text:
Breaking news and analysis of politics, the economy and activism.
They came to hear Howard Dean.
But they got the message that matters from Arianna Huffington.
That's because, while the chairman of the Democratic National Committee delivered a tepid and predictable address to the Campaign for America's Future's "Take Back America" conference on Thursday, the columnist and author who not that many years ago identified as a Newt Gingrich conservative was the speaker who showed up with a road map for renewal of the Democratic Party.
Where Dean made no direct mention of the war in Iraq during a lengthy address to the morning plenary that kicked off the fullest day of the annual gathering of progressive activists, Huffington went to the heart of the matter.
"We cannot continue to ignore the debacle in Iraq if we are going to have any hope of [Democrats] ever again being a majority party," said Huffington, the conservative who came in from the cold and has recently lent her name and energy to the Huffington Post.
At a conference where the schedule was heavy with domestic-policy discussions but short on discourse regarding foreign policy, Huffington bluntly told the crowd, "We cannot have a solution on the domestic front without addressing what is happening in Iraq."
After a quick tour of the quagmire ("Ahmed Chalabi is the oil minister -- this is like something out of Saturday Night Live") and of the Bush Administration's steady pattern of misdeeds and missteps, Huffington asked the fundamental question of Congressional Democrats and party leaders: "Where is the oversight?"
"There is no oversight going on in this most corrupt and most immoral Congress that we have right now," she said, adding that, "I'm very troubled by the way our Democratic leaders go on television and sound like spineless Republicans." (Later in the day, at the one conference session that was devoted to foreign policy issues, former CIA analyst Ray McGovern recalled Dean's recent "now that we're there, we're there" comment regarding the "need" to remain in Iraq and then said, "That sounds like Rumsfeld to me.")
Noting that, in a recent television appearance, US Senator Hillary Clinton said she was not comfortable talking about developing an "exit strategy" to withdraw US troops from Iraq, Huffington said, "With respect to Senator Clinton, if you are not comfortable setting an exit strategy, please point us to someone who is."
Clinton is much discussed as a potential Democratic presidential nominee in 2008. But Huffington drew some of the loudest applause of the conference when she said of the 2008 race, "I want a Democratic presidential candidate who can give a straight, unambiguous answer on Iraq."
It was deserved applause; if Democrats do not come to understand this message, they will doom themselves to an agonizing repetition of the electoral debacles of 2002 and 2004.
"There is no way in a time of war that you can be a majority party without having a policy position [that is distinct from the Republicans]," explained Huffington, who suggested that, instead of avoiding the debate about national security, Democrats need to turn the debate on its head.
"The Democratic leaders need to make it clear that these men running our foreign policy are dangerous," she said. "There is no way Democrats can win an election unless they make it clear that these Republicans are not making this country safer."
The remarkable thing about the revelation of the identity of the Watergate-era tipster known as "Deep Throat" is that nothing about the news seems particularly remarkable.
In hindsight, we should have known that Washington Post writer Bob Woodward's source for the investigative reports he and Carl Bernstein wrote about Nixon-era illegality would not be an idealist who sought to expose a corrupt presidency -- nor even a Nixon aide experiencing a rare bout of conscience. Rather, like so many of Woodward's sources over the years, W. Mark Felt was a consummate Washingtion insider playing the sort of games that consumate Washington insiders play.
Far from being someone who feared for the Republic, Felt was a zealous protégé of a man who menaced the Republic for decades, longtime Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover.
It is difficult to buy the line that Felt was all that worried about Nixonian skulduggery, as the tipster himself would eventually be convicted of authorizing federal agents to illegally break into the homes of suspected anti–Vietnam War radicals.
Indeed, it appears that "Deep Throat" was less concerned about defending democracy than about getting back at then–President Richard Nixon for refusing him the directorship after Hoover's death in May 1972.
So Watergate ends up as another story of powerful men undercutting one another in a squabble over turf and bruised egos.
But, of course, there is more to the Watergate story than that. Despite the fact that Felt comes off as something less than a hero, he was a necessary player in a national drama that had a happy ending: A dishonest and dishonorable president was exposed and forced from office.
Perhaps this is why there is so much fascination with Watergate. It reminds us that the American experiment really can yield positive results, especially when the Fourth Estate prods Congress to police an out-of-control Executive Branch.
Considering the current circumstances of the nation, when Woodward and so many other members of the Washington press corps act as little more than stenographers to power, this week's renewed attention to the Watergate story ought to inspire an aching nostalgia in Americans who still take their citizenship seriously. It is inspiring to think that the system did once work; but it is painful to recognize the reality that Richard Nixon would never have been forced from office by today's major media organizations or today's Congress. And it is agonizing to think of how the far more serious crimes of presidents who succeeded Nixon -- especially, though certainly not exclusively, those of the current occupant of the White House -- go essentially unchallenged, even as more credible and patriotic Deep Throats than Mr. Felt have emerged. (The failure of most news outlets to examine what has come to be referred to as the Downing Street memo, official British documents that confirm George Bush's machinations to start a war-of-whim with Iraq, provides ample evidence that presidents no longer have much to fear from major media.)
Ultimately, now that Deep Throat has been revealed as just another cynical Washington insider working the system for all it was worth, one Watergate mystery remains. And it turns out to be a far more perplexing and troublesome one than that of some back-alley tipster's identity.
What remains is the mystery of how America, a country that proved her ability to depose a petty crook from power in the 1970s, has drifted so far from her ethical moorings. At the most fundamental level, it is not so difficult to unravel this mystery. A simple calculation of the roles of big media and big money campaign contributions provides most if not all of the explanation that is needed. But that calculus points to the lingering quandry of our time: Will we ever muster enough outrage at a stenographic media and a compliant Congress to steer America back to that place where lawless presidents are held accountable for their lies and the deadly consequences of their misdeeds?
Since the close of the Cold War, apologists for corporate arrogance and irresponsibility have argued that the world has reached an "end of history" moment when there can no longer be any debate about the superiority of cut-throat competition and business-defined "free markets." The rigid orthodoxy of the corporatists has played out in the form of free trade agreements such as NAFTA, which are crafted to allow corporations to easily relocate production facilities in order to avoid laws, rules and regulations that protect workers, consumers and the environment, and in the strengthening of "global governance" groups such as the World Trade Organization, which were created to take away the ability of communities, regions and nation states to hold corporations accountable.
The initiative has been advanced by conservative and centrist politicians such as George W. Bush, Newt Gingrich, Bill Clinton and Tony Blair, and by most of the global media conglomerates, which stand to benefit from the deconstruction of laws that require broadcasters and publishers to display at least a small measure of concern for the civic and democratic health of the nations where they operate.
But, despite the pressure from the politicians and the constant spin campaign from the media, the people have begun to notice that the free-market emperor has no clothes. Street protests in Seattle in 1999 prevented the WTO from advancing the free-trade agenda into new sectors of the economy, saving millions of farmers around the world from being overrun by the agribusiness conglomerates and slowing the rush to privatize education, transportation and communications services.
After Seattle, the question was whether the great mass of people who believe that this is not the end of history, and that another better world is possible, would eventually flex their muscles at the ballot box. The late US Senator Paul Wellstone, D-Minnesota, tried unsuccessfully to get the Democratic Party in the US to take up the issues raised by the labor, farm and environmental groups that had banded together to oppose corporate globalization. Unfortunately for the Democrats, they failed to take Wellstone's advice and ended up campaigning in successive national election campaigns on the issues that the Bush Administration and its corporate allies chose to discuss.
There have been better results outside the US. Last year, in India, a militantly corporatist government that united religious extremists and business interests was swept out of power when the poorest voters in the world's largest democracy revolted against the false claim that the free-market policies that benefitted the richest Indians were good for the vast majority of citizens. After the election, one of the leaders of the ousted government, Deputy Premier LK Advani, admitted, "In retrospect, it seems that the fruits of development did not equitably reach all sections of our society."
Now comes an even clearer, and blunter, challenge to the free-market mantra of the "end of history" crowd.
France's overwhelming rejection of the new European Union Constitution, which would have locked in free-market policies that coddle corporations while creating pressure to cut pay, benefits and social-welfare protections for workers in western Europe, sent a powerful signal that citizens are waking up to the threats posed by an unbridled free market to their livelihoods, their communities and their democracies.
While most of the French political and media establishment urged a "yes" vote on the Constitution -- which must be approved by the EU's 25 member states before it is implemented -- opponents such as former Socialist Party head Henri Emmanuelli built a grassroots campaign that warned the Constitution would pit workers from different countries against one another in a "race to the bottom" that would benefit only powerful corporations. "I'm not fighting against Europe," said Emmanuelli, as he explained that a "no" vote should not be seen as a rejection of cooperation between European states. "But Europe was not created so that we could set the poor against the poor. That's economic warfare."
Veterans of the Seattle protests of 1999, such as peasant leader Jose Bove, were key players in the campaign for a "no" vote, arguing that the Constitution would impose an economic model based on the demands of big business, rather than the needs of workers and farmers.
They were joined by the group Attac, one of the most effective of the growing number of anti-corporate globalization groups that are forming an international infrastructure of opposition to the push for corporate-defined markets and privatization. Attac's campaign urged a "no" vote, but it was not negative. Rather, it suggested that the constitution be rewritten to support development of "a Europe that is truly European, democratic, social, environmental."Attac's posters promised, "Another Europe is Possible!"
But why stop at Europe? Why not counter the big lie of the "end of history" fanatics with the big truth: Another World is Possible?
Thanks to the compromise agreement made possible by seven Democrats who collaborated with Republicans to end the Senate impasse over judicial nominations, Priscilla Owen will now join the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Four years of successful efforts by civil rights, women's rights, religious and consumer groups to prevent confirmation of the right-wing extremist were undone Wednesday, as the Senate voted 56-43 to confirm a nominee whose judicial activism on the Texas Supreme Court was so wreckless that another member of that court, Alberto Gonzalez, who now serves as the nation's attorney general, referred to her actions as "unconscionable."
The final vote broke along partisan lines. Fifty-three Republicans and two Democrat, Louisiana's Mary Landrieu and West Virginia's Robert Byrd, voted to confirm Owen. Forty-one Democrats, one Republican, Lincoln Chaffee of Rhode Island, and one Independent, Vermont's Jim Jeffords, voted against confirmation.
Those numbers are significant because they show that Democrats had the 40 votes that were needed to sustain a filibuster against Owen.
That means that, had Democrats held firm and forced moderate Republicans to reject the unpopular "nuclear option" that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, was attempting to impose on the Senate, Owen might very well have been kept off the court. National polls showed that an overwhelming majority of Americans opposed the "nuclear option," which Frist hoped to use to bar filibusters of even the most objectionable of the Bush administration's nominees. A number of moderate Republicans had indicated that they were uncomfortable with the majority leader's scheme to rewrite Senate rules, and there was at least a reasonable chance that a coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans could have preserved the ability of the minority party to block extremist nominees. Unfortunately, in return for the agreement to put the "nuclear option" on hold, seven moderate Democrats agreed to allow confirmation votes on at least three blocked appeals court nominees.
Owen's confirmation on Wednesday represents the first of what are likely to be many confirmations of extreme, unqualified and ethically-dubious nominees for seats on appeals court benches that have traditionally been the last hope of low-income Americans, people of color and women for justice. Equal justice concerns are of particular significance in the case of the Fifth Circuit, which includes Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and is home to the highest percentage of minority residents of any circuit in the country. Yet, with the compromise agreement on the "nuclear option," most Senate Democrats abandoned the filibuster and cleared the way for Owen -- whose nomination was opposed by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches -- to take her place on that bench.
As disappointing as the collapse of conscience on the part of most Democrats has been, however, it is important to remember that 18 members of the opposition caucus held firm against the compromise of principles. Those senators -- Democrats Joe Biden of Delaware, Barbara Boxer of California, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Jon Corzine of New Jersey, Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Chris Dodd of Connecticut, Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Carl Levin of Michigan, Blanche Lambert Lincoln of Arkansas, Patty Murray of Washington, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Paul Sarbanes of Maryland, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, and Jeffords -- refused to vote for the cloture motion that shut down the filibuster option and cleared the way for Owen's confirmation.
Feingold was blunt in his dismissal of claims that the deal that has put Owen on the appeals court represented a legitimate compromise. "There was no effort to reach a real compromise that would take into account the concerns of all parties. A compromise at the point of a gun is not a compromise. That, I'm afraid, is what we had," explained the Judiciary Committee member.
"I strongly opposed the threat of the nuclear option," he said. "I believe this was an illegitimate tactic, a partisan abuse of power that was a threat to the Senate as an institution and to the country. Attempting to blackmail the minority into giving up the rights that have been part of the Senate's traditions and practices for centuries was a new low for a majority that has repeatedly been willing to put party over principle. Unfortunately, the blackmail was partially successful. The end result is that (Owen and other) nominees who don't deserve lifetime appointments to the judiciary will now be confirmed."
As the showdown on the so-called "nuclear option" approached, polls showed that the American people opposed scheming on the part of Senate GOP leaders to eliminate judicial filibusters by an overwhelming 2-to-1 margin.
Even among grassroots Republicans, there was broad discomfort with the idea of creating a tyranny-of-the-majority scenario in which the minority party in the Senate would no longer be consulted regarding lifetime appointments to the federal courts.
So there were plenty Republican senators who were looking for a way out of the corner into which Senate majority leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., had maneuvered them. Democrats simply needed to hold the line, while attracting Republicans who were uncomfortable with Frist's machinations, and they could have secured the will of the people.
Unfortunately, the Democrats buckled. So Republicans will get the votes they want on at least three federal appeals court nominees who should not be allowed on the bench.
Under a compromise worked out by moderate Republicans and Democrats, the "nuclear option" has been averted for the time being -- and perhaps permanently.
But in return for that concession by the Republicans, the Democrats have agreed to allow confirmation votes on three judicial nominations that had been blocked: Janice Rogers Brown, William Pryor Jr. and Priscilla Owen. The trio were among the ten appeals court nominees whose records of judicial activism, ideological rigidity and ethical misdeeds were so troubling that a substantial number of senators felt they ought not be given lifetime tenures on key appellate court benches.
It now appears that confirmation is all but certain for the nominees: That's bad news for Americans in general and, in particular, for low-income citizens, people of color and women who look to the nation's highest courts for a measure of protection against discrimination and other forms of government-sanctioned abuse.
Brown, who has been nominated to serve on the powerful US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, has condemned the New Deal, which gave the United States Social Security, the minimum wage and fair labor laws. She has expressed doubts about whether age discrimination laws are a good idea. And she has made it clear that she is no fan of affirmative action or other programs designed to help minorities and women overcome centuries of oppression.
Pryor, while serving as attorney general of Alabama, fought to undermine the authority of Congress to prohibit discrimination and to protect the environment, to maintain separation of church and state, to protect reproductive freedom and to guarantee equal protection under the law for gay men and lesbians. He has been nominated to serve on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Owen, who has been nominated to serve on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, established a record on the Texas Supreme Court of unswerving loyalty to corporate interests. She has, in addition, adopted such extreme antiabortion rights stances that even her fellow conservatives, including Alberto Gonzalez, who was then a Supreme Court justice but now servers as US Attorney General, have distanced themselves from her.
All three nominees have drawn broad opposition from civil rights, women's rights, public interest, religious, environmental and labor groups. None of them should ever be allowed anywhere near an appeals court bench. Yet it is likely that, as a result of the deal worked out by the moderate senators, all three will soon be donning the robes of the federal judiciary.
This "compromise" may have averted the "nuclear option" for a time. But it will saddle the federal bench with more bad judges.
That's a bad deal, especially when there is such overwhelming public sentiment for maintaining the right of senators to block inappropriate judicial nominees. Democrats were right to oppose Brown, Pryor and Owen. They will come to regret cutting the deal to let these unacceptable nominees -- and the others who are now sure to be nominated by the Bush Administration -- to be approved.
Bill Moyers says that journalists have a responsibility to question those in power.
Rush Limbaugh, speaking for the economic and political elites that currently occupy positions of authority, responds by charging that Moyers is "insane."
A debate has opened regarding the role of reporting in George W. Bush's America. But this debate is about a great deal more than one president or one moment in history. At the most fundamental level, it is about whether the American experiment as imagined by the most visionary of its founders can long endure.
Moyers set the stage at the National Conference for Media Reform last week, where he delivered a call for the redemption of American journalism. Though he was appearing less than a week after it had been revealed that the Bush administration ally who chairs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting had waged a secret campaign to drive him off the air, the former host of PBS's "NOW" program was calm and collected. The winner of thirty Emmy Awards reflected upon his own work and that of his colleagues on "NOW." But his real purpose was to defend the craft of journalism against the battering it has taken from those who believe reporters should be little more than stenographers to power. At a time when too many prominent journalists have accepted the diminished standards that their critics would impose upon them, Moyers raged against the dying of the light -- not so much for himself as for the Republic that will not stand without a free, skeptical and courageous press.
"We're seeing unfold a contemporary example of the age-old ambition of power and ideology to squelch and punish journalists who tell the stories that make princes and priests uncomfortable," Moyers explained to the 2,300 journalists, academics and activists who had gathered in St. Louis.
Moyers proceeded to describe the behind-the-scenes pressure that CPB board chair Ken Tomlinson and other White House allies exerted in a campaign to get the NOW team to trim its sails. The "crime" committed by Moyers and his crew was not one of liberal bias, as became evident when the former host of the program described the ideological diversity of the guests on NOW, read a letter praising the show from conservative Congressman Ron Paul, R-Texas, and recalled the support it had received from the widow of a New York City firefighter who died at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Rather, Moyers explained, "One reason I'm in hot water is because my colleagues and I at NOW didn't play by the conventional rules of Beltway journalism. Those rules divide the world into Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and allow journalists to pretend they have done their job if, instead of reporting the truth behind the news, they merely give each side an opportunity to spin the news."
The former White House aide, newspaper publisher, author and documentary filmmaker committed the cardinal sin of the contemporary moment: he practiced the craft of journalism as the authors of the "freedom of the press" protection in the Bill of Rights intended -- without fear or favor, unbought and unbossed, and in the service of the public interest rather than the private demands of the economically and politically powerful. Such trangressions are punished as severely in George W. Bush's America as they were in the America that was ruled by another, equally regal George 230 years ago. And just as King George III had henchmen who attacked the rebels against his rule, so the contemporary King George has his Tories. Chief among them is Limbaugh, the bombastic radio personality whose microphone is always at the ready for a denunciation of those who dare suggest that the emperor has no clothes.
No one polices the discourse more aggressively than Limbaugh.
So when word got out that Moyers was telling the American people that they should expect more from their media than a slurry of celebrity gossip and propaganda, there was hell to pay.
Typically, Limbaugh did not attack the substance of Moyers's remarks. Rather, the viscount of viciousness devoted a substantial portion of his nationally-syndicated radio program Thursday to claiming that Moyers had come "unhinged" and that, "The things coming out of his mouth today are literally insane." The most self-absorbed personality in America media -- who regularly declares that he's got "talent on loan from God" and says, "I'm doing what I was born to do. That's host. You're doing what you were born to do. That's listen." -- even went so far as to suggest that Moyers had a messiah complex.
So agitated was Limbaugh that he attacked another speaker at the media-reform conference, Newspaper Guild President Linda Foley -- in Limbaugh parlance, "this Linda Foley babe" -- for expressing concern about the killing of journalists in Iraq. And, for good measure, he closed off his rant by claiming that the millions of Americans who are demanding a more civic and democratic media are "off their rockers" and dismissing the notion of reforming the media as "an oxymoron."
It would be easy to counter Limbaugh by climbing down into the gutter of character assassination and recycled Washington spin with the nation's No. 1 peddler of those commodities. Whole books been written regarding Limbaugh's personal and professional foibles.
But this is not about Limbaugh. After all, it's not as if he speaks for himself. When the economic and political elites of the nation says "Jump!" Limbaugh response has always been an enthusiastic, "How high?" And never does he jump higher or quicker than when he is going for the throat of someone who has committed the sin of telling the American people that there is more to a broadcast than talking points and cheerleading for those who refuse to play fair. Of course, Limbaugh thought Moyers was nuts. Limbaugh has been bending the facts for so long that he, undoubtedly, believes that trying to get them straight is madness.
This places him very much at odds with Moyers, who wants the American people to know that there is a reason why they get so little useful information from their radio programs and the nightly reports on network television.
Thus, the best counter to Limbaugh is not an attack on the radio babbler, but rather a return to the high ground with Moyers.
Let Limbaugh bellow, like the Wizard of Oz when he was trying to keep his machinery hidden. Moyers is pulling the curtain away and telling the American people what is wrong with the "rules of the game" by which so much of today's so-called "journalism" is practiced.
"These 'rules of the game' permit Washington officials to set the agenda for journalism, leaving the press all too often simply to recount what officials say instead of subjecting their words and deeds to critical scrutiny. Instead of acting as filters for readers and viewers, sifting the truth from the propaganda, reporters and anchors attentively transcribe both sides of the spin, invariably failing to provide context, background or any sense of which claims hold up and which are misleading," Moyers explained last week.
"I decided long ago that this wasn't healthy for democracy. I came to see that 'news is what people want to keep hidden and everything else is publicity.' In my documentaries -- whether on the Watergate scandals 30 years ago or the Iran-Contra conspiracy 20 years ago or Bill Clinton's fundraising scandals 10 years ago or, five years ago, the chemical industry's long and despicable cover-up of its cynical and unspeakable withholding of critical data about its toxic products from its workers -- I realized that investigative journalism could not be a collaboration between the journalist and the subject. Objectivity is not satisfied by two opposing people offering competing opinions, leaving the viewer to split the difference. I came to believe that objective journalism means describing the object being reported on, including the little fibs and fantasies as well as the Big Lie of the people in power. In no way does this permit journalists to make accusations and allegations. It means, instead, making sure that your reporting and your conclusions can be nailed to the post with confirming evidence. This is always hard to do, but it has never been harder than today. Without a trace of irony, the powers-that-be have appropriated the newspeak vernacular of George Orwell's 1984. They give us a program vowing 'No Child Left Behind,' while cutting funds for educating disadvantaged kids. They give us legislation cheerily calling for 'Clear Skies' and 'Healthy Forests' that give us neither. And that's just for starters."
The difference between Limbaugh and Moyers is as profound as the difference between FOX and PBS. One man plays by the "rules of the game," the other sticks to principle. One man defends a corrupt status quo, the other seeks to expose it. One is a master propagandist, the other wants to break the stranglehold of "The Big Lie." One fears the damage done by the practice of journalism, the other knows that great journalism is the essential element in the making of great nations. One is a Tory who serves his King George, the other is a rebel against the throne.
It is not a fair fight. On one side are Limbaugh and his Tories, with all of their economic and political might. On the other are Moyers and his media reformers, with only the truth -- and the echo of Tom Paine crying across the centuries: "O Ye that love mankind! Ye that dares oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth!"
Norm Coleman is a fool.
Not an ideological nut case, not a partisan whack, not even a useful idiot -- just a plain old-fashioned, drool-on-his-tie fool.
The Minnesota Republican senator who took Paul Wellstone's seat after one of the most disreputable campaigns in American political history has been trying over the past year to make a name for himself by blowing the controversy surrounding the United Nations Oil-for-Food program into something more than the chronicle of corporate abuse that it is. The US media, which thrives on official sound bites, was more than willing to lend credence to Coleman's overblown claims about wrongdoing in the UN program set up in 1996 to permit Iraq -- which was then under strict international sanctions -- to buy food, medicine and humanitarian supplies with the revenues from regulated oil sales. Even as Coleman's claims became more and more fantastic, he faced few challenges from the cowering Democrats in Congress.
But when Coleman started slandering foreign politicians, he exposed the dramatic vulnerability of his claims that the supposed scandal was much more than a blatant example of US corporations taking advantage of their powerful connections in Washington to undermine official US policy, harm the national interest and profit off the suffering of the poor.
The Senate investigation that Coleman sought regarding the Oil for Food program has already revealed that the Bush Administration failed to crack down on widespread abuse of the Oil for Food program by US energy companies, and that US oil purchases accounted for the majority of the kickbacks paid to Saddam Hussein's regime in return for sales of inexpensive oil. Indeed, the report concludes, "The United States (government) was not only aware of Iraqi oil sales which violated UN sanctions and provided the bulk of the illicit money Saddam Hussein obtained from circumventing UN sanctions. On occasion, the United States actually facilitated the illicit oil sales."
Instead of forcing the President, his aides and the executives of Bayoil, the Texas oil company that the report shows paid "at least $37 million in illegal surcharges to the Hussein regime" -- money that helped the Iraqi dictator solidify his grip on power -- Coleman started to make wild charges about European officials such as British parliamentarian George Galloway.
The problem for Coleman is that Galloway is not a standard-issue American politician -- the kind who has nothing to say and says it poorly. He is a veteran of the rough-and-tumble politics of Glasgow and the equally rough-and-tumble politics of the British Parliament. In other words, Galloway comes from places where voters and politicians do not suffer fools. And anyone who has ever followed British politics knows that George Galloway has beaten every political challenge he has faced -- even those posed by British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Galloway called Coleman's bluff and flew to Washington for a remarkable appearance before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "I am determined now that I am here, to be not the accused but the accuser," Galloway announced as he stood outside the Capitol Tuesday. "These people are involved in the mother of all smokescreens."
The member of Parliament tore through Coleman's flimsy "evidence," issuing an unequivocal denial that began, "Mr. Chairman, I am not now, nor have I ever been an oil trader, and neither has anyone been on my behalf. I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one, and neither has anybody on my behalf." He accused Coleman of being "remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice" and pointed out error after error in the report the senator had brandished against him.
For instance, Galloway noted that he had met Saddam twice -- not the "many" times alleged by the report. "As a matter of fact I have met Saddam Hussein exactly the same number of times that [Secretary of Defense] Donald Rumsfeld met him," said the recently re-elected British parliamentarian. "The difference is that Donald Rumsfeld met him to sell him guns."
For good measure, Galloway used the forum Coleman had foolishly provided to deliver a blistering condemnation of Coleman's war.
"Now, Senator, I gave my heart and soul to oppose the policy that you promoted. I gave my political life's blood to try to stop the mass killing of Iraqis by the sanctions on Iraq which killed one million Iraqis, most of them children, most of them died before they even knew that they were Iraqis, but they died for no other reason other than that they were Iraqis with the misfortune to born at that time. I gave my heart and soul to stop you committing the disaster that you did commit in invading Iraq. And I told the world that your case for the war was a pack of lies," Galloway informed the fool on Capitol Hill.
"I told the world that Iraq, contrary to your claims, did not have weapons of mass destruction. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to Al Qaeda. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that Iraq had no connection to the atrocity on 9/11, 2001. I told the world, contrary to your claims, that the Iraqi people would resist a British and American invasion of their country and that the fall of Baghdad would not be the beginning of the end but merely the end of the beginning.
"Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong, and 100,000 people paid with their lives; 1,600 of them American soldiers sent to their deaths on a pack of lies; 15,000 of them wounded, many of them disabled forever on a pack of lies.
"If the world had listened to [UN Secretary General] Kofi Annan, whose dismissal you demanded, if the world had listened to [French] President Chirac, who you want to paint as some kind of corrupt traitor, if the world had listened to me and the antiwar movement in Britain, we would not be in the disaster that we are in today. Senator, this is the mother of all smokescreens. You are trying to divert attention from the crimes that you supported, from the theft of billions of dollars of Iraq's wealth," argued Galloway.
Then the Brit turned the tables on Coleman and steered the committee's attention toward "the real Oil for Food scandal."
"Have a look at the fourteen months you were in charge of Baghdad, the first fourteen months when $8.8 billion of Iraq's wealth went missing on your watch. Have a look at Halliburton and other American corporations that stole not only Iraq's money but the money of the American taxpayer," Galloway said.
"Have a look at the oil that you didn't even meter, that you were shipping out of the country and selling, the proceeds of which went who knows where. Have a look at the $800 million you gave to American military commanders to hand out around the country without even counting it or weighing it. Have a look at the real scandal breaking in the newspapers today, revealed in the earlier testimony in this committee. That the biggest sanctions busters were not me or Russian politicians or French politicians. The real sanctions busters were your own companies with the connivance of your own Government."
(John Nichols's new book, Against the Beast: A Documentary History of American Opposition to Empire (Nation Books), was published January 30. Howard Zinn says, "At exactly the time when we need it most, John Nichols gives us a special gift -- a collection of writings, speeches, poems and songs from throughout American history -- that reminds us that our revulsion to war and empire has a long and noble tradition in this country." Frances Moore Lappé calls Against the Beast "brilliant! A perfect book for an empire in denial." Against the Beast can be found at independent bookstores nationwide and can be obtained online by tapping the above reference or at www.amazon.com.)
Bill Moyers is not taking attacks by Bush Administration allies on public broadcasting in general and his journalism in particular sitting down.
"I should put my detractors on notice," declared the veteran journalist who stepped down in January as the host of PBS's NOW With Bill Moyers, who recently turned 70. "They might compel me out of the rocking chair and into the anchor chair."
Moyers closed the National Conference on Media Reform in St. Louis on Sunday with his first public response to the revelation that White House allies on the board of directors of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have secretly been holding PBS in general -- and his show in particular -- to a partisan litmus test.
"I simply never imagined that any CPB chairman, Democrat or Republican, would cross the line from resisting White House pressure to carrying it out for the White House. And that's what (CPB chair) Kenneth Tomlinson has been doing."
Recalling former President Richard Nixon's failed attempt to cut the funding for public broadcasting in the early 1970s, Moyers said, "I always knew that Nixon would be back -- again and again. I just didn't know that this time he would ask to be the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."
That was a pointed reference to Tomlinson, a Republican Party stalwart, who contracted with an outside consultant to monitor Moyers's weekly news program for signs of what Tomlinson and his allies perceived to be liberal bias. Moyers ridiculed the initiative first by reading off a long list of conservatives who had appeared on NOW, then by reading a letter from conservative US Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) praising the show, and finally by noting that Tomlinson had paid a former Bush White House aide $10,000 to do the monitoring.
"He spent $10,000 of your money to hire a guy to watch NOW to find out who my guests and stories were, $10,000!" Moyers exclaimed. "Gee, Ken, for $2.50 a week you can pick up a copy of TV Guide on the newsstand. A subscription is even cheaper, and I would have sent you a coupon that can save you up to 62 percent! Or for that matter, Ken, all you had to do was watch the show! You could have made it easier with a double Jim Beam -- your favorite -- mine too! (We had some things in common.) Or you could go online where the listings are posted. Hell, Ken, you could have called me collect and I would have told you who we were having on the show!"
Moyers said he wasn't buying Tomlinson's claim that the results of the monitoring were not being released to protect PBS's image. "Where I come from in Texas, we shovel that stuff every day," said the man who came to Washington as a press aide to former President Lyndon Johnson and was present when the Public Broadcasting Act was written in the 1960s.
Moyers revealed to the crowd of 2,000 media reform activists that he had written Tomlinson on Friday, suggesting that the pair appear on a PBS program to discuss the controversy. He also revealed that he had tried three times to meet with the full CPB board but had been refused. Expressing his sense that the board had "crossed the line from resisting White House pressure to carrying it out," Moyers said, "I would like to give Mr. Tomlinson the benefit of the doubt, but I can't."
The man who has won thirty Emmy Awards for his hosting of various PBS programs was blunt about his critics. "They've been after me for years now and I am sure they will be stomping on my grave after I'm dead," he said. As the laughter from the crowd of 2,300 media reform activists quieted, however, he added, "I should remind them that one of our boys made it out 2,000 years ago."
Moyers was even blunter about why he thought Tomlinson and other allies of the Administration were so determined to knock his groundbreaking news program off the air and to replace it with more conservative fare such as a weekly roundtable discussion featuring Wall Street Journal editorial page staffers, joking that "I thought public television was supposed to be an alternative to commercial media, not a funder of it." Speaking of the investigative reporting NOW did on everything from the war in Iraq to offshore tax havens and ownership of the media, Moyers said, "Our reporting was giving the radical right fits because it wasn't the party line."
"The more compelling our journalism, the angrier the radical right of the Republican Party gets," he explained. "That's because the one thing they loathe more than liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them as liberal is to tell the truth."
The broadcasting giant was greeted with cheers when he declared that "the quality of our media and the quality of our democracy are intertwined." But the loudest applause of the day came in response to his invitation to the crowd to join him in the fight to "take public broadcasting back from threats, from interference."
"It is," Moyers said, "a worthy goal."
Moyers has endorsed a call by Free Press, Common Cause, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union and Media Access Project for town hall meetings nationwide that would allow Americans to speak directly to PBS station managers and policymakers.
That call came in the context of a broader appeal for media reforms and a fight against manipulation of the news not just by this administration but by all of the forces that would use the media to lull Americans into civic unconsciousness.
"Hear me," Moyers said, "An unconscious people, an indoctrinated people, a people fed only partisan information and opinion that confirm their own bias, a people made morbidly obese in mind and spirit by the junk food of propaganda is less inclined to put up a fight -- ask questions and be skeptical. And just as a democracy can die of too many lies, that kind of orthodoxy can kill us, too."
Click here to read the speech in its entirety.
A video of Bill Moyer's speech is available at http://www.freepress.net/conference/audio05/freepress-closing40515.mov
An audio recording can be downloaded at http://www.freepress.net/conference/audio05/moyers.mp3
(John Nichols is a co-founder of Free Press, the national media reform network that organized the National Conference on Media Reform.)
The first National Conference on Media Reform was held 18 months ago in Madison, Wisconsin. That conference, which drew 1,800 people from across the country and around the world, was a remarkable event in itself. But it was even more remarkable for the movement it helped advance to a new and dramatically more muscular stage.
After years of complaining as the media of the country consolidated and conglomerated into a corporate whole that was less than the sum of its parts, and where civic and democratic values were replaced by the commercial and entertainment demands of a corporate bottom line, twin streams of media critique and media activism exploded into a media reform movement that demanded fundamental changes in the way our media companies operate.
Suddenly, as journalist Bill Moyers suggested at that conference in November 2003, the fight was on "for a media system that serves as effectively as it sells – one that holds all the institutions of society, itself included, accountable."
Moyers urged the activists who gathered in Madison in 2003 to "reach out to regular citizens."
"We have to raise an even bigger tent than you have here," he told the crowd that packed a downtown theater on that Saturday night. "Those of us in this place speak a common language about the 'media.' We must reach the audience that's not here –- carry the fight to radio talk shows, local television, and the letters columns of our newspapers. (We) must engage the mainstream, not retreat from it. We have to get our fellow citizens to understand that what they see, hear, and read is not only the taste of programmers and producers but also a set of policy decisions made by the people we vote for."
That has begun to happen. Reformers are winning real battles: blocking moves by the Federal Communications Commission to allow big media companies to grow even bigger, successfully challenging efforts by telephone companies to prevent communities from developing low-cost broadband internet services, forcing the federal government to stop pouring taxpayer dollars into the production of "fake news" video releases.
But the real work of opening up the media to more voices, and to the sort of discourse that is worthy of a great democracy, has only just begun.
This weekend, in St. Louis, the second National Conference on Media Reform will convene with more activists, more energy and more focus. Moyers will be back, along with Patti Smith, Al Franken, Naomi Klein, Amy Goodman, Phil Donahue, U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders and U.S. Rep. Diane Watson, D-California.
These are exciting times for a movement that, while young, is showing signs of the strength that Moyers said it would have to develop.
The struggle to repair the dangerously dysfunctional media system that tells us more about Michael Jackson's trial than about the truth of what is going on in Iraq will be a long and difficult one.
But this fight is on, and it is a fight we dare not lose -- as it is a struggle for nothing less than the future of freedom of the press and our very democracy.
(John Nichols is a co-founder with Robert W. McChesney of Free Press, the media reform network that has organzied the national conferences.)
The labor movement is not about one individual or one moment in time. It goes on, regardless. But there are some individuals who rise through the ranks of the movement at the right moment and define it – or, as was the case with Miguel Contreras, redefine it. The tireless chief of Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, whose death Friday from a heart attack at age 52 shocked union activists in California and across the country, transformed a struggling local coalition into a dynamic force for economic justice and political change.
At a time when the national AFL-CIO was only beginning to recognize the need to reach out to the immigrant workers who were fast becoming the backbone of the hotel, restaurant, health care and construction industries, Contreras put the Los Angeles federation in the forefront of campaigns to organize Latino and Asian-American workers. And he turned those newly-organized workers, and their families and neighbors, into a voting bloc with the potential to change not just Los Angeles county but California.
The son of migrant laborers who was drawn into the union movement by Cesar Chavez, Contreras took over the Los Angeles County Federation in 1996, when its member unions had about 650,000 members. Today, they have more than 800,000. The incredible growth of the LA Fed under Contreras's leadership was noticed quickly, and his ideas about organizing immigrants and flexing political muscle inspired activists nationwide. "People across the country look at LA as a model of success," Anna Burger, of the Service Employees International Union, a key ally of Contreras, told the Los Angeles Times.
Contreras took his hits at home – most recently when the LA Fed endorsed Mayor James Hahn, a centrist Democrat, for reelection over City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, a former union organizer and long-time ally of the labor leader. Other politicians objected when Contreras backed a successful challenge by progressive Hilda Solis to incumbent US Representative Marty Martinez in a 2000 Democratic primary. Unions usually back Democratic incumbents, but Martinez had broken with labor on trade issues and Contreras made no apologies. "We're sick and tired of Democrats who come in and tell us they want our endorsement and then go off to Sacramento or Washington and vote against the interests of our members," Contreras told me in 2000. "We've lifted the bar for endorsements. It's not enough to say you're for a minimum-wage increase and expect our backing. We want candidates who make a commitment to be with us on every vote, and to be with us on the picket lines."
Members of Congress who accept labor's backing needed, Contreras said, "to be warriors for workers."
At a time when many Democrats were still voting with the Republican leadership of the House and the corporate lobbies in favor of free-trade legislation, the willingness of Contreras and the LA Fed to punish a veteran House member who did so was important. Equally important was Contreras's willingness to come to Capitol Hill and explain to Democrats and Republicans that Latinos did not want them backing free-trade deals that harmed workers in the US and in Latin American countries. His presence on the hill helped to dispel the corporate spin that suggested Latino workers in the US were enthusiastic about free-trade deals with Mexico and the rest of Latin America.
When US Representative Jane Harmon, a Los Angeles County Democrat whose record on trade issues has sometimes been shaky, announced last month that she would oppose the Central American Free Trade Agreement now being considered by Congress, Contreras was at her side. He explained that the trade deal would hurt workers, family farmers and the environment in the US "while enriching and empowering corporate elites."
Contreras was in the forefront of the campaign against CAFTA, explaining that, "Ten years of NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement) has proven a complete failure for workers and the LA economy, destroying 30,000 manufacturing jobs here in LA and more than 200,000 jobs statewide. A vote for CAFTA shows contempt for working people and their families. Clearly we must forge ahead with a new approach to international trade."
When the fight over CAFTA is decided by Congress, more than a few of the "no" votes will come from members who were personally lobbied by Miguel Contreras. Indeed, if CAFTA is beaten, as it may well be, that will be one of the many legacies of this "warrior for the workers."


text:
3-Year-Old Genius Needs The Bathroom
Just because you're a 3-year-old genius doesn't mean you can't tell America you need to take a dump.
This post was created by a user and has not been vetted or endorsed by BuzzFeed's editorial staff. BuzzFeed Community is a place where anyone can post awesome lists and creations. Learn more or post your buzz!
Preview Your Response

subset: commoncrawl


text:
FCB-- Lots of people around here have been advocating trading Kearns and/or Lopez for a LONG time. I for one, have been on record as having said I'd like almost ANY decent pitching in return for those two.But then, I'm not someone who routinely impugns the players the Reds ship out and blindly praises those who come back to the fold. I judge each on his merits and liabilities. Then I try to reach a conclusion--not the other way around.
What we're seeing is a typical phenomenom of sports fans-- vastly overrating what they've got.
Do me a favor: Take all outfielders on major league rosters right now-- rank them from 1st to last--- then tell me where Kearns fits in.
Now, rank all middle relievers from 1st to last. I guarantee you that Majewski and Bray will rank higher on that list than Kearns will on his.


text:
AS Roma coach Zdenek Zeman has blasted want-away goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg.
Stekelenburg slammed Zeman and the club this week, claiming it was "completely pointless" to sign Mauro Goicoechea in the summer.
"I think it was an inopportune interview with many things he got wrong. He is still a Roma player and must be at the disposal of Roma. Don't forget after the Parma game he was injured for a month," replied Zeman in a Press conference.
"Unfortunately when there is a lack of discipline, there is a lack of team spirit. It is difficult to work at Roma, especially as journalists tend to write about incidents that occur behind closed doors. We've got no rules at the moment and every now and then something happens that shouldn't."


text:
Today's Stories: Hurst Capital expresses interest in Hostess, St. Armands parking fixes, Siesta mowing woes continue, Thanksgiving recipes and Popcorn Bob!
County government offices will be closed Thursday, Nov. 22 and Friday, Nov. 23
Mixon Fruit Farms held its annual Harvest Festival on Nov. 16 through Nov. 18. Attendees browsed more than 70 arts-and-crafts booths, feasted on a variety of food — including Amish doughnuts — and enjoyed live musical and dance performances, rock climbing, bounce houses, tram tours through the orange grove and more.
With county approvals in hand, Lakewood Ranch CDD 2 is ready to close on land and financing for a new maintenance facility.
Three Lakewood Ranch men hope this year's food drive will be the most successful one yet.
Lakewood Ranch developer Rex Jensen sees an era of better relations between businesses and local government.
Winners, including Bob Delaney and Paul Hoffman, emphasize community in acceptance speeches.Â


text: Norwich City and Fulham laboured to a goalless draw at Carrow Road. While a point will edge both sides closer towards safely, there was little creative spark. The new Norwich signing Luciano Becchio, in for the injured captain Grant Holt who suffered a back spasm this morning, headed a couple of half-chances wide.


text:
More than 100 a year are rupturing as system ages, analysis of records finds
The city is under mandate from the state Department of Public Health to replace at least 10 miles of cast-iron water main per year, and the department says it is meeting its requirements.
The city has replaced about 51 miles of the most rupture-prone cast-iron pipes with PVC pipe since 2007, with 129 miles to go by 2017.
The city says its replacement schedule is fine and points out that the city's water loss is a tiny percentage of the billions of gallons it successfully delivers to customers every year.
"We have an aggressive and successful approach to maintaining the city's water infrastructure," said Alex Roth, spokesman for Mayor Jerry Sanders.
He noted San Diego's water-loss rate was 9.3 percent for the last fiscal year, lower than the national average of 14 percent for "unaccounted for" water. According to a city report, the rate for Phoenix was 5 percent; Philadelphia 31 percent; San Francisco was 9 percent.
Local environmental attorney Marco Gonzalez said just because other cities are losing a lot of water doesn't make it OK. "It is unfathomable that any city in the arid Southwest would see any amount of systemic water loss as acceptable," he said.
Bailey called water loss a very complicated and expensive problem with no single solution.
"We have replaced over 35,000 meters over the last four years. Unaccounted for water loss has remained the same," Bailey said. "What it says to me is there are many moving parts to this issue. ... Every leak we can detect we will fix. Every meter we'll fix. It cannot and will not guarantee there will not be leaks in the system."
Fisher said the city considers myriad factors when figuring out which mains to replace and when, such as pressure flows, the age of the pipe, the material of the pipe, complaints and break history.
City officials have calculated the cost of deferred maintenance and capital needs for streets to be about $840 million, but they have made no similar calculations for water infrastructure. The auditor's report said the department needs to "estimate deferred maintenance and unfunded needs" so that ratepayers are clear on consequences of deferring projects.
Members of the Independent Rate Oversight Committee, a citizens oversight committee, want the city to figure out a way to measure how good or bad the system really is, so council members and the public can make informed decisions on infrastructure improvements.
"We don't have a speedometer to say we're doing great or we're $500 million behind," said Jim Peugh, chairman of the committee. "It's not an easy thing to keep up with, but I think it's absolutely essential."
In addition to studying problems, the city has launched a pilot project with IBM to help detect leaks and better manage pressure in water pipes using new technology.
With software and additional high-tech meters, IBM is analyzing signals from meters from 2,200 homes and businesses in a pilot project in Paradise Mesa, east of downtown. Engineers apply algorithms to detect leaks.
IBM stands to gain if the pilot is successful. The company could end up selling the system to the city, which is paying nothing for the pilot.


text:
As 1,000 Maiden High School students walked to Tom Brown Stadium on Thursday, they quickly realized they weren't about to watch a football game.
Sure, they got out of class for school presentations at their stadium before, but they had never seen anything like this.
A man accused of killing three people and seriously injuring another was indicted on additional charges.
A Catawba County grand jury indicted Everette Hewitt, 32, on Monday for first-degree burglary and robbery with a deadly weapon.
Hewitt is already charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder with a deadly weapon and one count of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury.
Hewitt is currently in jail without bond.
Catawba County citizens are using words like "leader," "giant" and "go-getter" to remember a community icon who passed away earlier this week.
The Rev. Stanley Louis Stiver Jr., a pastor, community leader and avid collector of crosses died Monday at age 89 in Newton.
Stiver was a pastor for more than 60 years, spending 31 years of his
career at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Claremont.
Two Lenoir-Rhyne University graduates, a choir tour to Europe and a desire to make people laugh brought Natasha Fox and Laura Greene together.
Fox, 24, and Greene, 26, were part of a radio show at L-R where the pair liked to "goof off" while on the show.
"We wrote comedy and tried to be a comedy band," Fox said.
The girls noticed their comedy act wasn't working, so the pair opted for something more musical. In 2008, the group became known as A Furry Greene Fox.
A sinkhole opened on U.S. 70 SE in Hickory, and motorists should avoid the area if possible.
The sinkhole is on private and public property in the westbound lanes on U.S. 70 SE in front of Valley Hills Mall. Detours have been set up in the area, and if possible, motorists should avoid this area.
Hickory Police Department and Hickory Public Service crews are on the scene, and North Carolina Department of Transportation officials are on the way to assess the situation.


text:
19 September 2013 08:11 [Source: ICIS news]
SINGAPORE (ICIS)--Shares of major petrochemical firms were mostly higher on Thursday, tracking the jump seen in regional bourses, after the US Federal Reserve announced its intention to leave its stimulus programme unchanged.
The Fed announced late on Wednesday that they will not cut back on its $85bn (€63bn) bond-buying programme and delay its plan to taper down these measures.
By 14:42 Singapore time (08:42 GMT), Japanese producer Mitsui Chemicals was up by 1.03% while Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei rose by 1.27% and 1.61%, respectively. The key Nikkei 225 index was up by 1.88% at 14,766.18.
In Hong Kong, PetroChina was up by 1.6% while refining firm Sinopec rose by 1.47%. The Hang Seng Index was up by 1.58% at 23,483.08.
In southeast Asia, Malaysia's Petronas Chemicals Group was up by 0.44% while Thailand-based PTT Global Chemical (PTTGC) surged by 2.40%.
Stock markets in China, Taiwan and South Korea were closed on Thursday for the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.
($1 = €0.74)
For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.
Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.
|ICIS news FREE TRIAL
|Get access to breaking chemical news as it happens.
|ICIS Global Petrochemical Index (IPEX)
|ICIS Global Petrochemical Index (IPEX). Download the free tabular data and a chart of the historical index
Asian Chemical Connections


text:
Professionals Choice VenTECH Standing Wraps
An easy solution to equine wrapping, the Professional's Choice VenTECH™ Standing Wraps offer VenTECH™ technology. Plush poly fleece leg bandage with ventilated neoprene exterior and secure hook and loop closures are easy to use and comfortable for your horse.
VenTECH™ ventilated, limestone-based neoprene conforms to your horse, allows heat and moisture to escape, and keeps your horse cool and comfortable. Easy to apply, these wraps are great for treating injuries or strains and can be used for shipping.
Sold in pairs.
Customer Reviews
|Write a Review
|This product has not been rated by any customers. Be the first person to write a review of this product.
$75 Monthly Gift Certificate Prize and a $1000 Gift Certificate End of Year Grand Prize
If you own this product, please write a review for it. The Review should be helpful to other Shoppers and reflect your own experience with this product. Prizes awarded based on the quality of the review - positive or otherwise.
Shop all available Professional's Choice products
More For You
$15.95 - $22.95 $22.95
1 Closeout from $15.95
$0.35 $0.39
$17.96 - $18.86
$17.95 - $24.95 $24.95
2 Closeouts from $17.95
- Company Info
- About Equestrian Collections
- About our Website
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
- Customer Testimonials
- eCatalogs
- Home
- Rewards Program
- Join the Mount Up to Rewards Program
- Rewards for You
- Affiliate Program
- Become an Equestrian Collections Affiliate
- Sponsorships & Fundraising
- Terms of Use
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Use
- Help
- My Account
- Order Tracking
- Returns and Exchanges
- Shipping Info
- Sitemap
- We Care
- Eco-Conscious Products
- No Paper Catalogs - Save Trees
- Customer Service
- Toll Free: (877) 872-4415
- Help Section
- Contact Us


text:
Bernanke personal bank account struck by ID theft
WASHINGTON No one is safe from identity theft, not even the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Ben Bernanke's personal checking account became entangled in an elaborate identity-theft scheme after his wife Anna's purse was stolen last August at a Capitol Hill Starbucks. According to a District of Columbia police report, it contained her Social Security card, checkbook, credit cards and IDs.
It's not been revealed how much money was stolen from the Bernankes' account. But someone started cashing checks on their bank account just days after the purse was stolen from her chair. The thefts helped fuel an ongoing investigation into a sophisticated ring.
Losses from the fraud totaled more than $2.1 million and involved at least 10 financial institutions, court document said. Clyde Austin Gray Jr. of Waldorf, Md., a suspected ringleader in the scheme, pleaded guilty on July 22 in Alexandria, Va., federal court.
The banks bore primary responsibility for the losses and the victims' accounts, including the Bernankes, were most likely made whole.
"Identity theft is a serious crime that affects millions of Americans each year," Bernanke said in a statement. "Our family was but one of 500 separate instances traced to one crime ring. I am grateful for the law enforcement officers who patiently and diligently work to solve and prevent these financial crimes."
Prosecutors wrote that Gray hired pick pockets then made counterfeit IDs for the participants. The coconspirators conducted the bank transactions, and Gray took a cut of the proceeds.
At least one check from the Bernanke account for $900 was deposited Aug. 13, 2008, into the account of another identity theft victim at a Bank of America branch in suburban Maryland, according to an affidavit filed in D.C. Superior Court. Authorities alleged that George L. Reid, 41, of Washington, cashed checks that day amounting to at least $9,000 in a string of transactions after the fake deposits inflated the related account balances.
Bank of America spokeswoman Tara Burke said Thursday, "We're looking into it. We're still gathering facts."
Brian Lapidus, an identity theft expert with Kroll Fraud Solutions, said it's not unusual to hear of high-ranking officials caught up by identity theft. His firm has worked with celebrities, senators and others who have been victims.
"To an identity thief, we're all just names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth," Lapidus said. "Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in America."
Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearing House in San Diego, agreed, saying some Fortune 500 executives have been targeted because they have considerable financial resources. Still, she said, the Bernanke case sounds unique.
"I find this case interesting because it's a crime ring engaged in activities that have been primarily the purview of petty individual criminals – purse snatching," she said.
Ten defendants, including Reid, have been identified in the investigation conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Secret Service and D.C. police. The scheme involved using stolen IDs, bank records, personal checks and other items to impersonate victims at bank branches, according to an affidavit signed by Postal Inspector William J. Aiello.


text:
OK, I know this is a bit of a frankenstack, but I am running JRuby on Rails, and I'm relatively new to both. I'm seeing some behavior that I can't understand, and I'd like to know if I'm doing something wrong or if its a problem with my stack. The basic issue is that it appears that my class attributes are being reinitialized, something that I wouldn't expect to ever happen.
Here's essentially my code
class MyController < ActionController::Base
cattr_accessor :an_attr
before_filter :init_an_attr
def init_an_attr
if @@an_attr.nil?
@@an_attr = {}
# do some other stuff here
The problem lies in the fact that every time init_an_attr is called, the condition on the if evaluates to true, and I end up reassigning @@an_attr.
Is that the expected behavior? If so can you explain why, because to me, the assignment should only happen once.


text:
Our Members Say
- gmg61
- Reviews: 408
Moivaro Lodges and Tented Camp: Good place to rest near Lake Natron
This is a good place to rest and visit the beautiful surroundings: Lake Natron, savanna, flamingos, giraffes, wildlife.
They have space for tents ($ 15), fly tents ($25) and lodges ($ 40).
They have power generators with backup so that you can have electricity almost all day long.
There is fresh water in the lodges coming from the nearby sources; not good for drinking but suitable for showers).
There is also a bar and a restaurant, with great view on the lake's plain
Very peaceful place and comfortable.
The camp is located on Maasai land and shares the revenues with local people. Many of the workers are also Maasai.
It's located in the real wildlife: giraffes, antelopes, camels and flamingos are around, and monkeys live inside the area. Very peaceful yet scenic place.
- Bonobo2005
- Reviews: 922
Lake Natron Camp
There's not much choice besides camping.
A protected campsite is situated just couple a km's from the Lake at the Ngare Sero river close to the falls.
This basic site is a community initiative run by local Maasai-tribespeople.
Take a cool bath in the river!
Sort by: Most recent | Most helpful
- 1
Sponsored Listings
Instant Answers: Lake Natron
Get an instant answer from local experts and frequent travelers


text:
|Division E: Transportation, Communications, Electric, Gas, And Sanitary Services
|Major Group 46: Pipelines, Except Natural Gas
Industry Group 461: Pipelines, Except Natural Gas
4612 Crude Petroleum Pipelines
Establishments primarily engaged in the pipeline transportation of crude petroleum. Field gathering lines are classified in Mining, Major Group 13.
[ SIC Search | Division Structure | Major Group Structure ]


text:
LUSH Lemony Flutter
340 reviews
81% would repurchase
Package Quality: 3.9
Price: $$$
Package Quality: 3.9
Price: $$$
INGREDIENTSQuantitative Ingredients * Fresh Lemon Infusion (Citrus limonum), * Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii), * Beeswax (Cera alba), * Lanolin, * Soya Oil (Glycine Soja), * Cold Pressed Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima), * Cold Pressed Flaxseed Oil (Linum usitatissimum), * Mango Butter (Mangifera indica), * Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, * Castor Oil (Ricinus communis), * Perfume, * Cold Pressed Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare), * Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), * Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), * Tagettes Oil (Tagetes glandulifera), * Chamomile Oil (Anthemis nobilis), * Sodium Borate, * Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), * *Citral, * Geraniol, * *Citronellol, * *Limonene, * *Linalool, * Methylparaben, * Propylparaben.
on 10/19/2009 10:04:00 PM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Black, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Brown
wow, it's super greasy, + it never seems to get absorbed, so i use it as a night treatment. also, after a couple months, the product gets grainy. the SA says this is normal, that the lemon starts to separate. still works i guess, but it's not as nice when it's grainy.
on 10/15/2009 2:04:00 PM
Age: 18 & Under
Skin: Normal, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Medium
Eyes: Blue
Mmmm...smells yummy. It works well and unlike most LUSH products it's actually really good value for money. I only need the tiniest amount on my cuticles to soften them. An absolute essential for the perfect manicure.
on 9/29/2009 1:49:00 AM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Red, Other, Other
Eyes: Blue
I love lemony flutter! I've been practicing better hand and nail care for some time, but a recent change at work has me changing 500+ price tags every night which KILLS my hands. They end up so dry that sometimes my cuticles even crack. I got lemony flutter a few weeks ago at LUSH in SF and it's been love ever since. The smell is fantastic, and I love that it absorbs so well. I have noticed so much improvement in my cuticles in a short time.. One of the aforementioned cracks on my thumb healed after about 2 days of using lemony flutter and it hasn't come back! I feel like LUSH gives you a ton of product for the money, hence why I only gave it a $2 for the price. I think that my tub, even with using it generously 2-3 times a day, will probably last me past the expiration date in 11/10. Repurchasing definitely won't be a problem as lemony flutter has already become indispensable.
on 9/11/2009 10:14:00 AM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Other, Other
Eyes: Green
I love this cuticle butter! Not only do I use it for my cuticles, I use it to smooth down fly aways and to moisturize my elbows and knees. It is super moisturizing and doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy, like a lot of other cuticle moisturizers. I'll definitely be repurchasing when I run out.
on 9/9/2009 5:10:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Cool
Hair: Other, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Brown
I am not religious about using this product, however, whenever I use it, my cuticles feel smoother and stronger and prepare my nails for the perfect manicure. Recommend in a heartbeat.
on 8/30/2009 3:36:00 AM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Combination, Olive, Not Sure
Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Other
Eyes: Green
This is fantastic... wow. I got this when I was overseas, freezing, and my hands were falling to bits from the harsh cold and wind. The moisture in this cannot be underestimated. Only use this is your hands are REALLY dry. This is definitely not for semi dry hands, as it will grease up. The smell is amazing, the texture is about the thickest I have ever seen in a hand cream, and the packaging is cute and purse worthy. I couldn't go past this. Great!
on 7/6/2009 8:57:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Black, Straight, Medium
Eyes: Brown
I received a sample as a gift, but I will probably purchase some more eventually. I like the scent, it is almost like lemony candy. It did a great job of keeping my cuticles from looking terrible. I would suggest that you get a sample before investing in a large container.
on 6/20/2009 11:28:00 AM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Cool
Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Blue
While I really like Lemony Flutter cuticle butter, and feel it is one of the better LUSH products I have tried, I don't feel it is as multi-purpose as it claims. I do not think it's the best body butter I've tried. But it is nice to have in the at-home pedicure arcenal.
The smell is strong, but not bad. I guess it can be overpowering if you're constantly cleaning as it smells exactly like lemon dish detergent, or like a weaker version of one of those lemon-scented cleaning sprays for wood coffee tables. Co-workers - of whom I've done a survey, as I tend to use this mostly at work when I've been making up paperwork - were divided. One said [male, if that matters] that it smells really good. Another [female] said it was ok, not great but it wasn't overpowering or bad or nauseating - just not that great.
It is average as a hand cream. It is a little bit greasy, but not horribly so. Definately leaves the palms looking a bit shiny. I haven't used it on my elbows, as they generally don't get too dry. It excels as a foot cream - completely soothes cracked heels, dry toes and other foot ailments.
I would reccomend this butter, but only as a foot cream. There are superior body butters & hand creams for the price IMO.
on 6/10/2009 3:40:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Normal, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brown, Other, Other
Eyes: Green
I've been carrying this around in my bag with me, I love it. I use it on hands and elbows mostly and I plan to use it on my feet eventually. It's super moisturizing and it sinks in pretty quickly. A little goes a LONG way and the amount is pretty generous, so I don't think the $14 is too much at all.
I actually bought ocean salt online earlier so I can do the hand/foot treatment at home. Smooth lemony flutter over the hands and then use ocean salt. The SAs showed me how to do this in the store and my hands were so soft for the rest of the day. I already use philosophys hot salt scrub on them but this is an improvement.
on 6/5/2009 8:44:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm
Hair: Brown, Other, Fine
Eyes: Brown
Wow! Works like a charm on dry skin. I not only use it on my cuticles, but my feet as well. A teeny tiny bit goes a long way so I just take a little dab and start rubbing into my feet. A tiny dab will cover my whole foot. I then place socks on and leave them on overnight and my feet are super-duper soft in the morning. The scent is definitely a "natural" lemon scent, not a super sweet artificial one. I also love how I can rub it into my fingers and go and it doesn't leave a slimy film like a lot of other cuticle creams. The tub appears small, but will last for a while. Will definitely re-purchase......if I ever run out!!
Popular Lotions / Creams
Video Reviews & Tutorials
LUSH! Hello Gorgeous Gift! (Part 1 of 2) by Shannah Barrett
LUSH Hello Gorgeous Gift Demo & Review! (Part 2 of 2) by Shannah Barrett


text:
Be sure to be a part of the concrete industry biggest event in 2015. World of Concrete will begin space assigning booth locations for the 2015 event next week.
Need help with purchasing booth space for WOC 2015?
Todd Gilmore
Sales Manager
(Company Names A-C)
Edison Dane
Senior Account Executive
(Company Names D-K)
Matt Langbein
Account Executive
(Company Names L-R)
Kathleen McKinney
Account Executive
(Company Names S-Z, #s)
Charlia Doctor
Sales Manager
Digital Sponsorships
World of Concrete is the industry's most important annual international tradeshow delivering what exhibitors need. Equipment manufacturers can expand their construction equipment business by developing new markets and finding new leads/customers. World of Concrete provides cost-effective, brand-building exposure for all the industry segments: Commercial Construction; Material Handling; Concrete Production; Concrete Surfaces & Decorative Concrete; Repair & Demolition; Hardscapes; and Information Technology.
The World of Concrete show offers a one-stop shop for thousands of attendees each year who are searching for new and innovative construction machinery as well as training and certification in WOC's world-class education program. Meet all the right people by exhibiting at World of Concrete.
Building Technology
Humboldt, Kan.–based Monarch Cement has a centralized approach to its fleet and has...
Commercial Construction
For the fourth year, World of Concrete 2015 is recognizing the accomplishments of crews...
Every concrete pipe plant in North America is committed to producing quality products....
Concrete Construction
EPA's new proposal to further tighten ozone standards could have a negative impact on...
Concrete Materials and...
My cement supplier is adding limestone to their cement. Is there anything to worry...
Concrete Producers
What concrete pro doesn't marvel at this symbol of American innovation and grit?
Concrete Surfaces
Construction Technology
Decorative Concrete
Update your knowledge with the 2015 NPCA webinar series.
In an effort to simplify service needs for customers in the highly demanding concrete...
Please read our Content Guidelines before posting.
Copyright ©
2015 Hanley Wood Media, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
Canadian military law.
Our Canadian Military also has its own legal system. Just like television, the Canadian Forces has an office of the Judge Advocate General. The JAG website (www.forces.gc.ca/jag/welcome_e.html) reports on the duties of this office: The key duties and functions of the office of the JAG are defined by Canadian law. A key responsibility of the JAG, as defined by Canadian law, is the supervision of the offices of the prosecution and defence. Canadian military law, including the military system of justice, is a component of Canadian law and subject to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Recent amendments to the National Defence Act modernize and strengthen the military justice system by enhancing its transparency, fairness and effectiveness.
JAG contributes to the effectiveness of the Canadian Forces by advising on the legal issues during the training, planning, and conduct of domestic and international operations.
Another important component to military legal structure is the Office of the Chief Military Judge. This office also has its own website at www.forces.gc.ca/cmj/intro_e.asp. The website describes the role of the military judge as follows:
* provide military judges to preside at courts martial and perform other judicial duties under the National Defence Act
* administer the convening of courts martial, the appointment of members of General and Disciplinary Courts Martial, and the provision of court reporting services and transcription of the proceedings of courts martial and other judicial hearings
* appoint military judges as boards of inquiry (with the concurrence of the Chief Military Judge)
A recent example of a Board of Inquiry appointed by the Office of the Chief Military Judge is Tarnak Farm 2002. This board was gathered to investigate the injury and death of Canadian Forces personnel during live fire training at or near Kandahar, Afghanistan on 17/18 of April, 2002.
Thanks to the wide availability of information available through Internet technology, the public can see exactly what steps were taken during the investigation, what the findings of the Board of Inquiry were, news releases about the events, what was said by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, and biographies of the soldiers who lost their lives. The Tarnak Farm 2002 Board of Inquiry website is at www.vcds.forces.gc.ca/boi/intro_e.asp.
The organizational chart from the Chief of the Defence Staff website shows where JAG fits in the structure of government.
The Office of the Chief Military Judge is independent of the military chain of command as was set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1992 in its decision in R v. Genereux. Because Boards of Inquiry are appointed by this office, they too are independent of government.
More online information about military law is available from the main Department of National Defence Internet site located at www.dnd.ca/eng/index.html. The D-NET site has an abundance of information about the Canadian military including the following:
Army -- www.army.forces.gc.ca/LF/default.htm -- This site links you to information about Canada's army, including information about its command structure, organization, military equipment, uniforms, and decorations.
Navy -- www.navy.forces.ca/ -- Sail with Maritime Forces Atlantic, or get your feet wet with Maritime Forces Pacific. Read about the naval reserve, maritime peacekeeping, and much more in one of the command newsletters.
Air force -- www.airforce.forces.ca/ -- This comprehensive site provides information on the history and evolution of Canada's air force, as well as its current missions, future direction, air-force leaders, groups, wings and squadrons. And there's lots more for flight buffs.
Recruiting -- www.recruiting.forces.ca/ -- Now hiring! A direct link to information on recruiting and career opportunities with the Canadian Forces.
Current operations -- www.forces.gc.ca/menu/Operations/index_e.htm -- This should be your first stop for information about Canada's participation in UN and NATO missions and operations abroad.
Defence policy -- www.forces.ca/admpol/index_e.htm -- This is the spot for serious students of Canadian defence and security issues. The directory provides information on Canadian defence policy, the activities of the Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs, and the Security and Defence Forum. You can download the 1994 White Paper on Defence Policy, or browse selected speeches by senior departmental officials.
I Want to Know -- www.forces.gc.ca/menu/Wanttoknow_e.htm -- Need information on how to join the Canadian Forces? Need to know what NATO stands for? "I Want to Know" gives you a chance to get answers to questions you may have been afraid to ask.
The News Room -- www.forces.gc.ca/menu/press/index_e.htm -- At this site, you'll find daily updates on what's happening from across the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces. What's the news of the day? What's the Minister doing? "The News Room" will provide you with late-breaking news on important activities, meetings, and events. You can also get background on current issues. Check out upcoming events so you don't miss any exciting occasions in your community. Journalists -- you may want to bookmark this page, because it's your one-stop news shop!
Where can you find decisions of the military courts?
The Canadian answer is Quicklaw! Subscribers to Quicklaw can access decisions reported in the Court Martial Appeal Reports from 1978 to 1994, plus decisions reported by Quicklaw since 1975. Summaries of recent Court Martial Appeals and Court Martial decisions can be accessed through the JAG website above.
The Canadian Military has a long and proud history. It has been very interesting to take an online look at military law in Canada. I would encourage you to check out some of the websites.
Reader Opinion
|Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
|Mireau, Shaunna
|Oct 1, 2002
|Previous Article:
|Kafka's social prophecy.
|Next Article:
|Not-for-profit law: and now hear this.


text:
- Reviews
- Gear
- Artists
- How-to
- Lessons
- Premier Blogs
- Win Stuff
Articles by Jason Shadrick
Rig Rundown - Mr. Big's Billy Sheehan
November 9, 2011
Billy Sheehan runs through his live rig used on Mr. Big''s summer tour.Read More
Interview: John Scofield - Taking It Slow
October 20, 2011
On the heels of his latest album, A Moment's Peace, we caught up with Sco to discuss his approach to ballads, the secret to playing slow and his favorite ballad performances.Read More
Experience PRS 2011
October 18, 2011
Premier Guitar journeys to the iconic guitar company's fifth-annual extravaganza in Stevensville, Maryland, to bring you news, photos, and video of the brand-new amps and guitars,as well as the weekend's lineup of killer activities.Read More
Book Review: "Guitar Etudes: Warmup Excercises for Guitar" By Pat Metheny
October 18, 2011
. Jazz guitarist Pat Metheny recently released a book of guitar etudes that outlines what his typical pre-gig routine entails.Read More
Interview: Umphrey's McGee - Group Therapy
October 5, 2011
Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss from Umphrey's McGee talk about how the Talking Heads influenced them, making your guitar puke, and why their latest album, Death By Stereo, is all for the ladies.Read More
Rig Rundown - Umphrey's McGee
October 4, 2011
PG's Jason Shadrick is On Location Des Moines where he catches up with Umphrey's McGee. In this video Brendan Bayliss, Jake Cinninger, and Ryan Stasik talk to Jason about the gear they use while out on the road.Read More
GALLERY: Experience PRS 2011
September 27, 2011
New gear, performances, and festivities from PRS'' annual event.Read More
Book Review: "Clapton: The Ultimate Illustrated History" By Chris Welch
September 20, 2011
Chris Welch takes us on a visual tour through every aspect of the blues god's long career and unearths some rare photographs and memorabilia that will make even the most jaded Slowhand aficionados take notice.Read More
Matt Palmer: Classical Nitro
September 20, 2011
Jaw-dropping classical guitarist Matt Palmer reveals how his love of '80s shredders like Yngwie Malmsteen and an unwanted gift from his mother inspired him to turbocharge the "Classical Gas" mentality of yore and create his own mind-bogglingly fast nylon-string picking technique.Read More
Rig Rundown - Eric Johnson
September 6, 2011
PG's Jason Shadrick is On Location at the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with guitarist Eric Johnson.Read More


text:
More Mobile Clinics Serving Contra Costa Students
By Kimberly S Wetzel; Rowena Coetsee
Students who need a sports physical or tetanus shot will find those health services and more for free at several Mount Diablo and West Contra Costa schools this year.
Officials from Contra Costa Health Services' Public Health department have increased the number of mobile clinics offering health services to some of the county's neediest students. The program, which started with a permanent health facility at Richmond High and later a mobile unit at Richmond's Kennedy High, will continue to operate at those schools but also has begun serving students at Mount Diablo and Ygnacio Valley high schools in Concord.
Students at Grant and Nystrom elementaries and DeJean Middle in Richmond, as well as Dover and Downer elementaries and Helms Middle in San Pablo, also will see the health vans rolling into their school parking lots in the next couple weeks, said Sue Crosby, director of county public health clinic services.
In all, there will be four health vans to help students, and Pittsburg Unified in East County also has begun offering services.
"The kids are really thankful," said Richmond pediatric nurse practitioner Leigh Pierson-Brown, who has worked at the clinics at Richmond and Kennedy highs. "We have really nice relationships with the kids."
Health Services, which for more than 15 years has operated a permanent clinic at Richmond High, expanded its outreach after surveying the county's school districts to gauge need.
They found that the Mount Diablo, West Contra Costa and Pittsburg districts had the greatest number of families eligible to receive free and reduced-price lunches, which also means they qualify for Medi-Cal.
The county bought three vans that each have two exam rooms and refrigerators for storing blood and urine samples.
There's also space for its crew to weigh youngsters, take their blood pressure, check for anemia as well as kidney, bladder and intestinal infections, and administer a battery of vaccinations for everything from measles, mumps and chicken pox to Hepatitis A and B, whooping cough and tetanus.
Also aboard is a health educator who can counsel students on topics such as nutrition, sexually transmitted diseases and avoiding unintended pregnancies.
A community health worker can help families apply for Medi-Cal, serve as a translator and assist the family nurse practitioner, who gives annual physicals and prescribes medications.
In addition, a registered nurse can give injections as well as test youngsters' vision and hearing.
The services are available to students who either lack health insurance or are covered by Medi-Cal, Crosby said.
She has no doubts the need is real, she said.
"There are a lot of kids out there who don't get wellness exams," Crosby said.
Reach Kimberly S. Wetzel at 510-262-2798 or firstname.lastname@example.com. Reach Rowena Coetsee at firstname.lastname@example.com or 925-779-7141.clinic locations, hours
Mount Diablo school district– Mount Diablo High School: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays– Ygnacio Valley High School: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays
West Contra Costa school district– DeJean Middle School: Monday afternoons, Wednesday mornings beginning next week– Grant, Nystrom, Dover and Downer elementaries: Time to be determined– Helms Middle School: Tuesday afternoons, Thursday mornings beginning next week– Kennedy High School: Tuesday and Friday mornings– Richmond High School: Everyday during school hours. Clinic is part of campus.
Originally published by Kimberly S. Wetzel and Rowena Coetsee, Contra Costa Times.
(c) 2008 Oakland Tribune. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.


text:
PROVIDENCE (March 15, 2007) Former world title challenger Israel Pito Cardonas comeback continues April 6 against Juan Manuel Buendia in the eight-round co-feature on Collision Course, headlined on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights by cruiserweights Matt Too Smooth Godfrey against Felix Bad News Cora, Jr., at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut..
Cardona (26-6, 28 KOs) has gone through a role reversal, of sorts, for his fight against Buendia (13-1-1, 8 KOs), a Mexican warrior and former Illinois State welterweight title-holder. Cardona, a lieutenant for a security company in Hartford, as well as a boxing trainer at LA Boxing in Hartford, was supposed to fight former world champion Zab Judah on April 27, but Judah pulled out to fight WBO champion Miquel Cotto.
Judah was my break, Cardona said. Im very disappointed not to be fighting him because beating him probably could have gotten me another world title shot. But Ive been in this sport a long time and I know what its like. What I still havent figured out is why he wouldnt fight me. Am I too dangerous? We still have a signed contract but hes fighting somebody else April 13.
Now Im focusing on my April 6th fight. Im fighting a tough Mexican. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain against Judah. Now, he (Buendia) has nothing to lose. Hes an up-and-comer who has never really been tested. Im going to destroy this kid. Im in the best shape Ive been in for years. Were going to put on a great show. The first week after Judah pulled out I was frustrated. But Ive gotten everything together and Ill be bringing my A game to Mohegan Sun.
Jimmy Burchfields Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. is promoting Collision Course in association with Mohegan Sun and ESPN2.
Godfrey and Cora, roommates at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials, will fight in the 12-round main event for Godfreys NABA title and the vacant NABF cruiserweight belt, as well as a possible world title fight opportunity later this year.
Providence-native Godfrey (14-0, 8 KOs), also the reigning WBC Continental Americas and USNBC cruiserweight champion, is rated No. 6 by the WBC, as well as No. 9 by the IBF and No. 10 by the WBA. Cora (18-1-2, 9 KOs), rated No. 12 by the WBC, is the former USBA and NABF cruiserweight champion.
Providing chief support on the undercard is Providence heavyweight Jason Big Six Estrada (7-1, 1 KO), 2004 U.S. Olympian, in a six-round bout. Also scheduled to fight on the under in separate four-round matches against opponents to be determined are super middleweights Chris Traietti (6-0, 4 KOs), Iraqi War veteran and Westfield State College student, and Angel Camacho, Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs); light heavyweight Manuel Antonio Lopes (1-0, 1 KO); Connecticut prison guard Addy Irizarry making her pro debut as a light welterweight.
Tickets, priced at $75.00, $40.00 and $25.00, are available through Mohegan Suns box office. For more information contact Mohegan Sun(www.mohegansun.com/1.800.226.7711) or CES (www.cesboxing.com/1.401.724.2253/3354).
previous article: 8 Count Prepares for Terrific Friday Night St. Patrick's Boxing Show
next article: Vasili Jirov Interview: Jirov-Toney 2 is Headed For Moscow!
If you detect any issues with the legality of this site, problems are always unintentional and will be corrected with notification.
The views and opinions of all writers expressed on Boxing247.com do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Management.
Copyright © 2001- 2015 Boxing247.com - Privacy Policy l Contact


text:
Viewers: in countries Watching now:
Photoshop CS4 for Photographers is an essential course for any digital photographer who wants to master the software's vast array of image enhancement techniques. Professional photographer and instructor Chris Orwig uses his own compelling images to demonstrate how the power of Photoshop can make photographers more passionate about their work. He covers many aspects of the application, such as working with RAW images, using curves and levels, making images snap, and enhancing bland photographs by converting them to black and white. Exercise files accompany this course.
All right, we are now ready to press the Print button. Let's go ahead and do that that will then open up the Print dialog window where we can dial in our final print settings. Now, there are a couple of things that I need to do here. I'm going to go ahead and choose the printer, the EPSON 3800. My Presets, I'll go to Standard, because it's not Matte paper, so Standard will work fine. Next, I need to go to this next pulldown menu and go to my Print Settings options here. Now, there are just a couple of options we need to dial in. Most importantly the Media Type. We need to go to our Photo Paper, Premium Glossy; I want to make sure I'm always selecting the correct type of media. Great! The other settings look fine. Color Settings, I have the Epson sRGB, that's going to work fine. High Speed, with that turned on. What that means is it's going to print in a bidirectional way, meaning as the printhead travels across the paper, it will set down ink and then as it goes back it will also set down ink.
Now, if I turn that off, what's going to happen is it's just going to set down ink when it goes one way. The ink cartridge or the ink head will lift up off the paper to travel back to the other position and then set ink down just in that one direction. So what that does is it gives the ink a chance to dry. So if it's a pretty important image, you want to turn that off, yet I found with the Epson 3800, it actually doesn't matter that much leaving that on or off. All right. Well, at this juncture I'm now ready to press the final Print button and send this to the printer. So all I would need to do is click Print, and then I would cross my fingers, hoping that this print will look amazing.
Sit on the edge of my chair and wait and then watch that print roll out of the printer. Most of the time it's an incredibly exciting experience. I still get excited about seeing that final print; there is just something about it.
There are currently no FAQs about Photoshop CS4 for Photographers.
Access exercise files from a button right under the course name.
Search within course videos and transcripts, and jump right to the results.
Remove icons showing you already watched videos if you want to start over.
Make the video wide, narrow, full-screen, or pop the player out of the page into its own window.
Click on text in the transcript to jump to that spot in the video. As the video plays, the relevant spot in the transcript will be highlighted.


text:
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Write Your Own Review
You're reviewing: Protex Wall or Desktop Mounted Drop Box SDB-200
KABA Simplex / Eplex Kaba Simplex 1011-26D-41 Knob Mechanical Pushbutton Lock Standard
Regular Price: $267.80
Special Price: $255.00
You have no items in your shopping cart.
You have no items to compare.
for orders above $300