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Monthly Archives: January 2012
30Jan 12
I am undocumented, unafraid & survived depression and suicide.I came to this country at the age of 5. Every day and night I saw how my parents struggled as undocumented immigrants ; I saw how they were exploited and at points dehumanized not only at their place of work but in a country they considered […]Continue Reading
26Jan 12
Feelings of depression and worthlessness clouded up Joaquin Luna's mind, an undocumented youth from Texas who committed suicide last year. In a country where undocumented youth are treated like less than equals but still strive to prove their self-worth everyday, many of them fall prey to depression and suicidal thoughts after ...Continue Reading
25Jan 12
Every year thousands of undocumented youth graduate from New York high schools and face an uncertain future because of their immigration status. For years the federal government has failed our communities by refusing to pass theContinue Reading
23Jan 12
Our Community First Scholarship, is a program created to reward community participation before attending college. This scholarship is provided every year for individuals who will attend college for first time in 2012. This program has two components: a 300-500 word essay and a community service verification form. There is no cost to ...Continue Reading
20Jan 12
"Angy, why do you even watch that show?" "You're killing your brain cells!" "Did you know that every time you watch it… a book commits suicide?" To be honest, I do not understand why I watch Jersey Shore; maybe it's Snooki's poof but I can't seem to look away. The ...Continue Reading
20Jan 12
All your involvement in the week of action for the NY Dream Act paid off! After an intense week of action, Speaker Sheldon's office replied accepting to meet with undocumented youth in regards to the NY Dream Act, which has 50 co-sponsors in the assembly and 20 in the senate! For that reason, we are […]Continue Reading
13Jan 12
The NYSYLC invites you to the Dream Carnival fundraiser! Bring your friends to a night full of dancing, fun and raffle prizes! Where: 109-59 Roosevelt Ave Queens, NY 11368 When: Friday, February 24, 2012 from 9:00pm until 12:00am How Much: $10 in advance, $12 at the door, buy advance tickets at www.bit.ly/ylccarnival Age: All ages ...Continue Reading


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I absolutely love Purex Crystals because they leave your clothes smelling delicious. I knew that Purex Crystals for Baby would smell equally amazing, but I was worried about using it on my children's clothes because they both have highly sensitive skin due to eczema (my son's eczema being worse than my daughters). I trust Purex with my children's laundry. I have been using their free and clear UltraPacks to wash Pea's clothes for over 1 year and it has been a good experience. Her flair ups were really bad with regular detergent and with the free and clear UltraPacks they have diminished greatly (no lie). Her brother, though, has major patches everywhere (thank you altitude and dryness) and so I was worried.
Using something gentle on C.J's clothes is very important to me and the bottle does say that Purex Crystals for Baby is 87% natural, dye free and hypoallergenic. So I gave it a shot. You can use this with the baby detergent of your choice, simply toss it in the wash at the beginning prior to adding the clothes.
I do have to say that the scent is long-lasting. I have a basket of clothes that I washed one week ago sitting nicely in C.J.'s room and his clothes still smell fresh. Pea's skin seems to be holding up very well by adding this to her wash, but I have noticed new flare ups on C.J. and I'm not sure if its just his eczema doing what it does or irritation to something new in his wash. So, for the time being, I haven't been using it for him anymore, only for Pea. (I am not saying that this causes rashes, I'm just saying that I've noticed a change in his skin- which could be anything) I've never had trouble with Purex products and eczema in the past, so I'll hold on to this and maybe when he is a bit older I will try again with him.
Purex is holding a contest for Purex Crystals for Baby, the prizes are as follows:
One grand prize winner will receive $1,000 while 250 additional winners get FREE Purex Crystals for Baby. Available at Walmart.
Go enter the contest for your chance to win.
I am giving away a coupon for a free bottle of Purex Crystals. Enter below for your chance to win!
Legal Stuff: Purex provided me with a sample of Purex Crystals for Baby in exchange for a product review. However, all of the opinions expressed here are my own.
Come on…don't copy- get your own material. Nobody likes a cheater! Original & Hand Written Plagiarism Will Be Detected. This site is being monitored by CopyGator. Mmkay? Thanks.

subset: commoncrawl


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ROCKFORD - As the temperatures continue top drop, so gas prices.
GasBuddy.com reports the average price for regular, unleaded in the Forest City is now $3.33, down only one cent in the past week. But, prices could drop further relatively soon.
"It wouldn't be surprising to see the average move slightly downward in the next couple weeks "says Patrick DeHaan, Senior Petroleum Analyst for GasBuddy.com. "January and February see some of weakest demand for gasoline in the year."
Gas prices on average are seven cents higher today than they were one year ago.
Copyright 2014 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Illinois Defeats Roma Selezione 78-68
Aug. 13, 2011
Rome, Italy -
Illinois-Roma Selezione Box | Illinois-Roma Selezione Photos | Illini in Rome Day 2 Photos
After two-and-a-half days sightseeing throughout Rome, the Fighting Illini took the court tonight for the first time, defeating Roma Selezione 78-68 in Illinois' first game of its 2011 Italy Tour. As expected, the Illini were rusty early, but used a third-quarter surge where they doubled up the hosts in the scoring column to pull away and earn the 10-point victory.
Coach Bruce Weber started guards Sam Maniscalco, Crandall Head and Joseph Bertrand to go along with Tyler Griffey and Nnanna Egwu. That lineup was based on the players who won the most games in last Saturday's scrimmage at the Assembly Hall. But the plan was to evenly distribute the minutes and it worked, with 11 players logging at least 13 minutes and no one more than 21. If not for foul trouble by freshmen Nnanna Egwu and Myke Henry, those minutes would have been even more equally distributed. Illinois' depth and constant rotation of fresh players to apply pressure defensively took its toll. The Illini grabbed 13 steals and forced 22 turnovers, and held a dominant 43-to-22 advantage on the boards. Neither team shot very well, but the Illini capitalized on its 20 offensive rebounds.
Bertrand led the Illini in scoring, totaling 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. He also had a team-high five assists to go along with four boards. Griffey also scored in double figures with 11 and was the UI's top rebounder, grabbing eight boards, including four on the offensive end.
Egwu and fellow freshman Tracy Abrams scored eight points each while Maniscalco, D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul netted four apiece. Rounding out the scoring, Ibby Djimde had five points, Meyers Leonard finished with four, and Mike Shaw added one. Rookies Shaw and Djimde also did well on the glass, grabbing six and five boards, respectively.
The Illini will leave Rome Sunday morning and drive to Florence where the team will stay the next two nights. Illinois' next game is Tuesday in Forli against the New Zealand National Team. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 am Central Time.


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Indiana Rolls Past Stony Brook, 96-66
Nov. 11, 2011
Box Score | Box Score | Quotes | Notes | Photo Gallery | Video
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Cody Zeller scored 16 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked two shots, added three steals and helped his teammates find open lanes in his college debut as the Indiana men's basketball team opened the 2011-12 campaign with a 96-66 triumph over Stony Brook at Assembly Hall on Friday evening.
Victor Oladipo matched his career-high with 16 points, Will Sheehey added 13 points to lead all scorers off the bench, Derek Elston poured in 11 points, also off the bench, and the Hoosiers rolled to their 14th consecutive opening-night victory.
"The fact that we got up and played defense the way we need to and got into their main scorers helped us gain confidence," Indiana head coach Tom Crean said. "That was really, really important, whether it was perimeter, whether it was post, whether it was drives, whether it was transition. We scored the ball from a lot of different places."
IU has now won 27 consecutive home openers and produced its largest season-opening victory since a 34-point win over Nicholls State in 2005.
The Hoosiers pushed the tempo, hit 3-pointers and traded punches with an experienced, physical team that nearly made last season's NCAA tournament. They never allowed the Seawolves to get closer than 12 points over the final 22 minutes.
Indiana held a 29-25 advantage with 4:08 remaining in the opening half and roared into the locker room with a 17-point lead following a 16-3 run.
"Our team, really, the key for them moving forward is that they continue to put not one or two or three possessions together that are good and a couple that are bad, but to continue to have as many solid, all five guys doing the right things, types of possessions as possible," Crean said. "I think, when you have that, you have a chance to break a game open. That's what happened with us late in the first half."
Stony Brook trailed 53-39 with 16:23 to go, but the Hoosiers ran off 10 straight points to push the lead over 20 points, a benchmark they maintained the rest of the ballgame.
Oladipo added six rebounds and two steals, while Sheehey posted five rebounds.
Verdell Jones III finished with a game-high seven assists to go along with his seven points, and Austin Etherington hit all three of his shots, including a pair of three-pointers, to net eight points in his debut.
All 16 Hoosiers that dressed played in the game.
Zeller became the third true freshman in the last four years to record a double-double in his debut. Tom Pritchard (Northwestern State - Nov. 15, 2008) and Christian Watford (Howard - Nov. 13, 2009) previously accomplished the feat.
Indiana shot 65.4 percent (34-of-52) in the game, the second-best percentage in the Crean Era, to go along with the third-highest point total during Crean's tenure.
The Hoosiers return to action on Sunday with their second straight game at Assembly Hall. Indiana and Chattanooga will face off in the first contest of the Hoosier Invitational. The game will tip off at 5 p.m. EST and will be televised on the BTN.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Check back soon


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10k, 5000 metres, 5k, 5k running, Aerobic exercise, Anaerobic exercise, Heart rate, High-intensity interval training, intervals, parkrun, training
This post is for 5k runners who are relative beginners and can run 5k in less than 35-40 minutes and who can run for 60 continuous minutes if they wanted to. Typically you may have previously been focusing on getting miles under your belt but have not found that you are getting faster 5k times as quickly as you would like. You may also have found it difficult to find the time for longer mileage sessions.
OK let's not mess around. You haven't got much time to read this or to train. Here is a great plan for you time-poor improvers. The plan will work for good 5k runners as well as it is based on pace (caveats covered later!).
The pre-requisite is that you need a GPS device that can show your running pace as well as track your heart rate. The Garmin Forerunner 305 is as good as any. & you need to work in Kms not miles.
Step 1: Go for a 5k PB at a free parkrun event. Use your device to tell me your average pace. As a control mechanism, please also record your average heart rate.
I'm going to give you 3 exercises to do each week. Never do them on consecutive days. Always do them in order. If you run out of time to do the last one it's Ok forget it and go back to the first one the following week.
Now, if you look closely at the plan below and specifically at the effort-periods, you will see that you only actually have to try hard in your running for 75 minutes a week. It will be hard and it should be hard but the alternative is 180 minutes of drudgery each week so just try hard and get it over and done with!
1. 2x 15 minutes at 5k PB race pace plus 30 seconds. 10 min rest interval (RI). This shouldn't be too hard for you!
2. 20 x 1 minute at race pace less 15-25 seconds. 1 min RI. Do at least 10, aim for 15. If you can't do the speed then stop and rest for 5 minutes before continuing. If you can do 20 then after the 20th you should be near exhausted, if not then you need to up the pace next time.
3. 5x 5 minutes @ PB race pace less 5 seconds. 5 min RI. This should be hard.
That's 75 minutes of trying per week. You'll get faster smartly and you'll lose weight. (honest!! but you have to try)
So if you did a 30 minutes 5k then your pace is 6:00 mins per km. So for the above three exercises your target pace will be:
1. 6:30
2. 5:45-5:35 and
3. 5:55
After a month do another 5k (having rested for at least 48 hours beforehand) and redo the pace figures. Make sure you either improved your PB or your heart rate was the same as before ie this control shows you really were trying second time around! This plan will get the ladies down to 25 minutes per 5k and the gents down to about 23 minutes. It WILL get you faster than those times as well but you probably need to start taking it a bit more seriously at that point as you're quite good now! Nice problem to have! Look on my blog for different ideas and plans.
How to improve from here? Well my 'smart' plan will not be called smart by others as it neglects to build up your endurance base. I'm kind of assuming you have some of that already 'in the bag' before you start with this plan. In which case my plan will be OK for up to, say, 12 weeks. At some point you will just have to start putting in those longer and more varied sessions to improve. Look <here> for a bit more on that and look <here> for ways to monitor your improvement.
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July 8, 2015
Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014
ATLANTA (AP) -- Georgia lawmakers will be reviving an effort to expand gun rights, but will be starting over with new legislation and weighing the possibility of giving college presidents and religious leaders the option of whether to allow guns on public campuses and in places of worship.
That's according to key lawmakers, including Senate Majority Whip Cecil Staton and Rep. John Meadows who were part of a conference committee last session negotiating a deal on various gun bills.
Both said Monday that no action would be taken on the conference committee bill and Meadows is working on new legislation. Staton says one idea under consideration would allow public college and university presidents and religious leaders to decide whether to allow guns.
That's something House Speaker David Ralston says he's open to considering.
(Copyright 2014. The Associated Press.)
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SOME climate tipping points may already have been passed, and others may be closer than we thought, it emerged this week. Runaway loss of Arctic sea ice may now be inevitable. Even more worrying, and very likely, is the collapse of the giant Greenland ice sheet. So said Tim Lenton of the University of East Anglia, UK, speaking on Monday at a meeting on complexity in nature, organised by the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge.
Lenton warned the meeting that global warming might trigger tipping points that could cause runaway warming or catastrophic sea-level rise. The risks are far greater than suggested in the current IPCC report, he says.
Yet climate modellers are in a quandary. As models get better and forecasts more alarming, their confidence in the detail of their predictions is evaporating.
The IPCC says the Greenland ice sheet will take at least ...
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HSBC "lift" by Grey London
Agency: Grey London
Rating: 5.0
By Ian Darby, campaignlive.co.uk, Thursday, 14 February 2013 08:00AM
Smith will take the role with immediate effect and report to the O&M chairman, Paul O'Donnell.
Smith joined O&M in 1989 and had stints at BBDO and Farm before returning to the agency in 2009 as its client services director.
During his 20-year career, he has worked with major clients including Ford, Heinz and Unilever.
O'Donnell said: "Smith's talent and passion for the work, coupled with his extensive experience in account handling and popularity among his peers, make him a natural fit for this role."
Leggett leaves O&M after three years to move to M&C Saatchi Australia in April.
This article was first published on campaignlive.co.uk
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Agency: Grey London
Rating: 5.0


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They captured the eyes and hearts of a suddenly awakened soccer nation, who gathered in unprecedented numbers to watch the world's game. But the end of the ride came at the exact same point as four years ago: with a loss in extra time in the World Cup's round of 16. Belgium scored twice in extra time then held on for a 2-1 win Tuesday.
"It's heartbreaking," goalkeeper, Tim Howard said. "I don't think we could have given it more." Howard, playing the finest game of his career, stopped a dozen shots with his legs and arms to keep the Americans even through regulation and force an additional 30 minutes. He wound up with 16 saves the most in the World Cup since 1966.
Before exiting, the U.S. showed the spunk that won America's attention. Julian Green, at 19 the youngest player on the U.S. roster, stuck out his right foot to volley in Michael Bradley's pass over the defense in the 107th minute, two minutes after entering the game. The Americans nearly tied it up in the 114th, when Clint Dempsey peeled off the ball and was fed by Bradley on a free kick, but he was stopped point-blank by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
At the final whistle, the U.S. players fell to the field in their all-white uniforms like so many crumpled tissues. I think they made their country proud with this performance," coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. The Americans advanced from a difficult first-round group that included Germany, Portugal and Ghana to reach the knockout rounds of consecutive World Cups for the first time. Four years ago, they were eliminated in South Africa by Ghana 1-0 on a goal in the third minute of extra time.
Fans who had made the trek south of the equator chanting "I believe that we will win!" could hardly believe they lost, extending a World Cup winless streak against European nations to nine games over 12 years. The crowd of 51,227 at Arena Fonte Nova appeared to be about one third pro-U.S., with 10 percent backing the Belgians and the rest neutral. Back home, millions watched in offices, homes and public gatherings that included a huge crowd at Chicago's Soldier Field.
"There's a lot to build on going forward," Klinsmann said. President Barack Obama joined about 200 staffers in an Executive Office Building auditorium to watch the second half. "I believe!" he exclaimed as he walked in at the front of the hall. "I believe!"
In its first World Cup under Klinsmann, the U.S. had promised to play attacking soccer. But once again the Americans had trouble maintaining possession and for much of the night it seemed as if the field were tilted. The 35-year-old Howard kept saving his …continued »


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Too protectivePosted by: Lorraine
Category: Behavior Problems
Posted on: November 05, 2002 at 12:30:30
I'm staying with some good friends with my dog before I leave for Japan for one year. My dog has been fine staying in the house except for when my friend's husband comes home. My friend's husband (who is also my friend from high school) leaves for work at 6 a.m. and gets home at 11 p.m. almost every night (he coaches football and that's how many hours these coaches work). So my dog never sees him and thinks he's a stranger. When we happen to be awake when he comes home, my dog goes charging out of the room and barks at him. This morning he heard him leaving for work this morning and somehow got out of the bedroom to charge at him and bark at him. This is an embarrassing situation and I want to know what is the best way to stop my dog from doing this. My friends are kind enough to let me stay there until I leave and they shouldn't have a dog bark at them in their own home. Your suggestions on how to handle this would be much appreciated.


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The Tampa Bay Rays had a difficult decision to make: What was more encouraging, Canadian Erik Bedard's performance or the offence's breakout night?
Bedard, from Navan, Ont., gave up one hit in seven scoreless innings and the Rays had 10 hits in a 7-1 victory Saturday over the Cleveland Indians that broke a four-game skid.
Winning his second straight start after 15 without a win, Bedard gave up a double to Ryan Raburn in the second inning, Cleveland's only hit until Lonnie Chisenhall led off the ninth with a single off Grant Balfour.
Just as refreshing for the Rays, who had lost six straight home games, was the offensive output led by James Loney, who had three hits and drove in two runs. The Rays had only 10 runs while losing the four preceding games on their homestand.
"Tonight we came out ready to swing and it led to good things," said Matt Joyce, who drove in two runs with sacrifice flies. "We have some great players here. Obviously, this year hasn't gone the way we wanted so far and it was a rough week for us, but we've still got a little ways to go."
Bedard (2-1) is the only Rays starter to go six innings over the team's last seven games. Manager Joe Maddon "was tinkering with the idea" of sending him for a seventh before calling for Juan Carlos Oviedo, who followed with two perfect innings.
'He just really mixed and matched angles, speeds, everything.' - Indians manager Terry Francona on Rays pitcher Erik Bedard
"I had probably 10 pitches left," said Bedard, who has allowed one run or less in three straight starts for the first time since 2008. "I'm always a slow starter so the first couple were rough, but after that you just get in the groove of things and throw strikes."
Bedard got nine of his outs on flyballs.
"He just really mixed and matched angles, speeds, everything," said Cleveland manager Terry Francona. "[Raburn] hit the line drive double, but other than that, there was a lot of lazy flyballs. Kind of exactly what he wants you to do."
Zach McAllister (3-3) gave up eight hits and five runs in 4 1/3 innings for the Indians, who had won four straight.
David DeJesus drove in Tampa Bay's first run with a two-out single in the third.
The Rays made it 3-0 in the fourth when Loney's first hit was followed by Wil Myers's double and the first of Joyce's sacrifice flies. Yunel Escobar drove in the second run with a two-out single.
Ben Zobrist had two hits and scored twice for the Rays, who had lost six straight home games.
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6349 Rankings
1194 Favourites
98 Photos
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209 Followers
~Hi evryonee . ◕ ‿ ◕. I'm an Italian cosplayer (from Sardinia) *Since 2011 *Cosmarker* *Artist* Hugs Ayu-Kun(≧ ω ≦) Follow me! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ayumuyamamotocosplay Twitter:twitter.com/AyumuCosplay DeviantArt:http://ayumuyamamoto.deviantart.com/
Hi, my name is Rasyid Perkasa Alam and you can call me "Shitt" I'm a Amateur Photografer from Indonesia and life in Jakarta.. Fb: https://www.facebook.com/katachox Fanspage: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ikiphotone/864849503598031
Cosplayer since 2009 but first a graduated fashion designer, who has'nt found yet the work of her dreams,but uses her skills in her spare time! I hope you like my costumes and impersonifications!!!^____^ let me know!!!
I'm a cosplayer from 2002. I'm a great fan of Tolkien and Lord of the Rings's World. I love manga, anime and drawing :3
hello everyone! My name is ichigo Star, I'm Italian and I'm a cosplayer since 2012, for me, cosplay is a way to express my creativity ^ _ ^ I love videogames, anime, manga and Japan, my favorite characters usually belong to the world of videogames. I love to do cosplay the characters that have a strong personality ^w^
I'm an Italian cosplayer and cosmaker. I cosplay since 2011 but I started making more accurate and elaborate cosplays only last year, with my Elsa costume.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Artemis-Entreri-Cosplay/1383225638584802 http://art3mis-entr3ri.deviantart.com/
Hello! I'm a cosplayer from Italy! I'm not really good at sewing or props making but I have fun doing it! Sometimes, I cosplay with my boyfriend and friends. Thanks for watching! ^^
IT'S-A ME, MARIO! Ciao, I'm an italian (1/6 russian) cosplayer since 2012 ──────────────███████ ──────────████▓▓▓▓▓▓████ ────────██▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓██ ──────██▓▓▓▓▓▓████████████ ────██▓▓▓▓▓▓████████████████ ────██▓▓████░░░░░░░░░░░░████ ──████████░░░░░░██░░██░░██ ──██░░████░░░░░░██░░██░░██ ██░░░░██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░██ ██░░░░░░██░░░░██░░░░░░░░░░██ ──██░░░░░░░░░███████░░░░████ ────████░░░░░░░███████████ ──────██████░░░░░░░░░░██
Hi! Welcome to my page! :3 My name's Simone aka Aniki ^^ I'm an italian cosplayer since 2009 Cosplay is one of my great passion and i especially like to do cosplay group with my girlfriend Giada and my friends <3 I hope you'll like my works! W.I.P. cosplay: - You can follow me also on - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaiGurrenDanCosplay - DeviantArt: http://aniki-fair.deviantart.com/
Hey there fellow cosplayers and friends, If you enjoy my work you can find more at- https://www.facebook.com/saarkham?ref=hl - For My Joker cosplay https://www.facebook.com/SLdingdors - For all the other characters I work on http://masterdev777.deviantart.com/ - and for both my cosplay and art Thanks for checking me out! and If you like my pages on FB I shall return the favour :D
Live long and prosper,because Art never dies. You can also contact me on http://en.curecos.com/profile/?ch=372853 http://www.tsu.co/emmagucci my new blog: http://emmagucci.blogspot.com/ http://emmagucci.deviantart.com/ https://www.facebook.com/emmagucci.art https://www.tumblr.com/blog/emmagucci
Hello everyone! I'm Alessandra, an italian cosplayer since 2008. I love making my own costume and props and having the perfect details. Hope you'll enjoy my works! FB PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/ladymcosplay?fref=ts


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Hey there folks!
You can download my presentations by clicking on the links below. They will download as Notebook files. You must have SMART Notebook to open. Email me if you'd like for me to email you a PDF version of the presentation.
SMART Ways to Engage Learners
Tools of the Trade
If you have any questions, email me.
Thanks for stopping by,
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
SEE Summit Video Contest!
Hello all!
I need your help. I need less than two minutes of your time. Please follow this link. Find my name (John Mein). Vote. That's it! The videos with the most votes earn a trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to SMART's world headquarters!
So please- I beg you- vote for me.
John (Mr. Smart Trainer)
I need your help. I need less than two minutes of your time. Please follow this link. Find my name (John Mein). Vote. That's it! The videos with the most votes earn a trip to Calgary, Alberta, Canada to SMART's world headquarters!
So please- I beg you- vote for me.
John (Mr. Smart Trainer)
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Just a short post to get my presentations out. Click the workshop below to download the presentation file! Please feel free to share!
Content Creation Seminar
SMART Boot Camp 2.0
Content Creation Seminar
SMART Boot Camp 2.0
Friday, July 19, 2013
Smart Calendar
I hope everyone has had a wonderful summer vacation thus far. We've been very busy this summer, between summer camps, family reunion road trips, and hanging out with my family and friends, it's crazy to me that July has almost come to an end. We all know, with the end of July comes the beginning of August and Back to School Bonanza starts gracing the aisles of Walmart again. Ugh, lesson plans... is there anything more mundane?
The only thing worse than having to write lesson plans is having to reteach after students have been sick, on vacation, or are in an alternative education placement. You have to come up with new examples that break the flow of the current lesson you're trying to cover. If only there was a way to effectively keep track of every day of the school year. You could reteach using the same examples in the same way that everyone else was taught. You could even post those lessons online to be viewed, or reviewed, by your students that need at-home remediation. They could download the lessons posted to a class website or blog, and they could open them using www.smartnotebook.com.
With this in mind, I created a Flash-based calendar that should solve just this problem! This is based on a model that I have used in my district for the last three years, and I have found it to be highly effective. The only reason I haven't shared it worldwide up to this point is that it was through SMART Notebook, and it wasn't logistically possible for me to set the links in a manageable way.
The general idea is that it works very much like a daily organizer. You select the month and then the date, and a NB file for that date will be automatically downloaded to your computer. Everything you do on that day will be saved locally on your hard drive so you may refer back to it when needed. When you have a student come in that has been absent, you can print out the presentation, you can save the file to Dropbox and post a link on your class website, or you can email it to the student/parent that has requested it. Each day is formatted in four areas: warm-up, guided practice, independent practice, and interactivity. This provides for the needs of all grade levels. The beauty of the calendar, itself, is that I don't have to create a new one every year because it is formatted by date- not by day. It is live now, and it's ready to be utilized.
This was my first Flash venture, so more than likely there will be some hiccups. If you manage to run into one, please send me an email or make a comment in the thread.
Run Smart Calendar HERE. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Frog Brainteaser
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. They have some other fantastic riddles and brainteasers. Download my SMART Board version of this brainteaser here. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Thanks for stopping by,
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
SEE Summit Reminiscence
Hey there, Mr. Smart Trainer followers,
Nothing new this week. I was just reminiscing last summer's SMART Summit in Calgary. Thankfully, one of my SMART friends uploaded some of these images to our shared photobucket. I just wanted to share some of the SMART fun we shared at SMART World Headquarters.
Mr. Smart Trainer with Royal Mounted Police in Banff
Mr. Smart Trainer, official Calgarian
Outside SMART World Headquarters
Our awesome, "ideal classroom" group
Mr. Smart Trainer as SEE Spotlight, presenting SMART Games
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
SMART Bowling
Click here to download your copy NOW!!! As always, if you need additional instructions, shoot me an email. Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Thanks for stopping by,
Friday, February 8, 2013
TCEA 2013 has come and is now gone, dormant for yet another year as teachers take the time to implement new ideas and technologies into their classroom routines. I have to say that after my fourth year at TCEA, I had quite a valuable week. I presented a SMART Boot Camp, which you can download here. I had a wonderful audience that asked lots of great questions and hopefully had a valuable learning experience. Of course after every training I facilitate, I do a postmortem assessment of my training on what went well, what didn't go well, and what I could have done better or forgot to do. I woke up in the middle of the night, realizing I forgot to give my direct contact information to my attendees. That information is in the last two slides of the presentation.
It was terrific to see some of my SEE Summitteer friends in the downtime throughout the convention, but it was also nice to make some new connections. I hope your time at TCEA was as rich of an experience as it was for me. If you have any questions about SMART Boot Camp, please feel free to email me. I'll be happy to line up some training for your faculty and staff.
Thanks for stopping by,
Thursday, November 8, 2012
I Want That!!!
The question of "What will SMART come up with next?" is always running through my head when I see their products. Take a minute to watch this video on how our classroom can change through collaboration and a lot of help from SMART! Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Thanks for stopping by,
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Notebook 11 Service Pack 1 Now Available!
SMART's support page. This is what I love about SMART- While attending the SMART Exemplary Educator Summit in Calgary this summer, we had the chance to visit with the creators of Notebook 11 to discuss quirks, bugs, and annoyances that we had with the update. One that I had is that when the switch over to NB 11 occurred, the links in many of my activities were removed. This drove me banana-sandwich crazy! In creating my activities, the thing that is most tedious is setting the links to send you back and forth to the proper place. I am very pleased to say that with this update, all of my activities are up and running as they were intended! I love that SMART took the time to listen to my problem, kept in contact with me through the process of getting it fixed, and then emailed me personally to let me know that the update was live and should fix my problem. Way to go, SMART! Download your upgrade NOW!!! Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by,
Thanks for stopping by,
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
SMART Activity Challenge!
To all of my terrific visitors that have come through Mr. Smart Trainer, I would like to thank you for giving my activities the opportunity to shine in your classrooms. Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, it has been quite a while since I have posted any activities. Well, I have been diagnosed with a horrible case of creativity loss. I have not been able to come up with ideas for new activities in quite some time. So, I have a challenge for you... or rather for me.
I challenge you to send me ideas for activities that will be challenging for me to create. Either comment your ideas on the bottom of this post, shoot me an email, or hit me up on Twitter or Facebook. I will do my best to do your idea justice and will post them here on Mr. Smart Trainer. So, think of something you will be teaching in the near future, perhaps a holiday theme idea, anything that may give my creative juices a much needed jumpstart.
Thanks for stopping by,
I challenge you to send me ideas for activities that will be challenging for me to create. Either comment your ideas on the bottom of this post, shoot me an email, or hit me up on Twitter or Facebook. I will do my best to do your idea justice and will post them here on Mr. Smart Trainer. So, think of something you will be teaching in the near future, perhaps a holiday theme idea, anything that may give my creative juices a much needed jumpstart.
Thanks for stopping by,
Monday, October 1, 2012
One SMART Summer
This was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of summer- in like a lion, out like a lion. First of all, my district started summer staff development off with a BANG! We hosted an unconference "techpalooza" where we created the schedule for the conference as we went along. My duties were to cover SMART and technology interactivity in the classroom. We took a quick glance at Notebook 11, checked out some of my interactive games from Mr. Smart Trainer, and then found a few other interactive flash-type websites that I frequent. This is a great model to follow to kick off summer staff development and a great way for teachers to get their "earned-off" days. For the next two weeks, I hosted SMART professional development, covering just about everything I know about the SMART interactive whiteboard, from Basic and Intermediate Training to SMART Games. The short vacation portion of my summer started in mid-June and ran through very early July when I started to prepare for the SMART Exemplary Educator Summit at SMART's world headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
I got to spend the most amazing week with 49 of the world's most proficient and powerful users of SMART products as well as the amazing SMART staff (SMARTians). We got to share how we use SMART, collaborate with others to learn new tips and tricks, and built an amazing personal learning network. Most of these people I have talked to several times since the summit via Twitter, Facebook, or email. We stayed at University of Calgary's Hotel Alma, and got to see a lot of what Calgary has to offer. SMART took us to murder mystery dinner theater and to the Wild West Events Center for line-dancing lessons as well! Headed by our fearless SMART Exemplary Educator leader (you have to be fearless to head up a group of 50 strangers!), Deena Zenyk, did an amazing job coordinating the event to make sure that we were all in the right place at the right time. Her support staff also did a terrific job to get us where we needed to go and fed us extremely well. We had the opportunity to participate in a soft launch of Gold Star SEE, the SMART Exemplary Educator gaming platform, to track our SMART participation. If you are a SEE and haven't checked out Gold Star SEE yet, you better get in the game!
It was bittersweet leaving SMART's headquarters, but 7 days away from my expecting wife and 8-year old little boy is tough. I knew I was coming home a lot SMARTer than when I left. I had lots of ammunition to finish out my SMART summer with two more weeks of SMART professional development for the staff of Kerrville Independent School District. At the end of my last two weeks of workshops, the cherry on top was getting to train the faculty of pre-service teachers at Texas A&M at Corpus Christi on their brand new 800 series SMART interactive whiteboard.
We are four weeks into our school year now and it amazes me how quickly time has flown by. September 20th marked the one-year anniversary of my blog-writing attempt on Mr. Smart Trainer. I ended the year with just under 21,000 visits. This is quite an amazing feat for just starting out, but I will continue to create and share everything I find and make with the SMART community. Make sure to stop by and see me at TCEA this spring in Austin, TX, and hopefully in San Antonio at ISTE, or stop by Mr. Smart Trainer and say hello.
Thanks for stopping by,
John Mein
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We have rich conversations with our clients every day, and increasingly these conversations are happening online. We encourage you to ask questions, share your views, and connect with like-minded professionals.
The International Annual Review demonstrates our achievements and reflects the insights and expertise professionals bring to client relationships.
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KPMG Global Manufacturing Outlook 2014 surveyed 460 executives worldwide, and offers practical and provocative insights to help organizations evaluate future strategies.
The global job search tool allows you to search available career opportunities within many of our 150 member firms worldwide.
KPMG's International Case Competition (KICC) is a chance for students to challenge yourself to solve a real business issue and an opportunity to meet new people across the globe.
"Only 10% of business families manage to maintain the family business and/or the family wealth for more than 3 generations. If you take the 100 wealthiest families in the USA 100 years ago, you will see that most of them have disappeared from the rankings or have been replaced by new more successful families. These findings beg the question: why is it so difficult to staysuccessful as a family in the long run?" – Edouard Thijssen
When asked in a survey about the reasons why it's so difficult for families to achieve long-term success:
Yet, Thijssen reports on research by Williams and Pressier which shows that, in reality, 60% of failures are due to lack of communication in the family, and 25% are due to lack of education and preparation of the next generation. Only 3% can be attributed to financial planning, taxes, and investment risks.
This suggests that most family business leaders believe that the main risks for wealth preservation are in the business or market side, when often the weakness is in the family dynamics, stemming from a lack of trust, communication and education. This happens in part due to the complex and emotional nature of family relationships.
"Family issues are very personal by nature, involve a lot of emotions, and tend to be quite complex. Many families often do not want to talk about them – resulting in family 'taboos'." – Edouard Thijssen
Thijssen suggests that families need to appoint a key family member to be responsible for communication and education in the family, to bring these issues front and center to the family discussions and priorities.
Thijssen provides some suggestions on how communication and educational strategies should be set up and implemented in the family context. Begin by establishing where things stand regarding communication and education in the business. Ask:
Once you've been through this process, and confronted the underlying issues, it's important to develop a communication plan, which should include:
A committee can provide enormous support to the designated advocate of communication and education in the business, and help to develop the education plan, which should include:
For more information on Williams and Pressier's research:
Williams, R. O. & Preissier V. (2003). Preparing Heirs: Five Steps to Successful Transitions of a Family Wealth and Values. San Francisco, CA: Robert D. Reed Publishers.
For the full article, read The importance of communication and education for long term family business success by Edouard Thijssen on the Family Business Wiki.
© 2015
KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Member firms of the KPMG network of independent firms are affiliated with KPMG International. KPMG International provides no client services. No member firm has any authority to obligate or bind KPMG International or any other member firm vis-à-vis third parties, nor does KPMG International have any such authority to obligate or bind any member firm. All rights reserved.


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A political activist in Mombasa has opposed presidential candidate Musalia Mudavadi's plan to privatise the port. Speaking in her office yesterday, Mumtaz Omar said privatising the port is not the solution to the country's economic woes.
"We fought against the same about six months ago. If the port is privatised, they will employ their own people and leave the locals out," said Omar.
During Monday's historic presidential debate, Mudavadi said he will privatise institutions such as the port and the airports to generate income.


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Manchester City have now lost three games on the bounce after Thursday's Europa League match v Lech Poznan away. Losses to Arsenal at home and Wolves at Molineux in the Premier League have seen a few eyebrows raised in the … Continue reading
Hello and welcome to EPL Talk's new weekly Fantasy League tips column. If you are constantly experiencing selection problems ahead of the weekends fixtures this is the column for you (hopefully!). Every week I will do my best to not … Continue reading
Manchester City will host Arsenal tomorrow in a game which could be crucial for both sides this season. But for one man the game will be a chance to erase some dark memories of the last time Arsenal visited Eastlands. … Continue reading
They say the sign of a good side is winning when you're not playing well. If that is the case then Roberto Mancini's Manchester City could be a real challenger for the Premier League this season after grinding out another … Continue reading
Manchester City fans will have today been hurt by the news that big summer signing Mario Balotelli is weeks rather than days away from a return to action. The £24 million summer singing from Inter Milan has only made a … Continue reading
A truly great weekend of football was witnessed during Gameweek 5 where football fans saw enough goals, controversy, late drama and skill to once again prove the Premier League as the world's most exciting domestic league. Manchester United v Liverpool … Continue reading
The sale of Robinho has marked the end of an era for Manchester City. The Brazilian arrived with high expectations of taking City to the next level and in a strange way he has sort lived up to the expectations. … Continue reading
As they approach, once again, the 100 million pound mark in the transfer market, Manchester City and head coach Roberto Mancini still find facets of their team to dislike. Yet, for a team still searching for a striker to add … Continue reading
Despite their loss to Tottenham earlier in the week, Manchester City fans should still have plenty to feel good about going into the summer. The English press was all too happy in vilifying the Sheik Mansour's tactics of overpaying for … Continue reading
First off, apologies for the lack of an article last week. As Arsene Wenger would no doubt put it – this was due to unforeseen circumstances. There's no need to panic though, as fantasy football tips are back with a … Continue reading
The highly anticipated Manchester Derby took place Saturday with frustrating and mixed results. Both teams seemed satisfied to sit back and not risk over-committing attacking players while each team was still able to enjoy decent spells of possession, but minimal … Continue reading
Odd that Gameweek 33 has fallen on Easter weekend (if you don't get the direct correlation, ask someone who celebrates Easter) even more odd that a pesky little Argentinian (who may, or may not be mentioned later) is leading his current … Continue reading
If there's one positive about David Sullivan's outburst last week, such was the reaction to it, he'll hopefully keep quiet until the end of the season. It's a tricky situation when you're a chairman of a club struggling at the … Continue reading
The saying goes that 'form is temporary but class is permanent' and on many levels this holds true, however such a huge part of professional sport is the mental aspect of the game, which at the highest level can be just as, … Continue reading
Beer Cup Final & Another Big 4 Beaten by a Door Knocker. Landon, You"ll Never Get One Easier Than That Congratulations to Manchester United for picking up the first piece of silverware on offer this season as they came out … Continue reading
As bizarre as it may sound, if Manchester City could play against Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal each week, they'd be in a better league position than they are now. City continue to look flaccid when they play teams such … Continue reading
The Guardian posted a poll asking its readers whether Manchester United should have kept Carlos Tevez. A surprising majority said 'yes.' Can this be chalked up to the fickle feelings of fandom? Or is it sincere affection for the man … Continue reading
Tuesday's Manchester Derby, doubling as the first leg of the League Cup Semi-Final, was sleepy for certain stretches but produced plenty of encouraging highlights for supporters of both sides, including: Antonio Valencia. After receiving a gorgeous pass from Patrice Evra, … Continue reading


text: First Wine for Lauren Auction lots go live on Monday Palate Press December 17, 2011 o 1 Comment As I hope you know by now, we are auctioning off some absurdly great and rare wines for a very good cause, to raise funds to help find out what happened to a missing girl. To read about it please read Wine for Lauren. Wines include 1953 Margaux, 1927 Croft Port, 1966 Latour, a 2004 Caymus magnum, and much more. You can see the whole catalogue at the Wine for Lauren Auction Catalogue. The first lots will go hot on Monday. Once a lot goes hot it will go to the highest bidder in the comments, after a comment thread goes a full business day without a new bid. Visit the Catalogue on Monday to see which lots went hot. It will be one of the lots that already has a bid, so check out the wines you like and, if they don't have a bid yet, make one. Thank you, and I hope you will bid, and tell all your wine-loving friends about Wine for Lauren. http://www.whiteguysqc.com/ Teeth Whitening Davenport, IA For the next 6 months I tried all the different tooth pastes on the market with no visible results. I even thought of getting my teeth whiten up by the dentist but I could not afford the exorbitant prices my dentist was asking.I even looked into cosmetic dentistry to whiten my teeth, but the prices were very high. After going through all the possible ways I turned to the Internet.


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From Identity to Urbanity: A Thought for India's Neo-Liberal Generation of Architects
21 April 2015 7:03 AM | No Comments
Interview: Pedro Ortiz on the "Art of Shaping the Metropolis"
25 March 2015 3:48 PM | No Comments
Why Japan Remains a Reference Point
17 December 2014 3:46 AM | No Comments
Re-MAKING our Public Spaces: Invitation to A DIY Urbanism Makathon
11 November 2014 4:52 PM | No Comments
Photo Blog : Leader Study Program : London 2014
15 September 2014 7:42 AM | 1 Comment
APLI Mumbai : A Citizens Vision Plan – Opportunity Mumbai: Redeveloping the PortLands for a liveable Mumbai
19 August 2014 5:14 PM | No Comments
"Reimagining Mumbai's Public Spaces: Civic Hackathon"
05 August 2014 7:31 AM | 3 Comments
Religion and Urban Transformation – A Conversation with Vinayak Bharne
06 December 2013 6:56 AM | No Comments
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"Reimagining Mumbai's Public Spaces: Civic Hackathon"
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"Reimagining Mumbai's Public Spaces: Civic Hackathon"
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Leaders Study Program , NYC 2013: Manifesto , Photos ,Presentations & Reports
- Nidia Fiechter
Housing India
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Why Mumbai Needs a Strategic Urban Design/ Ecological Master Plan
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Revival of Historic cores of Cities
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Urbanization Archive
The (Indian) Urban DictionaryPosted on January 29, 2010 | 11 CommentsUrban Planners : There are very few trained urban planners, maybe less than the number of municipal corporations, so urban planning is done by under-trained and under-educated architects or engineers. The urban planner of Pune whom I spoke to told me that he had never seen a major city except Mumbai, not even Delhi. He was coming from a village and did his architecture from a small town, so in his world view,a paved road network was a great stride of urban development. As you know,Pune dreams of being a World Class city attracting people from all over the globe. Studying and seeing global case studies of succesful and failed cities is unimaginable. Remember, the IAS officer who decides which urban plan to go for, gets their inputs from these.
Bombay – city of light and darkPosted on June 29, 2009 | 27 CommentsBombay – city of light and dark From the air (a view few of its citizens will ever see), the peninsula of the city of Bombay appears like an open hand – reaching and grasping into the Arabian sea. Its familiar districts transformed into the...


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IOWA CITY, Iowa - Clad in inmate orange, using a phone to talk through soundproof glass at the Johnson County Jail, Marcus Abbott said he feels stuck in a cycle that seems impossible to break.
Abbott, 26, of Iowa City, has been arrested in Johnson County every year since 2004, according to court records, and he has additional arrests as a juvenile. He was charged with 20 crimes from 2007 to 2011, according to jail records, and he's back behind bars now on suspicion of his third domestic assault.
"I honestly can't say or pinpoint what the problem is," Abbott told KCRG.
Abbott is among 115 repeat offenders in Johnson County who have been charged with 20 or more crimes between 2007 and 2011. He also belongs to a group of 134 "frequent fliers" who've been arrested in Johnson County every year for the past five years.
Linn County's list of recidivists is even longer, according to jail records reviewed by KCRG. More than 950 people there have been charged with 20 or more crimes between 2007 and 2011. That includes Joseph F. Botello, 72, of Cedar Rapids, who was charged with 143 crimes in the five-year stretch.
Recidivists repeat criminal offenders who have spent more than a few nights in jail are a problem, according to local law enforcement officials and experts. Frequent fliers, on average, use a majority of a jail's beds, and they can cost a county millions especially inmates who don't have the means to pay required room and board fees.
But, according to Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner, the recidivism problem doesn't have an easy fix. County and state agencies have tried treatment and diversion programs aimed at keeping frequent fliers from returning. But most potential solutions cost money.
"And the money for those programs has dried up," Gardner said. "The easiest method right now is to arrest these people and bring them to jail and then let them go back out the door. And, for many people, the cycle never ends."
Some inmates, including Abbott, say the criminal justice system can be especially difficult to escape for low-income repeat offenders. They struggle to pay court costs, fees and fines. Indigent offenders also might have a hard time finding a ride to court, landing them back in jail on failure to appear charges.
"If they don't have transportation and they don't have money to pay for court costs, I can see how it would be harder to stay out of the system," Gardner said. "But I don't know what the solution is."
The Linn County Jail charges inmates convicted of a crime $60 a day to stay in the jail. Johnson County charges inmates a flat accommodations fee of between $40 and $80, depending on when they're booked. Those fees are supposed to help cover the costs of housing inmates $64.70 in Linn County and $75 to $80 a day in Johnson County. But many people don't pay those fees, especially recidivists like Botello in Linn County.
"We know it's a waste of time to try to get him to pay us," Gardner said. "I assume we haven't gotten much money out of him and others like him."
The top 10 repeat offenders in Linn County logged between 79 and 143 charges in the past five years. Johnson County's top 10 faced between 33 and 40 criminal charges in that span.
John Neff, University of Iowa professor emeritus who studies trends at the Johnson County Jail, found that recidivists in the 2011 budget year accounted for 82 percent of the bed space in the Johnson County Jail. He tallied the jail's estimated annual cost to incarcerate persistent recidivists those people who have been arrested in three or more years over a 10-year span at $1.64 million to $1.75 million.
His analysis supports the theory that once a person gets into the system, it's more difficult for them to escape. Recidivists, he said, are more likely to be arrested, held after an initial court appearance and have their sentences enhanced because they are repeat offenders.
And, he said, many of the jail's recidivists also frequent the area's emergency rooms.
"This is a sad story," he said.
Abbott, who moved to Iowa from San Diego in 2000, said his first Johnson County arrest came at age 17 after he got into a fight on a basketball court.
"Apparently, when you get in a fight in Iowa, it's called assault," Abbott said.
Many of his offenses stem from lack of knowledge about the legal system, according to Abbott. The longest time he has spent behind bars was one year for his second assault conviction, and Abbott said he's resolved to steer clear of the jail after he's released for his most recent offense.
"I'm just gonna get my job back," he said.
But inmates, including Abbott, have accused authorities of trying to keep them in the system to bring in revenue. Johnson County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek discounted that accusation.
"Every person in the County Jail costs taxpayers money," he said.
And the inmates' failure to pay their fees is just part of the problem, according to Pulkrabek.
"It's always someone else's fault," he said. "It's people not taking responsibility for their own actions."
Top Linn County offenders from 2007 to 2011
Joe F. Botello, 72, of Cedar Rapids, 143 crimes.
Terrance D. Rush, 27, of Cedar Rapids, 99 crimes.
Joshua D. McCool, 22, of Cedar Rapids, 98 crimes.
Aaron L. Jackson, 22, of Cedar Rapids, 96 crimes.
Manuel Martinez, 26, of Cedar Rapids, 89 crimes.
Michael G. Moore, 58, of Cedar Rapids, 86 crimes.
Prentiss H. Thurmond, 48, of Hiawatha, 86 crimes.
Mark D. Loftus, 54, of Cedar Rapids, 84 crimes.
Cordale S. Baker, 25, of Cedar Rapids, 79 crimes.
Leroy T. Walker, 49, of Cedar Rapids, 79 crimes.
Source: Linn County Jail
Top Johnson County offenders from 2007 to 2011
Dameka L. Bryant, 37, of Iowa City, 40 crimes.
Harry Rayton, 25, of Iowa City, 40 crimes.
Michael M. Wright, 34, of Iowa City, 40 crimes.
Anthony L. Greenwood, 52, of Iowa City, 38 crimes.
Alfonso J. Reid, 39, of Coralville, 36 crimes.
Gary L. Duffel, 43, of Coralville, 35 crimes.
David J. Munz, 62, of Iowa City, 35 crimes.
Danielle M. Davis, 26, of Iowa City, 34 crimes.
Anthony D. McKinney, 28, of Iowa City, 34 crimes.
Chris W. Kelly, 30, of Coralville, 33 crimes.
Source: Johnson County Jail
Facts about recidivism in Johnson and Linn counties:
958: People charged with 20 or more crimes in Linn County between fiscal 2007 and 2011.
150: People charged with 20 or more crimes in Johnson County between fiscal 2007 and 2011.
$75 to $80: Cost per day to house an inmate in the Johnson County Jail
$60: Cost per day to house an inmate in the Linn County Jail
Sources: Johnson, Linn County Sheriff's Offices
Cedar Rapids, Iowa News, Sports, and Weather
Repeat Offenders Cost Millions in Linn, Johnson Counties
By Vanessa Miller, Reporter
Most Popular


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EXCEL is a practical, flexible, distance education program that provides an opportunity to upgrade library skills and management techniques.
EXCEL is specifically designed for public library staff or volunteers who are currently working in a public library and have little or no formal library training.
We offer seventeen different courses in a cycle over three semesters each year: Winter (January to April), Summer (May to August) and Fall (September to December).We offer each course at least once a year.
Each course costs $145.00 plus HST ($18.85) = $163.85.
Please read our general information on registration\ Renseignements généraux pour l'inscription (EXCEL). We post a registration form approximately six weeks before the registration deadline.
A List of contacts has been provided.
Yes, there is a second stream within the EXCEL program called Advanced EXCEL.


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Discover a selection of top forums ages creed on the internet. Come to share your passion on forums ages creed and meet other fans of ages creed. Then, why don't you create your own forum of ages creed ?
A free D&D RPG site. All ages are welcomed here, literate and non-literate. We host a Dungeons & Dragons Game and entire site is solely based on it.
dragon, draxion, forum, roleplay, fantasy, dungeon, elves, sci-fi, roleplaying, fiction, games, chat
Free forum : Here you can role play as your favorite characters as well as your own from the Assassin's Creed series! All games and time periods are included in this forum, it is not secluded to a sin
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Creed Gaming
free, forum, #creed, gaming, contract, wars, begone, games, brotherhood
A sailor Moon fan site for all ages!
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Free forum : In the beginning of things, in ages past there was the Elexorien, master of flesh, fire, steel, water, earth, air, acid and lightning who forged the elements of which the land of Lokonia
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SINZA- EXOTIC AUTOMATIC Wrist blades, Switchblades, Exotic Weapon Design & Construction
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A forum for all ages that will soon have Adoptables, we are currently under construction, and will soon be accepting moderators and artists, )
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A basketball team for the ages¡¡¡1. 2. 3. chorizooo!!!
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Free forum : [TDBH]We are a multy Gaming Clan, Originated on Mount & BladeWe welcome all Ages, forpeople that would want to join. please regester : )
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Great British Chefs search allows you to search for ingredients, recipes,
chefs and restaurants. Here are some examples:
1 hour plus chilling time
Marcus Wareing
Kids Christmas Dessert Baking Autumn Easy Dinner Party Sweet tart Children's Party Festive Treats Winter Desserts Brandy Dinner Afternoon Tea Almond Children's Baking Christmas Baking Cranberry Sweet Pie Treacle
Bursting with festive flavour and reasonably quick to make, Marcus Wareing's mince pies are perfect for preparing with children. Marcus saves time by using pre-made mincemeat, improving on the flavour with treacle, fruit and prunes. Once the children go to bed, douse the mince pies with a good splash of Amaretto!


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The Kardashians
Top Quotes from Kourtney and Kim Take New York Season 2, Episode 9: "I Don't Want to Be Married Anymore"
Part one of the Kourtney & Kim Take New York season finale centered on Kim's meeting with a well-known medium and her, well, not meeting with her sister-in-law, Kaela. Oops! Priority fail! On the bright side, the drama proved perfect fodder for some side-splitting wisecracks, so all was not lost. Here are the most LOL-worthy lines from Kourtney and Kim Take New York Season 2, Episode 9:
8. We guess that means normal people don't get divorced after 72 days, either...
Kourtney (to Kim): I don't think normal people hate the people that they're with this much.
7. We see the logic
Kourtney: Oh, I didn't see you sitting right there
Scott: Am I that nonexistent to you?
Kourtney: Oh yeah baby.
Scott: That's exactly why we're putting a portrait in the house then.
6. We have a feeling he says this a lot
Scott (to Kourtney): Don't turn away from pleasure!
5. Priorities
Kourtney (to Scott): You'll spend $800 on a towel but won't spend $30 on a mani/pedi?
4. Is that any way to speak to your baby mama?
Scott: What do you want, devil woman?
3. The Kardashian Life
Kourtney: Wonderful day for a stroll in 7-inch heels.
2. Was that supposed to be nice?
Kris: I'm sure she doesn't hate you, I'm sure she's just over your "I'm too busy for everyone" attitude.
1. And now for something totally unexpected…
Kim: I don't want to be married anymore.
Can't get enough Kardashians gossip? Like us on our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter!


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Maine Field Hockey Festival, Saturday, July 26, at Thomas College, Waterville
It should be a great day, Saturday, July 26, for the Maine Field Hockey Festival at Thomas College, West River Road in Waterville. It's sponsored annually by the Maine High School Field Hockey Association. Proceeds will be going to the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence.


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Faculty Scholarship 1994 - Present
Technology Management, Corporate Reputation and CEO Compensation
Many factors contribute to the determination of top executive compensation. This paper explores and examines the systematic difference of high-tech and low-tech CEO pays. In addition the paper tests how corporate reputation impacts CEO pays. The results show that corporate reputation is positively related to CEO pays in both high-tech and low-tech companies. As compared to low-tech firms, high-tech CEO compensation is relied more on variable pays and is directly tied to market-based performance measure. The results also support that CEO compensation is positively related to CEO stock ownership. In general, high-tech firms tend to use more comprehensive performance measures than those of low-tech firms.


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Just in case you hadn't noticed, active-inspired footwear is having a major moment right now. You'll be hard pressed to find a collection this season that doesn't take a few cues from the world of sports. For that very reason, it's a great time to be Dirk Bikkembergs! His design philosophy has always been to combine the best of fashion and sport, so his S/S 13 footwear offerings are more on-point than ever.
The label offered three main silhouettes: the slip-on trainer, the active sandal and the lace-up court shoe. Bikkembergs relied on a palette of neon orange, pink and blue paired with white and black to create a sharp, sporty contrast. Sandals were modernized with mesh and patent straps and oversized buckle hardware. Almond toe gored slip-ons in eye catching colored snakeskin were a focal point, blending the ultra luxe and the ultra athletic in a way that only Dirk can.


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Plaster pieces and a cool DIY project
I've been noticing a trend in plaster pieces lately. Im gearing up to create one of these for my own home. Below you can check out the instructions on how to create a masterpiece all your own.
Jonathan Berger House Beautiful
Bart Swindall, O at Home
Bart Swindall's tips for plastering a vintage table, O at Home Mag.
1. In case you change your mind a few years down the road, protect the base piece with an application of furniture wax and two layers of aluminum foil. Seal the edges of the foil with adhesive tape to keep plaster from getting underneath.
2. Cover the foil completely with white primer. When primer dries (about 30 minutes) use a cup or your hands (wear gloves) to apply tow thin layers of quick drying plaster of Paris.
3. Let your piece dry for three days. If plaster spillover has adhered your piece to the work surface, use an Exacto Knife to cut the feet free. If any plaster breaks off, repair with Elmer's Glue.


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Sunday 11am - Marin - Bolinas, good surfing
Bolinas was very nice this morning. Median age in the water was 60, median vibe was "stoked". Lots of consistent waist-high sets coming through and a few old guys who really knew how to use them. Love that early Sunday crowd. I think I made a new friend or two.


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It goes without saying that being in the CIA requires intelligence, an ability to work autonomously, a strong sense of responsibility, a whole lot of courage, and an unfaltering love for the United States. The agency has the following requirements that all potential employees must meet:
According to the CIA's Career page, the agency doesn't recommend any particular course of academic study over another. Instead, they seek a wide variety of people with talent, knowledge, skill, and integrity.
Contrary to what you might think, not everyone who works for the Central Intelligence Agency is a "spy" (or field agent). They also hire scientists, engineers, and computer programmers and technicians to analyze, interpret, and store the information that field agents collect. On the administrative side, the agency might hire attorneys, librarians, graphic designers, psychologists, bookkeepers, human resources staff, and a whole slew of other professionals to keep the "business side" of the agency running.
Good luck!
©2014 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
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Privacy Policy


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Over 500 young musicians will perform in the 2012 Music Office Annual Gala at 3pm on March 11 (Sunday) at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Two fabulous concertos, "Princess Wencheng" and "Chinese Rhapsody No.3", and a variety of Chinese and Western music will be performed, guaranteeing the audience a melodious afternoon.
The musicians are trainees from the Music Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and are variously members of the Music Office Youth Choir, Hong Kong Youth Strings, Hong Kong Junior Chamber Ensemble, Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band, Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra and Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra.
Under the batons of Dr Angelina Au, Ng Ka-ming, Lee Sing-wan, Pak Wing-heng and Tsui Ying-fai, the trainees will showcase a spectacular rendition of Chinese and Western music.
The programme includes "Princess Wencheng", to be played by the Hong Kong Youth Symphonic Band accompanied by sheng trainee Chan Yui-ming. This piece is based on the famous old story of the peace-making marriage of Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty and Songtsen Gambo, King of the Tubos. The piece was originally composed for sheng solo with a Chinese orchestra; here it will be replaced by sheng solo accompanied by a symphonic band. Some of the Chinese percussion instruments will be kept to enhance the Chinese flavour.
"Chinese Rhapsody No.3", will be performed by the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra together with saxophone trainee Jeremy Lee. Originally a saxophone solo piece written by Huang An-lun, who lives in Canada, the music is filled with the rustic charms of China's northern regions. The concerto version to be performed has been rearranged for a saxophone solo and the Chinese orchestra.
The Music Office Youth Choir will perform Haydn's classical oratorio, "The Heavens are Telling from The Creation"; the choral piece "Prayer of the Children", which reflects the sadness of war; and the African-American spiritual work "The Battle of Jericho". The Hong Kong Youth Strings and the Hong Kong Junior Chamber Ensemble will perform Mozart's "Divertimento in F Major, K. 138", which reveals the composer's exquisite musical style as a young man.
Other performances include Giacomo Puccini's string work, "Crisantemi"; Giroux's band work "La Mezquita de Córdoba", which depicts the harmony between the Christians, Muslims and Jews in the Mosque at Cordoba, Spain; "Symphony No.1 in D major, Op.25 - Classical", an elegant symphonic work from Prokofiev; and "Shanghai Capriccio", which portrays the prosperity of Shanghai and the convergence of East and West.
Awards will also be presented to over 40 outstanding trainees and members of the Music Office's bands, choirs and orchestras.
Tickets priced at $100, $80 and $60 are now available at all URBTIX outlets. Half-price concessions are available for full-time students, senior citizens, people with disabilities and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients.
Credit card booking can be made at 2111 5999, and internet booking can be made at www.urbtix.hk. For programme enquiries, please call 2796 7537 or 2582 5311 or visit the website
Ends/Wednesday, February 22, 2012


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interviewBy Fredson Guilengue
An interview with Lutero Simango, one half of the sibling double act running Mozambique's growing new political party MDM.
In 2009, Mozambicans watched the birth of a new political party, the Democratic Movement of Mozambique (MDM). In only four years the party has successfully managed to gain control of three strategic municipalities and has emerged as a challenger to the ruling party, FRELIMO, and the main opposition RENAMO, one year ahead of the national elections.
Meanwhile, very little is known about MDM's political orientation and the reasons behind its rise. To gain greater insight into MDM's political thinking, Fredson Guilengue, project manager at the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung - Southern Africa, interviewed the head of the national parliamentary group of MDM, Lutero Chimbirombiro Simango, the older brother of Daviz Simango and the president of MDM.
While Daviz resides in Beira (the second largest city in Mozambique), Lutero is based in the capital city of Maputo. Their father, Uria Simango was one of the founding members of FRELIMO and briefly served as president before being ousted in an internal power struggle whereby Samora Machel and Marcelino Dos Santos took control of the party.
Around a decade later (the specific date remains uknown) Uria was arrested, abducted and executed in secret (as were his wife and other dissidents) upon FRELIMO's orders.
FG: When did you take your first steps into politics?
LCS: There was always a political creature inside me. But I also always attached considerable importance to academic training. I think it's the academic training that kept the political creature at bay.
Somewhere between 1974 and 1975 our parents were taken away from us. I only started accepting that they were not coming back to us in 1976. It was during this period that the political creature started to develop.
During the same period many people I knew had been arrested for their political convictions and detained at the military headquarters in Matacuene. During one of my visits there I also had the privilege of being introduced to André Matsangaissa. In 1977 some rebel groups rose against the FRELIMO regime.
I had access to these groups and I also took part in their meetings. I even remember considering joining such groups. But my desire to pursue my studies was stronger. This coupled with the fact that I had loved listening to the radio expecting an announcement that mum and dad were coming back home.
I effectively started in politics in 1990 with the new constitution that gave Mozambicans the possibility to form political parties.
My decision was also influenced by the fact that my parents had been politicians and because we belong to a family of missionaries. Being a missionary doesn't always simply mean being religious but also open to serve. It is part of our family values and I think our father also felt it.
MDM started in 2009 created and supported by RENAMO, PCN and FRELIMO dissidents. To what extent is the party unique or different?
LCS: I don't like to use the term dissidents because it sounds too heavy. "Dissidents" implies people constantly hunting for power, which is not the case. It's incorrect to say that MDM was born of discontentment with FRELIMO, RENAMO and PCN. I think there are moments when all of us feel that we have to contribute to our country and it is in these moments that new windows open.
I consider that the formation of MDM resulted from a new window of need to save democracy and defeat bipolarisation. But above all it was necessary to rebuild hope in Mozambique. It was a window based on these three pillars that was the critical factor behind the formation of the party.
MDM doesn't only comprise people formerly belonging to those parties but also young people who had never been politically militant. I think MDM is a Mozambican political party that serves Mozambicans but, above all, it is a political party with no military history. It's not a militarised product.
It's a product of civilians with a democratic mind and development orientated. If you pay attention to the political discourse, you will notice that while some assume to be the custodians of independence, others consider themselves the fathers of democracy.
We are fine with both assumptions but we insist that now we have to focus on a development agenda. We want to talk about housing, employment, health, education and how to manage our natural resources. We come with a new way of doing politics.
What do you think about the allegation by Sérgio Chichava (Senior Politics researcher at IESE) that MDM belongs to the Simango family and that it has two presidents (Daviz Simango in Beira and Lutero Simango in Maputo)?
I think Chichava's opinion is very unfortunate and he has done the Mozambican people and the international academia a disservice. I believe the results of his investigation are both misleading and single-sided.
It reflected tension within MDM caused by our former general secretary using arguments on information provided by this person. The argument that MDM has two presidents is baseless.
Everybody knows that there is a president and I am the head of the parliamentary group. Yes we are siblings but before that we are citizens. I am not aware of any legislation in Mozambique impeding two individual with the same parents being part of the same organization.
Therefore, it would have been a different debate if he had said that my appointment as the head of the parliamentary group was based on nepotism.
My appointment resulted from an internal reflection that took my political experience as Member of Parliament into consideration.
There is no way one can say that the party belongs to the two brothers of the family because we have obtained seats in all municipalities of the country except Mutarara and Macia. We are now governing four towns. If it was a family party how would we have been able to build this capacity countrywide!
According to the historian Michel Cahen, MDM is a centre-right Christian party. Why have you opted for this ideological orientation?
Wasn't your strategy to distinguish yourselves from FRELIMO (perceived to be leftist with a history of ideological radicalism) and from RENAMO (clearly a right wing party)?
I would not say we are centre-right Christian. Let's only say centre-right because if we said centre-right Christian we would exclude non-Christians. The reason is very simple.
When we discuss the nature of a typical Mozambican we would need the capacity to evaluate his socialisation. A Mozambican is, by nature, individualistic. We all lead independent lives: we possess our properties, goods, machambas (a small plot of land), our yards, our trees, etc.
When you visit my home, I can go to my chicken coop and offer you a chicken. I also have the honour of taking you there and saying, "My dearest friend, please select the chicken you would like to eat." This is what we would call ownership - individual ownership.
In Mozambique or in Africa in general, there is no so-called collective life on management of goods. Collectivisation should not be imposed upon people, it must occur naturally.
Collectivisation doesn't exist amongst Mozambicans. I have my machamba and my own goods, but I still have the liberty to share with you even though the goods are mine.
This ownership is a property. At the end of the day everyone has personal possessions. I don't know whether you call it capitalism or market economy but it's about property and property rights. It is a concept involving capital and profit.
MDM believes in a market economy and private property. We have to encourage people to have private property. We have to encourage people to have their own houses. This also involves each one of us having our own land. This is capitalism classically speaking.
On the other side, we are Africans. For us, nothing just happens. There is always a greater power. This thing is God. The Christians would call it Christ and the Muslims would say it is the prophet Muhammad. I don't believe atheists exist. Every human has a belief system.
When I am neither Christian nor Muslim I believe in the spirits. It's also a religion. Whatever religion it might be, it's a religion. MDM believes in this. Because MDM participates as international democratic Christians, this doesn't mean we are only for the Christians. We are for everyone.
Meanwhile, we also believe that we need education and health. We can pick from the left what the right cannot provide.
MDM advocates education for all. This must be picked up from the left. The same applies to health. At the end of the day we advocate for a social market economy because the people don't always have enough money so the state must play its role.
To build state capacity we encourage that everyone pays taxes. I believe we inadvertently distinguished ourselves from the others (FRELIMO and RENAMO) by firstly understanding the socio-cultural formation of our people. As I said for us as Africans our only place is centre-right.
How do you evaluate the results of the latest municipal elections?
The 2013 elections have been an important milestone for the party. It allowed us to consolidate our establishment as a political organisation.
It strengthened the presence of the party nationwide, regardless of the results. It proved to the Mozambicans that we have members countrywide. It once again disproved Chichava's theory and reflects the existence of a new group of voters.
It strengthens the trends towards a third way. But I agree with those who suggest that we wait until the October elections to see if this trend will continue.
The results we have obtained have never before been recorded by an opposition party. It is for this reason that we cannot say that the results reflect the vacuum created by RENAMO's boycott.
RENAMO has never conquered [the cities] Quelimane and Nampula; RENAMO has never reached 40% in the city of Maputo and Matola; and RENAMO has never reached 48% in the city of Chimoio. So this means that there is a new generation of voters.
Sergio Vieira (former Security Minister and Governor of the Bank of Mozambique) said that it was very dangerous to allow MDM to get into power because it might be representative of revenge against national independence.
He also referred to the support which MDM has been getting from the ultranationalists in Portugal, from racists and from members of the European and American extreme right.
Some believe that Vieira, and others within FRELIMO, fear revenge by your family because of their involvement in the assassination of your parents. What is your opinion about this? Is there any potential or real possibility of revenge?
Firstly, I would say I am very happy to hear these words from Sérgio Vieira. It is an indication that he now accepts that MDM can get into power. He has also begun to recognise that MDM is a serious competitor. If we did not have the possibility of assuming power he would not have commented.
This means that we are a threat to FRELIMO so this message is clear. It is also a warning to us. Secondly, when he talks about revenge, I assume he is thinking that whoever wins the elections in Mozambique will discard the constitution and legislation. This is typical FRELIMO behaviour of disregarding legislation and the constitution.
If MDM attains power it will respect the constitution and legislation and the country will be governed based on the rule of law. We have proved our worth with the governance of Beira and Quelimane [Mozambique's second largest city and the Zambizian province's administrative capital].
We will govern for the benefit of everyone. It's possible that Vieira feels the weight of his own conscience. If this is the case, then he must unburden himself and tell the Mozambicans everything he knows about the evil he committed. I believe that he is pressurised by his "ghosts". He must assume his responsibilities and the Mozambicans will obviously know how to forgive him.
Concerning the alleged support we are getting from outside the country, I must stress that the Mozambican legislation on the funding of political parties is very clear when it states that we cannot be supported by outsiders.
If he has evidence about external funding then he should use the existing institutions and courts to present these findings. The Portuguese coming to Mozambique today have been invited by the Mozambican government and not by MDM.
Likewise, the Americans who are investing in Mozambique have been invited by the Mozambican government. The same applies to the Europeans and the Chinese.
There is a tendency within certain government circles to suggest that small and medium enterprises do not have sufficient space to operate because of the big companies invited by MDM. This is untrue.
The truth is that there is no policy in Mozambique to promote and protect local, small and medium enterprises. We consider the case of the assassination of Uria Simango, his wife and of other Mozambicans as a state issue.
What would MDM's position have been if it had been included in the political dialogue between the government of Mozambique and RENAMO that was intended to resolve the current political and military instability?
I have always been very clear about our position regarding political dialogue. There are so many motives behind it. One of them was the discussion on the GPA, which we thought it best to leave to the two of them.
We were not excluded from the dialogue, however, it is important to understand that the dialogue was the result of an appointment requested by RENAMO to the government of Mozambique (amongst other issues, RENAMO wanted equal representation in the National Electoral Commission).
The motivation behind this was lack of implementation of the GPA by the government that later expanded to issues like the electoral legislation.
Our position was that the two should discuss issues relating to the GPA. Meanwhile, beyond this, our position is that nobody should be excluded from discussing issues of national interest. That's why we appealed that the two find a way to stop armed conflict. What we now observe is that both are involved in killing innocent civilians. They must resolve this situation.
Therefore, when discussing other issues, they must involve all political actors within Mozambican society including MDM. We must not be side-lined in any debate or analysis about the future of Mozambique.
If we were there our role would have been to remind them that the country must reconcile, progress and we must have a policy to govern the natural resources. We would also stress that we must decide now about the kind of military force the country should have.
On February 22, 2014 Parliament passed the final reading of the bill on the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and on electoral registration. These two bills where submitted by RENAMO following agreements reached during dialogue.
The CNE will now move from 13 to 17 members. Seven of those will come from civil society organizations, five from FRELIMO, four from RENAMO and one from MDM.
The Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE) at national level will be composed of 18 members appointed by the political parties represented in the national parliament.
FRELIMO will appoint nine members, RENAMO eight and MDM one. What do you think will be the consequences of this new set up for the democratic process in Mozambique? Why did MDM vote in favour of politicising the electoral institutions?
All arguments and analyses surrounding this new set up have purpose whether accepted or opposed. And we all agree that it's going to be costly. Some even say that this money could be better spent on medication for the hospitals or more school desks.
They are all right. Nevertheless, this is the so-called "price of peace". We understand that the objective of these agreements is to stop conflict and to accommodate various views within these institutions. What we are going to see now is that the government will submit an amended budget to parliament to justify the costs of such adjustments.
Depending on what is forthcoming we shall review our position because it is well known that we have always voted against the national budget.
This time the government wants to gauge how we will handle the situation once opposition proposals have been incorporated. Because we realised that the agreements between the government and RENAMO were only to accommodate some people, we advanced a single proposal.
This proposal was to create conditions to allow the political parties represented in parliament to have at least one representative at polling stations. And this proposal passed.
We have always stressed that elections are won at polling stations. If everything goes well at the polling stations, whoever wins will be regarded as the fair winner. We have never had any doubt about this. Our experience in previous elections proves this argument.
Even the judgements from the constitutional court make reference to problems at polling stations. The presence of the political parties at polling stations will result in a more transparent process in terms of avoiding fraud.
This will benefit Mozambicans because we can be assured that the electoral results are fair. Nevertheless, as part of MDM culture, we will continue to stress to every citizen that his or her vote is secret. Voting is not enough; we must be there to ensure that no intimidation or manipulation takes place.
What kind of external policy (regional and international) should we expect from MDM if it takes power?
We will continue to uphold and respect international conventions and our policy will be based on peaceful co-existence between states.
We will respect international agreements between Mozambique and other countries. We will respect the concept of good neighbourliness. We will transform this mutual respect into an opportunity for economic growth for the country. We will respect the financial agreements between Mozambique and the IMF.
But it's obvious that we may revisit the terms of reference because each government has its own objectives. See that we have our own objectives we will have to discuss new terms of reference with the IMF to ensure development and the faster repayment of national debt.
We will also defend the UN and the African Union charter. In our diplomatic relations with other countries the interests of Mozambique will always come first.