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Any hopes that Avigdor Liberman had for a quick trial in time to become part of Israel's new government were dashed today, when his trial opened in Jerusalem and looked set to become a slow affair.
Yisrael Beytenu party head Liberman, who was Foreign Minister until he resigned to face his charges shortly before the election, is accused of fraud and breach of trust. He allegedly promoted an Israeli diplomat in gratitude for information in to a police investigation against him.
He pleaded not guilty and denied all charges against him. But Liberman will pay a heavy price for the trial whatever its outcome, as the timescale under discussion is lengthy, to May and beyond — long after the new government is in place. This means that there's no way he's going to be cleared and ready to take up his old job in the Foreign Ministry by the time the new government takes office later this month or next month.
For Liberman this is the ultimate frustration. His party was at an historic juncture — it ran the election on a joint ticket with the ruling Likud party bringing it closer than ever to the real power it has longed for since he set it up in 1999. He had taken Beytenu from a niche Russian speakers' party to a mainstream party of the right, and this was his big break. Plus, ironically the investigation that had dogged him for years — the one about which the diplomat allegedly gave him information — has been dropped.
As if things can't get worse for Liberman, his former right hand man in the party and the Foreign Ministry Danny Ayalon is expected to be one of the key witnesses and seems to have lots to say even before he appears in court. The Jerusalem Post reports that he has said that Liberman shouldn't go back to the Foreign Ministry even if cleared, that the "world treated him like a leper," and that while the diplomatic appointment in question was appropriate, he "put pressure [on the selection committee] to appoint certain people to the Foreign Service, which I succeeded in blocking, because I convinced him that they were not worthy."
Could a politician who almost disappeared in to obscurity be poised to take up one of the most powerful positions in Israel?
It is safe to say that as chairman of the Kadima party Shaul Mofaz hasn't been the greatest of successes. It's hard to believe but Kadima was actually the biggest party in Knesset after the last election, yet in the poll 16 days ago it almost failed to pass the electoral threshold, and in the final reckoning scraped in with two seats.
To Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is busy building his coalition, every mandate counts, and ever since the election he has apparently been keen to get Kadima on board. Now, with US President Barack Obama set to visit Israel and focus attention on the peace process, wooing Kadima has become more attractive for Netanyahu — and he may well be prepared to make him Defense Minister.
Kadima has a reputation as centrist and pro-peace, and can help with the challenge of giving international credibility to his government on issues of peace. Though the party only has two lawmakers, it's a pro-peace name on the list of coalition parties, which will allow him to present his government as more centrist. If he also persuades the six-seat Tzipi Livni Party to join, as expected, he will have notched up two pro-peace factions in his coalition — despite the fact that their smallness would compromise their ability to promote a diplomatic process with the Palestinians.
Exit polls are just out in Israel, and the results are, simply put, astonishing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's list — an alliance between his Likud party and the further-right Yisrael Beytenu — was placed with 31 of the Knesset's 120 seats according to all three polls that were conducted. The Yesh Atid party headed by political novice Yair Lapid, a popular journalist, surprised pollsters and is placing at 18 to 19 seats.
On the surface, this doesn't seem amazing, but take a closer look. Netanyahu's own Likud party will control just 20 seats if you discount Yisrael Beytenu's seats. This is a very real calculation, as Yisrael Beytenu's lawmakers will be loyal to their party leader Avigdor Liberman, and not necessarily to Netanyahu.
Labor looks set to come in close behind Yesh Atid with 17 seats. So what is the bottom line? Netanyahu probably will still get to form the coalition, but as a far weaker leader than he would have hoped. And he will do so with either a very strong opposition led by Lapid, or a powerful Lapid inside his coalition, trying to keep him central.
The Israel Land Administration is a notorious government bureaucracy, whose precise functions are a mystery to most Israelis. And yet, one day before polling opens here in Israel, the whole country is talking about it.
The reason is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced yesterday that the popular minister Moshe Kahlon, who aid ahead of the campaign that he was leaving politics, will become director of this body which controls the release of land for building.
Kahlon is loved because he's a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy in a Likud party which is increasingly seen as serving Israel's tycoons. In a country where ethnicity matters in politics he's Sephardi in an Ashkenazi-dominated faction. Last but not least, in these important hours in which the parties try to catch floating voters (more than 10% of voters are still undecided) Kahlon has the ability to attract socially-concerned voters who may otherwise go for the centrist parties.
And so, while Netanyahu can't undo the fact that Kahlon isn't standing for Knesset, he's done the next-best thing — appointed him to a high-profile unelected post. His big achievement as Communications Minister in the last Knesset was to reduce cellphone prices, and Netanyahu is indicating that he'll have the same kind of impact on house prices.
But house prices are far more complex than cellphone packages, and one wonders why, if bringing house prices down is really so simple as appointing the right man to the job, why Netanyahu didn't do exactly that 18 months ago when the social protestors took to the streets objecting to high living costs? If the answer is that this has more to do with the poll than with real concern about housing prices, one wonders how ethical making civil service appointments is as a form of electioneering. What happened to good old fashioned baby-kissing?
In the past, Israeli political parties have gotten themselves in to trouble for slurring their opponents during campaigns, with election authorities clamping down on what they see as negative campaigning.
Strangely enough, there's the opposite problem this time — a contest to campaign for Bibi.
Given that it's pretty much taken-as-given that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will win Tuesday's election with his Likud-Beytenu list, parties on the right have decided that their best strategy is to hang on his coattails.
So Shas and Jewish Home have been declaring their allegiance to Bibi, telling voters that they'll back him as Prime Minister and join his coalition — and saying that a vote for their party is the best of both worlds. In other words it'll bolster their party in Knesset, and also bolster Bibi as Prime Minister.
Jewish Home advertisements featured that party's leader, Naftali Bennett, next to a picture of Bibi, and a slogan "strong together, voting Bennett." Likud-Beytenu objected, saying the advertisement gave the impression that Bennett and Bibi were actually running together, and election authorities insisted that the advertisements were removed.
Now, Shas has a video with a similar message. Arye Deri, one of the party's leaders, has promised in a video that whoever votes Shas "gets a double benefit." He used the slogan: "Voting Shas, keeping Netanyahu."
Could this extent of devotion to Bibi work against Jewish Home and Shas when it comes to the coalition negotiations? Given that the parties have all but promised their voters they'll be in the coalition, they're going in to bargaining with Netanyahu with a pretty weak position.
So, we all kind of know who is going to take top spot in Tuesday's general election in Israel — Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud-Yisrael Beytenu alliance. But who is going to come in second spot?
Some Israelis were starting to eulogize the Labor party after its poor performance in the last election in 2009, but buoyed by the social protests it has emerged as a force to be reckoned with this time around. To the relief of the Israeli left, it has looked all through this campaign like one of its parties would come in as the second largest party. But now it doesn't look so certain.
A Geocartography Institute poll broadcast today on Israeli Radio predicted that Labor will win 16 of the Knesset's 120 seats, but the right-wing Jewish Home will win 17.
In another poll released today on the Knesset Channel, conducted by Panels, Labor gets 16 while Jewish Home wins 14 — but the suggestion that it could be beaten to silver by the previously-sectarian religious-Zionist party will be causing some concern in Labor. Second-place is psychologically very important for Labor — for many in the party it's a sign that the faction has been restored from the sidelines to its prominent status in the country.
The polls give Likud-Beytenu 32 and 34 seats respectively — a comfortable win, but far less than the alliance originally hoped for.
The Donald is backing Bibi.
Trump, the flaxen-haired publicity hound last seen pushing birther conspiracy theories in the U.S. presidential race, made what he likely considered a major announcement this afternoon (then again, he thinks everything he says is a major announcement).
He's backing Benjamin Netanyahu in the January 22 Israeli elections.
"Vote for Benjamin. Terrific guy. Terrific leader. Great for Israel," Trump said in a web video published January 15.
The endorsement is short on policy but high on praise for the incumbent prime minister. "You truly have a great prime minister in Benjamin Netanyahu. There's nobody like him," Trump said. "He's a winner."
Trump is a real estate and casino mogul who is also the star of the TV reality show The Apprentice. He toyed with making a Republican run for president last year, punctuated by his latching onto discredited questions about President Obama's birth certificate.
Netanyahu is projected to come out on top in next week's electoral contest, though he's facing pressure on his right flank from the settler candidate Naftali Bennet and frustration from the religious Sephardic party Shas over his alliance with the Russian party Yisrael Beitanu.
What does Trump think of all this? He hasn't said. He sure does like Netanyahu, though.
"He's highly respected," Trump says of Netanyahu. "He's highly thought of by all."
President Obama listens to Israeli radio on an '80s-style ghetto blaster. That's the concept behind a new Israeli ad for a government-owned radio station, promoting its coverage of the upcoming elections in the Jewish state.
The ad pictures the U.S. president on the lawn of the White House with a radio glued to his ear.
But it's not just any radio. The first black president is depicted carrying a large boom box of the sort associated with the inner city youth culture of the crack era.
Apparently, the eye-catching goal of the ad is to convince Israelis that everybody — even Barack Obama — tunes in to catch the station's coverage. The ad's text reads, "When it's really important for you to know what's happening in the elections."
It also shows the First Family's dog, Bo, clamoring for the president's attention on the White House lawn.
With less than three weeks until elections in Israel, the nation's leading party still has no platform.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hybrid political faction formed from the recent merger between the ruling Likud party and right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu, has yet to publish its platform, in which it lays out its stands on major issues.
It's a standard practice of political parties in Israel, just as it is in America. But Likud Beiteinu officials in the Israeli press as saying the joint list may forgo one altogether, since the idea is "anachronistic."
As it turns out, Likud Beiteinu may have good reasons for avoiding the publication of a party platform.
From a practical standpoint, party platforms do little to attract voters and it is hard to find swing voters who sit down and compare platforms before casting their ballot.
But the combined party also has a specific reason to avoid making any policy statement this year. The Likud party has taken a turn to the right in recent years, and with the addition of ex-foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu to the joint list, the new party has moved from center-right closer to the far right wing of Israeli politics.
Nowhere is this more so than when dealing with the Israeli – Palestinian conflict—an issue to which the international community, including the United States — Israel's prime supporter — is extremely sensitive.
Loverboy Bibi is at it again.
Last year we caught Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kissing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Now he's locking lips with Israeli Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich.
Well, not exactly.
Back in November 2011 Benetton photoshopped the embrace between Bibi and Abu Mazen as part of its controversial UNHATE ad campaign. There were lots of other highly unlikely couples, like President Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the leaders of North Korea and South Korea.
Now, the Israeli leftist party Meretz has produced altered parody images for another campaign — the one for the Israeli elections scheduled for January 23. There is the image of Bibi and Yachimovich. There is also one of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman kissing Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, to draw attention to Lapid's refusal to pledge that he will not enter a coalition with Netanyahu's Likud party following the elections and the likely event that Netanyahu will remain prime minister.
It looked as if today's primaries to choose the candidate roster for Israel's ruling Likud party was going to be delayed by Operation Pillar of Defense. But the party showed resilience and went to the polls as scheduled — only to have the process descend in to a shambles by problems with the snazzy computerized system on which members are meant to vote.
Several polling stations have closed due to malfunctions and at other stations some people have been told that the system is out of service but they should come back later. Gideon Saar, Likud lawmaker and Education Minister, has called the voting process "a farce" and suggested it should be rescheduled.
What does this mean politically? Given that it's presumed to be almost certain that Likud will form the next government (along with its running partner Yisrael Beytenu), the composition of the party is very important in setting the legislative agenda for the next Knesset.
But before considering the significance of the computer problem let's factor in another relevant point. Likud members also have the weather to contend with. It's a rainy day in large parts of Israel, and Israelis don't like to go out in the rain unless they really have to. Now, in Likud, it's the strongly pro-settlement right wingers who are the most determined to vote, and who are most likely to make sure that the make the poll despite the obstacles. And as we reported here there's a large number of highly ideological new recruits to Likud who are determined for the party to make a sharp right turn. This could well be their day.
Ehud Olmert, Israel's former Prime Minister and the center left's "if only" man, is expected to confirm any moment that he won't be running for Knesset.
Soon after the January 22 election was announced, speculation has abounded that if Olmert made a comeback and pulled together a broad center-left alliance he could actually win and once again become Prime Minister. From there, it was said, the Middle East would be his oyster — Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas recently said that he was close to a deal with Olmert in 2008, intimating that the two could return to this point if Olmert returned.
There was some polling to back up this dream. In fact, it appeared that when Likud decided a month ago to run on a joint ticket with Yisrael Beytenu it was a case of Netanyahu trying to ensure that he would have the most Knesset mandates behind him even if Olmert entered the race.
But then came Operation Pillar of Defense, knocking the issues championed by the center-left — Israeli-Palestinian peace and socio-economic issues — off the public agenda and putting security at the forefront. Even if it was right a couple of weeks ago, the national mood in Israel isn't right for Olmert now.
And so, for the second time in his career, Olmert leaves us all wondering what could've been. What could've been on the Israeli-Palestinian front had scandal not forced him out of office when it did? Was he planning on running in the coming elections? If so, what could've been during and after the election has it not been for Pillar of Defense?
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reeling from not one but two disappointments on Tuesday. It is widely believed that he was desperate for Mitt Romney to win the American presidential election. But he also had an eye on another election at home.
The main religious-Zionist party Jewish Home was holding its primaries to choose a new leader, and the winner was none other than his former right-hand man who he wanted to lose.
High tech millionaire Naftali Bennett became Netanyahu's chief of staff from 2006, and was responsible for the campaign that got him elected as Likud leader. But the two didn't see eye to eye, and in 2008 Bennett left. Bibi was so keen for him not to be elected that his wife Sara Netanyahu was reportedly canvassing against him.
So what is it that made Netanyahu want one of Bennett's rival primary candidates to lead Jewish Home? It's not a subject he's discussed but one can suppose that it's in large part the very same things he liked about Bennett back in 2006.
What do you think about the presidential election? We want to hear your opinions on a number of topics, so answer today's question and then check back Wednesday evening for the results. We'll have a new question waiting for you each night this week and a final roundup blog post on Friday.
Last night we asked for your take on the candidates' views on the Israel/Iran conflict as they expressed them during the final debate. Twenty-one percent of respondents completely agreed with Governor Romney's stance and 35% completely agreed with President Obama's.
This late in the campaign, everything is about swing states – and the foreign policy debate was largely about Florida, where moderate Jews could well decide who gets the state's 29 electoral votes.
On those grounds, on the basis of issues important to Florida Jews, President Obama won this debate, but in a bizarre, looking-glass sort of way in which the candidates seemingly exchanged personalities. Mitt Romney sounded like Obama: reasonable, measured, and knowledgeable about foreign policy. Barack Obama sounded like Romney: making strong rhetorical points with little attention to detail.
On Israel, for example, it was Obama who struck first, citing his support of the Iron Dome defense system, and using the phrase "stand with Israel" numerous times. Romney, meanwhile, sounded like a Democrat: arguing for peace talks with the Palestinians, and a measured approach to Iran.
So too on the emotional issues likely to resonate with the bubbes and zaydes of Palm Beach County. Could anyone have predicted that President Obama would invoke the holocaust in his discussion of the State of Israel? And yet that's what he did, noting that on his trip to Israel, he visited Yad Vashem (the holocaust memorial, he explained to the non-Jewish voters who happened to be watching the debate too), whereas Romney went to fundraisers.


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Delicate Chocolate Cake
"A special friend gave me this recipe more than 20 years ago," recalls Annette Foster of Taylors, SOuth Carolina. "The cake has a light cocoa flavor, and the frosting is rich. Because you frost and serve just half the cake, you can use the remainder to make other scrumptious desserts later in the week."
6-8 Servings
Prep: 20 min. Bake: 30 min. + cooling
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1 cup water
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup butter, cubed
2 cups self-rising flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
FROSTING (for the layer cake):
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1/4 cup baking cocoa
1/4 cup milk
4 to 4-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon
McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine cocoa and water until
smooth; add the oil and butter. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1
minute. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, combine flour and sugar; gradually add cocoa
mixture, beating well. Add buttermilk and eggs; mix well. Pour into
a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan.
Bake at 350° for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near
the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut cake into four
© Taste of Home 2014
2 of 2
Delicate Chocolate Cake
Directions (continued)
7-1/2-in. x 5-in. rectangles. Wrap two of the rectangles separately
in foil; refrigerate or freeze. Set the other two rectangles aside.
For frosting, combine the butter, cocoa and milk in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute (the mixture will appear
curdled). Pour into a large bowl. Gradually add confectioners' sugar
and vanilla; beat until frosting achieves spreading consistency.
Frost the top of one cake rectangle; top with the second rectangle.
Frost top and sides of cake. Yield: 1 two-layer cake (6-8
servings) plus 2 plain cake portions.
Editor's Note:
As a substitute for each cup of self-rising flour, place 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a measuring cup. Add all-purpose flour to equal 1 cup.
© Taste of Home 2014

subset: commoncrawl


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St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter returns to camp
St. Louis Cardinals' Chris Carpenter has returned to camp after undergoing tests to assess his injury.
It was previously believed that Carpenter was suffering from a bulging disc, however; it has been determined that it is a nerve ailment. Nevertheless, Carpenter is optimistic that he will return to pitch this season, although no timetable has been given.
"We have to just get my shoulder strong and get it stabilized, so I can get back out there throwing and stay out there," Carpenter said. "I have to get it strong, and when I get it strong, I'll be ready to come back."
Carpenter will be participating in a strength and conditioning program. It is not clear of what this program will consist of and what he will be allowed to do.
Carpenter has previously dealt with nerve issues, which effected his 2004 and 2008 seasons. He again experienced problems in 2010, but on a lesser scale.
General Manager John Mozeliak believes that Carpenter will be taking the mound this season.
"Right now, the whole goal is to get his shoulder strengthened," Mozeliak said."We are not going to put any timetable on it yet. We are just going to take it day by day."
Carpenter has yet to appear in a spring training game and has not faced a hitter since March 3, during batting practice.
Carpenter is a Cy Young Award winning pitcher. Last season he was 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA. He was 4-0 in the postseason and led the Cardinals to victory in Game 7.


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Originally published Sunday, January 20, 2013 at 7:57 AM
Alex Pelosi's Sundance debut has political angle
Alexandra Pelosi was beaming: She had just made her Sundance Film Festival debut with the HBO documentary "Fall to Grace," about former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey; her mother, Rep. Nancy Pelosi was on hand to witness it; and Sundance's founder and Pelosi's hero, Robert Redford, made it a point to stop by to witness the event.
AP Entertainment Writer
Alexandra Pelosi was beaming: She had just made her Sundance Film Festival debut with the HBO documentary "Fall to Grace," about former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey; her mother, Rep. Nancy Pelosi was on hand to witness it; and Sundance's founder and Pelosi's hero, Robert Redford, made it a point to stop by to witness the event.
"I'm 42 years old and finally made it to Sundance. This is the best day of my life - it's downhill from here," she cracked.
That's highly unlikely. With the film set to make its debut on HBO on March 28 and the growing buzz around it, Pelosi is bound to have more celebratory moments for "Fall to Grace." It's her eighth HBO film: She's also done documentaries on homeless children, the tea party movement and Ted Haggard, the pastor who became ensnared in a drug and sex scandal.
"I'm drawn to broken men - Why is that?" Pelosi pondered at a brunch Friday morning to celebrate the documentary. "I don't know. I'm really drawn to the recovering politician. . there's a lot of that in the film."
McGreevey was the governor of New Jersey and considered a rising Democratic star when he resigned in 2004 after it was revealed that McGreevey, then married with a child, was cheating on his wife with another man.
The scandal became a tabloid sensation, but after that, McGreevey came out as a gay man, trained in the seminary and started working with incarcerated women. The film follows McGreevey as he helps the women in prison and in their attempts to make the transition after their release.
"He's taken his own shame and turned it into something good, which most of the other fallen men don't do," she said, adding that a return to politics was unlikely for him: "He's too sincere."
McGreevey, who was also at the brunch with partner Mark O'Donnell, said he was initially reluctant to do a documentary about his life.
"I think my personal story had been told time and time again, but when Alexandra said she was willing to follow the women and get to know the women . it became something different," he said.
Pelosi spent so much time with McGreevey that her young children make cameo appearances in the film, and spent major holidays with McGreevey as he visited women in prison.
Nancy Pelosi recalled calling her daughter on Christmas to find out what the filmmaker's kids got for Christmas.
"She said, `Mom I'm not going to tell you where I am right now,' and I said, `Well, I think you are because you brought it up,'" the House Democratic minority leader recalled.
She was in prison with McGreevey: the younger Pelosi recalls her mother didn't take the news well, chastising her for not being home with her children, now 5 and 6.
"I thought, `There's something more important than me and my kids,' and that's something I learned from Jim McGreevey," Pelosi said.
Pelosi said after that conversation with her mother, "I wasn't sure how supportive my mom was of the project - until today."
The debut of the film marked a career pinnacle for Pelosi, a former NBC News journalist; having Redford appear at the film's premiere was an added bonus.
"Robert Redford was famous and could have retired after `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,'" she said, referencing one of his most famous films.
"But he kept working and his best work was in front of him, and if you ask me, Robert Redford's best work is Sundance because he makes everybody else's dream come true," she continued.
"He's using his fame for good, just like Jim McGreevey is using his shame for good."
Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the AP's Global Entertainment & Lifestyles Editor: Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi
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How to Make a Short Song with GarageBand on the iPad
Ever wanted to dabble with your creative juices and try to make a song. Garage Band is an easy, quick way to get started when it comes to composing music. This Lifehack Lesson written by Katie Gatto introduces you to Garage Band with some video demos to help you create your first song. It's great fun, and helps teaches you the basics of writing music before you move on to more complicated musical tools (if you so wish). This Lesson is free for the first week, if you add this lesson to your Lifehack Lessons account it will be with you forever. To access all the other lessons and any new lessons it only costs $4.99 per month.
Here's the excerpt from this Lesson -
So, you're ready to compose your first song on your iPad. Good for you! Now, lets get you familiar with the in's and out's of the software so that you can make your first classical score or compose your first song in just a couple of minutes.
Whether you dream of creating a funky and fun Dixie land style song without finding a band or you want to create the next great rock opera Garage Band can help you to do it. Today we are going to begin with a small song in order to get you up to speed on how to use your iPad to write song with Garage Band.
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MADRE's Preferred Planned Giving Options
Gifts of Stock (Gifts of Appreciated Property)
Gifts of stock are a common way for donors to give current gifts without depleting their financial resources. Benefits to the donor include receiving a federal tax deduction of the full market value (selling price) for each stock contribution, avoiding capital gains tax and not triggering the federal alternative minimum tax.
To make a gift of stock to MADRE, call 212-627-0444 for our account information-DTC number, account custodian, broker name, account name and account number. At that time, we will make a record of the name of the donor, the names and number of shares of the stock being donated, the current value of the stock and the name of the broker.
On average, 80 percent of planned gifts in the United States are made in the form of bequests. They are the simplest form of planned giving because they entail little more than adding an organization such as MADRE to your will.
To include MADRE in your will, simply list our name and tax identification (or EIN) number, which is 13-3280194. Once you have added these to your will, you maintain the option of adjusting the size of the gift as you wish.


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AAR Bweyogerere was the host of the 'Health Centre Manager (HCM) day' for the month of June.)The event on June 12,2014 brought together HCMs from all AAR Uganda health centres .AAR Bweyogerere HCM DR Stephen Lugolobi took fellow HCMs through the different clinic processes from the reception, booking revenue,pharmacy,lab , branding, management to clinic CSR programmes like Trees for health programme. The Team also visited one of the AAR Bweyogerere Trees for health beneficiary school Hassan Tourabi. The School shares a birth year with AAR. The Headmistress was overwhelmed when she learnt that AAR also started in 1984.
The HCMs also took time off to serve food to the AAR Bweyogerere staff during lunch. This is in line with our human touch culture of being 'as human as you'. The HCM day is a quality management tool which uses benchmarking to identify, share and discuss work based best practices.The next HCM day will be in July at AAR Makerere hill clinic.
AAR Bweyogerere HCM also unveiled officially its Paed room.
We were saddened by a defamatory newspaper story that erroneously mentioned us. The story was carried on the front page and continued on page 29 of the June 28, 2014 newspaper.
AAR would like to put to rest any confusion surrounding today's Red pepper story titled| 'AAR boss in sex scandal'
The said individual mentioned in the story has never been employed, known to AAR Uganda or any of our sister companies in East Africa.
We would like to make it clear that AAR Uganda with its headquarters on Plot 16a, Elizabeth Avenue Kololo has no affiliation whatsoever with the individual mentioned in the story.
AAR has for the past 30 years stood as a strong family brand and will remain as such for the years to come. AAR is not about to compromise on the strong family values it believes in.
For more information regarding our services, please visit our website, Facebook page or other social media sites. You can also contact us on 0414 560 900.
Plot 16A,Elizabeth Avenue
0414 560 900
AAR held a medical camp at the Ministry of Internal Affairs on May 20, 2014.AAR Health Care was represented by the AAR emergency and Acacia staff.


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Radisson Hotel and Conference Center Green Bay, Green Bay
Hotel -2040 Airport Drive, Green Bay, Wisconsin, WI 54313, United States (On Ciao since: 05/2009)
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Travel > North America > United States of America > Other Destinations in USA > USA Hotels
Holiday Inn Green Bay Stadium, Green Bay
Hotel -2785 Ramada Way, Green Bay, Wisconsin, WI 54304, United States (On Ciao since: 05/2009)
Travelodge Hotel, Green Bay
Hotel -2870 Ramada Way, Green Bay, Wisconsin, WI 54304, United States of America (On Ciao since: 03/2009)
(*) Reviews by Ciao members
Capo Bay Hotel, Protaras
Advantages: fantastic 4* hotel
Disadvantages: don't go there in the week that they close!
...We have just returned from our honeymoon in Cyprus. We stayed at the Capo Bay Hotel, which stands on the Fig Tree Bay in the resort of Protaras. It is one hours drive from Larnaca Airport.
(I will reveiw Protaras as a resort separately. This review is solely on the Capo Bay Hotel).
The hotel was fantastic. It is 4star hotel and the service and facilities are great. The Capo Bay hotel...
08.11.2005 15:22 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Capo Bay Hotel, Paralimni
An Excellent Hotel, The Castle Green, Kendal
Advantages: Lovely Rooms, Health club, Brilliant Staff, Reasonable Price
Disadvantages: No View From Our Room, A Mile From Kendal Centre (But I Am Being Picky Really)
...The Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, South Lakes
Tesco recently decided to change their clubcard voucher payment policy on their many deals available, instead of giving you four times the value when transferring them to hotel, etc. deals they decided to change it to three times the amount. This coupled with the fact we had a few vouchers that were approaching their expiry date, prompted us to...
21.11.2010 12:32 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Best Western Castle Green Hotel, Kendal
Grecian Bay Hotel
Advantages: Spotlessly clean, great location
Disadvantages: Expensive food prices , pool not family friendly
...for holidays Mr Lools and I were pointed in the direction of the Grecian Bay in Ayia Napa and I am glad to say we were not disappointed.
***Ayia Napa***
Before I start on the hotel I feel I should probably explain a little about Ayia Napa for those that have not visited before as my lasting impressions of the resort were certainly not what I was expecting.
Ayia Napa is located 25 miles east...
14.09.2011 08:06 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Grecian Bay, Ayia Napa
© 2014 Shopping Guide GmbH


text:
Cafe Lurcat - Minneapolis
- Address:
1624 Harmon Place
Minneapolis, MN 55403Neighborhood:
Downtown / North Loop
- Cuisine:
Contemporary AmericanPrice: $30 and under
Cafe Lurcat - Minneapolis
- Dining Style: Casual Dining
- Website: http://www.cafelurcat.com/
- Phone: (612) 486-5500
- Hours of Operation:
Café Dinner: Monday - Thursday: 5:30pm - 9:30pm, Friday - Saturday: 5:30pm - 10:30pm, Sunday- 5:30pm - 9:00pm Bar: Sunday - Thursday: 4:30pm - 12:00am, Friday - Saturday: 4:30pm - 1:00am
- Payment Options: AMEX,Discover,MasterCard,Visa
- Cuisine: Steak, Comfort Food, Contemporary American
- Executive Chef: Adam King
- Dress Code: Casual Dress
- Accepts Walk-Ins: Yes
- Additional Details: Banquet/Private Rooms, Bar Dining, Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cafe, Full Bar, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking Restaurant, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, View, Wheelchair Access, Wine
A word from Cafe Lurcat - Minneapolis
TOP 50 RESTAURANTS, TOP 10 FOOD: Minneapolis/St. Paul MagazineContinued
BAR LURCAT BEST SUMMER PATIO: City Pages "Summer Guide" 2004
BEST FRENCH FRIES: City Pages "Best of the Twin Cities" 2004
BEST BURGERS: Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine
BAR LURCAT BEST WINE BAR: City Pages "Best of the Twin Cities"
TOP 10 WINE LISTS: Food and Wine 2003
TOP 20 WINE LISTS: Monterey Wine Festival 2004
Sweeping views of Loring Park, innovative American food, a captivating bar featuring 200+ wines with 30 by the glass make this venue a complete destination. Open every evening. Reservations Recommended.
BAR LURCAT BEST SUMMER PATIO: City Pages "Summer Guide" 2004
BEST FRENCH FRIES: City Pages "Best of the Twin Cities" 2004
BEST BURGERS: Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine
BAR LURCAT BEST WINE BAR: City Pages "Best of the Twin Cities"
TOP 10 WINE LISTS: Food and Wine 2003
TOP 20 WINE LISTS: Monterey Wine Festival 2004
Sweeping views of Loring Park, innovative American food, a captivating bar featuring 200+ wines with 30 by the glass make this venue a complete destination. Open every evening. Reservations Recommended.
Foodspotting photosSee all photos
Awards voted by OpenTable diners
- Diners' Choice WinnerBest Overall
- Diners' Choice WinnerBest Ambiance
- Diners' Choice WinnerBest Food
Cafe Lurcat - Minneapolis - Best Restaurants in Downtown / North Loop ›
Cafe Lurcat - Minneapolis reviews from OpenTable diners
274 reviews since July 30, 2014
- Food4.6Service4.4
- Ambiance4.6Noise LevelModerate
special occasion (195)fit for foodies (186)romantic (157)neighborhood gem (97)scenic view (95)good for groups (82)notable wine list (77)hot spot (71)vibrant bar scene (58)great for outdoor dining (45)late-night find (29)great for brunch (8)great for lunch (6)kid-friendly (4)Show More
- Date night at LurcatLucyDined on 11/23/2014A friend told us about date night on Sundays so we tried the $50 option for two: a bottle of wine, a three course dinner. Our experience was lovely with attentive service and delicious food from a special menu that contained four choices for each of the first two courses and three for the dessert.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- KeithDined on 11/22/20141st timers with reservations. Terrible seating, basically sat in the kitchen next to the silverware station. A real dining mood and ambiance killer.
- John, our server was fantasticOlivierDined on 11/22/2014our server John was more than great. He was not intrusive but anticipated all our need and his attitude was very professional and appreciated. Regarding the food, nothing to say but GREAT as usual. We brought our teenage son for the first time in a "nice" restaurant formhis first time at his request and he was thrilled about the foood and service. Thank you to the entiire staff ( culinary, service, host) for this memorable experience. We will defenetively will be back.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Good but go laterOpenTable Diner Since 2011Dined on 11/21/2014Great food great ambiance. But hardly anyone there at 6 pm so I felt like we were alone in a pretty barn.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- FabulousOpenTable Diner Since 2009Dined on 11/20/2014We wanted to try a new restaurant (to us) for a birthday celebration and Cafe Lurcat did not disappoint. Food, service, ambiance, and view were all outstanding. We will defiantely return as there are many menu items to still try. The lobster bisque and sea bass were especially excellent.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- PhenominalOpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 11/19/2014The Chilean Sea Bass was one of the best seafood dishes I have ever had in my life, actually, the entire meal was absolutely delightful. The vegetable side dishes were excellent - would highly recommend the cauliflower and brussel sprouts. The staff was extremely accommodating as one of the members of our group has a number of food allergies. I will definitely be coming back to Cafe Lurcat on my next trip to Minneapolis!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Downtown evening outSnowgirlVIPDined on 11/16/2014The food here is always excellent. The Sunday night Date Night is a great deal, as you can tell by the full house. The view of Loring Park is great, especially in the winter. But winter brings cold, and the tables next to the huge windows can be uncomfortably chilly. The noise level is fairly high, as befits a busy room full of happy diners. One of our regular spots to dine.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Great evening, highly recommendSueTDined on 11/13/2014Excellent food, great service from our waiter, Will. Sea bass was recommended and did not disappoint. New York strip was very flavorful and done to perfection. Scallops also very good. We will be back soon.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Always great food.DowntownFoodieVIPDined on 11/5/2014We love this place. We celebrate every Anniversary here because we know it will always deliver a wonderful experience. The food is always excellent. I always think the prices are a bit high until I taste the food. I would gladly pay a few bucks more for something that is exceptional than save a few bucks and have something that's just ok.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- MerMVIPDined on 11/5/2014Group of six co-workers for dinner. Our reservation was early but the restaurant was busy with private groups. Food is excellent; very accessible wine list with plenty to choose in all price ranges. Service however was very spotty. We were not offered an appetizer even though we were having cocktails. Server did not come by to ask if food was to our liking. Although she appeared competent and knowledgeable, she apparently was just too busy. We had to ask other servers for additional butter and had a hard time catching anyone's eye just to pay for our meal when finished. Will return but I encourage the management to staff properly when the restaurant is busy. Doing otherwise taxes not only the staff but the patience of patrons.Special Features:
- BronxieDined on 11/3/2014Great meal wonderful atmosphere. Wonderful way to celebrate 40 years of marriage.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Ccomfort in consistency at LurcatfoodforthoughtVIPDined on 11/3/2014Lurcat is consistent, everything is always well done, doesn't change from one time to the next, need some predictability in our life and we get it here. Probably the best hangar steak anywhere in town.Special Features:
- Date nightOpenTable Diner Since 2011Dined on 11/2/2014Wonderful as usual, Cafe Lurcat. This was our 3rd time coming for Date Night, which didn't disappoint. The rice and braised beef lettuce wraps were amazing, the pork tenderloin flavorful and delicious, and the chocolate cake was great. The service here is always excellent. Very easy to make a reservation as well. Thanks again!Special Features:
- SmurphDined on 11/2/2014Best Sunday night date night in the cities! Everythign was delicious- will be back!Special Features:
- Not up to expectationsCindyLWDined on 11/2/2014Cafe Lurcat is one of my favorites for special occasion dinners but our latest experience was not up to their typical standards. We had a large group and booked well in advance, I should have requested the main dining room but was instead seated in the extra room which does not at all have the special vibe of the main room. It really could have been any restaurant. Our server must have had an off night - I number of mistakes, but was very disappointed when we clearly stated there was a food allergy at the table and he went on to suggest a number of items containing the allergen. I expect a higher level of service from Cafe Lurcat.Special Features:
- A great dining experience!LisaVIPDined on 11/2/2014This was a wonderful evening. Loved the building and space. The park is a lovely space to look across. The food and wine was very well done. And the Sunday date night menu and price was very reasonable. Will dine there again!Special Features:
- DisappointedExloringMNdiningDined on 11/1/2014Had high expectations based on what we'd heard and the service was poor, the food took forever, one steak came out cold. To their credit they realized this before we complained and gave us free dessert. Perhaps an off night for our server or the kitchen. But still disappointed us for a meal that wasn't cheap. Once we had the food it was tasty.Special Features:
- RBMNVIPDined on 11/1/2014Great food and service when you want a first class experience.Special Features:
- labuonaforchettaDined on 10/26/2014The food was great and the value outstanding. We had to wait a bit too long to receive each course. It was moderately busy but there did seem to be enough wait staff so I am not sure what the problem was.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- A+KittDined on 10/26/2014We were celebrating a special occasion with family. I had requested a quiet table and we actually had one! The ambiance was warm,inviting. Our server was informed regarding wine list,efficient and we all had outstanding food. I rarely rate this high because there is usually flaws in food, service or noise. Not this time though! It was very crowded but never noisy. Food this different but excellent tasting is often overpriced but not here. It was a memorable occasion. We will all go back there!Special Features:
- OpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 10/25/2014Loved our dining experience here. The staff was very attentive and helpful.Special Features:
- Fun couples' night outSafflowerDined on 10/25/2014My husband and I, and two other couples, had drinks in the lounge on Saturday night and then ate dinner in the Cafe. From the person who answered the phone to the hostess who seated us, to the cocktail waitress who was attentive and helpful, to our wonderful, funny and kind waitress in the Cafe, we had great service. The food was excellent. My husband and I shared the lamb burgers as an appetizer. The spice was surprising and very tasty. We both had the miso-crusted sea bass for dinner with caramelized Brussels sprouts and enjoyed our meals. Our friends had the filet and the Ahi and they loved their meals as well. The desserts we shared were decadent and beautiful. Thank you for a wonderful evening!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- attentiveOpenTable Diner Since 2012VIPDined on 10/25/2014I usually write comments on my reservation through open table. If I make a reservation well in advance for a guest visiting from out of town - I want to sit in a window seat (for example) Until now - I thought those comments went unread - because comment or not - my special request is usually ignored. It was my anniversary last Saturday. I asked for a window seat. We had an emergency which required us to push the reservation not once, but twice. Not only did they help us get in, but they still got us our window seat. Thank you. Everything was lovely and tasty.Special Features:
- DinnerOpenTable Diner Since 2008Dined on 10/24/2014Visited on Friday 24th of October. Food, service was great but I think they had a venting problem as the air was smoky. They had a door open but it was noticeable to our our. Will go back....Special Features:
- Fantastic food and atmosphereMikkoVIPDined on 10/23/2014Just ate here for restaurant week. Every dish was amazing and the ambiance and atmosphere were excellent.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- PerformancedineDined on 10/23/2014Love Restaurant Week. An opportunity to eat out at reasonable prices and try something new. Cafe Lurcat didn't disappoint. We had early dinner reservations on a gorgeous fall day. As we enjoyed our meal, the setting sun was dressing the trees and sky in beautiful shades of pumpkin and gold. Oh my. We ordered the apple cheese salad and the ahi for starters. Flavors were great. Both had the scallops which were wonderful, but found the smokiness of the bacon almost overpowering the delicate, nicely seared scallops. Desserts were the perfect finishing touch. Service was helpful, swift and efficient. Food was excellent. A wonderful, memorable meal.Special Features:
- Awesome as alwaysHarrietDined on 10/22/2014Lurcat is one of the best restaurants in the city. They never fail to impress me!Special Features:
- great as usualDJ33Dined on 10/22/2014A true gem; great food, great service, great ambience.Special Features:
- Always great food & serviceDobeGalDined on 10/21/2014This is one restaurant you'll want to keep going back to.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- ElsitaDined on 10/21/2014Cafe Lurcat is a gem! Food is outstanding, service is great! Love the atmosphere and its location in the city is amazing!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Reliable GemDennisTkachDined on 10/21/2014We can always rely on a great dining experience at Lurcat.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Delicious and UniqueHannahJDined on 10/20/2014The food was wonderful, very efficient service, and the location is great! Unique atmosphere, perfect for late night dining.Special Features:
- JoniDined on 10/20/2014From drinks to dessert our experience was flawless. It was the perfect place to celebrate my sister's birthday. Great experience.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Expensive But Worth ItLuncherDined on 10/20/2014Exquisite menu with very well presented (and tasty) food. Views of Loring Park are beautiful. Good for special occasions. Enjoy during Restaurant Week to go lighter on the wallet.Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Here for Restaurant WeekAnnomDined on 10/19/2014Have been to Lurcat before, usually the food and service is top notch. However, during restaurant week, the service was not as good as usual and the entree they serve was cold. Had to ask the waiter to send it back to the kitchen to reheat my steak.Special Features:
- Lovely Evening!OpenTable Diner Since 2014Dined on 10/19/2014Lovely evening, fabulous food and service. Thank you!I would recommend this to a friend.
- Amazing, so much flavorLovefood123Dined on 10/19/2014You can tell they use quality ingredients and I love the open kitchen! I definitely felt like I could have dressed up more which I love because there is no place any more including down town where there isn't people in jeans and a sweatshirt so this is a great date night place if you want to get in a dress and heels! Very romantic and great food!Special Features:I would recommend this to a friend.
- Always exceptionalfrequentvisitorsVIPDined on 10/18/2014This restaurant always knocks it out of the ball-park. The apple-cheese starter salad with crusty bread is our go-to first course every time we're here. My husband had the Amish chicken for his entrée for the first time and loved it! I had my usual melt-in-the mouth Hanger Steak. We shared pureed potatoes and squash. Love the presentation of food in copper pots. First class dining and atmosphere every time we eat here.Special Features:
- Great PlaceMarieVIPDined on 10/17/2014Love the food especially the sea bass, roasted cauliflower and chocolate dessert. My only complaint is the level of noise. Was there previously on week night and it was fine but on Friday night, it would have been tough for a group.Special Features:
- overpricedNeighDined on 10/15/2014Made a reservation. Got a call telling me that our table would not be in the dining area but the bar area but that there would still be white tablecloths, etc. Arrived and no tablecloths on tables. We chose to order several small dishes to share. Beets and cauliflower were delicious but my Maytag wedge salad was not a wedge and it was TINY! For $14, it was side salad size and I had ordered it as a main meal along with our sharing the beets and cauliflower. My friend's crabcakes were more breading than crab and she specifically asked how much breading was in them with a response by the waiter, "not much". Overpriced for what you get!Special Features:


text:
Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
Credit: INF
Published: Friday October 12, 2012 06:00 AM EDT
More from PEOPLE
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Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones sport sleek ensembles while shooting scenes for spy drama Red 2 in Paris on Thursday.
Copyright © 2014 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


text: With the festivities of the holiday season, come an increased risk of home fires. There are several reasons for this. We bring combustibles indoors in the form of trees, greenery and decorations. Open flames from candles and fireplaces create additional dangers. We cook more -- a major factor, since most home fires start in the kitchen. Also, our attention is focused on our friends and family and it's easy to become unaware of increased hazards. Here are some simple things to be aware of and suggestions for making your home fire safe during the holidays.


text:
Elizabeth A. Stuart, PhD
Associate Professor
Departmental Affiliation(s):
Mental Health
Health Policy and Management (Joint)
Biostatistics (Joint)
Center & Institute Affiliation(s):
Contact Information
624 N Broadway, Room 804
Baltimore , Maryland 21205
Personal website
: http://www.biostat.jhsph.edu/~estuart/index.html
SciVal Experts Research Profile
PhD , Harvard University , 2004
Trained as a statistician, my primary research interests are in the development and use of methodology to better design and analyze the effects of public health and educational interventions, either through the use of randomized experiments or well-designed non-experimental studies. In this way I hope to bridge statistical advances and research practice, working with mental health and educational researchers to identify and solve methodological challenges, particularly in the area of prevention research.
My particular methodological interests are in the areas of matching methods for observational studies (such as propensity scores) and missing data methods. I have been involved in large-scale randomized experiments such as the national evaluation of Upward Bound, and have also worked on a variety of non-experimental studies, including the evaluation of school-wide prevention programs and an evaluation of the effects of implementing value-added assessment techniques in Pennsylvania schools.
My recent work, funded through a K25 award from the National Institute of Mental Health, has focused on developing methods to assess when and how results from randomized trials can be generalized to target populations. These ideas bridge internal and external validity, attempting to take advantage of the relative strengths of experimental and non-experimental studies.
Honors and Awards
JHSPH Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching (2010)
JHSPH AMTRA Advising, Mentoring, and Teaching Recognition Award (2010)
Warren Miller Prize for best paper published in Volume 15 of Political Analysis, (Paper also selected as a "Fast Breaking Paper" by Thomson Reuters (2008)
JHSPH Edward R. Brewster Research Fund (Faculty Innovations Fund) Awardee (2007-2008)
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1999-2002)
Student paper award, American Statistical Association (2001)
Gertrude Cox award, American Statistical Association (2000)
William Cochran award in Statistics, Harvard University (1999)
Pokora Prize for Mathematics, Smith College (1997)
Phi Beta Kappa, Smith College (1997)
Magna cum laude, Smith College (1997)
Barry M. Goldwater Scholar (1995-1997)
Robert C. Byrd Scholar (1993-1997)
Bayesian modeling, biostatistics, causal inference, multi-level modeling, observational study, non-experimental study, prevention research, propensity scores
Werner, R., Kruse, G., Polsky, D., and Stuart, E.A. (in press). The Impact of Hospital Pay-for-Performance on Hospital and Medicare Costs. Forthcoming in Health Services Research.
Olsen, R., Bell, S., Orr, L., and Stuart, E.A. (in press). External Validity in Policy Evaluations that Choose Sites Purposively. Forthcoming in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management. NIHMS 382967.
Kuramoto, S.J., Runeson, B., Lichtenstein, P., Stuart, E.A., and Wilcox, H. (in press). Time to hospitalization for suicide attempt by the timing of parental suicide during offspring early development. Forthcoming in Archives of General Psychiatry.
Landa, R., Gross, A., and Stuart, E.A. (in press). Latent class analysis of early developmental trajectory in baby sibs of children with Autism. Forthcoming in Journal of Child Psychiatry & Psychology. PMC Journal – In Progress.
Landa R., Gross, A., Stuart, E.A., and Faherty, A. (in press). Developmental trajectories in children with and without autism spectrum disorders: The first three years. Forthcoming in Child Development. PMC Journal – In Progress.


text:
Breaking Bad, Seinfeld stars appear in "Barely Legal Pawn"
Even if you're not one to watch a lot of TV, you've likely heard of Breaking Bad. If you're of a certain age, you may have also heard of a greatest-show-ever TV show by the name of Seinfeld. It seems that post-Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus has fallen on hard times, and took to Barely Legal Pawn to solve her money woes.


text: The pilot of a Schweizer 269C helicopter was conducting a non-revenue sightseeing flight, looking for alligators, and he entered an out-of-ground-effect hover at 50-70 feet above ground level. He hovered the helicopter into the wind, which he based on the water conditions. After hovering for about 5 seconds, the pilot pitched forward on the cyclic and raised collective. The helicopter then entered an uncommanded right yaw. The pilot immediately lowered the collective, applied forward cyclic and left anti-torque pedal; however the yaw continued. The helicopter completed at least eight 360-degree turns to the right, as he leveled the helicopter, and raised the collective. The helicopter subsequently landed in the about 2 feet of water and came to rest upright, without injuries or damage to any property. The helicopter sustained damage to the landing skids and cross tubes. The pilot believed he experienced a loss of tail rotor authority, and he did not feel any vibration in the anti-torque pedals. He remarked that the nearby trees could have changed the wind direction. The reported wind near the accident site, about the time of the accident, was from 310 degrees at 7 knots. Postaccident examination of the helicopter did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions.


text:
November 26, 2014
ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Former Unicoi County Sheriff Kent Harris is on trial again, this time on charges of official misconduct.
The Johnson City Press reports in opening statements on Monday, District Attorney General Tony Clark told jurors that county inmates were taken to property owned by Harris to bush hog it, mow it, cut wood and raze structures there.
Harris pleaded not guilty. His attorney said in court that Harris did not know the inmates were working on the property.
A grand jury in October 2011 indicted Harris on 10 felony charges, including official misconduct, theft, criminal simulation, attempted aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.
Two trials on the felony theft charge each ended with a hung jury. Prosecutors decided against a third trial on that charge.
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text:
The Online Racing Association - Home of online racing and a part of the MSA UK.
xbox, forza, mans, #btcc, motorsport, online, racing, virtual, playstation, games, rfactor, iracing, dirt, need, speed, shift, microsoft
BSRtv provides live broadcast, analysis and commentary for iRacing Events. BSR Run and organize their own Leagues. They also have their own YouTube channel where you can subscribe and watch live races as they unfold, as well as catch up on any previo
british, racers, bsrtv, iracing, #btcc, broadcast, analysis, commentary, series, events, youtube, channel, where, subscribe, racing, motorsport, simulator, race, cars, winne


text:
Toward a New Compendium of Knowledge (longer version)
September 15, 2006 (and getting slowly out of date!)
Here's a shorter version, which might be more readable.
1. Thinkers of the world, start imagining.
According to one source, there are over one billion (a thousand million) people on the Internet. That means there must be tens of millions of intellectuals online--I mean educated, thinking people who read about science or ideas regularly. Tens of millions of intellectuals can work together, if they so choose. Technologically, there is nothing standing in their way. This is truly a dumbfounding, incredible situation. Humanity has not even begun to explore the possibilities inherent in this situation. For all the endless talk about "Web 2.0," we have hardly even begun to think about harnessing this intellectual power for knowledge-building projects, much less actually act on it.
Imagine what is possible with tens of millions of intellectuals working together on educational and reference projects. (The trouble, of course, is actually getting them together--"herding cats" is the operative phrase.) What could attract them to pool their intellectual power? What content creation systems would best harness this power? What fantastic things might result? Imagine the discussions, the journalism, the news summaries, the textbooks and educational material, the encyclopedias, the libraries, the multimedia, the 3D universes, not to mention brand new sorts of resources possible for the first time and only through massive collaboration. The paltry first steps we have made on such resources are admirable, but ultimately will prove to be laughable compared to what will exist in five or ten years. It will resemble the difference between the first PCs and the firepower of the latest business-class desktops.
Whenever I think about this now, I literally quiver with excitement, and I am amazed that we, educated people throughout the world, have barely begun to imagine what new reference and educational materials could come into being, if we pool our efforts in the open, collaborative ways demonstrated by open source software hackers. Even less have we begun to take such possibilities really seriously, or actually get to work on them.
But this is changing very rapidly, and I want to make a prediction. In the next year, by the end of 2007, every major university, library, museum, archive, professional organization, government, and corporation will be asking themselves with increasing urgency: how, using what systems and methods, can we pool the entire world's intellectual resources to create the ideal information resource? What worldwide projects and organizations should we join or help to create?
2. Wikipedia.
We may take Wikipedia as an early prototype of the application of open source hacker principles to content rather than code. I want to argue that it is just that, an early prototype, rather than a mature model of how such principles should be applied to reference, scholarly, and educational content.
Wikipedia, started only five years ago, now has millions of articles in over one hundred languages, and has nearly singlehandedly introduced the world's intellectuals to the possibilities of enormous collaborative efforts. It is a project that shouldn't work, but does--who could have expected such a radically open project to produce anything of value? But, by giving intellectuals the world over an open platform on which to work together, a clear task, and a simple interface, Wikipedia has shown a global audience what enormous, distributed knowledge collaboration can achieve. The work of the Wikipedians has astounded the world.
I always have been an enormous fan of Wikipedia, and I still am. But I have achieved notoriety with some of Wikipedia's community and supporters by declaring that we can and should do better. I now want to help launch something better, if that's possible. Let me explain why I am doing so, and then I will describe the project itself.
When on January 2, 2001 I first had the idea for Wikipedia, and then got to work defining policies and leading the community that built it, I was also employed as editor-in-chief of Nupedia, a more straight-laced, peer-reviewed free encyclopedia project. Wikipedia was to be a free-wheeling, fun side project, a dynamic source of content, for the more serious Nupedia project. Wikipedia was closer in spirit to the old open source, hacker ways, where Nupedia was essentially an academic project. But together, Nupedia and Wikipedia were going to be an "unstoppable high-quality article-creation juggernaut," or so I said in 2001.
I will not go into the history very much, which I've done elsewhere, but I want to recount a few relevant details. Contrary to popular belief, Nupedia did not fail simply because its system was too complicated and closed. Rather, in 2001 and the beginning of 2002, I was working so hard on Wikipedia that I was greatly overextended--and so, Nupedia effectively lost its editor-in-chief. Few people know, or remember that: Nupedia withered in large part precisely because I was focusing on Wikipedia instead. But by the end of 2001, the Nupedia Advisory Board had agreed to relaunch the project with a greatly simplified two-step system. That's another thing a lot of people don't know about Nupedia. However, by that time, the Internet economy had collapsed and so Bomis, the company of which Jimmy Wales was CEO, and which hired me to start these encyclopedia projects, lost the ability to pay me. I had to resign. This hit Nupedia much harder than Wikipedia, since Nupedia was much more of a top-down project.
After that I twice offered Jimmy Wales a way to keep Nupedia alive. Once, I offered to find an academic sponsor--a university or foundation--for Nupedia. Another time, I offered to find the money to buy the domain name and subscriber list myself. Jimmy essentially turned down both offers. I could have saved it, and I wanted to save it, but Jimmy did not support the idea. It seems that with Wikipedia, he had found the only model that he wanted to survive. But the result was that only half of the original conception of "the finest encyclopedia in the history of humankind"--the wild-and-woolly half--was preserved.
Not surprisingly, with only one-half of the original design, some problems with Wikipedia--problems that continue to this day--emerged. Wikipedia quickly showed itself to have a wonderful system for producing massive amounts of reasonably good content quickly. But that does not mean that, as an encyclopedia and as a community, it is free of serious and endemic problems:
Can Wikipedia recover from these problems? The first step to recovery is admitting that you have a problem in the first place. Wikipedia's most passionate defenders, if they react at all, will probably do nothing but explain why I am mistaken in each of these criticisms. There are some active Wikipedians who are able admit at least some of these criticisms. But could the Wikipedia community as a whole admit any of them, with enough force actually to do anything about them? I am now, I fully admit, an outsider looking in on the project. But I do still watch the project a fair bit, follow the news about it, and read mailing list posts and events on the wiki. So I know of course that there are movements afoot to reform Wikipedia in various ways. But I see little evidence that the community, whatever its discontents, will go so far as to admit the problems I've listed.
The failure to recognize these serious problems is a reflection of the fact that, at bottom, they are political problems. Like all open communities online, Wikipedia's community is self-selecting, and its policies have determined who stays and who leaves (or is driven away). For this reason, online communities tend to become rather conservative in their attitudes toward their own systems, and Wikipedia is certainly no different. So it is not surprising that, as anyone who is aware of how Wikipedia works knows, the changes made to the system recently have been mostly cosmetic, and even the bolder of these changes have little chance of solving the problems I outlined earlier. The first step to solving a problem is to admit that it's a problem; and much of the Wikipedia community will not admit the problems I've listed, unless they have a massive collective change of heart. And, I think, that is very unlikely ever to happen. In fact, you could say that I have waited for several years for it to happen, and it never has.
3. A new community and a new project: the Citizendium.
[Note, January 2007: while we are still full steam ahead with a fork of Wikipedia's processes, we are having second thoughts about forking Wikipedia's articles. We've decided as an experiment actually to delete all the unedited Wikipedia articles from our database, to encourage people to start new articles altogether. We think this might encourage even more activity than we've had--though we're pleased with the amount of activity we've had so far--and help us to create a more distinctive Citizendium culture.]
Often (not always), if you wish to make any very important changes to an open source or open content project that has an entrenched community, the only way to do it is to start a new community. And that is what I propose.
I propose a fork of Wikipedia to be called the Citizendium, that is, the Citizens' Compendium. I doubt I have to remind many people in the audience of this, but the open content license, the GNU Free Documentation License, permits other communities to work on their own versions of the content from the parent project. So, legally, this project is clearly permitted. I think it is also morally permitted--perhaps even morally recommended--if there is a chance of retaining Wikipedia's virtues while eliminating the problems I just mentioned.
I propose to start what we might call a "progressive fork." A progressive fork works like this: we will begin with all of Wikipedia's articles, so that the Citizendium will begin as, simply, a mirror of Wikipedia. Then people start making changes to articles in the Citizendium. On a very regular basis, we will refresh our database with the latest versions of Wikipedia articles. If the Citizendium has not changed an article, while Wikipedia has, then we proceed to upload the most recent Wikipedia article. But if the Citizendium has changed an article, then it is not refreshed. That's when that particular article is forked. Of course, I have no doubt that tools will be written immediately that will allow users to compare the differences between the Wikipedia article and the corresponding Citizendium article side-by-side. In addition, of course, people will be able to start brand new articles on topics Wikipedia has not yet covered.
Obviously, you want to know how the Citizendium editorial system will differ from Wikipedia's system. There will be three main areas of dissimilarity. First, the project will invite experts to serve as editors, who will be able to make content decisions in their areas of specialization, but otherwise working shoulder-to-shoulder with ordinary authors. Second, the project will require that contributors be logged in under their own real names, and work according to a community charter. Third, the project will halt and actually reverse some of the "feature creep" that has developed in Wikipedia. Allow me to elaborate these differences.
Before I elaborate, however, let me assure you that I do not think that I necessarily have all of these details right. Obviously, I am fallible and, like all of us, my understanding is limited. Clearly, this project needs as much intelligent input as it can get. So I want to start a debate among people who agree with me about Wikipedia's problems and with at least many of the suggestions here. Together we can settle upon, and get broad community buy-in for, the best set of policies.
First, here are some details of the editorial system I propose:
Second, some differences in the community:
Third, over the years, Wikipedia has suffered some feature creep. The Citizendium will be deliberately simplified and kept simple:
Fourth, copyright and libel abuses will be handled quite differently. There will be a zero tolerance policy toward such abuses. Moreover, the living subjects of Citizendium articles will receive much more courteous treatment than they have sometimes received from the Wikipedia community. Among other things, this might mean that they would be able to request removal of biographies about themselves--if they are not politicians or other prominent public persons--or even to have a crucial editorial role in the articles about themselves. Essentially, I want to make the Citizendium a project with which John Seigenthaler, Sr. and Bernard Haisch are comfortable.
Finally, the Citizendium won't officially call itself an encyclopedia. We might call it an experimental workspace, to start articles and to improve article quality. It will require a vote of the project's future governing body or bodies for us to call ourselves an "encyclopedia" officially. Until then, we will be a "compendium."
So much for the differences, and as I hope you can see, they are significant. But it is important to note that the system will still work very much the way Wikipedia does, in many respects.
Areas of similarity include:
4. The way forward.
[Note, Jan. 2007: this section is now old news entirely and may be safely skipped.]
Finally, I want to discuss the way forward--in other words, how to get the project started. First, let's talk about the short term, the medium term, and the long term.
I stipulate that, whatever else we do, we should have the servers and the wiki software set up, and available at least to some beta testers, as soon as possible.
While waiting for the wiki to be set up, what can the ordinary rank-and-file future authors or editors do? Three things: first, join the project forums or a project mailing list (the list called Citizendium-L at least); second, contribute your thoughts to the discussion; and, third, wait for the announcement that the wiki is ready to edit. I want to start the project with a bang. I would like to strain the limits of whatever server configuration we put in place. Also, a donation at this crucial juncture would help get this venture off the ground.
So much for the short term. As to the medium term, over the coming weeks, I hope the Citizendium project will be contacted by individuals as well as universities, foundations, and companies. My personal belief, which I do not hold very strongly, is that the latent interest in and support for this project will allow us to collect a truly stellar group of advisors and partner institutions; if so, this experiment might succeed brilliantly. As to what we need, precisely, please see the project FAQ for some ideas.
Once the wiki has launched, we should begin to form discipline-specific editorial groups. They will have their own forums or mailing lists and eventually their own meetings. I want to emphasize at the outset to potential editors that their role in the wiki is not to control the wiki with an iron fist, not to throw up roadblocks to work, but instead to facilitate work by making binding decisions as needed. There will be rules to this effect. Editors and editorial workgroups alike must be committed to working within the wiki format--they must not try to change it into something that it is not.
Also once the wiki has launched, I think we should immediately hold a series of monthly face-to-face meetings in about a half-dozen major cities in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Australia (or New Zealand)--English-speaking countries, because the plan is to organize the English language project. I hope the first meeting will be in the San Francisco Bay area (close to where I live) in October, but nothing has been set.
I think perhaps the best way to get these meetings started is if academic departments send the Citizendium project leadership an invitation to host a workshop about the Citizendium. Based on the invitations we receive, we will establish a workgroup to decide when and where these meetings will take place. At the meetings themselves, then, we will get to know each other and talk about the project. At the same time, I, and other project leaders who join the project, will hammer out constructive, operational partnerships, do interviews, and so forth. We will also use the meetings as platforms to promote the project itself to the larger community of intellectuals.
But note that since the project is necessarily widely distributed, and almost no one will be able to attend all meetings, important decisions will not be made at these meetings. Except for the last meeting. I conceive of the last of these meetings--perhaps in March, 2007--as a constitutional convention, in which the essential policies of the project and its governance are hammered out and adopted by the advisory committee.
My notion--and at this point, I could be persuaded to do things differently--is to focus first on organizing the English language project formally. The other Citizendium wikis, in other languages, could be launched at the same time as the English Citizendium wiki. But my current thinking is that if the management of the non-English Citizendia require my personal assistance, that assistance would probably be best rendered after going through a pilot process in the English language.
But I hope you will interpret (correctly) the fact that I am making this announcement in Germany as indicating my personal commitment to making this project fully international as quickly as is feasible and responsible to do. On the other hand, I do not want to presume to speak for the interested German-speaking community online. Knowing as you now do that I personally am getting behind a fork of the English language Wikipedia, I put the question to you: should we also make similar forks of the Wikipedias in other languages?
Anyway, I think that, whatever Citizendia actually are created, each different Citizendium should probably adopt its own charter and have a separate management. Once the Citizendia in a dozen or so major languages have reached that stage of development, we can have fully international meetings, with delegates from each organization.
By the way, I am not averse to considering the argument that we ought to have these organizational meetings all around the world. I just want to make sure that the resulting projects have some important, baseline principles in common, and are interoperable. The whole question of how to achieve internationalization is one I hope we will discuss on one of the project's mailing lists, Citizendium-World.
While this organizational work is going on, I wish to put together the finest possible set of advisors for this project. Their role as advisors will give them a special platform from which to advise the project and speak on its behalf. Moreover, it is this group of people who will meet at the constitutional convention to ratify the project's charter.
So, let us create a vibrant yet responsible new community. Together we will, I think, have an amazing journey. To the extent that I can influence this new community--which will, I am sure, nearly instantly take on a life of its own--I want to encourage a set of values. These values may be grouped into sets, as follows:


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Office of Career Services
For more than 80 years, the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy (formerly USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development) has prepared some of the nation's most dedicated leaders and connected them with influential organizations that help solve the world's most complex challenges. As one of the nation's elite professional schools, the USC Price School delivers graduates who are diverse, driven, and well-equipped to make meaningful contributions to the organizations they serve.
The USC Price School believes that its graduates will make a difference in the world. The Office of Career Services is committed to helping students and alumni achieve this goal.
How USC Price students can make an appointment for Career Advisement
Send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com with the following information:
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This week's cover story profiles John Friend, who built his Texas-based Anusara yoga program into one of the country's largest yoga empires before losing it all in a 2012 scandal. Now living in Denver, Friend is collaborating with Desi and Micah Springer, co-owners of Denver-based Vital Yoga, on a n ... More >>
Update: The latest development in the bizarre story of John McAfee, supporting player in our recent feature "The Hot Yoga War"? The software pioneer, who somehow managed to flee cops in Belize who wanted to question him about a murder even as he launched a publicity blitz, has traveled from Guatemal ... More >>
Pretty much everyone in these United States understands that smartphones are essentially tracking devices. Even photos taken with them include GPS coordinates, as fugitive antivirus king John McAfee learned when authorities tracked him down in Guatemala this week. An iPhone led to the busts of Micha ... More >>
Update: We've been following bizarre developments involving antivirus pioneer John McAfee, a co-star in the July feature "The Hot Yoga War," who's wanted for questioning about a murder in Belize that he says he didn't commit; read previous coverage below. At this writing, McAfee remains on the run f ... More >>
John McAfee became famous -- and wealthy -- after inventing his namesake anti-virus software, but his greatest invention might be his own story. After making his fortune, he bought an expansive estate in Woodland Park, where he held intensive retreats in relational yoga, his own creation. That's whe ... More >>


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Yoga Classes in Hauptbahnhof Berlin Germany
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Setting up Calibre in Virtuoso for multiple cell windows
Technology Overview
This video shows how to setup Calibre Interactive to quickly select from multiple cells open in Virtuoso. Previously there was not a convenient way to setup Calibre Interactive when you wanted to run Calibre in different cells that are simultaneously open in the same Cadence session but now the Layout Cell Browser capability in Calibre Interactive provides an easy and convenient way to select from multiple cells open in Virtuoso.
Video viewing problems? Contact us.
Related Resources
How to use Calibre Interactive Recipe GUI to select/deselect...Technology Overview
Sometimes as a layout designer you are interested to debug results generated only from a few DRC checks. Hence you want to quickly select the required DRC checks and launch a Calibre DRC run without spending...


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LEESBURG, Va. - Preservationists are so excited about $2.2 million in state grants, they're setting off cannons.
Cannons were set off at the sites of the 1861 Battle of Ball's Bluff in celebration of the funds. The grant money will be used to acquire 1,265 acres of land that was once part of 12 battlefields.
Jim Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Trust, says the 150th anniversary commemorations have made a big difference.
"What we've tried to do is use that public awareness or take advantage of it to save as much land as we can," says Lighthizer.
He says they are working on a myriad of other battlefields including Brandy Station in Culpeper County, the site of the largest cavalry battle in the United States in June 1863.
Virginia has saved more than 4,587 acres of battlefield land since the general assembly approved a public-private effort to do so in 2010.
In addition to Ball's Bluff in Loudoun County and Brandy Station in Culpeper County, the money will help acquire former battlefield land at the Second Manassas battlefield in Prince William County, Cedar Creek, Kelly's Ford, Appomattox Courthouse, Chancellorsville, Deep Bottom, Malvern Hill, Rappahannock Station and Sailors Creek.
Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
© 2013 WTOP. All Rights Reserved.


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"The band sounds superb. I'm very impressed by the abundant musicianship. It's great to hear intricate interweaving of parts, tight unison riffs and masterful solos."
......Taxi ~ The world's leading Independent A & R Company
Gypsy Star brings their American musical styles of pop, rock, folk and jazz and blends them with a flavor of sounds from around the world.


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GEDitCOM II 1.3 build 2
GEDitCOM II 1.3 build 2 has been released.
• After a "View→Relationship..." search, select any relationship that was found and click the new "Show Chart" button see a chart/report about the two individual's common ancestor including full pedigree lines from each individual to that common ancestor.
• While viewing notes, sources, multimedia objects, or research logs, two new commands in the "Attach" submenu let you select individual or family records and have them cite the record you are viewing. Previously you had to go to the individual or family record to attach the link.
• Similarly, you can drag and drop individual and family records on to notes, sources, multimedia objects, or research logs and those records will link to the drop-target record
• New menu commands in the "Go" submenu let you step through records in the current album being displayed in the index window.
• The display of multimedia objects in the "Default Format" and the "Pedigree Format" now uses several panes and one will zoom in on the current image. Additionally images can be scaled for preferred display size and other formats updated to look for the scale setting.
• Marriage Events now also show in the "Events" pane of family records in the "Default Format."
• Added support for research log records in the "Book Format" and the "Basic Format."
• Fixed a bug that could cause the data in the current browser record to become disconnected (and therefore seemingly unresponsive to editing, although no data was harmed) if you saved the file while editing.
• Fixed a bug that could cause a "child" window (e.g., a window with details on an event) to become disconnected from the data in certain rare sequences of actions.
Need Help?
Please read the 'Geneanet First Steps' pages to learn more about GeneanetFirst Steps
To ask for help on any topic related to the Geneanet website, to report a bug and to make a suggestion, please go to our forum.Forum
Questions not related to blog notes will not be answered here. Many thanks for your comprehension.


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OK, let's all calm down a minute. So the California Energy Commission (CEC) voted to impose energy efficiency standards for TVs sold in that state. It's not the end of the world. We'll still have TVs, and plenty of good, high-performance TVs that also happen to be energy-efficient. And whether you think the regulations are warranted or not, there are some opportunities for the consumer electronics industry in this. It reminds me of the end of Monty Python's Life of Brian, when Brian and others who have been crucified start singing, "Always look on the bright side of life. …"
And no, you're not Brian if you sell TVs.
1. We haven't seen the last of this. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has vowed to fight the regulations in the legislature or the courts—and that means this could drag on into 2011, when the sales restrictions are set to go into effect. Will we see it go all the way to the federal government, as did California laws regulating automobile emissions? Even if nine black robes in D.C. eventually decide this, it will only highlight the need for greater energy efficiency—and in the world of green tech, that can't be such a bad thing.
2. More energy efficiency mandates may come. Other states are reportedly watching the developments in California closely. Don't be surprised to see similar TV energy mandates in Northeastern states, which tend to follow California's environmental lead. And I'm not just talking about energy requirements for TVs. The rush to limit the energy use of electronics may be extended to other devices, such as cable and satellite set-top boxes and DVRs, almost all of which use full power 24/7. These energy wasters will almost certainly be targeted by legislators and energy-efficiency advocates—and perhaps rightly so. That's because they can be built to be put into low-power states and come to life when a connected TV is turned on or programming updates are received. The cable, satellite and OEM manufacturers just have to get on the ball and make these devices available, but there has been no rush on their part to do so. This foot-dragging, unfortunately, has been indicative of much of the consumer electronics industry—with a few exceptions. And that is why, like it or not, we can expect to see even more energy mandates for electronics. (Also watch for the fallout resulting from Congress' failure to enact climate change legislation, as well as the fallout when a diluted bill is finally agreed upon. States like California and those in the Northeast will likely get more proactive about energy efficiency and seek ways to curb overall electricity generation.)
3. More and cheaper LED TVs. Want performance and energy-efficiency in TVs? Look to LCD TVs backlit with energy-saving LEDs (light-emitting diodes). You'll pay a premium for these sets today, to the tune of about $2,000 to $4,000 or more. But energy-efficiency mandates will only make these TVs more attractive and popular. Don't be surprised to see LEDs become the de facto backlighting standard for LCDs in the next few years. And those LED TVs with local dimming improve contrast and black levels measurably. Seems like a match made in heaven for large, high-performance sets that have to meet energy consumption requirements.
4. We'll see more energy efficiency innovation. Trade groups like the CEA say the California regulations will stifle innovation, but what are you going to do in this day and age: bring an irresponsible, energy-intensive technology to market? Energy mandates such as this, like or not, will spur innovation in energy efficiency technologies, not energy-hogging ones. Features like ambient light sensing that dims the screen for easier viewing at night, forced menus that enable energy-saving settings for home viewing, and auto shut-off will become more and more commonplace. And we'll see other technologies, including energy-saving triple-efficiency plasma screens that will meet the California standards and perhaps the even stricter Energy Star levels in the coming years, without a compromise in performance. When done properly, regulation can create markets in the right areas.
5. Big screen boom? So far, sets over 58 inches in screen size are excluded from the California requirements. I wonder if there will be a run on sets of 46 and 50 inches prior to the regulations going into effect. (Remember, the sales restrictions are on new TVs only.) We may also see a run on sets larger than 58 inches, as well as front projector systems, once the mandates go into effect.
6. Greener companies will win. I don't want to pick on the CEA too much. The organization has done a lot of good for the consumer electronics industry. And to its credit, it has tipped its hat to the green movement by supporting Energy Star, producing a greener Consumer Electronics Show and starting the mygreenelectronics web site. But it needs to do more—much more—and so do its member companies. In its statement opposing the California Energy Commission's decision to enact the TV efficiency standards, the CEA states, "Energy efficiency is a shared concern for all parties. In fact, the consumer electronics industry has led the effort to reduce energy usage by with innovative, energy-efficient products, and consumers have responded with increased demand for these products." Led the effort to reduce energy usage? Believe me, you will not find many people outside of the consumer electronics industry who consider the it a guiding force in energy efficiency. And this isn't just a marketing problem. If the CEA truly believes it has led the way in energy efficiency, the organization is delusional. And resting your "green" laurels on achieving the Energy Star version 3.0 specification for TVs has not proved to be something to brag about, because far-too many TVs meet that far-too lenient spec and has inspired the EPA to set much stricter specifications for Energy Star TVs starting in May 2010. (Note: The California requirements aren't as strict as upcoming Energy Star specs, though they are a mandate and not voluntary like Energy Star.)
The moral of the story: Green is not a one-time marketing effort. It is a process of evolving improvement—and unfortunately, much of the consumer electronics industry acts as if it fails to understand this. And if you say you do understand it, prove it. That's not a dare. I will be glad to write about truly green technologies. But don't greenwash. Bottom line: Anyone doing business in the electronics industry has got to make more of an effort to be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem. Or will see more regulation, like it or not.
Yes, that's some tough talk, but maybe that's what this industry needs to be truly green.
My bet is that when 2011 rolls around, there won't be that many new TVs that fail to qualify to be sold in California. And that in 2013, when a second tier of stricter requirements goes into effect, there will be even fewer TVs—if any—that won't be sold in California. That means some inefficient designs for TVs may not even be manufactured. Is that such a terrible thing? When we're in 2011 and 2013, we may look back on this like the Y2K scare—remember that?—and ask, "What were we so afraid of?"
Oh, what am I talking about? We'll all be too busy watching our LED TVs.