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Republican News
"This announcement is great news for Alaska and for the United States, where our need for a secure and domestic supply of rare earth elements is an urgent challenge," Murkowski said. "These and other critical minerals are essential in the manufacturing of everything from modern defense equipment to clean energy technologies."
Sens. Murkowski wrote to U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on March 1, encouraging the Defense Department to support Ucore's work.
"I am proud of Alaska for continuing to provide the energy, minerals, and other materials needed to create jobs and restore economic growth to the country. And I am pleased to see the Defense Department playing such a constructive role in pursuing these opportunities," Murkowski said.
Murkowski also continues to work to support and remove any unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles to progress at the Bokan Mountain site, and similar prospects elsewhere in Southeast Alaska and across the country.
For further information, please contact Robert Dillon at 202.224.6977 or firstname.lastname@example.com or Megan Moskowitz at 202.224.7875 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Visit our website at http://www.energy.senate.gov/public/


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A renewal at the heart of the museum with a new set- up of the permanent Collection
Three great photographers recount a changing landscape
A new focus presentation of the MAXXI archives this time featuring a great photographer
A delicate, rigorous and wise recount of an Italy emerging from the ashes of the Second World War.
A captivating site-specific project in which historic works alternate with more recent sculptures and installations.
RIAPERTURA: dal 18 giugno 2020
Una ricognizione che spazia dai progetti di edilizia economica e popolare del dopoguerra a nuovi modi di abitare il pianeta, sperimentali ed ecosostenibili
The masterpieces of the IVAM collection.
A necessary tribute to a great artist who created a language in relational art made of sensitivity, local tradition and global codes.
A public art project set in Rome's Piazza del Popolo to celebrate the universal event of birth, moving a sudden and sincere emotion.
An insight on 1980 exhibition which started the international debate on post-modern
Between real and digital experience, "Flashing and flashing!" expands and re-writes a brand new narration of oneself.
The Tirana Design Weeks (TDW) this year approaches Tirana's 100th anniversary as the capital of Albania.
MAO is opening the renovated courtyard of the renaissance Fužine Castle, thus entering a vibrant Summer season.
KAF is organized by the Kosovo Architecture Foundation in partnership with the Future Architecture Platform.

subset: commoncrawl


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Summer is just around the corner and that means families will reignite their love and affection for one another by piling into a small American car and driving 500 miles without working air conditioning in 2,000 degree heat to a place designed to suck more money out of their pockets that some kind of money sucking vacuum.
But don't fret. Some families have learned how to recoup their lawsuits against amusement parks by filing some strange lawsuits. The Orlando Sentinel compiled some of the stranger suits filed against parks from their neck of the woods.
[Read more →]


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Crown corporations are wholly owned federal or provincial organizations structured like private or independent companies. Among them are important enterprises such as the Canadian Broadcasting Coporation, VIA Rail , Canada Post, and the Bank of Canada, as well as various provincial electric utilities. Crown corporations have greater freedom from direct political control than government departments and, as long as crown corporations have existed, there has been debate about their structure, accountability and role in the economy.
"Mixed" Economy
The first Canadian crown corporation, the Board of Works, was established in 1841 to construct a shipping canal system in the Province of Canada. By 2012 there were 49 crown corporations in operation across the country, created by governments to provide important services in a vast, sparsely populated nation—usually because the private sector was unable or unwilling to provide them, rather than because of a preference for public ownership per se.
Many of the most significant crown corporations created in the 20th Century were designed to meet transportation needs, including the Canadian National Railways and Air Canada (both of which have since been privatized), and the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority (now the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation).
After the Second World War, a number of federal crown corporations also emerged as important providers of loans and financial services to farmers (Farm Credit Corporation), small businesses (Business Development Bank of Canada) and exporters (Export Development Corporation), interests whose needs were not always met by private financial institutions.
The federal government has at times owned and operated coal mines (Cape Breton Development Corporation) and also Petro-Canada, a major integrated oil and gas company that is now privatized.
In recent years, crown corporations have also been developed to meet emerging needs. In 2002, The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) was formed to provide passenger and baggage screening at airports as a direct response to the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
Crown corporations are the essence of Canada's "mixed" economy—a combination of government versus privately-owned enterprise—creating a distinct difference between the industrial organization of Canada and the United States, where state-owned enterprises are less common.
Provincial Crown Corporations
In most provinces, crown corporations are responsible for generating and transmitting electricity (e.g. Hydro-Québec), for gaming and lotteries (e.g. Manitoba Lotteries Corporation), and for selling liquor (the Liquor Control Board of Ontario). Some provinces also own telephone companies (SaskTel), and some provinces have owned mining and manufacturing enterprises such as the Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (now private) and the Sydney Steel Corporation of Nova Scotia (now defunct). In British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Québec, crown corporations have sold automobile insurance, while in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario they have operated railways.
Government-owned companies have traditionally had special prominence in Québec and Saskatchewan. After the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation's landmark electoral victory in Saskatchewan in 1944, crown corporations were seen as an important way of building a more diversified economy. Since the early 1960s, successive Québec governments have also employed crown corporations to diversify the provincial economy, to preserve and create jobs, and to nurture francophone managers. Hydro-Québec a major example, but crown corporations were also established in Quebec's steel, oil and gas, forestry, and asbestos industries.
The Role of Crown Corporations
A central argument for crown corporations is that the commercial activities of government, to be performed successfully, must be shielded from constant government intervention and legislative oversight. So crown corporations enjoy greater administrative freedom than ordinary government departments. As government enterprises, however, their autonomy cannot be absolute and must be tempered by some public control over policy-making. The Canadian experience suggests that corporate autonomy, government control, and legislative oversight are often conflicting and difficult to reconcile.
Government influence over federal crown corporations developed piecemeal, but a key element was section VIII of the 1951 federal Financial Administration Act (FAA). It organized crown corporations into three schedules or types—departmental, agency, and proprietary—each of which performed different functions and had a different relationship with the state. Departmental corporations, such as the Economic Council of Canada, performed no obvious commercial functions and were treated the same as government departments. Agency corporations, such as Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, were accorded greater freedom while proprietary corporations—such as Air Canada (before it was privatized)—enjoyed even greater autonomy in financial matters..
The FAA's provisions required agency and proprietary corporations to submit annual capital budgets to the responsible minister, the minister of finance and the president of the Treasury Board. The budgets needed the approval of these three ministers, the Cabinet and ultimately Parliament. Agency corporations also submitted operating budgets for approval to the responsible minister and the president of the Treasury Board. Cabinet also controlled the appointments, remuneration and dismissal of crown corporations' boards of directors and senior officers. Theoretically, boards provided the key link between the government and corporate management, but their effectiveness was often been undermined by a lack of precise definitions of the powers, duties and responsibilities of boards, political patronage in the selection of board members and, finally, the federal government's unorthodox and controversial practice of appointing senior civil servants to the boards.
Controversy, Debate and Reform
The traditionally quiet environment surrounding federal crown corporations was shattered in the 1970s when a major debate emerged about their roles and effectiveness. At the heart of the debate was the view that the scope and economic importance of crown corporations had outdistanced Ottawa's capacity to control them, and that crown corporations had become too prominent in the economy.
To many observers, the FAA was antiquated and some felt that major crown corporations, particularly the CNR, had escaped political control. Successive auditors-general criticized the financial management of crown corporations, and controversy surrounded the activities of Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and Air Canada. Petro-Canada's rapid expansion, and Via Rail's chronic problems, fuelled the discontent. The role of crown corporations was also a problem in several provinces including British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Québec.
In 1984, Bill C-24 passed, replacing the FAA with a new legislative framework. Among other things, the law established new schedules or types of crown corporations, extended the Cabinet's ability to issue directives, and stressed the notion that crown corporations can neither establish nor dispose of subsidiaries without Cabinet approval. It also clarified the process of budgetary approval, and ensured that corporate plans be submitted to Cabinet for approval and to Parliament for discussion. These reforms, however, did not satisfy critics, who suggested that Bill C-24 generally codified existing procedures and policies, broke little new ground, and left major problems unsolved.
In 2003, an auditor-general investigation into a federal sponsorship program revealed financial management concerns at a number of crown corporations, including Canada Post, VIA and the Business Development Bank of Canada. A subsequent report by retired judge John Gomery—into serious questions of transparency and financial management involving government contracts and appointments under Liberal rule—led to major reforms at crown corporations and to the 2006 Federal Accountability Act.
Among the changes brought about by the Conservative government in 2006: the Act extended the list of crown corporations accountable under the Access to Information Act, brought changes to the appointment of board members and restricted the number of civil servants on boards, and split the Chief Executive Officer and Chair roles into two distinct positions.
In the mid-1980s, following a widespread sell-off of public assets in the United Kingdom under British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed a minister of state for privatization, who oversaw the sale of iconic crown corporations including Petro-Canada and Air Canada, as well as de Havilland Aircraft Co. and Canadair. Between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s, a number of other key crown corporations were also privatized by Ottawa and the provinces alike, including CNR, the Alberta Liquor Control Board and Nova Scotia Power.
In 2013, Stephen Harper's Conservative government introduced measures in its budget bill giving it new powers over collective bargaining, salaries and working conditions at four crown corporations, including the CBC.


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Oaxacan Onion Soup
|Day Part
|Dinner, Lunch
|Menu Part
|Cuisine Type
A spicy and unique onion soup flavored with Oaxacan and poblano chilies, a new variation of an old favorite that will be sure to please.
8 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 cup butter, melted
1⁄4 cup garlic, chopped
1⁄2 cup sherry
1 cup flour
4 qt. chicken stock
12 Oaxacan chilies (see note)
1 qt. heavy cream
4 cups shredded white Cheddar
4 poblano chilies, diced
Salt, to taste
24 baguette slices, toasted
4 oz. blue cheese
3⁄4 cup sautéed sliced onion
1. Sauté onions in butter until tender. Add garlic and sherry. Stir in flour and cook 1 min.
2. Add stock and Oaxacan chilies; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 30 min. Discard chilies.
3. Stir in cream, cheese, and poblanos. Simmer 5 min.
4. Spread baguette slices with blue cheese and warm. Per serving, float a baguette slice in center of each soup bowl. Heap several sautéed onion slices on baguette.
Note: Substitute drained, canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce or dried chipotles chilies for Oaxacan.


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By Jamie Glazov
FrontPageMagazine.com | April 12, 2005
Frontpage's Interview guest today is Paul Sperry (firstname.lastname@example.com), a Washington, D.C.-based investigative journalist, Investor's Business Daily veteran, Hoover Institution media fellow and author of the blockbuster new book, Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives have Penetrated Washington (Nelson Current, 2005).
FP: Paul Sperry, welcome to Frontpage Interview.
Sperry: Thanks, it's a pleasure.
FP: What inspired you to write Infiltration?
Sperry: My children. I wrote it in the hopes that my kids and their kids won't have to live under terror alerts. Washington hasn't leveled with us about the full scope and depth of the Islamic threat not only inside America but inside the government, just as it hasn't leveled with us about the true nature of Islam. We've been lulled into a false sense of security, and we're just inviting another 9/11. So I wrote this book to expose the elaborate fraud that's been orchestrated by our leaders in the Washington establishment and the leaders in the Muslim establishment, who are playing us all for suckers. Infiltration is 350 pages of cold hard politically incorrect facts the American people haven't heard since 9/11 and deserve to hear without the PC spin from Washington. At first some will feel mugged by the truth, but then it will make you hustle-proof about the Islamic threat, which is my goal¡ªto simply arm you with the facts.
FP: Can you tell us a bit about how Islamic extremists disguise themselves as "moderates" and infiltrate our institutions?
Sperry: Well, we all know about the Muslim leaders who talk a good patriotic game and get into the White House, including those who have gone from the White House to the Big House like Abdurahman Alamoudi, who publicly condemned terrorism and privately complained to Muslim audiences that bin Laden hadn't killed enough Americans; and Ali al-Timimi, the supposedly peace-loving and respected religious leader who's now on trial here for inciting anti-American violence and praising the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster as a "good omen" for Islam. But it's much more than that. It's about Islamic spying and espionage, something Washington has yet to come to grips with in this war.
FP: So spies and agents for the terrorist enemy have actually penetrated our government?
Sperry: Absolutely. In fact, they've infiltrated every security agency from the FBI to the Pentagon to the prison system, which is the top recruiting ground for al-Qaida right now, and they've also worked their way into the public school system. But let's just take the FBI. Remember how after 9/11 we hired Arab and Muslim translators to clear the huge backlog of Al-Qaida chatter?
FP: Yeah, the same backlog where clues to the next planned attack may be buried.
Sperry: Right. Well some of them have sold us out. Case agents I talked to say they can't trust these guys. They say some have tipped off targets of terror investigations, while others are holding back key information from case agents they're working with¡ªwho are completely at their mercy because they don't speak Arabic and these other tongues. The Muslim translators are claiming the information is "NOT PERTINENT" to their investigations when in fact it is. They've also had a problem with laptops with classified al-Qaida information disappearing from that translation unit at FBI's Washington field office. It's a mess there, a veritable Muslim "mole house," as one bureau source put it. Some devout Muslims in the unit have gotten so cocky they're actually demanding separate potties from the "infidel" agents so they won't get dirty sitting on the same toilets. Others go around the language squad saying America had 9/11 coming to it because of our pro-Israel policies. It's outrageous, it's flat-out betrayal, and these are the people who are supposed to be protecting us from another 9/11.
FP: What's headquarters doing about it?
Sperry: Putting the infidel agents through Muslim sensitivity training while promoting the Muslims who threaten to sue for discrimination. Go figure.
FP: So this is also a story, basically then, of the Left's agenda running amok in DC right?
Sperry: And how. You'd think PC would have died out with the last flames at Ground Zero, but it's still alive and well here in Washington. I cite a number of examples of how various security agencies are committing politically correct suicide in the section of the book called IN ALLAH WE TRUST, but the FBI is the most egregious example. Director Bob Mueller is so politically correct he's cut a deal with Muslim pressure groups to never use "Islamic" and "terrorism" in the same sentence. Muslim leaders don't want the link made for obvious reasons, and he's gone along with their whitewashing. But Mueller's own agents feel demoralized by his pandering. They wonder how they can defeat Islamic terrorists when their own boss can't even talk honestly about what's motivating them.
FP: Why isn't the White House cracking down on Mueller?
Sperry: Because the president has made the same pledge to never describe terrorism as Islamic¡ªyou'll never hear him say "Islamic terrorism" either. Mueller's just taking his cue from the Oval Office. The tone is set from the top. The president never fails to remind us Islam is a "religion of peace" and one that we have to "respect." He even suggested at the last inaugural that the Qur'an is somehow part of our American heritage and culture.
FP: Tell us what conclusions you have reached from your study of Islam.
Sperry: It is a religion of peace?lt;i>for Muslims. Everyone else is marked for punishment, as I explain in the chapter "Top 10 Myths of Islam," which your readers should read if they read no other chapter in Infiltration. Their holy book reads like a manual of war, and I've read two translations of it, including all the footnotes and commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the most widely respected Sunni translator and interpreter. Another big lie we hear told out of Washington is that the Muslim terrorists are "perverting" the teachings of the Quran, as if they haven't read their holy book. No, they've memorized it, and they're getting all this terrible stuff right out of it¡ªthe violent jihad, self-immolation, even the beheadings we've seen in Iraq¡ªit's all right there in the Qur'an. It's our leaders in Washington prosecuting this war on Islamic terror who haven't read the Qur'an, violating the first principle of war¡ªknow thy enemy and what motives him.
FP: Well Mr. Sperry, the bottom line is that we must also be shrewd. It would be absurd and self-destructive of us to wage war on the religion of Islam. That means going to war with 1 billion people, and this is foolish because there are surely many enlightened Muslims who are not interested in terrorism or extremism.
I am not saying that we ignore what is in the Qur'an and put our heads in the sand. We need to be honest with ourselves about the violent teachings within Islam and the consequences of those teachings. But there are many Muslims who subordinate those teachings for the larger goal of peace¡ªand those Muslims are our priceless allies. There are many Muslim groups, such as The Free Muslims Against Terrorism and the new one, The Center for Islamic Pluralism, that are committed to moderation and patriotism¡ªand they want to join us in our battle against terrorism. It would be simply insane if we were to ostracize these Muslims and not work with them against the Islamist enemy. And it would be self-defeating for us to see all Muslims as enemies. That is what bin Laden and al Zarqawi want us to do. We need to be smarter than that.
Sperry: Please don't misunderstand, I'm not arguing for a "war on Islam" at all, and I have never, never said "all Muslims" are the enemy! In fact, many are my personal friends. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not part of the my-God-is-bigger-than-your-God crowd. Nor am I condemning Islam. I'm simply documenting how terrorists are getting their ideas straight out of the Qur'an. I'm neither a social advocate or a political activist but a cold-eyed journalist who refuses to varnish up the facts. And I'm fully aware there are many quietists even among orthodox Sunni Muslims who embrace the fundamentals of the Qur'an including violent jihad. And I agree with you that there are genuinely moderate and peaceful sects within Islam, such as the Sufi sect, and genuinely moderate and peaceful Muslim leaders like Sheikh Hisham Kabbani, who happens to be a Sufi Muslim.
Unfortunately they represent the minority of the Muslim establishment in America that has ready access to power and influence in Washington. Unfortunately, the Saudi-sponsored Sunni leaders currently monopolize Muslim leadership in America, and the unpleasant truth is, they represent the Muslim establishment in America today. They are the pillars in the Muslim community. Even as some have been carted off to jail for supporting terrorism, they have only grown in stature within the Muslim community, as members of Saudi-controlled Wahhabi mosques (which make up the majority of mosques in America) hold them up as political martyrs in some kind of "Zionist conspiracy," while completely ignoring their evil deeds¡ªeven their own confessions to those deeds, in some cases! By ignoring these unpleasant facts to socially engineer a kind of rose-colored outcome ignores reality and merely mainstreams and legitimizes orthodox Sunni Islam (Wahhabism) in America, which merely gives the enemy cover and protection from due scrutiny.
FP: Fair enough, I am just saying that it is crucial for us to support and work with Muslims who are genuinely against terror and extremism.
Now having said that, yes, naturally, as you point out, there is a dark side of Islam. In Infiltration you point to all the tricks that many apologists use to try to cover this up. You call them "white lies." Can you give us some examples?
Sperry: Muslim leaders play an elaborate word game to hide the dark side of Islam to gain wider acceptance in Washington. They condemn all acts of "terrorism against innocent people," but they don't necessarily view Americans or Israelis as "innocent" or acts of violence against us as "terrorism." Many secretly view it simply as justice. You'll never hear them condemn "all acts of violence against non-Muslims." So you have to carefully parse their words¡ªthey're very slick. They also try to peddle this silly notion that jihad means internal struggle against sin¡ªsuch as quitting smoking¡ªand not warfare. And that the beheadings we've seen in Iraq aren't even remotely justified by the Quran. Both claims are demonstrably false, as I document in the "Top 10 Myths of Islam." If you are confused about the true meaning of the Qur'an, this chapter will be a real eye-opener for you.
FP: So yes, while we must support moderate and patriotic Muslims, we cannot deny that there is a serious problem in the Muslim community. . . .
Sperry: Make no mistake: Infiltration exposes terrorists and the people who support terrorists, who just happen to be in the Muslim community. Not the Italian community. Not the Sikh community. The Muslim community. No one wants to heap scorn on Muslims, but the unpleasant truth is they gave far more aid and comfort to the hijackers than Washington let on. They got help in seven mosques coast to coast, and some Muslims helped them even though they knew what they were up to. Some of the hijackers were welcomed and wined and dined as if they were celebrities. If we keep sweeping these unpleasant truths under the politically correct carpet, we're just inviting another 9/11. We have to penetrate the terror support network that just happens to be operating within the Muslim community, and permanently dismantle it.
FP: Didn't the FBI just leak an internal report saying they couldn't find any evidence of al-Qaida sleeper cells in America?
Sperry: Yeah, and that's also what they said before 9/11. Fact is, they don't really know because they're not letting agents look hard enough in the Muslim community and mosques¡ªthey're putting them through Muslim sensitivity training instead. One FBI veteran says our knowledge of what's really going on in the Muslim community is a 20 on a scale of 100. But here's what we do know: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the 9/11 mastermind, was caught with a notebook full of U.S. zip codes, and he's not talking about them. He'll talk about everything else but that. Investigators think he's protecting sleeper cells for a future 9/11. So we have to get to them before they get to us. Unfortunately the FBI appears to be more concerned about offending Muslim groups than infiltrating them. So while they're doing a damn good job of penetrating our institutions and culture, we've hardly made a dent in theirs.
FP: There is also a problem with Muslim groups refusing to cooperate with authorities. Tell us about that.
Sperry: In public, many Muslim groups say they are cooperating with the law, but behind the scenes they're circulating CDs in mosques right here in Washington telling Muslims not to cooperate with the FBI?lt;i>under any circumstances. Like I said, these Muslim leaders talk a good game, but they don't have our best interests at heart, and that's well-documented in my book. Some of these same pillars of the Muslim community have privately called for overturning our system of government, replacing the Constitution with the Qur'an as the highest authority in the land. They've also circulated a secret Islamic spy charter that directs their agents to infiltrate sensitive intelligence agencies by taking jobs and ingratiating themselves with officials in those agencies with the object of stealing our secrets and influencing policy for the bad guys.
And what do you know, paid lobbyists for some of these leaders have landed jobs in the White House and Department of Homeland Security¡ªwith Top Secret clearance. One who lobbied for Alamoudi and against antiterror tools for law enforcement, according to lobbying records I uncovered, is now in charge of all federal government contracting. His name is David Hossein Safavian, and he was confirmed despite failing to disclose ties to Alamoudi. Your readers can view his lobbying records as well as myriad other government documents, some classified, at the book's companion website: http://www.sperryfiles.com. Another former Alamoudi associate, Faisal Gill, is working in intelligence at DHS. He also failed to disclose his past ties, which at a minimum raises serious suspicions.
FP: I am usually very suspicious of conspiracy theory. Are you suggesting some kind of conspiracy?
Sperry: Looking more and more like conspiracy to infiltrate the government and, at the most benign level, run influence operations against it. The interlocking directorships in these suspect Muslim lobby groups, charities and mosques like Dar al-Hijrah, the 9/11 mosque here, is alarming. They're all connected to each other, and all connected to the Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas or Islamic Jihad or al-Qaida. It's a syndicate, a Muslim mafia, and law enforcement is only starting to get their arms around it. The base of their operations is in Northern Virginia, where I live¡ªright in the shadow of the nation's capital. I call it The Wahhabi Corridor, and your readers can take a visual tour of it by clicking on: http://www.sperryfiles.com/corridor.shtml.
FP: What sources did you use to gather all of this startling information?
Sperry: Mostly federal law enforcement. I conducted exclusive interviews with some two dozen counterterrorism veterans at the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. military intelligence, most of whom are frustrated by the stubborn PC in Washington that has hamstrung their efforts to penetrate the terror support syndicate inside America. Many of the agents are quoted by name in the book. My findings are also supported by some 50 highly sensitive U.S. government documents, some classified Top Secret, from DHS and other agencies. And many are posted on the companion website, http://www.sperryfiles.com. And of course I also gleaned information from unsealed federal court records.
FP: What can you tell us about Islamist infiltration in the military?
Sperry: I dedicate a whole chapter to "The Fifth Column" inside our armed forces. They've been stealing al-Qaida secrets from Gitmo, and turning around and spying for Syria and Egypt. Even the Muslim chaplains are a problem, since many are hardcore Wahhabists who were stocked by Alamoudi, one of the godfathers of the Muslim mafia in America who's now behind bars for plotting terror. And these chaplains are counseling our Muslim soldiers, who now number close to 20,000. They're filling their heads with all sorts of hateful garbage, turning them against the country they're supposed to serve and protect. It's a story of traitors run amok, although clearly many Muslims have served honorably.
FP: What about the prisons?
Sperry: This is a powder keg waiting to explode. Investigators tell me it's the top recruiting ground for al-Qaida right now as it tries to lower its Arab profile. Al-Qaida sympathizers have landed jobs as Muslim chaplains, and are converting scores of black inmates to Islam. One federal chaplain¡ªWarith Deen Umar¡ªpraised the 9/11 hijackers and told inmates America is a legitimate target of jihad. He preached hatred toward Jews and Christians, yet still received glowing evaluations from Washington, which is blind to this threat within the prison system. I also found out a sweet old nun?quot;Sister Sue" VanBaalen¡ªis running the federal chaplaincy program, and the Islamist "scholars" she relies on to recruit Muslim chaplains have got her completely snowed.
FP: You say their sympathizers and agents have infiltrated American classrooms? What do you mean?
Sperry: Parents would be shocked to know that Muslim consultants on the Saudi government payroll have been teaching their kids about Islam in the public schools as part of world history units on religion. They're writing lesson plans promoting Islam by instructing kids to recite prayers and verses from the Quran on prayer rugs. They're covering up all of Islam's ugly warts, including violent jihad, while denigrating Christianity. The textbook units on Islam they're editing are so slick they glamorize the faith, and the worry is they'll inspire future "American Talibans"¡ªor worse, kids like Abu Ali, President Bush's would-be assassin, who graduated from the same Saudi Islamic academy where the nation's top public-school consultant on Islamic studies taught social studies. Her name is Susan L. Douglass, but don't be fooled by her WASP-sounding name. She's a devout Muslim activist, and her husband, Usama Amer, still teaches at the school, which teaches students to hate Jews and Christians. It's located right across the Potomac from DC.
FP: So in historical perspective, compare the Islamist threat with the "Red Menace."
Sperry: It's worse than the communist threat. Bad as the Cold war threat was, the communists never attacked us. And their spies were atheists who were relatively easy to distrust, easy to bribe over to our side. But we're now dealing with religious zealots¡ªthe Green Menace, green being the color of Islam¡ªwho are not only passionate in their hatred for us, but are using our religious tolerance as cover to infiltrate our security agencies and steal our secrets as agents and sympathizers for the bad guys. They're using our tolerances and freedoms against us. They operate with virtual political and religious immunity, and are therefore much harder than the Red spies to ferret out. They are the perfect enemy. Washington needs to wake up to this new spy threat. It's not just about fighting terrorists anymore. It's also about fighting their spies and sympathizers.
FP: In your book, you show how the Left aids the Islamist enemy in our nation. Can you shed some light on this phenomenon?
Sperry: Absolutely, take Georgetown University professor John Esposito for example. He's a leading apologist for Islam who has sung the praises of Hamas, even after it was officially designated a terrorist organization. He claims we are a "Judeo-Christian-Islamic" nation. After 9/11, he went on CNN and insisted that Islam was tolerant of other religions, even claiming that Muslims and Christians share common beliefs. As proof, he offered that the mother Mary is mentioned more often in the Qur'an than in the New Testament. While it is, he was using a cynical trick to mainstream a violent, intolerant faith. The only reason Mary is cited more is to brand Christ as a mere mortal in the Muslim mind. Christ is referred to exclusively in the text of the Qur'an as "Jesus, son of Mary," and never "Jesus, son of God," which would be blasphemous to Allah, as the Qur'an states. If anything, the literary distinction points up how different the two faiths are. But Esposito is counting on us not reading the Qur'an for ourselves and just taking his word. Why would a Catholic professor want to mainstream Islam? Because he and his center are bankrolled by a Saudi-tied Palestinian businessman, as I detail in the chapter, "Interfaith Phoniness." That's his sugar daddy, and therein lies his bias.
FP: Islamism extinguishes women's rights, gay rights, minority rights and all democratic rights one could imagine. These are supposed to be at the core of leftist values. Why is the Left having a love affair with an entity that extinguishes everything that it supposedly holds dear?
Sperry: Because they want to continue worshiping at the altar of cultural diversity. The Left has never met a culture or religion it didn't like, no matter how extreme, violent or anathema to our way of life, even one that uses the civil liberties the Left holds dear against us to gain a bigger foothold in our culture with the hopes of one day denying us those same liberties. Islamists secretly want to Islamize America, which as you say would extinguish women's rights, gay rights, minority rights and the rights of all minority religions to flourish like we're letting Islam flourish right now. And even faced with the threat of another mass-scale attack, the lefties would rather protect their claim to the mantle of tolerance for tolerance sake than their own country.
But it's not just the left that won't wake up to the threat. Republican Paul Findley wrote a book about Islam that reads like an endless love letter. Two of the Muslim leaders he lionizes on the cover¡ªAlamoudi and Sami al-Arian¡ªare now behind bars on terror charges! (Findley told me he only regrets putting Alamoudi, a confessed terror conspirator, on the cover.) Then there's GOP operative Grover Norquist, an agent of influence for Islamists in Washington, as I detail in Infiltration and support through several alarming documents posted on sperryfiles.com. Because he's best pals with Karl Rove, he's getting to place bad people in the White House, DHS, the Transportation Department, and other key sensitive agencies in the war on terror. And he and his partner¡ªPalestinian activist and former Alamoudi deputy Khaled Saffuri¡ªare getting the president to legitimize Islam by placing pro-Islam political messages in his speeches. Bush is the first president to mention "mosques" and the "Quran" in inaugural addresses. The stated goal of their Islamic Institute, which got seed money from Alamoudi, is to promote Muslim activists to positions of power.
FP: Why do you suppose Washington's premiere anti-tax lobbyist is suddenly so passionate about lobbying for Islamist interests?
Sperry: He's marrying a Muslim, and when I asked Norquist if he himself has converted to Islam, he brushed the question off as too "personal."
FP: So let's return to Islam for a moment. Do you believe that there exists a "moderate" Islam?
Sperry: Sure, it's called Sufism, which follows the principles of a special form of Islamic mysticism. Unfortunately that's not the main sect of Islam. The main sect is Sunnism, which follows the fundamentals of the Qur'an, including violent jihad. It's most orthodox strain is Wahhabism, which is really just Islam in practice as prescribed by the Qur'an. Osama bin Laden is a Wahhabist, and Osama bin Laden is a very good Muslim¡ªa model one, in fact, and one of the most devout in the 1400 years of Islam.
FP: Well, once again, while we must be honest and realistic about these realities, we must simultaneously support Muslims who hold out the promise that Islam can be reformed and join the modern, democratic world.
So, overall, what can we do about the Islamist threat that you pinpoint?
Sperry: I offer a number of solutions in the back of the book, in the Afterword, but for starters we need to be smarter about who we hire to help us fight this war on Islamic terror. We need to do a better job of screening Muslim translators to ensure their loyalty. And we need to stop cutting corners on their background checks¡ªduh¡ªbut you wouldn't believe the people we've given Top Secret/SCI clearance to since 9/11. Read "The Mole House" chapter for details¡ªI name names. And instead of circling the wagons to avoid another embarrassing spy scandal so soon after the Hanssen case, the FBI needs to do a major damage assessment to see which (not if) counterterror and counterespionage programs have been compromised. In the meantime, Washington should offer Arabic scholarships to college kids to help grow the pool of non-Muslim linguists both the FBI and Pentagon can recruit from.
FP: What about these Muslim pressure groups that form a protective shield around militant Islam?
Sperry: Yes, for Heaven's sake, sever all official ties to the Council on American-Islamic Relations and other terror-linked groups. We're just legitimizing and providing the enemy cover and protection by continuing to allow them a forum. Yet the FBI director has included CAIR in permanent working groups on Muslim rights, where they're allowed to mau-mau the FBI about its investigations of terror suspects in the Muslim community. Hello?! This is a group that's had terrorists on its payroll! And not only that, my investigation found that CAIR is bankrolled by two Arab governments tied to the Taliban and 9/11, yet it claims it gets no foreign support. In fact, the United Arab Emirates actually holds the deed to CAIR's headquarters located here in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol, as documented in the chapter, "The Dark Lair of CAIR." Your readers can check out the deed on sperryfiles.com. So you can't trust what CAIR says¡ªso why is anyone in Washington still listening to it, let alone letting it lecture us about how to run our terrorism investigations? And why in the world are we letting CAIR, a group trying to Islamize the American workplace, partner up with the EEOC to solicit discrimination lawsuits from Muslims? That's right, EEOC has even sent its lawyers into mosques to solicit workplace-bias complaints, as detailed in the chapter, "Wudu in the Restroom."
FP: But what can we as citizens do?
Sperry: You recall the NIMBY movement¡ªNot In My Backyard? Well, we need to apply it to the Islamic threat. Find out what kind of Islamic schools and mosques are being developed in your neighborhood. Check out the trustees, the preachers, the teachers. Are they Islamists? Are there any terrorist connections? Pull the county land records. Do Saudi-backed entities such as the North American Islamic Trust own the deed? Are any of the trustees members of the Muslim American Society, the U.S. front for the notorious Muslim Brotherhood? If so, lobby the local zoning boards to block their development. This is a hardline Wahhabi mosque that may serve as a base of operations for the bad guys. Arm yourself and your neighbors with the facts, and fight. Organize. Contact your local media. If protesting doesn't work, use local ordinances to block them.
Does the proposed minaret exceed height restrictions? Will the parking plan cause traffic congestion? Is the drainage plan to code? What textbooks are used at the schools? Alert the state accreditation boards. Also, notify local law enforcement and the FBI of any suspicious activity at the mosque or school. Are preachers inciting violence? For instance, there's a mosque going up in my own community in Fairfax County that I found out is tied to a Pakistani terrorist who gunned down CIA employees last decade. It took just a few days to look up the land records, and then research the trustees and find the connection.
The first red flag was the deed itself, which was notarized in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan is a hotbed of anti-American terrorism. This is an example of a Wahhabi mosque that has no business being in business anywhere in America. Ask any FBI case agent who has investigated hardline Wahhabi mosques and they'll tell you they are nothing but sanctuaries of terror. Wahhabi mosques such as Dar al-Hijrah just outside Washington, which gave aid and comfort to the hijackers, act as hubs in the terror support network. Read my expose on it?quot;The 9/11 Mosque"¡ªand the related chapter?quot;The 9/11 Imam" (and go to sperryfiles.com to see related classified documents)¡ªand you'll see that the fish rots from the head down. It's no coincidence that terrorists show up at these mosques. The leaders of the mosques attract them. It's no coincidence that money is raised for violent jihad at these mosques. The leadership solicits it. It's not just a few bad apples that stumble into these places of worship. It's an entire farm system that nourishes them. Arm yourself with the facts.
FP: We are out of time my friend. Thank you for the work you are doing and I hope your book and efforts will be a wake-up call for Washington to awake from its slumber.
Sperry: We can only hope.
Statement from the Author
¡°Those hoping for mindless Islam-bashing or ad hominem attacks against sacred Muslim figures such as Muhammad will be disappointed. It has become abundantly clear in the 3 1/2 years since 9/11 that even those who thoughtfully and factually challenge Muslim leaders in America will be smeared as 'bigots' 'racists' and 'Islamophobes.' This book is not a general indictment of people of Islamic faith or Arabic origin. I am not interested in setting up straw men. So save the smears . . . let¡¯s get to the facts.?lt;br>¡ªPaul Sperry
To arrange an interview with Paul Sperry or receive a copy of Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington, please contact his publicist by email.


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Guy Fieri's Stolen $200,000 Lamborghini Is Found!
The Bay Area TV chef is grateful to put the episode behind him
One ingredient Bay Area TV chef Guy Fieri probably couldn't live without: his 2008 Lamborghini Spyder Gallardo convertible.
Except the $200,000 car has been missing since March 2011, after a robber broke into the British Motor Car Distributors dealership in San Francisco and drove away with it, reports the San Francisco Examiner. Since then, the car was only seen on closed-circuit TV, including going over the Golden Gate Bridge.
That is, until last Saturday night, when investigators went to a Port Richmond neighborhood storage unit with a search warrant related to a 17-year-old San Rafael boy, whom witnesses said was linked to an April 13 shooting. (The teen has since been arrested and charged with attempted murder, possession of a stolen vehicle, resisting arrest and having a loaded firearm.)
Inside the storage unit, officers found the bright yellow Lamborghini belonging to the Food Network's Guy's Big Bite and NBC's Minute to Win It star, as well as a motorcycle and other items authorities believe were used in the shooting, a SFPD spokesman confirmed to the newspaper.
Fieri, 44, expressed his relief over the discovery, saying in a statement, "I would like to thank the Marin County Sheriff's Office and the Mill Valley Police Department for their hard work and effort in the recovery of my car. I'm glad we can put this behind us, and feel better knowing that justice is being served."
British Motor Car Distributors reportedly declined comment.


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The successful treatment of ovarian cancer requires the involvement and coordination of several different treatment approaches, including surgery, chemotherapy and, in rare cases, radiation therapy. Nearly all women with ovarian cancer will undergo surgery and chemotherapy. The role of surgery in the initial management of ovarian cancer is to obtain a specimen for determining an accurate diagnosis, provide local treatment of the cancer in the pelvis and abdomen, and obtain other prognostic information to determine the stage of cancer and what additional treatment may be necessary.
Despite surgical removal of the tumor, many patients with ovarian cancer will already have microscopic cancer cells, called micrometastases, that have spread away from the ovary to other locations in the abdomen and distant parts of the body. These micrometastases often cannot be detected by currently available tests. Surgery is a local therapy and cannot treat micrometastatic cancer. Therefore, additional systemic treatment using chemotherapy is required to treat micrometastatic cancer. Information obtained during surgery and from other tests determines whether additional treatment with chemotherapy is necessary. Because most patients with ovarian cancer have advanced disease at diagnosis, the majority of patients will receive chemotherapy as part of the overall treatment plan.
Often, patients with ovarian cancer are initially treated with surgery aimed at debulking (decreasing the size of) the tumor. This type of surgery, in which the goal is to remove the greatest volume of cancer cells possible, is also called "cytoreductive" surgery. After completion of the surgery, most patients are placed on a chemotherapy regimen.
Over the past several years, there has been increasing interest in administering chemotherapy both before and after surgery. Chemotherapy given before surgery is referred to as neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and the surgery that follows is referred to as "interval" cytoreductive surgery. By administering chemotherapy first, micrometastatic cancer cells may be more easily destroyed and chemotherapy may reduce the amount of cancer, thereby allowing for more complete surgical removal of the cancer. The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy remains controversial, but it may be considered for selected patients with advanced disease who do not appear to be candidates for initial surgery.1
Laparotomy (Initial Cytoreductive Surgery)
For patients diagnosed with ovarian cancer during surgery, the first phase of treatment is surgical laparotomy or exploration of the abdomen. During a laparotomy, the surgeon makes an incision down the middle of the abdomen and attempts to remove as much of the cancer within the abdomen and pelvis as possible. The goal of laparotomy is to accurately diagnose and stage the cancer and gain prognostic information that can determine whether additional therapy is necessary.
Typical debulking during the laparotomy includes a total hysterectomy (removal of the uterus), bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries and fallopian tubes), omentectomy (removal of a flap of fatty tissue covering the bowel in the abdomen), and the removal of any visible cancer within the abdomen. If the cancer appears to be limited to the ovaries or the pelvis, the surgeon will also cut small pieces of tissue (biopsy) from the upper abdomen, The surgeon will collect abdominal fluid samples and remove lymph nodes so that they can be examined under a microscope to determine whether they contain cancer. These extensive and time-consuming surgeries are best performed by a gynecologic oncologist, who is a surgeon specialized in the treatment of female pelvic cancers.
For patients with metastatic ovarian cancer (cancer detected outside the abdomen), surgery may be beneficial for relief of symptoms and to improve duration of survival. Surgery to remove cancer in the abdomen may help relieve pain, prevent obstruction or blockage of the bowel, and improve a patient's nutritional status.
The typical surgery for ovarian cancer prevents women from future childbearing because the reproductive organs (ovaries and uterus) are removed. Occasionally, ovarian cancer will occur in a younger woman who wishes to maintain fertility. If the cancer involves only one ovary and the surgery shows no cancer beyond a single ovary, a unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of one ovary and fallopian tube) can be performed. This allows the patient to bear children and still provides adequate treatment for the cancer. After childbearing is complete, the remaining ovary and the uterus are often removed in an effort to prevent a recurrence.
Despite surgical removal of the cancer, the majority of patients with stage II-IV ovarian cancer will experience a recurrence. This is because patients have micrometastases, which are undetectable microscopic cancer cells that have spread from the original site of cancer to distant locations in the body. In other cases, patients have visible spread of cancer cells outside the ovary into the abdomen, pelvis, or lymph nodes that cannot be completely removed by surgery. When the cancer is removed with surgery so that no remaining cancer is larger than 1 cm (about three-quarters of an inch), the cancer referred to as "optimally debulked" or "optimally cytoreduced." When cancer larger than 1 cm remains after the surgery, the cancer is referred to as "suboptimally debulked" or "suboptimally cytoreduced." Patients with optimally cytoreduced cancer are more likely to live longer and less likely to experience cancer recurrence following chemotherapy than patients who are suboptimally cytoreduced.
Patients who undergo laparotomy for ovarian cancer may experience lower abdominal pain after the operation. Complications related to surgery may include bleeding, infection, slow recovery of bowel function, temporary difficulty with emptying the bladder or other less common conditions. Your surgeon should explain the risk of side effects associated with treatment.
Second-Look Laparotomy
After completion of chemotherapy, patients undergo a physical examination, a CA-125 blood test and radiologic studies to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. When all of these tests are negative for cancer, a patient is said to be in a complete clinical remission. Many patients in complete remission still have microscopic cancer that was not detected with the available tests. Some doctors recommend additional surgical evaluation after completion of chemotherapy in order to further evaluate the response to treatment. This operation is called a "second-look laparotomy." A second-look laparotomy is the most accurate method of detecting persistent cancer cells when CA-125 levels are normal.
Second-look laparotomy will detect evidence of cancer in at least half of patients thought to be in clinical remission. Even when the second-look laparotomy does not detect any cancer cells, cancer still recurs in approximately 30-50% of patients.
Routine second-look laparotomy is no longer recommended as standard treatment. Many doctors recommend that it only be used as part of a clinical trial. This is because a second-look laparotomy only has value to a patient if the information gained during the laparotomy can change a patient's outcome or subsequent treatment options. This is important for patients to understand because undergoing a second or unnecessary surgery is associated with additional risks and emotional discomfort. These risks include bowel obstruction, adhesions and pain.
Strategies to Improve Treatment
The following are surgical treatment strategies currently being evaluated in clinical studies. Given the poor outcomes of treatment for ovarian cancer, the greatest benefit to patients wishing to pursue aggressive or potentially curative treatments may be participation in clinical studies.
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy: Although most patients with ovarian cancer receive chemotherapy after surgery, some researchers are exploring the effects of chemotherapy given both before and after surgery. Chemotherapy that is given before surgery is referred to as neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Some doctors believe that neoadjuvant chemotherapy can reduce the size of the cancer, thereby allowing easier surgical removal and more effective results from subsequent chemotherapy. The role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, however, remains controversial.
1 Bristow RE, Eisenhauer EL, Santillan A, Chi DS. Delaying the primary surgical effort for advanced ovarian cancer: a systemic review of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and interval cytoreduction. Gynecologic Oncology. 2007;104:480-490.
Copyright © 2017 Omni Health Media. All Rights Reserved.


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LeToya Luckett attended Ludacris' celebrity basketball game. For the event, she styled in a cream silk blouse and ripped denim jeans paired with $1,495 Lady Peep Painted Multicolor Python Christian Louboutin. LeToya accessorized her outfit with a red Celine tote bag and grey sunglasses.
Nene Leakes was spotted making her way to the Wendy Williams show in NYC. She wore a pair of $1,095 Giuseppe Zanotti Mesh Platform Booties paired with black pants and a grey shirt. She was also carrying a $2,980 Celine Croc Stamped Luggage Tote.
Teyana Taylor was spotted styling in a pair of $930 Giuseppe Zanotti Homme Double Gold Plated Strap Dual Zip High-Top Sneakers paired with black pants and top. She accessorized her outfit with a black Celine luggage tote bag and a gold Versace bracelet.
Monica also attended 'Ludacris Celebrity Basketball Game' at Morehouse College. She opted for a plaid top and white jeans. Monica accessorized her outfit with a Celine Luggage Red Crocodile Pattern Bag.
Brandy Norwood looked fly leaving ABC's Good Morning America in New York City. She was carrying a black Céline luggage shoulder tote bag ($2,500) and wearing Christian Louboutin Trash Ankle-Wrap d'Orsay Platform Sandals ($1,345) from the Spring/Summer 2012 collection.
Eve was spotted in New York City making her promo rounds. She styled in a black leather jacket which she wore under a grey fringe scarf and grey jeans. She also carried a $3,000 Celine Cobalt Blue Snakeskin Luggage Tote Bag.
Emily B took the panel with other women in reality TV including Yandy Smith, MaShonda, Adrienne Bailon and Andrea Kelly for the PROJECT REALism at New York's Helen Mills Theater. For the event, Emily dressed-up in a semi-sheer lime green blouse and black pencil skirt paired with $895 Giuseppe Zanotti Platform Bow Sandals. She accessorized her outfit with a Moschino belt and Celine Boston Bag.
Monica and LeToya pics via TalkingWithTami | Emily Pic via RealityTVFashion |
Follow me @donbleek88


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- Each game shall consist of two halves of ten tossups each, with each correct tossup followed by a three-part bonus.
- Correct tossup answers are ten points each. An additional five-point "power" is awarded for a correct answer given before a pre-determined point in the tossup. All tossups are five seconds, and there are no math computation tossups.
- Unlike other national tournaments, we will NOT assess a five-point penalty for interrupting the moderator during the tossup with an incorrect answer.
- The team that receives the bonus will have five seconds to answer each part. The moderator will prompt after four seconds. Each incorrect part will immediately rebound, with the rebounding team expected to provide an answer within three seconds. Unless otherwise specified in a bonus set, each bonus part shall be ten points each.
- In the event a game is tied after regulation, additional tossups shall be read until the next change in score.
- Each team shall have one 30 second timeout per half. Substitutions, scorechecks, and team conferences may occur at the half, prior to overtime, or during any timeout called by either team.
- Teams rosters shall be limited to seven players; schools are encouraged to bring junior varsity and "B" teams to compete. Teams may play with fewer than four players. Rosters shall be submitted in advance and finalized at registration the morning of the tournament. Players may not change teams during the tournament.
Teams will play five morning rounds, break for lunch, then return for three afternoon games. This setup is subject to change, depending on the number of teams signed up. We plan to start the team meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the cafeteria, with the first round set for at 8:50 a.m. and afternoon rounds slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. With the exception of any playoff games for trophies, we anticipate the last game ending around 4 p.m. Tentatively, trophies will be presented to the top three overall teams, as well as the top public school team whose school population does not exceed 400 students in grades 9-12.
We are initially limiting the field to 24 teams, with plans to expand to 36 teams. Additional teams will be placed on a waitlist and contacted should an opening occur.
Fee structure is as follows, per school:
- First team: $65
- Additional teams: $60
- Discount for travelling more than 100 miles each way (determined by Google Maps): $10
- Discount for providing a working buzzer set: $5 (maximum $10)
- Discount for providing competent staff: $5 per staffer (maximum $10)
Hannibal High School is located at 4500 McMasters Avenue, on the right side of Highway 61 northbound, north of Highway 36/Interstate 72. Parking is available on either end of the building. There are many lunch options close to the school. McDonald's, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver's are directly across from the school, but with a 1-2 minute drive you can also find Subway, Hardee's, KFC, several Mexican and Chinese options, etc.
The tournament is under the direction of Hannibal High School Coach Amy Sternke and veteran scholar bowl moderator Kyle Hill of the Missouri Quizbowl Alliance, an organization dedicated to promoting quality scholar bowl tournaments around the state. We anticipate receiving certification and assistance from their membership.
To register for this tournament, please visit http://tinyurl.com/TWAIN2018Registration.
Teams outside the state of Missouri are welcome to register; however, owing to MSHSAA's sanctioning process, we ask that any teams from out of state register prior to December 18th.
Questions concerning the tournament may be directed to either Amy Sternke at [email protected] or Kyle Hill at [email protected]. Please include "TWAIN 2018" in the subject line.
We look forward to seeing you at Hannibal High School on January 27th.


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'Parent-sitter' abuses access to homes, steals valuables
Team 5 Investigates finds no regulation of fast-growing home care industry
The demand for parent-sitters is expanding quickly as the American population ages.
But finding someone to stay home with an elderly parent involves some of the same risks as hiring someone to babysit a child.
At the time, the Sergios didn't feel like they had a choice.
Roland, the family's patriarch, needed dialysis three days a week. His wife Gail, suffering from Alzheimer's, needed someone to stay with her while Roland was away.
"We discovered that she was at home, crying and confused," said their son, Chris.
Enter Debra Blair --- a professional home care aide, paid out of pocket to stay with Gail while Roland went through treatment.
"She seemed pleasant and normal as far as we were concerned," Chris said. "Only after a short time, my mother felt uneasy with her disappearing in the house."
Police said Blair abused her access inside the home to steal valuables, including a wedding ring, a gold cross and a vintage charm bracelet. In total, court records show she stole nearly 50-thousand dollars in jewelry and sterling silverware from the Sergios.
"My mother's jewelry chest on her bureau was basically half empty," Chris said. "And of course, at that point in time, we knew exactly what was going on because there were no other people coming in and out of the home."
Hiring someone to spend time alone with an elderly parent or a very sick child has serious risks. And yet, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting discovered that Massachusetts does not license or regulate this fast-growing industry.
"People are trusting our caregivers with their loved ones," said Pat Kelleher, the executive director for Home Care Alliance, a trade group that supports creating a single state agency to set standards, track complaints, and follow up on cases of fraud and abuse.
Still, she argued, problems are rare.
"We estimate that in given year, there are probably somewhere north of 3 million private home care visits being bought and paid for in Massachusetts," Kelleher said. "And the overwhelming majority of those cases are families who are satisfied with the services."
But for that small minority, the betrayal can be devastating.
Last June, Blair pled guilty to stealing not only from the Sergios, but also from other families as well. One court document shows Blair's schedule from agency, placing her in multiple homes for "companionship", as a "home helper", and for "sleepover nights."
Court records show Blair was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, but was released on parole after five months. Her attorney told Team 5 Investigates that he doesn't know where she is. The agency she worked for is now closed.


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Swimmers Defeat George Mason
By ODU Athletics
FAIRFAX, VA (Oct. 30) -- Old Dominion men's and women's swimming and diving teams defeated George Mason, with the men winning 134-86 and the women winning 133-92. The men's team improves to 4-0 on the season, 2-0 in the CAA, while the women improve to 1-3 on the year, 1-1 in the CAA.
The women's team was led by five freshmen as Jamie D'Agostino (Ardsley, NY) picked up three event wins (100, 200, 500 free), Sarah Mooney (Riverside, RI) two wins (50 free, 100 back), Kara Fichthorn (Landsdowne, PA) two wins (200 IM, 100 fly), Ashley Kirchner (Arlington, VA) one win (1 meter dive) and Anne Chapman (Springfield, VA) one win (1000 free).
Meanwhile, the men's team had eight different event winners as Steve Corson (Delmar, NY), Mike Coley (Niskayuna, NY), Mark Guisto (Virginia Beach, VA), Kevin Harrison (Bethpage, NY), John Sax (Memphis, TN), Jimmy Sullivan (West Palm Beach, FL), Greg Hofmann (Lynchburg, VA) and John Wall (Hoover, AL) each won one event.
The teams return to action next weekend as they travel to Greenville, NC, to take on CAA-foe East Carolina on Saturday, November 6, and then to Wilmington, NC, to take on UNC Wilmington on Sunday, November 7.


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Ohio holiday shopping forecast up
Cincinnati among places expected to see more spending
Retail researchers expect sales to be up this holiday shopping season for Ohio businesses, according to an annual forecast released Monday.
However, the forecast by the University of Cincinnati Economics Center indicates uneven sales growth around the state, with more than half of the retail spending expected to come in the Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati areas.
Sales are projected to be up only slightly in the Youngstown region, and roughly flat in the Akron and Dayton areas.
Overall, the forecast projects $14.9 billion in retail sales for November to December, up 3.5 percent from the same period last year. The forecast, done in conjunction with the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants, uses sales tax data and other factors in its forecasting model.
An improved housing market in Ohio, lower gas prices, and recent stock market gains help brighten the outlook for retail spending, said UC researcher Jeff Rexhausen. There has also been steady monthly growth in this year's retail spending over last year's.
"Momentum was a big factor in driving our forecast," Rexhausen said.
In percentage growth expected, Columbus led at 4.4 percent, followed by Cleveland and Toledo with 3.8, and the Ohio portion of the Cincinnati region at 3.4. Expected to lag behind are Youngstown at 1.4, Akron at 0.4 and Dayton at 0.1.
The forecast says that increasing use of Internet sites for holiday shopping will continue to bite into retailers' sales.
An earlier Deloitte LLP survey of Ohio shoppers found many consumers were feeling optimistic about the economy heading into the holiday shopping season and expected to spend more this year.
Jim Ellerhorst, a Cincinnati-based partner in Deloitte's retail practice, said its research has found plans for increasing use of smartphones in shopping.


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Thrive in the era of value-based care. There are tremendous pressures to balance better patient outcomes with a healthier bottom line. By combining all your data and making it easy to explore, Qlik delivers the valuable insights you need to navigate that complex balance and make smarter decisions more quickly.
Explore Healthcare Analytics
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Embedded analytics brings entire health profiles and community data in one easy-to-understand view right in your medical records system. Zoom into the details to understand the whole patient story.
Use data to standardize clinical resources and processes, improve quality, and reduce costs. See how one US health system used data to reduce pneumonia readmissions by 21%.
Qlik's easy-to-use analytics platform lets clinicians explore data from their regular workflow and make connections that improve patient outcomes.
Analyze patient care to uncover inefficiencies so you can make changes that help improve outcomes, reduce length of stay and enrich patient satisfaction.
Your EHR is where you live and breathe. With Qlik, you can work with your data directly within your Cerner or Epic workflows to make smart, data-driven decisions about patient care and community populations more quickly. Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC integrated Qlik within Cerner and was able to cut inefficiencies and standardize care processes. Find out how their team was able to provide near real-time updates across millions of rows of data.
Improving patient outcomes while minimizing costs is a complex equation. Qlik helps healthcare systems uncover new ways to reduce costs and optimize payments, while delivering better patient outcomes. Combine your financial and clinical data to ensure you're not over-servicing and under-delivering care, learn new ways to speed reimbursements, and cut down on claim rejections.
With data about social determinants directly in your EHR it's much easier to identify at-risk patients and help them avoid health issues.
Make data-driven decisions and calibrate your efforts to ensure high quality, low-cost care for your patient population.
Combine data sources and build risk models that help physicians and care coordinators discover underdiagnosed and undiagnosed patients.
Use social determinants and geospatial data to identify at-risk patients, prevent problems, and improve health outcomes.
No one in healthcare can afford to have bottlenecks and backlogs. Qlik allows you to make connections in your data that help you cut waste, streamline processes, and improve the delivery of care. Get a better understanding of the patient journey, how that intersects with various operational functions and what the clinical and financial effects are.
Analyze massive amounts of data from any source, visualize care, and streamline the patient flow while using fewer resources. See how one healthcare system does it.
Empower your entire staff with data so they can find ways to reduce inefficiencies and return money to the bottom line in areas like emergency medicine, operating rooms, radiology and laboratory.
Use data to manage your workforce more effectively and improve efficiency across functional areas such as AP, IT, HR. See for yourself.
'With Qlik, we have successfully put clinical and financial data together in our sets and can ask questions related to that theory.'
David Mooradian, M.D., Chief Medical Informatics Officer, Anne Arundel Medical CenterWatch Video


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Born and raised in Middlesbrough. Mum was a barmaid, Dad a Merchant Seaman. He was from Belfast and though he had the flag of Ulster in his front room he wasn't political/ religious at all. His experience in the war and at sea had made him judge everyone on their own merits. Basically did they get the beer in or not. I come from a large family, four brothers and three sisters all with their own paths, ranging from a Wing Commander in RAF, a prospective Communist Party MP, a builder, a teacher and writer of philosophical blogs on the internet. We were always allowed to be whatever you wanted to be, as long as you got the beer in. We were also quite a sporting family too. Dad's brother played as an amateur footballer for Ireland, Wing Commander played rugby for Yorkshire and the RAF, brothers played football for Middlesbrough Youth, brother coaches Welsh Under 15's at cricket and my youngest brother scored a century on a ground graced by Geoffrey Boycott. I was average at everything, rugby, footie, cricket, tennis. The sum total of my sporting achievement being a winners medal for the Stockton and District Sunday League Second Division and a Middlesbrough Rugby Club Seven's Tournament Trophy from 1978. I also helped run an American Football 7 a side league in Boro from about 1979 to 1989, The Grangetown Wrecks. Now my playing days are over I live vicariously through the AG Cup, imagining I am Ben Torres, knocking in a hat-trick or Fandino volleying in a cracker or Santi turning a rocket shot over the bar or Serge, ending a flowing move by caressing the ball past the post (sorry mate).
Balls to Serge, you've just mentioned volleying in cracker and given such a distinction to Fandiňo. I'm half-minded to end this interview now.
Like any self respecting Stag I got pissed. My fear of flying had developed slowly after many flights but for that first trip I hadn't been on a plane for about three years. It got so bad me and Cath went to Barcelona by train a couple of times, though I got pissed on the train too but that's another story. I even plotted a route overland to Pontevedra that would have tested Michael Palin but in the end it was, in the words of the Drive-By Truckers , "shut up and get on the plane". Actually my main incentive in going up those steps this time was that it was Joel Tagg's round. I wasn't going to miss that for anything. I was so drunk by the time we landed I thought I was in Newcastle cos I couldn't understand a word anyone was saying and that was my fellow Stags. Mind you I knew it wasn't the "Toon" when the sun came out and I saw some trees and grass like. I hear the Porcos are going to Newcastle on the next trip. God help them.
What weekend? I was immediately struck by its peaceful atmosphere I have to say. I had been to Spain before and Barcelona is one of my favourite places, Cath and I celebrated my 50th and her 40th birthday's there. Mind you she wasn't best pleased when the following year she discovered I'd booked the weekend of the Barcelona Blues Festival, what a coincidence love. Ponte was very different and every door seemed to be a bar, which was handy. I fell in love with it's little squares with the Lemon trees. If that was Boro they would have dug up the tree and nicked the whole lot within ten minutes of it being planted. As the new guys on our last visit commented, I was much taken with the friendliness of the Porcos lads and the locals in general, despite the language barrier and soon discovered we had much in common. Someone finishing off your pint while you are on the toilet is universal it seems. It's a place I want to return to more often than once ever year or two.
I remember it was raining so the Stags felt right at home. I went on for the last 15 minutes in my "Mark Viduka" Boro away shirt. The pattern of the match seemed to be the Porcos had all of the possession only for us to break away and nick a goal. The Blonde Cat was having a blinder. I hadn't kicked a ball in ten years and it showed. I still thought I was the goal machine of my youth. I was a predatory goal getter in the Martin Fisher mould (he's my hero). I once scored seven in a school match, Middlesbrough High School v St Aiden's School for Blind Girls. Result. So when a ball was played across the area, in my mind I was rifling it into the top corner past a stunned Van Damme, when in reality it rolled past my swinging foot and I fell right on my arse. Sergio, ever the gentlemen, picked me up but even he couldn't stifle a titter or two. Still, we won, and I remember walking back to the Hotel De Barca with a skip in my step whilst being pelted with rotten tomatoes by the locals. Nowadays I have a strictly off field role, making sure the lads don't drink too much and are in tip top condition for the match. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Better than my last job as lookout on the Titanic. I do wish I could still play though, cos watching the games, especially in Ponte, are a right trial. I kick every ball and go into every tackle which is more than our lads managed last time…..
It was a beautiful day. The Ruby Ground looked a picture. The playing surface was like a billiard table. The lads looked great in green. We had injected a bit of youth (and Colin) into the squad. What could go wrong? I thought we started well enough but a soon as Fandino volleyed in the opener we seemed fall apart, our hopes of a 0-0 away draw shattered. From then on in it seemed like the longest game in history. Still our goals were the best of the bunch. It's not about quantity but quality.
Our two goal burst also elicited the cry "We're Gonna Win 14-13" from the Brits in the crowd, basically me, Bry and Ronaldo who started writing a match report which soon turned into an obituary. We managed a rousing "boo" when Fran scored which got a laugh from the home supporters. At the end we should have burnt the goal posts and put them in an urn as "The Ashes of Stag Football". Luckily for Bry, his attentions had been drawn to the beautiful ladies in attendance so saw little of the debacle. When you scored I think he thought we had won. I asked Larry what he thought and he said "Sentímolo, eu non falo Ingles" which says it all I think.
It was great to go back to a bar where we were recognised. I was surprised that it was reported that we were all Owls though given my Red and White Boro shirt and "Bernie Slaven for Pope" badge. Me and Col spent most of the game in the Celta Kop. It was the politest crowd I've been in. Someone offered me a seat and I thought I would get a cup of tea and some cucumber sandwiches at half-time. It was odd to be able to go anywhere in the ground too though they drew the line when I hopped onto the pitch and put in a header at the far post. And of course it was great to see Celta score and win, though it was never a penalty.
He seemed like a nice guy and I thought it was great that he took the time to come and greet us, though I think he nicked my pint and was the only man in Pontevedra wearing a suit. A typical politician then. I hear he wants to play sometime. If he does I'll make a comeback, as long as Arturo gets on the pitch too.
That's a tough one. Though I've always been into music it's only relatively recently that I actually took up playing. I thought an injury to my left hand pinkie (American Football) early in my career put paid to any chances of becoming an axe hero. Me and Col (Pujol Snr) , a musical mate since the seventies, got guitars at the same time about six or seven years ago and we've been thrashing away since then. I've got many many musical hero's and for differing reasons; Hendrix for changing the way the electric guitar was played and being able to express his feelings through his axe, BB King, a man who can make you cry with one note, Neil Young for his "I'm gonna play what I want" attitude. To sing like Steve Earle, Ray LaMontagne or John Martyn would be cool but I have to say to be that good for a day then lose it the following day would be too hard to bear. The Doctor Faustus Blues. I'll stick with being a very limited but enthusiastic amateur who is learning all the time. It's all in the journey, man! Still it's a good job you didn't ask Fenners that question. We'd have been here all day.
Pink Floyd, Knebworth Park, 1975. An open air gig with a crowd of around 100,000 On the bill were Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band (my mate slept through this), Steve Miller Band and Roy Harper. The Floyd did the whole of "Darkside of the Moon" with a massive light show and fireworks. In 1975 was that was pretty far out man. After the gig we went to my relations house in Wales which was haunted. That was pretty far out too……
BB King, Royal Festival Hall, London 1980's. It was may first time with BB. He was backed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and when he played that first, bluesy note I cried like a baby.
Bob Dylan, Blackbushe Aerodrome 1978. Another big outdoor show with Eric Clapton and Graham Parker and the Rumour (one of my faves). We camped in a tent overnight to get a decent view but the crowd was so big we ended up miles away. Good gig though.
Stockton Blues Festival 1976, Dovecot Arts Centre. The Dovecot was a small place but this was important as the first time I had seen real down 'n' dirty blues played by real Chicago Blues guys. I saw Phil Guy (Buddy's brother) and Jimmy "Fastfingers " Dawkin's and it was awesome. At the end Phil asked us "where's the pot man?" (obviously wanting to strike up a doobie) and my mate, losing everything in translation said "the men's is down the hall on the left" Chicago must have felt a lifetime away.
I think you would have to ask one of our Sheffield lads to answer this one properly but here goes. Being a Boroman, my football loyalties are forever with the "smoggies" from the Riverside. Your team chooses you, you don't choose your team. Still, I think the Stags add to the City's rich football history in much in the same way Charlie Peace, World War 2 and smallpox did. The Stags play in the great Yorkshire tradition with steel in your heart and with one hand on your wallet. The odd appearance of a Stag or two at magistrate's court or in the drunk tank only adds to our allure. I think the mayor of Sheffield has seen the Stags play more than either of the piggy teams, and I've heard she shows slides of Thomo's free kick to visiting dignitary's in the Town Hall. In short I'm proud to be a "Mean Green" and I think in our new crop, of Ben, Col, Bry and the three Amigo's: Lee, Rob and Andrew, our proud tradition of only drinking to excess is in safe hands.
Both decent boozers but the Cup should and will be back in Sheffield where it belongs so this argument is moot. I love the Gato Gordo as a cool rock bar but I think that this was born out of the AG Cup. The Griffon was there at its inception so has a special place in AG Cup folklore.
Wow, I still get a bad head thinking about that night. Didn't we go out to bring back a few more cans and stop in the pub for about three hours? Anyway on the culinary front I'm almost a vegetarian so didn't try a lot of the stuff on offer. I almost exclusively ate empanada, olives and cheese. It was great and meant I only had to "go" once a day. They rang the Lutine Bell went that one went down the porcelain I can tell you. The lads around me seemed to love the feed. I remember Ben eating anything in a dish and Bry, a man who appreciates good belly ballast loved it all. I also count Estrella Galicia as one of my "5 a day".
I'm thinking of whipping up a senna pod curry of my own but the only sure way to ensure "the trots" is a classic kebab with extra hot chilli sauce and 12 pints of Kelham Island Best Bitter. Mind you Smoking Batty seems to manage on that most nights without effect. I do however think some of the Porcos are beyond nobbling. I think we have to use reverse psychology and keep them off the beer. They'll be so desperate they won't be able to concentrate on the footie.
I love the blog.
There have been some memorable entries this year. I wish "google translate" was better (I really do need to learn some Spanish/Galician) so I understood some of the references a little better but I recognise the intelligence and humour behind this stuff. I think the idea of "Tractorville" is one to be nourished and nurtured. We need to get much more input from the Stags too. This may be controversial but I think we need less anonymity. I would like to know who was commenting even if they didn't agree with what I was saying. We should encourage debate as long as it's in good humour and not spiteful. Vive La Difference! I also love the way the music side of things is developing. I think the fact that Arturo can put vocals and harmonica on a backing track we recorded in Sheffield is incredible. You'll hear more from the Strolling Bones. Through the blog and Facebook I was able to meet up with a few more musical friends too this time out. I always look forward to the Sala Karma gig. Seeing Col singing with Gog and the Telepathic Hyenas was fantastic to me (as for Vanessa – what a voice!?!). We are hoping to get a gig or two for Flip Chorale and the boys in Sheffield next time and no AG Cup weekend would be complete without Viktor's rendition of the Galician anthem. Bloody rugby lad's, at least if they are singing they aren't dropping their trousers though sometimes they do both. As a final footnote to our last trip me and the lads wanted to thank Viktor for showing us round Santiago. His knowledge of the town seemed a bit sketchy at times but he knew every bar intimately. Funny that. Finally we want to thank Van Damme for his brilliant work driving us around. He was awesome. When he comes to Sheffield we'll carry him around in a sedan chair the whole time (probably).
|One is of Boroman outside KFC under a picture of his brother


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Bronchitis is inflammation of the breathing tubes. These airways are called bronchi. This inflammation causes increased mucus production and other changes. Although there are several different types of bronchitis, the most common are acute and chronic. Acute bronchitis may also be called a chest cold.
Most symptoms of acute bronchitis last for up to 2 weeks. The cough can last for up to 8 weeks in some people. Chronic bronchitis lasts a long time. It is more common among smokers.
Acute bronchitis is usually mild and does not cause complications. The symptoms often resolve on their own and lung function goes back to normal.
In most cases, antibiotics are not needed to treat acute bronchitis. That's because most of the infections are caused by viruses. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses. If it has progressed to pneumonia, then antibiotics may be necessary.
Treatment is aimed at treating the symptoms, and may include:
Avoid antihistamines because they dry up the secretions and can make the cough worse.
Acute bronchitis can worsen and progress to chronic bronchitis or pneumonia. If this happens, a different treatment may be necessary.
The following are the most common symptoms of acute bronchitis. However, each person may experience symptoms differently. Symptoms may include:
The symptoms of acute bronchitis may look like other conditions or medical problems. Talk with a healthcare provider for a diagnosis.
Healthcare providers can often diagnose acute bronchitis by taking a medical history and doing physical exam. Tests may be done to rule out other diseases, such as pneumonia or asthma. Any of these tests may be used to help confirm a diagnosis:
Acute bronchitis is usually caused by a viral infection. This is most often the same viruses that cause colds and the flu. It may also be caused by a bacterial infection, or by physical or chemical agents that are breathed in. These may include dusts, allergens, and strong fumes, including those from chemical cleaning compounds or tobacco smoke.
Acute bronchitis may come after a common cold or other viral infections in the upper respiratory tract. It may also occur in people with chronic sinusitis, allergies, or those with enlarged tonsils and adenoids. It can be serious in people with lung or heart diseases. Pneumonia is a complication that can follow bronchitis.
Acute bronchitis can't always be prevented. However, there are shots you can get to prevent its complications, such as pneumonia.
Check with your healthcare provider about getting the flu and pneumococcal shots. Getting a flu shot every year can help prevent both the flu and pneumonia. The pneumococcal shot can protect you from a common form of bacterial pneumonia.
Anyone can get pneumococcal disease. However, children younger than age 2, adults ages 65 and older, people with certain medical conditions, and smokers are at the highest risk.
Most often, bronchitis resolves on its own. If your symptoms worsen or don't get better over time, call your healthcare provider.
Tips to help you get the most from a visit to your healthcare provider:
Vidant Health can connect you to health care professionals to help you understand your condition and guide you through the treatment process. Let's chat.


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HTC will announce the launch of its Incredible S Android smartphone next Wednesday night after the Taiwanese manufacturer sent a "briefing and product demonstration" invitation to the media this morning.
Read our comprehensive HTC Incredible S review, and check out reviews of other top HTC phones.
The HTC Incredible S Android phone is a successor to the HTC Droid Incredible; a smartphone that launched in the US market exclusively with the Verizon network. Like HTC's other new Android phones, the Desire S and the Wildfire S, the HTC Incredible S is a slight upgrade rather than a huge overhaul of the original Incredible. The main point of difference is the aluminium unibody design, which HTC says gives it a tougher and more elegant feel than the original model.
The HTC Incredible S has a 4in, capacitive SLCD touchscreen with a 480x800-pixel resolution, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and 768MB of RAM. HTC has also included an 8-megapixel camera that doubles as a 720p HD video recorder, and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling.
The HTC Incredible S will ship with the 2.2 (Froyo) version of Google's Android platform, but HTC has promised an upgrade to 2.3 Gingerbread in the near future. Like HTC's other Android phones, the Incredible S will come with HTC's Sense UI which adds a number of features mainly centred on interactive home screen widgets.
It is not yet known what network the Incredible S will launch with, but it is likely to be Optus or Vodafone given Telstra has already secured exclusive rights to sell the HTC Desire S in the coming months.


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Mitsouko by Guerlain for Women 1.7 oz EDT Spray Tester
Mitsouko by Guerlain for Women 1.7 oz EDT Spray Tester
$58.00 $44.99
A masterpiece of balance and originality, Mitsouko marries a fruity note of peach with jasmine flowers and May rose. The mysterious dry-down of the fragrance blends spicy notes with those of underbrush and vetiver. Mitsouko initiates the use of the peach note in perfumery. Illustrating the innovative side of its creators, Mitsouko is the first fruity chypre fragrance in the perfume world, following other chypre fragrances introduced by Guerlain. Your Mitsouko Eau de Parfum fragrance in the iconic Golden Bee bottle. The so-called "bee" bottle was crafted in 1853 by the glassmaker Pochet & du Courval to hold the Eau de Cologne Impériale for the Empress Eugenie. Its "tiles", inspired by the dome of the Vendôme column, are adorned with 69 golden bees, symbols of the empire. Each "tile" and each bee are finely gilded by skilful hands that apply the same technique used a century beforehand. Today the bottle is celebrating its 160th birthday and continuing to cultivate its uniqueness; it can hold the fragrance of your choice and be customised with initials on request. The colour of the perfume and the signature on the label vary according to the fragrance chosen.
|Top notes:
|citruses, jasmine, bergamot and rose
|Heart notes:
|lilac, peach, jasmine, ylang-ylang and rose
|Base notes:
|spices, amber, cinnamon, vetiver and oakmoss
|Launch Year:
|Tester Description:
|No Cap - This tester comes without a cap
Collection Items


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Paddling On the Chester: GIS In Our Community
By Cara Murray
When hearing about Washington College's GIS Program many people are quick to mention our comprehensive crime data analysis, our innovative 3D renderings, or our educational outreach and professional development program. Let's be real, we do a lot of cool things at WC GIS but one of the aspects of our office that I find to be my favorite is our community work. While these projects may not have the same magnitude they offer us the chance to not only give back to our community but also meet a ton of great people and learn about what is going on in our area.
I have recently had the opportunity to work with Jack Brosius on an awesome project mapping the course for the Special Olympics Paddling trials. Some of you may recognize Jack as a member of the U.S. Rowing Team in the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics; while he has since retired his love of paddling has only grown along with his busy schedule. He now spends much of his time recruiting and training rowing athletes for the Paralympic games.
While completing the map for the Paddling Event, which happened right next to our very own WC Boathouse in the Chester River last Sunday the 16th, Jack's enthusiasm for the sport and for his athletes was palpable. He told me that this sport is one of the fastest growing for para-athletes due to the versatility of the boats themselves; they can accommodate a variety of challenges to give each athlete the tools they need to perform to the best of their abilities.
Working with Jack has been a great experience and the project is still ongoing as we are working to map out the State Games as well! Not only did I get to work on a fun digitizing project mapping out the 500 meter and the 200 meter course I had the chance to learn about an awesome sport and the amazing athletes that participate in it. Who knows, we might see some of these athletes again in Rio!


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Movie Reivew: "Taken'
By Roger Moore
The Orlando Sentinel
Three self-evident truths emerge from "Taken," the lean and brutal thriller about why one should NEVER kidnap a retired secret agent's daughter.
Liam Neeson could have had a helluva career as an action star, had he been willing to sell out.
Secondly, when it comes to action pictures, there are movies that come out under the aegis of Luc Besson ("The Professional," "La Femme Nikita," "The Transporter"), and there's everybody else.
And lastly, if we're letting CIA agents this ruthless and tough "retire," then plainly government pensions are entirely too generous.
"Taken" is about a divorced, doting dad who has quit his job with "The Agency" to be closer to his teenage daughter (Maggie Grace). Dad doesn't just dote. He sticks his nose right in Miss Kim's business.
"Mom said your job made you paranoid," she sniffs.
"My job made me aware," he corrects.
Against his better judgment, he lets the kid, whose mom (Famke Janssen) has re-married and married money, take off for Paris. Sure enough, bad things happen to naive teenage girls abroad.
The kidnapping itself is a drum-tight piece of writing and a brilliant bit of stagecraft. She's on the phone with Dad. Men come into another room and grab her friend. He has just enough time to prepare her, to instruct her on the basics -- "Focus," "Yell out descriptions of the men" and hold the phone where he can pick up their voices.
The exclamation point to the scene is Neeson, in a father's righteous, measured fury, telling the kidnappers about his "very particular skills," and how they should let her go and just walk away. They don't. (They never do.) Bad move.
Cinematographer-turned-director Pierre Morel, working from a Besson story (with the master looking over his shoulder during editing, no doubt) transforms the big, burly Irishman into a karate-chopping, derriere-kicking bloodhound, calling on old friends, using his "particular skills" to hunt down the kid and those who napped her. Neeson barrels through the screen like a muscle car bouncing anything French, Albanian, American or Arabic out of his way.
The film's brevity means that they only have time to establish the man's affection for his child and his competence. The opening scenes show him bickering with the ex and then joining some ex-colleagues on a pop star security detail and foiling a stalker.
Some moments play as seriously worn out. And as the story resolves itself, a discomfiting French xenophobia and a little CIA torture enters the picture, which won't be to every taste.
But the chases, those fights -- what a rush! Besson didn't re-invent the action film. Still, as "Taken" re-iterates, Besson's espresso-jag thrillers are all the caffeine an action fan needs until the summer thrill rides arrive.
4 stars (out of 5)
Cast: Liam Neeson, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace
Director: Pierre Morel
Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Industry rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing thematic material, sexual content, some drug references and language


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The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) limits the circumvention of software that's designed to restrict access to copyrighted works. Unfortunately, such a blanket restriction can chill competition, free speech, and fair use. In an attempt to mitigate those harms, every three years the U.S. Copyright Office holds a rulemaking proceeding to consider exemptions to this rule.
EFF has participated in this rulemaking procedure in prior years, and has secured exemptions for device unlocking, jailbreaking, ripping videos for remix, and more. In the 2015 proceeding, we're requesting six exemptions in four separate categories: security research, as well as repairs and modifications, for cars; ripping of video from DVDs or BluRay disks, as well as online streaming services, for remixes; jailbreaking of phones and tables; and reconfiguration of video games that are no longer supported by their publisher.
Many other groups will be requesting exemptions, and we'll keep an updated list here.


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VictimsofCrime.org. Please take a few moments to browse the site and familiarize yourself with some of our new features; let us know what you think. Before you leave, take a moment to add the site to your favorites list -- we hope you will return often!
The mission of the Financial Crime Resource Center is to help victims of financial crime recover their assets, and recover control of their lives.
We partner with organizations around the United States who work with victims of fraud, identity theft and other financial crimes to ensure that victims have access to the best possible services and advice to assist them with recovery. We also advocate for fair compensation and restitution for all crime victims who have experienced harms caused by both financial and non-financial crimes.
Join us as we continue to work towards a day when all victims have access to financial justice and the recovery options they need.
Contact the Financial Crime Resource Center Director, Laura Cook, at [email protected].
Taking Action: An Advocate's Guide to Assisting Victims of Financial Fraud, a guide for advocates produced by the National Center for Victims of Crime and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, is now freely available in both digital and hard copies.
This guide seeks to empower those people on the front line – the consumer advocates, lawyers, counselors and victim service providers who come into contact with fraud victims every day – and provide victim centered resources to address various types of financial fraud.
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