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Brickmania Toyworks
1620 Central Ave. NE, suite 170
Open house all weekend with Legos, live music, art and pizza
Brickmania Toyworks is showcasing Lego creations that have been under construction for up to 10 years, such as a running Lego train display built by the Greater Midwest Lego Train Club.
"It's a constant work in progress," said proprietor Daniel Siskind, explaining that years-old pop culture references to The Simpsons and The Matrix could use some updating. "The older parts are torn down and rebuilt."
The huge models recently relocated to a 16,000-square-foot warehouse inside the Thorp building, a space three times the size of the old studio.
Aside from providing workspace for Lego enthusiasts, Brickmania sells custom Lego sets. It specializes in historical models, castles and ships like the USS Missouri — one ship model is 8 feet long.
"It's museum quality kind of stuff," Siskind said.
Pizza Luce will sell pizza by-the-slice on Friday and Saturday, and several live bands are lined up for the weekend.
"We'll keep it mellow during the day, and after 5 it will start getting louder," Siskind said.
Solar Arts Building
711 15th Ave. NE
Open studios, third-floor gallery and brewery tours throughout the weekend
Artists and solar panels are slated to arrive at this rehabbed building just in time for Art-A-Whirl.
Building co-owner Duane Arens said KARE 11 plans to give the weather report from the roof during Art-A-Whirl, flanked by the new solar array.
"We're probably going to have a little bit of music," he said. "We want to get as many people in there as possible. … It's all about helping the artists sell art."
The building's new brewery won't serve alcohol until July, but the staff from Indeed Brewing Company will be on hand to give tours of all the new equipment.
"We can't wait to get going," Arens said.
Flow Art Space
34 13th Ave. NE
Reception for artists on Friday, May 18, 6-10 p.m.
Northeast resident Melissa Metzler has spent the last 10 years showing her own artwork. So when she decided to open the gallery last fall, she was determined that artists should take 100 percent of the proceeds from their sales.
"I really wanted to do something different," Metzler said. "I know how much work goes into art. … At the end of the day when you make a sale, you realize pretty quickly that you still didn't make any money."
Photographers, painters, jewelry artists, and an encaustic painter that's getting a lot of attention round out her Art-A-Whirl show. (Encaustic painting uses a hot wax medium.)
"What I try to do is balance local art with art from around the country," Metzler said. "It's a really great chance to highlight our local artists and show how we stand up. … There is a real sophistication to work in the Twin Cities."
American Craft Council
Grain Belt Brewery,
1224 Marshall St. NE
Salon series and open house with free wine
and appetizers on
Friday, May 18, 4-8 p.m.;
Salon talk 6-7 p.m.
The California-based artist and professor Garth Johnson has spent hours poring through the American Craft Council's (ACC) huge craft library. Now he's returning the favor by sharing retro film clips from the collection, providing fodder for a salon talk with visitors.
"Garth is famous for his capacity to connect what's happening, or happened, in the craft world with what's happening in popular culture," said Jordan McDonald, ACC education coordinator. "In our Art-A-Whirl event we're using our unique position to bring some new perspectives to this community while promoting local talent."
Twenty-nine local artists will appear in the ACC office and in a digital showcase, which will feature potters, glass artists, weavers, metal smiths and letter press printers.
The ACC has found a few different ways to connect its new headquarters to local artists.
One is through workshops. ACC is partnering in May with the Textile Center to offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the seller's experience at Etsy.com. The ACC also hosts a salon series in the spring and fall. The dialogues are always free, and they are filmed and available online as well. The magazine's library, which offers a collection of artist files and several thousand books and exhibition catalogs, is open to the public Monday through Friday.


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1,3-Butadiene at Memorial Academy
This page last reviewed October 21, 2010
One of the important contributors to health risk, 1,3-butadiene is a flammable, colorless gas with a pungent, aromatic,
gasoline-like odor. 1,3-butadiene vapors are mildly irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes. They can cause
neurological effects such as blurred vision, fatigue, headache, and vertigo at very high levels. The ARB has identified
1,3-butadiene as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer. California has determined under
Assembly Bill 1807 and Proposition 65 that 1,3-butadiene is a cancer-causing compound.
In California, the majority of emissions are from incomplete combustion of gasoline and diesel fuels. Mobile sources account for approximately 96% of the total annual emissions statewide for quantified sources. The primary stationary sources of emissions are petroleum refining, manufacturing of synthetics and man-made materials, and oil and gas extraction. In nature, 1,3-butadiene is emitted as a product of incomplete combustion during forest fires. 1,3-butadiene emissions have been reduced in California through motor vehicle emission control regulations and the introduction of cleaner burning gasoline. In the1990s, the ambient 1,3-butadiene levels showed a steady downward trend, based on the statewide annual average. The 2000 statewide ambient 1,3-butadiene concentration was approximately 53% lower than that in 1990.
Ambient Monitoring Results
Ambient levels of 1,3-butadiene are routinely monitored at approximately twenty sites in the California air toxics
monitoring network. The statewide average concentration of 1,3-butadiene during 1998-2000 was 0.2 ppb (parts per
billion), with values ranging from 0.1 ppb to 3.0 ppb. Relative to the statewide average, the San Diego region
was 12% lower for the same time period.
The ambient monitoring results at Memorial Academy are provided here:
- A graph comparing the monthly summaries of 1,3-butadiene at Memorial Academy with historical statewide and regional levels
- A table of summary statistics
- Raw data in Excel format
Cancer Risk
Cancer risk is the number of excess cancer cases among a million people if the people are exposed to levels of a toxic air pollutant over 70 years. Nine measured compounds, which do not include diesel particulate matter, make up most of the estimated cancer risk at Memorial Academy. 1,3-butadiene represents approximately 38% of the cancer risk of the nine measured compounds.

subset: commoncrawl


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Last year, when I got my first ever-Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy S, I was pleasantly surprised to find that SGS owners could download and play Asphalt 5 for free. The game had decent graphics, addictive gameplay and best of all, featured multiplayer mode over Wi-Fi which allowed me to play the game with my friends.
When I got the most popular smartphone of this year, the Samsung Galaxy S II, I expected Sammy to give more free games with the phone. After all, the Galaxy S II is a beast of a phone, and Sammy should have pre-loaded some games, which showed the true potential of the phone. However, I was pretty disappointed to find out that the Galaxy S II came bundled with 0 games. There were a lot of games listed for the SGS2 in the Samsung Apps store, but all of them were trial version.
Better late than never, Sammy has now finally made Gameloft's popular Asphalt 6 game a free download for Galaxy S II owners. SGS2 owners can download the game for free via the Samsung Apps market on their phone.
Keep in mind that after installing the game from market, the game itself downloads a whopping 550MB+ of data from Gameloft's server via Wi-Fi. So, make sure you have a stable and fast Wi-Fi connection along with enough juice in the phone to download the data.
Via – SammyHub


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Organizing for Action, the offshoot of President Barack Obama's successful re-election campaign, is joining the push for same-sex marriage in Obama's home state, the group announced Tuesday.
Though the organization had been created to assist Obama's second-term agenda on a variety of issues before Congress, the group's decision to get involved in state matters brings its vast technological and networking skills to the statehouse level.
"We've heard from OFA supporters here in Illinois that this issue matters to you, and that's why we're teaming up with Illinois Unites for Marriage —a joint project of ACLU Illinois, Equality Illinois, and Lambda Legal — to add our voices to this fight," Lindsay Siler, the group's national director of issue campaigns, told supporters in an e-mail.
The Obama organization is pushing such national issues as immigration reform, addressing gun violence and dealing with the federal sequester, but organizers who led Obama's re-election campaign also have said it would be grass-roots driven and take up local issues.
"I think this will remind people that the president of the United States changed his mind on marriage," said state Rep. Greg Harris, the Chicago Democrat sponsoring the same-sex marriage legislation in Illinois. "I'm so glad that he's changed his mind. It's what a lot of people are doing."
The Obama group's involvement marks the latest ratcheting up of interests on both sides of the gay marriage issue. The group was recruited by a national gay rights organization, National Freedom to Marry, said officials with Equality Illinois.
Legislation to authorize same-sex marriage has passed the state Senate, but has been mired in the House. Speaker Michael Madigan, the Southwest Side lawmaker who also is state Democratic chairman, has said the measure is about a dozen votes shy of the 60 needed for passage. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn has said he would sign the bill, if passed.
Despite a significant Democratic majority in the Illinois House, passage of the measure had always been viewed more difficult there than in the Senate. Several Downstate Democrats have socially conservative views. But efforts also are underway to turn some city Democrats off the bill.
A coalition of African-American clergy from Cook County have begun airing radio commercials on black-oriented stations urging opposition to the measure. The radio ads come on top of automated telephone calls placed to African-American households by former state Sen. James Meeks, pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago.
The African American Clergy Coalition, as the group calls itself, is also working with Catholic Conference of Illinois and representatives of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod against the gay marriage bill.
Latest Politics
Harris would not say whether the efforts by the African American clergy group has cost him votes.
"I think people are going to listen. They are going to listen to all sides. They are hearing from ministers and parishioners on both sides of the issue in their districts," he said. "I think they are going to come to the same conclusion the majority of Americans have in that this is the fair thing for government to do — to treat all people equally."
Supporters tried to get the measure passed during the January lame-duck session, but failed to get the bill out of the Senate.
Twitter @rap30


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biological diversity
biological diversity or biodiversity, the number of species in a given habitat. Scientists have variously estimated that there are from 3 to 30 million extant species, of which 2.5 million have been classified, including 900,000 insects, 41,000 vertebrates, and 250,000 plants; the remainder are invertebrates, fungi, algae, and microorganisms. Although other species remain to be discovered, many are becoming extinct through deforestation, pollution, and human settlement. Much of this diversity is found in the world's tropical areas, particularly in the forest regions. A habitat in equilibrium has a balance between the number of species present and its resources. Diversity is affected by resources, productivity, and climate. The more pristine a diverse habitat, the better chance it has to survive a change or threat—either natural or human—because that change can be balanced by an adjustment elsewhere in the community; damaged habitats may be destroyed by breaking the food chain with removal of a single species. Thus, biological diversity helps prevent extinction of species and helps preserve the balance of nature. At the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , more than 150 nations signed a treaty intended to protect the planet's biological diversity. See also ecology .
See E. O. Wilson, ed., Biological Diversity (1988); N. Eldredge, Life in the Balance (1998).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Environmental Studies


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TAMPA, Fla. - Cory Conacher had two goals and an assist to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning past the Winnipeg Jets 8-3 on Friday night.
Tampa Bay also got goals from Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Nate Thompson, Teddy Purcell, Ryan Malone and Benoit Pouliot. Stamkos and Lecavalier both added two assists.
The Lightning, 6-1-0 this season, have scored five or more goals in four consecutive games.
Tobias Enstrom, Paul Postma and Andrew Ladd scored third-period goals for Winnipeg, which has lost three in a row. The Jets were coming off a 6-3 loss at Florida on Thursday night in which the Panthers scored five third-period goals.
Conacher, Stamkos and Lecavalier all had first-period man-advantage goals as the Lightning, who started play with the NHL's fifth-best power play, grabbed a 3-0 lead. Winnipeg entered with the league's worst penalty-kill unit.
Stamkos has five goals and 14 points during a season-opening seven-game point streak.
Conacher put the Lightning up 1-0 when he deflected Matt Carle's blue-line shot past goalie Ondrej Pavelec 7:57 into the game. The rookie centre (5 goals, 12 points) has at least one point in six of seven games this year.
Atlanta right wing Chris Thorburn received a five-minute penalty for checking from behind and a game misconduct for a hit on Lightning defenceman Sami Salo at 12:11 of the first.
Twice the Jets were called for minor penalties during Thorburn's 5-minute infraction, which resulted in 5-on-3 goals by Stamkos (14:11) and Lecavalier (16:55).
Winnipeg allowed three power-play goals in Thursday's loss to the Panthers.
Conacher made it 4-0 with another re-direction just 26 seconds into the second.
Thompson extended the lead to 5-0 on a goal that chased Pavelec with 15:17 left in the second. Purcell gave the Lightning a six-goal advantage by beating backup goalie Al Montoya one minute after Thompson's goal.
Anders Lindback lost his shutout bid when Enstrom scored at 5:34 of the third. Postma added his first NHL goal, coming on a power-play 61 seconds later.
Malone and Ladd traded goals midway through the third. Pouliot added a late third-period goal.
Notes: Stamkos has a goal in four straight games. ... Jets D Dustin Byfuglien missed his second consecutive game due to an undisclosed lower-body injury. ... Tampa Bay D Brendan Mikkelson is day to day after crashing into the boards head and shoulders first during practice on Thursday.


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"Must-reads" are like "must-wins," an annoying propensity for Sunday sports talk to overhype a contest to the point of guaranteeing disappointment. I'll hold the hyperbole but highly recommend Umair Haque, author of "Betterness: Economics for Humans" and "The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business" who blogs at Harvard Business Review. He's part of a new breed of business thinkers (similar to Simon Sinek) who have taken hold since 2008, preaching a message that we can—we must—do better.
"We hunger for inspiration, purpose, exhilaration—but mostly, we settle for lives of annihilating boredom, alternating with sheer panic," Haque writes. "Perhaps we get our fix of 'life' through the finely honed narratives of the hundreds of channels of reality TV and 'news' we're smilingly offered night after pixilated night."
I was reminded of Haque's stark (if overwrought) view of wants versus needs, capability versus effort and the "self-imposed perimeter of [people's] carefully constructed lives," when reflecting on this year's IA 25, our 10th annual list of the most influential individuals in the advisor business.
With two rather high-profile exceptions, each individual on this year's list is pushing the boundary of what can reasonably be expected from the individuals and ideas in their respective fields, and succeeding (whether we like it or not) in moving the rest of us with them.
Whether it's a unique affiliation model (Wells Fargo's John Peluso), a completely new—and cheap—advice model (Wharton's Kent Smetter) or the credibility to attract and manage $1.3 trillion of other people's money (PIMCO's Mohamed El-Erian), they're impacting the advisor industry in a way that propels it forward.
"Tomorrow's great institutions will be built—as they always have been—not merely by answering today's preferences with the lowest common denominator, but by seeking radical, transformative paths," Haque adds, before concluding, "Want to build one?"
The participants in year's IA 25 already have, one reason I'm tempted to call it our best list ever. I'd also be remiss by not mentioning our staff's effort and intensity in its compilation, our own humble contribution to the hunger of which Haque speaks, and one we hope you enjoy. (Go to AdvisorOne.com to see the full versions of each profile.)


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Probe targets rigging in $5.3T currency market
- Major banks acknowledge their foreign exchange trading is under investigation
- Bank traders nicknamed %22The Bandits Club%22 and %22The Cartel%22
- Vast trading market virtually unregulated
Financial market experts have long speculated that the $5.3 trillion-a-day foreign exchange market might be manipulated. Even though the system that pension funds, major businesses and institutional investors rely on to trade world currencies dwarfs other financial markets, it has no outside overseers.
"There's no policeman, really," said Marti Subrahmanyan, a finance and economics professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. "These things have sort of fallen through the cracks. Foreign exchange is really nobody's kind of baby."
Now regulators and law enforcement agencies around the globe are focusing on the market amid suspicion that traders at global banks colluded in electronic messaging groups dubbed "the bandits club" and "the cartel" as they tried to enrich themselves at clients' expense.
The early-stage action marks the latest expansion of probes examining financial benchmarks that affect trillions of dollars in business and personal transactions. Investigators have also focused on suspected manipulation of oil prices, interest rate swaps and the London Interbank Offered Rate, or Libor — used to set rates on mortgages, credit cards and loans.
Great Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said it is "gathering information from a wide range of sources, including market participants" in the multinational foreign exchange probe that includes Swiss regulators and the central banks of Hong Kong and Singapore.
"The manipulation we've seen so far may just be the tip of the iceberg," Attorney General Eric Holder, who heads a U.S. probe, told The New York Times. He called it possibly "an extremely consequential investigation."
No banks or traders have been accused of wrongdoing.
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Britain-based Barclays and HSBC, Swiss banking giant UBS, Royal Bank of Scotland and Germany's Deutsche Bank are among the major banks that in recent regulatory filings confirmed their foreign exchange trading is under investigation.
The banks said they have provided information to authorities. Several reportedly suspended some traders or placed them on leave, according to a Nov. 1 federal lawsuit filed by the Haverhill, Mass., city worker retirement system. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, targets major banks that dominate the trading.
Traders from several banks discussed their upcoming transactions in online chat rooms or instant-messaging exchanges and nicknamed themselves as members of "the bandits' club" and "the cartel," the lawsuit alleged, citing several media accounts. The sessions hint at collusion in a market experts say bears signs of "susceptibility to index manipulation," the suit charged.
That index represents the foreign exchange rates for 160 world currencies calculated and distributed by a joint venture of The WM Co. and Thomson Reuters. The benchmark is calculated half hourly for 21 major "trade currencies," and hourly for others. Although the market operates around the clock, investors often focus on the daily rates set or "fixed" at 4 p.m., London time. That's when banks guarantee a certain rate for trades of one currency against another.
Several media organizations have reported that investigators suspect bank traders manipulated the market by coordinating high volumes of trades in efforts to nudge currency rates up or down at the 4 p.m. fixing. The tactic is known as "banging the close."
Given the market's vast size, even the suspected bank-trader collusion might have only limited success in moving rates, warned FX Transparency, a provider of foreign exchange cost analysis.
However, Subrahmanyan theorized the collusion could produce a fractional move in the daily fixing rate of currency trading pairs. Foreign exchange trading typically involves a measure called a "pip," which represents one basis point or 1/100th of 1%.
Repeated again and again, "just a few pips can make some people a lot of money," said Subrahmanyan.


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Country: Slovenia City: Pohorje
Pohorje Slovenia
Type: Hotel
Cheapest Room: 147 EUR (Euro)
This Pohorje blog review was read by 5 travelers
Slovenia lies on the main road and rail routes between Western Europe and the Balkan countries This has helped trade between Slovenia and countries such as Austria, Italy, France, and Germany Manufactured goods including steel, glass, chemicals, papers, and textiles are produced here The... Read More
It's been almost a year now since our very first Wedding Anniversary, and the memories are still fresh from our Honeymoon, Guess where? Slovenia! To be honest, Slovenia was never a part of my list of countries to visit when my wife and I are still planning on our wedding & honeymoon trip... Read More
If you've seen any pictures of Slovenia, chances are you'll have seen Lake Bled With its wooded shores, island church and impressive castle perched high above it, Lake Bled seems made for postcards First impressions of the town, reached easily by an hour and a half or so bus journey from Ljubljana... Read More
Generally, UNESCO World Heritage Site status suggests a place is going to be worth seeing, but nothing could prepare for the scale and majesty of the Skocjan CavesLed through a tunnel into a series of small antechambers, the initial sense is that much the same can be expected as from any... Read More


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April 25, 2009—As the global recession threatens to hamstring the pace of poverty reduction everywhere, many countries—both rich and poor—hope to cushion the blow through a fiscal stimulus.
Some of the pressing questions that governments are trying to grapple with include the size of such stimulus packages, the types of spending they should consist of, and the channels through which they might work most efficiently to stimulate the economy.
A stimulus that favors the poor favors the whole economy
Martin Ravallion, Director of the World Bank's Development Research Group, and an expert on global poverty, emphasizes that there are many reasons why a stimulus that favors poorer people is more likely to have a stronger impact than one that does not.
"There's an obvious ethical reason why a stimulus should favor poor people, but there's also a macroeconomic rationale," said Ravallion, "Poor people, who are typically more constrained by a lack of credit, are much more likely to quickly consume or invest extra cash that becomes available through some form of stimulus."
Historically, rich countries have taken countercyclical actions to stabilize their economies in times of economic stress through direct taxes and committed social spending.
"Developing countries need to be able to act countercyclically too," observed Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany's Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, during a recently-aired BBC World debate, "Global Recession: A Developing World Emergency."
"If there's one thing that should not be missed during this crisis, it's the opportunity to create pro-poor stabilizers in developing countries, similar to the automatic social safety nets that rich countries already have in place," said Ravallion.
Rich countries can also look to developing countries—which have had more experience with disasters of various kinds, from famines and floods to financial crises—for ideas on how best to protect the poor.
Lessons from developing countries
Governments in developing countries have experimented with a wide range of social protection programs, including those that protect poor people from financial crises. The ways in which their public budgets have been programmed provide valuable lessons that could be useful to both rich and poor countries today.
"Some of the best social protection programs in the world have emerged during times of macroeconomic stress, and some of the worst," said Ravallion, "It is difficult—but critical—to strike a balance between immediate relief and long-term poverty reduction."
Increasingly, both rich and poor countries' welfare reform efforts have tried to highlight the notion of "co-responsibility"—helping people to escape poverty now while also taking actions that reduce dependency on welfare in the long run.
"We know a lot more than we did twenty years ago about what works and what doesn't," Ravallion said, "The ideal social safety net does not just protect the poor in times of need, but is also an integral part of the process of development."
Two types of complementary programs that provide good examples of such incentives—also important in designing a pro-poor stimulus—are targeted cash transfers and relief work schemes. When these programs are designed effectively, they can go a long way toward stabilizing an economy in a manner that favors poor people.
Ravallion's paper, "Bailing out the World's Poorest," reviews the arguments and evidence on these programs.
Smart transfers: cash for actions that help the next generation escape poverty
"Getting money into the hands of poor people and doing this in an effective and transparent way is very important," said Ariel Fiszbein, Chief Economist for Human Development at the World Bank, "It's also imperative to make sure that the delivery of basic services is sustained and doesn't suffer because of the crisis."
Conditional cash transfers (on which the World Bank recently published a detailed policy research report) are programs that give cash directly to poor people, who in turn agree to an action such as enrolling girls in school or taking babies to health clinics regularly.
Early influential examples of such programs—which have been multiplying around the world at a rapid rate—include Bangladesh's Food-for-Education, Mexico's Progresa/Oportunidades, and Brazil's Bolsa Escola.
While conditional cash transfers are designed to help reduce poverty in the long run, they can also be used to step up assistance to poor people during times of crisis.
For example, Mexico was able to tackle the welfare effects of the food crisis of 2008 through a one-time top-up payment to Oportunidades participants. And in Indonesia, the Jaring Pengamanan Sosial program reduced school dropout rates among beneficiaries during the 1998 financial crisis.
Challenges in implementation abound, including setting the eligibility criteria in practice, resource constraints, elite capture at the local level, and unresponsiveness to changes in people's needs.
Timely relief work for those that need it
The Employment Guarantee Scheme introduced in the 1970s in the state of Maharashtra, India, is an example of a relief work or workfare scheme that aims to support poor people in rural areas by providing them with unskilled manual labor at low wages on demand. Relief work is now on offer throughout India through the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
Workfare schemes often succeed in one critical area where conditional cash transfers lag. Provided they are well designed, they can adjust flexibly to the need for assistance.
"Like conditional cash transfers, a good workfare scheme relies on built-in incentives," Ravallion explained. "Anybody who has a better option than unskilled manual work will take it, and when those on workfare find better work as the economy recovers they naturally move out of the scheme, thus ensuring that the help is received by those who need it most, while preserving incentives for escaping poverty by other means."
Argentina's Trabajar program illustrates the potential for a new wave of such schemes that stress the importance of asset creation. Work created through the program is typically useful work that would not otherwise be done in poor neighborhoods for lack of finance.
Key design features for such a scheme are that the assets created should be of lasting value, preference should be given to community-initiated projects in poor areas, the wage rate should not be higher than the market rate for similar work and anyone who needs work should be confident they can get it in a reasonably time.
A key role for social protection
"With a combination of well-designed and implemented conditional transfers and relief work schemes it is possible to protect a significant number of poor people in a crisis, without damaging their longer-term prospects of escaping poverty," Ravallion said.
Robust social protection policies require a combination of relief work with transfers in cash or food targeted to specific groups who cannot work due to physical incapacity (including poor nutritional status, with the number of chronically hungry people set to cross 1 billion in 2009) or who should not be taken out of other activities such as school.
"A world that doesn't learn from history is condemned to repeat it. While the recent G-20 meeting focused on financial issues, we need to learn from the history of past crises, when governments squeezed for cash, cut into social programs with often devastating impacts on the poor," said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.
In April 2009, Zoellick announced the institution's intent to triple support to social protection in fiscal year 2010.


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Bake the Book: Pistachio-Cardamom Whoopie Pies with Rosewater Buttercream
Whoopie Pies by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell is all about mixing and matching whoopie cookies and fillings and with their whoopie making manual, hundreds of combinations are possible. For our last whoopie pie of the week I decided to pair two of the book's most elegant recipes for these Pistachio-Cardamom Whoopie Pies with Rosewater Buttercream.
Get the Recipe
These Middle Eastern influenced whoopies begin with a cardamom-scented buttermilk brown sugar cake base studded with bright green pistachios. The filling is a pale pink buttercream accented with rosewater and vanilla, tinted with a few drops of red food coloring. When sandwiched together these spiced whoopies and perfumed filling these little cake-cookies are really gorgeous, pink and green and full of exotic flavors.
Get the Recipe
Pistachio-Cardamom Whoopie Pies with Rosewater Buttercream »
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of 'Whoopie Pies' to give away this week.


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It used to be convenience stores only sold things such as bread, cup noodles and pastries. Today, not only do they stock a wide range of items, but also they can be found in even the most rural town—making them even handier. Make sure you have a good look around, because many of these convenience stores stock local items that can only be purchased in that area, so you can sample some regional flavors as well.
As most people know, kimchi is spicy Korean pickled vegetables, delicious on its own, but it is also a useful ingredient for a variety of dishes. Japanese think of tsukemono as a traditional snack or side dish, but since cucumber tsukemono really is a pickle, you can dice it and use it to top vegetables or salads, stir-fry or other dishes.


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The Southern Alleghenies Workforce Investment Board (SAWIB) is committed to leading initiatives designed to enhance the skills of the workforce in order to meet the needs of the region's employers to compete in a world economy.
Through the PA CareerLink ® system, the SAWIB uses its collective expertise and resources to support a wide range of programs designed to meet the needs of the jobseeker and employer alike and help prepare the region's youth for the world of work.
To learn more about the SAWIB, contact the board's director, Susan Whisler, at (814) 949-6507 or via e-mail at email@example.com.
Memorandum of Understanding between the Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Board and the One Stop Partners
Southern Alleghenies Workforce Development Board (SAWDB) Priority of Service to Access Individualized Career Services and Training


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The first Filofax was sold in 1921. A Filofax was once the must-have accessory for the young and upwardly mobile in the Eighties but today, some might even wonder what a Filofax is…
I used to love my Filofax. I moved to PDAs some time ago with the Palm Pilot III, to Palm Tungsten-T, to Windows Mobile based HP iPAQ and now to Apple iPhone.
I'm never on the move without my 3000+ contacts, my wireless Internet access, my 7+ days of music and so much more.
I still have my twenty-year old Filofax but have to admit it's been ages I did not buy any refill. My Filofax now looks so useless, does anyone still use a Filofax?


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Nana Cosplay
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(CBS News) Consumer Reports is sounding the alarm over the safety of pork. A new study shows that chops and ground pork may be full of bad bacteria. A whole host of food-borne illnesses is caused by these bacteria, such as stomach aches, vomiting, diarrhea, fever -- and in the most extreme cases, even death.
But Consumer Reports, an independent, nonprofit organization that provides ratings and product comparisons, says bacteria are not the only thing pork eaters should be concerned about.
Read the Consumer Reports findings.
For years, pork has been promoted by the industry as healthy food option -- "the other white meat." But the new report suggests otherwise.
Urvashi Rangan, Consumer Reports director of consumer safety and sustainability, said, "We found potentially harmful bacteria on most of the samples of pork that we tested. One organism we looked at, enterococcus, is more a measure of filth indication, maybe fecal contamination."
Of nearly 200 pork samples tested by Consumer Reports, many tested positive for salmonella, listeria, staph bacteria. The magazine says a whopping 69 percent contained yersinia, which infects nearly 100,000 Americans every year. Children are especially vulnerable.
Stephen Morse, of the Columbia University School of Public Health, said, "You always expect to find some bacteria in any meat product. But those are usually harmless. I think the real surprise here was to find so many potentially disease-causing bacteria."
Even more, 90 percent of the bacteria Consumer Reports found were said to be resistant to antibiotics. In other words, they were super-bugs.
Rangan said, "All of these things paint a very concerning picture about this indiscriminate use of antibiotics in meat production in this country, and what we believe are the resulting consequences of that."
Consumer Reports was also alarmed by traces of ractopamine in one-fifth of pork they tested. Farmers use the drug on their hogs to produce leaner cuts of meat. It was originally developed to treat asthma, but never approved for human use.
Scott Hurd, a former top food safety official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who has done consulting work for the pork industry, says Consumer Reports is "inflamed and used a small amount of data to frighten people." And he says the meat is safe.
Hurd, of the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, said, "The average person would have to eat over 700 pounds of pork every day for their entire life in order to get enough ractopamine to be above that acceptable level by FDA."
Hurd says the sample size of the Consumer Reports study is too small to draw any broader conclusions. But he adds that germs can be found in nearly everything we eat, so consumers should always be careful when handling meat. That means cooking meat thoroughly and washing your hands.
For Jim Axelrod's full report, watch the video in the player above.


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Lose the Bulge... but Still Indulge!
COOK YOURSELF THIN Cookbook Hits Shelves April 28, 2009
Food Experts HARRY EASTWOOD, ALLISON FISHMAN and CANDICE KUMAI Star in Twenty Episode, Half-Hour Series from Tiger Aspect Productions
LOS ANGELES, CA (April 7, 2009) � Do you want to have your cake and eat it, too? Lifetime Television premieres Cook Yourself Thin, an all-new series that offers viewers the skills and the confidence to give their favorite indulgent meals a healthy makeover by cutting the calories and doubling the flavor! Culinary experts Harry Eastwood, Allison Fishman and Candice Kumai show guests how to lose their unwanted inches by replacing extreme dieting with clever cooking. The twenty-episode, half-hour series premieres with back-to-back episodes on Monday, May 4 at 5:00 and 5:30 pm (ET/PT). For the remainder of the week, Cook Yourself Thin will air new episodes Monday through Friday at 5:00 and 5:30 pm (ET/PT). Starting Monday, May 11, new episodes will air Monday through Friday at 5:00 pm (ET/PT).
To coincide with the premiere of the series, Voice will release the Cook Yourself Thin cookbook on April 28, 2009. The cookbook will include all of the recipes featured on the show as well as a calorie guide, a list of the big (and surprising) calorie offenders, skinny alternatives to your favorite meals, a food personality quiz and more.
Based on the successful, British series and popular cookbook, Cook Yourself Thin encourages women to lose weight by changing their eating habits. Each half-hour episode follows one guest as she learns simple ways to transform her favorite high calorie meals into delicious, healthier fare. Hosts Eastwood, Fishman and Kumai use their sharp culinary know-how to tailor a specific menu for each participant. In the premiere episode, show participant Rachel trades in her typical lunch of traditional lasagna (858 calories per serving) and dinner of ribeye steak and mashed potatoes (1,040 calories per serving) for a spinach and mushroom veggie lasagna (343 calories per serving) and steak with cauliflower mashed potatoes (389 calories per serving).
The meals are prepared step-by-step, comparing the calorie count of the original recipe to those of the Cook Yourself Thin version. The guest is then sent home with the ingredients, tools and tips necessary to make healthy changes in the kitchen. After six weeks of living the Cook Yourself Thin lifestyle, the hosts visit each participant at home to check on her progress.
Visitors to myLifetime.com will be able to view full episodes of the series the day after they premiere on Lifetime Television. Additionally, site visitors will have access to recipes featured on the show and step-by-step cooking instructions. For each episode, there will be five exclusive webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes information about show participants � including an inside look at the contents of their refrigerators and a video blog recorded by one of the hosts offering cooking tips and additional strategies for Cook Yourself Thin.
Fans of the series can also log on to the Cook Yourself Thin subscription-based online club at cookyourselfthin.tv for exclusive access to features, tips and tools that will help users drop their unwanted pounds.
Cook Yourself Thin is produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for Lifetime Television. Emmy Award� winner Lauren Deen (Martha Stewart Living) and Christine Connor serve as co-executive producers.
Food writer and cookbook author Harry Eastwood is an expert baker. She prides herself on being able to cut the calorie count of delicious desserts by substituting healthy alternatives for the high fat ingredients typically found in baked goods. Eastwood starred in the British version of the series and co-authored the cookbook Cook Yourself Thin: The Delicious Way to Drop a Dress Size.
Chef Allison Fishman honed her culinary skills while working for Martha Stewart and Food Network as a recipe developer and food stylist. Additionally, Fishman served as co-host of TLC�s Home Made Simple. She currently writes a weekly food column for www.thestreet.com and her recipes and writings have been featured in national magazines and newspapers across the nation.
Candice Kumai, a contestant on season one of Bravo�s Top Chef, was professionally trained at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu. Kumai is currently a special events chef at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Laguna Beach, CA and runs her own catering company, Stiletto Chef LA. She has been featured as a cooking expert on KNBC�s Your LA and participates in high profile cooking demonstrations across the country.
Tiger Aspect Productions, an IMG Media company, is internationally recognized as one of the UK�s most successful and prolific independent television producers. The company portfolio includes animation, comedy, drama, entertainment and factual genres. Tiger Aspect�s programming is built on a hot-bed of the best available talent. The company�s belief in nurturing and supporting creativity on every level means that Tiger Aspect attracts the ultimate in on-screen writing and production talent.
VOICE is the only mainstream book imprint creating content exclusively by and about women.VOICE publishes a rich variety of intelligent, witty, moving, and powerful fiction and nonfiction. The imprint's authors and its readers are smart, educated, busy, curious women who see themselves (and are seen by others) as the powerful centers of their own lives.
Lifetime is a diverse, multi-media company, committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. Lifetime Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of the Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.


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Whew! FDEP decides not sell environmentally sensitive land
Area residents and officials who were opposed to the state selling environmentally sensitive land it had previously purchased on Cayo Costa and North Captiva can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is no longer pursuing its plans to sell parcels identified in a State Conservation Land Assessment report as no longer needed for conservation purposes in hope of raising money to buy "better" parcels.
The state will, instead, focus on the sale of non-conservation sites, such as closed prisons and hospitals, officials said.
We hail the FDEP decision.
It is a far better way to accomplish the agency's stated goal: to raise as much as $50 million to add to a $20 million legislation-approved kitty for Florida Forever to buy additional parcels through its conservation and recreation lands acquisition program.
At issue was that the lands proposed for sale -more than 3,400 acres, including 14 acres in Cayo Costa State Park – had, in fact, been purchased because they met state criteria.
Although they somehow no longer did.
Public outcry across the state was almost immediate and state officials got an earful at the public meetings called to garner input.
Locally, the Lee County Board of County Commissioners unanimously opposed the sale of the state-owned sites here as did virtually all area environmental organizations.
As the county stated in its opposition statement late last year:
n The two parcels on the southern end of North Captiva Island, which extend from the Gulf to Pine Island Sound with houses on both sides, should be removed from the potential sale list because they are "low elevation, designated by DEP as critically eroded, and in the Tropical Storm evacuation zone." One has significant mangroves, both have remnant dune vegetation and are sea turtle nesting habitat on the beach side with habitat for two protected species, gopher tortoises and indigo snakes, further in. There also is an active osprey nest on one of the parcels, which, opponents to the sale fear, could become a home or cabin site if sold. "Utilities are not present and any future development would have potential water quality impacts on the adjacent Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve," the county letter to the state stated.
n Eight parcels are on a peninsula in Pine Island Sound near the southern end of Cayo Costa where there already are approximately 11 houses scattered throughout the point. Two are contiguous to other state-owned parcels on the island, all are contiguous to the Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve, and all are in an Archeological Sensitivity zone, according to the county. The peninsula has mangrove shore on its western side and a bay beach habitat on the eastern with ample native vegetation and a "very high quality seagrass bed" offshore deemed "an essential fish habitat." One has a large nest "likely used by eagles or osprey." Again, "Utilities are not present and any future development would have potential water quality impacts on the adjacent Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve," the county stated, adding although habitat has been "somewhat fragmented by existing homes, the parcels are in close proximity to other conservation lands and should stay in conservation status." "This would minimize future risk exposure and prevent impacts to the existing resources and adjacent state lands including Pine Island Sound Aquatic Preserve. The State should retain these parcels," the county maintained.
How these parcels, and many others like them, got on a "surplus" list boggles the mind.
We are glad the state apparently now agrees.
Our thanks to all the individuals and organizations that helped make that happen.
– Eagle editorial


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There are some important technology trends that are making a major impact on the lives of financial advisors, broker-dealers and custodians. Ignored, and these trends have the potential to put you out of business. Embraced, and these trends can increase your revenue, profits, employee satisfaction and client satisfaction. In this, the first in a 12-part blog series, we will discuss each trend, what its short-term implications are, and what you need to consider over the long term.
These trends vary in how far they've developed and in how far-reaching they can be. Some of them are impacting your business today and it's likely that you are acting on them as I write. Others are issues and opportunities that might not yet be on your radar, but will likely impact your future.
For example, crowd sourcing is an example of a trend you'll likely need to deal with in the future. Most firms aren't doing anything with crowd sourcing at the moment, but it is going to be increasingly important way in which firms accomplish tasks. On the other hand, a trend like mobility is, most likely, already impacting the way your firm works today.
Depending upon the type of firm you have, and your role within it, some trends may be more relevant to you than others, and some might not affect you at all. Nevertheless, it's important to understand the direction in which things are moving. Some of these macro trends might well be affecting your clients and other key stakeholders including advisors, shareholders, vendors, and others. Even though a technology trend might not impact your daily life, it's important to remember that it may be dramatically changing the lives of others.
Over the course of this series, we'll discuss each of these 10 technology trends in depth:
- Increasing technology capability (bandwidth, storage, computing power)
- Mobility
- The integrated workstation
- Integration
- Workflow
- Cloud-based computing
- Outsourcing
- Social media
- Crowd sourcing
- Big data
The above trends list is not in any order of importance, as the importance will vary based on who you are, your business model etc. However, we've grouped the trends into three broad categories. The first, "Computing, Storage and Mobility," encompasses trends one and two. The second category, "Advisor Workstation and Software Trends," is represented in trends three through seven. The final category is "The Consumerization of IT" and includes trends eight, nine and ten. These final three represent trends borne out of the consumer world that are impacting the financial services world.
As we highlight these trends in upcoming posts, keep in mind that each represents a change that could be a challenge. However, any growing pains will be worth it in the long term, as each trend represents new opportunities for your firm to increase revenue, become more efficient, and better serve clients.
We welcome your thoughts and suggestions along the way as everyone has a different perspective and set of experiences. Please e-mail [email protected] with thoughts or comments and we will do our best to address them in upcoming blogs.
View Spenser Segal's previous practice management primer blog series.


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In an article on BNET.com, "The CBS Interactive Business Network", writer Penelope Trunk says that start-up companies should be as single-gendered as possible — and preferably, men only.
If you want to know why you shouldn't do a startup with women (if you're a man), read on.
It's a distraction.
I have done three startups and each time it has been with a male co-founder. And each time, the fact that I am female has been a distraction to us. It has been a source of friction. When I was young, people thought my co-founder and I were a couple. (This is not surprising. The majority of male-female co-founder situations for a funded startup have a sex component.)
Plus, women are always crying and as everyone knows, there is no crying in start-ups:
In my last company, Brazen Careerist, I had two male co-founders. Sometimes I'd cry. Or throw a fit. And the guys would say I was so difficult. I am a woman who has been in tech startups for 15 years. I thought, if anyone can deal with men, it's me. And still, I was too emotional for these guys. You know what? Most women cry at work. And most guys throw a fit.
The author would also like you to know that when she left, she replaced herself with a male CEO.
Hopefully, no one confused he and his co-workers for life partners.
Are Startups Better as Single-Gender Affairs? [BNET]


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Sunday, December 9, 2012
Happy Sunday Everyone!I know that this has been a LOOOOOONG weekend for me!
you guys have NO idea how i wish xmas break was NEXT WEEK!
I am so excited to be able to go back home to Texas and just have some time off from school/work!*sigh* only a few more weeks! I think i can make it!
Here are your LoL moments for this week!
I hope that they make you laugh/giggle :-)


text: Joanne shares her memories of Italy with her student Barbra recreating some of the dishes form her travels. She starts with a simple salad of fig and prosciutto, then slowly adds just enough red wine for a faro risotto, and finally ends the meal with a dessert of strawberry, port, and black pepper. Recipes: Fig And Blueberry Salad With Creme Fraiche, Mint and Prosciutto di Parma, Farro Risotto with Red Wine and Grana Padano, Strawberry with Port and Black Pepper, and an Aperol Champagne Cocktail. Student: Barbra Bright, Kitchen Designer.


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Readers weigh in on design
On Sunday, we noted that the design unveiled last week for the new Minnesota Vikings stadium was not universally appreciated among members of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, and we invited readers to weigh in. Here's a selection of the responses:
What do I think of the new Vikings stadium design? I don't like it.
It is cool if you are an architect trying to win an award, but once the awards dinner is over, we will have to look at it for 75 years.
I just returned from a 20-day trip in Europe, followed by five days in Boston. What sights were all the tourists visiting and enamored of? Classic, old, stone buildings with designs that were warm and welcoming. The new stadium looks like something that fell from outer space. Sure, it is a cool design that would catch my eye in a magazine. Would I want it in my back yard, as I'd like TCF Stadium or Target Field? Absolutely not.
Rick Manning, Wayzata
• • •
The architects clearly recycled previous plans for a megachurch, and simply replaced a rendering of Jesus at the top of the chapel with a glorified Viking.
Praise be? Not from me.
Angie Eilers, St. Louis Park
• • •
Its origami artist folds the sobriquet raider's weapon to a piercing point that guts the public's purse for great spillage of coin …
Joel Shinder, Golden Valley
• • •
I realized the new stadium probably would not completely resemble the artist's rendition that was portrayed in the paper last year. The futuristic version looked like a 1960s foam house and would not be a practical build.
However, the sterile glass "greenhouse" lacks texture from other building materials. I would think you would fry like an ant under a magnifying glass!
How long will it be before people tire of looking at this giant "airplane hangar" and want something different? After all, we can always find money for the impractical!
Tom Rasinski, Coon Rapids
• • •
So … lots and lots of glass! Has anyone thought how horrible this is for birds? You should see the number of birds that lay dead near the Hennepin County Government Center, victims of trying to simply fly on their course. It will be as bad, if not worse, for birds at the new stadium.
William Lundquist, Bloomington
• • •
To be blunt, I speak for the Minnesotans who oppose construction of a new stadium.
Many years ago, Alistair Cooke (the original host for Masterpiece Theater and a widely respected savant) shocked his distinguished audience at the Mayo Clinic, gathered to celebrate the opening of a new laboratory building, by saying that it's not so important what a building looks like as it is what goes on inside it.
So, if the building is only going to be used for pro football fewer than 10 times a year, it would be really foolish to sink very much money into it.
Yet the plan calls for a building twice the size of the Metrodome that has a rigid roof and will require climate control.
If it is built, will they come? What if spending two seasons playing at TCF Bank Stadium converts Viking fans into believing in old-fashioned outdoor football — the way it was meant to be played?
The bottom line is that nobody really wants to pay for the stadium, apart from the Wilf family. Gov. Mark Dayton trots out one sin tax after another in order to appease the faithful. If the stadium plan, funded with a general tax, wouldn't pass on a statewide referendum, then let's just move on.
John F. Hick, St. Paul
* * *
The Editorial Board also sought comments online, which elicited comparisons such as "dead ringer for Noah's Ark" (from three sides at least) and "Chinese food takeout carton," in addition to complaints about the lack of sustainability measures and concerns over the maintenance of the clear roof. However, the online crowd also included a few fans, who offered compliments such as "bold, beautiful piece of architecture" and "stadium disguised as a work of art."
"In three years when this is open, you'll all get it," wrote one commenter. "Sure, it doesn't look like a stadium, but that's a good thing. With the addition of the new park and development accompanying it, this is a huge game-changer. I can't wait!"
David Banks, Assistant Commentary Editor
* * *
Another session down, and much to criticize
The Legislature may be compared to the board of directors of a corporation that does $40 billion in business every two years.
Can one imagine such a board making its key decisions in the middle of the night, when its members are weary, exhausted, stressed, on edge and facing a firm deadline? The business would not long survive.
This nonsense happens every two years, regardless of partisan control of the Legislature. No wonder the public revolts at the proposal of a pay raise for these "public servants."
George M. Woytanowitz, Minneapolis
• • •
The May 18 picture of Republican legislators pretending to read newspapers during the bonding debate showed that they are not concerned about unemployed Minnesotans. Their rejection of bonding when interest rates are at the lowest we will ever see lays bare their false claims of fiscal responsibility.
Robert A. Swart, Mankato, Minn.
• • •
Imagine that state-backed construction were to begin for dozens of projects, including new (necessarily needed?) buildings at state colleges and universities; light rail, and regional civic centers.
Architects and other essential technical personnel would be hired. Bidding contractors would be selected, with hundreds and possibly thousands of trade and/or nontrade workers being hired in a job-creation initiative. Staging areas would be set up for assembling materials and equipment. Work would continue for several years until much of it were completed. Layoffs then would begin for all nonessential personnel. Most nonemployees of companies would be dismissed. Hundreds, maybe thousands of jobs would be lost for all temporarily hired workers, who then would flood the state offices to collect unemployment compensation checks. State (borrowed?) funds would cover all costs and/or expenses. Job-creation initiative complete; few if any, permanent jobs created.
Might I suggest that our legislators leave the job-creation issue to corporations, companies and other permanent businesses? Jobs with those entities have much greater success at permanency.
Kenneth A. Hanauska, Rogers
• • •
I've always been astonished by the willingness of Republicans ("Showdown over child care's future," May 19) to spend time and effort to protect the sacred right of workers to be underpaid, particularly if that underpayment could be ameliorated by unionization.
John Sherman, Moorhead, Minn.
• • •
The lost opportunity to enact tax reform merits an F for both Gov. Mark Dayton and the Legislature. Their failure has consequences for all Minnesota taxpayers, individuals and corporations alike. Tax reform could have put an end to the roller-coaster instability of revenue sources, in addition to reducing disparities between middle class and wealthiest taxpayers and clearing the way for long-term business decisions. But that is not to be. The failure to act is no mystery. It was largely based on polling data and special-interest pressure, making it clear that staying in office is the highest priority for our current crop of legislators on both sides of the aisle and for Dayton as well.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to matter which party is in the majority — the political environment seems to bring out the worst in everyone.
John Helgerson, Victoria
• • •
The latest tax increase is a great opportunity for nonpolitical organizations to do some serious independent research and find out exactly how it affects Minnesota in terms of job creation — how many businesses relocate out of state, as well as which ones stay and expand.
It gets nauseating to hear all these dire predictions about our horrible business climate, public education, political climate, health care and other issues only to find out that studies indicate we are doing pretty well, and not just compared with the rest of the nation. No doubt some individuals and businesses are having a difficult time, and we should do all we can to provide assistance. But to say that the state is teetering on the brink of collapse only adds to cynicism and an unwillingness to even try to listen in on the conversation to solve our ongoing problems. Let's gather the evidence, discuss the facts, and stop bombarding our brains and the media with nonsense.
Wayne Mostek, Roseville
* * *
A more businesslike approach is viable
A recent Opinion Exchange article ("How come 'they' get bailed out and you don't?" May 16) attempted to instruct us on the "promise" that we (taxpayers) made to public employees regarding their pensions. I don't pretend to know the details of that "promise," but I can suggest the writer is not entirely correct in his analysis of what private employers can do when faced with an underfunding situation in their defined-benefit retirement fund.
True, one part of the solution is to increase contributions. But what the author failed to recognize is a complementary approach. My employer fund has chosen to minimize contributions by not providing increases in pension payouts, in fact for the past 19 years. That is perhaps the key to keeping the fund solvent. Imagine where the public pension funds would be today if they followed this businesslike approach. Or imagine how much money my employer would have had to "cough up" (in the writers words) to keep the plan solvent. Which is what we taxpayers, many of whom are on private employer defined-benefit plans, are being subjected to by the projected surcharge on certain insurance policies.
Joe Theissen, Woodbury


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Mediterranean Honeymoon
For our honeymoon, we went on a Mediterranean cruise of a lifetime with Princess Cruise Lines for just shy of 2 weeks during September 2008. We visited the following places: Venice, Athens, Istanbul, Sorrento, Capri, Marceilles, Florence, Barcelona, Kusadasi, Rome, among others. Click on the thumbnails below to view the galleries.
Click here to go back to the Honeymoon main page.
For my blog posts on our honeymoon, see here:
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
- May 9, 2010 at 10:14 am
Hi Angela!
I'm getting married this summer and we're going on a Mediterranean cruise too! :) I'm not sure what company you went with (we're going on a Princess cruise), but I'm wondering if you guys did any of the excursions or just planned your own days on shore? Thanks!
PS- Love your new blog design!
- May 15, 2010 at 12:32 pm
So glad I found this page! We are going on the Princess cruise and cannot wait. These pics make me so excited!
- February 10, 2012 at 6:34 pm
Was it hard to at vegan on the cruise? My hubs and I are going on a cruise in April and I am…. pescartarian really- but was just wondering, what were your "staple" meals. Thanks!
- February 10, 2012 at 6:47 pm
P.S love your H'moon pix…. looks like you had a blast! :)
Leave a Comment


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I sat on the edge of the bathtub. My mind constantly...
Paris Belongs To US *A lot can happen in 9 months sequel*90423347554
- by Hailey Laken Payne
- Rating:
- Published: 20 Jan 2013
- Updated: 18 Aug 2015
- Status: Complete
It's been 4 years since Zoe and Darcy moved to Paris. Zoe hasn't gotten over Harry. He claims he has gotten over her. When they bump into each other? Will their feelings come back? Or will life get in the way once again?
Join MovellasFind out what all the buzz is about. Join now to start sharing your creativity and passion
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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
by Chelsea Pelsone
It has been a busy few months since I crowned Lewiston's newest peach queen back in September. Not only have my classes at Niagara University been challenging and time consuming, but my ongoing fundraising efforts for the Arthritis Foundation have kept me a busy young lady, as well.
Although I was sad to give up my title, I was also both excited and anxious to crown our newest queen, Maggie Dorian, so that she can be given the many opportunities that I was given during my reign.
My year was very busy, yet very rewarding. Whether I was serving food at the senior center, being Santa's helper at the Christmas Walk, or making appearances within the community, each duty of mine was enjoyable, and allowed me to fulfill the Kiwanis Club's motto of "Helping one child, one community at a time."
I was able to meet numerous leaders in our community and have established many great relationships with them. One leader in particular, State Assemblyman John Ceretto, gave me the opportunity to go on two separate interviews on LCTV to speak about arthritis awareness, which was my platform when I ran in this pageant last year.
Many people asked me why I chose to speak about arthritis. The reason is that almost three years ago, I was diagnosed with a severe autoimmune disease that deteriorates the joints, tissues and internal organs of the body. This disease is known as rheumatoid arthritis. When diagnosed, I had no idea that there were 100 different types of arthritis, and that 1.3 million people in America struggle along with me. I set out to help others struggling with the disease that made my young body its home.
Once crowned, I vowed that I was going to help the Arthritis Foundation. After winning, I fulfilled one of my duties as queen and held a basket auction fundraiser in Lewiston at Tin Pan Alley in July. The event honored the Arthritis Foundation and all the hard work its members put forth each and every day.
I was lucky and grateful to have a whole room full of baskets and more than 200 people from all over the community come and attend the event, wanting to support my cause and me. With the help and support of the community, I was able to raise more than $11,000. This was an amount I had never expected, and I would not have been able to do this without my family, friends and many supporters. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
The Arthritis Foundation has gone out of its way to help me, and it was such a heartwarming feeling knowing that members of my community were going out of their way to help me in my efforts to help the Arthritis Foundation. Not only was I able to raise money for much-needed research, but also I met young adults like me battling rheumatoid arthritis from all over the world (including Nevada, Hawaii, England, Missouri and many other places). I continued to fundraise by selling rheumatoid arthritis bracelets to patients from all over the world.
The experience I gained from being peach queen is something that I will take with me forever. The Kiwanis Club of Lewiston is a fine organization, and I cannot express how proud I am to have represented it during my reign. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Kiwanis members and look forward to continue working with them in the future.
To the Kiwanis Club, thank you for giving me memories and experiences that I will not forget. A special thanks to President Jerry Mosey and to my peach queen advisers: Jeanette Collesano, Jennifer Pauly and Kris Trunzo. I can't thank you enough for all the hard work and support you put forth during my special year as peach queen.


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The Dark Knight Rises is easily the most anticipated movie of 2012. The final installment of this Batman trilogy is going to be nothing short of epic. There is a pretty good chance that like me, you are also a Batman maniac. The OST of the music from Himmer is nothing short of terrific as well, and is definitely adding fuel to my fire of watching the movie.
I have been using different Batman wallpapers since the last one week, and as a Batman fan would like to share it with other fans out there. Below are my top five The Dark Knight Rises wallpapers -:
The wallpapers above are in full HD resolution so it can be used on your Android or iOS devices as well. Also, dont forget to head over to the official The Dark Knight Rises website to download more awesome wallpapers and other goodies.
Credits to the original makers of the wallpapers!


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World English
United Kingdom
United States Go to Usborne.com
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Lift-the-flap first questions and answers
Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?
Why do camels have humps? Why do turtles have shells? And why do fish have fins and birds have wings? Young animal lovers can find the answers to these questions and many more in this lift-the-flap information book. With colourful illustrations, simple text and chunky flaps to lift, and links to carefully selected websites with videos and activities.
Katie Daynes has written oodles of books for Usborne, from lifting the flaps on germs and poo, through things to spot in the sea and at school, to the life stories of Nelson Mandela and Marie Antoinette. She wrote My First Chess Book after being taught by her son, Joe Birks, who became the British Under 9 Chess Champion in 2017. She now lives in Yorkshire with her architect husband, two inquisitive children and a hamster called Toffee. When she's not writing books, Katie likes walking on the blustery moors, meeting friends for coffee and playing competitive board games.
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text:
Iraq firstname.lastname@example.com
18th March 2002Mr Tony Blair
10 Downing Street
SW1A 2AA Dear Mr Blair, I feel compelled to write to you again concerning the international policies which you are currently promoting and in particular your statements which would appear to pre-empt further attacks on Iraq. Although I am well aware that sanctions and military action against Iraq have been in place for many years now, your remarks suggest that such activity will be increased. I understand that your mandate is to do what is best for the British people, but what I do not understand is how your own moral beliefs as an individual can allow you to agree with this course of action. The hypocrisy of the situation must surely be clear to you? On the one hand you require Iraq not to produce weapons of mass destruction, whilst on the other Britain and the United States have an enormous arsenal of such weapons. If Iraq is a threat to Britain then by the same reasoning how can Iraq not see Britain as a threat to itself? How can you feel it is right to insist on weapons inspectors to enter Iraq when you would never allow such intrusion if it were suggested that it be levied against Britain? Iraq's response to these demands is no different to that which you yourself would give if the roles were reversed. The most reprehensible aspect of this is that given the situation which these policies have now created, the only apparent solution that you are able to suggest is that we should kill more people. To my mind any notion that this could be compatible with a civilised society indicates either a tragic error of judgement or an astonishing lack of ethical maturity. I sincerely hope that you are able to find an alternative resolution to the problems which Britain now finds itself faced with. I also apologise for the blunt tone of this letter. However, although I did send a more reasoned letter previously no further explanation was forthcoming from you. I'm sure you can understand if I tell you that I consider this to be one of the most important issues affecting the world and which involves Britain quite so closely. Yours sincerely, David Llewellyn-Jones
email@example.com 21st April 2002
Middle East Department
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London Dear Thank you for your reply to my letter written to the Prime Minister on the 18th of March. Although you have provided a lot of information in your reply -- for which I am grateful -- you nonetheless seem not to have answered the main points which I made in my original correspondence. To reiterate, I cannot understand how the government, and Tony Blair in particular, can fail to see the level of hypocrisy involved in its current stance on Iraq. In case there is any doubt, it might be useful to consider some of the issues which you point out in your letter to me, as I feel these precisely highlight the difficulties I have with the current policy. The most obvious discrepancy relates to Iraq's capability in respect of Weapons of Mass Destruction. You point out that the Iraqi regime has admitted to possessing Sarin, Tabun, Mustard Gas and VX Gas, but you omit to point out that VX, the most toxic of them, was invented in Britain and has been mass produced by the US for its own purposes since 1961. The US currently stores over 4000 tonnes of VX nerve gas spread over six sites in the US1. In addition it is widely known that Agent Orange was used during the Vietnam war and it has also been claimed that in 1968 the United States used VX on a North Vietnamese Army Outpost, in contravention of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. Additionally, I'm sure you're well aware that -- despite your claim that Iraq admitted to 'possessing large quantities of...VX gas' -- they said that they had never manufactured VX of sufficient stability to mount on warheads. The details in themselves are less important than the fact that if the same weapons inspectors were admitted into the US, they would doubtless find considerably more evidence of the existence and storage of chemical weapons than they did in Iraq. Of course, such a situation would never arise because Britain or the US would never allow such a blatant infringement of their sovereignty as to allow their military capability to be inspected by an outside party. At any rate, to insist that Iraq should not use such weapons when you yourself have access to them is clearly an untenable position. The position becomes even more unsatisfactory when nuclear weapons are considered. The fact that Iraq had intended to or was in actuality developing nuclear weapons is -- perhaps rightly -- considered to be a serious threat. So serious that sanctions which directly cause the death of up to 5000 infants every month in Iraq are claimed to be a justifiable response. Yet this is within a context in which Britain and the United States themselves retain a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons. It is an impossible position to hope to preach about the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons when Britain has never made any clear attempts to reduce its nuclear capability. This is made especially acute when Tony Blair himself has publicly stated that he may actually be willing to use nuclear weapons. Has Saddam Hussein made any such openly aggressive suggestions? NATO official policy is that: 'The supreme guarantee of the security of the Allies is provided by the strategic nuclear forces of the Alliance, particularly those of the United States; the independent nuclear forces of the United Kingdom and France, which have a deterrent role of their own, contribute to the overall deterrence and security of the Allies.'2 It is clear from this that nuclear weapons play an integral part in NATO's defence plan. But if this is the case, it must surely follow that Iraq is also justified in acquiring nuclear weapons for its own defence as well. To quote Tony Blair: 'where countries are engaged in the terror or WMD business, we should not shirk from confronting them.' But Britain is certainly involved in this business and yet he still cannot see the parallels. Should Iraq shirk from confronting us? The correlation is indeed so obvious that the only conclusion which can seemingly be drawn is that Tony Blair is being aggressive for reasons other than those which he would like us to believe. To be clear on this, although you say yourself that 'No decision has been taken' concerning Iraq, Tony Blair's statements have shown that he is being aggressive even if at the moment this is only taking the form of threats. He has been fairly specific, saying that 'leaving Iraq to develop WMD...is not an option' and that if necessary 'action should be military and again, if necessary and justified, it should involve regime change.' This seems fairly unambiguous, especially given that President Bush has said that 'the policy of my government is the removal of Saddam' and in a not unrelated statement Tony Blair has said that 'when America is fighting for those values, then, however tough, we fight with her.' I would dearly like to think that Tony Blair does not intend to invade Iraq, but unfortunately his statements lend no comforting weight to the claim. You also talk about the twenty three UN obligations which Iraq is in breach of. Again, it is worth considering the UK and US records in this respect. As I'm sure you know, they could certainly be better. For example, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica: 'In 1966 the General Assembly unanimously approved a treaty prohibiting the placement of nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit, on the moon, or on other celestial bodies, and recognising the use of outer space for peaceful purposes only.' This has been one of the fundamental treaties of the UN and yet Bush's policy on Missile Defence clearly contravenes this, which does not seem to bother him. Even if you feel this is not clear cut, resolutions which have arisen from this treaty concerning the registration of satellites3 have been routinely breached by the UK and US. Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist, has noted at least 10 counts of non-compliance by the UK and 118 by the US, seven of which have concerned classified military satellites and for which he states: 'The bulk of the information...is deliberately wrong or misleading'. A further example is the lack of a UN resolution covering the NATO airstrikes of Kosovo which were 'in violation of UN Charter provisions, particularly its article 2(4)4,' according to Shinya Murase at the Sophia University Faculty of Law in Tokyo, who goes on to say that 'no matter how broadly or strictly we try to interpret the relevant provisions, at the very least large-scale uses of force as carried out without the explicit authorization of the Security Council, such as the NATO airstrikes, cannot be considered acceptable under the interpretation of the UN Charter.' Tony Blair's and NATO's policy on nuclear weapons is also in flagrant breach of international law, as dictated by the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice5. This ICJ Advisory Opinion also stated that there is an obligation under the NPT to conduct and conclude negotiations for nuclear disarmament, but according to William Epstein in a Nuclear Disarmament Commentary published by the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy in April 2000, 'the nuclear weapons states simply refuse to begin any multilateral negotiations.' The implication is that Britain and the United States, amongst other nations including Iraq, are not fulfilling their obligations under international law. There are many other example, such as the use of cluster bombs by NATO, or the United States' failings with regard to the UN convention against torture (the UN committee against Torture concluded that electro-shock stun belts and restraint chairs 'almost invariably' led to breaches of the convention and that it should cease holding juveniles and adult prisoners together6). During the bombing of Yugoslavia, NATO was in violation of international environmental regulations, in particular with its use of depleted Uranium. The list could go on, but the point I think is clear: Tony Blair's policy is deeply hypocritical. The fact is that any invasion of Iraq by the US and UK without a UN resolution would also be illegal. Yet clearly Mr. Blair and President Bush are willing to consider this, and were it to become a reality my understanding is that it would constitute an act of aggression by Britain against Iraq, as defined in article 3 of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX). If the moral imperative is not clear enough -- and it appears not to be -- then surely the legal imperative ought to be? Or have I missed the point of international law? Tony Blair appears to use it as an excuse to justify an aggressive military invasion of Iraq, when in fact precisely the opposite is the case at the moment: international law clearly states that he may not do this. As a final point, you mention that 'The UK remains at the forefront of efforts made by the international community to improve the humanitarian situation in Iraq'. Although I commend the sentiment, the truth of this has certainly not been universally accepted. In particular, regarding the new proposals for the "oil for food" program which you mention in your letter, I recently read a Reuters report7 containing quotes from Denis Halliday and Hans von Sponeck, both of whom have headed the "oil for food" program in the past. This stood out especially: 'We have very carefully studied the draft resolution. We find it a provocation and an intensified punishment of a people for a crime they have never committed.' They directly contradict the claims you yourself make, by stating that 'The most recent report of the UN secretary-general, in October 2001 says that the US and UK governments' blocking of $4bn of humanitarian supplies is by far the greatest constraint on the implementation of the oil-for-food programme. The report says that, in contrast, the Iraqi government's distribution of humanitarian supplies is fully satisfactory (as it was when we headed this programme).' They also 'accused Washington and London of misleading public opinion by saying the new proposals would ease the plight of the Iraqi people.' Since this is the claim you seem to be making in your letter I am left wondering what to believe on the matter. Would it be possible to have more information such as a copy of the draft resolution so that I can attempt to make my own judgement? I would be very interested to know your response to the accusation that the claims you have made are misleading. I realise that my own position could be easily misunderstood given the things I've written above. So in order to make it absolutely clear I must say that in no way do I condone Iraq violating its legal and moral obligations either towards its citizens or the rest of the world. However it is exactly the same reasoning that leaves me unable to accept your position. I am, I admit, not fully aware of the situation in Iraq and as a British citizen I have little control over it. On the other hand, when it comes to the British government it is my duty to make clear to the people who claim to represent me that I find the current policy on Iraq to be immoral and wrong. I fully support any diplomatic efforts which attempt to improve the situation in Iraq, but any act of violence conducted by the UK, especially if it were in further breach of international law, would be morally indefensible. If there are any points which you find here to be inaccurate, which I have failed to take account of or which you feel may have a bearing on my opinion, I would be very grateful if you would let me know of them. Yours sincerely, David Llewellyn-Jones
1 Source: US Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command. 2 Paragraph 62 of the NATO Strategic Concept, adopted in 1999. 3 UN resolution 1721B and the Convention on Registration of Outer Space Objects (1975). 4 Article 2(4) states that 'All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.'


text:
Take a boat ride out from the Nigerian port of Lagos and it is easy to see why piracy, sea robbery and other forms of maritime crime are such a problem.
The ocean is swarming with cargo ships, oil tankers, barges and other vessels waiting for permission to enter the overcrowded port.
Great hulks of rusting metal, anchored and sitting low in the water, almost as if they are inviting pirates to sling their ladders over the side and clamber up on board.
"It was 14 August 2014," says Nigerian navigation officer Rotimi George.


text:
Concussion ruled out after Garcia's collision with wall
CHICAGO -- Avisail Garcia left Sunday's 5-2 White Sox victory over the Rangers in the fourth inning after running into the right-field wall while tracking Jeff Baker's game-tying homer off White Sox starter John Danks. Garcia could not make the play as Baker's drive went for his 11th homer and his fourth against the White Sox this season.
After hitting the chain-link fence hard with his right side, Garcia stayed on the ground for a few minutes, but had risen to his feet before White Sox assistant athletic trainer Brian Ball and manager Robin Ventura made it out to right field. Garcia still left the game, with Jordan Danks taking over and launching the go-ahead homer in the bottom of the fourth, making him the first player to homer in support of his brother, per Elias, since Billy Shantz for Bobby Shantz on June 3, 1955 for the Kansas City Athletics.
Garcia was gone from the clubhouse by the time the media arrived postgame. But Ventura said all tests taken showed the right fielder didn't have a concussion.
"Some of that is he was a little dehydrated last night. So I think that was probably some of it today," Ventura said. "He just felt a little light-headed. So [you] just take him out. He looks pretty good right now.
"When he comes in tomorrow, you look at it. He's already wanting to play tomorrow. We'll look at it again when he gets here."


text:
For Immediate Release, April 10, 2012
Contact: Collette Adkins Giese, (651) 955-3821
Wild Turtles Move Closer to International Trade Protection
Designation Would End Unsustainable Exploitation of U.S. Turtles in Midwest, South, East
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it may propose 17 species of U.S. freshwater turtles for protection at the next meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Thailand in 2013. Today's announcement that the turtles cleared the first hurdle toward international restrictions responds to a 2011 petition submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity that asked the Service to help end unsustainable international trade in U.S. freshwater turtles. Millions of wild freshwater turtles are caught in the U.S. every year and exported.
"Turtle traders are depleting U.S. turtle populations at a frightening rate. It's got to stop before we lose these incredible animals from the wild," said the Center's Collette Adkins Giese, an attorney and biologist who works to save endangered reptiles and amphibians. "Commercial harvesting only compounds the daily problems native turtles already face from habitat loss, water pollution and road mortality."
More than 2 million wild-caught, live turtles are exported from the United States each year. Most are used to supply food and medicinal markets in Asia, where turtle consumption rates have soared and where native populations of turtles have already been decimated. Adult turtles are also taken from the wild to breed hatchlings for the international pet trade.
Overharvest has caused population declines in almost all turtle species and many are now either protected as endangered under the Endangered Species Act or under consideration for such protection. For example, the beautiful Barbour's map turtle — now moving toward Endangered Species Act protection due to a Center listing petition — has suffered sharp declines because of overcollection for the pet trade. And the alligator snapping turtle, which can reach 250 pounds and is the largest freshwater turtle in the United States, has been intensively exploited for its meat. The Center petitioned several states in the South and Midwest to ban commercial harvest of snapping turtles and other native turtle species plummeting because of demand and a lack of regulation.
"The United States needs to act now to save our freshwater turtles," said Adkins Giese. "International protection from exploitation is vital for the survival of wild freshwater turtle populations across the country."
The list of species released today by the Service contains 17 species of U.S. turtles being considered for CITES Appendix I or II, including the alligator snapping turtle, spotted turtle, Blanding's turtle, diamondback terrapin and 13 species of map turtles, all of which the Center recommended in its 2011 petition. The Service also announced that four other species proposed by the Center — three species of softshell turtle and the common snapping turtle — will not be proposed for inclusion in the CITES appendices.
When turtles are added to CITES Appendix II, their international trade will be regulated using a permit system, with permits issued only when trade has been determined to be nondetrimental to species survival. CITES Appendix I species are threatened with extinction, so turtles included in this appendix would generally not be permitted in commercial trade. CITES-listed species are also subject to mandatory reporting requirements.
The Service received more than 25,000 comments supporting trade restrictions for the North American turtles. The Service is now opening another public comment period on its species proposals for the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties ("CoP16"), which will be held in March 2013 in Thailand. The agency is expected to announce its final species proposals by the end of the year.
The United States is a turtle biodiversity hotspot, home to more types of turtles than any other country in the world. As part a campaign to protect this rich natural heritage, the Center in 2008 and 2009 petitioned states with unrestricted commercial turtle harvest to improve harvest regulations. Florida responded by banning almost all commercial harvest of freshwater turtles from public and private waters, and earlier this year Georgia approved its first-ever state rules regulating the commercial collection of wild freshwater turtles. Alabama banned the commercial harvest of its turtles in regulations that became effective earlier this week. The Center has also petitioned to list several species of imperiled freshwater turtles under the Endangered Species Act.
Mounting scientific evidence shows that amphibians and reptiles (together called "herpetofauna") are among the most imperiled species on Earth. Ubiquitous toxins, global warming, nonnative predators, overcollection, habitat destruction and disease are key factors leading to demise of amphibians and reptiles in the United States and worldwide. For more information about the Center's campaign to stop the amphibian and reptile extinction crisis, visit http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/amphibian_conservation/index.html.
To see a range of states for each of the 17 species in today's announcement, go here.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 350,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
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