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By Rudi WilliamsAmerican Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24, 2003 Finding ways to improve commissary benefits tops the Defense Department's list of things to do to enhance quality of life for service members and their families.
But when DoD announced it was studying the "variable pricing" concept being used by private-sector grocery stores and supermarkets, some media coverage painted an unfavorable picture.
"Variable pricing isn't the 'poison pill' for commissary benefits some media articles have indicated," John M. Molino said during an interview at the Pentagon. Molino is the deputy undersecretary of defense for military community and family policy.
"Variable pricing is a technical term used in the grocery industry," he explained. "All it means is not every item is marked up by the same amount to produce a profit. By law, everything currently sold in commissaries is marked up 5 percent above cost.
"So variable pricing isn't that evil animal in the shadows that it has been painted to be," Molino said. "But remember, we're not implementing variable pricing. We are simply studying the concept."
He emphasized that DoD simply is studying the concept to determine whether it will work in the commissary system and benefit customers.
"If the study says it won't work in commissaries, we won't go down that path," the deputy undersecretary said. "But if it has the potential to provide a better benefit, we're going to ask Congress for permission to go there." But, he said, DoD will go there only if variable pricing doesn't erode the 30 percent savings customers enjoy now.
There are even bigger savings on some items. Defense Commissary Agency buyers often negotiate to get money-saving deals with distributors and food suppliers. Customers reap the benefits when they purchase things that are put on shelves boasting a little sticker that reads "best value item."
"That means they've negotiated a price that's rock bottom, and they challenge you to find that item cheaper anywhere else," Molino noted.
Once a price is negotiated, the commissary still has to sell the product at 5 percent above cost, he pointed out.
The 5 percent surcharge goes right back into the stores, paying for new construction, renovations, repairs, equipment and information technology systems, such as checkout counters and cash registers.
"Before 2001, we were bleeding some of the surcharge money into commissary operations," Molino noted. "We stopped doing that because we want to guarantee that the surcharge, which is service member money, is reinvested in the commissary."
Operating expenses are paid out of about $1.2 billion of taxpayer dollars appropriated by Congress. Tax dollars pay civilian employees' salaries and for such things as butcher's uniforms and meat-packaging materials.
"We're trying to ensure that every penny of taxpayer dollars is well spent, and that taxpayers get the best value for their tax dollars," Molino said.
Many customers question why commissaries don't have special sales comparable to local supermarkets, Molino said. The answer, he explained, is that the strict 5 percent surcharge prevents commissary managers from reducing items below that amount. For example, if local supermarkets have chicken on sale for 39 cents per pound and the commissary's price is 59 cents per pound, the law prohibits managers from cutting the price to 39 cents to match the supermarket price.
The grocery industry also uses variable pricing to build customer loyalty. "The motive of those stores is profit," Molino said. "The motive of our stores is to keep it a 30 percent savings to the customer. We'd like to make the commissary benefit more attractive to people who otherwise don't shop there especially our young members and military families on a tight budget."
So, even if the variable pricing concept were implemented, it wouldn't affect the savings service members get in their grocery cart, Molino said. But he added, "You might save more on one item and a little less on another."
Molino said DoD is concerned about people who don't shop in commissaries because it's more difficult to get onto installations because of increased security after 9/11.
"We want to be able to adjust the pricing so that we can attract them to our stores," he said.


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Betty Crocker's Italian Cooking (Hardcover)
Learn more about Betty Crocker's Italian Cooking:
|"Italian food- we all love it! The romance of Italian food grows every year,
and has moved beyond simple pasta and pizza, to include all the delicious
dishes of the country. Whether it's a scrumptious antipasta before dinner, a
meltingly soft risotto, a savory main dish such as Chicken Cacciatore,
Grilled Radicchio Salad as a fresh side, or luscious Tira Misu for dessert,
Italian food offers so many tempting possibilities.
Let Betty Crocker and Italian chef Antonio Cecconi take you on a tasty tour of Italy, from Piedmont to Sardinia. Enjoy learning about each region, its distinctive food and the geographical characteristics that shape its culinary offerings. And there's more than information on the countryside. Turn to complete glossaries on Italian cheeses, pastas, vinegars, herbs, and olives and olive oils. Everything you'll need for the best and most delicious Italian meals is all right here!
Chapters range from appetizers to dessert, making it so easy to find just what you want to make authentic dishes for any occasion. There's an entire chapter on pasta and sauces, as well as a chapter on great first course- or main course- ideas for risotto, polenta, and soups. Are you a pizza lover? Then you'll love the chapter on pizza, bread and sandwiches. Savor Italian meat, chicken and seafood main dishes, and then explore terrific vegetable and salad dishes. Ready for dessert? You'll be delighted with the treasures included here. A menu section provides ideas for creating complete Italian meals from appetizers and main courses to desserts, complete with Italian wine suggestions.
Full of beautiful food photography, as well as lovely landscape shots of Italy, you will truly feel that you've been on a trip abroad, and come home with all the best of Italian food, ready for your kitchen. Have fun deciding what wonderful foods you'll make first- Fresh Wrapped Basil Cheese Balls the next time you grill, Rotini with Fresh Herbs for dinner tonight or Strawberries with Marsala Sauce for dessert this weekend- it's all delicious. Enjoy and Buon appetito from Antonio Cecconi and Betty Crocker!"
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text:
Reason TV editor-in-chief Nick Gillespie parodies Samuel L. Jackson's "Wake The F--k Up" -- and calls him out for letting Obama off the hook on authorized drone strikes; Guantanamo; and the killing of American citizens through executive order.
Not bad.
(Not Safe For Work -- language.)
Samuel L. Jackson's new spot for Obama is a perfect homage to the audiobook he recorded for Go The F**k To Sleep.
But what would Dr. Suess think?
(Not Safe For Work -- language.)
Lights Out: Melodysheep transforms Samuel L. Jackson's acclaimed delivery of Adam Mansbach's R-rated children's book Go the F*ck to Sleep into the world's most badass lullaby.
MP3 here.
PSA of the Day: Samuel L. Jackson has had it with your motherf*ckin' blame on your motherf*ckin' mother in this appropriately intense anti-gun-violence PSA.


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Dallas Cowboys and the NFL
Latest news on the Cowboys
Yearly Archive for 2012
Bryant case in hands of Dallas district attorney
The DeSoto Police Department will file the Class A misdemeanor family violence charge against Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant with the Dallas County District Attorney's office, ESPNDallas.com reported Friday. Bryant's mother, Angela Bryant, was allegedly assaulted by her son last Saturday. According to a police report, he grabbed her by the shirt and hair before […] [Read More]
Irvin: My 'heart bleeds' after hearing 911 call from Bryant's mom
Cowboys Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin said his "heart bleeds" after hearing the 911 call Dez Bryant's mother placed Saturday after allegedly being abused by her son. Speaking on the NFL Network on Tuesday, Irvin said he was disappointed to learn of Bryant's arrest Monday on a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge. Bryant grabbed […] [Read More]
Is Dez Bryant a serial abuser?
A 911 call from Dez Bryant's mother suggests the Dallas Cowboys wide receiver could be a serial domestic abuser. The DeSoto Police Department arrested Bryant on Monday on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. According to the report of the arrest, the victim was his mother, Angela. Bryant "got upset during a verbal argument and […] [Read More]
Bryant reportedly pushed his mother
Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant's arrest Monday on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge reportedly stemmed from him pushing his mother, Angela. Citing an anonymous source ESPNDallas.com reported Tuesday that Bryant was arguing with his half brother when he pushed Angela. DeSoto police responded to a call Saturday night, but an arrest wasn't made until Monday. Bryant […] [Read More]
Johnson says Cowboys should stick with Bryant
So has the time come for the Cowboys to cut ties with Dez Bryant? Jimmy Johnson doesn't think so. A case can be made that perhaps such a drastic measure is needed after the mercurial wide receiver was arrested Monday in the Dallas suburb of DeSoto on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. The arrest […] [Read More]
Scandrick's home featured on cable show Wednesday night
Orlando Scandrick and his $2.1 million home in the Hollywood Hills will be featured in Wednesday night's 8 o'clock CST episode of "Million Dollar Listings Los Angeles" on Bravo. The Cowboys cornerback purchased the home in February. A native of Torrance, Calif., Scandrick received a five-year extension worth $27 million last August. The deal included […] [Read More]
Bryant arrested in DeSoto
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was arrested Monday on a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence, a spokesman for the DeSoto police confirmed to the San Antonio Express-News. Bryant was booked after turning himself in without incident. Police said the alleged assault occurred Saturday. "We are in the process of gathering information and will not […] [Read More]
More expected from Bryant
An argument can be made that Cowboys WR Dez Bryant underachieved his first two years in the league. Team officials won't come right out and say that, but vice president Stephen Jones made it clear in an interview this week with a Dallas radio station that Bryant hasn't met expectations yet. "I think (Bryant) needs […] [Read More]
Claiborne only draft pick without a contract
ARLINGTON – Cowboys first-round cornerback Morris Claiborne is confident he'll have a contract before training camp starts. "I'm not worried about that right now," Claiborne said Thursday. "Everything that I've been hearing is it's been going good. Those guys (his representatives) are the professionals at that. I like to know what's going on, but I […] [Read More]
Jones shoots down report that Jenkins denied club medical records
ARLINGTON – Owner Jerry Jones on Thursday shot down a report that disgruntled cornerback Mike Jenkins denied the club access to medical records pertaining to his surgically repaired shoulder. Citing an anonymous team source, NFL.com reported the Cowboys are unable to make an accurate assessment of Jenkins' progress since he underwent surgery on his right […] [Read More]
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Central flyway means that portion of Wyoming east of the Continental Divide, excluding the Great Divide Basin.
Conservation Order means an action to reduce the midcontinent populations of light geese, which is promulgated in accordance with 50 CFR 20.21 and 50 CFR 21.60, revised as of October 1, 2011. A copy of Title 50 and the Code of Federal Regulations can be viewed at Department Regional Offices.
Daily bag limit means the maximum number of migratory game birds or waterfowl that may be legally taken in a single day.
Dark geese means Canada goose, cackling goose, whitefronted goose and brant.
Federal Duck Stamp means Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp.
Game bird means grouse, partridge, pheasant, ptarmigan, quail, wild turkey and migratory game birds.
Light Geese means snow goose, blue goose and Ross' goose.
Migratory game bird means all migratory game birds defined under federal law.
Nontoxic shot means steel or any other federally approved nontoxic shot. A current list of federally approved nontoxic shot types can be viewed at: www.fws.gov.
Pacific flyway means that portion of Wyoming west of the Continental Divide, including the Great Divide Basin.
Possession limit means the maximum number of migratory game birds or waterfowl that may be legally in possession. Migratory game birds in transit or storage shall be considered in possession. When a person hunts in more than one (1) state, flyway or zone, the person's total possession limit shall not exceed the largest possession limit prescribed for any one of the states, flyways or zones in which the hunting takes place.
Protected bird means migratory birds as defined and protected under federal law.
Waterfowl means ducks, geese, coots and mergansers.
Zone C1 means the following area: Big Horn, Converse, Goshen, Hot Springs, Natrona, Park, Platte and Washakie counties; and Fremont County excluding the portions south or west of the Continental Divide.
Zone C2 means the following area: Albany, Campbell, Crook, Johnson, Laramie, Niobrara, Sheridan and Weston counties, and that portion of Carbon County east of the Continental Divide.
One fully feathered wing or the feathered head shall remain naturally attached to the carcass as a means of identification of migratory game birds, except mourning doves, in the field and while the birds are being transported.
Shotgun not larger than 10 gauge, bow and arrow, and crossbow shall be the only legal weapons for taking waterfowl and other migratory game birds. Automatic or repeating shotguns shall be plugged to admit not more than two (2) shells in the magazine and one (1) shell in the chamber.
W.S. §23-1-704. Game bird licenses expire on the last day of the calendar year in which issued.
The following documents are required to hunt waterfowl (ducks, gees, mergansers and coots)
Persons age fourteen (14) or older must obtain and carry with them while hunting:
1. A game bird license or combination game bird/small game license. Nonresidents are required to purchase a nonresident combination game bird/small game license.
2. A conservation stamp
• A conservation stamp is not required to hunt with a daily game bird/small game license.
• Residents holding one of the following licenses are also exempt from the requirement to purchase a conservation stamp while exercising hunting or fishing privileges under ANY Wyoming license:
- Any Wyoming pioneer hunting or fishing license;
- Wyoming one hundred percent (100%) disabled veteran game bird, small game and fishing license;
- Military combat general elk or general deer license; or
- Military combat game bird or small game license.
The person shall at all times be in possession of the license allowing the conservation stamp exception while in the field.
3. A federal duck stamp
• Persons under sixteen (16) years of age are not required to purchase a federal duck stamp.
• A duck stamp is not required to hunt coots, snipe, rails, sandhill cranes or doves.
4. A Wyoming Harvest Information Program (HIP) permit
5. A hunter safety certificate or hunter mentor special authorization
• Persons born prior to January 1, 1966 are exempted.
• A person is not required to possess a hunter safety certificate or hunter mentor authorization to hunt on land owned by the person's immediate family.
• A person is not required to possess a hunter safety certificate or hunter mentor authorization to take waterfowl or other migratory game birds by the use of archery equipment or falconry.
Each hunter required to be licensed who hunts migratory game birds shall complete a current Wyoming validation for the National harvest Information Program (HIP) and shall obtain a Wyoming HIP permit. This requirement also applies to holders of pioneer and lifetime hunting licenses. Each hunter required to be licensed engaged in the act of hunting doves, ducks, geese, mergansers, coots, rails, cranes or snipe shall be in possession of a Wyoming HIP permit by signing the person's name in ink across the face and shall validate the permit. HIP permits expire on June 30 each year. HIP permits are not transferrable to other states. A separate validation is required from each state in which you hunt.
No person shall hunt cranes, ducks, geese, mergansers or coots while possessing shot shells loaded with shot other than nontoxic shot. Nontoxic shot shall also be required when hunting any game with a shotgun on all of the lands in the Springer and Table Mountain Wildlife Management Areas and on all national wildlife refuges open for hunting. For a current list of federally approved nontoxic shot types, refer to the following website: www.fws.gov.
Migratory birds that may not be taken, possessed, transported, sold or bartered include all migratory birds as defined and protected under federal law including, but not limited to, trumpeter swans, whooping cranes, bitterns, grebes, herons, egrets, kingfishers, loons, pelicans, seagulls, shorebirds, eagles, falcons, hawks and owls. Any insectivorous birds and songbirds not otherwise classified are protected.
Waterfowl hunters should be aware certain bodies of water within Wyoming have watercraft restrictions on them. For a list of waters that have restrictions, please check the watercraft or fishing regulations or check with your local Game and Fish Office.


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We spotted a quick mention of V Cast apps in the list of bug fixes and enhancements for the forthcoming maintenance upgrade that the Droid Incredible will be getting, and Verizon's come clean: they've released an official statement to confirm that it will be the first phone to get V Cast apps. It's as simple as that, folks. Here's the quote in its entirety:
"Verizon Wireless will begin pushing a software update to the DROID Incredible next week. The update includes software enhancements that will pre-install V CAST Apps on the phone. We said earlier this year that we'd be expanding V CAST Apps to the Android platform, and the DROID Incredible is the first Android phone with the store. Developers continue to submit apps, and as a reminder, V CAST Apps allows carrier billing, so customers who purchase applications through our store will see those charges on their monthly bill. For more information about the update customers can go to www.verizonwireless.com/droidincrediblesupport."
Love it or hate it, you're getting it and eventually all of Verizon's Android-owning customers will.
Continue reading:
- [Discussion] The best looking Android phones
- Original Droid Incredible receiving minor upd
- Bug gives access to WiFi passwords on certain
- Bootloader Officially Unlocked for HTC Desire
TAGS: HTC Droid Incredible


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I have been impressed by the size and strength of the postgraduate community and the busy schedule of seminars.
Richard Bowles, PhD in Philosophy
The Graduate School of Arts and Humanities at Bristol is home to around 700 full-time and part-time postgraduate students. Our internationally renowned academic staff actively conduct research in their own individual disciplines and also contribute to interdisciplinary exchanges across subject boundaries to foster a vibrant community of advanced learning.


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"Intellectual African Scum"
Posted January 31, 2012on:
Everyone has been talking about this post, so aptly entitled "You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum"
I love to see African issues talked about and dissected, but it was a disappointment for me to see so many agreeing with the sentiments expressed, and reblogging and retweeting their agreement without discussion, like victims of the nodding disease currently killing kids in Northern Uganda.
And so here, without blemish or edit, is a rebuttal by Ernest Bazanye who is awesome all over the internet. Hopefully it will add something to the current discussion:
Here in bufunze and bullet points is what bugged me about the Lazy Intellectual post.
First the things on the surface of it. Casual assumptions made that seem to bolster his main argument, even though they themselves are disputable.
The white man talks about coming in to Africa and taking all the wealth and leaving crumbs.
A rich person coming to your market is a good thing. Yes, when he leaves he will still be rich and you will still be poor, but he leaves his money behind. Would it be better if we kept our minerals and never made any money off them?
Wamma white man come to my country and look at my giraffes and pay me. If somebody thinks you are exploiting me, well, it works both ways.
It was when Africans entered the world of free markets as traders, when we let customers come in to buy and sell, the continent began to register records in economic growth. Foreign investment has been better for Africa than all the protectionism and nationalism and gung-ho Africa pride white elephant industries of the eighties.
Muzungu, muzungu
He mentions a "nincompoop from the New York streets" of whom he says, he "bring him to Lusaka and (Africans will) all be crowding around him chanting muzungu, muzungu and yet he's a riffraff." He wants to be told why this is so.
Africans may chant muzungu muzungu for many reasons, among them these two:
One is that children find it entertaining to see a white person. If it was a donkey in shoes they would chant "Punda yenye viatu! punda yenye viatu!" That guy should be offended instead of taking it as a sign of supposed superiority.
The second reason is because when a smart person sees money, he goes to get some. If I have a bucket and I see a rich man with a car, I go and tell him he is very handsome and he has a smart car and he should let me wash it for him at a cost.
Homeless junkie:
If a homeless white drug addict thinks he's superior to me he can screw himself superiorily. He's homeless and on drugs. And I'm on a plane.
"Do you know where I found your intellectuals?" he asks. "They were in bars quaffing."
From the movies I have watched and books I have read, that is kind of what intellectuals do even in the US and Britain. They is always a group of self-obsessed blowhards who congregate around alcohol loving the sounds of their own voices. But it would be a mistake of me to assume that these form the entirety of western intellectual culture. And a mistake to think that the pompous drunks in African bars are the sum of Africa's intellectual culture.
AIDS cure:
And why should Africa come up with her own AIDS cure? Since when was THAT the way it worked? Did Spain come up with its own cure for Smallpox? Did Japan find its own cure for polio? When someone finds a cure, it's a cure for everyone. And are you assuming that there are no Africans contributing to the global pool of knowledge that is eventually going to yield a cure?
White Man's Plane
Also, African passengers are not dependent on white people's planes. Airline companies are dependent on the money paid for ticket fares. So the plane is the one dependent on the African passenger.
But the main problem with this argument isn't the examples used to present it, it is the argument itself. The fundamental premise of the thing. He says "In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations." And then goes to argue that it is because African Intellectuals are lazy.
This is bull. Africans discover and invent and innovate all the time. Farmers create new ways of beating the change of seasons, cooks create new meals, mechanics fabricate makeshift fixes for trucks and matatus, businesspeople make new patterns of distribution, thieves and pickpockets innovate new scams, kisekka market inventors make Japanese imports obsolete at a stroke, … musicians manufacture new styles… It's just not something as massive and world-shaking as the television or the computer, but then again, when was the last time you heard of a world-shaking technological invention coming out of Romania, or Syria, or Trinidad, or Paraguay, or Andorra?
The major technological leaps of our current global civilization have not been sprouting out of every every single place except Africa. They have actually come from a relatively small part of the global community. Just specific parts of Western Europe. Mostly Britain and America.
The truth is that innovation happens naturally wherever you have societies. And it happens in the same way. Necessity breeds invention. And then invention builds on itself. And so when the computer is invented it will breed computer-based inventions in the societies that have computers and the snowball will grow. The reason you the bulk of internet-based innovation is not taking place in Africa is the same reason it is not taking place in the Emirates. Because the hub is in the US.
And the assumption that there is no internet innovation in Africa is as false as the assumption that there is none in Dubai.
What we forget here is that no matter what the slogans say, Africa is not unique in history. Africans are no different from anyone else. This means that everything that happens in Africa is happening or has happened somewhere else.
Related articles
- In reply to ' You lazy (Intellectual) African Scum' by Takura Shangzha (wacyigelin.wordpress.com)
12 Responses to ""Intellectual African Scum""
This is all kinds of awesome. Why are we always so willing to let people make us believe we suck?
Insightful! Good, plain but profound rebuttal!
We do suck if we didn't suck why is Africa consistently crying for help? Why do we still have a govt-less Somalia? Why is Uganda with the same president for 26 years, why is Libya and Egypt in a political mess, why do we have very high infant mortality rates? Why does Uganda have consistet load shedding, why is youth unemployment at 85%, why is Senegal and Ivory Coast the once stable countries declining politically? Why is DRC one of the poorest yet one of the richest? Why are the educated in Africa seeking a way out of the continent faster than you can blink? Why why why? Gosh the list goes on and on and on….the mzungu had an excellent assesment and opened many of our eyes yours too Ernest hence inspiring you to write this article which you otherwise would never have written. AFRICA AND AFRICANS STAND UP!
Well said, African in Diaspora. What the "mzungu" said was a lot of generalisations, but the fact remains that Africa is waay behind. Leave the inventions and innovations alone. Who needs a computer when they do not even have access to enough clean water to have a bath and feel a bit human after a hard day's work? It won't help us to compare ourselves to Paraguay, Romania or wherever. Romania's problems are Romania's and it's up to the people of Romania to discuss and deliberate upon them. That's the thing with problems. The "international community" will always swoop in to join your discussions and maybe even help a bit in clouds of UN and NGO benovelence but the actual problem solving? It's still up to you. We know that ourselves from the way we behave to the latest friend who's broke or bangled up some relationship or other. In fact, we should each go back to the country level before we sing Africa, Africa. There's no way a continent will change when its individual countries are like ships with no compass. What about corruption? E.g. Ugandans will risk their lives and take to the street to protest hiked interest rates but there is no concerted effort to resist the blatant misuse of the nation's riches. Yes to the free market – yet you can sell your minerals and resources and peddle and recycle inventions from British and American hubs all you want, but if for some reason you're always pulling the shorter stick? Find out why. Yes, Africans are no different from any one else, but if for some reason we're still the measure of what does not work? We need to know why. The poultry farmer (of whom we've got so many industrious/not lazy ones in Uganda :-)) will tell you that it's better to prevent hens from eating their own eggs than to cure them of the nasty habit later. Denying the fact that we are a part of the problem does not improve the situation one bit.
Proud Ugandan and Diaspora African, Hi. Thanks for engaging in this discussion.
I have spent quite a lot of time trying to draft a (lengthy) response to you but then I realised that he problem, the reason you misunderstood me was that I left too many details for you to get bogged down in. Proud Uganda, for example, mistook my citing of Paraguay and Romania entirely.
So I have kept my notes for another post. For now this is my response.
The "Walter" character said Africa has many problems, stemming from a lack of innovation and invention and this lack comes about because African intellectuals are too lazy to apply themselves to change.
I rebutted, saying there is no lack of innovation and invention in Africa, and that African intellectuals are no more lazy than intellectuals everywhere else on the planet. Africa does have problems, though. That I do not dispute.
Diasporan African, it seems that you are trying to say that because African DOES have problems, however, this means his entire argument is correct. It is not. He is correct about only one point. That Africa has problems. He is wrong in saying that there is no innovation in Africa, or that the clever people in Africa are all not working to solve them.
One thing is true on every continent: There are intellectuals who are too busy making noise to do any work, and there are those who are too busy working to make noise. So you will find one group on intellecuals wasting their breath on facebook, but don't make the mistake of thinking that these are the only inteelectuals Africa has.
Proud Uganda, you mentioned computers. You asked, why should Africans make a computer when our more pressing problem is getting clean water? Exactly what I had said in my post. The reason why African intellectuals are not inventing computers is because we have more pressing problems. And I believe that when African thinkers and innovators get to work it is to find solutions to these direct problems.
But the assumption "Walter" wants us to make is that these innovators do not exist. Only the noisemakers in the bars exist.
Let me ask you guys this: Do you believe that nobody in Africa has invented a way to improve delivery and storage of safe water? On the whole continent of human beings. Do you believe that no African has done anything to improve delivery and storage of safe water in rural areas?
Thanks for the answer Ernest. I know full well that Africa is a nation of hard-working, innovative individuals. You wrapped up the essence of my noise in your paragraph on the need for African thinkers and innovators to get to work finding solutions to Africa's direct problems. That right there is the bane of Uganda's/Africa's issues. We've got to go back to the basics instead of trying to construct skyscrapers on potholes, run before we walk… and that by no means suggests that the Walters of this life have the last word
oops, Uganda is a nation. Africa is a continent :-). Pardon


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Pavilion Crossing
Riverview, FL
Pavilion Crossing is a 17.05 acre site at the SWC of US Highway 301 & Falkenburg Rd in Riverview, FL. Publix Now Open!
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First-Time Freshmen
Applying to Waynesburg University is a simple process.
- College preparatory curriculum throughout high school (Honors, AP and dual enrollment classes are helpful)
- Cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.0
- Preference given to students with at least a 900 SAT (19 ACT)
- Complete a Freshman Admissions Application
- Submit official high school transcripts, senior class schedule and any SAT/ACT scores to:
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*The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request additional documents, including but not limited to: high school transcripts for GED candidates, revised SAT or ACT scores, letters of recommendation, senior year grades, and/or a personal interview. The Admissions Committee also reserves the right to recalculate GPA based on core curriculum.
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Students speaking English as a Second Language
All applicants who speak English as a second language are required to take the TOEFL iBT and score at least an 80 (84 for Nursing).


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500 S. Duval St.
Tallahassee FL 32399
Directions To This Location
Hurricane Season in Florida is June 1st through November 30th. This web page is intended for court system staff to access court-related information and messages including courthouse closures and other notices.
FloridaDisaster.org - A website maintained by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. This website contains valuable information about how Florida residents can prepare for disasters.
The Court Emergency Management Team has been monitoring and will continue to monitor Winter Storm Leon.
The Florida Supreme Court and OSCA have no plans to close.
As public schools in the area will be closed, Court and OSCA supervisors are encouraged to allow annual leave for employees who cannot make alternative child care arrangements.
Also, Court and OSCA employees are encouraged to check road conditions in the morning and to take necessary precautions based on conditions in their area. Info on road conditions can be checked at www.tallahassee.com (The Tallahassee Democrat) and http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/ei/ , which is the local emergency management office.
Any updates will be placed on the Court and OSCA emergency phone hotline at 850-921-8552 and will be posted online.
Telephone Hotline for Supreme Court
the Public, & Media: (850) 921-8552


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Strengths-Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People FollowHardback
List price $26.55
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- Publisher: Gallup Press
- Format: Hardback | 216 pages
- Dimensions: 140mm x 218mm x 33mm | 476g
- Publication date: 8 January 2009
- Publication City/Country: Omaha
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In recent years, while continuing to learn more about strengths, Gallup scientists have also been examining decades of data on the topic of leadership. They studied more than 1 million work teams, conducted more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders, and even interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life. The results of that research are unveiled in Strengths Based Leadership. Using Gallup's discoveries, authors Tom Rath and Barry Conchie identify three keys to being a more effective leader and use firsthand accounts from highly successful leaders -- including the founder of Teach For America and the president of The Ritz-Carlton -- to show how each person's unique strengths can drive their success. A new leadership version of Gallup's popular StrengthsFinder assessment helps readers discover their own special gifts and specific strategies for leading with their top five strengths. Filled with novel research and actionable ideas, Strengths Based Leadership will give you a new road map for leading people toward a better future.
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Gallup Global Practice Leader Tom Rath is the author of the b estselling How Full Is Your Bucket?, and StrengthsFinder 2.0. In total, Rath's books have sold more than a million copies and have made more than 100 appearances on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. Rath has been with Gallup for 14 years and currently leads Gallup's workplace research and leadership consulting worldwide. He and his wife, Ashley, live in Washington, D.C. A renowned Leadership Consultant, Gallup's Barry Conchie is sought after by CEOs around the world to assist in aligning business and talent strategies that drive performance. Conchie was a public sector leader in the UK before joining Gallup in London. In 2002, he brought his extensive global experience to Gallup's Washington, D.C. headquarters, where Conchie now leads Gallup's executive leadership consulting. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children.
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Nearly a decade ago, Gallup unveiled the results of a landmark 30-year research project that ignited a global conversation on the topic of strengths. More than 3 million people have since taken Gallup's StrengthsFinder assessment, which forms the core of several books on this topic, including the #1 international bestseller "StrengthsFinder 2.0." In recent years, while continuing to learn more about strengths, Gallup scientists have also been examining decades of data on the topic of leadership. They studied more than 1 million work teams, conducted more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders, and even interviewed more than 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly "why" they followed the most important leader in their life. In "Strengths Based Leadership," #1 "New York Times" bestselling author Tom Rath and renowned leadership consultant Barry Conchie reveal the results of this research. Based on their discoveries, the book identifies three keys to being a more effective leader: knowing your strengths and investing in others' strengths, getting people with the right strengths on your team, and understanding and meeting the four basic needs of those who look to you for leadership. As you read "Strengths Based Leadership," you'll hear firsthand accounts from some of the most successful organizational leaders in recent history, from the founder of Teach For America to the president of The Ritz-Carlton, as they discuss how their unique strengths have driven their success. Filled with novel research and actionable ideas, "Strengths Based Leadership" will give you a new road map for leading people toward a better future. A unique access code allows you to take a new leadership version of Gallup's StrengthsFinder program. The new version of this program provides you with specific strategies for leading with your top five strengths and enables you to plot the strengths of your team based on the four domains of leadership strength revealed in the book.


text:
Mr. Bacon: Good afternoon. Thanks for coming to the briefing.
First I'd like to welcome 18 foreign policy professionals from different countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Near East. They're here participating in a three-week U.S. studies program sponsored by the USIA. It's being held at Princeton University. They're in Washington to visit various government agencies including the Pentagon.
Second, I'd like formally to welcome Bryan Whitman who is going to be Colonel Bridge's Deputy in DDI. You all know Bryan from his days working on Persian Gulf Illnesses. Now he'll have a broader focus and cover the entire landscape of DDI. So welcome aboard.
With that, I'll take your questions on Bryan or anything else.
Q: NATO military representatives made clear yesterday that the so-called "special police" in Bosnia are illegal and will not be tolerated. These people protect people like Mladic and Karadzic. Is that a signal that the military may move against top officials...
A: Let me talk a little bit about the special police. Several weeks ago the SACEUR, General Wesley Clark, reached a conclusion after consultations with the North Atlantic Council and others, that he would give instructions to SFOR to crack down on the special police forces. These are actually paramilitary police groups that have the armaments of military groups sometimes -- tanks, artillery, APCs, etc. And many of them had rifles and automatic weapons rather than just the sidearms that normal police people carry.
Starting last weekend SFOR notified the factions that we were going to go in and inspect the headquarters and the barracks and the cantonment areas -- weapons cantonment areas -- of the special police forces, and we were going to treat them as military forces because of the way they're armed and because of the way some of them have acted. So that is underway now. Many special police units have been inspected or will be inspected. They will all be inspected soon, and those that have not declared weapons and lived up to Annex 1A of the Dayton Accords will have certain heavy weapons taken away from them.
If they follow the procedures, they will report their weapons and store them in cantonment areas where they're subject to inspection to make sure that the weapons aren't being used improperly or moved. That, of course, will make the weapons subject to the arms control limits that also have been imposed as part of the Dayton process. So this is ongoing. It fits into a broader policy that has really been underway for several months. In May, I believe, President Clinton called for a review of the Bosnia policy and he concluded, as he has stated many times along with Secretary Cohen and Secretary Albright, that what we have to do is concentrate on how to make the Dayton process work between now and our scheduled withdrawal date of SFOR, which is June of 1998. In other words, we have to make every day count in terms of implementing the peace, laying a strong foundation for peace and stability in Bosnia. This is part of that overall plan.
Q: Is this weakening the protection for high profile war criminals?
A: This is an effort to take forces that we believe should have been treated as military forces, and treat them as military forces. Although they were called police forces, we believe they were actually military forces. And now we're treating them as military forces subject to the same weapons accounting procedures that apply to military forces.
Q: Has this been done in Pale?
A: Yes, it has been or is in the process of being done in Pale.
Q: Are any of these forces suspected of working with or protecting any of the wanted war criminals?
A: Some of the special police brigades are involved in the protection of VIPs, and they will continue to be involved in the protection of VIPs.
Q: That would include wanted war criminals?
A: Some could include wanted war criminals. But they are involved in protection of former officials in Bosnia -- in the Serb section of Bosnia. The difference here, this is not saying that they can no longer provide body guard functions, it's the armaments they use when they perform their functions that will be more tightly controlled and regulated.
Q: Would Mladic and Karadzic be on the list of people that some of these forces would be working with?
A: Certainly what happened after the fighting ended was that some military units became so-called special police brigades that were actually paramilitary units, and some of those have been involved in guarding former Serb officials, yes.
Q: Including Mladic and Karadzic?
A: Yes. Some have been involved in guarding Mladic and Karadzic.
Q: The fact that the special police have been using the arms that you mentioned is nothing new.
A: Right.
Q: I remember in Bosnia at least a year ago there were reports about Serb police carrying automatic weapons, things they weren't supposed to. Can you just sort of explain to us why NATO is coming to this decision now as opposed to a year ago when they were blatantly disregarding the agreement?
A: I think there are two reasons. The first reason I've already explained. That is that in May the United States -- President Clinton -- launched a review of our Bosnia policy and decided to take a number of actions, working with our allies, to improve implementation of the Dayton Accords. This was one of the initiatives that came out of that.
In addition, it was clear after some war criminals who had been subject to sealed indictment were captured by British troops several months ago, there was a period of harassment by Serbs directed at SFOR. Looking at that harassment and what may have caused it -- who was performing it -- it was decided that it would be wise to go ahead and include the paramilitary groups under Annex 1A. That's another reason why this change was made.
Q: What specific units are doing the breaking up, if any? Is it special forces? It is a mix of U.S. Army units that are involved in breaking up the special police?
A: No, it's the forces that are there as part of SFOR. Not just U.S. forces, but the allied forces in their individual sectors are addressing the special police brigades.
Q: Has there been any change during this review in the Department's feeling that the U.S. military should not, will not, go into arresting war criminals as part of the special police force?
A: Let me tell you what has not changed. That is the commitment by the United States and all our allies to help the International War Crimes Tribunal bring indicted war criminals to justice. That has been our goal from the beginning and it remains our goal. So nothing has changed in that respect.
Q: From this podium and other places you've said that you didn't want to get the military involved in a police force, that is a police function. You've said that several times, as has the Secretary...
A: I just want to tell you what has not changed, and that's our commitment to work with the International War Crimes Tribunal to bring war criminals to justice.
Q: Could that include having U.S. military in a special police force?
A: We believe that it is the job of the former warring factions to turn in indicted war criminals. That's what Ambassador Holbrooke said on his trip, and that remains our position.
Q: Are you moving out, using U.S. military forces for arresting suspected war criminals?
A: We believe that bringing war criminals to justice is a police function.
Q: Is it correct to say it is not the goal to disband the special police forces, just to disarm them with the heavy weapons they're carrying now, correct?
A: Yes. They are called police forces. It is to make sure that they act as police forces, not as paramilitary forces.
Q: What specifically is the distinction in terms of the armaments? Are we talking about taking everything away from them above a sidearm or a rifle...
A: Basically there's... To be specific, policemen generally carry sidearms and these people will be limited in their patrols to sidearms except there will be one long-barreled weapon for every ten people, for instance. There will also... As I said, if they have tanks and artillery and APCs, these will be counted as military equipment and they will be subject to inspection and subject to declaration by the units and they will have to keep these weapons in cantonment areas or barracks areas where they can be inspected by SFOR.
Every day there are a number of inspection missions by SFOR troops.
Q: Can these items not only be inspected, can they actually be used by the special police brigades...
A: They can't be moved.
Q: Is this essentially a confiscation of armaments above and beyond that one long-barreled rifle and pistols?
A: It is only a confiscation if... The procedures are very clear. They have to declare their armaments. They have to store their armaments in cantonment areas. They can't move their armaments out of those areas unless certain conditions are met. We can inspect those cantonment areas to make sure that everything that is supposed to be there is there. Essentially this freezes the use of certain military equipment. That's the rule that has applied to Army units. Now this will apply to the so-called special police brigades which we have determined are paramilitary units. So those weapons will not be used by them, cannot be used by them in their day-to-day operations.
Q: Is there a grace period, or is this already in effect for all units?
A: We've notified them and this will be done certainly by the end of the month, but the inspections are underway now. We've made some preliminary reconnaissance, I think, of many of these. Some have actually been inspected in the American sector, which is MND North -- Multinational Division North. We've completed inspections, I think, of six of eight of these paramilitary units or special police brigades.
Q: In the U.S. sector?
A: In the U.S. sector, right.
Q: Doesn't this strip away some of the security blanket around some of these war criminals and give them pause, and give them more concern?
A: Whether it gives indicted war criminals more concern is really up to them -- to describe their psychological state.
I want to correct one thing that I said earlier. I've received a note here that the SFOR guidance from SACEUR, from the Supreme Allied Commander, does prohibit special police protection for VIPs -- for indicted war criminals.
Q: The new guidelines or...
A: The SACEUR does prohibit special police protection for indicted war criminals.
Q: Is this part of the new May revision or has this always been the policy?
A: I believe that's always been the policy, but I'll double-check that. I don't have General Clark's letter here.
Q: Are these special police brigades considered to be rogue elements or out of control elements? Are they...
A: I don't think out of control would be the right term. SFOR is working very hard to maintain peace and stability in Bosnia and has been successful at doing that, so I don't think they've been out of control. This is part of a continuing effort to demilitarize forces in Bosnia.
Q: These people have essentially been sort of slipping through the cracks in terms of what's allowed and what's not allowed because of their ambiguous status, is that the case?
A: They describe themselves as police forces. We decided they were paramilitary forces and we're treating them as military forces. That means that their military weaponry will be basically contained, recorded, inspected, and they will have to operate with the normal paraphernalia of police.
Q: They must have been considered to be somewhat roguish if SFOR decided to take action against them, though.
A: As I said, it came about in the wake of a review of our Bosnian policy and ways of advancing the Dayton Accords.
Q: It's come to light that Mr. Karadzic, at least he and perhaps others, have been receiving large revenues from black marketing in, I guess in Srpska and beyond. What is IFOR's role, if any, in cutting off his revenues so he can't support the kinds of armed guards that he has?
A: SFOR is not a customs force, it's a military force. It's there to impose a peace. If they are running corrupt operations and skimming money off of various business ventures they're involved in, presumably they're doing it at the expense of the Serb people. And the Serb people and their police ought to enforce their own rules against corruption.
Q: Without any pressure from IFOR, SFOR?
A: As I said, SFOR is not a customs operation, it's a military operation.
Q: Has General Clark or anyone else received any indication of a willingness to comply with these new guidelines or an unwillingness to comply?
A: So far the operation seems to be going very smoothly. I think that's true throughout the areas in the Federation and Bosnia where the special police brigades have been operating. SFOR troops have not encountered difficulties. They've received letters, they've met with local commanders. Major General Grange who heads the American forces there has issued press releases explaining exactly what he's done. We can give you copies of those releases if you'd like. But my information from Tuzla this morning is that this operation is going quite smoothly.
Q: Has there been any signal received of intentions to not comply?
A: No, there have not, that I'm aware of. That's as of 8:00 this morning, from Tuzla. We've received no signals that there was any intention to avoid compliance.
Q: Does this in any way signal there's a new sheriff in town with General Clark -- given his experience in bringing together the parties in the first place? In his new role as the NATO Chief?
A: General Clark, as General Joulwan before him, is committed to making the Dayton Accords work. As I said, this is one of the actions that has followed a fairly broad administration review of Bosnia policy. In May that review was continuing. I think it's clear that a number of the allies, I would guess all our allies, share our commitment to do everything we can to make the Dayton process work between now and June of '98 when SFOR troops are coming out.
Q: The letter you mentioned from him, is that something you can make available?
A: The Clark letter? I don't see why not. I'll double-check on that. I read it three or four weeks ago. I can give you the Grange press release, obviously. We actually distribute press releases with no reluctance. I'd be glad to give that to you and I'll check into the Clark letter, which I think by now is three or four weeks old.
Q: You said that you want to bring the war criminals to justice and that's a police function, yet when NATO troops and SFOR troops, NATO-led troops, were involved directly in the snatch of those war criminals last month -- the U.S. provided ten different types, or ten airplanes, actually, in a support role, and dozens of U.S. troops as backup. So on one side you're saying you're going to let the local police forces bring these people to justice, yet on the other side we've seen what really happened. It was NATO-led forces bringing these people, and SFOR people bringing these people to justice. That doesn't make sense.
A: That incident was well described at the time. But just to refresh your memory: the British had encountered these characters in the normal course of their patrols and business and had decided to pick them up, which they're allowed to do if they encounter indicted war criminals. They did that. We provided some area security and some transportation to help them get to the Hague. We provided support.
Q: On that point, just to be clear... Is there any moderation or change in the Department's position? Is the fire break any less between what you see as military functions and police functions, or is your position just where you left it several months ago where you, in effect, verbally put a fire break between arresting people and doing military duty? And this would include ... NATO police force? Has there been any moderation in your position?
A: I'd just repeat what I said earlier. It is primarily the responsibility of the warring factions to bring indicted war criminals to justice -- to turn them over. Ambassador Holbrooke made that very clear in his trip to Bosnia, and in his trip to Serbia as well. We think that it's the job of police to bring these people to justice.
Q: So no change, as far as you're concerned.
A: I've said many times it's a police function to bring these people to justice.
Q: These special police, was one of their roles, at least in the U.S. opinion, to actually arrest the war criminals people? In addition to protect them? Where do they fall into this police function that you keep talking about in terms of who should arrest war criminals?
A: Well, they should be arrested. That's one of the points we've been making with President Milosovic and others. That's one of the points that Ambassador Holbrooke and Mr. Gelbard made when they were over there, that these people should be arrested by the appropriate police force and sent to the Hague for trial.
Q: I guess my question is, are these special police one of those appropriate forces?
A: That would be up to the local authorities to decide which forces to use to arrest these people.
Q: You say in the American sector that six of eight inspections have already taken place. What heavy weapons have they found and...
A: The issue here, there are a number of tanks and artillery pieces. But if the weaponry is declared and if it is contained in cantonment areas or contained in barracks areas and not moved out of those areas -- in other words, not used -- it's okay for them to maintain those weapons. As long as they don't boost them above various arms control limits, then some of the weapons might have to be destroyed. I'm not familiar enough with the arms control limits to be able to tell you whether they're in that position yet. But the issue isn't that they can't have the weapons, it's that they can't use the weapons. The procedures are designed to prevent the weapons from being used.
Q: . ..to be accounted for.
A: They have to be accounted for. They have to be declared, accounted for, and then they have to be subject to regular inspections. So if some group declared that it had five tanks and we go in there and inspect and only find three tanks, then we can ask them what happened to the other two tanks, find them, and destroy them if they're being used inappropriately.
Q: If they have not declared any tanks because they consider themselves to be a police force...
A: The notification was, over the weekend, that they have to...
Q: It's not retroactive?
A: No. That they will be treated as military units and their equipment will be subject to accounting.
Q: Beginning with the inspections now. It's not retroactive.
A: It's not retroactive, right.
Q: What steps are contemplated if there is in fact non-compliance -- three tanks instead of five?
A: The same thing we do now. We go out and find the tanks, we demand that they bring the tanks back. That's the first thing. Usually that's enough. Usually they will return the equipment. If they don't and we find the equipment, we can destroy the equipment.
Q: Is this mission creep?
A: No. This has been allowed under the Dayton Accords from the very beginning. What... I don't know why it's so hard to grasp the idea that we'll continue, as time goes on, as we accomplish one mission we have time to accomplish a new mission, or to look at areas where we think there is additional enforcement required. This was one area, we decided, where additional attention was required, and now it's being given.
Q: Have the people who run these police forces given any indication that they might resist these inspections, and...
A: Not that I'm aware of.
Q: . ..are there any heightened security by U.S. forces?
A: I'm not aware that they have suggested that. So far the operation seems to be working well.
Q: How much equipment are we talking about here? Are we talking about special police brigades totaling 400 people or 4,000? Are we talking 20 tanks or 200?
A: In total there are probably several thousand, but I don't have exact numbers of how many. We may be able to find that out.
Q: . ..somewhere between the...
A: I think it's more broad than that.
Q: Is this same thing taking place in the other sectors, as well?
A: Yes, it is. Not in all the other sectors... It's taking place in the Bosnian/Serb sector and in the Federation. Those are the two areas that have these special police forces. The Croatians don't apparently have these forces.
Q: You said that some of these inspections had taken place in Pale. Have...
A: There has been reconnaissance in Pale. There basically are several stages here. The final stage is an actual, formal inspection. There's a reconnaissance of what's there, there's an accounting -- a declaration of what they have there -- then an inspection to make sure that the number of vehicles, tanks, artillery, APCs, whatever equipment, guns, measure up to what had been declared.
Q: Have the special forces been protecting Mladic and Karadzic...?
A: Those are in the U.S. sector. I know that some of the special police forces, special police brigade in Pale have been inspected. I don't know which ones.
Q: Secretary Cohen has lamented several times that when he was a Senator he had to file a Freedom of Information Act to find out what the Air Force was up to in closing bases in his own state and he changed the law as a result of it. Given that philosophy, is he in accord with the recent directive put out by Louis Finch, which is a gag order on saying anything about what they learn on field trips, about readiness of forces, until the final report is in? He says, "will be classified." "All participants may not communicate with each other. No report will contain names of anyone..." Why secrecy on unclassified readiness situations?
A: I haven't discussed this letter with Secretary Cohen, and I'm not sure he's aware of it. He said that in this, the Lou Finch memo, I think Finch is taking the position that preliminary reports should be treated like reporters' notes. That until actual reporting is finished on a project, the information may be partial; it may be subject to further check for accuracy; and he would like to wait until the reports are complete rather than come out piecemeal in an unchecked fashion. He also talks here that the commanders and leaders in the field, and also in the building, must have, that they must be able to win the confidence and respect of these commanders by showing that they can treat the information sensitively and use it to build a complete picture of what's happening.
Q: Reporters don't classify their notes. Isn't this a real leap into putting a secrecy stamp on everyday information that's subject to congressional hearings? Should it be open to the public?
A: I don't think there's any reason to assume that the information, when it's in its final form, won't be open to people who -- in Congress or elsewhere -- who want to look at it. This deals, as you know from having read the memo -- and if you don't have a complete copy of the memo I'd be glad to give it to you -- this basically deals with the preliminary work required to complete a final report. It doesn't seem unreasonable that preliminary work be protected while the actual study is continuing.
Q: . ..information will, where appropriate, be classified. That's a lot different than protecting. That's using a secrecy stamp, isn't it?
A: Well...
Q: . ..Isn't that a misuse...
A: I'm not a lawyer and I can't comment on the classification rules, but it does say where appropriate. I suppose there's a lot of judgment in what's appropriate here and what isn't appropriate.
Q: The timing of the letter is a little interesting. Can you tell us whether or not this was prompted by the Washington Times story last week on the Air Force spare parts shortages and how that was affecting readiness?
A: I don't want to psychoanalyze Mr. Finch, but clearly that illustrates the type of problem that can arise when incomplete information is released before studies are finished.
Q: Were any of Finch's final reports ever consistently made available to the press?
A: I'm not aware of that. As you know, the readiness levels of forces generally are classified. We have made public announcements about readiness. The last time we did that was in the fall of 1994 when we concluded that there was a readiness shortfall that we had not anticipated when we announced it. We announced it first to Congress and then to the press within an hour on the same day. So we have not tried to hide the readiness level of our forces.
Q: That's two-and-a-half years ago. There was a major pronouncement on the level of readiness.
A: Yeah. It was two-and-a-half years ago since we realized we had to make a public announcement, and we haven't seen necessary to do that since then.
Q: . ..not contain the names of anyone visiting the field? What's so secret about that?
A: George, you've read the announcement here. What this is involved in, my understanding here, is the preliminary work that's being done as these reports are being put together.
Q: I can't imagine Congress standing still for it, but we'll go on to something else.
Q: It also mentioned that participants in these assessments cannot electronically share notes. Can you explain that one? If they're just sharing it with each other and not leaking it to the press or...
A: Obviously the Air Force report was sent around in an e-mail and was leaked to the press, so this is an effort to stop that from happening.
Look, you know as well as I do that the specific readiness of units is classified information. It doesn't make a lot of sense that every stage of determining readiness up to the final readiness determination be made public. It would clearly defeat the purpose of maintaining some degree of confidentiality about readiness. Readiness is classified for legitimate reasons, I believe. When we have found that there were readiness problems, we have addressed those problems forthrightly. We've admitted them to the press. My anticipation is that if there's a disconnect between what we've said publicly and what we discover from our readiness reports that we will, again, make this clear to Congress and to the press. I'm not aware that's a problem right now.
Q: I want to focus for a second on the section of the memo that refers to no editorializing or opinions or speculation of team members. There's been a lot of testimony on the Hill that much of what you do to measure readiness is subjective. The folks that go out and do these measurements now are not going to be allowed to pass along their judgments based on what they see?
A: This letter, memo, deals very specifically with trip information collected in the field before it is brought back to Washington and fully reviewed. I think the memo's very clear about that. I made the analogy earlier to reporters' notes, and I think it's a legitimate analogy. In the course of collecting information you want the ability to collect it all before you reach conclusions. I think that this memo makes it clear that Mr. Finch expects conclusions to be based on the fullness of all the information gathered, not on parts of the information gathered.
Q: The Secretary is on vacation until when, and is Mr. Hamre acting in his stead? What's the...
A: Mr. Hamre is on the Colorado River, and Secretary Cohen is out of town, and General Shalikashvili is here, the Secretary of the Army is here fulfilling some of the functions, and other functions are being filled by other civilian officials. But Secretary Cohen is within reach by phone and fax and is in a position to make any decision that has to be made very quickly.
Q: Is there an acting? Usually when the big boys go somewhere...
A: I believe that Secretary West is acting at this stage.
Q: Can you give us a report on the soon-to-be-made determination on landmines? Has the Pentagon given the White House a final recommendation on the Department's position in regards to the landmine issue? What is that overall timeline?
A: The Pentagon, as of this morning, had not given a final recommendation to the White House. Let me explain to you basically what's going on here.
President Clinton has made it very clear that he supports the eventual elimination of anti-personnel landmines, and the Joint Chiefs have subscribed to that. We actually have played a leadership role in the world in moving toward that. We are unilaterally destroying our inventory of so-called dumb landmines which are the kind that cause the humanitarian problems that have been highlighted so much recently.
We have moved, for our tactical operations -- with the exception of the Korean Peninsula which is a separate situation and so noted -- toward a different type of tactical systems, the so-called smart mine that self destruct. So they do not lurk as hidden killers in the ground. They typically have a life of four hours, 48 hours. They can be set, but they self destruct. They do so with a very, very high degree of reliability, over 99.99 percent.
So we have, one, taken the lead in proclaiming our determination to move away from the use of anti-personnel landmines. We have moved away from dangerous anti-personnel landmines that pose such a threat to civilians, and we are destroying our inventory of these dangerous so-called dumb mines.
What the President has said is that he wants a worldwide ban that is comprehensive, that is global, and that is verifiable. The question that the Administration is looking at right now is how best to achieve that.
Our current policy is to work through the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. As you know, there's another track which involves the Ottawa Conference. We have not subscribed to the Ottawa Conference -- or the Ottawa Process, as it's called -- because it is not comprehensive and global. It does not involve other countries that have huge inventories of mines and actually export mines which we no longer do.
So the question is which way to go, and that's currently under review -- whether we stick with the Conference of Disarmament or whether we move to the Ottawa Process or try to do both. That's what's under consideration right now. The Chiefs are fully engaged in ways to maintain our leadership role in trying to reduce and ultimately eliminate the humanitarian problems posed by anti-personnel landmines.
Q: The Army Vice last night on television made it pretty clear that, seemingly, he would support such a ban as long as it excluded those smart mines that he talked about.
A: I think what we want to do is... Right now the military believes that to protect the men and women in the military -- sons and daughters of America protecting our interests -- that anti-personnel landmines, the smart, self-destroying mines, are necessary in very limited tactical situations. Should we achieve a worldwide ban on the use of antipersonnel landmines and develop alternatives to antipersonnel landmines -- both of which we're working on -- then we would no longer have to use these. We don't want to put ourselves in a disadvantage and we are actually working on alternatives to antipersonnel landmines. That's part of our program.
Let me also point out that we are working very hard to pick up antipersonnel landmines that have been sewn in countries around the world including Bosnia, including Laos. We have done considerable work in Cambodia, in many, many countries around the world. We've had briefings down here on the demining efforts. I'd be glad to have another briefer come down and talk to you about the demining efforts if you'd like more details on that.
Q: The New York Times called that position "narrow and mistaken" in today's editorial. Any response to that? And they're talking specifically about the exception for so-called smart mines. Any response to that?
A: First of all, I want to stress again that the United States has taken a leadership role in dealing with this humanitarian problem. We've done that in a number of ways. One, by expressing our determination to work toward a worldwide ban on antipersonnel landmines. Two, by moving unilaterally away from using these lurking killers to mines that do not pose a humanitarian threat. We have taken a lead on that. Other countries can follow. They have not yet followed. Three, we are working to destroy our inventory of so-called dumb mines, the type of mines that do pose these hidden and lurking problems. And four, we are aggressively training deminers all around the world to address the specific problems that's such a threat to farmers and shepherds and others. So I think this has been a progressive program that balances the humanitarian needs on the one hand with the clear demand that we protect the men and women who go into uniform to protect our national security interests around the world should this protection be needed in battle.
I think it's a progressive and balanced approach, so I reject that.
Q: Can I get one more on landmines?
A: Sure.
Q: You stated that it's U.S. policy, but can you tell us whether or not that in addition to Korea there would be any room for exceptions? I've heard some rumblings, especially in the special forces community that they may be put at undue risk if such a ban would be approved, on certain kinds of dumb mines.
A: We are working to develop alternatives or replacements. These would be barriers or other types of obstacles, impediments that could protect our forces. We'll continue to work on that.
Q: Over the weekend, at least I think since you last briefed, the World Food Program announced that there had been a two month dearth of rain in North Korea and that their corn crops were scorched and they would probably lose most of their corn crop requiring them to continue food subsidy perhaps into October of next year, was mentioned. Can DoD confirm that this is the kind of weather that's affecting North Korea?
A: I can't confirm that. I'll look into it. I just don't happen to know what the recent weather patterns have been in North Korea. But the fact that there is...
Q: (inaudible)
A: The fact that there is a food problem in North Korea has a number of causes, one of which is the basic inefficiency of their agricultural production system; another of which involves floods that have occurred in the past that have caused a vast amount of erosion; and one of the causes of which is also some recent drought. Yes, there are very severe food problems there. I'll try to find out information on recent weather patterns.
Press: Thank you.


text:
Just How Hot Is Sarah Steelman Anyway?
Categories: Politics
|via http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/01/26/steelman-announces-candidacy-governor/
|Sarah Steelman: You have to admit, this is pretty good for an unposed, unretouched photo.
Sarah Steelman, the Republican who wants to take out U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill in two years, didn't exactly wow conservative talk show host Mark Reardon on KMOX today.
On Twitter, Reardon called the interview a "disaster." And, as politico.com reports, on air, the host huffed that, although Steelman is hot, she "isn't exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer."
Which got us wondering: Just how hot is Sarah Steelman? Is she Sarah Palin hot? Nikki Haley hot? Or -- be still our hearts! -- Kirsten Gillibrand hot?
|Sarah Steelman's official headshot
But, based on Reardon's response to their brief chat, Steelman's looks are clearly gonna be an issue. (Call it the curse of the hot chick: Like Rodney Dangerfield, they can't get no respect.)
So, readers: What do you think?
Is Sarah Steelman too hot for politics -- or do we only think she's hot because she's a relatively attractive woman in a profession that, until recent years, had few of them?
Are Sarah Steelman's good looks causing her to be unfairly labeled as dim -- or are her looks a big part of what's gotten her this far?
And (not to get all Seinfeldian, but ...) what is up with all these really attractive people running for office? The GOP delegation is starting to look a bit like the lineup at the Country Music Awards: half aging white dudes -- and half ridiculously attractive women.
Yeah, it's good for Fox News. But can this possibly be good for democracy?
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Bo Eder
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Re: When Something Goes Wrong...
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Hahaha, nice one Luke, but you didn't hit him low enough! Kit's sounding cool, & I like your playing. Crisp, clean & purposeful.
Most of my funny bits have happened at gigs. Many years ago, we had a 300lb woman charge at the singer at full speed. She tripped over a monitor & stopped just short of my kit. Phew! Serious train crash potential right there. She did take out a set of floor lights though.
Oh, almost forgot, at a recent demo studio recording session, our singer decided to drop his jeans, put a sock on his vegetables, & stride into the control room. Luckily, I'd finished my tracking, but the keys guy just had to stop playing. At that moment, the photographer walked in, but thankfully left his wife in the reception area. The sound guy certainly thought it was a studio first! We do have photographic & video evidence of this, but I can't post it as the band wants to keep something back for future leverage, plus Polly would get far too excited for her own good.
There's a little bit of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in all of us, I guess!
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It's not often that I am in awe of someone who has played a role in some of the stories I have written.
And it's even more rare that someone who has worked for me can pay a visit that just blows me away.
But then again, I have not had the privilege to work with many young men like Ben James.
He was in town last week visiting family and friends. And he took the time to stop by my office just to chat and bring me up to speed on what he's doing in the United States Navy.
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Oliva Serie O Churchill 5 Pack
7 x 50 - Natural - Pack of 5
Oliva Serie O is designed for the seasoned palate. This unique-tasting, full-bodied blend is achieved by growing the same Cuban-seed Habano tobaccos in different regions of northern Nicaragua - producing a distinct flavor variation in each of these rich filler, binder and wrapper tobaccos. After a carefully controlled fermentation process, the tobaccos are aged a full five years. That's why every Oliva Serie O Churchill 5 Pack cigar presents a hearty, complex, and aromatic puro that's so smooth, it's never overpowering.
I like these cigars and after reading the mixed reviews thought I'd add mine. I've smoked all of the "O" series but mostly Churchills and Torpedoes and I'm struck by the value, consistency and good taste. They aren't "the best ever" but for daily value, the Olive Series O hits the mark. Good tobacco flavor, and if I've stored them right and kept the humidity on track they burn straight, smooth and cool. For special occassions I might move up to the Series V or a Padron '64, but these are very, very good. Try a five pack and see what you think. They aren't as good as the "rave" reviews, but they certainly aren't as bad as some of the critics. Check 'em out.


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Click to Win!
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
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December 23, 2013
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Malcolm X diary sale ban extended indefinitely
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NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Friday extended her ban on sales of a book containing Malcolm X's diaries until evidence in a court challenge can be heard next year. ...
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An Evening of Dance: Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Lula Washington Dance Theatre
July 23, 2013
... 4311 WILSHIRE BLVD. SUITE 402, LOS ANGELES CA 90010, PH: 323-954-7510 FAX: 323-954-7520 Contact: David Barber, Tim Choy 323-954-7510, ... , ... FORD THEATRES INAUGURAL ZEV YAROSLAVSKY SIGNATURE SERIES: An Evening of Dance: Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Lula Washington Dance Theatre Saturday, ...
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Taste of Soul


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Graduation Speech
Hello, class of 2013! And, welcome to all the parents and families who have come to support us today. Our parents are the people who know us the best in the whole world—even if that seems hard to believe, it's true. They've helped us become the people we are today, and they've done a great job. After all, we wouldn't be standing here without them! So, thank you, parents.
Today—June, 11th, 2009, is the day that we, as a class, are going to graduate the eighth grade. Of course, we all know that. But do we really understand what it all means? The official definition of graduation is to complete a class or course of study. That's it—the whole definition Not very impressive, am I right? To me, graduation means more than that. It means growing, it means changing, it means moving on. School has a huge impact in that, but a lot of it is just us as people. Today, the ceremony might seem like it's all happening too fast, or, it might seem like it's never going to end, but all our lives we'll remember it—and that's what counts. Our three years of middle school have been a time to remember, and the memories are what we are going to take with us our whole lives—not some diploma or report card.
Do you remember how it all started? That warm June day in fifth grade? It was the day we had all been looking forward to for weeks: the tour of the middle school.
We went to the school, trying not to make eye contact with the huge eighth graders, and grinning at our siblings who pretended they didn't know us. Little did we know that three years later, we would be the ones ignoring our brothers and sisters. We watched SBNN, walked around the track with 6th and 7th grade mentors who seemed insanely cool, and peeked into classrooms all around the building.
We left our field trip excited for what was to come, and spent the whole summer talking about our teams and friends and field trips and everything we knew about 6th grade—trying to prepare ourselves as much as we could.
On the first day of school, we had the place to ourselves. Wearing brand new clothes and shiny shoes, we nervously went from class to class, hoping that we would be able to open our lockers, and that none of the teachers would assign homework. That first day, we immediately huddled with friends and shot apprehensive glances at the strangers. But after a few weeks, we opened up. We traveled to New York on a five day field trip to Nature's Classroom, and came back braver, more confident, and with tons of new friends. Before we knew it, it was June, and to our surprise, we'd survived our first year of middle school.
The next August, we entered the school the day after the new sixth graders did. This time, we were braver—but not much. 7th grade began. None of us were that little anymore—even though the new sixth graders were. I mean, were we really that annoying? And, on the other side of the scale, the eighth graders weren't as huge. Well, most of them, at least. We climbed Mount Philo, saw some great performances at the Flynn, and swam at Oakledge Park. On Intrepid, we dragged boats over ice while studying Ernest Shackleton and competed to control ancient Japan during Social Studies. We experimented with eggs in science, and explored numbers from all possible angles in math. And when we came back to school after a long, hot summer, we knew what to expect.
Or we thought we did.
8th grade was different. We were the oldest, the wisest, and unquestionably the coolest.
When we walked down the hall, sixth graders got out of our way and seventh graders felt cool when we talked to them. Instead of being crammed in the cafeteria in the mornings before class, we got to chill in the lobby. We got the best lunch time, the most exciting field trips, and the most freedom.
We went to see the Mayhem Poets rap at the Flynn, took on the roles of an entire courtroom to solve a murder, made magazines and wrote short stories, and figured out what unknown chemicals were with a whole bunch of experiments. We got to the Great Escape and yesterday, we relaxed at Quarry Hill. It was a great year.
We grew as teams and as a grade, but more importantly as people—figuratively and literally. We became smarter, more confident, and of course, taller.
Together, we listened as the guidance counselors told us about the high school and together we pored over the seemingly endless lists of classes. We turned in our worn, wrinkled, class sheets nervously, but a couple months later, all our worries were gone.
Today, we will graduate together—in a matter of minutes—leaving behind a school, a grade, our team, and some great, great teachers. Together we will enter the high school next fall, and in four years we'll graduate: the class of 2013.
Senior year will be just like this one, but the intensity will be higher. We'll worry about college applications and SAT scores and leaving behind our homes. But, there will be prom and more field trips and celebrations to look forward too—and the good things will overrule the bad.
Will it all be fun? Will it all be easy? No, I'm sure it won't. I mean seriously, the SATs? But hey, that's life, right? And in the end, it'll make us stronger—at least I hope so!
So it's time, today to end the second part of our education and enter the third. It's time to leave behind socials for prom, say goodbye to A and B teams and be introduced to varsity, and most of all, time to go from the middle school community that we're familiar with, that we love, and that we are in charge of, and cross the parking lot to the bigger, busier, and frankly, scarier high school, where we will be freshmen...aka fresh meat.
But high school is going to be awesome—I'm sure of that already. And, I'm sure that we can handle all of it: the teachers, the seniors, and of course, the homework.
So, it's time for our graduation. Here, now, today—we're ready, even though we might not know it. Let's go, and let's make today a day that we'll remember forever.
- lovetowrite's blog
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Wow, I'm just
Submitted by Sambo on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 9:06pm.
Wow, I'm just speechless...You need to read this outloud to me, or you need to have a podcast of you reading this!! Your class is going to be very proud of you.
(Translucent Roses)
Thank you:)
Submitted by lovetowrite on Sun, 03/22/2009 - 3:39pm.
Aww thanks. But I haven't actually been selected to give the speech yet. My school sort of does this competition to select which two eighth graders get to deliver graduation speeches--so this was my little attempt. Any suggestions to improve it?
nice speech
Submitted by Friend on Tue, 04/23/2013 - 11:25pm.
this is a very well written speech!
What's the difference
Submitted by Sambo on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 7:59pm.
What's the difference between University and College?
(Translucent Roses)
Submitted by Friend on Fri, 04/05/2013 - 3:08pm.
That speech is just amazing! I hope your teachers and others loved it!!!!
this is great
Submitted by Friend on Wed, 04/24/2013 - 6:08pm.
this is great
Any Helpful hints?
Submitted by Friend on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 3:21pm.
Hi! I am graduating and i need help writing a speech! i am a girl . Go to a catholic school. Have 18 classmates! thanks a zillion!
Submitted by Friend on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 12:10pm.
hi! idk u so i will not help you ok good bye. Oh and good luck for your graduation hope that you pass
Just a Hint
Submitted by Friend on Mon, 05/06/2013 - 9:17pm.
Talk about how helpfull it is having a small class on your learning
Submitted by Friend on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 12:03pm.
Hi! i am a senior at Colorado Spring, NV. I was wondering if i could use this speech, or at least parts of it. Thanks
Submitted by Friend on Mon, 05/06/2013 - 3:41pm.
this is just awesome. Good Job
NO thats cheating
Submitted by Friend on Wed, 05/08/2013 - 9:38pm.
The speech should not be copye dofr that is plagerism
Submitted by Friend on Thu, 05/09/2013 - 10:55pm.
this is THE BEst speech i have heard
I luv it!!!
Submitted by Friend on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 4:14pm.
awesome speech dude
Submitted by Friend on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 7:43pm.
I liked the speech it's just it won't work for my 5th grade graduation i graduate june 7th 2013
Love it
Submitted by Friend on Mon, 05/13/2013 - 10:07pm.
Amazingly written, my school does the same thing as in competition. Can't believe you didn't win, this is amazing!


text:
Minneapolis emcee Stefan Alexander released 2009's Never Better when the wounds of the Bush administration were still fresh. The beats were as stark as Minnesota snow, his words fueled by leftist cynicism and a Midwestern, see-through-the-bullshit sensibility. Although Alexander (who records under the moniker P.O.S) was never overtly political, he was clearly dissatisfied with the socio-political landscape and disguised his frustrations as abstract rhymes.
Three years later, P.O.S is still pissed. Pissed at politics, pissed at sensationalized culture, and pissed at the rap game. "My whole crew's on some shit/ Scuffing up your Nikes, spitting on your whip," he disses on "Fuck Your Stuff", a direct affront to what hip-hop's become. While Never Better shoved the listener around with its punk-rock abrasion, We Don't Even Live Here is comprised of sweaty, dance-with-your-shirt-off beats. They're bombastic enough to drive home the acerbities Alexander lays down.
On "Wanted/Wasted", he slips "fuck sports" and "I'm the best in the world" into the same stanza. Yeah, it's elitist (and a little off-putting), but Alexander's always been this way. He's blunt, flippant, and self-righteous. But he embraces the resentment, stating, "I constantly recommend a little bit of disdain, a little bit of resistance" on "Lock-Picks, Knives, Bricks and Bats".
P.O.S has never sounded as energetic as he does here; it's a shame that the Doomtree founder had to cancel the We Don't Even Live Here tour because of kidney disease and the emergency surgery it required. This is an album for rocking venues, for pulverizing audiences; it's a document of Alexander's anger. Lyrically, he's never been more transparent, and with that transparency, we see him for what he truly is—a bitter antagonist.
Essential Tracks: "Fuck Your Stuff", "Lock-Picks, Knives, Bricks and Bats"


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royal aberdeen
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News & Tours
Don't miss Fraserburgh Golf Club in northeast of Scotland
By Geoff Shackelford ABERDEEN, Scotland--For all of the obsession with "craft" beers these days, how about stocking your golf trip with some "craft" courses? Now that Royal Aberdeen has received more exposure during the Aberdeen...
Saturday, 7/12/2014 at 3:14PM
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Rickie Fowler's Scottish Open play, love for links courses, augurs well for Hoylake
By John Huggan ABERDEEN, Scotland — More and more it would seem, Rickie Fowler is a man for the big - or biggest - occasions. Third in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship earlier this year,...
Saturday, 7/12/2014 at 2:12PM
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Yep, Rory McIlroy struggled backing up a good first round ... again
By John Huggan ABERDEEN, Scotland -- It is now, by a distance, the burning question in golf: Just what does Rory McIlroy do on Thursday nights? For seemingly the umpteenth time this year the...
Friday, 7/11/2014 at 2:36PM
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By John Huggan ABERDEEN, Scotland -- On the eve of this Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen, Rory McIlroy was making strangely positive noises about a Round 1 weather forecast that promised much in the...
Thursday, 7/10/2014 at 11:25AM
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- british-open,
- course record,
- equipment,
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News & Tours
Is Rory McIlroy the best first-round golfer of all time?
By Alex Myers OK, perhaps that's a bit too bold of a statement -- and one that would probably be impossible to prove -- but this season, no one has been better on Thursdays...
Thursday, 7/10/2014 at 10:53AM
- keywords:
- alex myers,
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News & Tours
Video: Rory McIlroy drives the green of a 436-yard par 4
By Luke Kerr-Dineen Rory McIlroy set a new course record at Royal Aberdeen Thursday, shooting a seven-under 64 to take the first-round lead at the 2014 Scottish Open.But, oddly, that wasn't the most interesting...
Thursday, 7/10/2014 at 9:22AM
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- british-open,
- drive,
- long,
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News & Tours
Missing Links: Hank Haney 'can't believe [Tiger] feels like he's ready to win Open,' and Jarrod Lyle's comeback from leukemia
By John Strege Stories of interest you might have missed Tiger Woods' former coach Hank Haney wonders whether Woods will be using the British Open to prepare for the PGA Championship. "Maybe he will catch...
Wednesday, 7/9/2014 at 9:01AM
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Courses & Travel
Let the links onslaught begin! Three weeks of pure golf and four things to look for
By Geoff Shackelford The Scottish Open host course may just be better than the Open Championship site. The Senior British Open course could be auditioning for Wales to finally host an Open. And the...
Tuesday, 7/8/2014 at 4:20PM
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Saturday Morning Tip: A crafty pro from Scotland on playing in the rain
Last week I was lucky to play some great courses in Scotland, from Dornoch and Brora in the north, to Gullane outside Edinburgh. I was a bit unlucky to encounter some horrendous weather--the tail end...
Saturday, 9/24/2011 at 1:00AM
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News & Tours
My one Walker Cup wish
ABERDEEN, Scotland--As was evident again last week at Scotland''s Royal Aberdeen GC with Great Britain & Ireland's impressive upset victory over the United States, there is a special feeling surrounding the Walker Cup. Maybe it's...
Tuesday, 9/13/2011 at 11:56AM
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- Royal Aberdeen,
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Results: 1 - 10 of 16