text:
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Blogger's ftp migration process has pissed me off...! I am so not blogging here anymore...
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
"...we may not see Subcomandante Marcos again" - John Ross
... AMY GOODMAN: Would you say Mexico City is where Subcomandante Marcos came from?
JOHN ROSS: Subcomandante Marcos, we haven't seen for a long time, is actually from Tampico in the north, in the state of Tamaulipas. He went to the Autonomous University, to the UNAM.
AMY GOODMAN: In Mexico City.
JOHN ROSS: In Mexico City—and then was—
AMY GOODMAN: What's his name?
JOHN ROSS: What was—
AMY GOODMAN: His name.JOHN ROSS: Well, Marcos has never told us what his name is. The government has said it repeatedly, Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente. We haven't seen him for a long time. He's been absent from the public stage for the last fourteen months, although there have been periods of time when he's been absent longer. But at this point, he didn't show up at the annual January 1st fiestas that occur as a result to mark the sixteenth year of the rebellion. And I have a feeling that Marcos is just the persona, he's just the mask. And I have a feeling that that persona no longer fits the needs of the Zapatista movement, and we may not see Subcomandante Marcos again. ... El Monstruo: Dread and Redemption in Mexico City - by John Ross
Monday, April 26, 2010
A day in the life of endless wars...
Afghans burn NATO trucks in response to killing of 3 civilians
Amid outrage over civilian deaths in Pakistan, CIA turns to smaller missiles
Sunday, April 25, 2010
"Why do I love" You, Sir? , by Emily Dickinson
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Recession drives more Americans to libraries in search of employment resources; but funding lags demand
April 12, 2010
CHICAGO – When jobs go away, Americans turn to their libraries to find information about future employment or educational opportunities. This library usage trend and others are detailed in the 2010 State of America's Libraries report, released today by the American Library Association. The report shows that Americans have turned to their libraries in larger numbers in recent years.
Since the recession took hold in December 2007, the local library, a traditional source of free access to books, magazines, CDs, and DVDs, has become a lifeline, offering technology training and workshops on topics that ranged from résumé-writing to job-interview skills.
The report shows the value of libraries in helping Americans combat the recession. It includes data from a January 2010 Harris Interactive poll that provides compelling evidence that a decade-long trend of increasing library use is continuing—and even accelerating during economic hard times. This national survey indicates that some 219 million Americans feel the public library improves the quality of life in their community. More than 223 million Americans feel that because it provides free access to materials and resources, the public library plays an important role in giving everyone a chance to succeed.
And with more businesses and government agencies requiring applicants to apply on line, job-seeking resources are among the most critical and most in demand among the technology resources available in U.S. public libraries. Two-thirds of public libraries help patrons complete online job applications; provide access to job databases and other online resources (88 percent) and civil service exam materials (75 percent); and offer software or other resources (69 percent) to help patrons create résumés and other employment materials.
However, the report also shows that increased library use did not lead to an increase in funding for libraries. Research by the ALA and the Center for Library and Information Innovation at the University of Maryland suggests a "perfect storm" of growing community demand for library services and shrinking resources to meet that demand. While library use soars, a majority of states are reporting cuts in funding to public libraries and to the state library agencies that support them.
Other key trends detailed in the 2010 State of America's Libraries Report:
- Internet use continues to expand at public libraries, which have seen double-digit growth since 2007 in the on-line services they make available to their patrons. More than 71 percent of public libraries provide their community's only free public access to computers and the Internet, according to an article in the November 2009 issue of American Libraries. Wireless access also continues to grow and is now offered at more than 80 percent of public libraries.
- Ninety-six percent of Americans feel that school libraries are an essential part of the education experience because they provide resources to students and teachers and because they give every child the opportunity to read and learn. School librarians play a crucial role in "keeping the digital doors open to help young people think about learning beyond the classroom," according to one authority on online social networking sites. However, funding for school libraries also lags.
- America's academic libraries are experiencing increased use, both physical and virtual. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports academic libraries have more than 20.3 million visits per week (1.5 million more than two years earlier), answered more than 1.1 million reference questions, and made more than 498,000 presentations to groups. Almost 95 percent of students use their academic library's website at least once a week, according to one study of students and technology, and nine out of 10 college students surveyed in another study said they turned to libraries "for online scholarly research databases . . . for conducting course-related research, valuing the resources for credible content, in-depth information, and the ability to meet instructors' expectations."
- America's libraries continue their efforts to support minorities and other underserved or disadvantaged populations. The ALA's Spectrum Scholarship Program, for example, awarded 48 scholarships in 2009 to members of underrepresented groups to help them pursue master's degrees; and the library community remained committed to sustained efforts on behalf of people with visual and other disabilities and adult English-language learners.
- The library community continues to defend a core value embodied in the First Amendment and the corollary right to receive and consider ideas, information, and images. Librarians nationwide encountered new challenges as a range of individuals and groups sought to have books or other materials removed from public access, and as the federal government debated extending the life of intrusive legislation such as the USA PATRIOT Act.
- Library construction fared better in 2009 than many expected during the recession, especially given the unreliability of funding for programming, materials, and hours. The answer may be that money earmarked years ago was seeing construction through to conclusion. Many of the new libraries and renovations show a timely concern for the environment.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Unwelcome feral cats at Bush library site
Thursday, April 22, 2010
"Living Well" in Harmony with the Environment, By Franz Chávez
Princeton's first Earth Day
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
U.S. Soldier Who Felt Bad About Slaughter of Civilians in Iraq: "I was told that I needed to get the sand out of my vagina"
In July 2007, McCord, a 33-year-old Army specialist, was engaged in a firefight with insurgents in an Iraqi suburb when his platoon, part of Bravo Company, 2-16 Infantry, got orders to investigate a nearby street. When they arrived, they found a scene of fresh carnage – the scattered remains of a group of men, believed to be armed, who had just been gunned down by Apache attack helicopters. They also found 10-year-old Sajad Mutashar and his five-year-old sister Doaha covered in blood in a van. Their 43-year-old father, Saleh, had been driving them to a class when he spotted one of the wounded men moving in the street and drove over to help him, only to become a victim of the Apache guns.
McCord was captured in a video shot from one helicopter as he ran frantically to a military vehicle with Sajad in his arms seeking medical care. That classified video created its own firestorm when the whistleblower site Wikileaks posted it April 5 on a website titled "Collateral Murder" and asserted that the attack was unprovoked. More than a dozen people were killed in three attacks captured in the video, including two Reuters journalists, one carrying a camera that was apparently mistaken for a weapon.
McCord, who served seven years in the military before leaving in the summer of 2009 due to injuries, recently posted an apologetic letter online with fellow soldier Josh Steiber supporting the release of the video and asking the family's forgiveness. McCord is the father of three children.
Wired's Kim Zetter reached McCord at his home in Kansas. This is his account of what he saw.
Wired.com: At the time you arrived on the scene, you didn't know what had happened, is that right?
Ethan McCord: Right. We were engaged in our own conflict roughly about three or four blocks away. We heard the gunships open up. [Then] we were just told … to move to this [other] location. It was pretty much a shock when we got there to see what had happened, the carnage and everything else.
Wired.com: But you had been in combat before. It shouldn't have surprised you what you saw.
McCord: I have never seen anybody being shot by a 30-millimeter round before. It didn't seem real, in the sense that it didn't look like human beings. They were destroyed.
Wired.com: Was anyone moving when you got there other than the two children?
McCord: There were approximately two to three other people who were moving who were still somewhat alive, and the medics were attending to them.
Wired.com: The first thing you saw was the little girl in the van. She had a stomach wound?
McCord: She had a stomach wound and she had glass in her eyes and in her hair. She was crying. In fact, that's one of the reasons I went to the van immediately, because I could hear her crying. It wasn't like a cry of pain really. It was more of a child who was frightened out of her mind. And the next thing I saw was the boy…. He was kind of sitting on the floorboard of the van, but with his head laying on the bench seat in the front. And then the father, who I'm assuming was the father, in the driver's seat slumped over on his side. Just from looking into the van, and the amount of blood that was on the boy and the father, I immediately figured they were dead.
So, the first thing I did was grab the girl. I grabbed the medic and we went into the back. There's houses behind where the van was. We took her in there and we're checking to see if there were any other wounds. You can hear the medic saying on the video, "There's nothing I can do here, she needs to be evac'd." He runs the girl to the Bradley. I went back outside to the van, and that's when the boy took, like, a labored, breath. That's when I started screaming, "The boy's alive! The boy's alive!" And I picked him up and started running with him over to the Bradley. He opened his eyes when I was carrying him. I just kept telling him, "Don't die; don't die." He looked at me, then his eyes rolled back into this head.
Then I got yelled at by my platoon leader that I needed to stop trying to save these mf'n kids and go pull security…. I was told to go pull security on a rooftop. When we were on that roof, we were still taking fire. There were some people taking pot shots, sniper shots, at us on the rooftop. We were probably there on the roof for another four to five hours.
Wired.com: How much sniper fire were you getting?
McCord: It was random sporadic spurts. I did see a guy … moving from a rooftop from one position to another with an AK-47, who was firing at us. He was shot and killed.
After the incident, we went back to the FOB [forward operating base] and that's when I was in my room. I had blood all down the front of me from the children. I was trying to wash it off in my room. I was pretty distraught over the whole situation with the children. So I went to a sergeant and asked to see [the mental health person], because I was having a hard time dealing with it. I was called a pussy and that I needed to suck it up and a lot of other horrible things. I was also told that there would be repercussions if I was to go to mental health.
Wired.com: What did you understand that to mean?
McCord: I would be smoked. Smoked is basically like you're doing pushups a lot, you're doing sit-ups … crunches and flutter kicks. They're smoking you, they're making you tired. I was told that I needed to get the sand out of my vagina…. So I just sucked it up and tried to move on with everything.
I've lived with seeing the children that way since the incident happened. I've had nightmares. I was diagnosed with chronic, severe PTSD. [But] I was actually starting to get kind of better. … I wasn't thinking about it as much. [Then I] took my children to school one day and I came home and sat down on the couch and turned on the TV with my coffee, and on the news I'm running across the screen with a child. The flood of emotions came back. I know the scene by heart; it's burned into my head. I know the van, I know the faces of everybody that was there that day.
Wired.com: Did you try to get information about the two children after the shooting?
McCord: My platoon sergeant knew that I was having a hard time with it and that same night … he came into the room and he told me, hey, just so you know, both of the children survived, so you can suck it up now. I didn't know if he was telling me that just to get me to shut up and to do my job or if he really found something out. I always questioned it in the back of my mind.
I did see a video on YouTube after the Wikileaks [video] came out, of the children being interviewed. … When I saw their faces, I was relieved, but I was just heartbroken. I have a huge place in my heart for children, having some of my own. Knowing that I was part of the system that took their father away from them and made them lose their house … it's heartbreaking. And that in turn is what helped me and Josh write the letter, hoping that it would find its way to them to let them know that we're sorry. We're sorry for the system that we were involved in that took their father's life and injured them. If there's anything I can to do help, I would be more than happy to.
Wired.com: Wikileaks presented the incident as though there was no engagement from insurgents. But you guys did have a firefight a couple of blocks away. Was it reasonable for the Apache soldiers to think that maybe the people they attacked were part of that insurgent firefight?
McCord: I doubt that they were a part of that firefight. However, when I did come up on the scene, there was an RPG as well as AK-47s there…. You just don't walk around with an RPG in Iraq, especially three blocks away from a firefight…. Personally, I believe the first attack on the group standing by the wall was appropriate, was warranted by the rules of engagement. They did have weapons there. However, I don't feel that the attack on the [rescue] van was necessary.
Now, as far as rules of engagement, [Iraqis] are not supposed to pick up the wounded. But they could have been easily deterred from doing what they were doing by just firing simply a few warning shots in the direction…. Instead, the Apaches decided to completely obliterate everybody in the van. That's the hard part to swallow.
And where the soldier said [in the video], "Well, you shouldn't take your kids to battle." Well in all actuality, we brought the battle to your kids. There's no front lines here. This is urban combat and we're taking the war to children and women and innocents.
There were plenty of times in the past where other insurgents would come by and pick up the bodies, and then we'd have no evidence or anything to what happened, so in looking at it from the Apache's point of view, they were thinking that [someone was] picking up the weapons and bodies; when, in hindsight, clearly they were picking up the wounded man. But you're not supposed to do that in Iraq.
Wired.com: Civilians are supposed to know that they're not supposed to pick up a wounded person crawling in the road?
McCord: Yeah. This is the problem that we're speaking out on as far as the rules of engagement. How is this guy supposed to [decide] should I stop and pick them up, or is the military going to shoot me? If you or I saw someone wounded on the ground what is your first inkling? I'm going to help that person.
Wired.com: There was another attack depicted in the video that has received little attention, involving a Hellfire and a building that was fired on.
McCord: I wasn't around that building when it happened. I was up on a rooftop at that time. However, I do know some soldiers went in to clear that building afterwards and there were some people with weapons in there, but there was also a family of four that was killed.
I think that a Hellfire missile is a little much to put into a building…. They're trained as soldiers to go into a building and clear a building. I do know that there was a teenage girl [in there], just because I saw the pictures when I was there, that one of the soldiers took.
Wired.com: Have you heard from any other soldiers since the video came out?
McCord: I've spoken with one of the medics who was there. He's no longer in the Army. When this video first came out, there was a lot of outrage by the soldiers, just because it depicted us as being callous, cruel, heartless people, and we're not that way. The majority of us aren't. And so he was pretty upset about the whole thing…. He kept saying, we were there, we know the truth, they're saying there was no weapons, there was.
I've spoken with other soldiers who were there. Some of them [say] I don't care what anybody says … they're not there. … There's also some soldiers who joke about it [as a] coping mechanism. They're like, oh yeah, we're the "collateral murder" company. I don't think that [the] big picture is whether or not [the Iraqis who were killed] had weapons. I think that the bigger picture is what are we doing there? We've been there for so long now and it seems like nothing is being accomplished whatsoever, except for we're making more people hate us.
Wired.com: Do you support Wikileaks in releasing this video?
McCord: When it was first released I don't think it was done in the best manner that it could have been. They were stating that these people had no weapons whatsoever, that they were just carrying cameras. In the video, you can clearly see that they did have weapons … to the trained eye. You can make out in the video [someone] carrying an AK-47, swinging it down by his legs….
And as far as the way that the soldiers are speaking in the video, which is pretty callous and joking about what's happened … that's a coping mechanism. I'm guilty of it, too, myself. You joke about the situations and what's happened to push away your true feelings of the matter.
There's no easy way to kill somebody. You don't just take somebody's life and then go on about your business for the rest of the day. That stays with you. And cracking jokes is a way of pushing that stuff down.
That's why so many soldiers come back home and they're no longer in the situations where they have other things to think about or other people to joke about what happened … and they explode.
I don't say that Wikileaks did a bad thing, because they didn't…. I think it is good that they're putting this stuff out there. I don't think that people really want to see this, though, because this is war…. It's very disturbing.
Image: U.S. Central Command
Greece Welcomes Its New IMF Overlords With Day Of Rioting And National Strikes
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 04/21/2010
The strike will shutter hospital and schools and also affect ministries and government offices, according to an e- mailed statement from Athens-based ADEDY, the umbrella group for more than 500,000 state workers. It will hold a rally in central Athens at 11 a.m. local time.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou is under fire from voters who say his austerity measures have gone too far and from investors who argue that further action is needed to cut the EU's largest budget deficit. As Greece meets EU and International Monetary Fund officials to agree on the conditions tied to any loan, the extra yield investors demand to hold Greek debt over German bonds has surged to a record 522 basis points.
"Papandreou is caught between a rock and a hard place," said Jacques Cailloux, chief European Economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc. "The market has zero confidence in what the Greeks are saying, and any further austerity measures pushed for by the IMF could be the ones that break the camel's back if they are deemed unfair by the population. He doesn't have any option though."
Today's strike isn't expected to affect public transport or air traffic, after air-traffic controllers postponed a planned walkout to clear a backlog of flights caused by the spread of volcanic ash from Iceland across Europe.
PAME Hellas, a union affiliated with the Greek Communist Party, called its own labor action. Members of the group blockaded entry to the port of Piraeus yesterday, preventing ferries from sailing. Others picketed luxury hotels in the city center, including at least one where IMF negotiators are staying.
"We must dare, otherwise we will be led like lambs to the slaughter," said Aleka Papariga, head of the Communist Party of Greece, the third-largest parliamentary party. "The working people aren't about to be used to allow passage of policies that will bring the worst barbarity we've seen in the past 35 years."
h/t Rodrigo
Nader Asks D.C. Court Not to Permit 2004 Pennsylvania Challenger to Take Money out of his Bank Account
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Photographers Prepare for a Moment in May
By DAVID W. DUNLAP
Journalists are often at their worst when trying to predict the future. But it seems safe to say that many hundreds — if not thousands — of shutters will be released simultaneously on Sunday, May 2, as photographers around the world help Lens create "A Moment in Time"; one single moment in the life of the planet.
That moment will be 15:00 hours in Coordinated Universal Time or U.T.C., the contemporary equivalent of Greenwich Mean Time. In the United States, under daylight time, this would be 11 a.m. on the East Coast, 10 a.m. in the Midwest, 9 a.m. in the West and 8 a.m. on the West Coast. For local times around the world, you can consult this converter from timeanddate.com.
Lisa Gottlieb Berkowitz said she may be in labor at that moment and promised that she'd "be very careful" about any picture she takes. Brenda Sinclair Dutton expects to be flying to Indianapolis and plans to take a photo in the plane. In Alaska, Sarah Kennedy noted, it will be 7 o'clock. "I'll sure to try to take a photo of the pretty sunrise," she said. "If I'm awake."
Rob Kunkle was less optimistic about the scene in San Francisco. "Sunday at 8 a.m.?" he asked. "I don't think anyone is awake then in S.F." But Dick Halstead, of Palymyra, N.Y., is confident that his day will be well under way. "I hope to include the United Church Choir," he said. "We will just be concluding our Sunday Service."
These were among the responses to our initial invitation, "A Timely Global Mosaic, Created by All of Us," in which we asked everyone, everywhere, to join in making this worldwide photographic mosaic, with each photographer submitting their one best picture. As guidance, we suggested a few broad topics like arts and entertainment, community, family, money and the economy, nature and the environment, play, religion, social issues and work. And we also suggested that you might find the experience even more rewarding if you do some planning in advance, taking into account how best to represent yourself, and your community, with a single image.
You asked how long you'd have to submit your picture. | The answer: up to five days from the time you took it. The submission form will be live and usable from 15:00 (U.T.C.) on Sunday, May 2, until 15:00 (U.T.C.) on Friday, May 7.
You asked how large your file ought to be. | Because the pictures will be published up to 1000 pixels wide on the Web (that's big), the larger your file, the better — up to a point. But please don't send anything larger than 5 MB. If you're using an adjustable camera phone, be sure to set it for the largest file size possible.
You asked whether we were aware that "A Moment in Time" was scarcely an original concept. | Yes, we certainly knew we weren't the first. We'd love to be able to say we remembered that May 2 was also the date chosen in 1986 by David Elliot Cohen and Rick Smolan for "A Day in the Life of America." But our memories aren't that good. It's merely a happy coincidence.
You asked how it could possibly be midnight in Beijing when it's 15:00 (U.T.C.). | It can't. Our calculations were off. It will be 11 p.m.
As the moment nears, you can follow the project on Facebook and on Twitter.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Noam Chomsky Has 'Never Seen Anything Like This'
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Nader, Superman, Kryptonite , the 80's
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Nader criticizes state of American democracy By Susan Kim
The Democrats' Mea Culpas, by John Murphy
They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power.
– Patrick Henry: delivered to the Virginia Convention in 1775
There can be no absolution for the Obaminable Democrats; they can be no more forgiven for supporting Obama than they can be forgiven for supporting John Kerry or William Clinton. Clinton, you will recall, was the president who killed a million innocent Iraqi men, women and children with bombs and sanctions while domestically destroying the women's movement with "welfare reform" and American jobs with "free trade agreements.
These are the people who followed the inane philosophy of ABB ("Anyone is Better than Bush")! Imagine believing that Kerry would be better than Bush even though he promised that he would out-Bush Bush by sending 40,000 more troops to Iraq and declaring that, if he had been in charge, he would have burned Falluja to the ground. A few days later Bush granted his wish killing mostly women and children! Even the ever hawkish William Safire (d. 2009), columnist for the New York Times, was positively gloating after the September, 2004 Kerry-Bush presidential debate: "As the Democratic Whoopee Brigade hailed Senator John Kerry's edge in debating technique, nobody noticed his foreign policy sea change. On both military tactics and grand strategy, the newest neoconservative announced doctrines more hawkish than President George W. Bush."
Meantime, during this ABB farce, Michael Moore and Bill Maher assumed the typical Democrat position: kneeling and begging. No, they were not begging for the scraps from the corporate table, the traditional Democrat plea. This time they even more grievously disgraced themselves by begging the antiwar candidate, Ralph Nader, not to interfere with John Kerry's plans to slaughter, more efficiently and effectively, the people in Iraq while continuing to outsource American jobs with so-called "free trade" agreements. These are the very same kind of bottom feeder who would have begged the Liberty Party to stop its opposition to slavery and let the lesser of two pro-slavery parties make things a little better for the slaves. These latter-day court jesters demonstrated that they lack even the dim flicker of sentience needed to qualify them as imbeciles. The Democrats are beyond redemption; they are to be condemned not forgiven. Their priority was to elect Kerry, not oppose the war.
The Democrats did not get a chance to whine about a Kerry presidency as they do about the Obama presidency. They did not even get a chance to continue maligning Ralph Nader for Kerry's defeat. Now, since Barack Obama, the mocha messiah of the Democrats, has assumed the imperial mantle of George Bush, that dreadful sound can be heard once again rising up from the Democrats. Oh, the mind numbing din of whining Democrats!
Whether they thought Obama would end the wars instead of escalating them or stop the torture instead of outsourcing it to Jordan and Saudi Arabia or prosecute the torturers instead of giving them a pass or encourage the Congress to pass single-payer healthcare instead of cutting backroom deals with big Pharma and providing corporate welfare for the insurance companies or bail out homeowners instead of bankers, Democrats from Dave Lindorff to David Swanson can be heard wailing about the betrayal of Barack Obama who now gives every indication that he is more monstrous than George Bush.
To be sure, Bush was a war criminal who invaded Iraq to fulfill the mission of the Project for New American Century (PNAC) which was to secure a US-Israeli hegemony in the Middle East. That strategy was identical to the Democratic Party's think tank the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). Bush also invaded Afghanistan to secure a land area for a liquid natural gas pipeline. Obama plans to continue the occupation of Iraq, has escalated the war on Afghanistan (reinforcing the lies of the Bush administration) and rained down three times as many unmanned drones on Pakistan in one year than Bush did in his last three. Obama has also opened military hostilities against Yemen, Somalia and the Philippines. Obama recently proclaimed that he has the right to murder American citizens on the mere suspicion that they might be terrorists. This leaves us all vulnerable to murder at Obama's whim. Those of us on the "watch list" must now say an extra prayer each night that our spouses and children are not slaughtered when Obama's drone hits home. No wonder the Teabaggers are afraid of government and Obama in particular!
It must not be overlooked that Obama also plans to use Colombian insurgents to commit "false positive" border incidents blaming Venezuela as a pretext for a retaliatory attack, supported, of course, by Washington as a way to target and perhaps remove Hugo Chavez.
He continues destabilization tactics for regime change in Iran and may, preemptively without cause, attack that nation's nuclear facilities. He supports the worst of Israeli war crimes and oppression against Palestinians and keeps alive the long dead "terrorist organization" called Al Qaeda in order to suppress civil liberties at home, maintain the pretense of a flourishing economy through defense spending and ultimately secure corporate money for his re-election.
Democrat Talking Heads
In case anyone is wondering about the "change" promised by Obama, fear not. Democrat talking head Rachel Maddow explained to us earlier this week that Obama's nuclear summit was the promised change! As it turned out, "change did not mean that everybody suddenly had a job or that the banking crisis was suddenly fixed or that our wars magically ended. But change, in part, has meant a return to diplomacy". Of course, Israel, the greatest threat to world peace next to the United States, refused to participate and Iran was not even invited. Like all of the Democratic Party talking heads Maddow fails to mention the ever present threat from the Obama administration's "diplomacy" when dealing with other nations: "all options remain on the table". This is not a very diplomatic way to tell the world "you will do it our way or you will face the possibility of a US invasion or at the very least a carpeting of cluster bombs, white phosphorus and unmanned drone missiles". This bogus nuclear summit is simply more advertising hype and does not represent any significant change from the second Bush administration.
The Incompetent Machiavellian
Every time Ralph Nader tried to get Democrats to stand on their hind legs, party leaders quickly reminded them that they must be "practical" that they must be "realistic". Like Machiavelli, the Democratic Party is not concerned with right and wrong or good and evil. It has rejected all moral philosophy by accepting the Machiavellian concept that "the ends justify the means".
How many times have the ideas and positions of Ralph Nader been demeaned as foolish idealism impractical in a world where one must "win elections"?
Realism is seductive because once it has been accepted as a reasonable notion that actions should be based on "practical" reality people are too often led to accept, without questioning, someone else's vision of what reality is. It is a crucial fact of independent thinking, typical of Ralph Nader, to be skeptical of someone else's description of reality. Democrats never question the "reality" presented to them by the Democratic Party. For this reason the Democrats present an even more dangerous and violent threat than the tea party movement which it has engendered and which it continues to empower by its own lack of moral clarity.
The Democratic Party's talking heads from the most articulate and erudite to the more brutish philistine serve the same purpose as the Republican Party talking heads. Their job is to secure the election of Democrats not to present an objective evaluation of their performance and recommend the appropriate action. Far from playing the role of chess master, Obama is an incompetent Machiavellian. Virtually nothing Obama and his representatives in the liberal media (the talk show hosts previously mentioned) have told us about this health care reform bill is true. The entire thrust of the legislation was to prevent campaign contributions from big Pharma and healthcare insurance companies from flowing into Republican coffers. By euphemistically calling this piece of corporate welfare "health care reform" Obama has sacrificed the needs of the American public in order to achieve his re-election and that of the Democratic Congress. For Obama, the ends justified the means. No moral philosopher in Eastern or Western civilization condones such a philosophy. Only Niccolo Machiavelli advanced such a thesis.
Usually, those who try to get away with "the ends justifying the means" at least have some noble end in mind. The re-election of the Democrats is anything but noble and the means was a purely cynical act on the part of the Democratic Party. Even a Machiavellian, however, would be embarrassed at the incompetent execution of Obama's loutish strategy.
A good Machiavellian would certainly have planned for the possible unintended consequences of such a strategy and hence have prevented their occurrence. A competent Machiavellian would have started his administration by ensuring that the Senate changed the filibuster rule from 41 to 49 votes. This rule only requires a simple majority vote in order to be changed. It is a Senate rule, not a law. Moreover, the incompetent Obama administration, while achieving its ends created such blowback from the ridiculous right that the United States is now as close to collapsing into a fascist regime as it has ever been in its history.
The attitudes of the people in the tea party movement are completely justified. Not only has there not been any increase in the standard of living over the last 30 years while productivity has increased by over 78%, real incomes of working Americans have actually declined. While Reagan, the Bushes and Clinton are to blame for the adoption of "neoliberal economics" the Obama administration with its continuing support of the banking industry was the straw that broke the political camel's back.
Obama, more than any Republican, is linked to the bankers. They supported him over McCain. When Obama started to criticize the bankers, in true Machiavellian fashion, he did an about-face proclaiming: "I, like most of the American people, don't begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free market system." Of course, Obama is completely in error. Americans actually do begrudge the $17 million bonus awarded to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and the $9 million issued to Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs. No one should be surprised that Goldman Sachs contributed $1 million to Obama's presidential campaign.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans like to talk about class warfare but that is precisely what the incompetent, Machiavellian, cynical Obama administration has engendered. Unemployment is reaching near depression levels while Obama's banking buddies bathe in bonuses beyond imagination and people are not happy about it. The job growth statistics quoted by the Democrat talking heads are mostly in non-tradable services area such as janitors, retail sales persons, waiters and waitresses, orderlies and attendants.
These minimum wage paying jobs were created by corporations which have outsourced good paying American jobs in engineering, manufacturing and information technology.1 Such outsourcing continues under the "free trade" supporting Obama administration. Ironically, the highly trained workers in those well compensated fields are now used to account for the "new jobs" being created by the Obama administration. Such a clever way has the Obama administration devised for job creation; turning well paid information technology specialists into low paid retail clerks!
The working class has been marginalized as the costs of our economic collapse are socialized and profits are privatized. Frustration and outright rage is the natural and expected response to the callous Obama administration. Instead of getting answers from the left, however, they receive political placebos along with the puerile pabulum fed to them by Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin.
Chris Hedges warns us of "the Weimarization of the American working class".2 Just as demagogues in post-World War I Germany were able to play upon the despair of the working class, the same type of forces are now in place in the United States. He suggests that even though the tea party movement, itself, may be tiny, it is a well-funded and well-organized group. Properly managed, Hedges suggests "this tiny group can count on the sympathy and support of perhaps as many as 100 million evangelicals". It would only take a crisis to catapult the leaders of this movement into power.
Naomi Klein in her work The Shock Doctrine3 spells out precisely how such a crisis could produce a disastrous political, social and economic revolution. Another terrorist attack would be all that is necessary. Such an attack is not just probable but inevitable. The resulting fascist order would face no resistance. At a time when violent resistance from the left might be required, the left has been disorganized and distracted by the Democratic Party. As the left smokes Obama's wacky tobacci and sings "Kum By Ya", the forces which would destroy civil society as we know it are singing "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition".
There is good reason to be afraid. We must not, however, confuse fear with cowardice. In the final analysis we either stand up for our convictions or we stand for nothing. The continued voting for the lesser evil has not, nor cannot, save this country; it can only hasten a total collapse. Those who are too afraid to voice their conscience and make it felt politically, by any means, are already slaves; they simply have not yet heard the rattling of their chains.
- Paul Craig Roberts, How the Economy Was Lost; (California: AK Press, 2010), 20-21. [↩]
- Chris Hedges, American Fascists (The Christian Right and the War on America) (New York: Free Press, 2006): 266. [↩]
- Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism; (New York: Metropolitan Books; Henry Holt & Co. 2007): 309. [↩]
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]


text:
Spring is here! Kind of. It's been warm and sunny, but still windy and chilly. I really wanted to go strawberry picking and make strawberry rhubarb jam. But the strawberries aren't ready, and I'm too busy packing and cleaning to make jam. Even so I was determined to make something with the rhubarb, before I went and left the country and missed rhubarb season entirely.
So Sunday afternoon I made these Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars. My they were good. The perfect amount of sweet and tart and soft. Trust me on this one. Make these immediately. They taste and smell like summer.
Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars
adapted slightly from Martha Stewart
For The Streusel
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
For The Cake
1/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces*
1/4 pound strawberries, quartered*
1 tablespoon light-brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, (spooned and leveled)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter and flour parchment and pan, tapping out excess flour. (I didn't use the parchment, and I had no problem getting the bars out of the pan).
Make streusel: Whisk together butter, brown sugar, and salt. Add flour and mix with a fork until large crumbs form. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Make cake: In a medium bowl, combine rhubarb (and / or strawberries), brown sugar, and 1/4 cup flour. In another medium bowl, whisk 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, one at a time. With mixer on low, beat in vanilla, then flour mixture. Spread batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with rhubarb and top with streusel.
Bake cake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake from pan. Cut into 16 bars.
* Martha only uses rhubarb, but mentions you can substitute up to half of it with strawberries. I didn't really measure the berries and rhubarb by weight, I just cut up some of both, tossed them in the flour and sugar and spread them on top of the cake. I didn't want just a smattering of fruit, I wanted lots of it. I recommend you follow this impulse.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Man Behind "47 Percent" Video Opens His Own Research Firm
Jimmy Carter's grandson turns his big scoop into a career. He's already taken down another Republican with a hidden-camera video.
The freelance researcher who became a minor campaign celebrity after unearthing the now-infamous video of Mitt Romney railing against 47 percent of Americans at a private fundraiser has used his political fame to start his own opposition research firm.
When the researcher, James Carter IV, first saw the secretly recorded footage of Romney in August, he immediately identified it as a bombshell, and sent it to David Corn, a Mother Jones reporter with whom he had worked in the past. When the magazine published the scoop — headline: SECRET VIDEO: Romney Tells Millionaire Donors What He REALLY Thinks of Obama Voters" — Corn received a solo byline, with Carter getting a modest mention at the foot of the post: "Research assistance: James Carter."
Corn would later turn what his magazine called "the scoop of the decade" into a HarperCollins e-book, which he titled, 47 Percent: Uncovering the Romney Video That Rocked the 2012 Election. Carter is thanked in the acknowledgements for "his diligent pursuit of the source for the Romney fundraising video and for introducing the two of us," writes Corn. "It was a consequential hook-up."
It was, in fact, Carter who found the video, researched Romney fundraisers, identified the likely location and date of the one featured in the video, and convinced the source of the footage through a series of Twitter direct messages to hand it over to Corn.
"[Corn] got a lot of the credit for it, and that's fine — that's the way it had always worked," Carter told BuzzFeed, adding, "I was perfectly fine with it. I'm the research guy, and he was the reporter and publicist."
After the 47 percent video broke, Carter got a slew of job offers from news organizations such as the Huffington Post, Reuters, and The Daily Beast.
But he knew early on that a job in media wasn't for him. "I'm very partisan," he said. "The way I look at it, having to even acknowledge that there's another side of the argument is doing the other side's work for them."
So he decided to start his own opposition research firm instead. He didn't know how to start a business, but his cousin lawyer helped him file the papers, and on Oct. 15, he officially opened Carter Research, LLC, for business.
The firm operates from Carter's home in Atlanta, where he and his wife work together side-by-side. "She's the writer, and does some researcher too, but she mainly puts it in a form that's presentable to the client," he said.
Carter's first big victory was a campaign he did for Better Georgia, a progressive advocacy organization that wanted to dislodge Chip Rogers, Republican majority leader of the state Senate, before leadership elections in November.
In late September, Rogers sent out an invitation on his majority leader stationary to 35 Republican members of the Senate inviting them to an Oct. 11 closed-door "Agenda 21 Information Session." The four-hour event would feature a lunch, movie, and PowerPoint presentation.
According to the invitation, the discussion would focus on the ways in which Agenda 21 — a United Nations resolution that has become the target of conservative derision — was "fostering a Socialist plan to change the way we live, eat, learn, and communicate," read the invitation.
Carter sneaked a videographer into the meeting — 47-percent style — and got it all on tape. Carter said the meeting, led by Rogers, was even more damaging than he'd hoped. One of the slides in the PowerPoint showed the number of deaths by famine under Stalin and Mao. Listed beneath the two dictators was Obama — famine death count: "TBD." Rogers also warned that Obama was using a mind-control techniques.
"We were hoping to just get anything that we could add to our Chip Rogers file," said Carter. "But it was better than we were expecting. It went national."
The Rogers video was featured first on Nov. 11 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Three days later, it got picked up by Mother Jones. And finally, on Nov. 17, Rachel Maddow gave Carter's video its own segment. Maddow called it "lunacy."
While the Senate was holding its leadership votes that week, Rogers withdrew his name before resigning altogether two weeks later on Dec. 4 to take a job in public television. "The governor got him his own television show just to get him out of there," said Carter.
His success is perhaps one reason, as Carter said, "clients generally just come to me." And just two months ago he kept a plea for employment — "currently looking for work" — prominently displayed in his bio line on Twitter. Then, said Carter, opposition research was "just what I would do in my spare time," he said. "Being paid for my hobby was a pipe dream, because I was doing it for free anyway."
Carter graduated high school in 1995, and he's reticent about how he spent the years between then and now, claiming he doesn't even keep track of his age.
"I can never remember. I actually stopped counting, because a lot of those years run together. I was worthless for a while," he said, recounting intermittent drug issues he has since resolved.
Carter is close with his grandfather, although he is careful not to be the first to bring up the former president in conversations. As Corn noted in 47 Percent, "I wouldn't learn of his relationship to the former president until early September," when the two met at the Democratic National Convention nearly two months after they began emailing.
But "whenever big stories come out that I contributed to," said Carter, "I would send them out to my family." And when he sent out the 47 percent video, the former president sent James an email. It was the first time his grandfather had ever responded to one of his emails.
"James: This is extraordinary," wrote the former president. "Congratulations! Papa."
Ruby Cramer is a politics reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Ruby Cramer at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Got a confidential tip? Submit it here.


text:
Illustrator, pen name, gamer, and general fangirl of all things geeky awesome.
Anything marked "fanart" is just that. It's fanart for fun, I don't own the characters and I didn't make any money off of it. So there.
***I am open for commission work and illustration jobs.***
Email me at email@example.com and we'll chat
Follow me on Twitter @fienemannia (note the "i").
I'm also on AIM and MSN as FutilityMistress.


text:
Merriam-Webster defines Heartbreak as: crushing grief, anguish, or distress
This morning I had the distinct displeasure of experiencing all of these emotions. All because of a boy, and here I thought I was done with broken hearts caused by careless boys when I left my youth behind (in the not too distant past). Continue reading


text:
National Seed Beading Month – Let's Do Some Seed Beading Every Day!
Dulcey Heller, a Beadwork magazine contributor and beader extraordinaire, mentioned that today begins National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo as it's known to those who love to write. The concept is that you have the entire month of
|It would take me much longer than 30 days to finish up all these bead embroidered cabochons!
November – thirty days – in which you MUST write every single day, and at the end of the month, you'll either have a first draft of a novel, or at least a very good start on a first draft of a novel.
Dulcey wondered what would happen if we had a National Beading Month, or as she put it, a National Seed Beading Month (NaSeeBeMo?) where instead of writing every single day, you worked with your seed beads every single day. What a concept! It sure sounded good to me.
|The first challenge piece I need to complete in November is for the Etsy Beadweavers' Team. The theme: Arabesque Art.
|My beading challenge kit from The Hole Bead Shop – what am I going to make with THESE?
What would you do if you got to do some seed beading every single day? Would you finish some of those UFOs (un-finished objects) that are tucked away in plastic bags? Would you start some new projects and learn some new beading techniques? Maybe you would start a beading group with friends so that you would be able to bead at least once a week. Or you could just enjoy the sensation of working with your seed beads and your hands every day for a month.
I liked Dulcey's idea so much that I have decided to make it my own personal challenge to bead every single day in the month of November. I may not be able to write a novel, but I sure can use the motivation to finish two large-scale bead embroidery pieces that I started over the weekend.
The first piece that I'm working on is for my membership requirements in the Etsy Beadweavers' Team. Each Team member is required to complete one piece of beadwork that was inspired by that month's challenge theme and list it in their Etsy shop. Then there are two ways to vote for your favorite piece: in the public forum and in the private message boards for the Beadweavers' Team. The winner of the challenge gets to pick the next month's challenge theme.
Then I have the beading challenge kit from The Hole Bead Shop. I've been daydreaming about sugar skulls and Day of the Dead artwork since I received the kit a couple of weeks ago, and I'm still trying to decide on a design for the beads. The only rule for that challenge is that I have to use 70% of the beads that were included in the kit – shouldn't be too hard to do, with my love of beaded embellishment and beaded fringe, right?
So what would you like to do in November? Of course, the holidays are quickly approaching, and many of us are gearing up for holiday craft shows, office parties and Thanksgiving celebrations. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just remind ourselves to take a break and spend some quality time with our seed beads? Even if it's just fifteen minutes a day before bed, or first thing in the morning before work, let's see what we can do and get ourselves working with our seed beads every single day in the month of November!
Feel free to leave a comment on this blog post, but let's keep the conversation going over in the Forums, too. We can provide a great support system for each other while we embark on the challenge to get ourselves working with our seed beads in the month of November!
Bead Happy,


text:
Coordinated efforts of the highly successful drug education and rehabilitation program bring the truth about drugs to students across the country.
LOS ANGELES, Calif., Nov. 5 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Narconon International's management office in Los Angeles worked with its drug rehabilitation and education centers throughout the country in a combined effort to speak with thousands of students and other community members during Red Ribbon Week.
The National Family Partnership's (NFP) Red Ribbon Week is considered the nationwide observance of drug prevention activities and is held during the end of October each year, which began in 1988. Narconon staff and volunteer activities stretched the span of the country to participate in helping kids stay away from drugs.
In California, Narconon Vista Bay received a proclamation from the Mayor of Seaside City and delivered drug prevention presentations to hundreds of students in the local area. In Oklahoma and Texas, Narconon Arrowhead drug education staff visited several schools and presented to over 1,500 elementary, middle and high school students.
Narconon Georgia held a large event for Red Ribbon week at Woodruff Park in Atlanta complete with live music and educational literature for the many who attended, ranging from government workers, to tourists and students, who combined to promote a drug-free world.
Narconon Freedom Treatment Center in Michigan held an open house and helped educate people in the local community about the true dangers of drugs and addiction, while Narconon Hawaii provided prevention seminars to local ninth- and tenth-grade students and had them sign a drug-free pledge. One student was quoted as saying, "My thoughts changed because I feel that taking drugs can only lessen your chances of being successful and making life harder for you to live. Staying away from drugs can help me live an easier life and make better choices."
In southern California Narconon San Diego was out in the community with participants signing drug-free pledges and Narconon Drug Prevention and Education in Los Angeles spoke with more than 2,000 students throughout Southern California just that week.
Drug education and demand reduction activities are vital to stopping addiction before it starts, and Narconon is proud to have worked with millions of young people throughout the world over the last four decades to help them learn the truth about drugs and what they do to a person's mind and body.
According to a study of Narconon's drug education program published in the Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy peer-reviewed journal, "…youths who received the Narconon drug education curriculum showed reduced drug use compared with controls across all drug categories tested. The strongest effects were seen in all tobacco products and cigarette frequency followed by marijuana. There were also significant reductions measured for alcohol and amphetamines. The program also produced changes in knowledge, attitudes and perception of risk."
For more information about Narconon education and rehabilitation programs, visit www.narconon.org. To learn more about Red Ribbon Week visit www.nfp.org.
News issued by: Narconon International
Original Image: https://www.send2press.com/wire/images/09-1105-RedRibbon_72dpi.jpg
# # #
Original Story ID: (5446) :: 2009-11-1105-004
Original Keywords: red ribbon week, National Family Partnership, Narconon Drug Prevention and Education in Los Angeles, California Narconon San Diego, Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy, Narconon Freedom Treatment Center in Michigan, Georgia, Vista Bay, NFP Narconon International
News Source: Narconon International


text: You know, the bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd. What does everyone think about this guy? He is one of my favorite bassists, and one of my biggest influences. Known to use a range of basses (Gibson Firebird, Fender P, and Fender Jazz) and got great tone out of all of them. He cuts through the mix with ease, even with two, and sometimes three guitars, and a piano. His basslines are fun and entertaining, and not too complex. I'd say he rivals bass legends such as John Paul Jones, Geezer Butler, and Geddy Lee, but gets virtually no mention here at TB. Discuss.


text:
Photo via Seeker9
You often hear customers say they can get it cheaper down the street. Taking this statement at face value is simply not true. What can they really get down the street? You likely have no clue.
Knowing your competition is key, especially in today's fast-paced, often cutthroat business world. What are they selling – same or different brand? Do they offer the same warranty? Does it include a service agreement? Is it in stock? Will they deliver?
As you can see, there are lots of values which can differentiate what you are selling from what the competition is selling, and that's before price is even discussed.
What really differentiates you from others in the marketplace is how you provide exceptional value to the customer. Each customer has a complex system of wants and needs which they consider to varying levels when making the decision to purchase something.
You need to know what these values are in order to properly address what really influences the customer in their buying decision. There may be values you haven't thought of.
Once you understand the customer, you can take this information and focus your sales offering on the target customer. You don't need to address the competition at this time. What you need to do is demonstrate how your product or service best fulfills the expectations of the customer.
You need to position yourself as the expert on the topic so they will come to rely on you as being able to fulfill their needs.
If you do a good job with your sales/marketing presentation, the price almost becomes a non-issue. If you haven't done a good job, then the customer won't be sold because they don't understand how what you're marketing better meets their needs than products or services they can purchase from others.
Ask yourself what values you take into consideration when making a large purchase. Apply those values and every other value you can possibly think of to your marketing strategy and watch the sales roll in.


text:
Information |
Information | Games | Standings | Leaders |
Games | Standings | Leaders |
Winter Camp Information |
Summer Camp Information |
2018 Bantam Rosters
View Full Calendar »
Sherwood Park Minor Baseball exists to foster and encourage the growth and enjoyment of the sport of baseball by teaching the value of sportsmanship, skills and competition.
Box 57069 RPO Eastgate Sherwood Park AB T8A 5L7
Do you want to reach thousands of users across hundreds of Minor Sports Association websites? Advertising with RAMP has never been easier! Get in touch with us now to discuss your needs.
RAMP InterActive - Terms of Use - Privacy Policy
Admin Login


text:
I'm going to write something totally different today.Stress can and will affect us all at one point in our lives and can be down to so many things. It doesn't have to be a big event or drama. Stress can build up from series of small problems which on their own would be no hassle at all. But together can give you sleepless nights and high anxiety leading to health problems such as high blood pressure.
Lately there has been lots of chatter about how the stress of being a President ages a person over the stretch of their incumbency. This physical impact is not just in our imaginations, and it doesn't require the strain and toil of the highest office in the world. Stress in general, a new study has found, can age us in very visible and evident ways.
For the study twins were used as twins are destined to age in genetically identical ways. Researchers looked at them to see how varying stressful life experiences further changed their appearance. The primary example was of twins who had gone through a divorce and ended up looking at least two years older than their identical siblings who were single, married, or even widowed.
Additionally, use of antidepressants appeared to make subjects look older. Researchers attribute this to the medication's tendency to cause sustained relaxation of facial muscles, which can lead to sagging of the skin.
So what does all this tell you…..DON'T STRESS.
You should always try and sort all your problems out quickly and don't hold them in tucked away, try to always look on the bright side on things and not just the negatives. This can be hard but if you want to keep looking young when you're older then you need to take a step back and try to chill.


text: Hi All! I am happy to be a new member of ChefTalk.com! I am looking for active boards with lively chatter. I am a female chef but I am currently working on some projects for the summer. I am writing a book and developing an project for an investment group. I am a managing chef in my career and I will eventually (sigh) have my own place without co-owners. Oh and today is my birthday! Cheers!


text:
Sedang Disiapkan
Simple Visual C++ homework needed ASAP
Bajet $30-100 USD
I need a C++ quick console program for a homework. Must be done ASAP as I need to surrender it before 10 PM Eastern time USA Wed April 19 (tomorrow). Can be a VS C++ 6 or VS .net C++. I need the source script (text). You do not need to do any interface or GUI, it must run on console. Please download specification with program description.
I even included the logic of the program as a squeleton program for fast an easy completion including loops.


text:
Watch Enemies Closer Movie Streaming Online FREE in High Definition Now
Watch Enemies Closer 2013 Movie Online Streaming. This Thriller movie released on 2013-10-30. Deep within a forest on the US-Canadian border, two sworn enemies must work together to escape a ruthless drug cartel hell-bent on retrieving a drug shipment which went missing there.
Enemies Closer 2013 Movie Storyline
Forest ranger and Ex-Navy SEAL Henry is forced by the drug cartel to help retrieve a major shipment of drugs which went missing on the US-Canadian border. While in the woods, he runs into a man who has a vendetta against him, but both men must struggle to escape the forest and defeat the cartel, while at odds and at knife's edge with each other.
Spend a little time now for free register and you could benefit later.. You will be able to stream and download Enemies Closer 2013 in High-Definition on PC (desktop, laptop, tablet, handheld pc etc.) and Mac. Download as many as you like and watch them on your computer, your tablet, TV or mobile device.
If you realy love this movie, You can Watch Enemies Closer (2013) Movie Streaming Online FREE in High Definition Now!


text:
|Business coach/mentor
Not only do top performing atheles see the value in having a personal coach, but now smart business owners use them too. Business coaching is the practice of providing support and advice to business owners (staff and managers included) to help them find ways that they can improve their business and make it run more effectively. Business coaches are often called in when a business is preceived to be performing badly, however many smart business owners these days see the benefit of business coaching even when the business is healthy.
Better Business Now business coaching services help business owners from start-ups, small businesses, medium businesses, large businesses to corporates. By simply having someone who is skilled in multiple areas of business take a look at your business from the outside, they are able to offer valuable advice and help that can result in increases to your business.


text:
Platte Hutterite Colony (Platte, South Dakota, USA)
Platte Hutterite Colony in Platte, South Dakota was founded in 1949 as a division from the Bon Homme (South Dakota) Hutterite Colony.
Daughter colonies of Platte Hutterite Colony include Grass Ranch Hutterite Colony (Kimball, South Dakota) and Spring Valley Hutterite Colony (Wessington Springs, South Dakota).
In 2012 the Platte Hutterite Colony was a Schmiedeleut Group 2 colony. The minister was Joseph Waldner and the manager was Dale J. Stahl.
Additional Information
Location: Platte, South Dakota (coordinates: 43.469444, -99.126111 [43˚ 28′ 10″ N, 99˚ 07′ 34″ W])
Address: 35271 - 270th St., Platte, SD 57369-6007
Telephone: 605-726-3141
Map:Platte Hutterite Colony, Platte, South Dakota
|Bert Friesen
|Date Published
|March 2013
Cite This Article
MLA style
Friesen, Bert. "Platte Hutterite Colony (Platte, South Dakota, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. March 2013. Web. 16 Dec 2018. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Platte_Hutterite_Colony_(Platte,_South_Dakota,_USA)&oldid=84022.
APA style
Friesen, Bert. (March 2013). Platte Hutterite Colony (Platte, South Dakota, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 December 2018, from http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Platte_Hutterite_Colony_(Platte,_South_Dakota,_USA)&oldid=84022.
©1996-2018 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.


text:
Program Overview
The Maribyrnong Sports Academy Basketball program has been growing year after year providing young athletes who have an ambition of getting to higher levels of the game within the sport. We have been able gather all levels of talent and help to incorporate a "hard work" ethic that translates into growth and opportunity for those athletes. Through the years we have been able to provide several pathways for our athletes to pursue higher levels of play. These pathways include State Team inclusion and US College Scholarships, which many of our athletes are currently participating in. This is certainly a benefit to the program as the US College pathway leads to international recognition.
The basketball program is not just a pathway to improve our basketball skill level. Through our coaching staff we are also able to help players adjust in:
Diversity of team and cultural aspects within a team sport
Recognise different levels of ability and be able to communicate to achieve a common goal within a group environment.
Relate sport to life experience and to understand that achievement through sporting habits can be transferred to achievement in life by applying the same communication, work ethic, and acceptance skills of others.
Training Program
Our basketball program is based on developing individual skill level of each athlete and incorporating that skill into game situation and recognition. We work extensively on getting each athlete comfortable in their training, environment which includes: Ball Handling, Shooting, Defense, Footwork, Communication, Passing, Rebounding, and Game structure from 1 on 1 to 5 on 5. We make sure to teach the game from the smallest aspect to the largest.
Training Venues
We train right here at Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Our facility houses just about everything we need to help develop our athletes to their fullest potential. We did however use the Victoria University facility when our stadium was still under construction which was a huge help to the program.
Brian Vaughns, Head Coach
Former Professional Basketball player with over 12 years playing experience at the professional level. Played Professional Basketball in Germany, Greece, Australia, Switzerland, Argentina, Mexico, Domenican Republic, and Italy. NBA/NCAA Certified Scout, Level 3 Coaching status, Currently coaching in the Big V Senior Championship Division, and Certified Professional skills development coach and mentor.
Peter Fleming - Juniors Head Coach
Former SEABL Player and Coach, Former Level 3 (Master Coach), Former SSV State Coach, Technical Coaching Director and Junior Head Coach Maribyrnong Sports Academy.
Shane McDonald - Intermediate Head Coach
Former NBL and current SEABL player, past involvement in coaching in Victoria Country and Metropolitan junior pathways, Intermediate and Senior Girls Head Coach Maribyrnong Sports Academy


text:
Counselor slams photo editing, fashion industry in viral Facebook post
A Kansas woman's Facebook post in which she urges young girls to reject societal expectations clothing sizes has gone viral, garnering nearly 60,000 reactions on the social media site in less than three weeks.
In the Dec. 11 post, Deena Shoemaker, a counselor based in Wichita, describes how she has repeatedly seen young girls question their worth relative to their weight.
"I've worked with teen & pre-teen girls as a leader and counselor in various places for the last 6 years," Shoemaker wrote in the post, which had been commented on more than 4,400 times as of Thursday morning. "I've listened to countless girls tell me about their new diets and weight loss fads. I've have girls sob in my arms and ask me, 'If I were skinnier, would he have stayed?' I've counseled girls who were skipping meals. I've caught some throwing up everything they've just eaten."
In addition to slamming the practice of photo manipulation with Photoshop, Shoemaker wrote that she takes particular issue with the fashion industry, which she said designates pant sizes arbitrarily based on its personal taste at any given time. In the post, Shoemaker features a collage of six photos of herself at the same weight wearing size 5, 6, 8 and 12 pants.
"At this point it's a pretty universally known truth that you're lying to us and those aren't accurate portrayals of the human body. I can prove it to girls pretty easily by simply showing them how photoshop [sic] works," she wrote. "But when you resize a girl's pants from a 9 to a 16 and label it 'plus size,' how am I supposed to fight that? Photo manipulation is one thing but how do you expect me to convince her that the number printed inside her clothes is a lie too? How do you expect me to convince her that she doesn't need to skip dinner for the next month because her pant size didn't *actually* go up by seven digits?"
Shoemaker— whose post had also been shared nearly 90,000 times as of Thursday morning— concludes her message by aiming to empower young girls like those she counsels.
"And to you; my dear beautiful girls, my size 2 girls or my size 18 girls, your size doesn't determine your beauty; your life does," she wrote. "You are lovely and you are loved. Just exactly the way you are."


text:
Through 9 games LA Tech has approximately doubled every team in CUSA in FG attempts. We are 17 of 23, while nearly every team in the conference has attempted only HALF this many FG attempts. Just more evidence that getting into FG range for yet another conservative FG attempt is our offensive mindset.
We all knew when we got our last FG to go up 23-17, that we would lose 23-24 again by -1 point. Two FGs and zero TDs in the entire second half were a killer.
"The majority of USF fans, myself included wanted to give him a few more years only if he made major changes to his staff but the growing issue of multiple game management errors and lack of drive/intensity to win during games soured that thought real quick. He never once showed guts on the football field and gambled, even when our season was already lost." -USF Fan


text:
Last Words
What was the first formative design object you experienced?
The lightsaber. When I was a kid I was thinking about a future where a company like DeWalt was producing lightsabers for the construction world. You could go up to a rock or a bunch of dirt and carve out your dwelling that way.—Mitchell Joachim, founding copresident of Terreform ONE
When I was young, my parents had two bright green plastic chairs. They were so much fun to climb over, sit upside-down on, and roll marbles across (around the seat, out the leg holes, and down the leg). I always liked them, and now I know they were Vico Magistretti's Gaudi chairs.—Max Lipsey
Get carefully curated content filled with inspiring homes from around the world, innovative new products, and the best in modern design
What material are you most excited about this very instant?
Glass. It may not be new, but the possibilities of an almost invisible material remain endless. —Stanley Saitowitz, founder and design principal of Natoma Architects, Inc.
What design gimmick are you over?
The banal notion of a design hotel, as though design were some sort of optional extra. I really resent the notion of cashed-up corporates investing in tasteless design garbage. Good hotels, whether it's a small B&B or a large business hotel, ought to have a shelf life of ten years or more to morally justify the outlay in materials and infrastructure. —Dennis Paphithis, founder of Aesop
What design object are you most anxious to redesign and why?
A street lamp. I'd combine it with an exercise machine to convert human energy to electrical power. —Decha Archjananun, THINKK
Click here for our extended Q&A.


text: Please note this forum is for HTC Hero GSM version. >>Sprint Hero<< Latest Firmware ROM version 2.73.XXX.X(2.73 is the ROM version related to the Android and XXX.X may varry depending on your mobile provider) Links below provide general information and support for HTC Hero, however it can be a solution to most common issues. We highly recommend to read it first. For Specifications please click here. For How-tos please click here. For FAQs please click here. For User Guides please click here. Please use Search before posting your question, as it might be discussed before. When posting your question it is highly recommended to specify your: ROM version (Menu > Settings > About phone > Build number) GSM Provider and Country In some cases it is also advisible to list apps running when you have an issue All that will help us to deal with your question more quickly. USEFUL LINKS Accessory store: HTC Hero http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/14833-how-unlock-your-htc-hero-orange-uk.html http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/21320-guide-creating-splash-screens-hero.html http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/7977-fixed-using-htc-hero-connect-your-laptop-internet.html http://androidforums.com/htc-hero/9945-fixed-i-want-use-different-gmail-account.html Task Managers & Your Hero P.S. This topic is extandable so time to time we(HTC Hero Guides) will add more useful information here.


text:
Another Hiatus
ok so i'm just going to post on my blog whats going on write now because alot of people are asking for or expecting holiday tutorials on my youtube channel. I really wanted to try and get some looks done for the holidays but unfortunately I'm in an eat sleep work routine right now for this week before christmas and it will be continuing on probably for another week after christmas. I'll try to do one of those typical sparkley smokey eyes for new years on my day off next week (hopefully with a new HD camera i asked for on my christmas list!) Anyways just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone who follows this blog XO
Posted by Melissa Bernard at 4:45 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
The Dolphins are stuck in the middle of the first round and despite their disappointing record in 2010, but they aren't a bad team. Most of their problems stemmed from the fact that they have inconsistency at the quarterback position. And that's something that the team is going to want to address in this year's draft. But it's something that the team may not be able to do given where they are picking. In the end, I think they will draft a running back in Alabama's Mark Ingram.
Bill Parcells is no longer the godfather of the Dolphins, although his imprint is still on the organization. He's more like Vito Corleone than Michael. It's likely that they will adhere to his influence and style when it comes to making decisions this April. And the biggest issue will be as previously mentioned the quarterback. Parcells has four rules when it comes to drafting and evaluating quarterbacks. And when those rules are applied to this year's draft class, TCU's Andy Dalton is the only one of the top passers that meets those requirements. Christian Ponder fails the fourth criteria because he only won 22 games at Florida State instead of 23. But the question remains will the Dolphins look at this quarterback crop and have Dalton and Ponder at the top of their lists? They passed on Matt Ryan in 2008 not because he didn't meet these requirements but presumably because his arm wasn't as strong as they liked, which is why they settled for Chad Henne in the second round. Well, Dalton and Ponder aren't known for their big arms either.
One wonders if the Dolphins adhere to the Parcells Standards at quarterback, they may be caught out in the cold once more. They've missed on two straight second round picks in John Beck and Chad Henne, so maybe it's time to take a swing on a first round talent. Which means that while he doesn't mean their standards, a player like Auburn's Cam Newton could be in the cards. But they'd have to move up to get Newton, and it's unlikely the Dolphins are going to roll the dice on a Jake Locker (inaccurate) or Ryan Mallett (character concerns) with the 15th overall pick.
So the Dolphins may be forced to look in another direction. One way to provide some more stability on offense is to get back to the ground attack that they were so good with in 2008 and 2009. Ronnie Brown is a free agent and Ricky Williams presumably is playing his last year of football, so the Dolphins have room for another runner. Ingram would be a good fit because he's a solid, power runner. His father played for Bill Parcells in New York back in the 80s, which makes that pipeline pretty solid. But in the end the Dolphins may not see Ingram as the slam dunk as a Top 15 pick and try to get a better playmaker at another position.
That position may wind up being inside linebacker. The team added Karlos Dansby in free agency last year and he was a strong addition inside. Channing Crowder isn't as consistent as they want, and Tim Dobbins hasn't played at a high enough level during his career to be a trusted starter. So a player like Illinois Martez Wilson, who compares favorably with Dansby could be a significant upgrade inside.
If not there, then the Dolphins may try to shore up their depth on their front. The team did draft Jared Odrick with their top pick last year, but he missed most of the year with an injury. But the team seems fairly solid up front with him, Kendall Langford, Randy Starks, and Philip Merling as their ends. So while players like Wisconsin's J.J. Watt or Cal's Cameron Jordan would be very good fits, they don't seem to be strong needs. But it should be noted that Langford and Merling are both entering contract years.
So while Ingram probably fills the most obvious need, we may discover that the Dolphins grade a player like Cameron Jordan, J.J. Watt, or Martez Wilson higher on their boards overall. Certainly many experts have Jordan and Watt as potential Top 10 picks, and few have Ingram rated that high.
But in the end, the Dolphins lack of a second round pick likely means they have to focus on need a bit more in the first round than others. And it's hard to deny that running back isn't a more pressing need than their issues in the front seven. It would be smart for the Dolphins to try and trade down a few spots and pick up some extra picks in the third or fourth round and still try and snag Ingram.


text:
WWI soldiers' writing book found in Cambridgeshire
A book containing inscriptions written by World War I soldiers at a military hospital more than 90 years ago has been discovered in Cambridgeshire.
Roy Chamberlain, 90, found the autograph book among old photographs at his home in Foxton.
He believes his mother, Mary, visited soldiers being treated at Shepreth village hall, which was turned into a temporary hospital in 1915.
They have written and sketched in the book and included names and dates.
A private known to have died during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 copied lines from Thomas Babington Macaulay's poem Horatius, which read: "And how can man die better, Than facing fearful odds..."
Somme attack
Mr Chamberlain said his mother was a cook at a manor house in Shepreth during the war.
"I think it was quite common in those days for young people to have autograph books," he said.
"Quite a few soldiers have written and drawn in the book and signed their names.
"My mother would have been in her 20s and single. I suppose she would have visited the soldiers. My grandmother worked as a nurse at the hospital."
Mr Chamberlain unearthed the book a month after workmen at Shepreth village hall found a 1915 postcard written to Private Edward Wolstencroft.
Private Wolstencroft, who came from Edmonton, Middlesex, died in his mid-20s on 7 July 1916 - a week after British troops began their fateful Somme attack on German lines.
He copied part of a verse from Horatius into the autograph book and copied a Mabel Lucie Attwell illustration, which may have featured on a postcard during the war.


text:
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Section 5.4.3 "Bi-directional Text Module" claims that when this module is used, it "adds the attribute dir* ("ltr" | "rtl") to the I18N attribute collection." The asterisk indicates that the attribute is required, which is incorrect in terms of the DTD, XML Schema, previous versions of (X)HTML and, of course, common sense. - -- Edward Z. Yang Personal: firstname.lastname@example.com SN:Ambush Commander Website: http://www.thewritingpot.com/ GPGKey:0x869C48DA http://www.thewritingpot.com/gpgpubkey.asc 3FA8 E9A9 7385 B691 A6FC B3CB A933 BE7D 869C 48DA -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFxf+tqTO+fYacSNoRAm1eAJ93pGxcdxqcxQcsmxgL7ZaCOxfetQCfQogl ZR7Pqzk5lzwKDskFFwkf9dE= =Up6n -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----Received on Tuesday, 13 February 2007 12:09:43 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 15:08:55 UTC


text:
This light yet rich and nourishing Body Oil suits all skin types. A blend of Coconut and Apricot Kernel with luxurious oils of Jojoba and Evening Primrose delicately blended with our NUIT scent of Bergamot, Ginger, Palma Rosa & Sandalwood.
This is the perfect Body Oil to use after bathing in our BUFF NUIT Sea Salt Bath Soak (salts).
Being marine eco conscious is close to our hearts and we are delighted to give 2% of the profit from every sale to the Marine Conservation Society. In addition each and every product is packaged in recyclable, English made, amber glass and sent to you in recyclable packaging.
All BUFF products are 100 % natural and have only been tested on very willing humans. We hope that our products will appeal to lovers of the sea, both him and her, just like us.
To get the best from your BUFF Body Oil, we recommend using it within 6 months of opening.
Be the first to review this product.
Our website uses cookies. By continuing we assume your permission to deploy cookies, as detailed in our Privacy Policy Policy Details.
Please wait...
has been added to your bagGo to bag Continue shopping


text:
Tuesday, 23 February 2010 07:26 AM
The New York state comptroller says Wall Street bonuses were up 17 percent to over $20 billion in 2009, the year taxpayers bailed out the financial sector.
Thomas DiNapoli says total compensation at the largest securities firms grew beyond that figure. He says profits could surpass what he calls an unprecedented $55 billion last year.
The Democrat says that's nearly three times Wall Street's record increase. The rate of growth was boosted in part by the record losses in 2008 of nearly $43 billion.
DiNapoli reviews tax collections each year. He bases his annual projection of Wall Street bonuses on income and other taxes paid in New York City.
DiNapoli says the bonuses help state revenues tremendously, but are a "bitter pill" to most taxpayers nationwide.
© Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Newsmax Comment Policy
Keep discussions on topic, avoid personal attacks and threats of any kind. Links will not be permitted.
Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.


text:
Menacing charged after woman pursued by man with knife, gasoline
An unsettling incident on Elmer Avenue off East Amherst Street led to the arrest of a Buffalo man early Sunday.
Police said a victim who lives in the neighborhood told them the man began chasing her through the backyards of Elmer Avenue around 2:30 a.m..
At first, the man flashed a kitchen knife. Later, he splashed gasoline on the woman as she ran away, police said.
The alleged assailant, Andre Banks, no age or address available, was charged with menacing.


text:
I had forgotten about the heads
Of the clouds.
— They wear crowns in their unbrushed hair,
Did you know? —
I did not remember.
Though I knew as a child, it seems.
How good it is to see them again.
For I had become far too accustomed
To their murky ankles.


text:
We had yet another great appointment this morning. Addison was very cooperative when it came time to hold still for the heartbeat and it clocked in at 151. I was very proud, especially since she hasn't been quite as active this week which worried her Mommy just a tad. My blood pressure is great, my urine came back clean as a whistle and to top it all off I was informed of how much weight I have gained during the pregnancy so far...are you sitting down??
Ready....I have gained a whopping...two pounds. That's right my friends, I am six months pregnant and have only gained two whole pounds. I am not sure if God is playing a cruel joke where he's going to allow my weight to stay the same and then overnight I balloon up to the size of a beached whale or what. I told the Doctor it was because I was like a grizzly bear, I had already stored up enough fat that my body didn't need anymore for this baby to grow. She's knocked up as well so I don't know if she laughed because it was funny or laughed because she couldn't hit me instead...lol. Thinking about it though I think my weight gain or lack there of has something to do with the fact I had been on steroids for the past year. I think my body trying to go back to normal plus growing a little peanut in my belly has thrown everything off. I will be curious to see what the weight gain will be in any future pregnancies.
I did mention the gall bladder issues I had last week and she reassured me once again that even though I am miserable the baby is not affected at all. To be safe rather than sorry we are doing another ultrasound just to make sure it's still a normal size. If it doesn't come back bad then she pretty much told me I needed to suck it up and deal with it, not in those exact words though. Since the baby isn't affected the possible side affects of a surgery with an unborn child on board are not worth the risk. I guess since I have suffered with it this long, another three months won't kill me, especially since I will be rewarded so nicely in the end.
Since we forgot to ask during our last ultrasound I did remember to ask how the baby looked then. Was she normal in size? What is my due date according to the ultrasound? Is she healthy?
I got wonderful answers to each of my questions, she is measuring perfect, my due date according to the ultrasound stills says the 10th or the 11th (they still won't change it from the 18th though), and she is healthy as a horse!! I brought up my Remicade infusions and I was told because of them they wanted an ultrasound done every four to six weeks for the remainder of my pregnancy so that they can monitor her growth. That means I should be getting a better profile shot of my dear daughter. Since she wouldn't hold still last time they got her profile as her head was tilted so it wasn't the best.
Anyway, it's Friday which means I don't have to come to work tomorrow and plus I had a great appointment, what more could I ask for??
Friday, October 23, 2009
2 comments :
So glad things are going great! It's so funny to me that we both wrote about our piddly weight gains today. At least the babies are growing like they should be, and we can indulge in more delicious desserts. :)ReplyDelete
With my first, I gained 80 lbs. Yes, you read that right. With my second, at my appt. right before she was born, I weighed 2 lbs. LESS than I did when I got pregnant. At my checkup after she was born, I weighed what I did when I got pregnant. I still weigh that today. I'm not telling how much of that is left over from the 80 I gained the first time!ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )


text:
BHB by Primaforce
- Brand: Primaforce
- Product Code: 811445020696
- Availability: 6
- Was $69.99Now
Available Options
PrimaForce BHB is a refreshing supplement that can boost your ketones, which can help you achieve ketosis or stay in ketosis. It's perfect as an afternoon pick-me-up, a post-workout refreshment, or a substitute for your morning coffee. Our consumers love the flavors we offer! Try them all!
•Boosts Ketones
•Fuels Performance
•Suppresses Appetite
•Contains 6g goBHB® (per serving)
•No Artificial Flavors or Sweeteners
•Vegan (except for Cucumber-Lime)
GREAT-TASTING AND REFRESHING: Control cravings and fuel your brain and body† with PrimaForce® BHB, a great-tasting and convenient fuel source for everyone, including those on a low-carb or ketogenic diet. Drink PrimaForce® BHB during those afternoon energy "slumps," or to help fuel physical and mental performance.†
BOOSTS KETONES: Exogenous ketone supplementation like PrimaForce® BHB can be helpful for individuals on low-carb/high-fat diets because it can help induce a state of ketosis. Even for individuals who aren't following a strict ketogenic diet, exogenous ketone supplementation can help put them in a state of ketosis.
SUPPRESSES APPETITE: PrimaForce® BHB decreases your hunger and curbs carb cravings while providing the energy you need to get through your workout or your work day.
FUELS MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE: BHB is an energy-dense molecule that naturally fuels your brain, heart, and muscles during periods of low-carbohydrate intake. The PrimaForce® BHB formulation is a proprietary blend of BHB sodium, calcium, and magnesium, balanced with potassium. Provided as a dry powder for reconstitution, the resulting drink is intended to fuel physical as well as mental performance, such as avoiding afternoon brain fog.
Tags: bhb, primaforce, coming, soon new, arrivals 811445020696 pre-workout, caffeine, free keto, friendly


text:
Distancing oneself from the illness, the better to fight it.
This is the final update, there is no one-year progress report.
The aim of the Mimi Ullens Foundation is to offer cancer patients free of charge specific beauty-care sessions (including tips on hairstyling and makeup) as well as therapeutic massages. Today we are delighted to have been able to offer the support of our specifically trained professionals to patients who, for lack of money, have hitherto been unable to receive our help. In three months, no fewer than 253 additional patients have been enabled to stand back from their illness in order to fight it better.
Risks and challenges
The additional care sessions we have been able to provide free of charge to patients are part of the long line of help that we offer in our various wellness centres established throughout Belgium – spaces in which professional care has been available for ten years now and which are highly prized not only by the patients themselves but also by members of the medical staff. Our main challenge is to be able to keep up the number of care sessions we offer in order to meet the ever-growing demand.
Up Close
The services offered by the Mimi Ullens Foundation to our patients are extremely beneficial, enabling them to live better with their illness and to forget it for a while during a care session or a massage. "The feeling of well-being they get can only help to give them greater courage to overcome their cancer." (Professor Yves Humblet, Oncologist).
Next steps
Over the next few months – and until our funding runs out – we will continue to offer our support to the greatest number of patients possible – a task that comes easily to us, given the number of patients approaching us who have so far been unable to benefit from our help.
$4,149.20 have so far been drawn down from the total funding we have received of $14,800 and have enabled us to finance 253 care sessions (151 beauty-care sessions and 102 therapeutic massages).
|Line Items
|Projected budget
|Amount spent so far
500 specific beauty-care sessions
400 therapeutic massages
Support women to feel more secure in their bodies and have the courage to fight cancer.
Why we care: An increasing number of women face cancer each day. Reducing the severe effects of treatment can make the disease easier to handle and help patients through recovery.
How we're solving this: By supporting women cancer patients with a wide-range of free professional beauty care services and therapeutic massages. Our goal is to host 900 care sessions in our wellness centres, located within the oncology departments of our partner hospitals in Belgium.
With your support, 900 patients can choose to attend, entirely free of charge, 500 beauty-care sessions, including advice on hairstyles and makeup, and 400 therapeutic massages. Trained professionals will carry out this unique support and be there every step of the way.
In 2012, 6.6 million women throughout the world discovered they were suffering from cancer. While treatment is effective, its effects on the body are considerable and include skin reactions, broken nails, as well as loss of hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Often, women start to feel that they are losing their femininity and their dignity.
By improving the well-being of cancer patients, we'll substantially improve their chances of recovery. We know that women have greater strength to carry on the fight if they feel more confident in their bodies. Our support also helps to combat loneliness and isolation through the warm welcoming environment provided by our trained professionals. The beneficial effects of our work are recognized by both the medical corps and by the patients themselves.
We already have seven centers that are operational in Europe – five are located in Belgium. This structure allows us to work extremely well and efficiently and is highly valued by all our stakeholders, from professionals to patients to partners. Currently, our principal challenge is to gather the funds we need to continue and extend our work. Your support, along with a variety of communications strategies and partnerships, will help us reach our goal.
We're improving the quality of life for women facing cancer by offering them specific care, such as beauty and therapeutic massages. This is the very essence of our work. We have carried out our mission for ten years thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, partners, and people like you.
If women feel more secure in their bodies, they'll have greater courage to fight the illness. Together, let's help patients fight the effects of cancer treatment on women.


text: As promised in another thread, some thoughts about this new acquisition: A number of bands in recent days have shown considerable imagination in planning their recordings, notably Leyland and Sellers, and this latest is no exception, with a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar, original works for band and transcriptions. They have also included a couple of vocal contributions with two numbers from West Side Story, and a lovely setting of "Scarlet Ribbons" - played beautifully on flugel by Natalie Beer - makes effective use of a piano. As the title would indicate, there are American connections with all the tracks, although I must say it took a bit of getting used to Alan Jenkins as narrator for Copland's "Lincoln Portrait" - the words are perfectly clear but the accent doesn't quite fit! This track was one of the deciding factors in buying the disc, having played it myself with the actor Christopher Casenove narrating, and it doesn't disappoint despite the accent. Mark Bousie shines in Elgar Howarth's setting of "Jeannie with the light brown hair", and the percussion - effective throughout - have their own feature in the plantation patrol "Ole South" (didn't we have a thread a while back where people were looking for percussion features?) Stephen Bulla is represented by "Images for Brass", written to commemorate the Battle of Iwo Jima, and the more light-hearted "Suite of American overtures - Marching to Glory" - played here with appropriate exuberance but without the pistol shots included memorably by the New York Staff Band on tour in 1985! All the tracks have their attractions, and another favourite is "Desert Water Hole" from Ferde Grofe's "Grand Canyon Suite" -- not as well-known as "On the trail" but well worth hearing. If anyone is looking for a present for someone, or a treat for themselves, there is something here for everyone, and I can recommend it whole-heartedly. http://www.worldofbrass.com/acatalog/21219.html


text:
Requirements for a Valid List of Health Care Providers:
There must be at least six (6) health care providers on the list, but there may be more than six (6) listed.
At least three (3) of the health care providers on the list must be physicians.
No more than four (4) of the health care providers on the list may be coordinated care organizations (CCO's).
The names, addresses, phone numbers and areas of medical specialties of all health care providers must be included on the list
The health care providers on the list must be geographically accessible and must have specialties that are appropriate based on the anticipated work-related medical problems of the employees.
Your employer must specify on the list if any of the health care providers on the list are employed, owned or controlled by your employer or its workers' compensation insurance company.
Note: The list of health care providers must meet all of the above requirements. If the list does not meet all of these requirements, you do not have to choose a provider from the list. Instead, you have the right to seek medical treatment with any health care provider of your choice.