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NEW YORK (AP) — The honors and accolades proliferated over three years: international peace prizes, solidarity campaigns by celebrities, an effort to designate him – in absentia, of course – as grand marshal of San Francisco's gay pride parade.
All the while, Bradley Manning was imprisoned by the military, branded a traitor by the U.S. government and reviled by many Americans. Some called for his execution for giving troves of classified secrets to WikiLeaks for global distribution.
Few Americans in living memory have emerged from obscurity to become such polarizing public figures – admired by many around the world, fiercely denigrated by many in his homeland.
The contrasting portraits of Manning were summarized by his defense attorney, David Coombs, during the trial that culminated Tuesday with Manning's acquittal on a charge of aiding the enemy and his conviction on charges of espionage, theft and computer fraud.
"Is Pfc. Manning somebody who is a traitor, who has no loyalty to this country, or the flag?" Coombs had asked. "Or is he a young, naive, good-intentioned soldier who had human life, in his humanist beliefs, center to his decision?
"Which side of the version is the truth?"
His supporters embraced the second of those versions, as illustrated by a full-page ad last week in The New York Times, headlined "WE ARE BRADLEY MANNING." The ad's 850 signatories included writer Alice Walker, activist intellectual Noam Chomsky, singer Joan Baez, and Daniel Ellsberg, the leaker of the Vietnam War-era Pentagon Papers who has praised Manning as a worthy heir to his legacy.
"This 25-year-old, openly gay soldier from Oklahoma does not deserve to spend one more day in prison for informing the public of our government's policies," the newspaper ad said. "We will not relent until this American hero is free."
His detractors had a different view.
"We need to get very, very serious about treason," Fox News analyst Ralph Peters said on a recent newscast. "And oh by the way, for treason – as in the case of Bradley Manning or Edward Snowden – you bring back the death penalty."
The lead prosecutor at Manning's trial, Maj. Ashden Fein, depicted the Army private as a "gleeful, grinning" malefactor who savored the glory of being a whistleblower.
"The only human Pfc. Manning ever cared about was himself," Fein said.
From the highest levels of the U.S. government, civilian and military leaders argued that Manning had violated pledges made to get his top secret clearance, potentially endangered U.S. agents, and made classified information accessible to America's enemies.
"Some information which is sensitive, which does affect the security of individuals and relationships, deserves to be protected and we will continue to take necessary steps to do so," said Hillary Rodham Clinton while serving as secretary of state when Manning released classified diplomatic cables.
One leaked dispatch referred to the president of Turkmenistan as "a practiced liar" and "not a very bright guy." Another said Sweden engaged in military and intelligence cooperation with the U.S. in contradiction with its public stance of nonalignment.
One of Manning's leading defenders believes he decided to reveal secrets without any expectation of fame.
"I don't think he intended to become a hero in the sense of having followers all over the world," said Emma Cape, campaign organizer for the Bradley Manning Support Project. "I do think he was intending to do the right thing, knowing his actions would affect people all over the world."
"It was very brave what he did," Cape said. "He is a hero to people not because he is Superman … but because he's somebody who stood up for democracy and government transparency and accountability at a time when it was needed."
Widney Brown, senior director of international law and policy for Amnesty International, said Manning – whether it was his goal or not – had become a symbol.
"His revelations have become symbolic of challenging a post-9/11 world in which national security has gone awry," she said. "It has piqued the imagination and interest of people who are asking if 9/11 gave carte blanche for the government to do whatever it wants as long it says it's in the name of national security."
Support for Manning has been particularly notable in Europe, where he was widely viewed as a conscience-stricken whistleblower incurring the wrath of American authorities for disclosures that embarrassed them.
The Geneva-based International Peace Bureau this month awarded Manning its annual peace prize. Several European lawmakers have urged the U.S. to free him outright. Vigils and protests have regularly been held in his honor outside of U.S. embassies across the continent.
"Manning is a true patriot, not a traitor," British gay-rights activist Peter Tatchell said Tuesday. "At great personal sacrifice, he exposed grave crimes that were perpetrated and then hidden by the U.S. government and military."
With his slight build and bespectacled, boyish looks, Manning embodied neither a superhero nor arch-villain. Indeed, Widney Brown suggested his case provided a counterpoint to the macho imagery that sometimes envelops military and national security matters.
Norm Kent, a criminal defense lawyer and publisher of the South Florida Gay News, likened Manning to the Chinese man shown in an iconic photograph confronting a line of army tanks amid Beijing's Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.
"I'd like to think Manning is one of the people who rose to the moment when he was faced with a moral crisis," Kent said. "Maybe, having been a gay man and an outcast before, and understanding what it was like to be alienated, he wasn't afraid to become the little engine that could."
Steven Bucci, a foreign policy expert with the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Manning's personal traits would contribute to a mixed legacy.
"People see a troubled young man as much as a hero or a complete villain," Bucci said. "I don't think there are many people who think he's Benedict Arnold, but they think he broke the law and his reasoning is skewed. I don't know that he's going to become a folk hero except for the most rabid civil libertarian kind of folks."
Michael Ratner, president emeritus of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, said he initially shared the perception that Manning was psychologically frail, but changed his view after hearing the private testify while pleading guilty to some of the charges leveled against him.
"I had an image that turned out to be completely false," Ratner said. "I was shocked by his intelligence, his politics, the firmness of his voice. It showed a person with tremendous presence."
"His plea was so moving," Ratner said. "Someday maybe people will read it and begin to understand what it means to act on your conscience."
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Root Cause Analysis Seminar
(June 21-22, 2012)Holiday Inn Express, Garden Grove, California. This seminar covers all of the elements of a problem/condition reporting, root cause analysis and corrective action system with emphasis on the following root cause analysis techniques: Failure Mode and Effects Analysis for hardware problems and Hazard-Barrier-Effects Analysis for management and technical process problems. This seminar will also cover a modified Hazard-Barrier-Effects Analysis technique that allows the root cause analysis resource expenditure to be proportional to the significance of the problem, while still enabling the analyst to identify human performance root causes. Persons who are responsible for identifying and reporting off-normal conditions, evaluating the conditions and their effects, identifying causal factors, recommending various types of corrective actions, tracking the implementation of corrective actions, and managing the overall system should consider attending this seminar.
|Ben Marguglio
|(845) 265-0123

subset: commoncrawl


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Contact: Andrea Dictor
Starting cost per student: $0
Additional Info:
Max. Capacity: 50
Transportation Needed? Yes
Who Arranges Transportation? School
Is Financial Assistance Offered? No
- Library Tours
- Information Literacy talks
- Research Help
- Storytime/Read Alouds
- Arts and Crafts projects
- Library Card sign-up
- Materials Check-out
Have a special project your class is working on? Our librarians can help your students find resources to meet their needs. Many of our libraries are located near parks and other attractions so you can visit the library and then continue the learning after!
Interested in an exploration at another one of your county libraries? Check out the explorations at our eight other library locations!
Exploration Booking Information:
Shannon Staub Library
4675 Career Lane
North Port, FL 34289
Explorations available Wednesdays and Fridays only.
LAFS.3.RI.1.2, LAFS.3.RI.1.3, LAFS.3.RI.2.5, LAFS.3.RI.3.7, LAFS.3.W.1.1, LAFS.3.W.1.2, LAFS.3.W.1.3, LAFS.3.W.2.4, LAFS.3.W.2.5, LAFS.3.W.2.6, LAFS.3.W.3.7, LAFS.3.W.3.8, LAFS.3.SL.2.4, LAFS.4.RI.1.2, LAFS.4.RI.1.3, LAFS.4.RI.2.5, LAFS.4.RI.3.7, LAFS.4.Ri.3.9, LAFS.4.W.1.1, LAFS.4.W.1.2, LAFS.4.W.1.3, LAFS.4.W.2.4, LAFS.4.W.2.5, LAFS.4.W.2.6, LAFS.4.W.3.7, LAFS.4.W.3.8, LAFS.4.W.3.9, LAFS.4.SL.2.5, LAFS.5.RI.1.2, LAFS.5.RI.1.3, LAFS.5.RI.2.5, LAFS.5.RI.3.7, LAFS.5.RI.3.9, LAFS.5.W.1.1, LAFS.5.W.1.2, LAFS.5.W.1.3, LAFS.5.W.2.4, LAFS.5.W.2.5, LAFS.5.W.2.6, LAFS.5.W.3.7, LAFS.5.W.3.8, LAFS.5.W.3.9, LAFS.5.SL.1.2, LAFS.5.SL.2.4, LAFS.5.SL.2.5


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Financial decision-making ability peaks in middle age, according to a body of research cited by Michael Finke of Texas Tech University in his cover story for the August issue of Research magazine, "The Challenge of the Aging Brain." Financial advisors can play a valuable role in helping clients prepare for and cope with cognitive decline. As Finke discusses, such a role requires having appropriate powers and paperwork in place, as well as recognizing that clients' confidence in their financial skills does not decline in tandem with the skills themselves.
In "A Cool Place to Work," Ellen Uzelac looks at how some advisors are implementing innovative policies and practices that promote employee loyalty, motivation and "buy-in." Such approaches include more generous leave policies and bringing staffers on a "mini-sabbatical" that might involve a trek through a national park.
"Big Help for Small Business," by Jane Wollman Rusoff, examines a program at UBS that offers free mentoring to entrepreneurs, from the firm's advisors as well as from selected clients who have achieved success in a related field. Rusoff focuses on the story of Dr. Johnny Kwanhoom Kim, a dentist who is building a chain of dental offices with help from his UBS advisor and a real estate developer.
Other contents of the issue include Bill Good's advice on what triggers referrals, a profile of the consultant Scott West and more.
Click through the following slides to preview the August issue of Research magazine.
The Challenge of the Aging Brain
A growing body of research indicates that a decline in financial skills is to be expected as people move beyond middle age. In this article, Prof. Michael Finke marshals the evidence and draws out its implications for financial advisors.
Writes Finke: "Advisors can perform a valuable role in recognizing reduced cognitive ability and preventing financial calamity if they have the tools to provide assistance." He discusses such tools, including client engagement letters that document further steps regarding how an advisor will respond when the client's capacity is diminished.
Another consideration: Investment options, such as annuities, that provide income without significant investment management input and lock up wealth to prevent losses from financial mistakes, can be useful in limiting the negative impact of cognitive aging.
Contributing Editor Ellen Uzelac looks at the cutting edge of building staff motivation and morale. She writes: "Advisory firms, at least the forward-thinking ones, are developing innovative, intentional—and often inexpensive—initiatives to create employee buy-in, loyalty and goodwill. One frequent result? Peak performance."
What are these initiatives? They range from expediting time off for philanthropy or study to offering Friday chair massages in the office, from making a point of saying "please" and "thank you" to bringing the staff for an outing of white-water kayaking.
Dentist Johnny Kwanhoom Kim owns an expanding chain of dental offices in the Greater Los Angeles area, an approach that makes him both a landlord and tenant of his buildings. "It's the best way to have a retirement plan," says the Korean-born dentist, 54.
One advantage Dr. Kim has is that he's getting advice on how to make his business grow, under a UBS program that mobilizes advisors and established clients to mentor rising entrepreneurs. This program is a philanthropic effort aimed at boosting job creation, and success in achieving that will also help make small clients into bigger ones.
Sales Seminar columnist Bill Good discusses how life changes—getting married or divorced, losing a job,moving, having someone leave a household and so on—promote referrals. He looks at research supporting this contention, including his own collection of narratives from financial advisors asked to discuss how referrals happened.
"In short," writes Good, "people tend to change advisors when (a) life changes (receiving a lump sum is certainly a life change) AND (b) there is dissatisfaction with one's advisor or lack of an advisor."
He notes that this is good news and bad news. The life changes that bring a client to you can also bring a client of yours to another advisor. He sketches out both offensive and defensive strategies for responding.
Consultant Scott West thinks advisors are making a mistake in talking so much about risk in their opening conversations with clients. "We assume if we are excited about risk, our clients are. But when you talk to a client about risk, you may as well insert the word radioactivity. As an industry we're a couple of years behind the investor mindset," he says.
In a profile of West, who is managing director and co-founder of Invesco Van Kampen Consulting, Ellen Uzelac discusses the consultant's penchant for offering creative ideas that can help advisors be persuasive. A key theme of West's work is this motto: "If you stick to the facts, the facts don't stick." Advisors, West contends, should "allow themselves to think about emotion."


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After a stunning 60% decline in a VIX ETN (TVIX) sponsored by Credit Suisse, another ETN has taken a nosedive. This time it's the iPath DJ-UBS Natural Gas ETN (GAZ), which has declined more than 55% in value since its March 19 closing price of $6.02.
This latest episode is casting new doubts about the reliability of ETNs in obtaining market accurate exposure to stocks, bonds and commodities. GAZ was designed to closely follow natural-gas futures contracts, but it has been way off course.
Although GAZ, a Barclays product, now trades at a 63% premium to its underlying assets, it once traded at 134% premium to the value of its natural gas benchmark.
What's going on?
In August 2009, Barclays stopped issuing new GAZ shares, which the company acknowledged could cause the ETN to trade at a premium or discount in relation to the note's indicative value. As a result, GAZ shares began to trade higher in value, far above their indicative value.
These distortions in an ETN's share price from the value of its underlying assets is a serious product flaw that has long plagued closed-end mutual funds. These flaws are compounded for ETNs that use 2x and 3x daily leverage.
Premiums and discounts can also occur with ETFs, but are typically smaller and less frequent, especially for heavily traded ETFs and funds that avoid futures contracts to get the bulk of their market exposure.
Some ETN providers will stop issuing new shares in a note to avoid exceeding futures contracts limits. But with just $36 million in assets, it doesn't appear GAZ positions in natural gas futures were ever large enough to cause such concerns.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now examining trading in the Velocity Shares 2x Long VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (TVIX).
Like its GAZ counterpart, the Credit Suisse note has experienced significant operational problems. It's unclear whether the SEC will expand its scrutiny of the broader ETN market. Currently, there are 211 U.S. listed ETNs with around $17 billion in assets.
What should advisors and investors do?
In a December 2011 article titled, "How to Avoid the Coming ETN Meltdown," AdvisorOne readers were warned about the dangers of investing in ETNs.
The December 2011 edition of the ETF Profit Strategy Newsletter (published at ETFguide.com), looked at which ETNs could blow up first and provided a list of the top 15 ETNs by assets and 15 alternatives; it included three months of advanced warning, which shows that fiercely independent research and going against the Wall Street consensus is a winning formula.
While ETN investors wait for the smoke to clear, a defensive and proactive approach is required. If you are investing or trading in ETNs that carry substantial premiums or discounts, be forewarned: You are not making a directional trade based upon the ETN's underlying benchmark or index, but rather an arbitrage trade. And if you're anything but an institutional investor with the toolkit to make arbitrage trades, you're swimming with sharks.


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Northampton's The Idiot Boy formed in March 2003 and comprise Jimmy on bass and vocals, Tony on lead guitar and vocals, and Owen on drums.
The Idiot Boy sound has a Pixies/Husker Du influence and their energetic live set is culled from over 30 songs written so far.
The Idiot Boy are quitely building a solid fan base and will be playing in a town near you soon. Don't miss.


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Pastel - 7 Women's
Atlantis Handmade
Regular price
Sale price
IMPORTANT NOTE - NO RETURN or REFUND for clearance shoes
Shipping Information
We offer Free Shipping to United States, Canada and Europe.
To Middle East Countries, we are charging $4 per shoes
To Australia, Japan, China and New Zealand, we are charging $9 per shoes
We are working exclusively with DHL Express
Estimated shipping times:
We ship your orders next day.
DHL Express delivery times:
United States - Canada : 2-3 days
Europe: 1-2 days
Rest of the world: 4 days
How will i track my shipment?
As soon as your order has been packed and is ready to ship, you will receive an e-mail notification. This notification will tell you that your package has been shipped and give you a tracking number.
Care tips for our unique handmade Turkish Shoes:
- For leather loafers, we suggest cleaning regularly with a dry cloth. You can use high quality leather conditioner if necessary.
- For nubuck and suede loafers, we suggest using a brush to clean them properly without harming the texture. To care best, you have to brush to same direction. In any circumstances, do not use any topical products.
- Atlantis shoes are not waterproof. Always keep them away from the water. If they get wet, dry them with the help of cloth, towel or sunlight.
- INSIDE STITCHING: It is totally normal to feel the stitches at first. Beeswax-coated twine used for stitching will soften with time.
Extra Outsole For Longevity
Our Atlantis Handmade shoes come with a rubber outsole which adds extra durability. The main purpose of this outsole is to protect the midsole from external risks like water, dirt and generall environmental damage.
The rubber outsole we add to our shoes will wear away with time, this is totally normal. They can be replaced easily by any cobbler or shoemaker in your area.
We recommend you to replace the outer sole as soon as you begin to notice any damage or wear down. This would prevent damaging the shoe itself.


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Rotary/SDN short story contest: 'Joy'
special to the daily
Editor's note: This is the fourth year of the Rotary Club of Summit County/Summit Daily News short story contest for local high school students. This year's winners read their stories at the Rotary's Jan. 8 meeting and were awarded certificates and cash prizes for their achievement in creating an original work of short fiction. Today we feature the third-place winner, Jesse Reller.
Life can be tough but often having the chance to be outside is the fix needed for the best days and the worst. The outside time can be spent doing different activities but skiing is one of the most enjoyable. Tom often had bad days but his escape and relaxation often came from hanging at the local ski resort. He arrived early in the morning and met up with several of the ski patrollers for the first ride up. There is something pretty cool about first rides up the chairlifts. It can be very cold and crisp or sometimes mild temperatures with no hat needed. The view is pretty awesome and the snow sparkles with the first light of the morning. There is always talking with patrollers to pass the time as well.
Once up the hill, Tom may help patrol out with some duties or he might just hang with some of the folks in the patrol hut. After the area opens it is time to ski and spend time outside! The day might be spent skiing runs all day, meeting up with friends on the slopes or only skiing for a few hours and then heading home. On the days Tom stays all day he has a chance to feel good about what is happening in his life and often looks at things a bit differently. He totally enjoys the speed of skiing, the cold, the wind and the challenge of difficult terrain. Tom loves carving the slopes on his tele skis especially in the back bowls and in the sweet spots hidden in the trees.
Tom has had some super days on the hill. There was the day he first skied down the big bowl and jumped the huge rock midway down. He landed the jump but after a few turns his right ski binding released and onto his face he tumbled. He was angry at first but just had to laugh. There was the day his best friend skied with him and they skied nonstop for hours. They finally had to take a break to get some food and water. That hamburger was delicious. Actually, the best hamburger ever. Tom also had great days when his dad could join him. Tom's dad was a fantastic skier and the two of them headed for untracked snow as much as possible. On powder days, the untracked snow was the best for changing his attitude of all ski days.
The ski resort was not the only place to ski untracked powder though. Tom also looked forward to the days of skiing in the backcountry. He has enjoyed some great days spent hiking (on skis) into ski terrain from trailheads or parking lots. Skiers arrive early in the morning to ski in the backcountry. Once at the trailhead, skis are pulled out of the car, skins place on the base of the skis, boots and other equipment are checked and put on, and food and water packed. Beacons need to be checked and sunscreen put on then Tom and friends can start the ski day. Tom is not sure why touring seems to be so nice. It is often hard work moving across the snow depending on the condition but sometimes it is effortless. Tom has enjoyed treks into locals ski cabins where skiing in the nearby bowls and glades make the uphill effort so worth it. Tom remembers some days when he and a group of friends met up with others on snowmobiles. Skiing then became a fun day of being towed up the hill by snowmobiles and making turns down the side hills often in untracked terrain.
All of these ski adventures help Tom to keep up a good or better attitude on days that aren't so good. Somehow being outside in the cold and snowy weather doing an activity he loves is an incredibly positive feel for Tom. Tom hopes to always live in an area where he can look forward to attitude-changing days in the great outdoors.
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