text:
The wait is over! Download the BeerAdvocate app on iTunes or Google Play now.
Get 12 issues / year of BeerAdvocate magazine for only $9.99!
Heart Shaped Box - Oakshire Brewing
No picture uploaded.
Have one? Upload it now.
Ratings: 13 | Reviews: 10 | Display Reviews Only:
4.53/5 rDev +7.3%
Described as a bourbon barrel aged oatmeal stout aged with vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, espresso, and bing cherries.
Draft serving into a tulip glass, review from notes.
Black body, dark tan mocha foam. Spotty lace clings to the edges, and the foam eventually dissipates in the center. Foam has a creamy texture, and the foam is sticky on the lips.
Huge espresso coffee aromas, very rich and deeply roasty, blended with the soft sweetness of vanilla bean. Minor brown sugar sweetness as well.
Deeply roasty and bitter, dark chocolate, fudge, double espresso shot, intense waves of roast and chocolate, rounded by a mellower vanilla character. Earthy dry roast lingers into the aftertaste, with a hint of barrel character. Medium to light bodied with supple carbonation. Surprisingly light in feel compared to the intensity of smell and taste. Very rich and packed with flavor, though the relatively low abv makes it deceptively easy to drink. Thanks Matt for sending this to Chicago!!
05-27-2011 03:58:58 | More by emerge077
Ontario (Canada)
4.22/5 rDev 0%
On-tap at the Map Room. Thanks to Matt Van Wyck for hooking us up with some of his barrel-aged experiments. Served in a tulip glass.
A - A finger of creamy tan foam settles to a thin ring and a few wisps, leaving plenty of splotchy lace. Near-black body with a big of red-brown coloration at the bottom of the glass.
S - Huge coffee - you can tell the espresso stout was the base beer. Plenty of vanilla bean, light chocolate and dark fruits. Not getting a ton of overt cherry or cocoa nib, and the whiskey character is quite light other than some oaky vanilla - I'm not 100% sure I'd have realized this was bourbon barrel-aged.
T - Taste is quite similar, but the vanilla beans move to the forefront leaving bitter espresso and light notes of dark chocolate for the finish. A bit of tart cherry skin flavor pops up, but it's arguably more textural than it is flavor. Not much barrel presence, but I guess it was only aged for 6 weeks. Gets a bit saccharine after 6oz, but still quite enjoyable.
M - Body is quite light, although not totally inappropriate for a regular strength stout. Moderate carbonation, and a fairly clean and neutral finish.
D - Pretty flavorful stuff, particularly for the lower alcohol. Drinking multiple glasses might be a bit much with the caffeine and high sugar content, but it's also refreshing to have an intense beer that won't put me to sleep. Hope this becomes an Oakshire regular.
05-27-2011 15:26:22 | More by MasterSki
4.08/5 rDev -3.3%
On tap at Belmont Station yesterday (the beer selection at the station during OBF week is flat out killer).
The beer pours a blackish brown color with very good head retention and considerable sticky lacing all around. The nose is likewise attractive, showcasing a boatload of coffee grounds and tobacco (cigar, in this case). The coffee flavor comes through very well on the palate as well, with some light chcolate and vanilla. Mouthfeel is surprising light in this fairly dry stout, yet the beer still has a very long, soft and creamy finish. For the abv., this beer really delivers a lot of flavor. Not surprisingly, the alcohol is well integrated into the flavor profile, and the beer is not at all heavy or tiring on the palate.
Very nice stout from the folks at Oakshire Brewing.
07-28-2011 16:05:32 | More by John_M
3.9/5 rDev -7.6%
On draught at the Bier Stein, Heart Shaped Box is black with a tan head leaving creamy lace.
Smell is surprisingly muted, mostly caramel and dark malt, and diacetyl.
Taste is crazy complex. It's a coffee stout. With (a hint of) bourbon, oak, vanilla, and (a hint of) cherries. Lots going on, but balanced and restrained, very well executed. There's a little diacetyl, butter pop-corn, that is the only knock.
Mouthfeel is on the still side, dry, medium bodied.
Drinkability is pretty good, a really stimulating barrel aged stout that is modest enough in alcohol that you can reasonably contemplate it's complexities over more then one glass. Highly recommended.
07-22-2011 18:59:04 | More by ccrida
3.73/5 rDev -11.6%
On-tap at Map Room. This one kicked but the bartender still have enough left to give me a nice pour, which was very cool of him. Poured into tulip.
A - Pours black, light tan-colored head, thin collar, large bubbles, no cap.
S - Huge coffee, roast, dark chocolate. I don't get a ton from this one, but I enjoy the nice coffee notes and roast.
T - Coffee beans, chocolate, oak, touch of cherries (?), slightly roasty bitter finish. Not nearly as good as the nose.
M - Light to medium (a bit too thin), good carbonation, creamy finish.
O - Besides the dark chocolate and coffee, I don't get a whole lot from this one. The thin body hurts this one as well. Not all that exciting.
06-13-2011 17:16:20 | More by Sean9689
4.45/5 rDev +5.5%
On tap @ DLD. Served in a 10oz plastic cup for $10 then transferred to my snifter.
Described as "Overcast Espresso Stout aged for 6 weeks in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels with organic cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and bing cherries. Only 100 gallons produced."
This beer looks great in the glass. There's a dark colored beer here, almost pitch black but with just a touch of brown around the edges when held up to the glorious Munster sunshine. The light brown colored head sticks nicely and leaves good lace. A great start!
The smell is really pleasant, just falling short of the high mark of perfection. I instantly get a ton of vanilla and coffee, almost making this border on dessert beer territory. However, on furthur examination, notes of cocoa, cherry and oak (and perhaps some mild bourbon). This is really nice compared to the bourbon bombs many turn out.
The taste is also very, very good! There's a great chocolate and coffee start to the experience, followed by some nice additions from the vanilla beans, oak, bourbon and cherry. The vanilla and coffee balance each other out well, and the barrel has added nuances and hasn't dominated the tasting profile. A roasted malt note emerges right as the sweetness hits, finishing this beer in fine style. Can't say I got a ton of cherries, but I certainly enjoyed this.
The mouthfeel was a bit thin, but the carbonation helps make the beer creamy. There's no booze here at all, save for the bourbon tones. A very, very well-done barrel aged beer from Oakshire.
05-03-2011 14:24:29 | More by jampics2
3.55/5 rDev -15.9%
One of the guest taps at Dark Lord Day '11, poured into and enjoyed via a 10-ounce plastic pint.
Super-dark burnt coffee brown with some mahogany highlights. A puffy, one-finger mocha latte head becomes a fairly thick, silky top layer.
Tons going on in the nose. It's like a walk down the coffee aisle, with notes of roasted beans and heavy hazelnut mixing it up. Hints of dates as well as other dark fruits and a nice smoky maltiness add interest.
Hey, wait. I've got a new complaint. Compared to the incredible and complex nose, it's disappointment in a glass. It's like a weak porter — some coffee and sweet marshmallows are noticeable, while acrid burnt malt grips the tongue before the slightly sweet finish. Absolutely no follow through.
Medium, electric carbonation, lightly fizzy and tongue-numbing. The body's a creamy medium with just a hint of alcohol heat.
If I could smell Heart-shaped Box all day, I would. But that's where to fun stops. For a beer that's supposedly "espresso stout aged for 6 weeks in Heaven Hill Bourbon Barrels with organic cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, and bing cherries," I just don't get much of any of that in the flavor, where it really matters.
05-05-2011 21:57:10 | More by Phelps
4/5 rDev -5.2%
On tap at Belmont Station, $2 for 4 oz small glass 7.27.11.
Dark brown opaque body, no visible carbonation, cocoa brown head, quick dissipation resulted in thin sheet of head, not much lacing. Nose is pretty complex, coffee up front, a bit of chocolate, some vanilla notes from the barrel aging, small hint of cherries once it warmed significantly. Taste mirrors nose, certainly a nice version of barrel aged Overcast with some cherries added, the stone fruit added a nice subtlety to the experience but didn't overwhelm the palate. Mouthfeel a wee bit on the full side of medium, fairly dry finish (oats). Maybe the cherries have faded a bit in this keg, but I found this beer wasn't up to the snaps the PDX BA crew had laid out. Worth a try, but not earth-shattering.
07-28-2011 15:16:20 | More by jdense
4.53/5 rDev +7.3%
I was lucky enough to get to try this one on draught @ 3F DLD11! I don't normally review beers from festivals, but this was my first beer of the day and it so impressed me that I have no trouble reviewing it from memory. Oakshire's Heart Shaped Box pours up with a moderate effervescence which creates enough carbonation for a low, but sustainable tannish-brown colored head above the deep mahogany-reddish black body. The head retention isn't great, but there's some good lace that clings to the side of the glass. The aroma is very complex for a "smaller" beer with notes of bourbon bread pudding, dark chocolate, cordial cherries, marzipan, mocha, rumcake, toasted marshmallow & vanilla wafers. Really incredible! There's maybe just a touch of spiciness from a late hop addition? The flavor starts off with a wonderful coffee character sustained by a lovely roastiness followed by a touch of nuttiness (almond/hazelnut) complimented by some caramel sweetness which is superbly balanced by a moderate bitterness which creates an off-dry, bittersweet & somewhat fruity (blackberry, cherry) finish. The overall flavor isn't quite as complex as the aroma, but still very good for its strength. The middle body is a little chewy, but creamy & smooth overall. I'm not a big 'stoutfan' but this one wins with "Aces & Spades!" Definitely worth seeking out for any stout lover!
CHEERS! Beertracker
05-20-2011 14:03:15 | More by Beertracker
4.5/5 rDev +6.6%
11-15-2011 02:26:25 | More by writerLJBerg
4.25/5 rDev +0.7%
06-13-2014 02:01:30 | More by jbakajust1
4.6/5 rDev +9%
poured into a full shaker pint at the hellshire I release. The perfect beer at 8am in the morning for breakfast.
pours a rich dark black with a soft brown/white head that very quickly dissipates into lacing of the same color.
bourbon, oats, vanilla, chocolate, coffee and a bit of cherry on the end. The nose on this one was pure deliciousness.
taste followed that nose perfectly with a symphony of flavors on the palate, great chocolate, oat and bourbon flavors followed with a hint of cherry at the close, very creamy tasting.
fantastic carbonation and very creamy mouthfeel, i'd have liked it a bit thicker, but thats the only complaint i can raise.
overall a fantastic beer that i'm excited for them to bottle at some point in the future.
05-08-2011 16:30:22 | More by psiweaver
4.5/5 rDev +6.6%
05-12-2014 22:14:52 | More by HoppyToday
Heart Shaped Box from Oakshire Brewing
89 out of 100 based on 13 ratings.


text:
Registration for this event has closed. Please contact the Leadership Charlotte office.
You are invited to join us for the 2012 Leadership Charlotte Legacy Awards! The Legacy Awards honor Charlotte leaders who are creating lasting change and measurable difference in our community. News 14 Carolina Anchor Rob Boisvert will be the emcee for this year's event!
Time Warner Cable Arena
Thursday, April 26
7:30 – 9:00am
(Doors open at 7:15am)
Congratulations to our 2012 Award Recipients
Newcomer of the Year Award: Kathleen Jameson
Community Service Award: YWCA of the Central Carolinas
Unsung Hero Award: Lisa Quisenberry
Schley R. Lyons Circle of Excellence Award: Harry L. Jones, Sr.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Bishop George Battle
- Single ticket price: $35
- Table sponsor: $500 ticket package includes
-10 tickets
-Printed program recognition (Name)
-Recognition on screen at the event (Logo)
-Recognition on Leadership Charlotte website (Logo)
*Printed sponsorship recognition deadline is April 1, 2012
Questions? Please contact the Leadership Charlotte office @ 704.688.2888 x3
Registration and payment is required. Please register for this event below: You will be directed to PayPal to complete the registration process. All ticket sales are final.
Deadline for online registration is Monday, April 16
Presenting sponsor:
In-kind sponsors:
Location: Time Warner Cable Arena
333 East Trade Street, Charlotte, NC 28202Map
Parking: Downtown parking is available at posted rates. Time Warner Cable Arena is conveniently located at the LYNX Blue Line 'CTC/Arena' stop.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A family that was ripped off by a local cabinet maker was the recipient of a new kitchen thanks to a friendly stranger who saw a need.
When Channel 4 first met Kerry and Jessica Brito, they lost $6,000 and were dealing with some financial problems.
They ripped out their old kitchen and paid for a new one, but a contractor took their money and never sent the cabinets they ordered.
"We had almost maxed out our budget, and we didn't have that much money to give them, and we were without a kitchen," said Jessica Brito.
The couple had saved for years and paid for a kitchen that never arrived.
In August they were desperate to warn others and called the Channel 4 I-Team.
After the story aired, they received a call from Trace Ragland of Master Brand Cabinets.
"When I saw this story, it hit home because every penny they were saving was going toward a kitchen," said Ragland.
He called his boss and together they came up with a plan to help the couple.
"He said, 'I'm going to play Santa for a minute.' I just teared up. I didn't know what he was going to do, but I knew he was going to help us in some way, maybe a discount or something," said Jessica Brito.
Ragland's company picked up the entire bill and even arranged to install the cabinets free of charge.
"We got them the dream kitchen," said Ragland.
The Britos have now settled in quite nice and are still moved by the outpouring of support from a stranger.
"It has reestablished not only our faith in what God has done for us but also what people have done," said Kerry Brito.
Ragland insists it's those who give that get something unbelievable in return.
"That's what life is about, paying it forward, helping others. There will be a time when you have to lean on someone and hopefully someone steps forward and helps you out," said Ragland.
The Britos filed criminal charges hoping to get their money back.
If they are repaid, the couple said they plan to donate the money to another family who was also taken advantage of by their previous contractor.
Copyright 2013 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
According to his official death certificate, actor and comedian Robin Williams was cremated one day after his death.


text:
"There is not a day that goes by when we do not have an electrolysis client. The
difference it has made to so many peoples lives by having this treatment is amazing.
I often treat 7 people a day and that's personally - not even counting the other
5 therapists at my salon. It is wonderful to see the confidence people gain from
having this treatment it can make them a new person."
Anne Hillier & Ann Marie Price
'Elizabeth Anne' Salon, Wales
"I have practiced electrolysis for over 17 years and have seen dramatic changes in
customers I have treated. The pleasure you receive when a person has regained confidence
is a reward that makes this treatment a BIG hit!
Electrolysis has been used successfully in my salon for years and is highly regarded
(when you see the results you can achieve for a few minutes each week).
Even with new technology evolving such as IPL and Laser, Electrolysis is still needed
to treat fine and light coloured hairs (that IPL does not touch).
With the right practitioner and regular trips electrolysis is still one of the top
contenders for effective hair removal."
Anita Byrne
The Health & Beauty Spot
"Electrolysis works in our salon. I would say we mainly use short wave diathermy
but we also have Blend – which is popular with the more sensitive clients.
We use electrolysis with facial waxing combined and its most popular with clients
wanting to walk out hair free from the salon."
Joy Bodington
La Fragrance
"Blend machine is very comfortable for client. I have had clients who have had other
machines used on them and are amazed at how pain free the Blend machine is."
Linda Bridgland
The Beauty Spot
"I clearly remember panicking when laser treatment became accessible to all. I thought
it would have an adverse effect on my electrolysis business, but quite the contrary,
it actually increased (and continues to) my electrolysis business due to the high
profile given to hair removal. Combined with the affordability of electrolysis in
comparison to laser the client can't go wrong!"
Rebecca Mihalceanu
Beaute of Royal Tunbridge Wells
"Electrolysis is great because it works!"
Jo Fry
Body & Soul Clinic
"Great results can be achieved with electrolysis for those unwanted hairs. A course
of treatment can greatly reduce the strength and quantity of unsightly hairs. Working
at the client's own level and requirement electrolysis can be a satisfying worthwhile
Tessa Pitt
The Beauty Clinic at Rochester Lodge Consulting
"30 years of making a good to rich living – endless clients and good friends made
when clients go on to area – after area. So they become part of your world."
Linda Swadling
Beauty Box
"We have had some excellent results with electrolysis at the college with students
following client progress with great interest and client satisfaction."
Mary Czolij
Barnfield College
"The SX-B is great and I am working with the blend now and had great results."
Jillia Malek-Mohammadi
Cayman Islands
"It works on every type of hair. It is an on going treatment but it is the only tried
and tested treatment that really shows results. The only treatment you can really
vouch for results. Very economical in comparison to Laser and Soundwave and IPL."
Neelu White
Neelu Beauty & Remedial Salon
"As Chair of the British Institute and Association of Electrolysis I know very well
that electrolysis is far from a 'dying art'. It is the mainstay of my 20 year old
business in Glasgow city centre employing 9 staff. We are open 7 days a week and
around 80% of our workload is electrolysis. My clinic offers IPL treatment as well
as electrolysis but we still have much more demand for electrolysis."
Helen Graham MBIAE. CRE.
About Face Glasgow's Premier Electrolysis, IPL & Beauty Clinic
"I have been using electrolysis for over a year now and seen fantastic results with
both electrolysis for hair removal and the advanced technique and had some very
pleased clients. I have always seen results and never had an unhappy client."
Kat Merrony
"I have been an electrologist for over 18 years and in that time have treated so
many clients with excess hair problems. The results that have been astounding, changing
people's appearance dramatically and bringing with that a deep renewal of self confidence.
I have worked also with IPL treatments, and in my opinion electrolysis is the far
superior method of hair removal for facial hair, bringing much better results for
the client.
Yes, it can be painstakingly slow, but with client perseverance as well as accurate
probing from the electrologist, it is a treatment that can change clients' life
completely. I cannot recommend it enough!"
Sarah Hurst
"I have an NVQ3 in Beauty Therapy but decided not to take the electrolysis module
as I was a bit scared. I have now decided to train in electrolysis as so many people
have been asking me for the treatment"
Lisa Kinniburgh
"SEEC (Sterex Electrolysis Entrepreneurial Course) delivered. I haven't looked back since completing the Sterex training. I love
doing the treatments and now have a team of 12 therapists working for me. For me
it has really been a case of SEEC – and you shall find."
Sarah Yeomans
"Having begun my electrolysis training with a phobia of blood and needles – causing
me to faint on my first insertion – I persevered to attain a distinction in my City
& Guilds which gave me so much confidence. That was 28 years ago – and since then
I have never looked back – treating countless clients with immense success. It is
so rewarding when a client regains their pride and improved self-image in the knowledge
that a long-term hair growth problem can be improved and controlled with eventual
total reduction. I so love being able to support and help people with this long
term proven treatment to permanently remove unwanted hair."
Melissa Sharpe HND BABTAC
Melissa Health & Beauty Clinic
Privacy Policy | Terms + Conditions | Copyright Sterex 2009 | Links


text:
Brazil's presidential election: Marina gains momentum
Americas view
Hungary's foreign policy: Between Brussels and Russia
The prime minister seeks to play off east and west34
From the archive: The Serbs and the Hapsburgs
On July 4th 1914 The Economist published this article in response to the assassination on June 28th of Archduke Franz Ferdinand38
Hungary's history: Remembering the Yellow Star houses
June 21st marks the 70th anniversary of the forcible relocation of Budapest's Jews.34
Hungarian politics: The Lazar affair
Is freedom of expression under threat?76
Charlemagne: The eastern blockage
New Europe is as divided about Russia as old Europe, with bad consequences for all115
The week explained: April 11th 2014: Back to the parapets
PRO-RUSSIA demonstrations in eastern Ukraine, Greece's return to the bond market and Hungary's election were three big stories that made the news this week. Our correspondents explain0
Hungary's election: To Viktor the spoils
The prime minister wins a crushing victory in an election that marks a decisive shift to the right78
Hungary's election: Four more years
Viktor Orban heads to a third term—and wants to centralise power34
100 years after 1914: Still in the grip of the Great War
The first world war was the defining event of the 20th century. Thousands of books have been written about every aspect of it. More are on the way217
Hungary and energy: Power out(r)age
Hungary looks east for energy10
Hungary and the Holocaust: Statue of limitations
A row about a statue reignites controversy over the Nazi occupation81
Hungarian politics: Against the odds
Can a united left overcome its handicaps?16
Poverty in Hungary: How to help the homeless
The government is grappling with a very visible problem28
Hungary's past: His contentious legacy
A wartime leader still divides Hungarians113
Hungary and Britain: Viktor goes to London
A confidential briefing note from Mr Cameron's staff to prepare him for Viktor Orbán's visi158
European railways: The quest for a Ryanair of rail freight
The EU wants more goods to be moved by train. Progress is slow9
Hungary's Roma: How to get out of a vicious circle
A murder trial is symptomatic of Europe's biggest social problem76
Roma in Hungary: A terrible waste of human potential
A murder trial is symptomatic of Europe's biggest societal problem68
How non-employment has changed since the financial crisis10
Tensions between Hungary and the EU: A fall from grace
THE EU could suspend Hungary's voting rights to force its prime minister, Viktor Orbán, to toe the line. But could too much foreign interference have unintended consequences?55
Hungary: Black sheep in the crimson dome
Viktor Orban is once again accused of dismantling the rule of law in Hungary123
How Budapest Airport has recovered from the collapse of Hungary's flag-carrier15
Brazil's presidential election: Marina gains momentum
Americas view
The Ebola outbreak: That others may live
Dodgy neighbourhoods: How to find safe streets
Legal reform in Shanghai's free-trade zone: Courting controversy
Greece, racism and the church: Your genocide or mine?
Johnson: Catalan and its discontents: The problems of a multilingual Spain
Poland and Russia: Eat apples to annoy Putin
Eastern approaches
Have you listened to The Economist Radio on Facebook?
The Economist Radio is an on-demand social listening platform that allows you to listen, share and recommend The Economist audio content
Test your EQ
Take our weekly news quiz to stay on top of the headlines
In Other Words
Try our new audio app and website, providing reporting and analysis from our correspondents around the world every weekday
Want more from The Economist?
Visit The Economist e-store and you'll find a range of carefully selected products for business and pleasure, Economist books and diaries, and much more


text:
Sue Wade OBE (Chair)
Former deputy chief probation officer and youth justice manager in Hampshire. She currently works as a consultant for various criminal justice organisations and charities. She is a performance advisor for Hampshire Police Authority. Sue has been a member of the Howard League since 1989. She has directed reform projects in young offender prisons and court systems in the US and Syria, and has been the Howard Leagues representative at UN Crime Commission meetings, specialising in advice on implementation of international norms and standards.
Professor David Wilson (Vice Chair)
David Wilson is Professor of Criminology, Birmingham City University. Prior to taking up an academic appointment he was a Prison Governor for 14 years, working in a variety of establishments including HMPs Wormwood Scrubs, Grendon and Woodhill where he designed and ran the two units for the 12 most disruptive prisoners in the country. A noted author and broadcaster David Wilson has published widely about crime generally and prisons specifically, and presented five series of the BBC1 series Crime Squad, Channel 4's Hard Cell, BBC1's Leave No Trace, and BBC4's No More Victims. He is the Co-Editor of The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. For more information about David Wilson, see his website www.professorwilson.com
Jan Anderson
Jan Anderson has been a member of the Independent Monitoring Board of three prisons in the last 12 years, including chair of the Wandsworth board. Her particular interest is foreign nationals in prison, and immigration issues.
Matthew Ball
Matthew Ball is a government relations and communications consultant. He has led Public Affairs at both the General Medical Council and Nuffield Health, having also worked at Eversheds LLP and in the City. He has previously been involved with a mentoring project at Feltham YOI. Matthew is a member of the Campaigns Committee.
Dr Neil Chakraborti
Dr Neil Chakraborti is Reader in Criminology at the Department of Criminology, University of Leicester. He has published extensively in the fields of hate crime, victimisation, policing and diversity, and has conducted a wide range of research at a regional, national and international level, including projects commissioned by the Economic and Social Research Council, the Equality and Human Rights Commission, local authorities and policing agencies.
April Chidgey
April Chidgey has been a member of the Howard League since 1987. Probation officer, Hampshire Probation Service until 2000. Family Court Adviser CAFCASS 2000-2005. Former trustee Hampshire and Isle of Wight Victim and Witness Support Service. Currently volunteer with Homestart Hampshire and Save the Children UK.
Professor Penny Green
Professor of Law and Criminology, School of Law, King's College London.
Samantha Kennedy
Samantha Kennedy works at the MS Society as a Campaigns Officer. Previously she was the National Campaigns & Membership Officer for Labour Students, one of the biggest student political organisations in the country. She spent two years as Vice-President (Welfare) and Trustee at the University of Kent Students' Union. She studied Law at the University of Kent followed by an LLM in Criminal Justice.
Richard Linenthal
Richard Linenthal is one of the executors of Lord Parmoors Estate.
Gerry Marshall
Gerry was Chief Executive of Thames Valley Probation from 2001 to 2012, during which time they were both finalists and winners of Howard League Community Justice Awards. He held the Probation Chiefs Association portfolio for Equality and Diversity and for Restorative Justice. He has served on the Equalities Boards at NOMS and Thames Valley Police, was a trustee of Thames Valley Partnership, was a member of the Grendon Advisory Panel and was vice-chair of Circles UK.
Elizabeth Morony
Elizabeth Morony is a partner at Clifford Chance LLP and specialises in litigation, large-scale investigations and administrative/public law. She is a member of the litigation management group and leads the Clifford Chance womens network. Clifford Chance has hosted events for the Howard League and provided trainee solicitors to help our legal work.
Professor Tim Newburn
Professor of Criminology and Social Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science.
James Newell
James Newell has managed key income streams for a wide range charities and is now a fundraising consultant. He is secretary of the Institute of Fundraisings Trust and Statutory Special Interest Group and volunteers with an international NGO working with prisoners in America.
Coral Newton
Coral Newton is a chartered public finance accountant (CPFA) with over 20 years experience in public sector financial management to Director level. An independent management consultant, she has worked with KPMG, CIPFA, and the Audit Commission to promote best practice across central and local government sectors and improve the evaluation and monitoring of public spending programmes. She has experience of setting up three central Government funded bodies, with direct responsibility for finance and a range of other support services. Coral authored CIPFAs Guide to Central Government Finance and Financial Management.
His Honour John Samuels QC
John Samuels QC was a Circuit Judge until his retirement in April 2006. A long-time proponent of alternatives to custody, he still represents the Council of Circuit Judges on the London Probation Forum. He continues to sit ad hoc in the Crown Court. He remains a judicial member of the Parole Board. He chairs the Prisoners' Education Trust; is the Board member for England & Wales of the International Association of Drug Treatment Courts; a Council member of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies. He is the only judge who sits on the National Sentencer Probation Forum; and serves on Home Office policy groups. He chairs the Howard League Legal Management Committee.
Lucy Scott-Moncrieff CBE
Mental health and human rights solicitor Lucy Scott-Moncrieff CBE is the managing director of Scott-Moncrieff and Associates Ltd, a virtual firm with 60 lawyers providing private client, commercial and legal aid services across England and Wales.
She is a former president of the Law Society of England and Wales and chairs its Equality, Inclusion and Diversity Committee. She is a Commissioner with the Judicial Appointments Committee, a fee paid judge for the Mental Health Tribunal and co-chair of the Access to Justice and Legal Aid Committee of the International Bar Association.
Chris Sheffield OBE
Chris Sheffield spent his career as a prison governor including Liverpool, Manchester, Risley and Hindley prisons. He is currently an honorary research fellow to Salford University.
Professor Pamela Taylor
Pamela J Taylor is Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at the Wales College of Medicine. She has previously held a range of clinical and managerial roles in health and related services, including Director of Medical Services for the Special Hospitals Service Authority (1990-1995), Member of the Executive Board of the Inner London Probation Service (1992-2002), and lead consultant psychiatrist for a high security hospital personality disorder unit for young men (1995-2004). She has published widely, mainly on the relationship between psychosis and violence and long term outcome for offender patients.
Dick Whitfield
Former Chief Probation Officer for Kent and Independent Member of the Parole Board for England and Wales. Still involved in probation training and independent consultancy work in criminal justice.
Julian Weinberg
Julian Weinberg is a criminal solicitor with 25 years of experience and is also an Adjudicator for the Solicitors Regulation Authority and chairs the Conduct and Regulation Panel. He is a member of the Legal Services Commission Area Costs Committee and chairs the Brent Education Appeal Panel.


text:
if you go down to the beach this eveningPosted August 19, 2014 on 1:07 am | In the category Canada | by Mackenzie Brothers
If you go down to the beach this evening you will find the antidote to the seemingly never-ending series of miserable stories of life around the globe at this point in history. Here in Vancouver you will find many thousands of people along the 20 kilometers of public shoreline that stretch from Stanley Park through downtown to the University of British Columbia. Hundreds of them will be in the water, kids will be dashing about on the rafts, still after all these decades trying to push other kids over the side, girls screaming unconvincingly, boys responding to the challenge as they always have, many sailboats, some racing, are out in the harbour, 15 container ships lay at anchor until a spot opens at the industrial port beyond Stanley Park, other megaships waiting for their turn at the the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool quays, a couple of regal cruise ships will come sailing by at supper time on their way to Alaska, whole fleets of paddle boarders will come floating by, further out there are kayakers and even a few canoeists.
And look at this – fathers are playing with their kids , as they used to do but supposedly don't do any more, mothers try to keep the kids in acceptable flock formation, life guards guard life and row rowboats. ice cream trucks are playing their seductive songs as they move about, concession stands deliver hot dogs, there are a couple of dozen different languages in use around barbecues and there are no police in sight anywhere . The sunset behind the snow-covered mountains is fabulous. Mensch was willst du noch mehr.No Comments
Obama: Everyman's Whipping BoyPosted July 28, 2014 on 11:37 pm | In the category Canada, Germany, Obama, Republican Party, U.S. Domestic Policy, U.S. Foreign Policy | by Jeff
O-Bama, O-Bama, Wherefore Art Thou?
That is the question that many of us ask, but when we do we must also ask: what kind of country has the U.S. become and why are we unhinged in so very fundamental ways. The previous entry on this blog by my pals from the friendly North is representative of what seems to me to be a lack of understanding (or empathy? God help us) of just what it is we are suffering through down here in the arid, thought-deficient South.
But let's begin with our Northern pals' comments. Right out of the chute (a Calgary rough rider reference, we should note) they wonder whether Obama is the least trusted president in recent memory. As my old Mom would have said, "are you kidding me? have you gone bonkers?" There was for instance "W" and his merry gang of thieves and eejits, led by the estimable Vice, Cheney. All they did was torture people all over the planet, with the help of countries like Germany – just to name one- start a war on a lie (aided in a somewhat clumsy perhaps accidental way by German Intel), kill ca. 4500 NATO troops (most American but also Canadians, Germans etc.), kill ca 100,000+++ Iraqis, send 200,000+ Iraqis into refugee status, and empower a Shia dictator-to-be to screw Sunnis and Kurds in whatever way he can thus producing a seemingly perpetual civil war which we are now – too late again – recognizing as a – well, problem. I could go back further to Reagan and his criminal work with the Contras and Iran, or even Nixon – remember him? Trustworthy guys, eh?
Then we have the concern that Canada – our best friend to the north of us – supposedly moving away from us with the indisputable fact that our ambassadors are not top drawer. Without making a huge point of it, Bush appointed former Massachusetts Governor Paul Cellucci as ambassador and frankly his best strength was his wife, a bright, articulate librarian at Boston College before she agreed to sacrifice a life in a real city for duty in Ottawa. Fact is that Canada has not had a real U.S. Ambassador for over thirty years and even then they got a guy with blood on his hands. And I do not here discuss the Keyspan pipeline, aka, the Pipe of American Death and Canadian Profit.
And yes, we are reluctant to build a bridge from Detroit to Windsor – but is Obama to blame? I remind those who live in a Parliamentary political system that we have a system of "checks and balances" which has ensured in this time that nothing can ever happen. We live in a Kafka novel. It is not fair to blame Obama for the failures of a Republican party that has decided not to participate in governance. I know not whether it is because he is black or a democrat or just whether the republicans have drunk the kool aid — what i know is that nothing happens, nothing can be done, and every bad fking thing that happens in the world is presented as the fault of the black American Democrat – and democratically elected – - president. When considering anything that involves expenditures of federal money always look at congress and specifically the House of Representatives.. They have broken my country and are traitors to the core interests of our country.
Now, onto the unpleasant fact that we are listening to everyone's phone calls and reading everyone's emails, including Frau Merkel's….On one level it is simple to say that of course we spy on Germany – they are an important player – and that is what intel services do. Alas there are issues of trust – and issues of competence.. When i read about the spying on Merkel I thought that – well – ok, but why are you listening to MY calls and reading MY emails? Obama has clearly been sucked into the security organizations' thinking and that is not a good reflection on his judgment. The CIA has – at best – a questionable record and that a President with a background in constitutional law would do what he has done is more than very troubling.
But for we who live in this country the mood of the people is more troubling. There is a strange and nasty beast out there and it is ignorant, stupid, lazy and ugly and it blames Obama for everything wrong in its world. So more of this in the future. More on President Obama's failures, Congress's complicity, and the failure of the American people to grasp and deal with reality. It is, alas, a rich subject.
1 Comment
Obama's Stunde NullPosted July 14, 2014 on 11:32 pm | In the category Canada, Europe, Germany, Public Diplomacy, Uncategorized | by Mackenzie Brothers
Is Obama trying to become the least trusted president of the US in recent memory? If he is, he doing a very good job of it. Just in the last couple of months he has managed to alienate many of his formerly most reliable friends, none worse than Germany, although Canada would also have a good case of feeling most offended. Perhaps the Canadian irritations seem to be small matters, but they have certainly added up, and do nothing to bring about any sense of harmony among the second and third largest countries on earth, not to mention a feeling of solidarity in North America. There is no doubt that Canada is quickly drawing away from its long-standing position of being a close ally of its smaller southern neighbour, whose arrogance in such matters as the naming of ambassadors, the paying of obviously-due bills, the willingness to co-operate on border issues, and the inability of Washington to understand that spying on your friends and neighbours is considered unacceptable by respected governments, and the simple absence of courtesy visits is simply rude by Canadian standards. The two US ambassadors to Canada appointed by Obama have both been non-diplomat bagmen for Democrats with no experience in foreign affairs or for that matter in Canada. The US seems to be unwilling to pay for the building and maintenance of a new border crossing on the desperately needed new bridge to Canada near Detroit, but has plenty of money for drones cruising along the once so-called longest unarmed border in the world. The almost total absence of visits by the Candian Prime Minister to Washington and the US president to ottawa does nothing to dispel the feeling that these two countries are not getting along well.
But the situation with regard to Germany has deteriorated even more rapidly. Any North American liviing in Germany has long had the feeling that the Germans basically ten d to look at eh US through rose-oloured glasses, no doubt because of the US eole in t he Second World War and its aftermateh. (These same German almost never know anything about the role of Canada , whose army played a major part in the D-Day invasion and fought its way on its own through northern France and the Netherlands.) But that good will has almost been destroyed by the revelations about Washington's tapping of phones of the leaders of government there, including the private cell phone of Prime Minister Merkel, who seemed honestly taken aback by this revelation . As she was brought up in the DDR, she is more or less the last person on earth who has to be reminded of the awful reaction of citizens who hear that their private communications have been listened to by threatening governments, in this case a foreign one. And now the head of the CIA in Berlin has been kicked out of Germany as the proof of illegal spying that came out of his office continues to widen . What birdbrains allowed this to happen? did they really think the Germans, by far the central power of Europe. would take this affront without acting? And there we can see it: Merkel talking with Putin in Rio about the Ukrainian situation, which has left the US once again all at sea, German Foreign Minister Steinmeyer icily confronting an outmatched US Foreign Minister Kerry in Vienna. It's all unnecessary, if there were only some sense of diplomatic skill coming out of Washington . But there isn't and we shall see what the consequences are of such amateur behaviour.
5 Comments
What happens next in UkrainePosted May 13, 2014 on 2:07 am | In the category Uncategorized | by Mackenzie Brothers
As events in Ukraine continue to seem to spin out of control, some aspects of the crisis seem to be getting clearer:
1. Crimea is lost to Ukraine and will soon be understood by almost everyone to be apart of Russia – again. It is time for the western leaders to stop saying otherwise. It is a peninsula in the Black Sea that Russian armies have fought for over the centuries against the British, the Ottomans and others when it was threatened with invasion, and no one stepped in to defend it when Russia just took it over , not even the Ukrainian army that was stationed on it. Most of the people who lived there were in favour of the return to Mother Russia and Putin wasted no time in welcoming them back. In Russia itself it was an event that worked greatly to increase Putin's popularity.
2. Ukraine has always functioned as a kind of buffer zone between the Russian Empire and western Europe. . There is no doubt that the western part of Ukraine, with the city of Lwiw/Lwow/Lemberg has been at different times a centre of Polish, Yiddish, German and Ukrainian cultures. There is absolutely no doubt that its inhabitants would vote overwhelmingly to look west for its future, but it is also true that western Europe has never been particularly welcoming towards them. When the EU clearly placed its eastern boundary on the Ukrainian/Romanian border and welcomed Romania and Bulgaria into its military wing, NATO, it made life very difficult for those western Ukrainians who would love to enjoy free travel and close relations to the people in the lands beyond the visa-controlled Romanian border. Ukranians have emigrated in large numbers over the last century and a half, especially to the Canadian prairies, partly because they never felt particularly welcome in central and western Europe while simultaneously being subjected to enforced famine by its Slavic brothers to the east.
3. There is real uncertainty about what would happen in eastern Ukraine if such a vote were held. Cities of a million people like Donetsk and Karkov – and suddenly Odessa seems to have joined this assembly – seem to be so divided on the topic that civil war seems a real possibility if serious negotiations aren't held immediately. Nobody seems to really know what Putin's plans might be, but his recent suggestion that the pro-Russian separatists should act with a bit more caution, may be a sign that a kind of semi-autonomous status within the Ukrainian Republic for Russian-speaking areas areas of eastern Ukraine might be a negotiable position that would be less threatening than anything anyone else has been able to think of. .
4. Putin has proven to a ruthless and powerful opponent in all this. Here on his home turf he has been able to completely outmaneuver both his Ukrainian adversaries and the western leaders who have so ditheringly come to their defence. His foreign minister makes mincemeat of all the western foreign ministers except the German Frank-Walter Steinmeyer who is very aware of how awful the actions of west European armies in Ukraine have been in the recent past. Putin has a black belt in judo, and he has proven he is one tough customer, but it may be that he has made all the moves he plans to make and that a negotiated settlement based on a Ukrainian Federation can bring some chance of peace to this tormented part of the world. If not ….No Comments
Public Diplomacy: America's Lost BattlePosted March 20, 2014 on 5:22 pm | In the category International Broadcasting, Press, Public Diplomacy, Russia, U.S. Foreign Policy, Ukraine | by Jeff
The role of public opinion in the current Ukraine/Crimea crisis is a good illustration of the short sightedness of America's reduced commitment to public diplomacy, as it continues to have a defense budget that more than exceeds the combined defense budgets of the next ten largest countries'.
President Putin has committed considerable resources to Russia's international TV, "Russia Today" (RT), including an American operation that can be viewed in English or Spanish. In 2011 it was the second most popular international broadcaster after the BBC and claims particularly high viewership in the U.S.' five largest cities. An international TV network that competes with CNN for its audience, including and especially a Western audience, "Russia Today" is available to some 85 million Americans via cable TV and internationally to over 650 million people via approximately 250 cable and satellite providers. RT also manages a sophisticated website that focuses on U.S. news as well as international news. And while clearly a propaganda tool of Russian foreign policy, it has managed to find Western viewers tired of CNN's diet of American-centric news augmented with a heavy offering of political and social drivel.
The 2011 budget for RT was ca. $380 million, a large jump from its 2008 $120 million budget probably partially due to a serous image deficit following the Russia – Georgia conflict. In any case from an American perspective RT amounts to Russian operated surrogate broadcasting within the U.S., much like what Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty were to the Soviet bloc during the Cold War.
At the same time that Russia has promoted its image outside Russia via RT Putin has succeeded in improving his popularity at home with extensive and harsh control of traditional sources of information, especially TV, radio and the print press. While RT has ready access to American audiences Putin has banned Russian radio stations from affiliating with Radio Svoboda, RFE/RL's Russian broadcast service, forcing that service to rely heavily on social media, access to its website and its increased popularity on You Tube. Native Russian investigative journalists have had a tendency to "go missing" or worse; anti-government rock groups go to jail and demonstrations merely lead to mass arrests.
During the Cold War U.S. surrogate radio broadcasts into Russia and its Warsaw bloc and Soviet neighbors provided news of their own countries and the world otherwise not available. With the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakdown of the Soviet Union those efforts were reduced and, in fact almost eliminated. Assuming the Cold War was over, the U.S. Senate, led by a somewhat naïve Russell Feingold, led a move in 1994 to cut RFE/RL's budget from $210 Million to $75 million. Today, RFE/RL broadcasts to 21 countries (including Afghanistan, Iran, and of course Russia) in 28 languages via the Internet, SMS text messaging, online video, satellite radio, and popular social media networks with a budget of $95 million – less than one quarter of RT's budget. America no longer seriously competes with Russia in the critical area of public opinion and the results are obvious as we watch the Russian people salute the re-emergence of an at least semi-cold war.1 Comment
Fear and Loathing in IstanbulPosted March 8, 2014 on 9:41 pm | In the category Uncategorized | by Jeff
Ok. So Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is a mite paranoid and more than a mite pissed off. Seems that You Tube and Facebook have been peddling some troubling audio of Erdogan carrying on with his son about his need to hide some money – well, actually quite a lot of money – before those police not yet fired by the Prime Minister come a-calling. Other phone conversations capture Erdogan threatening newspaper publishers for having published articles critical of him and his political party. This is consistent with his habit of jailing journalists and academics who voice criticisms of his government. Indeed, it is possible now to question whether Turkey actually is a functioning democracy.
Erdogan's solution to the leaked conversations? Ban Facebook and You Tube from all of Turkey! This after announcing laws that allow police to trace website searches on individuals' computers and to ban any websites that suggest dishonesty or paranoia or sedition or whatever might displease the Prime Minister. Alas Erdogan might be running into a problem with all of this since President Abdullah Gul has already said that banning social media is not acceptable and he will not sign such a law. And if that is so, it is a dead issue and Erdogan might be more concerned about his future than anyone would have expected six months ago. Gul has always been the loose piece in this puzzle – a somewhat less pious Muslim with a mind of his own and no real debt to Erdogan.
In addition, while Erdogan has been busy waging war against free expression and the Internet the Turkish Constitutional Court has found that charges brought against a former army military chief of staff by Erdogan's government last year was improper and has opened the possibility that all of the charges that broke the military's secular influence on power in Turkey were improper.
Erdogan's power in Turkey has been partly theocratic but more importantly economic. The economy has flourished, quality of life has improved and a lot of people have benefitted financially. But the current crises have had serious negative effects on the economy and people are getting restless. Turkey faces a major choice in important local elections this month: it can stay with Erdogan and sacrifice free expression and free access to information with the hope for renewed economic development or opt for moving toward a more secular government with the hope for a commitment to free speech, and the rule of (secular) law. These elections will be an early indication of whether Erdogan has gone too far in his efforts to stifle political debate and manipulate public opinion.1 Comment
Ukraine and the war that threatens to end peace (again)Posted March 4, 2014 on 6:15 pm | In the category Europe, Germany, Russia | by Mackenzie Brothers
And so the Crimean crisis seems to have settled down a bit. The Russian military has taken control of the Crimea, encircled Ukrainian army bases on the peninsula, and warned the two Ukrainian war ships out on the Black Sea to not even think about confronting overwhelming Russian power at its naval base in Sevastopol. Russian solders show no sign of leaving an area the size of Sicily in which 70% of the population speaks Russian and welcomes their presence. There is no doubt that if a plebiscite were held, which the Russians are demanding , the people of the Crimea would vote to join Russia. Needless to say, this is a complicated situation, demanding patience and knowledge.
Meanwhile Putin says he has called back the dogs of war out on the Russian-Ukrainian, where 150,000 Russian troops happened to be holding training exercises near Russian-speaking cities in eastern Ukraine, which might well also vote to join Russia. These areas pose a much greater threat to stability in Europe if Russian troops move in "to protect a Russian minority in a former USSR republic" stranded there by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Ukraine has no treaty connection with western Europe and has no chance of joining the EU or Nato in the near future as some really ignorant commentators in the west seem to think. But Estonia and Latvia do an d include with large Russian populations still unhappily stranded after twenty years of living in independent Baltic states. They are both in the EU and Nato and any Russian movement to recover them would automatically bring all EU nations into a military confrontation with Russia. For many this will recall the way that Europe stumbled unknowingly into a carnage that killed 60 million people exactly a century ago in "The War that Ended Peace (the title of Margaret Macmillan's fine new book on the topic) would make a lot of experts who know the complicated history of Eastern Europe very nervous indeed. If Russia should cross the Russian-Ukrainin=an border near Donetsk or Kharkov, it is unclear what might happen, and nobody is taking bets on the future of the Crimea, but Estonia is another matter. That would bring war.. And so the poobahs are assembling again, this time in Kiew, which has proven to be a very unwelcome place for good government, no matter who won the democratic elections, in the twenty years since Ukraine became free. Western commentators have found it easy to forget (or not know) that the recently deposed Prime Minister of Ukraine, who even the Russians don't like, won an election that was deemed to be fair and square by the UN observers. He may have acted like a corrupt despot when in power, but he did win an election in which the current temporary Prime Minster, got 7% of the vote and seems to be unimpressing almost everyone.
But here they come to lay flowers , deliver some platitudes and hopefully solidify votes at home. The Canadian foreign minister John Baird does his job well, knowing there are i,3 million ethnic Ukrainians in Canada and that Ukrainian affairs play an very significant role in the settlement of the Canadian prairies,,an d the determination of elections. But before he leaves, he does mention that Canada is not considering any kind of military response. (The US might consider recalling their ambassador to Canada to give them insights into the history of Ukraine but they can't do that since they haven't had an ambassador in Canada for many months). John Kerry, the US Secretary of State follows Baird by several days but takes the same trail and states that Russia will have a price to pay if it doesn't stop its aggression. Unfortunately a tired and confused-looking Kerry cannot answer any questions about what that price would be. Lat time Obama used football talk to warn about crossing a line drawn in the sand in Syria the result was no response from the US when someone did precisely that and a very clever chess move from a surprisingly wily Putin. The US certainly cannot be contemplating a military response, but it doesn't exactly want to admit it. Putin knows it and looks like a cat who swallowed a canary in his press conference. H e also know that while the US can't do much but bluster, he can cut off the fuel lines which heat most of Ukraine and a great deal of western Europe. How do you like dem chops? Let's hope Putin is also a pragmatic figure and knows that he too certainly does not want a war, and that he steps back and considers what to do on the Crimea.. And th at will take serious negotiations by a number of parties. One figure who seems to be placing himself and his country in a position of mediation is German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Whether he likes it or not, he may have to step in and play a big role as this (very fine) German Foreign Minister has a unique insight into the dangers that come up like ghosts from the past when countries get carried away thumping nationalistic big sticks out on the borderlands of Eurasia.4 Comments
Turkey: The Rise and Fall of Secular DemocracyPosted February 23, 2014 on 2:13 pm | In the category Erdogan, Europe, International Broadcasting, Public Diplomacy, Turkey, Uncategorized | by Jeff
Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey, has signed into law a government proposal designed to give the government extraordinary powers of censorship over the Internet, including blocking of specific sites viewed as a threat to the Turkish government and collecting the histories of web searches of individuals' computers. This is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest attempt to eliminate free speech in a country that until recent months had served as a model of secular democracy in the Muslim world.
While Turkey's economy and its people's overall quality of life had flourished for 11 years under Erdogan, the very personal nature of his leadership had for some time been moving the country toward a less democratic culture in which religious Islam began to play an increasing role, personal and political corruption began to flourish, and freedom of expression began to suffer. The root of the problems is a competition between Erdogan and his brand of Islam and that of Fethullah Gulen the leader of a Sufi-based brand of Islam. Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan operates a large Turkish social, political and educational enterprise from his current home in Pennsylvania. He became disillusioned with Erdogan's personalized Islam-centric approach to leadership which at best can be characterized as arrogant; at worse as megolamanic.
Political moves by Erdogan during the past year have placed the country's commitment to secular democracy as well as his power at risk. It began with a public demonstration against Erdogan's move to replace a public park in Istanbul with a shopping mall but it was clear that much of the demonstrators' incentive was Erdogan's increased authoritarianism. The demonstrations grew in size and led to a brutal police crackdown that was abrupt and violent, leading to at least 7 deaths and thousands of injuries. Erdogan's response included a clumsy attempt to blame the U.S. and Israel for inciting the demonstrations. What followed included street riots, and police arrests of Erdogan allies for crimes of vast public and private corruption. Erdogan responded with take-overs of the police and judiciary, censorship of news, arrests of journalists and academics for speaking out, and the new restrictions on access to Internet content. All of this has contributed to a decline of the Turkish economy, and the erosion of the Turkish model of a secular democracy into a state with two Islamic sects fighting for power while secularists struggle to regain influence.
While most of the damage done to date is to the Turkish people and their democratic state, Turkey's importance to the West raises the international stakes. Turkey's geography, its importance for stability in the Middle East, and its unique ability and position to blend secular democracy into a 99% Muslim population with a rich history of power and influence lends it an importance beyond the merely symbolic. It has benefitted from a successful, growing economy, a commitment to education for all (including women), a thriving tourist industry, an agricultural output that is the envy of its region, and the second largest military among NATO members.
While its efforts since the late 1980s to become a full member of the EU have been rebuffed, that became less of an issue as EU countries' economies have suffered through years of an ill-advised austerity while Turkey's thrived. There is, in fact, little incentive or interest now in Turkey in becoming an EU member. As a further indication of Erdogan's movement away from the West, he gave a contract to China to build its missile defense system, provoking alarm among fellow NATO members – especially the U.S. – while signaling his desire to shift turkey's interest away from the West and towards greater influence in Asia.
Western democracies have held up turkey as a model of what can be accomplished in a Muslim country committed to secularism and democracy. As Erdogan continues on his current path that model may cease to exist. While the future of turkey lies in the hands of its people the West needs to do whatever is possible to short circuit Erdogan's autocratic limits on free expression. The U.S. has begun to play a small role in that effort by supporting various "pirate" radio stations run by Turkish expats dedicated to providing a free flow of information currently being kept out of Turkey's tradional press and media. While clearly premature for the U.S. to add Turkey to its official international surrogate broadcasting efforts the time for a Radio or TV Free Turkey may well be approaching. The European Union also needs to take a hard look at Turkey's limited membership role in the Union and begin to apply pressure for the return of basic human rights, including a free press and unfettered access to social media and the Internet in general.2 Comments
On a winter day in HogtownPosted January 20, 2014 on 10:13 pm | In the category Canada, Uncategorized | by Mackenzie Brothers
A sort time ago, during the first week of January , and in the midst of the peak travel time of the New Year, Canada's largest city, Toronto, got a bit of a wintry blast, nothing out of the ordinary in northern climes. All airports from Yellowknife to Murmansk stayed open and were not severely affected by this rather normal winter weather up here in the north. Except one – Pearson International in Toronto, by far the largest one in Canada, the fourth largest in North America and a crucial one for flights going in and out for much of North America. Now the powers that be at Pearson – and the CEO of the now semi-privatized airport was in Edmonton at the time and made his decisions on the basis of phone calls (Edmonton Airport of course remained open) decided that Pearson Toronto could handle international flights but not domestic ones. His subsequent explanation was that it was slippery and cold out there for his workers and the pilots had to drive their planes carefully into loading docks, causing delays. The result, of course, was chaos. Canadians could indeed arrive at Pearson Airport from far-off places but then could not travel on to Canadian destinations, in some cases for 3 or 4 days as traffic backed up. Montreal's Trudeau airport remained open of course but could not send its scheduled flights on to Toronto, causing chaos in Montreal, which made for good business for trains and busses, which of course travelled normally, but there weren't enough of them to handle the increasingly restless crowds. Officials at Vancouver Airport could only look on in astonishment as planes failed to arrive from the east, and sent many of its thousands of daily international travellers off to Asia without their luggage, as chaos ruled the luggage routes to Asia.
Finally on Saturday, 10 days after these exciting events, the most Canadian of all explanations came in. Mr. Vijay Kanwar, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Toronto Airport Authority apologized in a full-page ad in the Globe that probably cost as much as the wages of the workers who were ready to take on the cold and ice for "the inconvenience that passengers and their families experienced during last week's extreme weather conditions" . And he also announced the most Canadian solution to such a problem - "the board of Directors has established anad hoc committee to review last week's events, which will "conclude its work within 90 days and share it findings with the public". And these guys speak of my brother and me as hosers. They are still laughing in Inuvik about "the extreme weather conditions" that Hogtown couldn't deal with. Why even the Maple Leafs made it to the rink and played under such conditions. Don't ask about the result.2 Comments
Big Brother – East German StylePosted December 5, 2013 on 9:57 pm | In the category Germany, U.S. Foreign Policy, Uncategorized | by Mackenzie Brothers
Now let's get this straight. A mid-level worker in a country's security division has access to highest-level secret service documents and comes across information that he thinks should not be kept secret. And so he makes it public. It turns out that that is easier to do than it used to be, and that is true with all other sources of information meant to be kept secret. You simply copy that information and send it out on the internet. Or you do it Canadian style. An undistiguished sailor in the Canadian navy did it and was caught delivering it to the Russian Embassy (in a quaintly old-fashioned way) in an envelope. It turned out that the Russians hadn't even asked for it; they simply received it and paid a modest sum of money to a chap in financial trouble who sold it for cash and ended in jail. And now a Chinese-born Canadian citizen who works as a research engineer for a subcontractor for the shipbuilding firm contracted to build Canada's next generation of warships, has been arrested by the RCMP, charged with having approached the Chinese Embassy with an offer to sell the plans for the ships. The Chinese government denies it, but the chap sits in jail. All in all these seem like plots for one of those fine English comedies about amateur crooks, mink thieves, spies, ladykillers, etc, that the Brits can't make any more, but they do suggest that there is no such thing as secure information communications any more.
And then on a much more startling level, with no sense of comedy involved, another (Australian) chap with apparently easy access to much more explosive material about US spying ended up disclosing it and claiming (and receiving) exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. But in the most dramatic case a US middle-level technician in the US security establishment took his vast amount of digitalized highest security level information with him to the Moscow Airport and began to gradually send out on the internet stunningly massive amounts of information about the way the US spy system now works – on an unimagined level of electric spying, apparently of just about everybody. He does not sit in jail, because he managed to get into Russia first. Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, is furious because the chap in Russian exile published documents that seemed to prove that the US had tapped the chancellor's private cell phone. Angela Merkel was born and raised in Communist East Germany, whose main claim to fame was setting up an all-powerful spy network that relied on its own citizens spying on each other with the result that everyone knew that you could not talk in a hotel room or on the telephone anywhere without assuming that some thug was listening in. Imagine what Chancellor Merkel makes of the current constellation of world powers. President Obama claims that he didn't know anything about this mass Big Brother collection of information. If that is true, it's terrible. If it isn't it's worse..No Comments
Powered by WordPress with Pool theme design by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds. Valid XHTML and CSS. ^Top^


text:
Raymond A. Crain, 87 of Pigeon Forge, Tenn., passed away Monday, May 16, 2011 in Tennessee. A veteran of the Army Air Corps, he served in World War II.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Crain; children, Susie Stonert, Lynda Gilbert, Pam Crain, Jim Crain; and stepson, Ron Kramer.
Nancy S. Wallace, 80, passed away Sunday, May 15, 2011 at Visiting Nurse & Hospice Home in Fort Wayne. Born in Whitley County, Wallace worked as a teller with Indiana Bank/Summit Bank for 12 years, retiring in 1989. She was a member and a volunteer at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. "Nancy was a loving mother, grandmother and a friend to all. She will be greatly missed."
Surviving are her daughter, Cheryl S. Burns of Albion; grandchildren, Cari and Tom (Whitney) Burns; great-grandchild, Evan Burns; brother, Lynn Pendry of Alaska; and sister, Shirley Hurley of Florida.
William Ellsworth "Bill" Wass, 95, of Columbia City, died at 2:20 p.m. Monday, May 16, 2011 at Parkview Whitley Hospital of complications from congestive heart failure.
He was born Dec. 8, 1915 in Fort Wayne, a son of Romney and Dessie (Wilkerson) Wass. He graduated from North Side High School and worked at Sherman White & Company.
Lisa Mullins, 57, formerly of Columbia City, died at 8:09 a.m. Sunday, May 15, 2011 in the emergency room of Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne.
She was born Sept. 20, 1953 in Indianapolis. A daughter of Dale and Clemmentine (Jackson) Cleland spent her formative years in Columbia City. She graduated from Columbia City Joint High School.
Her employment was with Magnavox and for the past 11 years with Ultra Electronics USSI. She made her home in Columbia City until five years ago when she moved to Fort Wayne.
She was a member of Boy Scouts of America Venture Crew 2392.
COLUMBIA CITY — Wednesday gave the Lady Eagles an opportunity to see some of the players that might not see a lot of playing time or to see them in somewhat different roles.
Columbia City didn't miss a beat scoring six runs before the visiting Wayne Lady Generals were able to get an out. The home standing Lady Eagles climbed their record above .500 with an 11-1 win in five innings at the Morsches Park diamond.
FORT WAYNE — For one night two of the North East Corner Conference's teams were called up to professional baseball.
Single-A minor league baseball that is.
As part of a doubleheader feature hosted by the Fort Wayne Tincaps, Churubusco went up against Angola at Parkview Field.
To read the rest of this story, please order an e-subscription, found under the e-edition subscription link, or call The Post & Mail at 244-5153, ext. 207 and ask for a subscription.
SOUTH WHITLEY — It was an up and down kind of baseball game Wednesday for Whitko.
A Three Rivers Conference home match-up against the Wabash Apaches had the Wildcats trail by as much as four runs early and lead by three at one point.
SOUTH WHITLEY — Whitko head coach Jamilyn Pegan got everything she could hope out of her team Wednesday. The Lady Wildcats got 12 runs from their lineup while holding visiting Wabash to one hit.
To read the rest of this story, please order an e-subscription, found under the e-edition subscription link, or call The Post & Mail at 244-5153, ext. 207 and ask for a subscription.
HUNTINGTON — Tuesday night Columbia City girls' track and field was aiming to do something no other Lady Eagle track team had done before.
Repeat as sectional champions.
After winning two titles in the past three seasons, Columbia City was primed for its first back-to-back hoist of the crown.
HUNTINGTON — "It didn't feel real."
That's all Churubusco's Payton Summers could gather after winning her first sectional championship Tuesday at Huntington North.
A fourth-place team finish for the Lady Eagles girls' track team was highlighted by Summers' dash to first-place in the 100-meter race.


text:
It's hot outside. Gardeners can escape summer's heat by retreating to the air-conditioning or a shady porch, but garden plants... Read more »
August in the garden can be challenging for both gardeners and plants. Read more »
Extreme heat merits triage treatments Read more »
The first time you try our PowerGear® Pruner, you'll be amazed — but it's not magic, it's gears. Our patented gear technology m... Read more »
Specifically designed to reduce the effort required to cut tough tree and shrub branches, this durable pruner includes an easy-... Read more »
This pro-style pruner features adjustable blade tension to fit your hand strength and the toughness of the material you're cutt... Read more »
Reusable snack packs are an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic baggies, and not only are they much cuter, they'll... Read more »
Using Duck Tape® to cover a simple notebook can take your journals from mediocre to marvelous in no time! Read more »
These sturdy little Duck Tape® magnetic pockets are easy to make and will help keep a locker organized and small school suppli... Read more »
Our unique Tag Maker with Built-in Eyelet Setter features an innovative design that makes it easy to create tags perfect for gi... Read more »
Our unique Tag Maker with Built-in Eyelet Setter features an innovative design that makes it easy to create tags perfect for gi... Read more »
Our unique Tag Maker with Built-in Eyelet Setter features an innovative design that makes it easy to create tags perfect for gi... Read more »
As the parent of a picky eater, my morning routine before school always entails packing a lunch. Read more »
With a new school year on the horizon, it is time to refocus on our fall wardrobe. Read more »
This simple school skirt is very easy to make and beginner seamstresses will enjoy making more than one! Read more »
Perfect for a wide range of sewing and quilting tasks, our Amplify® RazorEdge™ Serrated Fabric Shears sense blade separation an... Read more »
Perfect for a wide range of sewing and quilting tasks, our Amplify® RazorEdge™ Fabric Shears sense blade separation and force t... Read more »
Perfect for a wide range of crafting and mixed media tasks, our Amplify® Mixed Media Shears sense blade separation and force th... Read more »
Taking a photo of your children on their first day back at school after a long summer is a tradition in many families. Read more »
It's time to get into back-to-school mode! That means it's time to begin browsing the store shelves for the necessities to hel... Read more »
"Painting" with tissue paper is not only fun but beautiful! Read more »
Our Preschool Training Scissors features a special training lever that opens the blades after each cut, helping children learn... Read more »
Children love our Designer Non-stick Blunt-tip Kids Scissors for the colorful handle patterns that make cutting fun and the non... Read more »
Our Designer Non-stick Student Scissors are larger than our Kids Scissors but smaller than adult scissors, perfect for those ol... Read more »
A new school year calls for a new set of accessories. Read more »
There is something fun and freeing about creating mixed media art, especially when you only need a few tools and a little time... Read more »
With school coming up, it is time to start planning and organizing. Read more »
Infused with avant-garde Scandinavian style, our Quantum™ Pruner integrates only the highest-grade materials with Scandinavian... Read more »
Designed for long, easy cuts down strips of Duck® Tape, our Duck® Edition Scissors feature a non-stick blade coating that preve... Read more »
Use our AdvantEdge™ Punch System with any Fiskars border punch cartridge (sold separately) to add perfectly aligned decorative... Read more »
No reviews for this product.REVIEW THIS ITEM
Discover the world's first smart scissors! Amplify® Shears cut thick and heavy materials that other scissors can't.
Fiskars and Duck Tape are teaming up to make the world smarter and more colorful together.
This Cutting Mat is the ideal size for working on scrapbook pages, homemade cards and a variety of other paper crafts. It features a self-healing mat to outlast other cutting mats and an easy-to-read grid for precise measuring and cutting.
Sign up today for project inspiration, tips, techniques and product specials.
© Fiskars Brands, Inc.
Orange-handled scissors are a registered trademark of Fiskars Corporation.


text:
A man and woman are facing crack cocaine related charges in western Kentucky.
Marcus Bowen was charged with trafficking controlled substance 1st degree 1st offense.
Carol Perry was charged with possession of cocaine and tampering with physical evidence.
Detectives with the McCracken County Sheriff's Department Drug Division say they began surveillance and around 3:30 p.m. on April 2 in the area of South 8 and Adams Streets.
Detectives saw what they believed to be an illegal drug transaction taking place between two people.
Detectives later stopped a vehicle that was leaving the area, driven by 53-year- old Carol Perry of Paducah, KY.
During that stop, detectives say they found crack cocaine.
Marcus Bowen, 51, of Paducah, was walking in the area and detained. He was taken to the McCracken County Sheriff's Department along with Perry.
Detectives say Perry had given Bowen $30 to buy crack cocaine. Bowen then gave the crack cocaine to Perry.
While at the Sheriff's Department, Perry tried to hide a crack cocaine smoking pipe, according to detectives.
Both Perry and Bowen were booked into the McCracken County Jail.
Copyright 2014 KFVS. All rights reserved.
310 Broadway
Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
FCC Public File
EEO Report
Closed Captioning


text:
Sonoco offers the assets, corporate commitment and geographic flexibility to grow globally with our customers.
Learn more.
Delivering innovative, technologically advanced blow molding solutions. Learn More
Partnering with customers to develop custom packaging that satisfies specific functional and brand requirements. Learn More
Offering design, prototyping, mold-making, production, and assembly services. Learn More
Making extruded plastic cores and tubes for customers who need the strength, durability and dimensional consistency only plastic can provide. Learn More


text:
Plainview's spring musical, the much-revived Broadway smash "How to Succeed..." continues its run Friday and Saturday, just one of many entertainment options in the area this weekend.
Each day the "5 Things" column offers five essentials about your day in Plainview. We want to engage our audience in the topics, events, and hot-button issues that are important to them. Help us do that by adding your voice. Add it to the calendar or send us a . Post a comment on the news and the issues that matter most to you.
This weekend:
1. The Drama Cadets present both night at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. The show is on the big stage at the Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School.
2. Our events calendar is filled with other things to do this weekend. Check out the options available.
3. A story broke late Thursday involving a of a man on the LIE service road.
4. The vote to name in our Readers' Choice contest closes this morning at 9. We'll announce a winner this afternoon.
5. Patch is all about interacting with its readers. By taking our polls and leaving comments, you can help to shape our coverage and let us know what is important to you. Send us your news tips; sign in and weigh in on the topics of the day. Please, claim your listings and sound off in the comments on stories that matter to you.


text:
Book Review
Genre: Romantic Suspense, General Romantic Suspense
2003 Best Romantic Intrigue Nominee
Concern for a friend gets best-selling author Taylor O'Toole into deep trouble. When Candace confides that she is worried about her boyfriend, Harris Rains, Taylor thinks she should just dump the jerk. However, a lovesick Candace refuses to believe Harris is cheating without proof, so she asks Taylor to keep an eye on him.
Navy SEAL Jack Broussard has two missions: keeping an eye on both Harris Rains and Taylor O'Toole. Harris is a scientist whom the government suspects is planning to sell a deadly poison to hostile forces. When Taylor starts following him around, the government wants to know why. Taylor's brother-in-law, Sam McKade, raises hell in order to make sure that someone is attempting to protect Taylor. When Jack sees both Taylor and Harris in the middle of a robbery, he acts quickly to save the day.
HOT PURSUIT roars off the starting block and never looks back. Visiting with characters brought to life in My Spy just adds to the fun and adventure in this new tale. (Feb., 419 pp., $6.99)
Reviewed By: Jill M. Smith
Publisher: Dell
Published: February 2003


text:
We've all struggled in front of our closet in the morning, trying to look for appropriate casual clothes for work. We haven't even had our morning cup of coffee, and we're trying to decide what to wear to work! Things are more challenging yet, when we have to go somewhere after work, and don't have time to change. What is casual enough to be comfortable, yet respectable enough for the workplace? What outfit won't take a half hour to put together?
Women's Casual Clothes for Work
When you've got a meeting at work, or just feel like getting more dressed up, it's time for a sharp, pulled together look. But don't sacrifice comfort — or fashion when trying to select casual clothes for work. Pair a ruffle dress shirt with a pencil skirt and comfortable flats. Top it off with a dark blazer or sweater jacket. Depending on your office, you may also fit right in wearing crop pants and heels. Is your office super conservative? Then, you'll need to keep the fashion fun going with accessories. Choose a single piece, like a purse with a pop of color and some metallic trim, a classy chiffon scarf or a silver statement necklace. The best thing about accessories is you can remove them if you change your mind or want a different look throughout the day. A girl's just got to be able to change her mind, right?
Men's Casual Clothes for Work
Men can wear a button up shirt with no tie, and a pair of khakis or jeans. To take casual jeans up a notch, go for a dark indigo wash and a tailored fit. But casual clothes for work include shoes as well, and you need to keep your feet comfortable! Get the look of a dress shoe and the comfort of a tennis shoe in some leather lace up sneakers from Alexander McQueen. Ever tried wearing loafers to work? Feels like a slipper and looks like a million bucks. Steve Madden is known for sharp-looking leather loafers, so pick up a pair in black and don't forget to regularly polish them to keep them looking good.
What to Wear on Casual Friday
In the dot.com era of the 1990′s Casual Friday starte dto become popular. Casual Friday generally does not mean it's ok to wear ratty flip-flops, ripped jeans and old rock band tee's — unless you're lucky enough to work for one of those high tech startups that encourages it. American Eagle has some fabulous casual button up shirts which have a soft woven cotton feel — a perfect compromise for Casual Friday.
What's your favorite brand of casual clothes for work?
6,349 total views, 2 views today


text:
Butterscotch and sour apple schnapps are combined with vodka to make this fabulous autumn-inspired drink.
But, Jules from Johnny's Italian Steakhouse says there's another secret ingredient.
She shows you how to mix the perfect caramel apple martini.
2 oz. vanilla vodka
1 oz sour apple schapps
1/2 oz butterscotch schnapps
2 oz cold spiced cider
caramel drizzle
pumpkin candy


text:
I was asked this question on a Dodger forum, and wanted to share my answer here.
How do I think Bonds will be remembered? I think better than most people are saying now. It also depends on whether or not he gets passed by A-Rod or anyone else any time soon.
The main reason is that the big number (career homers) is the most memorable number in sports. It's a number so important, that it wrongly transcends time... everyone who's been in MLB gets measured against that number regardless of the homer-friendliness of the era. (I should admit that I have predicted before that fans will start to gravitate towards era-adjusted numbers, which is kind of an argument against what I'm saying here.) If Barry's still #1 in 20 years, I expect that the natural inclinations of fans will return, which is number first, circumstances second.
In the long run, I don't see any reason why the steroid era will be viewed any differently than the dead ball era, or a live ball era, or any other pocket. Barry will always be a part of that, maybe even the first example, but he'll be tied to the era, not set apart the way it's happening now. People forget to hate assholes... look at how Ted Williams is revered today. (Ty Cobb is an exception because racism was a big part of it, and that's still a sensitive issue for the world, unfortunately.)
In fact, if the steroid era is viewed differently, I predict it will be even less anomalous. That is, it's entirely possible that performance enhancers are here to stay... that technology will always be one step ahead of Johnny Law, and in fact Bonds' transgressions will stand out even less, being reduced to an early adopter of a permanent change, rather than the King of a limited aberration.
I don't think this is a Giants fan talking, I think this is rational. How does it sound to you guys?


text:
A week from today, we will still be discussing how bummed or elated we are about the Panthers first loss or win of the season. Win or lose, it will be interesting to see who ends up standing out in our first contest with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and beyond.
Will OLB Luke Kuechly extend his stellar play from the preseason into the regular season? How will Beason look when he takes the field for the season opener at less than a hundred percent for the second year in a row? Will Cam take his game to another level? How much better will our special teams be after receiving a much needed overhaul? These are only a few of the many questions that will soon be answered for better or for worse.
With that being said, I thought that a list of ten bold statistical predictions would be a great way to begin a dialogue about what this unique collection of individuals could accomplish by the time the 2012-2013 season comes to a close. Let's begin, shall we?
1. OLB Luke Kuechly will finish the season with over 100 tackles
This will be a difficult benchmark to hit when you consider a few statistics: Only seven outside linebackers finished with over 100 tackles last season, and they were all very good veteran players. That group included Chad Greenway, who led the total tackles category with 154. Furthermore, the last time a rookie outside linebacker had over 100 total tackles was 2009 when Brian Cushing finished with 133 in Houston's opportunistic 3-4 defensive scheme. To be sure, this won't be easy, but for an instinctual player like Kuechly, it is certainly attainable.
2. Joe Adams will finish the season with 2 or more punt returns for touchdowns
Does he seem a bit shaky from the little we've seen of him in preseason? Absolutely. But that doesn't change the fact that he has game changing ability which will lead him to the end zone at least twice.
3. Charles "Big Money" Johnson will finish the season with 12 or more sacks
CJ finished the 2010 season with 11.5 sacks, the most he's tallied in a single season as an NFL player. This is his time to shine, and he'll do just that by breaking his own record.
4. Greg Hardy will finish the season with 8 or more sacks
"The Kraken" needs to double last season's sack total of 4 if he wants to keep his starting role with the Panthers. I say it will happen.
5. Josh Norman will finish the season with 4 or more interceptions
To accomplish this feat, Norman will only have to average one interception every four games. This is certainly possible if this ball hawk is able to lock down the #2 cornerback as quickly and efficiently as he does receivers.
6. Cam Newton will throw 25 or more touchdown passes and 15 or less interceptions
This will be just the type of improvement that Cam will be looking to show after finishing last season with a respectable 21 touchdown passes and 17 interceptions as a rookie.
7. Medlock will make a 60 yard field goal
Timing will be the key to this prediction coming to fruition. Rivera most likely won't be throwing Medlock out there to try a 60 yard field goal from the 42 yard line unless the game is in the final seconds of the first or second half. Because of this detail, this one might be the most improbable.
8. Newton, Williams, Stewart, and Tolbert will finish the season with a over 2,500 yards rushing
Newton, D-Will, and Stew finished last season with over 2,300 yards rushing. I don't see why this quartet couldn't surpass this total, and then some.
9. Steve Smith, Brandon Lafell, and Greg Olsen will finish the season with over 3,000 yards receiving
Say hello to the Panther's newest big three. Each one of these guys could go over 1,000 yards receiving, but I don't think this will be the final breakdown. Smitty will finish with 1,200; Lafell and Olsen will finish just shy of a grand with 900 yards each.
10. The Panthers will finish the season with a 10-6 record
Another 4 game improvement from last season may go beyond any of our wildest dreams, but this will become a reality if the Panthers stay healthy at their key positions.
What do you think CSR nation? How many of these ten predictions do you agree or disagree with? What are some of your predictions? Let us know what you think in the poll and the open thread.