new display connector, Mini DisplayPort, which replaced the Mini-DVI and Mini-VGA connectors formerly found on Apple's computers. Like a zombie outbreak, the connector then mercilessly spread from the laptops to the rest of the Mac family.
On Tuesday, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)—keeper of the DisplayPort standard—announced that Apple's Mini DisplayPort connector has been officially adopted as part and parcel of the DisplayPort specification, both in its current 1.1a revision and the forthcoming 1.2 version. These plans were first reported in January.
VESA says the Mini DisplayPort connector, which it has licensed from Apple, can be used as an alternative for the full DisplayPort connector, and supports all the correct electrical and protocol specfications; the smaller size makes it ideal for small notebooks—your MacBook Airs, for example—as well as those blasted netbooks.
As for DisplayPort 1.2, the finishing touches are going on the specification now, including doubling the available bandwidth to an eyeball-bursting 21.6 Gbps. That'll let you support multiple monitors on a single connector, as well as higher resolutions, refresh rates, and color depths. Oh, and it'll allow for newfangled high-performance 3D displays, too—just in case you find yourself unsatisfied with a paltry two dimensions.
The adoption of Mini DisplayPort is certainly a good thing for Mac users—hopefully, it means we'll start seeing more displays and accessories with the connector, eliminating the need for annoying dongles and adapters. Of course, I'll still need an adapter to connect to my 40-inch HDTV, which is now totally out of date despite being just six months old. Curse you, technology.
[via Engadget]


text:
Arealight Shawl Flexible Plastic
Arealight - Shawl - Flexible Plastic - Black
Find the full range of flexible plastic parts and colours from Arealight here.
FireStar Toys are official distributors for the exclusive range of Arealight weapons and accessories.
Featuring unique, high quality designs in very limited runs, they are one of the leading brands for serious custom LEGO designers.


text: Washington Wizards reserve center Jason Collins made history this week when he announced that he was gay — becoming the first active, openly-gay NBA player. We completely support Collins' brave choice to go public — but, c'mon, he's a fifth-stringer for the Washington Wizards. It's a cover story for Sports Illustrated, for crying out loud! If they really wanted to move some issues, they should have gone for some bigger star power.


text:
Jason, I think your assessment is far too generous.
I scrupulously reviewed all the show maps and guides, and could come up with only 117 audio exhibitors in the Venetian.
I know that there are exhibitors who do well here, but for many---perhaps most---in audio, it's a waste of time and money. And let's not forget the ancillary benefits:
>cough< >cough< >cough<


text:
Upgraded Apache helicopter OK'd for production
October 30, 2012
By PEO Aviation Public Affairs Office
The Defense Acquisition Board decision regarding full-rate production for the Apache Block III helicopter program was announced Oct. 24 by Army officials at a briefing in Washington, D.C. Additionally, Apache project manager Col. Jeffrey Hager confirmed that the Apache Block III is being redesignated as an AH-64E model.
The announcement event was attended by 20 media members representing national and industry related publications.
According to the Apache Project Office, the DAB granted approval for FRP in August and the Air Force communicated the model designation change in a September memo to the Army. Actions are under way to begin implementation of the E model designation for subsequent use by the military and industry.
"The DAB's decision really secured Apache production for the next several years," Hager said. "We've got fiscal requirements, but securing that production through a full rate production decision was just huge for this program. It's probably the single largest decision that we've had since Block I's and Block II's went into production. It's that monumental."
One of the other key components, Hager said, that resulted in the DAB decision is the fact that the Block III had been designated an ACAT C program.
"We're no longer a D program and therefore don't need DoD oversight. Our Army acquisition executive, Ms. Heidi Shyu, is in charge of the Apache program and the development production that we have for Block III as we go forward from this point. So that was a big designation for us," Hager said.
The designation of the E model, he added, accurately recognizes the aircraft's advancements including an Improved Drive System, increased engine capabilities, technologically advanced composite main rotor blades and sensor enhancements.
Col. John Lynch, Attack/Reconnaissance TRADOC capabilities manager, said, "At the end of the day, the only real measure of how well a system is performing falls to the user and how easy or difficult the aircraft is to maintain. Basically, the Block III exceeded expectations that were laid out on the sustainment side."
Upgrades to the aircraft over previous models include advanced rotor blades and significantly increased aircraft handling, performance and agility at higher altitudes. Situational awareness is enhanced with electro-optical and infrared sensors for the operational benefit of aviators and battlefield commanders.
"The Apache fleet continues to do very well in Afghanistan and Kuwait," Lynch said. "It's has maintained an over 80 percent readiness rate while averaging over 60 flight hours per month. We're almost at one million combat flight hours with the Apache."
First delivered in October 2011, Apache Block III helicopters are in production at the Boeing Company in Mesa, Ariz. Fielding of the AH-64E will occur over the next decade.
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Peach growers in California may soon have better tools for saving water because of work by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Parlier, Calif.
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist Dong Wang is evaluating whether infrared sensors and thermal technology can help peach growers decide precisely when to irrigate in California's San Joaquin Valley. ARS is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, and the research supports the USDA priority of promoting international food security.
Irrigation is the primary source of water for agriculture in the valley during the summer, and wells have been forced to reach deeper to bring up enough water to meet increasing demands. Peaches also require much of their water from June through September, when temperatures and demands for water are at their highest.
Wang and Jim Gartung, an ARS agricultural engineer, installed 12 infrared temperature sensors in peach orchards at the San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center in Parlier and gave trees one of four irrigation treatments: applying furrow or subsurface drip irrigation, with or without postharvest water stress.
They also measured crop yields and assessed the quality of the fruit to compare the output of trees grown under deficit irrigation with trees grown under normal conditions. Deficit irrigation has been used to produce some varieties of grapes and has been studied for its potential in fruit tree and row crop production. But it has yet to be widely adopted, in part because growers need better tools to strike a balance between saving water and keeping crops viable and healthy, according to Wang.
They used the sensors to measure temperatures in the tree canopies, and calculated a "crop water stress index" based on the differences between tree canopy temperatures and the surrounding air temperatures. Higher index numbers indicated more stressed trees.
The researchers found that midday canopy-to-air temperature differences in trees that were water-stressed postharvest were in the 10- to 15-degree Fahrenheit range, consistently higher than the 3- to 4-degree Fahrenheit range in the trees that were not water-stressed.
For comparison purposes, the researchers placed leaves from stressed and non-stressed trees in a pressure chamber and measured the pressure required to squeeze water out of them. When the trees are water-stressed, it takes more pressure to squeeze moisture from them.
The results, published in Agricultural Water Management, show that the pressure chamber results were consistent with data collected by the infrared sensors, which means the sensors may be an effective tool for managing water use in peach orchards.
Story Source:
Materials provided by United States Department of Agriculture - Research, Education and Economics. Original written by Dennis O'Brien. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Cite This Page:


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December 20th, 2009
A portion of the official transcript of proceedings of the Ugandan Parliament on Wednesday, April 29, 2009. This discussion was to consider a motion allowing MP David Bahati to submit the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as a private member's bill. That bill would be submitted on October 14. Taken from the official web site of the Parliament of Uganda.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER (Rebecca Kadaga): Let us hear from hon. Bahati. In connection with the motion he is moving, we have in the gallery Apostle Julius Peter Oyet, Vice-President of the Born Again Federation; Pastor Dr Martin Sempa of the Family Policy Centre; Stephen Langa, Family Life Network; hon. Godfrey Nyakaana; the Mayor of Kampala City Council; Julius, a young boy who was sodomised, and his mother. His story has been in the press. They are all here in the gallery. Please, let us deal with them so that they can leave. There is also George Oundo who came out to speak against homosexuality. Please, let us balance the public good and our good since all of them are important. We shall do them all very quickly. Hon. Bahati.
MR DAVID BAHATI (NRM, Ndorwa County West, Kabale): Thank you, Madam Speaker, for the opportunity to move a motion seeking leave of Parliament to introduce a Private Members Bill moved under Rule 47, 105 and 106. Some of the few copies available are going to be circulated in a minute. I beg the indulgence of Members that I move on.
"WHEREAS Article 79 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda empowers Parliament to make laws on any matter for peace, order, development and good governance;
AND WHEREAS Article 31, clause (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda legalises marriage between a man and a woman;
AWARE THAT the same Constitution under Article 31 specifically prohibits marriage between persons of the same sex;
AND FURTHER AWARE that sections 45, 46 and 47 of the Penal Code Act create unnatural offences, attempt to commit unnatural offences and the offence of indecent assault on boys under the age of 18 respectively, these provisions do not adequately address the problem of homosexuality;
CONSIDERING THAT there is no comprehensive Act of Parliament that deals with homosexuality and;
FURTHER CONSIDERING that the position of government which is also reflected in the Constitution opposes legalisation of homosexuality;
NOTING THAT the major targets of homosexuality campaigns are the vulnerable youth, children and the destitute;
GIVEN THAT Parliament has enacted its Rules of Procedure, pursuant to Article 94 of the Constitution which also empowers a Member of Parliament to move a Private Members Bill under Rules 105 and 106;
NOW, THEREFORE, this motion is moved that the House grants me leave to introduce a Private Members Bill for an Act entitled Anti-homosexuality Bill, 2009, a draft is hereto attached, and do order the publication of the said Bill in preparation for the first reading."
I beg to move.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: It is seconded.
MR ERIAS LUKWAGO (DP, Kampala Central, Kampala): Thank you, Madam Speaker. I am seeking guidance from you. The Bill that the honourable member is seeking to bring here is about homosexuality. As a practising lawyer, I and everybody else here who has taken trouble to read the Penal Code will find that homosexuality is an offence under the Penal Code. The guidance that I am seeking is whether we need any other legislation when the practice is expressly prohibited in the Penal Code, a penalty provided and people are being charged in courts of law? As Parliament, are we really moving on a proper course to legislate on a matter, which is already prohibited under the Penal Code? I seek your guidance, Madam Speaker.
MR ODONGA OTTO (FDC, Aruu County, Pader): Madam Speaker, in relation to what hon. Lukwago has said, there would be a legal departure from the previous clarification that hon. Lukwago sought when we were debating the FGM. In my legal opinion, in the previous situation you cannot talk of prohibiting because there may be aspects of regulation that have to come in, while taking into consideration the concerns of hon. Seninde.
However, in this case, honestly speaking I have not even seen the draft Bill and I am wondering what the contents will be because the fact remains that homosexuality is banned in the Constitution so I am just wondering what the contents of the Bill would be. I would personally agree with hon. Lukwago's argument and say that we cannot legislate on everything. In fact, legislation on these sensitive issues will even teach our children about them. So the guidance I am seeking is whether we need an Anti-Homosexual Bill and if we need it, what the contents would be?
THE MINISTER OF STATE, REGIONAL AFFAIRS (Mr Isaac Musumba): Madam Speaker, this country has of late been besieged and is under attack from homosexual advocates and people who do unnatural things to each other. People are even talking about men marrying men. Those practices out there have come in the past two or three years and become so pronounced that our children, and I am a father of several boys, are in danger. Therefore, the statement that is being made by this country is that we should have a law that expressly says no homosexuality will be permitted in this country.
As you ruled earlier when we were discussing the FGM, it is a question of making a statement. Nothing says that if you have a section in the Penal Code you cannot expound on a particular matter in a separate law. There will be no inconsistency and it is something that is permissible under the law. For example, if you read the Penal Code, you will find that we have a problem of the definition of a gay marriage and other unnatural offences. We want a law that clearly states all these things so that we can use it to rid this country of this scourge. I support the motion.
MS ALICE ALASO (FDC, Woman Representative, Soroti): Madam Speaker, this country and Parliament must have the courage to defend its young people, to defend the stability of this nation and to follow the precedents that are already set in this House. It is wrong to steal and the Penal Code provides for theft but before us we have an Anti-Corruption Bill. Why do we have it when that is also theft?
I think we must have the courage to make a statement regarding the influence of homosexuals and the people with money who want to influence our children and mislead our nation -(Interruption)
MR ODONGA OTTO: Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The impression that the honourable colleague is giving when she says we need to build courage does not augur well with my understanding. No one supports homosexuality in this House; not even me or hon. Lukwago. What we are raising are the legal aspects; if we needed to legislate on everything we would need a Treason Act, an Anti-Theft Act, an Anti-Lying Act. It is just a legal principle we are trying to push forward. Is hon. Alaso in order to insinuate that others are not courageous when we are defending our profession in public?
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I don't know whether you are tuned to current events here where UNICEF has published and distributed a book in our schools informing children that it is okay to have same sex marriages in Uganda; our children, in this country! She is in order. Please, proceed.
MS ALASO: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. If we went by the argument of the legal experts in the House, how would we handle the publications that are being made on homosexuality? Where do we address matters of rehabilitation because this is a traumatising experience? People need rehabilitation from being homosexuals to get back to normal behaviour. How do we sort out these matters just by a mere provision in the Penal Code? We should be – (Interruption)
MR OGENGA-LATIGO: Thank you, Madam Speaker and I thank my honourable colleague for giving way. I would beg that our learned brothers look at the Bill. It is not about criminalising homosexuality but an anti-homosexual one, which is different even from criminalising, which is already done. "Anti" means that we are going to provide for how we can campaign against it, what we must do with those who promote it, et cetera.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think he has conceded.
MR ODONGA OTTO: Madam Speaker, given what hon. Alaso has said about the need to regulate these people and how to handle them, I concede and abandon my legal issues.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Wonderful!
MS ALASO: Madam Speaker, I want to thank my honourable colleagues because there is also the social context which we have to put into the legal arguments and the provision for regulation. Most importantly as actors, we need to tell people what they should do. What should be the role of an LC I in the light of these developments in our country? I want to support this and urge that let the Bill be given an opportunity; let the leave of the House be given so that this Bill is tabled. Thank you.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Now move your motion.
MR BAHATI: Madam Speaker, I have laid a copy of the draft Bill but I just wanted to make one or two points in justification of the motion for completeness of the record and to assure our learned friends that the red volumes will never be full at any one time.
I just want to mention one simple case that happened on Easter Sunday when everybody was busy celebrating the Holy Day, we were shocked to read in The Sunday Monitor a headline about an 11 year old boy, Julius, who is here with us in the gallery allegedly being sodomised and expelled from his school and officials from Mulago reported damaged splinter muscles in his anus, which led to uncontrollable flow of human waste. More painfully, Julius's alleged attacker, Herman Kalule Kirumira was left to go free and has used this opportunity to harass and intimidate this boy and the mother who happens to be a widow.
Reports of this nature have come out in the recent past and I know that for each Julius we read about, there are thousands whose stories are unexposed and never make it to the headlines. Many people have been crying for our help and no more should we be silent about this creeping threat of homosexuality to our children and our families.
There has been propaganda especially in schools and using cartoons to exploit our young people that to be a homo or a lesbian is okay. I think, Madam Speaker, this propaganda is against God's natural law and the law of the land. We know and believe as Ugandans that any sexual activity outside the bonds of union of marriage between a man and woman is immoral and has never been our culture. Whereas there is an argument that there are people who are born homosexuals and naturally get attracted to people of their sex, there is abundant evidence to suggest that there is no scientific evidence to validate this argument. And many of these supporters say that to be attracted to a person of the same sex is a right. I think we have so many rights in this country and in the world but I do not think that the right to homosexuality is one of them; not at least in Uganda.
Today they are talking about a right to homosexuality, tomorrow it might be a right to walk naked or to defilement. And I think the so called right will lead to the destruction of our social fabric and value system. We cannot afford to see this pass on as we watch.
Madam Speaker, we are working hard for the future of our children but I think we should never forget that the best inheritance we pass on to the next generation is a society built on values and norms that standardize certain responsibilities that make society function. And among these responsibilities is bearing and raising children; being a husband and a father; being a wife and a mother and these responsibilities are undoubtedly God given and specifically heterosexual.
The way independence was a defining issue during the colonial days and peace was a defining issue during the world wars and wealth creation during the great depression, defending the natural and traditional family is one of the key defining issues of our time. As people's representatives, we cannot afford to tinker on the edges; we cannot afford to be intimidated. Let the message go forth from this House that Ugandans shall never trade their dignity -(Applause)- and cultural values for money or anything whatsoever. This Bill, therefore, provides an opportunity to strengthen our legal system in order to protect our society. Uganda needs a comprehensive and enhanced legislation to protect cultural, legal, religious and traditional values! We need to protect our children and youth who are being made vulnerable to sexual abuse as a result of cultural intrusion and uncensored information technologies.
The land of the law and the Penal Code do not address this issue adequately and that is why we are bringing this issue to this House. Madam Speaker, as I end, I would like to make one request to this House to grant me leave to introduce a Private Member's Bill to address this creeping evil in Uganda. And I want to earnestly say that this is the first step, Parliament can do best on the front of the laws. I want to call upon the Church leaders, cultural leaders and the Imams to strengthen their service of teaching and preaching against homosexuality as well as rehabilitating the victims of homosexuality and helping them in finding their true nature as man and woman fully capable and responsible of raising a natural and heterosexual family.
Hon. Members, with your help and that of all stakeholders, we have been developing this with the help of many stakeholders; many of them who are in the gallery have been introduced. The Church of Uganda, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Mosques – the Sheikhs have been with us. We thank the legal department of Parliament and other Members who have contributed to this. I want to promise that with your help and that of the stakeholders, we will come up with a good legislation for which after 100 years from now our children will look back and say, "Yes the Eighth Parliament did something good for Uganda; true Uganda provided leadership on this issue in the world." I beg to move. (Applause)
MR BENSON OBUA-OGWAL (UPC, Moroto County, Lira): Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the mover of this motion for ably justifying and I stand up to second him. Just yesterday, for those of you who watched NTV Tonight and the late night news, you might have seen an episode which happened in Mukono where a teacher called Ssemondo Simon from Zion Primary School, Nakisunga sub-county told a 13 year old boy to take water to his house and he sodomised him. That was on the 15th of April – this month. Fortunately, this brave boy reported the teacher and he was arrested; he was arraigned before court in Mukono Grade II Magistrates' Court and Charles Kasidi, the magistrate, remanded him to Luzira until the 14th when this case will be brought back to court for mention.
I am holding The Weekly Observer of this week, Monday 27th to 29th Volume VI No.101 page 14. There is a headline on page 14 which says, "Homosexuality Creeps into Primary Schools" written by Diana Nabiruma. In that piece, Madam Speaker, four pupils from Umar B.A Islamic Centre have been expelled from school for practising homosexuality. Actually one of them was discovered with rotting anal orifice. This is becoming a pandemic and if we allow it to continue we are going to lose. And this makes me pose a question; where is this country going if we allow such acts to continue creeping amongst us.
In America, they call those who practice homosexual activity as straight people and there is an agenda now to overhaul this system. In fact, there is a book called "Overhauling Straight America", which is a very serious agenda to turn America upside down and make everybody homosexual. I am afraid the strategy that they have developed in that book is already happening in this country and if we are not careful and if we continue to remain silent, we are going to be the losers! I could go on and give you the strategy, which they want to use but there is no time.
The forces behind homosexuality are not sleeping. They are working day and night and yet in this country we are leaving this struggle in the hands of a few people. Dr Martin Sempa has been acknowledged, Mr Steven Langa, Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi and other religious leaders. In our own House here, we have left it to hon. Dr Nsaba Buturo. We can no longer afford to be silent observers.
I would like to submit here that at a personal level, the struggle comes down to us. There is no neutral zone in this struggle especially if you are a parent and I know many of you are parents of young children. We need to inoculate our children against these practices. The problem is bigger than we think and diseases are escalating, diseases which we never knew before. There is anal Gonorrhoea which is now rampant, anal Syphilis, Hepatitis C which is transmitted by this practice.
Let me submit to the House that internationally there is a move to force every nation in the world to submit to this vice. And if we allow them to get away with it, we will be the sufferers. The UN is coming up with a political decision which will force every nation to legally recognise homosexuality. That is if what France is trying to sponsor in the UN is allowed to move. They are coming up with a law which makes it criminal for anybody to utter anything against homosexuals. That is coming!
In the commonwealth, which by the way Uganda chairs, on the 8th there was the 16th Commonwealth Law Conference in Hong Kong. This conference was dedicated to the issue of homosexuality and there were so many people who were supposed to be respected like hon. Justice Michael Kirby Ac Cmg – I do not know what it means – who is a Justice of the High Court of Australia, by the way he was also a one time President of International Commission of Jurists.
He submitted a paper entitled, "Homosexual Law Reform: An Ongoing Blind Spot of the Commonwealth of Nations". In that paper, he was trying to promote homosexuality in the commonwealth. We have a problem on our hands and, further, I would not like to imagine what will happen if commonwealth decides to make homosexuality a legal thing, at a time when Uganda is the chair.
I have heard a few cowardly voices in the corridors which purport that if we do not support homosexuality, then Uganda stands to lose aid. Madam Speaker, I would like to say that we cannot afford to mortgage and sacrifice the future of our children on the altar of aid and that is why we have to stand firm. (Applause) We have oil and very soon Uganda will be a donor in real terms, and we can afford to do without aid if it is pegged to homosexuality.
In conclusion, I want to appeal for support for this motion and I would like to urge this House that we should not fear to act, but we should not act out of fear. We should sacrifice the present for the sake of the future. I thank you.
THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION (Prof. Morris Ogenga-Latigo): Thank you very much, Madam Speaker and I thank my colleagues, hon. Bahati and hon. Ogwal for their motion. I also would like to thank the House for the obvious unanimous support that we have for this matter.
I rise not to add much to what has been said, because the two hon. Members have given the substance and full justification for the motion. My job is first of all to thank them for this motion, to thank you, Madam Speaker, for insisting that it takes precedence even over the matter that was of concern to me. (Applause)
I would like to thank the very courageous Ugandans particularly the individuals who have been victims, who have sacrificed their own ego that normally stops many of us from standing up on matters of serious concern. We know as individuals and families we are deeply aggrieved and we share the pain that you have and the only thing we can do is first of all to do everything possible to ensure that this motion comes as a Bill and as law as quickly as possible.
MR OKUMU: Thank you. I want to inform the Leader of the Opposition that while he acknowledges other people, we should also acknowledge the Archbishop of Uganda, Luke Orombi, for walking away from the Church of England because of homosexuality.
PROF. OGENGA-LATIGO: Thank you. Actually I was coming to that because as the House knows, I am fairly well informed. In fact, the starting point for acknowledging the Archbishop Orombi and many other African Anglican Church leaders was going to start from the very same Observer newspaper that my colleague quoted. I read the newspaper with a whole page where they put two prominent Western people; one is an Anglican Bishop standing with his husband and below that picture was the picture of Sir Elton John, you know the man who sung Candle in the wind when Princess Diana died, with his husband. I was going to come to that and to say if it takes leaving the Church of England so that you can worship your God without the burden of accepting an evil like homosexuality, that would be the greatest thing and I believe that God would be on your side.
I bring the information that hon. Reagan gave me to say thank you very much to Archbishop Orombi and all his colleagues who have stood against homosexuality particularly when the mother Anglican Church began to accept this evil as part of rights, God's will and I do not know what to say of those who support it. I would like to thank all the clergy men and women who have stood with us, all the politicians, all the civil leaders and I would like to move a motion that the question be put.
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: Hon. Members, I put the question that the question be now put.
(Question put and agreed to.)
THE DEPUTY SPEAKER: I now put the question that this House do authorise the honourable member to move the Private Member's Bill.
(Question put and agreed to.)
(Motion adopted.)


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WASHINGTON – Conservative senators are urging the debt-cutting supercommittee to raise the eligibility age for Medicare and require many retirees to pay more. The top Senate Republican on defense is endorsing some of President Barack Obama's proposed benefit curbs for the military. Even farm state lawmakers are offering cuts to agriculture subsidies and food programs.
Friday's deadline for lawmakers to offer ideas to Congress' bipartisan 12-member panel brought out a flood of advice. Some lawmakers offered up sacred cows. Others just restated political talking points.
Whether it will help the supercommittee make actual progress remains to be seen.
What appears clear is that the fundamental disputes remain the same: Democrats and Republicans remain at loggerheads on taxes and proposals to cut benefit programs such as Medicare. Republicans are, so far, standing fast against tax increases; Democrats won't touch Medicare without them.
It's not at all certain that the panel, due to act by Nov. 23, will find success in reaching its goal of generating at least $1.2 trillion in deficit savings over the coming decade. The conventional wisdom in Washington is that it won't.
"It's impossible to do it in the next month," said Joseph Minarik, research director for the private, business-led Committee for Economic Development, citing the technical complexities of crafting such a measure as well as the political challenges of enacting it. "Deficit reduction is doing things you don't want to do. The political pressures are awful."
Panel members, too, are hedging their bets.
"Whether we're able to overcome some of the obstacles is still unclear," panel member Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told a Washington audience Friday morning.
Beyond the politically incendiary issues of taxes lies a minefield of other difficult topics, big and small.
The Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee — save for moderate Olympia Snowe of Maine and supercommittee member Jon Kyl of Arizona — leapt into the fray Friday with recommendations such as raising the Medicare retirement age for future beneficiaries and shifting costs to current retirees by reworking deductibles and copayments. They also suggest raising premiums for high-income retirees and tightening the screws on providers such as hospitals and nursing homes, particularly in high-spending areas of the country.
In one of the few bipartisan letters to the supercommittee, the Democratic chairman and top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee "with regret" proposed extending the current freeze on federal civilian workers' salaries for another year for $32 billion in 10-year savings, boosting the contribution civil servants must make to their pensions and curbing the government's use of private contractors by 15 percent.
Even bipartisanship won't head off tussles with some powerful interest groups. A major battle is already brewing over whether to make military service members pay more for their health care and to make military pensions less generous for future enlistees. In separate letters, Sens. Carl Levin and John McCain, chairman and top Republican respectively on the Senate Armed Services Committee said the panel should consider the administration's proposed cost curbs on military health benefits and pensions.
"We're fighting this," said Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which is encouraging its 2 million members to contact their lawmakers and argue against any changes in health and retirement benefits.
"Some in Washington want to make those who sacrifice and serve the most sacrifice more," Davis said. "It infuriates us when they talk about military benefit programs as entitlements. They're something you absolutely paid for upfront through your service and sacrifice to the country."
Another powerful interest group is the farm lobby, eager to head off cuts to agriculture subsidies. A bipartisan group of farm-state lawmakers is promising $23 billion in cuts to food and farm programs — but that's $10 billion less than proposed by the White House.
Another bipartisan proposal by the Senate Commerce Committee would produce $10 billion in revenue through auctioning portions of the electromagnetic spectrum to wireless companies. And the chairman and top Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee offered a plan to have Congress pass a two-year budget instead one-year plans.
Failure to come up with a plan would trigger across-the-board budget cuts of more than $1 trillion, shared evenly by defense and domestic programs. Defense hawks like McCain and House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., promise to try to reverse any automatic defense cuts.
"I would be looking for anything that stops those triggers from kicking in," McKeon said Friday on Fox News.
Meanwhile, time is slipping. Some policy experts say it's impractical for the supercommittee, with its small staff and facing a Nov. 23 deadline, to tackle so many complex and controversial topics.
One option might be for the supercommittee to issue orders to regular congressional committees to fill in details next year.
That approach, often mentioned as an option for tax reform, has its flaws as well.
"They can do it, but will they? Do they want to tackle any of those subjects in what is going to be a tumultuous election year?" said Steve Bell, an economic analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center and former GOP Senate aide.
Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Alan Fram contributed to this report.


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This section contains 892 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)
I, Robot Summary & Study Guide Description
I, Robot Summary & Study Guide includes comprehensive information and analysis to help you understand the book. This study guide contains the following sections:
This detailed literature summary also contains Quotes and a Free Quiz on I, Robot by Isaac Asimov.
I Robot is the first in the Robot Series by Isaac Asimov. In this novel, Asimov discusses the three laws of robotics and how they have influenced the development of robots over the years. The novel begins with an interview by a reporter of Susan Calvin, a robopsychologist who specializes in making robots seem more human. Susan tells the reporter several stories about robots that illustrate these rules and how they have impacted the development and actions of robots over the years. I Robot is a futuristic novel that leaves the reader with a vision of a future that could one day be reality.
Susan Calvin is a robopsychologist who has worked with US Robot and Mechanical Men most of her career. Now in her seventies, Susan Calvin is being interviewed by a reporter about her experiences with robots. Susan begins the interview with a story about a robot named Robbie who was a nursemaid to a young girl in the early nineties. This robot was very beloved by the child it was purchased to care for, but the neighbors, and even the child's mother, felt the robot could be a danger. For this reason, the robot is sold back to Us Robot and Mechanical Men. However, the child has such a hard time without the robot that the father arranges for the child to see the robot again. During this visit, the child falls into danger and the robot saves her, causing the mother to relent and allow the robot to return to the family.
Dr. Calvin continues by describing how robots were banned from earth so US Robot began using robots to work on space colonies on other planets. In one story, Dr. Calvin describes how orders caused one robot to become unbalanced, acting drunk, because of a conflict between the second and third laws. A researcher had to place himself in mortal peril to break the robot out of its state. Later, on another space station, a robot became so self-aware that it began to believe that it was created by a machine rather than man despite a demonstration that showed the robot the truth. This belief, however, did not interfere with the three laws, so researchers decided to leave the robot alone.
Dr. Calvin also discusses the development of a robot who could read minds. This robot told the scientists working with it what it knew about them and the people around them. However, it was soon discovered that this robot had the capacity to lie. In order to adhere to the first law, the robot would tell the scientists what they wanted to hear rather than the truth to protect their feelings.
As technology and the use of robots increased, so did the difficulties experienced with robots. Dr. Calvin recalls one situation in which the first law was modified in certain robots in order to allow them to behave in a specific way. This modification allowed one robot to hide among others, making it important that it be identified and removed before this modification could be discovered. Dr. Calvin had to trick the robot by placing herself in danger and using a radiation field that only this specific robot would know was not dangerous.
When Dr. Calvin returned to earth after this experiment, she learned that a rival company had attempted to feed their superbrain a specific problem that caused it to malfunction and now they were offering US Robots a deal to use their superbrain robot. Due to the fact that they believed their brain to be superior, US Robots fed the problem to their brain who in turn built a spaceship that could leap through time. To do this, the robot had to disregard the first law to a certain degree, something Dr. Calvin gave it permission to do.
Dr. Calvin continues the interview by telling the reporter about a politician she once had the occasion to know. This politician was accused by his opponent of being a robot. The man refused to go along with any of the tests his opponent insisted he submit to based on the argument of personal privacy. However, the day of the election this politician hit a man in public after he was accused once again of being a robot, apparently proving he was not a robot as a robot could not hurt a human. However, Dr. Calvin would later theorize that the man the politician hit was also a robot.
Dr. Calvin ends her story by relating a problem the politician, by now the World Coordinator, was having with the five superbrain robots that aided in governing the world. These robots appeared to making, or influencing, mistakes in each of the territories. The World Coordinator investigated each of these mistakes and came to the conclusion that humans were attempting to influence the superbrains to further the influence of anti-robotic groups. The World Coordinator was set to outlaw these groups when Dr. Calvin explained to him that the robots had caused this mistakes themselves to prevent future economic problems with the anti-robotic groups, thus adhering to the first law of robotics to protect humans at all costs, in this case by preventing future wars.
Dr. Calvin's story illustrates for the reporter, and reader, the development and adherence to the three laws of robotics.
Read more from the Study Guide
This section contains 892 words
(approx. 3 pages at 400 words per page)


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Donald Pleasence) just shot Michael Myers (Dick Warlock) 6 times. Michael got up and walked away from the front lawn not to be found. Dr Loomis is sure to find him again with the help of Sheriff Brackett (Charles Cyphers). The Sheriff gets bad news though that the house across the street from were Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) had it out with Myers, was the dead body of the Sheriffs daughter. Michael now thought to be dead due to someone looking like him being hit by a car. Dental records do show otherwise, and yet again the manhunt starts for Michael. Michael makes his way to the hospital Laurie is in and looks to finish what he started earlier that night.
This installment in the long running Halloween series is my favorite. I do like them all but this one always stood out to me as the best. I love the faster pace from the first one and how the story kinda takes a twist toward the end. I could probably mention it because I'm sure everyone reading this has seen this awesome movie, but in the interest of no spoilers I will not. I did just pick up the Blu Ray just released by Scream Factory with the TV version of it. It had been a long time since I had watched the TV version and I loved every minute of it. If you haven't seen this movie and you are a Horror fan, well then shame on you. I highly recommend this for Halloween night viewing. Stay twisted everyone!


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This is an example of magnets we can manufacture. A flat pot magnet with bore and counterbore. Galvanised body, with ferrite magnetic core.
Magnets are very popular as promotional items advertising your company and products. Our range includes custom printed fridge magnets and magnetic business cards all printed to your specification. Call for prices on 01268 768 768 and remember we run a price beater guarantee!
We offer a huge range of permanent magnetic reclosable fastenings, these are magnets which are perfectly matched in pairs and allow you to "open" and "close" repeatedly. Often used as folder closures by print finishers
This range has now been discontinued, please see of FLEXIRON products as a similar replacement or call 01268 768 768 thank you
Our steel tape works excellently with our magnetic tapes. Supplied on the roll with a high tack adhesive backing and is easy to cut with scissors. Our steel tape used in conjunction with our magnetic tape allows you to create an effective reclosable fastening


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Digital territory is wide and complex. To plan and manage effectively, you need a firm grasp on operational areas, applications, technologies and vendors — and how they relate.
With the new, interactive Gartner Digital Marketing Transit Map you can navigate like a native. We've simplified the landscape and added relevant research reference points, so you can identify the best sources for your needs and acquire systems that work well together.
Use this map to understand the connections among business functions (neighborhoods), applications (tracks) and providers (stations) so you can easily mediate discussions between marketing and IT.


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The Project Meditation Community Forum is temporarily in a Read-Only state due to maintenance and upgrades that are being applied. Although registration and the creation of new posts are currently not possible, you can still read and search the forum...
If you are unable to find what you are looking for within the Project Meditation Community please check out our new Blog and/or our Facebook page.
We will notify you as soon as our maintenance work is completed,
Have a great day,
Yours for HUGE success
The Project Meditation Team


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Senior Portraits are available on location or at our beautiful indoor-outdoor studio in Merced Ca. We offer great package prices and lots of choices including customized wallets, collages, announcements, parent portfolios, and beautiful digital, keepsake memory books. Please call to reserve your private session.
209 383-1756 email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Schools, Teams, & Seniors
Custom High School Senior Portraits. School services include sports, teams, leagues, proms, fundraisers, staff, preschools, & reunions. Group rates availableRead More


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hi evryone..
i am new in this forum..and i have started doing simple java programs..
can any of you help me to do this task
Write a class to hold array of item name as String type ,stock as
integer type and price as double type. Use constructor to construct
the arrays. Use methods to add element, search element, edit element
at a given index for change of price, delete element at any index,
sell and item or purchase an item and display stock are the methods
needed. write a client class to use methods in menu form


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