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Butting heads with your local council
Terry Oxborough lives in a one-acre block in semi-rural Camden with no mains sewage. He recycles his own waste with a thing called an aerated water treatment system (AWTS) which is basically a 20,000 litre holding tank and some smaller tanks sunk in the backyard. Many of his neigbours use them too and then spray the treated waste onto their gardens.
For $250 a year, a contractor services his system quarterly and reports to council confirming it in good working order. Oxborough said the practice worked fine which was why he was surprised in two years ago when council told him and his neighbours a letter advising they'd have to pay $50 a year for an "approval to operate". Council said it was starting its own inspection system, had recruited someone to do the job, and every AWTS would be checked every two, four or six years depending on the risk.
Oxborough reckoned the $50 fee was just a revenue raising rort and set out to prove it. He wrote to council and, when that failed, he lodged a Freedom of Information request.
He wanted a list of all properties in Camden with an AWTS, a list of those that had been inspected, and the name of the new inspector council said it had recruited with a copy of the offer of employment letter and job description.
That might seem pretty straightforward but, fourteen months later, he's still fighting for for answers. Council gave him the name of an old employee it said was the new inspector. It told him there were 1620 properties with an AWTS but did identify them. And, most surprising, it insisted it had no record of the properties it had inspected.
Oxborough was incredulous. How could Council have a policy to inspect every AWTS every 2, 4 or 6 years and yet not have a list of which ones it had inspected?
He appealed. Council told him it had a map which allowed it to calculate the number of properties but reiterated it had no record of properties where inspections had been done.
Oxborough refused to believe this. He took the Council to the Ombudsman, but had little joy there. The Ombudsman accepted Council's claim it carries out the inspections without keeping a list of what properties it has inspected. It's a system identical to one the City of Sydney claims to have - Sydney City inspects and fines restaurants for breaching health regulations but claims it doesn't keep a list of the restaurants fined or whether they are paid.
The situation overseas is changing fast and many local governments now routinely post on the web the details of inspections of restaurants carried out by health inspectors. New York is one city where you can easily check for breaches before you eat by going to http://188.8.131.52/RI/web/index.do;jsessionid=3D16B2434E13AFC783E1E451DB231664?method=goldenAppleList
Many cities in England too have the restaurant reports from health inspectors available on line.
Australia and NSW got Freedom of Information laws a long time before Britain, but we are lagging badly on the availability of information.
Oxborough used to run a fair-sized business and is adamant there must be lists of the information he wants and is frustrated the FOI laws have failed to produce it. He's now appealed to the Administrative Decision Tribunal, had his first meeting, and again been rebuffed.
He won't quit. He's written again to the council's general manager Greg Wright, his frustration building: "You can't organise a mail-out without a mailing list. Clearly one must exist, but you do not want to give it to me do you Greg!... Eventually you will be compelled to provide it."
We'll see.
Matthew Moore is the Herald's FOI editor. Contact him at email@example.com if you have been frustrated getting documents under FOI laws.
More FOI developments at smh.com.au/foi.
i think this Council needs to be investigated by the lawful authorities, and i`m not sure about the foi statute either
bob byron
- Posted by: bob byron on July 1, 2006 6:08 PM
First questions to U What is URL?
My comments are in connection with the Hornsby quarry otherwise known as Quarrygate. This has become a massive cover-up by Council and the DLG. Both state political parties have for their reasons opted out of helping us find out how it came to be that HC came to pay $25M for a worthless hole in the ground and how the Valuer General could value it at $25M. I have asked for the valuer's instructions but they won't be released.
What started off as simple matter has spread out to question the role of state parliament, gov't ministers, and so-call independent investigatory bodies, the Ombudsman and ICAC, the DLG's passive laissez supervision (if you can call it that) of councils. The shonky financial reports see Ross Gittens column or else I will send you my analysis of Hornsby council's 30/6/05 annual financials. Better still attend a council meeting.
Joe Nagy
- Posted by: Joe Nagy on July 2, 2006 12:02 PM
The thing about reading stories like this is that you just despair as you realise that the whole administrative system is set up to cover up incompetence and misconduct.
FOI is a joke. The Government has a process that it follows when they deal with issues that ensures that the paper trail on their side only shows what they want it to show, so that when they produce it under FOI, and show it to each other, they are safe from being questioned and held accountable.
Its amazing some of the things that they come out with and how the system deals with record keeping, very disturbing, you have to wonder!
How can the public accept such a poor level and standard of record keeping from our public service. In an environment like that incompetence, discrimination and corruption thrives.
The administration of NSW is in shambles because there is little integrity and no discipline. FOI is just another level where the Government can play a part in the cover-up.
Sometimes people manage to get enough information to hold the system accountable through FOI but but usually it takes alot of time, money and energy. The process the system forces people to navigate through is a sea of bureaucratic brick walls and it makes it so that life is frustrating and very difficult.
I am with you Terry, we have to fight to make these people answerable and accountable so that there can be change. Interested to hear what happens.
- Posted by: Jolanda Challita on July 2, 2006 4:09 PM
Probably a bit late to post a comment, however...this is yet another example of a Local Council going way too far. Terry, if you own your land under "Fee Simple" (Freehold Title)you can do on it whatever you so wish. If you don't believe me do some research (Wik & Mabo established this well & truly in Aust.)If you want some case law as examples let me know, no 3rd party can interfere (including councils). BTW in 1988 a Federal Referendum was lost by over 67% majority in a bid to recognise Local Councils as a 3rd tier of Government...according to our constitution that referendum result is law...therefore "Local Government"...no such thing. If Camden Council want to take you to court...tell them they'll have to take you to the High Court of Australia as you don't recognise their authority under the constitution.
- Posted by: jac on July 10, 2006 2:56 PM
Hmmm, surely you have heard of privacy - imagine how you would like it if the details of your name and your salary (the letter of offer) was made public. Councils are the most open form of govt we have, virtually every policy and procedure needs to be publicly reported to councillors for a decision - I think you should make a cupa, have a bex and a lie down. By the way the need to license and inspect these types of facilities is a requirement of the Loal Govt Act that came about because of pollution in Wallis Lake destroying its oyster industry
- Posted by: Brett on July 22, 2006 9:32 AM
OK jac, I'll call your bluff. The local government act empowers local government to do certain things and be responsible for others. Generally look after the sh@t that the state governments do not wish to undertake.Planning and health legislation regulate development or use upon one's property (think of land use zoning). Check out supreme court and high court case precedents.
- Posted by: dug on July 24, 2006 12:56 PM
When you think about it this bloke really must have nothing better to do with his time. Who cares really. What normal person recycles their own waste. Most normal people are too busy trying to make a living and looking after their family. Get a life Terry, you loser!
- Posted by: Wayne Kerr on August 24, 2006 8:38 PM


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North Carolina
Rebuilt UNC secondary turning heads – including its own
It was a scene that might have shown just how far the North Carolina secondary has come during the past year, one that illustrates the Tar Heels' new standard.
It came after UNC's victory at Pittsburgh last week. There were Des Lawrence and M.J. Stewart, two cornerbacks who needed consolation after playing perhaps their finest college games. Lawrence had broken up four passes and Stewart three.
They had prevented a number of plays that, had they gone the other way, could have changed the momentum of the game, and possibly its outcome. Yet neither Lawrence nor Stewart found much satisfaction in this, their most productive combined performance.
"Those two guys may have had their best game this year, and they were both down after the game because they missed some opportunities for some (interceptions)," Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora said this week. "I mean, I like that. I like it.
"I had to get them out of that, but I like that they expect a lot out of themselves."
There are many ways to measure the progression of UNC's pass defense during the past year. Yards per game, yards per attempt, pass efficiency defense – all of those numbers are better, and significantly so, than they were a season ago.
Behind all the measurables and metrics, though, is a foundation that UNC began building last January, after the previous defensive coaching staff left and a new one, led by coordinator Gene Chizik, arrived. Chizik and Fedora soon hired Charlton Warren, an Air Force Academy graduate who had been the defensive coordinator there before spending last season as the secondary coach at Nebraska.
Under Warren, UNC's defensive backs have shown the most improvement on a vastly improved defense. The rebuilding process, players have said, began with Warren breaking them down and reconstructing virtually every part of how they play their positions.
"He was relentless in his approach to getting us together and getting our technique right," Lawrence, the junior cornerback, said of Warren.
"Relentless" is a good way to describe Warren, who earned the Air Force Academy football team's "Mr. Intensity" award during his senior season. After his time at the academy, he earned an MBA then entered coaching in 2005 with the Falcons.
When Warren was deciding whether to accept UNC's offer, he took a look at what he'd have to work with. He studied the Tar Heels on film and what he saw wasn't pretty – all the blown assignments in pass coverage, the big plays allowed, the poor positioning.
But amid all of that, Warren said, he saw "a lot of guys that had a lot of ability."
"Everything that happened to them bad, had nothing to do with talent," he said. "Had nothing to do with height, weight and speed. It had everything to do with technique and fundamentals, in my opinion."
Head turners
The first day he worked with his defensive backs, Warren focused on the basics. It sounded elementary, the way he described it this week, but that's only because the Tar Heels' secondary had so much to learn – so much to rebuild after last season.
"Day 1 for me was about how to play the ball in the air," Warren said. "When not to, when you can, when to play the hands. When to long-arm it and knock a ball down for a (pass breakup). When to use two hands and go for the pick.
"Because I saw a lot of times on film last year, they would use the wrong arm in reaching for the ball. Ball's caught – score."
One of the obvious changes since Warren's arrival is cornerbacks are routinely in position to turn their heads in coverage and make a play on the ball. Even in those times when players were in good position last season – and those times were rare, in some games – they rarely, if ever, turned their head.
That approach, the old approach, proved disastrous for the Tar Heels. Opposing quarterbacks often placed passes right over a defensive player's shoulder – if a defender happened to be there – and UNC allowed long pass play after long pass play.
Learning when to look back at the ball, and how to do it, exactly, was among the first lessons Warren taught his defensive backs at UNC. Warren has instructed his players to approach pass defense, in some ways, the way they would going after a rebound in basketball. The first step: Box out.
Or, in the case of defending a pass, be hip-to-hip with a receiver.
"You don't ever go for that ball," Warren said, "before you put that body in that guy and wall him off with your shoulder. No different when you're playing the ball down the field.
"And if you can't do that, you see what happened in Pittsburgh the other day where you long-arm and knock a ball down and you're able to knock the ball out of the receiver's hands."
'Mr. Intensity'
Warren's approach contrasts radically with what his players had grown accustomed to in recent seasons. In years past, the entire secondary didn't even meet in the same room for film breakdowns and teaching sessions. The cornerbacks met in one and safeties in another.
That changed when the new staff arrived. Players also had to adapt to Warren's approach. He didn't earn that "Mr. Intensity" award at Air Force for nothing.
"Last year, (assistant) coach (Dan) Disch, hats off to him, he's a good coach – he's more of a like a let-you-play type of coach," Lawrence said. "It's not like he doesn't teach any technique or anything, but he's more about making plays and (he and Warren are) kind of opposite."
It was "frustrating" at times, Lawrence said, the adjustment from one hands-off position coach to another, in Warren, who makes his players repeat the same technique over and over, until they get it right.
Now, though, Lawrence and his teammates are the ones accounting for frustration – namely that of opposing quarterbacks and receivers. Two of Lawrence's four pass breakups at Pitt came in the end zone. He nearly intercepted another pass that instead went as a pass breakup.
"He broke us," Lawrence said of Warren, "and it's paying off now. And I'm pretty sure all the guys are happy."
Andrew Carter: 919-829-8944, email@example.com, @_andrewcarter


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Procurement organizations of today are acclaiming a rightful presence on boardroom agendas worldwide. Why? Because companies spend around 60 percent of revenue on outside goods, supplies, and services, which undoubtedly means procurement performance can have a significant impact on a company's bottom line and strategic positioning in the marketplace.
But, a higher profile brings with it a significant elevation in performance expectations. In this regard, procurement organizations still have a long way to go to reach maximum performance. Now more than ever procurement executives and managers need an array of tools, better practices, and the help of a trusted advisor in their endeavor to increase the effectiveness of the procurement operating model and realize greater efficiencies.
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Venturing into the world of currency trading without the proper education is like attempting to drive a very fast sports car when you haven't taken your first driving lesson. The odds are against you succeeding. Here are 13 Forex trading tips for new traders:
Avoid taking advice from any one person or any news channel, eventually you and only you are responsible for the profits or losses in your trading account.
Use multiple time frames in your trading analysis in order to increase the odds of having a winning trade. When analyzing the markets for a swing trade for example, it's best to ensure that the Supply or Demand level identified on the 120 minutes charts is coherent with the Daily trend and far from a weekly opposing level.
Back-test your strategy, manually or robotically, to ensure that it is a profitable strategy and it has the potential to grow the trading account if applied consistently.
Surround yourself with people who are already successful and willing to share their experience and trades. The students' trade room in the Mastermind Community in OTA is a perfect example of such an arena. The information shared inside these rooms is invaluable.
The industry is filled with poor quality brokerage companies. It is the trader's job to identify the good ones based on the fund's safety measures they apply, the spreads they offer, the commission they charge, and the regulatory bodies they are subject to.
Once a trade setup is analyzed and planned and the trade is taken, there's nothing further to be done. "No more bets" as they say, beyond this stage.
The important releases for any currency are scheduled ahead of time and published on many websites (usually under the title "Economic Calendar"). It is the trader's job to be aware of these releases and take caution around that time.
This is especially true for new traders. This is important for both the trader's psychology in case the trade was stopped out, and for the preservation of capital.
From a reliable internet connection with large enough bandwidth and an uninterruptible electricity source, to a trading PC equipped for seamless performance.
And not only that, but assess whether the trade plan was followed without any deviations. Take necessary actions accordingly.
Trying to utilize all the trading styles, especially for a new trader, can only lead to confusion and inconsistent results. It is best to choose the style that fits your personality and focus on that.
Nutritious foods and exercises are not only good for the body but they are also good for the mind, and trading is a psychological game. A trader needs to maintain a sharp and relaxed mind to adequately deal with the stress of a losing trade.
Unless the trader developed and tested the robot himself, the chances are it will not work consistently. Trading is a skill that is acquired by the very few, develop this skill to elevate yourself to the top.
Acquiring the proper market education is every trader's responsibility and duty towards himself if the goal is to attain a level of consistent profits. These Forex Trading tips barely scratch the surface of Forex education, but understanding and applying them is of crucial importance.
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Editor's note: Derrius Guice was originally No. 2 on this list, but he has since been taken off due to his season-ending injury.
New York Giants rookie running back Saquon Barkley is an ideal fit for today's NFL game. It's the freakish athleticism, the home run speed and the receiving skills. That's RB1 material in an offense that will feed Barkley the ball. But after the former Penn State star comes off the board, which rookie backs should fantasy managers target?
Today, let's take a deeper look at this rookie class. Here are my rankings for eight first-year pros with upside in both the 2018 season and dynasty leagues, along with two late-round fliers to put on the fantasy radar.


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Here's a behind the scenes look at sports photographer Kelly Kline's recent shoot for Under Armour. She photographed Deandre Jordan of the LA Clippers for UA's Summer/Fall campaign. Now, it's not exactly instructional, but you'll see a little bit of the setup. Her task was to capture action images based on the sketched out ideas for the campaign. What do you think? Would you rather have a specific direction for a shoot (in terms of composition, expression, etc), or go into it with more conceptual freedom?
5 Comments
Gotta watch it a few times to get useful stuff out of it, but fun to watch even once, regardless of the educational value.
Where are the pics? :(
on the LCD screen
So, when is the real BTS coming out? This teaser trailers just spiked my curiosity.


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|Table of Contents Previous Next
Archived - Chapter 4
Investing for Sustainable Growth
Archived information
Archived information is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.
Building a Solid and Sustainable Foundation for the Economy
In addition to becoming more focused and providing the incentives for people to achieve their full potential, governments must also play a leadership role by making investments to support sustainable growth. These investments provide the foundation for global success and an environment where people can achieve excellence.
These strategic investments include support for world-class research in our universities, which will spur innovation and improve our competitiveness. They also include investments to create a cleaner, healthier environment that will improve the quality of life of Canadians and help Canada become a leader in the development of environmental technologies. Finally, government investment is required to modernize Canada's infrastructure to ensure that trade will occur as seamlessly and efficiently as possible both within our borders and with the rest of the world.
World-Class Research and Development
Business innovation truly distinguishes an economy. Yet business research and development (R&D) investments in Canada have been lower than in most OECD nations, despite very favourable targeted tax measures and substantial public investments in primary research (Chart 4.1).
Advantage Canada's actions to transform Canada's tax and business environment should be instrumental in helping to make Canada an R&D and innovation leader. More value can also be generated from the Government's investments in public R&D. Since R&D is so important for modern economies, more needs to be done.
The Minister of Industry has been consulting with key stakeholders on a national science and technology strategy. Some of the key challenges that have emerged from this consultation are the need to:
- Maximize the impact of the Government's investments in research.
- Create centres of research excellence that will be more responsive to business needs.
- Create a business environment conducive to innovation.
Policy Commitment
The Minister of Industry, in collaboration with the Minister of Finance, will develop and release a new science and technology strategy.
Maximizing the Impact of the Government's Investments
Canada leads the G7 in public sector R&D investment as a share of GDP, and the public sector currently finances 85 per cent of primary research in Canada. The federal government funds research in a number of ways, including through investments in infrastructure, direct support for researchers and the indirect costs of research, resources to help universities attract and retain leading researchers, and support for graduate students. Given the significant public funds devoted to science and technology, Canadians have a right to expect that the greatest possible benefits are realized from these investments. Continued investments in primary research must focus on excellence and must be measured rigorously and objectively.
The Government anticipates spending close to $3 billion this year in support of research conducted in post-secondary institutions. Much of this money is provided through the federal granting councils. Industry Canada is undertaking a review of the federal granting councils, and will report on ways to allocate resources more effectively in support of research excellence and the translation of research outcomes into social and economic benefits for Canadians.
We must ensure that the public is getting value from these investments in research. This will require better measurement and reporting of results. The Government will get more value for research investments by:
- Consolidating the range of available funding mechanisms.
- Allocating funding to the highest priorities.
The Government also spends more than $2 billion each year on its own research activities. Some of this money supports health, safety and regulatory activities; other research has broader social and economic objectives. As the Government reinvests in its science capacity, it will explore opportunities to transfer the management of some federal laboratories to universities. This would increase coordination with proven scientific leaders in universities and also provide additional training opportunities for Canadian students.
Policy Commitment
While maintaining its G7 leadership in public sector R&D investment, Canada's New Government will increase the impact from its investments in science and research by:
Creating Centres of Excellence and Responding to Business Needs
The research undertaken at Canadian universities creates new ideas and technologies that enrich our economy and society. Internationally renowned Canadian research in fields such as health, information and communications technologies, energy and environmental technologies helps to solve social and environmental problems. As recent graduates enter the labour market, they transfer this new knowledge from universities to businesses. World-class Canadian research also creates exactly the kinds of jobs we need to be a leader in key economic sectors.
Canada-An Emerging Energy Superpower
With ample supplies of hydrocarbons, uranium and hydropower, Canada is poised to become a global energy superpower. We already rank fifth in energy production in the world, and we are the single largest foreign supplier of oil, natural gas, uranium and electricity to the United States.
This is just the beginning. There is huge potential yet to be tapped and new opportunities in renewable energy sources such as biofuels. Realizing this potential requires us to recognize that energy is just as much a knowledge industry as the high-technology sector. Advances in technology have made the Alberta oil sands a viable alternative to conventional sources and are pushing down costs of production for renewable sources. In the oil sands alone investments could top $100 billion over the next decade. But nothing will happen without a large number of skilled workers. The production of oil and gas is no longer limited to western provinces, with significant offshore production of oil in Newfoundland and Labrador and natural gas in Nova Scotia.
The Government will support Canada's emergence as an energy superpower by making the needed investments in knowledge and people and creating the economic environment that will attract capital from home and abroad. For example, the Canada Foundation for Innovation has invested in energy and environment research at the University of Calgary. One research project at the university is aimed at developing new techniques to improve the efficiency of heavy oil extraction, helping make the process less costly and more environmentally sound. On the east coast, the Ocean Engineering Research Centre at Memorial University of Newfoundland is applying its more than 25 years of research experience to the development of offshore structures and underwater vehicles that can be used in the offshore oil and gas industry.
To strengthen the links between companies and our post-secondary educational institutions, the Government is considering new ways to help businesses get access to people, knowledge and ideas. In the auto sector, colleges and universities are already working with companies to deliver leading-edge research to businesses and provide enriched learning opportunities to students. Other sectors can benefit from a similar approach.
Along with private sector and provincial contributions, federal funding for collaborative leading-edge science initiatives and commercialization facilities, such as the MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences) Centre, have reinforced Canada's leadership in important sectors. However, we need a more systematic approach to evaluate research and commercialization projects through a rigorous and competitive process. This will ensure that future investments reflect national priorities and deliver value for taxpayers' dollars.
The Government also supports university-led research collaboration with the private sector through the Networks of Centres of Excellence program. Introducing research networks managed and led by the private sector and focused on addressing the practical needs of businesses will create more value from business-university collaboration. As there may be insufficient economic incentives for the private sector alone to support this type of partnership, there may be a limited role for government support. The Government can also help businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, become more innovative by accessing the technology development and application capacity residing in community colleges.
Policy Commitment
Canada's New Government will support research excellence and help to better align Canada's post-secondary research capacity with the needs of businesses by:
Creating a Business Environment Conducive to Innovation
Canadian firms invest less than many of their OECD counterparts in research, development, and machinery and equipment, possibly missing out on opportunities to grow and succeed in lucrative areas. As a country, we must translate our strong primary research base into innovative new products, services and technologies. The private sector must be the leader in turning research and knowledge into innovation that benefits Canadians and people around the world. Improving the business environment (as discussed in Chapter 5) will help create conditions more favourable to business innovation.
A Cleaner, Healthier Environment
Protecting Canada's environment is central to the Advantage Canada plan and an important source of long-term economic strength for Canada. Here's why:
- A healthier and cleaner environment enriches the quality of life in Canada, and attracts and retains the highly skilled and mobile people we need to succeed in the global economy.
- Responsible development of our natural resources ensures future jobs and wealth creation across the country.
- Energy efficiency and environmentally sustainable business practices are increasingly important competitive advantages for our businesses.
- Canada has the potential to be a leader in the rapidly emerging business of environmental technology.
Canada's New Government is focused on outcomes and achievable results to create a healthier environment for ourselves and future generations.
Through strong, clear environmental laws and regulations coupled with market forces, governments can create incentives and conditions in which businesses and people protect our natural environment and respond to environmental challenges with entrepreneurial innovation. For Canada, strong environmental protection laws are not costs-they are benefits that preserve our natural beauty, attract "new economy" firms and entrepreneurs, and incubate world-leading environmental protection industries.
Canada's Clean Air Act
Canada's Clean Air Act will provide:
Environmental Regulation: Creating the Right Circumstances for Private Investment
Canada's New Government has introduced Canada's Clean Air Act and will begin to regulate emissions from transportation, industry, and consumer and commercial products.
The Government has established a long-term target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 45 and 65 per cent from 2003 levels by 2050. The National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy will provide advice to the Government on the long-term target and how it can be achieved. The Minister of the Environment is also consulting with industries on realistic short-term targets to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, with a view to establishing targets by early 2007.
Action will also be taken to improve standards and labelling for energy efficiency and address indoor air quality concerns. The clean air agenda moves Canada away from weak voluntary approaches and a patchwork of regulatory processes across the country to mandatory national standards that will deliver results.
The Government will work with industry, provinces and territories, and other stakeholders to establish a performance-based, efficient environmental regulatory regime that:
- Supports the development and deployment of new environmental and energy technologies.
- Maintains Canada's competitiveness through:
- The pursuit of market-based approaches.
- Coordination of actions on reducing pollutants.
- Long-term targets that provide clarity and predictability to industry.
- Harmonization across jurisdictions.
- Ensures that no sector bears a disproportionate cost.
- Reflects the opportunities offered by the capital investment cycle in Canadian industries.
The Government is also working with provinces and territories on tougher, more stringent regulations and controls to address municipal waste water effluents, which are the most significant contributor to water pollution.
Finally, Canada's New Government will work to implement a more streamlined environmental assessment process based on greater coordination both within the federal government and with provincial and territorial governments to ensure that projects can proceed in a timely fashion, while safeguarding the environment.
Accelerating Environmental Progress Through Targeted Initiatives
In addition to tough and appropriate regulatory measures, the Government will also find ways to:
- Promote a cleaner, renewable energy supply.
- Encourage greater energy efficiency in Canadian homes, buildings and businesses.
- Increase Canada's capacity to adapt to a changing climate.
These initiatives will support an integrated, nationally consistent approach to protecting the health and environment of Canadians and will help spur businesses to develop and adopt the new technologies required to meet Canada's environmental challenges.
Creating Business Opportunity Through Environmental Technologies
Canada is a world leader in research into many environmental technologies. We will build on this advantage. New investments in primary research will be targeted, including in the area of energy and environmental technology. The links between universities, colleges and the business sector will also be strengthened so that businesses have better access to the people, knowledge and ideas developed through federal investments in primary research.
Policy Commitment
The Government's environmental approach will include actions that:
Modern Infrastructure
High-quality, modern public infrastructure that allows goods and people to move freely and efficiently is essential to our long-term prosperity. Budget 2006 provided unprecedented infrastructure funding to help provinces, territories and municipalities meet their infrastructure needs.
Infrastructure matters. Its financing, construction and maintenance are important areas where government can-and must-play a leadership role. As a nation whose exports are so critical to our economic growth and prosperity, the infrastructure that provides gateways to foreign markets is especially important to Canada.
Canada's Gateways to Asia-Pacific Markets
By virtue of our geography and transportation infrastructure, Canada is well positioned to take advantage of the tremendous trade opportunities associated with the growing economies of Asia. In particular, our east and west coast ports and connecting rail lines offer competitive routes between China, India and the Asian Tigers, and North America's heartland. This infrastructure has strong potential to capture a greater share of commerce between these regions and to improve the ability of firms in all parts of Canada to conduct business in Asia.
Decisive and concerted action by all levels of government and the private sector is required to improve the capacity and the efficiency of our transportation system. For example, on October 11, 2006, the Government of Canada announced $591 million for Canada's Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative. The bulk of this funding will be used to finance infrastructure investments, such as better roads and new road/rail grade separations.
The Government understands how smarter, less costly project plans can be established when predictable, long-term, multi-year funding frameworks between governments are in place.
A core challenge is to ensure that federal spending has maximum impact. This can be achieved by taking advantage of innovative financing sources through public-private partnerships (P3s). Greater use of P3s will also provide opportunities for Canadian pension funds and other investors to participate in infrastructure projects here in Canada rather than being forced to look abroad, as is often the case now.
Experience around the world shows that properly designed P3s can preserve appropriate public control and deliver public infrastructure more efficiently than relying exclusively on government for the provision of infrastructure.
Some provinces are implementing P3 projects and have already started to put in place the structures that will allow them to harness the opportunities provided by P3s in helping to renew public infrastructure and improving the delivery of related public services. For example, in recent years public agencies, such as Partnerships British Columbia and L'agence des partenariats public-privé du Québec, were set up to provide expert services to public bodies in evaluating the feasibility of P3 projects and to facilitate the negotiation, conclusion and management of partnership contracts.
For its part, Canada's New Government intends to establish a federal P3 office that will facilitate a broader use of P3s in Canadian infrastructure projects. The Government will also encourage the development and use of P3 best practices by requiring that P3s be given consideration in larger infrastructure investments that receive federal program funding.
Windsor-Detroit Corridor
The Windsor-Detroit Corridor is Canada's most important entry to the U.S. market. Congestion at the Windsor-Detroit border crossing can have a significant negative impact on Canada's economy, particularly the auto sector. It has been demonstrated that a new crossing is required to meet long-term needs. The challenges of building such new infrastructure are significant. It:
The foremost importance of this project demands that progress must be made to ensure that the new crossing is in place by no later than 2013.
Strategically located gateways and border crossings play a vital role in fostering Canada's competitiveness. The bulk of our trade with the rest of the world flows through a number of key gateways and border crossings. For example, 28 per cent of merchandise shipments between Canada and the United States pass through the Windsor-Detroit Corridor. The Port of Vancouver is seeing rapidly growing container traffic with the Asia-Pacific region. The ports of Montreal, Saint John and Halifax are also important trade terminuses. Our national economy-and our ability to compete and succeed on the world stage-are highly dependent on the efficiency of these gateways to world markets.
Policy Commitment
Canada's New Government will work toward a comprehensive plan for infrastructure that includes:
As well, the Government will further its efforts towards the construction of a new border crossing at the Windsor-Detroit Corridor. The Government will:
Border Security
Today, we need to reduce the risk that security issues prevent our goods and services from reaching global markets. Canada's economic success has its foundations in the North American market. In this regard, our land border represents a vital economic gateway to the world's largest economy-next door in the United States. Enhancing the efficiency and security of our shared border with the U.S. is critical for ensuring that Canadian businesses can fully exploit the advantages of our North American Free Trade Agreement relationship.
The events of September 11th quite literally changed the world and created very legitimate and profound anxieties for people everywhere, but especially in the United States. The risk of terrorism remains a major threat to global stability and security.
To retain Canada's critical access to the U.S. market, both security and border trade efficiency must be increased. The Prime Minister and the Presidents of the United States and Mexico have identified border issues as a priority under the work plan of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. The three leaders have also called upon the newly established North American Competitiveness Council, a private-sector-led advisory group, to assist them in identifying priorities for enhancing North American competitiveness. Border security and efficiency will be a key part of their efforts, which will include seeking regulatory convergence. Regulatory convergence is critical, as it will help eliminate unnecessary barriers to the free flow of people, goods, services and investment.
Canada's Infrastructure Advantage
Building Modern Infrastructure to Ensure the Seamless Flow of People, Goods and Services
Modern, world-class infrastructure will provide Canada with advantages that come from efficient networks that move people, goods and services seamlessly within the country.
Canada also needs to build modern and effective gateways to foreign markets, including the United States, Asia and Europe. Investing in these gateways is a priority, and Canada's New Government will explore innovative financing and partnerships to maximize their value to Canadians.
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Electrical Components Engineer (Artificial Lift) Claremore, OK (1794555)
Last Updated: 2019-11-12
Employer: Baker Hughes, a GE companyLocation: Claremore, OK
Role Summary:
As a valued member of the BH Artificial Lift Systems (ALS) Variable Speed Drive (VSD) and Controls engineering team, the Electrical Components Sustaining Engineer is responsible for reviewing and supporting changes in the core product portfolio to the Electrical Components used in the ALS…
- Registered Apprenticeship


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Doncaster pop star Louis Tomlinson up for two Brit awards
Doncaster pop sensation Louis Tomlinson and his One Direction band-mates will be bidding for more Brits glory at tonight's glittering music awards ceremony.
One Direction have been nominated in the Best Britsh Group and Best British Video categories at tonight's bash at London's 02 Arena.
The band are bidding for their sixth Brit award after scooping the Best British Video award at the 2015 ceremony for You & I.
The group have won four other Brits previously - picking up Best British Single in 2012 for That's What Makes You Beautiful and best video in 2014 for Best Song Ever.
They have also won two Brits Global Success prizes.
They are up against Blur, Coldplay, Years and Years and Foals in the band category and Adele, Calvin Harris & Disciples, Ed Sheeran, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J, Little Mix, Naughty Boy ft Beyonce and Arrow Benjamin, Sam Smith and Years and Years in the video category.
The show will be screened on ITV from 8pm.


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We'll set up an appointment when an inspector will come to your home or business and determine the type of skip bin and the pick-up schedule that will work best for you. Some skip bins are perfect for domestic purposes while commercial sites will have larger, more cumbersome items that require heavy-duty bins.
There are certain things we need to know about the types of waste you need collecting:
- Garden waste and compostable items
- Construction site materials
- Household items
- Furniture
- Renovation refuse
We'll take any electronics you no longer use; just make sure to give us a call as it will be a special pickup. You can also find refurbished electronics at our skip bin site at very reasonable prices. When we extend the life of a product by refurbishing it, everyone wins. But we want to point out that because we are environmentally friendly it is important that you load your skips with items specifically listed for the container. Contaminants make it difficult for our workers to sort through and can be downright dangerous. If you do have hazardous material you wish picked up, we can connect you with the proper waste management officials that will ensure you comply with the current environmental regulations. They will discuss and arrange for its safe collection and delivery to the proper site. Please don't put contaminated waste into our bins or a damage fee will be added to your bill and we will no longer offer you our skip bin hire.


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Joss Whedon claims he didn't put a lot of Easter eggs in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but he couldn't resist at least one.
According to Screencrush, the reference in question is to Whedon's best-known property (before writing and directing the two Avengers films), Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And it comes during a scene that is already so difficult to comprehend that no one could blame you for missing it.
The scene is that much-discussed "Thor takes a swim" sequence in which the God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) dips into a magic pool that lets him
watch a trailer for Thor: Ragnanok see a vision of the doom that's coming to Asgard. As the Muscled One is assaulted with images of all kinds of ruin and malevolence, there's a quick -- and I mean quick -- glimpse of three masked beings in an archway. Luckily for us, Screencrush grabbed the shot for closer inspection:
Turns out those three fellas are wearing, from left to right, a wolf mask, a ram mask and a stag mask. But since the medieval term for stag is "hart," that results in Wolf, Ram and Hart.
On the Buffy spin-off Angel, the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart were three ancient demons who operate in the present day as Wolfram & Hart, a law firm that specializes in representing killers and other evildoers.
And if you think this is unintentional or a stretch, Whedon himself confirms it on the director's commentary for Avengers: Age of Ultron, which comes out on Blu-ray and DVD on October 2 (it's already available on digital HD).
So Buffy/Angel fans, take heart: Joss knows you're still out there and couldn't pass up the opportunity to plant a little in-joke from his second-biggest franchise into his first. Now let's start hunting for a Firefly reference...


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RunCore Pro V 100GB SandForce SF-1200 Solid State Drive (Page 11)
Final Thoughts
RunCore makes some of the strongest cases for their SSDs and they are a cut above what most manufacturers are putting out now. This isn't something that just happened to come about for the company; they have been making products for the government and military for many years and this level of quality has trickled over into their consumer products. The only problem with that is the price tends to be higher for the high grade products and in this economy most people are looking to skate by with a just enough to get by attitude. Also, it is not like other manufacturers SSD are considered fragile at this point.
At this time we are not certain on the pricing structure RunCore will use to bring the Pro V to market. With OCZ, A-DATA and other manufacturers hitting new lower price points weekly, RunCore will need to price their Pro V drives fairly low to be competitive in the US and European markets. To be honest, I am not really sure if this is something RunCore will be able to do.
As it sits right now, RunCore is an SSD company, but they are like a teenager who does not know what he wants to do when he grows up. Obviously the focus is on SSDs, but RunCore spends so much time in netbook and specialty SSDs that the 2.5" market seems like an afterthought these days. The 2.5" SSD market is the strongest, but also the most competitive. You can't just dabble in it and expect to sell the volume of drives needed to make money unless you are charging more per part and crossing your fingers that something sells. Retailers don't like this approach and end users aren't going to buy a drive with a super strong case if the price is 100USD more.
As it sits right now we don't have pricing information, but the RunCore Pro IV is currently priced at a level where they are not competitively in the market. I really hope RunCore is able to keep their prices down on the Pro V, but only time will tell.
When it comes to performance, the RunCore Pro V can be considered one of the fastest drives on the market, but the same can be said about a handful of Team SandForce products that are already cheap and listed online as being in stock, ready to ship.
PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.
United States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com
United Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk
Australia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au
Canada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca
Deutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de
- Page 1 [Introduction]
- Page 2 [Specifications, Pricing and Availability]
- Page 3 [The RunCore Pro V 100GB SSD]
- Page 4 [Test System Setup and ATTO Baseline Performance]
- Page 5 [Benchmarks - HD Tune Pro]
- Page 6 [Benchmarks - Everest Random Access Time]
- Page 7 [Benchmarks - Crystal Disk Mark]
- Page 8 [Benchmarks - PCMark Vantage Hard Disk Tests]
- Page 9 [Benchmarks - AS SSD]
- Page 10 [Benchmarks - Passmark]
- Page 11 [Final Thoughts]


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10 Advertising Tips
10 Advertising Tips from Joss Whedon
I came across this post on Joss Whedon's 10 Tips for Writers and thought that the tips applied equally well to advertisers and ad writers. If you're asking yourself "Joss who?" — you're missing out!
So here's my advertising-centric translation of Whedon's 10 Tips:
In business this means "Ship," as Seth Godin would say. But to stretch it past that a bit and into the realm of advertising, it means don't mess around with 12 different platforms, campaigns, and media; commit to one campaign, one primary media and buy enough repetition for a long enough time to finish the job you started.
From a direct mail perspective, actually mail out the letter — finish that job, for sure — but also commit to a series of mailings, or a mailing followed up by a sales call, rather than a one-off postcard.
To quote from Joss Whedon's original advice: "Structure means knowing where you're going; making sure you don't meander about." In small business that means having a grip on your business model and your goals and not falling prey to bright shiny object syndrome.
From an advertising perspective it means work in campaigns. Don't move and meander from one unrelated ad to another unrelated ad; have a campaign and an over-arching messaging and brand position that you stick with. Know where you're going and have the discipline to get there. Note that advertising one sale after another automatically condemns you to meandering without structure.
Again, to quote from Joss Whedon "This really should be number one." If you're paying to advertise, you really need to have something substantive to say. You should have:
- an offer to make,
- a value that you stand for (or something you stand against),
- and an advocated position around your business/industry that you'll stand behind.
And, really, just like in writing, having something to say IS the #1 thing about advertising.
4. EVERYBODY HAS A REASON TO LIVE [And It's Not About You!]
I don't care if you're the branding equivalent of Apple, Harley Davidson, and Jack Daniels all rolled into one: your role in the lives of your customers is at the far periphery. Your relevance and interest is extremely limited. Keep that in mind and figure out those contexts in which you are relevant to customers. Tie your product or service back to the things that really do exist at the center of customer's lives. Don't let your advertising presume that your business is important to people outside of those narrow contexts in which you can help them with an immediate problem or concern.
As a corollary to this, realize that for most products and services, advertising through mass media means that 98% of the people seeing (or hearing) your ad are NOT currently in the market for what you sell.
Some people see this as a bad thing, but the truth is that speaking to people who aren't (yet) in the market for what you sell is really one of the best things about broadcast media.
Because the best time to convince people of how wonderful you are is BEFORE they need you. The idea is to have these people enter into the market already biased in your favor. You don't want them typing your business category into Google and making a decision based on search results. You want them typing your business NAME into Google, having already (largely) made their buying decision.
But if you take this approach, you must realize that you're talking to people who aren't inherently interested in your product precisely because they are not yet in the market for it. That means you must give these listeners a reason to pay attention anyway.
In other words, you have to seduce and entertain people into paying attention. Make your ads more interesting and entertaining than the thoughts currently running through the minds' of your audience. And do it in a way that strengthens rather than obscures your sales message.
Being both entertaining and on-brand and persuasive is tough, but it's what separates the pros from the amateurs in the advertising game.
Clients will often be so enamoured with things they love and that they feel the prospective customer should care about, that they'll insist that you put it into the ad. Sometimes the customer does (or can be made to) care about it too. Then you're in luck.
Unfortunately, it's more likely that the customer will remain totally apathetic about your client's pet obsession no matter how much he "ought to" care about it. And that's when the business owner (aka your advertising client) has to follow the advice to "cut what you love" and focus on what'll actually move the needle.
If the idea is to talk to the customer, in the language of the customer, about what's in the heart of the customer, then that means you've got to:
- Understand what the prospective customer really cares about, and
- Have a sense of the language - what kind of words, attitudes, phrases, etc. your customers really use when talking about their desires and frustrations and needs.
You can't know or do any of that without listening to the customer. And these days, a lot of listening is done through your eyes by searching through reviews, forums, and social media comments. Listen to how people talk and what they talk about so that you can talk to them in your ads about the same things they care about, using the same language they use.
This one goes along with "Listen." Your goal is to emotionally connect with your audience. You want your ads to cause them to think of you first and feel the best about you when they DO finally need what you sell. That way they come to you as a preferred provider and recognized expert — someone worthy of premium pricing. In order to do that you have to separate out the effect you intended your ads to have from the effect they actually have.
Sometimes the feature or benefit or the line of copy or brandable chunk that you think will really connect with people doesn't, while some seemingly "throw-away" phrase or line resonates in a way you never anticipated. If you're tracking the audience mood, you'll be able to do more of what resonates and less of what falls flat.
This means write cinematically and visually. This is easy to understand for TV, but it applies equally well to all advertising. It always amazes me the amount of people in radio who talk about "Theatre of the mind" but don't really understand what the phrase means or never write ads that create that kind of cinematic response in listeners' imaginations.
So regardless of whether you are creating TV Ads or Radio Ads, write your ads like a movie rather than an ad. Don't just talk about your product or services benefits, dramatize them. Sear the mental image of that benefit onto the imaginations of your audience.
Yes, I know: this contradicts Tip #6. Stick with me a moment and it'll all make sense.
When your ad has impact and can't be ignored, and especially when such an ad is aired with the proper frequency to make a difference, you'll get complaints. An ad's ability to attract is inextricably linked to its ability to repel; if nobody hates it, nobody will love it either.
So when you've got an emotionally powerful, un-ignorable ad on your hands, prepare yourself (and/or your client) to get complaints. Expect the complaints to come, and then don't listen to them. Apple's "I'm a Mac" campaign got a TON of complaints, from all kinds of people who thought the campaign was mean spirited or smug or whatever. Good thing Apple decided not to listen, huh?
The reality of the customer experience has to match the promises made in the ad. This has ramifications for both ad writers and small businesses. For businesses, it means to guard against letting the customer experience slip as you grow. Instead do the opposite: reinvest in making the customer experience better and more closely aligned with the brand.
This also means occasionally allowing yourself to get "called out" on your brand promises, often in unreasonable ways. If you've got the guts to plant a flag and make a stand, someone will test you on it sooner or later. And you can bet that that "someone" will more than likely be unreasonable about it.
For example, someone will likely abuse your lifetime guarantee, or your "no surprises" guarantee. Then you can be like LL Bean and write off the abuse as a cost of keeping your guarantee, or you can refuse the unreasonable request, quibble over your guarantee, and add fine print to your promises. If you quibble, you sell out. And then word will get out. If you stand and deliver (even in spite of the knucklehead's unreasonableness), word will get out on that, too. And the reward for that will exceed the cost by a factor of 10X, at least.
And there you have it. Ain't Joss Whedon great?
This article was written by my brilliant partner, Jeff Sexton.
Morty Silber, CEO
Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner


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art by Favianna Rodriguez
" You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. " – César Chávez, UFW
Presente in the news: All 2012<< back to press index
Press releases
- Presente.org Statement on ICE Reform AnnouncementDec. 22, 2012
- Victory in Montes Parental Rights Case in North Carolina Nov. 28, 2012
- Hundreds in Arizona gather to celebrate partial victory & demand justice for the "real winners" of this year's elections — Arizona's powerful bloc of new Latino votersNov. 15, 2012
- Anaheim Residents & Latino Leaders Call on CA Atty. Gen Kamala Harris to Conduct Full Investigation of Anaheim Police DepartmentJuly 30, 2012
- Presente.org and its Allies Celebrate Upcoming Announcement by Obama Administration to Provide Relief from Deportation to DREAM Act StudentsJune 15, 2012
- Presente.org Grammy CampaignFeb. 3, 2012
- Presente.org Names Arturo Carmona as its new Executive DirectorJan. 12, 2012


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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday 42
Saturday, December 27, 2008
La France Profonde: Three years and three hundred posts!
A few of the guests at La France Profonde's third anniversary party
I'm a few days late, as I actually started this blog on December 23, 2008. But I thought it would be nice to coincide with the 300th post. Plus, after three years, what's a day or two?
For this significant event, I took a look back over some old posts as well as my comment history.
First, what has been the most commented-on post on La France Profonde? I thought it would be this one, but actually it was:
Is life really a bitch without big chocolate chips?
So I guess among my readers, food wins out over politics any time.
I also made a list of a few of my favorites posts, in no particular order:
Traces of cafés past
Good-bye little bird -- and don't forget to fly home
An Odd Couple
La Gare de Rodez at Dawn
Old reflects against new
The latter post also contains what may be my favorite photo -- at least among those that I've taken:
After that, I also took a rather quick look at my early comments. I had been writing this blog for over a month before I got a comment that just "came in" from somebody I didn't know: on February 4, 2006, on a post about the local Bosch factory, I received a comment from Stéphan R., who kept up the Toulouse, One Day, One Photo blog very nicely for almost two years before disappearing from the blogosphere in May 2007.
I often wonder what happened to Stéphan, and I suspect if I went back carefully over my comments, I would find plenty of bloggers that I was in touch with for months before either their blog or our communication dwindled down to nothing.
But for now, I'm here, and La France Profonde is going into its fourth year with no plans to change much of anything.
Un grand merci to all of my readers for your comments and support!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday 41
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Looking up, things are
We've been through quite a cold snap, and Wednesday my daughter and I went into town for lunch. I was struck by the difference between the weather "up there" and "down below" on the sidewalks. It was certainly cold both places, but where we were walking, it was totally clear with no sign of fog.
But the Rodez cathedral can be in a totally different weather dimension from the city it dominates. The bell tower is 85 meters, or nearly 280 feet, high -- and this can mean a real difference in atmospheric conditions.
To give you an idea of how ethereal the cathedral can appear compared to the world below; my crystal clear Wordless Wednesday photo this week was taken only a few minutes earlier and only a few streets away.
Notre Dame de Rodez has often been described as "brooding." Perhaps these photos can help illustrate that image.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Rodez: a basic street scene. What do you see?
When trying to capture the spirit of Rodez, I often put up scenic shots, or quirky takes. But I am also stocking a mounting collection of photos like this one that I don't quite know what to do with. It seemed interesting at the time, but...why again?
Now that I take a closer look, there are a few intriguing details:
- The two very pale pink buildings are what stand out the most to me. That's a color which is fairly frequent in Rodez, but yet is never really associated with the town.
- The street is empty, even though the shot was taken during the afternoon. You can find plenty of empty streets in the center of Rodez if you get away from the rues commerçantes.
- The photo is marred, of course, by the big cable running between two buildings. What are those all about, anyway? I see them everywhere, but don't know why they still exist. I'm sure one of my readers can offer a cogent explanation -- I'm not much of an electricity geek.
- The curved roof on the bottom right house is intriguing, and not very typical of the area.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Wordless Wednesday 39
Saturday, December 06, 2008
An open message to the French media : He's black. (And white.) Get over it.
It takes a lot to get my husband to turn off France Inter, one of France's public radio stations, but a few days before the election, even he couldn't take it anymore. "Le candidat noir, le candidat noir, le candidat noir..." The two words had become a collocation in the French press, one rarely appearing without the other.
Click. Sound over. We were free to discuss the real issues going on in the US election.
But it was perhaps that day, a few weeks before the election, when one of my colleagues (all of whom supported Obama and supported me throughout the stressful electoral process, I must add) sat down and grimly announced that he "had heard on TV that the polls were all wrong." He then proceeded to give a highly simplistic interpretation of the Bradley effect.
I took a deep breath and explained precisely why the Bradley effect was most likely not applicable to this election (hoping against hope I would be right) and my colleagues remarked that they wondered if they were really getting the full picture from French TV.
Now I cannot pretend to have kept up with ALL French media coverage and ALL American coverage of the 2008 presidential election -- who can? But I can say that while France was clearly in the grips of a type of Obama-mania, its citizens also couldn't get past the concept that Obama was, above all, le candidat noir. On the other hand, even when I gritted my teeth and watched Fox news from time to time, I got the feeling the US media were by and large ignoring race by the end of the campaign.
So what's the deal? Why, in the country of liberté, égalité et fraternité, was Obama's race constantly an issue?
For one thing, I have noticed that many French people are -- or were, hehe! -- extremely fond of pontificating about American racism. Nowhere is this more present than in the national school programs, where French schoolchildren spend what seems to me an inordinate amount of time studying Rosa Parks, the March on Washington, and the Ku Klux Klan.
Now don't get me wrong. These are worthy subjects and we can admire the fact that the French educational system cares so much to delve so far into American history. I'm sure that stateside, the same number of hours aren't spent on the 2005 French race riots or the presence of Jean-Marie LePen as a final candidate in France's less-than-glorious 2002 presidential race.
The image of a racist America died hard in France. Only days before the election, Télérama, a left-wing cultural magazine, issued a "Special USA Edition." Among the feature articles: Il n'y a pas de littérature noire! and Universités d'Alabama: la ségrégation toujours dans les têtes (original title from the magazine version.)
The articles proved more measured than their sensationalistic titles, but I couldn't help but think that the journalists were grasping at straws and just couldn't resist taking one last stab at their precious image of the USA as a bastion of racism.
Now French writers, especially schoolbook authors, can start to construct new chapters about race relations in America, preferably chapters that deal with events after 1963. They've got some catching up to do. And I hope when they do it, they will also be capable of occasionally disconnecting the word président from the word noir.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
C'est fini!
Posting daily didn't actually change that much for me here at La France Profonde, but it did give my two other blogs, Cuisine Quotidienne and And So Forth, a boost.
And although I didn't get into the social networking or post-uploading aspect of the event at all, I did make one great blogging buddy who encouraged me and vice versa: Le Laquet of chez le laquet! I suspect we will stay in bloggy touch.
We will now return to our regular programming.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The end is near...
To manage the daunting task of posting to (one of my three) blogs every day, I even set up an editorial calendar. I can hear your awe from here.
Today's blogging task was noted as "FP Tag from "Je ne regrette rien."
I must admit that when Non, je ne... tagged me or awarded me or whatever her Marie Antoinette eat my cake post was about, I thought it was pretty cool because she has a new banner photo of the Millau viaduct and I had just driven over it about an hour before.
That's all, folks.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Link to my Thanksgiving post
I don't do that. But I did write a Thanksgiving post, and you can find it here.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
An American dream coming true
Not to mention Halloween. She has always loved that holiday and our house here in France felt pretty empty that night without her traditional Halloween party. But she was able to participate in a Jack-o-lantern cutting session with a friend, and go to a party afterwards:
My daughter was thrilled to report to me that "Halloween is SUCH a big deal here!"
But that mood apparently didn't last too long!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
C'est ma fête!
November the 17th is Sainte Elisabeth day in France, so one could legitimately tell me today "C'est ta fête!" And in fact two people did, and that is one of the first times anyone has bothered to recognize this event.
I also learned today that my husband had no idea when my saint's day was...
I've never really understood these French saint's day "fêtes" anyway. Are they cause for celebration? Gift-giving? Or just saying "Bonne fête?"
(By the way, I of course know when my husband's is....)
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Paris: a jumbled view
One-day work trips to Paris are not times when I get to see a lot of the city, but I always take my camera and try to get s shot of something.
This was the view from the 4th floor conference room of the Maison des Universités. Like many views out of the back side of Paris buildings, it was a jumble -- but an ever-fascinating one.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Wordless Wednesday 35
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Plowing through NaBloPoMo
So on November 1st, I thought what better time to sign up for NaBloPoMo?
Since I'm a triple blogger, my goal is to post at least once a day to ONE of my blogs. Once a day to each would be superhuman.
I've made it through the first nine days, and hope to cross the finish line!
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Overwhelmed and overjoyed
I'm just savoring every moment, as I know so many of you are.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
When the ship comes in
When the winds will stop
And the breeze will cease to be breathin'.
Like the stillness in the wind
'Fore the hurricane begins,
The hour when the ship comes in.
Oh the seas will split
And the ship will hit
And the sands on the shoreline will be shaking.
Then the tide will sound
And the wind will pound
And the morning will be breaking.
Oh the fishes will laugh
As they swim out of the path
And the seagulls they'll be smiling.
And the rocks on the sand
Will proudly stand,
The hour that the ship comes in.
And the words that are used
For to get the ship confused
Will not be understood as they're spoken.
For the chains of the sea
Will have busted in the night
And will be buried at the bottom of the ocean.
A song will lift
As the mainsail shifts
And the boat drifts on to the shoreline.
And the sun will respect
Every face on the deck,
The hour that the ship comes in.
Then the sands will roll
Out a carpet of gold
For your weary toes to be a-touchin'.
And the ship's wise men
Will remind you once again
That the whole wide world is watchin'....
(Extract from "When the ship comes in" by Bob Dylan)
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Palin fakes her way through prank phone call from "Sarkozy"
Except this time the questions were utterly ridiculous; Palin doesn't seem to get the difference, blithely blathering away and giggling like a schoolgirl who's been called by her celebrity idol through most of the "interview."
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Watching the Washington State world go by
Every morning I hop out of bed at about 6:00 AM and connect to MSN, an application that I installed to communicate with you. I just can't wait to get the news of the day that you experienced while I was sleeping.
Still, I get mixed up:
- Have a great day honey!
- Mom, I'm going to bed!
-How was your voice lesson?
-Mom, that's tomorrow!
Why can I still not get that straight after all of these years? Maybe because I never had to apply the time zone difference to one of my children.
Anyway, all of the means of communication at our disposal make exchanging information and getting news so easy -- and the immediacy of it is reassuring.
I know what you're doing at practically every moment of your American life.
But nothing can tell me what you're thinking when you're sitting in a car, sipping a Starbuck's caramel macchiato, and watching the Washington State world go by.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Monday, October 06, 2008
We will now take a break from our regular programming
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Blog suspended
Actually, I'm being vetted as a possible replacement for Sarah Palin in case she drops out of the race.
I mean, why not? I'm an American from a small town. I look pretty sharp when I wear glasses, too.
And hey, the country I'm living in now shares borders with a whole lotta foreign countries! That certainly qualifies me to be Vice-President, and maybe even President, of the USA.
I mean, I can see Spain from here! And I even know the name of its president!
No seriously...
It-- it's funny that a comment like that was-- kind of made to-- cari-- I don't know, you know?
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
New look at Cuisine Quotidienne
Hope to see you here and there!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Wordless Wednesday 27
Saturday, September 13, 2008
On the road again
It's always great to get away and see new -- or in this case, familiar -- parts of the country. It will also be a chance for eldest daughter to work on her driving skills outside of Aveyron, which she knows so well. (She has the equivalent of a driver's permit now, and will be practicing with us until she can get her permis de conduire at the age of 18.)
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we will be having the same weather as in the above photo, but we will be near the same place.
Any guesses as to where?
(Photo courtesy of Cath at Grain de Sel, a very nice blog en français that combines music experiences and travel photos.)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Wordless Wednesday 26
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Are they having fun yet?
Oh, there are plenty of good things to say about the French public school system. But today, I'll be leaving it up to my readers to say them.
While one of my daughters is discovering the joys of finishing her school day at 2:37 pm, the other is gritting her teeth and bracing herself for another year of the 35-hour workweek -- 35 hours a week of class, that is.
She doesn't have it quite as tough as the student above who finished four days a week at 6:00 pm or 7:00 pm. My eldest will be getting out of class twice a week at 5:00 pm, twice a week at 6:00 pm, and at 11:00 am on Wednesdays. (High schools and middle schools do, mercifully, have Wednesday afternoons off.)
Is she having fun yet? Well, "fun" and "school" don't seem to be associated very often in France. And maybe they shouldn't be. American schools, with their pep assemblies and dress-up days, must look absolutely ridiculous to French educators.
And as a teacher, I certainly know that learning isn't a Disney ride.
But I do wonder what added value is France getting out of a high school system where students have to be in class as many hours a week as many French employees work, and then are expected to slog through a ludicrously huge homework load on the side.
What do you think?
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Good-bye, little bird...and don't forget to fly home.
A formality. Just a bunch of papers. A long day.
For years, I never really thought of you as American. You've always spoken perfect French, of course, with no American accent -- amazing! You look so French, too. And you were always referred to as "one of the French girls" whenever I took you and your sister back to the USA.
Little by little, the American side of your dual nationality pushed its way out, and four years ago your 6th-grader's voice announced to me that you wanted to spend your sophomore year in the USA.
An interesting idea. A fantasy. It would go away.
It didn't.
So, after years of nurturing this plan, after two months of transition, our family came back from our American summer notably lighter.
I'm happy for you. I know you'll love your new school -- it's one of the best around. I should know: I went there as a student and spent eight blissful years teaching there:
I hope you can keep it up all year, but there may be a few times when you get the blues:
And we'll be here too, of course: across the miles, across the ocean, across the wires.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
(Almost) Wordless Wednesday
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Quick update
I've posted a little over on And So Forth, where I've also started to weakly Twitter since I realized I wasn't going to be crowing out all of the great posts I had imagined for the summer.
My husband is flying in from France today and my daughters will be opening their two musicals this week and next, so times will be even busier. But I did want to say hi to my blogging buddies.
I will return!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wordless Wednesday 22
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Let us out!
Monday, July 21, 2008
The look of love
I thought for this special occasion, I would share a family photo with you. I imagine you can pick out my parents. As for me, I'm in blue and my sister is next to me.
Finishing the planning for this event took up most of my first week here in the USA, and recovering took the beginning of the second week!
We had exactly 100 attendees at the party, which my sister and I hosted at my parents' home. The location was their choice and it was a great one because they have a lovely, shady back yard and the weather was out-and-out hot: nearly 90 degrees. (Yes, I'm speaking Fahrenheit again.)
I'm having a little trouble getting back into the blogging routine after a crazy end of my school year, the trip over, and this intense family experience. But not to worry -- I may be slowing down on writing my personal blogs this summer, but I'm not giving up.
Friday, July 11, 2008
My village seen through other -- known -- eyes
(Photo courtesy of Rares Serban of Rares Serban Photography)
Personally, I avoid communicating about my home town, preferring to focus on Rodez, where I work, or other parts of the local countryside into which my husband forays for his job.
And, increasingly, I find myself wanting to share places beyond...
So imagine my surprise when a Google alert came along for a lovely post about Gages. And imagine my further surprise when I discovered, after a little digging around, that it was created by a colleague of mine!
Here's to you, Rares. I think you have a great eye and I loved the way you captured familiar views of my village. I hope you expand your blogging activity.
PS: Click here for a rundown on the summer status of my three blogs.


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With Sunday's election of President Emmanuel Macron, voters confirmed that France remains a bedrock of the euro area, buttressing the region's financial markets. But political risks to the euro have not disappeared. In coming months, concerns probably will turn to Italy, where the leader of one popular party has called for a referendum on leaving the euro area, and where parliamentary elections must be held before 20 May 2018.
From an economic perspective, Italy stands on a knife-edge. The economy is smaller and less productive than it was in 2001, while government debt has jumped by 30 percent. As long as interest rates remain low, and the government continues to run a primary budget surplus, the situation is only mildly unsustainable (with the debt/GDP ratio creeping higher). But even a small problem at home or abroad could drive funding costs higher and expose Italy's precarious state.
Would independent Italian monetary policy, controlled by the Banca d'Italia in Rome, be sufficient to bring Italy back from the precipice and promote economic growth? We doubt it. In the long run, the most effective way to ensure debt sustainability is to implement growth-enhancing structural reforms. Nothing about Italy's membership in the monetary union prevents this. The problem is a lack of political will...Read More


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Sheridan County CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocate, is in the process of recruiting volunteers to join their program. Jo Forbes is the Volunteer Coordinator for CASA, and says that a new training session will begin Monday, October 4th, with meetings held throughout the month. Forbes explains.
The City of Sheridan Planning Commission approved a rezone request made by Perkins Wilson LLC to rezone an entire City block, which includes their commercial building located at 304 Coffeen Avenue, from R-3 residential to B-1 business. City Planning Director Robert Briggs.
Sheridan Computer Incorporated has announced that they will be joining forces with Ptolemy Data Systems in the next couple of weeks. Ptolemy CEO Ryan Mulholland says that SCI's track record speaks for itself, and that they look forward to the venture.
The Child Advocacy Services of the Big Horns received some good news recently regarding funding for the steady increase in demand in services in Johnson County.
Sheridan County Fairgrounds Facilities Director, Sharon Nadeau, stopped by Sheridan Media Monday morning at the request of Sheridan Media's Mary Jo Johnson. Nadeau recently decided to make a career change.
A harvest moon nestled in a bed of stars on a warm summer night has all the fixins of a country song, and this backdrop couldn't have been any better for a good old-fashioned barn dance. That's what happened Saturday night at the Winfield Ranch near Banner as Volunteers of America hosted its 3rd Annual Bandana Barn Dance.
There were plenty of "oom-pah-pahs" and lots of beer at the first Oktoberfest held in Buffalo this past Saturday. The beer flowed freely in the heart of downtown at Crazy Woman Square as twenty-two home beer brewers showcased their products in a beer brewing contest, with plenty of samples on hand for those brewski aficionados.
It was the 75th Annual Holy Name Chili Supper and Carnival held Saturday night in Sheridan. Close to 300 people showed up for some family fun and of course, lots of chili.
Event coordinator Michele Greer says there was plenty to do for all ages.
"It's boots and chaps; it's cowboy hats; its spurs and latigo; it's the ropes and the reins and the joy and the pain and they call the thing rodeo..." It was the 50th annual Sheridan College rodeo held this past weekend at the Sheridan County Fairgrounds.
Gubernatorial candidates Matt Mead and Leslie Peterson addressed the Wyoming County Commissioners' Association in Laramie last week. In the September 23rd edition of the Casper Star-Tribune, an article on the gathering indicated that latest estimates call for the State to have just more than $712 million in the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account in June 2012.
Road & Travel


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Day 38 - Mt Pleasant to Birch Run MI
Crew's Log…
Mileage: 74 miles
Climbing: 625'
Weather: Upper 50s to start. Mid 70s to end. Mostly cloudy. Winds out of the SSE.
Highlights of the day:
We rolled at 8:20 and headed straight into more farms and cornfields. We had the wind in our faces any time we headed south. That was a small portion of the day in terms of mileage but I'm guessing it's the wind that the riders will remember. When we turned left and headed east, it became a cross to rear quartering and helped push us along (a bit). We saw lots & lots of wind turbines all pointed almost in the right direction. Right direction being that which indicates a favorable wind. It didn't rain. The temps were moderate. The terrain was incredibly gentle. It was all good.
Our SAG stop du jour was at the Reeves Farm. It's a family farm (the Reeves) who welcome us each year to refuel and relax in their front yard. Years ago, two AbB staff members started a conversation with Mr Reeves about taking a picture of the tractor in his front yard. He went on to show the many tractors, some antiques, that he had restored. A friendship ensued and we've been stopping by annually since 2011. It's a little different now as Mrs Reeves now lives in Alma at a retirement home but she still comes back to greet us. It's really sweet & gracious of her and we say thank you!
At our official water stop of the day, we were greeted by an alumnus who has been on 3 AbB tours. He lives relatively close by and rides out each year to chat. We like that. He also brings with him some very decadent chocolate cookies with this gooey chocolate icing and ice cold milk. We really like that. Thank you Jay, see you again next year.
All in all it was a very nice day on the bike. Short(er) mileage after yesterday's 113 miles on short rest because of the time change. Riders looked a little dazed at the SAG stops yesterday. Riders had a lot more smiles today from breakfast through unloading luggage.
Tomorrow is our last day in Michigan. It seems like we just got here. The states are narrower and the days are definitely zipping by more quickly. Don't forget to look up!


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* When we say women we mean everyone who defines herself as a woman. Please note: Sometimes for better readability in long passages of text the term 'women' is written without a star.
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