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Influenza (Flu) is a viral infection of the nose, throat, trachea, and bronchi
You think your child has influenza because other family members have it
You think your child has regular (seasonal) influenza and it's prevalent in the community
Main symptoms are a runny nose, sore throat, bad cough and fever. If there is no fever, your child probably doesn't have flu.
More muscle pain, headache, fever, and chills than with usual colds
If there is NO fever, the child probably doesn't have flu. More likely he has a cold.
Influenza viruses that change yearly
Diagnosis: How to Know Your Child Has Influenza
If influenza is widespread in your community and your child has flu symptoms with fever, then he or she probably has flu. You don't need to get any special tests. You should call your doctor if your child is HIGH-RISK for complications of the flu (see the following list). These are the children who may need prescription anti-viral drugs. For LOW-RISK children, you don't need to call or see your child's doctor, unless your child develops a possible complication of the flu. (see the "When to Call Your Doctor" section).
HIGH-RISK Children for Complications From Influenza
Children are considered HIGH-RISK for complications if they have any of the following conditions:
Lung disease (such as asthma)
Heart disease (such as a congenital heart disease)
Cancer or weak immune system conditions
Neuromuscular disease (such as muscular dystrophy)
Diabetes, sickle cell disease, kidney disease OR liver disease
Diseases requiring long-term aspirin therapy
Healthy children under 2 years old are also considered HIGH-RISK (CDC: September 2009)
Note: All other children are referred to as LOW-RISK
Prescription Antiviral Drugs for Influenza
Antiviral drugs (such as Tamiflu) must be started within 48 hours of the start of flu symptoms to have an impact.
The AAP recommends they be used for any patient with severe symptoms AND for most HIGH-RISK children (see that list).
The AAP doesn't recommend antiviral drugs for LOW-RISK children with mild flu symptoms.
Their benefits are limited: they usually reduce the time your child is sick by 1 to 1 1/2 days. They reduce the symptoms, but do not eliminate them.
Side effects: Vomiting in 10% of children.
Return to School
Your child can return to child care or school after the fever is gone for 24 hours and your child feels well enough to participate in normal activities.
Spread is rapid because the incubation period is only 2 days (range: 1 to 4 days) and the virus is very contagious.
Influenza exposure, but no symptoms, see INFLUENZA EXPOSURE
Influenza vaccine reaction suspected, see IMMUNIZATION REACTIONS
Severe difficulty breathing (struggling for each breath, making grunting noises with each breath, unable to speak or cry because of difficulty breathing)
Lips or face are bluish when not coughing
Your child looks or acts very sick
Difficulty breathing (under 1 year old) not relieved by cleaning the nose
Difficulty breathing (over 1 year old) present when not coughing
Breathing becomes very rapid
Lips or face have turned bluish during coughing
Wheezing (tight, purring sound with breathing out)
Stridor (harsh sound with breathing in)
Ribs are pulling in with each breath (retractions)
Chest pain and can't take a deep breath
Dehydration suspected (no urine for over 8 hours AND very dry mouth, no tears, ill-appearing, etc.)
Weak immune system (sickle cell disease, HIV, chemotherapy, organ transplant, chronic steroids, etc)
SEVERE HIGH-RISK patient such as chronic lung disease (exception: mild asthma), heart disease, bedridden, etc.
Age under 12 weeks with fever above 100.4° F (38.0° C) rectally (Caution: Do NOT give your baby any fever medicine before being seen)
Fever over 104° F (40° C) and not improved 2 hours after fever medicine
You think your child needs to be seen urgently
You think your child needs to be seen, but not urgently
HIGH-RISK for complications of flu (children with other chronic diseases (see that list) OR healthy under 2 years old)
Continuous (nonstop) coughing
Age under 3 months old with any cough
Earache or ear discharge also present
Sinus pain (not just congestion) is also present
Fever present for more than 3 days
Fever returns after gone for more than 24 hours
You have other questions or concerns
Age over 6 months and needs flu shot
Coughing has kept home from school for 3 or more days
Nasal discharge lasts over 2 weeks
Cough lasts more than 3 weeks
Flu symptoms last over 3 weeks
Probable seasonal influenza with no complications, your child is LOW-RISK, and you don't think your child needs to be seen
Since influenza is widespread in your community and your child has flu symptoms (cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever), your child probably has the flu.
Special tests are not needed.
You don't need to call or see your child's doctor unless your child develops a possible complication of the flu (such as an earache or difficulty breathing).
For healthy people, the symptoms of seasonal influenza are similar to those of the common cold.
With flu, however, the onset is more abrupt and the symptoms are more severe. Feeling very sick for the first 3 days is common.
The treatment of influenza depends on your child's main symptoms and is usually no different from that used for other viral respiratory infections.
Bed rest is unnecessary.
Runny Nose with Profuse Discharge: Blow or Suction the Nose
Nasal mucus is washing viruses and bacteria out of nose and sinuses. Blowing the nose is all that's needed. For younger children, gently suction the nose with a suction bulb.
Apply petroleum jelly to the nasal openings to protect them from irritation.
Cleanse the skin first.
Nasal Washes To Open a Blocked Nose:
Use saline nose drops or spray to loosen up the dried mucus. If not available, can use warm tap water.
STEP 1: Instill 3 drops per nostril. (Age under 1 year, use 1 drop and do one side at a time)
STEP 2: Blow (or suction) each nostril separately, while closing off the other nostril. Then do other side.
STEP 3: Repeat nose drops and blowing (or suctioning) until the discharge is clear.
Frequency: Do nasal washes whenever your child can't breathe through the nose.
Saline nasal sprays can be purchased without a prescription.
Saline nose drops can also be made: add 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) of table salt to 1 cup (8 ounces or 240 ml) of warm water.
Reason for nose drops: suction or nose blowing alone can't remove dried or sticky mucus.
Another option: use a warm shower to loosen mucus. Breathe in the moist air, then blow each nostril.
For young children, can also use a wet cotton swab to remove sticky mucus.
Importance for a young infant: can't nurse or drink from a bottle unless the nose is open.
Medicines for Colds:
Cold medicines are not recommended at any age. (Reason: they are not helpful. They can't remove dried mucus from the nose. Nasal washes can.)
Antihistamines are not helpful, unless your child also has nasal allergies.
Decongestants: OTC oral decongestants (Pseudoephedrine or Phenylephrine) are not recommended. Although they may reduce nasal congestion in some children, they also can have side effects.
Age Limit: Before 4 years, never use any cough or cold medicines. (Reason: unsafe and not approved by FDA) (Avoid multi-ingredient products at any age.)
No Antibiotics: Antibiotics are not helpful, unless your child develops an ear or sinus infection.
Homemade Cough Medicine:
Goal: Reduce the irritation or tickle in the throat that triggers a dry cough
AGE 3 months to 1 year of age: Give warm clear fluids (e.g., water or apple juice) to treat the cough. Dosage: 1-3 teaspoons (5-15 ml) four times per day when coughing. Avoid honey until 1 year old.
AGE: 1 year and older: Use Honey 1/2 to 1 tsp (2 to 5 ml) as needed as a homemade cough medicine. It can thin the secretions and loosen the cough. (If not available, can use corn syrup.) Drugstore cough medicines are not as helpful as honey.
AGE: 6 years and older: Use Cough Drops to coat the irritated throat. (If not available, can use hard candy.)
Sore Throat Relief: For mild sore throat, use warm chicken broth over 1 year old and hard candy over 6 years old. For throat pain more than mild, Ibuprofen is very effective (see Dosage table).
Fluids: Encourage adequate fluid to prevent dehydration.
Fever Medicine:
For fever above 102° F (39° C) or discomfort, use acetaminophen or ibuprofen (See Dosage table)
AVOID ASPIRIN because of the strong link with Reye's syndrome.
FOR ALL FEVERS: Give cold fluids in unlimited amounts. Avoid excessive clothing or blankets (bundling).
Pain Medicine: For pain relief (e.g., muscle aches or headaches), give acetaminophen every 4 hours OR ibuprofen every 6 hours as needed. (See Dosage Table)
Prescription Antiviral Drugs for Influenza:
The AAP recommends they be used for any patient with severe symptoms AND for most HIGH-RISK CHILDREN (see that list).
Spread is rapid because the incubation period is only 2 days and the virus is very contagious.
Expected Course:
Influenza causes a cough that lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
Sometimes your child will cough up lots of phlegm (mucus). The mucus can normally be gray, yellow or green.
Coughing up mucus is very important for protecting the lungs from pneumonia.
We want to encourage a productive cough, not turn it off.
The fever lasts 2 to 3 days and the runny nose lasts 7 to 14 days.
Prevention: How to Protect Yourself From Getting Sick:
Wash hands often with soap and water.
Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth. Germs on the hands can spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
Try to avoid unnecessary visits to the ER and urgent care centers because those are the places where you are more likely to be exposed to flu, if you don't have it.
Prevention: How to Protect Others - Stay Home When Sick:
Cover the nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.
Limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
Stay home from school or work for at least 24 hours after the fever is gone (CDC, August 2009).
Flu Shot and Prevention:
Getting a flu shot is the best way to protect you and your child from flu.
Yearly influenza vaccines are strongly recommended for all children over 6 months of age. (AAP)
When the vaccine is a good match to the circulating flu virus, it is highly effective at completely preventing the disease.
Even when the vaccine doesn't match the circulating flu virus, it usually reduces the severity of the symptoms.
Call Your Doctor If:
Breathing becomes difficult or rapid
Retractions (pulling in between the ribs) occur
Dehydration occurs
Earache or sinus pain occurs
Fever lasts over 3 days
Nasal discharge lasts over 14 days
Cough lasts over 3 weeks
Your child becomes worse
Get tips to help you manage your family's health, options to boost your fitness and advice to live your best life.
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Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner was born on April 17, 1972 in Houston, Texas, but her family moved to Charleston, West Virginia when she was three-years-old. She studied acting at the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut, graduating from the program in 1994. Garner went on to score various stage roles in New York City, as well as small roles on various TV shows. During this time, Garner also supplemented her income by working as a hostess.
After moving to Los Angeles in 1997, she nabbed a bit part on the TV show "Felicity" and small roles in movies such as "Dude, Where's My Car?" and "Pearl Harbor," starring future husband Ben Affleck. Garner rose to fame in 2001 with a starring role on the hit ABC spy drama "Alias." The show aired for five seasons from 2001 to 2006, during which time the actress also co-starred in 2003's "Daredevil" alongside Affleck, and starred in 2004's "13 Going on 30" and the 2005 "Daredevil" spinoff, "Elektra."
Garner dated actor Scott Foley after meeting on the set of "Felicity" in 1998. The two married in October 2000 before she filed for divorce in May 2003, citing irreconcilable differences. She then dated her "Alias" co-star Michael Vartan from 2003 to 2004, before starting a relationship with Affleck. She married the actor in 2005 and they share three children together, daughters Violet (born December 2005) and Seraphina (born January 2009), and son Samuel (born February 2012). Garner and Affleck announced their separation in June 2015, and jointly filed for divorce April 2017, seeking joint physical and legal custody of their three children. It was also during this time that Affleck moved out of the guesthouse on the ex-couple's property.
The actress has maintained a successful film career with roles in such movies as "The Kingdom," "Juno," "Ghost of Girlfriends Past," "Valentine's Day," "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," "Dallas Buyer's Club" and "Miracles from Heaven." She started out playing the leading lady in a number of romantic comedies before recently transitioning to several mom roles. In addition to her acting work, Garner has endorsement deals with Capital One and Neutrogena.
Garner is also a staunch activist for underprivileged kids, becoming an artist ambassador for Save the Children in 2009. She also served on the charity organization's board of trustees. Additionally, the actress has campaigned for laws to prevent paparazzi from targeting the children of celebrities. She testified before the California Assembly Judiciary Committee in 2013 to support a bill that protecting celebrities' kids from being harassed by photographers. The bill later passed and is now California law.
Garner's upcoming projects include the drama "The Tribes of Palos Verdes," the comedy "Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda" and the animated movie "Amusement Park."
Jennifer Garner Recent Posts
Jennifer Garner Crushing On Co-Star Edgar Ramirez?
January 7th, 2020
Truth About Ben Affleck And Jennifer Garner's Co-Parenting Relationship
December 29th, 2019
Did Jennifer Garner Dump John Miller Because He Was Jealous Of Ben Affleck?
December 21st, 2019
Ben Affleck And Jennifer Garner 'In All-Out War' With Each Other?
December 14th, 2019
Jennifer Garner 'Finally Done' With Ben Affleck?
December 7th, 2019
Jennifer Garner Threatening To Take Kids Away From Ben Affleck On Christmas?
December 4th, 2019
Did Jennifer Garner And John Miller Move In Together?
November 29th, 2019
Truth About Ben Affleck Ditching Jennifer Garner And Kids On Thanksgiving
November 27th, 2019
Ben Affleck Moving Back In With Jennifer Garner Following Relapse?
November 17th, 2019
Jennifer Garner Threatening To Take Ben Affleck's Kids Away If He Doesn't Get Sober?
November 5th, 2019
Ben Affleck Wants Jennifer Garner To Stop 'Mothering' Him?
October 26th, 2019
Jennifer Garner Pregnant With Ben Affleck's Baby… Again?
October 23rd, 2019

subset: commoncrawl


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Week 7: Toys. What was your favorite childhood toy? Is it still being made in some form today?
I so easily could have posted this blog under "Treasure Chest Thursday" because this toy will always be a dear treasure to me! My favorite toy was a doll that I called Marshmallow...Marshie for short. I still have her (obviously). She looks nothing like she did when I first got her. My father told me that he got her for me because he saw her in a store and said that she looked just like me. No giggling out there! I was a baby at the time and my eyes were never made of felt! :)
Apparently, Marshie had some wisps of blond hair for bangs where the hoodie starts (my hair isn't blond, but it was when I was little...now it's safely dyed red). I vaguely remember that her face was painted on pink/beige cloth and her body wasn't always made of terry-cloth. What you see now is the beautiful handiwork of my mom. That's no sarcasm. It's pure love for her daughter and understanding her daughter's love for her dolly.
My mom had to give Marshie several face-lifts and tummy tucks. It was either that or throw her out and that couldn't happen. I couldn't sleep if I lost Marshie! I remember one time she couldn't be found at bedtime and my parents tore the house apart until she was found! So, as a result, mom would give her a complete make-over time and again so I could continue to love the stuffing out of her!
I don't know what type of doll she was. I don't know what she was called or anything about her. All I know is she was bought around 1972 and that she has wires in her arms and legs so you could pose her. Nothing like posing a Barbie, but I thought it was neat. I'd love to find a version of her in her original state, but I wouldn't know how to begin. I'd never replace her. Just want to know what the original was like. Surprisingly there are no pictures of me holding my dolly when I was little. I may have to look harder. A sort of "Where's Waldo?" search through family photos!
There's no little girl to pass Marshie on to, but I'll be keeping her forever. I wonder if my husband would think it odd if I cuddled her tonight?....


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The Best '70s Movies
List Rules Vote up the best movies released between 1/1/70 and 12/31/79
This list of the best movies of the '70s includes all of the top films from the 1970s, including some of the best movies ever featuring some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time. The greatest action films from the '70s, the best dramas of the decade, and the funniest movies from the '70s are all on this list of the top movies of the 1970s.
The 1970s were a great era for filmmaking, with a dark and dirty New York City for storytellers to play in. Practical special effects were reaching their peak, and artistic styles were unrestrained. Remember, this is the decade that brought us Rocky, Jaws, and even Star Wars. The death throes of the Hays Code were finally over and Hollywood was free to enter a new Golden Age, as you'll see when perusing this list of the best '70s films.What is the greatest movie of the 1970s? Vote and find out! If your favorite '70s film isn't on the list, please feel free to add it to the list of the best '70s films yourself. If you disagree with what others are voting up as the best movie of the decade, vote for your favorite films from the 1970s and vote down the most overrated films from the '70s.


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Saturday, January 26, 2013
Sports News
Harrison leads Hurricanes past Sabres 3-1
Send a link to a friend
[January 26, 2013]
(AP) -- Jay Harrison scored the go-ahead goal with 4:50 left, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.
Harrison fired a slap shot from the right point after Eric Staal won the faceoff, and the puck beat Buffalo's Ryan Miller on the short side.
Alexander Semin tied it for the Hurricanes early in the third period, and Jeff Skinner scored an empty-net goal for Carolina, which has won two straight games. Dan Ellis made 40 saves in his first start for the Hurricanes.
Thomas Vanek scored for Buffalo (2-1-0), losers of two in a row. Miller stopped 39 shots in his first loss of the season.
Buffalo's chances to tie the game late were hindered when Vanek was assessed a cross-checking penalty with 2:09 remaining. Despite getting two shots while down a man, they eventually allowed Skinner's empty-net goal.
Semin tied it at 1 with his first goal as a Hurricane, connecting on a wrist shot during a power play 3:31 into the third period.
[to top of second column]
Vanek continued his torrid start to the season, breaking a scoreless deadlock with a power-play goal 1:56 into the third. He snapped a shot from the left circle after picking up the puck near the corner. Vanek has been on the ice for 10 of the 11 goals scored by Buffalo this season and has nine points (three goals, six assists) in the first four games.
Before the third period, the teams battled evenly, with Carolina getting the best chance to take a lead about 6 minutes into the second period. Staal rang a wrist shot off the goalpost and Miller followed with a sharp save on Joni Pitkanen, who one-timed the rebound.
NOTES: Each team went 1 for 4 on the power play. ... Ellis made his second career appearance against Buffalo. The veteran of 167 NHL contests had faced the Sabres for just 25 minutes in a relief performance with Nashville on Feb. 27, 2008. ... Buffalo is the only NHL team with which the Hurricanes have never made a trade. The last transaction between the clubs occurred in October 1989, when the franchise was based in Hartford and Bo Mikael Andersson went to the Whalers in a waiver draft deal.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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The New Marketplace
This story appears in the June 1998 issue of HomeOfficeMag.com. Subscribe »
Deciding to sell your product or service on the Web isn't always an earthshaking event. Take the case of David Mutton, president of Driving Obsession Inc., a homebased golf training company in San Francisco. In 1996, Mutton noticed that more than 50 percent of his new clients signing up for golf lessons listed an e-mail address on their customer information forms. This detail told Mutton that a fairly large percentage of his customers are Web savvy and eventually spurred him to create a site that sells golf merchandise and gift certificates. The Web site has substantially increased his sales. "I was looking for opportunities to reach people who aren't [existing] clients," says Mutton, 41. "This has been a great way for me to generate sales that I don't think I would've gotten otherwise."
Most industry experts agree that Internet commerce has finally arrived. At last, a fair amount of computer users have reached a comfort level regarding the security of buying over the Internet. After trying it out, many have quickly been won over by the wide selection and convenience that online shopping offers. In fact, The Yankee Group Inc., a Boston-based technology research firm, estimates that business-to-consumer sales over the Internet will balloon to $10 billion by 2000.
For homebased entrepreneurs, setting up an online storefront to enhance sales--or serve as their sole means for generating business--is more viable than ever. In recent months, it's gotten easier and cheaper to build a Web site that takes orders electronically, and everyone from banks to ISPs are more knowledgeable about the process. Moreover, Internet commerce has evolved into a fairly low-budget way for homebased businesses without a distribution channel or retail location to sell their wares. For many, creating a digital storefront requires a much smaller investment than traditional retail methods.
That's not to say the Internet commerce waters aren't rough. Some Web site designers and others have led people to believe it's easy and cheap to set up an online storefront, when the reality isn't always so. In the near future, much of the growth in Internet commerce will be in the business-to-business sector (The Yankee Group estimates business-to-business sales will reach $171 billion by 2000), so consumer acceptance still has a way to go. Plus, with Internet commerce in its early stages, the art of selling online where you can't talk to people and easily build a rapport takes a lot of patience, skill--and a bit of luck.
"It's hard to develop a relationship with people on the Web because they can just disappear like smoke," says Phil Doyle, president of WebAgency Marketing & Consulting, a Santa Rosa, California, firm specializing in Internet commerce, online advertising and public relations.
For homebased businesses, the promise and problems of Internet commerce are pronounced. Setting up an online storefront is a natural move for homebased mail order companies with established methods of acquiring products, processing orders and shipping internationally. But those who aren't familiar with the intricacies of a retail business must be prepared to invest the proper amount of time and resources to make a Web store work.
Building Blocks
Navigating Internet commerce can be tricky. If you're up to the challenge, the key is to put the proper framework in place. In many cases, you'll need to work with a variety of players, from ISPs to Web site designers, and become familiar with software programs, security technologies and methods of selling. So before you begin building your Web store, do your homework.
One necessary step is to choose the right products or services to sell on the Web. Certain items, such as clothing, that typically require a "look-see" before shoppers buy usually won't be bestsellers; neither will perishable goods with sensitive shipping schedules. Currently, bestselling products on the Web include books and magazines, computer software, music CDs and tapes, and travel-related products and services.
But running a Web store takes more than just mimicking a successful retail concept. Experts advise finding a popular product category and then adding your own twist. "You need to find a market niche that's underserved and that fits you," says Rosalind Resnick, co-author of The Internet Business Guide: Riding the Information Superhighway to Profit (Sams Publishing) and president and CEO of NetCreations Inc., a Brooklyn, New York, Internet marketing company.
If you don't already have merchant status, your next step is to apply for a merchant account. Presently, credit cards are the best means for accepting payment on the Web. Checks are fraught with risk, and e-cash is still somewhat experimental. (For more on e-cash, see "Money Clips" on page 50.) Many entrepreneurs jump into the construction and design of a Web store before they have the proper means of accepting payment.
In the past, banks have been leery about accepting credit cards on the Net. However, Resnick says financial institutions are becoming more familiar with Internet commerce and what's required for merchants to accept credit cards over the Web. If your bank isn't experienced with Internet commerce, other banks are--and they're worth hunting for.
If you can't obtain merchant status, there are companies such as Vantage (http://www-Agency.com) that will process credit card transactions for you. The downside: Most charge a hefty fee for this service. The fee is much higher than the 2 percent to 5 percent rate that businesses who do their own transactions are typically charged, so exhaust all other avenues first.
You'll also want to hook up with an ISP early on. Besides hosting your site, an ISP can be an invaluable resource for developing an electronic storefront. For example, the ISP may be able to help with Web site design, sell you software for building an electronic catalog, or recommend vendors that provide credit card authorization on the Net. Some offer better Internet commerce services and have more experience than others, so choose carefully.
After working with many ISPs, David Mutton eventually decided on La Jolla, California-based SimpleNet. A competitive hosting fee ($49 per month), unlimited traffic and storage, and the flexibility to access SimpleNet's server and make Web site changes himself were among Mutton's primary reasons for choosing the company. He has also found SimpleNet's Internet commerce services for building and marketing a Web store helpful.
Site Design
With these systems in place, you're finally ready to build your electronic storefront. First, take a long, hard look at other Internet commerce sites. Note what you like about their designs, analyze how the advertising copy and products are presented, and see what sales techniques make you want to buy so you can incorporate these things into your own Web store.
If you have technical know-how, one possibility is to design your own Web site. Those who are familiar with the Internet and who have the extra time can select from many off-the-shelf Web design programs. Mutton, for example, used NetObjects Fusion (http://www.netobjects.com) to create a basic Web site in just one day. "I looked at the costs of having a consultant build it, realized that I had much of the artwork and content from my marketing materials, and decided I could probably build it myself," Mutton says.
One popular Web site creation tool is Microsoft's FrontPage 98 ($149). For beginners, FrontPage 98 is a good choice because it allows you to create professional-looking Web pages without learning programming languages. It contains 50 templates, as well as functions to build backgrounds, navigation bars, buttons and hyperlinks. There are also wizards to help you through the process.
Besides ease of use, FrontPage 98 also has advanced site creation and management capabilities. Power users can take advantage of HTML editing and the ability to incorporate Java, ActiveX and other leading-edge features into their Web pages. FrontPage 98 contains powerful image-editing features to crop, rotate or customize images, as well as new features to design and edit navigation buttons. The program also includes site management tools to automatically check the status of hyperlinks and provides many "views" to analyze the working condition of your site; for example, the new All Files View makes it easy to take inventory of all the files in your site in a single snapshot.
Adobe PageMill 3.0 ($99) is another affordable, easy-to-use program. Because it relies less on templates and wizards than FrontPage 98 does, you may find it creates Web sites with a less "cookie cutter" look and feel. PageMill is for those who want ease of use but still want to maintain close control over design. Its familiar drag-and-drop interface makes it easy to create features such as links and frames. WYSIWYG capabilities also give you control over a page's appearance without requiring you to switch between the HTML editor and a browser to see what pages will look like. In addition, this program comes with a copy of Photoshop LE (a light version of Adobe's popular image-editing program) and more than 10,000 Web-ready images.
If you're not very knowledgeable about Web sites, hire a Web design firm. Keep in mind that this will significantly increase the amount of money you spend on designing your site: It's not uncommon to pay several thousand dollars for Web site design. There's no shortage of good Web designers, though, so shop around for a skilled developer with the most reasonable rates.
Begin your hunt for a Web site designer by searching the Internet for sites that are similar to the one you'd like to build and e-mailing them a request for information about the company that designed their site. Also, ask for referrals from business associates who have Web sites. The idea is to have several highly reputable, experienced companies to choose from.
You can take certain steps to keep the price down, as well. First, don't pay by the hour for Web site design. Resnick advises negotiating a fixed price for the entire project before giving the go-ahead. It's also smart to stay away from more advanced (read: pricier) features such as Java or 3-D graphics.
Another important component of any Web store is the catalog software needed for building order-processing capabilities. Also known as "shopping cart" software, these programs typically contain features to help you design a Web catalog complete with product and pricing information, order forms on which you can enter products and have sales tax and shipping costs automatically calculated, and management features that notify vendors when an order has been placed.
By purchasing SimpleNet's Commerce Made Simple (CMS) package, Mutton was able to incorporate these features into his Web site. One main component of the CMS package is access to Htmlscript Corp.'s KoolCat electronic catalog. Mutton used this software, which resides on SimpleNet's server, to customize an online catalog with product and pricing information. KoolCat also has order-management features that automatically notify Mutton via e-mail when orders have been placed. CMS (priced at $802 plus monthly service fees of $65) includes a VeriSign Secure Server Digital ID for security and encryption capabilities, plus domain Web-hosting and e-mail services.
Some Web site creation programs are compatible with popular shopping cart software. For instance, Mercantec StoreBuilder for Microsoft FrontPage 98 ($149) offers the latest electronic commerce features that work with FrontPage to build a virtual store. You can add Mercantec's SoftCart functionality to an existing FrontPage Web site or develop a site from scratch using both programs. To "open" your store, you must purchase a production license for SoftCart or host the store at an ISP offering the software for a monthly fee. Similarly, you can add online shopping capabilities to Adobe PageMill 3.0 with ICentral's ShopSite Express (SSE) for Adobe PageMill, which is available from an authorized SSE provider.
There are a variety of other shopping cart programs on the market. Product features and prices vary widely. For example, on the low end, Easy-Catalog from Software Design Associates (http://www.software-design.com) is priced from $349; on the high end, Encanto Networks Inc.'s e.go webstation (http://www.encanto.com) costs $1,295.
Some Final Thoughts . . .
Once your site is built, there are a few more considerations, one of which is security. Experts and merchants alike understand that security on the Net is a big consumer concern. With credit card fraud a reality of doing business on the Net, you need to make your customers feel secure. One way: Confirm that your ISP has a secure server installed, says Resnick. Secure servers encrypt consumers' credit card numbers when transmitting them over the Net so users can feel confident about entering them.
Server Digital ID is included in the CMS program. SimpleNet handled the process for Mutton so he could apply for a Digital ID, which authenticates Web sites. This gives consumers confidence that a site's domain name has been verified as belonging to the business representing itself as the operator of the site. Digital IDs also enable encrypted communications between a Web site and its visitors, allowing the exchange of confidential information such as credit card numbers across the Net.
Next, think marketing. No matter how well-designed your site is, it's not going to generate sales unless consumers know about it. One easy way to get the word out is to register with the top search engines or sign up for a service that does this for you. For Mutton, using such a service through SimpleNet substantially increased his number of hits per day--and cost just $40. Change your marketing materials, such as business cards and letterhead, to reflect your new Web address. You may also want to consider renting a direct marketing list of e-mail addresses to jump-start traffic.
Over time, you'll need to find ongoing ways to keep users coming to your site or risk having much of your traffic dwindle. One smart way to maintain traffic levels is to establish long-term link exchanges with other sites. Contact Web sites with similar content and offer to swap links. This ensures a steady stream of visitors to your Web store from a variety of sources.
As with any venture, there are no guarantees for Internet commerce success. However, the key to selling on the Internet is to cover all your bases to give customers the most value. An electronic storefront must offer new products. It must provide convenient order-placing and be marketed to the public. It must be secure. There are many areas on which to focus your attention, but laying the proper groundwork, using professionals when necessary, and being willing to experiment will put you one step ahead of the competition.
It's In The Bag
A web store is not a vending machine. Put one up and most people won't just come, take a look and then pump in the nickels. The most successful e-commerce sites have systems in place that entice people to come and buy--again and again. Here are some helpful hints:
1. Do everything you can to get people to leave their names and e-mail addresses so you can tell them about upcoming sales, new products and so on. Consider offering a free newsletter or service that sends out updates about your products or services.
2. Pay close attention to your catalog copy, aiming to make it interesting yet concise so that it can be easily understood. Also, pricing information should be clear.
3. Because sales strategies on the Web shouldn't be different from storefront sales strategies, consider discounting items, having a sale or offering coupons for consumers to download.
4. Letting consumers know that real people are behind your Web store will put them more at ease about buying, so list your phone and fax numbers--and an e-mail address--prominently on your Web site. Make sure you can be reached easily.
5. One simple way to draw users to your new Web store is to register it with the top search engines (or use a service that automatically does this for you).
Want To Know More?
Check out the following resources:
- Understanding Electronic Commerce (Microsoft Press) by David Kosiur covers successful e-commerce strategies, security issues and case studies of innovative sites.
- At Mercantec's Web site (http://www.mercantec.com), you can download a free 19-page guide, Always Open for Business--A Merchant's Guide to Opening a Store on the Web, that includes tips on how to successfully market and operate a store in cyberspace.
- The monthly online newsletter Web Commerce Today (http://www.wilsonweb.com/wct) is geared toward helping merchants plan, design, manage and promote retail or business-to-business Web stores. An annual subscription costs $49.95.
*The CommerceNet site (http://www.commerce.net) contains general information and news on the e-commerce industry, vendor contacts and links to popular e-commerce sites.


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Volunteer Massage Therapist - 2020 Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run Half Marathon
Apply Now
Why we need you:
We rely on every mile, every pound and every volunteer to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. This includes our massage therapists, who are vital in making sure our runners feel appreciated after their challenge.
Through just half a day of volunteering, you will be helping us to raise vital funds for our pioneering, life-saving research.
Together we will beat cancer sooner.
What skills and attributes do you need to have?
- Qualified massage therapist.
- Great interpersonal skills.
- Ideally, some experience in sports therapy.
- Insurance that covers practicing therapy at our event.
What will you be doing?
You will be part of our team of massage therapists located at our post-race reception and will be providing massages and advice to our fantastic runners. Please note you will need to bring a couch/mat and towels to the event.
What support will you be given?
On the day we'll provide you with ample space, a massage area manager and a free t-shirt. We'll also provide you with refreshments to keep you energised.
Before the day, a member of the Sports Team will be in contact to brief you and will be available for any questions you may have.
What benefits can you expect?
- The satisfaction of making a vital difference to the life-saving work of Cancer Research UK.
- Meet new people and help our grateful runners recover from their incredible challenge!
Why we need you
Every step we make towards beating cancer relies on every pound, every hour and every person. We need you to help us by volunteering. Play a part in this inspiring story and volunteer. Help us to create more tomorrows.
Volunteering policy
We are committed to giving you the best experience possible and believe that the volunteer relationship is one of honour, trust and mutual understanding.


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If future Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov ever invites you to watch a game in the owner's box, don't accept. Not only will you be stuck watching the Nets, there's a decent chance you'll be caught up in an assassination attempt.
Shabtai Kalmanovich, one of Prokhorov's partners in post-Soviet billionaire sports owner crime, was murdered on Monday. Kalmanovich is the owner of the Spartak Moscow women's basketball team that is famous for shelling out big bucks to sign WNBA stars like Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, and Diana Taurasi. He was also gunned down on the streets of Moscow when another car pulled up alongside his and opened fire. Yeah, not exactly a random act of violence.
Police say they believe that the murder could be linked to Kalmanovich's business activities, and maybe even "his prominent role in Russian basketball." So that must make people like Prokhorov feel really safe and secure. The NBA too. It sure won't make David Stern comfortable imagining one of his owners getting blown away outside the Meadowlands. (Of course, if it happened at the Meadowlands there's a chance no one would notice.) Maybe he's trying to buy the Nets not to bring NBA "technology" to his homeland, but so he can get the hell out of dodge.
Personally, I'm shocked to learn that running a business in the former Soviet Republics could be so dangerous! Or ... here's another theory. Kalmanovich is also a former KGB spy who spent time in an Israeli prison for espionage. I'm not an expert on the post-Cold War politics of Eastern European spy networks, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say his brazen gangland murder might be related to that.
Spartak Moscow owner Shabtai Kalmanovitch assassinated [Women Talk Sports]
Ex-Shin Bet, KGB double agent shot dead in Moscow [Haaretz]
Ex-spy Kalmanovich to be buried in Israel [YnetNews]
Russian spy-turned-tycoon gunned down [The Age]


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The Best Action Thriller Movies Rated R
List Rules Add your favorite movie to the list if it's missing, but only if it's the correct rating.
List of R-Rated action thrillers, ranked from best to worst with movie trailers when available. This list takes the best R-Rated action thrillers and pits them against each other to see once and for all what the greatest R-Rated Action Thriller movie of all time is. This list of popular R-Rated action thrillers includes information like who directed the film, when it was released and which actors starred in the movie. If you think the top R-Rated Action Thriller movie isn't as high as it should be then be sure to vote it up so it can take its rightful place among the other great R-Rated Action Thriller films on this list. If you're trying to find a specific R-Rated Action Thriller film you can search this list and filter to find what you're looking for.
List features Children of Men, The Hurt Locker and more movies.
If you're trying to find out "What are the best R-Rated action thrillers?" and "What are the most famous R-Rated action thrillers?" then this list is the perfect resource for you.
Use this list if you're looking for some new action thrillers that are rated R. Between Netflix, Hulu and other services there are thousands of great action thrillers rated R, so get out there and start watching.
Get your social network's opinion by re-ranking the list, making it votable then sharing it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or more. (223 items)
Did you know that Clint Eastwood and Sylvester Stallone have both directed R Action Thrillers movies?


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Reliable and Highly Effective Ozone Integration
Peak I consists of the addition of Arctic Spas Peak Ozone system within the internal plumbing of the spa. During filtration, water moves through an area where it is exposed to activated oxygen, or ozone, which provides remarkable oxidation. Highly concentrated ozone is created within our twin Failsafe™ generators, and then is injected into the water.
The mixture of water and ozone is suspended in the turbulent Optical Vertical mixing chamber to significantly increase the contact time of ozone with water. This process results in many of the organic compounds being oxidized, leaving less work for the sanitizing products to do. Want even less maintenance try our Peak 2 ozone system.


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Here come the pants
Oh no. Oh girl, oh no.
I am still not Jessica Simpson's friend. Neither are you. So we can't help her. And she will need help. A LOT of help.
People.com is reporting that she's been dumped by Tony Romo again. It happened last Thursday, the night before her birthday. Apparently their schedules are conflicting and she wanted to try but he obviously didn't because by Friday he was clubbing in Hollywood with the boys, happy to be back on the scene.
Jessica wanted to celebrate with a Barbie-themed party (OF COURSE!) but obviously was no longer in the mood. Instead she stayed home with her mother, per her Twitter:
"Everyone needs to know that hope floats ... grab the strings and pull it back to you. Falling asleep with my mom and the dogs. Please lord give all of my beautiful fans, friends, enemies, and family rest. Bring all of us peace."
You know what that means?
It means there will be a pants disaster soon. A pants disaster to eclipse all the other pants disasters. And as we've already seen in the past, mom can't help her with the pants disasters. Good friends can help with pants disasters. I could help her with pants disasters. But not mom. No. And not dad either. They'll only make it worse.
I'm worried for her. A pants disaster is coming.
And yet… I have to admit… and I'll admit it for you too, because I know you're thinking it but don't want to go to hell… admit that she's given us so many wonderful gifts in the past, gifts that have helped us through some dark days, provided levity on rough nights, that I cannot wait for the next gift. The next gift might be epic. You can't wait either. Don't lie.
File photos from Wenn.com


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I too have been having this problem. But mine does not happen all the time. I would have to say, on the average, I have this problem about once a month. And on any day I have it, it may happen 2 or 3 times during the day. I have 3 email accounts: one through peoplepc and 2 through my current ISP, through 2 different servers. I send and receive through all 3 accounts, though peoplepc is not used as much as the other 2. So, on the average, for 29 days out of the month there is no problem whatsoever. Then all of a sudden, usually for about 10-15 minutes, I cannot send through the 2nd account through my current ISP. The error goes like this:
Sending message (date, time, etc)
Logging into smtpout.secureserver.net server....
Socket error # 0
While this is happening, if there are emails on that server, they will download to me just fine. If I am sending/receiving from the other 2 accounts they are just fine. Courier, which I came to Poco from, also did this, but probably less frequently than Poco.
I have even and gone and logged into the faulting servers webmail portal, with no problem. Once logged in, tried to send to no avail. Just glad it doesn't last that long.
Course, ISP, automatically says it is fault of my email program. Why then has it done it with 2 completely different programs? Strange!
I run Vista, Firefox 3.5.3, Comodo Security Suite, Spyware Terminator, Threatfire, and WinPatrol. Oh, yes, and MailWasher Pro.
My internet connection is a hybrid - radio/wireless from their tower to my radio/antenna to ethernet to computer. I live in the country and dialup out here was terrible - barely state legal. This is a bit more expensive than what in town broadband would be, but it beats the heck of my old dialup.
Anyway, I have this in through email help. Just thought I would post it here and see if anyone had any thoughts.
Thanks in advance


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|Music by
|George Gershwin
|Lyrics by
|Ira Gershwin
|Oh, Kay!
|WB Music Corp.
"Someone to Watch Over Me," composed by the Gershwin brothers for the Broadway musical Oh, Kay! (book by P. G. Wodehouse), became a jazz standard and has been recorded by many artists.
Robin the Frog performed "Someone to Watch Over Me" with Rowlf at the piano for the UK Spot in episode 310 of The Muppet Show.
Miss Piggy later sang the song in 1987 when she made a guest appearance on Dolly Parton's television show Dolly.
The musical sting at the end of an Ernie and Bert sketch quotes the song.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


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A Renewable Energy Teaching Moment
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, whether most people are applying it to renewable energy or a suggestion that they misremembered directions to a party, is something that folks often get wrong. They've heard about it and it's like a game of 'telephone.' It's actually not that hard to understand, but the context is the sort of equipment--a particle accelerator--and the result is the sort of occurrence--the central components of atoms flying to pieces--that most folks, yours truly included of course, have never actually seen or touched.
The idea is basically this: an observer cannot simultaneously state the location of a particle and its velocity or acceleration. This makes perfect sense if given a bit of thought. To know 'where' requires a stoppage; to know 'how quickly' requires a continuity of motion. Implicit in this insight is also the inevitable impact of the observation itself.
As a metaphor, it cautions us to realize that even things that look obvious may be more complicated than we think; it also encourages a certain looseness in contemplation, an open-mindedness. It decidedly does not mean that we can never make up our minds. On the contrary, it requires that we take responsibility for acting on the basis of the best information available, at the same time acknowledging the potential for error.
Scientists all too often reject popular opinion on the basis of imputations of ignorance when such accusations are, to say the least, unscientific. Evidence exists everywhere around us. Its applicability to almost all of the issues that are important to us--from health care to energy to matters economic and electoral--is more than adequate for intelligent decision making. Ignorance does not necessitate indecision, even if it does make uncertainty inevitable.
This applies with particular force in so many areas of modern life. Wars are supposedly only decipherable by experts, who conduct their policy confabulations in secret. Energy choices are allegedly beyond the ken of common folk, who must accept that certain data is not accessible to, or understandable by, to their pitiful pea-brains. Economic decisions follow the same pattern; and those related to healthy bodies and healthy minds; and to the education of children; and so on.
This dismissal of the common folk is so ubiquitous now as to be nearly epidemic. The noxious results of such attitudes have shown up repeatedly in the articles that I've been posting. Though courage is a part of standing up, giving voice, taking part, it also can be merely a choice. "I'm going to ask a question." Or, "I'm going to find out an answer about this situation that satisfies me."Or, "I'm going to figure out to whom I should pay attention when I want answers."
Now I'll be honest. I'd like folks to pay attention to me. I consider myself an honest, fair-minded, diligent, and well-informed reporter of the news in the areas in which I've taken an interest. Whether I am the source that my readers turn to or not, however, in a world as complex and full of hidden agendas and interconnections as the one that we are so lucky to inhabit, some sort of mediated data is essential.
All of these issues: dealing with uncertainty, overcoming the rejection of popular viewpoints; choosing to learn and participate; finding a mediated source of information--are particularly critical to today's report, which is the second in a series of three about Depleted Uranium(DU).
In all honesty, the future of this nest of cousins that we've created on the planet looks pretty fragile just now, in no small part because the 'genie' of radioactivity is out of the bottle, and so many leading lights find the bright promise of profit in fissioning atoms hither and yon. Then, as is the case with DU, these ruling parties sell the rest of us a bill of goods, in which the up-front costs are next to nothing, compared to the deadly and devastating long-term consequences of buying into their system.
That said, I'm a sucker for movies, as long as they aren't trying to advance some hidden ideation that nauseates me, and as long as they are for the most part real. Most people have higher standards in terms of production values and such, so my reviews should come with a disclaimer: I'm more interested in content and honesty than I am in slickness of any sort, whether of the story-telling or technical variety.
In this regard, the two products under consideration today definitely pass muster. They both state very explicitly the biases that they bring to the combination of narrative and discussion that any film represents; they both at least nod to the contentions of opponents to their respective positions, which are in many ways a broader consideration of the domestic issues that DU brings up, on the one hand, and a wider conception of environmental injustice, to both soldiers and civilians, centering on but not limited to, DU on the other hand.
I hope that readers will recall that a third installment in this series, maybe a month or so down the pike, is still in the pipeline, so to speak. That will examine in much greater detail first the radiation-and-health issues involved in this particular manifestation of humanity's use of energy, second the specific historical record that underlies contemporary usage of DU, and third, the specific political-economic environs of DU, both as an industry and as an aspect of an industrial 'complex,' of death as it were.
Moreover, I highly recommend that readers review my recent output on this issue, which is broad-ranging and provides background arguably critical to a full appreciation of what appears today. In sum, folks should keep a few elements from that earlier work clearly in mind, copiously documented and clearly demonstrable as they are in the earlier work.
*Overwhelming evidence exists of a causal connection between DU and severe, often lethal effects on human health, not only in general or in theory, but in relation to soldiers and civilians who have encountered this demonic substance, especially on the killing fields of Iraq.
*A general orientation to cost-savings and efficiency, as well as tactical considerations about penetrating power and so on, played a large part in the choice to use these weapons.
*An opposition ill-tempered and viciously dishonest, at one extreme, and diversionary and dismissive, at the other extreme, confronts scientists who argue that the 'damaged goods' of discarded soldiers and brutalized non-combatants must receive remuneration and help in healing for the harms that DU has caused them.
*This conflict revolves around issues of proof, which are disingenuously advanced by the government and its scientistic supporters to mean that only dispositive demonstration is adequate to mandate ameliorative action by the U.S. government.
*An understanding of these issues must take place in regard to an analysis, and rich interweaving, of the roots and purposes of empire into the discussion of this very specific sort of damage, and carnage, that has occurred and continues to occur at the hands of our military.
For the most part, these points stand as demonstrated in the previous work, though always the potential exists for refutation, modification, amplification, etc. Some of these points will receive significant amplification in the future. The final point will appear as part of the ending of this essay, the theme that empire will ever undermine 'business better' an oft-repeated concept in this work that I do.
Before proceeding to the material at hand itself, I ask readers to ponder a couple of factual points. The first is that somewhere in the neighborhood of one and a half billion pounds of DU exists in one state or another of storage in the United States alone, with a minimum estimate of another billion pounds scattered elsewhere around the globe. The second is that an ongoing utilization of DU weapons remains the stated policy and regular practice of the United States of American, in direct contravention to United Nations convention, in complete abrogation of any notion of social justice, and in utter disregard for public health and common sense.
For those who believe in sustainable business, in a renewable relationship with mother earth, in the possibility of healing, these facts--one about a number that implies grave responsibility, the other about a behavior that demonstrates acute irresponsibility--are a call not unlike the theme of yesterday's posting, about going 'beyond the call' of duty, to a place of human kindness and decency that must form a part of this sustainable improvement that we seek. Perhaps this number and this practice will suggest an alternative by the end of this article.
This documentary effort, by a husband-wife team just up the road in Chattanooga, shoots as straight as one might imagine. That works very well in regard to complicated and controversial topics, however. Everyone alive, and especially anyone with a soldier about whom he cares, or about whom she worries, should watch this film. Since the film itself was not commercially released - no duplex worth its consumeristic salt would dare show such a film - the movie's purveyors invite viewers to host screenings, providing contact info for just such an eventuality, which is something I encourage every JustMeans reader to undertake.
The website also contains a 5-minute segment of introductory scenes, a link to draft scenes from "Contaminated Forever", and options to purchase the DVD. Wes Rehberg and Eileen Rehberg, an artist/journalist and social policy analyst respectively, have definitively exposed the cataclysmic consequences that the use of depleted uranium weapons (DU) has wrought at every level of U.S. society and our nation's military.
DU has spared no one; the frightening consequences to the residents of the contaminated areas mirror the serious health consequences Gulf War vets have experienced. The environmental devastation DU has caused will continue wreaking havoc for a long time yet. The continual use of these weapons is akin to an eventual death sentence of humanity. As the title of the film pronounces, eternal contamination damaging generations upon generations remains the inherent result of noxious toxins that will persist for the next several billion years: half of the poison will dissipate every 1.5 billion years, more or less.
This movie shows, through interviews, first-hand accounts of the effects of depleted uranium on veterans exposed to the materials from the first Gulf War onwards. We meet Melissa Sterry, sick and at one point homeless, ravaged by the stuff after her experience in Desert Storm. We meet an Sergeant Herbert Reed, corroborating that these testimonials are truthful, and that truth is not considered bad-mouthing.
We come in contact with Major Doug Rokke repeatedly, whom we last week learned led the U.S. effort to clean up the contamination for years. He is one of the many technical experts who speaks out about this issue. These folks and many others come on camera to state their personal histories and relationships to DU: when and how they were exposed, what have been the physical and psychological impacts of said exposure.
Inevitably, all go on to tell their miserable experiences finding resources to help them. To a man, and woman, all veterans and civilians damaged by depleted uranium have met with stonewalling, denial, and outright ridicule, when they have sought to gain redress or at least acknowledgment of the devastation DU has caused in their lives.
Melissa speaks honestly and unaffectedly. "I don;t look like it, but I spent almost 3 months being homeless. And I wasn't speaking out about this stuff. I was too sick. I couldn't work; my disability hadn't come in. I was out of options. If my friends hadn't stepped in and picked me up, I don't now where I would have ended up. I don't consider what I'm doing bad-mouthing the military. I consider it just telling the truth, what they should have been doing a long time ago, when they knew about depleted uranium."
The second section of the film is what started the producers down this path. It involves community action at Aerojet Ordnance, a manufacturer near to Chattanooga where many horrific health effects were surfacing. This section of the movie is simply a must-see.
The next portion of the narrative takes us to Puerto Rico, where, if folks are not paying attention, they may be unaware that a decades-long resistance to naval use of the island as a target range and dump has been going on, most recently in regard to the rapacious scattering of DU seeds that have blossomed epidemics of cancer and neurological disease and birth defects, not to mention the immolation of an important sector of the hemisphere's environment, a 'gateway' to the Caribbean and the North Atlantic both.
One activist, who also has done documentary work, explains how a friend, near death from a brain tumor and multiple explosions of cancer, tested so high for levels of DU and other lethal poisons that the doctors performed a second set of exams, which only confirmed the hideous exposure that the young man had experienced.
The next component of the movie follows the work and thoughtful insights of Doug Rokke, the maligned military whistleblower. All that anyone with what my friend Duna Norton used to call "a lick of sense" need do is pay attention to the man's demeanor, the clarity of his message, the comprehensiveness of his documentation, and that observer will have no doubt. All protests are either insane or a purposeful dodge.
The next section documents a vibrant protest. Here's a note for JustMeans readers, who ought now to become JustMeans viewers. Sometimes, "taking it to the street" is an essential part of a process of change.
The sixth part of this movie outlines the struggles of those exposed to contamination from an enriched uranium plant, even 25 years after the plant ceased to operate. "Nearby residents and workers at NL Industries in the Albany, NY, area were found to be contaminated by depleted and enriched uranium - U238 and U235 - 25 years after the plant was ordered shut down. This video, a chapter in our documentary 'Contaminated Forever,' details a press conference on their contamination and a visit to the former NL site."
The final section of the body of the film again bears witness to action, this time at another Tennessee 'merchant of death' and purveyor of depredation, in Jonesboro. The final section is an affecting talk with Iraq veteran Herb Reed, who made me weep with frustrated anger and burning compassion.
But more than tears are necessary. Anyone who wants to live through a ripe old age had better get his a** in gear and see this movie, making sure that everyone he introduces to the film also shows it widely. We can't let this pass.
We meet many of the same characters in this longer piece that takes a more historical approach in its documentary efforts, and also shows the grotesque murder that our nation's policies have worked on the Iraqi people. This is another command performance for anyone who considers herself a proponent of sustainable business, for anyone who holds himself out as a supporter of doing 'business better.'
The narration and photography of this film deserve academy awards rather than the pallor of silence that has greeted this powerful statement. Anyone who is willing, as I have done, to fact-check the points in the movie, will know that this represents criminal evidence against the leaders of the armed forces and the government. Half a dozen characters add to this message, though they only show up briefly. The attorneys for some of the legal actions against the government explain the principle under which the U.S. intends to continue to escape liability for its obvious "willful destruction and gross negligence."
In addition to Doug Rokke, who plays perhaps the part of principal investigator, along with the narrator herself--whom I believe is none other than Nurse Riley, we meet four key witnesses who nail this indictment of the nuclear weapons and nuclear power industries, which are venal enough to sell even satanic death as a beneficial pablum if the process adds a few dam*** to the bottom line.
*Robert Jones, the former Special Forces fighter, nearly breaks down at several junctures when he speaks of the harm that his exposure has yielded for his wife and kids, "who never signed up or swore any oaths." What has severed his connection from the government for good and all is the way that the State utterly abandoned them when he 'retired' from the Army.
*Leuren Moret, whom we have also met before, is so powerful as a presenter that she alone justifies buying the film as the sole Christmas present that one proffers this year. If anyone has even a smidgeon of a doubt, they must watch her testimony, evaluate her arguments, and then weigh in with what conclusions are inescapable.
*Joyce Riley brings honor to the nurse's profession with her witness here: I think she was the narrator. My deadline is nigh, so I can't check, but her voice, clear and full of passion, sure sounds like the woman doing the voiceovers in such incisive and potent fashion. She stands for a continuing presence. She stands for clean-up. She stands for making good on broken promises and healing the world that our leaders have plundered, inasmuch as that is possible in any event.
*Dennis Kyne, suffering for almost twenty years from the brutal calumny of a government he loved and trusted, has become perhaps the most effective veteran's advocate in the U.S. His statements are like razors, with which he strips the skin off the government's pretension and dissimulation in this matter.
Finally, by developing narrative links to pharmaceutical experiments, to the self-serving and cowardly decisions to destroy Iraqi supplies "in place"--so as to avoid culpability in having provisioned Saddam in the first place, to the vicious decades long subjection of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers to atomic weapons tests, to the cavalier attacks on the entire Iraqi people, and more, the filmmakers provide a multitiered examination of chapters of American history that call for an upsurge of fury, if not for outright rebellion.
Unfortunately, because the plutocrats who are murdering soldiers and children with DU are the same top-hats who mainly control the court system, the "standards of evidence" now extant for science-and-law issues like these is impossible to meet for all matters but those so obvious that they don't require study. This flows from the most important legal decision about which you've never heard, Daubert v. Dow Chemical.
Folks might nod that Dow, the world's third largest chemical company and a world class emitter of toxins, was a party here. They also ought to note that Dow was the defendant. This material provides a glimpse as to why a traditional avenue for social redress no longer beckons with the potential that it once did. It establishes, perhaps once and for all, the absolute necessity of a deeper seated and more thorough going approach to reform.
Our lives depend on it. This intersection of policy, democracy, and social action will be a primary theme of the next few months, so JustMeans readers who have an interest in such matters may stay tuned. For today, I merely proffer a quotation from a legal scholar and scientist who deplores the effects of the above-styled case, which has eviscerated science in the courtroom while simultaneously keeping more money in corporate coffers. Go figure.
"Ten years ago, on June 28, 1993, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion relating to how federal judges should decide whether to allow expert testimony into the courtroom. ...directing judges to act as âgatekeepersâ ... to examine the scientific method underlying expert evidence and to admit only that evidence that was both 'relevant and reliable.' ...But what started as a well-intentioned attempt to ensure reliable and relevant evidentiary science has had troubling consequences. ,,, (S)ome judges, in our opinion, have routinely misinterpreted and broadened the reach of Daubert, which has become the latest and most effective tool used by tort defendants to protect themselves from product liability and personal injury cases. Polluters and manufacturers of dangerous products are successfully using Daubert to keep juries from hearing scientific or any other evidence against them. In the aftermath of Daubert, not only are many legitimate scientists and their work being barred from the courtroom, but plaintiffs are being denied their day in court, unfairly in our view. Much of the evidence that forms the basis of a plaintiffâs case, from the safety of drugs and consumer products to whether pollution has caused harm, is based on science. In many cases, pre-trial âDaubert hearingsâ exclude so much of the evidence upon which plaintiffs intend to rely that a given case cannot proceed."
Unfortunately, of course, this is precisely the point.
In order to get a grip on the complexities that predominate in our multi-tasking, multi-level experience of the present moment, we have no choice but to mediate. 'Whether' to accept any filter is rarely an option; the only issue is one of 'which' filter to choose. In actuality, of course, all too many people do not make any sort of conscious decision. The cable company makes the choices; Google provides the filter; the monopoly that owns the local press will just have to do.
Thus, this material drives home with resounding force the lesson that folks must seek out data that fits the reality of our lives, instead of accepting a superficial or deflective construction of that reality from sources that we passively partake of. The consistent call here for Peoples Information Networks is one aspect of such focused choosing. Yet another is the necessity of building a social process around films such as those on view today.
Really, the P.I.N. concept and the potential for 'access-and-activation' parties, an iteration perhaps of the 'correspondence committees' of our forebears, is probably one and the same. Or the idea of having twenty people come to see "Contaminated Forever," each of whom repeats the process, is one aspect of what a Peoples Information Network can do. We need to investigate many such avenues that lead to transformative travels.
In addition to this necessity to become responsible for a more proactive mediation, all citizens confront a crisis of confidence about the capacity of policy-makers and other facilitators of dispute resolution to manage these issues. To a significant extent, which will show up in a much richer and more fully articulated form in policy posts that are forthcoming, the standards that we, as the citizen arbiters of legal matters, allow to predominate in academic, legal,and policy forums are ludicrous.
That is, unless the purpose of those standards is to protect the status quo and deflect even the tiniest hint of a risk to maximize profits for plutocrats, they are absurd. We need to be asking if the point of law and democracy is to enrich the already engorged or ought to engage a more socially democratic paradigm of some sort. If the latter, then we have no alternative but to see that we are trekking as if our lives depended on it down a highway to hell.
Scientist and stalwart advocate for human rights, and for a human future, Leuren Moret, explains clearly some of what is at stake in these matters. She recently pointed out, in an interview for the Iconoclast, that
|"the atmosphere is contaminated with (DU and similar and related pollutants)... . Iâm an expert on atmospheric dust. Iâm a geoscientist, a geologist, and thatâs what I studied and did my research on. ... huge dust storms that are a million square miles and transport millions of tons of dust and sand (from) the Gobi Desert in China, which is where the Chinese did atmospheric testing, so thatâs all contaminated with radiation, and it gets transported right over Japan, and it comes straight across the Pacific and dumps all its sand and dust on the U.S., North America. Itâs loaded with radioactive isotopes, soot, pesticides, chemicals, pollution (from) (t)he Sahara Desert (and from a)third region (in) the Western United States, which is where the Nevada test site is located. We did 1,200 nuclear weapons tests there, so all this radiation that is already there, which is bad enough, has caused a global cancer epidemic since 1945. All of that radiation was the equivalent of 40,000 Nagasaki bombs. ...In April of 2003, the World Health Organization said they expect global cancer rates to increase 50 percent by the year 2020. Infant mortality is going up again all over the world. This is an indicator of the level of radioactive pollution. When the U.S. and Russia signed the partial test ban treaty in 1963, the infant mortality rate started dropping again, which is normal. Now they are going up again. Itâs the global pollution with this radiation."
Sustainable this is not. Better business this is not. Those who profit from the trade, one way and another, have the least incentive to change. We have the greatest incentive. Once again, the 'clue phone' is calling, and we don't want to continue to reside on Planet Oblivia.
Talk is not enough. Study is not enough. Learning is not enough. The times call us to organize and act. 'Business better' depends on it. So do the lives of our kids and whatever generations might have a chance at a future so long as we act.
Certainty is for fools, and uncertainty needs to be the bailiwick of many more citizens than merely the scientistic priests and dissimulating policy thugs who ought to look upon old Werner Heisenberg's idea as sacred but instead adopt a self-serving and false patina of know-it-all arrogance, thereby demonstrating their clownish idiocy to anyone who pays attention. The only certainty that we should bring to this work is concern for honesty, and compassion.
That said, we should obviously embrace an action orientation in relations to DU. We may never know with complete certainty that any of the several million to many tens of millions of the environmentally raped received their wounds in such-and-such a specific faction. But this lack of an exact etiology can only forestall a decision to provide compensation and support if we ignore the plentiful evidence of our senses, as widely available as a pair of movies.
This contention, of course, depends on an effectuation of popular democracy of course. And a majority's exercising its will cannot transpire if we do not embrace the notion that popular knowledge, popular education, and popular opinion, especially when developed in conjunction with broad and deep scientific backing, has not only similar authority to, but also much more profound authority than a narrowly defended and brutally asserted set of remonstrations that serve almost exclusively to advance the interests of imperial rule.
However, such a leap in participation can only come to pass if two things happen first. The initial step is one of capacitation. Readers first must look the grotesque monstrosities that our societies have caused squarely in the face and promise, "We will come to terms with this; we will find out what's behind this; we will ascertain what is possible to do to address this."
The second step is much more daunting. In the past, with only a few exceptions, the tendency has been to take some sense of realization--"Aha! We are cozying up to evil and promulgating death"--and then to hand off responsibility for transformation to Obama-the-Magnificent, or Woodrow ("he kept us out of war" in order to send us into the jaws of death) Wilson, or to some other 'leader,' possibly well-meaning but ultimately impotent to stand up against the institutional and dynamic forces favoring a reversion to business as usual.
Today, business as usual is, in the best possible view, a sentence to a painful and lingering doom. Truly, we must find a way to engage 'business better,' and that means laboring in a collective and participatory way that leads from below and insists that we will not revert to the old cure-alls and diversions this time, but will stand as stewards of future generations in these times that must 'try men's souls' before they deliver us from evil.
And none of these attributes of responsibility about our personal and collective survival is even vaguely plausible outside of a deep context of constant communication with each other. Nor is the discussion idle. On the contrary, it must ever have action as the daily outcome--not just 'writing a letter' or lobbying some other leaders, but being willing, "once more, dear friends into the breach," to put our own lives and fortunes and sacred honor on the line.
A few sites on the web so marvelously speak for humanity that a lack of attention to them is a form of crime against humanity. One such outlet, the End-of-the-American-Dream, proffers a stark and accurate warning to consider.
|"Most Americans have no idea that depleted uranium munitions used by the U.S. military are causing one of the greatest environmental nightmares in the history of the world. In fact, most Americans have no idea what depleted uranium even is. But even as many Americans gobble down their burgers and french fries and pizza and enjoy the 'good life' watching their big screen televisions, an entirely different story is being written on the other side of the world. In Iraq and Afghanistan today, there are some areas that have been so polluted by depleted uranium that they have literally become uninhabitable hellholes. Americans like to think of themselves as so 'environmentally conscious,' but the truth is that one of the greatest environmental tragedies of all time is being caused by the U.S. military and yet nobody seems to care."
I care. The writer goes on to note.
"But now some of the victims are starting to fight back - at least in court. According to one Iraqi minister, Iraq's Ministry for Human Rights will file a lawsuit against the United States and the United Kingdom over their use of depleted uranium munitions in Iraq."
We should support these legal actions against our government. As we will delve further in the next installment, and as "Beyond Treason" documents, George W. Bush stands indicted as a war criminal, with thirty-plus counts against him. We need to step up our organization, and our level of attention and engagement, in regard to these crucial issues, or we can listen to the lines that Jackson Browne sings in "After the Deluge."
"Some of them were dreamers, some of them were fools." We might recall the biblical injunction about the wages of sin. Foolishness now is mortal sin.
Photo Credits:
Jonesboro rally: Wild Clearing Blog
Movie stills: Contaminated Forever: Wes Rehlberg channelhere, and here.
Movie stills: Beyond Treason: Beyond Treason


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The team of chaplains serving patients, their family members and friends, and the staff of Baptist Medical Center is a group of dedicated and compassionate caregivers. Our chaplains are assigned specific areas in the hospital for which to minister and bring comfort and care. Patient visitation, chapel services, memorial services, counseling sessions, prayer and scripture reading, and answering emergency calls are but just a few of the services the Pastoral Care Department offers to those coming to the Baptist for medical care. It is indeed a privilege and an honor to serve Christ and His creation through the capacity of pastoral care at the Mississippi Baptist Medical Center.
To request a visit for a patient or ask for prayer for a patient in Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, please have your nurse page a chaplain or dial 601-968-1000 and ask for a chaplain to be paged.
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California Casualty Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to CalCas.com
This Privacy Notice applies to all information collected or submitted on our primary www.CalCas.com website and any of our other California Casualty web and social properties ("our California Casualty web properties"). We have established strict standards to maintain the privacy and security of information we collect over the Internet.
In addition to Internet privacy and security, California Casualty Management Company is also committed to general consumer privacy and security.
- What types of personally identifiable information do we collect on our California Casualty websites?
- What We Do With Your Information
- You Can Tell Us Not To Share Certain Information
- California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
- Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
- Google Analytics Data
- What is our policy about using cookies on our website?
- What type of security do we maintain?
- What is our policy towards sending SMS text messages?
- How can you access or correct your information?
What types of personally identifiable information do we collect on our California Casualty websites?
"Personally identifiable information" means information, collected on our California Casualty sites, that is linked to an individual identifier, such as name or email address, and can be retrieved and associated with a specific individual during the ordinary course of business.
We may collect personally identifiable information on our California Casualty websites from you if you ask to receive a policy quote, request a policy change, pay a bill, process a claim, or send us feedback. We may collect information about you, other drivers in your household, your vehicles and your home to provide a basis for underwriting, rating, servicing, adjusting claims and collecting premium for California Casualty insurance.
Specific types of general information that we may collect online for both auto and property insurance include:
- Applicant name, address, home and work phone, fax, email address
- Social security number
- Information about your current insurance
- Types of coverages and limits desired
- Credit card number, bank account number, payroll number (depending upon the payment plan you select)
Specific types of additional information that we may collect online for auto insurance include:
- Names of other drivers in household
- Driver information for applicant and household members, including:
- Gender, marital status, relationship to applicant, birth date
- Occupation, employer, year hired, trade association membership
- Driver's license number/state, licensing dates
- Accidents/claims/moving violations
- Existence of prior insurance coverage (including dates, policy number, carrier)
Specific types of additional information that we may collect online for property insurance include:
- Property information, including:
- Property address
- County
- Fire district
- Distance to fire hydrant/fire station
- Is the property within city limits?
- Household members, including:
- Are all household members non-smokers?
- Is applicant 55 or older and retired?
- What is the applicant's age?
- How many non-relatives are living on the property?
Whenever we collect sensitive personally identifiable information on our California Casualty websites, we use secure socket layer "SSL" encryption.
What We Do With Your Information
We only share your personal information with others when we are permitted or required by law to do so. Depending upon the circumstances, we may disclose some or all of the information listed above. To better serve you, we reserve the right to share all of the information about you that we collect, but only as described in this Notice.
We are permitted by law to make certain disclosures without your prior authorization, such as:
- Sharing your information with our related companies and with unrelated third parties for our everyday business purposes. This sharing of information helps us sell, underwrite and renew policies, prevent insurance fraud, collect premiums, verify group membership and handle claims. For example, when you make an auto claim, we will share your name and other required information with the shop that repairs your car. Information we obtain from, or provide to, an insurance support organization may be retained by that organization and disclosed to others.
From time to time we must share your information with various state Departments of Insurance and other government agencies. We will also share your information in response to a valid subpoena or other judicial order.
You Can Tell Us Not To Share Certain Information
If you are a member or a relative of a member of the National Education Association (NEA), we may share some of your information with NEA's Member Benefits Corporation so NEA can offer you other products and services it endorses. This information is also shared so you can be removed from the non-customer mailing and call lists. The information we share may include your name, address, social security number, date of birth, e-mail address, and the fact that you are our customer. If you are a resident of a state, like California, that has an "opt-in" information sharing law, we will obtain your permission prior to sharing your information with NEA. In all other states, you can opt out of this information sharing. If you do not want us to share your information for these purposes, simply call us at 800.800.9410 (please have your policy number available). Unless you tell us otherwise, an opt-out request by any named insured will apply to all insureds on the same policy.
With respect to direct mail, telephone, and email marketing, if you do not want information collected on our California Casualty websites to be used by us to market our own auto and home insurance products to you, then you can instruct us to remove you from our marketing lists:
- If you receive a direct mail piece from California Casualty, you can request to be removed from our direct mail list by contacting California Casualty Management Company's Marketing Services Department at 650.574.4000 x4453.
- If you are contacted by phone by a California Casualty representative, you can request that the representative remove you from our telephone marketing list.
California Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
Because we value your privacy we have taken the necessary precautions to be in compliance with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We therefore will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent except as permitted by the Act.
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act Compliance
We are in compliance with the requirements of COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), we do not collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. Our website, products and services are all directed to people who are at least 13 years old or older.
Google Analytics Data
Millions of websites, including CalCas.com use Google Analytics. Google Analytics collects information about your visit to our site including:
- How you arrived at our website
- How long you stay
- What pages you visit
- What kind of computer, browser, and operating system you are using
- What page you exit our site
- And much more
We may use cookies and other technology to help us track visits to our website. Many commercial Internet sites use cookies; a cookie enables the site to label you as a particular user, but it does not identify you by name or address unless you have provided us with such information (over the Internet or otherwise) or set up preferences in your browser to do so automatically.
You may opt out of accepting cookies by changing the settings on your browser. However, rejecting cookies may prevent you from using certain functions and you may have to repeatedly enter information to take advantage of services or promotions.
Cookies allow us to provide you with a more customized service and are used to track and measure Web site usage. This information may be used to manage and customize our Web site's content, layout, and services in order to improve our site, enhance customer service, and provide tailored messages.
We may also use third-party advertising companies to present ads on sites on which we advertise. Third-party advertising technology uses information derived from your visits to this Web site and the sites on which we advertise to present ads to you and uses cookies to track activity. We may also use Web beacons, provided by third-party advertising companies, on both our Web site and on other sites, to help manage and optimize our online advertising. Web beacons enable us to recognize a browser's cookie when a browser visits this site, to learn which banner ads bring users to our Web site, and enable us to deliver more relevant ads to users.
This Online Privacy Statement does not cover the collection methods or use of the information collected by these third-party companies. These vendors have their own privacy policies and may be members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI"). To remove yourself from some or all NAI member advertising programs, please visit the NAI Opt-Out Page and follow the relevant instructions. Please note that if you delete, block, or otherwise restrict cookies, or if you use a different computer or Internet browser, you may need to renew your opt-out choice.
Although we believe that each of the sites to which we may target our ads or from which we may collect data should post a privacy statement that fully describes the advertising and data collection activities on its site, we cannot guarantee that all of those sites post such a statement.
What type of security do we maintain?
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security, and ensure the correct use of information, we put in place appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
What is our policy towards sending SMS text messages?
California Casualty respects your privacy. If you choose to opt-in to any of our SMS Text programs, we will only use the information you provide to transmit text messages to you or as otherwise described in the program terms and conditions.
We reserve the right at all times to disclose any information as necessary to satisfy any law, regulation, or governmental request, to avoid liability, or to protect our rights or property.
When you submit data in connection with this program you agree that you provide accurate, complete, and true information. In addition you agree not to use any false or misleading information. If we in our sole discretion believe that any information is untrue, inaccurate, or incomplete then we may refuse you access to our SMS texting program.
Upon signing up for the service you may be requested to provide us with personal information such as full name, email address, mobile number, and an image of your driver's license sent via MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service). The information provided will strictly be used as a part of the California Casualty SMS Texting Program participation.
How can you access or correct your information?
You can access your personally identifiable information that we collect and maintain online by contacting us via email at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can request that factual errors in your personal information be corrected by sending us a request that shows the factual error. You may email your correction request to the email address above; you may call a customer care specialist with your request; or you may mail us your request. You can find the telephone number and address of our office serving your state on the Contact Us page of our website. To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.
Should you have other questions or concerns about our privacy policy, please call our privacy manager at 650.572.4342 or send us an email at the email address listed above.
Effective: July 31, 2002, updated: August 14, 2015
© California Casualty Management Company. All rights reserved.
Agent: An agent is any person or organization (other than an employee) that performs services for CCMC under an express or implied agreement and is subject to CCMC's control or right to control in the manner and means of providing the service.
Contractor: A contractor is any person or entity who, as part of an independent business, becomes obligated to provide goods and/or services to CCMC.
Outside Party: An outside party is any party that is not an agent or contractor.


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I was asleeep! Scoop me up another time but actually tell me you are so i won't sleep until one! I sorray bro!
Don't let me fall most defff
Check out my B.o.B photogrpahy i took at one of his concerts.
I like them both, but I think that even though Dont let me fall is great, Magic just has a great vibe to it.
I think both are pretty incredible, but I'd say Magic is a sure-fire number one, as much as I love Don't Let Me Fall. You got to do both at some time!
really hope its dont let me fall, bob has already done the pop thing with his first 2 singles. i get on a beat i shit on a beat then i wipe wit an mc