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Read More, Get Involved
Shelby County (Tenn.) Mayor A. C. Wharton and Tonya Lewis Lee, wife of filmmaker Spike Lee, urged the city to fight against infant mortality.
"I dream of the day when we will say, 'This place used to be a cemetery, but now it's a playground,'" the Memphis Post reported Wharton as saying. "Little babies could run on these hills, and fall and not even get hurt."
In 2006-2007, 402 babies died before reaching their first year in Shelby County and Wharton has said this is one of the issues that concern him most.
Health officials define the national infant mortality rate as the number of deaths per 1,000 live births. Within the African-American community the rate is 13 infant deaths per 1,000 live births compared to 6.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births for non-Hispanic whites. In Shelby County, which includes Memphis, about 17 African-American babies died for every 1,000 born in 2004. In that same year, the number for whites was only about six.
"We need to take care of our babies and get them to their first birthday," Wharton said. "At St. Jude (Children's Research Hospital), they say no child should die in the dawn of life. I would like to erect a sign saying, 'In Shelby County, no child will die in the dawn of life.'"
Mayor Wharton said he is looking into putting together a team that will review infant mortality cases in the county to determine the cause of death and find out why black women, more than any other ethnicity, are far more likely to lose a child.
Memphis resident Katrina Thompson was there Sunday. She often visits the Shelby County Cemetery because it is the final resting place of her grandson. Her daughter gave birth at 22 weeks, and doctors expected the baby to only live five to six hours. Five-month-old Samarion Pollard passed away in February 2008.
"It's a year later, and it's still very emotional," Thompson told WMC-TV Channel 5 News. "We come out (here) very often, and it's very difficult. We pray, and we support each other through this process," Thompson told WPYT ABC24.
OMH's infant mortality awareness campaign focuses on preconception education. The idea is to train students at historically black colleges to become Preconception Peer Educators (PPEs), and then send them into communities with high infant death rates to connect with residents in their age group and younger.
On Monday, PPEs from colleges such as LeMoyne-Owen (in Memphis) and Spelman (in Atlanta) spoke to students at Carver High, Memphis Academy of Health Sciences and Southwind High. On Tuesday, selected students at the Memphis Academy of Health Sciences completed four hours of PPE training. Then on Wednesday, PPEs from Memphis and around the country canvassed neighborhoods near LeMoyne-Owen, an area known for a high number of infant mortalities.
"It's critical to have young people speak with other young people," Tonya Lewis Lee, national spokeswoman for the two-year-old Healthy Baby campaign, told the Memphis Post. "They know the language."
On Thursday, PPEs toured the neonatal intensive care unit at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis.
County Health Officer Dr. Kenneth Robinson told the Memphis Post that in 2005-2006 black infants were three times as likely as white infants to die in Memphis, with the highest infant mortality rate among the nation's 60 largest cities. Half of those babies had no prenatal care and three-fourths were born premature. The United States as whole does not fare much better, ranking among Third World countries in terms of infant mortality numbers.
On Sunday, at the cemetery, Lewis Lee told the Memphis Post that the city was circled on her map because of the high infant mortality rates. "If we can make a difference here, then we can anywhere."
"We realized that Memphis has the highest infant mortality rate among the nation's 60 largest cities. We thought it was fitting to come to Memphis and spend a week," said Lewis Lee, on Sunday. "It's important to me because it's the loss of life. I fortunately had two wonderful pregnancies and have had healthy kids grown into healthy teenagers. I feel that every woman should have the same experience. I know the loss of those children is a loss to all of us, the entire nation."
On Saturday, filmmaker and Academy Award nominee Spike Lee joined his wife, Tonya Lewis Lee, at the "Healthy Livin', Healthy Lovin'" health fair for the general public at World Overcomers Outreach Ministries Church. The main focus of the fair, that included dozens of exhibitors, screenings and attracted more than 500 people, was on health, prenatal care and healthy babies. African-American women from General Electric Healthcare sent more than 350 baby items as gifts to the pregnant women and their families, and Carol's Daughter sent 300 gifts as incentives to the people who got tested for HIV.
Spike Lee, on a panel that included NBA player Elliott Perry and former NFL player Reggie Howard, spoke at the "men's corner,' a packed, men-only room on the responsibilities African-American men have to their families and community. There was counseling for HIV, and Lee sent all the men to get tested.
In the African-American community, seven out of 10 households are headed by a woman, the Memphis Post reported Lee as saying. "Out of 10 black families only three fathers are at home," he said. The lack of a father figure is a direct contributor to the negative behavior of young black men and it impacts the relationships girls will have with men as they grow up."
"Infant mortality is a marker about how well a nation is doing or how healthy a nation is and right now we are a pretty sick nation," WREG-TV News Channel 3 reported Tonya Lewis Lee as saying. "Infant mortality affects all African American women regardless of how much education you have or how much wealth. It is not simply an issue of poverty," she continued.
Spike Lee told local WREG-TV that as men, we've got to step up. "This thing is cutting across class and social status and how are we going to continue as a race if our babies are dying at the rate they are." Former NFL cornerback Reggie Howard added that "we need to start holding each other accountable." This was echoed by former NBA Memphis Grizzlies Point Guard, Elliot Perry: "The things we're talking about are controversial, but it's getting people thinking."
Gerald Richardson, 38, who like many of the men listening to the panel is already a father, said he is teaching his three daughters all the games and tricks he used as a younger man on girls himself. "Our girls are accepting any type of love any type of way," Richardson told the Memphis Post, saying fathers must teach their daughters to demand more from the men they become involved with, he said. "Our girls are the key to our men being successful."


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Have you Seen the new 8GB Microsoft Zune? It's hard to look at it and not think of some of the older versions of the iPod nano. Probably not a coincidence, especially when you consider that the Zune's official website bears a strong resemblance to Apple's. Interestingly enough, the word Microsoft is not even mentioned on the site.
Zune 2.0
The second generation Zune, featuring both 4 and 8GB models are equipped with solid-state hard disks. This is certainly a welcomed addition since solid-state memory is faster, and more durable, as it has no moving parts. This durability makes the Zune workout/gym friendly, which is not the case with its 30GB predecessor. Another Plus? How about a 24-hour battery life for audio, and 5-hour for video.
While still lacking the sleek style and sexiness of an iPod, the Zune more than holds it own when it comes to features. Like most mp3 players in today's market, the Zune supports video playback. If you're a TV junkie like me, you'll appreciate the convenience of being able to record your favorite TV shows on your Windows Vista based computer, and import them onto your Zune for mobile viewing.
Cables, cables, cables. If you're a gadget person like me, your PC cables can become slightly overwhelming. For Zune users, this is less of a headache. Wireless sync, allows you to sync your Zune with your PC from anywhere in range of your wireless network. You can also share favorite songs, albums, playlists, pictures and even audio podcasts. One draw back though; you can only listen to a song you receive via wireless sync three times. If you want to listen more, you'll have to purchase the song from Microsoft's Online music store. You gamers out there can plug your Zune into your Xbox 360 and customize a soundtrack for your favorite games.
In addition to these advanced features, the Zune still cover the basics. It supports AAC, MP3, WMA, Mov, MP4, M4b, and M4a audio and video formats. You can also use it to view your digital images, and its built-in FM radio is a sure crowd pleaser. After disappointing with the first Zune, it looks as though this new Zune is a step in the right direction for Microsoft.
Related Links:
Microsoft Zune MP3/Multimedia Players, available on TigerDirect.com!

subset: commoncrawl


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Family Alaska
Luxury Small Group Journeys: The finest small-group travel experience
- Day 1: Arrive Anchorage, Alaska/Kenai Peninsula
Arrive in Anchorage to begin your adventure, complete with glacier landing and wildlife encounters in America's unspoiled wilderness. At a welcome dinner this evening, meet and get to know the families who share your journey.Hotel Alyeska | Meals: D
- Day 2: Kenai Peninsula | Wildlife Refuge Float Trip
Visit the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center en route to the Kenai River. This nonprofit organization rehabilitates injured or orphaned animals and returns them to the wild. During your visit, you may see bears, moose, bison, elk and a variety of birds. This afternoon, take a float trip through Kenai National Wildlife Refuge. Beavers and otters make their homes along the water, and bears and moose are commonly spied on shore. Tonight, sit down to a barbecue dinner, followed by a campfire and s'mores roast.Hotel Alyeska | Meals: B L D
- Day 3: Kenai Peninsula | Fjord Cruise and Train Ride
Cruise the Kenai Fjords National Park, and witness the crash of calving glaciers. You may see humpback whales, orcas, puffins and sea lions at close range; look to the skies for a glimpse of bald eagles overhead. Ride the double-decker Alaska Railroad GoldStar Dome train, which is adorned with original Alaskan art and features an upper-level, open-air platform and a glass-covered observation deck offering sensational views of the countryside. Take in the sprawling vistas and sense the majesty of the Land of the Midnight Sun.Hotel Alyeska | Meals: B L D
- Day 4: Redoubt Bay/Talkeetna | Bear Watching
Travel by float plane over Cook Inlet to Redoubt Bay Bear Sanctuary, where a large population of bears prowl the river in search of a meal. Upon arrival, you are briefed on proper "bear etiquette" before taking to the creeks on pontoon boats. Watch safely from your boat as they snatch salmon from the water — sometimes even in mid-leap. Continue to the town of Talkeetna to lodge, with stunning views of Mount McKinley (conditions permitting).Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge | Meals: B L D
- Day 5: Talkeetna | Fishing Fun
The Susitna River teems with some of the world's best salmon and trout, and this morning, you set off on a fishing trip and enjoy a riverside picnic lunch amid the beautiful surrounding landscapes. This afternoon, go on a geocaching adventure, a high-tech treasure hunt using handheld GPS devices, on the grounds of your lodge.Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge | Meals: B L
- Day 6: Talkeetna | Kayaking, Hiking and Mountain Views
Continue to explore the Denali area with a kayak trip on the placid waters of Byers Lake. Hike on a well-maintained forest trail as your guide introduces Alaska's plant and animal life along the way. Later, explore the quaint downtown of Talkeetna, and enjoy spectacular views of Mount McKinley. You may also visit Denali National Park's Talkeetna Ranger Station.Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge | Meals: B L
- Day 7: Talkeetna/Anchorage | Glacier Walk and Husky Team
Take a thrilling flight over the peaks and glaciers of Denali National Park as your pilot, via two-way headset, explains the highlights you see. Land on a glacier's surface, and disembark to experience snow-veiled peaks stretching in every direction. Return to Talkeetna and then, this afternoon, meet with fourtime Iditarod champion Martin Buser, and meet his Alaskan husky team. Later, tour Anchorage, and meet the chef who prepares your farewell dinner.Hotel Captain Cook | Meals: B L D
- Day 8: Depart Anchorage
After breakfast, board your homebound flight.Hotel Captain Cook | Meals: B


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Welcome to Pak Denim Limited
INTRODUCTION Pak Denim, a Public Limited company incorporated in 1995, located in the port city of Karachi is one of Pakistan's leading manufacturers and exporter of Denim Fabric from state-of-the-art plant and machinery based on most modern American, European and Japanese technologies. The annual production of Pak Denim is 18 to 20 Million Meters ranging from 4.5 oz to 14.5 oz in Rigid Slub (Ring readmore
Pak-Denim to be a flagship of denim fabric producers in Pakistan, satisfying International and Local market requirements through:
Premier producer of unmatched Top-Quality fabric
Customer satisfaction, dedicated to the Economic and Social Development of our Target markets
Maintaining our Clients value and focusing on the Human Resource Development in an environment of creativity and innovation
Commitment to community, environment and country.
Manufacturing Facility


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Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center
Summer 2012 Course List
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Become a part of our email list!!
We will be sending out newsletters to update our Contacts on upcoming events.
A cooperative endeavor with Livingston Parish School System
Welcome to the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center!
The Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center's goal is to improve the level of education and quality of life for the citizens of Livingston Parish. Through the center's programs, adults and children will attain long-term economic benefits associated with improved education; become more comfortable with reading, writing, math, science, and technology; and become better informed on environmental issues in modern society.
Funded by a $4.5 million judgment in the federal environmental class action suit known as Combustion, Inc., the 39,000 square foot facility opened in Walker, La., in fall 2005. This new cooperative venture further strengthens Southeastern's long-standing successful relationship with the Livingston Parish School System and the citizens of Livingston Parish.
Southeastern is proud to partner with the Livingston Parish School System to offer a variety of educational programs.
What can you do at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center?
- Continuing U -Non-credit and leisure classes are offered in the evening. Click here to visit the Division of Extended Studies for a full list of classes offered at all locations.
Take Southeastern Courses in Livingston Parish- many of Southeastern's Core Curriculum classes are available at the Livingston Cetner. Approximately 600 students attend classes ranging from Theatre to Chemistry.
Enjoy our Convenient Location- The Center is conveniently located in Walker, Louisiana on LA Highway 190. Click here for directions.
Benefit from our Excellent Facilities- The Livingston Center offers a free wireless environment and has a total of 11 classrooms. The 11 classrooms include a computer lab, biology lab and chemistry lab. All Classrooms are equipped with instructor computer projection systems.
Community Music School-The Livingston Center offers private and group music lessons through Southeastern's Community Music School. Guitar Lessons, Voice Lessons, Piano Lessons, and Strings for Pre-k through adults ages. For More information please contact Southeastern's Community Music School.
Arrange a tour of the Livingston Center- Stop by anytime Monday throughThursday8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. or Fridays 8:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.and our staff will be glad to show you around. Or if you would like more information about ourcenter please contact us at 225.665.3303 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Contact Us
Livingston Center
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Walker, Louisiana 70785


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Fresh off a win at the 2013 Country Music Awards (CMAs), South Carolina native Lee Brice brings that award-winning sound to North Myrtle Beach this weekend. He'll stop in at the House of Blues as part of his Otherside Tour Friday night (Nov. 29) and you can best believe that, along with hits like, Parking Lot Party," "A Woman Like You" and "Hard To Love," he'll thrill the audience with the sentimental "I Drive Your Truck."
"I Drive Your Truck" won the 2013 CMA for Song of the Year back at the beginning of November. Although the award went to the songwriters Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington and Jimmy Yeary, it was Lee Brice's vocals that drove the hit. The song peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart and No. 6 on the Hot Country Songs chart. And no wonder: The song hits home for quite a few people, the narrator telling the story of man missing his brother, a soldier who died serving in the military, and feeling a connection still with the deceased loved one when he drives his old truck.


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From June 23 to July 2, approximately 80 teens had the unique opportunity of visiting the country of Bulgaria with BBYO's Ambassadors to Bulgaria summer experience.
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Frederick E. Allen, Forbes Staff
I am the Leadership Editor of Forbes.
In 2010, Germany produced more than 5.5 million automobiles; the U.S produced 2.7 million. At the same time, the average auto worker in Germany made $67.14 per hour in salary in benefits; the average one in the U.S. made $33.77 per hour. Yet Germany's big three car companies—BMW, Daimler Daimler (Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz), and Volkswagen—are very profitable.
How can that be? The question is explored in a new article from Remapping Debate, a public policy e-journal. Its author, Kevin C. Brown, writes that "the salient difference is that, in Germany, the automakers operate within an environment that precludes a race to the bottom; in the U.S., they operate within an environment that encourages such a race."
There are "two overlapping sets of institutions" in Germany that guarantee high wages and good working conditions for autoworkers. The first is IG Metall, the country's equivalent of the United Automobile Workers. Virtually all Germany's car workers are members, and though they have the right to strike, they "hardly use it, because there is an elaborate system of conflict resolution that regularly is used to come to some sort of compromise that is acceptable to all parties," according to Horst Mund, an IG Metall executive. The second institution is the German constitution, which allows for "works councils" in every factory, where management and employees work together on matters like shop floor conditions and work life. Mund says this guarantees cooperation, "where you don't always wear your management pin or your union pin."
Mund points out that this goes
against all mainstream wisdom of the neo-liberals. We have strong unions, we have strong social security systems, we have high wages. So, if I believed what the neo-liberals are arguing, we would have to be bankrupt, but apparently this is not the case. Despite high wages . . . despite our possibility to influence companies, the economy is working well in Germany.
As Michael Maibach, president and chief executive of the European American Business Council, puts it, union-management relations in the U.S. are "adversarial," whereas in Germany they're "collaborative."
Does such a happy relationship survive when German automakers set up shop in the U.S.? No. As a historian observes in the article, "BMW is a German company and it has a very German hierarchy and management system in Germany," yet "when they are operating in Spartanburg [in South Carolina] they have become very, very easily adaptable to Spartanburg business culture." At Volkswagen's Chattanooga plant, the nonunionized new employees get $14.50 an hour, which rises to $19.50 after three years.
The article's author, Kevin C. Brown, asked Claude Barfield, a scholar with the American Enterprise Institute, why the German car companies behave so differently in the U.S. He answered, "Because they can get away with it so far."
Read the complete Remapping Debate article here.
Also on Forbes:
Mr. Allen,
This is a fascinating piece, I would note that there is a nearly identical situation with many European firms operating in the US. Ikea pays there Swedish workers much better than its US worker, the former are unionized and the later not. Similarly Fresh and Easy, a supermarket chain from the UK has a unionized work force back home and a non-unionized, lower paid workforce here.
However, what I think is telling is that BMW has shifted production out of Germany and Austria to its newer, lower salary operations is in the US, Mexico, China, and Russia. For example, in 2006, BMW's operation in Mexico produced 1,500 vehicles but my 2008 it had increased to 100,000 (models X3, X5, 3, 5, 7, and Motorcycles). In contrast, its Austrian facility produced 114,306 X3′s in 2006 but only 82,863 X3′s in 2008.
So perhaps Germany is just slower at exporting their manufacturing to low wage locations than US corporations.
Yes, they are following the USA to their own ruin…
Actually working there and here in Canada I can tell you most of the answers here are leagues off base. The secret to Germans purchasing German products is very much one of national awareness. They know to buy German is to support Germany and therein themselves and their neighbours, period. They refuse to buy "junk" as witnessed in the never spoken of in North America's media and absolute in its scale failure of Walmart within and especially in Lower Saxony which would very much have been the target market counted upon. Even those with the least disposable income available, Lower Saxony's lower middle class workers, do not buy junk EVER nor foreign goods when a German product is available in that niche. Self realization on the topic of consumption is very much something Germans across their country are uniquely aware of in the Western world. They will always do without one thing in order to buy responsibly on another more needed. Would that fly in America or Canada for that matter? Absolutely not as we purchase with the immediate gratification of having "more for less" (sound familiar folks?) very much at the forefront of our consumption.
We have to comprehend a German Union and an American one also are only similar in their use of the word 'union" in describing themselves. Slacking at a North American shop is deemed "sticking it to the man" whereas in German that is shamefully "placing the burden of your workload onto the shoulders of the worker after you" and collecting pay not deserved. Here in north America one can "cause" downtime by throwing a belt, in the case of mining as an example, while suffering merely a warming for such loss of productivity. Regardless of conduct and just shy of committing a criminal offence, the Unions in North America will intercede on their member's behalf and see it as being "against" the wishes of the corporate entity on the matter. In Germany doing such is sabotaging the workplace and intolerance for such is absolute within the corporate entity, the unions involved and the government's representatives on site. Try that three times in your working lifetime and you'll need a new trade within Germany as the union steward himself will see you off the premises and out of the union entirely. The Union, governmental safety official and the controller of the corporation himself are all on the same page regarding their given industry's health. A successful company requires a safe work environment and by providing such ingratiates itself to ITS' workers who openly display their appreciation through stellar productivity. Let that last bit set in. In Germany, unlike anywhere else I know of, both the corporate entity and the workers themselves feel an attachment to each other and an awareness of the others' well being. They truly see more in their relationship than merely dollars and cents.
To those trying to compare a North American Union to one in Germany, please don't. The separation is far greater than any found in comparing apples to oranges.
alanfl: great point! Unions and management do not have the adversarial relationship that we do here in the states–the union actually sits on the board. I think we have much to learn from this.
Unions are not exactly the most popular in Germany – not just among conservatives and entrepreneurs – even many workers have left unions in recent years, as they don't see a necessity to paying for the membership. After all, working conditions and pay are generally good, the worker's council deals with issues within the specific company, and the unions add little value on top of that.
High efficiency, and high priced products ease the pressure of exporting production. A small car in a modern production facility takes about 30 man hours to assemble, while a super luxury car like an Aston Martin or Maybach take about 250 (or more, depending on options).
If the difference in labor cost is $20 on a car that requires 30 man hours for assembly, you have $600 per car.
This is a lot on a low cost product, but not for a more upscale, luxury product where quality and image are crucial.
Interestingly, VW not only pays workers less, they also downgraded the products they make in the US. Interior materials feel cheap, trunk hinges are exposed (vs. hidden on the German Passat), many upscale features aren't even available. It becomes clear that outside of Europe, VW is focusing on competition with Honda and Toyota, and using Audi to tackle buyers with higher expectations.
Conversely, Honda sells Acura models in Europe as Honda, because the US Honda models would not be able to compete against VW in Europe.
I would just say to Alan, that he is right on here:
"The Union, governmental safety official and the controller of the corporation himself are all on the same page regarding their given industry's health. A successful company requires a safe work environment and by providing such ingratiates itself to ITS' workers who openly display their appreciation through stellar productivity"
which extends into why germans purchase german products. Its about loyalty and trust, which is greatly lacking here in the USA. The coined term 1% ers, says it all, and the inequality we all see, certainly does not engender loyalty or any initiative to work harder. Sad, and yet noting changes.
Indeed. We buy German simply because we are convinced that you get a high quality product, not because of "national pride" or because it "is good for the country". It is a consumer educated decision. One of the major differences between a US customer and a German customer is that we buy a car with the intent to keep it (another difference is that people save up for it before buying it, rather than getting loans). Therefore, buying a car is a long term commitment. As such, you consider maintenance, durability, and possible repair costs in the future. Economically it makes much more sense to spend more on a German car upfront than getting a cheaper foreign car but spending a lot more in the long run on repairs. A US customer's mentality and buying decisions are based on instant gratification: having something "new", paying as little as possible for it, and tossing it after a couple of years for the next new model. The US economy relies on a "Wegwerf Gesellschaft": a society based on buying, tossing, buying. A German consumer prefers to buy a solid, reliable, high quality car, that he will keep and take care of for a long time.
Alanfl – Your comment is so good I think Forbes should have you write a follow up article! Very informative!
"more for less" has corroded the soul of many industries :-( I think the collective the frontal lobe of this country should assert itself over its collective amygdala.


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CORBIN — Sports Editorial by Les Dixon
It seems like high school basketball season just ended, but actually it's been two months since the round ball has been tossed up in the 13th Region.
And boy, has the rumor mill ran rampant since seeing the Clay County Tigers and the Corbin Lady Redhounds capture their respective boys and girls 13th Region championships.
Not only that, the 13th Region landscape has changed a bit as well. We do know former North Laurel big man Jake Allen has taken his skills to Clay County High School, which will give the defending 13th Region champs a boost in the post with star player and 13th Region Media Player of the Year Tyler 'Chip' McDaniel returning to the mix as a junior next season.
At the end of the season, I tagged Knox Central as the team to beat coming into the 2013-14 season, but with so many things happening across the region, I'm not sure who is the team to beat.
If you believe the rumors out there right now, things could get very interesting by the time the 2013-14 season tips off. But once again, just remember, rumors are rumors and until they turn out to be 100 percent true, there is no reason to believe them.
With that said, there are some things we know that will happen next season. For instance, both the boys' and girls' 13th Region Tournaments will be played at The Arena, which is great and with the way things look, it will more than likely be there at least for the next three years.
Harlan County hosted both tournaments this past season and the proof was in the pudding — it wasn't well attended.
I'm not sure, but the long drive is probably one of the main reasons why ticket sales were down. Bottom line, the majority of the region has a shorter trip to The Arena than Harlan County and fans across the 13th Region just didn't want to travel that far.
But back to what might be next season — the boys' 49th District is going to be one tough district. Clay County still possesses a lot of talent and should be one of the front-runners for the 13th Region championship again and Jackson County won't be far behind. North Laurel is going to be young, but coach Brad Sizemore possesses one of the best young talents in the region in Peyton Broughton.
Corbin and South Laurel will continue to battle things out in the 50th District as the Redhounds will try to capture a staggering sixth straight district championship.
Knox Central has dominated 51st District action with six straight district titles and should be the favorite to capture its seventh straight with some of the best young players in the region returning to the mix.
A lot of people are already counting out Harlan County in the 52nd District after seeing players such as Tyler Brewer and Alex Sergent graduate, but not me. I actually believe the Black Bears could be better. They will have to contend with a very good Bell County team that returns Tyler Potter and don't forget about Middlesboro, who returns the majority of its roster that upset Corbin during the 13th Region Tournament this past season.
The girls' side is going to be just as competitive.
Clay County should continue to be the cream of the crop in the 49th District while defending 13th Region champion Corbin and Whitley County will battle things out in the 50th District.
Barbourville returns all of its starters and will be the team to beat in the 51st District, but keep an eye out for both Lynn Camp and Knox Central.
Macy Morris returns for Bell County, which makes the Lady Bobcats the team to beat in the 52nd District while Middlesboro will be better with the return of Anajae Stephney and Harlan County will be good as well.
So sit back and enjoy the rumor mill right now, but once things get going this December, what actually takes place on the court will be a whole lot more interesting.


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text:
Today, July 11, is National Collector Car Appreciation Day across the U.S. That means...
The Maserati Trofeo MC World Series begins at Jarama in Spain on Sunday.
The six-race series features touring cars similarly prepared to ensure common performance levels. Cars brought into the series by private teams must conform to technical rules and an inspection process established by Maserati.
There will be 25 crews from 12 countries lining up for the first round. Entrants include teams from Belgium, Morocco, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Monaco, San Marino, Australia, Hungary, the United Arab Emirates and Denmark.
The series will make its first U.S. stop when it races at Infineon in Calif., on Sept. 23.
Maserati Trofeo MC World Series
May 20 - Jarama, Spain
June 3 - Portimao, Portugal
June 24 - Imola, Italy
July 22 – Paul Ricard, France
Sept. 23 – Infineon, Calif.
Nov. 4 – Shanghai, China
Sign up to have the Autoweek Daily Racing report, Racing Weekend Wrap-Up, Daily Drive and Breaking News delivered right to your inbox.


text:
Herald Staff Report
A suspicious package found Wednesday afternoon near the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks on the city's north side turned out to be nothing, Clinton police officials say.
Clinton police were called to 32nd Avenue North and the railroad tracks for a suspicious package at 2:15 p.m. according to Cpl. Jeff Peasley.
The Quad City Area Bomb Squad was called in and cleared the package.


text:
H Gallery F
Art Print | by Linda Lauby | #411836
Art Print | by Linda Lauby | #411836
Expertly made in England by Easyart, this quality giclée print is produced using museum standard materials, providing rich, vibrant colours.
Beautiful art prints, expertly framed by Easyart craftsmen in the UK.
All of our products are backed by a 30 days full refund with free returns and a price promise.
Copy the code below and paste it into the HTML on your blog or website. With this image, you agree to our terms and are bound by them.
H Gallery F by Linda Lauby
H Gallery F by Linda Lauby
H Gallery F by Linda Lauby
Sign up for the Easyart newsletter to take advantage of this exclusive offer and receive updates on the latest artists and collections.


text:
On Huffington Post Blogs, Sonny Singh responds to Islamaphobia in NYPD and beyond.
As a brown-skinned Sikh with a turban on my head and a long beard on my chin, I deal with my fair share of racist and xenophobic harassment regularly, including in my home of New York City, the most diverse city on the planet. It usually takes the form of someone yelling or perhaps mumbling at me: Osama bin Laden/terrorist/al Qaeda/he's going to blow up the [insert location]/go back to your country/etc. Less often, someone might threaten me, get in my face, or in one case, pull off my turban on the subway.
My experience is not terribly unique for a turban-wearing Sikh in the United States. Especially since 9/11, we Sikhs have become all too familiar with racial epithets, bullying and violence. Just last month, a gurdwara in Michigan was vandalized with hostile anti-Muslim graffiti. Last year, in what we can assume was a hate attack, two elderly Sikh men were shot and killed while taking an evening walk in a quiet neighborhood in Elk Grove, Calif. more


text:
Bob Doyle, Columnist
Cumberland Times-News
Last week, the slender crescent moon and a modest comet (PAN STAARS) appeared in the western dusk sky.
With the evening moon becoming much brighter this week, it will be harder to see the comet through the moonlight. Binoculars are recommended.
The comet tonight is the star group Pisces, seen low in the western dusk and only about 18 degrees from the sun. PAN STARRS is moving nearly northward.
On the evening of March 21, the comet will move into the star group Andromeda, being at an angle of 22 degrees from the sun. As March ends, PAN STARRS will be near Andromeda's shoulders and about 30 degrees from the sun.
While the larger angle to the sun will make it easier to spot, the comet will also be even fainter as it moves away from the sun.
Today, the length of daylight and night are equal. It is widely believed that this condition occurs at the equinoxes, the start of spring and fall.
But on these dates, daylight is about 8 to 10 minutes longer than night. This is due to the sun's image being lifted about one-half of a degree when it is rising or setting. This bending is caused by the refraction or bending of light when the sun's light enters the atmosphere at a large angle to the vertical.
So we see the sun rising about four minutes before it actually breaks above the horizon. When the sun appears to set, we see the top of the raised image of the sun four minutes after the sun has dropped below the horizon.
This raising effect is a minimum at the equator where the sun rises and sets vertically, not at a slant as in our area. (Of course, the sun neither rises or sets; it's the rotating Earth that makes the sun seem to be moving.)
This evening the nearly half-full moon appears near the bright planet Jupiter. The two objects will be only three moon widths apart (1.5 degrees) at 9 p.m. when the sky is quite dark.
Tonight is Lunar Day 6, six days after the moon swung past the sun (New Moon) in going from the morning to the evening side of the sun.
Even without optical equipment, the dark grey plains on the upper half of the moon's lighted bowl are easy to spot. The detached grey spot is Mare Crisium, a cooled lava basin over 300 miles across.
Three of the other grey plains are clumped together. Nearest is the larger Mare Tranquillitatis, where Apollo 11 (our first manned lunar landing ) set down.
Below Tranquillitatis is the Mare Fecunditatis lava basin, comparable in area to Mare Crisium. Mare Serenitatis is above Tranquillitatis and comparable in size.
With binoculars held steadily this evening, some of the larger craters are in view.
About halfway along the left edge of the moon is the crater Ptolemaeus, named for Astronomer Ptolemy that is nearly 100 miles across. Below and farther to the right (west) is the crater Maurolycus about 75 miles wide.
On Lunar Day 9 (March 20), more large grey plains have rolled into the sunlight. On top is Mare Imbrium. Below Imbrium are three overlapping lava fields.
Binocular viewers will see a very prominent crater in the midst of these lava fields. This is Copernicus, 56 miles across with walls that rise 12,000 feet above its surroundings.
By this Saturday night (Lunar day 11), there is a prominent crater whose bright rays splash across the grey plains as well as the lighter plains (called the Lunar Highlands). This ray system is visible to the eye but the crater requires binoculars.
The crater is Tycho, named for the best observer of stars and planets before telescopes. Near the bottom of the moon is the dark crater Plato (for the famous philosopher).
SKY SIGHTS AHEAD: Orion is now in the southwest evening sky, following Taurus and Jupiter. Orion's belt points left to Sirius, the night's brightest star.
Sirius is also the closest star we can see in the night sky, at a distance of nearly nine light years. Lower in the west is the Seven Sisters or Pleiades star cluster, a beautiful sight through binoculars.
The Big Dipper is high in the north and upside down. The leftmost stars of the bowl point down to the North Star, a modest star about which the heavens seem to circle. (The Earth's North Pole nearly points to the North Star (also known as Polaris).)
Bob Doyle invites any readers comments and questions. E-mail him at email@example.com . He is available as a speaker on his column topics.


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The median home value in Tate, GA is $91,000.
This is
the county median home value of $91,000.
The national median home value is $152,300.
The average price of homes sold in Tate, GA is $91,000.
Approximately 77.41% of Tate homes are owned,
compared to 15.48% rented, while
7.11% are vacant.
Tate real estate listings include condos, townhomes, and single family homes for sale.
Commercial properties are also available.
If you see a property you're interested in, contact a Tate real estate agent to arrange a tour today!
Learn more about Tate Real Estate.
Real Living Elite
610 South Glenwood Avenue
Dalton, GA 30721
Email Us | Visit our Real Estate Website


text:
Tarsnap: On-line Backups for the Truly Paranoid
Your Current Account Balance Is $4.992238237884881224
Tarsnap works on a prepaid utility-metered model. Subscribers deposit a minimum of $5.00 and are charged only for the storage and bandwidth they consume. Although the cost is higher than plain Amazon S3 service, it reflects both the cryptographic, compression and deduplication value-add of Tarsnap. At the time of this writing, Tarsnap costs 30 cents per gigabyte-month for storage and 30 cents per gigabyte transmitted.
This cost may make Tarsnap infeasible for large, whole-server terabyte-size backups. However, it is ideal for critical, sensitive files that must be durable, available and safe in the event an attacker succeeded in compromising them. With no minimum charge or monthly fees, Tarsnap is very economical for small data sets or for data that compresses well. Some examples:
Backing up 100MB of files with 10% daily change rate for a month would cost only 30 cents.
A gigabyte that is backed up weekly with a 20% change rate would cost $1.40 a month.
Tarsnap bills based on attodollars (quintillionths of a dollar) to avoid profiting through rounding. This means your account balance is tracked to 18 decimal places. This is not just "pay by the drink" cloud pricing—it's practically "pay by the atom". Some users find that a small deposit lasts them months or years.
Important Flexibility
One of Tarsnap's best features is how easy it is to script.
The ability to put a
tarsnap cf command into a shell script makes
use in cron jobs very straightforward, which encourages unattended,
automated backups—the best kind.
Crucially, Tarsnap also supports a division of responsibilities. You can use the tarsnap-keymgmt tool to create keyfiles with limited authority. You may have one keyfile that lives on your server with permission to create archives, but not the authority to delete them. A master key with full privileges could be kept off-site, so that if attackers were to compromise your server, they would be unable to destroy your backups.
Using Tarsnap
To get started with Tarsnap, register at tarsnap.com, deposit some funds into your account, and download the client.
The client is available only as source, but the straightforward
./configure ; make install process is very easy. The client is
supported on all major Linux distributions (as well as BSD-based systems).
Take a quick peek at the download page to make sure you have the required
operating system packages, as some of the development packages are not
installed in typical Linux configurations.
If you are using a firewall, be aware that Tarsnap communicates via TCP on port 9279.
There are only two critical configuration items: the location of your keyfile and the location of your Tarsnap cache. Both are set in /usr/local/etc/tarsnap.conf. A tarsnap.conf.example is provided, and you probably can just copy the example as is. It defines your Tarsnap key as /root/tarsnap.key and your cache directory as /usr/local/tarsnap-cache, which will be created if it doesn't exist. The cachedir is a small state-tracking directory that lets Tarsnap keep track of backups.
Next, register your machine as follows. In this case, I'm setting up Tarsnap service for a machine called helicarrier. The e-mail address and password are the ones I used when I signed up for service with Tarsnap:
# tarsnap-keygen --keyfile /root/tarsnap.key
↪--user firstname.lastname@example.com --machine helicarrier
Enter tarsnap account password:
I have a directory I'd like to back up with Tarsnap:
# ls -l /docs
total 2092
-rw-rw---- 1 andrew 1833222 Jun 14 16:38 2011 Tax Return.pdf
-rw------- 1 andrew 48568 Jun 14 16:41 andrew_passwords.psafe3
-rw------- 1 tina 14271 Jun 14 16:42 tina_passwords.psafe3
-rw-rw-r-- 1 andrew 48128 Jun 14 16:41 vacation_hotels.doc
-rw-rw-r-- 1 andrew 46014 Jun 14 16:35 vacation_notes.doc
-rw-rw-r-- 1 andrew 134959 Jun 14 16:44 vacation_reservation.pdf
To back up, I just tell Tarsnap what name I want to call my archive ("docs.20120701" in this case) and which directory to back up. There's no requirement to use a date string in the archive name, but it makes versioning straightforward, as you'll see:
# tarsnap cf docs.20120701 /docs
tarsnap: Removing leading '/' from member names
Total size Compressed size
All archives 2132325 1815898
(unique data) 2132325 1815898
This archive 2132325 1815898
New data 2132325 1815898
In my tarsnap.conf, I enabled the
print-stats directive, which gives
the account report shown. Note the compression, which reduces storage
costs and improves cryptographic security. The "compressed
size" of the
"unique data" shows how much data is actually stored at
Tarsnap, and you
pay only for the compressed size.
The next day, I back up docs again to "docs.20120702". If I haven't made many changes, the backup will proceed very quickly and use little additional space:
# tarsnap cf docs.20120702 /docs
tarsnap: Removing leading '/' from member names
Total size Compressed size
All archives 4264650 3631796
(unique data) 2132770 1816935
This archive 2132325 1815898
New data 445 1037
As you can see, although the amount of data for "all archives" has grown, the actual amount of "unique data" has barely increased. Tarsnap is smart enough to avoid backing up data that has not changed.
Andrew Fabbro is a senior technologist living in the Portland, Oregon, area. He's used Linux since Slackware came on floppies and presently works for Con-way, a Fortune 500 transportation company.
great article
I use duplicity too.
I'm curious how Tarsnap measures up against encryption brute force on GPU clusters made to crack passwords. It wasn't that long ago a machine was used to crack any password within 5 hours through a large cluster of GPUs. I'm still a bit skeptical of cloud backups, but perhaps I should be more afraid of using Gmail for that matter. At least Tarsnap doesn't trap my info for eternity with no knowledge of who has access to it. - Ron @ bpl
http? It seems like they do
http? It seems like they do not care about security anyway.
duplicy offers same features -- on own system
I use duplicity (http://duplicity.nongnu.org/) for a year which offers the same features beside the commercial backup space.
Duplicity use OpenGPG as encryption (key or passphrase based).
From the page, duplicity supports "local file storage, scp/ssh, ftp, rsync, HSI, WebDAV, Tahoe-LAFS, and Amazon S3".
Yes, you need your own backup space. But there are reliable 100GB storage for $5 to $7/month out (and a lot other ones, some smaller but free...).
Thanks for the post. Nice
Thanks for the post. Nice solution for an on-line backup, liked the price scheme too. And of source: that it's a tar based solution.
Linux has become a key foundation for supporting today's rapidly growing IT environments. Linux is being used to deploy business applications and databases, trading on its reputation as a low-cost operating environment. For many IT organizations, Linux is a mainstay for deploying Web servers and has evolved from handling basic file, print, and utility workloads to running mission-critical applications and databases, physically, virtually, and in the cloud. As Linux grows in importance in terms of value to the business, managing Linux environments to high standards of service quality — availability, security, and performance — becomes an essential requirement for business success.
Sponsored by Red Hat
If you already use virtualized infrastructure, you are well on your way to leveraging the power of the cloud. Virtualization offers the promise of limitless resources, but how do you manage that scalability when your DevOps team doesn't scale? In today's hypercompetitive markets, fast results can make a difference between leading the pack vs. obsolescence. Organizations need more benefits from cloud computing than just raw resources. They need agility, flexibility, convenience, ROI, and control.
Stackato private Platform-as-a-Service technology from ActiveState extends your private cloud infrastructure by creating a private PaaS to provide on-demand availability, flexibility, control, and ultimately, faster time-to-market for your enterprise.
Sponsored by ActiveState
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text: Sidi boots are known for their high quality, but they also have a reputation for high prices. Luckily, recent additions to the lineup have been more modestly priced. At $200 the new Fusions are Sidi's most affordable boots, but they still offer the kind of craftsmanship and protection for which the Italian footwear manufacturer is famous. The chassis is all leather and clad in sturdy plastic armor at the heels, shins and the back of the calves. Internal ankle plates and a sturdy toe cup round out the protection package, while rubber shifter pads help prevent premature wear. The thick replaceable nylon toe sliders are screwed in place instead of clipped, so you won't look down to find them missing at the end of your ride. The Fusions use a standard zipper and Velcro flap closure system as opposed to the more complicated arrangement found on Sidi's roadrace boots, which makes them easy to get on and off. The soles are thinner and harder than those of other boots, which translates to a precise feel on the footpegs and rear brake but limits walking comfort to a few blocks at best. Thin, stiff insoles don't help the cause. Replace them with something softer or park close to your destination. After a season's use, the Fusions' simple style and snug fit have made them my favorite street boots, so it saddened me to discover a crack growing in the leather along the edge of the toe counter on the right boot. Thankfully, the crack counts as a defect (one that's said to have been corrected in subsequent production runs) that's covered under Sidi's standard two-year warranty, so I've now got a new set. Sidi Fusion Boots Price: $200 Contact: Motonation www.motonation.com Verdict:3.5 out of 5 stars Track-worthy protection fused with the simple style and affordable price of street boots. By Ari Henning Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!


text:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (book 1) - digital audio book
by J.K. Rowling
- Book language:
- Read by:
- Stephen Fry
- Available formats:
For eBooks, EPUB, XPS and all Kindle formats are supported. For digital audio books, the format is MP3.
- MP3 (zipped)
- Duration:
- 8.5 hrs
- Approx. file size:
This is the approximate size of the
file(s) to download.
- RRP of audio CD:
The cover price (Recommended Retail Price) of the audio CD.
- $ 43.95
Book summary
Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy. He lives with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and his cousin Dudley, who make him sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. Then Harry starts receiving mysterious letters and his life is changed for ever. He is whisked away by a beetle-eyed giant of a man and enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The reason: Harry Potter is a wizard!
What are digital audio books?
Digital audio books are books that you can listen to on your MP3 player, iPod, mobile phone or computer.
How many times can I download each book?
Books purchased from the Pottermore Shop can be downloaded for your personal use multiple times, at no additional cost.


text:
Find resources below for UPMC patients, families, visitors, and community members.
Use these helpful resources to help you prepare for your appointment, test, or surgery at a UPMC facility.
Visiting a patient at a UPMC hospital? Find information on parking, visiting hours, gift shops, and more.
UPMC Global Care offers a comprehensive program for patients in countries where advanced health care is not readily available.
Learn about health-related topics, from surgery to nutrition, with patient education materials prepared by UPMC experts.
UPMC is committed to keeping patient information confidential and secure.
Register yourself or a family member for a UPMC class or community event.
UPMC Hospital Financial Services assists patients with all questions related to hospital bills. You can also pay your bill online now.
For help and information, contact UPMC through one of the email addresses or forms found here.
UPMC offers financial assistance for medical care to eligible individuals and families.
UPMC Patient Relations works with you and your family to ensure you have a positive experience during your time with us.
UPMC can provide paper or electronic health records to interested patients.
Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences
Supplemental content provided by
A.D.A.M. Health Solutions. All rights reserved.
For help in finding a doctor or health service that suits your needs, call the UPMC Referral Service at 412-647-UPMC (8762) or 1-800-533-UPMC (8762). Select option 1.
UPMC is an equal opportunity employer. UPMC policy prohibits discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, sex, genetics, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected group status. Further, UPMC will continue to support and promote equal employment opportunity, human dignity, and racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity. This policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in UPMC programs and activities. This commitment is made by UPMC in accordance with federal, state, and/or local laws and regulations.
Medical information made available on UPMC.com is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. You should not rely entirely on this information for your health care needs. Ask your own doctor or health care provider any specific medical questions that you have. Further, UPMC.com is not a tool to be used in the case of an emergency. If an emergency arises, you should seek appropriate emergency medical services.
For UPMC Mercy Patients: As a Catholic hospital, UPMC Mercy abides by the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services, as determined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. As such, UPMC Mercy neither endorses nor provides medical practices and/or procedures that contradict the moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church.
Pittsburgh, PA, USA UPMC.com


text:
Improving Quality and Value Delivery with T-Shaped Team Members
Tom presents how both T-shaped and pi-shaped teams based on each member's span of knowledge, ability to collaborate, and depth of expertise play an important part in how effective your team performs.
Thomas Wessel
August 1, 2014
Building Mobile Apps the User Can Trust
It seems like every week there's a new security disaster impacting millions of users worldwide. With the acceptance of mobile apps providing timely data at your fingertips, users are becoming very concerned about security. Philip gives you some impactful tips for developing apps that create trust with end-users.
Philip Lew
July 25, 2014
Process Frameworks, Not Fixed Processes
The software development field has been consumed with process management ranging from inflexible, predictive waterfall all the way to self-governing, adaptable agile approaches. You probably already utilize a specific process methodology on your projects, but have you considered adopting an evolutionary learning cycle process framework instead?
Ryan Olivett Bob Payne
July 18, 2014
Wearable Computing Reaches New Heights
With mobile and small embedded devices extending the reach of modern computing, the predictions are that wearable computing is definitely the next biggest thing. If you want to know more about the wearable device revolution, Mukesh presents facts that will convince you this is the next hottest trend.
Mukesh Sharma
July 11, 2014
Why Am I Always Getting Bad News in the Eleventh Hour?
This article is a departure from previous columns. Kenton and Ryan role play the stress and friction between a typical product manager and an engineering team lead. This article may make you squirm, but it brings out the issues of teams attempting to do the best thing from completely different perspectives.
Kenton Bohn Ryan McClish
June 13, 2014
My Team Is Agile, but My Organization Is Not! What Can I Do?
In this FAQ column, Sanjiv Augustine advises how to upgrade your organization's portfolio management by addressing inefficient, outdated, and value-killing portfolio management processes.
Sanjiv Augustine
June 6, 2014
What's a Professional?
For years we've all heard how software development and IT are a mixture of art and science. As our industry matures and becomes more mainstream, Johanna wants to upset the apple cart by suggesting that there's a missing and sorely needed ingredient—professionalism.
Johanna Rothman
May 30, 2014
Developing Custom Apps for the Cloud
With the cloud providing tremendous freedom like instant deployment of updates, you're definitely going to have to adjust how you develop and deploy apps. Pete and Matt have created a list of things you need to consider when developing apps for the cloud.
Pete Morano Matt Stratton
May 23, 2014
Attacking Quality Issues in Data Warehousing
To fully detect, isolate, and resolve quality issues in a traditional, large-scale data warehouse requires that several approaches be used together. Wayne identifies types of data quality issues and then illustrates how to best attack and resolve those pesky issues.
Wayne Yaddow
May 19, 2014
Is Software Configuration Management Technology Regressing?
There are ever-growing ways to organize your project assets with public domain configuration management tools. There's a mistaken belief that these free software configuration management (SCM) alternatives can be just as powerful as leading commercial tools.
Joe Farah
May 9, 2014
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text:
Post A Photo
TI, you are the King. I'm watching all your moves. Keep up the great work. I like "Who You Know", and "You Don't Know Me."
Your movie was sensational.
I am now a little older (68), but I hope to meet you someday. I think last week you were down the street at Power 106 FM in Burbank. If I had known ahead of time, I would have waited at the parking entrance to wave to you as you exited. The best to you always. Jon


text:
Activity Classes Available
Looking for workout alternatives? Several activity courses still available: aerobics, multimodes, fitness walking/jogging, golf, pickleball, weight training, tai chi and more.
Check out the full list of HPER activity classes available for students, staff and faculty on Boxeronline. Staff and faculty are welcome. Check with the Registrar's Office for necessary forms. This is a great way to get exercise during the work week. Look forward to seeing you in class!
Posted by Vicki McGee (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Jan 24, 2013 at 11:57 AM
Edited by Jenni Luckett (firstname.lastname@example.com) on Jan 25, 2013 at 4:46 PM


text:
From Business Today:
Questions about whether hospitality and retail projects should be eligible for tax breaks from the Erie County Industrial Development Agency have put the Millennium Hotel's request for breaks on ice. The ECIDA tabled the Cheektowaga hotel's request for $275,000 in tax breaks for its proposed $5.5 million renovation. County Executive Mark Poloncarz has requested the ECIDA rethink its eligibility requirements.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz isn't the only one who isn't happy with the kinds of tax breaks doled out by the ECIDA. Members of the Occupy Buffalo movement want to see tax break policies changed, too.
About 25 of them demonstrated at the ECIDA's monthly board meeting Monday, chanting, "It's time for immediate change."
Megabus hasn't had much success with its routes to and from Erie and Pittsburgh, Pa. out of Buffalo. The deep-discount, express bus service is cutting service in and out of Buffalo to those two destinations. It is also cutting service between the two Pennsylvania cities and Toronto, but service to Toronto out of Buffalo will continue.
Who is getting hired, promoted and honored?
Check out Visit Buffalo Niagara's new promotional video about iconic local bar and music venue, the Sportsmen's Tavern:


text:
Chad Miller said he is ready to take a bullet to saves the lives of students and teachers.
A school resource officer at Greater Johnstown High School since 2007, Miller said his job is to stop any gunman who threatens anyone on school grounds.
"That's why I wear a uniform every day," Miller said.
"That's why I wear a (bulletproof) vest.
"When there is an active shooter, we're the first line of defense," he said. "It's my job to stand in front of that bullet."
Since the December shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., many school districts are rethinking school security.
As Congress scrambles to find money to hire more police, school districts are gradually placing police in the schools.
Across Pennsylvania, police officers have reported carrying weapons while working in at least 113 school districts, five vocational-technical schools and two charter schools, one alternative school and one intermediate, according to The Associated Press.
Locally, the Windber Area School District recently added a school resource officer. The school board approved the move in January, a move that is expected to add about $20,000 to the district payroll.
"The board showed it wasn't putting financial concerns above student safety," schools Superintendent Rick Huffman said after the vote.
Somerset Borough Council voted last month to make a school resource officer available to the Somerset Area School District at $32 per hour.
"We had one (officer) several years ago," Borough Manager Benedict G. Vinzani Jr. said. "It's been resurrected with the events at Sandy Hook."
Greater Johnstown School District has had police in the middle school and high school for more than a decade. Don Hess is currently the school resource officer for the middle school.
The impact of police in the schools is far reaching, Johnstown schools Superintendent Gerald Zahorchak said. It's not just about safety.
It's about building relationships between police and kids, Zahorchak said.
"When you started building relationships in the schools in a positive way, it does a lot for the school and community," Zahorchak said. "They see the police as members of the community who protect and serve."
More school districts are talking about placing police in schools, but without adequate funding some can't do it.
Schools Superintendent Richard Bernazzoli said the Portage Area School District is looking for money to help pay the estimated cost of $60,000 that is needed to hire one full-time officer.
"Unless we're funded, it won't happen," he said.
Not only is finding money a problem, but finding the right person for the job is a priority.
"We don't want a Joe Blow off the streets," said Vincent DiLeo, Central Cambria schools superintendent.
"We need the right combination of who we bring in, for how much and for how long," he said.
Meanwhile, Miller, 35, walks the halls of Greater Johnstown High School.
He, too, understands the importance of finding the most qualified officer. He is certified through the National Association of School Resource Officers and trained in crises management and mental health issues.
"You don't want a retired cop who is not active, who just wants to come in and watch TV and drink coffee," he said.
Bonding with young people is a must, he said.
"You have kids who don't trust you and kids who hate cops," Miller said. "You have to love working with young people and understand where they're coming from."
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For generations reared on the mother's milk of "American exceptionalism," each day brings a new affront. China, on the rise, stubbornly refuses to end its currency manipulation, distorting Beijing's advantage in an international system of our making. Close allies in Europe and Japan slash defense budgets, further burdening Washington with the role of global police officer. In the face of repeated threats and sanctions, Iran still dares to build nuclear weapons and plot terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Syria's despotic president lingers in power. Israelis and Palestinians blithely ignore presidential exhortations to make concessions for peace. A costly war in Afghanistan drags on toward … what, exactly?
Republicans lay the blame for those international woes on President Obama's doorstep. They object to his squishy multilateralism, his willingness to engage odious adversaries in diplomacy, and his apologies for past American mistakes. They see insufficient fealty to Israel, indecision in Afghanistan, and a refusal to lead—out front, the way they're accustomed to seeing—on Libya. They doubt Obama's conviction that America is a "shining city upon a hill" and a beacon to all free peoples. "As president of the United States, I will devote myself to an American Century, and I will never, ever apologize for America," Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said during a recent foreign-policy speech. In it, he advanced the notion of America's singularity, its role as a bulwark against tyranny, and its leadership of the free (and, by extension, the entire) world. "America's strength rises from a strong economy, a strong defense, and the enduring strength of our values," he said. "Unfortunately, under this president, all three of those elements have been weakened."
Wait just a minute. Only three years ago, Obama and the Democrats blamed President Bush and his administration for failing to check China and deter Iran. They objected to Bush's swashbuckling unilateralism, his decision to ignore diplomacy with disagreeable countries, and his with-us-or-against-us triumphalism that alienated even close allies. They questioned his one-sided fealty to Israel and blamed him for a war in Iraq that was dragging toward … what, exactly? They charged that he tarnished the American beacon by endorsing torture and conflating the spread of democracy with regime change at the point of a gun.
Why did two presidents with such different foreign-policy instincts run up against—and, in many cases, get foiled by—the same international challenges? In "George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and the Future of U.S. Global Leadership," a recent article in International Affairs, James Lindsay wrote that presidents today, no matter their styles, must manage friends and foes who feel increasingly empowered to ignore or contest American dominance. "Americans have this ingrained notion that U.S. leadership and predominance is the natural state of world affairs, with Democrats thus concluding that gentle engagement will automatically cause countries to rally to our banner, and Republicans believing that firmness and consistency will have the same effect," Lindsay said in an interview. "They are both fundamentally misreading the geostrategic environment." The post-Cold War period was an era of victory that left the United States standing atop the global order—a superpower with unmatched military, economic, social, and diplomatic might. No wonder expectations are so high.
But things have changed. Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey, and especially China are clawing their way to the top of the international system, "insisting on all the privileges that come with their newly elevated status," as Lindsay puts it. Revolution is sweeping the Middle East, the world's energy basket. Revisionist powers (Russia) and perennial outliers (Iran, North Korea) sense opportunity and new room to maneuver. "If a unipolar moment ever really existed, it's not just passed, it's gone permanently," says Richard Haass, the former senior official in the first Bush White House who now runs the Council on Foreign Relations. Partly, that follows from two costly wars, a recession, and political dysfunction that blocks a long-term debt solution or a bipartisan foreign-policy consensus. More than that, though, it flows from globalization. "Power is simply too diffuse now, and the challenges we confront are complex, transnational, and they defy the efforts of any one nation," Haass says.
Americans can't advance their interests summarily in this new universe, even if that's what they're used to; other nations won't automatically fall in line. At the arguable height of American power, George H.W. Bush crafted a consensus at the United Nations and a military alliance of Western and Arab nations to liberate Kuwait in 1991; Russians acquiesced to NATO expansion. Little more than a decade later, George W. Bush had no hope for U.N. consensus, and he was lucky to have the support of even those few countries that joined his Iraq war coalition; Moscow invaded Georgia in 2008 rather than stomach the Westernization of Georgia and Ukraine. "We're the only country that can mobilize collective international action to confront the big global problems like terrorism, proliferation, climate change, and access to energy," says Brent Scowcroft, who was national-security adviser for George H.W. Bush. "But it will require a change of character in U.S. leadership.… We'll have to lead more by persuasion than coercion or dominance. That's an art, and I hope our strategic culture is still capable of it."
Sustaining robust U.S. leadership will also mean making some tough strategic choices. Americans will have to rank core U.S. interests in order of priority; determine an affordable size for hard- and soft-power instruments (the armed forces, the diplomatic corps, foreign aid); rethink the forward presence of U.S. forces and the current alliance structure; and more carefully weigh the risks of action versus inaction in response to an endless list of global crises. "Our security challenges are growing in scale and shifting in form even as our resources decline," says Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington. "If that's not a call for rethinking our national strategy, I don't know what is. There's an old military adage that if you try and be strong everywhere, you are strong nowhere."
If the United States can no longer be strong everywhere—the "indispensible nation" in a world full of emergencies—then U.S. officials will have to choose where we can risk not having a presence and what we can reasonably decline to do. The experts who study this question roughly divide into supporters of Grand Strategy Lite, a minor rollback; Retrench and Restore, a strategic pause that allows leaders to focus American power; and Managing Decline, an attempt to accommodate the inevitable falloff in influence. These ideas represent a continuum, rather than wholly different strategies. In fact, the constrained Obama administration is already following some of these approaches; the next administration will almost certainly do the same, no matter which party wins the White House. What all of these strategies have in common is the assumption of additional global risk and the recognition that—with a $1.3 trillion annual deficit, a defense budget roughly the size of all other nations combined, and a war- and debt-weary public—the United States cannot simply maintain its current course.
The grand strategy that created the American Century was born in the United Kingdom and advanced by the United States after World War II and the Cold War. It was premised on the spread of a liberal international order, fueled by free trade and capitalism, that plays to the strengths of open and democratic societies. In his book The Liberal Leviathan: The Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order, political scientist G. John Ikenberry of Princeton University argues that "the United States engaged in the most ambitious and far-reaching liberal-order building the world has yet seen." More recently, he concedes, the U.S. has been beset by "a crisis of authority" as nations "struggle over the distribution of roles, rights, and authority within that liberal international order." Globalization—and the information-age technologies that eased the free movement of goods, people, and knowledge—put the U.S. grand strategy on steroids.
The result has been a rapid passing of relative wealth and power from the developed West to the developing East. In its 2008 "Global Trends 2025" report, the National Intelligence Council predicted that "the international system—as constructed following the Second World War—will be almost unrecognizable by 2025.… [It] will be a global multipolar one with gaps in national power continuing to narrow between developed and developing countries." The report concluded that China would likely have the world's second-largest economy by 2025 and stood "poised to have more impact on the world over the next 20 years than any other country." But China became the world's second-largest economy last year, beating the NIC's 2008 projection by 15 years. It also passed the United States as the world's top energy consumer.
Any ordering of core national interests must give top priority to managing and counterbalancing this West-to-East power shift. China, with its fusion of a capitalist economy and an authoritarian government, is the power most likely to challenge the liberal order—and, by extension, the United States as its chief defender. That explains why, in a recent issue of Foreign Policy, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton wrote that the 21st century's Indo-Pacific region will displace Europe as the center of gravity for U.S. economic, political, and security interests.
That shift will also require the United States to rethink an alliance portfolio inherited from the 1940s and 1950s, with its emphasis on Japan and South Korea in the East and NATO in the West. That adjustment is already evident in the past three administrations' diplomatic outreach to India, a democracy that can provide a hedge against Chinese hegemony. Washington will also need to build closer partnerships with rising democracies like Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey, which have all become major regional powers. To counterbalance China and contain Iran, the U.S. will have to draw second-tier democracies in Asia and the Middle East into closer relationships, just as it cultivated Eastern European democracies in the 1990s to guard against Russia's ambitions. Militarily, Grand Strategy Lite shifts the U.S. force structure to emphasize air and, especially, naval patrols in the Pacific, and to deploy forward forces to Asia rather than Europe.
As long as the United States and its allies are heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil, however, its free flow through the Persian Gulf will remain another top-tier strategic priority. That means that Iran—and its quest for nuclear weapons—will remain a primary focus of Pentagon contingency planning.
Under Grand Strategy Lite, the costly counterinsurgency and nation-building operation in Afghanistan and Iraq (even our involvement in Libya) would probably be seen as irrelevant to core national needs. "I don't see how trying to make Afghanistan Taliban-proof … qualifies as a vital interest," says Leslie Gelb, the author of Power Rules: How Common Sense Can Rescue American Foreign Policy. The Obama administration is already leaning heavily in this direction, pulling troops from Iraq this year and signaling that it might accelerate the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan in anticipation of a 2014 exit. By announcing the planned reduction of 44,000 ground troops from the Army and Marine Corps, the Pentagon is acknowledging a shift in the fight against terrorism—away from wars of regime change and counterinsurgency, and toward the kind of discrete counterterrorism operations that recently killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen. If that shift became formal military doctrine, it could allow the Defense Department to cut about another 50,000 troops, bringing ground forces back to their pre-9/11 levels.
In Libya, the administration decided that a humanitarian crisis and NATO solidarity were reasons enough to justify a limited intervention with no "boots on the ground." Republicans criticized Obama for insisting that France and Britain (as NATO's most ardent proponents of action) take the lead. But in Grand Strategy Lite, that insistence on burden-sharing would become a model. "When the United States doesn't feel that its core interests are on the line, it must be willing to put less skin in the game," says Charles Kupchan, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Some analysts argue that restoring the economic foundation of U.S. power requires an even more pronounced foreign-policy rollback. That retrenchment would include a withdrawal of U.S. forward-deployed forces in Europe and Asia—a less provocative and militaristic global posture. In an article in the current issue of Foreign Affairs, "The Wisdom of Retrenchment," political scientists Joseph Parent and Paul MacDonald conclude that since 1870, 18 great powers have slipped in the rankings of top-tier nations. In 15 of those cases, the declining powers adopted some form of a retrenchment strategy. Half of those countries eventually recovered their former positions, including Russia in the 1880s and the United Kingdom in the early 20th century. Three declining great powers—France in the 1880s, Germany in the 1930s, and Japan in the 1990s—had no retrenchment strategy and never fully recovered. "Great powers that scaled back their goals in the face of their diminished means were able to navigate the shoals of power politics better than those that clung to expensive and overly ambitious commitments," Parent and MacDonald write.
America's last period of retrenchment, following the Vietnam War, offers some lessons. Shortly after assuming office in 1969, President Nixon unfurled a plan for "Vietnamization," instructing the military to transition responsibility for combat to South Vietnamese forces and to slowly withdraw from the war. That policy was a precursor of "Iraqification" and the more recent attempts to hand off responsibility to Afghan forces.
Anticipating a period of broader retrenchment, Nixon went further. The "Nixon Doctrine" called for the United States to honor its treaty commitments but stipulated that, except for a nuclear-related threat, it would now ask "the Asian nations themselves" to take responsibility for their futures. The United States had no intention of becoming embroiled in another counterinsurgency war, Nixon was saying. That would be a fundamental tenet in any Retrench and Restore strategy.
Presidents Bush and Obama both ultimately agreed on "the need to pursue a more indirect approach—one that focuses on U.S. troops training and enabling indigenous security forces in partner nations to conduct irregular warfare themselves," Krepinevich says. "In that sense, an updated Nixon Doctrine might make sense, because our advantage is still the quality rather than the quantity of our manpower.… The United States simply has to find ways to leverage our allies and partners more effectively and get away from the free-rider syndrome where they continue to minimize their contributions to the common defense." Nixon's doctrine even had an element of "leading from behind," the sin that Obama supposedly committed. When a crisis erupted in Zaire in the 1970s, the United States used its air transports to ferry French and Belgian troops but refused to get heavily involved in the operation.
Still, the risks of having other nations do the heavy lifting became apparent in the 1970s. In Vietnam, a war-weary Congress eventually withdrew air support from the South Vietnamese army, which collapsed when the North Vietnamese invaded in 1975. Washington also threw its indirect support behind the shah of Iran, only to see him toppled by a revolution hijacked by anti-American Islamists. Prolonged cuts in U.S. military spending throughout that decade eventually led to the "hollow Army"—a perceived strategic weakness that lured the Soviet Union into an invasion of Afghanistan. "No American president since the end of the Cold War has been willing to do much less in the world," cautioned Thomas Donnelly, director of the Center for Defense Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. "America likes running the world and throwing our weight around, and the world has gotten pretty used to it, because the international system we police has generally brought peace to Europe and unprecedented prosperity to Asia, to include lifting hundreds of millions of Chinese out of poverty. That's a pretty good bargain for all sides."
Somewhere on the strategic continuum beyond doing-more-with-less and doing-less-with-less, retrenchment risks becoming a self-fulfilling strategy of Managing Decline. That dynamic took hold in the 1970s, with those disastrous results. The problem is that no one knows exactly where to find the line between the prudent risks of retrenchment and the provocative weakness of decline.
The United States could reasonably cut total active-duty ground forces by 92,000 troops, or to pre-9/11 levels; withdraw 50,000 of the 135,000 troops deployed in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia; reduce the Navy from 11 to eight aircraft-carrier battle groups and from 10 to six Marine amphibious-strike groups; and cut two Air Force fighter wings. That math comes from a recent essay, "Strategic Adjustment to Sustain the Force," in which Charles Knight summarizes a number of reports that have looked at "right-sizing" the military for the lean times ahead. Knight suggests that the United States pivot from a model of forward military presence to one of basing U.S. forces largely in the United States but preparing them to mobilize in the event of a crisis. "A much more defensive and restrained force posture would also be much less provocative to potential adversaries, such as China, which we don't see as an immediate threat," says Knight, codirector of the Project on Defense Alternatives.
The Pentagon is already mulling a potential $1 trillion cut in its budget over the next decade that would be triggered by the congressional super committee's failure to find deficit reduction elsewhere. Meanwhile, Congress is weighing dramatic cuts to the "soft-power" instruments in the State Department budget. On the table: an 11 percent contraction in fiscal 2011, with further steep reductions proposed by the Republican-led House.
Before the United States can make any kind of cuts, it will need a strategic blueprint that aligns global ambitions with constrained means. Failing to think these things through carefully risks setting an unsustainable course toward overextension and imperial exhaustion, the traditional bane of empires; or precipitous, across-the-board cuts that cross the line from retrenchment into decline and perceived weakness. "Yes, we are entering an era of constraint and austerity at home, and our primacy will increasingly be tested," says Eric Edelman, a former ambassador to Turkey who is now a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "But China and other rising powers have their own challenges and weaknesses, and I don't buy the argument that they are poised to inherit the global system and run it. When the rest of the world is looking for leadership, it still comes to the United States as the most powerful force for good on the planet, and we should try and maintain that primacy."
The logical aim of U.S. grand strategy was always a world in which nations were so heavily invested in the liberal international order that the system would police itself and the American Atlas could lay down the burden. But that never seems to happen. After the Depression, the United States was hardly eager to take on fascism in World War II. The Cold War millstone ground America down in Korea, in the Cuban missile crisis, and then in Vietnam. The "peace dividend" that followed hadn't even been cashed before U.S. leadership was summoned for service in the Middle East, Taiwan, North Korea, and the Balkans. Perhaps the chief lesson of the American Century—a good starting point for a strategic review—is the notion that leadership is not claimed but bestowed by others. And that, when the world comes knocking, it's in America's nature to answer the call.
This article appears in the November 19, 2011 edition of National Journal Magazine.
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As expected, a committee of four Mecklenburg County commissioners will recommend to the full board Tuesday to authorize negotiations to transfer mental health services from the county to Kannapolis-based Cardinal Innovations Healthcare Solutions.
With the merger, MeckLINK Behavioral Healthcare would dissolve and Cardinal would get its 120,000 consumers and nearly $200 million in Medicaid funding the county uses each year to provide an array of services.
Yet if the negotiations dont go well and there are some sticking points the county would essentially walk away and tell state health officials to do what they want when MeckLINKs contract expires March 31, according to the motion approved 4-0 by the committee.
The developments come 10 months after state health officials attempted to reassign MeckLINK to Cardinal in late December. After Mecklenburg threatened to sue, state health officials reconsidered and allowed the county to continue to operate and govern the agency.
But in June, state legislators passed a law that forced MeckLINK to operate under a single-county, independent authority or merge with an existing multi-county authority by April 1.
Commissioners decided that a single-county start-up would be too expensive.
On Monday, the committee met with Cardinal CEO Pam Shipman and three other Cardinal officials on issues that have emerged in recent weeks.
They include:
• Commissioners wanting proportionate representation on Cardinals governing board if the merger goes through. They want to appoint four members of a 13-member board. Shipman explained that Mecklenburg would have a five-member community oversight board to deal with local issues, concerns or complaints. The chair of that board would be on the government board, and Cardinal is holding open two positions for healthcare experts from Mecklenburg.
I want to get better clarity on whether that would just be experts from Mecklenburg, or are they people representing Mecklenburgs interests? said Commissioner Trevor Fuller, the committees chair.
• Minimizing disruption to consumers and providers. Shipman said that would be Cardinals goal too. She said all providers in good standing with MeckLINK would be taken by Cardinal on April 1.
• Assurances from Cardinal officials that they would hire at least most of MeckLINKs 200 employees. Shipman said it would hire as many workers in good standing with MeckLINK as it could, but they wouldnt automatically be offered a job. Instead, theyd go through some hiring process.
Cardinal, she said, would have to put together a staffing plan before it decides how many it can hire. We understand that staff will start leaving if they get worried, Shipman said. Our HR folks will work with yours to get this process going so staff has certainty about what the future will be.
MeckLINK employees who transfer would no longer be in the state retirement system since Cardinal is private and has a 401k plan. Theres no guarantee that salaries would remain the same and MeckLINK vacation and sick time wont automatically transfer to Cardinal.
Shipman said Cardinal is building a facility in Charlotte and would likely build two if the transfer takes place.
• Reimbursing Mecklenburg for its start-up costs. The county put in $8.4 million, but will get back more than $4.5 million in MeckLINKs reserves. Cardinal said theyre unwilling to repay any of the money.
Robert Kocourek, a Cardinal senior strategy adviser and former chief operating officer, told the commissioners that Cardinal was not involved in the start-up and didnt feel obligated to reimburse the county. He said the state would be the best source for that.
Commissioners have made it clear that the transfer is not their choice, but the states.
These are circumstances not within our control, Fuller said. Our job is not to bemoan, but do the best we can.
Fuller said he and commissioner Karen Bentley, also a committee member, talked by phone on Monday with N.C. Health and Human Services Aldona Wos, who Fuller said offered her support. The secretary is very interested in helping us through the transition, he said.
After Mondays meeting, Fuller said many details remained to be worked out. But he thought the two sides could agree to a suitable merger.
I do think these negotiations are going to be key, he said. We cant continue to cry over spilled milk. Weve got to get it cleaned up. Thats what we intend to do.
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Valparaiso (9-14 (4-6))
2/16/2013 | Valparaiso, Ind. (ARC) | Attendance: 591
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Friday, February 15, 2013
Valparaiso (8-14, 3-6 Horizon)
Next Up in Crusader Basketball: The Valparaiso women's basketball team starts a two-game home stand against UIC in the Play 4Kay game to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday.
Series Notes: The Crusaders are 19-18 all-time against UIC. The Flames won the meeting earlier this season, coming away with an 82-75 victory in Chicago on Jan. 19. Valpo tied a season-high with nine made 3-pointers, but it was not enough for the Brown and Gold. Charae Richardson scored 18 points and had five assists. Jessica Carr added nine points, and Tabitha Gerardot added eight points, eight boards and five assists. Terri Bender scored 22 points for UIC.
Home Sweet Home: Valparaiso opened the season by playing eight of its first 11 games on the road. While the road hasn't been kind to the Crusaders, they have hit their stride at the Athletics-Recreation Center. Valparaiso is 6-3 at the ARC this season, including three wins during a four-game home stand. With six home wins, Valpo has matched last season's win total at the ARC.
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