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posted 10 Sep 2008 in Volume 12 Issue 1
IK cover feature: Knowledge management and innovation in the Latin American region
Latin American countries are aware that financial capital has been replaced by human capital and they have plenty of it. They are deliberately latching onto the knowledge advantage from Mexico to Venezuela. This report begins a series of reports in this issue of Inside Knowledge magazine.
By Olimpia Salas
In todays world, knowledge has displaced financial capital as the key to organisational success. Instead of being a cost item, human capital people has become the key asset for long-lasting business success.
Leaders have had to change their priorities: instead of optimising physical capital, they have to optimise people and their intellectual capital. Communities of people need to be created and maintained, instead of running and maintaining a money machine. The new demands and opportunities of an interdependent global knowledge economy need to be understood, along with the implications for private and public decision-making by enterprises or society, whether on a local, national, regional or global level.
Leaders must also learn that the new knowledge dynamic surpasses the industrial paradigm of bureaucracy, centralised organisations and rigid communication. Business has moved towards new organisations that require flexibility, decentralisation and emphasis on collaborative networking
The most valuable knowledge is very human: tacit knowledge, intuition, personal experience; they reside in peoples minds. Before technology can enable that knowledge and even before culture can nurture it knowledge management must begin with understanding why people dont communicate and share.
The globe today is experiencing unprecedented change in the application of knowledge and in order to successfully compete. The Latin American and
LAC KM approaches in the past
By the middle of the 90s, the KM programs introduced in LAC were influenced primarily by multinational companies, large enterprises and consulting firms in the region that were implementing KM programs as a corporate strategy. Initially much emphasis was put on information technology but high costs for IT infrastructure caused barriers for the implementation of KM programs. Additionally, some cultural issues evolved. Local managers demonstrated a lack of interest in KM strategies, with a perception of KM being just another fad, while local executives felt KM programs could be used for a competitive advantage.
Additional issues evolved relating to middle managers and supervisors. In the beginning, KM was rejected. Workers were reluctant to embrace the new managerial strategy. Feeling threatened by loss of authority, concerned about having their competencies and capabilities tested, and terrified of losing power, these workers hoarded their knowledge.
The cultural struggle is a lesson important to be shared and kept to be analysed for future use, especially in diverse cultural enterprises. The learning process at the earlier stages is important for dispelling any misconceptions. Offering learning experiences, both conceptual and practical, are recommended to decrease the level of uncertainty workshops, conferences. Exchange of internal and external experiences start to build trust.
KM advocates from overseas played a remarkable role in disseminating new techniques and methodologies through releasing publications, books and articles. Interest spread quickly, influencing the top LAC companies, with KM and innovation included in most of the executive board agendas. Additionally, many executive conferences in Europe and the
In a short time these conferences were replicated in LAC countries of
Those approaches helped bring an awareness of the knowledge value proposition and added to the implementation of KM and IC strategies. And also, LAC universities started to pay attention.
Knowledge management in
Companies now embracing KM
Oil and gas sector
Most oil and gas companies have embarked on KM to improve organisational capability, creating new work environments where knowledge and experiences can be easily shared.
The community of practice has evolved as the most useful approach. The communities enhance networking and collaboration through data, information and experience sharing, even long distance. There is easy access to experts worldwide for financial information, teamwork with customers and partners in search of near-term efficiency, productivity, and service quality improvements through knowledge reuse. The communities provide many tools and processes to link people to information, expertise and best practice. Technology, ongoing training and support have been developed to gain long-term benefits, with benefits of improving employee motivation, faster learning and increased innovation.
The oil and gas companies in LAC
PDVSA, the Venezuelan oil and gas company, was a pioneer in KM. In 1998, while ranked as the second largest oil and gas company in the world, the pressure of competition caused the firm to look at adopting another approach to business. A benchmarking study at that time identified companies implementing KM programs BP, Shell, Schlumberger, Chevron and others.
A program was implemented in 1998 when some of PDVSAs business units started a KM initiative from the grassroots level, eventually expanding the program across the whole organisation. A corporate knowledge management team was created from a group of advocates in the different business units who were interested in getting a synergy going from the different efforts that were developing independently within PDVSA, such as technological intelligence, knowledge centers, a center of excellence and communities of practice, with the knowledge communities becoming the center for business process management.
This concept permeated all divisions and businesses units, generating experiences, practices and methodologies and promoting concrete results. There were over 140 communities of knowledge that became the KM Corporate Network with more than 20,000 out of 45,000 employees connected to share knowledge and experiences. Unfortunately, during the national strikes more than 22,000 employees were fired and the KM initiative stopped. There have been some attempts to reorganise the KM program; however, todays PDVSA is an enterprise with another strategy in mind with its main goal is to be a social enterprise.
ECOPETROL Colombian oil and gas company launched a KM program in 2004 with the emphasis on developing CoP initiatives.
PETROBRASS Brasil Oil Company has implemented some KM initiatives.
Details on these two firms are sketchy because no public documentation is available.
Universities, science and technology
Universities in LAC have developed a knowledge culture.
The rapidly expanding use of technology in teaching, along with learning about the new knowledge economy, forced LAC universities to transform the ways in which knowledge was managed.
In general, the universities in LAC have helped the expansion of knowledge management in
During the last two decades a proliferation of technology parks took place. And with that came the reality that much knowledge movement is actually borne out of practice, not academic theory or consulting models. In new learning strategies there needs to be a balance between the traditional academic approaches and the practical real-time application of learning.
And so, recently some LAC countries
Different names have been given to those institutions, such as K metropolis, ideaopolis, K cities. These are institutions that will play a central role in the growth of useful knowledge itself.
Multilateral organisations
The multilateral economic and social development agencies such as the Inter-American Development, the World Bank, Central American Federation (CAF) and the International Development Research Centre/Creating Inhabitable Cities (IDRC/CIID) have been creating KM and innovation programs.
Amongst those organisations, the World Bank was the first to be engaged in the KM strategy, announcing in 1996 that it was becoming a knowledge bank; in a short period the World Bank engaged in a knowledge-sharing program emphasising communities of practice. The KM program suffered some ups and downs but recently there are initiatives towards revitalising the KM and innovation programs. However, the cultural elements have been embedded and KM methodologies such as lessons learnt and best practices have been required in social and technological loans programs developed in LAC.
The other multilateral organisation that influenced LAC is the IDAB which by 2007 launched a knowledge management and learning strategy that promoted knowledge-based decision-making organisations; enhanced its knowledge partnership with member countries; and used integrated knowledge through all its activities.
The MIF (Multilateral Investment Funds) is implementing the Knowledge to Practice program that aims to create and share knowledge for development using the practical experience of local partners based on an information repository, communities of practice and lessons learnt. No doubt all initiatives will create new cultural patterns through well-designed programs needed for competing in the knowledge economy.
Sharing knowledge in the rural and agricultural area has been done in Peru, Guatemala, Ecuador, Brasil and Argentina, using basic techniques such a story telling, after action review, and use of information and technology facilities (ITC). However, the potential of using KM for rural development is even greater, with the World Bank serving as the facilitator of welfare and environmental stewardship which will help to innovate and deal with problems of nutrition, epidemics and inclusion.
ITC strategy in the LAC region
Through information and technology facilities, sharing knowledge in the rural, agricultural villages has been encouraged.
Gone is the mislabeling of information technology as knowledge management and in its place is the overlapping of ITC with KM and innovation strategy, with ITC supporting e-government, a process that has been sponsored by some multilateral organisations and social foundations. And KM practitioners and leaders today understand more about the role technology can legitimately play in helping companies and communities better manage their knowledge assets.
Leaders and practitioners should take advantage of the ITC systems for networking purposes and anticipate requirements of the local government and leaders. Leveraging the strategy of KM, innovation, and knowledge sharing should be included, especially where some excluded populations live for instance, the rural area and agriculture zones which in some places have no electricity.
It is important to point out that the cost of IT tools is not as prohibitive for small and medium size enterprises as it was two decades ago, allowing implementation of a knowledge-sharing culture. The advance of information technology and Web 2.0 applications has created sharing spaces such a blogs, content information management, teaching tools, video, papers, storytelling, best practices and lessons learnt which improve the learning process in real time. It is helping improve the life quality and bring more prosperity to the rural areas.
KM and innovation is flourishing
The initial proliferation of KM initiatives in LAC in the 90s appears to have slowed down in recent times, according to some peer consultants in the region. Even so, knowledge management has gone from a business fad to the normal way of doing business, with enterprises that implemented KM a decade ago continuing the path but needing less external training and instead more hands-on experiences. Knowledge management has become a way of life.
In a study done by Gartner, KM Scenario: Global Trends and Perspective, an analysis of why KM is not yet obsolete found that the interest in KM is growing again basically for two reasons: 1) information technology is more effective and easier to use, and 2) separate projects have continuously shown value to enterprise.
KM successes justify talking in general terms again, and successful implementations show pragmatic, results-oriented focus. There are significant changes happening. Through 2007, three-quarters of enterprise productivity gains were attributable to KM. Also, other knowledge work enhancements (0.8 probabilities). Organisational maturity included managing IC; more than one-half of the market value of the average global company is IC. Therefore, tacit knowledge is critical to the future workforce.
Innovation is growing in importance. Effective use of technologies is more important than the technologies themselves. Focus on business processes is increasing and innovation will continue in KM practices and supporting technology. And the study reinforces that KM success is focused on the mission of supporting the strategy and direction of an enterprise or country.
In this regard, KM and innovation leaders should understand the new challenges of todays knowledge economy, start performing systematic assessments of innovation capability to map a viable path for future goals.
The benefits of KM will come when the perspectives of information management, human learning and innovation processes, and supporting technologies are fully integrated, says Debra Amidon, Entovation International, Wilmington, Massachusets, US. We must also add that the performance measurement of intellectual capital can and should be added to the enterprise system architecture. A new performance measure has emerged in the form of the Entovation Triple Knowledge Lens (TKL) a Knowledge-based Economy, a Knowledge-based Society and a Knowledge-based Infrastructure.
KM and innovation challenges to LAC
Improving intellectual wealth will help reduce poverty levels in the region. And intellectual indicators have been developed that can help to draw a region or a countrys knowledge assets map to explicitly lead the way. Embracing knowledge and innovation management can definitely help develop intellectual capital assets in a sustainable way.
Additionally, innovation, science and technology policies clearly can attract and involve foreign resources and technologies that will help combine enterprises, universities, foundations, local governments and the public as a team to establish the basis of knowledge and innovation for the future.
Definitely LAC needs to call the attention of the world to the region, by creating more opportunities for face-to-face knowledge flows and creating awareness of the importance of collaboration for competitive advantage;
Collaboration is the future the shift in orientation becomes one of sharing and leveraging one another for mutual success. In national and global terms, it is described as creating the common good from which all benefit;
In developing an innovation culture there needs to be promotion of world activities that leverage the tremendous knowledge and innovation potential; the push to development must be generated with more commitment, ethics and truly social responsibility;
The high indices of poverty and exclusion must be fought with knowledge and innovation, wealth that every one of us can provide for more prosperity in the world.
Olimpia Salas is founder of the Knowledge Management Team at PDVSA (


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Consumer Reviews of Rheem heat pumps
It's free, fast and safe
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Location: Sevierville, Tn.
Satisfaction Rating:
"Builder Who Knows Systems"
I am a builder for the past 30 years and have installed a lot of heating systems. Recently, I have installed Rheem heat pump systems in 7 homes. These units are all garbage and continue to cost me money every year. No company response to issues, no labor costs covered. Don't waste your money on any Rheem product.
Location: Palm City, FL
Satisfaction Rating:
"Poor Customer Service"
I bought a Rheem central a/c heat pump on June 2011. Shortly after one year, it leaked out all the 410 refrigerant. The repairman found a defective equalizer tube in the condenser. This was a manufacturing defect.. Not only did I have to pay for the repair, but also the $513|.00 to refill what leaked out! The service company charged me as they stated that Rheem will not reimburse them. The service company submitted a claim on my behalf and was denied. I then submitted a letter to the President of Rheem, J.R. Jones and received absolutely no response to my complaint. I had also bought a second Rheem heat pump prior to this malfunction. They do not come cheap. But rest assured, I will never buy a Rheem product again and have informed our homeowners' association and neighbors of this company that has such poor customer service.
Location: clermont, fl
Satisfaction Rating:
I had a 2 year old unit of Rheem and it cost me $1100 to fix. Buyer BEWARE!!!!
Location: Moneta, VA
Satisfaction Rating:
Our heat pump is 3 years old. I think we have replaced everything on it and now it has pin hole in the copper piping and we just paid $700.00 to have that fixed. We have spent more than enough. We will be replacing the heat pump with another brand. I would never recommend anyone buy a Rheem..... "Garbage"
Location: GREENVILLE, SC
Satisfaction Rating:
"Worst Decision"
Air Handler - rhslhm3617ja / Heat Pump r13pjl36a01 In February 2009, I had to replace my old unit. I always heard Rheem was a great brand decided to go with it. Should have known I made the wrong decision when only after a month or so a piece on the Heat Pump broke/Crack that cause leakage. No problem the install replaced it and wield the unit back but took about a week or so. It Run OK for about a year or so but the unit never really cooled or heated up the house very good. And on my yearly service they continue to add Freon. In 2012 they added 2 lbs of Freon and at that time the technician stated that I probably had a leak and had my coil replaced early 2013. Replacement part came quick but then my compressor went out. Could have had it replaced but would have cost me another 700 dollars. With all the issue I had with this unit decided to get another unit and get away from Rheem product all together. You expect me to pay 4k plus on a complete unit and hope that it would last at least 5 years trouble free but had troubles from day one and countless service fee to have people to come out and fix it. I tell all my friends now not to purchase a Rheem. They are not as good as the once where. Cheap made product. Save yourself from headache, save your money and buy another brand.
Location: Benson, AZ
Satisfaction Rating:
Unit was 5 years and 6 months old when Compressor went out. Rheem replaced the part under warranty. At the same time the condenser fan motor went out. a month later the indoor unit blower motor went out. And now 30 days after the blower motor went out, the blower fan is off balance and vibrating and needs to be replaced. In the last 2 months I could have replaced both indoor and outdoor units for the price I have in repairs. Garbage in, garbage out. Rheem is a huge disappointment. Will never request Rheem products again.
Location: Brooksville, Florida
Satisfaction Rating:
"Rheem Heat Pump"
This heat pump has been in operation year round for 13 years. The only repairs needed were due to bugs in the contactors. I've replaced all but the first one by myself because I watched the contractor replace the first one and it looked very easy and it has been. I will purchase another Rheem Heat Pump and I'm considering buying a Rheem Hot Water Heater. I reccomend their units with complete confidence. Buy a Rheem...You won't be sorry.
Location: Tucson AZ
Satisfaction Rating:
"3.5 ton heat pump"
The 1st day tucson applance/tuc heating and cooling in tucson installed it the condensor fan didnt work. They replaced that and now this unit cools great. No complaints. But trying to get heat is a whole other ball game. It will not heat! One technician blames the other for improper wiring, etc. It may throw out some good heat for 5 or 10 mins. Then it blows cold. Will run all day and night with a luke warm temperature. If it's on there should be some heat produced! I purchaced this unit in 2008. The company I purchaced this unit from seems to be under staffed so now we play waiting games. Thank god we have a fireplace, so we're not totally cold in our house! Seriousiy thinking of going to a gas pack. Will never buy a rheem heat pump again.
Location: Raytown Mo.
Satisfaction Rating:
"HVAC contractor"
I have been installing Rheem and York units for 28 years and have had almost no problems with either. I repair and have installed all brands. These two are the most reliable. The problem is with a lot of contractors will install a name brand unit with a aftermarket coil, much cheaper and not as good.they also don't all use nitrogen when welding the units up that starts the unit off with contamination already in the system.and some contractors don't bother pulling a vacume on the system to get the moisture out. I have less than 1 leak per 500 installs.also most of the complaint are with the newer r410a units that run at twice the preasure and blow the neoprene o ring in the a coil Rheem does not have this problem because their valves are welded in.Rheem is number 24 out of about 60 brands on this list and if you read the reviews of those better than 24 usually it is because it is a brand you have never heard of that 1 person wrote a review that gave it a 100% satisfaction rating.rheem is above carrier rated 25 lennox rated 45 and trane rated #30
Location: Seymour, Iowa
Satisfaction Rating:
"Ultra High Efficiency 3 ton 16 Seer Heat Pump"
We are having trouble getting the promised $1000.00 rebate promised by the installer. Was listed on the invoice, but Rheem has failed to come through with rebate. We plan to take installing dealer to Small Claims Court We installed a rheem Ultra High Efficiency 3 ton 16 seer Heat Pump model number rprl-036jec with matching Coil RCFL-HM36,7/8"refrigerant line set, ground pad, disconnect and electrical whip, Programmable thermostat, install new Rheem 2 stage gas furnace 95% up flow furnace Model number rgrm-06emaes and install new return air drop. Total cost 8555.00 less Utilities Company rebate of 1000.00 and Rheem cash rebate of 1000.00. rheem does not stand by their rebate program.
The opinions expressed in these reviews are the opinions of consumers that submitted reviews to FurnaceCompare.com. They do not necessarily represent the opinions of FurnaceCompare.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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SKB Home > Industrial Division > Products > Rack Systems > Specialty & GigRigs > Roto GigRig with Pop-Up Rack
Roto-Molded ergonomic design with a completely adjustable pop-up Hook and Loop Fastener board on top to accommodate a wide variety of mixers and accessories. Ten space rackmount below. Roto-molded rock solid with improved locking systems. Lids, front panel and much larger rear access panel lift apart and re-assemble more securely. Convenient 5" locking wheels for easy transport.
• Top is 17.25" W x 16.25" D angled mounting surface plus 6 inches for cables • 10 inch adjustable ratchets • 5 inch locking wheels are included • Improved locking covers • Rock solid yet very light
A standard Rack Unit is 1.75 inches (4.445 cm) in height.
Contact our Customer Service Department at 800-783-0087.
Contact our Customer Service Department at 800-783-0087 for a Return Authorization Number.
Each GigWing weighs 5.5 lbs. (2.49 kg) and will hold up to 50 lbs. (22.68 kg).
No warranty card is necessary. Just remember to keep your proof of purchase.
It is not on your case. You will find the number on your original proof of purchase receipt. That is why it important to keep your original receipt.
Usually about two weeks from the time we receive your case.
Industrial Home Terms of Use Privacy Policy Careers
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© 2012 SKB Corporation, All Rights Reserved


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Norden By-Election 2013
A by-election on Thursday 25 April has been called following the death of Councillor Ann Metcalfe who passed away last month.
Electors have until 5pm on Wednesday 10 April to register at their address in order to vote in the election or request a postal vote.
The deadline for proxy applications is 5pm on Wednesday 17 April.
Postal votes will be despatched from the town hall on Friday 12 April and if electors haven't received their postal pack by Friday 19 April, they can request a replacement. Postal packs must be returned by 10pm on election day and can be returned to Rochdale Town Hall or any polling station within the ward.
The polling stations will be Caldershaw Primary School, Norden Old Library, St Paul's Parish Hall and Jericho Methodist Church.
Party | No. of Candidates | No. of Pitches Submitted | Percentage |
Labour | 1 | 1 | 100% |
National Front | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Conservative | 1 | 1 | 100% |
Liberal Democrat | 1 | 1 | 100% |
How To Vote
In the UK there are three different ways you can vote:
Voting at a polling station
- On election day, go to your local polling station.
If you are disabled and will need assistance getting into the polling station, contact the electoral registration office to find out what help is available. If you require assistance in completing the ballot paper, you may take a companion with you when you vote or the staff in the polling station may help you. - Tell the staff inside the polling station your name and address so they can check that you are on the electoral register. You can show them your poll card, but you do not need it to vote.
- The staff at the polling station will give you a ballot paper listing the parties and candidates you can vote for. It will be printed with an official mark. If you have a visual impairment, you can ask for a special voting device that allows you to vote on your own in secret.
- Take your ballot paper into a polling booth so that no one can see how you vote. Mark a cross (X) in the box to the right of the name of the party or candidate you want to vote for.
Do not write anything else on the paper or your vote may not be counted. - Finally, when you have marked your vote, fold the ballot paper in half and put it in the ballot box. Do not let anyone see your vote. If you are not clear on what to do, ask the staff at the polling station to help you.
Voting by post
To download an application form visit:
- http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/how_do_i_vote/voting_by_post.aspx
- Who can apply for a postal vote?
Anyone aged 18 or over can apply for a postal vote. You do not need a reason to vote by post. - Where can I get my postal vote sent?
A postal vote can be sent to your home address or to any other address that you give. Postal votes can be sent overseas, but you need to consider whether there will be enough time to receive and return your ballot paper by election day. - When will I receive my ballot papers?
Postal votes are usually sent out about a week before election day.
How do I complete and return my postal vote?
When you receive your postal vote ballot pack, you need to follow these five steps to make sure your vote counts.
Read the instructions carefully.
- Mark your vote clearly.
- Seal your ballot paper in envelope A.
- Sign the security statement.
- Put the security statement and envelope A into the larger envelope B. Then seal it and return it as soon as possible.
Please note: some councils may use a self-sealing method in place of envelopes for the return of postal votes.
Postal votes must be received before voting closes on election day.
Voting by proxy
For detailed information visit:
If you are unable to vote in person, you can choose to vote by proxy (someone else voting on your behalf). You can apply to vote by proxy for a particular election, for a set period of time or for all future elections.
- Can I apply for a proxy vote?
You can apply for a proxy vote as long as you are on the electoral register. When you apply for a permanent proxy vote you have to provide a reason. You can apply for a proxy vote if:- You are unable to go to the polling station for one particular election, for example, if you are away on holiday
- You have a physical condition that means you cannot go to the polling station on election day
- Your employment means that you cannot go to the polling station on election day
- Your attendance on an educational course means that you cannot go to the polling station on election day
- You are a British citizen living overseas
- You are a crown servant or a member of Her Majesty's Armed Forces
Except if you are registered blind, you may have to get someone to support your application to confirm that your reason for applying to vote by proxy is valid.
- Who can vote on my behalf?
Anyone can be your proxy as long as they are eligible to vote in the election and they are willing to vote on your behalf.
You cannot be a proxy for more than two people at any one election, unless they are a close relative.
- What happens after I've applied?
- Your proxy must go to your polling station to vote. If your proxy cannot get to the polling station, they can apply to vote for you by post. Your electoral registration office can give you more details about this.
- Your proxy will be sent a proxy poll card before the election telling them which polling station they have to go to.
You must let your proxy know how you want them to vote on your behalf, for example, which candidate or which party. - If you are able to go to the polling station on election day, you can still vote provided your proxy has not already done so or has not applied to vote by post.
How you vote is up to you. It may depend on what you find the easiest or the most convenient method.
Electoral Registration Office:
Electoral Registration Officer
PO Box 207
Town Hall
The Esplanade
If you have any questions, call 01706 924758


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Archives > News By Readers
Pop Rocks Art Exhibit at Allen HS Performing Arts Center
Allen Arts Alliance
Pop Rocks Art Exhibit sponsored by Allen Art to Go
November 13-28
Come see Allen's talented young artists and their works showcased at the Allen ISD Elementary art show "Pop Rocks" to be held at the Allen High School's Performing Arts Center gallery.
The POP art-inspired show will hold an opening night celebration for the artists and their families on Nov. 13th. The show is open to the public from Nov. 14th through 28th.
A special thanks to Allen ISD's art teachers for organizing the show.
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Anyone who has traveled through out america knows how much white trash there is here. Sometimes I am inclined to believe that the white trash out numbers the more civilized types of people, but I have no statistics to back this claim up. Just a feeling.
Some of these people are so disconnected from anything civilized that it makes me want to move away to europe for good. In some areas the ratio of white trash to civilized people seems to be 3:1 or something like that.
Surely, a large portion of this is due to economical divide. The first question is what can be done about this in the immediate future, the second is, what else turns someone into a white trash who has no compassion or civility at all for other people? Is it the fact that society has shown them little to no concern?
I am not saying ALL these people who may fit the profile of white trash are exactly like this, but many are. And I say this from first hand work experience with such people. In the jobs I have performed the lower income white people seem a lot more removed from compassion for fellow humans than lower income blacks or hispanics do. So why does the combination of white+lower income make these people so careless, obstinate and compassionless?
Edited by TheFountain, 03 August 2011 - 05:52 AM.


text: XPN welcomes The Spinto Band to Johnny Brenda's tonight. Boasting a new album in Cool Cocoon and a viral-y popular video in "What I Love,' the Delaware natives have had a busy few months leading up to this hometown-area show, perhaps best exhibited by their coverage in The New Yorker and on NPR. As the band points out in this interview with The Key, their generally upbeat, happy sounding music often has much deeper, sometimes melancholy lyrics. Tickets and information for tonight's 21+ show with Language Problems and Alec Ounsworth can be found here. Watch the video for "What I Love" below.


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French landscape painter Paul Guigou studied painting in Apt and Marseille in his younger years and was later influenced by the Barbizon School and Gustave Courbet after visiting Paris in 1859 when he…
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State lawmakers meet 'crossover' deadline
May 17th - 10:34 am
RALEIGH — The crossover at the NC General Assembly is complete.
State lawmakers had to meet a self-imposed deadline this week to complete all work that began in their own chamber. And by 2:30 p.m. Thursday, the House had sent all of its bills to the Senate and the Senate did the same for the House.
Lawmakers worked long hours in committees on the floor debating and voting to get hundreds of pieces of legislation approved by their respective chambers.
Legislators were working to meet the crossover deadline when anything that started in the House had to be sent across the hall to the Senate, and vice versa before midnight Thursday. Otherwise, the legislation died for the year.
While it may have resulted in a few late nights, it was an early adjournment Thursday.
"I think our members have done a very good job this week, staying here when we need them, paying attention to what has to get done, and controlling their exuberance in trying to push things that they know there is not a lot of support for," said President Pro-Tem Sen. Phil Berger.
In the last week, bills have cleared chambers that get rid of some environmental restrictions that lawmakers say aren't working, fix the several hundred million dollar hole in medicaid funding, and restricts some coverage of abortions.
"It expands the number of people who can take part now in denying healthcare to women and it prevents women from purchasing insurance on the healthcare exchange with abortion coverage," said Rep. Alma Adams, a Guilford County Democrat.
Leaders said they are pleased with the efficiency lawmakers used to over 100 bills through this part of the process. However, long hours and decisions to restrict some debate did bother some lawmakers.
"That we have undermined the functions of this House. The House is here to debate the issues of our communities, 120 of us to cut off debate after two three speakers is outrageous," said Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham County Democrat.
With crossover complete, the calendar is now essentially set for the rest of the legislative session, except for some bills that deal with finance issues. Legislative leaders say they believe they have accomplished what they needed and wanted to this session.
"The bills that we've passed are bills that do have some, or a good deal of support on the senate side and our bills that our members feel are good policy," said Sen. Berger.
Any bills revolving around spending or creating revenue are not subject to crossover and legislators do have safeties built into the rules to allow other bills to be considered if they need to be.
- Loretta Boniti
Norquist rallies in Raleigh as General Assembly mulls tax reform plans
May 17th - 10:33 am
RALEIGH — The state House has now released its proposal for how to overhaul the state's tax structure, while one of the nation's leaders in tax reform — Grover Norquist — rallied folks on the Republican ideas to lower tax rates for most North Carolinians.
Conservative groups were talking tax reform at the Legislative Building in Raleigh Thursday, including Grover Norquist, the founder of the national group Americans for Tax Reform.
"What would I urge people in North Carolina, in the House and the Senate, to do: lower rates. And when the rates are lower? Then, yes, lower rates, and when you get to zero, probably stop there," said Norquist.
Norquist was standing side by side with leaders in the state Senate to applaud the tax reform plan they outlined last week, which lowers corporate, income and sales taxes, while expanding the base.
"Both the economy based on the 1930 model and our tax policy have failed us with income," said Sen. Bob Rucho, R-Mecklenburg, "which means people's paychecks have declined, with poverty increasing and the fifth highest unemployment rate in the country."
But the Senate is now not the only with a plan for reform. On Thursday afternoon, House leaders put out their own plan. Contrary to the Senate, the House is only expanding the tax base by a smaller margin, and not closing all current loopholes.
House leadership tweeted a picture of themselves meeting with Norquist, who said even though the House and Senate aren't on the exact same page for tax reform, he believes the state is heading in the right direction.
"When we are having a conversation of how to go quickly to get that way and the Senate and the House are both going in the same direction of lower rates, that is a healthy competition in the right direction," said Norquist.
State lawmakers have said they intend to pass some sort of tax reform before the end of this year's legislative session.
- Loretta Boniti
Capital Tonight May 16: Gary Bartlett, outgoing elections director
May 17th - 10:32 am
On Capital Tonight: Outgoing Elections Director Gary Bartlett talks about his tenure at the state Board of Elections with Tim Boyum.
Watch the episode here.
Strategist calls for investigation into NC Dems chairman
May 16th - 1:18 pm
Democratic strategist Frank Eaton is calling for an investigation into NC Democratic Party chairman Randy Voller, ahead of district conventions this weekend.
Eaton brings up growing questions about Voller's leadership in a video to state Democrats: Firing the interim director and installing himself as executive director, possible misuse of funds, and intimidation of staff members.
A group of Democrats filed a petition last week asking the executive council to remove Voller as interim director.
Senate committee to question Transportation Secretary nominee Foxx next week
May 16th - 11:30 am
CHARLOTTE – Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, who was nominated by President Barack Obama to become the next U.S. Transportation Secretary, will appear before a Senate committee next week.
The committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation will question him at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Washington. The committee will vote on another day.
If recommended by the committee, the entire Senate will vote on his confirmation, possibly in June.
Capital Tonight May 15: Sen. Kay Hagan, on sexual assault in the military
May 16th - 11:29 am
On Capital Tonight: Sen. Kay Hagan joins Tim Boyum to talk about sexual assault in the military, plus, Rob Schofield of NC Policy Watch and Brian Balfour of the Civitas Institute debate budget and tax reform in our Advocates section.
Watch the episode here.
Capital Tonight May 14: Senate Pro-Tem Phil Berger
May 15th - 8:52 am
On Capital Tonight: Tim Boyum talks tax reform with Senate Pro-Tem Phil Berger, and our Insiders Brad Crone and Ballard Everette debate the effectiveness of the NAACP's protests at the General Assembly. Watch the full episode here.
Capital Tonight May 13: School vouchers explored
May 14th - 11:55 am
On Capital Tonight: As the General Assembly debates instituting school vouchers in North Carolina, we explore how school vouchers work and who they would help. Darrell Allison, with Parents for Educational Freedom NC, and Kevin Rogers of Action NC, join Tim Boyum.
Watch the episode here.
State lawmakers seek to relax smoking bans
May 14th - 11:31 am
RALEIGH–State lawmakers are looking to relax some smoking bans put into effect.
North Carolina officially went smoke free in many public areas a few years ago and since then everyone from local communities to community colleges added some outdoor bans to the law.
However, now a proposal is on the move in the State Senate that would snuff out some of these bans.
Currently in North Carolina, state law dictates it is illegal to smoke in many public buildings. Many local laws say it is also against the rules to take a puff outdoors as well.
"There are thousands of them at the local level and there are 56 of 58 community colleges that have taken some sort of action to regulate smoking on their campuses," said Pam Seamans with the NC Alliance for Health.
Some state lawmakers say the regulations are taking the desire to snuff out smoking too far.
"I think if you are walking down the sidewalk, you ought to be able to consume a tobacco product. I think if you are in a park outdoors I think you ought to be able to consume a tobacco product if that is what you choose to do," said Sen. Buck Newton, a Wilson County Republican.
Sen. Newton is sponsoring legislation that says localities and others cannot implement laws that are more restrictive than the state law. That means community college campuses that are currently smoke free- even outdoors, would no longer be able to keep that designation.
Also, community events could not tell folks they are not allowed to smoke.
"You can't even bring your family to an outdoor event that is sponsored by the city or town and feel safe for your children," said Sen. Angela Bryant, a Nash County Democrat.
Newton said he beleives by the very fact someone is outdoors, the smoking ban should not be in place because in open air there is an ability to get away from the smoke.
"What i am really trying to address is the blanket ban and turning into a criminal using a legal product, and using it outdoors really shouldn't be offensive," said Sen. Newton.
But others question that if the added bans are working, then why should the state remove them.
"In a sense, you are taking away rights from local areas and local schools to determine their own policy. I mean if they are happy with the way it is, what is the point of us changing," said Sen. Austin Allran, a Catawba County Republican.
Many senators said they would like to see some changes to the bill, such as allowing designated smoking areas in some outdoor situations. It is a modification that the bill sponsor said he would consider.
The bill advanced to a second committee for consideration. Due to deadlines to move legislation, the bill will need full Senate approval before the end of the week if it wants to remain in consideration during this year's session.
- Loretta Boniti
POLITICO: Koch-funded group look to North Carolina as 'model state'
May 13th - 6:31 pm
POLITICO reported a story Saturday that conservative groups are looking at North Carolina as a "model state" and look to replicate GOP success across the country.
The story quotes Tim Phillips and Dallas Woodhouse from Americans For Prosperity, and prominent Democrats like Gary Pearce and Sen. Martin Nesbitt.
Read the full story here.


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I had some spare time now (not much to do at work...) so I used it to browse a little bit in the entropy code (http://svn.sabayonlinux.org/projects/entropy/trunk/)
If found the routine that logs the 'Repository is being updated' messages in the 'libraries/entropy.py' file
- Code: Select all
def handle_repository_lock(self, repo):
# get database lock
unlocked = self.is_repository_unlocked(repo)
if not unlocked:
mytxt = "%s: %s. %s." % (
red(_("Repository is being updated")),
red(_("Try again in a few minutes")),
importance = 1,
type = "warning",
header = "\t"
return True
return False
Going further down the line, following the routines I found the following (also in 'libraries/entropy.py)
- Code: Select all
def is_repository_unlocked(self, repo):
rc = self.download_item("lock", repo)
if rc: # cannot download database
self.syncErrors = True
return False
return True
- Code: Select all
def download_item(self, item, repo, cmethod = None, lock_status_func = None):
url, filepath = self.__construct_paths(item, repo, cmethod)
#some code here, left out by me (poster of this messages...)
rc = fetchConn.download()
del fetchConn
if rc in ("-1","-2","-3"):
return False
return True
From what I could understand further down the line (to much code to paste ) I could conclude that it tries to download the file 'packages.db.download.lock' from the database folder (in my case http://users.telenet.be/brulee/standard/brulee/database/x86/)
If it failes then it concludes that it is unlocked, if it succeeds it concludes that it is locked.
This is all logical to me, but for some reason it succeeds to download a file that isn't event there?
P.S. I must say I was pleasantly suprised when I saw how much code there was for entropy. It was a little hard to browse through because of the large files, but then I don't have a python ide to ease the browsing between classes (I used notepad ). Never the less, I found my way in less than 1h. So I can only conclude that it has a clear, structured and object oriented design, knowing that I have no experience with Python. So my deepest respect for the creator, since this is a one man project if I'm not mistaken