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Skip to comments.A cry in the black education wilderness
Posted on 04/28/2003 1:32:16 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
The great disappointment of my ongoing crusade to foment a revolution in black education has been the lack of a response, and even hostility, from black leaders in this community. Naturally, I expected everyone to drop what they were doing and hop onto my education movement bandwagon.
To be sure, black readers in general have responded positively and in droves to the call for a black education movement along the lines of our historic civil rights movement. They have said they agree that this movement must demand rigorous academic standards and a high level of parental responsibility and community involvement to ensure black children's success.
In a comment typical of many I've received, a reader wrote, "We as black people must begin to create a culture of valuing education ... if we are to ever pull our children out of the river of underachievement in which they find themselves. I believe that this can be done, but it will require a new and different determination on the part of the black community, and every black parent in particular, before it will be achieved."
Another reader wrote, "I am just frustrated at our community's complacency towards education and the willingness of so many parents to allow their children to waste their young years on activities that do not help them become competitive in academia. ... I'm making the effort to convert as many [people] as I can. I think I successfully turned my husband around. He was wiling to buy his children-to-be their first car but would not fund their college education. Now THAT had to change."
But I've heard little from Houston's black leadership.
Of course, many people are doing interesting and important work to promote high standards in black education.
Helen M. Berger runs Houston Preparatory Academy's U-Prep model in which academically promising students from poor northeast neighborhoods are provided four weeks of intensive instruction in reading, writing and math. Afterward, a select few students who meet the high admission and academic standards of some of Houston's best private schools enter those schools with scholarships and the social and academic support of U-Prep to ensure their success.
Sylvia Brooks, president & CEO of the Houston Area Urban League, after reading my columns calling for new black leadership to head a black education movement, called to point out all the work the local Urban League is doing in that field. In fact, the promotion of equal access to education is one of the main goals of the Urban League's advocacy mission, and I applaud that.
Kevin Hoffman, the president of the Houston school board, posed a couple of questions when I complained to him about black leadership on education. "Do you go off and have a public tantrum, or do you work inside the system in which you were elected?," he asked. "Do you want to represent as an insider getting things done or as an outsider making a fuss on the front page?"
Without patting himself on the back too hard, Hoffman noted the significant number of new schools that will be built in black neighborhoods and of old ones that will be renovated under the district's new bond issue. Point well-taken.
My thinking has been that a natural place for the new black education movement to grow could be black churches. I have imagined church leaders organizing tutoring sessions for young members, recognizing and rewarding good grades and bringing in experts to teach test-taking skills and to help parents support their children's educational endeavors.
So, not long ago, I spoke with Rev. Michael Williams, pastor of Joy Tabernacle church. In writing a column afterward, I focused on those issues which he and I held in common, such as parents' major role in early education.
Williams chastised me later for not playing up his other points, such as that "serious and significant inequities" in funding and facilities exist in white and black communities, and that "American institutional life is designed to support white supremacy and public education is no different."
I had chosen to ignore some of his more outrageous statements, such as that "college is overrated for black people" and that many good jobs exist for people without college degrees.
Even if that were true, why would Williams, who also happens to be a trustee of the Houston Community College board, preach that to young people?
People who believe, as Williams apparently does, that black people are powerless to achieve excellence in their lives because they are oppressed victims ought to take a note from all the people who are out there working hard to show black children how bright the future can be. That's real leadership.
Georgsson, an editorial writer, is a member of the Chronicle Editorial Board email@example.com
On my tiny Texas campus of fewer than 1,000 students, only fools refused to read and study diligently. Only fools destroyed their brains with drugs. Only fools physically hurt their brethren. In fact, "being smart" was in. We called it being "heavy." We even expected jocks to be heavy. All musicians, especially the jazz types, were heavy.
Black power meant just that: being black and powerful, being armed with education and the drive to improve our lot in a hostile environment where the very concept of racial egalitarianism was still alien to most white Americans. Black power meant sharing the good and eliminating the bad.
In time, the concept of black power changed. Instead of being a sentiment that united us, it became a source of deep division. Those who followed Martin Luther King and his nonviolent movement, for example, were not as black as those who followed, say, Malcolm X's philosophy or that of the fearless Black Panthers.
No longer bringing us together, black power had become a negative litmus test for one's degree of "blackness." We had entered the "Blacker than Thou" era. On campuses nationwide, black students separated themselves into enclaves.***
Liberal black leaders need new targets for their outrage*** The incident occurred at 10:30 on a Sunday night, meaning that, if effective parenting were going on at all, the 10-, 11-, 13- and 14-year-olds would have and should have been in their homes, preparing for school Monday. But you can't say that in America these days. That's "blaming the victim." Or, using Belafonte's bizarre analogy, it's blaming the field slaves still suffering oppression on the plantation. It's much easier to criticize movie producers, directors, writers and actors. It's much better, psychologically speaking, to bash Bush and Powell. It's just no fun suggesting that the black parents of those hoodlums act like parents. Residents of that Milwaukee neighborhood spoke out in several news stories. One man said the same gang of thugs attacked him and some white friends two years ago. Another said the parents of those boys let them run in the streets at all hours of the night.
It might occur to astute observers that Powell is not the daddy of any of those boys in that Milwaukee mob. Nor is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, or any other black conservative who arouses the dudgeon of Afro-America's depressingly liberal leadership. If every black conservative in America disappeared tomorrow, absolutely nothing would change for the better in communities like that one in Milwaukee. That's why blacks on the liberal/left side of the political spectrum need to find new targets for their ire. They can start by unzipping their lips and going to Milwaukee to confront the parents of the accused, to ask them just what kind of parents they are and to demand where they were the night of Sept. 29. Then they can head here to Baltimore, hit those drug corners and finish the job Angela and Carnell Dawson so courageously started.***
We have no leaders to save our black men*** "I was astonished recently when I read a study about a city's school system where out of nearly 6,000 African-American males in its high school, only 135 earned a B average or higher. Yet, we black people seem paralyzed to act, to mobilize -- to be outraged! We have failed miserably in addressing, for lack of a better description, "self-destruction of the black man.' Today . . . women head 70 percent of black households! Now you tell me, how are young black boys going to learn how to be men? Folks, what we have . . . is a national crisis -- demanding the highest attention of civic, business and government leaders. I am proposing that communities across the country initiate and start a "Save the Black Man Project.'***
White teachers flee black schools *** Critics see the exodus as a new form of segregation, encouraged by court rulings that no longer enforce racial diversity. But teachers say that cultural and economic barriers, not racial ones, are fueling the trend in a region where more than 40 percent of the public school population is black. At the very least, the growing shortage of white educators is creating a dilemma for black schools from Picayune County, Miss., to Decatur, Ga. Right now, there aren't enough black teachers to go around, either. "All the stars are aligned for white teachers to leave," says Gary Orfield, an education professor at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. "It's a combination of poverty and racial segregation, added to cultural differences, that all makes it tough for suburban teachers to figure out the black and Latino cultures."***
Speaking Truth With Power ~ John Fund*** Black leaders who focus on racial divisions are too often showered with media attention and, what is worse, given a free pass on demagoguery. Presidential candidate Al Sharpton, handled with kid gloves by other White House contenders, comes to mind. At the same time, leaders such as Clarence Thomas, J.C. Watts, civil-rights leader Roy Innis and even Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice are often called "sellouts," or worse, for not viewing every issue through a racial prism.
Nonetheless, a growing number of black officials are breaking ranks by calling for a more honest approach to race relations. The latest is David Clarke, the elected sheriff of Milwaukee County, Wis., who accused other black elected officials of practicing a "cult of victimology" instead of making "real efforts to better the lives of black people." His critics claim that the 46-year-old Democrat is pandering to whites, but his message has struck a chord among voters of all races and could catapult him into higher office.
.. Sheriff Clarke will have none of that. "We're not targeting a population. We're targeting neighborhoods," he told the Journal-Sentinel. "The majority of people arrested for violent crimes, they're black males. Why should we kid ourselves . . . they're ravaging the lives of other black individuals." "I'm result-oriented, and our neighborhoods will never prosper if we don't keep criminals from victimizing families," Sheriff Clarke told me. He is heartened by the reaction he is getting from ordinary black citizens. "They agree that our community will only be strong if we reject low expectations and failure on everyone's part. A new generation of leaders think it's time for a fresh message and more honesty."
A 24-year veteran of the Milwaukee police force, Sheriff Clarke was appointed county sheriff last year by a Republican governor. He promptly disappointed the GOP by winning a full four-year term as a Democrat, albeit one who openly admires Clarence Thomas and Colin Powell. He says his blue-collar parents taught him "not to use race as an excuse," and he mourns that today "playing the race card is done as if it were some kind of sport." He has called for crackdowns on truant students after a mob of boys as young as 10 bludgeoned a man to death.***
Poverty in the nation*** Is poverty pre-ordained? I think not. A married couple, both working full time at a minimum-wage job that pays $5.15 per hour, would earn an annual income of $20,600. Keep in mind that few adults earn wages as low as the minimum wage and those who do earn a higher wage after a few months on the job. If a married couple both working at the minimum wage had no children, they would not be poor; if they had two children, they wouldn't be living in the lap of luxury, but neither would they be below the poverty threshold.
Let's look at poverty in female-headed households. Divorce and death of the father might explain a small part of why there are so many female-headed households. But the bulk of it is explained by people having children and not getting married in the first place.
Having children is not an act of God. It's not like you're walking down the street and pregnancy strikes you; children are a result of a conscious decision. For the most part, female-headed households are the result of shortsighted, self-destructive behavior of one or two people. They might have bought into the nonsense of "experts" like John Hopkins University sociologist Professor Andrew Cherlin, who said, "It has yet to be shown that the absence of a father was directly responsible for any of the supposed deficiencies of broken homes." The real issue, according to Mr. Cherlin, "is not the lack of male presence but the lack of male income." That's a call for fathers to be replaced by a government welfare check.
According to a NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School Poll, the leading cause of poverty identified by both the poor (75 percent) and non-poor (65 percent) was drug abuse. Again, it's not like you're walking down the street and you're struck with drug addiction; to use drugs is a conscious decision. Drug-users tend not to be very productive. They drop out of school, abandon their families, have scrapes with the law and don't hold down jobs. Would anybody be surprised that poverty is one result of drug usage?
Most middle-class Americans, including black Americans, are no more than one, two or three generations out of poverty. How did they manage this feat; what's the secret for avoiding poverty?
I think it's a no-brainer. Finish high school and take a job, any kind of a job. Today, but not when I graduated in 1954, if a person graduates from high school, with even a C average, there is a college or some kind of skills training program somewhere for him, and often financial assistance to boot. So if a person doesn't take advantage of today's available opportunities, particularly those during the boom of the 1990s, and engages in self-destructive behavior, whose fault is it?***
Educator says blacks underachieve - "Do you think so low of yourself .?" *** ''I don't like you segregating us like this,'' one student told White during a question-and-answer session. ''You know what I mean, calling us bad or whatever. I think you should have something like this after school.''
White was unswayed: ''You're in school. I run this school, and I meet with you when I want to.'' Parents in the back clapped and nodded. ''That's right!'' said a few, calling out as if they were in church. White said he knew that some students in the crowd were making straight A's, but he wanted them to help boost the performance of the others.
One student asked the superintendent if any other Indiana school districts were hosting similar convocations. White is one of only three black superintendents in Indiana's 293 school districts. White superintendents tell him they would be accused of prejudice or profiling if they targeted black boys to improve their academic performance. ''To me, it's the truth,'' White said. ''The truth will set you free.''***
Our kids are failing; where's the shame? *** I've tried to be impervious to "group think." But I've recalibrated my thinking regarding collective guilt and shame. Why? Because I'm ashamed of the low achievement today of most black kids in school systems nationwide. Black people collectively should join me in my shame. The point being not to wallow in it, but move to do something about it.
.. What happened? The Edwardses, and other black Cy-Fair parents, asked the district to challenge their children, to raise, not lower, the bar. Most importantly, they took responsibility for preparing their kids to compete. They partnered with area churches to enlist parents in their effort. They disseminated information about tutoring, enrichment opportunities, how to get into college and shared common stories and strategies. They also give large credit to Superintendent Rick Berry, who then was new to the district, for accepting the challenge. Now, the district has "recognized" status due largely to black students now passing the TAAS test in the 90 percentile.
Progress was not easy. District officials were initially skeptical and parents were disinterested and "lazy," DeBra Edwards said. "I can't blame this (failure) on the white folks any more because it's really not their fault," she said. "It's our fault. In so many cases our parents don't want this responsibility. It is easier for them to allow their children to become a part of the sports programs." And that is shameful.***
Two of the Texans, Wallace Jefferson and Dale Wainwright, were elected to the state Supreme Court, which has nine justices. The third is Michael Williams, 49, who in 1998 became the state's first African-American to hold a statewide executive position when he was appointed by Governor George W. Bush to complete the term of a departed member of the Texas Railroad Commission. He was elected to the commission in 2000 and reelected last year.
The commission has precious little to do with railroads. It regulates the state's oil and gas industries. Which is to say, it matters. Being born in Midland, Texas, was a shrewd career move by Williams, who returned there after attending the University of Southern California and staying there for law school. In 1978, at age 25, he ran for county attorney in Midland, and was, he cheerfully says, ''slaughtered.'' Part of the problem may have been his campaign manager, a callow whippersnapper named George W. Bush.
In 1990 the first President Bush appointed Williams as assistant secretary of education for civil rights and he soon riled the civil rights lobby by ruling that college scholarships exclusively for minorities are illegal. Today his head is full of thoughts about how Republicans can make inroads with African-American voters. This, he says, is how: slowly, state by state, with statewide candidates. Ken Blackwell agrees.
Blackwell is Ohio's secretary of state and the nation's senior African-American holder of a statewide office. A conservative who supported Steve Forbes for the 2000 presidential nomination, Blackwell notes that if Al Gore had received the votes Ohioans gave Ralph Nader, Bush would have carried the state by just 1 percentage point instead of 4. So it might be momentous if in 2004 Bush increases his share of Ohio's African-American vote from 9 percent to, say, 15 percent.
Winning reelection last year, Blackwell won 50 percent of the African-American vote, but does not think this helped the gubernatorial candidate, Bob Taft, who won without significant African-American support. However, Blackwell believes that his own success made it easier for Taft to select an African-American, Jennette Bradley, as his running mate for lieutenant governor.
The second African-American elected lieutenant governor last year is Michael Steele and the first ever elected statewide in Maryland. Robert Ehrlich, who selected Steele and is now governor, may have received as much as 14 percent of the African-American vote, while his opponent, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, did not get the turnout she needed.
Before the 2000 election, the most prominent African-American in public life was Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who is prominent because of a Republican, the first President Bush. Never have African-Americans been as prominent in a presidential administration as they are in the current one, given the war against terrorism and the prominence of Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice in the waging of it. Before the war eclipsed domestic policy, the president was particularly interested in education policy, which is the purview of Secretary of Education Rod Paige, an African-American.
Britain's Conservative Party gave the country a Jewish prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli, and a woman prime minister, Margaret Thatcher. The second African-American elected governor of an American state since Reconstruction -- Douglas Wilder was elected Virginia's governor in 1989 -- may come from America's conservative party, the ranks of whose elected and appointed officials are decreasingly monochrome. And the successes of African-American Republicans in statewide elections will begin to produce modest -- and tremendously consequential -- Republican gains among African-Americans in presidential elections. [End]
George F. Will is a syndicated columnist. This story ran on page A15 of the Boston Globe on 4/28/2003. © Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.
What Rod Paige Really Said - The trigger-happy media target the secretary of education By Kenneth L. Woodward 04/28/2003, Weekly Standard Volume 008, Issue 32 [Full Text] EDUCATION SECRETARY Roderick R. Paige, it appears, is the latest victim of gotcha journalism. In his private life, Paige is a deacon at Houston Baptist Church. Last week the Baptist Press, a denominational news service, asked him in an interview, "Given the choice between private and Christian, uh, or private and public universities, who do you think has the best deal?"
To which Paige replied: "That's a judgment, too, that would vary because each of them have real strong points and some of them have vulnerabilities, but you know, all things being equal, I'd prefer to have a child in a school where there's a strong appreciation for values, the kind of values that I think are associated with Christian communities." As a transcript later released by Paige's office showed, this was amended by the Baptist Press reporter, fired for changing Paige's words, to read: "All things being equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith."
Gotcha! Once the interview made its way into the Washington Post and other secular publications, Paige became the target of liberal assault. Civil rights groups, educational organizations and, of course, Democrats in Congress expressed their ire. Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York circulated a letter among party colleagues demanding an apology "to the many American families whose faiths and educational choices your remarks have denigrated. If you are unprepared to make clear that this sort of religious bigotry has no place in the Department of Education, then we would urge you to resign."
At a press conference, Paige said he saw no reason to do either, adding that he had intended to convey only his personal preference to have a child in a college that emphasizes strong Christian values. But the liberal media saw a chance to play Toto, ripping away the curtain of educational impartiality to expose the Bush administration's hoaxing Wizard of Oz. A Washington Post editorial claimed the secretary's remarks revealed that the administration's support of school choice "is a cover for Christian school advocates who have given up on public education." Gotcha! A New York Times editorial the next day mongered the same fear. Paige's statements, said the Times, "reinforce suspicions that the administration is in sympathy with the religious right's drive to undermine the public school system in favor of a voucher-financed nationwide network of religious schools." Gotcha Deacon Paige!
Do Paige's critics really believe a pious Southern Baptist--or devout Muslim or observant Jew--cannot, should not, run the federal educational establishment if, as a parent, he would prefer to see his own kids in a religiously run school? The Post editorial at least acknowledged Paige's extraordinary achievements as superintendent of Houston's public schools. But neither the Times nor the Post seems to realize that thousands of public school teachers, principals, and superintendents send their own children to private and parochial schools for much the same reason--values--that Paige cites. So, one has to believe, do some of those who write editorials for our elite newspapers--at least those editorialists who are old enough to have school-age children.
The difference between religious and public schools lies less in values than in ethos: Elements of the ethos that makes Catholic schools work so well--things like discipline, esteem for students, personal attention, and equal academic demands on all students, not to mention on-site educational direction--can and should be duplicated in public schools. But there are other elements that only a religious education can provide. Study of the faith is one of them, but more important is the ethos of the school community and the explicitly religious formation it provides. A difficult virtue like forgiveness of enemies, for example, is more likely to impress students when it is presented as necessary to the formation of a Christ-like character, just as the compassion of the Buddha or the justice demanded by the Torah is best taught in a Buddhist or a Jewish school setting. This kind of formation cannot--should not--be part of the public school experience.
But the heavy-handed reaction to Secretary Paige is more than just the public education lobby acting on alert status. There is vincible ignorance at play here, as well as ideological bias. One has to ask where the editors of the Times get their information on parochial schools. No reporter at the Times, or at New York's tabs for that matter, is assigned to cover non-public schools. In Chicago or Cleveland or Dallas or Houston, the media recognize that Catholic, Lutheran, and other parochial school systems serve the public and are therefore news. But readers of the Times and those in Congress who echo its editorial views know more about the Muslim madrassas in Pakistan than they do the religious schools in New York or Washington. For more than 30 years I have been reading the Times's annual Education supplement, and only once have I seen a story on what is one of the largest Catholic school systems in the country.
Running throughout the ongoing debates in American education is the assumption that public schools are, by their very public-ness, more diverse than religious schools. Many of them are. But check out almost any inner-city Catholic school and you will find that black Baptists, Hispanic Pentecostals, and even Muslims may constitute the majority of the students. When last I visited the Catholic grammar school that my relatives attended in Detroit, I found in the classroom a statue of the Madonna in one corner and an open Bible, an icon for the school's many black Baptist students, in another. A few years ago, the winner of the annual award for the best religion essay at Rice High School, a private Catholic school near Harlem, was a Muslim. But that story never made the New York Times.
Diversity, it appears, is in the eye of the beholder. In my own public school district, one of those Westchester County upper-income enclaves that promise "private school education at public school expense," students are far more uniform--in terms of family income, parental background, and cultural capital--than those I studied with in a Midwestern Jesuit high school half a century ago. My own experience has since been reinforced by a study of Catholic education published a decade ago by two scholars from Harvard University. They found that in terms of real diversity--namely socioeconomic background, including ethnic mix--and in terms of providing all students with a demanding curriculum, the Catholic rather than the public schools are the true heirs of the American "common school," as envisioned by public education's founding fathers. The irony, of course, is that the common school those fathers fashioned, with its mandatory reading of the King James Bible, was designed to make good Protestants out of everyone, especially immigrant Catholic children. Indeed, as late as the 1930s, when my mother-in-law got out of normal school, a Catholic like her could not get a job teaching in a public school in rural Iowa because of her religion. A further irony is that until the 1960s, when the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, there were few if any evangelical grade or high schools, and leaders of Paige's own Southern Baptist denomination routinely criticized Catholic schools for being divisive and un-American.
That kind of prejudice is long gone. But equally virulent forms of ignorance and bias still pollute our public discourse about how to educate our youth. As the overreaction to Secretary Paige indicates, any public official who expresses a personal preference for religious schools is still suspect in so-called liberal circles. Those who champion a state monopoly on education, it turns out, are the real enemies of diversity.
Kenneth L. Woodward is a contributing editor at Newsweek.
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The entire public school set-up is rotten. The kids aren't learning and the teachers, for the most part, are not up to par and use too much class time pushing the pc/LIBERAL line. The money is enough but it's being sucked off by unnecessary layers of free loaders or tossed off to contractors that shouldn't be allowed a building permit. Teachers' unions are little more than a campaign money conduit to the Democratic Party.
The thing that strikes me the most though, is the willingness of black leaders and teachers to let black children lose out because they had more hate than good sense, that they keep feeding that hate in place of doing the hard work of getting behind people, like those mentioned in the articles above.
Snakes come in all stripes and colors but to sell out your own to gain power, is about as low as low can go. Some pigs seem themselves more equal than others and color isn't the reason.
What does that have to do with education? Why, silly, our job as teachers is to enlighten the next generation and radicalize them, even as we fight all policies that support a meritocracy, like grades and tests. Just asking kids to take a standardized test is racist, see, cause standardized tests judge you purely on your merits, and that reinforces the capitalist system, which is inherently racist because... uhm... because we say it is, that's why.
And so do a lot of teachers and politicans who scream whenever the subject of educational choice is brought up.
And Americans will get change when they demand it. Unfortunately, too many believe those propaganda bumper stickers schools send home mean their children have knowledge - that their school is good and their child is advancing. Grades do not reflect it, that's why the need for all this testing.
Time to drive those Marxists out and bring education back. Tenure is something that needs a sharp ax.
I'm doing a career change to teach special education. I have to take a 6 week orientation class..... My goal is to keep from calling it "indocrination" in front of them.
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Director Ava DuVernay on the set of her film Selma.
As Rebecca Keegan writes in The Los Angeles Times, "in March 2015, an Australian researcher published a statistic that drew both laughs and gasps in the business community there: Fewer large Australian companies were run by women than by men named Peter. The damning statistic prompted some introspection in the Australian film industry in particular, where women represent 17% of directors, a number that hasn't budged since 1970.
'We've got this wonderful networking psyche here called "mateship,"' said Fiona Cameron, chief executive of Screen Australia, the nation's government-funded film board. 'It typically involves men helping like-minded men. There's been an informal quota in the Australian film business forever. That made our filmmakers stop in their tracks and say, "What are we going to do?"'
In December, Screen Australia committed $5 million to changing the number, setting a goal that its money would go to films with creative teams at least 50% female. Australia is one of several countries that have launched such programs in recent years — Canada, Ireland and Sweden have also started aggressive, state-financed initiatives aimed at increasing the number of female directors, writers and producers on their films.
The programs stand in stark contrast to the American film industry, where a controversy is roiling over the same issue, but where there is no comparable government agency that finances movies. Here in Hollywood, change is mostly taking a different path, with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launching an investigation into gender bias in the hiring of female directors last fall.
In the U.S., women are even less likely to be in the director's chair than they are abroad — women direct just 4% of the 100 top-grossing Hollywood movies, according to a USC study, making filmmakers like Elizabeth Banks (who directed Pitch Perfect 2,) Sam Taylor-Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey) and Ava DuVernay (Selma) the very definition of outliers.
At the urging of the American Civil Liberties Union, the EEOC began interviewing female directors in October, and is now meeting with executives, agents and others to determine whether a pattern of bias exists. Internationally, the film industry is in the midst of a kind of feminist awakening, with the inciting incident being slightly different in each country.
In Ireland, a protest in the theater world last fall kicked off the discussion, when a planned centenary celebration of the 1916 Easter Uprising at the country's national theater included just one female playwright, and nine men.
'We went, "Hang on a minute, we're just as bad,"' said Annie Doona, chair of the Irish Film Board, where 20% of the movies financed between 2010 and 2015 had female directors. 'We need to know what's happening here.' In December, the agency set a target of achieving 50/50 funding within three years, as part of a larger program that also includes mentorship, training and film school initiatives. 'We've said to production companies, "We're looking to you to find that female talent,"' Doona said.
In Canada, the National Film Board announced a similar program in March — going forward, the agency will devote 50% of its $65-million annual budget to projects directed by women. 'We're funded equally by Canadians who are men and Canadians who are women,' said board President Claude Joli-Coeur. 'The talent of women directors is there. We just decided to make it so.'
Many countries are looking to Sweden as an example. When Anna Serner, an outspoken chief executive from the advertising world, became head of the Swedish Film Institute in 2011, 26% of the movies the agency financed were directed by women. Due in large part to Serner's aggressive advocacy, by 2014, 50% of the films the institute financed were directed by women. Female directors now win about 60% of the prizes at Sweden's version of the Oscars, and the majority of Swedish directors invited to international film festivals are women.
Sweden's programs, which are partly funded by a 10% tax on movie tickets, would seem unthinkably interventionist in the market-driven American film industry, and have even been controversial in a country that considers gender equality a cornerstone of its identity. 'Some male directors have been very upset,' Serner said. 'They still get 50% of our financing, but they feel we're manipulating the arts. People say they want equality, as long as it doesn't affect them.'"
This is long overdue; you can read the entire story by clicking here, or on the image above.

subset: commoncrawl


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Audrey Elizabeth Hagen (Mitchell) made her final journey to join her late husband and love of her life, Art on January 27, 2014. Although it's with a heavy heart that we say our final goodbye to our beloved mother, "Lady Grandma" and "Grandma Miami", her spirit will forever live on in the love she brought to our lives and the inspiring strength she exemplified.
Audrey was born to hard working Irish immigrants Andrew and Elizabeth Mitchell on September 18, 1928 in Somerville, Massachusetts. Young Audrey spent her early years with best friend and brother, Fred, skating the frozen ponds and football fields in the winter, and visiting Lake Winnapasaki in the summer. A Bostonian through and through, she cherished her childhood and always reserved a warm place in her heart for the idyllic surroundings of the North East.
Then, in 1950, she met "the one" Arthur Hagen, from Waltham, Massachusetts on a blind date. He was her soul mate and the one true love of her life. They were inseparable. They married that same year and after a few moves around the country, eventually settled in Los Altos, California to raise their four children Bill, Pat, Ken and Greg. There was always a lot of laughter and strong sense of "family first" in the Hagen home. Art and Audrey were an example of a truly happy marriage.
Tragically, Art passed away unexpectedly on New Year's Eve in 1978. No words can adequately describe the devastation Audrey felt – and he remained prominently in her heart, mind and spirit every day for the next 36 years.
From 1980 until her recent passing, she went from mother of four to grandmother of four, re-locating to Austin, Texas in her final years. From after school pick-ups and sleepovers, to movie nights and Christmas Eve feasts, she played an immensely important role in the raising of her grandchildren. She taught them the true power of strength, loyalty, love and care – and nothing can ever take that away.
Audrey will be forever remembered by her children, son Bill (Maria) Hagen of San Jose, CA; daughter Pat (Jim) Chacona of Austin, TX; son Ken Hagen of San Jose, CA; and son Greg Hagen of Watsonville, CA; her grandsons, Josh Chacona of Los Angeles, CA; Justin (Katri) Chacona of Helsinki, Finland; Nathan Chacona of Austin, TX; Chris Hagen of San Jose, CA, and great- granddaughter Isabel Chacona of Helsinki, Finland. Also survived by Michael (Linda) Nunez of Fremont, CA and Eddie Nunez of San Jose, CA; niece Linda Mackie of Framingham, MA; and childhood friend "Cousin" Bette West of Fremont, NH.
She will be missed dearly and forever in the hearts of each and every life she touched.
Cremation arranged by Koenig and Strickland Funeral in La Grange, Texas.
Interment and private service arranged at Alta Mesa Cemetery, Palo Alto, California.


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- 6 total posts
- 6 comments
Recent comments from vieamiami
Hi Valerie, I hope your treatment with laser help the improvement. It has been a year for me and it is much better but just recently. Please let us know about the laser. wishing all the best! READ COMMENT
Hello Alexis. in some cases it takes few days or weeks but for some of us it took much longer.... good luck! READ COMMENT
Hi valerie. Would you have any news from your appointment with the doctor? hope all is well with you. READ COMMENT
Thank you for your confirmation even if Ï was wishing to hear that you got your "previous face". I heard from some persons that it can take until 8 months or a year.... it is hot easy to live with but right now the most important is to ... READ COMMENT
Hi Valerie, Thank you for responding to my message... I hope it will desapear with as i can not forget about it... but you know the feeling... I had a very small injection on the side of the eye and below the eye and like you I have... READ COMMENT


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June 21, 2012 - Pre-National Basketball Association Players Association Top 100 Camp, there were many question marks regarding 7'5" Class of 2013 center, Mamadou N'Diaye. So much so, he was almost...
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Product 2/3
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A unique blend of herbs and minerals used for centuries for their capacity to provide safe, easy, complete elimination. This formula does not contain any ingredients known to be habit-forming and is the perfect compliment to a colon fiber-cleanse product that best suits your needs. This product is recommended to facilitate a more complete cleansing when using a protocol of professional colon hydrotherapy. I use and recommend this product on its own for those times when your elimination needs a gentle "nudge", when traveling or under extra stress.
Detoxification Matters -- consuming fiber is not always sufficient for effective elimination. Stress and chronic illnesses inhibit rectal muscle movement (peristalsis), causing sluggish elimination that can be assisted by a blend of specific herbs and minerals known to facilitate easy passage of colon debris and maximize evacuation.
Proprietary Blend includes: Cape Aloe gel, Rhubarb root, Slippery Elm bark, Marshmallow root, and Triphala blend.
This product was added to our catalog on Friday 13 May, 2011.


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Quick link to:
Fire Sprinklers
Business Emergency Plan
Business Inspections
Knox Box
Fire Department Development Guidelines
Download the entire memo:
Fire Department Development Guidelines [PDF].
The Paso Robles Department of Emergency Services has provided this guide to assist developers with information pertaining to fire & life safety regulations under the jurisdiction of the Department of Emergency Services. This basic guide outlines the minimum fire protection requirements of the Department of Emergency Services. It is not the intent of this guide to specify exact requirements for any given development, subdivision or use permit, but rather to acquaint architects, designers, builders and engineers with the general fire and life safety requirements that must be considered.
All projects, proposals and plans are required to be initiated with the City of Paso Robles Community Development Department, who will in turn forward such proposals to the Department of Emergency Services for their review. Each proposal will be provided with specific conditions, as required by code, and routed back to the Building Division for distribution.
The following are the most common code references used by the Department of Emergency Services:
- California Fire Code (2013 Edition) - State Minimum Requirements
- Paso Robles Municipal Code (Section Fire Prevention) - Local Requirements
- California Code of Regulations Title 19, Title 24 / Public Safety
- National Fire Codes (NFPA Vol.1-16) - (References)
This is a fluid document and will be updated or modified to maintain compliance with State or Federal Regulations, or Local Amendments. Appropriate standards will be added, if necessary, to assist developers over time with projects specific to the City of Paso Robles.
Thank you for considering doing business in the City of Paso Robles. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Keith Aggson, Battalion Chief, at 805-227-7560.
Fire Sprinklers
The typical accidental fire begins as a slow growth, smoldering process, which may last from a few minutes to several hours. This smoldering duration is dependent on fuel type, arrangement, and available oxygen. During this period, heat generation will increase and produce light to moderate smoke. The smell of smoke is usually the first indication that an incipient fire is underway. It is during this stage that early detection (either human or automatic) followed by a timely emergency response can enhance the probability of successful fire control before significant loss.
Fire sprinklers are most effective during the fire's initial flame growth stage. A properly selected sprinkler will detect the fire's heat, initiate an alarm and begin suppression within moments after flames appear. In most instances, activation sprinklers will control fire advancement. This will result in significantly less damage than what would happen without sprinklers.
The Paso Robles Municipal Code, 17.04.030 (C) requires the installation of automatic sprinkler system for many commercial structures. For more information on requirements for fire sprinklers, please read the information provided in the Fire Permits section of this department.
Schedule an Inspection
Sprinklers are required in many commercial buildings. Please call the Fire Inspector at (805) 227-7560 for information regarding your particular application. If you have already submitted plans and need to schedule an inspection, please call the Fire Protection Engineer at (805) 227-7221 or complete and submit our Request for Sprinkler Inspection Form.
Business Inspections
To help protect you, your investment, and your customers from the potential effects of fire, Emergency Services is instituting an Engine Company Inspection Program. This program replaces our existing Self-Inspection Program.
Firefighters from our organization will visit your business at least once per year to ensure compliance with fire and life safety codes. These inspections will provide you an opportunity to meet your community firefighters while maintaining your business in a safe condition. The program provides firefighters an opportunity to familiarize themselves with your building and business processes making them more effective should they be called to extinguish a fire in your occupancy. Firefighters will also collect data on your business providing our organization an opportunity to better serve your needs.
Firefighters will focus on the following items during their inspections:
- Building access
- Building egress (exiting)
- Fire protection system installations and maintenance
- General housekeeping
- Storage
- Fire separations
- Fire extinguishers
- Fire hazard control permits
A fee of $64 is charged for all business inpsections. Thank you in advance for you cooperation with this new program. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please don't hesitate to contact Keith Aggson, Battalion Chief, at 805-227-7560.
Knox Box
Business owners have saved millions of dollars by using the Knox Rapid Entry System. By allowing firefighters immediate access to locked buildings, storage rooms, elevators, gates and other secured areas without causing property damage from forced entry procedures. The fire department is the only agency that is authorized to access the Knox-Box®. It contains keys, electronic access cards, Haz-mat data and other vital information that firefighters will need when responding to an alarm.
The fire department needs to be contacted to specify the location of the box.


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Being Thankful Alone.
Yup, alone. You would think as outgoing and extroverted – how nice, friendly and warm I am, I would have tons of options of what to do on the big day….what to do? What to do?
I've spent the last year coming out of my shell. Match.com resulted in many dates that I wouldn't trade for the world! OK, that was a full out lie. If anything, it's been an exercise in putting a toe outside of my comfort zone. Taking a break from the dating world at the moment.
My family? We are spreading out all over the country but our love is not. That however, does not make me enjoy my mouth watering Marie Calandar's turkey pot pie any more.
For whatever reason, this Turkey day seems to be jumping up and down reminding me that I am all alone here. For whatever reason it makes me even more determined to not let the Turkey (depression) get me down.
The biggest reason I write on Psych Central is so that I might possibly help others. This is one of those times. But in writing for this reason, I find myself on the receiving end of being helped.
If you are alone this Thanksgiving, ask someone you know – you work with – a neighbor…ask them if you can drop by this Thursday and be part of their celebration. Yes, ask them. Difficult? Yes, but stick that toe out.
Of course we might volunteer, but is it hard for you to get motivated? Me too. We have to keep pushing on though.
I don't have all the answers on this one. One thing I know for certain is if I can push all my little demons and gremlins off to the side and count my blessings, I'll be OK. It's just 24 hours.
What are your blessings?
photo credit: Mr. T in DC
Hull, L. (2011). Being Thankful Alone.. Psych Central. Retrieved on September 22, 2017, from https://blogs.psychcentral.com/laughter/2011/11/being-thankful-alone/


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6 awesome quality banner template PSD files ready for your Services, products or campaigns.Each PSD files are layered and fully organized.
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Great for instagram purposes. Advertise your products in any social network with this set of instagram banners.
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" Brand: Character Options / Type: Beads / Jewellery / Age: 4 Years+ "
After visiting Toys r us to spend my daughters copious amounts of birthday money she picked the product I will now review, much to my dismay. We have had previous experience with this product and it has taken me almost twelve months to finally rid myself of the tiny balls that are included in the set, that when coming into contact with anything with a little moisture in it, they dissolve and stick to pretty much anything they come into contact with, hence the reason it's taken me twelve months to get them out of my daughters carpet!
The product I will now review is "GR8 ART- Bindeez magic beads, jewellery pack"
It has been noted that I may spend a little too much time describing the packaging that these products come, I have taken this on board but am always worried someone may read my reviews, go out to purchase a product on my recommendation, then come back with the wrong product, there are so many different variations in these sets if I describe the packaging at least it narrows down the chance of buying the wrong product.
The box is a large and sturdy box with very bright and eye catching colours on it. There is a large picture of a young girl wearing some of the jewellery that she supposedly made, of course you know before buying the product that there have been two middle aged artists employed to make the jewellery, and it has probably taken them three months to complete!
Across the bottom of the box are three bubbles showing the child/parent how exceptionally easy it is to make these - "make, spray and wear".
This box also states that this product is unsuitable for children 3 and under due to the chance of swallowing the small balls in this set, they have however changed the balls since the last set we owned, the balls now have bitter anti-swallow coating on them, which makes more sense. When my daughter was 5 years old she owned her first bindeez set, which my then 18 month old son was more than interested in! Upon changing his nappy one day, I was horrified to find a cluster of these balls in the bottom of it, (the nappy nots nis bottom!), I still to this day am not sure whether he had filed a handful of these away for future use, or whether he actually ate them, whichever option it was it did him no harm, thank god!!
This set is aimed towards the age of 4+, although my daughter is 7 now, and thoroughly enjoys it. The lower end of the age group usually means more parent intervention, at my daughters age all I have to do is fill the water bottle for her!
Upon opening the box you will find - A jewellery box with a compartmented inner tray for holding all the loose bindeez beads, the jewellery box also has two holes on the front of the box to push the "plugs" into, these are the bases that the bindeez designs stick to on all the jewellery pieces.
Included are two pink rubber rings, one bracelet, one headband, one hairclip and a pink corded necklace, all of these have holes like the jewellery box where to push the plugs into.
There are ten packets of coloured bindeez balls, they are varying in quantity, there are colours from reds and pinks, through to purple glitter, and all bags/pouches have the statement that they are bitter anti-swallow coating on them.
There is a tray with ball sized and shaped indentations, under which there is a ridge for you to slide one of the six double sided picture cards with the designs on them, one side of the cards are "butterfly magic" which contains pictures of....yes you guessed it butterflies! These cards also contain pictures of various flowers with suggested variations in colour.
The other sides of the cards are "fairy fantasy", these include designs of fairies, stars and shooting stars, some of the designs on both sides can be pretty non-descript, but some like the flowers and the shooting stars are very effective.
Finally there is the obligatory instruction leaflet on how to use, which in fairness you don't really need as it is self explanatory. There is a small scoop which again you do not need as it is worse than useless and a water spray bottle, which is the activation ingredient, which for people who have no prior knowledge of this product is the "melting agent", this is how the balls stick together.
One thing I will complain about is the fact that there is no bindeez pen included, I have read the box to see if this is an add on set to the main bindeez station that you can buy, but as far as I can decipher this jewellery set is a set in it's own right so in my way of reckoning this should have a pen provided, this piece of equipment makes the picture building aspect much easier for the child. The pen picks up an individual ball then upon push a release button allows you to place the ball exactly where you need it to go. As it is my daughter struggles a little with picture making process, as even with her little fingers she builds up the picture and with one tiny nudge can send all the balls flying, so she has to start again.... Very frustrating.
As I mentioned before the designing process can be a little difficult, but not impossible. Once you have laid out your design and are ready to attach to your piece of jewellery you simply spray the bindeez design with your water bottle, this starts the melting process. You then have to get a "plug", these are literally little pink circles pf plastic, the same material that the bindeez are made from may I add, you push the open end into whichever piece of jewellery you wish, this should leave the flat side at the top, you then spray this liberally with water and place gently face down onto your design.
This then has to be left to dry, the specified drying time is 10 minutes but the realistic time is around 25 minutes, it will of course dry quicker if put into a draft or outside on a nice day. The only downside to the drying time is the fact you have to leave the design on the plastic tray meaning the child cannot do anymore designs until that one has been removed. My daughter tends to make three or four designs around the edge, as it saves her waiting!
Once the design has dried you will notice the design will be still a little bendy, if the balls start falling off your design just spray with water again and this should stick it back together. I will say make sure you absolutely drench the balls with water, the first design we did, didn't even stick together, sending balls flying everywhere!
As I mentioned before we purchased this from Toy r us, but can be brought from almost everywhere in one form or another, there also countless refill packs available on the market. So you should never run out of bindeez.
This particular set cost my daughter £14.99, which in comparison to the other sets available is very reasonable.
For more information on this set and others available in the range visit -
www.toysrus.co.uk or www.character-online.co.uk
Do I recommend this set....yes, my daughter has thoroughly enjoyed playing and making her own jewellery. This is much more safe than the previous bead making sets available. The previous set my daughter owned had to be designed in the same way, but then had to be "ironed", melting the beads in that manner, meaning she couldn't perform the whole task herself, these are so much easier.
On a final note I would recommend your child uses these on a wooden floor, or outside is even better, they are truly a bugger to pick out of carpets, especially if they have already half melted!
Thanks for reading x
No heat, no glue, no mess. Bindeez - magic beads that join with water. Create a piece of fashionable jewellery and be the envy of all of your friends. Includes enough beads to make stylish rings, headbands and bracelets. Wear them in your hair or on your fingers! Includes 750 beads, 1 head band, 1 necklace, 1 bracelet, 2 rings, 1 hair clip, 1 jewellery box, 18 plugs, 6 templates, 1 tray, 1 blister scoop and instruction booklets.


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Journey Into The Backcountry – Step 4
Skiing up hill. Yes, you read correctly - skiing up hill. That's a new thought in my noggin. It kind of goes against everything your body feels and your brain thinks. But that's what you do in backcountry snowboarding. OK - so not only do I have to learn how to ski, I have to do it uphill. Hmm.


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I don't know about the rest of you, but I was never the girl that got a dozen roses, or for that matter, anything at all on any Valentine's Day until I dated my now ex-husband in my early 30's. Wait — that's not true. I could always count on my Mother sending me a little package of conversation hearts in the mail. (As a child I hated those candies – tasteless and half the words were illegible – yet I ate them anyway. I'm still compelled to buy them for my own two daughters, but I've upgraded the tradition by adding my own preference — a hunk of chocolate!) Anyways, I just wasn't one of those girls that sat around feeling sorry for myself when red hearts and cupid showed up in store windows. At the time I wasn't aware that my "lack" of dating had everything to do with my "lack" of self-love and willingness to be vulnerable, but that's another article. My goal today is give you some random "love" tips that I've learned along the way and share on my other blog at Speak Your Truth.
Four Must-Know Love Tips for Women
Step into the Truth Booth, improve your life, and laugh along the way with funny motivational speaker Colette Carlson. How did she go from emotional coward and the Pizza Delivery's favorite customer to #1 sales producer for sales legend Tom Hopkins and Brian Tracy, featured in Success Magazine, a 50 lb. weight loss, and inspiring audiences at Microsoft, Accenture, Pepsi, Boeing, and organizations worldwide? Visit her at http://www.ColetteCarlson.com or call 760-230-1212.
Colette founded Speak Your Truth, Inc. to share her success systems and inspire others to Think It! Speak It! Live It! Her tools and takeaways create authentic, long-lasting change in every aspect of your life. With a MA in human behavior, a successful business and 2 teenage daughters, Colette provides a unique combination of education, research, real-life experience, and heartfelt humor to motivate you with her high content programs. Improve your Communication Skills, Work-Life Balance, Sales, Leadership, Assertiveness, Negotiation…all wrapped in the genuine power of Speaking Your Truth.
Did you enjoy this post? Just jot down your email and we'll keep you up-to-date with all of our motivation and entertainment.
I just love this post, Colette. It should be in a magazine – seriously – so many women would be empowered by these simple yet brilliant truths. And the more we get to know your parents, the more we see how you ended up to be so awesome. Thanks for sharing your heart. Now I'm going to go share you with all my friends.
Kelly's right, this could and should be in a magazine! I love how you asked that the left hand side of the card be filled with all the reasons he loves you. Frenchie has come a long way, the first card he ever gave me was blank – just in case I wanted to use it for someone else! Yikes!
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Donut Etiquette 101
Since my move from nights to mornings here at Lubbock's Rock Station, there hasn't been much of a change except there is usually food here in the mornings. Yesterday there was a box of donuts brought in and I feel like I need to go over a basic rule.
I don't really get down on a bunch of donuts but if there is one available I may grab one. Of they have already been picked through and what not but still a donut is still a donut.
The basic rule I need to share is simple if you take a donut than take the donut. Do not take half of one and leave it in the box for everyone to pass by and see half a donut. Now people may debate that it was cut with a knife or with a napkin. It's a shame that this half donut has to be judged by everyone and won't get eaten all for that 1 person that wants a half a donut.
Come on now if you can't eat a full donut then have someone that will split said donut and won't leave it in the box. It's not that hard to figure out. So as the great donut debate continues, I have to ask, I can't be the only that has noticed this.


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Family Herbal Clinic is pleased to provide you with some of the best natural health assessment techniques available today in the western world. Owned and managed by Clinical Herbalist, Behrooz Tahririha, Family Herbal Clinic offers a safe and gentle environment in which to consult and discover the healing path best suited to the needs of each individual.
We offer many different wellness services including complete natural health assessment, weight loss services and products, health seminars,and personal development courses.
We recommend and rely upon highest quality therapeutic grade natural remedies made by such companies as "Nature's Sunshine products", "Green Pasture Products", "St. Francis Farms", "Ideal Protein" and "Caruso Fitness Nutrition". We have chosen these product lines for their quality, efficacy, consistency, and reliability.


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Rating: 5 out of 5 by 80 visitors
20120404 the stuff that turns her on is plastic
PVC top Cayenne cums and squirts Wearing her new see-through PVC top, Cayenne is having a refreshing fruit cocktail. Something in this drink appears to make her really horny so she starts masturbating. Luckily, a guy in a suit comes along and helps her out until the chick finally cums and squirts.


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A Pacific area conference in Darwin has formulated plans to carve out a greater role for indigenous peoples and organisations in promotion of tourism experiences.
Among speakers were Anita Mendiratta of global management consultant Cachet Consulting, who has written a book on the role of tourism in developing nations, and Ben Sherman, who was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of the Sioux nation in the United States.
Tourism NT partnered with the Australian Tourism Export Council and the Pacific Asia Travel Association to sponsor the inaugural Pacific Asia Indigenous Tourism Conference. It was held from March 28 to 30 in the new Darwin Convention Centre, with the support of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
A common theme was the role tourism could play as a catalyst for indigenous community development. Among 191 delegates from 16 countries were groups such as the American Indian/Alaska Native Tourism Association, the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea and the Maori Tourism Collective.
The conference launched a new World Indigenous Tourism Alliance (WITA) with organisations from Australia, Canada, Nepal, New Zealand, Sweden and the United States. WITA, which will initially be hosted by the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council, will seek to expand its membership to other indigenous tourism bodies around the world.
The conference, with the theme "Tourism and Indigenous People – enriching our future together", was opened by Federal Tourism Minister
Gerry Bodeker, a Green College fellow at Oxford University, highlighted ways indigenous tourism ventures could attract visitors with authentic experiences unique to their communities.
One example was wellness therapy or spa treatments. "Authentic indigenous themes approaches to wellness therapy are one of the big global trends," Professor Bodeker said. "The product must be authentic. It must come from indigenous people, for the benefit of indigenous people. I have taken away a sense that there is a lot of work to do in my field. It is underdeveloped in Australia."
Companies wishing to include wellness therapy in indigenous themed approaches should ensure their programs were aligned with indigenous development.
Tourism NT co-ordinated a set of concurrent initiatives to leverage opportunities from the main event. It ran a familiarisation program for eight Anangu traditional owners from central Australia and 33 indigenous operators from across the NT, including people from Ngukurr and Maningrida.
They attended a range of Top End-based indigenous tourism experiences, followed by a planning workshop, to contribute to a new tourism strategic plan.
Tourism NT also hosted Tourism Australia's National Indigenous Tourism Government Forum over two days at Katherine, south of Darwin, and a familiarisation experience with Nitmiluk Tours.
The Darwin conference itself was the platform for development and endorsement of a set of guiding principles to steer development of indigenous tourism throughout the Asia Pacific. Under the rubric of the Larrakia Declaration, after the indigenous peoples of the Darwin area, it calls for joint endeavours by indigenous people, governments and the tourism industry to be mutually rewarding, sustainable and creative, with products that enrich the experience of visitors.
NT Tourism Minister
"The Larrakia Declaration will now form the guiding framework for the future development of indigenous tourism and the involvement of indigenous people in tourism throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond." she said.
The Australian Financial Review


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Study: Arsenic found in all varieties of rice
Posted September 19, 2012
Rice is a go-to for a lot of us.
White, brown, rice cakes –– even cereal. Rice cereal is often a baby's first solid food.
Consumer Reports tested 32 different types of rice and dozens of rice products. All of them contained arsenic. Many of the samples had troubling levels of inorganic arsenic, which is the most toxic form.
"Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen that has been linked to skin, lung, and bladder cancer," said Andrea Rock of Consumer Reports.
Federal guidelines limit the amount of arsenic in drinking water, but there aren't any guidelines for rice and most other foods.
Arsenic is naturally present in water, air, food and soil. Rice is grown in water, so the conditions are optimal.
Consumer Reports found there was often more arsenic in brown rice than in white.
"We aren't able to draw conclusions about specific brands because our tests are limited," Rock said. "But the analysis we did of government data shows that for Americans who eat rice, it is a significant source of arsenic exposure."
The USA Rice Federation, an industry trade group, insists "there is no documented evidence of actual adverse health effects from exposure to arsenic in U.S. grown rice."
Right now, the Food and Drug Administration is measuring arsenic levels of 1,200 different products found at the grocery store. They just released preliminary data showing results consistent with Consumer Reports' findings.
The FDA cautions they still have plenty of testing to complete to know what the next step should be.
"We already know that even low levels of arsenic exposure increase your risk of cancer and other health problems," Rock said. "We don't want to alarm people, but we do recommend that you limit the amount of rice that you eat."
For babies, Consumer Reports recommends no more than a quarter-cup of rice cereal per day.
Experts say rinse rice thoroughly to help reduce arsenic levels.


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Here's that looks-like-a-vintage-treasure piece you've been searching for. This brass fringe necklace definitely gives modern Art Deco vibes with its ornate form and structured fringe, which catches the light with every movement. Suspended from a longish chain, each pendant is stamped by hand and oxidized for that "found' look.
This product ships from the maker within 12 days, via USPS
If you're not happy with this item for any reason, you may return it for a full refund within 14 days.


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There's been some talk in Calgary about Brent Sutter's coaching future in Calgary, and whether the Flames would or should offer him an extension, as his contract runs out at the end of the season.
The point missed in all this maybe the question of whether the man himself wants to come back as the team continues to be abandoned by their skill players, blowing a two goal lead in Minnesota and dropping a 3-2 shoot out decision in Minnesota.
Sutter clearly flabbergasted by the team's go to scorers went with Matt Stajan and the entire third line for the shooters, leaving Jokinen, Tanguay, Iginla and Glencross stapled to the bench.
On The Line
The Flames need 93 or 94 points meaning they need 11 or 12 and they have 8 games left. Math suggests 5-2-1 or 6-2-0 is the magic elixir for a playoff position. Of those eight games only two come against teams that are out of it, and one of those comes tonight. Do I need to suggest losing the Wild may be a bad idea?
The Flow
The Flames are a little tentative early and cough up the puck a few times, creating more danger than they needed. From there however they settled right down and took the play to the Wild the rest of the way, playing most of the period in the Wild zone. With a 15-3 edge in shots the Flames finally solve Josh Harding with a late powerplay goal by Lee Stepniak, on their third powerplay of the period.
The Flames get three straight calls in their favour early in the second, a double minor high stick on Jokinen followed closely by a Prosser penalty for grabbing and hucking the puck down the ice. The resulting advantage finally nets a goal when Anton Babchuk wires one through a screen for his 1st of the season. They press with the two man advantage again, but can't get puck luck down low and the score stays 2-0. Flames get running around, take some penalties including a maddening slash by Glencross that results in a Heatley goal and a 2-1 score. More penalties, some good kill, and an escape to the third up one.
The Flames were more than happy to sit on the one goal lead getting out shot 12-3 in the third period, a fact that just points to the fact that the team just isn't in the proper mindset to win games late. The Wild tie it up on a bouncing puck play that went to a review, sending the game to overtime.
Some chances in OT, including a Mark Giordano goal post that was everything but in but the game goes to a shoot out where the Wild take it.
Three Stars
- Devin Setoguchi: Assist through 65 minutes, but the big shoot out winner for the homeside.
- Miikka Kiprusoff: Had nothing to do in the first 30 minutes, but was busy busy for the next 35 and shoot out, including stopping the first three shots.
- Josh Harding: Stops all four shots in the shoot out and was the difference early when the Flames could have ran away with it.
Big Save
Five minutes into the third Kiprusoff had to be alert as all getup when a point shot hit a Wild player, then both of Anton Babchuck skates before careening towards the net only to find a deft Kiprusoff pad ready to block.
Big Hit
Mark Giordano caught Johnson in the neutral zone trying to wade through traffic and brick walled the Wild forward midway through the second. With hits like that and all the shot blocking the man does it's a wonder he's not in traction.
The Goat
The Flames top players (with Cammalleri missing) have really picked the wrong time to completely dry up. It's almost like a twisted hockey version of the Wizard of Oz with Tanguay looking for his hands, Bouwmeester looking for his brain, and Jokinen … well everyone is looking for Jokinen himself. Iginla has try in his game, but the skill players have completely seized.
Mr. Clutch
Mark Giordano played yet another solid hockey game. The Flames best player in the past six games or so. Blocking shots, throwing big hits, and almost scored in overtime.
Odds and Ends
Three more Flames come back tonight with Butler, Jones and Bouma all suiting back up for duty. To make room the Flames sent Desbiens back to the AHL, and scratched Horak; Cory Sarich is back in Calgary likely with a concussion. .. Speaking of the new recruits, the reemergence of Matt Stajan coupled with the return of NHL bodies has certainly improved the Flames depth. A third line of Comeau, Jones and Stempniak was fun to watch tonight; great down low and very physical. Moss was good up with the Jokinen line as well. … When Kiprusoff was dealt to Calgary in late 2003 he was Arturs Irbe when it came to handling the puck (that's bad by the way). He evolved over the years and it actually became one of his strengths, but lately he's really struggled and given the puck away a lot. Tired? … Glencross didn't see a whole bunch of ice after the careless penalty but he returned for the third. … Flames lost Smith to injury midway through the second, upper body and didn't return. Hopefully Sarich is all right. (wasn't expecting to say that this season). … Speaking of Kiprusoff again, you can't fault him for recent shoot out trouble. He's been pretty solid. Used to be his Achilles heel but now he's at worst as good as who he faces. … Sorry to keep harping on Jokinen, but you have to wonder how the last 7 games (no points) will effect his contract value and the Flames desire to bring him back. He had a great season, so I'm still assuming he's hurt and its not being divulged. … Nobody wants to hear this, but with the loss the Flames likely need to go 5-2-0 in their last 7, a stretch that will see them play only one game against a team out of it.
Next Up
The Flames travel to Dallas to take on the Stars in an odd Saturday afternoon game; Noon on Sportsnet.
Lines (To Start):
Tanguay – Stajan – Iginla
Glencross – Jokinen – Moss
Stempniak – Jones- Comeau
Jackman – Bouma – Kostopolous
Bouwmeester – Butler
Giordano – Hannan
Babchuk – Smith


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Slider Images don't work
This issue in the past normally wouldn't be a wordpress issue, but here is what is happening. I have http://poetry.mymorningstory.com running off of Swift Themes 5.7 and have also tried the latest Arras Theme. Both themes are using the new guidelines for adding images which gets rid of TimThumbs. ( No I really don't know what that means ) However, I know its a lot trickier to get images to show up, and if I actually did it to my main site, I might be sitting there for days.
Anyways 🙂
Recently, I had issues getting my CSS and Buddypress Avatars to show up in poetry.mymorningstory.com and contacted hostgator. They fixed the problem by changing the HTACCESS file to read:
#RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$1 [L] <-Old
RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-content/uploads/$1 [L] <-New
However, in doing this it seems that the site no longer recognizes featured images for the slider on my site.
Is there a way I can have both lines of code in my htaccess file to work simultaneously? or something?
anwyays, I wanted to contact wordpress before I did anything dumb 🙂
Thx a lot.
- The topic 'Slider Images don't work' is closed to new replies.


text:
Nissan Repair Questions? Ask a Mechanic for Answers ASAP
Is yours a sedan or hatchback?
Ok, here are directions to remove the taillight assembly:
sorry, forgot this part. You will need to remove the inner trim in order to access the nuts:
You have already accepted answer, dont click accept again or you will be charged again


text:
Hi. Have a look at my homepage – http://www.substancephotography.co.uk. There seems to be a very strange, very large 'gap/space' appearing after each image inserted. Can you please help me rectify this?
Many thanks,
in your style.css file find
#top .slideshow
and change the height to whatever you prefer, this should fix your issue.
A large gap has turned up below my feature image and before the heading text for just the blog post. http://www.afterdarkpingpong.com/ttah
Is there any way to fix it? It is only a problem on this page and not the others. Thanks
could you tell us what browser this issue is occurring in? The page you're linking to doesn't exist but I'm assuming you're referring to your homepage. In the latest versions of Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox & Google Chrome I don't see any abnormalities. Maybe you can provide us with a screenshot?
Sorry i forgot to publish the page! so could you take a look now? afterdarkpingpong.com/ttah
and yes the same problem is also on our home page as well.
open up style.css and search for following code:
#top div .slideshowBig{
margin:30px 40px 0 40px;
Decrease the height value (i.e. to 380px) to reduce the gap size.
Thanks very much!
Great theme, a very big fan!
Glad that Dude could help :)
Have another question.
On our site homepage our feature image wont let us link to another page, even if i put a post link url in it.
The feature image has been edited so it looks like there is a button on it. (Bottom right) And we want to link that to our latest blog post.
Any reason why it doesnt seem to be working?
Hi again,
maybe (Purchase code hidden if logged out) -postspages#post-30310″ class="bbcode_url">this can help you.
(Custom fields can be activated using the Screen Options at the top right when you're editing a page/post)
The topic 'PAGE CONTENT – STRANGE 'GAP' BETWEEN INSERTED IMAGES' is closed to new replies.


text:
By Barri Bronston
High school students with exceptional talent in the sciences and mathematics are invited to earn Tulane credit hours at the annual Tulane Science Scholars Program this summer at Tulane University.
The program is divided into four sessions, with each offering a different discipline – materials science and engineering, introduction to biotechnology, exploring psychology and basic neuroscience with laboratory. Each session is offered for three hours of Tulane credit.
"This program allows high school students to gain a college experience while taking for-credit courses in science and engineering," said Michelle Hewlett Sanchez, professor of practice and director for K-12 STEM Outreach at the Tulane School of Science and Engineering.
"As a former participant in the Tulane Science Scholars Program, the exposure to these courses helped solidify both my career path and college choice," she said.
The fee is $1,250, which is due upon acceptance into the program. Tuition waivers may be available for students demonstrating high need.
To be considered, applicants must currently be in the 10th or 11th grades. In extraordinary cases, exceptional ninth graders may be considered. An essay, teacher recommendation and school transcript are also required.


text:
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text:
- About
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BS Mathematics: Actuarial Science Concentration
Admissions │ Courses │ Student Resources
The purpose of the undergraduate option in Actuarial Science is to introduce a career-focused area of curriculum concentration for mathematics majors. The Actuarial Science option provides students with the strong background in mathematics, statistics, and economics necessary to analyze financial risks. This concentration aims to prepare students for the first three actuarial examinations administered by the professional actuarial organizations. It also includes coursework satisfying two of the three VEE (Validation by Educational Experience) subjects required by the professional organizations' preliminary education structure.
What is an actuary?
"An actuary is a business professional who analyzes the financial consequences of risk. Actuaries use mathematics, statistics and financial theory to study uncertain future events, especially those of concern to insurance and pension programs. They evaluate the likelihood of those events, design creative ways to reduce the likelihood and decrease the impact of adverse events that actually do occur." —Society of Actuaries (www.soa.org)
Actuaries are generally separated into two broad categories:
Property/Casualty Actuaries
Development depends on exams sponsored by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS)
Evaluate risks as common as automobile insurance and as esoteric as the liability risk for the roller coaster at a theme park.
Life/Health/Pension Actuaries
Development depends on exams sponsored by the Societyof Actuaries (SOA).
Evaluate mortality risks, and also the expected costs of increasing longevity in nursing home patients with long-termcare insurance and the investment risks involved with defined benefit retirement programs.
Job Outlook for Actuaries
Employment of actuaries is expected to grow by 27 percent between 2010 and 2020. Students with internship experience who have passed at least one actuarial exam while in school should have the best prospects for entry-level positions. The 2010 median pay for actuaries was $87,650 per year.
Requirements & Course of Study
The Department of Mathematical Sciences at IUPUI offers the Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Mathematics from Purdue University with a concentration in Actuarial Science. A total of 120 credit hours is required to complete the degree. This concentration aims to prepare students for the first three actuarial examinations administered by the professional actuarial organizations. General requirements include courses in Core Communication, Analytical Reasoning, Cultural Understanding, Life and Physical Sciences, Arts and Humanities, and Social Sciences. The department also requires students to choose a secondary area of concentration outside of the department; for students in this option this is fulfilled by required courses in business and economics. A minimum grade point average of 2.5 is required in all mathematics courses that count toward the major.
Requirements vary depending on a student's date of enrollment. Details of all undergraduate degree requirements can be found in the IUPUI Bulletin.
Students enrolling in the School of Science in or after August 2012:
Bulletin │ Download Checksheet or Plan of Study
Capstone Experience
Students will apply what they have learned in a capstone experience through an internship or a specialized seminar course.
Learn more about our unprecedented research opportunities.


text: We stock hundreds of varieties of roses beginning in Mid April with most all that we will carry for the season on site by Mother's Day. You will find Floribunda, Grandiflora, Hybrid Tea, David Austin, Shrub Roses, Fairy Roses, Climbing Roses, and Tree Forms. If you're looking for Knockout or Drift roses, we stock them almost all season long.


text:
Snowfall gives us the opportunity to track animals through the snow. If you're lucky you'll get a glimpse of the wildlife that left the footsteps in the snow, but even if you don't, some of the footprints have a remarkable level of detail.
These photographs, taken today, show a variety of birds and mammals out and about in the snow. Westonbirt is home to a variety of birds, squirrels, rabbits, badgers and deer…
…and of course you can follow the tracks of our human and canine visitors too!
Useful links
Buy great value Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum membership
More great activities for families
A big thank you to education volunteer, Graham, for suggesting this blog.


text:
One, they are the best, best, best brownies ever.
Mostly hate.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and granulated sugar.
In a heavy saucepan, combine butter, shortening, coffee or water, and cocoa. Stir and heat to boiling. Pour boiling mixture over the flour and sugar. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix well, using a wooden spoon or on high speed with an electric mixer.
Pour into a well-buttered jelly roll pan and bake for 20 minutes, or until brownies test done in the center.
While brownies bake, prepare the frosting. In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa, and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring. Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla until frosting is smooth.
Pioneer Woman uses chopped pecans in her icing. I was feeling adventurous (okay, I had just found chopped pecans in the freezer), and, let's face it, Ree knows her way around a kitchen, so I sprinkled them over half the cake before I poured the icing on.


text:
LONDON (Jun. 7)
The Polish Government has sent to the Allied Governments a note on the Nazi extermination of Jews in Poland, it was learned here today. "All reports agree that the total number of Jews killed by the Nazis in occupied Poland runs into many hundreds of thousands," the note states.
It was also learned here today that the Polish Government has decided not to send Gen. Josef Haller as its diplomatic representative to the Middle East. Jews in Palestine protested against the appointment of Gen. Haller to a post which involves dealings with Palestine, emphasizing that his record might make Jewish cooperation with him difficult since there are many polish Jews in Palestine who still remember the anti-Jewish terror conducted in Poland by the troops under Haller's command. It is understood that Gen. Haller will remain as Minister of Education in the Polish Government-in-Exile while Tadeusz Romer, former Polish ambassador to Russia, may be appointed to the Middle-East post.
The Polish Telegraphic Agency reports that the Minorities Department of the Polish Government will be separated from the Polish Ministry of Information and placed under the Ministry of the Interior. In effect, this means that the Minorities Department will absorb the Jewish Department which for some time existed in the Ministry of the Interior. The number of officials in that Department will be increased and Prof. Gorka will have under him two separate section, the Jewish and the Ukrainian.


text:
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You know what makes for a good theater festival? Good plays.
The 14th annual Festival of Independent Theatres began over the weekend at the Bath House Cultural Center, opening four of the eight plays that will rotate in repertory for the next three weeks. On the score of good playwriting, the festival is batting about .500 so far.
Edward Albee is the one great and famous playwright featured in this year's FIT. Susan Sargeant, artistic director of WingSpan Theatre Company, has long made Albee something of a specialty. Her productions of his work can be relied on for wit and high style, two of Albee's most salient qualities, and Counting the Ways is strong in both.
The playwright structures his script as a series of tiny scenes punctuated by blackouts. The first few begin, more or less, with a middle-aged woman (Lulu Ward) asking a middle-aged man (Adrian Churchill) whether he loves her. He gives her various perfunctory answers, including a bit of the old poem that gives the play its name.
Some silly-serious byplay involving long-stemmed roses and crème brulee comes next, but gradually the short scenes, like musical movements, become more nostalgic, more philosophical. It's a delightful piece. Ward and Churchill perform it with forceful elegance, and the simple designs, especially Lowell Sargeant's jazz-spiced sound, contribute to the sense of euphoria.
Patricia Bosworth isn't a famous playwright, but she is a famous biographer and journalist. Her one-act Making Contact inhabits the sophisticated world this frequent contributor to Vanity Fair lives in. The production that Morgana Shaw has directed for One Thirty Productions doesn't quite breathe that Upper East Side Manhattan air, but it's effective, nonetheless.
Polly Henderson (Gene Raye Price) is a writer, widowed for a year. She's nervous as she prepares for the well-known photographer Abner Kynd (Jason Levya), who's coming to take cover shots for her new book. Polly worries about her age and doesn't like to have her picture taken, anyway. Abner uses shock techniques to loosen her up — which both is and isn't a good thing for Polly emotionally.
Price tones down the perky manner she frequently uses for light comedy and lets out plenty of frustration and rage. Levya projects a rough sexual charm without letting his smarmy character off for his bad behavior. This show isn't quite the triumph that The Madness of Lady Bright was for One Thirty last year, but it's well worth seeing.
Churchmouse Productions is the new moniker that the Pegasus Theatre folks use when not producing Kurt Kleinmann's black-and-white comedy-mysteries. With Dead of Night, Kleinmann is venturing into dark thriller territory. Quite literally, since most of the action is illuminated only by cellphone. It's creepily entertaining, but it's not a good play. Thrillers absolutely need good plots, and this one is a cop-out. Chad Cline plays the main character convincingly. Two very funny actors, Jeff Swearingen and Leslie Patrick, make up the rest of the cast. Not to give too much away, let's just say that their talents are underused. Kleinmann and Patrick directed.
FTP Comedy Troupe's The Last Comedy Show doesn't pretend to be a play. At Saturday's performance, it wasn't even very good comedy — partly because of weak suggestions from the audience for premises of the various skits. With seven gifted comic actors onstage, the hour couldn't go by without producing a few laughs. Brian Witkowicz scored points as Tom Cruise trying to save people at the end of the world, and Tom Parr IV squeezed out some funny moments as a man whose arms were eaten by his zombie twin brother.
Next year, folks, remember the basic premise: The play's the thing.
Plan your life
The Festival of Independent Theatres runs through Aug. 4 at the Bath House Cultural Center, 521 E. Lawther Drive at White Rock Lake. $18, festival passes $60 to $70. 1-800-617-6904. festivalofindependenttheatres.org.


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