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Posts Tagged 'Tunisia'
Egypt: A Striking Success & An Uncertain Future
I'm not sure if any of my readers have noticed but my hiatus from blogging has extended for longer than it ever should have. I don't want to make promises anymore about how often I will blog, or that this will be a full return, but I really have no excuse. I need to hop to it.
And with that, I will hop to Egypt. What more is there left to say? 2011 has witnessed, first in Tunisia and then in Egypt, the strongest display of Arab popular power in a generation. Entirely grassroots, little political organisation, no particular event to spark it (apart from the growing spectre of rising unemployment and skyrocketing food pries), suddenly the citizens of two Arab states have risen up to throw off the yoke of dictatorship that has held them enslaved for so many years.
The Arab powder keg has been written about for almost as long as the dictatorships have been in place. We've heard it all before: steadily growing population, demographic skew towards young people, disproportionate unemployment among young men, etc. This has been on the verge of exploding for some time, and finally, it did.
It's too early to tell how far reaching this Arab revolution will be. The cynic in me (and full disclosure, I predicted that Mubarak would not step down on January 25th, I can admit to my errors of judgment) still thinks that this will amount to little elsewhere. Algeria seems to be the best case, but it's unlikely that the Gulf states will see anything substantial. Among the GCC monarchs, King Hamad of Bahrain probably has the most to worry about (interesting to note his conveniently timed "gift" to Bahraini families of BHD1,000 (US$2,650) but the much talked about Saudi situation doesn't seem at all in danger of erupting. The Syrians have shown little interest or stomach in revolting, and protests have thus far been nascent in Jordan and Yemen, though the latter two are also candidates for something bigger. It's difficult to say, but what's already happened has been monumental enough for a solid page in the history books.
Oh and Iran: contrast 2009's green movement protests against the regime with Egypt and you'll see the difference. It's fairly clear that Ahmadinejad and Khamenei have far more support among Iranians than Hosni Mubarak ever did, and the former regime has far more of a stomach for violence, so any, more successful repeat in Tehran is but a pipe dream at this stage.
But what about Egypt? The Tunisian situation is still far from resolved, but that's a topic for another blog post. There, it seems the concerns people had about the disorganised nature of the revolution leading to a lack of clarity about a new order have been somewhat justified up to this point.
And the same concerns exist about Egypt. In case you've been living under a rock, yes, Hosni Mubarak finally stepped down. But you can read the questions on everyone's lips. Touted as a replacement by Mubarak and tacitly supported by the US, Omar Suleiman clearly isn't popular among Egyptians. This is hardly a surprise, given the man was head of Egypt's intelligence agency (you know, the one that tortures lots of people) and, according to Wikileaks, has told Israel (who love him very much) that he'd like "Gaza to go hungry, but not starve". Not exactly a hero.
But who is Mohamed El Baradei? The former IAEA head and man originally considered to be a front-runner to stand against Hosni or son Gamal Mubarak in the next Egyptian election may be well known in the West and international circles, but is far from well known in Egypt. He has little political history in the country and many fear he would actually have little idea how to run it, despite lofty speeches. In any case, he seems to be putting forward a candidacy of sorts – he appeared in Tahrir square with a loudspeaker during the protests and has already written a New York Times op-ed (though how many Egyptian voters read the Times is unclear) since Mubarak's exit.
What about the Muslim Brotherhood? Despite the fearmongering from the usual suspects, I really don't think the MB present any kind of threat. Yes, they are still a political force in Egypt, but they are a long way away from being the dominant political force. Thanks to repeated Mubarak-era purges, they have zero ground within the army (who are now running the country, in case you hadn't noticed) and their support among the people has never been estimated at anything even approaching 50% vote-wise. Moreover, this is not the Muslim Brotherhood of Zawahiri, Hamas or even Sayyid Qutb. The party is largely non-violent.
Amr Moussa? I confess I don't know a great deal about the man who yesterday resigned from his post as Secretary General of the Arab League. He has a political history in Egypt, albeit, as part of the NDP and as a supporter of Mubarak. But this seems more out of political expediency rather than strong ideological agreement. Will he suffer politically for his past? Maybe.
Personalities aside, I think there are two (or three, if you consider the second to be a toss-up like I do) potential outcomes to the current disorder:
1. The military leadership (and my Pakistani friends have been the first to point out this danger) will devolve into a dictatorship that maintains its grip on power using the machinery so well established by successive Egyptian rulers over decades. Exactly what form this will take, or who it will be driven by, is difficult to say at this point. Not much is known about what exactly Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, is thinking right now. But we do know that he's a veteran of post-revolution Egyptian politics. Military-backed dictatorship is all the man has ever known, and he's 75. Can you teach an old dog new tricks? We'll see.
2. Elections are called. I think this is the most likely outcome. But that doesn't necessarily mean the outcome will be positive for the Egyptian people. The opposition in Egypt is fragmented, disorganised and doesn't have a strong foothold in the hearts and minds of the Egyptian people. The Muslim Brotherhood mentioned above may be the strongest group among them but is not strong enough to leap out and win any vote in a landslide. The Wafd party, despite some resurgence, is still largely a spent force in Egyptian politics, and while I haven't been following events with a magnifying glass, I've seen little from them over the past few weeks. And the jury is very much out on external personalities like El Baradei and Moussa. Will they have the charisma, the institutional support within Egypt and the sheer personal gravitas to win an election and make their mark on the Egyptian consciousness? All signs, at this stage, point to no.
Now I am not familiar with internal NDP politics, which includes the party's massive list of cronies and hangers on, and I don't know which personalities within the party could emerge from the protests relatively unscathed politically and with enough clout within Egypt's business, military and political communities to successfully run in an election. But I can say with confidence that theoretically this is a very possible outcome. The machinery employed by the state to suppress Egyptians and dominate public affairs is very well developed, strong and has been in place for some time. If a deal can be brokered with the military, I think they would much rather see an orderly transition of power to another strongman, rather than chaotic and fragmented elections that lead to some sort of unstable coalition. Militaries, by definition, normally like stability. Who could emerge from the current sinkhole that is the NDP, it is difficult to say, but some wily Egyptian politico very easily could.
And then what?
A new constitution before elections seems a total pipe dream to me. Far more likely is that the new elected government will bring a new constitution to the people, as per the demands of the protesters. But will this be a rosy constitution with all of the demands met? That too seems very uncertain at this stage.
So the bottom line is, not to detract from the amazing achievement of the Egyptian people in successfully toppling one of the Arab world's most well-known and successful strtongmen, but the future is still very uncertain and things could still end fairly badly. We continue to hope and pray for a positive future for the Egyptian nation, now is not the time to rest on laurels.
I'd like to look further into internal political machinations in Egypt and I'd also like to separately address the role of the US and Obama Administration, as well as the impact of these events geopolitically. So you can look out for some more posts from me on these two topics.


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Title: Beautiful Lies
Author: Jessica Warman
Publisher: Walker
May Contain Spoilers
From Amazon:
Rachel and Alice are an extremely rare kind of identical twins-so identical that even their aunt and uncle, whom they've lived with since their parents passed away, can't tell them apart. But the sisters are connected in a way that goes well beyond their surfaces: when one experiences pain, the other exhibits the exact same signs of distress. So when one twin mysteriously disappears, the other immediately knows something is wrong-especially when she starts experiencing serious physical traumas, despite the fact that nobody has touched her. As the search commences to find her sister, the twin left behind must rely on their intense bond to uncover the truth. But is there anyone around her she can trust, when everyone could be a suspect? And ultimately, can she even trust herself? Master storyteller Jessica Warman will keep readers guessing when everything they see-and everything they are told-suddenly becomes unreliable in this page-turning literary thriller.
Wow, this book left me reeling several times, as the painstakingly developed twists and turns began to unfold. I don't know how to review this without major spoilers, but I am going to try, so if I am vague, it's so I don't spoil any of the suspense. I finished this yesterday, and I am still trying to decide how I feel about the book. It was hard to put down, but because the author was keeping me on my toes and only revealing bits and pieces about Rachel and Alice, I didn't feel that I ever got to know the twins. I learned about their history, as life-changing events in their past were slowly picked apart, but I never felt that I got to know them. There was an emotional distance around them that I couldn't breach. I also hated the ending. Hated it! It is dark and brutal and unforgiving, and it made me uncomfortable and depressed.
Alice and Rachel are identical twins. They also know when something happens to the other. If one of them is injured, the other is as well. They look so much alike that even their aunt and uncle can't tell them apart. Their parents were killed when they were young girls, and their mom's sister and her husband stepped up and took them in. There is a history of mental illness in the family, and because of her tenuous grip on reality, their aunt refused to allow their grandmother to have custody of them, even though the girls often spent time with their grandmother. Due to their personality clashes, their mother and aunt hadn't spoken to each other in years, and the girls hadn't even met their new guardians. After a rough adjustment, they settled into life in their new home, but they never felt that they were part of their aunt and uncle's family.
When one of the twins disappears, the other is frantic to find her sister. One second, she felt her sister's familiar presence, and the next, she was gone. Like she had never existed. The problem, Alice was a troublemaker, always finding herself on the bad side of a situation and forbidden to see her boyfriend because of his bad influence. The adults in her life, including the police, are skeptical that Alice has been abducted, and they all think that she's only run away. She does this often, so nobody is in a hurry to try to find her. They all expect her to come home in a day or so, because she always does. Only this time, she doesn't.
Beautiful Lies is an engrossing read, and it was very hard to step away from the suspense. I almost turned down lunch at the Indian buffet so I could stay home and keep reading, and if you know me and how much I love food, you'll understand what a big deal that thought was(my stomach did win out in the end). I was always wondering what was real and what was a figment of the protagonist's imagination. Her grip on sanity was questionable, and it was difficult to tell whether she was seeing something that was really there, or whether she believed that something was there. This back and forth between questioning her sanity and taking everything at face value kept me turning the pages. I had to know! Was she nuts? Had her sister really been abducted, or did she have something to do with her disappearance. To add to the tangled web, both sisters kept secrets from the other, and some of those secrets were huge! As each was unearthed, a very real and understandable sense of betrayal and hurt permeated the pages.
I loved being off balance and not really knowing what was going on. It is only the ending that keeps me feeling reserved about this book. Though it is a fitting end, it is not easy to read, and it disturbed me. I did not want the story to come to this end. If you read the book, how did you feel about the conclusion?
Grade: B/B-
Review copy provided by publisher

subset: commoncrawl


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The Expat Expert, a.k.a. Robin Pascoe and the author of the books above, has decided to retire! But this page still allows you to buy my books on-line. And at the bottom of this page are important links to international therapists, a survey I conducted, and my
YouTube lectures
based on my books. There is also a link to a fictional 'blogella' you may enjoy reading.
For the best site offering information for expat women and their families, no surprise that I suggest you look at
; for expat writers, there is no more comprehensive a source than
; and finally, for general information about living abroad, my favourite site is
Thanks to everyone who has supported my work over the last 25 years.
Cheers and farewell,
Robin Pascoe
© copyright 2006. Expat Expert. all rights reserved. web design by
rogue republik
an creative


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Hi guys, I am one of 2 people that know koine greek in a rather large church, approx 400 people. And it looks like I will be teaching it to a small group of church members later this fall. As I prepare, does anyone have any advice? Most of these people will have very little knowledge aside form a few words here and there, and some others are fluent in Serbian, Russian, and at least one has some experience with Latin (I do not, but I understand the grammar is very similar)
Should I create a structured agenda from scratch? or should I use a book such as mounce?
Your(υμων) input is greatly appreciated!


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It's the first day of Christmas, and Engel & Völkers would like to wish all of its clients, fans and followers a happy and peaceful holiday! Maybe you're curious about how the Engel & Völkers AG Members of the Board are spending their Christmas period? Here they exclusively reveal what Christmas means to them:
After an intensive business year with lots of travelling and countless international meetings, I'm looking forward to relaxing with my family in my historic coach house in the suburbs of Hamburg, close to the Elbe. Traditionally, we go to mass with my Mother on Christmas Eve. Then we spend Christmas Day with my brother and his family – there's a mass of children, so it's a wonderful kind of chaos! I also gather speed for exciting projects in 2016 by skiing in the mountains. Then I'm ready to leap afresh into the New Year!
For me, Christmas means spending lots of time at home with my family. At Engel & Völkers we can once again look back on a record year and after all of the professional challenges we have faced, I'm looking forward to a bit of time for peace and reflection. That will also involve lots of hours spent together around the fireplace and a big festive menu. In the New Year we're going skiing in the Alps – and we're hoping for powder snow and sunshine!
Kai Enders, Member of the Board – Franchise
At Christmas, my wife and I are always drawn towards the sea. We love walking on the empty and, ideally, snow-covered beaches. That makes warming up by the fire afterwards even more beautiful. We usually start getting into the Christmas spirit before it gets dark, but we really look forward to Christmas Eve with candlelight and that Christmas tree smell. With a celebratory dinner and good conversation, a peaceful day slowly comes to a close. This year, we're spending the holiday period in a castle on the coast and will be enjoying the special feeling that only historical houses can conjure up.
Thilo von Trotha, Member of the Board – Finance
My wife and our four children celebrate Christmas together with my sister-in-law and her son in Hamburg. We have a very classical Christmas: we go to church together, sing, play games, read books aloud, don't get up too early, enjoy cosy, Christmassy mealtimes and go for walks along the Elbe or the Alster. On Boxing Day we travel to Schleswig-Holstein, where we enjoy country life to the full until New Year's Eve. For me, Christmas is first and foremost a Christian celebration and a nice tradition that lets you spend some intensive celebratory and peaceful days with your family.
Christian Evers, Member of the Board – Operations
For me Christmas is primarily a time to take a step back, the look back on the year and to spend time with family and friends.
After a very exciting year in which I spent a lot of time abroad, I'm pleased to be able to stay at home with my loved ones in Hamburg. During this time we'll be baking cookies, cooking nice food and simply relaxing. I'm looking forward to my eight year old son's eyes lighting up in anticipation at Christmas Eve. We will be visiting family, before taking a few days out to go somewhere and relax. We'll just see what happens.


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- Handmade in Michoacan, Mexico.
- Due to the handmade nature of indigenous folk art, colors and design may vary slightly.
XL Virgin of Guadalupe with Silver Milagros
These elaborate carved representations of Mexico's most famous religious icon, the Virgin de Guadalupe, have long been used in Mexico's churches and on altars. Each handmade Virgin de Guadalupe has been beautifully adorned with tiny brass figures known as "milagros". The numerous tiny images nailed into each piece represent prayers and thanks for life's tiny miracles and gifts of heaven. Now you can faithfully decorate your own home with them!
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Ancestral Cooking Forum
"SoulFoodJunkies" 10PM 14 Jan 13
Did soul food kill Jackie Hurt?
Hurt puts soul food under a microscope, examining its positives and negatives through candid interviews with cooks, food historians, doctors, and everyday people. Hurt can speak from personal experience. His parents came from a small Georgia town where soul food is a source of pride and comfort, beloved by black and white folks alike. But it can lead to obesity and other health issues when grits and scrambled eggs are covered with cheese, buttered biscuits smothered with gravy, collard greens seasoned with ham hocks, sweet potatoes candied, and the meats deep fried.


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When a seasoned British agent is brutally murdered in the small West African nation of Malfajiri, a sinister plot to overthrow the government and systematically extort the mineral rich, but struggling nation gains rapid momentum.
Enter INTREPID: The Intelligence, Recovery, Protection & Infiltration Division of INTERPOL.
INTREPID agents are the unassailable strangers amongst us, serving the world and operating beyond the influence of the most powerful nations. Hand-picked from a global pool they are part-soldier, part-policeman, part-spy.
INTREPID's new star agent, Alex Morgan, is sent out on his first solo mission to hunt down the source of soviet surplus weapons haemorrhaging into Africa and Asia.
If, like me, you grew up on a diet of Len Deighton, Robert Ludlum and John Le Carre novels, there is a chance you're a bit of a fan of fast paced, military, espionage style novels. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH is a recent entry in the what is rapidly becoming a large pool of choice for Australian readers.
Set within our geographical and political sphere, DEFENDER OF THE FAITH introduces readers to Alex Morgan, special forces operative, good bloke, and all round bit of a hero. The action in this book is really very realistic, and it's not difficult to believe highly informed by the author's own background. There are some good, albeit somewhat expected characterisations, right down to the beautiful blonde love interest, the strong jawed, very Australian main character, and a series of nicely evil villains lead by a mysterious, excellent at disguises archetypal baddy type, all glowering evil genius and callous malevolence.
As this is a thriller there are some givens that readers must expect. A bit of energiser bunniness in the main character, winged frequently but never downed. There was a love story between the two main characters, and of course there was a level of physical attractiveness about them both, although I'm happy to report there were no signs of hair flicking and very little gratuitous comment on beautiful eyes and glorious legs...
What makes a thriller work, or not work, is how these clichés are delivered. In the case of DEFENDER OF THE FAITH, mostly everything worked, the plot was believable without the need to park your disbelief around the back and hide the keys; the love story wasn't too thickly applied, and whilst there was a bit of inexplicable jeopardy for all players, it did all gel. Maybe there are points where the plot got a little vague, but the action elements held up, and the pace certainly didn't let go.
Definitely something on the entertaining side, the only thing that was missing when I read DEFENDER OF THE FAITH was the box of chocolates and deck chair that you'd normally drag out at Christmas to sit down and be thoroughly and comprehensively entertained by a good espionage thriller.
DEFENDER OF THE FAITH is available in various formats - check out the website for details: http://defenderofthefaith.com.au/


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MU Extension > calendar
Professional development events
The Basics of Writing a Business Plan
Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2014, 9 a.m. to noon
SLATE Missouri Career Center1520 Market Street, Saint Louis MO map...
Thinking about starting your own business, being your own boss and enjoying the life of an entrepreneur? Fantastic!Of course you have a business plan, have secured funding, and have hired an accountant and lawyer, right?Writing a Business Plan is a 3-hour workshop created for those considering going into business for themselves.In just 3 hours, you will learn key elements of a business plan including …• Writing style tips.• Required content.• How to use a business plan as a management tool.• A greater understanding of what a business plan should look like and how to get started.Who Should Attend?Writing a Business Plan is designed for entrepreneurs of all ages, backgrounds, education and experience—regardless of the type of business you want to start! If you are a dislocated or laid off worker registered with jobs.mo.gov, you could attend this workshop at no cost. Please call 314-657-3547 for details.
Session topic:
Writing a Business Plan is a 3-hour workshop created for those considering going into business for themselves.
Class size:
Event full:
$49.00No Cost to Dislocated Workers. Please call 314-657-3547 for details.
Add event to your compatible iCalendar such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple iCal.
© 1993
to 2015 Curators of the University
of Missouri, all rights reserved, DMCA
and other copyright information
University of Missouri Extension is an equal opportunity/ADA institution.
University of Missouri Extension
© 1993
to 2015 Curators of the University of Missouri, all rights reserved


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BERLIN (AP) — Angela Merkel's main challenger in next year's German elections says the chancellor has an advantage over him because she is a woman.
Peer Steinbrueck's told weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published Sunday that Merkel had a "women's bonus" that counted in her favor.
He suggested female voters appreciated that the two-time chancellor is able to get her way within her party and in Europe.
The center-left Social Democratic Party candidate's remarks sparked swift criticism from commentators across the political spectrum.
In the same interview, Steinbrueck said German chancellors aren't paid well enough. Merkel currently earns about €18,000 ($23,729.40) a month.
Steinbrueck recently revealed that since leaving government in 2009 he has earned about €1.25 million ($1.6 million) from speaking engagements on top of his salary as a lawmaker.


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Kofi Sarkodie's joy at his first-round selection in the MLS SuperDraft on Thursday was amplified by the success of his college teammates at the University of Akron. The national champions had a record five players taken in the first round of the draft and had seven players drafted in the first two rounds.
"We all knew there was a good chance we would go in the first round," Sarkodie said. "It's cool being together, winning a national championship, and then all coming here and getting drafted in the first round. It's awesome."
Sarkodie's teammates were selected at No. 2 (Darlington Nagbe), No. 3 (Perry Kitchen), No. 4 (Zarek Valentin), and No. 8 (Michael Nanchoff) in the first round. Chris Korb and Anthony Ampaipitakwong were selected in the second round.
Akron's amazing run – the Zips fell just short of the 2009 national title in a penalty shootout before winning the 2010 title – was a seminal experience for all seven players. Much of the credit has gone to head coach Caleb Porter, and Sarkodie immediately drew parallels between Porter and his new boss, Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear.
"It's fantastic to be under such great leadership with coach Dominic – I can't wait to get started," Sarkodie said. "It's similar to Akron with Coach Porter – you have to have a great foundation at the top, and to be under that kind of leadership for me, it's fantastic and it gives me comfort to go into such a situation."
Sarkodie should be plenty comfortable in elite U.S. Soccer circles. His older brothers, Kwame and Ofori, also played high-level soccer; Kwame plays for the Rochester Rhinos, and Ofori was drafted by the Kansas City Wizards after a standout career at Indiana.
"For me personally, those guys have been my inspiration," said Kofi, the third of four Sarkodie children. "I'm learned just about everything from those guys in terms of the mentality of the game, how to be driven, and different things to work on."
Kofi himself trained at the U.S. U-17 residency program in Bradenton, Fla., and competed in the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea alongside Dynamo midfielder Danny Cruz. He is currently part of the player pool for the United States U-20 national team.
"I know Danny Cruz – we played together with youth national teams, and I knew Stuart Holden when he was there," Sarkodie said. "Those guys are fantastic, and I know coach Dominic is one of the best coaches in the league. He understands the game and knows the game, and he's going to be able to help me continue to get better. I can't wait. I'm excited to get started."
The end of Sarkodie's Akron career only marks the beginning of his professional career, one Dynamo fans hope will bring similar results.


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HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state senators who launched a review Wednesday on what the state can do to improve school safety in the wake of December's elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn., will have a complicated task on their hands.
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania state senators who launched a review Wednesday on what the state can do to improve school safety in the wake of December's elementary school shootings in Newtown, Conn., will have a complicated task on their hands.
Senators on the education and emergency-preparedness committees were told there is no one-size-fits-all solution for Pennsylvania's 500 school districts, and that administrators often have more pressing day-to-day safety concerns than preparing for the unlikely appearance of a heavily armed and deranged intruder bent on killing dozens of children.
Besides, districts disagree about whether it is wise to arm school security guards, and training school personnel to deal with armed intruders will be expensive and time-consuming.
In any case, some things can't be stopped, even when security procedures are in place and teachers react effectively.
"Up in Newtown, they did everything right," said Education Secretary Ron Tomalis. "But there's evil in this world, and evil once in a while touches our children."
Pocono representatives were among those who testified: Mile Silsby, superintendent of the Wallenpaupack Area School District, and Pike County Sheriff Phil Bueki attended the hearing, chaired by Lebanon County Sen. Mike Folmer, R-48, and Sen. Lisa Baker, R-20, who represents part of Monroe County and all of Pike.
"You never think it can happen in your backyard," said Silsby when asked by Chester County Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19, why it had taken school officials so long to "wake up" to the issue of safety in schools.
"We need to now know it can happen in rural Pennsylvania, urban Pennsylvania, or anywhere," Silsby said.
But the issue of how to best protect students is not a straightforward one, and steps to safety can vary by school district, officials said.
"There is no one size fits all. "� We need to be able to provide flexibility at the local level for school districts to do what they think is best," Tomalis said.
Some of the things that can be improved across the state include: communication between school districts and local law enforcement, and the implementation of regular emergency response drills and standardized emergency training for administrators and teachers, officials said.
School resource officers should not only provide security, but also training for students and staff, Bueki said.
"It's very important that the school resource officer is not just a gun walking down the hallway," he said. "It's imperative that the officer teach anti-bullying and prevention," he said.
The state also needs to provide better training for school resource officers.
"It's kind of sad that I need to send my officers to New Jersey for school resource officer training," Bueki said.
The state and school districts should focus their resources on planning and regular training so emergency responders, teachers and administrators know just what to do in an active shooter situation, said Glenn Cannon, director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
"We have signs up in our offices that say, 'Hope is not a plan and failure is not an option.' "� We stress over and over again, the beginning starts with a plan — a living, dynamic document, not something that sits on a shelf," Cannon said.
The state police have been training all their officers in active shooter response since 2006, said State Police Commissioner Col. Frank Noonan. In addition, all offers now carry shotguns or rifles, he said.
"The common thread that goes through this is mental health," Noonan said when asked by Folmer whether there were any warning signs that were overlooked during the nation's most recent school shootings.
The issue is, it is very difficult to determine who is truly at risk. "These people are generally less violent than the rest of the population, but when they do become violent, they are not rational. They really act out," Noonan said.
That's why the timeliness of local law enforcement to responding to such violent attacks is so important.
More and more municipalities are disbanding their local law enforcement and relying on state police.
That's of particular concern to Noonan, because it can take police a while to respond, especially in rural parts of the state. Still, Noonan said he would be "very nervous" about arming school staffers.
"I'd much rather they hire armed guards. You can't go one day a year and have that be adequate training" he said, adding that troopers undergo six months of training before they are given firearms.
In the meantime, a team of troopers have assessed the security of 250 school buildings, and another 240 schools are on a waiting list.
"This is not a simple, easy kind of thing, where we just put armed guards in the schools," Dinniman said. "It's the teachers, students and community. "� It's not just a school problem, it's a community problem."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Huge electrical tower in front of house in Sunnyvale
Let's take a look at a house with some location fail. When we use the term "location fail" we're referring to uncorrectable defects that are a function of where the house is. The only way to fix them is to move. Let's move on to this Sunnyvale house and see how the Tower of Power is treating it. Thanks very much to Burbed reader Michael Boltonestater for wiring this over.
1113 REMINGTON Ct
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
4 Beds
2.5 Baths
2,006 Sq. Ft.
$598 / Sq. Ft.
Built: 1975
Lot Size: 6,527 Sq. Ft.
On Redfin: 11 days
Status: Active
Property Type: Detached Single Family
Stories: 1
Community: Sunnyvale
Huge electrical tower in front of house. House has additional bedrooms and baths, half garage has been converted to a studio, all done professionally without permits
We feel cheated. There's a huge electrical tower in front of the house and the listing photo doesn't even show it. Why mention such an important feature if you're not going to show it off?
You're welcome.
Bunus: Look what we found on Zillow. All we were trying to do is figure out what they were asking for this place in 2012 when it went pending twice but never actually changed hands.
We're pretty confident this place will be selling shortly.


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Black Law Students / Re: Howard vs. GW« on: April 26, 2012, 01:13:58 AM »
My niece will graduate HLS with essentially those admission numbers this spring.
I mean were talking about how great howard is I applied there. How many of yall making comments seriously applied there. BTW I have a 3.88 (highest for any econ major by .27) and a 157 LSAT.
GALT:Yes there are many others. I will have no debt so I will be relaxed. I grew up 15 minutes away so it is home. I am politcally aligned with thw school so im comfertable. I can keep going but I do get your point and there are other factors in my favor. But still the reason Im going to howard is NO DEBT!!!! so its a moot point anyways.


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TOKYO — As Japan's space policy plans shift away from research and development, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is finding its flagship science, technology and manned spaceflight programs in line for cuts and cancellations.
Some or all of Japan's satellites planned for the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), the HTV-R pressurized sample-and-crew-return mini-shuttle, and the H-X/H-3 launcher programs could face cancellation, says JAXA's Hiroshi Sasaki, senior advisor for the strategic planning and management department.
New laws have placed control of the Japanese space agency in the hands of the Office of National Space Policy. And ONSP director Hirotoshi Kunitomo seeks to reorient Japan's space efforts from idealism to realism.
ONSP will continue to support frontier science as a lower priority, providing it is based on the sort of low-cost, high-impact space science designed by JAXA's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), embodied by the Hayabusa asteroid sample return mission. But former high-priority goals to promote environmental monitoring, human space activities and putting robots on the Moon are now much lower priorities and will have to fight for funding, Kunitomo says.
Instead, ONSP is focusing on three core programs, and only one of them, Japan's launch vehicles, is a JAXA program.
The highest priority effort, run by the ONSP, is to build out the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS), Japan's regional GPS overlay, with a budget approved for maintaining a constellation of four QZSS satellites by around 2018. A post-2020 build out to a seven-satellite constellation will then give Japan its own independent regional positioning, navigation and timing capability.
The second is the Association of Southeast Asian Nation's (ASEAN) newly sanctioned Disaster Management Network run by the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry (METI). This requires a constellation of Earth-observing optical, X- and L-band radar and hyperspectral sensor-equipped satellites monitoring Southeast Asia. Japan will provide at least the first three satellites, with more funding through foreign aid packages. Vietnam has already signed up for two X-band satellites. Stated policy requires a once-daily revisit over any part of the Earth, requiring a minimum constellation of four satellites that will need to be regularly replenished every five years or so.
The third priority focuses is on improving the current H-2A, which JAXA is working on with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). It is also continuing improvement of JAXA's new low-cost, launch-on-demand Epsilon solid launch rocket for smaller payloads. A variant will be uprated from 1,200 kg (2,650 lb.) to around 1,800 kg to low Earth orbit, matching that of its predecessor M-V launch vehicle.
JAXA projects that fall short of the Basic Plan's goals but are already funded for development will continue if it is counterproductive to stop them, Kunitomo says. These include launching the upcoming ALOS-2 land-observing system and the Global Precipitation Measurement/Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar satellites. The greenhouse-gases-focused Observing Satellite-2 (GOSAT-2) is also safe, as it is funded by the Environment Ministry, not JAXA.
But under a Feb. 25 budget plan drawn up by Kunitomo, several programs face harsh scrutiny, including the HTV-R sample return mission, any future launches of the HTV-R transfer vehicle beyond the current seven planned through 2016, the H-3, Moon exploration and all of JAXA's follow-on environmental missions.
Harsh logic
The ONSP's logic for re-auditing the HTV-R is harsh. As it is too expensive to commercialize, the H-2B will be ditched as dead once its HTV duties are finished. As the HTV's only purpose is to service the International Space Station, and Japan must minimize its costs, then logically the HTV, HTV-R and H-2B have no future beyond 2016 and the HTV's seventh flight. Indeed, one industry source tells Aviation Week that Japan may launch perhaps two, at most, post-2016 missions.
For JAXA, things get tougher. ONSP plans mandate that the agency's now-low priority environmental monitoring programs undergo a "focus and re-selection process." This means the proposed GCOM-C, EarthCARE cloud radar mission and ALOS-3 electro-optical missions — the second main plank of Japan's flagship international cooperation programs with NASA and the European Space Agency — will fight for funding, and not all will make it, Kunitomo says. But he concedes a reconfigured ALOS-3 that can adapt to the Disaster Management Network at a fraction of its projected price tag would become more acceptable.


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by Sean Cribbs
"NoSQL is awesome! I need to use it on my next project!" … [hours later] … "How the heck do I get my data out of this thing?!"
Sound familiar? Non-relational data storage solutions (NoSQL) promise all kinds of benefits — scalability, flexibility, fault-tolerance — but (by the nature of the moniker) don't have SQL to query with. Riak is one such solution, a distributed key-value store that implements MapReduce for querying, and has some awesome client libraries for Ruby, Java, Python, and Node.js. We'll briefly look at why you might want to use Riak, discuss how MapReduce works in Riak, and then dive into converting some pretty common SQL queries into their MapReduce equivalents, all using code you know how to write, Javascript!
United States United States, St. Louis
18th–20th September 2011


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(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.
There is currently no available "Beginner" label. The following is the default level label: Traveling for pleasure and seeking out pastoral and natural vistas grew in popularity among Americans in the 1800s. Mountain summits that offered panoramic "birds-eye" views were especially popular destinations. By the mid-1800s, men and women could either hike or take a carriage up to the summit of Mt. Sugarloaf in South Deerfield, Massachusetts. Part of the Pocumtuck Range, Sugarloaf presents a sweeping view of the Connecticut River Valley. The Summit House shown here was built to accommodate tourists in 1864. It had fallen into disuse by the time this picture was taken. A fire eventually destroyed the building.
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George Hamilton just wants a cup of coffee, that's all. But a small obstacle confounds the handsome, supernaturally tanned actor in his Tulsa, Okla., hotel room — the coffee maker.
"This is a whole new experience for me," he says by phone. "I'm 72 years old. It's about time I learned how to do this. Hold on a minute."
Vague clanking sounds can be heard, for more than a minute.
"It doesn't look like coffee," Hamilton says when he gets back on the line. "It's just sugar and milk and warm water. This is the worst milk and water I've ever tasted. You really want to think that you can do something on your own, and you basically become an...


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Health Perspectives ~ Yoga in the West with Libbie Mathes
YOGA in the WEST: Fitness Fad? Therapy? Business Opportunity? Spiritual Path?
Ancient Eastern Wisdom tradition meets modern Western commercialism, competition, creativity and spiritual seekers.
Does the YOGA survive? Does it matter? Come to a talk and join the discussion.
About the speaker
Libbie Mathes spent five years in India in the 1960s on assignment with her Foreign Service husband. She taught school, traveled, had their first child and became a student of the legendary Yoga Master Sri T. Krishnamacharya. The connection changed her life. Her main U.S. teacher is Senior Iyengar teacher, John Schumacher. She has taught yoga in the U.S. for 20 years in the Krishnamacharya / Iyengar lineage.
About the library's Health Perspecitves Series
This is an ongoing, once-in-an-occasional series of talks, workshops and films that brings together professional expertise in nutrition, exercise and general health for free community programs at the Bud Werner Memorial Library


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Neil Reimer, 2001 Southwest Winner
Neil Reimer, a Seminole, Texas, peanut, wheat and cotton farmer, says peanut production costs run about $600 per acre and yields average 5,800 pounds per acre.
Rotation, fertility and adequate water provide the backbone for his production program, but he admits to being meticulous about giving the crop what it needs to produce yield goals.
"I always set a 5,500 pound per acre target," he says, "and everything I do is geared toward reaching that goal."
In some cases, Reimer will hold back on nutrients, if soil tests indicate adequate levels. But he never hesitates to apply what's necessary to make the yield, even in a down market.
"I take soil samples every year," he says. "I spend money where it's needed. If I have adequate levels of phosphorus, for instance, why spend money on it? It's easy to spend more than necessary if we don't know what we're doing."
Harris Devane, 2001 Lower Southeast Winner
There's cutting costs, and then there's cutting one's own throat. Staying on the right side of the fine line that separates the two is the key to maintaining efficiency and high yields in peanut production, says Harris Devane, a southwest Georgia farmer and winner of the 2001 Farm Press Peanut Profitability Award for the Southeast Region.
"We have to keep our yields high enough to get a good return from the crop. We try to watch our input costs, but we've stuck with the same basic practices over the years," says Devane, who farms with his father Marvin and farms some of his own land in Randolph County, Ga.
In addition to 225 acres of peanuts, Devane also grows cotton, corn, soybeans and wheat in a diversified family operation. In the past two years, he has double-cropped cotton behind wheat in a no-till system.
Wayland Spruill, 2001 Upper Southeast Winner
Whether he's riding in his pickup checking fields for problems, pod-blasting peanuts to determine when to dig, or helping his wife Lucy tend to their brand-new infant son, Wayland is learning it's the little things that count in a big way.
"All the little things you observe out riding around make a big difference," Wayland says.
Paying attention to the little things lead to profits. The Spruills have a five-year average yield of 3,500 pounds per acre, mostly on dryland peanuts.


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Dog pawing at the ground to make a "nest"
I have a 14 or 15-yr-old Maltese who has early stage dementia (gets "stuck" in hallways and behind furniture, hooooooooowls at night, walks in large circles).
He sometimes scratches at the floor in the way a dog would if there were a blanket there and he were trying to prepare his bed. Unfortunately there is no blanket where he is pawing, just linoleum. He will paw at this for fully 5 minutes or more, trying to get the linoleum "just right" so he can lie down. When he gets tired he switches paws and continues to scratch at the linoleum instead of giving up.
If I bring a blanket and put it directly under where he is already scratching, he promptly paws at that for 15 seconds to bunch it up, feels satisfied, and immediately curls up to sleep. However he will not give up and go find a blanket somewhere else in the room on his own. (We have perhaps 10 or 15 scattered around the room, plus some throw rugs.)
Is this part of his dementia or just something that some dogs do? The place he was scratching at tonight did indeed have a blanket exactly there before I did the laundry this evening.
My 15 year old dog does this too, and has for a few years now. Occasionally she gets really bad with her pillow and will dig away at it and circle until I snap her out of it. The digging and pawing and rooting at a bedding area will drive you nuts after a while.
She also fake buries bones and food. i.e. moving her head through the air and over her food or bones as if there were a pile of dirt there.
She has always done some variation of these behaviors I think, but they have definitely gotten more severe with age (and yeah mine is going a bit senile too I'm pretty sure).
One thing I have noticed is that she does it less so in different beds, which all have adequate cushioning. I guess it is situational for them, and they also forget certain steps in the whole laying down process. Mine does this too if I have to wash one of her beds (she has three scattered around the house), she will not go lay down on the other one but will wander around the area of the missing bed.
Someday I hope to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am
Young dogs do this too. My 4 year old Cocker Spaniel will dig the area rugs and mats that I have scattered around the house. She will also dig the carpet in the back seat of G-Man's truck. Once she'd decided that she's not going to make it all the way through to China this time, she stops and goes back to what she was doing before.
If you're green, you're growing...if you're ripe, you're rotting!
I try to greet the world like my pets do...boundless enthusiasm, intense curiosity and no concept of yesterday and tomorrow.
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Although classes won't start until Monday, freshmen and other new students had the chance to start acclimating themselves to Leavenworth High School on Friday morning.
Although classes won't start until Monday, freshmen and other new students had the chance to start acclimating themselves to Leavenworth High School on Friday morning.
The new students were welcomed Friday by members of the school's Pioneer Mentoring Program. And, mentors will continue to assist members of the freshmen class during the upcoming semester.
"I wish I would have had (the program) my freshman year," senior Joshua Alexander said.
He and senior Mahogani Gant are co-presidents of the program.
Gant said the program is designed to help students become comfortable with their new high school setting and make them feel at home.
Alexander said Friday's orientation helped new students get to know the high school before the school year starts.
About 50 students are serving as mentors this year. The mentors had to apply for the program.
"You have to be going into your junior or senior year," Alexander said.
Alexander and Gant said the upperclassmen know what it's like for freshmen to make the transition to a new school.
This is the third year for the Pioneer Mentoring Program.
Assistant Principal Stacy Cole said school officials talked about starting such a program for several years, and Principal Tom Barry supported establishing it when he came to Leavenworth High School.
"It really has been an amazing program," Cole said.
In addition to helping new students, the orientation also alleviates concerns parents may have as their children start a new high school, Cole said.
"I think it helps puts parents' minds at ease," she said.
Alexander and Gant said groups of three or four mentors will be paired with 15-20 freshmen during the first semester. They will meet on a regular basis during what is known at the high school as the seminar period.
"It's built into the schedule," Alexander said.
The mentors also will host a tailgate barbecue for freshman before a football game. Freshmen will be able to attend the event for free with their mentors.
Even though the program for freshmen will last for only the first semester, relationships will carry over, Alexander said.


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"here/now" is a collection of ideas, statements, emotions and stories told through the medium of dance. Choreographers created their works knowing that they will only exist here/now and, because dance is a living, breathing art form, cannot be replicated in the same exact way ever again.
Event Details
Extensions Dance Company performance
Saturday, March 3, 2018 - 2 p.m.
Location: Casino Theatre
Event Type: Performing Arts, Public Event
Audience: Public
Cost: $15 for general, $10 for seniors and military, $8 for Salve Regina students, faculty and staff
Contact: Department of Music, Theatre and Dance
Phone: (401) 341-2250


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Designs by coveredbydesign
Christine Hansen
I am an air force veterans wife, mom to 3 beautiful children, 1 rescued dog and 3 rescued kitties. I love fabric and designing so you can imagine the joy when I found I could do both here on spoonflower. Find me on social media under coveredbydesign.


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With George Lucas's incessant desire to tweak and alter his Star Wars saga, it was almost inevitable that the movies would receive a 3D makeover. Lucas believes that "moving from 2D to 3D is like the difference between watching a film in black and white and watching a film in colour. It works in black and white but it works better in colour". He can argue that this 3D re-release of The Phantom Menace is his continued search for perfection, but the healthy boost another cinema push will give his bank balance is surely one of the more fortunate side-effects for the bearded auteur.
The opportunity for Star Wars fans to revisit the most disappointing day of their cinema-going lives may not sound like an appetising one, but despite The Phantom Menace's myriad flaws it still possesses the old school Star Wars charm that was missing from its successors Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.
Those latter prequels were saddled with excess CGI and excruciating romance between Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman - Episode I strikes a balance between computer wizardry and practical sets, giving it a texture and sense of reality that you don't get from making an entire movie on a green screen.
Its plot intricacies, involving tax disputes and political intrigue with Naboo senator Palpatine's rise to Emperor, are ridiculous for a kids' film, but Lucas barrels the action along at a swift pace as Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) head on an interplanetary quest across the Gungan planet Naboo, the desert land of Tatooine and shimmering megalopolis Coruscant.
This swashbuckling, space-travelling derring-do means the film is in line with the Saturday morning serial vibe of the first Star Wars (and its key influences: Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon).
Visually, the film still holds up as an impressive spectacle 13 years on from its original release, although the 3D treatment does little to enhance the big eye candy moments.
Phantom Menace's real fault lies in its characters. The galaxy-trotting team of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd) and Queen Amidala (Portman). There is no devilish rogue in the mould of Han Solo or lovable sidekick like Chewbacca, instead we get a stoic Jedi presence and the irritant that is Jar Jar Binks. They simply aren't as engaging as they need to be.
Nevertheless, Phantom Menace occasionally clicks and provides some exhilarating big screen moments. The extended pod race sequence is a masterclass in sound and fury, cut together expertly with engines roaring and crowds cheering. Lucas, who grew up a petrol head and brought cars to the forefront of his '70s comedy American Graffiti, is in his element here.
Ray Park and Peter Serafinowicz (as body and voice) create a dynamic and vicious villain in the form of horned Sith warrior Darth Maul, too. His final showdown with Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, backed by John Williams's epic 'Duel of the Fates', is probably one of the highlights of the prequel trilogy. Strip away the hype and the overwhelming expectations of '99 and The Phantom Menace is not nearly as terrible as you remember it.


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Nashua man sentenced for trading cigs for sex with 14-year-oldBy BENJAMIN C. KLEIN
Union Leader Correspondent
April 02. 2013 7:39PM
NASHUA - A judge said an elderly man who admitted trading cigarettes and drugs to get sex from a 14-year-old girl should serve 3½ to seven years of home confinement.
Judge Jacalyn Colburn said 81-year-old Paul Caya should serve the time at home rather than state prison because of his age.
Prosecutor Dave Tencza had previously said that the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office would recommend a sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison after learning last month that Caya would plead guilty.
The sentence stems from 2011 charges that the then-79-year-old Caya had traded drugs and cigarettes with a 14-year-old girl for sex.
Because he pleaded guilty, his now 16-year-old victim was spared having to testify.
Tencza said that it's possible the victim will still have to testify against Ashley Xiggores, Caya's alleged partner in crime.
Xiggores faces seven counts of criminal liability to another for felonious sexual assault and one count of criminal solicitation to prostitution for allegedly facilitating Caya's sexual activity with the victim.
Xiggores' trial was scheduled to begin this week, but it was postponed.
As part of his sentence, Karrine Brobst, the special assistant Hillsborough Country attorney, said Caya would also have to undergo a sexual offender evaluation, which will be administered by the Department of Corrections.


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BEIRUT (AP) — A roadside bomb struck an SUV carrying Hezbollah members near Lebanon's border with Syria on Tuesday, wounding at least two people in the second attack targeting the Lebanese Shiite Muslim group in a week.
A police official said the vehicle appeared to have been part of a two-car Hezbollah convoy heading to Syria and that the two casualties were transported in ambulances affiliated with the group to a hospital in Beirut. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief journalists, said it was not immediately clear whether the bombing was an assassination attempt.
It is the latest fallout for Lebanon from the civil war in Syria, where an estimated 5,000 people are being killed every month, according to the United Nations.
Lebanon, long troubled by Syria's civil war and its potential to overwhelm its smaller neighbor, has been on edge since a powerful car bomb last Tuesday in a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut's southern suburbs wounded 53 people. To many in Lebanon, that blast confirmed fears that the Iranian-backed group, a staunch ally of President Bashar Assad's government, would face retaliation for its now overt role fighting alongside Assad's troops inside Syria.
As Hezbollah's hand in the Syrian conflict has become public, Lebanon has seen a spike in Sunni-Shiite tensions that has sparked gun battles in several cities around the country. Many Lebanese Sunnis support the overwhelmingly Sunni uprising against Assad in Syria, while Shiites generally back Hezbollah and the regime.
Tuesday's roadside blast struck the SUV as it was driving on the main road in Majdal Anjar leading from Lebanon to the Syrian capital, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the Masnaa border crossing. The road is frequently used by Hezbollah security officials and other Lebanese officials heading to the Syrian capital, Damascus.
The state-run National News Agency identified the wounded men as Hussein Ali Bdeir and Fadi Abdul Karim. Local media reports said the two may have been bodyguards for a Hezbollah official traveling in the convoy.
Lebanese security officials said the car appeared to have been ambushed and the bomb detonated remotely. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. Television footage showed the damage vehicle, which appeared to have several bullet holes and blood spattered on its front seat.
A Hezbollah official said the group had no information on the blast.
The group's fighters played a key role in a recent victory by Assad's forces to retake control of the strategic Syrian town of Qusair, near the Lebanese border, where rebels held sway for more than a year. Syrian activists say Hezbollah fighters are now aiding a regime offensive in the besieged city of Homs.
Attacks that target Hezbollah, such as last week's car bombing in the heart of the group's bastion of support, considerably raise the stakes in Lebanon and suggest that Syria's civil war is beginning to consume Lebanon.
U.N. officials said Tuesday that approximately 5,000 people a month are being killed in Syria and the flight of refugees is the worst since the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said two-thirds of the nearly 1.8 million Syrian refugees known to the agency have fled since the beginning of 2013, an average of more than 6,000 daily.
"We have not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide almost 20 years ago," Guterres said.
U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos accused the government and the opposition of "systematically, and in many cases, deliberately" failing their obligation to protect civilians. More than 93,000 people have been killed and millions uprooted from their homes in the conflict, according to the U.N.
Inside Syria, pro-government gunmen killed seven members of a local Syrian reconciliation group near the central city of Homs, as troops shot dead nine people including a child at a checkpoint in a suburb of the capital, activists said Tuesday.
The killings coincide with an offensive by Assad's troops in Damascus and its surrounding suburbs, as well as in the strategic province surrounding Homs.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the seven men, including two retired army officers, were Sunnis working to convince gunmen to abandon their weapons and return to normal life. They were killed Monday in the village of Hajar Abyad, where residents are known to be regime supporters, it said.
The main Western-backed Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Council, accused Assad's regime on Tuesday of "luring people" to the frontlines under the pretext of negotiating a ceasefire or evacuating civilians, and then killing the mediators. The group cited the village killings as an example.
Assad's troops have captured several nearby rebel-held areas in recent weeks, including the towns of Qusair and Talkalkh near the border with Lebanon. Late last month, they launched an attack to try to capture rebel-held areas of Homs, Syria's third largest city.
They have also made headway against brigades on the edge of Damascus and its eastern suburbs.
The uprising against Assad's rule began in March 2011 and has deteriorated into an insurgency with growing sectarian overtones. The rebels have been assisted by foreign fighters, while government forces have been bolstered by Hezbollah guerrillas and Shiite fighters from Iraq.
In the Damascus suburb of Qarah, troops shot dead nine people including a child at an army checkpoint in the area, the Observatory said.
It was not clear whether those killed were fighters or civilians. An amateur video showed seven dead men, some of them with beards, and a boy with a bloodied face. The dead appeared to have suffered bullet wounds, some to the head.
"These are Bashar's crimes during Ramadan," a man could be heard saying in the video, referring to the Muslim holy month that began last week.
The video appeared genuine and corresponded to other Associated Press reporting of the events depicted.
Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer contributed to this report from the United Nations.


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[Look for the podcast play button below.]
I have a really swell show for you today. We have a load of very interesting questions from all over the globe. And I respond with an equal number of lively, affable and oh so informative responses! Hey, it's what I do.
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DUST 514 is a persistent shooter that delivers an immersive experience of brutal ground combat and strategic planetary conquest set in the thriving universe of CCP's science-fiction MMO for PC and Mac, EVE Online. In DUST 514, mercenaries on the ground wage war to acquire territory, resources and notoriety, forging and breaking agreements with the starship pilots of EVE Online as they work together in real-time to control vast regions of deep space. Players in EVE Online and DUST 514 share a realistic, player-driven economy. Every action in DUST 514 has real consequences that ripple across a persistent universe spanning thousands of star systems. In DUST 514, unlike in any other game, your actions can topple empires.
DUST 514 is a game of brutal ground combat and planetary conquest in which the actions of players on the PS3 will have a profound and mutual effect on the fates of hundreds of thousands of PC gamers in the vast interstellar reaches of EVE Online.
With DUST 514, EVE's starship pilots can forge alliances with DUST 514 mercenaries to engage in fierce surface firefights to conquer territories on the planets of New Eden, which are common to both games. The actions of ground troops and orbiting attack fleets are tightly interwoven, with the real time actions of players in one game directly affecting the other. A single bullet fired on the planet below can pivot the balance of power in EVE Online. Every action has consequences, and every reaction has the potential to topple empires.
DUST 514 has been built from the ground up to take advantage of the unique capabilities of the PlayStation platform. Digitally distributed, the full game download will be available through the PlayStation Network (PSN). It will feature full support for PlayStation Move controller and PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter accessory, and over time will extend the game experience across the full PlayStation ecosystem to PlayStation Home and PS Vita.
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Unionization Ruling Before The Supreme Court Could Be 'Huge'
Political consultant: Ruling could 'dramatically undermine public sector unions'
As the current term of the United States Supreme Court nears its end, a ruling remains to be announced that could fundamentally change the way government unions are organized.
Harris v. Quinn, which involves personal care providers in Illinois who contested a forced unionization they were subjected to, is largely equivalent to the home health care "dues skim" that took place in Michigan. In both unionization schemes, workers who take care of the elderly and disabled were forced into a union. In Michigan, an affiliate of the Service Employees International union took more than $34 million from the Medicaid checks of people who were being cared for mostly by friends and family.
The U.S. Supreme Court held oral arguments in the Harris v. Quinn case in January and a final ruling is expected by the end of June. There are reasons to believe the court's decision in the case might be to reverse the 1977 Abood v. Detroit Board of Education ruling. If that's what happens it would have the effect of making all public employees nationwide subject to right-to-work.
Ramifications of such a ruling by the high court would be far-reaching.
"I think the reaction would be humongous," said Inside Michigan Politics founder Bill Ballenger. "It would be what happened in Wisconsin and Michigan combined, multiplied to the 10th power."
Dennis Darnoi, political consultant with Densar Consulting of Farmington Hills, said part of impact of the potential ruling would come from the lack of awareness about it within the regular news media.
"I think it would be one of those things that totally catches people off guard," Darnoi said. "Very few people would be clued in ahead of time. I think in the news media the reaction you would see would be like what we saw in reaction to Citizens United v. FEC (the 2010 decision that struck down the limits on campaign contributions). It would probably get a lot of focus from certain segments of the media and a lot of criticism. It would definitely be a shock to the system in ways similar to the fights (over labor issues) in Wisconsin and Michigan. Only on this one the attitude would be along the lines of: 'Look, they've taken all of it.' "
Robert Kolt, political strategist with Lansing-based Kolt Communications, said if the court decides to overturn the Abood ruling, the reaction of the unions could either dampen the resulting furor or fan the flames of it.
"Obviously it would be huge," Kolt said. "But a big factor would be how labor responds. If they make a big deal out it then the news media would tend to cover it more than if labor decided to play it down."
Mark Grebner of East Lansing-based Practical Political Consulting said the potential ruling would be a big deal, but from a long term perspective might not be all that unexpected.
"Ever since about 1980 the right-wingers have had a crusade to defund the left," Grebner said. "That's why they supported getting rid the tax deduction on contributions — it didn't affect large donors as much as small donors. I guess if the court makes this decision it would be one more step in that direction. I'm not sure how it would play out in the news media. A lot of people don't know very much about the inner workings of the whole union dues thing.
"Overall, it would dramatically undermine public sector unions," Grebner continued. "And we should mention that even though Michigan passed right-to-work, it would still have at least a small impact here because they exempted police and firefighters but this possible ruling wouldn't."
See also:
Unionization Case Before The Supreme Court Could Have Lasting National Impact
U.S. Supreme Court Discusses Right-To-Work For All Public Employees
U.S. Supreme Court Agrees To Loo
Michigan Capitol Confidential of the SEIU Dues Skim
Legal Foundation Seeks Return Of 'Dues Skim' Money
SEIU Election Battle Hinges On Home-Based Caregivers
Voters Reject Forced Unionization Scheme
How the Forced Unionization of Day Care and Home Health Care Providers Took Place
Parents Forced to Pay Union Dues, Lawmaker Rakes In Health Care Money


text: This post was written by Tammy Kiter, Manuscript Reference Librarian June 6, 2014 marked the 70th anniversary of D-Day. The Allied Invasion of Normandy was the largest seaborne invasion in military history. Allied troops consisted of approximately 150,000 service members representing the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Norway and numerous other countries. This strategically…Read More


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YES! But How? :: Looking Polished
by Dana Saib, Lilja OttoSep 05, 2006
- Natural alternatives to nail polish, garbage disposal vs. worms, making berry jam, and indoor air quality tips. If you're searching for practical ways to live sustainably, just ask us.
YES! But How? :: Eco-friendly Party
by Daina Saib, Lilja OttoMay 04, 2006
- How to throw a sustainable party, finding grass-fed beef and the real, environmental cost of transportation.
YES! But How? :: Work With, Not Against, Nature
Mar 22, 2006
- Practical tips on local organic food, yoga mats, gardening, and the best tampons for the environment.
YES! But How? :: Paint Job
Aug 15, 2005
- Safe Painting, Spam, Vegetable Oil Soap, Aprovecho Stoves
YES! But How? :: Lumber Certification
Aug 15, 2005
- Lumber Certification, Water Temperature for Hand Dishwashing, Recycling Electronics, Organic Food
YES! But How? :: Toxic Cosmetics
Apr 12, 2005
- Toxic Cosmetics, Septic Tank vs Sewer, Recycling CDs, Microwave Safety
YES! But How? :: Privacy, Slugs, Recycling Cards, and Glasses
Feb 24, 2005
- Protecting privacy, nontoxic slug disposal, unwanted bulk mail, reusing greeting cards, and recycling old glasses
YES! But How? :: Broken Office Equipment
Nov 02, 2004
- Recycling office equipment, Microwave vs conventional ovens, Radioactive smoke alarms, Socially responsible investing
YES! But How? :: Spring Cleaning
by Annie Berthold-Bond, Doug PibelMay 20, 2004
- Annie Berthold, Ask Annie, offers household hints and helps answer your questions.
YES! But How? :: Cleaning
May 20, 2004
- Dry Cleaning, Cleaning Baseboard Heaters, Recycling Cooking Oil, Heating systems, Teapot Cleaning, Silver Cleaning and Brass Cleaning
YES! But How? :: Hazards of Non-Stick Cookware
by Rachel Milanez, Becky BrunMay 20, 2004
- Household tips to live more sustainably: Non-stick Cookware Safety, Refrigerator Efficiency, Expired Medicine, Recycling Cell Phones, and Leftover Soap.
YES! But How? :: Sustainble Wedding Rings
by Megan Tady, Jeremy EckertMay 20, 2004
- Tips on sustainable wedding rings, ecological dishwasher detergent, grout stains and batteries. If you're searching for practical ways to live sustainably, just ask us.
YES! But How? :: E-Voting, Shaving, Scorpions, Paper v. Plastic
Dec 31, 2003
- household hints and helps, Register to vote on-line, Environmentally friendly shaving, Scorpion control, Grocery bags, Safe juice & water bottles
YES! But How? :: Off the Grid
Mar 31, 2003
- Household hints and helps, living off the grid, sustainable burials, alternatives to plywood roof decking, greywater on gardens, and reusing envelopes.
YES! But How? :: Noxious Weeds
Sep 30, 2002
- Eco-friendly household hints and helps for eradicating noxious weeds, choosing between cloth and disposable diapers, and dealing with candle soot damage.
YES! But How?
If you're looking for practical ways to live sustainably, just ask us.


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Thursday, June 10, 2010
On the album art for Rated R: "I wanted pictures that represented strength and fearlessness but still femininity—a strong woman who can be vulnerable. Every woman is made up of vulnerability and strength; no matter what race you are, no matter what you've been through in your life. Every woman has that strength that is undeniable, but we also have really big hearts. It's just us."
On her new beau, Matt Kemp: "I have a boyfriend. I'm so happy. I feel really comfortable, and it's so easy. I have such a chaotic life, but at the end of the day, that is just my peace. It keeps me sane, really, talking to him and talking to my family."
On designers she admires: "It's clear there are definitely fewer black women in the high-fashion industry. One of the things I respected most about Gucci was that they did a print campaign with me. I'm a black girl on a fashion spread for Gucci—that was a big deal. I respect designers who aren't afraid to go outside the box. I went to a Jean Paul Gaultier show, and I saw girls who are thicker than me, beautiful and voluptuous and different ethnicities. That made me so excited. I thought, Okay, I can work that, for sure."
On the past year: "A year ago, I was very confused. Because [Chris Brown] was my best friend. All of a sudden, one night changed our whole lives—not only our friendship, but our lives. I wanted to wake up one day and just not have that pain anymore. I wanted to be with him again or get over him—it was either-or. I just didn't want to feel the pain, the confusion."
In "Fireworks" there's a verse about Rihanna, who asked him last year to write a song for her new album; the two soon began seeing each other regularly, though they never publicly confirmed their brief relationship. "I was a pawn," Drake said. The song he wrote for her never got released. "You know what she was doing to me? She was doing exactly what I've done to so many women throughout my life, which is show them quality time, then disappear," he said. "I was like, wow, this feels terrible.
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Posts Tagged 'Coalition of Immokalee Workers'
The ethical traveler
Sweat Free Houston founders are all about living an ethical life. While our campaign is to get the City of Houston to pass a "sweat free" purchasing ordinance that addresses apparel purchasing by the city, we also know that sweatshops exist in the fields all around the world. In fact the agricultural labors in the USA live horrific lives, see the Coalition of Immokalee Workers for just one example of how tomato pickers on Florida are subjected to slavery in the fields.
Another huge population of exploited workers are coffee farmers. While in the USA, we only drink Fair Trade certified organic coffee. Hey we need energy to change the world! Well the problem with having a third party independent certifier saying your coffee beans are ethical is that big corporations use the fair trade certification to green wash their entire corporation. (definition of green washing: The dissemination of misleading information by an organization to conceal its abuse of the environment in order to present a positive.).
Starbucks is likely the most skilled green washing multi-national corporation in the world. They do as little as possible when it comes to treating coffee farmers justly but they blow the tiny bit of their responsible behavior all over the place and pretend they care about their suppliers when in actuality they are nothing better than slave drivers. One of the founders of Sweat Free Houston just went to Korea on business and here's an encounter we thought you'd enjoy. The photo shows a Starbucks in Daechi neighborhood in Seoul.
First it's important to know that Starbucks has a long history of using Fair Trade to green wash their business. For example, see this press release from the Organic Consumers Association.
Only about 6% of the coffee Starbucks sells is fair trade certified but they very seldom have any brewing. Green LA girl, an awesome blogger, gives a nice history of this very issue. Starbucks likes to brag about being "The largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world," but the simple fact is that more than 90% of their coffee is sweatshop coffee where the worker gets screwed by Starbucks on the price they receive for their product.
After I had been in Seoul for about 12 hours I figured it was time to stir things up a little. Before traveling to Korea, I had read how Starbucks were spreading like the disease they are all across the country, knocking mom and pop coffee shops out of business left and right. Just 4 minutes after I walked out of my brother-in-laws apartment in Daechi Dong, the most exclusive neighborhood in Seoul, I saw a young lady with a Starbucks cup in hand. Sure enough, 10 yards ahead was the evil empire.
So I rolled in and went to the literature display and found this:
It was a nice little brochure that was entitled Starbucks CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Starbucks being socially responsible is like saying that the KKK was kind to minorities. The example of their literature above brags about how "responsible" they are. Now knowing that they claim to sell fair trade coffee in their brochures prominently displayed in their cookie cutter store, I stepped up to the counter and asked for some. Nope, they weren't brewing any. The barrista pointed to the rack of bagged coffee where you could not see any fair trade certified coffee bags. I took a few more photos and the manager approached me and in perfect English, told me to stop taking pictures. I asked about Fair Trade coffee and she pointed out one bag way on the bottom of the display. I told her that I'd like to drink some now. She said "It's out of season." I said, "Then why are you selling it?" After that exchange I figured that the Starbucks corporate line in Korea is the same as in the USA and made my exit.
Written by timjo62
September 11, 2010 at 9:04 pm


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INDIAN LAND – Blessed with an abundance of streams and rivers crisscrossing miles of rolling forests and rich farmland, Indian Land was once prized by the Catawba Indians and early settlers for its natural resources, including its wildlife.
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STOCKTON - The mother of a 15-year-old Chavez High School freshman whose physical altercation with a teacher this week was captured on video and later shared on the Internet was critical Wednesday of the teacher's handling of the incident and said she is planning to speak to an attorney.
STOCKTON - The mother of a 15-year-old Chavez High School freshman whose physical altercation with a teacher this week was captured on video and later shared on the Internet was critical Wednesday of the teacher's handling of the incident and said she is planning to speak to an attorney.
Joanna Reynoso, the mother of 15-year-old Marlina Martinez, said that based on her viewing of the video and the comments of student eyewitnesses, "The teacher's the one that started it; the teacher's the one that pushed her; the teacher told her, 'Well I'll put my hands on you, too.' " Reynoso said the same teacher also "got into my daughter's face" in January.
Martinez was arrested by Stockton Unified police officers on Monday, taken to Juvenile Hall and later released. She has been suspended for five days and will be required to attend a hearing that could result in her expulsion.
Stockton Unified placed the teacher, whom Reynoso called "Mrs. Jones," on paid administrative leave Wednesday while investigating the incident, Superintendent Steve Lowder said. The district did not identify the teacher, because she has not been charged with a crime.
"We're doing our due diligence," Lowder said. "It's a serious event. We're taking it seriously and moving forward."
Reynoso said her daughter - who was in Modesto with her father Wednesday and unavailable for comment - began the school year at Lincoln High School but switched to Chavez after moving. Reynoso said her daughter has not been in trouble before.
The videotaped portion of the dispute shows the fallout after the teacher confiscated Martinez's phone.
The teacher and student argue for about two minutes before the dispute turns violent. Martinez uses obscenities several times while repeatedly demanding the teacher "give me my stuff back." In several instances, the two argue about whether it was the teacher or student who made initial physical contact early in the argument.
"You put your hands on me right now again and I swear to God I'm going to hit you," Martinez says.
The teacher responds, "You put your hands on me and I'll put my hands on you."
Finally, Martinez appears to take a step toward the teacher, possibly bumping her. The video then shows the teacher shoving Martinez away with both hands, at which point both throw punches and wrestle each other to the floor as students in the classroom scream.
Stockton attorney Rob Waters, who is not involved in this case but has handled previous cases against Stockton Unified, said, "There is no reason for a teacher to lay hands on a student, ever. Hitting a child is against every guideline, policy and protocol regarding classroom management. Hopefully, Stockton Unified will review the video of the incident and utilize it to train its teachers on how to properly manage these situations in the future."
While not commenting on how the teacher handled Monday's incident, education experts said it's best for teachers to try to defuse heated situations and to seek help from other adults when tempers surge.
"It's really critical that even under times of real stress that teachers are de-escalators of the energy that's there," said Lynn Beck, dean of the Benerd School of Education at University of the Pacific, who added that she has seen portions of the video. "Sometimes it's not possible, but in general that's important. When emotions are high, mistakes get made.
"You solve the problems later. In the moment when emotions are high, you bring it in, because there really is the potential for harm to be done."
Stockton Unified officials said Monday's incident is especially disappointing because behavior at district schools has improved this year as reflected by sharply reduced expulsion and suspension rates.
Lowder would not comment on the Chavez teacher's handling of the incident. He said additional training in defusing volatile situations could be beneficial for some teachers and he said sometimes a teacher should opt to back off, ask an irate student to sit down or go to the office, or seek support from school security staff.
"Clearly there comes a time when it becomes a no-win situation and a student isn't going to be compliant," Lowder said.
Contact reporter Roger Phillips at (209) 546-8299 or email@example.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/phillipsblog.


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9:00 pm
Cook's Country from America's Test Kitchen "Thrill of the Grill" NULL
9:30 pm
Mexico -- One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless "Tijuana Taco Crawl" People are passionate about their tacos in Tijuana. Ask any local and they'll tell you their favorite - complete with mouthwatering details. Three local Tijuana foodies take Rick on a taco "crawl" starting with arrachera (skirt steak) tacos at El Yaqui. D
10:00 pm
Caprial and John's Kitchen: Cooking for Family and Friends "Raw Milk Cheese" After a visit to a dairy farm that makes award-winning cheeses, the Pences fix raw milk gouda with egg and pizza with arugula.G
10:30 pm
Rick Steves' Europe "London: Historic and Dynamic" Rick ponders royal tombs in Westminster Abbey, learns how to triple the calories of an English scone at teatime, discovers treasures in the British Library, and enjoys the vibrant evening scene in Soho. He uncovers Churchill's secret World War II headquarters, joins the 9-to-5 crowd in the new London, shops where the queen shops, and straddles the Prime Meridian at Greenwich.G
11:00 pm
Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish "Tengo Dudas" In this episode, Arturo asks Raquel if she would be willing to move to Buenos Aires.G
11:30 pm
Destinos: An Introduction to Spanish "Asf Fue: I" This episode begins a four-part review of the entire series and begins with the first segment.G


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But, final question: what really determines our skills and potential to succeed in law school, at least the possibility to survive in law school? GPA, LSAT, PS, L of R, or anything else?
A high UGPA generally indicates hard work and intelligence, while a high LSAT and low UGPA might indicate intelligence and laziness or poor planning, lack of commitment, maturity issues, etc.


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Mariners 2, Tigers 1
All it took was two clutch at-bats for John Jaso to get a new
title in the Seattle clubhouse.
"Best clutch hitter ever!" Miguel Olivo shouted toward Jaso
from just a few feet away.
For the second time in three games, Jaso came through in the
late innings for the Mariners. Jaso lined a single over Detroit's
drawn-in infield in the eighth inning Wednesday night to drive in
Michael Saunders with the tiebreaking run, Jason Vargas pitched
eight strong innings and the Mariners beat the Tigers 2-1.
Jaso's single off reliever Duane Below was hit so hard shortstop
Jhonny Peralta barely had time to react before it was landing in
the outfield grass and Saunders was jogging home with the go-ahead
run. Saunders had led off the eighth inning with a pinch-hit double
down the left-field line.
The late run capped a brief, but successful homestand for the
Mariners, who took four of six from Minnesota and Detroit, and
twice picked up wins thanks to Jaso's bat. Jaso had the
game-winning RBI in Monday's series opener against the Tigers when
Seattle rallied for three runs in the ninth inning, capped by
Jaso's sacrifice fly that scored Munenori Kawasaki with the winning
"I don't think I thrive. I don't think I get more energy from
it. It's just the way I am I guess," Jaso said of the late-inning
heroics. "I've been in a couple of championship situations … and
I just treat it like every other game. I've taught myself to do it
and I try not to get too high or too low and stay as level as
Jaso's single was the needed capper to back what Vargas did on
the mound. Vargas (4-2) threw a season-high eight innings, striking
out six and giving up just five hits. He outpitched young Detroit
starter Drew Smyly, who gave up just two hits but was pulled after
the sixth.
Though Vargas had thrown only 90 pitches, Seattle manager Eric
Wedge went to closer Brandon League in the ninth. League
immediately fell behind Austin Jackson 3-0 and walked him on a 3-2
pitch. However, Jackson was quickly erased when shortstop Brendan
Ryan made his third strong defensive play in the game, this one
starting a 6-4-3 double play off the bat of Brennan Boesch. League
then got Miguel Cabrera to end it for his eighth save in 10 chances
this season.
Earlier in the game, Ryan had made a barehanded grab and throw
to get Jackson and stole a base hit from Prince Fielder leading off
the seventh.
"Brendan Ryan had an unbelievable game," Wedge said. "We talk
about it time and time again, that's why we're really working to
try and get his bat going because he is so valuable to us.
While Jaso will get the accolades, Saunders' at-bat was just as
important. Saunders pinch-hit for Casper Wells to lead off the
eighth inning and lined a double down the left-field line off
Detroit reliever Luke Putkonen (0-1) in just his second major
league appearance. Saunders advanced to third after Chone Figgins'
sacrifice bunt. That was it for Putkonen, who was replaced by Below
to face Jaso.
Below got the count to 2-2 on Jaso before his hit. Jaso got
greedy and was thrown out trying to advance to second on the
"He threw a slider down and away, but it happened to stay up in
the zone," Detroit catcher Gerald Laird said. "He's a big league
hitter and he took a good swing."
Seattle didn't get its first hit off Smyly until one out in the
fourth inning when Ichiro Suzuki softly served a single into
left-center field. Suzuki stole second and scored when Kyle Seager
lined Smyly's pitch off the wall down the right-field line, missing
a home run by just a couple of feet. It was Seager's ninth RBI
during the Mariners' six-game homestand and his 10th two-out RBI
over the past eight games.
The sixth was the only inning Vargas was knocked around when
Laird led off with a double and scored on Jackson's sacrifice fly
to deep center. That inning was highlighted by another defensive
gem when Seager gloved Cabrera's one-hop smash and started an
inning-ending double play.
The Mariners lefty retired 12 of the first 13 batters, the only
hit coming on Peralta's single leading off the third. Vargas
pitched into the eighth for the first time this season in his most
efficient performance. Vargas said he would have liked to go back
out for the ninth at only 90 pitches, but understood the decision
to go to League.
"I was ready to go out there and finish it," Vargas said.
"You always want to throw a complete game when you can but Brandon
has done pretty good over here so I think we'll let him close it
down in the ninth."
NOTES: Detroit C Alex Avila's sore patella tendon was feeling
better on Wednesday and he'll be re-examined before the Tigers open
a four-game series Thursday in Oakland. … Seattle 2B Dustin
Ackley was given his second day off of the season on Wednesday.
Ackley has struggled hitting just .238. … Jaso became just the
second Seattle catcher to bat leadoff and the first since 1978.


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DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. - The March Cobras of New York, Westchester's premier percussion dance and marching band, got an official sendoff from County Executive Rob Astorino Thursday before next week's performances during Super Bowl Week.
This year's Super Bowl, set for Sunday, Feb. 2 at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Astorino joined the band members and their director and coach Terrel Stowers at their home base, St. Christopher's Clark Academy in Dobbs Ferry where the county executive presented the students with a special proclamation from the county.
"We have been preparing for the Super Bowl with extras practice sessions, making sure we're in shape and excited to be representing the county and the school," Stowers said. "This is the ultimate thrill for us. We are ready."
The 70-piece Cobras band will participate in the NFL Experience Parade on Wednesday, Jan. 29 in a march up Broadway from 33rd Street to 43rd Street, leading the Super Bowl champion's Vince Lombardi trophy.
Astorino presented the proclamation and told the Cobras that he was proud to know the band was representing Westchester.
"The best two teams in the NFL will be playing and you are our Super Band," Astorino said. "We're all proud of all your work and your school."
Drummer/cymbalist and line leader Isaiah Williams, who played football as a youngster before converting to performance marching band, said he and his band mates were ready for the the spotlight.
"This is the Super Bowl and everyone -- family, friends, the whole country -- is going to be watching," the 16-year-old said. "We are proud to have this chance to perform. This is an honor and we have worked very hard to prepare."
Williams said the band has been running, marching, practicing its moves and even rehearsing in cold and wet weather.
"I like the cold more than the heat," Williams said. "I have my line out there in freezing temperatures getting ready. The most important thing is to be prepared -- have our steps accurate and on point. This is our Super Bowl too."
St. Christopher's helps teens with emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities by providing a residential program encompassing comprehensive therapeutic, social, and family services coordinated with special education schooling.
A team of more than 200 people serves more than 170 resident youths on three campuses, plus 160 day students at the Greenburgh Academy. The primary campus and home for more than 100 years is an 8-acre site in Dobbs Ferry. It encompasses the Clark Academy (middle and high school), seven residential cottages, and other facilities.
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