text:
Return to Transcripts main page
Crude Oil Prices; Green Cars; Green Mutual Funds; Black Monday
Aired October 20, 2007 - 13:00 ET
WHITFIELD: The governor wants the feds to stop releasing water from Georgia reservoirs to Alabama and Florida. And a happy ending for this Michigan family, a baby found safe and sound in his crib after his home was wiped out from a tornado. Now he's safe in his mother's arms. The 14-month-old got tossed about 40 feet when this tornado ripped apart his family home. And he was found ten minutes later under a pile of debris. He had been protected by the mattress from his crib. A new threat to Iran to what it's calling enemy positions, the threat coming from Iraq's top military commanders. He says Iran is prepared to fire 11,000 rockets in less than a minute's notice, if it is attacked. The U.S. has not ruled out using force to stop Iran's nuclear program. And in the Philippines, police in Manila says a bomb is to blame for an explosion at a shopping mall. Nine people are dead and more than 90 injured. The national police chief says it is likely the work of terrorists. And the curfew has been lifted in Myanmar, it's the latest sign that officials have put an end to demonstrations against the military' run regime. People are being told they can come out of their homes and are, once again, permitted to gather in small groups. And a pretty scary scene in British Vancouver, British Columbia. A small plane crashes into a 15 story apartment building. It happened shortly after takeoff and the pilot was killed and at least two people in the building were injured. No word on what exactly caused that crash. We'll update the top stories at the bottom of the hour. Now time for YOUR MONEY. ALI VELSHI, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Welcome to YOUR MONEY, where we look at how the news of the week affects your wallet. I'm Ali Velshi. CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And I'm Christine Romans. Today, we're focusing on the link between the environment and your cash. Coming up, cars that have gone green without cutting back on performance. VELSHI: Plus, to buy or not to buy. See if products that are claiming to be eco-friendly actually live up to the sales pitch. ROMANS: And high-tech office gear that could keep you from burning jet fuel. We'll hear that from Microsoft's boss, Bill Gates. VELSHI: Talking about fuel, crude oil topped $90 a barrel for the first time ever this week. And that has some people predicting it could actually wind up hitting triple digits, $100 a barrel or more. ROMANS: Since we depend on oil for everything from driving to heating and even the plastic in that television set you're watching right now, when the price jumps, you pay. VELSHI: And that got us wondering whether heftier cost per barrel is actually ratcheting up interest in alternative energy, not to mention conservation. Peter Beutel is going to tell us about that. He's the president of the energy risk management firm, Cameron Hanover. Peter, good it see you again. PETER BEUTEL, PRES, CAMERON HANOVER: Thank you. VELSHI: First of all, I mean, the No. 1 question on people's minds when they see oil topping $90 a barrel is it's 10 bucks from 100. Are we going that way before we're going back down again? BEUTEL: Well, it does looks like it's certainly a lot more possible than it was earlier in the year. I'd have to say, yes, it is possible. It looks like this market is on a collision course with the economy. Until we get a solid sign that the economy is headed towards a recession and that the fed will let it go into a recession, I don't think this market is going to stop moving higher. ROMANS: Peter, are we going to see this at the pump in the near future? BEUTEL: Yes, we're going it see it next week. So, if you haven't seen any increase at the pump already, you will see 20 cents coming this next week. If you've seen a nickel already, say in the last week, then you've got 15 cents coming. But a total of 20 cents so far in the last nine days is what we've seen. VELSHI: Wow. A whole lot of people out there will say bad news, there might be a contingent of people who say good news because the argument is only when gas prices get to a certain level do Americans think again about conservation. I don't know what I believe any more, Peter. We had this discussion in the past. What is it going it take to have people conserve? BEUTEL: Well, I'm shocked that it hasn't happened already. Every penny increase costs Americans $4 million per penny, per day. So, just in the last nine or ten days we're spending $80 million a day more on gasoline than we were 10 days ago. I don't know where this money is coming from and I honestly thought we were going to going to have resistance to this a long time ago. It hasn't happened. I have a feeling when it does happen it's going to happen all at once and with a deal a vengeance in it, as well. ROMANS: Peter, when you look at what it is going to heat our homes three times more than it was five years ago. You're talking about $3,000 for the winter for some households. Where are normal working Americans going to get that money to pay for that difference? BEUTEL: Well, this is the question I've been asking because that's for a small house. You know, people who use 1,000 gallons a season, which is a normal season, say in New York, lower Connecticut, New Jersey, you know, that was $1,000 five years ago and now it's going to be $3,000. If you've got a big house, you could be talking $4,000, $5,000 and I don't know where working class, middle class, the young or some of the people who have retired are going to find this kind of money. ROMANS: Now, a guy like you, you say you put on a sweater and turn on the thermostat, you -- when you have to go teach a class or whatever, you do your -- you piggyback your shopping on top of that. Should more people be doing that and will these prices force more people to do it? BEUTEL: I think they've got to, I don't see how people can't start thinking about it and playing this game smart because the price is getting so high that, really, it's starting to interfere with anything else people are trying to do, eating, you know, the things that you need to keep living, mortgage. I mean, I honestly expected some people may have trouble picking this winter between heating their home and keeping their home or paying the mortgage on it. VELSHI: You make a good point, you got mortgages, you got gas prices, you got heating oil, you have all of these things and it's got people thinking particularly in a week where we've seen a market perform differently than we have in the last couple months. Can this cause a recession? So many of the last several spikes in oil have resulted in a recession, is that a danger for us? BEUTEL: I think it is. You know, a lot of people tell me I'm wrong and so far I've got to admit, I've been premature. We have not seen one and I thought we would. But every other time that we've tripled or quadrupled, we have had a recession within about two years. So, I think at some point when you take that much money out of people's buying power, you know, it has to have an effect somewhere. You know, if you're spending $2,000 more to heat your home this winter than you were five years ago, that's $2,000 you don't have for presents for the holidays, for a vacation, for eating out, movies. I don't see how it can't have an impact, I really don't. ROMANS: You know, Peter, like solar panels it was more of a statement than anything else some people were putting solar panels -- and when we're talking about prices like this... VELSHI: That statement becomes more practical. ROMANS: It really narrows the gap when maybe a solar panel starts to pay off. BEUTEL: Well yes, and I expect that we are going to see a lot more of that because the cost of electricity has pretty much doubled in the last five years. So, if you can have solar panels where you're actually even having a little excess, in some cases you may be able to sell it back to the grid. That makes a huge difference. You know, that could be $200, $300 a month for some families. That could make a big difference. VELSHI: A money making opportunity when prices for energy are going up. Peter, always a pleasure to talk to you. Thanks for being with us. ROMANS: All right, up next on YOUR MONEY, cars that get more than 40 miles per gallon. We'll tell you about hot wheels that will burn less cash and produce less carbon. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: If going easy on the environment isn't enough for you to think of switching to a hybrid car, maybe this week's record-high oil prices is enough to think about switching. VELSHI: You know, gas prices haven't fully moved up, but as we heard from Peter Beutel, you can expect prices to go up with oil having crossed $90 a barrel. Hybrids aren't the only choice, though, for people who want to ease the burden on the planet. Mike Quincy is going to run through some of the options. He's the automotive content specialist for "Consumer Reports," and a good friend of the show. And we have the age-old question, Michael; can you be green with your car and save some money at the same time? MICHAEL QUINCY, CONSUMER REPORTS: Sure, you can. I mean, you don't have to necessarily run out and buy a new hybrid just to save money. There's very simple things you can do with the car you own such as checking your tire pressure, taking all the excess weight out of your car. ROMANS: That really makes a difference, actually. QUINCY: Oh sure, all those pounds adds up. VELSHI: I'm the biggest excess weight in my car. Let's talk about the hybrids for a second, then. I mean, we know that they sell for a premium. They cost more to get the hybrid model of the car, than not. Let's take the Prius or the Honda Civic hybrid. These are some of the more popular ones, the ones that have been around the longest. Is there a gain? Do I actually in the end save money if I buy one of these cars? If I pay extra to buy one of them because of the gas saving that I get? QUINCY: In a word, no. You really have to drive the car maybe 15 years, 20 years, something like that, before you're ever going to recoup that savings when you compare the price of a Honda Civic hybrid and a regular Honda Civic. The price premium, you're almost never going to see that. But, a lot of people don't necessarily buy that and "Consumer Reports" has talked about this for years, ever since the first hybrids came out. And what you're getting, really, is you're burning less gas. When the hybrid comes up to a stop light, the engine shuts down. So, there are no tail pipe emissions. You buy a hybrid because you care about the environment. You buy a hybrid because you want to burn less gas, but unless you're coming out of a big V8 SUV, you're not going to see big gas savings, per se. ROMANS: Right, your conscious will cost you. QUINCY: Right. But this is what people say, I'm not buying it for the money, I'm buying it because I want to be green. ROMANS: You guys think about, OK, the Prius and the Civic hybrid, you always hear about the Prius, my apologies to Honda, but hear about the Prius. Prius is the one that's sort of like the L.A., I'm going to make a statement about my personality by driving this car. VELSHI: Because you can't make the statement with the Honda version or with the Ford Escape or anything like that because they look exactly the same. QUINCY: Exactly. I think any auto company that's really thinking about the future, when they're developing hybrid cars, they better take a page from Toyota's playbook, and that is, make your environmental car different looking. The Prius is very distinctive in the way it looks and that's why it's caught on so well. The Honda Civic hybrid, really good car, great fuel economy, excellent reliability in "Consumer Reports" surveys, but it looks like any other Honda Civic. You're not making the same statement as you're making with the Prius. VELSHI: Now, you point out that without going that hybrid route and paying the premium, there are a few cars that you could think about buying that just are fuel efficient. QUINCY: Sure. Again, you don't have to necessarily pony up the extra dollars for a hybrid model. "Consumer Reports" is really big on some of the smaller cars. VELSHI: You mention the Toyota Rav 4. QUINCY: The Toyota Rav 4. For a small SUV, this is... ROMANS: No wait, fuel efficient SUV? Can we use that in the same sentence? QUINCY: That's a good point. When people say I want a fuel efficient SUV, you think, well, gee, why are you even bothering? But the Toyota Rav4 in the four cylinder and V6, versions did very well in "Consumer Reports" tests, excellent in our reliability surveys and actually you're only giving up about one mile per gallon when you go from the four cylinder to the V6. The V6 is actually a lot of fun to drive. ROMANS: What about some of these mid-size SUVs, I mean, there's a Lexus RX400H. Tell me about that one. QUINCY: That's the hybrid version of the upscale Lexus car-based SUV. "Consumer Reports" has tested the 400H as well as the RX350, the normal one, and we found about one mile per gallon increase in the hybrid. It went from about 22 to about 23 more or less. So, again, you're not blowing the doors off of the fuel economy numbers, but what you're getting is Toyota has taken that electric propulsion from the hybrid system, they're combing it with the power of the gasoline engine. You're getting wicked acceleration. ROMANS: The acceleration. This is a guy who drives cars for a living. Wicked acceleration. VELSHI: But that's what people thought, that if you get a hybrid you lose the power. QUINCY: Right, right. There's some performance-based hybrids, like the RX400H and there are more economy-based hybrids like the Prius. The 400H just scoots away from a red light, it's kind of like having a green turbo. You're getting all this extra power without the guilt. ROMANS: A green turbo. VELSHI: What about this Honda Fit. QUINCY: The Honda Fit is an excellent car, done very well in "Consumer Reports" tests. About 34 mile per gallon overall, that's combined highway and city. To put it in comparison, the Prius is about 44 miles per gallon overall. However, the Honda Fit is about $10,000 cheaper, still reliable, four-door practicality. VELSHI: What is that, a car a... QUINCY: It's like a five-door hatchback, but is has a very reasonable back seat, it has good cargo area, it has excellent safety features and, again, very fuel economy, 34 miles per gallons with the manual transmission version, in "Consumer Reports" testing. I mean, it's just as, in some ways, environmentally friendly as a hybrid with the exception of the engine doesn't shut off at a stoplight. ROMANS: Great advice for a car culture that we certainly are, a car culture that is getting a little more green, so we need to know all this information. Michael Quincy, "Consumer Reports," thank you, sir. QUINCY: Pleasure. VELSHI: Wicked acceleration. Coming up after the break, you can actually help the planet by carefully choosing how to invest your money and you can make money that same time. So, stay with us, we'll show you how to do that when we come back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Those record oil prices we told you about topping $90 a barrel helped drag down Wall Street's performance this week and that's after the markets hit a record high the week before. But if you're concerned about the environment, you don't have to just be in the market to make money. ROMANS: Pick what's known as a green mutual fund and you're betting on a payoff for the planet, as well as yourself. Michael Herbst is a mutual fund analyst with Morningstar. He's going to tell us what a green fund can offer you and what it invests in exactly. Michael, welcome to the program. MICHAEL HERBST, MORNINGSTAR: Many thanks. ROMANS: OK, there's a couple of ways that I kind of see this, there green in that you can invest in fuel cell technology and the green technologies and there's green in that you can invest in companies that are doing their part to try to address climate change and their impact on the environment, is that right? HERBST: That's true. We've seen two basic approaches to the area and you actually hit a key issue right on the head, which is how does the manager define green? Everyone has their own definitions. And as you've mentioned, what we've seen are two basic approaches. One we kind of view as a best in breed approach where a manager is trying to sizing up the environmental credibility of companies, say Toyota versus GM. And the second bucket, which to myself is a little bit more interesting is managers who are investing directly in companies that provide services or goods related to areas like alternative energy, clean technology and energy-efficiency. VELSHI: Let's take a look at some of the companies that you brought to our attention. One is calls the Winslow Green Growth Fund and it falls into the category that you said you are interested in, a manager who actually looks for alternative energy investments. HERBST: That's correct. Here, managers, Jack Robinson and Matt Patsky kind of dip into both buckets, so that is you'll see companies like solar panel manufacturer, First Solar, in the portfolio next to Mexican restaurant food chain, Chipotle restaurants. In our view, that kind of diversification, and I should stress that they also invest in software companies and healthcare companies, as well. That means that it might give investors a little bit of a buffer in case issues sock the energy sectors. ROMANS: A buffer, indeed, as we saw from the performance beating the markets over the past few years, although, of course, past performance is no guarantee of future results as they always say on Wall Street. OK, but let's look at new alternatives. NALSX, tell us about that one. VELSHI: Talk about beating the market. HERBST: This is another, the New Alternative's Fund is another fund that we would look to in terms of manager experience. Here Maurice and David Shonewald have been investing in green companies since 1982, probably earlier than that even. I'd stress here that manager experience is one of the key things that investors should dig into when they're looking at these funds. The reason I say that is most of the companies within this area, those investing, those producing goods or services for energy and energy efficiency, those typically are smaller and mid-cap companies, which come with their own set of risks. VELSHI: Let's take a quick look at something called the Calvert Global Alternative Energy Fund which I suspect from the name means it invests in alternate energy companies? HERBST: That's correct, this is a fund that recently launched, It's sub-advised by KBC Asset Management, out of Europe, I bring attention to that fact because Europe, both in terms of the regulatory environment and the business stage amenities companies is a few steps more advanced than here in the states. I would say that the regulation component here is also key in terms of looking at the funds because the regulatory environment, particularly in Europe, but I'd expect to see it more in the states in the next couple years -- their regulatory environment could have a huge impact on the success or failure of the companies that these managers are investing in. ROMANS: Right, there are risks in some of these areas in deed. Another market vector is environmental services, tell us quickly about that one. It hasn't had the returns of some of the others that you pointed out. HERBST: Sure, that fund is actually an exchange-traded fund and I should say that of the roughly a dozen "green" oriented ETFs that we've seen, more than three quarters of those have launched over the last year. And I guess what I would stress here is not every ETF is the same. And the one that you mentioned, I would bring to your attention because here you have a portfolio that's extremely concentrate with only 24 stocks, more than 20 percent of assets are dedicated to three stocks, which, from my standpoint is a pretty risky proposition. ROMANS: So, when you look at some of the rurns in the last couple in particular there, it's a little tougher there because they don't have the track record, I guess. So, fascinating. Michael Herbst, thank you so much from Morningstar. Thank you. HERBST: My pleasure. ROMANS: All right, this week marks the 20th anniversary of Black Monday, the day the Dow Industrials plunged more than 22 percent. VELSHI: In a day. Could it happen again? Susan Lisovicz joins us from the New York Stock Exchange with a look at the lessens that we've learned in the 20 years since the stock market crash of 1987. Hey Susan, I mean, can this kind of thing that happened in 1987 happen again on the Stock Exchange? SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Ali, one of the really scary things is that there are so many similarities in '07 as to what happened in '87. First of all, the dollar is really weak. There's a lot of instability in the Middle East. There are concerns about the foreign trade deficit and the federal budget deficit and, most importantly, human psychology, human nature hasn't changed at all. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ART CASHIN, DIR FLOOR OPERATIONS, NYSE: The human emotion is a very, very powerful force. And if there is great concern, then people will behave irrationally. You know, we talk about irrational exuberance on the upside, well it can be irrational panic to the downside. (END VIDEO CLIP) LISOVICZ: The good news, Christine, is that there are some things that have happened since then. And one is that there are mechanized curbs that are in place and, in fact, only once since then, that was also in October, 10 years ago, in 1997, where trading was actually halted. So, there will be halts to trading so that people can get a chance to catch their breath. But, guess what? For there to be a halt at these levels, there would have to be a drop in the Dow of 1,350 points. And there's one other important thing, too, Ali. And I'm sure this will really resonate with you. And that is the fact that so many stocks now are multi-national companies. For instance, we got Caterpillar, the big construction equipment company, today it brought its numbers down for the year, but, guess what, there's a lot of strength overseas. And that's what you're seeing. There may be weakness in North America or in the U.S., but there is strength overseas in other pockets of the world. VELSHI: Good point, Susan, although one thing Caterpillar also said, and you're seeing this effect in the market, this week. There's this talk of recession again, are you hearing that stuff on the floor? Are people actually worried that we could be headed to a recession? LISOVICZ: Oh, I think that there is no question about it and I think that's why the federal reserve acted as aggressively as it did. Whether that would trigger a big wave of selling, how the fed acts, what we're seeing as we get these numbers and these forecasts from corporate America. I mean, it all contributes. But, yeah, I think there is definite concern and I think you're seeing it play out. I mean, oil's going high, the dollar is very weak and this week the stocks have been hit hard. VELSHI: Susan, good to see you, thank you so much. LISOVICZ: Likewise. VELSHI: Something Susan will remember, you will rember, I will remember, we were all covering markets on September 17, 2001, when markets opened after the attacks of 2001. Big losses that week and within one month, the markets were back to where they were. After all, it took one month to recover from the attacks of 2001. So, markets are remarkably resilient and people do invest. So, it doesn't mean that you should invest without regard to where markets are going, where the economy is going, but you should keep your money working for you. ROMANS: All right, so coming up, see what's more environmentally friendly, buying so-called green products or just sticking with the stuff you've already got. Plus, hear from Bill Gates about his plan to get rid of business travel and help the environment at the same time. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) (NEWSBREAK) VELSHI: If the show is looking a little green to you, don't adjust the TV set. The green is the new black. We're talking about everything green today to do with your $$$. ROMANS: Buying everything from organic cotton jeans to shower heads, it's all the rage, but is it the best way for you to make a difference when it comes to climate change. Jen rogers takes a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give it a try, see how it works for you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate it. JEN ROGERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shop and save the planet. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I try and buy like recycled toilet paper, recycled printing paper. Just getting into getting like better light bulbs. ROGERS: Not just for tree huggers and hippies, eco chic is becoming a bigger part of our consumption culture. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I buy a lot of hemp clothing. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I try to buy organics. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Environmentally friendly cleaners for the house, dishwasher liquid, stuff like that. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: GE is starting a credit card I might get where every purchase will contribute an environmental cause. ROGERS: To Wal-Mart to Home Depot, corporate America is making it easier than ever to go green. RON JARVIS, HOME DEPOT: Each consumer can make a difference. Even if you don't want to save the world and save the environment, you can save yourself a lot of money. ROGERS: But all this shopping may be creating lazy environmentalists, more interested in spending than sacrifice. LISA WISE, CENTER FOR THE NEW AMERICAN DREAM: We're asking people to think about whether they need something in the first place. ROGERS: Lisa Wise, with the Center for the New American Dream, works to promote environmentally sustainable consumption. WISE: Sometimes the best choice is not making any, any purchase at all. ROGERS: Home Depot and other retailers argue, consumers are going to buy anyway, so why not give them greener choices. JARVIS: With eco options, we want to bring products to our consumers that makes it easy for them to walk down the aisles and pick between products that have less of an impact on the environment every day of the week. ROGERS (on camera): Want to be more environmentally friendly yourself, but not ready to retire the credit card? Conservation advocates say limit shopping to quality goods that will last. Oh, don't forget to bring your own reusable bags. Jen Rogers, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE) ROMANS: Did you hear what that woman said? VELSHI: I wrote it down. ROMANS: Sometimes the best -- VELSHI: Sometimes the best choice is making no choice at all. ROMANS: Ali Velshi -- VELSHI: Jennifer -- it's too bad she's not with us right now, because that's not a choice. That's not an option, not one that any of you use. Unbelievable. ROMANS: Ali doesn't want to deny himself anything. He's going to go green as long as he's not going to deny himself. VELSHI: It's our viewing public -- it is the consumers of America, who don't need high oil prices or high interest rates to stop them from spending, they need both hands and legs tied behind their back. They are not going to do it. There's a lot of shopping that goes on out there. What we can do, Christine, is we can help our viewers understand a little bit about how to make better choices for the environment. ROMANS: Ali has laid down the gauntlet -- he is not going to slow down on his spending. We're going to talk about how to decide what to do, what to buy -- VELSHI: There may be some help here. ROMANS: A non-profit group aims to put all this information in your hands. It's called Climate Counts, and it rates nearly 60 companies on their eco-friendliness. Is that a word? Eco- friendliness? VELSHI: Now it is. ROMANS: That is the brain child of Gary Hirshberg, the CEO of Stonyfield Farms, the world's biggest organic yogurt company. Thanks for joining us. GARY HIRSHBERG, CEO, STONYFIELD FARM: My pleasure, glad to be here. ROMANS: Ali is not going to cut back on any of his spending. What kind of companies are more green than others, where he should be spending his money. VELSHI: And who to believe. ROMANS: Sometimes I worry that some of these companies are turning green in their marketing only. That they found out that people will pay up a little bit for something if they think it's environmentally friendly so they say, hey, we're environmentally friendly. How am I supposed to know and navigate that? HIRSHBERG: It's a great question and we call it green scamming on the consumer product side. We created Climate Counts. Ali can go to climatecounts.org and pick up a little brochure like this or see it online. We've actually rated 56 companies in eight consumer sectors. The measurement that we took was very simple. We set benchmarks, have companies measured their climate impacts, have they taken meaningful steps to reduce their climate footprints, have they taken a positive or negative position on climate policy, and then have they disclosed their result, their climate actions, to consumers and other stakeholders. What this does, it allows the consumer, on a scale of 0 to 100, to know right away if the companies are, in fact, committed to the stuff that they're talking about, if there talk/do ratios are low. ROMANS: Right down to food services -- you could make a choice what kind of fast food you're going to get. And there are some big differences between a hamburger at one place versus a hamburger at the other place, based on how these companies rank for their green friendliness. HIRSHBERG: Again, this is a scale of 0 to 100 measuring commitment by looking at these criteria. McDonald's got a 22. Now, I tell my children if they came home from school with a 22 on their report card they would be grounded for months. But on the other hand, Burger King got a zero. And so what we are doing we are giving McDonald's and Burger King a chance to annually be rescored. In McDonald's case, they are measuring their impact, they are reducing their energy use, they're supporting the development of clean fuels. And Burger King has shown absolutely no efforts to measure or reduce impact and we think it is very, very easy for McDonald's to grow their score and very easy for Burger King to get their score up there, as well. This gives businesses a very simple guideline for kind of a road map for what they can do to make a meaningful difference. ROMANS: Ali and I talked about this over and over again, we can talk about wearing a sweater and turning down the thermostat and not driving the extra three trips a week, and all these other things, but if we all did that together, it would have a marginal impact on the environment. It would have an impact, but a marginal impact when you compare it with what companies can do. They are the ones that are really driving this. HIRSHBERG: This is a way that consumers can have an impact by simply telling business, This matters to me. You know and I know, when you buy something, you're voting. And you also know that corporations like my own spend billions of dollars tallying those votes every year. We spend enormous amounts of money to know what consumer trends are. As you're covering in this entire program today, it's obvious that industry understands that green is good, green is where the green is. This just provides a credible and objective way that consumers and business can be part of the problem. We call it the carrot and stick. Obviously, the carrot to industry is, go where the consumer wants. The stick is, if you don't, maybe you won't get as much sales. ROMANS: Gary, if your kid came home with a 63, they'd be in trouble too. There you are in food products, behind Unilever. Stonyfield Farms has a little bit of work to do, although you're near the top of the list. VELSHI: Gary, thanks a million for joining us. Gary Hirshberg is the chairman of ClimateCounts.org. He's also the CE-Yo -- and not everybody thinks that's as funny as I do -- ROMANS: I think it's hysterical. VELSHI: -- of Stonyfield Yoghurt. CE-Yo, Y-O. Coming up next on YOUR $$$, new technology could mean the end of business travel. Hear all about it, next, from Bill Gates himself. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: It could be tough to be a green business traveler because you're flying all over the place. VELSHI: You're burning a lot of fuel every time you're in a plane. ROMANS: A lot of folks feel there is nothing as good, in the business world, as a face-to-face meeting. You just can't beat meeting face-to-face. VELSHI: I feel that way because I do this when I talk and I carry on, but what if you could have that same level of efficiency and effectiveness without actually having to travel? Bill Gates says the next generation of software for workers actually makes that easier and as effective as being there in person. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Courtney Puckett (ph) and I'm on (INAUDIBLE). BILL GATES, CHMN, MICROSOFT: All the people around the table are -- you can see them, even if you're not in the meeting itself. VELSHI (voice-over): It's called Microsoft Roundtable, a new video conferencing camera. It's just a part of Microsoft's push into the future of how we work. Using this camera and Microsoft's next generation of office software, people in different places can see each other and collaborate on projects. (On camera): Most of you have seen video conferencing before. Here's what you probably haven't seen. Watch this -- as I walk around the room, this camera will follow me. For a video conference experience, it makes it richer and helps me keep the audience engaged. What is also new is that we can collaborate at the same time on some sort of decision. In this case, whether the people on this conference want to go with a suite of software or a product. We're seeing how they're voting right now. (voice-over): Because the system is connected to the Internet, the camera and the software will cost a fraction of traditional video conferencing systems, and anyone anywhere in the world with an Internet connection can join the call and share information that's on their computer. JEFF RAIKES, PRES. MICROSOFT BUSINESS DIVISION: While I'm talking to you, I might say, Ali, I want to look at this year's budget and I immediately share my desktop with you so that you and I are looking at m my, at my screen at the same time. I can pass control over to you so that you can actually, from your computer, be manipulating my spreadsheet. VELSHI: Bill Gates says the sense of presence this new system provides, as well as the ability to share, see and change things simultaneously, means it could be faster and cheaper to develop even complex things like cars. GATES: So we provide the common layer where car engineers, car planners, car advertisers, people supplying parts -- we're making it easy for all those people to come together. (END VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI: Fascinating. ROMANS: Are they pushing it as green? Is it something -- VELSHI: No, this is just the future. This is the way it work. This is the actual little camera. It looks like the Starship Enterprise, and it's a few thousand bucks. A lot less money than a traditional video conferencing unit. Their sales pitch isn't necessarily that it is green, but if I could give up a few flights to have a conversation in person woth the same textureas being there -- ROMANS: Not to mention the productivity. Video conferencing has already raised people's productivity because you haven't had to run to all these different towns. There are some people who, no matter what, are still going to want to meet face-to-face. VELSHI: When we report a story, we have to go to the place where the story is. For a lot of people it could save a lot of money and it could save the environment a little bit. ROMANS: Coming up next on YOUR $$$$, desperate measures to help the housing market, and why you won't be able to find a certain type of TV at one major electronics chain. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: Welcome back to YOUR $$$$. Jennifer Westhoven is joining us now, and something very interesting has developed this week, in that we all knew there was a housing crisis, but some things happened that made some people say, this might be getting worse before it gets better. JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN: Yes. In fact, they're thinking this is maybe -- some economists think we could be in a second leg down for the housing market. That means more people may be facing trouble here, facing foreclosures. We already have the number of people losing their home in foreclosure at the highest level since the Great Depression. This week Congress may just take some action. Now first, the House Judiciary Committee -- if your mortgage company won't help you renegotiate, maybe a judge could, some day. A measure would let bankruptcy judges change your mortgage agreement. So, possibly, keeping your rates down, maybe making the difference whether you keep or lose your home. And then, over in the House Financial Services Committee, Representative Barney Frank -- he is expected it to introduce some measures that would crack down on the lending practices, criticized as lax, that got so many Americans in over their heads in the first place. The mortgage industry, as you might imagine, is fighting some of these new measures -- they have some powerful lobbyists. ROMANS: Because when you talk about a bailout, in any form, even if it's allowing a judge to get protections in for people, you have to make sure that the wrong people, people who made mistakes for the wrong reasons, are bailed out. VELSHI: This isn't a way out of making bad decisions. Ben Bernanke said that on Monday, to say, the Fed can help the economy, it can't save people from bad investment decisions or bad choices or bad lending decisions or bad buying decisions. This is the fine line that we're walking. WESTHOVEN: One area that they're smelling closely is, there are mortgage brokers who get paid more to put you in a higher interest loan, a loan you're more likely to default on. VELSHI: Because someone makes more money on it if you don't default. WESTHOVEN: There is your broker acting like, this is a great mortgage, and it's not. Something they'll look closely at. ROMANS: What were some of the loans that people were taking out, the ninja loans? WESTHOVEN: No income, no job, no assets. ROMANS: Someone who took out a loan like that, I'm a little concerned if a bankruptcy judge will help them out. VELSHI: Can't make that mistake twice. Speaking about -- we want to update you on a story. Remember my TV made its way to Jennifer a couple months ago. ROMANS: That's right, Ali got a new -- VELSHI: Jennifer ended up without a TV, in the end -- that TV didn't have much life in it. Apparently I gave her a dud. WESTHOVEN: It fizzled. That's okay, because apparently I would have need a new one anyway. VELSHI: That one might have handled it, but if it were an analog, if it were a little older, you're going it be out of luck soon. WESTHOVEN: It's going to be difficult to see us. At Best Buy they are taking all the analogue TVs off the shelves. They are going the way of the dinosaurs. Digital and high def only in the future, but that's because they're going to be going extinct. You're not going to be able to use them. If you're one of the 60 million people with analog TVs, you'll have to buy a converter if you want to keep watching us on that set in 2009. That's the date the federal government said all stations have to switch to digital only. There will be coupons for these converters and where else can you use them? Places like Best Buy. VELSHI: How convenient. ROMANS: I can't believe you gave her a television that broke. VELSHI: I can't believe I gave her a television that broke. ROMANS: It probably wasn't even worth the cab fare to get it home. WESTHOVEN: He worked so hard to bring it over. VELSHI: That was an effort, my parents were involved. Very sad that TV didn't work out. We're still friends and it's all good. WESTHOVEN: I think it's on the curb right now. ROMANS: Jennifer Westhoven, thank you very much. For Steve Hindy, every day is happy hour. Following a 15-year career as a journalist in some of the most dangerous regions in the Middle East, Hindy's life took a very different turn. VELSHI: In 1987, Hindy launched the Brooklyn Brewery. Now, over the last two decades, his business has soared. Equally as eye-opening as his profits, though, is the way he chose to power his dream. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) VELSHI (voice-over): Beer, wonderful beer -- brewed with hops, barley barley and wind. What does wind have to do with beer? STEVE HINDY, FOUNDER, BROOKLYN BREWERY: It's really easy to convert to wind power. Most utilities and our utility here in New York has a division that enables you to sign up for green power. VELSHI: This is Steve Hindy. He's the owner of New York City's Brooklyn Brewery, which is 100 percent wind-powered. His path to wind power began in the big Northeast blackout of 2003. HINDY: 2003 was the year there was a big blackout in New York. These tanks you see behind me are all temperature controlled. And the refrigeration units are powered by electricity. It was very warm and the temperature started rising in those tanks. We were looking at the possibility of losing a few hundred thousand dollars in sales and it gave us a lot of time to think about electricity, where it's coming from, what the future of our power supply is. VELSHI: Luckily for Steve and for drinkers of his beer, the power came on before the beer spoiled, but Steve wasn't taking any more chances, so he signed up with community energy, a Pennsylvania utility which provides power generated by wind farms. BRENT ALDERFER, EXEC. VP, COMMUNITY ENERGY: The wind turns the rotor and then at the top of the tower is a large generator. And that electricity is fed down through the tower, underground, into the electricity grid. So, when the wind's blowing, that generation goes directly into the electricity grid that serves all of our homes. VELSHI: And businesses. But there's a catch. HINDY: It was kind of a intriguing idea. We felt that it would say something about our company if we were buying our power from wind mills. But it came with a price tag. It cost about 10 percent to 15 percent more than our regular electric bill, here in New York City. ALDERFER: What we've done at Community Energy is given customers a choice to agree to pay a little bit more at current prices so we can put the wind farms up now. Once they're up, this is a pure capital investment. There's no fuel. The fuel is the wind, so the fuel is free. VELSHI: Is it worth it? HINDY: I at one point said, well, I'm not so sure it means we will sell a lot more beer, but it is the right thing to do, and that's why we're doing it. And I got between 80 and 100 e-mails and letters saying, You're wrong, you are going to sell more beer, because I will only drink Brooklyn Beer from now on -- I'm really proud of you for switching to wind power. It had a positive effect on our business that we didn't really anticipate. ROMANS: I guess that's green beer. Stay with us, we'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK) VELSHI: You might be wondering why we're doing all this green -- well, there's a big event this week on CNN. ROMANS: Join CNN's Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin for the four-hour documentarym, "PLANET IN PERIL." VELSHI: It's airing this Tuesday and Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. It's really worth the watch and we hope we've helped you, at least, relate some of the environmental concerns to your pocketbook. ROMANS: Thanks for joing us on this edition of YOUR $$$$. VELSHI: You can catch Christine later today at 6:00 pm Eastern on "LOU DOBBS THIS WEEK." ROMANS: And you can see Ali every weekday morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." We'll see you back here next week. VELSHI: Saturday at 1:00 and Sunday at 3:00. Have a great day. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com


text:
A few of us have been talking, and we have decided it's about time we brought back the old HackThisSite lectures. We reached this decision in part because of the lack of - how should I put this? - intelligent discussion on the forums. We're going to teach you if we have to drag you screaming!
Alright, so how will this work? While the details are still being hammered out, the general flow will be like this:
- Ideas for lectures are submitted
- We read through and pick out the best
- Lecture is prepared, date/time announced
- Everyone gets on IRC (and probably Ventrilo as well)
- ?????
Random info blob:
It'll probably change a few times as we all get used to it, but overall the process should be fairly stable. For those of you who cannot make it, we will be recording all the lectures and be making them available for download/viewing (YouTube?) The reason for having both IRC and Vent is that we can have a bot read the lecture in IRC, then take questions in Vent. Also, you're able to save the logs in IRC for archive purposes, even if the Vent recording fails. We will most likely be muting the channels during the actual lecture, pausing occasionally for questions. We don't know how long it may take, but a ballpark estimate would be anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. We're aiming for maybe one lecture each month, then go from there.
So, seeing as we want to get the ball rolling, post some suggestions for lecture topics. Rules:
- Must be legal in the U.S.
- Keep it relatively simple for this first lecture
- Lecture/process suggestions/questions ONLY (this will be enforced)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Best and Worst Holiday Jobs
What are the best and worst holiday jobs? MarketWatch's Ruth Mantell has a rundown on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... L A XP drivers and bought a candy maker what are the worst ... versus them that John's ... Kumho Macy's and Ruth Mantell washing DC to explore these price paid every ... I ... but what about some of the worst thing you can PC nice to get a nice Annabel was being one of the work you would think that to be the best time of year because it's ... it's revealing time here to the Istana fell quite that allow the job ... plus the sad because you are ours and finish that up but also ... the pay isn't great the band that foreign trade exist at all ... and if they can they can do on antenna can be tough for your time ... daily look like if monetary during a pre tactics and another thankless job with the Christmas tree lot and then I would try to be really nice to these folks because they are just like there were hit with a nice entry didn't live in wonder current time and down ... I'm you know do they just not good enough mom during the holidays ... yes the really tough alot and I should depend and ten cents and French him every day to pick that up to their Christmas tree ... and house it's really hard work has a lot of times they end up stepping the trees on top of cars in olive have enough help in our lives can be tough and it's really all that that's the part where ... no airport help remain that is about what I can ... pre much guess why that is because we're just worshipping from throwing so many bags of people are flights are delayed in bad weather we can get me where ... taxi cab driver why isn't in particular Iraq bomb attacks the guys this time the year ... yes it's in light of the reason why it's tough for your Brentel Christi have a lot of people traveling on in a hurry to one against their loved ones and things and just a very fact that people can get very excess I'm sure many of us ... have experienced that it can be tapped I finally on your worst lives with ... snow remover ... now I'm you know this is the only time you get to do this again that night you stay again were not appreciative enough ... Franciscans really hard work and again is a very short shelf life for things now ... and ... again the elementary led elements can be really tough on a person's mind ... right now so-called diesel to one of the best list you say it's a good time here for Santa Claus candy makers ... retail salespeople parcel delivers ... and and servers would take just a couple of those ... eye candy maker Y so why so good for the candy maker just isn't making on profits ... yet make a lot of profit directions in indicating that string can in a concession Japan underwent a holiday seasons for up to forty percent of revenue which is th ... and at the winter holiday season is also ... the biggest season for aam bought chocolates it's very important ... and a parcel deliverer this is the force opposing ups FedEx to come and bring us our ... our ... packages to the doors now Taiwanese firms get tips around the holidays ... is that a big reason why there grinning from ear to ear ... and yes it the slave trade their it again ... at where my entertain over time ... and has an opportunity for a lot and because ... I obviously ... there are many more there's much more ... need for dense ... and some nice shots may actually even transition into full time although they so much going on right now the labor market will if they ... aren't ... on retail sales person this surprises me is the best because again a lot of friendly people coming through ... just demanding to get things in rock bottom prices and again and announced quickly as they can ... why is it so that that is doing good job on your list ... well this was also just a of them and there's a lot of need for a lot of people the working and that retailers in say even though ... the pain and benefits main may not be that great you will have valuable experience and the coming month I can be


text:
The annual Charleston Christmas Parade, sponsored by the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, will be held this Saturday, December 7. The Christmas Parade will begin at 5:30pm in front of the Charleston Elementary and Charleston Middle Schools.
The Christmas Parade will be led by city and county law enforcement officers, followed by members of the American Legion, who will present the colors. The Grand Marshals and the Charleston Tiger Band will be next, followed by the participants of the parade.
Several Charleston businesses will be open after the Christmas Parade.
The Christmas Parade will begin in front of the Charleston Elementary and Middle Schools. Participants are asked to be at the school by 4:45pm to be lined up. Antique automobiles are asked to line up on North School Street, with antique tractors unloading in front of the Charleston Middle School office. All other entries are asked to come in on Tiger Drive between the Charleston Superintendents office and the Middle School or via Guy Fenter Drive off of South School Street, passing through the Charleston High School campus.
Santa will ride on one of the City's fire trucks in the parade. After the parade Santa will visit with children in the showroom of Hug Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and will hand out candy to the youngsters. The candy each year is donated and prepared by the City of Charleston.
Cash prizes for the Christmas Parade are furnished by the Charleston Chamber of Commerce. First, second and third place prizes of $125, $75 and $50 will be given away in the large float category. Prizes of $85, $60, and $40 will be awarded for small floats, with $35, $25, and $15 given for first, second and third, for antique autos and antique tractors. Prizes of $35, $25, and $15 will also be given for first, second and third, in the ATV's/Motorcycle-Scooter division. ATV's pulling trailers will still be considered small floats. Prizes for decorated bikes will be $15, $10, and $7.50.


text:
Alexandra Paul has starred in many TV shows and movies, but may best be known for her role as Lt. Stephanie Holden on "Baywatch." On June 23, she was back in the water -- one of the competitors at the 36th annual Swim Around Key West.
Certified as a real-life EMT and junior lifeguard before she even joined "Baywatch," she competed in the Ironman Triathlon in 1997 and swam 11 miles between Fiji islands in 2009.
As part of her training for the 12.5-mile race around Key West, she worked out six days a week, sometimes twice a day, and eats a high-protein vegan diet. But she cheats on it daily.
Q: Why did you decide to do Swim Around Key West?
A: I hadn't swam anything over 11 miles and wanted the challenge! I had to stop running about 10 years ago after knee surgery, so I began swimming more. I have never been fast, but I enjoy seeing if I can go farther and farther. I only pick warm-water races, as I get cold easily and don't enjoy wearing a wetsuit.
Q: Did you train in South Florida before the race?
A: I came to Key West in March and did a 5-mile swim.
Q: How was open-water swimming off Key West compared with elsewhere?
A: The ocean is a lot warmer and clear. In L.A., we can only see 2 feet in front of us and it's cold. But the chop [off Key West] was pretty calm.
Q: What's your workout routine?
A: Right now, I am doing more swimming than usual, but normally I work out six days a week with at least one hour of cardio: either swimming, the StepMill or the stationary bike at the gym. I also have a yoga routine I do for 45 minutes at home three times a week. And I lift light weights twice a week.
Q: How long do you work out per session, and where?
A: To train for this swim, my husband Ian [Murray], who is a triathlon coach (TeamTTS.com), fashioned my program like I were training for a marathon: shorter, more intense workouts during the week, with a progressively longer swim on the weekend. Due to a shoulder injury, I never swim two days in a row, and I have had to cut out interval training to protect them, which is unfortunate. But keeping my shoulders healthy is the priority because I want to be swimming when I am 95!
Q: The average body fat level for a woman is 25-31 percent. What's yours?
A: It's 14.6 percent. It is a more accurate measurement of fitness, isn't it?
Q: Ever take long breaks from working out?
A: No, never. I used to work out every day, but my nutritionist Matt Mahowald convinced me that taking a day off is better for me all around. I might stretch or lift on that day, but I don't do cardio.
Q: What was your toughest acting job physically?
A: I was shooting "Detonator II" with Pierce Brosnan in Amsterdam, and I got pretty bruised up doing a fight sequence. I had to run, steal a bike, ride that bike along a canal, crash, get up and jump over a bridge onto a passing boat and knock out the bad guy. No stunt double on that one.
Q: What competitive sports have you played?
A: I played a lot of sports as I grew up in rural Connecticut. Since my mother forbade TV, our entertainment was sports or reading books. I played soccer, basketball and softball at school and was not good at any of them — no hand-eye coordination for me! I swam on the local swim team until I was 15 and ran cross-country in high school. Always a very average athlete, but I was enthusiastic.
Q: Does your family keep fit?
A: My husband coaches triathletes, and he competes in triathlons and bike races. He also did the 10-mile Maui Channel Swim and beat me by an hour.
My mom did several 100-mile bike rides when she was 66. Now at 76, she still rides 30 to 40 miles with her bike group in Ashland, Ore.
My twin sister, who was a total jock in high school, was on the national luge team and became a firefighter. She goes on kayaking and mountain bike trips and works out regularly in the gym, but she prefers weights to cardio.
My brother started running five years ago and did his first marathon a couple years later.
Q: You mentioned a shoulder injury and knee surgery. Any other physical problems that hinder exercise?
A: I have chronic lower-back pain, which is why I do a yoga routine three times a week to keep me pain-free. I had knee surgery because I wore away the cartilage from running.
Q: Do you smoke or have any other health vices?
A: I have never smoked, drank alcohol or taken drugs … I have had two glasses of wine in my life. That is all the alcohol I have ever consumed.
Q: What's your typical daily diet?
A: I am a vegan. For breakfast, I have 1/4 cup of oatmeal with 25 grams of Vega Sport Performance Vanilla Protein powder and flaxseed. After my workout, I have that again. I eat 100 grams of protein a day and about 2,000 calories a day. My nutritionist wants me to up my calories, but I find that difficult. I was able to eat 2,700 yesterday since I ate a lot of chips and guacamole at a Mexican restaurant last night, but I don't think that was the diet he had in mind! My challenge is to stay away from sugar. Sugar is definitely addictive.
Q: Do you ever cheat from your diet?
A: Yep, daily. Vegan chocolate chips are my weakness. I never have a perfect day, so I have opted to not stress so much about that and aim for better workouts and to be a better person. I do write my food down daily, so I can remain accountable. There is nothing like writing down what you eat to really keep you on track. For anyone wanting to improve their diet, that is a must.
Q: What do you drink?
A: Water. The raciest I get is hot water with lemon. On race day, I will put electrolytes in my water bottle, and Pedialyte will be added to my almond milk/almond butter/banana shake.
See how other local celebs answered these questions at SunSentinel.com/fitness
Alexandra Paul
Age: 48
City of residence: Los Angeles
Height/weight: 5 feet, 10 inches; 131 pounds
Occupation: Movie and TV actress
More on Paul: AlexandraPaul.com


text:
November 23, 2012 12:00 ET
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwire - Nov. 23, 2012) - As the UK's biggest dedicated sofa specialist, CSL sofa shops not only offer you a great range of fabric, leather, recliner and corner sofas, but also make the whole process of buying a new sofa as painless as possible. From four years interest-free credit to lifetime guarantees and expert after care, CSL is proud to be known as 'specialists in your perfect sofa'.
Ask the sofa specialists
Buying a new sofa can be a little daunting, so if you need any help and advice then CSL's team of expert 'Sofa Specialists' is always on hand. By understanding your lifestyle, family and needs from your new furniture, they are able to give you quality advice and suggestions on choosing the right sofa.
Don't get stuck with a sofa that's not right for you
CSL now offers a unique 'Love It Or Exchange it' guarantee to all its customers. This allows you to order any sofa from their huge range, and if you decide it's not right for you and your home, then it can simply be exchanged. All you'll be required to pay for is the cost of collection and redelivery.
Unique lifetime structural guarantee
Unlike any other high street furniture retailer, CSL is so supremely confident about the quality of its sofas that it's introduced the first ever "lifetime" structural guarantee which covers the frame and spring system on every sofa it sells. This unique warranty covers you for any failure from defects the frame structure, springs or suspension system.
After sales care which exceeds expectations
CSL has a dedicated team of professionally trained service technicians and leather and fabric specialists. Available within 48 hours of you making a call, they're able to repair almost any problem quickly and easily - usually with a single visit of less than one hour's duration.
Simple payment options
CSL knows that buying a sofa is a big investment so it's made spreading the cost of your sofa even easier. You can choose to pay nothing for the first year - with absolutely no interest and no payments. CSL offers 1, 2, 3 or even 4 years interest free credit - all at 0% APR.
For more information on the full range of sofas on offer please visit: http://www.csl-sofas.co.uk/ or walk into one of our sofa stores:
Sophie Spencer (BA Hons)Personal Assistant to Managing Director, Jason TyldesleyOffice: 01942 296472Mobile: 07817 firstname.lastname@example.com
See all RSS Newsfeeds


text:
You are here
MHA Calls for National Action in Response to Newtown Tragedy
Mental Health America Calls for National Action in Response to Newtown Tragedy
Urges Leaders to Identify, Implement Solutions That Expand Capacity, Capabilities of Mental Health Programs and Services
Contact: Steve Vetzner, (703) 797-2588 or email@example.com
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (January 7, 2013)—Mental Health America today called on President Obama and Congress to take action in response to the Newtown tragedy by identifying and implementing solutions that expand the capacity and capabilities of the nation's mental health programs and services.
In letters to the President and Members of Congress, the organization said it stands ready to work with policymakers and recommends that the Workgroup headed by Vice President Joe Biden consult with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), mental health and addictions experts, and those with "lived" experience in this discussion.
To begin a sustained recovery, Mental Health America (MHA) recommends Federal support and assistance to:
- Restore the $4.6 billion for community mental health and addiction services: Funding for community mental health and substance use services has been cut by $4.6 billion since 2009 by states attempting to cope with the recession. Due to diminishing capacity, only a third of those with moderate mental illness, two-thirds of those with severe illness, and only one in a hundred of those with a substance use disorder ever receive appropriate services. When care is provided, there is a gap of eight to ten years between first symptoms and first treatment.
- Order the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act and the Mental Health Parity Law: This will improve access to care while making it more affordable. Mental health and substance abuse services must be fully integrated with quality medical care. In order to meet the potential expanding service demand that comes with enhanced benefits, coverage, and awareness, there must be support to maintain and grow the professional and peer support workforce.
- Create a public education, training, and screening campaign on mental illness and addictions and emphasize the value of treatment: Few young people receive a single hour of education about mental illnesses or addictions, its signs or treatment. Adding Mental Health First Aid, Emotional CPR to trainings for students, parents, teachers, employers, and community groups will help us all become more proficient in recognizing issues and supporting each other to get help. We must teach people that recovery from mental illnesses or addictions is possible. The American Academy of Pediatrics, recommends routine mental health checkups for all adolescents and the Society of Adolescent Medicine, supports early identification of mental illness as a critical standard of care.
- Enact the Mental Health in Schools Act (HR 750 in 112th Congress): Research has demonstrated that prevention and early intervention strategies strengthen children's and families' mental health and resiliency, prevent or lessen the burden of illness, and help with the recovery from trauma. Further, teachers must be prepared to partner with parents and other caregivers on how to identify emotionally disturbed children early and to guide them into appropriate assessment, intervention, and support services. Enacting the Mental Health in Schools Act is a step in the right direction and should be followed by appropriate legislation for intervening with children from zero to five years of age.
"We commend President Obama for creating a Workgroup to tackle this issue," the letters state. "We urge a focus beyond gun accessibility and advocate for the presence of the mental health and recovery community in this discussion. MHA stands ready to work with President Obama and with the Congress and recommends that the Workgroup consult SAMHSA, mental health and addictions experts, and those with "lived" experience in this discussion. Further cuts to mental health and addiction must be avoided in any fiscal or long-term budget negotiations in early 2013.
"The Newtown Tragedy and the overall gun violence in our society, call all of us to work as one to create lasting solutions that include mental wellness. As an organization that has been working for over a century to make individuals and communities healthier, we call on you to take immediate action with us.
"Our Nation deserves nothing less."
Mental Health America (www.mentalhealthamerica.net), founded in 1909, is the nation's leading community-based network dedicated to helping all Americans achieve wellness by living mentally healthier lives. With our 240 affiliates across the country, we touch the lives of millions—Advocating for changes in mental health and wellness policy; Educating the public & providing critical information; and delivering urgently needed mental health and wellness Programs and Services.


text:
I got my first album today, which is Ex'Act by EXO. :D
(I think there is a problem with the image placed inside the spoiler. Here's a link to the photo instead!)
I waited about half a month for this to arrive, since it came from South Korea, but it was worth the wait haha
Some Info:
1. It's their third album released in June 2016 and one of the only good things that happened
No, not Pokemon. Don't worry
I'm quitting smoking. Currently on Day3 of noSmoke-project and although I had in mind to vlog about it to further motivate me..
Just stopping works fine - I toned it down slowly but when I went out of a pack after 1.5 day... yeah, it was the time to say enough is enough. I don't wanna waste money on this bullcrap nor do I want to waste
So there I was, at a laser tag place, drawn in by the flashing lights of DDR. "I used to be good at this in high school," I told myself. "I'm a little out of shape now, but it'll be fine!" I said.
End of the song required three jumps, and on the last jump there's a loud CRACK, pain, and my knee pops sideways, and I just sort of crumple. And I'm here know typing at this awkward angle while my leg's up on pillows and shit with ice on top.
Only someone
(a continuation of ~~~ sky high ~~~)
Day 8
{The past}
Hm. Not much notable really happened in my past. I went to school pretty much every day except when I was sick; apparently for my junior and senior years of high school, I never missed a day, which was pretty cool. (Some people apparently never missed days their whole school careers, I dunno how they did it.) I didn't get my first detention until I was in 6th grade; a friend and I had forgotten to do homework for
Playing catch up again, whoaaaaa!
Day 5
Mmmm, love me some food. But I'm pretty picky, so there's loads of foods I don't actually like. I also just cannot eat the same thing over and over again. I'd get bored of it and just sick of it. Foods I like include pizza, nachos, trail mix (especially the ones you can get at Target, mmmm), chips & dip, and basically a bunch of other unhealthy foods. xD But I do eat healthy foods too, don't get me wrong! Foods I don't


text:
252 members
133 members
Welcome to the Photo Critic Society!
Before you start using Photo Critic; it is important that you know more about it and also learn about the "rules for posting images". Please follow the link below and read through carefully: http://photocritic.digitalphotographycourses.co.za/page/about-rules
Then also, if you would like to receive photography tips and tutorials from DPC | Digital Photography Courses straight to your mailbox, check out... http://www.digitalphotographycourses.co.za/subscribe/.
Remember to follow us on other social media platforms such as…
If you want to connect with me personally then find me on the following social networks…
In this way we can keep in touch and share photography news regularly.
Happy posting!
Danie Bester (Founder and Chief of DPC)
www.daniebester.co.za Fine-Art
www.besterstudios.co.za Portraits
www.bestermartin.co.za Commercial


text:
2011-02-16 / Columnists
Pets, Pets, Pets
Libby spent too long on the lam. Over the last ten months workers in a Hauppauge industrial corridor spotted this hungry Golden Retriever mix foraging for food outside various businesses. Some fed the phantom brown dog, but none could catch her ... not until Eddie "the NY Dogman" arrived on the scene. Now Libby has a second chance at life, the good life.
Enter Eddie Stepinski who is adept at tracking and trapping stray and lost dogs. He has even been known to grab fugitive pups in a "flying tackle". Eddie is persistent. This time, his patience paid off, and thanks to Eddie's diligence, Libby is safe. He took the captured canine home to foster. It turns out this dog was not a feral or a pack dog; instead she must have been someone's pet. She is leash trained, housebroken, sits and offers each paw individually. She trusts her rescuers but is timid around strangers and understandably terrified of whizzing cars.
On January 15, Eddie got a call from LI Golden Retriever Rescue about the Hauppauge stray. He and his friend Kathy got a glimpse of her the next day. Eddie would return each night and spend hours waiting for a sighting. He slowly earned the stray's trust with hot dogs and fried chicken. She remained wary, yet would occasionally brush up against his hand as he sat in his car. It was as if she were playing a coy game of cat and mouse.
A Liberty Mutual garage was his home base. Eddie rigged double wide 42 inch crates with a string and latching system in the parking lot. At that time, he had no idea whether the fluffy dog he was luring was male or female. The day Eddie and I searched the Amityville island for Tuffy the Westie who vanished from irresponsible pet sitters ("Pets" Record 1/26/11), he explained his ongoing Hauppauge surveillance, and his description rang a bell.
On December 2, I received a message that a stray "Afghan" was visiting a warehouse on Gilpin Avenue in Hauppauge to feed from dishes left for a feral cat colony. This seemed odd because Afghan Rescue has a good handle on whether or not one is missing. We went to check, and saw nothing. We spoke to employees who could not confirm it was an Afghan but instead said there was a tall brown dog that hadn't been around in weeks. Even though the path straddles the LIE, we now assume this to be Eddie's dog. I won't go into theories on why someone "cried Afghan".
Word went out via rescue internet networks asking kind people to stop feeding the stray so she would be starving enough to venture into the trap. On January 27 at 10:30 pm, Eddie's contraption worked. Gotcha! With a catch pole, he carefully transferred his pup prisoner into a 36 inch crate that fit on his backseat. Since it wasn't the best time to find "room at the inn," he took her home. All the while the dog behaved like an angel. He and Kathy named her "Libby" for Liberty Mutual.
I would prefer to end here and say Libby "lived happily ever after." However, life outdoors has taken its toll on her. Libby may have survived snowstorms and frigid temps but she is not out of the proverbial woods yet. The rescue group Four Paws Sake Rescue NYC (www.4pawssake.org) founded by our mutual pal, Phyllis Taiano, another great friend to lost dogs, is helping Eddie and Kathy with Libby's care. There was a short term Chip-In website to raise funds. Some of the same people who asked for someone to save Libby from the streets, chipped in to save her life. A "Libby's Second Chance at Life" Facebook page chronicles Eddie's photos.
Presently, Libby, estimated to be about 4-5 years old, is being treated by Lefferts Animal Hospital for Lyme, anaplasmosis and tapeworm first so she will be strong enough to withstand treatment for heartworm. These afflictions come from ticks, fleas and mosquitoes respectively. Her health has been ravaged during her existence in the rough outdoors. Meanwhile, Libby greets her new friends with tail wags and kisses. She doesn't appear ill and basks in the TLC.
Anaplasmosis is a tick borne disease similar to Lyme, and can be treated with antibiotics such as doxycline. Success usually depends on how long the dog has been afflicted. (Readers may recall that
Quinn, our late English Setter found in the Bronx with the microchip that traced to South Africa, succumbed to untreated Lyme that had destroyed his kidneys.) Tapeworm comes from fleas. Wormers and de-fleaing with topicals like Frontline take care of the intestinal parasite.
Heartworm, spread by mosquitoes, poses Libby's biggest threat.
Bloodtests show the presence of adult worms and hundreds of microfilariae (heartworm larvae). X-rays reveal a pair of 14 inch worms imbedded in her heart. According to the American Heartworm Society, female heartworms (10-12 inches) become fully grown about one year after infection, which is in keeping with the amount of time Libby was outside on her own.
Heartworm treatment is risky because of the arsenic compound used and because dogs must remain inactive after the injections so dissolving worms don't cause pulmonary embolisms. Once Libby is strong enough, she will begin her heartworm treatment monitored during a stay at the hospital; and once she has recovered, Eddie will begin the search for a forever home for Libby. Hopefully, someone special who believes Libby deserves a second chance at life will be waiting in the wings.
For Adoption at Babylon Town Shelter (631-643- 9270) Lamar St. W. Babylon: "Max" #93853 is a smaller, blonder version of Libby. He's a Golden Retriever mix with a pink nose that will need some reassurance to get over being a bit timid. "Jules" #20602 is a pretty gray tabby presently sharing a cage in the lobby with her orange and white sister "Snowball" #20603.
Female: lovely Shepherd #93864 found at Babylon railroad station; "Xena" #93832-Rottie with a tail; "Ms. Lydia" #93376; "Ali" #93828-brindle pup.
Male: "Bello" #93830-Shep/Akita pup; Schnauzer in Puppy Room.


text:
Abstract Landscape Painting: Reaching for Something in the Distance
Artwork Description
Similar can be recreated - 100% hand-made.
'Reaching for Something in the Distance' is an original painting that I have already sold, but a similar can be recreated upon request. Painted on high-quality canvas and stretched over a wooden frame - ready-to-hang.
Choose Your Size:


text:
Now, how long does it take one to learn a lesson? Ask Lolo Jones and she would tell you 'a little over two hours'.
After her near-to-catastrophic run in this afternoon's semi-final when she qualified by virtue of just one hundredth of a second, Jones finally struck the perfect race. One she had been waiting for since her dramatic fall at the Beijing Olympic Games a couple of summers ago.
Lining-up for the final in lane two, Jones had gotten ridden of her shades and as it turned out she also got rid of her demons blasting out of the blocks, running for herself and not worrying about what was happening on the side. She was ahead at the first hurdle, she was ahead all the way through to the last and her lead at the finish was as big as 0.14, the biggest winning margin in the history of the event.
With her breathtaking race today, Jones clocked 7.72 and made history in many departments: she set a new personal best, a new American record – erasing double Olympic champion Gail Devers from that mark – a new championship record, she became the first woman ever to defend a 60m Hurdles World title and she moved to third on the all-time World Indoor lists!
What else could we ask of Ms Jones ?
"I had a bad semi, I almost lost it, but I finally put it together at the most important time. Now, it's joy for me after last year's frustration and all that happened in 2008. I am so happy to be back."
"This is the biggest day of my career, my best race. Finally I broke one of Gail Devers' records I was hunting in last few years. I'm back on track after 2008 in Beijing and 2009 injury. I do not know what to say, I do not remember the race."
To add to Jones' achievement, she defended her World Indoor title by defeating the cream of this year's indoor season with 2004 champion Perdita Felicien of Canada, the owner of the previous Championship record claiming a sweet silver medal in a season's best time 7.86.
Felicien said: "I am happy to just be able to be on the podium. It has been a rough winter and fall. Lolo got the start of her life today so she was clearly on fire from the first round. I had not been able to break eight seconds this season. To be able to run two season's best and my best time in six years since winning in Budapest is great. This medal means a lot to me as I have changed coaches. It is a new programme."
The previous World leader, Priscilla Lopes-Schliep was uncharateristically trailing in fourth coming off the fifth and final barrier but her powerful finish had the better over formed World Junior champion Anay Tejeda, of Cuba, who had to be content with fourth in her season's best time 7.91.
Lopes-Schliep added Doha's bronze to Berlin's silver and Beijing's bronze.
US champion Ginnie Powell who also had an average semi-final was yet again below par and was relegated to fifth in 7.97.
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF


text:
BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Coker men's basketball team lost their fourth straight game of the season on Saturday afternoon, thanks to a 73-64 loss to Lees-McRae. The win is the first Conference Carolinas victory for the Bobcats, improving them to 2-11 overall and 1-5 in conference play, while the Cobras fall to 5-8 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
Coker's Mason Ambler (Atlanta, Ga.) and Thomas Wright (Sydney, Australia) each had a game high 19 points, while Ambler picked up a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds in the game as well. Ricardo Smith (Darlington, S.C.) added eight points off the bench for the Cobras, while Liam Kyle (Cleveland, Ohio) and Ryan Aijan (Santa Barbara, Ca.) had seven and six points respectively.
Leading the Bobcats to victory were Josh Kurtz and Jeremy Helms with 11 points apiece, with Kurtz pulling down six rebounds. Twenty-nine of the Bobcats points came off the bench with Reshon Benjamin leading the bench scorers with nine points.
The Cobras outshot the Bobcats from the field, shooting 47.1 percent compared to LMC's 40.7 percent, however the Bobcats were able to capitalize on 20 Coker turnovers to score 23 points, helping them take home the win.
Lees-McRae travels to Limestone on Monday, Jan. 18 for their next game, while Coker host Anderson also on Monday. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. tip-offs.


text:
My SciELO
Services on Demand
- Cited by SciELO
- Access statistics
Historia (Santiago)
On-line version ISSN 0717-7194
DIENER, Pablo. The picturesque as an aesthetic category in the art of travelers: notes on J. M. Rugendas's work.Translated byMaría Paz Fernández Smits. Historia (Santiago) [online]. 2007, vol.3Selected edition, pp. 0-0. ISSN 0717-7194.
The aesthetic category of "picturesque" was incorporated in the conceptual repertoire of artists and art theorists during the last decades of the eighteenth century. Its content has always had an unstable character. Initially, its meaning alluded to a particular way of seeing and seizing nature, followings classic artists' composition canons. Later, it was used in a more comprehensive sense as a form of perception and recording of reality in different fields. This article studies the different connotations that "picturesque" had for travelers that followed the tradition of Alexander von Humboldt. By examining the work of J. M. Rugendas, it is possible to observe that aesthetic categories played an essential role in linking art work and scientific exploration projects in the American continent during the nineteenth century.
Keywords : picturesque; art and science; scientific travelers; J. M. Rugendas.


text:
Setting up a scanner server
Setting up a scanner server on the Buffalo Linkstation
I'm going to describe the steps I followed to get saned (http://http://penguin-breeder.org/sane/saned/) cross compiled, and installed on my Linkstation.
- Host: Ubuntu 10.04 laptop
- Target: Linkstation Live v2 LS-CHL with opened stock firmware 1.07
- Toolchain: Codesourcery ARM toolchain version arm-2007q1
- Scanner: Canon MP610 multiunction printer/scanner
- Download the sane-backends source from http://www.sane-project.org/source.html.
I used sane-backends-1.0.22.tar.gz which was the latest available.
- Download the libusb source that matches your linkstation. In my case I have:
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 28868 Jun 27 2008 /usr/local/lib/libusb-0.1.so.4.4.4
In http://sourceforge.net/projects/libusb/files/libusb-0.1%20%28LEGACY%29/ I saw that 0.1.12 was the last release and its date was older than the file above so I figured it was good enough which proved to be the case
- Configure and build libusb:
cd /path/to/libusb/source ./configure --host=arm-none-linux-gnueabi --prefix=/usr/local/codesourcery/arm-2007q1 make make install
The above will install to /usr/local/codesourcery/arm-2007q1. Just make sure you install somewhere that does not override your native Ubuntu files !! In my case make install complained that:
mv: cannot stat `libusbpp-0.1.so.4.4.4': No such file or directory libtool: install: error: relink `libusbpp.la' with the above command before installing it
As it happens this error can be ignored because the libs and headers needed to build saned are installed before the failure
- Configure and build saned:
cd /path/to/sane-backends CPPFLAGS=-I/usr/local/codesourcery/arm-2007q1/include LDFLAGS=-L/usr/local/codesourcery/arm-2007q1/lib ./configure \ --host=arm-none-linux-gnueabi --build=i686-pc-linux-gnu --prefix=/opt/sane make make install
Note that it makes things easier if --prefix above points to the same path where saned will be installed on the target. This is because this path is compiled into the code and used for looking for configuration files, etc. In this case saned gets installed in /opt/sane
Server install
- Tar up the /opt/sane directory you just created at the end of the build process in the previous section:
tar cvjf sane-backends-1.0.22.tar.bz2 /opt/sane
- Copy that over to the linkstation and untar it into /opt/sane
- chown -R root:root /opt/sane
- Add a new user and group for sane:
root@LS$ adduser saned
- Add a new file /opt/sane/sbin/saned_wrap and make it executable:
#!/bin/bash # All in the same line SANE_CONFIG_DIR=/opt/sane/etc/sane.d LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/opt/sane/lib /opt/sane/sbin/saned $@
- Add the following to /etc/inetd.conf:
sane-port stream tcp nowait saned.saned /opt/sane/sbin/saned_wrap saned
- Add to /etc/services:
sane-port 6566/tcp # SANE network scanner daemon
- Restart inetd:
root@LS$ /etc/init.d/inetd.sh restart
- Run /opt/sane/bin/sane-find-scanner:
# sane-find-scanner will now attempt to detect your scanner. If the # result is different from what you expected, first make sure your # scanner is powered up and properly connected to your computer. # No SCSI scanners found. If you expected something different, make sure that # you have loaded a kernel SCSI driver for your SCSI adapter. found USB scanner (vendor=0x04a9 [Canon], product=0x1725 [MP610 series]) at libusb:001:017 # Your USB scanner was (probably) detected. It may or may not be supported by # SANE. Try scanimage -L and read the backend's manpage. # Not checking for parallel port scanners. # Most Scanners connected to the parallel port or other proprietary ports # can't be detected by this program.
- Run:
root@LS$ telnet localhost 6566
Connection should not be refused
- In a separate window run ps to check saned is running as user saned
- Uncomment localhost from /etc/sane.d/net.conf
- Run:
root@LS$ /opt/sane/bin/scanimage -L device `pixma:04A91725_108A04' is a CANON Canon PIXMA MP610 multi-function peripheral device `net:localhost:pixma:04A91725_108A04' is a CANON Canon PIXMA MP610 multi-function peripheral
- Now that you can access the scanner from localhost (i.e. the linkstation) let's allow all other hosts in the LAN to access the scanner. Add the following to /opt/sane/etc/sane.d/saned.conf:
or whatever your LAN settings are. Of course you can also enable access per host. Check saned documentation.
- Finally we need to make sure the USB device is accessible by user saned. We also need to ensure that this accessibility persists across reboots or plug/unplug USB cycles. This is achieved by adding a new file libusbscanner.hotplug in /etc/hotplug.d/usb_device:
#!/bin/sh # This file is a modified version of the one delivered as part of sane-backends. # # This script changes the permissions and ownership of a USB device under # /proc/bus/usb to grant access to this device to the saned user. # # Ownership is set to saned:saned, permissions are set to 0660. # # Arguments : # ----------- # ACTION=[add|remove] # DEVPATH=/class/usb_device/usbdevx.yy # SUBSYSTEM=usb_device IF=`echo $DEVPATH | sed 's:.*usbdev\([0-9]*\)\.\([0-9]*\):\1:'` DEV=`echo $DEVPATH | sed 's:.*usbdev\([0-9]*\)\.\([0-9]*\):\2:'` DEVICE=`printf '/proc/bus/usb/%.03d/%.03d' $IF $DEV` if [ "$ACTION" = "add" -a "$SUBSYSTEM" = "usb_device" ]; then chown saned:saned "$DEVICE" chmod 0660 "$DEVICE" fi
Client install
- Edit /usr/local/etc/sane.d/net.conf (or /etc/sane.d/net.conf):
# This is the net backend config file. ## net backend options # Timeout for the initial connection to saned. This will prevent the backend # from blocking for several minutes trying to connect to an unresponsive # saned host (network outage, host down, ...). Value in seconds. connect_timeout = 60 ## saned hosts # Each line names a host to attach to. # If you list "localhost" then your backends can be accessed either # directly or through the net backend. Going through the net backend # may be necessary to access devices that need special privileges. # localhost 192.168.15.33
- Check the client can see the scanner
user@client$ scanimage -L device `net:192.168.15.33:pixma:04A91725_108A04' is a CANON Canon PIXMA MP610 multi-function peripheral
- You should now be able to use a GUI frontend such as simple-scan to access your scanner over the network


text:
Math for Health Care Professionals is a comprehensive, foundational resource that is equally effective in the classroom or for self-study. It assumes no prior knowledge of mathematics or health care but merges the two topics into the capstone of a complete learning package, including a student workbook. While the fundamentals of mathematics are a foundation to this book, their application to health care is emphasized. Drug dosages, intake and output, weights and measures, temperatures, IV drip rates, and conversions are a focus, and illustrations of syringes, prescriptions, medication labels, IV bags, and I and O charts allow the reader to practice real-life health care skills requiring mathematics.Michael Kennamer is the author of 'Math for Health Care Professionals (Math and Writing for Health Science)', published 2004 under ISBN 9781401858032 and ISBN 1401858031.[read more]
You can find lots of answers to common customer questions in our FAQs
View a detailed breakdown of our shipping prices
Learn about our return policy
Still need help? Feel free to contact us
View college textbooks by subject
and top textbooks for college
With our dedicated customer support team, 30-day no-questions-asked return policy, and our price match guarantee, you can rest easy knowing that we're doing everything we can to save you time, money, and stress.


text:
Watchdog group Common Cause Georgia is calling on the Atlanta City Council to hold a public referendum and allow the citizens of the City of Atlanta to vote on the public funding of the proposed billion dollar stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.
CCGA was joined by State Senator Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) and others who believe the public should be included in the public funding decision.
Atlanta's mayor and Falcons owner Arthur Blank announced that they had agreed to financing terms for a new $1 billion, retractable-roof stadium to replace the 20-year-old Georgia Dome and keep the team's home games in the city's downtown last Thursday.
But CCGA says no way. They are fully opposed to public funding of the project and have told the Falcons to put the brakes on it and get the public more involved in what's going on.
Speaking during a news conference on the steps of City Hall, Fort called for a referendum saying there are "a number of questions surrounding the cost of infrastructure and other issues that only public debate surrounding a referendum can address."
Common Cause believes that more public input is needed and claims that everything has been done behind closed doors.
"You're left very clearly with the negotiating parties excluding the public while including the public's money," Common Cause board member Wyc Orr has said in earlier statements.
Mayor Kasim Reed said the city would provide $200 million of construction costs through bonds backed by the city's hotel-motel tax. The Falcons franchise, owned by Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, would provide $800 million and be responsible for construction cost overruns.
The Falcons would pay for up to $50 million in infrastructure costs not included in the construction budget and help retire the last few years of debt on the Georgia Dome, which was publicly financed entirely using the hotel-motel tax.
Also, Blank's private foundation and the city each would spend $15 million on surrounding neighborhood development.
Blank — who has built his football franchise into a perennial playoff contender — still must negotiate a detailed lease and operating agreement with the Georgia World Congress Center. That's the state agency that owns the existing dome and would own the replacement. Reed also must get the blessing of the Atlanta City Council, though several members attended the announcement in the mayor's office, as did Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal.
Officials said the deal presumes the stadium would be built immediately south of the existing Georgia Dome, though that is contingent on securing adjacent property that is not yet publicly owned. A secondary site is available several blocks north of the current stadium.
The Georgia Dome would be demolished after the new stadium opens.
Last week's announcement, which took on a celebratory tone at City Hall, comes after months of private negotiations _ and several years of planning and studies _ involving the governor's office, the World Congress Center Authority and the mayor's office, among others.
Reed called the arrangement "a great public-private partnership" that will benefit the city and the state.
City Council President Ceasar C. Mitchell said he was encouraged by the mayor's announcement, and he promised public hearings in the near future.
Deal praised the agreement, as well. At one time, the governor was the focal point of negotiations, when Blank sought $300 million in state debt to $700 million from him. Deal never publicly endorsed or rejected that split, but it became clear that the General Assembly was unwilling to raise the state's debt limit to accommodate the bond sale.
So now the city is left to sell the bonds using the tourism tax _ a move authorized by the legislature _ to pay back investors.
Blank called it "a win-win" and promised that the new stadium will help the city continue to compete for all major events, including the Super Bowl. "That's the only secret ballot in the NFL," he said. "We'll have to earn it. But this public support is an important piece."
Though the terms of an operating agreement are not final, Blank told The Associated Press that he doesn't expect fundamental changes to an outline released late last year.
That document from the World Congress Center and the team said the Falcons would lease the stadium for 30 years, paying the state $2.5 million annually in rent.


text:
The Homies 2009 Winners!
>> Homies 2009
A big THANK YOU to all of the blogs and readers who participated and voted in this year's Homies Awards. This contest is our chance to honor the hard-working bloggers out there who help to make the online shelter world a richer place, award them a little bit of money ($50 to the winner of each category), and send them some link love. The 2009 winners are…
We had a total of 1,174 nominations across five categories (up from 200 nominations last year), and our tech team analyzed and double checked registered IP addresses to determine that the results accurately reflected fair selection of all five winners. Each one represents your votes for the best blogs around the world. Congratulations to all!
"it's the "good housekeeping seal" of the interior design world. I have lots of sources, but I always go to remodelista first." — justmichael
Best Home Design: Remodelista
Runner-up: Young House Love
"Look at this every day for inspiration – IKEA's "as is" is my absolute favorite place to spend an afternoon – unless you count the thrift store!" — slpwendy
Best Home Tech: ikea hacker
Runner-up: Lifehacker
"Meg is real and down-to-earth… she brings brightness to our days with her daily life, her awesome photography, and the great ideas she shares with those of us who read her blog!" — knzus
Best Kids at Home: Meg Duerksen
Runner-up: kenziepoo
"Inspiring, intelligent craft activities for kids. full of brilliant ideas!" — kickcanandconkers
Best Green Home: maya*made
Runner-up: shakshuka
"Great voice and great recipes. Like that friend who cooks like a slightly more ambitious you and can recommend fantastic recipes." — cinderell6
Best Home Cooking: Smitten Kitchen
Runner-up: The Pioneer Woman
For more information, visit the Homies 2009 page.


text:
We were unable to find any products matching your requirements.
It's possible that you followed an out of date link.
If you are having trouble finding the product you are looking for try our sitemap or contact us
Back in 1962 Havaianas created the original rubber flip flop and have never looked back. The very first design was inspired by Japanese sandals known as Zori, made of a thin rice straw sole and fabric thongs. To adapt the Japanese model to the Brazilian market, São Paulo Alpargatas used rubber as raw material and the rice grain format for the sole texture. The name Havaianas was inspired by the island of Hawaii, representing warm climates, freedom, and a simple relaxed lifestyle.
Today the Brazilian based company sell 173 million pairs annually, and the current line has 79 different styles for men, women, children and even babies. All Havaianas flip flops are manufactured in Campina Grande in North East Brazil and remain a classic choice for relaxed summer footwear across the globe.