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|The EFA 2000 Assessment: Country Reports
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2.6 Goals and Targets for Providing Education to Disadvantaged Populations in the 1990s
Disadvantaged populations in the context of Botswana are considered members of this group due to a number of reasons. The most prominent are people with disabilities, and the people who live in the remotest areas of Botswana, typically referred to as Remote Area Dwellers (RADS). Other groups of disadvantaged people include the rural destitutes and girls who dropout of school due to pregnancy. This population was singled out for emphasis in this report because it is historically one of the sections of Botswana community who have received the least support from Government as far as provision of social services, particularly education. Rather, provision of education for special populations was historically a concern of NGOs.
For instance, NPE of 1977 did not make any explicit goals on provision of education for Batswana with special educational needs. The need for organised special education services became a concern of government in the O& M exercise of 1993. This resulted in the establishment of the Division of Special Education that was charged with the responsibility of providing planning, advisory, and administrative services for children with disabilities across all levels of the education system. One of the goals of the new division was to mainstream special education services as part of the regular education system, and where necessary, set up separate special education units.
The RNPE of 1994 came up with explicit goals for provision of education for Batswana with special educational needs, and made recommendations for alleviation of difficulties for other populations. Derived from ten recommendation that became education policy, the goals for special education as expressed in the RNPE were:
Recommendation 15 of the RNPE recognizes the need to increase participation of cultural minorities in basic education. The target that addresses RADs education under the primary sector pertains to the provision of education through formal and non-formal means. Additional targets for RADs education were found in the work of other partners, the UNICEF country programme in particular.
Actions planned for the implementation of the recommendation include revising the curriculum and learning materials. The proposed curriculum is going to be skill-based, and non-prescriptive, which means that teachers will receive prototype materials which they will adapt for their local contexts to incorporate knowledge and experiences of learners. This has implications for, among others, pre-service and in-service teacher training in adapting curriculum materials. All these actions were implied in the sub-sector goals, but there were no specific targets and timeframes for achieving the targets.
Policy pronouncements on ensuring inclusion of children of destitute families in basic education address issues of school fees, and feeding. This was another area where there was no stock-taking to ascertain how many learners fall in this group, where these learners are, and if the relief that is planned for their benefit would reach them. As a result no specific targets were set for this population.
Teenage pregnancy is a problem that the school system has lived with for quite some time now. However past policies and regulations show that until recently, the school system dealt with it in a punitive manner. School girls who got pregnant (and in some cases the boys who were implicated in the pregnancies) were expelled from school, most of the time never to come back to the public school system. A small percentage of the girls re-entered school and attended private night schools, or chose to pursue their studies through non-formal means. The present regulations have been progressive in that they exhibit more tolerance and sympathy for young learners who fall pregnant. However, no specific targets were set either for eradicating teenage pregnancy, or for devising measures that would bring them back into pursuing their educational career.
A selection of activities of NDP 7 and NDP 8 were geared towards achieving goals that are stipulated under each EFA target dimensions. These are provided in provided in Table 2.
Table 2: Summary of Botswana Educational Targets for the 1990s and Beyond
Jomtien EFA Core Dimensions
Corresponding Targets in
Action on Target in
Action on Target in
|Expansion of Early Childhood Education and Care (EDC)
|Universal access to 2 years of pre-primary education within 25 years.
Set up the Pre-primary Unit in MOE
Train teachers who specialise in pre-primary education
|Universal access to basic education by the year 2000.
|Universal access to 10 years basic education within the 25 years; 98% progression rate to Form 1 by 2000.
Improve access and quality at the primary level, i.e.,
|Improvement in learning achievement
|Establish quality assurance systems for performance of education system. This includes learning achievement.
EFA Core Targets
Corresponding Targets in
Action on Target in
Action on Target in
|Reduction of adult illiteracy
|Develop the society towards achievement of
fully literacy;
Introduce post-literacy courses, namely Adult Basic Education Course, and Adult JC programme.
|Acquisition and expansion of skills that are essential for sustainable human development of youth and adults
|Education for disadvantaged populations
3.0 EFA Strategy and Plan of Action
The second national Commission on Education not only set out goals of education in the RNPE, but also recommended strategies for achieving those goals. It also recommended that an institutional framework for implementation and monitoring of the education policy.
3.1 Strategy for Pre-primary Education
Policy on provision of pre-primary education was being formulated towards the end of 1999. However, the Revised National Policy on Education (RNPE) recommended for immediate action on the following:
Following the recommendations of the RNPE, a Pre-school Development Committee has been established. The committee is made up of representatives of government Ministries, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and aid agencies. Government Ministries are Education, Labour and Home Affairs, Local Government, Lands and Housing and Health. NGOs are represented by, among others, BCW, YWCA, Child to Child Network, Kuru Development Trust, Tirisanyo Catholic Commission and pre-school Centre Association. Aid agencies are UNICEF, and UNESCO. The committees main function is to co-ordinate developments in pre-school education.
3.2 EFA Strategy for Primary Education
In its recommendations of improvement and provision of primary education, the RNPE provided a framework and structure under which is became possible to monitor progress and attain the goals set for the provision of education in Botswana. The first set of recommendations proposed a strategy for education and training. For the primary level, the strategy was to;
The strategy above is now operational. It was also enhanced by appointing a co-ordinator at the policy-making level, a policy-making level officer who was charged with the responsibility of monitoring implementation of the RNPE recommendations. Other MOE departmental structures have also been enhanced to accommodate new responsibilities.
3.3 EFA Strategy for Achievement of Learning
Strategies addressed to improvement of learning achievement have focused on improving materials and physical facilities, teacher qualifications and ability to deal with mixed-ability groupings, curriculum development and learning assessment. A new challenge was that these improvements were to benefit the school going population, as well as populations who have to attain basic education through the non-formal system.
On improvement of physical facilities that may have an impact on learning improvement, the RNPE recommended that an adequate number of classrooms be built in each school. In addition, each primary school was supposed to be equipped with an administration block, a library, a fully equipped Science room, and a resource centre. Additional subject specific rooms were to be included in junior secondary schools. All buildings in education institutions were supposed to be accessible to all students, including students with physical and/or learning disabilities.
The need to have trainable and/or trained teachers was identified, hence the strategy that was adopted with respect to teachers was to raise their academic and professional qualifications for primary school teachers. It is envisaged that teachers with a sound minimum academic qualification would benefit more from in-service programmes that are routinely conducted when new innovations are introduced.
A new curriculum blueprint was developed in 1995. This blueprint addressed the acquisition of knowledge and problem-solving skills as well as the social, cultural, and ethical dimensions of human development. Implementation strategies for the new curriculum that address the component of improving learning achievement included;
In order to facilitate proper achievement and assessment of learning, assessment blueprints for all subject curricula were to be developed. These were meant to provide skills to be tested, and learning behaviours to be assessed. Also to be reflected in the blueprints were objectives to be assessed by continuous assessment, objectives to be assessed by examinations, and guidelines for setting performance to be used to award letter grades (Curriculum Blueprint, CD&E, 1995).
In some parts of Botswana, the strategy of improving conditions for teaching and learning is aimed at reducing absenteeism and dropout rates, and increasing contact time with teachers. For some communities for whom this is necessary, the RNPE recommended repackaging of the curriculum and rescheduling of the school year if the educational needs of these groups are to be addressed. appropriate strategies are needed for non-formal education.
3.4. EFA Strategy for Reducing Illiteracy
A number of activities were planned for the literacy decade under the National Literacy Programme of the Department of Non-formal Education (DNFE). These included the Literacy at the Workplace Project, Income Generating Projects, and the Village Reading Rooms, and English as a Second Language.
The Literacy at the Workplace Programmes though conceived in the 80s, started in 1991 as an organised initiative. The purpose of this project was to reach non-literate people at their places of work. The general operational strategy was that the DNFE along with the target organisation would work together to identify non-literate workers in the organisation. The responsibilities of the organisation were to provide space or identify a venue where classes would be held, arrange a class schedule and commit to releasing the employees to attend classes, and provide payment for the teacher. DNFE identified and trained a teacher, and provided teaching materials.
A total of 51 organisations have participated in the Literacy at the Workplace Project since its inception in 1991. To date, there has been 580 participants. Table A below shows the number of participants per district.
Income Generating Activities programme is charged with the responsibility of imparting productive and business management skills to people who participate in the National Literacy Programme as a means of improving their livelihood. This affords them the opportunity to use their literacy and numeracy skills in life situations, thereby avoiding relapsing into illiteracy.
Village Reading Rooms is joint project between DNFE and the Botswana National Library Service (BNLS). It was conceived in the 1980s as a post-literacy to afford the new literates an opportunity to read beyond the primas.
The English as a Second Language programme is an outcome of the 1984 and 1987 evaluation studies of the National Literacy Programme. The evaluation revealed a need for the provision of English as a Second Language for communication and further studies.
In addition, DNFE has planned activities to commemorate the International Literacy Day every year in this decade. These activities have included delivering speeches, learner testimonies, poetry, singing, exhibits of learner work, both from classroom activities and productive activities. Other activities included advocacy and social mobilisation for literacy, marketing of learner products. Table 3 presents a summary of inter-ministerial literacy projects, the government ministries that are responsible for the projects, and short description of the purpose of each project. This information also illustrates the multi-sectoral strategy that has been adopted for promotion of literacy activities.
3.5 EFA Strategy for Provision of Essential Skills
RNPE strategies for assisting young people and adults in attaining skills for betterment of their lives include community extension services programmes, provision of basic education through distance education and other non-formal means. Community extension services, under the auspices of the Rural Extension Co-ordinating Committee, facilitate training in technical and business skills for the rural and urban informal sector.
The Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning (BOCODOL) was established to offer among others, basic education courses, while the education policy environment provides for easy registration of private vocational colleges. The mass media has also been utilised as an avenue for disseminating training and support materials in education. For instance, local newspapers, Mmegi and The Guardian, carry inserts that address topical issues on education, and/or offer revision materials to learners in completing classes. Mmegis insert, Bokamoso is a montly publication, while the Guardian publishes The Guardian Learner bi-monthly. The RNPE also recommended shared use of all educational facilities in order to get maximum utility from facilities such as classrooms and resource centres.
The medium of radio, especially the state-owned Radio Botswana, has also been utilised in the dissemination of educational messages to Botswana citizens. There is a wide variety of radio programmes that are aired for their educative value. These include instructional support programmes that are designed and produced by the School Broadcasting Unit of the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation, programmes that publicise and support literacy activities, programmes that offer agricultural education, as well as publicise and support agricultural events. A number of programmes have been designed recently for the dissemination of messages about HIV/AIDS.
Table 3: Literacy Projects
Government Ministry
Project Name
Purpose/objectives of the Project
|Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs
|Ministry of Commerce and Industry
|Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing
|Ministry of Health
|Ministry of Agriculture
University of Botswana
Training of Trainers
Training literacy educators
3.6 EFA Strategy for Education of the Disadvantaged Populations
Populations which are most disadvantaged when it comes to provision of education include with learners with disabilities, and learners who live in the remotest areas of Botswana, typically referred to as Remote Area Dwellers (RADS). Other groups of disadvantaged people include the rural destitute, and girls who dropout of school due to pregnancy.
The RNPE provides a strategy for implementing special education activities. The strategy began with transforming what was the Special Education Unit under the Department of Primary Education into as a stand-alone Division of Special Education, and recasting its role as a division that supports all levels of education. This Division advises other MOE departments in the area in the best methods of reaching their constituency. It has also mounted several programmes which include identifying students with learning abilities, placing their students in relevant educational institutions, and providing special learner materials and assistance where necessary.
Delivery of education to children of the RADs and increasing their interest and participation in schooling still remains one of the most serious challenges that MOE is faced with. MOE in collaboration with UNICEF has mounted a pilot programme on improving instructional conditions in a number of schools of children of RADs. This initiative is aims at addressing issues of language, cultural sensitisation of teachers, development and packaging of curriculum and learning materials in a manner that is sensitive to the culture and living conditions of the RADs. Other UNICEF supported programmes are aiming at improving the quality of childrens lives in boarding facilities and encouraging participation in school-readiness programmes (Government of Botswana/ UNICEF Education Programmes, 1995-1999).
The education system in Botswana is facing a serious problem of school dropouts due to teenage pregnancy. Even though school participation rates between boys and girls are about equal, retention and graduation rates are skewed in favour of girls. In response to this problem government introduced a new policy that encouraged young mothers to re-enter school soon after their childs first birthday (Regulation 34, Education Policy). A study whose purpose was to analyse and evaluate this new policy has shown that girls do not take advantage of the provision of this policy because of a number of reasons, one of which is that school is a hostile environment to young mothers (Chilisa, 1997). Factors that make school environment unbearable to young mothers include social labelling, taunting and tormenting of these motbers by their peers and their in some instances, teachers, and a general lack of regard for the additional responsibilities of motherhood by the school. One of the programmes that has been initiated to provide support for young mothers is Diphalana, another MOE/UNICEF collaborative effort.
The Basic Education for Pregnant Students Project (Diphalana for short) is aimed at educating students to prevent pregnancy, and to provide uninterrupted basic education for girls who would otherwise drop out due to pregnancy. Students who participate in this programme are pregnant teenage girls who have been encouraged to continue schooling throughout pregnancy, and young mothers who have come back to re-enter school after a recent pregnancy. The main focus of the project is providing lifeskills education. This is in view of the fact that pregnant girls are at a higher risk not only of falling pregnant again, but of contracting STDs including HIV/AIDS.
Diphalana has proved to be a useful project in as far as providing a supportive learning environment to young mothers, and other material support for their babies. However, it will be difficult to replicate this model elsewhere on a more sustainable basis because of the cost implications. Lesson learned from it should be used to design a more sustainable programme.
4.0 EFA Decision-making and Management
While the national co-ordination was transferred to the MLHA in 1991, the management of the pre-primary programme remained the direct responsibility of the Local Authorities through the Division of Social and Community Development. The Pre-school programme is run in partnership with Local Authorities. Local Authorities are interested in a decentralised service and in maintaining the partnership that has always existed in the provision of this service. The role of the Ministries of Education and Local Government Lands and Housing is to create an enabling environment and policy guidelines for the development of the pre-school education program, while the Ministry of Education.
The responsibilities are shared as follows:
Ministry of Local Government, Lands and Housing
|1. Approval and registration of a pre- school
|1. Issue certificates of registration
|2. Co-ordination, supervision and inspection
|2. Clearance of foreign teachers
|3. Establishment of by-laws
|3. Review of inspectoral services
4. Mobilisation of the community and parental education
|4. Pre-service training of teachers and
|5. Employment of pre-school supervisor
5. Curriculum and supervisor programme development
|6. Maintenance of community pre-schools
6. Establishment of standards and policy on pre schools
Management of primary education is the joint responsibility of several departments of the Ministry of Education. The Primary Education Department is responsible for supervising that learning takes place in the primary schools, while the Teacher the department Training and Development (TTD) oversees the professional development of teachers. Another MOE department, Teaching Service Management, is responsible for hiring and deploying teachers to schools, and the overall human resource management of teachers The chief executives and overall managers of primary education are the Directors of the departments. Education Officers of the Primary Education Department supervise the headteachers, while headteachers supervise teachers in primary schools. Policy-making for the primary level is the sole prerogative of the NCE. However, the Heads of Departments meeting can deliberate on policy matters and make recommendation to the Policy Advisory Committee, which would in term make recommendations to the NCE.
Decision-making and management of activities that are geared towards achieving learning outcomes is the responsibility of the Examinations, Research and Testing Division (ERTD). The roles and responsibilities of ERTD are development of assessment programmes, developing and administering examinations, monitoring learning achievement, and conducting assessment-related research that will inform improvement of learning achievement. The chief executive and overall manager of ERTD is the Director. NCE is responsible for policy-making for this component.
The Ministry of Education has the portfolio responsibility for the National Literacy Programme. Literacy activities were carried out with many partners in Government, NGOs, the private sector and parastatal organisations. Government departments had specific roles and responsibilities. Table 3 is a summary of the projects that DNFE is conducting in partnership with government ministries, e.g. the Botswana National Library Service, was a partner in the Village Reading Rooms Project. Parastatal and private organisations were mostly involved with the Workplace Literacy Project.
Different structures and committees for co-ordinating the activities of programmes have been put in place. However, DNFE officials play a pivotal role either as convenors or the secretariat of the committees. Like all other MOE departments, policy matters for DNFE are discussed by National Literacy Advisory Committee, the HOD meeting, which makes recommendation to the Policy Advisory Committee, which would in term make recommendations to the NCE.
5.0 Co-operation in EFA
Provision of education in Botswana is primarily the responsibility of the government. The Government encourages and welcomes assistance from partners and other stakeholders such as local authorities, local communities, donor agencies, NGOs, churches, parents and the learners themselves.
Provision of early-childhood care and development has been the initiative of the private sector, non-governmental organisations, and local communities. The RNPE supports the involvement of all these stakeholders. Non-governmental organisations involved in pre-primary have benefited substantial assistance from donors such as UNICEF, UNDP, while a substantial number of private individuals providing day-care have benefited from the Financial Assistance Policy (FAP). In 1996 there were about 350 such centres. It is not clear how many there will be at the close of the 1990s. There is little information about the nature of the centres, their locality, the nature and quality of their facilities.
Provision of primary education has largely been the responsibility of government. Access to government primary schools is open to all residents of Botswana, citizens and non-citizens alike. Of the 740 primary schools that have were registered in 1999, 665 (89.9%), were government owned, 66 (8.9%) were privately owned, while 9 (1.2%) were community owned, but government aided. Most government aided schools have been converted to fully fledged government schools in the past decade, with the percentage of government aided schools having dropped from 19.9 in 1990 to 1.2 in 1999. This was done as a means of improving access to primary schooling, and to provide a relatively equitable service of primary schooling in the affected communities.
Assessment and monitoring of learning achievement is conducted by teachers at the classrooms level, and externally through centrally designed tests. Standard 4 attainment tests, the PSLE and the JCE serve as major indicators of whether learning has occurred in the basic education cycle. Standard 4 attainment tests are developed externally, but administered and reported locally by teachers in government schools, while the PLSE and the JCE are developed and reported as external examinations. All three external examinations are developed in partnership with classroom teachers and curriculum developers.
At the classroom level, teachers are encouraged to keep a performance record for all learners, and appraise their achievements against the skills that they should achieve at each level as stipulated in the curriculum. Efforts to synchronise continuous assessment procedures such that classroom scores can be included when reporting learner achievement at the national level are underway. According to NDP 8, continuous assessment procedures should be finalised and operational by the end of the current planning period.
At the school level, most schools take responsibility for ensuring that learners meet their learning targets. Communities and district authorities also take a keen interest in how their schools perform in external examinations in comparison with other schools within the district, and reward schools that show evidence of good learning achievement. Comparisons on learning achievement are also made across districts. This information is used for policy-making and planning purposes at the national level. On the whole, learners that are enrolled private schools perform better than those enrolled in government schools for a various reasons.
Another important partnership was forged between government and the USAID and the Ministry of Education in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Projects which were funded by USAID include the Primary Education Improvement Project (PEIP), the Junior Secondary Education Improvement Project (JSEIP), and the Basic Education Consolidation Project (BEC). Areas of collaboration included development of curriculum and support material for the Nine-Year Basic Education Programme, the development of assessment procedures for the curriculum which culminated in the development of a criterion-referenced PSLE, capacity building for the primary school sector, to mention a few.
Recent collaboration efforts between MOE and donor agencies are aimed at capacity building. These include capacity building in the area of training of teacher trainers in the Colleges of Education (MOE and DFID), and improving the teaching profession (MOE and ADEA Working Group on the Teaching Profession of the Commonwealth Secretariat). Collaboration which is aimed at institutional capacity-building for improving the quality of education statistics and developing education indicators was also undertaken between the-MOE and UNESCO/SIDA.
Partnerships between Government, NGOs, and the private sector have also been effected in the provision of education for children with special educational needs. A multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral approach has been adopted where governments is providing assistance to NGOs which provide educational services for children with special needs.
Even though schools are generally run by school and personnel under the supervision of MOE School Inspectors, the RNPE supports the involvement of all stakeholders in education. At the primary school level, local communities are encouraged to participate in Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs), while Community Junior Secondary Schools have more formalised community-based structures of Board of Governors that work with school management teams in the running of schools. Board of governors are supposed to build partmerships between the community and the schools, and to promote community ownership of schools.
6.0 Investment in EFA since 1990
Investment in education has been a priority of the Government of Botswana since 1977 when expansion basic education to all citizen became a national goal. When the Jomtien Declaration came about in 1990, Botswana was moving towards the end of NDP 6 implementation period, where a substantial amount of the countrys resources had been spent as development expenditure for expansion of the primary school programme. During NDP 7, the largest share of development expenditure went to the junior secondary school level. The number of CJSSs increased from 120 in 1990 to about 234 in 1997.
Investment in education continues to be a priority even in the current planning period (NDP 8, 1997-2002), where the total development where the total development expenditure for MOE comprises 15.5% of the total Government development budget. A proportion of the funds has been earmarked for completing the expansion of the junior secondary buildings, as well as building new classrooms in the primary schools. The total recurrent expenditure that was been allocated to MOE during the same period is 29.1%. Government has also undertaken, in recent years, to spend money on the education of learners with special needs by giving subsidies to institutions that admit these learners.
Information on expenditure for ECCD is lacking, hence investment on education has so far not included ECCD and the pre-primary education phase. With the exception of ECCD centres that are run by the district and city councils, ECCD is by and large, funded by individuals, with subsidies from donor agencies, NGOs, and the private sector. However, the cost of education on individuals has increased over the years. So has participation, even though it has not reached satisfactory levels throughout the 1990, due of heavy emphasis on individual funding.
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by Captain_Couth December 27, 2009
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SHERLOCK JR. SYNOPSIS: A movie projectionist and janitor (Buster Keaton) who is studying to become a detective is in love with a beautiful girl (Kathryn McGuire). On a date he presents her with chocolates and an engagement ring. However, there is another … see full wiki
A 1927 movie directed by Clyde Bruckman.
A movie

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Electric power's five biggest challenges: Part Five -- Planning for empowered consumers
A decade ago, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) primed the smart grid pump with a Grid Vision workshop in Washington, DC. Many of today's smart grid concepts and policies can be traced back to that seminal meeting.
Now DOE has partnered with the GridWise Alliance (GWA) to hold four regional workshops followed by an Executive Summit in Washington, DC to once again develop a stakeholder-driven vision of the future grid. As a participant, I received background materials in advance.
Those materials included thoughtful discussions of five future scenarios. Or, if you prefer, five future challenges. They did such a good job of framing the issues that I asked permission to share them with you in a series of articles.
Part Five in the series talks about the challenge created by informed, empowered customers. At the end, you'll find a handful of questions. I invite you to use the Talk Back form at the bottom of the page to leave your own answers and opinions. When the series has finished, I will share the comments with the DOE for their consideration as they set the agenda for the next 10 years. - Jesse Berst
By Steve Hauser and Becky Harrison
In the past, most residential and small commercial customers had little choice in how they met their electric power needs. It was much like the days when Henry Ford made his famous statement "People can have the Model T in any color - so long as it's black." Customers were at the mercy of their electric power utility.
Our industry's former mindset can be seen in the fact that we typically referred to "rate payers" not "customers." Going forward, grid owners and operators must change this mindset and gain a better understanding of customer needs and preferences.


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THIS IS A MANUFACTURER DIRECT ITEM. THIS ITEM SHIPS ON OR BEFORE Monday, July 27 th
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This is the ultimate item for displaying your BCS Championship ticket! The officially licensed Ticket Frame combines your game ticket and personal photo with game statistics, headlines, and an officially licensed 8" x 10" photo. Hang one in your home or office and prepare yourself for a lifetime of storytelling! If you were fortunate to attend the 2011 BCS Championship Game, let our Ticket Frame capture the memory of witnessing college football history. It includes: headlines trumpeting the event's significance; an officially licensed 8" x 10" BCS Championship photo as shown; complete BCS Championship team statistics for both Auburn and Oregon; a place holder for your BCS Championship ticket that utilizes professional-grade mounting corners to preserve the condition and value of your ticket (ticket shown in sample not included); and a place for your personal 4" x 6" picture (fan photo shown in sample not included). This collectible is double-matted in Auburn team colors using white-core mat board and a high-grade metal frame for a board room-quality presentation. Overall size is 18"W x 22"H. Please note: Your BCS Championship ticket should match the style and design shown here. If different or if you have an E-Ticket, please call.
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Investors had two weeks to brace themselves for a disappointing second quarter earnings result from Target — the superstore released preliminary results earlier in August, revealing that the December 2013 data breach cost shareholders $148 million — but the official release of the earnings report still found room to provide additional disappointment. While profit came in line with what Target predicted, the company lowered its full-year earnings forecast as the effects from the data breach continue to reverberate, and as a result, shares of the retailer are in negative territory in early Wednesday trading.
Target reported Wednesday morning that it recorded $17.4 billion in second quarter sales, a 1.7% increase over the year-ago quarter and a figure that comes in line with the Wall Street estimate. Net income for the quarter was $234 million, resulting in earnings of 37 cents per share. Excluding one-time charges — like an 11-cent per-share charge related to the data breach — earnings were 78 cents per share, a 20% decline over the prior-year period but in line with Target's preliminary results as well as the analyst consensus.
"While results from the quarter didn't meet our expectations, we are seeing some early signs of progress as we work to improve results in the U.S. and Canada," John Mulligan, Target's executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a statement Wednesday morning. He went on to add that in the U.S., customer traffic is slowly recovering, "with July comparable sales up more than 1 percent. Better U.S. sales have continued into August, driven by early back-to-school results."
With regard to the company's struggling Canadian division, Mulligan added, "In Canada, the team is making important changes to operations and the merchandise assortment with a focus on delivering improved results by this holiday season." Sales for the segment increased 63% to $449 million despite an 11% drop in same-store sales that the retailer attributed to "grand opening" sales surges that inflated 2013′s results.
Comparable store sales in the U.S. were flat during the quarter.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Target said it expects 40 to 50 cents per share in third quarter earnings — not including any future data breach expenses. On a full-year basis, Target predicts that it will record $3.10 to $3.30 in adjusted earnings per share, a lower range than its prior $3.60 to $3.90 per-share guidance. The retailer also said that including one-time charges, like a 13-cent per-share tax expense related to the data breach, the adjusted results will be 48 cents higher than the GAAP results.
Following the release of the earnings result, shares of Target fell 2% in early Wednesday trading; year-to-date, the stock is down 6%.


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Susan Estrich - Welcome to the big leagues, Governor Chris Chrisite
My wishfully thinking Democratic friends are hoping that Bridgegate will sink the presidential ambitions of "frontrunner" Chris Christie, the New Jersey governor whose independent streak and straight-talking authenticity have earned him the mostly meaningless crown three years out.
In case you've been under a rock, Bridgegate is the mean bit of New Jersey politics in which the Democratic mayor of the town of Fort Lee was "punished" for not endorsing the Republican governor for re-election with crippling traffic jams on the George Washington Bridge on the first day of school. The governor had denied any political motivation or any involvement at all in the closures. Turns out one of his top aides e-mailed one of his top allies to teach the mayor a lesson. Scandal No. 1 of campaign 2016.
Presidential politics looks easy until you try it.
Better now than in 2016.
Bridgegate is the sort of scandal that could kill you if it were timed right. Christie is a candidate whose strengths and weaknesses are opposite sides of a fine line. People like the fact that he is a down-to-earth tough guy who takes charge, which is just a short jump away from being a Jersey boss who has to control — and win — everything. Authentic is good. So Christie has a temper. That makes him real. Until it makes him mean.
Luckily for Christie, it's 2014, and so far, he's done everything right, according to the playbook for handling political scandals. He's apologized and fired the supposedly responsible party; he'll cooperate with the investigation; he is suitably shocked and chagrined. It might all just go away as long as there are no e-mails or text messages that suggest he knew what he claims he didn't know (in which case, his denial is a dangerous tack and not a smart one).
But the press will be looking for "more" like this. Expect to read more about that traffic stop during which he supposedly threw his weight around when he was a U.S. Attorney. It didn't work when his Democratic opponent Jon Corzine used it in an anti-Christie ad, but it surely will be part of the developing narrative of Christie as the arrogant and power-abusing New Jersey boss. Was he a bully in junior high? Trust me, we'll find out.
To be sure, Christie is no Herman Cain. Not as funny. Also, he's run twice in a big state. But the second time was a cakewalk, and the first time, his opponent was in an uphill fight, to say the least. Christie has never had a really tough race, and he's certainly never felt the hot lights of presidential scrutiny, much less the rigors of 24/7 coverage of your every move and mistake in an era in which anyone over 5-years-old knows how to make a video. Politics has never been harder. There are no freebies anymore.
So, for those of us watching, it should be interesting, if not fun. Christie is a smart guy, and presumably, so are those around him. But almost no one is as smart as they should be when it comes to e-mail and texting.
I sometimes do a presentation for my clients where I hold up an ancient piece of technology — a telephone — and commend its use. People say things in e-mails and texts that they would say around a water cooler, but there are no cameras and recorders at the water cooler. E-mail is forever. It has the potential to do to candidates what it has done to any number of white-collar defendants. The old days when you could deny a true story and it might go away are over.
So Christie's first scandal has a message and a warning: The lights are on. Be careful what you write — or wrote.
(Susan Estrich is a professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California Law Center. A best-selling author, lawyer and politician, as well as a teacher, she first gained national prominence as national campaign manager for Dukakis for President in 1988.)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 07:00
Hits: 429
Jim Hightower - The militarization of our local police
What a Christmas little Bastrop had! It's still a mystery how Santa Claus got it down the chimney, but Bastrop got a nifty present that most children could only dream about: a big honkin', steel-clad, war toy called MRAP.
But Bastrop is not a 6-year-old child, and an MRAP is not a toy. Bastrop is a Texas county of some 75,000 people, and MRAP stands for "Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected." It's a heavily armored military vehicle weighing about 15 tons — one of several versions of fighting machines that have become the hot, must-have playthings of police departments all across the country.
Are the good people of Bastrop facing some imminent terrorist threat that warrants military equipment? No, it's a very pleasant, laid-back place. And while the county is named for a 19th century land developer and accused embezzler, it's never been a haven for particularly dangerous criminals — indeed, the relatively few crimes in Bastrop today don't rise above the level of routine police work.
Even the sheriff's department, which is the proud owner of the MRAP tank, says it doesn't have a specific use for the machine, but "It's here if we need it." Well, yeah ... but that same feeble rational would apply if the county decided to get an atom bomb — you just never know when a big mushroom cloud might come in handy!
What we have here is the absurdly dangerous militarization of America's police departments. Our sprawling Department of Homeland Security and the Pentagon (which gave the MRAP to Bastrop) are haphazardly spreading war equipment, war techniques and a war mentality to what are supposed to be our communities' peacekeepers and crime solvers.
Having the technology and mindset for military actions, local authorities will find excuses to substitute them for honest police work, turning common citizens into "enemies." As a spokesman for the Bastrop sheriff's department said of the MRAP, "With today's society ... there's no way the thing won't be used." How comforting is that?
But now, let's turn from the battlefield to the gridiron.
In the ever-escalating competition to be the No. 1 big-time college football program in the nation, Ohio State University bulked up last fall with a monster recruit named Maxx. Actually, it's not the coaching staff that signed up this brute, but the OSU campus police department. And the recruit's full name is MaxxPro — not a player, but a 19-ton armored fighting vehicle built by a pentagon contractor to withstand "ballistic arms fire, mine fields, IEDs, and Nuclear, Biological and Chemical environments." Wow, college games really have gotten rough!
But the campus PD, which received the MaxxPro as a gift from the Pentagon (ie, us taxpayers), says it's not just playing games, but deploying Maxx for things like hostage scenarios, killers loose on campus, and extreme flooding of up to three feet. Well, have such things been a problem at OSU? Uh ... no. Would a huge, slow, gas-guzzling vehicle designed for warfare be effective if any of the above were actually to occur? No response.
Oh, by the way, operating these machines requires specially trained personnel — is anyone in the department qualified? Again, no answer. Also, the vehicles are subject to frequent rollovers, and they lack the ability to go off-road or to maneuver in confined areas. That doesn't sound ideal for a college campus. Not to worry, though, for the gendarmes said they were adjusting Maxx to fit their needs. How? Removing the top gun turret and repainting the vehicle.
OSU police finally admitted that Maxx would mostly be used to drive them around campus and provide a police "presence" on football game days. Great — police authorities now believe they need a show of military force to keep tailgaters in check.
(Jim Hightower has been called American's most popular populist. The radio commentator and former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture is author of seven books, including "There's Nothing In the Middle of Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos" and his new work, "Swim Against the Current: Even Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow".)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 07:00
Hits: 405
Bob Meade - A New Year, or Same-o, Same-o
From the time we were youngsters, we have heard the phrase, "Ring out the old, and ring in the new". But, as John Kerry might say, were that it were true. The reality of life is that we simply cannot dispose of our problems with one tick of the clock. If we had problems at 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2013, it's a pretty safe bet those same problems were with us at 12:00 Midnight, on January 1, 2014. By the same token, the good things that we enjoy in life are generally on the same time schedule. But that doesn't mean we can't change and rid ourselves of some of those problems, or that we can't retain that which is good. It's not magic . . . it's attitude, that makes the difference.
As I've mentioned before, the essence of management is preventing things from happening that you don't want to happen. Determining those things that might possibly upset your plan(s), and taking steps to prevent them, can be the key to achieving the good things you want. To be sure, that's easier said than done. While we can all try to eat healthy, not overindulge, exercise, and do all that's recommended, that may not prevent us from coming down with some affliction. That shouldn't stop us from trying though, because having done the right things might help in avoiding or overcoming an illness. The key is to try and determine what we need to do to prevent the unwanted things from happening.
It doesn't matter if we're talking about our personal life, or a business, or our government. The same principles can be applied. For example, what follows are some of the things our elected leaders should be concerned about, because they are things that we don't want to happen. So, what kind of plans does our government have to ensure these type of things don't occur. What if . . .
— China decides to invade Taiwan. We have had a mutual defense treaty with Taiwan since they broke away from Communist China. Do we honor our treaty or do we not, thereby nullifying virtually all of our treaties.
— Iran thumbs its nose at our lifting of sanctions and continues to enrich plutonium and gets closer to building an atomic weapon. Do we take decisive action or do we sit idly by as Israel does what is necessary to protect itself? And, do we fully and forcefully support our ally, Israel?
— The unspoken of war between the Sunni and Shia Muslims becomes open warfare as the Saudis and Iranis take aim at each other. Do we intervene? If so, which side do we ally with? And, if so, do we know how the other Muslim countries that are in various stages of civil war are going to align themselves?
— If the above happens, who is going to protect and keep open the Suez Canal? What are the consequences of a virtual shutdown of the Middle-East's oil supply? It's impact on China? The U.S.? The middle east itself? And the environment?
— Russia has vast oil and gas reserves and is Europe's basic supplier. What if Russia uses the Mid-East wars to exert dominance over most of Europe by turning its fuel provisioning on and off at its whim, leaving Europe virtually frozen, with no place to turn?
— Canada, tires of our political gamesmanship concerning the Keystone pipeline extension, and decides to build their own pipeline westward to Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean so that they can sell their oil to China? What does that do to our neighborly relationship . . . and our lost jobs, and the commerce that goes with our being the depot for that oil?
— The IRS keeps targeting citizens or groups because of their political views? After over a year, do we know what steps have been or are being taken to ensure that never happens again? Do we even know if anything has changed?
— Cabinet level people continue to lie to Congressional oversight committees? To date, that has happened repeatedly with no apparent consequence to any of the perjurers. What steps have been or are being taken to ensure that the department charged with enforcing the laws, does so with honesty and integrity?
— The Federal Reserve pulls back on its "quantitative easing" (the pumping of $88 billion per month, or roughly $1 trillion per year of "free money" into banks and financial institutions), possibly causing the inflated stock market to tumble? Or, conversely, what if the Federal Reserve continues its program thereby causing the value of the dollar to continue shrinking? Does anyone know how much interest people have already lost on their bank CDs and IRAs because of the quantitative easing? That easing caused banks to pay their customers/savers little or no interest, essentially making we the people compete with the free money the banks have been receiving from the Federal Reserve.
How much confidence do you have that we have solid plans in place to address these and countless other things that we don't want to happen?
(Bob Meade is a Laconia resident.)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 07:00
Hits: 373
Susan Estrich - Another victory for independence
My friend Greg Jarrett from Fox News was the first to point out the irony. A few days earlier, I had made the point that it was a George W. Bush appointee on the federal bench who struck down the National Security Agency surveillance program that the Bush administration (as well as the Obama administration) relied upon. Three cheers for an independent judiciary. So what happens next? A different federal judge, this one a Bill Clinton appointee, has now declared that President Barack Obama's NSA plan does not violate the Constitution. As I told Greg, I really do love it.
It means that as hard as the Senate and the interest groups have tried — and boy, have they ever — to make it impossible for people who have passionate convictions (that they have ever talked about) or unpredictable views (best never mentioned) to be confirmed as judges and as hard as both sides have tried to turn the judiciary into a thoroughly investigated high-level collection of political shills, it doesn't (always) work.
Oh, I know there will be people shaking their heads on the Sunday talk shows about how this just proves that there's no "law" here and no certainty and how this is a failing of the rule of law and not cause for Champagne.
Respectfully, I disagree. Of course judges have personal views and life experiences and philosophical beliefs and political views, all of which will influence the still mysterious process by which, at least on some occasions, smart and honorable individuals reach conclusions that they might have thought, before they dug in to all the facts and law, they would never have even entertained.
This is known as "judging" — at its best. Take a smart and experienced person; have able lawyers lay out the issues; think; read; consult; decide. "Right?" "Wrong?" Sorry, but on something such as this, there really is no right or wrong. I may agree or disagree (probably some of both, with both decisions), but that doesn't make anyone right or wrong.
By definition, we have here a situation in which reasonable people — that is, respected judges considering the Constitution and precedent — disagree, which means we can, too. We may never agree on what's "right," but we will agree on what's "final" when the Supreme Court finally decides the issue. Between now and then, we also will likely see some opinions by appeals courts, including all those supposedly left-handed powerhouses on the District of Columbia Circuit (who may or may not agree with the leaders of the parties who appointed them; in fairness, party leaders aren't exactly marching in unison on this).
What all this means politically is, actually, a bit easier.
NSA is going to have to figure out ways to "clean up its act" without compromising on our security. Impossible? That's actually irrelevant, given the situation the agency and administration now find themselves in. This is not a quiet discussion among a specially charged task force. We are dealing here with a huge political (as well as policy) issue that could play in unexpected ways in the midterm elections. Right now, the Democratic Party is all over the map (if there were a Republican president, my bet is Democrats would be very united — against him), while an increasingly active and "well-connected" (by social media) movement is growing. The big companies are rightly concerned about getting sued for privacy invasions, even for doing no more than abiding a government request made in the name of terrorism.
So what next? Well, we could have some responsible and bipartisan leadership here — seeing as we aren't perfectly split on partisan lines, not in the judiciary, much less in the polls — in drawing that balance and making clear (without telling our enemies what we are doing) that average Americans have absolutely nothing to fear. (They'd best not.)
Or, because that might be too much to ask for in the new year, how about a judiciary that continues to show its courage and commitment — and especially its independence.
(Susan Estrich is a professor of Law and Political Science at the University of Southern California Law Center. A best-selling author, lawyer and politician, as well as a teacher, she first gained national prominence as national campaign manager for Dukakis for President in 1988.)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 31 December 1969 07:00
Hits: 344
Sanborn – Redneck real estate
Wow, 2014 is really here! Most people start the New Year with a fresh perspective. It's a new beginning, so to speak, and a time to put the past behind you and move forward. New Year's resolutions are made and sometimes that includes purchasing a new home which is good for all of us in the real estate business. It is also a time to pause and reflect on things that have happened over the past year and a time to put together a plan for the coming year.
Looking forward at possible real estate trends in 2014, the only real question is whether or not high end redneck real estate will really take off or if it will be a short lived fad. Fueled by the recent Duck Dynasty debate, inquiries for high end redneck real estate have been pouring into to our office and jamming the phone lines. Getting through to us has at times been like trying to sign up for health care, but our website has never faltered or been down.
Now you may ask yourself, what exactly is "high end redneck real estate?" Well, if you watch Duck Dynasty at all, you will note that Phil and Kay's digs are pretty nice but really not spectacular. The key element for redneck real estate is the availability of, and access to, redneck activities. It's a lifestyle, so to speak, and it spans all socioeconomic levels. Redneck lifestyle activities can vary from state to state and within the different price levels of redneck real estate. For example, down in Louisiana you have more swamp related activities such as gator or hog hunting whereas in New England we would lean toward ice fishing and deer hunting. But there are also some commonalities, like the popularity of playing corn hole or horseshoes that cross all economic and regional boundaries.
The high end redneck real estate buyer looks for properties where they can take the redneck lifestyle up a notch or two. They want not only a place to play corn hole, but demand things like a fire pit, water access for bass fishing and water sports, access to ATV trails, at least a three car garage, a storage area for hunting and fishing equipment, and a man cave. The Lakes Region of NH is a virtual redneck paradise. You can step outside your front door and be on a deer run usually within ten minutes. The great outdoors is, well, right outdoors. What redneck would not die to have a boat on one of our many lakes? Plus we have that additional ice and snow bonus which propels many rednecks into snowmobile heaven.
So, I think it's pretty safe to say with the enormous availability of redneck related activities in the Lakes Region that this real estate boom is here to stay. With that said, I am working on a plan to capitalize on this trend and capture my share of the redneck real estate market in the coming New Year. I have been working very closely with the fellows at Duck Dynasty and I have decided to provide a Duck Commander duck call to the owner of each new listing I get that meets my redneck living criteria! Homeowners will be encouraged to use the call, especially on the weekends, to attract like minded buyers. Any ducks they attract will be considered a bonus. My only question for you, is will you answer the call?? After all, there is a little redneck in all of us.
As Phil Robertson would say, Have a Happy, Happy, Happy New Year.
As of January 1, 2014 there were only 749 single family residential homes listed in the Lakes Region communities covered in this report. I say only, because the inventory level seems to be coming down. The current level represents about a 10 month supply of homes compared to an 11.3 months supply on January 1, 2013 and a 14.5 month supply on January 1, 2012. The inventory level still needs to drop some more to create a healthier market, but at least we are headed in the right direction. There will be a surge of listings that have expired coming back on the market later this month and I would expect some reduced prices as well.
Please feel free to visit www.lakesregionhome.com to learn more about the Lakes Region real estate market and comment on this article and others. Data was compiled using the Northern New England Real Estate MLS System as of 1/1/14. Roy Sanborn is a realtor at Four Seasons Sotheby's International Realty and can be reached at 603-455-0335.
Last Updated on Friday, 03 January 2014 08:52
Hits: 494


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I'll start with the most extreme upset of the weekend, Texas St knocking off (actually, blowing out) Houston as a five-touchdown underdog. Let's look at Texas St, splitting out the season simulations where they beat Houston from the ones where they didn't:
As you can see, this size of upset had a MAJOR effect on the season projections for Texas St. While there are certainly season simulations where they pulled off this upset but still had a poor year, in aggregate this game raised their expectation to a bit over 6 wins, meaning that they have a very solid shot at bowl eligibility. That's a far cry from preseason #6 in the WAC.
Now let's take a look at the other side of the game and what impact it's projected to have on Houston's season:
Just like Texas St, this upset result had a major impact on Houston's 2012 projection, dropping their win expectation over three full wins. Looking at their schedule, Compu-Picks only favors them in three games given a loss against Texas St, and none of those are heavy favorites. Meanwhile, a number of games now look extremely difficult to downright unwinnable. A bowl game isn't yet out of the picture, but it's going to be tough sledding to get there.
Next up is Ohio knocking off Penn St. Can Ohio turn their week one win into an undefeated run? There's a lot of football left to be played, but it's certainly on the table. If they can follow up this win with another key road win at Marshall in two weeks (definitely not a gimme), their odds will go up even further and the expectation should turn into double digits, which is very good at this stage of the season.
On the flip side, Penn St was already not rated as being particularly good, but this loss is pretty much a disaster. If they were going to have any realistic shot at a respectable season, they needed this game. As it is, it's hard to see these guys hitting six wins, and they may not even come close.
Next up is Nevada, who scored an important upset win at Cal. Unfortunately for the Pack, Compu-Picks wasn't particularly high on either of these teams, so while this win definitely bumped up the expected record, there's a long way to go to hit double digits. That said, Nevada has a chance to prove Compu-Picks wrong in their next two 1-A games; if they can sweep USF and Hawaii, things will be looking much more up than they are at this point.
On the flip side, Compu-Picks already wasn't high on Cal, and losing to a Nevada team projected as pretty bad makes 2012 look like a potential disaster. Personally, I think that 2.5 wins is far too low of a win projection, but at the same time it's hard to see this as a bowl team. If they wanted to hit 6+ wins, they desperately needed this game. With very likely losses still to come against Ohio St, USC, Utah and Oregon, there's almost no margin for error. Fortunately for the Bears, teams like Stanford and Wazzu have been very disapointing, but Nevada was rated as Cal's single most likely 1-A win... and they couldn't do it. If they can't beat Nevada at home, it's tough to see a winning record against ASU, UCLA, Wazzu, Stanford, Washington, and Oregon St, much less 5-1 or better, which is probably what they'll need.
Even with just one result, Pitt looks to be in major trouble (and their struggles tonight against Cincy only reinforce this conclusion). Their AA game was rated as a near-lock of a win, and they still blew it. With a loss there, even Buffalo and their other AA opponent are far from sure things, and everyone else looks like a very tough test. Making a bowl looks like a reach at this point.
The same thing is true for Middle Tennessee St and Idaho. Bowl games for either of these teams look like major reaches after they couldn't hold off AA opponents.
1) Compu-Picks does not endorse implicitly or explicitly any form of illegal gambling. Compu-Picks is intended to be used for entertainment purposes only.
2) No guarantee or warranty is offered or implied by Compu-Picks for any information provided and/or predictions made.
3) This preseason model is primarily based on the main compu-picks model. Essentially, it attempts to predict how well a team will rate given its rating history, as well as a number of other data points, such as returning starters, draft talent lost, turnovers, recruiting, etc. This means, among other things, that the rankings are power rankings based on how good a team projects to be, as opposed to a more cynical (though accurate) model that attempts to project how the BCS will rank a team by making adjustments to favor those with easy schedules and punish those with tough schedules.
2012 Compu-Picks Blog
Questions, comments or suggestions? Email me at firstname.lastname@example.com


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Terrible Milage 07 990ADV
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Beastly Adventurer
Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Portland, OR
Oddometer: 8,554
Originally Posted by
Hey guy's I have a 07 990 Adv and I'm gettin about 90-95 mile before the gas light comes on. I think this is pretty terrible. The bike smells like gas when it runs so I have a feeling its running rich -but it still hauls ass so it runs well. I would love to re map it but don't have a PC nor do I want to go through the hassle of installing windows on a mac/I'm super noob so i don't want to f-up the bike either. I live close to the guy who does Tune ECU in San Rafael CA but I'm concerned he will charge an arm and leg for just leaning it out at critical points/don't really wan the wear and tear of dyno testing on the bike. Any suggestions/ people who have used Tune ECU privately in the bay area? I guess I'm really looking for guidance. Thanks!
Are you the original owner? Unless someone previously has messed with the map I cannot see how Tune ECU will help resolve a chronic fuel consumption issue such as this.
If someone has screwed up the map, getting it back to stock shouldn't require a dyno. Figuring this out and it's been messed with, returning it to stock, would be my first step.
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A diagnosis of
cleft palate is based on a
physical exam of the baby's mouth at birth. If your
newborn is diagnosed with cleft palate, he or she will likely also be examined
for other birth defects, such as a small jaw.
See a picture
comparing a normal mouth and two types of cleft palate.
rare, cleft palate is sometimes a symptom of another health condition, such as
fetal alcohol syndrome. For this reason, it is
important for children to be evaluated for other conditions beginning at birth,
especially if other symptoms are present, such as other facial deformities or
learning disabilities.
Some children with cleft palate may need
testing for complications, such as speech and hearing problems, throughout
their lives.
Fetal ultrasound can sometimes detect cleft palate as early as 14 to 16 weeks
of gestation, especially if it is severe and occurs along with a
cleft lip. But fetal ultrasound is not reliable for
this purpose. For more information on this test, see the topic
Fetal Ultrasound.
Cleft lip or cleft
palate can be passed down through families (inherited). If you have a family
history of cleft lip or cleft palate, you may benefit from
genetic counseling. A
genetic counselor can help you understand your
chances of having a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate.
Sometimes an inherited disease or condition causes
a number of defects including cleft palate. If you have had a fetal ultrasound
that shows your
fetus is likely to have cleft palate and other
defects, you may decide to have genetic counseling along with
amniocentesis or
karyotype testing. These tests and genetic counseling
can help you learn whether your fetus is likely to have a condition caused by
chromosomes that aren't normal. Karyotype testing can
also be done after your baby is born.
Last Revised:
January 21, 2010
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
John Pope, MD - Pediatrics & Donald R. Mintz, MD - Otolaryngology
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Great Scott: Eagle lifts Australian star into Tour lead
Updated: November 5, 2006, 1:54 AM ETAssociated Press
ATLANTA -- The best shot Adam Scott hit all day wound up in the face of a bunker. His worst shot stopped 2 feet away for an eagle.
Even more surprising was where it led him Saturday in the Tour Championship.
A thinly struck 3-iron rolled all the way up the slope on the par-5 15th, climbed onto the green and stopped within tap-in range for an eagle that carried him to a 3-under 67 at East Lake. And when Joe Durant bogeyed two of the last three holes, Scott walked off the final ...
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Article ID: 907377 - View products that this article applies to.
This article has been archived. It is offered "as is" and will no longer be updated.
Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure to back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
(https://support.microsoft.com/kb/256986/ )Description of the Microsoft Windows registry
When you try to upgrade a database in Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003, the upgrade fails. Additionally, you do not receive an error message.
The database upgrade may fail for several reasons. These reasons include the following:
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
This behavior is by design.
All SharePoint Portal Server 2003 hotfixes and service packs that are released after Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) will try to upgrade the databases and portal sites. However, if the upgrade fails, you do not receive an error message. When the upgrade fails, an event that is similar to the following is logged in the Application event log:
Attempted to apply update to SharePoint Portal Server 2003 portal sites.
You can find more detailed information in the portal diagnostic logs.
Article ID: 907377 - Last Review: January 15, 2015 - Revision: 1.3


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There is a debate about exactly when Bruce Gamble suffered a heart attack during the game on February 8, 1972. Did it happen on the ice? Between periods? After the game?
We'll probably never know. Gamble didn't complain about chest pain until after the game. That's not surprising, according to former teammate Johnny Bower. "I saw him take shots from guys like Bobby Hull that would've knocked out any other goalie. He would keep playing, then after the game I'd see all these black and blue marks on his arms. I could've never stood for that."
According to Bruce's son Mark, his dad thought the pain was from blocking a shot or getting whacked with a stick. A man who prided himself on his fitness and hard work, he was stunned to learn it was a heart attack.
In any event, on February 9th, Bruce's career was over. And he became a man adrift.
The Flyers offered him a job as a scout. He accepted, thinking it could be the next best thing to playing. Instead, it depressed him to watch others play, knowing he could never play in the NHL again. Between the 1973 and 1974 seasons, he separated from his wife, Virginia, and moved out of the family home.
The Flyers convinced him to return for the 1974 season, but he never showed up. The Flyers couldn't find him. "I tried to reach him for a long time, but he was nowhere to be found. I didn't hear a thing from him or about him until I read in the paper that he died," said Flyers GM Keith Allen.
Bruce became more and more reclusive. He moved to Niagara Falls with his new girlfriend Terri Olsson.
No matter how many applications he put in, no one really wanted to hire Bruce. Like so many other aspiring hockey players, he'd quit high school, and had no real resume other than "goalie." Eventually he got a job driving a coffee truck for about two years, and occasionally worked as a roofer. In the two years before his death, he hadn't worked at all.
"He had lost interest in everything except hockey," Olsson said. "And since he couldn't play hockey, he had no interest at all. He couldn't take the rejection of not playing hockey."
Bruce had another heart attack in 1979, but managed a near-complete recovery. Friends convinced him to join an over-35 league.
For the first time in a long time, Bruce had something to look forward to. He was so eager to play, he'd be sitting on his porch waiting for his friends to pick him up for games.
Bruce was supposed to get the ok from his doctor first, but he didn't care. He hadn't been to the doctor in two years. He had hockey back and that's all that mattered.
"If I can't play hockey, I don't know what else to do," Bruce told Terri.
And on December 10, 1982, Bruce's life ended the way his NHL career did. This time, there was no mystery about when the heart attack occurred. He collapsed at home, after winning a game. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
If Bruce had to die early (age 44), his friends all agreed, then it happened just the way he'd want.


text: I bought the car and the guy gave me a set of rear drag wheels and skinnies up front. I don't plan on dragging the car much so I dont need the wheels. Wheels are practically new. I know I'm a new member so I dont have many posts so I will try to do my best to show this is legit. I put my username and date with the wheels so you know its my picture. My ebay account is 'Mfd_titan06". Phone number is 334.201.8804. Email is [email protected]. I can be found on other forums (Titantalk.com, Clubtitan.org, Mightytitan.com with s/n Nissanpwr). Thanks for looking. Price - $600shipped. Also, whomever buys these wheels, I will include a $250 5" carbon fiber tach with shift light for free!!! 15x10's and 15x3.5's


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Local swimmers have strong finishes at Div. 1 championships
RIVERSIDE — Area swimmers competed in the record-shattering CIF-Southern Section Division I championships Saturday evening.
National and meet records fell.
Ventura High junior Solie Laughlin turned took second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.12 seconds.
"I was kind of disappointed in my first race (200 IM, ninth place, 2:04.65)," said Laughlin said. "I was happy to finish second."
Foothill's Courtney Mykkanen won the race in 55.29. Westlake freshman Elena England placed seventh in 57.17.
Westlake junior David Puczkowski took third in the 100 backstroke (48.56). Kyle Gornay of Redlands repeated as race champion (47.15).
"I knew it was a fast heat," Puczkowski said. "I did the best I could.
The Westlake boys team finished 10 with 100 points. Ventura was 11th with 93. University was first with 337 points and Loyola was second at 246.
Ventura's girls team finished 12th with 103 points. Santa Margarita won the championship with 280 points and Jserra was second at 209.
Puczkowski, Ryan Lee, Yu-Bin Kim and Parker Jadwin led Westlake to a fifth-place finish in the boys 200 medley relay (1:32.97).
Thousand Oaks High's Anna Quinn completed of toughest doubles for the second consecutive year. The UCLA-bound Quinn placed third in the 100 butterfly (54.34) and four races later was fifth in the 500-yard freestyle (4:52.27).
Santa Margarita's Kathryn McLaughlin won the 100 fly with a national-record time of 51.78, breaking the mark of 51.92 set by Palo Alto's Jasmine Tosky in 2011.
Quinn, last year's Star Girls Swimmer of the Year, broke her own school record in the 100 butterfly. (54.84) from the prelims. Last year, she finished third in the 100 fly (54.94) and sixth in the 500 freestyle (4:53.50).
"I felt it's a great way to end my high school career," Quinn said. "I knew it was going to be tough, but I've done it twice before."
Lauren Hancock, Quinn's Conejo Simi Swim Club coach, was elated with the final results.
"She's outstanding," Hancock said. "She's got to be the toughest girl. She knows the top kids are real fast."
Ventura's 400 freestyle relay team of Austin Takeda, David Peterson, Skyler Schilke and Stewart Harrison placed fifth (3:06.44). Peterson is a sophomore and the others are seniors.
Harrison was seventh in the 100 butterfly (49.67) and Westlake's Yu-Bin Kim was eighth (49.98). Dos Pueblos junior Alex Valente broke the 100 butterfly record (46.69), eclipsing the 46.83 mark set by Kyle Gornay of Redlands in 2013.
Westlake's girls 400 freestyle relay team finished ninth (3:35.80). The swimmers were Lauren Clarke, Carina Fasano, Sarah Proctor and England.
Abby Weitzel of Saugus set a national record with a 21.98 time in the 50 freestyle, breaking the 21.99 mark set by Olivia Smoliga from Glenbrook South High in Illinois.
Weitzel also set a national record in the 100 freestyle with a time of 47.91, breaking the old mark of 48.15 set by Dagny Knutson of Minot, South Dakota, in 2009.
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text: No recent wiki edits to this page. The Planet Movers (or Kinetic Field Gauntlets) don't actually cause things to move, they just allow the user to apply force to lift or move heavy things without them falling apart under their own weight, but only if the user is capable of moving the object on their own. They don't grant the user extra strength, they just maintain structural integrity over large areas of mass, preventing what they are touching (what is being moved) from breaking apart in transit. Mr. Majestic created the Planet Movers so he could move the planets in his solar system without destroying them in the process. Other than moving planets, he has also used them to move enormous space ships.


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The number of government data breaches involving personal identifiable information has more than doubled since 2009, and the Government Accountability Office wants federal agencies to adhere more closely to existing security protocols to better protect people's data.
An April 2 GAO report found that the number of data breaches involving information such as taxpayer data, census data, Social Security information and patient health information have increased from 10,481 in 2009 to 25,566 in 2013, as reported to U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team.
GAO found that many agencies have struggled to address the eight required components of an information security program, specifically in implementing security controls.
"The loss or unauthorized disclosure or alteration of the information residing on federal systems, which can include PII, can lead to serious consequences and substantial harm to individuals and the nation," the report reads. "Thus it is critical that federal agencies protect their systems and the information on them and respond to data breaches and cyber incidents when they occur."
Of the seven agencies evaluated, the Internal Revenue Service was the only one to consistently document both an assigned risk level and how that level was determined for PII-related data breach incidents. Only the Army and IRS documented the number of affected people for each incident.
None of the seven agencies consistently offered credit monitoring to those affected by the incidents, nor did they document lessons learned from their responses to the breach.
The report details key guidelines for agencies to follow from the Office of Management and Budget and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to improve their information security posture.
Among these guidelines are management practices, which include establishing a data breach response team and training employees on roles and responsibilities for breach response. There are also operational practices, such as preparing reports on suspected data breaches and submitting them to appropriate internal and external entities, assessing the likely risk of harm and level of impact of a suspected breach, offering assistance to affected individuals and analyzing the agency's breach response and identifying lessons learned.
Besides the Army and IRS, the other agencies GAO examined were the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About the Author
Mike Cipriano is a GCN editorial intern, and also writes occasionally for FCW. Connect with him on Twitter: @mikecip07.
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Meet 100 women and men who are doing great things in federal IT.
Click here for the full list
Three-time Federal 100 winner is leaving government in July.
Members of Congress heaped hard questions on federal IT leaders at a June 16 hearing and suggested strongly that somebody needs to be fired.
Senate bill carves out exemption for supercomputing and other lab IT; an earlier version of the measure would have exempted the entire Department of Energy.
OPM is partnering with CSID to try to manage the fallout from a massive breach of some 4 million federal personnel records.
Steve Kelman applauds the OMB's move to make career employees "goal leaders" for performance management initiatives -- but wishes it had come far earlier in the administration.
In an exclusive interview, Jimaye Sones, who was Defense Information Systems Agency comptroller from 2005 to 2013, says he was reassigned after revealing questionable accounting practices at the agency.
Through computer forensics training and internships, veterans are helping Immigration and Customs Enforcement tackle a backlog in child exploitation cases.
After two months on the job studying DOD's cybersecurity and IT needs, Secretary Ashton Carter is set to unveil a new Pentagon cyber strategy in Silicon Valley.
The failure of massive federal IT projects can usually be traced to poor management. The solution is as multilayered as the projects themselves.
I wondered if they reviewed how many agencies had staff utilizing storage services like Dropbox that meet no security standards for protection of data.
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Working and breastfeeding presents many challenges for today's modern woman. Having the right type of support, knowledge, and tools are critical to meeting breastfeeding goals. A new tool represents the biggest functional advancement in breast pump technology for working women in decades. The Freemie system is a hands-free and concealable breast milk collection system that aims to change how busy moms pump.
Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) July 2, 2009 -- A revolutionary new patented and patents pending breast milk collection system called Freemie™ lets lactating moms discreetly pump hands-free underneath their clothing. The device is made by Dao Health, a Sacramento-based company founded July 4, 2006. The Freemie system was invented by Emergency Physician Stella Dao after the birth of her preemie twins. Dr. Dao created the Freemie™ system to help working moms extend breastfeeding. After learning firsthand how difficult it is to keep breastfeeding while working outside the home, Dr. Dao was determined to give working moms a realistic pumping solution that could help them reach their breastfeeding goals.
Unfortunately, many moms who return to work fall short of their breastfeeding goals. The challenge for these moms is finding the time and place to pump. According to Dr. Dao, "Research has clearly established that returning to work is strongly associated with the end of breastfeeding for too many women. Public policy and employers are making significant investments and efforts to facilitate lactation in the workplace, but the increase in breastfeeding rates seems to have stalled, in spite of the fact that the overwhelming majority of new mothe
|Source: PRWeb
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Home Theater Tickets Musicals Cinderella
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Fair statement. Yet, I don't think it bears a whole lot on the HS vs college draft debate. Given that all players entering pro ball get 6 years in the minors before free agency, your HS player will hit that 3-4 year window in the majors at about 26-27 years old, if he's been promoted one-level-at-a-time. By that time, the organization will know all it needs to know (and the player will not have hit peak, unlike a college player, therefore making the player less expensive to keep, perhaps). The key is that the organization needs to have patience with high schoolers, but patience has gone fishin.for a modern scout, great is what a player does when he's cheap-- the first 3-4 major league years.
After that, performance is completely to the credit or fault of the the GM, as he's got to decide whether to pay or to deal


text: Just Where Can North Korea's Missiles Hit? Jason Chen and 15 othersEditDelete Invite manuallyPromoteXDismissXUndismissBlock for gizmodoHide This Guardian report says that North Korea would hit the United States with a "fire shower" of nukes if we attack first. But how far can NK deliver the 5-7 nukes that they're currently suspected of having? » 6/25/09 4:00pm 6/25/09 4:00pm


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Deviant Art
After there was Oma and Shu 2After there was Oma and Shu 25 years ago in Fan Fiction More Like This
In Southern Water Tribe tradition when the daughter of the Chief was ready to marry a competition was held for all those who were interested in her hand. In the old days the winner was the one who got the right to wed her. In this day and age however the final decision was up to the princess and the contest was just there to prove her suitor earned the right. Often if the princess was unsure of who she wanted to marry the contest was also used to settle the indecision.
"Katara, the competition will be held midwinter eve," Hakoda told his daughter one night at dinner. Katara nodded she was eighteen now and had been eligible to wed two years ago, the midwinter after her sixteenth birthday. For various reasons, however her father had postponed her competition.
She knew one of the reasons they were postponed was because Katara was helping to rebuild the village into more of a city like in the North. In the three years since the war had ended the men had come back and many children were bor
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Okay, I no longer know what to believe in the world of Beyonce. As far as I'm concerned, Beyonce and Jay-Z are now SIM characters created by some bored teenager in his parents' basement.
Earlier this week, Star UK published what was touted as Beyonce's first post-pregnancy interview. It said things like "[Jay-Z] is a very protective husband" and "You have that instant connection once you know your child is growing inside you."
Well now, Beyonce's rep is saying that the entire interview is "completely made up," and adds that Beyonce hasn't said anything since Blue Ivy's birth.
Access Hollywood asked Beyonce's rep if that interview was at all legitimate.
"Absolutely not," the rep responded.
But an editor for Star U.K. stands by the story.
"It is not made up or fictitious at all. We bought the interview from a reporter in the U.S. who conducted the interview with Beyonce before the birth," the editor, who is not named, told Access Hollywood. "The reporter then obtained the 'top-up' info after the birth, which we believe to have been signed off by a girl on her LSM [Labor Service Management] team."
The URL for the Beyonce "interview" has since been taken down. This leaves us with so many questions now. Is there an instant connection? IS Jay-Z protective? Will he change diapers after all? The suspense is killing me.
Meanwhile, Beyonce is set to make her first red carpet appearance since giving birth. Bey is set to make her appearance at the grand reopening of Jay-Z's 40/40 Club on Wednesday night.
But will it be the real Beyonce? Or will we find out on Thursday that it was a fake Beyonce? Or do we even know who the real Beyonce is anymore…question everything, my friends. The truth is out there.


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Help me configure this storage server!
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,726
Re: Help me configure this storage server!
I don't think he was asking how to do it, he just wanted suggestions on what other partitions to make.
Personally I still like the 1 giant partition idea. Making one partition for the OS and then one other for the rest is okay, but it becomes a PITA really quickly because everytime you install something you have to change the driver letter of it, and if you start putting things on your desktop you can fill that OS partition really quickly. You are correct though it is easier to reformat the OS should it take a dump and not have to worry about losing your data.
Another thing to consider is this, if you want to do shares then you need to make another share for every partition, aka music, video, games, etc. If you ever need to move stuff around anytime you move a file on the same partition it is a move so it just updates the drive table accordingly. If you partition the heck of it then when you move a file from one partition to another it is a copy, then delete. This takes 1000x longer anytime you want to move files around. Then once you fill up your partitions you'll have to spend a lot more time resizing them.
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