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HACKENSACK - The Hackensack American Legion Auxiliary Unit 202 has been hosting Kids in the Park for the past several years, and this year is no exception. The event will be from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday at the park in Hackensack next to the playground. Kids in the Park is a fun time for most ages with carnival games and prizes.
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AS a child, Serafina Salucci, 42, played with fibro offcuts. She describes the terrible consequences to Beverley Hadgraft.
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26, March, 2015 Health researchers secure Saudi Arabia project funding
Health researchers from Aberdeen have secured significant funding for an innovative project to explore medication errors and adverse drug reactions in the Middle East.
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Scoppe: How to fix the State Retirement Systems
THE PROBLEM facing the State Retirement Systems is fairly straightforward: The Legislature has promised employees more benefits than the system will be able to pay.
Depending on which assumptions you accept, it would take anywhere from 37 to 51 years to pay the benefits that the state will owe once all its current employees retire. The drop-dead number, at which a system is considered unsound, is 30 years.
Looked at another way, the $25 billion pension system is projected to collect $15 billion less over the next 30 years than it will need to meet its obligations.
How we got into this mess is likewise straightforward: Back in the early 1990s, when the pension system was cash-flush, the Legislature increased benefits. The two biggest changes — reducing the early retirement requirement from 30 years to 28 and the companion TERI program that allowed employees to draw their regular pay and also bank their retirement benefits during the final five years on the job — increased the unfunded liability from two to 27 years. That's the number that needs to stay below 30.
If the Legislature was determined to increase pension benefits, and it was, it couldn't have come up with a worse way of doing it. The work-fewer-years rules crashed head-on with increasing lifespans.
That collision put our state into the unsustainable and indefensible position of having to pay people longer not to work than we pay them to work.
Contrary to popular belief, our long-delayed decision to get into the stock market will make it easier to pay those benefits than if we had stuck with cash and bonds. But part of the reason we're in trouble now is that we didn't anticipate the Great Recession, and so kept making decisions based on overly optimistic assumptions about the investment portfolio.
Even the general approach for solving the problem is straightforward.
Defaulting on our obligations isn't an option. That leaves four options, or a combination thereof: The taxpayers have to pay more, employees have to pay more, retirees have to receive less, or we have to get better returns on our investments.
We've gotten about as aggressive as we safely can with the investment portfolio, and the taxpayers already are contributing 10.6 percent of employee pay, up from 7.7 percent just six years ago. So the solution has to involve state employees giving more and getting less.
This is where things get complicated.
Once you settle on how much more state employees have to contribute — and the competing plans passed by the House and Senate (H.4967) aren't far apart — it's not at all obvious which combination of benefit reductions is smartest and fairest to current and former employees.
And lawmakers can't consider the pension system in a vacuum. A lot of the proposals would encourage state employees to stay on the job longer. That helps the retirement system, because they pay into it for more years and draw out of it for fewer years, and because veteran employees tend to make more than employees who would replace them, so their contributions are larger.
Obviously we have to move in this direction, but how far? Encouraging people to retire early helps the state budget, because higher-paid, older workers can be replaced with lower-paid, younger workers; that's one reason the Legislature passed laws that encouraged people to retire sooner. It also could help our economy, because giving some people a pension instead of a paycheck means the state can give other people a paycheck. Some would even argue that encouraging faster churn leads to better, more efficient government, though others would argue the opposite.
Regardless of how we feel about all that, though, there's another consideration that trumps them all: What's constitutional?
This isn't just a matter of legal niceties. Get it wrong, and we not only get the new law invalidated and have to start all over, but we have to pay damages.
Many state courts have ruled that pension benefits are a contractual right, protected by the Contract Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Courts do sometimes allow states to violate constitutional rights if it serves a compelling state interest — such as preserving the solvency of a pension system — but it's risky trying to guess just how far a court will let you go.
That means it's always dangerous to reduce the benefits for current employees and retirees.
How all this gets sorted out is one of the most important questions confronting the General Assembly as it heads into the final days of this year's legislative session.
On one of the biggest-dollar provisions, the Senate has the smarter solution. While the House reduces benefits for current employees, by calculating "average final compensation" based on the final five years' pay, rather than the final three in current law, and ending the practice of adding unused vacation and sick time to that figure, the Senate applies those changes only to new hires. Another smart Senate provision requires new hires to work eight years, rather than the current five, before they're vested in the pension system.
In contrast, it is the House plan that closes the Teacher and Employee Retirement Incentive only to new employees, while the Senate shuts it down as of 2018. Although I have always opposed the ill-conceived TERI program, which lets people essentially give themselves a raise, I'm not sure that the Senate's more aggressive approach is worth the legal risk it poses.
Both plans allow current employees to keep the 28-year retirement option, while requiring new employees to work longer if they want to retire early. While the House requires new employees to work 30 years before retiring early, the Senate adopts the "rule of 90," meaning that the years worked added to the employee's age must equal at least 90. I'd prefer a rule of, say, 95, but I think this approach will do more than the House's to reduce the number of years we pay people not to work.
The Senate plan also would cut off pension benefits in any year that a retiree returns to work for the state and makes more than $10,000. This will either reduce the burden on the pension system or encourage people to stay on the job and contribute to the pension system longer, either of which improves the bottom line. Lawmakers need to make sure this is legally safe, and that it covers retirees who are consultants or contractors, in addition to salaried employees.
Both plans raise the 6.5 percent contribution rate for current employees, the House to 7.5 percent, the Senate to 8 percent. The Legislature has raised the rate before without legal challenge, likely because it simultaneously raised the employer contribution, and these plans do that as well, making last fall's temporary increase from 9.5 percent to 10.6 percent permanent. I'd rather be able to keep state employees' costs down, but the Senate's higher rate might be the price that must be paid in order to avoid the riskier provisions in the House plan.
Likewise, I don't like the idea of doing away with automatic cost-of-living adjustments for people who already retired with the understanding that they would receive them, but the fact is that a law that temporarily guaranteed those COLAs played a large role in driving the pension system back into the red. The House's plan to tie increases to the performance of the investment portfolio is much more sustainable than the Senate's plan to go back to a guaranteed increase.
What I'm not so sure about is a provision in both plans that requires both future and current employees to pay the full cost of any additional service credit they purchase toward retirement. Although that change is necessary, lawmakers need to make a compelling case that it's safe to apply it to current employees.
Of course, if they can make that case, then they'll have no excuse for not shutting down a much more generous program that lets former legislators purchase extra credit at the same super-subsidized rate as current legislators. In fact, I'm not convinced that they have a legitimate excuse for continuing that program anyway, since unlike any other part of the pension system, it allows people to keep growing their pensions after they retire.
The change to the legislative pension that is legally questionable is the House's plan to stop letting legislators trade their salaries for pensions while they continue to serve. Much safer is the Senate plan to close the Legislature's special pension system to new enrollees. It's also a more significant reform, because it means that system will finally come to an end — once all our current legislators die off.
I'm not crazy about how we got to this point. The House and Senate panels that constructed these plans spent months discussing the problem and then presented the proposals as a fait accompli. The process was particularly troubling in the Senate, where there was literally nothing in writing until the day that both a subcommittee and the full Senate Finance Committee adopted it.
But here we are, and between them, the two plans contain a reasonable way to start digging ourselves out of the hole that the Legislature pushed us into. Both acknowledge, to varying degrees, the danger of changing the rules for current employees. And both acknowledge, for the first time, that we cannot continue to pay people not to work for longer than we pay them to work.
What we need now is for House and Senate negotiators to pick the smartest and safest provisions of each plan, and sell that package to the Legislature. What we do not need — indeed, cannot accept — is for pride of authorship or political posturing or anything else to prevent lawmakers from taking action this year to put our pension system back on solid footing.
Ms. Scoppe can be reached at email@example.com or at (803) 771-8571.
About Cindi Ross Scoppe
@cindiscoppe Follow @cindiscoppe
Cindi Ross Scoppe has covered state government and the General Assembly since 1988, first as a reporter and now as an editorial writer. She focuses on tax policy, public education, election and campaign finance law, the relationship between state and local government, the relationship between the people and their government, the judiciary and the executive branch of government. Cindi has received numerous awards from the S.C. Press Association, including being named S.C. Journalist of the Year, editorial writer of the year and columnist of the year. She also has been honored by "Governing" magazine, the Inland Press Association, the American Bar Association, the National Commission Against Drunk Driving, the Humane Society of the United States and the S.C. chapters of Common Cause, the American Civil Liberties Union and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Cindi is a member and serves on the Stewardship Committee and the Altar Guild and as strategic visioning coordinator of Columbia's Church of the Good Shepherd, the Anglo-Catholic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. She is a lover of cats and a baker of cakes and volunteers with the parish's annual mission work trip to Appalachia. She grew up on a tobacco farm just outside Burlington, N.C., and graduated in 1985 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a degree in journalism and political science. Before joining The State in 1986, Cindi worked for The Fayetteville Observer and The (Raleigh) News and Observer. Email Cindi at email@example.com or call her at (803) 771-8571.
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2015 Golden Globe Awards Winners
The 2015 Golden Globes are here! Check out the complete list of winners here.
The 2015 Golden Globes are here! Check out the complete list of winners here.
J. Cole releases his third studio effort, '2014 Forest Hills Drive.' Find out if the rapper's album is worth a listen.
'The Throne Thrusters' ignored all the skeptics saying that it couldn't be done, and they launched a porta potty 2,000 feet into the air.
It's that time of the year, when pop culture websites and critics publish their annual Best Of lists and we heap praise on the best and most beloved movies and TV shows of the year. But what about the average moviegoer and TV-viewer? That's where Facebook comes in. The social media site has released their top 10 movies and top 10 TV shows of the year, based on the most discussed titled of 2014. While some are fairly obvious, the lists might surprise you and inspire you to contemplate the overlap between what's popular and what's actually good.
'The Walking Dead' season 5 brings to life its 5th episode with "Self Help," as Abraham leads Glenn, Maggie, Rosita and Eugene further down the path to Washington, exposing some of the group's darkest secrets along the way.
HBO subscriptions have been something of a running joke through the TV industry, with a great many of the network's loyal fans sharing HBOGO passwords to avoid expensive cable packages, previously the only mean with which to watch shows like 'Game of Thrones' or 'True Detective.' Now, the company has finally acquiesced, and announced an independent streaming service due out in 2015.
Jay Z and Beyonce's show love and admiration for each other on HBO's On the Run special.
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The 2014 Emmy Awards are here! See the winners list here.
It's increasingly less likely we'll ever see Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul return to their famed 'Breaking Bad' roles for AMC spinoff 'Better Call Saul,' but with the 2014 Emmy Awards airing this Sunday, NBC has cooked up an even quicker reunion. Watch Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul trade barbs with 'Veep''s Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a new 2014 Emmy sketch for "Barely Legal Pawn."
AMC's 'The Walking Dead' will be back on our TV screens for season 5 before long, but before Rick, Daryl and the rest show the hungry people of Terminus who they're screwing with, we could use some light refreshment. Before the world ends (again), feast your eyes on everything you need to know about AMC's 'The Walking Dead' in 60 seconds!


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In response to Hawkchurch, I've to say in my opinion there isn't a problem in British political system such as there is in relation with the leadership of the main parties. What you say about turning Britain into a federal state has no sense historically & politically in the oldest parliamentary system of the world.
As I said in a previous comment, I'm a Spaniard. I'm going to put my country as example. We have big controversy, harder than in Britain, in some regions of our country about the self-determination of such territories (mainly Basque Country & Catalonia, although regionalism in Galicia has grown considerably in late years). Sheltered under the great commitment which permitted us to set up the 1978 Constitution, the monarchic & democratic Spain became a non-centralistic state despite having a central government. We haven't a federal state but a central government with most of its competences delegated to regional governments, even money administration, health & education. Which was apparently a good solution has been going to become a great trap for the citizens along the years.
Firstly because the regional governments make their own budgets according to local needs without taking account the interdependence of every region each other. That means also corruption spreads over the country hidden by inextricable lists of local business, terrain reevaluations etc. Each region compete against the others to have bigger assignment of money every year for wasting most of it, & the central government has each year more problems to balance the national budget. That means tax increment, bigger debt & not less important, a hypertrophied bureaucratic system which costs lots of money & turns inefficient public service. As you can guess, that money comes from contributors' budget.
Secondly, we have serious problems in education, because it's easier to manipulate a region than to manipulate a whole country; i.e. in the Basque Country, where exists a terrorist group blackmailing or even killing everyone who thinks different to them, regionalism has imposed itself since the 70's (not now after recent & historic socialist victory), putting as an obligation for working at Basques institutions the knowledge of Euskera (Basque language), which implies a clear disadvantage in relation with non-Basque Spaniards & even for many Basques. In the same way, they've manipulated the contents of History subject at school; they've marginalized progressively the use of Spanish in the schools & universities, setting up centres where only it's allowed to speak Basque; in Catalonia you can be fined by putting cartels at shops, restaurants etc. in Spanish instead of Catalan. In both regions either regional language or Spanish are both official according to the Constitution. Ignorance goes together with corruption, & these things eventually drive to totalitarianism.
And thirdly, added up to regional selfishness is the proportional system of voting (D'Hont method) in such a way that the votes of just one region are more valuable than votes from several regions, because of its population ratio, as well as it happens between big cities & smaller ones. Therefore corrupted & even pro-independence regional parties can determinate the configuration of the Parliament by the need that national parties have to form coalitions to obtain the absolute majority which is necessary to set up a government. We can't change it because it's needed to dissolve the Parliament & calling for a referendum to do a reform over Constitution, & no sane government has the will to commit suicide.
I hope having expressed enough reasons to show non-centralisation isn't necessarily good, much more in countries with unbalanced distribution of GDP within their regions. And having a Constitution written down in paper isn't a guarantee of commitment as regional policies over languages & budgets show in Spain. Following Thomas More opinion at "Utopia", commitments & treaties usually are the expression of a conflict behind. Britain doesn't need to write a Constitution having a solid state of rights & a strong parliamentary system. It's not a real need for the country of the social contract already defended by John Locke in the 17th century. I think British citizens haven't anything to demonstrate towards the world after so many years of steady democracy; just guilty MPs should be punished & expelled from political exercise. I don't like current British politicians on the top but I don't think British system is that bad either. Some people here try to kill flies by gunshots.
Any Member who overclaimed should be shamed not to stand again. Paying back money is an admission of guilt!
Once cannot but totally wholeheartedly disagree with some of your suggestions.
A fixed term parliament will only bring an American style election campaign, that gets longer and longer, and longer. Knowing the date of the next election produces lame-duck administrations. Tony Blair's power evaporated when he gave the date he was to retire to head off on the rubber-chicken lecture circuit so he could satisfy Cherie's rapacious desire for money. The unplanned, spontaneous short sharp UK elections, are much better in every way - cheaper and less annoying.
The UK is not unique. Most countries that inherited the UK parliamentary system still do not have fixed term limits.
Also, incumbent governments lose just as often in our system – in the US the main reason why seats and the White House change occupiers is due to term limits. Incumbents in America are very difficult to unseat – only when you have a disaster like the last 8 years does the house change hands. George Bush might still be president if he could have run a third term. You obviously don't remember UK politics up until 1979 – when the House of Commons flip-flopped regularly.
A PR system of voting, though nice in theory, will bring about the disastrous sort of governments that Belgium, Italy and Israel have, with splinter groups holding the cards – paralysing the decision making process and holding everyone to ransom. When New Zealand daftly switched to a proportional system, it took them months to form a government. Of course some might say no government is a good thing, but…
The system of free press, confrontational debate, and transparency works.
That is the why this last ten days has been illuminating - and shown how Mr. Martin was clearly not up for the job (A bit like Gordon Brown.....).
British Style parliaments are still the best debating shops in the world. The House of Lords was even better until His Tonyness did away with its questioning his undemocratic control freak policy of sending people off to Brussels from party lists – rather than an individual elected by the people. Have you ever watched US congress at work – they never debate, some angry Congressman gets up and argues respecting the Second amendment with all the fury of gnat, and evoking God as his mentor, while the rest of congress snoozes and twitters away.
There are no challenges, nobody has to think on his feet, defend a position, or respond immediately. Debate doesn't exist.
Parliament works. Just look at what happened this week. It's like the British Empire, everyone forgets how horrible the alternative was. Just imagine what Britain would be like if it adopted a different model.
It wouldn't even be entertaining.
And thank heavens the Queen is still there to advise, and if things really get out of hand, dissolve parliament and call an election, if she feels her elected representatives aren't serving her people.
Throw away your political theory books and enjoy reality.
One can only wish this openness could be applied to the European Parliament with its chronic corruption and waste of taxpayer's money at every level.
Regardless of which side of the political spectrum you fall, it is disheartening to see that the mother of all parliaments has so egregiously shameed itself and by extension the people. No more can the UK stand with any moral authrority and lecture the developing world of transperency and good governance, when it has turned its back on the very principles it took such delight in naming and shaming others to follow. The parliamnet's on recourse was to oust and make a scapegoat of the Speaker and we they should all follow his example. We might as well look to Brussels for answers,SHAME ON YOU!!!
Growing up in a developing country and having got used to such incidents, I wouldn't be surprised if the issue of misappropriation of political expenses to fund personal necessities was brought up in my country.
I have always held that the politicians of developed countries in the west are completely immune to swindling and fraudery. This incident comes across as an opinion-changing moment for me.
I hope they soon put proper regulations in place that makes the spending a lot more transparent and subject to scrutiny if the need be.
I'd like to feel amazement at reading about such a scandal in Britain, but I can't. Even though it's healthy in my opinion such a mess come to light in order to produce swift retaliation.
Sleaze is everywhere in Europe, British case it's been just a splash prompted by the Blair's government hangover. Anyway, it's worrying the lack of clear alternatives in the tainted two-party system. Perhaps would be time to promote those politicians who were called as 'cromwellians' in the article. But that means activism of people & media against the current establishment.
I'm from Spain, where people eventually have lost any trust in their political class. We live in a perpetual lie, with media controlled by politicians whilst in the Parliament they hold an 'open tomb' dialectical battle, whilst the cases of corruption succeed one after another, being manipulated by government propaganda. If I were British I would maintain hope yet, but claiming in the street for justice, because real corruption burst into my country from Europe in a more dangerous way than H1N1 virus.
So much for the Blair legacy of spin and lies and going to war in Iraq. So now everybody thought they could get away with this kind of behaviour. Who or what else could have stopped them?
Why is the system in the U.K. so reluctant to go after - i.a. criminally prosecute - the M.P.'s who defrauded the system??
What irresponsibility and what an unfortunate mess!
Can't these people see that they are undermining the whole political and institutional system and it's legitimacy.
All for self improvement at the taxpayer's/voters' expence.
Can someone please tell me how much interest is being charged to the MPs who are rushing to pay back the money, or some of the money, they pinched?
@legal economist
Perhaps you're disregarding those multi-faceted Italian politicians, la cre'me-de-la-cre'me of dodgy politicians.
billyboy_az, you are mistaken, American politicians rarely go directly to public coffers, these Brits are just a shameful bunch of gluttons. I am sure of all the OCED countries, no politicians are as double faced and cheesy as British politicians.
If the politicians are corrupt perhaps the next audit should be of senior executives of public companies.
I'll quote 'Kpunk' on this one:
(my italics) 'The bankers stole our money: but the MPs have stolen "the taxpayers' money". Instant uproar.
The bankers stole more. They didn't fiddle a meagre £10,000 here & there. They got away, personally, with fortunes. They didn't fiddle a mortgage; they fiddled millions of mortgages & then collected £7 or £8 million in "pensions" as their price for leaving the institutions they had wrecked.
They got the taxpayer to pay them to go. How is that not "stealing the taxpayers' money" ?
Paying MPs is a form of public spending. When we are stupid enough to vote the Tories back in, our rage against MPs will be redirected by them on to every other form of public spending. The bankers will get away with it. The blow that should have fallen on them will be received instead by a handful of hapless prats who got their fingers in the petty cash. Result.
Our frustration with the bankers, our rage against the recession they caused, will be refocussed on that arch enemy of Toryism, public spending. Because MPs have been shown to be corrupt, all public services will be blackened by association, then cut: it will seem perfectly logical. The disadvantaged, their ranks swelled by hundreds of thousands of victims of the bankers, will be punished for the sins of the advantaged. As usual, ordinary people will be deftly turned into their own enemies. Fantastically elegant politics.'
Any comments? Pig Flu anyone?
I fully applaud your patriotism and even fully agree with you that Britain is certainly one of the better governed nations in the World.
But don't fool yourself: the indignation felt at home and disappointment felt by Britain's many friends are not a trifle.
They are part of a strong, and growing stronger worldwide feeling, that present circumstances are unacceptable. As I said elsewhere, when this happen, the world suffers a jolt. It may just be unpleasant; it may be tragic. The combination of strong disappointment with a serious economic downturn caused the tragedy of WWII. In Britain and the then democratic countries, a handful at the time, the strong ideological jolt was contained but even so many peaceful, democratic, civilized countries were tragically occupied and all the others suffered terrifying human tragedies.
The parallel with present circumstances is terrifying.
I can only hope very strongly that History does not repeat itself. But precedents are not encouraging.
But, in any case, keep up your spirit! Britain and Britons deserve it.
NO MATTER HOW SCANDALOUS THE ACTIVITIES OF MPs OF GREAT BRITAIN HAVE COME TO SEEM AND NO MATTER HOW BORING THE BRITISH POLITICS SEEM TO CERTAIN PEOPLE, IT CAN NEVER BE DENIED THAT THERE, WE HAVE THE BEST SEATED GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION EVER TO EXIST ON THIS PLANET EARTH, EVEN TO THIS POINT IN HUMAN HISTORY. MAYBE, THAT IS WHY THE NOISE IS SO RIFE: FOR WHEN YOU ARE THE BEST, PEOPLE EXPECT MORE. EVERY COUNTRY WOULD BE BETTER OFF MODELED IN THE MANNER OF THE U.K, ANYWAY YOU LOOK AT IT AS TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNANCE CAN NEVER FIND A STRONGER DEFINITION IN HUMAN TERMS. HOWEVER, THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. IF NOT, WHY THEN DO WE ALL LOVE THIS BLESSED PLACE? WHY DO PEOPLE COME AND NEVER WANT TO GO AGAIN DESPITE THEIR ORIGIN OR AFFLUENCE? IT IS BECAUSE WE ALL STAND IN AWE OF HOW WELL AND ORGANIZED THAT THE COUNTRY IS RUN THAT WE KNOW THAT IT IS THE IDEAL COPY TO FOLLOW: AN ALMOST PERFECT SOCIETY AS I SEE AND BELIEVE ME, NO ONE IS PERFECT. THERE IS NO COUNTRY WITHOUT THEIR OWN SQUABBLES AND CORRUPTION. PLEASE LET THE MATTER OF MPs SPENDING- EVEN AS MURKY AS ANYONE WOULD RIGHTLY ADMIT IT TO BE BE PUT TO REST AFTER THE APOLOGIES AND ANYTHING ELSE. LET THE POLITICIANS DUST THEIR SEATS AND FOCUS ON STIRRING THEIR NATIONAL ECONOMY AND POTENTIATING DOMESTIC EFFICIENCY. AND FINALLY FROM ME, I WOULD RATHER PREFER A BORING POLITICS THAN THE GLAMOROUS CAMPAIGNS THAT PRECEDES GREED AND WANTON FROM POLITICIANS WEARING WHITE-WASH AND FAKE GLOSS IN ALMOST ALL THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD. ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD AS WE ALL KNOW, BUT THAT THAT ENDURES PASSES THROUGH FIRE. IN ALL TRUTH, WE ALL SHOULD ADMIRE AND APPLAUD BRITISH POLITICS. IT IS A MODEL THAT SHOULD HALF OF THE WORLD ADOPT, TRULY, WE WILL BE LIVING IN A MORE JUST PLANET. NO MATTER HOW MUCH ONE WILL ARGUE AGAINST THIS WRITING, IN OUR MINDS, WE ALL KNOW THAT IT IS TRUE. YES, GREAT IS BRITAIN.
It strikes me that the Economist has got this all wrong. This is not about MP's pay. This is about the arrogance of the professional political class that has grown up in both the UK and the US over the past 30 years. In terms of money these MP expenses do not amount to peanuts in US terms. But it is not about the amounts. In fact, the lessor amounts are more interesting than the larger amounts because of the entitlement attitude and distain for the taxpayer they display. And any honost Government in the UK would call an election over this. Fortunately for US politicans the Government can not call a special election. The only cure for professional politicans is term limits.
"6 Perhaps the paper should also expose the level of expenses being claimed by example employees in commercial life:"
Why would commercial expenses be relevant to people who probably aren't shareholders or marxists?
The behaviour emerging from Parliament is seriously abusing our unique Constitutional system and heritage.
If questions are now being asked at Buckingham Palace, then surely the fast way forward now is a newly elected Parliament with a new Speaker and a transparent expenses system, based solely on genuine costs incurred in the cost of undertaking duties and responsibilities.Action now.
Ive always found it interesting that scandal in British politicians usually falls into two categories: sex and/or financial hanky-panky. What you do not see that often is just plain policy stupidity. By and large the British political class gets most of the big things right. Not always, but mostly. In America it is the opposite. Not that much sex hanky-panky ( except amongst high profile Democrats like multiple Kennedys, Hart, Edwards, Clinton, Spitzer, etc) and not really that much financial hanky-panky ( except amongst high profile Democrats like Blago, most of Obama's cabinet choices, Edwards (again), most of Albany, New York, most of Cook County, Illinois, etc)...Hmmm...I guess I have to take it back. We really ARE like the British politicians except that we rarely get the big picture things right.
All this is a result of the British parliamentary system not being significantly overhauled since the time of Cromwell. As Matthew Engel said in the FT this weekend, British MPS are largely second rate and this is in large measure due to the fact that there are too many of them and too much centralisation of power in London. Thus they are relatively underpaid, and operating within an arcane ossified structure are somehow bound to fiddle their expenses.
In the first instance the expense issue could be easily settled by only allowing claims on rented property etc as some have suggested. In the longer term however, the UK needs a federal system of government with power devolved in equal proportion to English cities and regions as to Scotland and Wales. This in turn can only be done after the UK has a constitutional convention to actually adopt a written constitution which would also bring in PR, an elected upper house, and disestablish the Church of England.
Sound like fantasy? Radical things happen every 300 years or so and if there is a so-called hung parliament after the next election we could see something like it.
Their counterparts in Singapore get paid S$216,300 a year. At today's exchange rate (2.23 Singapore dollars to the pound), that still works out to 98000 pounds a year.
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"No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may retain entirely unaffected for the better."
"The difference between sentiment and being sentimental is the following: Sentiment is when a driver swerves out of the way to avoid hitting a rabbit on the road. Being sentimental is when the same driver, when swerving away from the rabbit, hits a pedestrian."
"Sentiment is likely to be hit hard ... Investors were disappointed by the warning in October, as it was one of the first operators to lower expectations. This second hit to expectations is only likely to raise more questions."
"We wanted to see what the sentiment of the town was, for one thing. It's a very important issue, something that will likely be going before the (U.S.) Supreme Court very soon."
"In the short-term, sentiment is probably quite negative for the U.S. dollar. The one thing to watch for the U.S. dollar going forward is what happens in China."


text:
Florida hammers Ole Miss, avoids weekend sweep
College baseball
(2) Florida 13, (17) Ole Miss 1
From Our Press Services
Ole Miss fell behind 4-0 after three innings and never caught up Sunday as second-ranked Florida averted a sweep with a 13-1 victory at Oxford, Miss.
The Rebels won 3-2 on Friday and 15-3 on Saturday.
Trent Rothlin (3-2) took the loss for the 17th-ranked Rebels (19-6, 4-2 SEC), giving up four runs on four hits with a strikeout in 22/3 innings.
Brian Johnson (2-1) got the win for Florida (18-5, 4-2), pitching 51/3 innings and holding the Rebels to one run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
The Rebels travel to Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., to take on Mississippi State in the annual Governor's Cup game Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
In other games
Mississippi State 11, Georgia 10 at Starkville, Miss.: An RBI-single by Cody Freeman capped a monster comeback for the Bulldogs.
MSU (14-10, 2-4 SEC) rallied from a 10-2 deficit with a season-best eight-run eighth inning. Freeman then drove Jaron Shepherd home with the winner with two outs in the ninth inning. Mississippi State took two of three in the series from Georgia (9-15, 1-5).
Arkansas 10, Alabama 5 at Fayetteville, Ark.: Four Razorbacks hit home runs as Arkansas completed a three-game sweep.
Collin Kuhn, Zack Cox, Andy Wilkins and Brett Eibner each homered for Arkansas (18-5, 4-2 SEC).
Alabama (16-6, 2-4) jumped to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first, which included a three-run homer by Ross Wilson.
Rhodes 11, Centre College 8 at Knoxville: Rhodes (19-7, 5-1 SCAC) charged to an 8-5 lead after two innings, as junior right fielder Matt Gilbert (Houston High) highlighted the seven-run Lynx second with a three-run homer to right field. Junior Taylor Babich got his third victory of the year, and freshman Jackson Baker earned his first save.
Arkansas Tech 13, CBU 0 at Russellville, Ark,: Matt Johnson went 3 for 5 with three RBI to lead the Wonder Boys (25-11, 7-1 GSCW) past the Buccaneers (4-26, 0-8). Aaron Short had two hits for CBU.
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With partners like Drake and Mitchell & Ness, the Raptors's 20th anniversary capsule collection can't miss.
Soccer: Dolce & Gabbana Style
The very definition of a classic. Wear them everywhere, just as men have been doing for decades now.
505 Straight Fit ($44) by Levi's, levi.com
Especially great for tall men, since the inseam is offered in plenty of lengths.
Vintage straight jean ($89.50) by Banana Republic, bananarepublic.com


text: Guess what? I feel SOOO happy! The other day I spoke to Gian Paolo Barbieri! We worked a lot for Italian Vogue together and also for Linea Italiana, another great Italian magazine. This, I think, is our first cover together. It has been many many years since we met or even spoke. After my last blog here, I got a strong urge and called his studio, spoke to his assistant who was totally thrilled talking to me, telling me about all the hundreds of pictures he has seen of me and how much he loves them. I was totally thrilled talking to HIM and a few moments later I got a call from Gian Paolo, very close by it seemed, very present, from his house in the Seychelles! How many years I have been longing for this! To connect back with him. And how easy it was in the right moment. Truly grateful! I remember this cover very well. How I loved the white garment and Gian Paolo`s way of working, first seeing to that all the details are perfect and then concentrating on the face expression. so totally sure of what he wanted. I experienced it as very relaxing, that I could relax into myself and trust his skill. He would show me polaroids as we went along creating the photo so that I would know what he saw. All of this taught me how to use the muscles in my face and get the facial expression. Both letting go, connecting to my Inner Source, Inner Nature and sort of control the expression. That part is much the same as acting. And it is part of what is interesting in modelling for me, to be both on the inside and the outside.


text:
Latest Edie Britt Stories
2009-04-19 15:34:02
Actress Nicollette Sheridan says she is ready to leave the U.S.
2009-02-12 06:14:17
Nicollette Sheridan's publicist has confirmed the British-born television actress is leaving the U.S.
2008-08-26 03:00:38
By GREG HERNANDEZ Neal McDonough fans who miss seeing the former "Boomtown" star on television each week can celebrate: Neal has joined the cast of ABC's "Desperate Housewives" as Nicollette Sheridan's new love interest.
2005-11-02 18:45:13
By Gina Keating LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The ABC network is letting trampy, vampy Edie Britt out to play this month on "Desperate Housewives," betting that the popular supporting character will give the top-rated show an added boost for Nielsen's November "sweeps" survey.
Word of the Day
- Large; stout; burly.
The word 'bowerly' is an alteration of 'burly'.


text:
In Touch: Books about long-distance love
March 27, 2015 | Soheli | Comments (0)
On March 27th, 1884, the first long-distance phone call was made between Boston and New York. While that was considered pivotal in its time, our long-distance communications have grown quite a bit since then. Now we've got not only long-distance phone calls, but emails, texts and sessions on webcam too.
Here are some books that explore the challenges that come with keeping in touch with loved ones, no matter where you are.
Falling Blossom: A British officer's enduring love for a Japanese woman
By Peter Pagnamenta, 2006
Arthur Hart-Synnot was posted in Japan and fell in love with a local woman, Masa. As a British officer, he was forced to move multiple times over his career. Despite seeing each other only for short periods over the course of a decade, Arthur and Masa kept in touch through letters that fueled their dedication to each other until the very end. This is a tragic true story that includes many of their original letters, translated from Japanese.
The Geography of You and Me
By Jennifer E. Smith, 2014
(Also available in eBook)
When teens Lucy and Owen meet on an elevator in Manhattan in the midst of a blackout, there's an immediate spark. But as they both go back to their homes - Lucy to Scotland, and Owen out west - their connection is put to the test. A trail of emails and postcards charts their relationship over the course of a year in this thoughtful young adult book.
By Rainbow Rowell, 2015
Georgie and Neal's marriage has been slightly strained for a while. When she puts her career ahead of their family Christmas - with only two days notice - things really start to fall apart. But when Georgie discovers a way to communicate with the past version of her husband in a strange take on time travel, she thinks there might just be a way to make their love whole again.
The Notebook
By Nicholas Sparks, 1996
If you've yet to read a Nicholas Sparks' novel, and would like to try one, this is required reading (a big box of tissues is optional). It's got lost lovers, forbidden romance, and of course, a stack of love letters that Noah Calhoun writes to Allie Nelson while they are separated by circumstance and societal pressures.
The Book of Strange New Things
By Michel Faber, 2014
I've recommended this book before, but it warrants a repeat mention, in case you missed it the first time around. In the not-so-distant future, Peter, a pastor, is offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: to travel to a planet light years away to spread the gospel. The mission doesn't come without a price, however. His beloved wife, Bea, is left behind, waiting for him to return. Through inter-galactic transmissions, they share their vastly different experiences. Can their marriage survive planets apart?


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Domo Arigato, Doctor Roboto
Hospitals across the country are examining whether video-enabled robots can help doctors extend their rounds safely and with patients' acceptance.
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follow Dictionary.com
Quiz: Remember the definition of mal de mer?
"a man" (especially one of Spanish descent), 1846, from Spanish, from Latin hominem, accusative of homo "man" (see homunculus).
wise guy
[1846+; fr Spanish, ''man'']
Anglicized version of the classic Spanish card game originally called hombre (meaning "man") and now known as tresillo in Spain and South America.


text:
Sep 06 2010 11:20 am
Posted by Grandson under Humor
Ol' Blue
A young cowboy from Wyoming goes off to college. Half way through the semester, he has foolishly squandered all his money. He calls home.
"Dad," he says, "You won't believe what modern education is developing! They actually have a program here in Laramie that will teach our dog, Ol' Blue how to talk!"
"That's amazing," his Dad says. "How do I get Ol' Blue in that program?"
"Just send him down here with $1,000" the young cowboy says. "I'll get him in the course."
So, his father sends the dog and $1,000.
About two-thirds of the way through the semester, the money again runs out. The boy calls home.
"So how's Ol' Blue doing son?" his father asks.
"Awesome, Dad, he's talking up a storm," he says, "but you just won't believe this – they've had such good results they have started to teach the animals how to read!"
"Read!?" says his father, "No kidding! How do we get Blue in that program?"
"Just send $2,500, I'll get him in the class."
The money promptly arrives. But our hero has a problem. At the end of the year, his father will find out the dog can neither talk, nor read. So he shoots the dog.
When he arrives home at the end of the year, his father is all excited. "Where's Ol' Blue? I just can't wait to see him read something and talk!"
"Dad," the boy says, "I have some grim news. Yesterday morning, just before we left to drive home, Ol' Blue was in the living room, kicked back in the recliner, reading the Wall Street Journal, like he usually does. Then he turned to me and asked, "So, is your daddy still messing around with that little redhead who lives down the street?"
The father exclaimed, "I hope you shot that sucker before he talks to your Mother!"
"I sure did, Dad!"
"That's my boy!"
The kid went on to law school, and now serves in Washington D.C. As a Congressman.
You should follow Grandma on Twitter here.


text:
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
5/5/2014 (10 months ago)
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
The month of May will have many movie fans breaking out such slogans as "fer sure!" and "tubular!" Eighties classics such as "Adventures in Babysitting" and "The Big Chill" are coming to Netflix and Amazon Prime this month. In preparation of the new "Godzilla" movie coming to multiplexes this month, the origins of the Big Green Guy are also being offered with the thunder lizard's biggest hits of the Sixties are also being offered for downloaded.
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
5/5/2014 (10 months ago)
Published in Movies
Keywords: Amazon Prime, Netflix, movies, Eighties classics, Godzilla
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The wonderful world of movies coming your way for this month include:
May 1:
"Adventures in Babysitting" (1987)
"Boys Don't Cry" (1999)
"Broadway Idiot" (2013)
"Forrest Gump" (1994)
"Gladiator" (2000)
"Hook" (1991)
"Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003)
"Kill Bill Vol. 2" (2004)
"Kiss the Girls" (1997)
"La Bamba" (1987)
"Legend of Bagger Vance" (2000)
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" (1939)
"Psych," season 7
"The Big Chill" (1983)
"The Prince of Tides" (1991)
"Goldfinger" (1964)
"A View to a Kill" (1985)
"For Your Eyes Only" (1981)
"From Russia With Love" (1963)
"Live and Let Die" (1973)
"Never Say Never Again" (1983)
"You Only Live Twice" (1967)
"Godzilla vs. Monster Zero" (1965)
"Godzilla vs. Mothra" (1964)
"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" (1956)
"Godzilla's Revenge" (1969)
Shop for mom today. Buy her a gift she'll love!
May 4
"Top Gear: Series 20"
May 8
"Royal Pains," season 5
May 9
"Much Ado About Nothing" (2012)
May 10
"Pain and Gain" (2013)
May 11
"American Dad," season 8
"Apartment 1303" (2012)
May 13
"Free Birds" (2013)
May 15
"Eddie Murphy: Delirious" (1983)
"Jenny McCarthy: Dirty Sexy Funny" (2014)
"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" (2008)
May 16
"Sanctum" (2011)
May 17
"Scandal," season 3
"Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013)
May 22
"Machete Kills" (2014)
May 27
"Escape from Tomorrow" (2013)
"Leviathan" (2012)
"Vanishing of the Bees" (2009)
May 28
"Brave Miss World" (2013)
"These Birds Walk" (2013)
May 30
"Derek," season 2
"Wicker Park" (2004)
May 31
"Annie Hall" (1977)
And here's what you should look for on Amazon:
"The Spectacular Now" (2013)
"Suits" Season 3
"Covert Affairs," Season 4
"Much Ado About Nothing" (2012)
"Pain and Gain" (2013)
"Star Trek Into Darkness" (2013)
All seasons of:
"The Sopranos"
"The Wire"
"Six Feet Under"
"Eastbound & Down"
"Flight of the Conchords"
Some seasons of:
"Boardwalk Empire"
"True Blood"
Original movies:
"Game Change"
"Too Big to Fail"
"You Don't Know Jack"
"Ghosts of Abu Ghraib"
"When the Levees Broke"
Comedy specials:
Lewis Black
Ellen DeGeneres
Louis CK
Bill Maher
"Angels in America"
"Band of Brothers"
"John Adams"
"The Pacific"
"Parade's End"
St. Joseph of Cupertino
St. John the Baptist
St. Clare
St. George
St. Brigid of Ireland
St. Benedict
St. Christopher
St. Matthew
St. Florian
St. Isidore the Farmer
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Gerard
St. Anthony
St. Joseph
St. Barbara
St. Ann
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
Spring is in the air and streaming movies, TV shows and specials will be here to greet the sunnier season. Streaming original content, such as the superhero film "Marvel's Daredevil" will be the month's main draws. LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - From ... continue reading
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
Actor Paul Walker, whose life was taken in a horrific traffic accident two years ago, will have the opportunity to live again - dying during the production of "Fast and Furious 7," Walker's scenes will be completed with digital technology. While this will ... continue reading
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
The desert planet of "Tatooine," Luke Skywalker's (Mark Hammill) home planet in the "Star Wars" series, was attacked and destroyed by storm troopers in the original installment of that science-fiction series. Art apparently imitated life, as the Tunisian location ... continue reading
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
Like totally. For sure. Gnarly. Gag me with a spoon. If these phrases mean anything to you, you remember the Eighties and the many great movies from that era. If you are a Netflix subscriber, you had better hurry, as a bunch of your favorite films is headed for ... continue reading
By Caitlin Bootsma
One of the things I find so appealing about Lent is that we are not only called to contemplation, but also to action. Prayer, fasting and almsgiving are all equally important ways of uniting ourselves to Christ and offering our lives to Him. Through fasting and ... continue reading
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
It makes sense that a nation with well over a billion people would need entertainment - and for the first time ever, the Chinese motion picture box office has overtaken America in terms of monthly sales. The nation of China brought in $650 million in box office ... continue reading
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
While our expectations for having our own rocket ship in the 21st Century have been largely met with disappointment, the present is still considerably brighter than the one in the classic science-fiction epic "Blade Runner" in 1982. Congested cities, perpetual ... continue reading
By Greg Goodsell
It was an artistic, challenging film, which made demands on its viewer and depicted a most unflattering portrayal of the motion picture industry. "Birdman" took the Oscar for Best Picture anyway, at the 87th Academy Awards. "Birdman" beat out such favorites as ... continue reading
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
"Spectre," the latest installment of the James Bond spy thriller series, kicked off with location shooting in Rome last week. Some Romans were lucky to witness a spectacular car chase along the banks of the Tiber River. James Bond, as played by Daniel Craig ... continue reading
By Mary Rezac, CNA
Valentine's Day plans do not typically include domestic abuse. DENVER, CO (CNA) - Yet thousands of couples are already pre-purchasing their movie tickets for "50 Shades of Grey," a film which many critics are saying romanticizes and attempts to normalize violence ... continue reading


text:
Death - the whole world fears.Death - my heart overjoys.When will I die and give myselfin ecstasy complete?
Kabir says he will meet God when he dies. Those who have known life look upon death as a meeting with God, as an encounter with him. For them, death is the greatest fortune. For them, death is not death, death is a marriage, a union. For them, death is the ultimate, the perfection; the supreme flowering of love. For them, the face of death is transformed.
From the angle at which you look at death you think it is the end of everything, that all will be destroyed. What you have taken to be real is nothing more than a dream. But the angle from which Kabir is looking will open the door of truth, will remove the useless and usher in the bountiful.
You consider death as the blackest night, but to Kabir it is the morning, the dawning of the greatest promise. As the night gets darker and darker and death comes nearer and nearer Kabir is filled with joy. It means the sun is about to rise.
If you live correctly, you can die correctly. The right kind of life is the basis for the right kind of death, so the man who dies in the right way has to face death no more.
Look for the key to dying only once. You have slipped through the net many, many times; many times you have fallen back into the ocean of sansara, back into the ocean of the world. Before his net descends on you this time, make yourself worthy to be chosen by him.


text:
Flute Concertos
Flute Concertos (for Flute & Piano Reduction). Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). For Flute, Piano (Flute). Woodwind Solo. Classical Period. Difficulty: medium. Set of performance parts (includes separate pull-out flute part). Solo part and piano reduction. 48 pages. G. Schirmer #LB1802. Published by G. Schirmer (HL.50261850).
ISBN 0793554241. With solo part and piano reduction. Classical Period. 9x12 inches.


text:
With much fanfare, the 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition with the 60th Anniversary package drove up on the Barrett-Jackson auction block Saturday afternoon and was hammered sold for $600,000. Minutes later it was annouced that William Vannoy, the losing bidder in the auction, had also donated $100,000 to the sale to bring the total amount raised for charity to $700,000. Buying the rights to buy the VIN 001 2013 Corvette was Barrett-Jackson regular Ron Pratte.
Here's a funny eBay ad aimed at classic Corvette restorers that is making the rounds this week. If you are looking to earn the maximum points possible when having your Corvette flight judged, then you shouldn't overlook the air in those reproduction tires. Today on eBay, you can buy the original tire air from a 1967 L88 Corvette.
As time ticks down to the sale of the first 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible at Barrett-Jackson this Saturday, interested buyers and enthusiasts alike are able to get up close and personal with the new car which is set up at the Chevrolet display. Our friend Chris Draper was in Scottsdale yesterday to take in Barrett-Jackson and provides these pictures of the 60th Anniversary car on display along with a first-year 1953 Corvette.
Article contributed by Mitch Talley
A Corvette racing icon will be helping to pay for the construction of the exciting new National Corvette Museum Motorsports Park slated to be completed in the fall of 2014.
Johnny O'Connell, four-time winner of the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in France with the factory Corvette Racing team, and Pfadt Race Engineering have offered to donate a portion of the sales of their official Johnny O'Connell Suspension made through the National Corvette Museum, which just added the products to their lineup on-site and online.
With the introduction of the C7 Corvette coming next year, we're assuming that the engineering members of the Corvette Team are hard at work with shaking down the new car in a variety of environments. Proving this are these spy photos from our friends at both Jalopnik and Autoblog, who captured two cloaked C7 Corvette prototypes playing in the snow at an unknown location.
Our final preview at the January collector car auctions will focus on the activities at Gooding and Company's and RM Auctions' camps. You already know about 1953 VIN #5 crossing the block at RM, but they've also got an early Pilot 1954 in addition to an original Monaco Orange 1969 L88 Coupe up for grabs at Gooding and Company.
RM and Gooding only have a total of 9 Corvettes combined on their dockets, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality.
When we talk about German-based Corvette tuners, the name Geiger would usually come to mind. However, there are others in the land of Bavaria who also take pride in tuning America's favorite sports car. One such firm is named TIKT and their awesome 758-horsepower Corvette ZR1 is called the Triple X.
Article contributed by Dave Salvatore / Kerbeck Corvette
On this day in 1953, a prototype Chevrolet Corvette sports car (EX-122) makes its debut at General Motors' (GM) Motorama auto show at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. The Corvette, named for a fast type of naval warship, would eventually become an iconic American muscle car and remains in production today.
Each January all eyes on the automotive world focus on the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. All the major carmakers roll out their latest creations and concepts for the world to see. This year General Motors created a whole new display to highlight their portfolio of products. We grabbed a couple of tickets to the ritzy charity preview event so we could check out all the good stuff before the show opened to the public.
The next stop on our tour of the January auctions is Russo and Steele's sale in Scottsdale, AZ. They'll be offering over 700 cars including 50+ Corvettes during the January 18th – 22nd event including Noland Adams' 1953 "Stamp Car". The Russo and Steele docket contains a bevy of sweet rides with the majority being C1′s, C2′s, and C3′s. Check out some of the Corvette we'd love to be bidding on.


text:
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Prices, specials, features and availability subject to change.
Alarm, Clubhouse, Controlled Access, Extra Storage, Gated Access, Hot Tub, Swimming Pool
2-Way Exposure, Bay Windows*, Breakfast Bar, Brick Exterior, Built-in Shelves, Corporate Units Available, Crown Molding, Health Club, Lush Landscaping, Luxury Bath, Maid Service Available, Online Rent Payment, Oversize Balconies, Oversize Windows, Roman Tub, Wet Bar*
Property Details
Tuscany - Houston's New Standard in Luxury Apartment Living
Enjoy a higher standard of living at a price you can afford when you join our established Houston community. Impress your guests with elegant crown molding, 9-foot ceilings and large bay windows. All six of our apartment floor plans and townhomes blend luxury with convenience. Kitchens come fully furnished. Washers and dryers are full size. Storage space is aplenty. Work out when you want in our 24-hour fitness center, or relax in our sparkling pool and hot tub that serve as the centerpiece of these just outside the Loop West Houston apartments.Getting anywhere fast is as easy as hopping on the I-10, 610 or the Beltway.
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Lease terms are variable. Please inquire with property staff.
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text:
Family Corner shows you how to make these
from coffee filters! Younger children can do
the painting and let someone older finish
the rest of it. Via Edible Crafts
Janice VanCleave's Food and Nutrition for Every Kid: Easy Activities That Make Learning Science Fun
Kathleen Krull: Lives of Extraordinary Women: Rulers, Rebels (and What the Neighbors Thought)
Monica Kulling: Listen Up!: Alexander Graham Bell's Talking Machine
Ellen Jackson: The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth
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Jean Van't Hul: The Artful Parent: Simple Ways to Fill Your Family's Life with Art and Creativity--Includes over 60 Art Projects for Children Ages 1 to 8
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Amie Plumley: Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make
Marie Hablitzel: Draw Write Now, Book 1: On the Farm-Kids and Critters-Storybook Characters


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Taste Of Louisiana With Chef John Folse & Co.:
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Roasted Wild Boar Ham stuffed with Garlic and Onions and Christmas Roasted Speckle-bellied Goose.
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The thermometer says its 10 degrees (or -10) outside and I do not have to start my car to go to work
I get to work in my jammies and robe (like right now writing this up smile emoticon OK, I don't greet guests in my jammies)...
I meet people from all over the world, and I can drink coffee in the morning with them
I meet people in many occupations
I get to hear compliments on my cooking
I get to hear people tell me how much they needed to get away to a place like this
I get to hear a repeat guest calling to say - please tell me you have a room!
I get to plan day trips, although for others, it's still fun!
I get to see the tight, pinched, tense faces that arrived, be full of smiles and laughter and regret that they have to go, as they depart
I get to touch many lives and be touched by theirs
Putting your stamp on something that's very personal to people; it feels wonderful
I help people have the perfect vacation
I'm my own boss
I get to cook, bake and do gardening. It's a dream job!
My commute is awesome (from upstairs to downstairs)
Being part of peoples special occasions they will remember forever
I get to live in a beautiful historic place AND get paid to live here
I meet some very interesting people and have created special friends
I get to do what I love and use my creativeness with food, decorating, gardening, website, blog etc.
I get to work side by side with my husband
I can take wonderful vacations in the slower times
I have met and networked with other innkeepers who are amazing group of people that come to the industry from every profession imaginable
I never get tired of the compliments from guests. It's those guests that appreciate what we do and who make us continue in this awesome profession
Being home for my family
Being my own boss
Meeting people I would never meet otherwise, from all walks of life, with varied interests and experience
Making people feel good, with a cup of coffee and a warm handshake/hug from us
Serving others
Learning new things, expanding my knowledge (due to marketing/tourism, technology)
Excelling in my own environment
Having a cluster of innkeeper friends that I can share with and laugh with
No two days are alike
Having fun!
Every decision is our own- no boss enforcing a policy that makes no sense
Ability to take on projects that I like and make a difference in my town
I love the challenges
I want to leave a legacy-both in things I've done and looking after a 133 year old home
I do things how I want them
Regulars who say when they arrive, "Its good to be home", or "I'll be back" (and you know they will)
Catching up with regulars on what they have been up to
When you can make a different breakfast every morning for a week and never look at a recipe


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I just bottled about 5 gallons of Hard Apple cider I made. I had placed sorbate in the Carboy about a week before bottling to slow the yeasties down. I didnt want it too dry. I'm looking for something almost like a stongbow. I then back sweetened with some brown sugar. Yesterday I bottled it all alternating between 2 and 3 Carb Tablets. Will this even work? And if it does when should I expect it to be carbinated? Any advice or info or telling me I am a noob and messed it up will be greatly welcome.
if you killed the yeast then it will not carbonate. if the yeast are still active then you could have bottle bombs. brown sugar is fermentable as well as the carb tabs and what ever residual sugar you left after stopping fermentation. i don't really know what to tell you to do except watch these carefully.
Unfortunately, you're too vague on your process to give much helpful advice, but I'm going to try anyway
Depending on how much sorbate you used you may have killed the yeast (unlikely thought.) How long did you active ferment before adding sorbate?
If they do carb, like rycove said, you have a tremendous chance of having bottle bombs, which are simple no fun, very dangerous, and a mess to clean up.
My advice is to open one and pour it into a 16-20 oz soda bottle and use that to measure the level of carbonation. When it is nicely carb you will be able to put firm pressure on it and it will give only slightly...just like when it's full of soda. This way you can tell if they are carbonating up and then if it becomes hard as a rock, you have to cold crash all the cider immediately or open the bottles.
The only way I have found to have sweet, carbonated cider in bottles is to back sweeten with sugar and then measure carbonation with soda bottle and then pasteurize to kill the yeast based on the sticky by pappers in the cider forum.
Good Luck!
I have friends who go on a tangent and want to make a batch of cider without investing anything, so I will let them use my equipment and oversee their batch for them, finally bottling their 5 gallons in 2 liter soda bottles.
Generally you can use any plastic bottles made for holding carbonated drinks, and I have found clear to light drinks or sodas leave less flavors in the cleaned bottles.
Other than variables for dry/sweet and high/low carbonation, these ciders taste close to my kegged ones, and take alot of pressure without bombs.
Just open one every couple of weeks and cold crash them or drink them at their best.
Watch for fountains if they overcarb.
you could really roll the dice and try to pasturize them as soon as they are at the carbonation level you want, i don't think they will have the sweetness you are looking for though.
if you're going to back sweeten and bottle carb your best bet is unfermentable sugars. lactose, splenda, xilitol? **** like that
stevia is also an unfermentable sugar and slightly less chemically. i just added some "stevia in the raw" (its a brand) to this thing i have in a keg that i am trying to make drinkable, started as a peary, now it is morphing into a hard lemonade....sorta
This exactly what I was looking for! I like the cider dry, but I didn't brew it for me. My Sweetie likes it sweet. I was going to add some brown sugar, keg, and force carbonate, but didn't want to tie up my last keg for the cider. The soda bottle idea sounds like a simple effective way to gauge the carb level with the added sugar. Won't have the room to cold crash, so the pasteruize process should be a winner. Thanks for the info!


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Tema Cocoon Serving Cart
Tema Cocoon Serving Cart
Weights & Dimensions
|Product Type: Kitchen Cart
|Base Finish: Walnut
|Base Material: Manufactured wood; Wood
|Counter Material: Wood
|Solid Wood Construction: No
|Style: Modern
|Exterior Shelves: Yes
|Wheels: Yes
|Country of Manufacture: Portugal
Still have questions about this product? We're here to help
Tema Cocoon Serving Cart
About the Designer
Ins Martinho (1983 - )
Born 1983 in Lisbon, Inês Martinho comes from the 2006 class of industrial design of the Institute of visual arts, design and marketing (IADE). Among many accolades, her designs have been awarded in contests for brands like Grand Marnier, Roche Pharmaceuticals and Superbock (Experimental Design).
About the ManufacturerFor over 20 years, Tema's on-going challenge has been to design, develop and market, wooden knocked-down multipurpose furnishings that continuously evolve and adapt to the changing needs of the modern consumer. Although the main markets are Europe and the USA, Tema has a diversified customer base with over 1000 points of sale worldwide.
Manufactured using hollow construction technology finished in wood veneer or colored lacquer, the product line is made of several lines and modular systems designed to offer solutions to enhance any room in a house or small office while enabling each customer to express their own style.
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OUR SKU # TMA1357Cocoon Serving Cart is also sometimes listed under the following manufacturer numbers: 9500.616235, 9500.616259, 9500.618895


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Downsizing? What downsizing? While rivals may be replacing cylinders with turbochargers – heck, even Audi itself has done that with the twin-turbo V8 succeeding the V10 in the S8 and such – the new RS4 is reportedly on its way in full-fat 4.2-liter V8 FSI trim.
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Spy Shots: Audi RS4 Avant


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Kindness, comfort and relaxation in an amazing scenery... the holiday in Puglia you've been waiting for!
Space where guests can cook their own meals
Central heating or a heater in the listing
In the building, free or for a fee
Space where guests can cook their own meals
Towels, bed sheets, soap, and toilet paper
Central heating or a heater in the listing
In the building, free or for a fee
In the building, free or for a fee
Continuous access in the listing
Breakfast is provided.
The listing can accommodate a gathering of 25 or more attendees
Easy access to the building and listing for guests in wheelchairs
Private or Shared
Free, in the building or nearby
Posted emergency information and resources
The Space
"Trullo dell'ulivo", which was originally a barn, is a charming little house nicely furnished. It can accommodate up to 4 people and includes an entrance/living room with a double sofa bed, a dining room, a double bedroom, a kitchenette with domestic appliances and cutlery, a bathroom with shower.
Within an ancient farm land, lain deep in the green hills of Apulia, our trulli will greet you in this unspoiled scenery made of quiet and beauty, among olive tree fields and stone buildings from a magical past.
Guest Access
Guests have access to the whole trullo, to the laudry room and to the outside relaxing areas (a courtyard and a shared terrace) furnished with stone tables and umbrellas, deckchairs, barbecue. There are also a little garden and a nice private wood for walking and picnics!
Interaction with Guests
With high sense of hospitality and passion for our land, we like to greet people from all over the world giving them useful tips about discovering Puglia.
The Neighborhood
This is the land of trulli and fortified masserie, flourishing vegetation, lime painted old towns, rich traditions and tasty food.
The trullo is very well placed for exploring all the historic towns of the Valle d'Itria as well as for access to the beaches along the Adriatic coastline.
But, from here, you can easily reach Lecce and the Salento area, Matera or the land of Bari!
Other Things to Note
Internet WiFi available only in the garden, via mobile hotspot.
Very beautiful trullo in an idyllic landscape! The trullo is comfortable, quiet and clean, very close to Martina Franca so perfect to travel around.
Riccardo and Stefania are nice people who warmly welcomed us and helped to find good shops, restaurants and cities to visit.
The Trullo is just simply fantastic! Quiet, beautiful surroundings, very close to lively town Martina Franca and lot's of other amazing things to see and do. Riccardo and his girlfriend were very kind and helpful and gave us some good tips. For the house itself, it is very clean, looks exactly like the pictures, we got fresh towels in the mid of our stay which was a nice surprise but note - we did have to buy our own basics such as salt, pepper, olive oil, toilet paper, detergent etc.
We had a wonderful week and holiday, thanks so much Riccardo!
Nous avons passé deux nuits dans le Trullo dell'Ulivo et avons adoré!! Ce fût une expérience unique de séjourner dans cette demeure typique de la Pouilles qui est, de plus, idéalement située (à portée de tous les points d'intérêt de la région: Martina Franca, Alberobello, Locorotondo, Noci, Cisternino, etc..) dans un endroit tranquille. Riccardo et Stefania sont très très accueillants, disponibles et nous ont donné pleins de conseils pour visiter la Valle d'Itria.
Nous recommandons à tous cet adresse.
My wife and I just stayed in the Trullo for 10 nights and had an amazing holiday. The Trullo is perfectly located for visiting all mayor highlights of Puglia. It was clean and the bed was very nice. It has a large outside space to relax and walk. It is a quiet and peaceful place close to lively Martina Franca.
Riccardo and Stefania made us feel right at home. They were very helpfull, polite and spoke good English. They know a lot of interesting things about the region and gave us some useful tips about which places to visit and which shops/restaurants to go to. This added to our holiday because we visited some great places we otherwise would have missed. They even gave us a list with addresses and were easy to reach by text.
On our request, Riccardo didn´t bother to buy football-tickets before our holiday which he gave to us at arrival. Him and Stefania also took us to a typical Puglia butcher-shop to buy local meat for our bbq.
Thanks to them and their Trullo we were able make most of our stay in Puglia!
We had a great time at Riccardo's and Stefania's Trullo. The appartment is just like it is described on the Internet - the interior is pretty and situated in very nice surroundings (olive and fruit trees just behind the house), a few kilometers outside of Martina Franca. The hosts were very welcoming and had a lot of useful information prepared for us. Thank you very much, we'll recommend you!
We stayed for 3 nights in the trullo in August, and it just wasn't long enough. We loved it! Such a peaceful area! The trullo is really unique. It is beautifully decorated, making the most of the trullo features, really clean and very well presented. Really pleasant temperature inside even though outside was plus 30 degrees. The closest town, Martina Franca, is lovely and only a couple of minutes drive away. The whole area is really picturesque with the trulli dotted across the landscape.
Riccardo and Stefania were welcoming, helpful and very passionate about their area. They provided us with a map of Puglia and information for the surrounding area. They even left a list of local supermarkets/ restaurants, etc.
One thing to note we had difficulty finding the place, as the "Pin" on the (website hidden) map link in the listing is not accurate. But our frustration quickly melted away when we saw the beautiful trullo awaiting us. Highly recommeded! Cant wait to go back!
We have spent 3 weeks in Puglia. We have enjoyed this beautiful area around Martina Franca. Especially the Valle d'Itria is very beautiful with the nice "trulli'. Martina Franca, Ostuni, Bari, Brindisi and Lecce are worth to visit. We liked the beaches too, we found perfect beaches on the Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Taranto. Our stay in the trullo was also very good! We were friendly welcomed by Riccardo and Stefania. Everything was very good and clean. The trullo was nice and cool while outside it was above 30 degrees. We enjoyed the terrace where we had shadow under the parasol. We have enjoyed the rest of this area. It was also great that we had internet (outside). We got a lot of information by Riccardo and Stefania and we have seen many nice things (medieval parade in Oria, fireworks in Locorotondo) that we had missed otherwise. We think back to a fantastic and unforgettable holiday, thanks to the good care of Riccardo and Stefania!
This host has 5 reviews for other properties.View Other Reviews
Con grande entusiasmo per la storia, l'arte, il paesaggio, la cultura dei territori e il turismo responsabile, amo ospitare e condividere le mie passioni e conoscenze con persone da tutto il mondo!
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With great passion for history, arts, landscapes, cultures of territories and responsible tourism, I love hosting and sharing my knowledge with people from all over the world!


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Michael Martin: Speaker makes history in 30 secondsSimon Hoggart: The first Speaker to be forced out in 300 years was gone in 30 seconds
Front page
Is the House of Commons ready for a manager?Gordon Brown struggles to get ahead of the curve in his response to the MPs' expenses scandal
Expenses row: House of Lords add to suspensionsMichael White: By not entirely happy coincidence, the House of Lords found itself debating allegations of misconduct
Comment & debate p6
Hugh Muir: They see everything and yet, we fear, they see nothing. Should have gone to Specsavers
Comment & debate p29
Speaker Martin: a prize scalp for English snobs
George Galloway: The exit of this working-class Scot may bring glee, but will do little to effect the required overhaul of the Commons
Martin's resignation is a symbolic first step in the cleansing of parliamentVernon Bogdanor: MPs should ask only one question in choosing a new Speaker: which of us is best placed to muck out the Augean stables?
Comment & debate p30
David Miliband's piccolo diplomacySimon Jenkins: Blair at least walked the walk. But this foreign secretary can offer only feelgood gestures of episcopal concern


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For every audience attending a federal agency conference in person, a potentially larger audience could be participating remotely by watching live video feeds and submitting comments and questions through Twitter or Facebook.
That's one lesson learned by the Health and Human Services Department's new media team, which has been reaching those virtual audiences during recent HHS events. The team created a virtual "war room" to handle online communications during the department's Health Data Initiative forum held at the National Institutes of Health on June 9.
The team members are sharing tips on how to maximize virtual audience participation with other agencies.
Health data forum showcases 45 new apps using HHS data
HHS CTO describes what agency learned from freeing its data
The June 9 event showcased 45 winning applications that had been developed independently using HHS data. The agency broadcast the forum live by streaming video on the Internet and providing video feeds to 10 colleges that sponsored watching parties.
At HHS, the new media team operated a "war room" hub for tweeting announcements about the event schedule, monitoring incoming tweeted comments and questions, forwarding relevant questions, and originating and using Twitter hashtags, which are content labels that can be searched online, to define and segment the conference material.
One of the tips shared by the HHS team is to take full advantage of the Twitter hashtags to organize the content being produced.
The hashtag "defines the virtual conference room that your online participants will enter," the blog entry said. "It needs to be easy to remember, not too long and included in press releases, blog posts, the live-streaming page, the agenda, your forehead.... everywhere. Does each breakout session warrant its own hashtag? If, so put those on the agenda."
Another tip presented by the new media team is to identify key communicators with large numbers of followers on Twitter in advance to ensure they are aware of how the event will be presented on Twitter.
"Some people have accounts with 44 followers, others with 44,000 followers," Holman wrote in the blog entry. "Recognize who the key influencers are and connect with them before the event."
About the Author
Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer covering government 2.0, homeland security and other IT policies for Federal Computer Week.
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Experts tell committee that business models, not technology, are the main obstacle to better sharing across systems.
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Popular CIO is headed for the private sector.
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President Obama's proposal to boost government coordination with the private sector got a warm welcome in the House Homeland Security Committee.
The spy agency wants to better integrate cybersecurity into its traditional human intelligence operations.
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News Archive
October 7, 2005
Science professors who support the concept tend to agree with opponents that it doesn't belong in the science classroom.
October 7, 2005
New Web site lets members of the public get expert answers from philosophy professors.
October 6, 2005
U. of Idaho president says that in science courses, evolution will be taught and that other views -- discredited by researchers -- do not belong.
October 6, 2005
Survey finds that black students are much more spiritual than their white counterparts.
October 6, 2005
Dispute over alleged plagiarism between 2 Penn scholars, settled quietly over the summer, is aired anew.
October 6, 2005
Billions would be provided to students and institutions hurt by Katrina and Rita.
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|Fed Governor Insists on Stricter Commodity Rules for Banks - Analyst Blog
Mar 20 / Zacks.com
|BNY Mellon directors quizzed on CEO hunt
Mar 27 / FT.com
|BofA to allow investors to nominate directors
Mar 20 / FT.com
|Porat To Google Just One Of The Week's Top Management Changes; Here Are 7 More
Mar 27 / Benzinga
|Exchanges and clearers miss out on market changes
Mar 20 / FT.com
|Week in Review, March 28
Mar 27 / FT.com
|Banks forced to maul HK Rugby Sevens guest lists
Mar 20 / FT.com
|Google's new CFO and her $70 million pay package
Mar 27 / CNNMoney.com
|Goldman (GS) Prices IPO of Specialty Lending Unit - Analyst Blog
Mar 18 / Zacks.com
|City Insider: Tact and fiction
Mar 26 / FT.com
|What do CCAR results mean for the biggest US banks?
Mar 18 / MotleyFool.com
|Google to pay Ruth Porat more than $70m in her first year
Mar 26 / FT.com
|Fridman looks to avert political row by selling North Sea fields
Mar 17 / FT.com
|What Would Happen If ETF Holders Sold All At Once? Howard Marks Explains
Mar 26 / Investing Channel
|John Mack and Vikram Pandit back market intelligence venture
Mar 17 / FT.com
|After Ruth Porat leaves, who's Wall Street's top woman?
Mar 26 / CNNMoney.com
|Gala Coral prepares for IPO following general election
Mar 16 / FT.com
|Wall Street's finest head for the Silicon Valley
Mar 26 / FT.com
|Week ahead: Fed looms large
Mar 15 / FT.com
|Frontrunning: March 26
Mar 26 / Investing Channel
|Banks are still struggling to learn from their mistakes
Mar 13 / FT.com
|Plato runs 'beauty parade' for tech provider
Mar 26 / FT.com
|UBS chief Sergio Ermotti gets pay rise as bank revises earnings
Mar 13 / FT.com
|Fortescue Has An Idea For Arresting Iron Ore Price Slide: Start A Cartel
Mar 26 / Investing Channel
|Soc Gen invests in swap futures exchange
Mar 12 / FT.com
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