text:
Medicare Advantage: October surprise?
You remember the $500 billion Obama claimed would be "saved" from Medicare to help "pay for" the ObamaCare law?
Well, what that amounted to was slashing subsidies (i.e. reimbursement rates) for a popular supplementary program known as Medicare Advantage.
Problem: doing so will effect 12 million seniors. Problem exacerbated: Seniors, who resist change especially to their health care coverage, are not likely to be happy. Problem squared: Seniors will have to select a new program beginning October 15th, a few weeks before the election.
And both political parties know that seniors vote. You can imagine the negativity of these cuts spreading like wildfire among senior communities in key states.
But, not to worry, our current most ethical and transparent administration in history has a solution:
Call it President Obama's Committee for the Re-Election of the President — a political slush fund at the Health and Human Services Department.
Only this isn't some little fund from shadowy private sources; this is taxpayer money, redirected to help Obama win another term. A massive amount of it, too — $8.3 billion. Yes, that's billion, with a B.
And how will they deploy this money?
Benjamin Sasse and Charles Hurt explain:
But the administration's devised a way to postpone the pain one more year, getting Obama past his last election; it plans to spend $8 billion to temporarily restore Medicare Advantage funds so that seniors in key markets don't lose their trusted insurance program in the middle of Obama's re-election bid.
The money is to come from funds that Health and Human Services is allowed to use for "demonstration projects." But to make it legal, HHS has to pretend that it's doing an "experiment" to study the effect of this money on the insurance market.
That is, to "study" what happens when the government doesn't change anything but merely continues a program that's been going on for years.
Obama can temporarily prop up Medicare Advantage long enough to get re-elected by exploiting an obscure bit of federal law. Under a 1967 statute, the HHS secretary can spend money without specific approval by Congress on "experiments" directly aimed at "increasing the efficiency and economy of health services."
Past demonstration projects have studied new medical techniques or strategies aimed at improving care or reducing costs. The point is to find ways to lower the costs of Medicare by allowing medical technocrats to make efficient decisions without interference from vested interests.
Now Obama means to turn it on its head — diverting the money to a blatantly nonexperimental purpose to serve his political needs.
In an era of austerity, an executive department has what amounts to an 8 billion dollar taxpayer funded slush fund and has apparently chosen to use to help re-elect the president?
The good news is because of the attention brought to this ploy, just a couple of hours ago, the GAO spoke out about the planned use of the 8 billion dollars:
In a blow to the Obama administration on Medicare, government auditors Monday called for the cancellation of a costly bonus program for private health plans that congressional Republicans have criticized as a wasteful political ploy.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said it's not clear that the $8.3 billion Medicare Advantage bonus program will improve quality because most of the money is going to plans just rated average. The auditors did find, however, that the bonuses would temporarily ease the pain of unpopular cuts to insurance plans under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law.
The point of course, is it is a deferral of "pain" not any sort of look at an "experimental" means of improving health care. It is election year politics with an 8 billion dollar price tag.
After all, the plan for ObamaCare was to have all the unpopular aspects of it kick in during 2013, after the election, after the President was unanswerable to the American people anymore and after he was provided with more "flexibility".
The GAO is careful in its wording but read between the lines here:
GAO, the investigative agency of Congress, did not address GOP allegations that the bonuses are politically motivated. But, its report found the program highly unusual. It "dwarfs" all other Medicare pilots undertaken in nearly 20 years, the GAO said.
Most of the bonus money is going to plans that receive three to three-and-half stars out of a possible five stars on Medicare's quality rating scale, the report said.
Available through 2014, the bonuses will soften much of the initial impact of the Medicare Advantage cuts, acting like a temporary reprieve.
This year, for example, the bonus program offset about 70 percent of the cuts in the health care law. Indeed, Medicare Advantage enrollment is up by 10 percent and premiums have gone down on average.
Or "Buying Seniors Off Until 2014". And yeah, if you're still wondering, that's politics. The emphasized portions of both quotes are all you need to know to understand the "why" of my claim. That reprieve would keep seniors from taking their angst and anger to the polls in November and the administration is eager to avoid that.
So, in the Chicago way, the Obama administration has figured out how to use tax money to help buy the next election.
Will the administration heed the GAO? Will it cancel the program?
My guess is no – they'll delay and prevaricate and do anything and everything they can to avoid killing the program.
At least until after the election. Then? Who cares.
Certainly not them.
Seniors, you're being played for suckers. You need to realize that. And vote accordingly.
Twitter: @McQandO
18 Responses to Medicare Advantage: October surprise?
EVERYBODY, you're being played for suckers. You need to realize that. And vote accordingly.
The Department of Labor has revised higher the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time in 58 out of the last 59 weeks.
The same has held true since the beginning of the year. There have been 14 weeks of jobless data this year, and there have been 14 revisions. And all 14 were revisions that made the claims picture higher than what the government originally reported.—Steven Green
People should be fired because of this. If this doesn't PO every tax paying citizen in this country, nothing will. If congress doesn't move to stop this,,,,,,,,, I better stop the SS will leave Ted Nugent alone and come looking for me.
@Johnny Jones Yeah, you keep that up and they won't let you do a concert at Fort Knox.
@looker Crap they won't even let me go to a concert at Fort Knox. 😉
"That reprieve would keep seniors from taking their angst and anger to the polls in November and the administration is eager to avoid that."
And allow The Dog Eater in Chief to be "more flexible" until after the election.
Tad! I say, I say Tad! Where are ya boy? this needs some of your scientific analysis. Or maybe some of Erb's pragmatic spiritualism. Where are those two, I need, I say, I need a pointer, and them boy's have got just the head for it. Pointed, that is.
@looker A simple, good starter for dunces is a 1962 classic, "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", by Thomas Kuhn.
@tadcf IFFFF you read it, and it had any validity… Nothing. Stuck.
@tadcf and has what all to do with Obama's spending plan for 8.3 billion dollars? Besidies Sparky, I need your analysis, not my own. I've done mine. This is your chance to shine son! I was hoping you could maybe explain how that spending will prevent our population from suffering "world status regression".
@Johnny Jones Yep, Johnny, tyranny can occur at all levels of government. Historically, sheriffs had a lot of power, and were often corrupt. That is one BIG reason for armed citizens.
Damn. This is sure entertaining.
You guys, you have to admit: Obama is an entertaining POTUS. Not that I'll miss him when he is gone, which with luck is Jan 2013.
Actually, it's the kids who are being played for suckers. But they're too indoctrinated to realize it,


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Tusten vote 'no' on July 12
July 7, 2011
I urge the Town of Tusten registered voters to go to the polls on Tuesday, July 12 to vote "no" to the resolution that would put the hiring of the town bookkeeper into the hands of the town board. The bookkeeper and the supervisor work together, and ultimately the finances of the town are the responsibility of the supervisor.
This important appointment should be the supervisors choice. As a former town clerk for 25 years, I know how vital this vote is to the Town of Tusten and to its future.
Judith L. Dise
Narrowsburg, NY

subset: commoncrawl


text:
It is said that the installation of Debian Linux is know as one of the hardest among all Linux Distributions. In this article we will see that this is just a myth, in fact it is very easy, even for beginners. All you need is basic understanding of disk partitioning techniques and a downloaded/burned netinstall image which suits the hardware architecture you intend to install onto Debian Linux, and a internet connection. Of course there are other requirements, such as a working PC with a CD-ROM drive and free/unpartitioned space on your hard disk. :'''NOTE:''' Do not download all Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 installation disks! You only need the first CD or go to netinstall CD.
Make sure you set your BIOS to boot from the CD-ROM. Once you boot Debian, it will welcome you with an Introductory Screen similar to the one below.
At this stage you can navigate with the function keys F1-F10:Read more ...
In many occasions I have tried to search for key words and get a results form a country which is not the one I'm searching from.
For example if I try to Google search from Australia and entering a a URL of google.com I'm automatically redirected to the google.com.au since my IP address reveals that my location is Australia. The trick is to pass a &gl= variable from the URL.
for example to get a United States results I will enter url:
United Kingdom:
Sometimes it is easier to do:
http://www.google.co.uk/ however this does not work with google.com
Here is a simple program to display image attributes like width, height, size and etc. This program assumes that you have OpenCV library alredy installed on you system.
#include <iostream> #include <iomanip> #include "cv.h" #include "highgui.h" using namespace std; int main( int argc, char** argv ) { // Create an IplImage object *image IplImage *image = cvLoadImage( argv[1]); // Display Image Attributes by accessing a IplImage object's data members cout << left << setfill(' ') << setw(15) << "Image filename:" << argv[1] << endl; cout << setw(15) << "Width:" << image->width << endl; cout << setw(15) << "Height:" << image->height << endl; cout << setw(15) << "Pixel Depth:" << image->depth << endl; cout << setw(15) << "Channels:" << image->nChannels << endl; cout << setw(15) << "Width Step:" << image->widthStep << endl; cout << setw(15) << "Image Size:" << image->imageSize << endl; return 0; }
Compile with:
g++ `pkg-config opencv --cflags --libs` imageattr.cpp -o imageattr
./imageattr re_dsc00056.jpg
Image filename:re_dsc00056.jpg
Width: 1148
Height: 644
Pixel Depth: 8
Channels: 3
Width Step: 3444
Image Size: 2217936


text:
Escaped inmate identified; search continues
Wesleyan to present lecture addressing 'troubles' in Ireland
On April 4, West Virginia Wesleyan College will present the Brad Long Peace Education Fund Lecture in the Annie Merner Pfeiffer Library at 7 p.m.
The featured speakers, Dr. Johnston McMaster and Rev. Gary Mason, will each present statements on their address, "Troubles and Reconciliation in Belfast and Northern Ireland," with an open discussion to follow.
McMaster was director for 16 years of Education for Reconciliation, a community education program of the Irish School of Ecumenics. The programs operated throughout Northern Ireland and Irish Border Counties. He currently works for Ethical and Shared Remembering, an educational project he designed to provide an alternative and more ethical way of remembering the centenaries of key events that shaped Ireland for the rest of the 20th century and into the present.
Through involvement with Christian-Muslim dialogue, nationally and internationally, he is writing a commissioned book on the thought of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Muslim philosopher and theologian, bringing his thoughts into dialogue with Jewish and Christian thought. The writing dialogue will pursue a shared Abrahamic ethic.
McMaster is an adjunct professor with the Irish School of Ecumenics/Trinity College Dublin and visiting professor with the Border Peace School in South Korea. He has been published, with works including A Passion for Justice: Social Ethics in the Celtic Tradition; Overcoming Violence: Dismantling an Irish History and Theology, An Alternative Vision; and Singing the Covenant: But Which One?
Mason, MBE, B.A., Dip. Th, D.D., PhD., is a Methodist clergyperson in Belfast; he has been in the pastorate for 25 years. In the course of his ministry, he has been involved in what has now been called the peace process. Behind the scenes, he has taken part in discussions with those wedded to violence in our society, trying to present an alternative way to resolve their differences.
Mason has spent his ministry in the inner city having a strong commitment to the church's role in the urban setting. From 1992 until 1999, he had responsibility for two Methodist churches, one of which sits on a peace line in West Belfast.
In 1999, Mason was the Senior Minister and Mission Superintendent of one of the largest Methodist Missions in Europe at East Belfast Mission. This church, with 100 employees, is located in the inner city and is seen as one of the most creative churches in the area of social justice and peace building in Ireland. He was also a member of a working party on sectarianism drawn together by the Irish Council of Churches, which resulted in the publication Sectarianism, the most detailed report ever made to the Irish church on this topic. The Reverend was also the Methodist representative on the Loyalist Commission, a group consisting of loyalist paramilitaries, community activists, and church representatives.
Mason has traveled extensively in the USA and has spoken in Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and independent free churches, Jewish Synagogues and Jewish centers, and has also given lectures in a number of church, college, university, and denominational settings across the United States. He has spoken at political gatherings across the island of Ireland and Europe.
Mason studied business at the University of Ulster and worked as a health service administrator before studying theology at Queens University in Belfast and entering the Christian ministry in 1987. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Florida Southern College for his role in peace building in Ireland and also carried out doctoral studies at the University of Ulster and earned a Doctor of Philosophy from the School of Psychology. He was made a member of the Order of the British Empire for his work in the peace process and was awarded the honor in 2007 by HRH Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace.
The Brad Long Peace Education Fund was initiated at West Virginia Wesleyan by Reginald and Patricia Long. After losing their son in a car accident in 1983, the Longs wanted to honor Brad's deepest wish for his life that he might be instrumental in creating a climate where peace could flourish. They chose to establish this fund to assist in a continuing effort by Wesleyan and the people of Buckhannon to explore avenues leading to peace between individuals as well as nations. The Longs also wanted to offer support and encouragement to young people of similar vision, to emphasize the importance of individual action, and to promote a basic attitude of peace in everyday life.
The program is supported by the Honors Athenaeum and the Spiritual and Religious Life program at the College. The event is free and open to the public.


text:
Eat Everywhere, Sleep Everywhere, Live Everywhere
If you're like me, dear readers, you like to eat, you like to sleep, you like to fantasize about Erin Andrews and Jenna Fischer co-hosting a pot luck dinner at my house (hey, how convenient that your fantasies are my fantasies!).
And being a Chicagoan, I am surrounded by plenty of good eats. Ann Sathers, Giordano's, Gibson's… just to name a few. Heck, you can even get good grub at the ballparks! I know, 'cuz I wrote about it!
But what happens when you're full of beer, full of hot dogs, full of pulled pork… and the game is… boring? Let's face it, folks: this weekend's Crosstown Rivalry has every potential of being boring (Cubs = Bad, Sox = Good). Well, my suggestion (via baby Blake below) is to just stuff your face with even more food!
And if that doesn't work, go back to that Erin & Jenna fantasy… that oughta keep your spirits high!
Hate me 'cuz it's not illegal yet, just don't hate me 'cuz I'm right.
Happy Friday!
(Special thanks to Sam at Eating Everywhere!)
5 Comments
You were right about the boring game today. Cubs were terrible, Sox were great. AND the Rays got no-hit tonight. AND the Lightning made a terrible pick in the draft (yep, that was tonight). What a crappy crappy day. However, Jenna and Erin…interesting thoughts there…
I just saw a special that featured the cinnamon buns at Ann Sathers. I think the next time I'm up there visiting family I might have to make a trip to check it out.
RFB — Dude, they're the best Cinnamon rolls EVER!
Can't wait to see that kid on Jerry Springer in 20 yrs.
Mike, you're probably right.


text: MTA President Anne Wass on proposed budget released by the House Ways and Means Committee We understand that we are facing a serious budget shortfall. However, rather than simply making deep cuts, we must also do all we can to increase revenues and invest in education. Education is the key to our future economic well-being and must not be compromised or hindered. Our students' success is key to our state's success. Cutting funding for our public schools and colleges will ultimately hamper our economic prospects in both the short term and long term. The $27.8 billion budget released today includes $135 million in cuts to public higher education funding, a $116 million cut in Chapter 70 school assistance, and $37 million in cuts to local aid to cities and towns. That adds up to a 14 percent decrease in higher education funding, a 3 percent cut in Chapter 70 funding, and a 4 percent cut in local aid. Cutting this funding will hurt our students and undermine the progress being made in our public schools and colleges and at the University of Massachusetts. We urge every member of the Legislature to recognize how critical our public schools and colleges are to our students and our economy and to join with the governor in seeking full funding for local aid to cities and towns, Chapter 70 school assistance and our state's public higher education system. We also call on legislators to adopt a series of proposals that would generate approximately $200 million in new revenue. They include repealing tax exemptions on candy and soda and aircraft sales, eliminating the exemption on cigars and smokeless tobacco from the excise rate and limiting tax credits on films and life sciences. In addition, the MTA supports efforts to repeal the entire film tax credit and restore the tax rate for dividends and interest to 12 percent. On the national level, we are advocating for immediate passage of the Keep Our Educators Working Act, introduced today by Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chair of the Senate Education Committee. The federal bill would provide $23 billion to extend the state stabilization funds that were included in the stimulus package that has preserved thousands of education jobs in Massachusetts and across the country this year.


text:
ISSUE 23 - The hope and hype of MOOCs
A panel discussion on a new model of education and a new platform of engagement
Cover Story
The hope and hype of MOOCs
Do MOOCs truly represent a sea change for both public and academic libraries, or just a new twist on the distance learning profession?
Right-scaling stewardship of the collective print resource
This new report from OCLC Research explores regional-scale cooperative print management from two perspectives: a local academic library print book collection and a consortial-scale collective print book resource.
Introducing WorldCat Discovery Services
This new suite of cloud-based applications brings together access for electronic, digital and physical collections in a single interface, optimized for use across desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
Making a place in the community: Public libraries go "Outside the Box"
Public libraries are learning the art of placemaking by creating shared, fun entertainment events in their communities.
Cover Story
Making a place in the community: Public libraries go "Outside the Box"
Membership Update
EMEA Regional Council 2014 Annual Meeting
200 WorldShare Management Services libraries live!
Products and ServicesOCLC rolls out new discovery, knowledge base services
President's Report


text:
Laurier Centre for Music Therapy Research
Director: Heidi Ahonen-Eerikainen, ext. 2431
The Laurier Centre for Music Therapy Research (LCMTR) is the first university-based centre in Canada and only the fourth in the world. The overall focus of the centre will be to strengthen and shape the status of professional music therapy and music therapy research in Canada. The LCMTR will create a synergy among the research team members' areas of expertise, combining approaches and theoretical models to further the study of music therapy and its impact throughout the world. The LCMTR will provide a context for a wide variety of research and educational initiatives, involving and ultimately benefiting undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and music therapy professionals and researches in music therapy and allied disciplines.
Academic & Related Dates 2011/2012
Other Calendars


text:
Price - $
Please call our team department at 1-888-466-1188 to inquire about additional team discounts when ordering.
Complete your team's uniform with this adidas short. It features an elastic waistband with internal drawcord, mesh-lined side pockets, stripes on sides, mesh panel on back for ventilation, and a printed adidas logo on left leg.


text:
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1/12 recipe
Calories 440
Calories from Fat 20
Total Fat 2 g
Saturated Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 460 mg
Total Carbohydrate 81 g
Dietary Fiber 24 g
Sugars 4 g
Proteins 27 g
Vitamin A 6% DV
Vitamin C 15% DV
Calcium 15% DV
Iron 40% DV
Percent Daily Values (DV) are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Servings and Times
Servings 12
Preparation Time 2 hours
Cups of Fruits and Vegetables Per Person: 1.5
Ingredients and Preparation
Ingredients Measures
Black beans, dried 1 cup
Red beans, dried 1 cup
Pinto beans, dried 1 cup
White beans, dried 1 cup
Split green peas, dried 1 cup
Navy beans, dried 1 cup
Garbanzo beans, drained 1 can (15.5 ounces)
No-sodium black-eyed peas, drained 1 can (15.5 ounces)
Kidney beans, drained 1 can (15.5 ounces)
No sodium diced tomatoes 1 can (14.5 ounces)
Diced tomatoes with green chiles 1 can (10 ounces)
Large onion, chopped 1
Green onion, chopped 1 cup
Garlic cloves, crushed 3
Salt ½ tsp
- Combine black beans, red beans, pinto beans, white beans, split green peas, and navy beans. Cover with water and soak overnight.
- Drain beans and place in a large stockpot; cover with water.
- Add navy beans, garbanzo beans, black-eyed peas, and kidney beans. Cover and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 1½ hours or until beans are tender.
- Add tomatoes, tomatoes with green chiles, onion, green onion, garlic, and salt. Simmer for 30 minutes to blend flavors.


text:
41 Years Ago: Carly Simon (and Mick Jagger) Top the Charts with 'You're So Vain'
Subscribe to Ultimate Classic Rock on
Carly Simon cemented her pop-star status with her third album, 'No Secrets,' released in Nov. 1972. Ironically, Simon wrapped the record's biggest hit, 'You're So Vain,' around what ended up becoming one of rock's most enduring mysteries.
The first single from 'No Secrets,' 'You're So Vain' topped the Billboard charts on Jan. 6, 1973, kicking off a three-week stay at No. 1 and beginning decades of speculation about who Simon was referring to in the lyrics. Of course, songwriters vent about former lovers in their music all the time, but because Simon was known for writing particularly autobiographical songs — and because she tended to hobnob with the rich and famous — people really wanted to know who had inspired such withering (yet utterly laid-back) scorn.
One popular guess: Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who would have made an appealing fit for a number of reasons, among them the fact that he had a glamorous love life to match Simon's (as well as a distractingly fabulous set of lips to rival her own). In addition, Jagger contributed uncredited background vocals during the sessions for 'You're So Vain,' a collaboration Simon said happened simply because "He happened to call at the studio… I said 'We're doing some backup vocals on a song of mine, why don't you come down and sing with us?'"
"I didn't take the song as seriously as all that," Simon later reflected in an interview with Uncut Magazine. "It wasn't vengeance — it wasn't 'Anna Karenina.' It was, 'From this point of view, you don't necessarily look as good as you think you look.' There's not an iota of hate in it. There may be much more of an iota of feeling hurt or rejected… I was definitely a romantic and my hopes were dashed. That led to the song."
While Simon has coyly refused to reveal the identity of her inspiration for decades, she's come out and said it wasn't Jagger (or Warren Beatty, or Kris Kristofferson, or Cat Stevens), and although most of the world still doesn't know for sure who she was singing about, 'You're So Vain' remains a staple of her repertoire. In fact, while she'd go on to arguably greater success with subsequent singles (including 'Nobody Does It Better,' which won an Academy Award), 'Vain' is widely regarded as Simon's signature number.


text:
On this page
da Vinci RoboticSurgical SystemContact a Surgeon
Questions and Answers
Latest Approach to Treating Hiatal
A hiatal hernia occurs when part of your stomach pushes upward through your diaphragm. Your diaphragm normally has a small opening (hiatus) that allows your food tube (esophagus) to pass through on its way to connect to your stomach. The stomach can push up through this opening and cause a hiatal hernia.
Hiatal hernias are very common, affecting about 15 percent of Americans. Several factors that contribute to the condition are increasing age, obesity, and smoking. The majority of individuals with hiatal hernia are over 50 years old.
For approximately 50% of cases, symptoms are not present and you may not even know you have the condition. But larger hiatal hernias can cause food and acid to back up into your esophagus, leading to heartburn and chest pain. Many individuals with hiatal hernia may also have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Treatment Options
Patients with hiatal hernia can try to alleviate symptoms by taking over-the-counter medication or prescription medication, losing weight, changing their diet, and avoiding smoking. If these actions fail to control the symptoms or complications appear, surgical repair of the hernia may be necessary.
Nissen fundoplication is a surgical procedure used to treat larger, symptomatic hiatal hernia and reflux. During fundoplication surgery, the upper curve of the stomach (known as the fundus) is carefully wrapped around the junction of the esophagus and stomach and sewn into place. This creates a barrier that prevents the flow of acid into the esophagus. The hiatal opening is also reduced in size with sutures.
Nissen fundoplication can be done as either traditional "open" surgery or a laparoscopic procedure. The open procedure involves an incision of about 8 inches in the abdomen, while the laparoscopic approach is a minimally invasive technique using significantly smaller incisions.
Robot-Assisted SurgeryBoulder Community Hospital offers the latest approach to treating hiatal hernia -- robot-assisted Nissen fundoplication surgery with the da Vinci® Surgical System. Benefits of da Vinci surgery include:
The state-of-the-art da Vinci robot allows some complex surgeries to be performed as minimally invasive procedures. Through tiny 1-2 cm incisions, a surgeon using the da Vinci system can operate with precision and control while minimizing the pain that often accompanies the large incisions associated with open surgery. The surgeon uses special hand controls to guide robotic arms that hold specially designed surgical instruments. The latest computer technology converts the surgeon's large hand movements into precise small movements, resulting in tremendous dexterity. The robotic "wrists" can rotate a full 360 degrees, enabling your surgeon to control the miniature surgical instruments with unprecedented accuracy, flexibility and range of motion. The da Vinci System requires that every surgical maneuver be performed with direct input from your surgeon – the machine cannot move on its own.
The three-dimensional, high definition da Vinci camera supplies your surgeon with a magnified view of the internal organs that's better than normal vision. The enhanced visualization and greater degree of movement offered by the da Vinci System provides a minimally invasive alternative that offers many advantages for Nissen fundoplication surgery.
For more information on the da Vinci System's leading-edge robotic technology, click here.
Contact a general surgeon to find out if robot-assisted surgery may be your best treatment option.
Return to top
Inside da Vinci Minimally Invasive Surgery
About the da Vinci Surgical System
Colon CancerGallstonesHiatal Hernia
Kidney Problems
Pelvic Prolapse
Prostate CancerReflux Disease
Uterine Fibroids
da Vinci General Surgeons
da Vinci Gynecologists
da Vinci Urologists


text:
Aquinas (23-4) is moving on to the finals of the WIAA Boys State Basketball Championships with a win over Little Chute (25-2) on Friday morning.
The Blugolds beat the Mustangs 61-51 during the first of two Division 3 semifinals.
Aquinas' Bronson Koenig, trying to reach the title game on what will be his home court next season, hit the first three points of the game.
Later in the first, UW-Green Bay recruit Kenneth Lowe scores the first ten points for Little Chute. The Mustangs keeps it close in the second and with 1:50 left, a Turner Botz jumper makes it a one point game, 20-19 Aquinas.
In the final seconds of the half, Aquinas inbounding, Nolan Ritter puts up a three. It doesn't go in. Parker Weber scrambles for the ball and lays it in as the horn goes off. Close, but the points counted. Blugolds up 24-21 at the break.
Then Aquinas goes on a tear in the 3rd. Koenig, with a no-look pass to Weber. It's a 7-0 run to start the 3rd. Then Koenig with a pull-up jumper that makes it 35-23 Aquinas with four minutes left in the 3rd.
Turner Botz scores nine straight for the Mustangs to make it an 8 point game.
But Aquinas hangs on to its lead in the 4th. With six minutes left, Koenig inbounds to Michael Conway and he makes it, 48-35.
Blugolds work hard to take time off the clock. With 1:30 left, Koenig makes it 56-49. Aquinas wins 61-51.
Aquinas will play on Saturday against Lodi on Saturday.


text:
|October 18, 2001
|State Directors of Vocational-Technical Education
State Directors of Community, Technical and Junior Colleges
|Ron Castaldi
Director, Division of Vocational-Technical Education
|Clarification Questions and Answers to Assist in Completing the Consolidated Annual Performance, Accountability, and Financial Status Reporting (CAR) Instrument
We are writing to provide you with additional guidance in completing the CAR instrument for the Basic Grant and Tech-Prep Grant programs under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act of 1998, P.L. 105-332 (Perkins III).
The CAR instrument approved by OMB is available on and can be downloaded from our web site: http://www.ed.gov//about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cte/car2001.doc dated September 23, 2001.
As promised, the new URL for the web-based data collection system to submit CAR data is available at: http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OVAE/State/signin.cfm.
Also, we have attached an additional list of clarification issues that were recently identified during DVTE State Conference Calls.
On behalf of the staff of the Division of Vocational-Technical Education, I thank those of you who offered us recommendations during the course of refining this instrument. I look forward to continued collaboration on ways to improve the reporting form that will be used for years 3, 4 and 5 reporting periods.
Additional Clarification Issues Pertaining to the Current CAR Instrument
Q. If a state chooses not to use the web-based data collection system to report data, are they required to use the OMB approved Excel forms?
A. States are urged to use the OMB approved Excel forms located on OVAE's website to report their data. This helps eliminate inaccuracies during the transferring of CAR data to DVTE's central database. The web address for the CAR is not yet available, but we will share this information by mid-October.
Q.When a state reports Basic Grant and Tech Prep Student Enrollment data, is the Tech Prep student enrollment a subset of the Basic Grant student enrollment?
A.Yes. The Basic Grant student enrollment data includes all vocational students and the Tech Prep student is disaggregated on the Tech Prep Student Enrollment form.
Q.How should states complete the forms, if they are unable or do not collect data by the required categories?
A.In instances where the state is unable or do not collect data by the required categories, zero should be indicated in the cells. This includes ethnic data.
Q.How many digits after the decimal point should states report the level of performance percentages?
A.States should report the level of performance percentages two digits after the decimal.
Q.Can a state count a student in more than one cluster on the Basic Grant and Tech Prep Student Enrollment forms?
A.Yes. Clusters may be duplicated counts. This may occur if a state is unable to obtain information on the student intent in programs/sequences of courses. However, the totals are actual unduplicated counts.
Q.If a state is unable to report the current year's level of performance data under Core Indicator 3 "Employment" and "Retention," what should be reported?
A.States may report the previous year's data under Core Indicator 3 "Employment" and "Retention," and include a brief description in the narrative explaining the reporting.


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For-profit universities get the Trump bump
San Diego–based Bridgepoint stock soars
Don Bauder 5:30 p.m., Dec. 5
Bystanders look on as investigators examine the scene.
Don Bauder 5:30 p.m., Dec. 5
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Poor Elijah's Almanack: Education cliff loomsFebruary 07,2013
One benefit of the spotlight on Congress and the fiscal cliff is it makes the education world look relatively functional. To keep things in perspective, here's a pair of recent education antics.
Having insisted for years that all students take algebra, often as early as eighth grade, experts have run squarely into a shocking development. Apparently, when you mandate that low-level math students take algebra in the same class as high-level math students, the high-level math students don't learn as much algebra as they used to. A University of Chicago study found that mandating "algebra for all," eliminating remedial and other math classes, and mixing students of all abilities in the same class "had negative effects on math achievement of high skill students."
In short, as we mouth endless platitudes about making American math students globally competitive and prepared for the 21st century, we're restructuring math programs to ensure that our best students, the ones who might have become globally competitive and prepared for the 21st century, aren't.
In a burst of insight, experts suspect that the decline of high-achievers' skills might stem from the "less challenging content and slower-paced instruction" common and necessary in algebra-for-all classes as teachers attempt to teach algebra to remedial math students, or what we used to call remedial math students before we outlawed remedial math and started calling them algebra students.
Algebra-for-all isn't "much help" for lower-level students either. While more received transcript credit for algebra, "failure rates increased," "test scores did not improve, and students were no more likely to enter college." California and North Carolina studies similarly determined that placing "struggling students" in algebra "fails to improve their achievement on state math tests" and "reduces the likelihood that they'll take and pass higher-level math courses in high school."
The statistical evidence and common sense confirm that the best way to teach math or anything else is to group students according to ability and current skill level. That's why expert skiers don't take lessons with beginners and thoracic surgeons don't learn to cut meat alongside butchers.
The study's author warns that this is "touchy terrain" about which "people have very strong opinions." The people she's referring to are education reformers, and the strong opinions are reformers' objections to grouping students according to ability. They've been enforcing these objections for 40 years now, which is about as long as American students' achievement has been declining.
What a coincidence.
Meanwhile, according to Education Week, schools are embracing graphic novels as "learning tools." In case you're wondering what graphic novels are, boosters freely admit that they're "what generations of kids would recognize as a comic book."
Comic books at school aren't entirely new. They've been used for years to help "struggling readers, English language learners, and disabled students." The difference is now they're "moving into honors and college-level Advanced Placement classrooms."
Remember that the next time an education expert or school official tries to prove that schools are raising standards by citing an increase in the number of students taking Advanced Placement classes. I guess it all depends on how you define "advanced."
Boosters contend that graphic novels in high school honors classes are just as valid as the "picture books used in kindergarten." They're even included in the new "rigorous," nationwide "Common Core" standards that promise to save public education — again.
Naturally, "some naysayers still question their value in the classroom." As one enthusiast laments, "You're always going to have the traditionalists say comic books aren't real literature." The way he sees it, though, comics are "visual literature," and he'd be failing his students if he didn't train them for "visual reading."
Advocates presented experimental results at December's meeting of the National Council of Teachers of English. Half a senior honors class read the epic poem "Beowulf," which took them six hours. The other half read the graphic novel version, which took them only two. When both halves took the same multiple choice test, the students who read the traditional version scored only six points higher on average than the students who read the graphic novel. The teachers presenting the results unblushingly concluded that six points "isn't worth the extra reading time."
Where do I begin? First, setting aside their idiotic arithmetic, these same cutting-edge teachers would doubtless argue in any other context that multiple choice tests are an inadequate, overly "traditional" way of assessing a student's reading skill and learning experience. Second, this is what they're proposing for a senior honors course. Third, any teacher who thinks that reading the actual poem and the comic book are equivalent literary experiences has no business teaching "Beowulf" or anything else, including comic books.
The fact is comic book versions of "Beowulf" and Hamlet have been around since I was a kid. They were called Classic Comics, and they were on the rack next to Superman and Archie. Some kids actually read them, but nobody confused them with reading the actual classics.
Of course, now that we're raising our standards, the comic books are fine.
Watch your step. The education cliff's just up ahead.
Peter Berger teaches English at Weathersfield School.MORE IN CommentarySure, you can buy your uncle a necktie that he wont wear, or your niece an Amazon certificate... Full StoryFor the past month, I have been watching close friends and family descending into a pit of... Full StoryAdjusting to snow, sleet and cold after spending over a month in an exponentially warmer climate ... Full Story
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Rebecca Ann Ahart
Surrounded by her devoted husband and three children, Rebecca Ann (Sheets) Ahart passed away Monday (Jan. 14, 2013) at Marietta Memorial Hospital after a lengthy illness. Rebecca was born July 18, 1948, in Parkersburg, to Blaine and Mildred (Cale) Sheets.
A lifelong resident of Vincent, Rebecca graduated from Warren High School in 1966. Not long after graduation, she married Chuck Ahart on Aug. 9, 1969. Rebecca was a proud mother survived by her husband, Chuck Ahart; and her children, son Chuck Ahart Jr. (Tracy) of Marietta, daughter Kary Ahart Phelps (Dallas) of Williamstown, daughter Kimberly Ahart Harlow (Kevin) of Vincent, and stepdaughter Angela Ahart Uber (Ron) of Tennessee.
Rebecca had been employed previously at Misty Manufacturing, Kroger, Warren Schools and Interim Health Care.
Rebecca had many things she loved and many people who loved her. She deeply loved her husband Chuck and enjoyed over forty years of happy marriage. Their love was apparent when in the company of their family. She enjoyed spending time and laughing with her children and looked forward to the joy, and sometimes chaos, of visiting with the ten grandchildren. Rebecca enjoyed sewing and caring for her gardens. She enjoyed sharing in her husband's passion for OSU sports and was an avid fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers. As much as these activities brought joy to her life, nothing could compare to the happiness she experienced watching the grandkids participate in all kinds of activities, or simply sitting on her lap. If she wasn't at an event for the grandkids, you might find her pulling a home video of a family gathering off the mountain of video tapes and watching it.
Rebecca was very proud of her adored grandkids, Kylie, Mackenzie and Kaylie Ahart, Bailey and Aiden Harlow, Macy and Alia Phelps, Kaitlin, Cameron and Joshua Uber and great-grandson Kristopher Uber. A sparkling eye and beaming smile was sure to meet each grandchild before leaving with a smothering hug and kiss only grandma could give.
As "Sis," she is survived by Richard Sheets (Tina). Two nieces, Shari (Shawn) Mallett and Kelly Fitch. Also survived by sisters-in-law, Rowena Bruner (Cliff) and Polly Teets, and aunts, Helen Stilgenbauer, Nancy Cale and Betty Cale, and many cousins and nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and many loving aunts and uncles.
Rebecca let it be known she felt blessed to have special caregivers during her lengthy illness, Jess Smarr (Bay), Patty Blanchard and her "special angel," Shirley Smith.
Rebecca requested a special thank you be sent to the many professionals who cared for her, Dr. Cawley, Strecker Staff, Dr. Lloyd Dennis and his office staff, and the visiting nurses and other caring staff at Health Care Plus.
It is with great sorrow we say good bye for now to a devoted wife, caring sister, loving mother, adoring grandmother, and dear friend, Rebecca Sheets Ahart.
Services will be on Friday at 11 a.m. at the Leavitt Funeral Home, Belpre, with the Rev. David Stilgenbaur officiating. Friends may call at the funeral home on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.LeavittFuneralHome.com.


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Jeff Davis was elected president of the Naperville Public Library Board. He is vice president, sales administration and marketing with Phoenix Closures, Inc., a Naperville-based manufacturer of plastic caps and closures. Davis has been a coach, Cub Scout den leader and has served on the Naperville Community School District 203 board from 2000 to 2003. Davis also served on the Naperville Area Chamber's board of directors from 2003 to 2006 and chaired the legislative committee. A member of the Rotary Club of Naperville since 2005, he left to start the Rotary Club of Naperville South in 2008 and served as president from 2010 to 2011. He is also a member of the Naperville Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee and served as president from 2009 to 2011.
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Lace Tiered Halter Top
Style: 570092774
Out of Stock
Diagonal tiers of charmesue, chiffon and eyelash-fringed lace lead the eye to the smallest part of the waist. Fluid jersey knit top also has a cutout back yoke in silky charmeuse.
- Close-to-the-body stretch fit.
- Jersey knit base. Charmeuse banded halter neckline and armholes, and charmeuse back yoke with center cutout.
- 95% Polyester, 5% Spandex. Hand wash. Imported.
- Hits at mid-hip (25" from shoulder).
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Copyright © 2015 SQLBits. All Rights Reserved.
Weird, Deformed, and Grotesque –Horrors Stories from the World of IT.
This session with SQL Server experts Kevin & Iain will reveal the worst-ever stories they've experienced in the World of IT. They will share some of the most challenging technology issues and harrowing situations they have faced.


text: Jeffrey Herbert, J.D., has extensive experience in conflict resolution, having worked for more than four years as manager of mediation services at the Center for Conflict Resolution. He has mediated more than one hundred cases in court and center programs, and lectured and coached students from Chicago-Kent, John Marshall, DePaul and Northwestern law schools on mediating in court programs. He has presented for the Chicago Bar Association and the Practicing Law Institute. Herbert has taught conflict resolution for the M.L.D. program.


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Article by Giuseppe Sanna
Do you know what you should do to stay away from viruses, bruteforce and all these bad things? There are three possibilities. First, we could not buy a computer or, if you really want to buy it, do not turn it on! or as a last resort (but far less secure) does not ever connect it to any network and use only certified software from CD that you know.
In short, this shows that every operating system that we install has some bug and security flaw. Obviously there are those who have less. Our loved Linux distributions, for example, are among the more secure systems, but not impenetrable. Today, in this short article, we will see how the best of the worst hackers works to get our data, such as PIN and keyword, or just to discover our deepest secrets. And please remember that we'll take a look at these techniques, as learning tool to be ready to "defend" ourself and our devices from these attacks. Continue reading »


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"You have helped me in so many intangible ways! I have grown in my knowledge and wisdom by reading your excellent materials and viewing your videos. I have passed along insight to my friends and family. I'm proud, blessed and happy to be an avid (ardent, dedicated, enthusiastic, keen) Catholic!"
~ Carmen, Simi Valley, California
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"The Church knows no weapons other than faith, virtue, and prayer."
~ Aegidius, bishop of Viterbo (later cardinal) in response to those who would expand the Church by force (from the article "Archdiocese of Zara")


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I was chatting with my DCP today and we were talking about when they could start introducing solids at the DC (which is 4 months). She said something that had actually been on my mind the past couple of days, that DS might already be ready for solids.
DS turned 3 months old yesterday but is exhibiting many of the signs I've read regarding whether or not your baby is ready for solids. He:
1. Has been sitting well with support since 2 months.
2. Has curiosity about what I am eating.
3. Has had strong head control almost since he was born.
4. Makes chewing motions.
5. Was almost 14 pounds 2 weeks ago (he was 8lbs, 8oz at birth)
He only eats breast milk now, either expressed or straight from the tap. But in the mornings, he seems a lot hungrier than in the afternoons. He'll nurse at 5:30 a.m. and eat a 4 1/2oz bottle at 8:00 or 8:30, then another one by 10. He's ready to nurse again at 12, will be satisfied until 3 or 3:30 and then want to eat by 5:30 p.m. The DCP says that he exhibits many hunger signs within an hour or hour and a half of his morning bottles.
So, I would like some opinions as to whether or not I should maybe introduce cereal every so often during the weekdays, after nursing him of course. What do you all think?


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Thinking about cancer or dealing with cancer risk can be scary or overwhelming, but we believe that receiving information and resources is comforting, empowering, and lifesaving.
BRCA-associated cancers may respond better to certain chemotherapies such as platinum-based therapies. Platinum-based drugs (such as carboplatin and cisplatin) damage the DNA in cancer cells. Our cells use BRCA1 and BRCA2 to repair damage to our DNA. Cancer cells in people with BRCA mutations have problems repairing DNA already, and platinum chemotherapy can make that worse.
Researchers are looking at whether platinums may work better than other types of chemotherapy for mutation carriers. Platinum therapies are used as standard first-line treatment for ovarian cancer but they are not usually used for breast cancer. A clinical trial known as the INFORM Study is looking at whether women with mutations who are newly-diagnosed with breast cancer respond better to platinum therapy compared with other chemotherapy. Results of this study could help us better understand the best chemotherapy treatment for BRCA-associated cancers.


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Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:26 pm
Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:34 pm
Fri Feb 22, 2013 9:58 pm
Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:37 pm
Fri Feb 22, 2013 10:56 pm
Annalee wrote:This is the only way I can post this is with a link Don't know why?
http://mail.aol.com/37488-111/aol-6/en- ... l&partId=1
This is my Stewart ........Aka Stewie.......Forest Gump of Cocker spaniels....a real sweetie pie!
http://mail.aol.com/37488-111/aol-6/en- ... l&partId=1
This is Miss Bristelle.....aka Sissy......or Miss Attitude.
Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:37 am
Sat Feb 23, 2013 4:51 am
Sat Feb 23, 2013 8:18 am
Sat Feb 23, 2013 9:01 am
Annalee wrote:This is Bristelle.....aka Sissy
Can you see this?
This is my Stewart........ aka Stewie
Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:56 pm
kim92164 wrote:I love animals. We have a few cats and dogs. (Too many if you ask me) I just lost my little friend Jojo last Sunday morning. My husband and son had seen him advertised as a give-a-way on the Ritchie County Yard Sale Facebook page a year ago in December. When they brought him home I didn't really want him even though I like Pekingese's. Jojo took to me immediately, had to sleep with me and would follow me where ever I went. When I would leave for work he thought he could go with me and would try to follow me out the door. He finally learned that he would have to stay home, lol. A couple of weeks after they had brought him home to me he got sick, I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with CHF. I cried and realized at that moment that the little fella had found his way into my heart. When I would go to the local dirt track at nights, he would bark at me when I got home (he was mad). Labor Day weekend I went to the track and stayed 2 nights for a big race. Jojo carried on with his barking, wanting in my bedroom then out again until I got home. He then scolded me from the time he heard the van pull in until I got inside. He kinda broke away from my husband and proceeded to follow me into the house barking all the way, lol.
Last weekend I knew that I was going to have to make a decision to have him put to sleep as he was getting sicker and having a hard time breathing. I had prayed about being able to make this decision, then on Sunday morning God made the decision for me. He was about 12 or 13 years old. We have a 1 1/2 yr old Pit Bull that is usually rough when jumping on me, that day he tried to get out of his cage to get to me, later that evening I called him over to me and hugged him. He gently propped his legs on me, laid his head on my shoulder then licked the side of my face. I guess I've got to love him too, lol.
Sorry to keep rambling, but this helped me.
Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:49 pm
Sat Feb 23, 2013 2:51 pm
michaeljohn wrote:this reminds me of the Verizon commercial "can ya hear me now?"
Sat Feb 23, 2013 7:37 pm
Sat Feb 23, 2013 11:11 pm
Sun Feb 24, 2013 12:23 pm
Annalee wrote:I give up!! I tried so hard......maybe this just wasn't meant to be....I can't transfer photos I have taken with IPad..... from my IPad.....to a website. If anyone has an iPad and knows how help!! I can copy anything from any where on the net and just copy and paste to this website......it's there. I think it has something to do with AOL....
The funny thing, I can see the photos I posted from my IPad,but you all can't see them and when I use my hubby's iPad you can't see them on his!! I even made him come and see.....he could see them on my Ipad but not his....I think it's possessed!


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You may already be using Maven, a build tool that attempts to put structure around your build environment. As part of this, Maven comes with a very rich set of plugins that provide enhanced functionality such as running JUnit tests; building .jar, .war, and .ear files; and generating reports like JCoverage, Clover, PMD, or Simian. However, what happens when your favorite tool doesn't have a corresponding Maven plugin? This is where writing your own Maven plugin allows you to add new functionality to Maven.
This article will cover creating a "Hello World" plugin for Maven. We will demonstrate the various aspects of Maven plugin development, starting with a simple "Hello World" goal, introducing the use of Java code in goals, and finally generating a web report. This article assumes you have already downloaded and installed the latest version of Maven. For more information about using Maven, please read Rob Herbst's ONJava article "Developing with Maven."
All of the source code for this article is available as a .zip file. Just download and unzip it to a convenient location.
Our first example is a very simple plug-in that will emit "Hello World" to the console when you run
maven helloworld.
Let's look at what makes up a plugin. In the step1 directory there are two files, project.xml and plugin.jelly. The project.xml file is your standard Maven POM (Project Object Model) file. Because there is no Java code, or any resources, it is a very short file. The plugin.jelly file is the heart of your plugin. The extension .jelly means that the plugin is written using Jelly, a XML-based scripting language that is similar to the one used by Ant. Indeed, Ant syntax can be used directly inside of Jelly scripts! More information is available in the ONJava article "Using the Jakarta Commons, Part 2."
When you look at plugin.jelly you can see how simple it is:
<goal name="helloworld"
description="Emit Hello World">
<ant:echo message="Hello World"/>
As you can see, we are just using the Ant tag
echo to send "Hello World" to the console! We import the namespace
ant with the XML
xmlns:ant="jelly:ant". You can think of a
namespace as a Java import statement for Jelly.
From the directory step1, install the plugin by entering
maven plugin:install.
c:\[your dir]\step1\maven plugin:install
At the end of the output from the console, you will see that it has copied a file to your plugins directory.
[copy] Copying 1 file to C:\java\maven\plugins
Total time: 3 seconds
Finished at: Tue Feb 03 19:00:01 CET 2004
You are now ready to run your plugin. On the command line, enter the following (this is the Windows version):
c:\[your dir]\step1\maven -g
You will see a long list of all the goals available to Maven. The goals with a description are meant to be used by users; the goals without a description are internal goals for Maven. You should see your plugin has been registered:
[helloworld] : Emit Hello World
Now go ahead and run the plugin. Enter:
c:\[your dir]\step1\maven helloworld
You should see on the console a "Hello World" message like this:
__ __
| \/ |__ _Apache__ ___
| |\/| / _` \ V / -_) ' \ ~intelligent projects~
|_| |_\__,_|\_/\___|_||_| v. 1.0-rc2-SNAPSHOT
[echo] Hello World
Total time: 1 seconds
Finished at: Tue Feb 03 19:06:18 CET 2004
If you want to generate the typical Maven documentation for the plugin, you use the
site command:
c:\[your dir]\step1\maven site
Notice it generates all of the typical Maven documentation in step1/target/docs/. All the functionality of Maven that you would use in any other type of project is also available in a plugin project. There is nothing special that you need to configure to run unit tests, code coverage reports, etc.
This is all well and good, but what if want to customize the message emitted when you enter
maven helloworld? We can parameterize the plugin by providing a plugin.properties file. Look at step2/plugin.properties:
helloworld.message=Hello out there!
Notice the
helloworld.message property? This is the default value used by the plugin. The plugin.properties file provides defaults for the plugin to use. If you want to customize this plugin property, then in your project.properties file, specify a different value, such as
helloworld.message=My custom hello world message.
If you open step2/plugin.jelly, you will now see that the message has been replaced with
${helloworld.message}. Any parameter you need to replace can be done with the
${} syntax, just like in Ant!
When packaging this plugin, Maven needs to know to package the new plugin.properties file. Look at step2/project.xml and you can see we are explicitly including the various plugin-related files:
Go ahead and compile the step2 version of the plugin by switching to the step2 directory and running the
install goal:
c:\helloworld\step2\maven plugin:install
The output should look something like this:
[jar] Building jar: C:\clients\jn\html\
[copy] Copying 1 file to C:\java\maven\
[delete] Deleting 1 files from
[delete] Deleting 8 files from
[delete] Deleted 2 directories from
[copy] Copying 1 file to
Did you notice in the output that you compiled a .jar that was set to version 2.0, and that the
plugin:install goal deleted the older 1.0 version of the plug-in? Maven is smart enough to delete all other versions of this plugin when you install a new one.
Go ahead and run the plugin. You will see that it will emit Hello out there! if you don't have
helloworld.message specified in your project.properties file.
Now we have a
helloworld plug-in that gives us a nice message, but what about adding the date and time to the message? Well, it would be nice if we could specify a property describing the date/time format to use, and get back the date formatted. Unfortunately there isn't a Jelly tag to do this, and maybe we don't want to use the Ant
<tstamp/> task.
Fortunately it is very easy to write your own Java classes and integrate them in. First we need to update our POM to specify where our unit tests and Java code live:
We also add to the
<dependencies> section of the POM a dependency on commons-logging from Jakarta:
By adding this dependency to our POM, Maven will download from www.ibiblio.org/maven the commons-logging-1.0.3.jar file. Thus, when you distribute the plugin to new users, all of the .jar dependencies defined for the plugin will be downloaded. This means that your plugin distributable can be very small!
Take a look at step3/src/main/example/helloworld/DateFormatter.java. Notice how we don't have to extend any classes or implement any interfaces? This makes it much easier to write portable code. And, of course, because we have Java code and a plugin is like any other Maven project, we can add to our
<reports/> section of POM the reports for Javadocs, JUnit tests, JCoverage, etc.
Go ahead and test the code by entering:
c:\helloworld\step3\maven test
Assuming it all passes, you can also generate all of the site documentation into step3/target/docs by entering:
c:\helloworld\step3\maven site
Now that we have our
DateFormatter properly working, let's start using it in our plugin.jelly script.
First, we have to import two more namespaces into our project tag:
jelly:define imports the tag needed to define and interact with our
DateFormatter class. The
dateformatter specifies under which namespace our
DateFormatter will load up.
<define:taglib uri="dateformatter">
As you can see, because we pass the method that will be the equivalent of the
main method, we don't have to implement any interfaces. We could call the method to be executed
doSomething if we wanted to. This provides a lot of flexibility in reusing existing code.
Now let's go ahead and actually format the date. There is a new variable
helloworld.dateFormatPattern that has been defined in plugin.properties. This can be overridden in your project.properties just like the
helloworld.message property. The
dateformatter object will be bound to a variable called
$df when we invoke it so we can later retrieve the formatted date:
<goal name="helloworld" description="Emit Hello World">
<ant:echo message="${helloworld.message}
on ${df.formattedDate}"/>
Go ahead and install the plugin and run it by entering:
c:\helloworld\step3\maven plugin:install
c:\helloworld\step3\maven helloworld
You should see some output similar to:
[echo] Hello out there! on 03/07/04 10:07:35
One of the differentiators between Maven and other tools like Ant and Make is the integrated reports. Maven makes it easy to have reports generated by plugins that share a look and feel and are tied into the site navigation. Typical reports include the results of automated unit tests or generated Javadocs.
To register a new report, you need to define three new goals in your plug-in:
helloworld-plugin:deregister, and
helloworld-plugin:report. These goals are called by Maven to register, unregister, and generate the report, respectively. Then, in the
<reports/> section of the POM, you list the new report to be run:
Take a look at step4/plugin.jelly. We have added two more namespaces to support generating reports:
xmlns:j="jelly:core" and
Then we added the goal
helloworld-plugin:report, which takes the "Hello World" message and saves it to a text file:
<goal name="helloworld-plugin:report"
description="Emit Hello World to File">
${helloworld.message} on ${df.formattedDate}
<j:set var="genDocs"
value="${maven.gen.docs}" />
title="Hello World Report"
section="Hello World Report"
Remember the
prereqs tag? This specifies that we need to run these goals prior to running the
helloworld-plugin:report goal. Also recall that the
helloworld goal bound a
DateFormatter object to the variable
${df}, which we can then use in all subsequent goals.
The rest consists of writing out a text file in step4/target/helloworld.txt with the text string and then reformatting it using the
doc:text-xdoc tag to an XML file.
Go ahead and install the plug-in and then generate the site by entering:
c:\helloworld\step4\maven plugin:install
c:\helloworld\step4\maven site
This will generate, in step4/target/docs/, the site documentation that includes your "Hello World" report, which is shown in Figure 1:
Figure 1. "Hello World" Report
Lastly, there are two basic documents in the /step4/xdocs directory: goals.xml and properties.xml. These are pretty standard documents used in plug-ins to describe what the available goals and properties are for your users, and are available under the Overview menu option in the generated docs.
To distribute your plug-in, enter:
c:\helloworld\step4\maven plugin
This will create a .jar file that has everything you need and will install it into your local Maven repository:
[jar] Building jar: C:\clients\jn\html\
[copy] Copying 1 file to C:\java\maven\
Total time: 3 seconds
If you distribute the plugin on a networked repository, then users can download the plugin via the
plugin:download goal.
First, you define in your project.properties file where Maven should look for resources to download:
Then, from the command line, you can run
plugin:download and Maven will attempt to download the plugin and install it from your local repository.
c:\helloworld\step4\maven plugin:download
In the above example, Maven will look for the plugin.jar file at:
As you can see, Maven's plugin architecture makes it very easy to write your own reusable functionality. The ability to directly use Ant tasks allows you to leverage all the existing Ant tasks in your Maven plugins. And because you can define any Java class as a tag, you can very easily integrate functionality that doesn't already have an Ant task.
Eric Pugh is a freelance consultant who specializes in mentoring groups using open source Java software successfully.
Return to ONJava.com.
Copyright © 2009 O'Reilly Media, Inc.


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We Are Men "Pilot" -- CBS's new single camera comedy WE ARE MEN is about four single guys living in a short-term apartment complex who unexpectedly find camaraderie over their many missteps in love. Carter (Chris Smith, second from right), was just ditched at the altar and is eager to re-enter the dating scene; Frank Russo (Tony Shalhoub, far right) is a four-time divorce who still fancies himself a ladies man; Gil Bartis (Kal Penn, second from left), who was caught having the world's worst affair; and Stuart Strickland (Jerry O'Connell) is hiding his assets until his second divorce is settled. WE ARE MEN will premiere this Fall, Mondays (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS ©2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Mom "Pilot" -- CBS's new comedy MOM stars Anna Faris (right) as Christy, a newly sober single mom raising two children in a world full of temptations and pitfalls, and Allison Janney as her passive-aggressive, recovering alcoholic mother. MOM will premiere this Fall, Mondays (9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS © 2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Millers "Pilot" -- CBS's new comedy THE MILLERS stars Will Arnett (center) as Nathan Miller, a recently divorced local roving news reporter looking forward to living the singles' life until his parents' marital problems unexpectedly derail his plans. Margo Martindale portrays his meddlesome mother, Carol, who decides to move in with him. In this scene, Carol sleepwalks her way into Nathan's party and shares a dance with him. THE MILLERS will premiere this Fall, Thursdays (8:30-9:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Richard Foreman/CBS ©2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Crazy Ones Academy Award winner Robin Williams returns to series television in THE CRAZY ONES, CBS's new single camera workplace comedy about a larger-than-life advertising genius whose unorthodox methods and unpredictable behavior would get him fired… if he weren't the boss. (Source: Richard Cartwright/CBS ©2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Hostages "Pilot" -- HOSTAGES, CBS's new high octane suspense drama starring Toni Collette (far left) as Dr. Ellen Sanders, a premiere surgeon thrust into a chilling political conspiracy when her family is taken hostage by a rogue FBI Agent. With her family's life in peril, Ellen faces an incomprehensible moral dilemma in order to save her husband, Brian (Tate Donovan, second from right); and their teenage children, Morgan (Quinn Shephard) and Jake (Mateus Ward). HOSTAGES will premiere in the Fall, Mondays (10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will build to a season finale in January. Photo: Nicole Rivelli/©2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Intelligence "Pilot" -- CBS's new dramatic thriller INTELLIGENCE stars Josh Holloway as a high tech intelligence operative enhanced with a super-computer microchip in his brain. INTELLIGENCE will premiere this winter, Mondays (10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Chris Helcermanas-Benge/CBS © 2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
CBS Logo RECKLESS is a sultry legal drama set in Charleston, S.C., where a gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming Southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city apart. Jamie Sawyer (Anna Wood) is enviously cool, confident and armed with south-side-of-Chicago street-smarts as she takes on the good ol' boys in the South. Her handsome courtroom rival, Roy Rayder (Cam Gigandet), a divorced father of two, embodies the Old South and is the newly minted City Attorney, thanks to his influential former father-in-law, Dec Fortnum (Gregory Harrison). When disgraced cop Lee Anne Marcus (Georgina Haig) hires Jamie to represent her in a lawsuit against the police department, Jamie and Roy discover that Lee Anne is at the epicenter of a sinister case with dire implications for the members of the Charleston P.D. Heading that department is Deputy Chief Holland Knox (Michael Gladis), a family man who radiates integrity. Working under him are Terry McCandless (Shawn Hatosy), a cocky and corrupt detective and Preston Cruz (Adam Rodriguez), Jamie's well-respected boyfriend who might not be all that he appears. Helping Jamie is her confidante and paralegal, Vi (Kim Wayans), an expert at digging up case-winning information. As Jamie and Roy spar in and out of the courtroom, dark secrets simmer behind every door and threaten to tarnish the genteel facade of seductive Charleston. Ian Sander, Kim Moses, Dana Stevens, Corey Miller and Catherine Hardwicke are executive producers for CBS Television Studios. Catherine Hardwicke ("Twilight") directed the pilot.
CBS, Eye, LogoFRIENDS WITH BETTER LIVES is a romantic comedy about six friends at different stages in their lives – married, divorced, newly engaged and single – who are outwardly happy, but secretly questioning if their friends have it better. Andi (Majandra Delfino) and Bobby (Kevin Connolly) are happily married with two kids but at times long for the days they had less responsibility and more fun; Will (James Van Der Beek) is newly single and preaching the bachelor lifestyle, but still pining for his ex-wife; Jules (Brooklyn Decker) and Lowell (Rick Donald) are high on their passionate new relationship; and Kate (Zoe Lister Jones) has a successful career but may take a swan dive into the L.A. River when she finds out her last remaining single friend, Jules, just got engaged. When it comes to relationships, these six friends are finding it a challenge to look at each other without wondering… who really has the better life? Dana Klein and Aaron Kaplan are executive producers for Twentieth Century Fox Television. Emmy Award winner James Burrows directed the pilot.
Categories: Entertainment Only CBS Photo Galleries


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June 26, 2013 —
CALLICOON, NY — The Friends of Maris Hearn present the seventh annual Maris Hearn Life Celebration Concert, a Jack Hardy Song Night, at The Delaware Youth Center, 8 p.m., on Saturday, June 29. Doors open at 5 p.m. An open mic hosted by Little Sparrow takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The concert begins at 8 p.m. featuring David Massengill, who once performed as The Folk Brothers with Jack Hardy, Honor Finnegan, Angela Elizabeth Holup and Stuart Kabak.
Proceeds benefit Damascus Citizens for Sustainability, Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, and Catskill Mountainkeeper. Suggested donation is $10; children under 16 admitted free. Call 914/715-8718.


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The Class D-1 Cyclones are not your ordinary boys basketball team at the Nebraska High School State Tournament in Lincoln, and that's because the head coach is a woman.
Female coach dominating boys basketball
Published On: Mar 17 2014 03:06:19 AM HST Updated On: Apr 30 2014 08:47:01 AM HST
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« Back
Defending the United States Against Weapons of Mass Destruction
Unpublished memorandum to the United States Senate
Authors: Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, Matthew Bunn, Professor of Practice; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Ashton B. Carter, Former Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project, Harvard & Stanford Universities, John M. Deutch, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Richard A. Falkenrath, Former Assistant Professor of Public Policy; Former Principal Investigator, Executive Session on Domestic Preparedness; Former Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John P. Holdren, Former Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program, Robert Newman, Former Research Fellow, International Security Program, 1995-1996, Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University Distinguished Service Professor
Belfer Center Programs or Projects: International Security; Managing the Atom; Preventive Defense Project
U.S. Senate
|Graham Allison, Matthew Bunn, Ashton Carter, John Deutch, Richard Falkenrath, John Holdren, Robert Newman, Joe Nye
|June 2, 1997
|Defending the United States Against Weapons of Mass Destruction
On June 26, 1996, the Senate passed the historic Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 by a vote of 96-0. This vote reflected the overwhelming consensus of the Senate that the possibility of domestic terrorism involving nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons is a significant threat to U.S. national security, and that much more must be done to reduce U.S. vulnerability to this deadly form of attack. This grave concern was also evident in the debate over the Chemical Weapons Convention, in which both sides agreed that the United States cannot remain complacent about the threat of domestic mass-destruction terrorism.
The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 also confirmed the judgment of the Senate''s own 1995-96 investigations into this new danger, which concluded that:
- Weapons of mass destruction are becoming increasingly accessible to rogue states and terrorist groups.
- Terrorist groups and rogue states are becoming increasingly likely to use weapons of mass destruction against the United States.
- The United States is very poorly prepared to defeat or limit the damage of a domestic nuclear, biological, or chemical attack.
The initiative taken by the Congress in 1996 was a vitally important first step, but further efforts are essential if the United States is to overcome its stark vulnerability to weapons of mass destruction. If the 105th Congress does not continue to strengthen U.S. capabilities to prevent and respond to NBC terrorist attacks, the United States will remain unacceptably vulnerable to mass-destruction terrorism. The threat of terrorist attack with weapons of mass destruction delivered by unconventional means is an even clearer and more present danger to American lives and liberty than the threat of attack by ballistic missiles. It should be met by programs of equivalent imagination.
The rationale behind the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 is as simple as it is compelling.
An initial investment in improving these capabilities and programs was made in the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996, but these achievements will come to naught unless the Congress shows similar leadership in 1997.
We recommend that the Congress provide full funding for the Administration''s FY98 request of $668.1 million for the continuation of activities supported by the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act. We further urge the Congress to add $421 million to the Administration's request for additional activities laid out below.
Part I: Domestic Preparedness
The domestic preparedness programs begun by the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act are a hopeful beginning. Overall, however, the United States remains poorly prepared for domestic acts of terrorism involving nuclear and, especially, chemical and biological weapons. Large gaps remain in the ability of the Federal, State, and local governments to respond to the consequences of terrorist chemical and biological attacks. Local preparedness to detect biological attacks, crucial for triggering a timely medical response, is missing in most locales, and should be strengthened everywhere. National stockpiles of key medicines and equipment are completely inadequate.
The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act established the principle of funding domestic preparedness against terrorist WMD attack from the defense budget. The principle makes sense, given that mass-destruction terrorism is a significant threat to national security, and we have followed it in our recommendations here. In general, however, these programs could be pursued even more effectively if each participating agency were given the necessary funds in its own budget.
Chemical Terrorism Response Preparedness. Preparedness for chemical terrorism requires training, equipment, and supplies for local first responders. Chemical weapons kill too fast to allow national resources to be brought to bear. However, a quick, effective, local response can save most victims of chemical attacks. Yet only a few American cities are even partly prepared, and existing programs are inadequate to fill the gap. Programs now under way, managed by the Defense Department''s Chemical and Biological Defense Command (CBDCOM), will gradually analyze the preparedness needs of major cities and train trainers for first responders, starting in nine cities this year. Under those programs, however, training and equipping each local force will be left to local initiative, and will be constrained by local resources.
Without protective equipment for first responders, and without nerve-gas antidotes for victims, current training programs will do little to save lives after an attack. The only program that provides significant equipment and supplies for local first responders— the Metropolitan Medical Strike Team program of the Department of Health and Human Services— has funding sufficient only for an initial investment in ten cities. Even that funding ($6.6 million) has only recently been transferred to HHS by the Department of Defense, after months of interagency wrangling. The Administration requested no funding for this key effort for FY98.
Recommendation: Congress should add $15 million to the FY98 Department of Defense budget request, for transfer to HHS, to sustain and expand the Metropolitan Medical Strike Team program.
Congress should also add $50 million to the DOD request, for transfer to FEMA, earmarked to pay for equipment and supplies for local first responders. Congress should further direct HHS, FEMA, and CBDCOM to coordinate their assessment, training, and equipment programs for maximum effectiveness. Congress should also provide $10 million to FEMA for realistic joint, full field exercises of Federal, State, and local chemical and biological terrorism response capabilities.
Biological Terrorism Response Preparedness. Biological weapons kill over a period of days, making it possible to bring national resources to bear in response, but only if the attack is detected when the first victims get sick, or sooner. Early detection is crucial because the illnesses caused by the most important biological warfare agents become impossible to treat after their early stages. Preparedness for biological weapons terrorism requires awareness at the local level to detect an attack, combined with regional and national medical response assets to provide medical care for the victims. American cities are not well prepared to detect the early signs of a biological attack, however. Even if an attack is detected, national resources, including both the ability to deploy large number of doctors to care for victims and the necessary stockpiles of medicines and supplies, are grossly inadequate to treat the thousands of victims likely from a biological warfare attack. Programs now under way will do little to remedy these shortfalls.
Improving the chances for timely detection of an attack will require better disease-outbreak monitoring at the local level. Ensuring an effective response requires improving the existing system of Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, and stockpiling medicines and supplies needed for victim treatment. Both are well worth the cost in their own right. In addition to saving lives after a biological terrorist attack, strengthening the monitoring of disease outbreaks will help control existing public health problems associated with emerging and reemerging infectious diseases. Moreover, a better national capability for mass casualty care will improve the Federal Government's ability to respond to natural disasters, such as earthquakes and hurricanes.
Recommendation: Congress should add $70 million to the Department of Defense budget request, for transfer to the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, to support a grant program to improve worldwide disease-outbreak monitoring systems, and to expand physician awareness of the early symptoms of biological-warfare-induced diseases.
Congress should add $25 million to the DOD budget request, for transfer to the Public Health Service, to strengthen the Disaster Medical Assistance Team program, and to establish a national stockpile of the key medicines and medical equipment needed for treating biological warfare illnesses.
Improvements in National-Level Response Capabilities: The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act provided funds for creation of a national-level chemical and biological response team. While too slow to respond to a no-warning chemical attack, this resource, along with better training and organization in the FBI, have improved the nation''s ability to pre-deploy assets to protect special events, such as the Olympics or the Inauguration, and to deploy assets in response to credible intelligence warning of possible attacks.
Recommendation: Congress should fully fund the Administration''s request for national-level chemical and biological response assets.
Nuclear Terrorism Preparedness: National capabilities to search for and disable nuclear weapons are an essential part of U.S. preparedness for nuclear terrorism. The Federal Government has two decades of experience with the specialized organizations and technologies required, but serious problems have sometimes been evident. Sustained funding and high-level commitment are needed to ensure that these problems are corrected.
Recommendation: Congress should continue to support full funding for the Department of Energy''s Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST) and related research. Congress should require that NEST, the FBI, and FEMA conduct realistic full field exercises at least every two years, and should add $5 million to the Department of Energy budget request to support these exercises.
Early Warning of WMD Acquisition and Attack. Effective action to prevent terrorist attacks depends on timely warning, but the United States is poorly prepared to detect signs of biological and chemical weapons acquisition, or to detect weapons being imported into the United States. Law-enforcement agencies could significantly improve the chances of early warning of a terrorist attack by promoting self-policing efforts in key industries. Suppliers of key dual-use equipment and supplies usable in nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons acquisition should be encouraged to report unusual purchases for possible investigation, and the government should systematically monitor this information for signs of suspicious activity.
Improved training and equipment for the Customs Service could improve the chances of detecting weapons smuggled into the United States. Funding for this program has been dropped from the Administration''s budget request.
Recommendation: Congress should add $15 million to the DOD budget, for transfer to the Customs Service, to improve the capacity to detect mass-destruction weapons at U.S. borders. Congress should also add $2 million to the DOD budget, for transfer to the FBI, to pay for a detailed study of commercial availability of key dual-use equipment and supplies, and on the best way to establish a system for reporting suspicious purchases. Congress should require the FBI to submit within a year a plan for establishing an early-warning system for reporting and investigating suspicious purchases.
Research and Development: New technologies offer the potential for significant improvements in domestic preparedness in several areas. Key needs include improved equipment to detect and identify chemical and biological agents; modeling of attack effects to better locate and identify victims needing treatment; economical and non-destructive decontamination and cleanup technologies; economical methods for "hardening" key government buildings; improved methods for assessing and disabling weapons; and improved treatment options for biological-warfare diseases, including broad-spectrum vaccines. Research and development programs now underway address each of these issues, and should continue to receive full funding.
Recommendation: Congress should fully fund the current DOE budget request for NBC detection technology R&D, and should sustain funding for other relevant research efforts, including those of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Congress should direct the Administration to prepare a study of how to establish broad-spectrum centers of technical expertise on CBW, ranging from policy to emergency response, comparable to the role the DOE laboratories have played on nuclear issues.
Part II: Controlling the Sources of Supply
The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act dramatically strengthened U.S. programs to prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling into the into the hands of rogue states or terrorist groups. While these programs have made remarkable progress, most nuclear, chemical, and biological materials in the former Soviet Union still have no effective security systems; no verification of weapons dismantlement and materials controls is in place; none of the key states yet has any effective ability to interdict smuggling of mass-destruction materials; conversion of Russia''s three remaining plutonium-production reactors has not yet been achieved; no effective plan has yet been put in place to eliminate Russia''s huge existing excess plutonium stockpiles; and the incentives for Russia''s mass-destruction experts to sell their talents to others continue to worsen. Programs to address these urgent dangers are not foreign aid, but critical investments in U.S. security.
Securing Nuclear Materials. Poorly guarded nuclear bomb materials pose a particularly urgent threat, creating the possibility that a rogue state or terrorist group could acquire a nuclear capability virtually without warning. Fortunately, a major cooperative program is underway to install modern safeguards and security systems for these facilities as rapidly as practicable. In the 1996 Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, Congress voted overwhelmingly to increase funding for this critical effort.
Recommendation: Congress should again increase DOE funding for nuclear material security, boosting the Administration''s $137 million request for FY98 to $160 million. Congress should direct the Administration to accelerate the completion date for its Russian nuclear security projects from 2002 to 2000, and to plan budgets accordingly.
Eliminating Excess Plutonium Stockpiles. Both to ensure that nuclear arms reductions cannot be quickly reversed, and to reduce the risks of nuclear theft, it is important to eliminate stockpiles of excess weapons plutonium as rapidly as practicable. Because Russia does not have the money to build the necessary facilities to eliminate its excess plutonium stockpiles, this is only likely to be accomplished if some international cooperative approach to financing the operation is worked out - involving either government contributions or some form of barter arrangement (e.g., a uranium-for-construction-of-facilities swap). Establishing such a mechanism is an urgent issue for U.S. national security and preventing nuclear terrorism, but the Administration has been moving forward only slowly and incrementally.
Recommendation: Congress should increase the requested funding for plutonium disposition activities in Russia to $40 million, express the sense of Congress that the Administration should seek to establish both a U.S.-Russian agreement governing how and when plutonium disposition will be accomplished and an international burden-sharing arrangement to accomplish the mission as rapidly as practicable (and that the United States should be willing to contribute financially to such a burden-shared approach), and direct the President to submit a report with the fiscal 1999 budget outlining its plan for such an international approach to disposition of plutonium in Russia, and its progress in implementing the plan to date.
Dismantling Strategic Launchers. With the Helsinki accords, and the potential prospect of Russian ratification of START II, there are dramatic new opportunities to increase the scale and pace of dismantlement of Russian strategic forces targeted on the United States - and thereby decrease not only the threat of deliberate attack, but the threat of accidents or unauthorized launchers by potential rogue elements. Last year, Congress appropriated $351 million for the Department of Defense''s Cooperative Threat Reduction program (Nunn-Lugar), which funds these dismantlement efforts, along with a broad range of programs from securing nuclear warheads to military-to-military contacts. The Administration has requested $382 million for FY98, but significant additional funding would be required to take full advantage of the new opportunities for more rapidly dismantling the threat to the United States - from dismantling missile submarines to increased dismantlement of heavy SS-18 ICBMs.
Recommendation: Congress should fully fund the Administration''s $382 million Nunn-Lugar request, and provide a $120 million supplement, targeted to increased the pace and scope of dismantlement of Russian strategic forces.
Dismantling WMD and Infrastructure. Last year, recognizing the urgency of controlling WMD materials in the former Soviet Union, Congress added funding to end production of Russian weapons plutonium, dismantle former Soviet chemical weapons production facilities, and expand military-to-military contacts to services responsible for preventing proliferation. Additional efforts in the Department of Energy also relate to dismantling and containing weapons of mass destruction, including efforts to develop technology to verify the dismantlement of nuclear weapons.
Recommendation: Congress should remove the sublimits within the Nunn-Lugar budget, which unduly constrain the program''s flexibility, and fully fund parallel DOE programs aimed at dismantling and containing weapons of mass destruction. Congress should also add $10 million to DOE''s budget to speed work on verifying the dismantlement of warheads.
Interdicting WMD Smuggling. In the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, Congress established a new program to interdict smuggling of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and materials, by training and equipping border control personnel in key countries to deal with these threats. This effort, together with complementary programs already underway, is making slow but useful progress, but no additional funding to continue it has been requested.
Recommendation: Congress should provide an additional $20 million in FY98 for provision of training and equipment to law enforcement and border control personnel to interdict mass-destruction smuggling, and should require the Administration to submit, with next year's budget, a comprehensive plan to ensure that each of the relevant countries has adequately trained personnel and appropriate equipment in place to deal with this threat by the year 2001, with estimates of the funding required.
Controlling the "Brain Drain." The thousands of unemployed and unpaid former Soviet scientists and engineers and the increasing economic desperation in Russia's "secret cities" also pose a serious proliferation threat. Even a small cadre of technical experts could provide a dramatic breakthrough to a rogue state proliferation program. To prevent proliferation by redirecting these experts to civilian work, the Administration is requesting $15 million in State Department funds for the U.S. contribution to the International Science and Technology Centers (ISTC, which are cost-shared with Europe and Japan), and $30 million for DOE''s Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP, formerly the Industrial Partnership Program), a cost-shared effort with U.S. industry to team U.S. businesses and laboratories with Russian laboratories for projects to bring innovative Russian technologies to market.
These programs are employing thousands of former weapons scientists in peaceful pursuits, but economic collapse in Russia's closed nuclear cities remains an urgent proliferation threat. A comprehensive, multi-pronged approach is needed to address this issue, emphasizing areas of shared U.S.-Russian interest. In particular, some of the funds devoted to promoting civilian economic development in Russia should be targeted specifically to the closed cities.
Recommendation: Congress should increase funding for the DOE''s IPP program by $20 million, and increase funding for the ISTC by $10 million (since there is now a backlog of worthy projects for which no funds are available). Congress should also direct the State Department to target $40 million of the "Partnership for Freedom" funds (for economic development in the former Soviet Union) to civilian development in Russia''s closed cities.
Part III: National Coordination and Oversight
The Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 recognized that the Federal, state, and local efforts required to provide effective countermeasures to WMD terrorism were not being adequately coordinated, and called for the establishment of a national coordinator for this purpose in the White House. The Administration has made no serious organizational changes in response to this requirement, simply designating the existing deputy national security advisor as the required national coordinator. Consequently, the United States still lacks an organized, systematic program to improve the quality of national coordination and oversight of its many disparate efforts to meet the WMD terrorism threat. These problems in the policy coordination, direction, and advocacy from the White House are impeding the implementation and growth of programs designed to reduce U.S. vulnerability to NBC terrorism.
Recommendation: Congress should direct the Administration to provide a report, in conjunction with the FY99 budget, on how it plans to coordinate all of the efforts required to address the threat of WMD terrorism.
Congress should further direct the NSC, DOD, FBI, FEMA, DOE, HHS, and CIA to submit a detailed annual joint report on the threat of domestic NBC terrorism and their progress in reducing vulnerability to this form of attack, modeled on the annual reports of the Counterproliferation Policy Review Committee.
Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction (millions of $)
|Department of Defense
|Metro Strike Teams (HHS)
|First Responder Support (state, local, FEMA)
|U.S. Border Security (Customs)
|NBC Detection & Response (DOD Programs)
|WMD Response Exercises (FEMA)
|BW Outbreak Surveillance (CDC)
|BW Medical Response Teams & Stockpiles (HHS)
|NBC Acquisition Early Warning Study
|Department of Energy
|Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST)
|NBC Detection Technology R&D
|Total, Domestic WMD Terrorism Preparedness
|Department of Defense (original Nunn-Lugar)
|Dismantling Strategic Forces
|Fissile Material Storage Facility
|Nuclear Warhead Security
|Plutonium Reactor Conversion
|CW Destruction Pilot Facility
|Dismantling CW Infrastructure
|Nonproliferation Mil-Mil Contacts
|Interdicting Nuclear Smuggling (Customs)
|Department of Energy
|Nuclear Material Security (MPC&A)
|Plutonium Reactor Conversion
|Interdicting WMD Smuggling
|Warhead Dismantlement Verification
|Plutonium Disposition
|Initiatives in Proliferation Prevention (IPP)
|Total, Controlling the NBC Sources of Supply
|Recommended New Programs
|Department of State (preventing Brain Drain)
|Total, Defense Against WMD
Note: Figures provided by officials of the relevant departments. For most projects, actual funding is determined by allocations made by the department within larger appropriated line-items. Figures reflect allocation projections as of April 1997. The table reflects only those programs within the scope of the FY97 Defense Authorization Act (which included the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act). Additional efforts related to preventing WMD terrorism are underway in numerous Federal, state, and local agencies.
For more information about this publication please contact the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at 617-495-1400.
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