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Very poor.ReplyCancel
After my parents divorce we had to get food stamps. I was about 12 years old.
As an adult, I had a period where I was "transient", sleeping on friends couches, stuff like that. I worked in the hotel business and could eat for free or at least cheaply in the cafeteria. I did finally get my shit together. Eventually.ReplyCancel
Now.. unemployment sucks ass.ReplyCancel
Late to the party, but I spent most of my childhood into adolescence in federally funded housing projects. The Projects, aka The Ghetto.
The only concrete constant I took from that time is that where you start out has little to do with where you end up. Every adult is responsible for their own circumstance. Period. Outside shit happens, but *you* decide who you are. No excuses. The world doesn't care about your sob story.
Young single Mom disowned by the folks. It was a rough four years but also in some ways the happiest time of my life. Just me and my baby.ReplyCancel
Never yank a PRANKSTER!!!! (One of my favorite SNL clips & Walken moments)ReplyCancel
The poorest I've ever been was when I got laid off not long after 9/11. Getting laid off was not a result of the attacks, I just remember it being right after that happened. But because of the questionable economy and general uncertainty, it was REALLY difficult to find a job and I fell into a pretty bad depression. After 6 or 7 months of subsisting on unemployment benefits, and at the encouragement of my partner, I finally found a state job and have been here ever since. I do not miss those days. To everyone going through that right now, I wish you the best! Don't give up!ReplyCancel
I had to sell my typewriter for train fare home after I graduated college.ReplyCancel
I grew up across a few blocks from the projects, but still in the ghetto. It was once a nice middle class neighborhood when my mom was a child. She hung on to that belief with both hands. She insisted we were "lower middle class". That is funny looking back! We lived in a border city where nearly everyone was poor. We just had a little…like made $1000 a year too much to qualify for food stamps, and we had reduced lunch not free lunch…so we were "lower middle". We had gang graffiti on our wall, only one pair of shoes, 3 school outfits to rotate, but we were not poor.ReplyCancel
I'm a young adult with bills and a shitty job so I'm always poorReplyCancel
18 in college, waiting tables, and living in my own apartment. Someone stole all my money on the 29th of the month. Rent, all utilities, and spending money. I started using my bank account after that and had a hell of a 2 week stretch working all doubles.ReplyCancel
Zeri dollars. Less than zero. When my son fell asleep- he was like 3- we snuch his giant mickey mouse head band out to living room to roll pennies for gas and food. Next thing we hear is"hey, whatta ya doing with my bank?" Lol. Im extremely extremely lucky. I have been broke, i have been 6 months in arrears on my mortgage, but i have always figured out a way out. On my own. Good practice too.ReplyCancel
As a college student I worked 3 jobs in between classes for extra cash. My dad lost his job and my mom became depressed and withdrawn. Very shitty time of my life but today I am so much stronger for it. I am still extremely scared of ever being poor again!ReplyCancel
No job, living in my van, taking showers at the state beach with rice for my only food. The rice part sucked, but otherwise it was kinda like an year-long adventure.ReplyCancel
I'm in the same boat with Aunt Liddy. I may be broke at times, but I've always been able to keep a roof over my kids' heads (still am, unfortunately) and food on the table. I'm educated, skilled, and a survivor. I, unfortunately, am just not ambitious enough to get out there and really sell myself. But I'm now drawing 2 retirement checks and have a great job that I love, and my house will be paid for in about 2 years… so I see better days ahead, financially.ReplyCancel
Yeah, I'm with Sarah and Bee Haven…not crazy about this question. In addition, it's totally relative, so "poor" is hard to empirically define.
I know, I know…I'm a hit at parties. 😉
But one thing I will say is that being poor — or whatever that means to each person — tends to make one clever and creative, and that's a hell of a combo to have.ReplyCancel
What's the point of this question? To see who can get egged on for the best "poor me" story?
Well I've never been poor enough to annoy my readers with popups on an iphone, which I thought was impossible ??ReplyCancel
I, along with my kids, lived in a homeless shelter for 6 mos.ReplyCancel
I sucked a dick once for a hundred dollas (he was hot for what its worth) but NEVER again —I have learnt to budget.ReplyCancel
gotta get back ttyl xo
@Yoj—are u Riven?ReplyCancel
@Yoj—COOL —-sorry for the insult—you seem awesome xoReplyCancel
Very poor as a child.ReplyCancel
Kno Won Uno – Love your attitude. I feel the same way.
Poorest I'd ever been was as an actress in NYC but man oh man…What a wonderful time I had looking back on it. NOT saying everyone who's been strapped should look upon it as a great time. I just met the coolest people and felt the freest I'd ever been trying to live my dream. But yeah, them was some hongray days.ReplyCancel
When my son was 18 months, he had to go into the hospital with pneumonia from H1N1. Our insurance at the time sucked balls, and our portion of the 4 day stay + treatment was $4000. We had probably $300 in the bank. After the bill arrived, we also found out that our tax prep guy left off a chunk of our income from the previous year and he missed a 1099 as well, so we were slapped with another $4000 bill from the IRS. It was crushing financially at the time, but it was incredibly hard to be upset considering my son had just recovered from a situation where we were scared for his life.ReplyCancel
Today. I have a deceit living in monetary terms, but it seems everyone around me wants something from me, so I am poor in family & friendsReplyCancel
Had to return a rented tv to get the $5.00 deposit back. Bought a loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly. Kept me fed for days!!ReplyCancel
Correct AKM. it is entirely relative. In my profession, the old adage "there's always somebody worse off than you" has been witnessed over & over again. I also feel dubious about making personal disclosures to an unknown online entity. Some people don't wish to discuss it. Turdy turd EntyReplyCancel
@secret – you are incredibly brave. Go you! My former G.P was unemployed, 30, no tertiary studies, did a bridging course, went to med school and became a doctor. He was my hero when I was 17, about to start uni, with no idea what to do.
You're to be admired! Good luck.
I once lived on a bag of grapefruit for a week … I had moved to LA, could barely afford rent and gas on my paycheck and so food was a luxury. Every piece of furniture originally had a "free" sign on it on curbs the day after garage sales ended.
Ultimately I moved onto a girlfriend's couch until things turned around, which they ultimately did. You just keep putting one foot in front of another.ReplyCancel
@Bee Haven
I must admit, I wasn't expecting that. Not that I mind being mistaken for someone as smart and funny as Riven, but I was a reader during the worst of the trolling and paranoia and I saw that feelings were hurt and internet friendships damaged. Let's not return to those days.
Admiration for so many of you. Courage, stamina and faith gets you through.
I lived on grapefruit juice, corn tortillas and jalapenos when I was a was a broke, going homeless with no job punk rock chick back in the late 1970's. Like many of you said – it was both a desperate and an unbelievably great time in my life.ReplyCancel


text:
BSC Alerts
News & Events
Board of Governors
February 12, 2009
Members Present: Ms. Gloria Stephens, Mr. Larry Morhous, Mr. Norris Kantor, Ms. Anne Crowe, Rev. James Palmer, III, Dr. Lyn Guy, Mr. Daniel Frost, Mr. Erik Guyton, Ms. Angie Lambert, Mr. Sylvester Myers, Mr. Larry Ratliff
Staff/Guests: Dr. Albert Walker, Mr. John Cardwell, Mr. Jim Nelson, Dr. Don Smith, Ms. Shelia Johnson, Ms. Karen Harvey, Ms. Leah Taylor, Ms. Anita Barilla, Ms. Deirdre Guyton, Ms. Lisa Neel, Mr. William Williams, Mr. Orlando Henderson, Ms. Theresa Kirk
Welcome and Call to Order – Mr. Norris Kantor
Chairman Norris Kantor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the BSC Othello Harris-Jefferson Student Center and welcomed special guest Ms. Theresa Kirk, Esq., Executive Director of the West Virginia Ethics Commission.
WV Ethics Commission Presentation: Executive Director Theresa Kirk, Esq.
Ms. Kirk reviewed the evolution of the Ethics Acts and the make-up and purpose of the Ethics Commission and informed the group that she is traveling to all institutions for training on the Ethics Act. She reviewed standards in the Ethics Act and possible violations and the procedures for reporting offenses.
Consent Agenda
A motion was made (LMorhous/JPalmer) to approve the Consent Agenda. Mr. Frost informed the group that corrections needed to be made to the minutes. The group agreed to discuss the minutes to the December 11, 2008 meeting under the Agenda item "Other". Motion carried. The Consent Agenda was approved.
Discussion Agenda
Special Finance Committee Report – Board Members Larry Ratliff and Larry Morhous
Mr. Morhous reported that he and Mr. Ratliff met with Ms. Johnson and worked on a workable agenda and plan to meet on a monthly basis. Mr. Morhous reported that they took a tour of the campus security area and met the personnel there. He reported that they plan to tour different areas of the college to become familiar with the institution and the special needs of the college.
Mr. Kantor informed the group that questions concerning the Board material may be addressed in advance of the meeting since the material is received a week in advance. This includes any corrections to the minutes.
Mr. Frost questioned the December 11, 2008 minutes in the area of "Other". He stated that "Mr. Frost gave a report on NRCTC classes offered on the BSC campus" which is in error. He stated that what was said was that NRCTC classes are being held everywhere except on the BSC campus, such as at the Mercer County Vocational Technical School.
Secondly, Mr. Frost corrected the December 11, 2008 minutes to read that he had questioned why the institution is still paying the salary of the Director of the BSC Research and Development Corporation, because the Board only voted to pay it for one year.
Mr. Frost distributed a cartoon depicting Concord University, Bluefield State College, and New River Community and Technical College.
Ms. Deirdre Guyton introduced Mr. Orlando Henderson, President of the Cincinnati Chapter of the BSC Alumni Association, and Mr. William Williams, a member of the Washington BSC Alumni Association and also a Human Rights Commissioner for the State of West Virginia. Mr. Williams and Mr. Henderson spoke to the Board on the importance of having dorms available on campus for students attending BSC. Mr. Kantor reviewed research done in the past and the cost of building dorms in relation to the possible income generated from students. Mr. Myers discussed the need to have a feasibility study encompassing the surrounding counties to see how many students will attend the college if dorms are available. This procedure should be conducted periodically and a presentation made to the Governor. Ms. Johnson informed the group that according to state policy, student housing is considered an auxiliary and should be self sufficient and that state government would not fund a dormitory for any institution. Institutions are expected to raise private funding for student housing. Discussion followed. A motion was made (EGuyton/LMorhous) to consider a feasibility study for dormitories at Bluefield State College. Motion carried. Mr. Kantor agreed to contact Brown Edwards for the cost of a feasibility study. A report will be made at the next meeting.
Ms. Stephens asked about the article in the newspaper concerning the Legislative Audit and asked for an explanation. Ms. Johnson reviewed the report from the Legislative Auditors and steps taken to correct the issues sited. Discussion followed.
Mr. Frost distributed the Catastrophic Leave Policy #35 and discussed an issue with the donation of sick leave from one employee to another employee. He called the Board's attention to the statement on the leave form that reads "Sick leave donations may only be used through the donors last day of active employment." Discussion followed. Mr. Kantor stated that more research is needed to interpret the policy before discussion or decisions can be made. Mr. Frost asked that the policy be reviewed to determine how the specific statement came to be placed on the form and if it is a valid statement.
Mr. Frost requested that the classified employee salary schedule be fully funded as per the Salary Policy adopted by the Board. Mr. Kantor asked that Ms. Johnson have a report ready at the next meeting. Ms. Johnson reported that the Legislature is in session until April 11, 2009 and that the budget will not be available until after the session is done.
Next Meeting Date – April 16, 2009
With no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 9:09 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,

subset: commoncrawl


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Events » Family & Youth Programs » Stories in the Afternoon
Stories in the Afternoon
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853 – 1890)
Self-Portrait, 1889
Oil on canvas
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Vincent van Gogh
Date: Sunday, February 03, 2013
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Speaker: Staff Educator
Type: Stories in the Afternoon
Vincent van Gogh is celebrated for his expressive colors and swirling brushstrokes. Learn about the artist's life and the people he painted, then use bright colors to make a dynamic landscape inspired by his works.
Meets in Entrance Gallery | Free with admission. These activities are designed for families with children ages 4 – 8. | No reservations needed


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There's a rather famous book, which has been around for centuries, that has always been the subject of debate. Was it written by some otherworldly entity speaking through humankind or the craftsmanship of a group of mortals who devised a fiction?
We'll never know, will we? And so it goes for the works of William Shakespeare. Scholars and writers from Sigmund Freud to Mark Twain (count Charles Dickens, Charlie Chaplin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Orson Welles, Sir Derek Jacobi, and Sir John Gielgud in the group, too) have speculated that Shakespeare was not the real author of the works. Many believe that it was a collective group of writers, but other theorists point to a single writer, other than Shakespeare, who may have had a reason for staying in the shadows.
This is where "Anonymous" takes it pen -- or shall we say quill -- in hand. Screenwriter John Orloff and director Roland Emmerich present to audiences that the true author was Edward De Vere, the Earl of Oxford, who was the genius behind "The Merchant of Venice," "King Lear," "Henry V," and "Romeo and Juliet," along with 33 other plays and 154 sonnets, to be exact.
But there's more to this story than just an Earl who has a love for whiling away his hours creating poetry and verse in an age where such writing is considered the devil's work. There's the notion that the public works could be used as covert political messages to sway the masses' loyalty for or against those in positions of power during volatile times in Elizabethan England.
It is intriguing that Emmerich, best known for epic blockbusters "Independence Day," "2012" and "The Day After Tomorrow," would get behind a story that seems so far removed from his 20 years of work in Hollywood, but it was a personal quest after Orloff told him about the script he was toying with on and off for a few years. Emmerich immediately believed that the drama had all the makings perfect for his next movie -- murder, sex, lies and betrayal.
Turns out, he was right. "Anonymous" spins the story of Shakespeare in doubt, but also delves into what went on inside Queen Elizabeth's castle during the late 16th and early 17th century: Political jockeying over who would succeed the Queen upon her death, stories of tawdry affairs, children tucked away after being born out of wedlock, and other scandals.
The drawback of this intrigue is that with all the interweaving of stories, the 130-minute film can be difficult to follow. Yet it cannot help but command attention. The cast is a veritable Who's Who of British theater, including Rhys Ifans (Hugh Grant's dopey roommate Spike in "Notting Hill") who inhabits the role of the discontented Earl of Oxford. Vanessa Redgrave was born to play the Queen (however, the very gray teeth they've implanted in her character's mouth are annoyingly distracting). As the young Queen, Redgrave's daughter, Joely Richardson, is the perfect casting choice. Not only is she a genetic ringer for the elder Elizabeth, but Richardson's flirtatious Liz shows depth, going from coquettish to shrew in seconds flat, showing us not quite the legend known as the "virgin queen."
Sure to be on the cover of every teen heartthrob magazine is Jamie Campbell Bower, who is an absolute charmer as the Young Oxford. Rafe Spall lays on the buffoonery rather thick as William Shakespeare -- coupled with how the part is written and Spall's overacting, Shakespeare's authentic self, at least in this film, doesn't have a chance.
Oxford's choice of who will get his plays produced to influence succession to the throne, in addition to many other spears he has to throw, is Renaissance dramatist Ben Jonson, played by Sebastian Armesto. Despite his overly teary dramatization during one crucial death scene, the complete earnestness he brings to Johnson continually helps to propel the plot.
Of course, every Elizabethan drama has a villain. Edward Hogg stars as the hunchbacked Robert Cecil, conniving and power hungry. Cecil is thought to have been immortalized by the Earl of Oxford in the play "Richard III," where there are rather overt resemblances to the diminutive Cecil.
Did he or didn't he, that is the question? Whether to see this movie in the theater or wait for it to come out on DVD is vexing. This scribe recommends that you see it in on the big screen as Emmerich has created an Elizabethan England that's a feast for the eyes and a tale that makes mincemeat out of the legend of The Bard.


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We are Korean Moms in training dedicated to psycho-analyzing our moms, reliving horrible memories of embarrassment and dread for the benefit of the public...all the while laughing like a wheezy grandpa. Someone needs to pay for our therapy...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
#23 Stealing Napkins and Condiments
26 comments:
LOL this is so funny... we dropped the other ones to defend urself from the annoyed service person
- March 18, 2008 at 7:08 PM
lol one time my mom ordered a large fries and was like 'this is not large' and made them fill it more to the top... she also did this with a salad too.. way embarrassing
- March 18, 2008 at 7:39 PM
- Chiyo said...
haha, thanks for your comment Christine!
My mom does that too, but she makes ME do it for her!
It makes me die a little inside every time. :)
- March 18, 2008 at 7:41 PM
- Rebecca said...
You should talk about their obsession with sales and discounts. My mom goes crazy every time there is a sale at the mall.
- March 26, 2008 at 11:13 PM
- M Chiu said...
did she also take the butter and jam packets from the diner? mine did... and still does! now she has moved onto splenda and equal packets!
- June 30, 2008 at 10:38 PM
There was a pizza party after my wedding, and the 20 or so pizzas all came with packets of red pepper and grated cheese. The next day, I found two tupperware containers full of both. She'd secretly saved all the packets behind my back and emptied the contents of each one into a container! I love her! XD
- July 8, 2008 at 7:07 PM
my mom does not do this though. she thinks it's very distasteful to take or steal these things and she told me only uneducated ppl do this or ppl who grew up too poor but i sometimes do that altho she never does this LOL !! i guess i am too korean. She hate me doing t his LOL
- July 21, 2008 at 9:57 PM
- jeesung said...
hmm, i wondered where i got this disgusting habit!! it must have been subliminal messaging!!!
- July 22, 2008 at 2:30 AM
- spicybeefjerky said...
i can totally relate to the old ass ketchup packet resembling chocolate... my mom does the same thing whenever she makes omoorice.
- July 24, 2008 at 6:52 PM
Don't take the effects of war so lightly. It might have been a long time ago but the devastation is not so easily forgotten. What do you know about war when so many families and friends died and were lost and you starved and fought to survive? Check this out instead.
- August 6, 2008 at 3:42 AM
- Sue said...
And the Sweet n Low! Because it's cham bee sah!
- August 8, 2008 at 4:14 PM
- parksalot said...
this post is so true... but really, do koreans use ketchup on anything?
- August 10, 2008 at 2:27 AM
- Rhymes said...
Not too dissimilar from condiments, but my experience is with plastic forks, knives, spoons from any fast food establishment. And if they also hand out styrofoam plates, then it's pretty much game over. I think plastic utensils are a staple during any dinner parties (i.e. Thanksgiving, Choosuk, New Years) in my household. We're classy.
- August 13, 2008 at 1:24 PM
- Amerasian in Daegu said...
my mom used to stop at Burger King, Popeyes Chicken and a pizza joint and used to tell me to run in and take as many napkins I could.
Yeah, she wanted them but made my goofy ass run in and jack them.
- August 21, 2008 at 9:58 PM
- E said...
Another good one. My mother did the exact same thing in my childhood, to which I finally responded by taking 200 napkins (the entire dispenser).
My mother responded "Hey, that's embarassing, what are you doing?" To which I replied "getting extra napkins like you told me to."
And one Korean mom habit was snuffed out forever (probably 2 grew back in its place).
- September 2, 2008 at 5:10 PM
HAHAHA omg ..my mom is exactly like this, however i'm not korean, i'm persian. But my mom is like you just described in your post. Whenever we're in McDonalds, she doesn't take 3 napkins. No, she takes a whole bunch of napkins, straws, packets of ketchup. I think it's funny when i actually think about it :D
- September 20, 2008 at 11:10 AM
- Heather *IsaBella and Harrison's Mommy* said...
I can totally relate... I've even gone so far as taking some extra salt and pepper packets for my MIL to give to her customers at her own store!
Love always,
- October 10, 2008 at 2:51 AM
my ohm-ma not only took bundles of napkins from fast food places, she would cut them in half so we would have twice as many napkins
- January 26, 2009 at 12:03 AM
Wow, Koreans are some classy folks.
- April 1, 2009 at 6:24 PM
My mom didn't do this but another KM did this LOL and she'd supply us with extra sauce packets from McDonalds LOL
- July 16, 2009 at 2:42 AM
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.
- January 4, 2010 at 12:46 AM
- Harmony said...
LOL. I'm white, and both my mom and my KMIL do this! My mom is actually worse about it than my KMIL.
These are hilarious!
- January 20, 2010 at 9:29 PM
Our glove compartment was always brimming with napkins and ketchup packs from bk, mcd's, or kfc.
- January 9, 2011 at 8:08 PM
LOL this is so true. We never have to buy condiments ever since my mom makes sures to take more then a handful of ketchup, mustards, etc.
- April 12, 2011 at 5:45 PM
Actually, I think all moms/women are like this. When I buy a coffee and it comes with extra sugar and milk, I always put them in my purse. You might never know you'd get a coffee in the future without milk and sugar (which never seems to happen :-s).
- February 23, 2012 at 4:48 AM
Haha! This blog is way too funny! My boyfriend (now husband) and I took my parents out for all you can eat ribs...my KM made me wrap up a plates worth and stick them in my purse! My Dad joked that we should take the BBQ sauce too....I can tell it pained my mom that we didn't!
- May 8, 2012 at 9:36 AM


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This maybe soon to be ex east coast Housewife tried to get $25K for one night of sex this past weekend but settled for $5K
. Not Joanna Krupa.
I really hope they don't kick her off though, I find her hilariousReplyCancel
Ramona is going through a divorce.. do you mean ex "missus" or ex castmate. And if it's Ramona…. ewwww.ReplyCancel
OT: where has VIP been?ReplyCancel
That poor woman! Settling for 5 grand. There is no way I would have sex with someone for a mere $5000.ReplyCancel
Probably porche but I'll thrown in Lisa from MiamiReplyCancel
Tired of dumb comments?ReplyCancel
Or weeding thru them.ReplyCancel
Sonja certainly for the high priced escort but is she leaving?ReplyCancel
Sonja seems like she'd settle for 5ReplyCancel
Ooh, @Seven! Love your new avatar!ReplyCancel
See, there are always things to be thankful for!
No way this is Ramona, she's got plenty of money – she's legitimately got her own business plus Mario has the family jewelry biz that's been around for a long time.
Apparently, Porsha has been fired after she went after Krayonce on the reunion show and she's def "soon to be ex" plus she's dumb as a rock so I'm going with her.ReplyCancel
Is every celebrity a hooker these days??ReplyCancel
@oneeyecharlie so…how much are we talkin? I can go rob a bank really quick…ReplyCancel
Crazy Aviva on RHNYC- hard to get top dollar when missing parts.ReplyCancel
Do you mean Morgan? If so, that old hag has the oldest, bitchiest, looking face I've ever seen on a 50 year old. It's like her personality shines through.ReplyCancel


text: A message to the TEPCO guy in Japan 0x6a656666 posted:3/20/2011 10:18:12 PM For this TEPCO guy who broke down in tears in Japan at a press conference:It's okay, dawg. You make me proud to be human. And yes, I know about the conspiracies. Just sayin'. spiritech0 posted:3/21/2011 10:12:31 AM hi5 and a long distance hug for the first instance of emotion from a Japanese official. I feel you, bro. Please log in or become a member to add a post.


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Gas news at a glance
Penn State Public Safety Webinar - March 17
An online seminar titled "Natural Gas Well Development and Emergency Response and Management," will be offered by Penn State Extension at 1 p.m. on March 17 to address public safety concerns related to natural gas drilling. Craig Konkle, operations and training supervisor for the Lycoming County Department of Public Safety and chairman of the county's Gas Task Force Safety Committee, will discuss the precautions his county has taken. The webinar will cover the creation of a county task force and safety subcommittee, as well as the development of a training and safety consortium comprised of representatives from the gas industry and emergency responders. It will also address training for responders, helping responders and industry personnel remain safe in the field and past incidents. Previous webinars, publications and information are available at http://extension.psu.edu/naturalgas. For information contact John Turack at 724/837-1402 or send email to: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Second man nabbed for burglary of NWPOA director's home
Wayne County state police have arrested a second man in connection with a burglary that occurred on July 22-23, 2010 at the home of Marian and Edward Schweighofer of Damascus Township, PA. Marian is executive director of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance. Lee Harrison, 46, of Equinunk, PA was arrested for his alleged participation in the burglary. Police arrested James Singer, 30, of Binghamton, NY back in November for his alleged involvement. The investigation is ongoing.
Former PA DEP Secretary launches blog
Former PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Hanger has launched a new blog discussing issues related to energy, the environment, the economy and politics. Hanger writes, "I am an expert on energy, environment, green economy, competitive electric markets, and utility regulation with unique experience in and out of government. I am Special Counsel at the law firm Eckert Seamans and run Hanger Consulting LLC. I speak, including on:"The Truth and Nothing but the Truth about Gas Drilling and America's Energy Choices." See the blog at http://johnhanger.blogspot.com/2011/03/banning-gas-drilling-fracking-dam....
Report questions industry-funded studies
Economist Jannette Barth, Ph.D., faults industry-funded studies that claim shale gas extraction creates good jobs and long-term prosperity. In her latest report, "The Truth About Those Industry Funded Studies," Barth terms these claims "unproven" and demonstrates that independent studies fail to support the findings of industry funded reports. For example, Barth disputes the claim by the Marcellus Shale Coalition that "88,000 jobs were created by the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania in 2010," based on PA Department of Labor and Industry reports that only 65,600 non-farm jobs were created in the state that year—and almost half of those were in the education and health and leisure and hospitality industries. Barth's report can be viewed at http://catskillcitizens.org/learnmore/RESPONSETOINDUSTRY.pdf


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Those who smoke them say they are a better alternative to regular cigarettes.
But others say, e-cigarettes are just part of the smoking problem.
A bill making its way through the legislature would treat it as such. Joey Farrington, 28, has been smoking since he was 12 years old. He says e-cigarettes have changed his life.
"It's kept me off real cigarettes for about two years, and I'm so thankful for that," said Farrington.
But a bill that defines electronic cigarettes as a tobacco product and taxes them the same as regular tobacco products would raise the price of e-cigarettes about 70 percent. So a $70 e-cigarette now would cost $119. That would be too expensive for Farrington.
"It would make me go back to smoking real cigarettes," Farrington said.
The state's largest distributor of e-cigarettes said they would be put at a competitive disadvantage against online distributors.
"It would definitely put us out of business or drive us out of the state," said Cory Smith, owner of Volcano Fine Electronic Cigarettes.
The e-cigarettes are touted as being a better alternative to regular cigarettes, containing nicotine without the tobacco.
"We're wiping out the thousands of carcinogens and chemicals that come along with combustible tobacco," said Smith.
At Wednesday's Senate Ways and Means committee hearing, many in attendance were e-cigarette users. But with 14 percent of Hawaii's adult population being smokers and 1,100 people in the state dying each year from tobacco-related illnesses, the Health Department is in support of the bill.
"If there's been no long-term studies on the effect of this, there can be no claims that it is better or worse product than other regular tobacco," said Julian Lipsher, program manager for the Tobacco Control Section of the Department of Health.
The Food And Drug Administration says it has not evaluated e-cigatrettes for safety or effectiveness. However, the FDA conducted limited laboratory studies of certain samples. It found significant quality issues that indicate quality control processes used to manufacture these products are substandard or non-existent.The FDA found that cartridges with the same label emitted a markedly different amount of nicotine with each puff.
At least both sides agree on one aspect of the bill: e-cigarettes should be kept out of the hands of minors.
Decision-making on the bill will be on Friday.


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Top 10 'First Dance' Wedding Songs
Published On: Dec 14 2011 09:51:53 AM CST Updated On: Jan 26 2015 09:19:02 AM CST
Take a look at the most popular songs played at weddings during a couple's "first dance."
The views expressed are not those of this company or its affiliated companies. Please note by clicking on "Post" you acknowledge that you have read the Terms Of Service and the comment you are posting is in compliance with such terms.


text:
Liliana Castillo
Capt. Ben Britten and Staff Sgt. Marc Bustria, both of the 27th Special Operations Aerospace Medicine Squadron and Cannon Air Force Base recently returned from a humanitarian deployment to Africa. During their trip, the dentist and dental technician team, respectively, completed an Army team that provided free health services to hundreds of Africans over a month's time.
Britten and Bustria, part of an 11-man team, performed a medical capability exercise.
The team spent two weeks in Mauritania and two weeks in Burkina Faso. There Britten and Bustria went to a local village and relieved dental pain.
"Ninety-nine percent of what we did was taking out teeth," Britten said.
Britten said the population he interacted with were lacking in dental hygiene.
"Mainly because of a lack of instruction," he said. "There aren't a lot of local dentists there."
Also, the impoverished population consume a high sugar diet and don't have the money to pay for services when offered.
During their time in Mauritania, Britten said they removed 206 teeth.
In Burkina, the team met with another team from Hurlburt Field from Florida. Britten said the team worked with three local dentists in Burkina.
For both airmen, it was their first humanitarian trip.
"It was totally different from what you see of Africa on TV," Bustria said. "Once you're in there, you see the full view."
Britten said the area is impoverished.
"It was hard seeing it and the lack of things we take for granted here," he said.
Both said the people they helped were appreciative of their work.
"I enjoyed it. We were making a lasting difference because we were relieving them of pain, helping improve life for them," Britten said.
Bustria said he enjoyed helping.
"It gave me a good feeling. When helping out people, you get that feeling 'I did a good thing.'"
The team distributed supplies such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and suggested reducing the sugar in their diet.
Both said the trip will hopefully become an annual trip. And both said they would go back again.


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Ei tuettu selain havaittu
Lenovo Tuki verkkosivu tukee selainta Microsoft© Internet Explorer 10+, Mozilla Firefox 29+, Chrome 34+
This document refers to understanding hard drive partitions on Lenovo systems with Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems.
|Affected configurations
The above symptom is associated with but not limited to the following systems:
Operating Systems:
|Additional Information
Lenovo systems with Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8 operating systems have multiple partitions in addition to the C partition. The partitions contain critical information that allows your Lenovo computer to operate. The C partition holds user files.
For Microsoft Windows 7, Lenovo created the Q partition to allow the recovery of the initial operating system and software on the computer to the same state that they were in before the computer was activated. However, the Q partition can be removed under certain conditions to obtain more hard drive space. Creating backups and/or reallocating the partitioned space is now streamlined. Lenovo customers can readily implement the configuration of their choice.
For Microsoft Windows 8, which requires three partitions, Lenovo created the Recovery Partition to allow the recovery of the initial operating system and software on the computer to the same state that they were in before the computer was activated. However, the recovery partition can be removed under certain conditions to obtain more hard drive space. Creating backups and then choosing to remove the partitioned space is now an option in Windows 8.
Partition Management:
For Microsoft Windows 7:
The ability to use the Q partition to recover the original software is critical. However, if other back up or recovery methods are available, the Q partition may be removed in order to free up additional hard drive space.
NOTE: Before removing the Q partition, create recovery DVD's (Windows 7) so the initial operating system and software can be restored, if required.
To view these partitions, choose Start Computer.
The following view or a similar view of the C: and Q: partitions will appear.
NOTE: Some partitions do not have drive letters so they are not inadvertently modified, therefore, doing so will result in Windows not booting and/or functioning properly.
Below is a view of typical partition information when opening the Computer icon located on the Desktop.
Below is an alternative view of the same partition information.
NOTE: The system_DRV has no drive letter assigned and is required by Windows, therefore, cannot be removed.
Creating recovery DVD's:
Double clicking the Lenovo_Recovery (Q) in the Computer view will result in the following pop-up window. Choose either Create Recovery Media or Recover Drive Space. Creating the backup DVD's or having an alternative backup solution is strongly recommended before Recover Drive Space is chosen.
The below window appears when the back-up process is started and will guide the user through the creation of the recovery discs.
Once a back up is created, choosing Recover Drive Space will reallocate the drive space in the Q partition to the C partition. This is a permanent change. The operating system and software recovery solution will no longer be available on the hard drive after completing this process.
For Microsoft Windows 8:
Below is a view of the typical partition information when opening Disk Management.
NOTE: The far left small Recovery Partition, EFI System Partition and Windows 8 operating system partition, is required by Windows 8. The larger Recovery Partition is the Lenovo created partition.
In order to remove the larger Recovery partition, create a USB recovery key following the steps in the "Useful information for user navigation within Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system".
Once the USB recovery key is created, there will be an option to remove the Recovery Partition.


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We continue our roundups of 19" LCD monitors with a native resolution of 1280x1024 pixels and an aspect ratio of 5:4. Although such products have been relegated to the bottom market segment, new models are still being released on a regular basis. Perhaps one of them is just what you've been looking for?
Most of the newer models, except for cheapest office-oriented ones, feature Response Time Compensation (RTC) technology that improves the matrix's speed and eliminates the notorious "ghosting" effect. The so-called dynamic contrast technology is becoming ever more widespread as well. When it is enabled, the monitor is automatically adjusting the level of backlight brightness to make the whole image darker or lighter depending on the prevalence of light or dark colors in the current image. The resulting dynamic contrast ratio can be calculated by multiplying the static contrast ratio by the brightness adjustment range available in this mode.
Testing Methodology
Follow this link for a description of our testing methodology.
Acer AL1916Fsd
The specified response time of 2 milliseconds GtG is indicative of an RTC-enabled TN matrix. Acer should be given credit for specifying the viewing angles honestly, as measured by a contrast ratio reduction to 10:1 rather than to 5:1 as many other manufacturer do to make the specified numbers look better in comparison with the specifications of other matrix types.
This monitor resembles many of its kinsmen produced by the same brand: a plain gray case on a simple plastic stand that allows adjusting the tilt of the screen only. The stand isn't very steady. The monitor is wobbling when you are pressing its buttons and can topple over if you push it too strong accidentally.
The case is thin notwithstanding the integrated power adapter.
The stand can be replaced with a VESA mount if necessary.
You've got a standard selection of connectors here: an analog D-Sub, a digital DVI-D, and a power connector.
The control buttons are centered under the screen on a small ledge. Quick access is provided to the auto-adjustment feature and to selecting one of the preset image modes. The latter feature is called Empowering technology and its modes vary in the values of brightness and contrast. Thus, the Standard mode has 77% brightness and 50% contrast and the Text mode has 44% and 50%, respectively. The Graphics mode has 97% and 60%, and the Movie mode has 77% brightness and 56% contrast.
This is a standard onscreen menu of Acer monitors: simple, user-friendly and with a typical selection of setup options.
The monitor's default brightness and contrast are set at 90% and 61%, respectively. To achieve a 100nit brightness of white I reduced the brightness setting to 60% and the contrast setting to 57%. Brightness is controlled by the matrix. The backlight is uniform, without conspicuous irregularities.
Color gradients are reproduced correctly, without any banding. Dark grays do not merge into black whatever contrast value you select while light grays can be differentiated from white even when the brightness and contrast settings are both at 100%.


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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/193195
- Title
- Understanding the will to live in patients nearing death
- Author(s)
- Chochinov, Harvey Max; Hack, Thomas; Hassard, Thomas; Kristjanson, Linda J.; McClement, Susan; Harlos, Mike
- Abstract
- This study examined concurrent influences on the will to live in 189 patients with end-stage cancer. The authors found significant correlations between the will to live and existential, psychological, social, and, to a lesser degree, physical sources of distress. Existential variables proved to have the most influence, with hopelessness, burden to others, and dignity entering into the final model. Health care providers must learn to appreciate the importance of existential issues and their ability to influence the will to live among patients nearing death.
- Publication type
- Journal article
- Source
- Psychosomatics, Vol. 46, no. 1 (Feb 2005), pp. 7-10
- Publication year
- 2005
- FOR Code(s)
- 1103 Clinical Sciences
- Keyword(s)
- Distress syndrome; Healthcare personnel; Human experiment; Pain measurement; Patient attitude; Personality inventory; Psychological aspect; Psychometrics; Quality of life; Regression analysis; Sick role; Sickness impact profile; Terminal care; Terminal illness; Volition; Wellbeing
- Publisher
- American Psychiatric Publishing
- 0033-3182
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2005 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine.
- Peer reviewed


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- 50% Cotton/50% Polyester
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- Imported
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Special event items are produced by manufacturers only after the outcome of a game or event. These are advanced sale items and will ship immediately after they are received in our warehouse.
Manufacturer direct items are shipped directly from the manufacturer. These items are not available for international or expedited shipping.
Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.


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The Proxy Edge: Exercising Your Shareholder Rights
Corporate governance has been a hot button issue since the collapse of Adelphia, Enron, Worldcom and others. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is keeping the heat on public companies by requiring broader and deeper disclosure on how corporations are actually governed—most of which can be found in the proxy. If you wanted to find a company that was "ideally" governed in line with shareholders' interests, it would be the proxy statement that you would turn to for most of the information.
Unfortunately, many individual investors don't know what to do with the proxy statement—they don't know how to vote on certain issues, or feel that their votes do not count for much. Many shareholders simply toss their proxies in a file or, worse, the trash. But with it, they are throwing away their votes—and their shareholder right to keep management's interest in line with their own.
As a portfolio manager for a mutual fund, I read proxy statements carefully during my initial company analysis and on a regular basis once a position is taken. And, needless to say, I always want my votes counted. Although proxies are written by attorneys and can make for some dry reading, they are generally arranged in sections that lead to organized analysis. Here are some tips on getting the most out of a proxy, sequentially organized according to a typical proxy's format.
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The SEC requires that shareholders receive a proxy statement prior to any shareholder meeting. The statements must disclose all important facts about issues on which shareholders are asked to vote, including the election of directors and the approval of other corporate action, or even solicitations by other shareholders. The information contained in these statements must be filed with the SEC before any shareholder votes are solicited.
That's why the proxy statement will start with information on when and where the annual meeting is to be held. It will also provide a detailed outline, in the form of a Q&A, of the proposals that are to be voted on. If you can get to the annual meeting—go! Even if you're not a shareholder and are checking the company out, most firms will allow you to attend their annual meeting, although you won't be able to vote unless you're a shareholder. You'll meet management, hear about the firm's prospects and get to ask questions. It's the one time of year when you'll have management's undivided attention, so take advantage of it. You'll probably meet like-minded investors whom you may wish to exchange information or stay in contact with. Berkshire Hathaway's meeting draws thousands of intelligent shareholders who look forward to their marathon Q&A with Warren Buffett.
Proposal One in most proxies is the election of directors. Who you vote for is critical, since they are your representatives who oversee management, making sure outside shareholders are treated fairly. Here's how to proceed with this section.
First, read the backgrounds of each nominee. Are they insiders affiliated with management or outsiders with no ties (business or otherwise) to management? Ideally, you want the majority of directors to be outsiders representing your interests, not management's. Be aware that someone who appears to be an outsider may actually be an insider even though they aren't part of management. For example, a relative of a key executive, a recently retired former employee or someone who provides services to the firm like accounting, legal or consulting. Such relationships are riddled with conflicts of interest.
Next, see what committees the various nominees sit on. There should be no insiders sitting on the audit, compensation, governance or nominating committees. Vote against any that do—you don't want insiders determining policies and procedures or making key decisions in any of these areas. This should be left to objective outside directors.
Third, review the Security Ownership table showing how many shares the insiders own, both individually and as a group. The higher the better—as an investor, you want their money on the line along with your own. There's usually a footnote to the table showing how many of the shares shown are restricted stock or subject to options exercisable within 60 days. Subtract those shares from the amounts shown to provide a better idea of true share ownership. Often what appears to be a high degree of ownership is actually quite minimal.
- Finally, votes or board seats should be commensurate with share ownership. For example, on a seven-person board where the insiders hold two seats and have 28.6% of the votes (2 divided by 7), make sure those directors own at least 28.6% of shares. If not, withhold your vote from as many insiders as appropriate. I once withheld votes from most of the nominees who were all insiders but owned no shares; all my votes were cast for the largest inside owner nominees. In a firm where the insiders own few or no shares, there should be only one insider on the board, typically the president or chief executive officer.
The external auditors play an important role in today's financial scene. More than one firm has been sunk by "accounting irregularities," which sometimes mask outright fraud.
For most public companies, I generally like to see a "Big 4" accounting firm—Deloitte & Touche, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young—or a strong regional firm doing the audit. They tend to have higher-quality people and a better knowledge of accounting systems and regulatory issues.
Many audit clients have switched in recent years from Big 4 firms to regional firms for cost and other considerations. This is acceptable as long as there are no accounting controversies triggering the change. Any time a firm changes auditors, the reason behind it is required to be disclosed in an 8-K filing.
Firms are now required to separately list fees paid for audit, tax and consulting services for the last two years. Beware of companies that pay more for consulting services than audit services. Major consulting assignments should not be handled by the audit firm or any other outside firm with financial responsibilities, to avoid potential conflicts of interest.
This section of the proxy will contain a Compensation Committee Report. Read this section and try to understand the committee's compensation philosophy and how executives are actually rewarded.
Compensation is usually some combination of cash (salary/bonus) and equity (options and/or restricted stock). Together they are intended to attract, motivate and reward executives who are expected to manage for short- and long-term success.
From a shareholder's standpoint, salaries should be reasonable and commensurate with others holding similar positions in the same or a comparable industry. The best way to get information to compare executive compensation is to check out other proxies on SEC's EDGAR Web site (www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml) for this data.
Bonus programs should be disclosed in writing and be tied to a company's performance, ideally its return on assets or capital rather than its return on equity. [Return on assets is calculated by taking net income and dividing it by total assets; return on capital takes net income and divides it by the sum of shareholder's equity plus net debt (total debt less cash and cash equivalents). The return on equity calculation takes net income and divides it by shareholder's equity. In these calculations, you should use averages (average total assets, average shareholder's equity and average net debt) to eliminate distortions occurring when a company issues equity or debt during the year—using beginning shareholder's equity or capital doesn't address this.] Return on equity can be easily manipulated upward by adding financial leverage, which may not be in the company's long-term interest. Likewise, tying a bonus to earnings or cash flow growth encourages executives to ignore the assets and capital necessary to generate them. A company may add product lines or distribution channels or accept new customers that increase earnings and cash flow but the capital requirements may be so high the return on capital actually declines!
A bonus tied to share price appreciation may also lead to unintended results. I know of several companies that bought back large amounts of stock using borrowed money in an attempt to keep the share price high. Their balance sheets became leveraged and liquidity became an issue, causing the share price to ultimately decline. Beware of "show up" bonuses where the bonus is "determined at the discretion of the board of directors." These lucky executives need only "show up" to earn their bonus!
Finally, make sure the combined cash compensation matches the company's financial performance. If executive compensation marches continually upward while results go sideways or down, something is definitely wrong. One of the most effective programs I've ever seen requires executives to earn high returns on capital and beat the returns on capital of the peer companies—by doing so, they can earn substantial compensation!
Most companies now have some type of option or restricted stock plan to reward long-term performance. Like Warren Buffett, I prefer that there be no options/restricted stock incentives but instead cash incentives where executives can do very well if performance is extraordinary. However, if a firm has an options/restricted stock program, it should contain the following elements:
Stock options/restricted stock should be issued in modest quantities with minimal "overhang." Overhang is the sum of options and restricted stock awarded or to be awarded, divided by the number of shares outstanding. There is no precise rule-of-thumb for determining an optimal level of overhang, but generally the higher the number, the greater the risk;
A company should treat option exercise as a compensation expense;
The strike price should be at or above stock's price at time of grant;
The vesting period should be at least three years, ideally five years;
The option exercise should be "funded" with shares repurchased on the open market;
- Options should never be re-priced to a lower exercise price if the shares decline.
This section is normally buried toward the back of the proxy—for good reason. It highlights transactions and relationships that, while not illegal, should be examined carefully for unethical behavior. If there are too many of these transactions, it can indicate the firm is being run as a personal piggy bank for management.
The most common examples include:
The company occupies a building leased from management or an affiliate.
The company engages in business with another firm owned or controlled by management.
The company buys real estate or business from management or affiliate.
- The company makes loans to management on generous terms (i.e., interest free).
Shareholders are sometimes asked in the proxy to approve various anti-takeover measures that primarily serve to entrench management. Generally, I vote against these. The most common include:
Poison pills (shareholder rights plans): This takeover defense is normally triggered when an outsider purchases a certain percentage of shares. Once activated, the plan gives all other shareholders the right to acquire additional shares at a set price, thereby diluting the interests of the outsider and making a takeover more difficult.
Staggered board structure: This defense involves dividing directors into separate classes that have overlapping terms. For example, one-third of the board would have its term expiring in 2010, one-third expiring in 2011 and one-third expiring in 2012. This staggering will usually delay outsiders seeking to quickly gain voting control of the board.
Non-cumulative voting: Cumulative voting has been present in corporate voting for centuries. It allows investors to accumulate and cast all their votes for one or two directors, as opposed to spreading the votes across all directors. For example, suppose you owned 1,000 shares of IBM and there are three nominees running for three board seats. You would thus have 3,000 votes to cast (3 × 1,000). Under cumulative voting, you could cast all 3,000 for one director. Under non-cumulative voting, the most votes you could cast for a single director would be 1,000. Cumulative voting thus increases the chance that minority investors can impact the election results by targeting all votes to one or two directors.
- Re-incorporation strategies: A company will sometimes ask for shareholder approval to re-incorporate in another state or offshore location to take advantage of management-friendly courts, strong anti-takeover statutes and other shareholder restrictions. If approved, governance documents may be rewritten to favor management at the expense of shareholders with important changes buried in thick legal documents.
Don't throw those proxies in the circular file!
Remember, you as a shareholder own the company and management works for you.
Exercise your rights carefully—and do not vote for any director or proposal that would limit those rights. If you don't understand a proposal, don't vote for it.
And make sure you DO vote for those that align management's interests with your interests—you'll never be sorry.


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Boy, this breast feeding business is hard work!
Baby girl is just one week old. I have an LC appointment later in week but need answers, advice and help now.
Last night baby was on boob for 5 hours (5pm to 10pm) almost non stop. I am sure that half the time she wasn't even eating, but every time she fell off she wanted back on within minutes. Is this cluster feeding? Is it normal? Does it go away? After we got her down for one hour sleep she woke ever hour and fed for another 30 minutes or so each time.
Also, left breast got engorged and painful and she refused to take it (not that I would put it in her mouth right now anyway!) I have read losts of advice and am dealing well with curing engorgement and getting that boob back on track. Is it too early to start pumping at one week? I thought maybe I could pump the left breast if I just can't get her used to it, then feed on the right. Is that OK?
Also, if milk leaks under my breast is that because she is not latched on right? It's happened a couple of times. Is it OK for some milk to leak or is that bad latch?
And I don't always hear her gulping down. I see sucking and I feel her gums on my nipple most of the time. She is putting on weight so I am not really stressing that she's not getting enough, but I wonder if I could get her to eat fully for the 30 minutes instead of being asleep and "lazy eating" half the time, that she might not need the breast every hour.
So many questions and concerns.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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Diversity and cross-cultural issues in Sierra Leone
|Diversity and cross-cultural issues in [[{{#explode:Diversity and cross-cultural issues in Sierra Leone| |5}} {{#explode:Diversity and cross-cultural issues in Sierra Leone| |6}} {{#explode:Diversity and cross-cultural issues in Sierra Leone| |7}}]]
|In fulfilling the Peace Corps' mandate to share the face of America with their host countries, Peace Corps is making special efforts to see that all of America's richness is reflected in the Volunteer corps. More Americans of color are serving in today's Peace Corps than at any time in recent years. Differences in race, ethnic background, age, religion, and sexual orientation are expected and welcomed among our Volunteers. Part of the Peace Corps' mission is to help dispel any notion that Americans are all of one origin or race and to establish that each of us is as thoroughly American as the other despite our many differences.
|See also:
In fulfilling its mandate to share the face of America with host countries, the Peace Corps is making special efforts to see that all of America's richness is reflected in the Volunteer corps. More Americans of color are serving in today's Peace Corps than at any time in recent years. Differences in race, ethnic background, age, religion, and sexual orientation are expected and welcomed among our Volunteers. Part of the Peace Corps' mission is to help dispel any notion that Americans are all of one origin or race and to establish that each of us is as thoroughly American as the other despite our many differences.
Our diversity helps us accomplish that goal. In other ways, however, it poses challenges. In Sierra Leone, as in other Peace Corps host countries, Volunteers' behavior, lifestyle, background, and beliefs are judged in a cultural context very different from their own. Certain personal perspectives or characteristics commonly accepted in the United States may be quite uncommon, unacceptable, or even repressed in Sierra Leone.
Outside of Sierra Leone's capital, residents of rural communities have had relatively little direct exposure to other cultures, races, religions, and lifestyles. What people view as typical American behavior or norms may be a misconception, such as the belief that all Americans are rich and have blond hair and blue eyes. The people of Sierra Leone are justly known for their generous hospitality to foreigners; however, members of the community in which you will live may display a range of reactions to cultural differences that you present.
To ease the transition and adapt to life in Sierra Leone, you may need to make some temporary, yet fundamental compromises in how you present yourself as an American and as an individual. For example, female trainees and Volunteers may not be able to exercise the independence available to them in the United States; political discussions need to be handled with great care; and some of your personal beliefs may best remain undisclosed. You will need to develop techniques and personal strategies for coping with these and other limitations. The Peace Corps staff will lead diversity and sensitivity discussions during pre-service training and will be on call to provide support, but the challenge ultimately will be your own.
- 1 Overview of Diversity in Sierra Leone
- 2 What Might a Volunteer Face?
Overview of Diversity in Sierra Leone
The Peace Corps staff in Sierra Leone recognizes the adjustment issues that come with diversity and will endeavor to provide support and guidance. During pre-service training, several sessions will be held to discuss diversity and coping mechanisms. We look forward to having male and female Volunteers from a variety of races, ethnic groups, ages, religions, and sexual orientations, and hope you will become part of a diverse group of Americans who take pride in supporting one another and demonstrating the richness of American culture.
What Might a Volunteer Face?
Possible Issues for Female Volunteers
Female Volunteers who are single are often considered an oddity because most women, particularly in rural areas, are married, some with children, by the time they are in their 20s. Single women may also face what in the United States would
be considered inappropriate advances from male colleagues, supervisors, and acquaintances. Gender roles have changed drastically over the years in the United States; it can be a challenge to adapt to a culture with more traditional roles and to know how to effectively set boundaries. Unwanted attention, and even harassment, can be one of the greatest frustrations as a female PCV.
Above and beyond traditional gender roles and possible harassment, is the possibility of sexual violence. Sexual violence against women is a reality in Sierra Leone. Rape was used as a weapon of war and the government has launched campaigns to address this problem with the hope of reducing its occurrence. Domestic violence is also a possibility in this post-conflict country. According to police, most acts of sexual violence occur between people who know each other. Female Volunteers must exercise caution with their consumption of alcohol and going out in the evening unaccompanied. Volunteers will learn what is and is not acceptable in the Sierra Leonean culture, such as when it is and is not advisable to invite men into their homes. Often, Volunteers must take an even more conservative approach than their Sierra Leonean friends and colleagues.
Strategies to deal with these issues are discussed in training, and the Peace Corps staff can offer help in resolving any problems.
Volunteers should report any concerns or incidents to the Peace Corps medical officer (PCMO) or country director (CD) immediately.
Possible Issues for Volunteers of Color
Volunteers who belong to minority ethnic groups will generally not experience overt biases. However, Sierra Leoneans may make some stereotypic assumptions based on someone's background. For example, many Asian-American Volunteers are considered experts in Chinese or kung fu and African- American Volunteers may be mistaken for a Liberian or Sierra Leonean.
Possible Issues for Volunteers of Varying Ages
In Sierra Leonean culture, people respect age as bringing wisdom and experience. Volunteers in their 20s sometimes find they have to make an extra effort to be accepted as professional colleagues. Older Volunteers, in contrast, are automatically accorded respect. In turn, older Volunteers might find that almost too much is expected of them because of their age; or conversely, older Volunteers who are accustomed to living independent lives may at first feel frustrated by the fact that younger Sierra Leoneans want to do things for them.
Possible Issues for Gay, Lesbian, or Bisexual Volunteers
Most cultures in Sierra Leone consider homosexuality taboo. Homosexuality certainly exists in Sierra Leone, but there is no open homosexual community.
Volunteers who are lesbian, along with female Volunteers who are heterosexual, will have to deal with constant questions about boyfriends, marriage, and sex. Some female Volunteers wear an "engagement ring" to avoid unwanted attention. While this practice might be helpful, it might also create complications.
Volunteers may not be able to freely discuss their sexual orientation with new friends and family; this can obviously be very difficult. Peace Corps staff is aware of this challenge and will offer support as you navigate through your new culture.
Possible Issues for Volunteers With Disabilities
As part of the medical clearance process, the Peace Corps Office of Medical Services determined you were physically and emotionally capable, with or without reasonable accommodations, to perform a full tour of Volunteer service in Sierra Leone without unreasonable risk of harm to yourself or interruption of service. The Peace Corps/Sierra Leone staff will work with disabled Volunteers to make reasonable accommodations for them in training, housing, jobsites, or other areas to enable them to serve safely and effectively.
As a result of the protracted war, there are many amputees in Sierra Leone. Some support themselves by begging, so a Volunteer with disabilities may receive offers of assistance or notice stereotypes based on common interactions Sierra Leoneans have with amputees.
Possible Issues for Married Volunteers
While serving as a married couple offers unique challenges and rewards, there are none specific to service in Sierra Leone. In general, more traditional gender roles exist. So, a married couple with a husband who helps cook or clean might draw teasing or even unwanted comments. Generally couples will be regularly asked why they do not yet have children and when will they start a family.


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A New Closer?
Don't get too excited Phillies fans; although Ryan Madson did close out the 6-5 win over the Nationals last night, it remains to be seen whether this is a permanent move or not. The unexpected, season-long decline of Brad Lidge has forced manager Charlie Manuel to sit him down. Is Lidge out for the season? Unlikely. Manuel is famous for his loyalty and will not give up on Lidge unless he has no other choice. But with 10 blown saves, the worst closer in baseball may be teetering on the brink of losing his job for the rest of 2009.
What is more likely to happen is Madson or Brett Myers will close when the game is close and Lidge will be given a few more shots if there is a 3-run lead to play with. But in a close game last night, it was a no-brainer to bring in Madson. He has pitched well lately and saved Lidge from sure disaster the night before, escaping a 1-out bases loaded situation in the 9th. Last night, Madson saved the game giving up one hit and striking out one batter.
Cliff Lee got the win, although for the 3rd start in a row, he did not look too solid. Lee gave up 10 hits and 4 earned runs over 7 innings, although he did not issue any walks. Still, Lee kept the Phillies in the game and allowed the offense to battle for him.
For the second night in a row and 10th time this year, the Phillies hit back-to-back home runs. This time it was Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz doing the honors in the 8th inning to solidify a lead for the Phils. Four players had at least 2 hits in the game, including Werth, Feliz, Shane Victorino and Raul Ibanez. Even Lee helped out with the bat getting his 7th hit as a Phillie and his first career RBI. That RBI may have been the difference maker in the game.
The Phillies will try to sweep the Nationals tonight at 7:05pm. Joe Blanton will face former Met, Livan Hernandez. Best of luck to them!
Photos by Jenn
*Read more about the Phillies at my other home page, Phightin' Phils Phorum in the My Team Rivals network*
6 Comments
The season that Lidge is having was totally unexpected! I hope he can right himself before the playoffs!
Maybe y'all could pull a Brett Favre move and go after Jeff Reardon or Dennis Eckersley or Lee Smith. They may be old but I bet they could get the job done still. I'm not too sold on Madson and/or Myers myself… but I'm secretly hoping they pull a Mets' choke move these last few weeks so the playoff road is a bit easier for STL😉
Brad Lidge falling apart is so….weird. I hope he can get it together soon. He was a thorn in our backsides last season, and now he's doing it to his own team. Congrats to Lee!
Now would not be the time for your team to slowly deconstruct. I dunno, the Phillies this week have looked odd in terms of pitching all around, and if you guys hope to get somewhere in the playoffs, I would say pitching needs a check. ESPECIALLY with those pesky cardinals who get better every week.
The Phillies won't have to worry. I really think Charlie will figure out how to best use the arms when he needs them. The ol fella is pretty baseball smart.
Too bad about Lidge. He was really good. Good luck to your Phillies.


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well marbury is doubtful for tonight so maybe francis crawford rose frye curry
This is the Official Game Thread. All game notes,predictions,in-game observations etc. belong in this thread. All game threads are created by Peach_NYK_21, and Brian_Coleman_21
8:30 PM, Monday, February 27th, 2006AT&T CENTER, SAN ANTONIO, TX
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well marbury is doubtful for tonight so maybe francis crawford rose frye curry
This is pittiful D..... Spurs are shooting 70% fg after 3 quarters and up by 27 so far with 4 mins left in the 3rd.
Oh stevie franchise has 8 points and 0 assists so far.
refs took this game..it was a close game till they called that pitifull call on Q, also that non call on that incident wit malik and duncan
Your kidding right.... Spurs are up by 30 and knicks gave up a 36 and 40 point quarters.
LOL Datruth, are you joking? The Knicks were in this until the refs took it away? Funny! The Knicks were never in this, even when the game was semi-close. That shows how desperate we are... Knick fans are calling a 7 point game on the road, a close one! LOL WoW!!!!
We were never in this because we never played defense. One block the entire game and the Spurs played their bottom 5 the entire 4th quarter. Stephon still looks hurt, Francis is just confused and so with no PG to lead us, we are that much worse.
I will praise the efforts of David Lee, Q, and Frye again... they make mistakes but they make them while leaving everything on the court. I am so sick of seeing guys refuse to play D and walk toward a loose ball. Put 5 guys on the court that want to play. Q, Frye, Lee, Malik and Jalen. I do not care that none of those guys is a true PG, none are a true Center... all I care about now is that those five will go out there and do everything they can to win and will leave it all on the court. At least we can lose with some dignity and respect then.
7 point lead is a close game,thats only 3 possessions..it was a 7 point lead when they call that foul on Q and then he gets a technical...Q was playing a good game..when the refs make so much bad calls against u,u really dont have a chance to win because it feels everybody is against u,especially the knicksOriginally Posted by taylorjohna
WOW. I am as big a NY Knick fan as there is out there. I have been a Knick fan for the last thirty-something years and yet it does not make me watch a game with blinders on. That game was not decided by poor officiating (that is not to say that there were not bad calls, there are bad calls in every game, it is part of the game). That game was decided by a lack of defense, a lack of intensity and a lack of confidence. To say the refs blew that game is just looking with your heart and I can appreciate that but it is simply not the case here.
I agree with Taylor Johna on this one. Tony Parker had as many assists in the game as the whole Knicks team. And here is a quote from Larry B after they cut the lead to only 7.
"Once we cut the lead to seven, it's like I never saw a pass after that," Brown said. "We have a lot of young guys who maybe don't fully understand the importance of the little things."
The refs didnt loose this game the Knicks did with poor defense and no passing. And if you dont think there D is bad....just remember how we gave up 46 points to Gilbert Arenes in 3 quarters and 71 points at the half to the Wizards.
I like to read other fans opinions of our games and I can honestly say I feel for you.
Here is my take... you have one of the top two coaches in the league in Larry Brown, you are fortunate. But even the best coach is useless unless the players listen and respond. When the Knick players start listening to Larry and adopt his brand of basketball, you will see different results. The Knicks have a lot of talent, it just needs to be molded into a cohesive TEAM.
The Spurs players do listen to coach Pop, play unselfishly, always looking fr the open man, and Tim Duncan even gets an earful when he screws up. The results speak for themselves.
Best of luck.
That is a bunch of BS. First of all, we do not have a Tim Duncan caliber player. Secondly, though LB is a good coach it is his responsibility to play with what he has and to make the team perform up to their ability. This is not about listening... if you do not have the tools (defense, a real center, a true shooter) then you can yack all day but it is not going to stop the other team or put the biscuit in the basket. You have some valid points but it is the application of them where you are wrong. We do not have those kind of players and you do not suddenly learn defense or to rebound. The players buying into the coach is surely a part of it all but that will solve nothing by itself.
And some of your points are valid too. True, you need a solid core of players, but if what you have (Marbury and Francis are quality players) adapts Brown-ball and defense, you will see RESULTS - more wins, not a title overnight.
Detroit and San Antonio are very solid defensive teams, one of them coached by this Larry Brown character. Not a coincidence.
Like I said, I do believe that Larry Brown is a great coach but I also believe that there are very few coaches that are "one size fits all." There are not a lot of coaches that can take anything you give them and get the most out of it. The bottom line is that right now LB has no clue as to how to bring his players together and to get the most out of them. Now, there are tons of mitigating factors (new players, salary cap, still a new coach, the NY media and expectations) but in the end, you have to play the cards that you are dealt... right now it just does not seem to me that LB is playing with the cards he has been dealt. The complaining... it is ironic that Marbury takes the wrap for saying something in the media because right now LB stirs up more problems in the media than all of the players combined.
Larry needs to show us something... anything... bench the stars and play anyone that is willing to D-up, I dunno but he has to do something.


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The Democrats are liars and that is the bottom line. The Republicans are not much better, but when taken as a group, the Dems take the lying cake. The Democrats have been attempting to lay the entire blame for the War in Iraq at President Bush's feet, especially with the November election fast approaching. Now that the Democratic Primary is finally over, I wanted to do a story that looks back at the Dems position concerning Iraq in the past, compared with their statements today. A single story, however that is not possible. In order to cover all of the lies of some of the major Democrats concerning Iraq, it will take a whole series of posts. I begin with Senator John Kerry, a man that makes a root canal look like a good time as opposed to listening to him speak. On November 9, 1997, John Kerry made a speech from the floor of the Senate. I his speech Kerry said; "In my judgment, the Security Council should authorize a strong U.N. military response that will materially damage, if not totally destroy, as much as possible of the suspected infrastructure for developing and manufacturing weapons of mass destruction, as well as key military command and control nodes. Saddam Hussein should pay a grave price, in a currency that he understands and values, for his unacceptable behavior." I freely admit that my math is not the best, but isn't 1997 a full three years BEFORE Bush was President. Wasn't Bill "Slick Willy" Clinton the President? Who was Senator Kerry trying to convince? Kerry was pretty firm in that speech and left little room for doubt in the action that he was seeking concerning Iraq. Kerry went on in that same 1997 speech to say; "This should not be a strike consisting only of a handful of cruise missiles hitting isolated targets primarily of presumed symbolic value. But how long this military action might continue and how it may escalate should Saddam remain intransigent and how extensive would be its reach are for the Security Council and our allies to know and for Saddam Hussein ultimately to find out". Is that the same John Kerry who has so vehemently blamed Bush and the Republicans entirely for Iraq? To cover their collective asses, the Democrats cry that they were mislead by Bush about Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction capability. Kerry's above 1997 speech proves that to be false and there is much, much more. How did I get from an idea for one story to a whole series on this subject? The Internet of course. While researching one thing sometimes you learn a whole lot more than you expected. Americans should and can know the truth. It's only a Google away.
From My Grandfathers America.


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Carlos Rogers: 'This is a different team from what I'm used to'
Here's Niners cornerback Carlos Rogers, who says, among other things, that his new team has a distinctly un-Redskins vibe, right down to the head coach hanging with the players on the victory flight home:…
Jim Harbaugh – He stayed the course
Scott Skinner Bio
Eagles' reporter to bike from Philly to S.F.?
Flying high now
"It was, we just need to play a little bit better," Harbaugh said. "We just need t… …
Signature moment for Alex Smith
49ers helped out by Eagles (Ronnie Brown video)
49ers-Eagles – A look at a nearly perfect third quarter
49ers kept faith in game plan in Philly
The coaching staff refused to ditch its game plan. Instead, the team made a few minor adjustments… …
Big games for 49ers' runners no coincidence
It wasn't by design, but it couldn't have worked much better.
Hobbled by an ankle injury, running back Frank Gore didn't start the 49ers' 24-23 win over the Eagles on Sunday. In fact, he had only seven carries in the first three quarte… …
49ers game review
MWho didn't see that coming? The 49ers' 442 total yards nearly doubled their previous best (226, the previous Sunday) and they ripped off 21 second-half points after managing 16 in their previous seven quarters. QB Alex Smith was … …
49ers' offensive line has another chance to shine
On the heels of a wretched performance in a preseason loss to the Texans, left tackle Joe Staley said he was "disgusted" by the play of the 49ers' offensive line.
Adam Snyder? The usually media-friendly lineman declined to speak with r… …
RB Hunter, RG Snyder to start vs. Philadelphia
In addition, Adam Snyder will in place of Chilo Rachal at right guard after taking over for Rachal in the second half of last week's 13-8 win against the Bengals.…
Kevin Lynch Bio
The iS List / Ready for some fashioooooon?
The National Football League hopes to score some points with female fans with a series of new, more fashionable fan gear and a new ad campaign featuring wives and daughters of team execs and coaches reveling in their rivalries. In one, Sarah Harbaugh (on the left, married to San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh) is seen alongside her sister-in-law, Ingrid Harbaugh (married to Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, brother of Jim).
With these rings, you declare your eternal love – for your team. The stainless steel band features the team name, the crystal bands feature the colors. Add a matching manicure and you're fit to dazzle. $99, nflshop.com.
Can you hear us now? These iHip mini earbuds are as adorable as M&Ms, but much longer lasting. $9.99, ihipus.com.
The San Francisco 49ers Devotee Boot from Cuce Shoes, $145, are made with faux fur and faux suede exterior.
Oakland Raiders Enthusiast neoprene rain boots, also from Cuce Shoes, $95, will keep your feet dry – if not your eyes – no matter the game's outcome.…
KNBR conversation with 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers
The following is an edited excerpt from an interview with 49ers cornerback Carlos Rogers by Tom Tolbert and Ralph Barbieri on KNBR. Last Sunday, Rogers had a key fourth-quarter interception in the 49ers' victory over the Bengals.
Q: I don't know that it necessarily pertains to your interception last Sunday, but what's it like when the quarterback doesn't see you and just throws the ball right at you?
A: It pertained to me that time, because actually I was looking for that route the whole game. I got that route throughout practice, I intercepted the ball a couple times, and throughout the game they were doing little quick ins and 5-yard outs, so as a nickel, you have to defend both ways. That particular time, he ran a 10-yard out, and I said if I get this route I'm gonna run in and undercut the route. By the time I did, I turned around and the ball was there.…
Herrera mayoral drive gets aid from 49ers' 'Drive'
"The Drive," Poli… …
Strong leg, stronger character
Two days before his 207th and last game with the Eagles, a 21-16 wild-card loss to the Packers in Ja… …
Typically error-prone 49ers lead NFL in key category
There are various reasons, which include the defense (No. 7 in the NFL), the special teams (Andy Lee, David Akers, Ted Ginn) and the schedule (Seahawks, Bengals).…


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Our Asheville NC Inn's Top 5 Ways to Beat the Summer Heat!
Asheville NC has been in a heat wave this last week, like so much of the rest of the country. Historically, we rarely get above 90° but records have been broken several times as we hit the upper 90s. Luckily it still has cooled off every night into the 60s. Normally our Asheville NC inn […]
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By Tony Parra: PNT Staff Writer
A Portales man saved his wife from a fire which destroyed the interior of their house in the early morning hours Tuesday.
Bill Machen, 62, and Faye Machen, 58, of Portales, escaped the fire which destroyed the interior of their house at 317 E. Kaywood.
According to Portales Fire Department Battalion Chief Darwin Chenault, a smoke alarm alerted the couple to the fire. Chenault said one person was sleeping in the bedroom and the other was sleeping in the living room.
Firefighters received the call at 4:02 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 4:06 a.m., according to the incident report. Heavy smoke was coming from the rear of the house and from the front door. There were heavy flames coming from the windows, according to the report.
Chenault credited the husband with saving the wife's life.
"He put her in her wheel chair and they escaped the fire," Chenault said. "I feel without a smoke alarm they could have suffered injuries or death. The smoke alarm made a big difference."
Terisa Mays, daughter of the Machens, said her mother can't walk. Mays said she received a call from her father at 4 a.m.
"Dad called from inside the house and said it was on fire," Mays said. "I freaked out. I called 911 and got in my car and got over there."
Mays said the Machens did not sustain major injuries but said they are exhausted from the fire. However, Mays said the fire killed three Chihuahua dogs.
She said her parents will be staying with her.
"I'm thankful for the smoke alarm," Mays said. "I don't know if they would have gotten out alive if it wasn't for the smoke alarm."
According to Mays, it was the first house built in Portales through Habitat for Humanity.
Chenault said because the house was well-built, with sheet rock and insulation, the house remains standing. However, the fire damaged the living room and kitchen area and destroyed household items, such as couches, chairs and a radio.
A cause has not been determined and Chenault said he will continue to work on an investigation report.


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Pittsburgh Pirates (39-35) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (36-41)
A.J. Burnett (8-2, 3.24) vs. Kyle Kendrick (2-7, 5.75)
TIME: 1:05, Citizens Bank Park
Weather: upper 80's, mostly sunny
Media: Twitter and Facebook
In the final game of the four-game series with the Pirates, the Phillies look to win the series after winning two of the first three. Kyle Kendrick will take the mound for the Phillies and A.J. Burnett will start for the Pirates.
Kendrick is 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA against the Pirates in his career. He faced them twice earlier this year in releif appearances, and gave up one run over 1.1 innings.
Burnett faced the Phils and shut them down in the 2009 World Series, but overall, he has a 5-9 record against them to go along with a 5.13 ERA. The last time he faced the Phils was in June of 2010 and he gave up 6 runs over 3.1 innings before he was pulled–statistically one of his worst starts of the year.
Lineup: Rollins SS, Pierre LF, Victorino CF, Pence RF, Polanco 3B, Wigginton 1B, Fontenot 2B, Kratz C, Kendrick P
Your Gameday Beer – Coors Light
Tap the Rockies today on this very warm, slightly humid afternoon. I've grown to take Coors for what it is, the best of the Big 3. It's not going to wow you, but it will cool you off and sort of refresh you. On taste alone, St. Bernardus 12, it ain't. But if you're at CBP and in need a refresher, you could do worse, I think. It's Coors, and it won't kill you. Enjoy the game. -By Pat
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Was late getting to TV, but upon turning it on the very first pitch I saw was McGhee's three run shot than4 pitchs later Alvarez hit another. Game over. Going to cut grass and do something that counts. Unf—-g real.
i was out running some erands and forgot the phils were playing this afternoon. when i got into the house i'm like oh cool the phils are on! i turned the TV on and saw the end of the first. KK gave up FIVE count FIVE runs in the top of the inning. i turned the TV off! he sucks! he makes adam eaton look good on his worst day! i wish they could trade him and someone else for a good bullpen are! GO AWAY KYLE, WE'RE SICK OF YOUR ACT! i have other thing to do taday, watching KK pitch is not one of them.
Seriously, Kyle. Seriously.
And they have NO choice but to leave KK out there! He could let up 35 runs, and because of their stupidity yesterday, they have to let him stay out there and eat it. Unimaginably poor management. They knew at approx.10:30 Friday night they'd have to play the doubleheader, and it's still affecting them the FOLLOWING Thursday.
They let Cloyd and Elarton pitch last weekend, I just don't get it, they knew. Word should have been sent to skip those starts and throw a bullpen instead. It's called PLANNING, it's what real management does. Now they option Savery, DFA Qualls – stick KK in an impossible situation, and make them all the sacrificial lambs, instead of the god awful front office and Charlie. Is it too much to ask management to – I don't know- manage the team?
Absolutely. It baffles me too.
No momentum. At. All.
Many claim that just like crying, there is no momentum in baseball. I'm not sure, but I'm certainly not convinced it exists.
One article: http://www.cbssports.com/columns/story/9673603
Another one: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119093290865641816.html?mod=todays_us_weekend_journal
Don't worry guys, the bullpen will save us.
Yay Kratz!
If we somehow win this game… WOW.
Disappointed that there is no news posted about the Qualls designation or bullpen changes. Like this blog, but had to go elsewhere for more info.
Just check the comments. They might not make posts about everything, but the commenters don't miss a god damn thing.
Oh my.. KK has 4 consecutive shutout innings :O
No matter the final result, you gotta give credit where credit is due, KK really settled down and saved their bacon today.
Make that 6 shutout innings. After giving up 5 in the 1st, a pretty good job by KK… now the offense needs to step it up…
Man, that first inning…at least Kyle went pretty deep into the game. But that first inning really hurt us.
Chase is pinch-hitting!
2-run game, 2 more innings to go… CMON PHILS!
Donald M
Ruben Minaya
The women and children tha jump up for pinch hitters.
I know that Donald and women and children should not GM on a level of a major league GM but thats his level.
This is what women and chidren and (Donny and Ruben want)
Beiber and Cindy Lauper
Hitting 4th for the blue claws
Can someone serious take over?
Dont give the fans what they want.
Field OJ at first Manson at second and Hitler at third.
But win a game.
vote for chooch
Thats really what matters and a fake sell out streak
Do I really have to see a team with Justin Beiber?
The GM likes Beiber.
He waits and pines for him.
Maybe one or 2 fans will understand how disgraceful this $176,000,000.00
payroll is???
But you wont you will jump around for Beiber
Springsteen is coming but hes 73 years old.
And your 10 games out now.
Update me on where Howard is hitting for the blue crabs.
I want to know.
Go ahead and take the Phillies off the grill …they're done. Finished. See ya next year!
The hell with Shane
Hunter has never been the hero
All you need to do buddy is just slap the ball into right field, thats it
is 10 games out enough?
a million?
No Donny and Charlie will hit rollins 1 Utley 3 and Howard 4 forever.
Im sorry Donny and Wheels and Charlie.
This is not working.
But Donny is Howard running the bases today?
I mean imagine hes running to first base.
If he can you may lose in round 1 and win 102 games.
A few obvious things: The BP still stinks, even without Qualls; Thome can't pinch hit; and AFW is still an insulting and idiotic nuisance.
I dont even know what in the hell he's talking about to be able to reply… its funny that when they win two in a row, he posts how they have a chance ..etc…. and then they lose two, and the nonsense returns
Wait, Thome launches a ball into the right field bleachers that ends up slightly foul, after ending a game with a walk off bomb last week, and now he "can't pinch hit?"
Try again.
A foul ball is just a strike, no matter how far it goes, and that "walk off bomb" was only the second or third hit he's gotten as a bench bat. His other nineteen or twenty pinch at bats have ended in outs, mostly strikeouts. Look up his stats; you're good at that. You'll find that Thome has never been a good pinch hitter. He needs regular at bats, which he's not going to get with the Phils.
Thome has 160 career PH ABs in 22 years. He's never been asked to do it on a regular basis. 160 sporadic AB is not enough of a sample size to determine that he cannot adapt to being a successful full-time PH.
Maybe he cant, and he'd probably be better used in the AL as a DH, but we don't have enough evidence to say that "he can't pinch hit."
Honestly, he comes off a bit like a crazy hobo in today's post.
They have a chane Donald
But for you wanting them all like Rollins.
Why don?
Why would any rational fan want Rollins?
Ruben Minaya, Don
People jumping around for Chase being back.
Donald for lack of me telling simple things to management I have to tell you.
Id like to win a game Don.
Id like to score a run in a game 5
You and Ruben want heros. I want wins.
Its different
Sometimes your ignorance is not bliss.
Its annoying.
win WS
lose WS
lose NLCS
lose NLDS
Not make playoffs
Honestly I yelled fire for 4 years in this theatre and this is what you want.
You want this team like Ruben
The crazy hobo hits at over 90%
Kind of sad with the $176,000,000.00 payroll
but its what you guys wanted
I can hope for you but its only hope
Back to fantasy island for Donny and PN carry on
Keep in mind there are two wild card slots this year. You are mocking Amaro like he has failed. The bottom line is 5 playoff appearances in a row. Thats a darn good track record and one that most teams would take in a heart beat.
Taking that a step further, if you compare teams' records in their last 5 postseason appearances, the Phillies have one of the best.
Let's be realistic. Five playoff appearances in row with a nucleus assembled by the much maligned Ed Wade. I don't think RAJ should get much credit for that.
The Phils have exactly ONE starter that was signed by Wade, unless you consider Kendrick to be anything more than a stopgap. No matter how good the "core" might have been, they would have gone nowhere without the guys added first by Gillick, then by Amaro.
What are you talking about?
Carlos Ruiz – 1998 undrafted FA signed under Wade
Chase Utley – 2000 drafted under Wade
Ryan Howard – 2001 drafted under Wade
Cole Hamels – 2002 drafted under Wade
Shane Victorino – Rule 5 selection under Wade
How many division titles would the team have won without those five players?
By starter, I meant starting pitcher. Sure, the core has done their job, but I still say that the Phils wouldn't have run off five straight without the additions made by Gillick and Amaro. In fact, they probably wouldn't even have reached the playoffs in 2008 without Lidge, Werth, Eyre, and yes, even Moyer, all of whom were added after Wade was gone. They definitely wouldn't have made it in 2009 without the signings (by Amaro) of Cliff Lee and Pedro Martinez.
I turned off the tv for the first time in years on the Phils. Some posts say KK settled down, but after that retina scarring first inning I had had enough. Have we been in the Twilight Zone the last two games? This season? Is the front office and Ruben comatose? C'mon Phils. Get fired up!
Amaro responding to why he didn't bring up Cloyd:
• Asked why the Phils decided to have a bullpen game Wednesday instead of using one of their Triple-A starters like Tyler Cloyd, who is 7-1 with a 2.17 ERA and made the International League All-Star team, Amaro said, "We felt like the option that we had with starting [Raul] Valdes was the best option we had."
Explains a lot. Boneheads.
Ken, he hasn't failed, but some decisions have cost us in a tight division. I'd like to make it six playoff appearances in a row. : )
I see an effort in the last 2 games – no wins of course but the team did not abandon effort. Yesterday Rollins was stranded on third to end the game. The game before, 2 runs in the 6th, 3 in the 7th before Qualls (go with peace my brother..) barfed.
At least the games can be interesting now, I hope!
brooks, it seems that you are confusing performance with effort. i.e. that if they are not succesful in mounting a rally, or at least a threat, they must be "abandoning effort". Is that really what you mean?
To the above… Wade setup this core …. Gillick brought in the support pieces that worked (including Lidge!) … Amaro brought in Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, …. to think you make the same runs without that pitching staff is selling Amaro (and those pitchers) short.
Amaro needs to win a title, but to pretend he hasn't had major impacts on the streak of NL East titles continuing is a little ridiculous
…. insert comments about Ruben Minaya, and The Big Contract ____here_____.


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The Greenwood County Sheriff says six people are dead, two of whom are children, after an apparent domestic situation.
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text: My son is a month old today. He was born a month early due to complications via c-sections. He spent 17 days in the nicu and was bottle feed during that time. He has been home for almost 2 weeks and has yet to start breastfeeding. He is a small baby born at only 3.6 pounds. He is now 5.4 pounds and gaining quickly. The problem we have is what I can see is that he slips-off the nipple. He opens wide, latches on good but after two or three suckles he lets go or slips off. I've breastfeed three other kids so I feel I know what a good latch feels like. I don't know if he is just not strong enough to stay latched on or he is simply rejecting my breast. I'm worried this will never fix it's self and that I'm doomed to breast pump and bottle feed.