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Worcester County Business Lawyers
Focused on Small and Family Owned Businesses
At Walckner Law Office, we believe in local businesses. We want to help you overcome the legal challenges you face. By providing cost-effective proactive legal services, Walckner Law Office strives to put small and medium sized businesses on a level playing field with large corporations with seemingly endless resources and in-house counsel.
We help you make every decision an informed decision by encouraging regular communication between attorney and client. This provides you the opportunity to evaluate the legal risks inherent in business transactions before mistakes are made.
Proactive Business Law Services
Many people think when a business has a legal problem, it means that the business is being sued. But legal problems start long before a complaint is actually filed in court. A law suit is a symptom of a legal problem, not the legal problem itself.
At Walckner Law Office, we know the best way to protect your business is by taking a proactive approach to legal challenges and guard against legal liability in a number of key areas. We work with you to determine legal weaknesses and assess potential problems within your business. Our business attorneys review key documents and records, analyze compliance with various laws and regulations, and review outstanding contracts, among other things.

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Comal Riverfront 1bdrm King,1 bath sleeps 6, Pool. Discounts in New Braunfels
- bedrooms 1
- baths 1
- sleeps 6
- pool yes
- hot tub no
- pets allowed no
- type Condo
- community River Run
rates (USD)
/ night
$ 650 - $ 1,120 / week
$ 1,125 - $ 1,125 / month
New Braunfels Condo deals
stays between: 8/5/14 & 9/15/14
deal expires today
Still have Vacancies Comal Riverfront 1Bdrm 1Bath, Sleeps 6, Pool! 50% off 3rd night!
Week day $175 Sun thru Thur. Save $35 off weekend rate of $210 Stay Sun & Mon night and get 50% off Wed night. Save $87
- $210 $175/night ($35 off)
- Stay 2 nights Sun & Mon get 50% Off Wed ($87)
deal# DFPM9W
vacation rental description
This condo is loacted on the beautiful Comal River in New Braunfels Texas. It is a one bedroom condo that has recently been updated. It sleeps 4 adults and 2 child having a King size bed, Queen sleeper sofa and 2 bunk beds! It comes complete with flat screen TV's, cable TV, DVD player, full kitchen, cooking utinsils, linens, pillows, bath towels, WI FI access and balcony. "Winter Texans" there are laundry facilities and even a fire place to enjoy!
If you need more room ask about our 2 Bedroom condos!
vacation rental location
property availability
- dates with deals
- unavailable dates
Last modified on 08-20-2014 at 8:17 AM.
email owner view full calendar
Sandy Minkina (281)708-5215
condo rental amenities
We have over 400 feet of Comal River frontage with picnic tables, new pool, BBQ pits and benches by the river! There are tube rental companies next to our property! Rent your tube from them and enjoy the exciting Comal River tube chute. You will be picked up at the end of your float and brought back to the complex! You don't drive anywhere! We are minutes from Schlitterbahn and Lands Park Golf course..
activities and attractions in New Braunfels Texas
- Schlitterbahn Water Park (Home of the original and largest water park in the US) minutes away.
-We also have wineries in the area along with an 18 hole public golf course at Landa Park.
- Refreshing water spots including Guadalupe & Comal Rivers, Canyon Lake, Lake Dunlap, Lake McQueeney & Lake Placid promise great swimming, floating, boating, fishing, skiing and rafting adventures for all ages.
vacation rental rates
Peak Season - May 1 - September 15th Wkend rates Fri & Sat. $210.
Wkdays Sun-Thurs. $175
Low Season - September 16 -April 30 Daily rates $130 (excluding Wurstfest wkends on Fri
& Sat nights)
Monthly rates do not apply to Peak Season.
* 2-night minimum. 1-night bookings allowed only if made "day of stay".
Most holidays are subject to a 3 night minimum. Holidays are billed as Peak Season Weekend Rates if day falls during mid week. Occupancy rates vary by condo, subject to HOA limits or available bedding, whichever is less.
Rates do not include applicable hotel tax of 13%. No tax on stays of 30 days or longer.
** Wurstfest Friday and Saturday nights are billed at Peak Season weekend rates
$250 deposit on all reservations.
$75 Cleaning fee not included.
Winter Texan cleaning fees are slightly higher than the fees quoted above.
Sandy Minkina (281)708-5215
accepted payment methods
Prior to paying a reservation deposit, always verify payment instructions by calling the phone number displayed on this listing page. By contacting the owner directly and paying by an approved method - credit card, paypal, check or bank transfer - your reservation payment will be protected up to $1,000.Learn more in our Security Center
Top things to do in New Braunfels
- Schlitterbahn Water Park
- Gruene Tx:Shopping, Dancing and Dining
- McKenna Children's Museum
- Dry Comal Creek Vineyard
- Oktoberfest
Top things to do on a budget
- Landa Park
- New Braunfels Railroad Museum
- Comal County Fair
- Tubin The Guadalupe River
- San Marcos Prime Outlets
Top things to do with a family
- Natural Bridge Caverns
- Visit The Alamo
- Fiesta Texas
- Sea World
- Wildlife Ranch
Sandy Minkina , owner


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TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Dario Hunt had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Nevada past Oral Roberts 68-59 on Wednesday night in the first round of the NIT.
Deonte Burton added 17 points as the Wolf Pack (27-6) advanced to a second-round matchup against Bucknell, which beat Arizona 65-54.
Burton, Olek Czyz and Malik Story each had eight points in the second half to help rally Nevada, which trailed 30-29 at halftime.
Dominique Morrison and Rod Pearson had 13 points apiece for the Golden Eagles (27-7), who were outrebounded 45-29.
Oral Roberts led 50-49 before Czyz scored with 8:03 left to ignite Nevada's decisive 8-0 run. Burton sank three free throws with 2:10 left to stretch Nevada's lead to 62-55 and the Golden Eagles never got any closer.


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Letters to the editor - Saturday (5-18-2013)
Administration represents fascism on the Potomac
Some equate the Obama adminstration with ordinary socialistic governments. They are wrong. The Obama adminstration operates more in a specific socialistic venue: fascism. Fascists are content to let private enterprise operate, provided those in charge sing the praises of the ruling group. In our day, this is called crony capitalism.
Those who publicly oppose the Obama regime are subjected to public calumny, improper tax audits, interruption of business and denunciation by "press," who accept the dogma of the Obama administration without question.
Like Hitler, Obama, in the words of Mario Puzo's bestselling book, "put layers of insulation between himself and any operational act." He can truthfully claim that he didn't know these things were going on. He didn't need to. He made sure those drinking the Obama Kool-Aid were in charge.
One last thing. Keep a close watch on the members of the Service Employees International Union.
Do I believe that the Obama administration is prepared to suspend civil liberties and attempt to rule by fiat, if that becomes necessary to wreak their aims?
Absolutely I do.
— Stephen Owen
End tax exemptions
Democrats in the Internal Revenue Service should have known that if they targeted Tea Party groups, conservatives would complain and ask for investigations.
I have always wondered why any group that takes in money should be exempt from some taxes. I don't think that any political party, union, nonprofit, think tank or any other corporation should be exempt from taxes.
— Chuck Mann


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The U.S. Marshals Service, District of Minnesota, issued a press release asking the public to help locate the two men who escaped from a low-security federal prison camp in Duluth, Minn.
The prison camp is on the former Duluth Air Force Base north of the city. U.S. Marshal Service spokesman Thomas Volk said prisoners there are "on the honor system" instead of having locked cells.
Michael Krzyzaniak is serving a 12-year sentence for bilking investors out of nearly $26 million.
Gerald Greenfield is serving a 4-year sentence for conspiracy to commit money laundering in a $2.5 million mortgage fraud scheme.
United States Marshal Sharon Lubinski asks that information regarding their whereabouts be reported to the US Marshals Service tip line at: 612-664-5971.
KMSP-TV11358 Viking DriveEden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: (952) 944-9999Fax: (952) 942-0455


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Waubonsie Valley's Gary Sutton drives to the basket while being defended by South Elgin's Jacob Hicks on Thursday in Aurora. | Mike Mantucca ~ For Sun-Times Media
Waubonsie Valley boys basketball coach Steve Weemer wasn't happy with the way his team came out in its last game, the Palatine tournament final against York, which resulted in the Warriors' lone loss so far this season.
The emphasis on coming out of the gates stronger came through loud and clear to his team.
The Warriors scored the first 14 points of the game in the Upstate Eight Valley opener against South Elgin on Thursday, and they never looked back, cruising to a 63-41 win.
"Good start," Weemer said. "That was a concern of ours. At the championship against York at Palatine, we didn't come out hard and aggressive and play our style. We really had a concerted effort in practice this week to get off to a good start, and I thought our guys responded pretty well."
South Elgin (2-3, 0-1) didn't score until the 3:13 mark of the first quarter on a Darius Wells jumper. By that time, the Warriors (4-1, 1-0) were up 14-0. Four points each from Jared Brownridge and Bryan Jefferson and a three-pointer from Gary Sutton helped fuel the hot start.
"We started hard on defensive pressure," Jefferson said. "We're long enough and fast enough to get transition points, so that's where our focus was today. We stopped that weave that they like to slow the game down with. Once we got together on defense, it gave us a good start on offense."
Waubonsie pushed the lead to 43-23 early in the third quarter on a Jefferson layup. The Warriors led by as many as 26 points in the fourth quarter.
Unlike the way it appeared at times last season, it wasn't just the Jared Brownridge Show on Thursday. Brownridge struggled with his shooting, scoring only 12 points. But Jefferson fought through foul trouble to lead the team with 15 points and Matt Gialamis scored 10 off the bench as the Warriors put together a solid collective effort in the win, with 10 players getting significant minutes.
"I think we were a little tentative early on and we weren't quite sure of our roles," Weemer said of the team's play at Palatine. "We can't be a one-man show. We kind of did that last year, to be quite honest. Our other guys are doing a good job of stepping up, because Jared's going to draw a lot of attention. We have to understand that."
South Elgin is a lot younger squad than the experienced Warriors, but the Storm did manage to get three players in double figures in the loss. Junior Robert Grant led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds. Wells scored 11 while freshman Matt Smith posted 10 points.
South Elgin (2-3, 0-1)
Smith 3 4-4 10; McClure 0 0-0 0; Wells 4 2-2 11; Winsel 1 0-0 2; Grant 7 0-6 14; Hicks 0 0-0 0; Gibaldio 0 0-0 0; Cager 2 0-0 4; Padron 0 0-0 0; Hatchett 0 0-0 0. Total: 17 6-12 41.
Waubonsie Valley (4-1, 1-0)
Sutton 3 0-0 7; Cordes 1 2-6 4; Brownridge 5 2-2 12; Warden 3 0-0 6; Jefferson 7 1-2 15; Robinson 0 0-0 0; Karkazis 1 0-0 2; Gialamis 5 0-0 10; Stewart 1 0-3 2; DeHaan 1 0-0 3; Cepeda 0 0-0 0; Medrano 1 0-0 2. Total: 28 5-13 63.
Three-point field goals: South Elgin 1 (Wells). Waubonsie 2 (DeHaan, Sutton). Fouled out: None.
Tag(s): Top Headlines Featured Featured Top News Top Headlines Waubonsie Valley South Elgin Top News


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Insatiable China to gobble up 84 MILLION PCs in 2012
China has cemented its position not only as the global leader in PC production but also an avid consumer, with sales set to surge 13 per cent in 2012 - more than twice the worldwide average. The latest stats from market watcher IHS iSuppli predict shipments of 83.6 million units this year, up from 73.9 million units in 2011 and …
This topic is closed for new posts.
Worlds biggest cyber criminals
Google misses out on worlds biggest market - still no approval for Moto buy
Inflicting Windows 8 on China? Is this the latest offensive strike by the US in their cyberwar?
A Chinaman and American and an Analyst walk into a bar
And the barman says, "Why would a customer want ivy-bridge over sandy-bridge?"
None of them knew.
This topic is closed for new posts.
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- Linux turns 23 and Linus Torvalds celebrates as only he can


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I don't understand it. I know a lot of people make fun of guys that do this. Normally I wouldn't care, but when I'm in the gym, and it's crowded, and I'm waiting for the squat rack because it's being used by some guy doing curls in it, it does kind of p*** me off too. It happened to me yesterday. Some guy was standing there at the squat rack talking to one of his buddies for like 10 minutes, while I stood there and patiently waited to get on there. He noticed that I was waiting, and he apologized and told me that he only had 1 set left. He then went on to do his last set, which happened to be a set of curls. I was a bit annoyed.
Is it different then using the EZ bar? Is it beneficial in any way at all?
I think the whole making fun of people who do this is a bit played out....but I don't understand why people do it. How hard is it to pick the bar up off the ground and keep the rack open for people who actually need it??
you should do a search this has been discussed 987154 times
they do it cause they are to lazy to pick the bar off the ground
New philosophy:
Let everyone work out the way they want. When they curl in squat racks or do 1/4 squats or even when they do things like leg raises in order to build the quads of their dreams, let them. When they rock or jerk on any exercise to satisfy their egos, let them. When they spend hours doing isolation exercises, let them. In the end, I don't want everyone knowing the 'secrets and techniques' of training correctly. I mean you wouldn't want everyone to be successful entrepreneurs.
From 155 lbs to 200 lbs (PICS/VIDS INCLUDED)
Height: 6'0"; BW: 202lbs; Age: 24; BF: ~11%
155lbs [07-01-06] 176lbs [09-14-06] 179lbs [09-21-06] 182lbs [10-02-06] 184lbs [10-18-06] 186lbs [10-23-06] 187lbs [11-08-06] 189lbs [11-19-06] 190lbs [11-21-06] 191lbs [12-21-06] 194lbs [12-31-06]
Bench: 250lbs; Squat: 350lbs lbs; Deadlift: 430 lbs
Military: 111lbsx8; Dips: BWx30; Pullups: BWx10; WChestP: 360lbsx7; 45LegP: 470lbsx20; C Raise: 360lbs; BB Curl: 105lbsx3; Lat Pull: 195lbsx5
Goals: 495 -315 -585
Persistence Persistence. - Calvin Coolidge.
"I'm so pissed at how dumb this thread is that I think I'll go kick my cat. Again"-Belial
"I mean, it's kind of like neutering your cat, hoping that'll stop your dog from humping your leg." - Belial
It's easy to say "let them," when they aren't in your way, or utilizing the only piece of equipment that happens to allow you to safely perform a squat. It is called a "squat rack" for a reason. It is also called a "power rack" for a reason. There is nothing powerful about a curl.
What is elite?
"Those who work the hardest often complain the least." -anonymous
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Last edited by Cards; 09-18-2007 at 08:48 AM.
Goals: 495 -315 -585
Persistence Persistence. - Calvin Coolidge.
"I'm so pissed at how dumb this thread is that I think I'll go kick my cat. Again"-Belial
"I mean, it's kind of like neutering your cat, hoping that'll stop your dog from humping your leg." - Belial
To me it has really nothing to do with whether or not I agree with what and how they are doing their exercises. I make fun of them in my head but I really dont care what they do.
But it does have EVERYTHING to do with be a considerate person. And yes, it is very inconsiderate to tie up any equipment for an extended period of time when there are alot of people in the gym and you have a decent idea that someone is waiting for you. Especially when you arent even using the equipment for what its designed for. Unfortanately this world is full of inconsiderate people who just seem to have tunnel vision and see noone but themselves.
I say next time stand behind him and do jumping jacks until you get properly get his attention. See how he likes it.
Last edited by live2lift; 09-18-2007 at 08:56 AM.
Current: 34 yrs. old 5'10.5'' 192 lbs.
Goals: 195 lbs. 12% bf by dec.09'
Long term goal: 225 lbs. 10-12% bf
Best Lifts bench:355 11/10/08 Deadlift:475 5/5/08
Squat:395 5/6/08.......Total:1225 RAW
Goals: 1275 total by Dec 09'
Long term goal: 1500 RAW
videos http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=emilyjeremy1
WTF! I bet you are that guy that interrupted my conversation so you could look cool, and make me hurry up so you could squat in the curl rack!!! Geeeeez, we were talking about how beneficial wrist curls were and how my new weightlifting gloves matches my ipod strap...why were you sooooo impatient, why don't you go and do leg extension man. Do 3 sets of 25, then you actually feel the burn. And stop checkin out my guns!!!!!!!!!
If I had 5 bucks for each time this thread appeared I wouldn't be in college.
^^ No doubt
Curling in the power or squat rack is a huge waste of resources.
- rEDfURY
Powerlifting since Sept 2006
My PL Training Journal
Philippians 4:13
"To give anything less that your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Pre
Curling in the squat rack is akin to driving in the left lane while someone wants to pass.
*stands in squat rack all day with EZ curl bar*
Last edited by zen; 09-18-2007 at 10:25 AM.
'In order to alter the inertial mass of weights, you must become one with them, like a machine, the totality of your motion is as one'
Sometimes when the gym is busy I do barbell rows at the bench press bench, because my split has a horizantal push/pull day and I superset rows and bench press. Do you think that is the same thing as curling in the squat rack?
Age: 24 Height: 5'9" Weight: 185
Gym PRs: 365/240/440=1045
People need to quit ****ing asking what they need to do, exercise wise, until they reinforce their technique - Dave Tate
The never-ending pursuit of becoming Strong(er) - My Westside journal
Next time someone does this I'm going to ask them if I can work in, in order to show them how to properly use the equipment.
Lumiel's BGB Weightlifting Journal
32 y/o, 6' tall, 205 lbs
What is elite?
"Those who work the hardest often complain the least." -anonymous
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
I think most kids in my gym do it because they don't know any better. Our "squat rack" is their "random piece of gym equipment" that they plan on using any way they can. They figure it can be used for curls, so why not curl in it? I agree, it's annoying as hell, but I don't think they even realize how inconvenient they really are.
I'm gonna try to invent a bar that senses when there's only a 10 pound plate on each side...then explodes.
Age: 23 - Weight: 237 lbs - Height: 6'1''
S(atg) - B - DL
375 - 335 - 515
"Gaining weight and having bigger body will make you look great on any clothing. Men with strong body are very attractive to women. General people tend to admire big muscle too." -mbijay


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June 05, 2007
TOMMYTHAYER.com I was fortunate to visit the Memphis Gibson Guitar factory for a personal tour today by David Winters, the Gibson Memphis Operations Manager. David is a fantastic guy and he gave my wife Amber and I a great personal tour of the facilities. The Memphis factory specializes in the Gibson Archtop and ES models, as well as Les Paul Customs and Doublenecks. I've played Gibsons all my life and it's always fun to see how these great guitars are made. Stay tuned for more on my trip this week to Memphis and Nashville. - Tommy Photo: Tommy with Gibson's David Winters
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Save money and make face paint with edible items you probably already have!
Before you head to a costume shop to buy a makeup kit, raid the pantry and try these recipes for foundation colors and special effects.
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and flour. Stir in vegetable shortening. Add any food coloring you would like. Stir in the glycerin; mixing until well combined.
Use your fingers or a makeup sponge to apply face paint. Use small brushes or your fingertips for detailed designs.
In a small bowl or cup combine gelatin and water. Mix and let set 3 minutes.
Warts, blisters, and skin growths. Before the gelatin sets completely, make moles or blisters by dripping the liquid gelatin onto a ceramic plate and letting it set completely. When set, carefully peel the formations off of the plate. Stick them onto your child's body and face by using a drop of corn syrup as adhesive.
Add color and blood.Use a spoon, popsicle stick, or other makeup applicators (including your hands) to apply the partially-set gelatin to your child's body and face. The gelatin will drip or clot depending on the degree of set it has reached. If the gelatin sets before you're ready, reheat it briefly in the top of a double-boiler or in a microwave for approximately 10 seconds on high until it thins out and the process begins again. Let cool to a safe temperature, then use a spoon to drip semi-liquid red gelatin over scars, scabs or out of wounds. After 3 to 5 minutes, the gelatin will set in very realistic-looking drips. If the gelatin doesn't set, let it sit another minute and try again.
More gooey, slimy, stretchy effects. Let the gelatin set about 5 minutes. Stretch or grab gobs of the almost-set gelatin and string it or glop it as you desire. Attach to skin with corn syrup.
Texture. Stirring in mix-ins adds texture to the effects. Sprinkling colored sugar into the unset gelatin will make grainy textured effects, while sprinkling couscous or paprika on top of the globs once they've begun to set will make some wounds look scabbed over.
Get ready for Halloween tricks and treats!
End summer with a bang with festive Labor Day recipes.
Send them to school with good-for-you food that's tasty, too.
Delicious recipes, party ideas, and helpful cooking tips! Get a year of Allrecipes magazine for just $7.99!
See how to make a deeply disturbing, shockingly tasty Halloween treat!
These ghastly drinks are so much fun it's scary!
Turn ripe red apples into spooky, spiky, mangle-mouthed dentures.
Read our allrecipes.com blog


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Expired Property Listing
This property is disabled.
Augusta Villa in Venice
- bedrooms 2
- baths 2
- sleeps 4
- pool yes
- hot tub no
- pets allowed no
- type Villa
- community Augusta Villas
- rates (USD) $ 1,500 - $ 3,250 / month
vacation rental description
Lovely lake view villa at the Plantation Golf & Country Club, a private golf community in southwestern Florida. Located just 10 minutes from beautiful beaches and the quaint village of Venice, and 5 minutes from shopping and dining.
The villa is a fully equipped, open concept, 2 bedroom, 2 bath residence, with an eat-in kitchen, and enclosed lanai overlooking the lake. Two patios provide sun for morning coffee and sunset for evening cocktails. The community pool and club house are across the street.
Whether you're a golfer or not, relax in the warmth of the gulf coast overlooking the beautiful golf course and the setting sun.
villa rental amenities
Community Pool
Walking paths
Free Internet
activities and attractions in Venice Gulf Coast Central
vacation rental rates
January, February, March $2500 per month plus tax, security deposit and cleaning fee
December, April, May $2200 per month plus tax, security deposit and cleaning fee
All other months negotiable


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As a high school student in New York, young Carol Klein changed her name to Carole King. She set out to become a songwriter at age 16, but got pregnant and married her songwriting partner, lyricist Gerry Goffin, at 17.
And at age 18, in 1960, she had her first No. 1 hit, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow," recorded by the Shirelles.
"She got a lot done" in a short time, said Douglas McGrath, author of "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," which opened its pre-Broadway run Tuesday, Sept. 24 in San Francisco. It opens in New York in January.
McGrath, a New York screenwriter, film director and playwright, envies King's rapid progress. He started work on "Beautiful" five years ago, when he was recruited to turn King's long list of hit songs into a stage musical.
King is the most famous of four hit-making songwriters McGrath interviewed extensively while writing the story for the musical.
The others are King's contemporaries from the 1960s, Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann (who wrote "On Broadway," "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and more) and Goffin, King's husband until 1968, when they divorced.
"I knew I wanted the show to be about the songwriters," McGrath said. "I didn't want to write a show like 'Mama Mia' (based on the hits of the group ABBA), which takes a song catalog and creates a fictional story around it. I was interested in how these writers created so many hits."
The show follows the lives and careers of King (played by Jessie Mueller) and the others through the 1960s and '70s, also dealing with King's troubled marriage to Goffin.
"They got married very young," McGrath said.
By the time King recorded her Grammy-winning solo album, "Tapestry" in 1971, best-known for the hit single, "It's Too Late," she was already established as a top songwriter.


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OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland Athletics today raised $70,635 on Breast Cancer Awareness Day, presented by Zevia, with proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society. Since the inaugural event in 1999, the Oakland A's and their partners have raised nearly $1.4 million for breast cancer education and research.
Funds were raised through the sale of special ticket packages, commemorative pins, hats and necklaces, an A's autographed quilt raffle, and fan and sponsor support. For the second straight year, this year's total donation eclipsed the previous year's donation by 15 percent.
Pre-game ceremonies featured more than 350 Bay Area breast cancer survivors forming a symbolic human ribbon on the field in dedication of courage and survival, the release of white doves as a symbol of hope, and Fremont's Kristin Goldthorpe-who was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall-serving as the honorary bat girl as part of Major League Baseball's "Going To Bat Against Breast Cancer" initiative.
A portion of the total donation includes the 11th annual "A Gift of Faith" grant, through which the A's donate $5,000 to a local charity in memory of longtime KTVU Channel 2 reporter, the late Faith Fancher. This year's grant and award were presented to Pink Access Foundation, a local charity that raises funds to fight cancer in disadvantaged communities.


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A historic custom in Japan is to welcome in the new year with a prayer at the Kanda Myojin Shrine in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. In mid-January, the Shrine holds the Daikoku festival in honor of this tradition. Visitors on Asian vacations can pray for safety of their household, a rush of business or en-musubi, which means good-fortune or harmony in any relationship.
The festival, a highlight of Asia travel, features a Shinto dancer, who dresses as Daikoku, the Shinto deity of fortune. The dancer will celebrate visitors and worshipers "coming of age" by shaking a lucky mallet over their heads.
The shrine is available to visit year round, but the Daikoku festival really emphasizes the beauty and history of the area, as well as that of Japanese culture. One thing that is unique to all Shinto shrines is their Tori arches, which symbolize peace and harmony - important aspects of the New Year's celebration.
Visitors to the Kanda Myojin Shrine are encouraged to join in the festival, and experience the traditions of the Shinto religion, and the history of Japan.
See also ...


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Vets guarding schools
In the wake of all the school shootings, I propose we hire unemployed vets, make sure they are capable, put them in their uniforms and let them guard our schools. They would love the job of protecting our students and faculty and it is what they have been trained to do.
Columbine shooting, Virginia Tech shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. the college shootings in California. How many people have to die before we do something about it?
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Earn money #003 : Another SurveyOctober 1st, 2007 | Posted by in Things That Matters - (0 Comments)
Eto bagong nahagilap po… try nyo na lang kung ok… After signing-up, please take time to read the FAQ first before answering the survey. Since I just newly signed up to this website, I am still not sure if this company will really pay for taking up their survey.
As of now dNeero pa lang ang nasubukan kong paid-survey site na nakareceive ako ng real money. If dNeero requires you to post the "codes" to your blog first before you will be able to get paid, this AW survey site only requires you to answer their survey.
UPDATE! 10/08/2007 - A warning from ADVERCASH about AWSurveys – read this and it's up for you to decide.
10/08/2007 – As of this moment, still, dNeero is the only paid survey site that I've tried and truly pays their members for answering their surveys.
I will update this post or I will just make a new entry as soon as I receive a payment from other paid survey sites and paid to click sites so keep on coming back to check out for new updates or you may subscribe to my feeds or bookmark this page. Another option is to download my toolbar to keep you updated or visit http://moneymaker.ph.tc ;)
Election 2008 — Will the War matter?
Some say get out now, some say set a deadline, others say stay the course. What do you say?
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Due Process and Automatic License SuspensionsPosted by Lawrence Taylor on June 3rd, 2008
So you got stopped last night and arrested for drunk driving. And right after the breathalyzer showed a blood-alcohol reading of .12%, the officer confiscated your driver's license and gave you a piece of paper that said it was immediately suspended.
What happened?, you ask. Can they do that? I thought I was presumed to be innocent, and the state has to prove my guilt beyond a reasonable doubt before they can punish me. And I remember something about due process: Can they punish me before giving me a chance to defend myself?
Good questions.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (or whatever they call it in your state) is required by law to immediately suspend the driver's license of anyone arrested for (not convicted of) drunk driving who (1) has a .08% breath reading, or (2) takes a blood or urine test (which will be analyzed later), or (3) refuses to take any test. This means immediately — on the spot: the license is grabbed and the DUI suspension is legally effective the moment the officer signs the notice and hands it to you. Viewed another way, the officer in a drunk driving case is constable, prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. You have absolutely no rights. In fact, if you took a blood or urine test, they don't even wait for the results (which will come back from the lab days later): they not only presume you are guilty, they also presume that the evidence will eventually show it! So, again: How can they do that in America?
Well, at first MADD and various state legislatures decided to find a way to get drunk drivers off the highways RIGHT NOW — and not be diverted by any technicalities like, well, the Constitution. So they enacted so-called "APS†laws ("administrative per seâ€, referring to the "per se†crime of .08%, as opposed to the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol, which is for the courts). They justified this by saying that a license was a "privilegeâ€, not a "right†— and since the license holder had no rights, the state could do what it wanted.
Well, the U.S. Supreme Court blew that justification out of the water. In Bell v Burson (402 U.S. 535) the Court acknowledged that the right to drive is a privilege. However, once the state gives someone a license, that person then has a property right in it — and that right cannot be taken away without giving him due process. And due process means a fair procedure by which he can contest the confiscation of his property.
The reaction to this has generally been to continue to suspend licenses on the spot, but to then give the driver a short-term temporary operating permit during which he can request an administrative hearing. (In a few states, the process is handed over to the courts and the suspension merged with the criminal proceedings.) MADD has been successful in getting the Feds involved; a highway appropriations bill was passed which pretty much coerced all 50 states into adopting APS suspensions — or else no highway funds
Do these APS hearings in DUI cases provide due process? In other words, how fair are they?
Let's take California's APS hearings. They are conducted by a "hearing officerâ€. Is this an impartial judge? Well, he's hardly impartial: He's an employee of the DMV — the very agency that is trying to suspend the license (kind of like a judge being paid by the prosecutor). And he isn't a judge. Actually, he isn't even a lawyer; he's only required to be a high school graduate. So who is the prosecutor? He's, well, the same guy.
That's right: this DMV employee with no legal education is both judge and prosecutor. Put another way, this government beaurocrat, without ever having read the Evidence Code, can object to the driver's evidence — and then sustain his own objection!
Not too surprisingly, the DMV wins about 96% of these DUI hearings.
That's called "due process†in a drunk driving case.


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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Federal authorities in North Texas say two people forced a 15-year-old girl to work as a prostitute for five months before she was able to flee.
A federal count of sex trafficking of a child was filed against 27-year-old Deundrea R. Miller of Fort Worth and 21-year-old Brittanie S. Brattain of the Fort Worth suburb of Saginaw.
They remained in custody Thursday. If convicted they each face a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports (http://bit.ly/ZfIRSM ) the pair advertised the girl on the Internet using photos of her clad only in underwear. She worked as a prostitute from September to January before running away.
Miller and Brattain have not entered pleas and attorneys for them declined comment Thursday.


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They were re-introduced in the early 1970s by Boston's wife Magellia (she babysat Boone's children as a youth) when Boston played professionally for the New York Giants and Boone had just began as head coach at T.C. Williams High School in Virginia.
That relationship brought Boone - a coaching and civil rights icon - to Las Cruces this week. On Wednesday evening there was a private screening of "Remember the Titans" - the legendary human-rights movie using football as a backdrop, starring Denzel Washington playing Boone's character at T.C. Williams. On Thursday Boone spoke with the New Mexico State football team and was the keynote speaker at the Aggies 2012 Men's Basketball Tip-off Dinner.
"I'm represented by an extremely expensive agent and if it wasn't for Dr. Boston, I don't think I'd be here," Boone said with a chuckle. "His family and I go back. To when he was 18 years old."
Boone's legacy as a first-class football coach is well earned, as are his significant accomplishments in race relations. He amassed a 99-8 record over a nine-year period as the head football coach of E.J. Hayes High School in Williamston, N.C. during the 1960s. In 1969, he parted ways with the school in large part because he was a person of color.
In 1971 he moved to Alexandria, Va. to coach at T.C. Williams High School. Alexandria had decided to totally integrate its school system and Boone was selected as the new head football coach (replacing incumbent Bill Yoast). Upon his arrival he faced massive opposition within the community, school and team. He managed to bring football program together amongst racial turmoil, however, leading T.C. Williams to the state championship and No. 2 ranking in the country. Such an accomplishment was honored in "Remember the Titans."
"That's why Denzel took the role. He didn't want the role of just a football coach," Boone said. "He wanted a role of a story not just about football. He wanted a role where he could portray people celebrating their differences at a time when it was not popular. It's about how one can learn to accept the soul of an individual."
During a Tuesday phone interview, Boone spoke of an America with segregated schools and restaurants, and of "what (minority) parents had to go through to achieve status of a human being."
He said he didn't discuss that sentiment with NMSU's football team, however.
"Most of these kids were 10 years old," when the movie came out, he said. "They recognize me as a celebrity.
"I didn't talk to them about social changes or anything. I talked to them about competing and winning."
"Coach Boone really inspired and challenged us to be better football players and better people," said NMSU wide receiver Austin Franklin. "It was an honor to listen to him speak to the team and it will be something I'll never forget."
Teddy Feinberg can be reached at (575) 541-5455. Follow him on Twitter @TeddyFeinberg


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Thread: Preparing for the draft
04-27-2006, 12:47 PM #1Prophet Guest
Preparing for the draft
Preparing for the draft
26 April 2006
Fran Foley: Thanks for coming out. We appreciate you taking the time on a busy afternoon to come out and see us. On Saturday and Sunday, we will select players from a consensus of information. The Vikings are structured as you all know to select players that are agreed upon by a group of people and a consensus of information that is gathered from numerous sources. Speaking for the personnel department and our standpoint, it's our philosophy and our job to provide Coach Childress and the Vikings with the necessary talent to win games. We are scheduled on Saturday and Sunday to pick five selections within the first 95 slottings in the draft. This is a very unique situation for any team in any year. We have gone through over 2,000 reports in which there were 800 different possible prospects. We have added coaches' evaluations, including additional evaluations from myself and other evaluators in our pro personnel staff. This process has allowed us to condense our evaluations into a draft board of some 300 possible drafted players. Our computer liaison, Paul Nelson, has done a remarkable job in managing all of this data. Our medical staff, including Eric Sugarman, our trainer, Dr. (Sheldon) Burns and Dr. (David) Fischer, our team doctors, have been both diligent and thorough in their medical opinions. We have utilized Les Pico (Director of Player Development/Legal) and Kim Klawiter (Director of Security) and their talents to secure the necessary character checks on all of these players. Obviously Scott Studwell and the college scouts have done a great job as well in preparing for this weekend's selections. The draft, as you know, is an exhausting process but we are well prepared for both Saturday and Sunday. Both of these days are equally important in the procurement of players, so we're looking forward to it and we're excited. Obviously a lot of work has gone into the preparation for this weekend, but it's fast approaching. We do have some work to do yet, but we're very excited about this weekend. Unless has Brad or Scott has anything more to add, we'll welcome any and all questions.
Q: Could you give us an overall appraisal of the talent in this draft?
Studwell: Obviously every draft class is a little different. We think it's a rich draft early. It's a heavy second round draft after that. It's a real heavy third and fourth and fifth round draft. So there is a lot of quality but there are also some positions that are very deep, especially in the linebacker group, the cornerback group. The receiver group is a little thin this year. The quarterback group is good early but then that tails off considerably in our opinion. Defensive line is probably as thin as it's been in some time, but there is a lot of quality in this draft. Obviously with the number of picks that we have on the first day, we feel like we're going to add five real good football players to our football team.
Q: Coach, what would make you happy after Saturday?
Childress: I think like Scott just said, there are so many different flavors that if we could get five good football players, exceptional football players, I'd be elated. It doesn't make any difference what order, offense, defense, it makes not a difference to me. Good football players are the name of the game. You want to hit on those guys.
Q: Fran, does it make it more challenging that this is the first time you guys have worked together?
Foley: I think the philosophy within this group is pretty much the same. We're all on the same page with what we're trying to get accomplished. Of course Rob Brzezinski is also involved in the decision-making process this weekend. I feel very comfortable working with everybody.
Q: What are you doing to make sure that everything goes smoothly?
Foley: Trying to get as much sleep as we can at night, lots of sleep.
Q: Do you still take the best player available regardless of position?
Studwell: Absolutely. Our process quite honestly has not changed. I think what's really been unique and helpful for us as a scouting staff is number one, Brad and Fran I think have agreed to watch our process, learn about our process, and work within our process that we've had that Rob (Brzezinski) implemented three years ago. It's been a good system for us. I'm sure that at some point after this draft that if there are some changes that they want to make, then we'll certainly implement those. We're after the best players. Obviously we've identified some positions of need for our football team. If we fill them, great, but I'm still of the school of thought that you can't go wrong taking a good football player regardless of position. We know what the needs are on this football team, at least we think we know what the needs are. If we can fill them, great, and if not, we're still going to get some real good football players that are going to help us win championships here. That is our philosophy, to take the best player available and it will continue to be that unless it changes somewhere down the road, but I don't see that change any time soon. I think you build your team with good players and you fill in around them. That will continue to be our philosophy.
Q: Can you tell us what those needs are?
Studwell: No.
Q: Is there a lot of gamesmanship and unpredictability with this draft?
Studwell: It is. Obviously you spend 10 months a year preparing for two days worth of action. I think there are a lot of smokescreens getting sent up right now by a lot of clubs. Last year we were in a position picking at #7, obviously as I said before every draft is different, but that is a very high pick and it is a very valuable pick. You're going to spend a lot of money on a player up there. I think these teams are jockeying for position. I think these three quarterbacks are certainly going to be in the equation at some point early in the draft. Nobody wants to tip their hand because everybody has flexibility to go up in this draft. There are good enough players in probably the top 10 or 11 spots that teams would like to get up there to get them, ourselves included. We do have a lot of picks available to do that if we decide to do that, but that will be a draft day decision. I think you can read a lot into what a lot of people are saying, but I think you could certainly target who the top seven or eight players are going to be. It's just a question of who is going to get them.
Q: Do you see any scenario where one of those three quarterbacks falls to you at #17 and what do you think of them?
A: We like all three of them. Obviously they are all good players. None of them are ready to step in and play right away. I think that's a position, the quarterback position, I think if you throw a young quarterback into that type of environment or that type of setting, I think there is a high chance of failure. If you do that and there is that, then there is an awful lot of damage control that has to go along with that. We like the talents of all three of those quarterbacks. We have to wait and see what happens on draft day. You never know, things change. People get scared of players, people get afraid of taking players. For whatever reason, could one of them fall to us? We don't know that. We'll find out Saturday.
Q: How much of this process has been the scouting side and the coaching side figuring out what kind of player you want?
Foley: I think that was the main point we addressed when we came together. I'm talking more myself with Brad than with Scott. One of the first orders of business we had was to conduct extensive meetings on what exactly it was the coaches wanted for each position. If they had a size, weight, or speed requirement for a player, what is it that it would be for every position and then we communicated that early in February to the scouts so they could do a better job of preparing for this draft. As Scott mentioned, this draft started in May of last year. That's when you start getting the information ready for the next draft. The scouts have been on the road for quite some time. We came in and we said here's the change and this is what we are looking for player-wise, now make your adjustments. The coaches have been very involved in the preparation for this draft. They have been involved in the intensive meetings that we have conducted the last two weeks. There has been a lot of interaction.
Childress: That was one of the first things, even before Fran got here, was to evaluate the players in this program, to write up a protocol if you will of what the guys looks like that plays the three-technique on defense. What is a prototype tight end in this offense. We went through that, hammered it out, put it down on paper, talked about it, talked about it with Fran, Scott, the scouts, the coaches and so more you talk about it the more you see that guy. In our business, a picture paints a thousand words. You see that guy on tape, hey, here's what I'm talking about. This guy right here, see what he's doing right here? That's what we're looking for, the kind of guy that can do that. That's part of the process as well. We did that at an early stage.
Q: In a broad sense, can you articulate what kind of player you want?
Childress: Every position has different parameters in terms of height, weight, speed and size. We want guys that are squared away character-wise. We've said that over and over, good people that are good players.
Q: Can character be the deciding factor if all of the other things are equal?
Childress: Yeah, I think Scott does a great job of identifying those guys, whether we tag them or whether they have a different mark by them. We talk about what factors make up that guy as a player. We also talk about some of those intangibles. Was his dad a coach? Did he have issues with the coach on his team? Did he have some type of record? Did he have an arrest? Did he have a disorderly conduct? Those are all things that we end up taking a look at.
Q: Will this weekend be the first true test of this process with all of you working together?
Foley: No, I think we've been working every day on a number of different issues, different fronts. Scott has had his process with the scouts and managing them, and Brad and I and Rob have been through the free agency process. I think the only difference between now and the free agency process is that this draft is going to start on time where the free agency process started a couple weeks late. That's not going to happen this time. But no, I think we've already been through a big process in itself, and I think it better prepares us for the draft.
Q: Brad, what has been your role on draft day in the past with Philadelphia as a coordinator?
Childress: Well because you have to look at all the positions on offense, you get a group of guys that were targeted in the offensive line, fullback, wide receiver, running back, tight end, etc. Whereas an offensive line coach may look at 25 to 45 guys, the coordinator might look at 15 to 18 guys that are earmarked, and then after you write your reports, you sit and listen to all the position coaches who come through and talk about their guys as the draft process occurs, as we have draft readings, if you will, and throw your two cents worth in, how you see a guy.
Q: Scott, do you ever compare your draft board to all the mock drafts that are out there?
Studwell: Obviously there is a lot of information that's floating around about the draft and all the so-called draft experts. We would like to at least consider ourselves draft experts, so no, we rely, obviously, very heavily on our information, on our scouts' input, and we don't care how other people have their boards stacked. We don't care how Mel Kiper has his board stacked. Are we going to take a shot on draft day? Boy, I hope not, but if we do, we do. That's because they're our picks, and that's all that matters. We totally discount that information. We're not draftniks; we get paid to evaluate players, and hopefully we do it well enough to put the best players on the field for the Minnesota Vikings.
Q: How many times have you nailed the mock draft you created?
Studwell: To be honest with you, we had a mock draft today and it's the first time we've done it. It's just something that we've never really done in the past. Obviously you can sit and create hundreds of different scenarios. Who's going to take who? Who's going to move here? Who's going to move there? We did go through the exercise today, and actually it was kind of fun. I think the guys enjoyed it. I think everybody knows who the top players are. I liked the way the first time went through, and I didn't like the way the second time went through. If we get the players we picked the first time through, I'll be doing cartwheels out here. But we have not done (a mock draft) historically here, but I think it was a good exercise because what it does is it may identify some players all your scouts liked that nobody picked. Maybe that's an indication of, "Well we liked him and we graded him that way but we'd rather take him a little later
Q: You didn't have a draft where Reggie Bush fell to you at number 17 did you?
Studwell: No.
Q: How many rounds did you go in these mock drafts?
A: We went through two rounds, but we went through it twice. It was a good exercise and I'm sure it's something we will continue to do.
Q: Do you look at other teams' needs when you're thinking about when to select a guy?
Studwell: I think that's something that Fran has spent some time on with our pro scouts as well, identifying the particular team needs of everyone else, which we've done in the past, but we haven't really paid a lot of attention to it because our focus is on trying to take the best player available when we're on the clock. We try to take the needs factor out of it, and to be honest, when we went through the exercise today, a lot of the guys really took the best player on the board that they felt was left. Maybe that's ingrained in us, but I think more so than anything else, it helps you if there's any type of potential trade talk if you think you may need to go up to this certain point to get this certain player because there are other teams in front of you with the same needs and wants that you have. I think that's what really helps identify what the other teams are looking at, where their holes on the roster are, who they signed as free agents and who they lost. I think that really helps from that perspective, but as far as taking quote-unquote the best player, it really doesn't affect that.
Q: Have you had any indication from the league on Onterrio Smith's situation, and does that affect what you do this weekend at all?
Childress: Well it does, but as you know, the substance program is highly confidential with the NFL, so you really can't make too many statements about that.
Q: Are you open to trading picks to help the team get better?
Foley: We have exercises in place that will allow for movement throughout the draft if need be. Now we haven't covered all of those, but we have numerical values put on slots; it's used as a guide. They've used one in the past; we're currently using one this year.
Q: What are you looking for with the linebacker position in this defense?
Childress: Well there's just a premium on speed, on being able to run. You're seeing all kinds of shapes and sizes - 255-pound guys that can run and 225-pound guys that can run - and we like some of both and everywhere in between there. Just how they play the game and that they're playing it wide open and again, being able to get there and make something happen violently when you get there.
Q: What about quarterbacks for the future?
Childress: Well there are a lot of different flavors for those guys too. Scott kind of talked about the three guys at the top, and we'd certainly take any one of those guys. We'll just have to see how that all plays out, but there are a number of other guys as you go through; you just have to make sure you like them enough.
Q: Can you give an indication of how many guys are rated 1st or 2nd round picks as far as talent but with injuries or character concerns, you completely take them off the board or drop them a few rounds?
Studwell: We don't take anybody off the board. We basically tag players, as Fran or Brad had alluded to earlier. We assign them their value and their ability grade, and then if there's an issue, whether it be a medical issue or a character issue or a learning issue or something that would be a red flag for us, then we'll just pass over. But I'm not at liberty to tell you how many players there are in that category.
Q: Is there an impact player you could get at that number 17 pick?
Studwell: We won't know that until we go on the clock. There are a lot of good football players that we have identified that we would be happy to take at 17. We don't know if they're going to be impact players or not; we won't know that for two or three years. I think it's unfair to label guys as impact players, even the top pick in the draft. You're grading players based on their college production and their pro potential. That's what we're doing. You obviously hope they carry that over to our level, but there will be a player there that we think is going to be a heck of a football player for us and obviously we've identified as a starter for us at some point, whether it's this year or next year or the year after. That's a high pick; those are supposed to be the best players in the draft, and if we miss on those guys, I won't be here next year. It's an important pick, so all the players we've identified that we would take with that pick, we feel like they are going to be very good players.
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RBC denies that it replaced laid-off Canadians with new arrivals from India
A report from CBC News about the replacement of RBC employees with temporary workers from India stirred outrage across Canada this weekend.
But the bank came forward on Sunday afternoon to refute claims that their approach to outsourcing was out of bounds.
Is this even legal? RBC replaces Canadian staff with foreign workers cbc.sh/21Hqa1P—
Margaret E. Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) April 07, 2013
"We are working diligently to find suitable roles for those affected and it is our hope over the next few months to transition them to other positions," read the statement from RBC's chief human resources officer Zabeen Hirji.
She clarified to The Canadian Press that the IT service duties performed by the 45 laid-off staffers were being taken over by the Bangalore-based outsourcing firm iGate — with which RBC has been working closely since 2005. The new arrivals weren't employees of RBC per se.
Further spin came from RBC's head of Enterprise Services and chief procurement officer Greg Grice:
"RBC agreements with suppliers, including in this case iGate, requires them to ensure that they are abiding by the applicable laws and regulations," he said in a statement.
"External suppliers allow us to leverage their scale and technical skills to continually improve our operational processes and service, and re-invest in initiatives that enhance the client experience."
RBC nonetheless announced plans to discuss some of its hiring practices with the federal government after two Conservative ministers expressed their displeasure with the report — along with other politicians from across the spectrum.
Shocking abuse of Cdn system! RBC replaces Canadian staff with foreign workers cbc.sh/uxvMCfB #fb—
Peggy Nash (@PeggyNashNDP) April 07, 2013
The original story relayed the anger of staffers who were losing their jobs in their late 50s or early 60s who feared not being able to find a comparable position in the years leading up to retirement age.
"The bank is doing this while making billions of dollars in record profits and they don't think about the impact on us," said one anonymous RBC Investor Services employee, who was among the members of a 50-person department who were told in February that they'd be out of work by the end of April.
"We are like fleas on an elephant."
The bank told the CBC that the bulk of the foreign workers would be based in Toronto through 2015 at which time the department will be moved abroad. But a few of them will stick around indefinitely.
Human Resources Minister Diane Finley expressed her dismay with the report in a statement released on Sunday morning.
"The purpose of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is to fill acute labour needs when Canadians are not available for the work required," explained Finley.
Re RBC replaces staff with temporary foreign workers: Feds must approve entry of each TFW. Numbers soared since 2006. http://t.co/RF0dqwioRW—
Armine Yalnizyan (@ArmineYalnizyan) April 07, 2013
"It was never intended as a means to bring in temporary foreign workers in order to replace already-employed Canadian workers."
A review of the program has been launched to "in order to ensure that situations such as this won't happen again."
Meanwhile, the United Steelworkers have extended an offer of support to the terminated RBC employees.
Hey RBC staff. Fraser Inst says that unionised workers have better wages and job security than non union staff. Fight back, join a union.—
Sid Ryan (@SidRyan_OFL) April 07, 2013
RBC refused to answer the CBC's questions about the type of work visas issued to the temporary employees or how they were approved.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney expressed his displeasure with the news and further suggested that any company that was using the rules to displace Canadians "should have the book thrown at them."
Hey #rbc stockholders, Gordon Nixon took home $12.6 mill last year. Must be somebody in India who will do the job for half of that.—
Jonathon Gatehouse (@JonGatehouse) April 07, 2013
Dave Moreau, the outgoing RBC employee who contacted the CBC about the development, pointed out the fact that he is among those expected to train the iGate temps during his last few weeks on the job.
"The person who is replacing me has asked a lot of questions and doesn't know a major portion of the type of systems that we are working with."
More details about the controversy can be found in the original report from the CBC.
Further criticism was posted on a Facebook page that called for a boycott of RBC — while the bank disabled the ability to leave comments on its own page.
@torontodan @RBC Bullshit.! They were unfairly ,maligned by a hype-artiste at CBC. I know the facts. They will apologize or pay—
Ray Heard (@RayHeard) April 07, 2013


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Dan Arkush
Executive editor
Recent posts by Dan Arkush
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In great part because Saints S Malcolm Jenkins went out of his way to make life miserable for rookie QB Sam Bradford down by the bayou, the Rams' three-game road trip ended on a sour note Sunday with a 31-13 defeat.
The loss dropped the Rams below .500, but they still remain tied atop the NFC West with Seattle and have an excellent opportunity to regain some important stretch-drive momentum with a win at home this Sunday against the Chiefs in a meaningful "Show Me State" showdown.
The Rams didn't show much against the Saints. Bradford was below average with a pair of red-zone interceptions into the hands of the pesky Jenkins, and St. Louis' defense allowed Saints QB Drew Brees to do pretty much whatever he wanted. The Rams' pass rush delivered surprisingly minimal pressure, and an undermanned secondary that was missing CBs Ronald Bartell (stinger) and Justin King (shoulder) provided very spotty coverage.
The PFW Spin
Dare I say beggars should not be choosers? I mean, could anybody have predicted before the season started that this Sunday's All-Missouri matchup would be so genuinely significant for both the Rams and Chiefs? Clearly, each of these teams has made unexpectedly major strides, and the Rams could be catching a break with Chiefs QB Matt Cassel's status remaining questionable following his recent appendectomy.
Rams head coach Steve Spagnuolo has emphasized a steady-as-she-goes, one-game-at-a time approach, and the odds seem good that the Rams will forget about last week and rebound with a rejuvenated effort against the Chiefs, who might have had their worst game of the year in their shutout loss to the Chargers last Sunday.
It does appear, however, that the St. Louis defense's back seven has been adversely affected by a recent rash of injuries, most notably the season-ending torn pectoral suffered by SLB Na'il Diggs, who provided badly needed experience and savvy that could be sorely missed down the stretch. Getting Bartell back into the starting mix would help immensely.
The Rams' offensive line, which allowed the Saints to get in Bradford's face way too often last week while registering three sacks, also must put forth a much sharper effort against the Chiefs.


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This Catholic Update looks at ways in which the U.S. bishops' pastoral letter Economic Justice for All is still relevant 25 years after it was published.
"Tough economic times" is a lament we have heard and probably used many times in recent years. First, the recession that began in 2007 brought bankruptcies and bailouts, losses of homes and jobs. More recently, polarizing budget battles have captured the headlines, and rising prices for food and oil have caused stress and frustration. The very poor in the world, who must struggle just to stay alive, have suffered the most.
Does faith have some role to play in these difficult days? Absolutely! The pastoral letter of the U.S. bishops, Economic Justice for All, published in November 1986, still offers insight, challenge and hope. Although some parts of the letter are dated ("globalization" was not yet a popular term), the scriptural foundations and key ethical themes remain essential for addressing today's tough economic times.
This Catholic Update will summarize the context and content of the letter, especially the Christian vision of economic life. Then we will consider how ethics and economics mix in today's real world and our role.
But first, a brief, yet serious examination of consciousness can help us hear what the pastoral letter has to say. Given political rhetoric, advertising, talk shows and other influences on us, we may approach economic issues mostly from political or cultural perspectives.
For example, do we consider these issues primarily in terms of Republican or Democratic commitments? Are our values based on gender or class rather than the gospel? Are these values, often unexamined, actually more influential than our Christian faith? Are our minds made up before we hear what our religious tradition says?
The 1980s
During the early 1980s, when Economic Justice for All was written, there were growing deficits, cutbacks in domestic programs, new tax cuts, increased defense spending; and worldwide—severe debt and inflation in the developing world, millions of starving people, and a growing gap between rich and poor. Many similar issues are even worse today.
In a simple sentence that may surprise—even stun—many people, the bishops proclaim that economic life is one of the "chief areas where we live out our faith, love our neighbor" and "fulfill God's creative design" (#6).
Economic decisions affect the quality of people's lives, even to the point of determining whether people live or die. In response to such massive problems as unemployment, poverty and starvation, the bishops offer a Christian vision of the economic life.
The basic criterion against which all aspects of economic life must be measured is the dignity of the person, along with the community and solidarity that are essential to this dignity. Economic Justice for All first turns to Scripture for this foundation.
Creation, covenant, community
From the Hebrew Scriptures the pastoral letter highlights the themes of creation, covenant and community. The first chapters of Genesis declare that man and woman are created in God's own image. In the human, by each person's very existence, there are dignity and sacredness.
Genesis describes another dimension of human existence: sinfulness. Sin alienates people from God and from one another. Genesis also speaks about humans and their relationship with the rest of the created world. We have come to realize that fragile and limited resources demand faithful stewardship.
Exodus describes the story of the Hebrews' slavery and God's deliverance, a story of covenant and commitment. God establishes a special bond with the Hebrew people, and they promise to follow faithfully God's law. This law shows special concern for the vulnerable persons in the community, the widows and orphans and the strangers in the land.
"Biblical faith in general, and prophetic faith especially, insist that fidelity to the covenant joins obedience to God with reverence and concern for the neighbor.... The biblical understanding of justice [harmony rooted in right relationships so all can thrive] gives a fundamental perspective to our reflections on social and economic justice" (#37).
Jesus and discipleship
Turning to the New Testament, Economic Justice for All describes Jesus' proclamation of the Reign of God in word and deed: "What Jesus proclaims by word, he enacts in his ministry" (#42).
The letter highlights his trust in God, his works of healing and his care for the alienated. In developing the biblical theme of discipleship, Economic Justice for All explains the contemporary phrase "preferential option for the poor."
The bishops point out that in the New Testament salvation is extended to all people. At the same time, Jesus takes the side of those most in need, physically and spiritually. Contemporary followers of Jesus, then, are challenged to take on this perspective: to see things from the side of the poor, to assess public policies in terms of their impact on the poor, to experience God's power in the midst of poverty and powerlessness (#48-52).
Major issues and the issue
Following the tradition of Catholic social teaching, Economic Justice for All considers the economy from the perspective of human dignity, justice and the common good. The letter addresses four issues in great detail: employment, poverty, food and agriculture, and the developing nations.
Is "an unfettered free-market economy" to be affirmed or is the capitalist system "inherently inequitable"(#128)? The bishops note that Catholic social teaching has generally rejected both extremes, while acknowledging positives and negatives in both capitalism and socialism.
Any critique of capitalism may surprise people in the developed world (see Pope John Paul II's On the Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, or Pope Benedict XVI's Charity in Truth). But our recent popes have taught us that we need to be critical. Perhaps, without even being aware of it, many people have internalized the market values of their society.
Gospel values, as developed and applied by the social teachings, may seem idealistic and out of touch with reality—or simply be rejected as some form of communism or socialism. Economic Justice for All and the papal encyclicals, then, offer serious content for the prayerful examination of our convictions and our follow-up actions.
Six moral principles
Based on the scriptural foundations, the bishops offer six moral principles that remain relevant for today's tough economic times.
1. People have dignity.
"Every economic decision and institution must be judged in light of whether it protects or undermines the dignity of the human person" (#13 in the pastoral message). Created in the image of God, every person is sacred, whatever one's achievements or economic status. The economy, then, must serve people and not just profit.
2. We live together.
"Human dignity can be realized and protected only in community" (#14 in the pastoral message) is the second principle. Here the pastoral message focuses on the social dimension of human existence.
We are all connected to the common good, described by Pope John XXIII as all those conditions of society that enable people more fully to achieve their own perfection as human beings. A just economy serves all people and not just the privileged few. Love of neighbor must include this social commitment, so the bishops ask: "Does economic life enhance or threaten our life together as a community?" (#14).
3. Everyone participates.
"All people have a right to participate in the economic life of society" (#15 in the pastoral message). This third principle seems so simple and direct, yet has such profound implications. More and more, the Church's social teachings have emphasized the importance of participation, that is, people having the opportunity to shape their own destiny. While it is good to protect workers and the poor, it is even better for these people to be empowered through employment to "meet their material needs, exercise their talents, and...contribute to the larger community" (#15).
4. Protect the poor.
"All members of society have a special obligation to the poor and vulnerable" (#16 in the pastoral message). In this section the bishops call on all disciples of Jesus "to speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess lifestyles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor" (#16).
5. Protect human rights.
"Human rights are the minimum conditions for life in community" (#17). Catholic social teaching has specified these rights. They include the right to life, food, shelter, medical care, education and employment. Clearly these rights include economic rights along with civil and political ones.
6. Government has a role. Catholic social teaching has consistently emphasized government's essential responsibility in safeguarding human rights. "Society as a whole, acting through public and private institutions, has the moral responsibility to enhance human dignity and protect human rights" (#18).
Actions for tough economic times
What everyday actions embodying these six moral principles are possible for ordinary people? These action steps range from the reflective to the practical to the political.
1. Read prayerfully #28-60 of Economic Justice for All. This section contains many references to Scripture that can be a wonderful source of prayer, especially on the dignity that comes from being created in God's image.
Another part of this step would be to read #64-67 in the pastoral letter and then Chapter Five (#53-67) in Pope Benedict's Charity in Truth. These passages will deepen our sense of global community and solidarity.
2. Perform an examination of consciousness. Honestly pay attention to the assumptions that shape our moral perceptions and judgments.
A way to bring these assumptions to light would be to imagine, again prayerfully, particular people or groups, especially those who are very different or difficult. About whom do you have strong negative feelings—terrorists, undocumented immigrants, politicians? The possibilities are almost endless. Ask how well or poorly these feelings (and the comments and actions flowing from them) embody Scripture's conviction about human dignity.
Reflecting on the pastoral letter's questions about our economic system would be another way to uncover these assumptions: "Does our economic system place more emphasis on maximizing profits than on meeting human needs and fostering human dignity? Does it promote excessive materialism and individualism? Does it adequately protect the environment and the nation's natural resources? Does it direct too many scarce resources to military purposes?" (#132 in Economic Justice for All).
3. Expand our horizons. Learn about "the bottom billion"—the billion women, men and children who live in extreme poverty without sufficient food, clean water and other basic necessities of life. An excellent place to start is "Catholics Confront Global Poverty" at old.usccb.org/sdwp/globalpoverty.
This new awareness could lead to very practical elements in our daily lives—clothes, chocolate or coffee, for example. Read about the exploitation of poor persons, especially women and children, in the making of our clothes in sweatshops and the picking of cocoa and coffee beans. Learn the huge difference between free-trade and fair-trade products. Consider consuming less in order to pay the often higher prices for fair-trade goods so that the workers, members of our human community, receive a just wage.
Discover local needs as well. Helping to organize a parish discussion on key themes of the pastoral letter is a great place to start. Social-justice committees, St. Vincent de Paul groups, Catholic Charities and other similar organizations can offer concrete ways to help create conditions so that others can participate more fully in life. Participating in these groups also offers support for one's own living a faith-filled, counter-cultural lifestyle.
4. Discern carefully the "wisdom sources" we use to gather information. What are the underlying values and commitments of the person or organization or media? Is it profit or power or people?
Does a particular political/economic stance color even a religion-based author or journal? The consistent ethic of life, a contemporary expression of biblical morality, provides a helpful guide for this discernment.
5. Follow up with informed voting.
Economic Justice for All and the papal encyclicals remind us of the intimate connection between ethics, economics, and politics. To take the "special obligation to the poor" seriously implies consideration of immigration policies, budget battles, Medicare and Medicaid, tax breaks, and a host of other emotion-filled topics. Politicians and policies make a difference. Choosing the best candidates can help create economic justice for all.
Tertio Millennio Adveniente
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace's 2011 document Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority
Day of Reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world--Assisi 2011
Fr. John's advice on Catholic spiritual questions will speak to your soul and touch your heart.
"I highly recommend this charming book for every Christian family, school, and faith formation library." – Donna Marie Cooper O'Boyle, EWTN host
This book distills wisdom from Merton's books and journals on enduring themes still relevant to readers today.
Enter the world of medieval England in this account of a rare and courageous woman, a saint of the Anglican church.


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I am rediscovering J2ME development after 2-3 years of other development, and while Nokia used to be one of the leaders in this area I must say I'm shocked at how their tools seem to have been stuck in a time warp.
The first problem is not having proper support for Windows Vista, never mind Windows 7, and particularly for 64bit versions of these platforms. Windows XP is now a seriously outdated platform, and developers lose out not being able to make use of the power and convenience of newer systems. We ended up reinstalling XP on an old dev machine and remoting to it, but while this gets the job done, it is obviously far from ideal.
Secondly, the SDKs themselves require the 1.4.2 version of Sun's JRE, a version so old it's in the archive section of the downloads site. Surely the change to allow for new JRE versions is small enough to warrant recompiling and re-releasing these tools?
If I compare this to the great experience with Apple's dev tools (yes I understand they don't have to deal with as much device fragmentation) it's hard to believe Nokia actually cares about devs developing decent software for their devices.
If I'm completely off-kilter here because I'm trying to use the old tools I used before (Netbeans+Mobility with device emulators) please by all means correct me and point me in the right direction.


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The Reds had the most 79-83 season ever. A record like that hints at a boring kind of unsuccessful -- not quite average, but not bad enough for gallows humor. It was the Bronson Arroyo of seasons, then.
But they're going for it now. Oh, how they're going for it. They had two huge trading chips -- Yasmani Grandal (blocked by Devin Mesoraco) and Yonder Alonso (blocked by Joey Votto). They traded them in the same deal for one player. That was a bold move. Another bold move: trading prospects and depth for a reliever. That's the sort of thing that a team does when they think they're contenders.
And why not? The top two teams in their division each lost a huge piece. It's not like the Cardinals and Brewers swapped out Alex Gonzalez for Alex S. Gonzalez. SI's Joe Lemire explains the new NL Central:
The Reds needed such a bold move because their window to contend is now. The Cardinals just lost Albert Pujols; the Brewers are about to lose Prince Fielder; the Pirates are probably still two years away from being a serious threat; and the Cubs and Astros have long rebuilding projects in front of them.
Between the trades for Mat Latos and Sean Marshall, though, that might be it for the Reds -- that might be every cannonball they had, fired out in rapid succession. They held on to stolen-base wunderkind Billy Hamilton and Daniel Corcino, but the departure of Yonder Alonso and five other prospects has dealt their farm system a huge hit.
So let's step back into the land of hypotheticals. The Reds had two young catchers that a lot of teams coveted; the Reds had two young first basemen that a lot of teams coveted. They were right to explore trades. They would have been insane not to. But did they do the right thing by trading their two biggest chips for a starting pitcher, and a chunk of their organizational depth for a reliever? Grandal and Alonso were kind of their 401(k). They'll always wonder if they cashed out and retired at the right time. Jack McKeon joke.
In my ill-informed opinion, the Reds' offseason priority list looked something like this:
- Shortstop
- Left field
- Starting pitcher
- Reliever
A reliever will always be at the bottom of just about every list like this. Find your own damn closer. Matt Herges was a closer. Kevin Gregg was a closer. Their teams survived. Giving up too much for a closer when there are other holes on a team is like putting six sugar packets in your mouth and waiting for someone to make you coffee.
As for the first two, the Reds think they have some in-house options that make sense for them. Chris Heisey showed a lot of power as he picked up more at-bats, and his minor-league numbers aren't quite as hackeriffic as his major-league numbers.
Zack Cozart should be fully healthy for spring training, and he should be an improvement on Paul Janish. Of course, so would Neifi Perez. If you think that's hyperbole, note that Janish's 42 OPS+ was the worst in the NL since Tony Womack in 2003.
If there were obvious improvements over those two -- say, the Marlins trading Mike Stanton to save electricity with their new home-run feature -- sure, that would have been preferable. As is, the Reds aren't delusional to think that Heisey and Cozart can be internal fixes for them.
Which leaves starting pitcher. Because while Johnny Cueto had a great year, and Mike Leake was outstanding after returning from … the unpleasantness, the Reds knew they could use another top-of-the-rotation guy. Well, every team could, but the Reds especially did. So adding up that
a) it's not a bad idea for the Reds to take on a win-now approach, and
b) a trade for a young, cost-controllable pitcher who could fit at the top of the rotation was probably the most sensible improvement they could make
… I'll opine that the Mat Latos trade was just about the best way they could spend their top two trade chips. It's a little premature to suggest that the NL Central is wide open, but adding Latos to this lineup was a well-timed move without being a short-term patch.
As for Marshall, he's a reliever, but at least he's a good one. It was still a lot to give up for a reliever in his walk year. More of a fan of the Latos trade from the Reds' perspective.
The succession of moves were bold risks, but they were understandable ones. As an organizational strategy, it beats signing Joe Saunders and pretending that Yonder Alonso can play another position, at least.


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We are looking back 20 years this week to the Northridge Earthquake on January 17th 1994.
Some details of that traumatic event that you may have forgotten.
According to the California Earthquake Data Center at Caltech:
The quake hit at 4:30am , 6.7 Magnitude
Faults Involved: Northridge Thrust (also known as Pico Thrust) and several other faults experienced minor rupture
Epicenter: 20 miles west-northwest of Los Angeles, 1 mile south-southwest of Northridge
Type of Fault: Blind Thrust
Duration: While the actual rupture of the fault only lasted about 8 seconds, but because of amplification and reverberation of the seismic waves most people felt shaking for 20 to 30 seconds.
The quake was felt from Orange to Ventura Counties, with impacted areas covering more than 2,500 square miles and 50 cities.
Caltech says the earthquake produced the "strongest ground motions ever instrumentally recorded in an urban setting in North America."
57 deaths directly attributed to the quake.
Approximately 12,000 injuries.
Up to 114,000 people left homeless.
100 major alarm fires.
Approximately 449,000 homes/apartments damaged or destroyed
Nearly 9,000 public and commercial buildings damaged or destroyed
More than $20 billion in damage, According to FEMA, this was the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history at that time.
According to the DWP, 25% of the city's power system was knocked out , and took nearly two weeks to repair. Also, the California Aquaduct sustained numerous leaks and cracks, and there was moderate damage to the city's treatment plants, underground pipes and reservoirs.
Though the Aquaduct was repaired in seven days, a "boil order" was in effect for two weeks.
L.A. City Fire reported that there were numerous natural gas leaks – especially along Balboa Boulevard in Granada Hills. Most of the leaks involved pipelines that were older than 30 years at the time.
When the quake struck, Caltrans was in the midst of a multi-billion dollar freeway retrofitting program to strengthen freeway crossings. Both of the freeways that were thought to be strong enough to withstand a moderate earthquake( like the Northridge quake) failed.
I-10 (Santa Monica Freeway) Reopened April 11, 1994.
I-5 and State Highway 14 interchange – Partially reopened July 8, 1994; fully reopened at the end of Feb., 1995
State Highway 118 (damaged bridges at Gothic Avenue and Bull Creek)- fully reopened on May 18, 1994
$80 million in federal emergency funds was used to repair the Coliseum alone
--Northridge Meadows Apartments , 9565 Reseda Blvd.
A three-story wood frame 163 unit apartment complex. FEMA says because the first story was of "soft" construction, the initial shock of the quake caused the second and third floors to "pancake" down onto the first floor.
Almost 24 hours after the first jolt struck, the entire complex was searched and cleared of all victims. Final toll: 16 dead and 30 people rescued. Unconfirmed number of injuries. Another housing complex stands in the spot today.
--Northridge Fashion Center, 9301 Tampa
The earthquake demolished the parking structure, trapping a man (Salvador Pena)who was running a sweeper. He was rescued by firefighters using jackhammers after being buried nine hours. Six of the mall's stores were damaged, including the Bullock's, which was demolished and rebuilt the following year.
--Cal State Northridge:
Fires broke out in three science buildings at the school, causing light structural damage. Multi-story parking structure destroyed. Three physical rescues; no fatalities.
--Chatsworth & Balboa in Granada Hills
The side of this building fell off when the end walls collapsed and separated from the main unit over the full height of the building. The building was red-tagged.
--St. John's Hospital, Santa Monica Blvd. & 20th St. in Santa Monica
Severe damage to the older buildings, which were red-tagged. Hospital has since been rebuilt.
--St. Vibiana's Cathedral, 114 E. 2nd St., downtown L.A.
Heavily damaged in quake. Archdiocese tried to demolish it, but preservationists saved it. Today it's being considered as a site for a restaurant. Main Catholic church, Our Lady of the Angels, opened in 2002.
Mayor Richard Riordan declared a state of emergency and a dusk-to-dawn curfew was put into effect for several days.
Governor Pete Wilson issued a disaster declaration for the entire L.A. County, and the National Guard was called in.
President Clinton signed a major disaster declaration on Feb. 12, 1994, freeing up federal money for disaster relief.
State legislation established the California Earthquake Authority : a program that offers minimal earthquake insurance coverage at a high premium and deductible.
Standard quake insurance – the kind that was available before the '94 quake – is no longer sold.
A law was passed requiring water heaters to be strapped in place.
Seismologists now can map out areas with the most serious seismic activity quickly, thanks to monitoring systems installed throughout the state.
In his budget proposal last week, Governor Brown provides money to hire an additional three seismic researchers to monitor quake activity and active faults – bringing the number up to four.
In 1994, following the quake, SB 1953 was passed, requiring hospitals throughout the state to comply with stricter seismic requirements, with the goal being that in the event of another big quake, hospitals will be the last buildings standing.
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