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November 04, 2006
Thinking of Going Green on Tuesday? Think Again
I agree with much of the platform of the Illinois Green Party, and as a fellow environmentalist, I'm sure you do too. I also believe that our best hope for enacting these policies and programs is to vote for Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday.
As environmentalists, we have to ask ourselves, who would we rather have leading our state, as we face continuing assaults on our environmental laws in Washington, and as we face major decisions of our own about energy policy, clean air, clean water, and natural areas protection?
Rod Blagojevich is the first Illinois Governor ever to stand up to the owners of Illinois' coal plants, some of the heaviest hitters in Illinois politics, and force them to clean up their act. Cleaning up old, dirty coal plants has been at the top of the agenda for the Illinois environmental community for decades, but Blagojevich was the first Governor to act on these concerns. On November 2nd, the Illinois Pollution Control Board approved his proposal to cut 90% of coal plant mercury by 2009 – much deeper and faster cuts than proposed by President Bush. Blagojevich stood up to another powerful lobby, hospital owners, and ordered them to shut down the 11 hospital waste incinerators in the state spewing dioxin, mercury, and other toxins into our air. Eight of them are now closed, and the remaining three are expected to close soon.
Blagojevich is the first Illinois Governor to aggressively promote wind power. His energy plan calls for 10% of our electricity to come from wind by 2015. He has committed to powering the state's buildings in Springfield entirely by wind energy. His energy plan also includes $100 million to promote "cellulosic" ethanol development, and new programs to conserve energy.
Our rivers and streams are cleaner today than four years ago, thanks to Blagojevich's requirement that all new wastewater plants include phosphorus controls. Clean water advocates have sought action on nutrient pollution for many years from Illinois EPA, but Blagojevich was the first Governor to act on the clear evidence that nutrient overload is choking many of our state's waters. Blagojevich continues efforts to reform the Facility Planning Area process to protect high quality streams from poorly planned development. He is moving to address Illinois' longstanding lack of any program to regulate water withdrawals, to make sure we have enough clean water for drinking and for wildlife.
If it were not for Rod Blagojevich's vetoes of bills to let dirtbikes and four-wheelers into our state parks, they undoubtedly would be roaring through some of our parks today. When the Bush Administration proposed logging and selling off parts of our Shawnee National Forest, Blagojevich objected, and those threats never materialized. Blagojevich supported efforts to pass the Illinois Wetland Protection Act, and is committed to working to fill the wetland protection gap left by recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
Finally, Blagojevich is the first Illinois Governor, and first Midwest Governor, to commit to serious action to confront global warming. He has signed a binding commitment to reduce state government's emissions of greenhouse gases by 6% by 2010, and launched an effort to develop a greenhouse gas regulatory program for the state. The cap and trade program recently adopted by California is being studied closely as a possible model for Illinois.
To be sure, environmentalists have had their differences with the Blagojevich administration. We have opposed new pulverized coal plants that the administration has supported, and we will continue to do so. Blagojevich is not the first Illinois Governor to champion the Illinois coal industry, and he will not be the last. We are encouraged that the Governor's energy plan does not include any plans for further pulverized coal plants, but instead focuses coal development resources on promoting gasified coal plants, which are far cleaner than pulverized plants, and at least have the potential to capture their carbon emissions. The Green Party platform promotes the same policies.
There is no question that the state's budget problems have had an impact on the Illinois Department of Natural Resources ability to carry out its mission. It is important to note, however, that these problems began with significant losses during the Ryan administration due to early retirement, and while they did worsen during the beginning of the Blagojevich administration, they have also begun to improve, thanks to increasing appropriations and staffing levels in recent budgets. We are confident that this trend will continue, and that the IDNR will continue to build strength as the state's fiscal health improves.
Blagojevich is the only Illinois Governor ever endorsed by the Sierra Club. I certainly agree with the majority of the Green Party platform, but it is also clear that of the three candidates in this race, none has come close the record of environmental achievement of Governor Blagojevich.
Historically in Illinois, state government's goal in protecting the environment has too often been to do the minimum to comply with the law. While bureaucratic cultures do not change overnight, more and more Illinois is asking "What's the best we can do?" instead of "What's the least we can do?" This is the beginning of a remarkable change for Illinois, particularly set against the backdrop of what is happening to the environmental protection framework of our federal government.
As Illinois environmentalists, and as citizens of the planet, we need that trend to continue. We need to reward innovation and initiative when it comes to the major energy and environmental policy questions of our time. We cannot afford to revert to an era where we did the minimum Washington asked of us, especially now.
Rod Blagojevich's environmental accomplishments have earned him the support of this green voter. I urge you to consider the record, be proud of the fact that your state is becoming a national leader on the environment, and reward this initiative with your vote on Tuesday.
22 comments:
You're such a sellout Darin.
Those appointments to various taskforces by Blagojevich clouding your judgement a little Darin? Hey Jack, we understand that you have a political career to maintain!
Four reasons to vote for Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate:
1. Governor Blagojevich decimated the Department of Natural Resources and appointed political operatives to run this important state agency. Dedicated professionals have been driven out. Employee morale is at an all-time low. DNR desperately needs a director with natural resource expertise who will restore its integrity.
2. His environmental protection department has issued defective air permits for the construction of new coal-burning power plants in Illinois, which will dump millions of pounds of global warming and other contaminants into the air. The Governor wants to make coal king again.
3. The Governor's renewable energy plan calls for power companies to only voluntarily purchase green power like wind and solar. Other states require utilities to make binding commitments to purchase green power. We need a law, not promises that can be broken.
4. He is providing huge subsidies for corn-based ethanol plants, which will use large quantities of water, and cause odor and emission problems for their neighbors. We should be finding ways to make agriculture more sustainable, not turning food crops into fuel.
Stick with your grassroots, progressive heritage Sierra Club members and vote for the Green Party candidate who truly believes in a more sustainable future for our state.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 4, 2006
Dave Sacks, Office Manager
Whitney for Governor, 773-557-9411
Rich Whitney, the Green Party candidate for Illinois Governor, and Julie Samuels, the Green Party candidate for Lt. Governor, today responded to an open letter, written by Illinois Sierra Club Director Jack Darin, in which Darin praises and urges voters to support the same candidate that recently appointed Darin to serve on two taskforces, both designed to "assist in implementation" of that candidate's very own energy plan.
The Governor's office issued a press release on September 8, 2006, indicating that Darin had been appointed by the Governor for membership in the "Coal Gasification & Carbon Sequestration Working Group" and the "Clean Car and Energy Efficiency Working Group" along with representatives of organizations including the Office of Coal Development, ConocoPhillips, Eastman Chemical, Ford Motor Company, Z Frank Chevrolet, and various others.
The Illinois Environmental Council has given the Governor one B and three D's on it's Environmental Report Card, including F's in several subcategories. Despite his lavish praise in the letter, Darin acknowledges that "environmentalists have had their differences with the Blagojevich administration" but, nonetheless, goes on to tout the Governor's so-called "record of environmental achievement." The Sierra Club is an organizational member of the Illinois Environmental Council; however, regardless, according to Darin himself, "Blagojevich is the only Illinois Governor ever endorsed by the Sierra Club."
"This represent a terrible conflict of interest because, in a situation like this, you are beholden to promote the interests the of person who appoints you, rather than those of the organization for whom you are working," said Samuels, who also served as Vice President of the Illinois Environmental Council for two terms. "Why is Jack Darin supporting the status quo instead of Green Party candidates that would not hesitate to advance the agenda of the Sierra Club," asked Samuels.
"Jack Darin's free advertising for the Blagojevich campaign is unworthy of the good intentions of the vast majority the Sierra Club's actual members. If environmental, labor, and other organizations simply vote their convictions, instead of kowtowing to the power of big money, we can start making the kinds of changes that these organizations want," said Whitney. "I have to wonder if Jack Darin bothered to take a survery of his own membership before taking it upon himself to issue such a blatently partisan statement," added Whitney.
"Jack Darin has violated the trust of his membership and his partners on the Illinois Environmental Council," concluded Samuels.
I know it was you, Jack, and it breaks my heart.
This is a dumb move by a campaign that doesn't have a chance of doing anything but possibly helping someone with close ties to the Bush administation do what Nader did to Gore.
And -- since when would taxpayers or enviros, for that matter, not want unpaid experts (that care about the environment) helping to shape public policy.
I have no problem if the Governor selects Jack Darin to be on citizen advisory panels that help recommend public policy.
As to the supposed differences between Blagojevich and Topinka, have you noticed that Republican power brokers like Stuart Levine, Bob Kjellander and William Cellini have thrived under the Blagojevich administration.
Rather than carry out promised campaign reforms, the Governor has perpetuated "combine politics" in Illinois.
It's time for a change. Vote for Rich Whitney.
2000? Worst case scenario the Republicans would have had to steal a few more votes--big deal, it's not like the Democrats did anything to fight it (not even a SINGLE Democratic Senator would stand up to support the Congressional Black Caucus when they were BEGGING for one to support their objection.)
Hundreds of thousands more Democrats in Florida voted for Bush than voted for Nader. If even a few of these had stuck with their own party, Gore could have had those votes; but no, Gore was a terrible candidate, and he couldn't even win his own home state of Tennessee.
Al From, Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council, himself wrote in Blueprint magazine that, according to their OWN Democratic exit polls, Bush would have beat Gore by one percentage point had Nader not run. Why? Nader energized many NEW voters, would not have otherwise voted; and who CERTAINLY would not have voted for Gore.
You Democrats should quit your whining and do something to fix the so-called "spoiler" problem if you're so worried about it. Get off your butts and implement Instant Runoff Voting. You haven't done anything about this since 2000; so please, spare us the sob story.
Also, can we quit with the Blagojevich footsoldiers being sent out to this blog to defend Darin's "good name?" When you are so obvious about it, it only makes it more obvious that Darin is in Blago's back pocket.
Hey Jack,
I just got my Ameren powerbill. It's got these really cool charts with where my power's coming from.
Wind - 0%
Solar - 0%
Biomass - 0%
Wow, Blagojevich's non-mandatory RPS has really shook things up!
Don't worry about these wackos, Jack. When either Judy or Blagojevich beat the pants off this little socialist they will still be on the outside looking in.
The Sierra Club's volunteer political committees, from its chapters and the state's political committee, make the Club's endorsement.
What a nasty group this Whitney crowd is. It's never smart to attack a popular leader -- let alone one from organization you hope to court.
Those of us who have had the pleasure of working with Jack Darin know him to be a man of integrity and someone that serves the Sierra Club's interest's well. I look forward to his continued leadership as well as the continued work of Governor Rod Blagojevich. I am glad that this Governor calls upon environmental leaders to help shape public policy.
LOL Jack Darin is hardly a popular leader. In fact, Julie Samuels, the Green Party's Lt. Governor candidate HAS WORKED WITH DARIN EXTENSIVELY. She served as vice-president of the Illinois Environmental Council for two terms and says that Darin was always a problem. I trust her on that.
The Sierra Club endorsement ought to be worth something pretty significant. Unfortunately, Governor Blagojevich has a mixed record on the environment. Many environmentalists are shocked over the subsidies he has provided to new coal burning plants and coal mines. He has not provided the same level of support to renewable energy resources. Now he has appointed yet another commission to look at global warming. We need action, not more studies. I wish Sierra Club had set the bar higher.
I have also served the IEC for many years and have worked extensively with Jack. I do not need you to tell me what an obviously bitter Lt. Gov candidate has to say about him.
Stick to the issues. Stop the petty charater assasinations --unless you want to turn off even more people off.
I, personally, know Jack to be very popular. He is also well respected among members of the General Assembly on both sides of the aisle and works well with a multitude of personalities.
I had no opinion of this Samuels until now. Thanks for turning me off completely.
All in all, our votes matter and it is obvious that the third party candidate has no chance. I will not throw my vote away to help someone who will owe the Bush Administration (Topinka). Rod is clearly best choice for enviros.
"He is also well respected among members of the General Assembly on both sides of the aisle and works well with a multitude of personalities."
Let me translate: Jack Darin has a political career to protect, so ethics go right out the window. Poof!
You want facts? Why has the Sierra club been discriminating aganist Green candidates who are most closely aligned with the Sierra Club's positions? Why did the Sierra Club refuse to send a candidate questionaire to Dorian Breuer up in the 1st Senate District? Why has the Sierra Club made it clear that it will NOT endorse ANY Green candidate, no matter how good they may be?
Why? I will tell you why--Jack Darin, his relationship with Blagojevich, and the political career that he is protecting.
I am sure that I will be accused of being a partisan but for those of us who truly care about issues. Lets get past the name calling determine how to best vote. I felt that Donna Livingston's letter was helpful for those of us that do not drive cars with bumper stickers.
Blagojevich is a National Leader
For the first time in decades, Illinois has a Governor who is a national leader on environmental issues. Unfortunately, I haven't seen much election coverage about the environment. Because the federal government so often ignores environmental protection (e.g., global warming) or undermines it (e.g., new loopholes for companies to pollute the air), we need Governors at the state level who are willing to provide the leadership that is missing in Washington DC.
For example, I worry about air pollution. Thankfully, Governor Rod Blagojevich's plans to cut power plant emissions are among the strongest in nation and far more protective of public health than federal requirements. He's pledged to power state buildings in Springfield with zero-pollution wind power starting in 2007. This would be the largest wind power purchase by any state in the U.S. He also persuaded Illinois hospitals to shut down incinerators that spew toxins into the air.
Blagojevich is a national leader on addressing climate change. Illinois has the only state program that provides incentives for farmers to use conservation practices that take greenhouse gases out of the air. Illinois is only the second state to join the Chicago Climate Exchange, which means the state will lead by example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from government operations. And the Governor recently announced the formation of an Advisory Group to help develop a comprehensive plan to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Illinois.
National leadership on environmental issues is not something we have seen from Illinois Republican governors, who too often favored polluters and other special interests at the expense of the environment and public heath. Based on her track record and affiliations, I would expect more of the same from Judy Barr Topinka.. Would she have signed legislation to ban the sale of products that contain mercury or legislation to provide new authority to close and cleanup illegal dumps and landfills? Would Ms. Topinka have created tougher limits on discharges from wastewater treatment plants?
I doubt it. If you want a Governor you can count on to protect the environment and public heath now and for future generations, vote for Governor Blagojevich.
Is the Governor a national leader on global climate change? Not in my opinion. It's California and certain Northeastern states that are taking the lead in requiring power companies to cut their carbon emissions. Has the Governor pledged to do the same?
These states have also passed laws, requiring electricity suppliers to provide their customers with a certain percentage of renewable energy. Why isn't the Governor pushing for such a law in Illinois?
These are the kinds of programs I would expect from a candidate endorsed by the Sierra Club. Why are you settling for less?
My take on the Sierra Club's endorsement is that it reflects the evolution of the group.
Illinois Sierra Club used to be a grassroots organization that relied on volunteers to do most of the work, with the primary focus on local issues. Over the years, the group has centralized its operations, aligned itself with more professionally-staff organizations and made statewide campaigns a high priority. This has resulted in more interaction with legislators and bureaucrats, including political endorsements and support.
The Governor did a good thing in going after old polluting power plants, and his administration expects Sierra Club's leaders to repay the debt with an endorsement. That's understandable.
If you believe in incremental change and working within the existing power structure, you should probably vote for the Governor. However, if you are looking for more systemic changes in Illinois government, you may want to cast your vote for Rich Whitney and provide an opportunity for a new political party to get a start in the state.
State submits Request for Information for construction and operation of Carbon Dioxide pipeline
Pipeline would allow for safe containment and transportation of greenhouse gases released by coal gasification plants
SPRINGFIELD – Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced that today the state will issue a Request for Information (RFI) regarding the construction and operation of a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) pipeline stretching from the coal gasification plants planned for central and southern Illinois to Illinois Basin oilfields in southeastern Illinois. The RFI, submitted to companies with expertise in pipeline development, is to determine the best construction and operation practices, the appropriate siting, as well as the interest level within the industry to work with the state to develop a CO2 pipeline system in Illinois. The CO2 pipeline is an integral part of the Governor's Energy Independence Plan released earlier this year.
The Governor's energy plan calls for the investment of $775 million to help build ten new coal gasification plants over the next ten years, which would convert Illinois' coal from a solid to a gas that can be processed into a substitute for natural gas, diesel fuel, or electricity. The plants would use Illinois coal to meet 25 percent of the state's diesel fuel needs, 25 percent of natural gas needs, and 10 percent of electricity needs. Coal gasification is the cleanest and most efficient way to convert coal to energy, with low emissions of mercury and other air pollutants, and allows carbon dioxide to be captured for permanent underground storage.
"Our energy plan will reduce Illinois' dependence on foreign oil – allowing us to use Illinois' own natural resources to meet 50 percent of our fuel needs by 2017," said Gov. Blagojevich. "Constructing a carbon dioxide pipeline is a big part of our plan because it will allow us to build coal gasification plants and use the CO2 they emit to extract more oil without contributing to global warming."
As part of his energy plan, the Governor has proposed building a pipeline from gasification facilities in Illinois to Illinois Basin oilfields in southeastern Illinois. Illinois' oil fields hold about one billion untapped barrels of oil resources. Because these oil fields are mature, production cannot increase without using advanced recovery techniques. "Enhanced Oil Recovery," which uses carbon dioxide to extract more oil from existing reserves, could nearly double the amount of petroleum produced by Illinois annually. The 140-mile pipeline would transport the carbon dioxide captured by the coal gasification plants to oilfields and use the pressurized carbon dioxide to extract more oil.
Additionally, the carbon dioxide transported by the pipeline could be used to extract methane from Illinois coal reserves. Illinois coal reserves hold enough methane, a fuel similar to natural gas, to meet all of the state's natural gas needs for seven years. The royalties from the recovered oil and gas would subsidize the infrastructure costs of transporting and permanently storing the carbon dioxide underground.
In an effort to recover residual oil and natural gas from Illinois' vast oil and coal bed methane reserves, the State is seeking expressions of interest from the private sector to build and/or operate a pipeline "backbone" that will link new coal gasification and biofuels production facilities with mature oil fields amenable to Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and with potential enhanced coal bed methane resources in Illinois.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that the infrastructure needed to transport sufficient quantities of carbon dioxide to Illinois Basin oil fields and other geological formations is sufficient to extract available oil reserves and permanently store carbon dioxide captured from coal gasification facilities and biofuels plants.
In the event that carbon dioxide becomes a regulated commodity, a CO2 pipeline would assist generators of CO2 to generate revenue from carbon credits they may accrue by transporting CO2 from coal gasification and biofuel plants to sites suitable for permanent storage in deep saline reservoirs, such as in the Mt. Simon Sandstone reservoir.
Background of Illinois' EOR and Carbon Sequestration Potential:
Recent studies show that Illinois Basin has an original-oil-in-place volume of 14.1 billion.
The volume of oil amenable to CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) in the Illinois Basin is assessed at approximately 860 million to 1.3 billion barrels, and the majority of that resource is concentrated in a limited number of large fields in South Central and Southeastern Illinois. For example, approximately 340 million barrels of EOR resources resides in three large fields and six nearby smaller fields in Southeastern Illinois.
The State is conducting significant geological carbon sequestration research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy that includes new field testing of EOR in Illinois' mature oil fields; the first CO2 is expected to be injected into a mature field in December.
Potential sources of large quantities of CO2 are now being developed in Illinois. Several well-financed coal gasification projects and ethanol plants are now under development in Illinois that would yield gas streams with high CO2 concentrations suitable not only for EOR but possibly Enhanced Coalbed Methane (ECBM) where the adsorption of CO2 on deep coal seems may boost methane production to enhance regional supplies of natural gas.
The Illinois Basin's primary coalbed methane and ECBM resource is assessed at 6.7 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), the majority of which is located in southeastern Illinois coincident with coals that overlie major oil fields in the deeper parts of the Illinois Basin.
Building a CO2 pipeline to permanently trap and store carbon dioxide supports the Governor's recently announced Climate Change Initiative, which includes an Executive Order that created the Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group. The Group will consider the full range of policies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Illinois and make recommendations to the Governor. The Advisory Group will have broad representation that will include business leaders, labor unions, the energy and agricultural industries, scientists, economists, and environmental groups from throughout the state. The Governor named Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director Doug Scott as Chair of the Advisory Group.
The Governor also announced that Illinois would join New Mexico to become only the second state in the nation to join the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX). As a CCX member, the state makes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity and fuel needed to operate state facilities and motor vehicles; the reduction target only applies to state government operations.
From the Tribune
State moves against mercury
Cuts on power plant pollution advance
By Michael Hawthorne
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 3, 2006
Taking a swipe at the Bush administration's environmental policy, Illinois moved closer Thursday to requiring deep cuts in mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants.
The limits endorsed by a state rule-making panel would make Illinois one of two dozen states that have rejected a slower, more lenient approach adopted by the federal government.
What makes the Illinois regulations stand out is that Illinois is a major coal producer and user.
Half of its electricity comes from aging power plants that burn coal. Those smokestacks are major sources of mercury, a toxic metal that can damage the developing brain and nervous system of a fetus or young child.
"Mercury shouldn't be contaminating our lakes and rivers," said Steve Frenkel, director of policy development for Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has made the tougher state rules a key part of his re-election campaign.
"We know it's a potent neurotoxin," Frenkel said. "And now we know we can reduce it effectively and inexpensively."
2 utilities change stance
After initially complaining the state's rules would be too costly and impossible to achieve, two major utilities cut a deal with the Blagojevich administration under which they will get more time to comply with the state's standards.
Those companies, Ameren and Dynegy, pledged to reduce mercury emissions by 90 percent by 2015, instead of by 2009. In return, they agreed to tighter limits on other forms of air pollution that causes smog, soot and acid rain.
A third company, Midwest Generation, continues to fight the requirements and could be forced to comply with Blagojevich's original proposal.
The federal rules, by contrast, call for a 70 percent reduction in mercury emissions by 2018.
The EPA's inspector general reported earlier this year that allowing utilities to trade the right to release mercury could make it more difficult to reduce high levels of the toxic metal in parts of the nation.
Mercury pollution is so pervasive that Illinois and 43 other states advise anglers to limit consumption of freshwater fish, mostly large predator species that can accumulate large amounts of the metal.
About 40 percent of the fish sampled statewide during the past two decades had mercury levels above the federal exposure limit for an average-size woman, according to state records reviewed by the Illinois Public Interest Research Group.
State officials have declined to say if the new rules would enable them to drop the fish advisories. But some researchers have found that reducing pollution from nearby sources leads to lower mercury levels in fish.
Following more than 7,300 public comments and 18 days of hearings, the Illinois Pollution Control Board found the mercury regulations are "economically feasible" and "technically justifiable." Before taking effect, the rules still must pass muster with a panel of state lawmakers.
The last roadblock could be Midwest Generation, owner of coal-fired power plants in Chicago's Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods as well as Romeoville, Joliet and Waukegan.
Equipment tested during the summer at the Crawford plant in Little Village reduced mercury emissions by more than 80 percent but failed to consistently achieve the 90 percent target, said spokesman Doug McFarlan.
"We agree it's a relatively cost-effective way to get significant reductions," McFarlan said. "But we think it's premature to say we can guarantee a 90 percent reduction."
Companies seek more time
Company executives are trying to negotiate a compromise with state officials that would give them more time and flexibility to reduce mercury and other forms of air pollution, including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
"It's time for Midwest Gen to step up and be a responsible corporate citizen," said Howard Learner, executive director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center. "They should be part of the solution along with the other utilities."
Copyright © 2006, Chicago Tribune
Congratulations to the Illinios Sierra Club for the victory of so many endorsed candidates! Looks like we have a gowing enviro caucus in the IL Senate!
We won!!! Now that our side has a majority in both houses they should actually USE the subpoena power in January and launch a REAL independent investigation into 9/11.
One thing that struck me as odd in the days after 9/11 was Bush saying "We will not tolerate conspiracy theories [regarding 9/11]". Sure enough there have been some wacky conspiracy theories surrounding the events of that day. The most far-fetched and patently ridiculous one that I've ever heard goes like this: Nineteen hijackers who claimed to be devout Muslims but yet were so un-Muslim as to be getting drunk all the time, doing cocaine and frequenting strip clubs decided to hijack four airliners and fly them into buildings in the northeastern U.S., the area of the country that is the most thick with fighter bases. After leaving a Koran on a barstool at a strip bar after getting shitfaced drunk on the night before, then writing a suicide note/inspirational letter that sounded like it was written by someone with next to no knowledge of Islam, they went to bed and got up the next morning hung over and carried out their devious plan. Nevermind the fact that of the four "pilots" among them there was not a one that could handle a Cessna or a Piper Cub let alone fly a jumbo jet, and the one assigned the most difficult task of all, Hani Hanjour, was so laughably incompetent that he was the worst fake "pilot" of the bunch, with someone who was there when he was attempting to fly a small airplane saying that Hanjour was so clumsy that he was unsure if he had driven a car before. Nevermind the fact that they received very rudimentary flight training at Pensacola Naval Air Station, making them more likely to have been C.I.A. assets than Islamic fundamentalist terrorists. So on to the airports after Mohammed Atta supposedly leaves two rental cars at two impossibly far-removed locations. So they hijack all four airliners and at this time passengers on United 93 start making a bunch of cell phone calls from 35,000 feet in the air to tell people what was going on. Nevermind the fact that cell phones wouldn't work very well above 4,000 feet, and wouldn't work at ALL above 8,000 feet. But the conspiracy theorists won't let that fact get in the way of a good fantasy. That is one of the little things you "aren't supposed to think about". Nevermind that one of the callers called his mom and said his first and last name ("Hi mom, this is Mark Bingham"), more like he was reading from a list than calling his own mom. Anyway, when these airliners each deviated from their flight plan and didn't respond to ground control, NORAD would any other time have followed standard operating procedure (and did NOT have to be told by F.A.A. that there were hijackings because they were watching the same events unfold on their own radar) which means fighter jets would be scrambled from the nearest base where they were available on standby within a few minutes, just like every other time when airliners stray off course. But of course on 9/11 this didn't happen, not even close. Somehow these "hijackers" must have used magical powers to cause NORAD to stand down, as ridiculous as this sounds because total inaction from the most high-tech and professional Air Force in the world would be necessary to carry out their tasks. So on the most important day in its history the Air Force was totally worthless. Then they had to make one of the airliners look like a smaller plane, because unknown to them the Naudet brothers had a videocamera to capture the only known footage of the North Tower crash, and this footage shows something that is not at all like a jumbo jet, but didn't have to bother with the South Tower jet disguising itself because that was the one we were "supposed to see". Anyway, as for the Pentagon they had to have Hani Hanjour fly his airliner like it was a fighter plane, making a high G-force corkscrew turn that no real airliner can do, in making its descent to strike the Pentagon. But these "hijackers" wanted to make sure Rumsfeld survived so they went out of their way to hit the farthest point in the building from where Rumsfeld and the top brass are located. And this worked out rather well for the military personnel in the Pentagon, since the side that was hit was the part that was under renovation at the time with few military personnel present compared to construction workers. Still more fortuitous for the Pentagon, the side that was hit had just before 9/11 been structurally reinforced to prevent a large fire there from spreading elsewhere in the building. Awful nice of them to pick that part to hit, huh? Then the airliner vaporized itself into nothing but tiny unidentifiable pieces most no bigger than a fist, unlike the crash of a real airliner when you will be able to see at least some identifiable parts, like crumpled wings, broken tail section etc. Why, Hani Hanjour the terrible pilot flew that airliner so good that even though he hit the Pentagon on the ground floor the engines didn't even drag the ground!! Imagine that!! Though the airliner vaporized itself on impact it only made a tiny 16 foot hole in the building. Amazing. Meanwhile, though the planes hitting the Twin Towers caused fires small enough for the firefighters to be heard on their radios saying "We just need 2 hoses and we can knock this fire down" attesting to the small size of it, somehow they must have used magical powers from beyond the grave to make this morph into a raging inferno capable of making the steel on all forty-seven main support columns (not to mention the over 100 smaller support columns) soften and buckle, then all fail at once. Hmmm. Then still more magic was used to make the building totally defy physics as well as common sense in having the uppermost floors pass through the remainder of the building as quickly, meaning as effortlessly, as falling through air, a feat that without magic could only be done with explosives. Then exactly 30 minutes later the North Tower collapses in precisely the same freefall physics-defying manner. Incredible. Not to mention the fact that both collapsed at a uniform rate too, not slowing down, which also defies physics because as the uppermost floors crash into and through each successive floor beneath them they would shed more and more energy each time, thus slowing itself down. Common sense tells you this is not possible without either the hijackers' magical powers or explosives. To emphasize their telekinetic prowess, later in the day they made a third building, WTC # 7, collapse also at freefall rate though no plane or any major debris hit it. Amazing guys these magical hijackers. But we know it had to be "Muslim hijackers" the conspiracy theorist will tell you because (now don't laugh) one of their passports was "found" a couple days later near Ground Zero, miraculously "surviving" the fire that we were told incinerated planes, passengers and black boxes, and also "survived" the collapse of the building it was in. When common sense tells you if that were true then they should start making buildings and airliners out of heavy paper and plastic so as to be "indestructable" like that magic passport. The hijackers even used their magical powers to bring at least seven of their number back to life, to appear at american embassies outraged at being blamed for 9/11!! BBC reported on that and it is still online. Nevertheless, they also used magical powers to make the american government look like it was covering something up in the aftermath of this, what with the hasty removal of the steel debris and having it driven to ports in trucks with GPS locators on them, to be shipped overseas to China and India to be melted down. When common sense again tells you that this is paradoxical in that if the steel was so unimportant that they didn't bother saving some for analysis but so important as to require GPS locators on the trucks with one driver losing his job because he stopped to get lunch. Hmmmm. Further making themselves look guilty, the Bush administration steadfastly refused for over a year to allow a commission to investigate 9/11 to even be formed, only agreeing to it on the conditions that they get to dictate its scope, meaning it was based on the false pretense of the "official story" being true with no other alternatives allowed to be considered, handpicked all its members making sure the ones picked had vested interests in the truth remaining buried, and with Bush and Cheney only "testifying" together, only for an hour, behind closed doors, with their attorneys present and with their "testimonies" not being recorded by tape or even written down in notes. Yes, this whole story smacks of the utmost idiocy and fantastic far-fetched lying, but it is amazingly enough what some people believe. Even now, five years later, the provably false fairy tale of the "nineteen hijackers" is heard repeated again and again, and is accepted without question by so many Americans. Which is itself a testament to the innate psychological cowardice of the American sheeple, i mean people, and their abject willingness to believe something, ANYTHING, no matter how ridiculous in order to avoid facing a scary uncomfortable truth. Time to wake up America.
Debunking Popular Mechanics lies:
someone else debunking Popular Mechanics crap:
still more debunking Poopular Mechanics:
and still more debunking of Popular Mechanics:
Poopular Mechanics staff replaced just before laughable "debunking" article written:
another neo-con 9/11 hit piece explodes, is retracted:
Professor Steven Jones debunks the N.I.S.T. "report" as well as the F.E.M.A. one and the 9/11 commission "report":
N.I.S.T. scientist interviewed:
F.B.I. says no hard evidence linking Osama bin Laden to 9/11 which is why his wanted poster says nothing about 9/11:
Fire Engineering magazine says important questions about the Twin Tower "collapses" still need to be addressed:http://fe.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?Section=OnlineArticles&SubSection=Display&PUBLICATION_ID=25&ARTICLE_ID
Twin Towers' construction certifiers say they should have easily withstood it:
USA Today interview with the last man out of the South Tower, pursued by a fireball:
Janitor who heard explosions and escaped has testimony ignored by 9/11 whitewash commission:
Janitor starts speaking out about it and his apartment is burglarized, laptop stolen:
Firefighters tell of multiple explosions:
Eyewitnesses tell of explosions:
Interview with another firefighter telling of explosions:
Firefighter saw "sparkles" (strobe lights on detonators?) before "collapse":
Other eyewitnesses talk of seeing/hearing explosions:
Surviving eyewitnesses talk of multiple explosions there:
Cutter charge explosions clearly visible:
The pyroclastic cloud (that dust cloud that a second before was concrete) and how it wouldn't be possible without explosives:
Detailed description of the demolition of the Twin Towers:
Freefall rate of "collapses" math:
More about their freefall rate "collapses":
Video footage of the controlled demolition of the Twin Towers:
Video footage of the controlled demolition of WTC # 7 building:
More of WTC # 7 controlled demolition:
Naudet brothers' video footage of the North Tower crash:
Photos of the Pentagon's lawn (look at these and see if you can tell me with a straight face that a jumbo jet crashed there):
More photos of this amazing lawn at the Pentagon:
Very unconvincing fake "Osama" "confession" tape:
More about the fake "Osama" tape:
Fake "Mohammed Atta" "suicide" letter:
Commercial pilots disagree with "official" 9/11 myth:
More commercial jet pilots say "official" myth is impossible:
Impossibility of cell phone calls from United 93:
More about the impossible cell phone calls:
Experiment proves cell phone calls were NOT possible from anywhere near the altitude the "official" myth has them at:
Fake Barbara Olson phone call:
Where the hell was the Air Force?
More about the Air Force impotence question:
Sept. 10th 2001, Pentagon announces it is "missing" $2.3 trillion (now why do you think they picked THAT day to announce it? So it could be buried the next day by 9/11 news):
Unocal pipeline-through-Afghanistan plan:
Unocal pipeline-through-Afghanistan plan mentioned:
More on Unocal Afghan pipeline:
The attack on Afghanistan was planned in the summer of 2001, months before 9/11:
Pentagon deliberately misled 9/11 Commission:
Evidence destruction by authorities and cover-up:
9/11 whitewash Commission and NORAD day:
The incredible fish tales of the 9/11 Commission examined:
Jeb Bush declares state of emergency 4 days before 9/11 for Florida, saying it will help respond to terrorism:
Steel debris removal from Ground Zero, destruction of evidence:
Over two hundred incriminating bits of 9/11 evidence shown in the mainstream media:
Tracking the "hijackers":
"Hijacker" patsies:
"Hijackers" receiving flight training at Pensacola Naval Air Station:
Several accused "hijackers" still alive and well, wondering why they are accused:
Yet the F.B.I. insists that the people it claims were the "hijackers" really were the "hijackers":
No Arabs on Flight 77:
Thirty experts say "official" 9/11 myth impossible:
"Al Qaeda" website tracks back to Maryland:
Al Qaeda videos uploaded from U.S. government website:
Operation: Northwoods, a plan for a false-flag "terror" attack to be blamed on Castro to use it as a pretext for America to invade Cuba, thankfully not approved by Kennedy back in 1962 but was approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and sent to his desk:


text:
For what you need a User Guide
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Indesit user guides
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Current Leadership Atlanta Class
The core of Leadership Atlanta's programming is our signature nine-month, executive-level series. We choose approximately 85 established leaders each year to represent a broad cross-section of metro Atlanta. Through retreats, full-day seminars, service projects, discussion groups and community tours, members explore critical community issues, examine themselves as leaders and build relationships of trust and mutual understanding.
|T.J. Abrams
|Trudy Kremer
|Global Head of Brand and Commercial Performance,
|Holiday Inn and avid hotels
|Jackson Spalding
|InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG)
|Atticus LeBlanc
|Sarah Amico
|Chief Executive Officer
|Executive Chairperson of the Board of Directors
|PadSplit, Inc
|Jack Cooper Investments
|Scott Light
|Elaine Armstrong
|Executive Vice President - Packaging & Cellulose Segment
|Vice President of Marketing
|Georgia Pacific
|Goodwill of North Georgia
|Marian Liou
|PJ Bain
|Founder and Executive Director
|Chief Executive Officer
|We Love BuHi
|PrimeRevenue, Inc.
|Stan Little
|Nancy Baughan
|President, SunTrust Foundation Inc.
|SunTrust Bank
|Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs, LLP
|Dawn Luke
|Ashley Bell
|Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
|Regional Administrator, Region IV
|Invest Atlanta
|U.S. Small Business Administration
|Jeff Maggs
|Nell Benn
|Managing Director
|Chief Executive Officer
|Agape Youth & Family Center
|Richard Makerson
|Mark Berry
|Chief Executive Officer, Managing Partner
|Vice President of Environmental & Natural Resources
|BlueFletch Mobile
|Georgia Power Company
|Charles Maxell
|Gary Brantley
|Managing Director, Resident Sales Director
|Chief Information Officer
|City of Atlanta
|Michael McConnell
|Jennifer Johnson Burns
|Chief Executive Officer
|Senior Vice President, U.S. Legal
|Equifax, Inc.
|Jennifer McKeehan
|Mary Schmidt Campbell
|Vice President, Supply Chain
|The Home Depot
|Spelman College
|Peter McKnight
|Andrew Cathy
|Head of School
|Senior Vice President, Chief People Officer
|Charles R. Drew Charter School
|Chick-fil-A, Inc.
|Steve Mensch
|Jerry Chang
|President & General Manager Studio Operations
|Senior Managing Director and Partner
|Tyler Perry Studios
|Ankura Consulting Group, LLC
|Stefanie Miller
|Kris Christy
|Senior Vice President/General Manager
|Vice President, Georgia Community Affairs
|The Coca-Cola Company
|Wells Fargo
|Clyde Mize
|Shawn Cole
|Vice President, Cargo
|Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
|Delta Air Lines
|Gairy Moore
|Lisa Collins
|Deloitte & Touche LLP
|Baker & Hostetler LLP
|Jill Morrisey
|Gretchen Corbin
|Chief Executive Officer
|President & Chief Executive Officer
|Camp Twin Lakes
|Georgia Lottery Corporation
|Carlos Navarro
|Bryant Cornett
|Executive Director, International Markets
|JP Morgan Chase
|DTSpade - Specialized Real Estate
|Sara Prince
|Richard Cox
|Vice President of Operations
|McKinsey & Company
|Cox Automotive
|Chris Pumphrey
|Chandra Davis
|Executive Director
|Douglas County Economic Development Authority
|The Employment Law Solution: McFadden Davis, LLC
|Erik Rathke
|Deron Davis
|Senior Vice President
|Executive Director, Georgia
|The Nature Conservancy
|Tameka Rish
|Karen Doolittle
|Vice President of Corporate Partnerships
|Arthur Blank Family of Business
|Brenda Lopez Romero
|Pam Driesell
|State Representative
|Senior Pastor
|Georgia General Assembly
|Trinity Presbyterian Church
|Maria Saporta
|Darion Dunn
|Managing Partner
|Atlantica Properties
|Mike Schleifer
|Roderick Edmond
|Managing Director
|Managing Partner
|Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center
|Edmond, Lindsay, & Atkins, LLP
|Rob Schreiner
|Mark Feinberg
|Executive Vice President
|Managing Partner
|WellStar Health System
|Feinberg Capital Advisors
|Jim Schroder
|Eric Glidewell
|Partner and Chief Financial Officer
|TriBridge Residential
|Womble Bond Dickinson (US), LLP
|Ted Schwartz
|Talbert Hill
|Founder and Chief Executive Officer
|Joel and Granot Real Estate
|The Goddard School(s)/Preschool Solutions Inc.
|Thad Sheely
|Raphael Holloway
|Chief Operating Officer
|Chief Executive Officer
|Atlanta Hawks
|Gateway Center
|Jason Shefrin
|Yendelela Neely Holston
|Chief Supply Chain Officer
|Partner/Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
|Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP
|Wendy Silliman
|Zenith Houston
|Director, Posse Atlanta
|Troutman Sanders
|The Posse Foundation
|Randall Slaughter
|Sarah Hsi
|Fire Chief
|Chief Information Officer
|City of Atlanta
|United Way of Greater Atlanta
|Gary Stewart
|John Hudson
|Executive Vice President
|Resurgens Orthopaedics
|Southern Company Gas
|Jennifer Stolarski
|Faraz Iqbal
|Chief Assistant District Attorney
|Chief Operating Officer
|DeKalb County District Attorney
|Nonet Sykes
|Conn Jackson
|Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer
|Chief Executive Officer
|Atlanta Beltline, Inc.
|Inspire One
|Herman Taylor
|Mary-Campbell Jenkins
|Professor & Director of Cardiovascular Research Institute
|Executive Vice President/Co-Owner
|Morehouse School of Medicine
|The Arbor Company
|Brian Tolleson
|Quinnie Jenkins
|Chief Executive Officer
|Manager of National Partnerships
|Lexicon Strategies and BARK BARK
|Southwest Airlines
|Adam Walker
|Kwame Johnson
|Chief Executive Officer
|President & Chief Executive Officer
|Sideways 8 Interactive
|Big Brothers Big Sisters Metro Atlanta
|Mitchell Walker
|Michelle Jones
|Professor of Aerospace Engineering
|Chief Development Officer
|Georgia Institute of Technology
|Money Management International
|Dave Ward
|Natalie Keng
|Chief Executive Officer & President
|Chief Executive Officer
|Tommy Nobis Center
|Chinese Southern Belle
|Jennifer Warner
|Bernice King
|President & Chief Executive Officer
|Chief Executive Officer
|Fernbank Museum of Natural History
|The King Center
|Tricia Kinney
|Vice President & Deputy General Counsel
|Kimberly-Clark Corporation
The application for the Leadership Atlanta Class of 2020 is now closed. Please consider nominating someone for the Class of 2021.
Do you have questions about our programs? Contact us today!
My involvement with Leadership Atlanta continues almost daily to influence my ability to affect change in the City of Atlanta. I am grateful beyond measure for all that I learned and for the relationships that I developed. I joined the class of 2012 four years after I became the Senior Rabbi of The Temple. The Temple has a strong history of commitment to involvement with the community. Leadership Atlanta was an essential part of my education about the who, what, where, when, and why of Atlanta. Of all the profound learning that took place, two ideas stand out: 1) Be courageous: Whether the issue is health, criminal justice, education, or race – strive to do what is right, even if it is not popular. 2) Build Relationships: Meet and develop friendships with other leaders who can bring about transformative change. I am confident that your decision to become part of Leadership Atlanta will be one of the best gifts you can give yourself.
Peter S. Berg, Leadership Atlanta 2012Senior Rabbi, The Temple
There is not a week in which I am not working with either a Leadership Atlanta classmate or alumni. An incredible investment, Leadership Atlanta exposed me to issues and parts of the city I would never have known -- opening my mind to our urgent role as leaders in this city. Moreover, Leadership Atlanta allowed me to make sincere friendships with leaders across the city, expanding my reach and ability to effectively get things done.
Rodney Bullard, Leadership Atlanta 2012VP of Community Affairs, Executive Director of Chick-fil-A Foundation, Chick-fil-A
When asked about Leadership Atlanta, my response has always been: one of the most satisfying years of learning. Still today, I cherish all the friends that were made as well as learning what makes the city work. My sense of civic responsibilities really changed because of Leadership Atlanta.
Aida Perez Flamm, Leadership Atlanta 1995Partner, Aida & Co.
I am a firm believe that information is the underground currency of the privileged. Leadership Atlanta exposed me to information that I never had, people I never thought I would know and experiences that have informed my leadership. My advocacy for and belief in Atlanta is even deeper as a result of this once in a lifetime experience. I never thought I would laugh, cry, rejoice and be forever changed by an experience at this age. Leadership Atlanta brokered that. It is the most thoughtfully curated experience I have had as an adult and I am on fire to lead with vulnerability and efficacy in Atlanta."
DeLano Ford, Leadership Atlanta 2016Executive Director, Teach For America Metro Atlanta
LEAD Atlanta is the best community-focused, leadership development program for young professionals in the country. Participating in the program gave me experiences and helped hone skills that accelerate my career. Further, the opportunity to interact with and learn from emerging leaders who were just as interested as I was in engaging deeper in our community was invaluable. I am honored to be part of the large network of LEAD Atlanta alumni that work every day to make Atlanta a better place to live, work, and play.
Jason Esteves, LEAD Atlanta 2012Assistant General Counsel, Equifax
Leadership Atlanta is an extraordinary and life-changing experience. The people, program design, and high standards elevate even the most accomplished leaders to an entirely new level of thoughtful decision-making and impact. LEAD Atlanta heightened my awareness of the issues facing our city at just the right time in my career. Leadership Atlanta challenged me further with even more complex topics and experienced colleagues. Fortunately, the learning continues as the alumni programming and relationships created through the program are of the highest quality. I strongly encourage all driven and active professionals to consider LEAD and Leadership Atlanta.
Dan Gordon, Leadership Atlanta 2015, LEAD Atlanta 2009Chief Operating Officer, The City of Atlanta
I had very high expectations going-into Leadership Atlanta, from its great reputation and the alums that I knew. But my experience was even more transformational than I could have imagined – both personally and professionally. From day 1, I found myself amidst a passionate and committed group of leaders who are driving positive change every day. My eyes were opened to a fresh view of issues and diverse perspectives. I also gained a renewed sense of optimism for the vital community Atlanta can surely become. Although you graduate, you are never "done" with Leadership Atlanta, because the experience continues to build on itself through an active and engaged alumni network and lifelong friendships. This is a program that truly delivers.
Kevin Green, Leadership Atlanta 2006President and CEO, Midtown Alliance
Leadership Atlanta was one of the most rewarding programs I have participated in throughout my professional career. The program gave me new perspectives on having influence in our city though the interworking of government, non-profit, religion and business, and helped me identify new areas to lead. Equally important, I had a ton of fun and I have a new incredible network of colleagues and friends willing to help and to serve with me for the betterment of our Atlanta community.
Kenneth Saffold, Leadership Atlanta 2017, LEAD 2007Senior Vice President, Capital One
I am proud to be a Leadership Atlanta alum. Through Leadership Atlanta, I am able to connect with and appreciate this city in ways I do not believe would have been possible without this experience. The program and curriculum challenged me to assess my own leadership capabilities and responsibilities at work and in the community. It also provided me with a unique opportunity for building and strengthening relationships that have come to matter for both personal fulfilment and for the express purpose of helping to fulfill Atlanta's potential as one of the world's great cosmopolitan cities.
Erika James, Leadership Atlanta 2016Dean, Goizueta School of Business
Leadership Atlanta develops leaders who are solving important issues that make Atlanta and our region a better place to live, work and play. What I learned as a member of the 2004 class has helped make me a better community leader today. Add to this the lifelong friendships that are made, and you see why Leadership Atlanta is our city's premiere leadership program.
Bob Jimenez, Leadership Atlanta 2004Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications & Public Affairs, Cox Enterprises, Inc.
LEAD Atlanta provided me a learning and development experience that remains unmatched. Through the deep and meaningful relationships that were built, I gained a perspective that changed my view of my community and gave me a new sense of energy and passion to change it for the better. I developed lifelong friends, grew as a leader and found a new purpose for my role within Atlanta. I am forever thankful to LEAD Atlanta for challenging my positions, encouraging me to go further and making me a stronger leader committed to progress.
Rich Johnson, LEAD Atlanta 2015Director, External Affairs, AT&T Georgia
Wow! is how I describe my Leadership Atlanta experience. My Wow! includes people, knowledge and experience. I met and continue to meet extraordinary leaders who are making a difference in our city and state every day. The knowledge gained throughout my year was life changing, and the experiences were unmatched. I am honored to be part of such an outstanding organization.
Soumaya Khalifa, Leadership Atlanta 2015Executive Director/Founder, Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta
Through Leadership Atlanta I had the unique opportunity to engage with a diverse and passionate group of leaders dedicated to addressing many of the issues we face in metro Atlanta. A true strength of the program is that it forces you to be intentional about finding solutions for creating a better, stronger community for future generations.
Hala Moddelmog, Leadership Atlanta 1997President & CEO, Metro Atlanta Chamber
Like many others, my Leadership Atlanta experience was outstanding, providing me a chance to discuss and debate some of the key issues facing our City and our region, and to engage with other local leaders in tackling them. In addition to being provided a unique exposure to the region, and the complexities and varied perspectives that define so many of its challenges and opportunities, the shared experience of going through the year with classmates created many lifelong friendships and opened the doors to opportunities to better serve our community. The legacy of Leadership Atlanta is evident in many other ways, as it is common for me to encounter other Leadership Atlanta graduates in service on the boards of community and civic organizations, advocating for causes that move us forward, and at the table when conducting my business affairs.
Egbert Perry, Leadership Atlanta 1987Chairman and CEO, The Integral Group, LLC
Leadership Atlanta is and has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I have had in Atlanta. I have been personally and professionally enriched by the thought provoking programs and the personal connections I made with some of the very finest leaders in our City. My eyes, heart and mind were opened to both the needs in our community and to those talented individuals leading the way to make sure those needs are met. Not a week has passed since my graduation from the Leadership Atlanta program that I have not been positively influenced by the lessons I learned about our Atlanta community or by the people I met and remain connected to today. I am proud to say I am part of the Leadership Atlanta community.
Michael J. Sullivan, Leadership Atlanta 2015Managing Partner, Atlanta Office, Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice LLP
Leadership Atlanta is FOR Atlanta. FOR those looking to learn more about our city, our community, and our opportunity to raise the collective bar on the society that we live in, walk in, drive through, and circle around daily. Leadership Atlanta is FOR leaders. And FOR leaders who know, want, and crave personal development. FOR leaders who seek and appreciate relationships with other broad-based civic and organizational difference-makers. FOR those that want to know more because knowing more fuels doing more. Leadership Atlanta is an experience – an experience that is unique. An experience that is differentiated and educational; challenging and thought-provoking; memorable and enduring. Leadership Atlanta was designed with you in mind. A program, an experience, an environment FOR you.
Justin Honaman, Leadership Atlanta Class of 2014Managing Director - Products, Accenture
No program in Atlanta is better than LEAD Atlanta at identifying and nurturing the next generation of impactful Atlantans. It's the best inroad for young professionals who want to roll up their sleeves and build the Atlanta they want to see in the future. Personally, my LEAD Atlanta experience yielded insights and opportunities beyond what I could've ever imagined, but the best byproduct for me has been access – LEAD Atlanta has made it easy to build bridges with nearly anyone in the city. Bringing ideas to life or connecting like-minded people now is just a call, email, or group text or two away.
Kyle Stapleton, LEAD Atlanta 2016Manager of Culture & Experience, Turner Studios
There are few experiences in my life that compare to my time with Leadership Atlanta. Having spent much of my life living in Atlanta, I saw the challenges that faced the city on a daily basis and wondered how I could best help with overcoming those challenges. The knowledge I gained and the relationships I built through Leadership Atlanta are what have allowed me to make a positive difference not just in the City of Atlanta, but the state of Georgia and the entire country. I can say with certainty that I would not be where I am today without Leadership Atlanta, and I cannot recommend it highly enough for anyone looking to build a better city, a better career, and a better self.
Tharon Johnson, Leadership Atlanta 2016, LEAD 2010Founder & CEO, Paramount Consulting Group, LLC
Renew, Refresh and Reinvent! In the midpart of your career, one can feel the world around them is stale. Leadership Atlanta opens your eyes to new ideas, fresh ways of thinking, and amazing new friendships. This is a life changing program with an exceedingly high ROI for the time invested. You will graduate with new energy, perspective on our city and a drive to supercharge your impact on the community around you. And you will gain lots of new relationships who will in turn be there as true friends for you as we continue life's journey.
Ken Ashley, Leadership Atlanta 2014Executive Director, Cushman & Wakefield
LEAD Atlanta presented me with the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing Atlanta and presented opportunities to get more involved in serving our community. The collective experiences presented throughout the program from city leaders, peers, and alumni allowed for personal growth and leadership development. The chance to learn where, when, and how I can be effective in the Atlanta community is significant and will undoubtedly make me a stronger citizen. LEAD Atlanta allowed me the opportunity to further develop my leadership and service skills thus helping me to define the personal goals developed over previous years of service with multiple types of organizations. I am confident in the experience that LEAD Atlanta provided, and am looking forward to the contributions of our alumni to the city of Atlanta.
Kurt Ford, LEAD Atlanta 2014General Manager - Schedule Implementation, Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Among the many experiences and organizations in which I have been involved, Leadership Atlanta stands out as one of the most impactful and rewarding. The program provided tremendous insight into issues prominent in our city, as well as access to the "who's who" of Atlanta's corporate, political and civic leadership. My classmates - 80 amazing individuals who are diverse in background, race and career - provoked deep thinking and meaningful discussions. They have become some of my closest friends, and given our common passion for this city, we will have the opportunity to do great work here! I'm proud to be a part of Leadership Atlanta and "The Class" of 2017. If you have the opportunity to become part of this community, do so. The journey was amazing.
Chris Ahrenkiel, Leadership Atlanta 2017Executive Vice President, Selig Enterprises
Leadership Atlanta afforded me the opportunity to engage with a diverse group of leaders. The bonds I have forged with my classmates has had a significant impact on me both professionally and personally. My experience has helped me better understand the needs of the communities throughout Atlanta, and how I as a leader can contribute to those communities. Most importantly, it gave me colleagues and partners who share my passion for and commitment to ensuring Atlanta remains a vibrant city to all its residents.
Valerie Montgomery Rice, Leadership Atlanta 2013President & Dean, Morehouse School of Medicine
The Leadership Atlanta experience is unique and impactful. I learned the most from the diverse backgrounds of my classmates -- who are now my close friends. The professional commitment was significant, but what I received in return for the time invested cannot be easily quantified. In learning more about the challenges in our community and what is needed to move forward, I was inspired to give more of myself to helping others. In other words, I was inspired to lead.
Bjay Pak, Leadership Atlanta 2017U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia
All of the exceptional things I heard and learned about the Leadership Atlanta program from reading and talking to alumni prior to applying, paled in comparison to the actual experience of the program itself. And, yet even the words I can think of to describe my experience still seem inadequate. Engaging. Educational. Thought-provoking. Instigating. Inspiring. Challenging. What a gift it was to be a part of a group of exceptional leaders, learning together, challenging each other together, debating together, creating awareness together, growing together – all for the good of this community we love. The great thing about this Program is graduation isn't the end – it's the beginning. I can't wait to see what we do next!
Laurel Hill, Leadership Atlanta 2017Senior Vice President, Government & Institutional Banking, Wells Fargo
Before my Leadership Atlanta year began, I thought it would provide a unique opportunity to explore our city's challenges and opportunities and meet other civically-minded Atlantans. And it did - - but it was so much more. The full day seminars and tours offered deep dives into critical social and community issues, which included surprisingly frank and illuminating discussions with senior public officials and business and non-profit leaders. Further, from opening retreat, through study group sessions and community service projects, right up to the closing session, the Leadership Atlanta experience promotes an atmosphere that encourages honest dialogue, introspection and real understanding among participants. Every activity is designed to break down barriers and create lasting relationships with the hope that those bonds will be leveraged to better our city. Leadership Atlanta goes well beyond civic education and networking: I came away with new and better informed points of view and what I know will be life-long connections and friendships with my remarkable classmates.
Ben Garren, Leadership Atlanta 2017General Counsel, North America, The Coca-Cola Company
The Leadership Atlanta experience is difficult to describe. If you want to experience the thrill of parasailing, you have to make the leap yourself. Sitting on the boat and watching someone else go for it is not enough. The same is true of Leadership Atlanta. I jumped into a life changing experience. The perspectives I gained by learning from others with very different viewpoints was invaluable. It's helped me see all things differently and more fully. Most importantly are the incredible friendships I've made. They will last a lifetime. When Leadership Atlanta ended, I felt like I did after my wedding. The ending of both experiences was very emotional. However, I realized after my wedding came a new way of life. My marriage was about to begin. The same is true for Leadership Atlanta. It's not an ending; it's a beginning. I can't wait to see where my Leadership Atlanta journey will take me next.
Wendy Stewart, Leadership Atlanta 2017Atlanta Market President & Co-head Southeast Region, Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
As a Leadership Atlanta alum, I am excited to remain engaged and to continue finding ways to strenghen our community.
David Lee, Leadership Atlanta 2017SVP, External Affairs & Executive Director, Atlanta Hawks Foundation
Leadership Atlanta was a much needed ground tilling experience for me that introduced me to my authentic self. With this experience, I am better equipped to do the transformational work that God has ordained for me in Atlanta and beyond.
CJ Stewart, Leadership Atlanta 2015Co-founder, CEO Diamond Directors | L.E.A.D., Inc.
"No brakes!" is the best way to describe the incredible journey that I experienced as a fortunate member of the Leadership Class of 2013! From day one, I was exposed to the riveting real-life pillars of our community, which parallels the many complex issues of our society. In particular I found the richness and engagement of my classmates who had the strength to be so transparent and authentic as a gift that everyday fires my passion to lead and be the change agent of the future.
John Brewer, Leadership Atlanta 2013Chairman and CEO, Vantage Private Capital Group
My participation in Leadership Atlanta was one of the most transformative events in my life. It exposed me to new issues, ideas, challenges, opportunities, and most importantly, people. My advice is to apply to join the program. Life is short. If there ever was a moment to follow your passion and do something that will matter to you and to our city, that time is now.
Michael Hobbs, Leadership Atlanta 2008Partner, Troutman Sanders
LEAD Atlanta was one of the most transformative experiences of my life. The organization exposed me to so many new communities, social issues, and areas in which to continue my personal development and growth. LEAD Atlanta introduced me not just to new people, but to new ways of experiencing the city of Atlanta and the world. I am so appreciative of the relationships, opportunities, and personal development that my LEAD experience continues to contribute to my life. It is incredibly rare for me to go more than a day or two without speaking with one of my classmates. I will always make myself available to continue to serve the LEAD Atlanta mission. I cannot more strongly recommend the LEAD Atlanta program for personal and professional development for young leaders.
Everett Steele, LEAD Atlanta 2014Chief of Staff, Post 3 At-Large, Atlanta City Council
Imagine that you are a combat-tested, 32 year career-retired from active duty Soldier who rises to the rank of general - - you have seen it all. So you think! Now imagine that you are part of a year-long "crucible" experience where you are building relationships with some of the most amazing people you've ever met; that you are seeing leadership through a lens that you never could have before; and that you are feeling emotions about diversity and leadership because of the unique immersive experiences and rich dialectic. If you can imagine these things, then you can imagine how you, too, will feel after your experience in Leadership Atlanta. You'll continue to be impacted by the Leadership Atlanta experience even after you graduate because it never really ends after that year. You can stay immersed for the rest of your life by serving on committees with teammates for future classes, or participating in CEO leadership seminars throughout Atlanta, or serving as a mentor for current Leadership Atlanta study groups or project groups. Leadership Atlanta changes you. Leaders are either ripening or rotting. Leadership Atlanta will keep your leadership ripe!
Ronald Johnson, Leadership Atlanta 2016Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.); Professor, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech
As a transplant to Atlanta, Leadership Atlanta expanded my understanding of the issues facing our city and the historical underpinnings that created the challenges the city faces. It pushes participants to get outside of their comfort zone, see things from a different lens, and learn from others' diverse experiences. It enabled me to learn to be a better community advocate and to become a stronger leader in my personal and professional life and to have a better understanding of the community that I now call home.
Audra Dial, Leadership Atlanta 2016Head of U.S. Litigation, Mercedes-Benz
Prior to my LEAD Atlanta experience, I was unclear how the pieces of corporate and community leadership fit together in a meaningful way. LEAD Atlanta's curriculum provided clarity, direction, and introspection through relevant program content centered around the 'soft skills' of leadership, such as emotional intelligence and inclusive leadership, thoughtfully integrated with actionable, results-driven community cohort projects. This equipped me to be a more effective and empathetic leader as well as to tap into my potential to help solve some of Atlanta's most complex problems. The seeds planted during my class experience have taken root and blossomed exponentially over the course of 10 years through countless opportunities to collaborate with class members and alumni to further develop, grow, and positively impact our city. My LEAD Atlanta experience brought into focus a successful model of community leadership, and I will always say 'yes' to being included at the table to influence change with this diverse collective of Atlanta's highest-performing, elite thinkers, and gamechangers.
Kim Adams, LEAD Atlanta 2008Principal, Inclusively Kim ID&E Consulting
LEAD Atlanta helped me develop one of my most significant networks. The experiences provided us the opportunity to learn about our city while thinking the through impact of solutions, the importance of collaboration, and how to lead well. The individuals from LEAD Atlanta go on to be influencers in their places of work and in our community. Programs like this are essential to passing the baton to the next generation of leaders in our city.
Gloria Cox, LEAD Atlanta 2015Corporate and Foundation Giving Leader, Chick-fil-A
My Leadership Atlanta experience has been life-changing in so many ways. I was a bit of a skeptic when they said I would build friendships for life. but I was wrong. Because of Leadership Atlanta, I have completely reengineered my view on work and life. And the friendships I have made will in fact last forever. Thank you for letting me participate and give back.
Robby Gulri, Leadership Atlanta 2018Chief Marketing Officer, ENGAGE Talent


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Friday, August 8, 2008
Bird Lady
It was another BEAUTIFUL day here in toronto. Two more friends from Youtube flew in to join the bunch. It was so fantastic!
Speaking of ladies flying in, I have a new BIRD LADY painting!
11 comments:
Absolutely gorgeous! I hope you post a print of this to your Etsy. I'm going to buy up a few soon to decorate my newest craft room.
- August 9, 2008 at 10:59 PM
- Francien said...
Wauw....what a stunning painting...absolutly super...Love your paintings!!
greetings Francien.
- August 10, 2008 at 1:02 PM
LOL! This rocks!
- August 10, 2008 at 3:28 PM
- suze said...
Too cute Tascha!
- August 11, 2008 at 11:30 AM
- Fantastic Figments said...
So awesome you guys have such a close group! And love the new piece.. My birdies Petey and Lola would love her to flock with!
Have FUN!
- August 12, 2008 at 11:10 AM
- LisaLectura*creations said...
Cute Painting Tascha! The youtube convention sounds like so much fun! Lisa :)
- August 14, 2008 at 2:01 PM
- Trevlyn said...
I'm so crushing on this painting! I, too, hope you have prints of it soon in your shop! To me it perfectly marries my love for the scarf-wearing matryoshka and birds! GORGEOUS!
- August 15, 2008 at 12:12 PM
- Paper Girl Productions said...
oo Bird Lady is gorgeous!
- August 15, 2008 at 1:41 PM
- Dee said...
Hey Tascha, looks like u r having a super time! Lovely painting and looking forward to your next post.
*Pl ignore my previous message, I think I goofed up and the publish button got clicked before I could finish the post :(((*
Bon weekend.
- August 16, 2008 at 7:39 AM
- susan m hinckley said...
I LOVE your bird lady. Enough said.
- August 17, 2008 at 5:55 PM
- Heather said...
oh, she's so beautiful!~
- August 19, 2008 at 7:02 PM


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More And More Road Racers Are Turning To Arca For A Racing Career. Why?
There is a new wave of drivers sweeping into the ARCA RE/MAX Series this year, and they are not coming from the usual sources. It seems that ARCA has caught the eye of the sports car world, especially the Grand American Road Racing Association.
For the past several seasons, ARCA has been heavily used by the NASCAR Nextel Cup teams as a proving ground for their young drivers who were going through the various teams' driver development programs. Last year, Chip Ganassi used the series to give Formula One star, Juan Pablo Montoya, his first taste of stock car racing on the way to his full-time run in the Nextel Cup Series this year.
Also last year, Michael McDowell, Tony Ave, and Skip Cummins made the switch from the Grand-Am Rolex Series late in the season. In an odd coincidence, all three drivers decided to pursue ARCA rides in late July at Birmingham's Barber Motorsports Park round for the Daytona Prototype Series.
Ave and Cummins shocked the paddock on race morning when, after qualifying 13th, they withdrew their car from the race and immediately put the Pontiac Riley up for sale. They had decided overnight to go ARCA racing, and the team headed back to Ave's Maiden, North Carolina, shop to start building Chevrolet Monte Carlos for Talladega.
While Skip Cummins is pretty much a raw rookie when it comes to stock car racing, he has plenty of experience on the road courses, driving a wide variety of cars. In his sole ARCA race at Talladega, Cummins started 32nd and brought the Cyberspeed No. 97 home in 18th place, one lap down. Tony Ave, on the other hand, has experience in just about any type of race car that you can name. He was the World Snowmobile champion in 1993. He ran well in races with Trans Am, Formula Atlantic, Toyota Atlantic, and USAC Midgets. In five ARCA races since 2002, Tony has two Top 5's and appeared headed for another top finish at Talladega before a late-race wreck spoiled his chances.
Ave says that the reason for switching from the more exotic Daytona Prototypes to the ARCA RE/MAX series is pretty simple. "We felt that we could get more bang for our bucks in ARCA," he said. "ARCA has more races and most of them are on television, so we felt that there was greater exposure for us there. And when you really think about it, even road racing is quickly becoming a young man's sport. Sure, in the endurance races experience counts, but in the sprint races the kids are taking over. You can extend your career in ARCA. Look at James Hylton." Hylton ran the entire ARCA schedule last season.
"We are not planning to go after the championship," Ave continued. "Skip will drive in races as his schedule permits, and I'll pick and choose the races that I am going to do. But don't be surprised when we put a young driver or two into some of the races."
While Ave and Cummins are making the jump for economic reasons, there is a whole slew of sports car aces who are eyeing the Ohio-based sanction for career development reasons.
Michael McDowell left Barber Motorsports Park in July 2006, on top of the world. Not only did he win the Grand Am Cup race on Saturday, he also grabbed a Sixth-Place finish in his Daytona Prototype on Sunday. Later that week he walked into Eddie Sharp's race shop in Denver, North Carolina, hoping to put together a deal to run a few late-season ARCA races. They worked out a deal and Michael paid Eddie Sharp back with two Top 5's and another Top 10 finish in just five races.
But his performance in ARCA shouldn't come as a surprise. The 22-year-old McDowell is no stranger to the winner's circle. He is a two-time National Karting champion, having garnered 84 race wins in karts. He was the 2004 Star Mazda champion and became the youngest podium finisher in Grand-Am history in 2005. Also during that year, McDowell won his first Rolex Series Daytona Prototype race in Mexico City, and then followed that up with an 11th-Place finish in the next day's Champ Car race. Late last year McDowell and Sharp entered into an agreement that will have the team running the full ARCA schedule, and they plan to go after Frank Kimmel's private playground-the championship.
Eddie Sharp is known for his ability to spot young talent, and his signing of McDowell is just another example. "Michael has as much talent as anyone who has ever walked through these doors," Sharp said. "Just look what he's done in such a short time. I keep my eye on a lot of forms of racing, including sports car racing. Remember, I raced in the SCCA for a long time in Florida. When a driver has a background in sports car racing, he has several advantages. He has less things to unlearn about driving the car, since it is new to him. He understands about the apexes of turns and the importance of hitting those apexes correctly, and he is generally easier on equipment.
"What Michael did for us at the end of last season was just tremendous," Sharp went on. Pointing to a white No. 2 Dodge on a lift against the wall, Sharp said, "That is the car he drove at Salem. The only mark on the car is the tire print on the driver's door. If you can run in the Top 10 at Salem and that's the only damage you have, then you are the real deal. That car is going to be converted to a dirt car for the races at Springfield and DuQuoin. I think we have a real chance at the championship with Michael."
McDowell is open and honest about why he is running in ARCA. "I want to get into NASCAR and the Nextel Cup Series," he said. "In American racing, NASCAR is where it's at, and I think every driver wants to be there at some point in their career. ARCA is the perfect vehicle for me to start in that direction. We'll be racing on a lot of the same tracks that NASCAR does, and on a lot of the weekends we'll be racing with them. It's a great opportunity to get noticed by some of the top team owners."
Andy Lally is also trying to make the jump into ARCA. While he doesn't have a full-time ride for the season yet, he has tested several times with Andy Belmont's team at Charlotte and Daytona and is expected to be in a seat some time before the season is over. Lally brings an impressive rsum to the table as he pursues the career change. Lally has more podium finishes than any other driver in the history of the Grand-Am Rolex Series, and he is the first and only three-time Rolex Series champion. In fact, in the last seven years, Andy has won professional championships three times and has been runner-up the other four.
For Lally, getting into a stock car is just a continuation of the dream. "I grew up in Georgia. NASCAR has always been part of our family regimen. I started racing go-karts, and that led to a couple of rides in SCCA. It seems that all the rides that I have been offered has been on the sports car side, not stock cars. People forget that I ran in the Goody's Dash Series. The first time I ran Daytona in a Dash car, I was flat out going into the first turn and I was scared to death. I got over that and now it seems silly to me. Right now, it's important for me to get into a stock car. I'm 32 years old, and I am at the top of my game. It's time to take the next step. I would love to run in some ARCA races and some Busch Series races, maybe on the road courses. We're trying to make that happen."
Andy Belmont, whose cars Lally tested in, had nothing but praise for the driver. "A driver who comes out of the sports car arena has several things going for him," Belmont said. "He usually has a better feel of the car right out of the box and is a step ahead with the balance of the car. Plus, he usually displays great patience with the car and on the track. Andy Lally has all of these things. I was impressed with him. He hit his marks right from the start, and his feedback was incredible."
Of course, there can be a language barrier when going from sports cars to stock cars. "Some of our mechanics had a hard time understanding Andy when [he] told them that the car had a bit of understeer," joked Belmont. "He meant that the car was pushing, but that's just the different languages of racing. He's the real deal, and whoever picks him up will be on the road to success."
Eight-time ARCA RE/MAX Champion Frank Kimmel sums it up best when he says, "I'm all for these guys coming in to race with us. I've seem them run on television, and they are very good. I firmly believe that the more good drivers that come into ARCA, the better off we are. It makes all of us drive harder and become more professional."


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Nov. 14, 2000-Tradewinds to Australia
Wings in New Cal
It took us two tries to make it out of New Caledonia.
After the wind-up of the Pacific Arts Festival the 300 cruising boats in Port Moselle started looking at departure dates for leaving New Caledonia. For most, including Wings, the next destination was going to be Australia, and, as the season was advancing, we were all itching to go. Boat projects were hurried along, provisions taken aboard and the weather was checked and checked again.
Even then many of us got it wrong.
The winds had been westerly and we needed SE for an easy passage to Australia. On Wednesday, November 8, the wind was still westerly but with a decent but not definitive weather forecast for SE winds the next day, the herd mentality took over as crews around the harbor who heard that others were keen to go in the morning decided that it was time for themselves as well. A rush of boats, Wings among them, departed Thursday morning and many were soon heading east across the lagoon for Passe Dumbea. Before long this fleet encountered strong westerly winds, squalls, and heavy rain instead of the Southeast Trades which were hoped for. It seemed that a pesky low had developed overnight just southeast of Noumea and we were getting the clockwise wind on the back side of it. In the hurry to get underway that morning few had looked carefully at the new weather information we had available and now we were paying the price for this haste. Motoring towards the pass boats were bucking and slamming into a sharp chop with rain and wind whistling through the rigging. The ocean outside the pass looked rough.
We turned back before reaching the pass. It was one of the rare times when we've turned back in the face of bad weather and it was a tough decision, particularly since Sandy & Lloyd Banta, on Warrior, with whom we had an informal race to Australia, were going on, but we didn't see the point of heading out to beat ourselves up in rough conditions and contrary winds. That night, back in port, we felt good about our decision as we listened on the SSB radio to the boats which had carried on complain about their wind conditions. Meanwhile the weather office confidently stated that Friday morning the wind would finally go SE. We prepared to get underway again Friday, never mind the old superstition about the bad luck of leaving on a Friday.
So, on Friday we set out again and this time we had favorable winds. With a good heading and a number 4 jib we were soon reaching to the SW. Saturday and Sunday passed with steady breeze and we made good speed. By Monday we started thinking that this was probably going to be one fast trip; we continued to experience ideal conditions with southeast trade winds at 15 to 25, reasonably smooth seas and clear sunny skies. It was beautiful sailing and we were going like crazy on a beam reach with a full main and #4 headsail, doing over 7.0 knots continuously. We logged a noon to noon run of over 170 miles, a very nice distance for us, and by Tuesday we'd averaged 7.75 for a couple of days, making a run of 187 miles. Our destination was Bundaberg, Australia but we jibed and headed a little north of the rhumb line and we found better wind than the other boats traveling the same route more to the south. We were optimistic about our chance of beating Warrior's time. The next day we logged 186 miles.
Besides being fast, this passage was easy, not too windy or rough, few sail changes, few squalls or rain, just lots of rest and reading, and a full moon at night to make the night watches easier.
This is how passage making ought to be.
We finished off the trip with one squally night as we approached the Australian coast. Surfing in south of the Great Barrier Reef we reduced sail to arrive at Bundaberg at dawn. In four days and 21.5 hours we covered the 800 mile distance that had been estimated by the majority of the cruising fleet as being a five to eight day passage. We wondered how Warrior had done.
While we enjoyed the sail we were also happy to be in Australia. Australia! We'd arrived in the land of Ayers Rock and Alice Springs, of 'Roos and Wallabies, and Dancin' Matilda. This is an exciting landfall for us and we can hardly wait to get ashore and look around.
Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Bundaberg, Australia
Click here to see more photos.
Click here to see the hardcopy log of the trip
Labels: Australia, Bundaberg, New Caledonia, Port Moselle, sailing


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While there is a large segment of the population averse to any form of confrontation or conflict, healthy debate has an important place in the fabric of our society. Through arguing, we can form and refine our opinions on the world around us. Should our arguments come from a seat of truth and logic, we can expect to win others to our side, eventually shaping opinion on a much broader scope.
In order to find flaws in our own arguments, we must rationally examine others. We must pick apart their weaknesses and consider their strengths. Debate is like any other discipline. It takes practice and study in order to become a master of the craft. The best place to find critical arguments taking place is the website known as YouTube. Here, you will find many an individual expressing their viewpoints, usually within the context of a particular video. The conflicts are quick and electrifying, with each point/counterpoint enlightening not only the opponent, but also the observer. Let's examine one such example in depth.
Miley Cyrus, "Party in the U.S.A."
Recognizing that several comments on the page were disparaging Ms. Cyrus, an astute citizen of the world named Knowthyself24 reacts with this piece of cogent thought:
u fuckers r mean as fuck..............dam ironicallly she got more money than all of us on here........american is a place of trends truly
Knowthyself24's argument is layered so deeply that a single glance is not enough to capture the meaning behind it. Let's start with the opening volley, "u fuckers r mean as fuck". Knowthyself24 admirably dispenses with pleasantries and gets right to the heart of the matter. Not only does this do a nice job of setting up her argument, it sets her opponents off balance and weakens their eventual retort. Unfortunately, this argument is softened somewhat by the middle act, in which she makes an unwarranted assumption about both her audience and her opponents. There is no way for her to know precisely the net worth of everyone commenting on the video, and it's uncertain whether this use of "ironically" is appropriate for the situation. She does a nice job wrapping up her point, however, with her piercing observation that American is a place of trends.
Under normal circumstances, I would expect an argument of this caliber to go largely unchallenged. However, the rich tapestry of intelligence that is the YouTube comments section surprised me once again. Themjloverz came back almost instantly with this biting response:
this is gay ╭∩╮( º.º )╭∩╮ not a cyrus fan shane dawson fan
The mjloverz not only deconstructs the preceding argument, but he manages to drive a wedge into the very video itself. Rather than attacking any one commenter directly, he manages to dismiss the video and the artist by labeling them both as "gay". Does he mean that Miley Cyrus is a homosexual? Almost certainly not. He means it as a generic insult, which continues to thrive with power, particularly among teenage males, at whom his argument was directed. He goes on to use the medium of art to further his explanation and his feelings about the video. He finishes up by making sure his audience knows where his allegiances lie, an important aspect of presenting a clear and honest argument.
While it's important to realize how effortlessly brilliant arguments can result from blatantly contentious videos such as this one, you can use the above examples to bring life, fervor, and logic to your own debates, regardless of the topic. I hope this study will serve you well in your future arguments.


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OM Times Magazine : January 1/2 2012 : Anthony Baron Kirk
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